How to describe our commandeering of Butch McGuire's and turning it into a Guess Who fest...well, we did. It took some time to convince the "authorities" at Butch's that we needed our very own room, but we got just that, with two huge tables pulled together so that we could all talk. There were eleven of us in all, ready for a fun night but having no clue just how fun it was going to be. Could it have been the full moon? After we ordered our food (Mark Wilson wanted a Chicago burger...but we'll let him tell you how he ordered it)...American Woman by Lenny Kravitz began to play on the sound system. Of course we booed, but I decided that we needed GOOD music...and went in search of a jukebox. I was pleasantly surprised to see some Cocker classics on the jukebox, and played a few...just like the concert opening. I nearly fell out of my army boots when I saw "Shakin All Over" by Chad Allen and the Expressions. But wait...what is that that I see? NO! It simply COULD NOT BE the entire Best of the Guess Who Volume I CD...but it was! The discovery of that CD on the jukebox nearly caused me to have a religious experience. Could life get any better than this? Yes, it could. At our request, the speakers were turned up in our room. I went back to our table, and everyone started singing and bopping to "Shakin All Over" followed by American Woman, These Eyes, and all the songs on the CD. It brought tears of joy to my eyes...people from South Africa, Canada, Arizona, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Chicago...many of us meeting in person for the first time...and having had some guardian angel load the jukebox before we got there. After leaving Butch McGuire's and getting Mark safely back to his host's house, we gathered in the infamous Room 234 ("Come on by...we'll have a good time..."), where Dan played guitar and Shelley sang...GW songs, of course. We talked and laughed and sang until the wee hours of the morning. No one wanted to squander time sleeping because it was just too wonderful to be together. |