It’s Thursday night, my plane leaves at 8:15 A.M. on Friday morning, and I just got off at 10 P.M. I still haven’t packed, and still had to run around getting some things for my trip. I got home finally around midnight, and now insomnia kicks in. It isn’t till around 3 A.M. I fall asleep, I wake up two and a half hours later, and it’s time to start my journey.

Head over to my partner Kyle’s house so he can drop me off at the airport around 6:15 A.M. We leave 20 minutes later and get to the airport around 7 A.M. I check in my bags, and head outside to smoke a few cigarettes before I go inside and jump on the plane. I’m leaving Tampa at 8:15 A.M., have a stop over in ATL. During my hour layover while walking to my gate, I saw many men and women in are armed forces, they were all going home, some had just gotten back from war zones, others leaving boot camp. You could tell on some of these kids faces that things were not going to be the same for them ever again. On top of seeing our bravest, I got to meet a few UFC fighters; they were on their way to California for the big pay per view event coming up.

Finally get on the next plane, and head for Chicago. I arrived there at 11:43am Central Time, and needed to smoke a cigarette. Now remember, I’ve lived in Florida for 7 years at this point, I am used to the warmth, and I only brought a thin rain coat. I see people with coats, and I already know it’s cold. I step outside and bang, there it is, Chicago welcoming back with its cold air, I was freezing, but I must admit I was glad to be home. Good thing my mom was waiting to pick me up, and had 2 coats for me to wear.

I gave the guys a call, and find out they are on the way from Wisconsin, will be at the venue around 4:00 P.M. CT. This is great, gives me the chance to see some of my hometown, get a bite to eat, and hop in the shower before I head down to the venue. At this time I also make sure to stop and grab several energy drinks, this is going to be a long night. I get dropped off at the venue, Park West, which is only blocks from De Paul University, and find out the guys went to the coffee shop down the street, so I head on down.

There, sitting at the counter at the window, Dan, Matt, Jimmy, and Matt, long time friends, Big 10-4. They each had a cup of coffee in their hands, and could tell that the Florida natives were not adjusting to the cold. After for a few minutes of hanging out, and talking, we headed back to the venue to do sound check. Seemed like two hours passed by before the venue was ready for them to do sound check.

Finally, the guys were called up. We loaded in the gear, including the huge wooden piano, and set up stage so they can get on with the sound check. Now let me tell you this, Park West is one crazy venue and I recommend anyone in Chicago to get out there. This venue had 2 arrays of speakers, one on each side, reaching from roof to floor, huge side fills, a nice size stage, and superb lighting effects. During the guys sound check I thought my heart was going to skip a beat, that’s how loud the kick was pounding. The guys sounded great, it had been over a year since I had worked with them last, and the first sound check in just as long. You could tell the guys were super excited, all had huge smiles on their faces, joking around, and enjoying the atmosphere that was around them, before doors were open.

They finish sound check and we head to the green room. We hang out, talk about what’s been going on, how their tour was going, and heard some funny stories. Found out that the show they played in Wisconsin the night before was crazy, and they got a very welcomed response. I let them know not to worry, that Chicago will be even greater, the city loves intimate shows. A few hours pass, and the guys are getting ready to go on stage. It’s show time.

The sound guy is getting ready, and the phone backstage rings, they get told to blow the crowd away, and head out to the bright lights, and screaming fans. The guys open up with my personal all time favorite, Tangled, and caught the crowds eye immediately. There were many fans that had traveled into Chicago for the event, both long time fans that came as far as Massachusetts and Florida, to new fans that saw the guys play in Wisconsin the night before, and just had to see them again. Not once through the set did the crowd let up, all eyes on the guys, and all heads nodding with the beat of the music. It was awesome to see Chicago embrace them as one of their own. The guys had a great show, with fans applauding, and wanting to meet the guys right away.

The guys are done and we need to get their gear off so DaDa can hit the stage. While we are doing this, Matt and Dan run to the front to get to the merchandise table. Jimmy, Matt, and I hurry to get this done, lock the trailer door, and head out to the front of the theatre. At this point there are people everywhere, asking for autographs, wanting to buy CD’s, and talk to the guys. Within 30 minutes of being up there, they had no more CD's to sell. This was both great and bad at the same time. Good cause they sold out, bad because other fans couldn’t buy a CD, and they had several more dates to finish up the tour with (they found out when they got to the next show they had a supply in a road case).

After hanging out for awhile, we decided to head to another bar, and hang out with friends the guys have known for awhile. After drinking Budweiser, Jager Bombs, and some other shots I don’t know the name of, we decided to head to yet another bar, as most of our friends had to leave by this time. After hanging for a few hours it was time for me to head home, and finish off my weekend trip to Chicago with family. I was going to meet up with the guys in Tampa for their last show on the trip.