Post-Concert Rituals

This week we're lucky that our Weekly Inspiration Blog Post is assigned to Herine, one of the ensemble members performing in In Transit: #thisrocks.  What a great coincidence!  (Seriously, I did not plan it this way when assigning posts, I swear!)  When I saw that she was going to be the author of this week's post, I was especially curious about what she would post about, and if it would be performance related.  She definitely pleasantly surprised me with this insight into lives of Fifth House Ensemble members.   Check back at the end of every week for more Weekly Inspiration. If you didn't catch Thursday night's performance of In Transit: #thisrocks, you can catch it again tonight, Friday 12/16, at 6:30pm at the Chicago Park District's Indian Boundary Park. 

We are often asked, "What do you guys do after a concert?" More than once, the asker has also made the assumption that we must be some serious party animals, for all of the sibling-like banter and 12-year old behavior that we've long-since ceased to cover up in favor of a more distinguished "public persona."

So to settle all the bets, the truth is that we probably aren't quite as fun post-concert as one might think. Playing a show on three consecutive nights is exhausting, and partying in between just isn't conducive to great results. Don't get me wrong -- we genuinely enjoy each other's company, and actually schedule other events to hang out, officially as well as casually (Adam's tradition of Thanksgivingweenukah comes to mind). For every concert cycle of our series, we generally hang out as a group following at least one of those performances.

When we're in downtown Chicago, we frequent Miller's Pub as our post-concert hang. They are always very gracious about accommodating our massive parties, complete with numerous cumbersome instruments that necessitate special, plain-view storage needs. The most-ordered items on their menu by Fifth House musicians are probably the Greek Burger and the Dirty Martini with Blue Cheese Stuffed Olives.

Goose Island Brewery is in their third season of being an amazing sponsor of our series. Those of us who enjoy a great craft beer now equate post-show exhilhiration and taste of success with the vibrant and full-bodied Matilda. Even if I miss the samples served to our audience (no pre-show imbibing -- PROMISE! :)) if it's on the menu of the post-show hangout, I always end up ordering it.

In a pinch and in unfamiliar surroundings, pretty much any place that has a massive burger on their late-nite menu will do, even/especially Wendy's, Culver's, Red Robin, or, on the West Coast, In-N-Out Burger, animal style!!!! A lot of 5HE-rs don't like to eat a meal before the concert, which makes for ravenous and borderline-hangry musicians immediately post-show. Sweet potato fries are a super-plus.

Where is everyone tonight, you ask, following the #thisrocks show at the Cultural Center? Since our fourth and final performance is tomorrow, we've decided to lay low (except for Drew and his wife Karmen, who intimated that they had plans to paint the town red). Adam and I are home with our spouses, who are both jet-lagged from traveling to Europe and China, respectively. To be even more specific, I am on my couch in my fleece pajamas that my mother-in-law bought me for Christmas five years ago, typing this blog, New Glarus beer in hand, while also watching the travel channel.

Oh, and whaddayaknow, according to Adam's Facebook status, he is also now wearing HIS fleece pants which are infinitely sexier than mine and can be seen here (minus Adam, since he's so shy :))  Tomorrow night, however, we will be partying it up at the home of one of our fabulous board members, and we're all very excited to celebrate!

Happy Holidays to all of the awesome readers of this blog! Thanks for your support and we can't wait to see you at our shows in 2012!

Here's Herine's caption for the photo, which was taken at the end of our trip to Flagstaff, AZ where we performed In Transit: #undercoverhero: "Matt, Herine and Crystal enjoying In-N-Out Burger before noon prior to their departure from Phoenix. "Post-concert" is a relative term, right? :)"

Since Herine has outed herself and Adam for being in their pajamas post concert, I should also tell you that I am sitting in bed, in my pajamas while proofing & posting this.  :)  Looks like it might be an ensemble-wide thing...