Back from the Windy City: Chicago!

My wife and I have been in Chicago since early Wednesday morning and it was incredible. We went up for the largest band clinic in the world, The Midwest Band Clinic at the Chicago Hilton. Not only did we spend time at the clinic taking in a lot of the clinics, visiting acres of exhibits, and meeting famous composers, we also took in a few other events that Chicago had to offer. We started out the day by being delayed 3 hours in Columbia but finally reached out destination. After checking in, I registered and visited the exhibits. They are great. Any and everything you can imagine related to band is there. We went to dinner the first night at Gene & Geogetti's Italian Steak House. This place was incredible. They have to prepare one of the greatest steaks in all of the world. Friday we paid a visit to Buddy Guy's Legends blues club. Now this is the real thing in blues. Thursday morning I attended several clinics and heard many different groups. We visited The Art Institute of Chicago and saw many, many things I had only previously seen in books or on TV. I obtained a rather cheap ticket to see the Chicago Symphony's Brass section. They truly are the best in the world and Symphony Hall is a work of art itself. Thursday night we ate Chicago style pizza and then we were off to see Wicked the Broadway musical. It was unreal! By that I mean you got lost as if you were just watching or you were actually a part of it. It deserves a post of it own. Simply put it was something I will remember forever. Friday brought more fun. I enjoyed a concert by South Carolina's only performing group this year, Wando High School. They were great and deserve a hearty congratulations for their achievement. As a surprise, I attended a clinic that Jeff Quay was putting on. He is one of the members of the Blue Man Group. The surprise was that he brought them with him! I got to see a shortened version of their performance and there was only about 200 people present. It was a great surprise. Friday night ate great food again at Miller's Pub. They serve some the best rib's anywhere. To top off the trip, we made it back on time. If you have been watching the news the travel out of O'Hare airport has been terrible but this time luck was with us and we made it back rather easily. All and all this was one of the best trips I can remember. Anybody that has any interest in band should make it a priority to attend this clinic. I know we are already making plans for next year.

To anybody viewing this blog, please take a look at the links and enjoy but look at them and explore what thing there out there for everybody to enjoy. You don't have to be a famous or rich person to be an artist. You just have to become involved and try new things. Everytime you try something new, you just make yourself a better person.