25 or 6 to 4

This is not your mother's Chicago
Sue and Mike
Belinda and Clint with the band
Clint, Rick and Mike
Colleen, Zach and Martin

"Ooh, ooh, baby please don't go..."

Chicago played the Fair tonight. Although there are only a couple of original band members, the band has toured and played nonstop since its inception. Interestingly, there is one member who cannot be any older than me. Can't you just imagine him strumming his air guitar and singing "Oooh, oooh, baby please don't go" in front of his mirrored closet doors at age 10? With his youthful mullett? And his sleeveless acid-wash jean shirt? Dare to dream, big guy.

Have you ever listened closely to the words of a Chicago song? Take, for instance, "Saturday in the Park." The song starts out, "Saturday, in the park, I think it was the Fourth of July"...then it goes on to add "a man selling ice cream, singing Italian songs." Really? Do you see the irony in a man singing Italian songs on a purely American holdiay? In the park? Incidentally, it seemed more and more ironic with each beer we drank. That is some sweet song-writing there.

Speaking of song-writing, here's a little Chicago trivia for you: "25 or 6 to 4" refers to writing songs at 25 or 26 minutes to 4:00 a.m. Apparently, the best inspiration comes in the wee hours of the morning. Chicago closed tonight's show with "25 or 6 to 4" and the crowd loved it! Something tells me that Chicago will still be playing to sold-out crowds 20 years from now.