Block Partying in the 'Burbs

So, my buddy Rob and his neighbors had their 3rd Annual Block Party yesterday in Palatine, and yours truly was there to partake in the good times, eating and drinking. Plus, it was a chance to see my friend (and fellow Red Sox fan, Patriots fan and teacher) Chris play the drums with his band Red Pop Fury, who were going to be playing at 4pm. It has truly been the dog days of summer the last few weeks with plenty of heat and humidity and I wondered how I'd hold up: An earlier venture to clean out my car for 45 minutes or so resulted in the complete soaking of my t-shirt. A couple of Goose Island 312's and a Brat later I was not so worried about it, and there was enough shade to be found from the cluster of townhomes where the party took place.

It was nice to catch up on our respective fantasy baseball teams with Rob, catch up with his wife Heather and see a bunch of Rob's friends that I had not talked to since his bachelor party last fall. Chris's band was fantastic, playing everything from a great cover of the Stones' "Gimme Shelter" to Midnight Oil's "Beds Are Burning" as well as some snippets of Duran Duran. As an 80's music guy I was digging it, and everybody else at the party was, too. There was one of those inflatable castle things, which the adults seemed to be enjoying as much if not more than the kids. I hope they had insurance on that thing. All in all it was a fun afternoon and I look forward to the 4th installment next year.