Caught the final show of a special 3 night stand for Queensryche at the HOB over the weekend. This was the first ever staging of their ambitious Operation Mindcrime I and II rock opera/rock musical here in Chicago. Operation Mindcrime I (CD and accompanying show) was originally released in 1988 and the long awaited sequel Operation Mindcrime II came out just a few months ago. Unfortunately due to my on-air commitments this week, I was unable to honor the band's request that I once again be a "special guest" member of the cast (I played a guest role in the re-staging of Operation Mindcrime I last year... great fun!), but was able to see the presentation in it's entirety Saturday night. What a show! Flawless playing, singing, acting, execution and perfect timing/synchronization with the big screen accents made this a show not to be missed. Geoff Tate sang his opera-trained butt off and managed to do so while playing the main role in both... for 3 hours! This back to back offering was one (if not THE) most fully realized show of it's type. The Who, Pink Floyd and Meatloaf have all dabbled in this genre, but Queensryche managed to trump them all by the mere fact that they went even further with the concept. The band then came back out again and even did a couple more encore numbers including "Last Time In Paris." The crowd was ecstatic and went home fully drained. "Two wings up... way up!" sez Byrd. Broadway should seriously look at this show. See it if you can... you'll be very impressed. You can do just that as the Loop brings 'em back for another show, Friday November 17th at the Star Plaza Theatre in Merrillville, IN.

Speaking of theatre, I also attended the 5th annual Madhatter's Ball benefiting the Lookingglass Theatre Company recently. As always, a good time with many attendees getting dressed up in costumes. David Schwimmer (Lookingglass founder and member of the "Friends" TV cast), Joey Slotnick ("Nip/Tuck"), Shondrella Avery ("Napoleon Dynamite") and many others also attended. The ticket price included an open bar and a gift bag, so it was a good deal AND a worthwhile cause. By the ball's end, over $100,000 had been raised and will fuel the next year's worth of productions at Lookingglass.

In a related note... got together with Fred Armisen ("Saturday Night Live", "Anchorman") and Horatio Sanz ("SNL", "Roadtrip") while Fred was filming scenes here in town for the upcoming movie "Quebec." Talked a lot of music (Fred is a fellow Beatle fan and a huge Loop fanatic) and about how much he missed living in Chicago now that he has relocated to New York for SNL. Looks like "Quebec" will be good. Given the context of the film, maybe they should do all the dialogue in the snotty Frenchman from Monty Python's "Holy Grail" voice... "I told heem we already gawt waaaaan!"

After the recent Styx/Foreigner show at Northerly Island, I hosted the after show party at the Hard Rock Cafe, giving away some great prizes and chatting with the excited concert goers. The concert received a glowing review from all. JY of Styx tells me they will have a new live DVD and CD to release November 14. Two new Styx songs will be included in the package. You can catch Styx live December 29th at the Star Plaza Theatre and December 30th at the Genesee Theatre.

And last but not least... GO SOX!!! GO BEARS!!!