I couldn't imagine a more enjoyable evening ...
The Ides Of March ... performing ON The Ides Of March ... at The Norris Cultural Arts Center in St. Charles, IL, in celebration of their 60th Anniversary (and with all four original members still onboard, no less!), accompanied by a full orchestra (appropriately dubbed The Eye Of The Tiger Orchestra for the evening) ...
I mean seriously, could it get any better than this???
Well, actually, yes ... when after the orchestra opened the proceedings with The Ides Of March Overture (featuring snippets of various songs Ides leader Jim Peterik has written over the years, not only for his band but also for Survivor, .38 Special, and more), followed by a brief series of videotaped testimonials from all sorts of celebrities and Ides fans, The Ides took the stage dressed to the hilt in tuxedos for the very special occasion!
(It was just one more unexpected perk to a perfect evening!)
At Jim's invitation, we were treated to a two hour display to Jim Peterik Music, expertly performed by the band and their very special accompaniment.
After a quick reading of The Impressions' song "People Get Ready," "Aire Of Good Feeling" officially opened the show. Always one of my favorites, it soared to new heights with the orchestra giving its full backing.
ALL the hits were there, of course ... "You Wouldn't Listen," "L.A. Goodbye" and the runner-up to the show closer, "Vehicle" ... along with a .38 Special medley of songs Jim helped to write for that band ("Caught Up In You," "Hold On Loosely" and "Rockin' Into The Night"), intermixed with Survivor hits like "High On You" (the "Jamaican version" that I love so much), ""The Search Is Over," "Burning Heart" (their OTHER Rocky movie theme), and, of course, the show-stopper, "Eye Of The Tiger."
Great stories and memories were shared throughout the evening and the band was in top form. (Aren't they always???)
A quick stop at the Meet And Greet following the show to congratulate the guys on 60 Years, thank Jim again for the tickets AND get them all to sign the souvenir program commemorating this special event ... and we were off.
What a great night of music! (kk)
20 YEARS AGO TODAY:
3/19/64 – Sean Connery begins his first day of shooting the next James Bond film, "Goldfinger"
Purely by coincidence, I received this email from Tom Cuddy over the weekend ...
The Mystery Of The James Bond Chord
