The East Coast's Finest Makes a Visit!

Well, aside from catching the plague this weekend, I managed to shimmy around Chicago a little bit with my favorite Capitol Hill lady, AJ Parker!

We kicked off our weekend of shenanigans in full 80s-glam style, all too pay tribute to Mr. Michael Jackson. Tributosaurus played three MJ tribute shows around the Chicagoland area, and we were lucky enough to catch the outdoor show at Fitzgerald’s. The bar was really far out of town, but totally worth the hike (thanks Lisa and Pete for the ride!). A few hundred people turned out for the show, packed with Chicago’s finest musical talents, great bar food and $12 Stoli pitchers. I was blown away by the music, and I think the crowd was blown away by our outfits.

Here is Tributosaurus’ Web site, http://www.tributosaurus.com/, definitely check it out. They were amazing and I will be taking in more of their shows in the future.

After Tributosaurus we met up with some friends at McGee’s near DePaul. Beers were only $1, so it doesn’t get much better…but it had to be the yuppiest of all yuppy bars. And this comes from a preppy sorority girl. In all reality, our MJ ensembles didn’t help us fit in, but I wouldn’t say it’s worth another trip back.

Friday morning I had to be to WGN by 4:30 for the 8^th-annual Kids Fair! The event went really well, but it’s just another indicator that my time at Channel 9 is winding down. I’ve been working on Kids Fair stuff since my first week, crazy that it all culminated a few days ago.

After the Kids Fair, AJ met me to head way off the blue line to the Donald E. Stevenson Convention Center for COMIC CON! That’s right…it’s a comic book convention. AJ donned her Wonder Woman t-shirt to make sure she fit in with the demographic, but I remained in my WGN Kids Fair swag…complete with Harry & David’s chocolate spilled down the front. Classy.

Anyways, I was there representing the station and holding raffles for sweet WGN prizes (plug!), but AJ had a few other ideas about a day at Comic Con. Between drawings, she and I checked out booths, snapped pics with some Star Troopers and met reality royalty Adrienne Curry and Christopher Knight. Adrienne was way prettier in person that she appears on television…but with a price tag of $20 for a photo with she and her husband, AJ and I passed. We did, however, get a not-so realistic caricature drawn of us. By the end of our Comic Con adventure, we were beat. So we hopped back on the blue and made our way to good ol’ Lakeview.

After napping off the night before and two conventions, we dolled ourselves up for a sushi and bar night with Kaitlyn and Sherri. After some research on BYOB sushi places, we decided on Toro sushi on Clark, just south of Diversey. We arrived at about 8:30, three bottles of wine in tow, only to find out that the wait would be too long for us to enjoy dinner. I was disappointed, especially after seeing incredible, massive rolls delivered to the lucky patrons who showed up early.

Kait, AJ and I still had a yen for sushi, so we heeled it down Clark, hoping to find an alternative. Kabuki saved the day. Most of the tables were empty, which made me nervous at first, until Kait made an excellent point: all the people eating at Kabuki were Asian. We figured that was a good sign, and we were correct! We started with edemame for the table, each ordered two rolls. I would say kabuki was 7-for-7. The sushi was fresh and the veggies were perfectly ripe and crispy. Not to mention, we sat right next to a table with a photo of Frank Sinatra, because apparently that’s where he used to sit during his visits to Kabuki.

Full of fish and wine, we trekked way downtown to LaSalle Power Company. My sinus issues were really kicking in at this point, which was a huge bummer because this place was amazing. It had a great atmosphere and tons of personality. With gilded bronze ceilings, huge paper ball lanterns and a DJ accompanied by a guitarist and drummer, this was unlike any place I have ever been to. The drinks were good, and even with a packed floor, we got great service. I checked out at about 1 a.m., but will definitely go back again.

Unfortunately, the trip to the Power Company was my last appearance for the weekend. AJ did manage to have some fun without me…good thing! I felt terrible that our much anticipated weekend of shenanigans was lightened by the plague, but I think we made some headway on a few more trips coming up this fall!

Thanks for coming, AJ, it was so great to see you!

P.S. I have photos from the weekend…but since my camera is MIA for a hot sec (AJ!), they’ll be up soon!