The Ides of March Christmas Show –
Arcada Theatre, December 7, 2013
The Ides of March Christmas Show at
the Arcada Theatre, had all the making of a wonderful musical Christmas gift, featuring
harmonies, horns and songs from an original catalog that would ignite the
Christmas spirit in the icy heart of any Grinch. Make no mistake, this was a
Christmas show and to paraphrase radio legend and show emcee Dick Biondi, “… we
are here because of a special day happening in a few weeks… You know 2000 years
ago, a baby was born in Bethlehem and his name was not Holiday…”
The Ides took the stage dressed in
various combinations of red and black for a show that was split into two parts
– one part Christmas, one-part Classics. The Christmas side featured a new Ides
song, The Meaning of Christmas along
with a number of very heartfelt Christmas songs that would fill the Arcada and
it’s patrons with the warmth of the season. A standout song in the Christmas
set was Distant Trumpet that has all
the feel of a traditional Christmas classic. It is a song written by one of the
best writers of a generation, rock legend, Jim Peterik. Distant Trumpet was inspired by the loss of a friend, original Ides
of March trumpet-player, John Larson who passed away in 2011. In the song, a
distant trumpet plays on Christmas morning to herald the birth of Christ the
King. You can hear this and the other Ides of March Christmas songs on their
current CD, The Meaning of Christmas available
on their website and they will be performing again this Christmas Eve at Holy
Name Cathedral in Chicago.
A short intermission featured a raffle with
proceeds benefiting the Lazarus House in St. Charles an organization with the
goals to offer
services and referrals to help those in need in the community to prevent
homelessness and support the well being of individuals and their families; and
to help homeless persons return to independent living with the skills and
habits needed for long-term success. In the spirit of giving, the Ides of March
also donated a portion of the nights proceeds to assist the communities of
Washington and other communities in central Illinois recently devastated by
tornadoes.
Part 2 - the classics. The audience had already got their
money’s worth with the Christmas performance, but the Ides didn’t stop there.
Returning to the stage after intermission, they proceeded to rock with a set of
classics featuring L.A. Goodbye, Live
Life, a version of The Search Is Over
that brought the crowd to their feet for a standing ovation and of course the iconic Vehicle.
While many acts in rock and roll have gone the way of Spinal
Tap, The Ides of March are set to embark on their 50th year together
as a band with original members intact. The success of this band is that the
players compliment each other and each has his own moment to shine in the
spotlight. As musicians, they play together as a tight functioning group, the
benefit of 50 years together, and they perform each song with the enthusiasm
and energy you would expect to find in a group of up and coming rockers looking
to make their mark. The Ides of March are truly a band of brothers. Their “50
Years Down the Road” tour will be a must see in 2014.
Along with a variety of musical Christmas performances the
Arcada will be showing classic movies of the season like, A Christmas Story and
It’s a Wonderful Life. And Ron Onesti is not taking much of a Christmas break,
as he keeps the Arcada calendar packed with performances for 2014. Acts already
scheduled to perform are Cheap Trick, Rik Emmett of Triumph and Eddie Money,
but you need to check out www.oshows.com so you don’t miss out on
one of your favorites.
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