Midnight Hour Performs at 2009 ISES Liberty Awards Gala
On Wednesday June 24th 2009, Midnight Hour was honored to perform for the International Special Events Society (ISES) Liberty Awards Gala at the Park Ridge Hotel in King of Prussia, PA.
The evening’s theme was “Bring on the Bling,” and everyone in attendance got into the fun spirit by decking themselves out in upscale threads. A special booth was set up to apply glitter and temporary tattoos for those brave souls who wanted to go the extra mile in getting the bling going.
ISES President Nancy Bauman (NKB Events, LLC) was the evening’s gracious host, and we were thrilled to get some time to talk with her about the work she does with ISES. Nancy’s term as President comes to a close soon, and her successor is going to be Larry Ott, CSEP, of Open Aire Affaires. Larry was also great about spending some time talking with the band, not to mention the time he spent on the dance floor … pretty sure his smooth dance moves have a lot to do with him being President Elect of ISES. J
The folks at ISES asked us to open up with a song that they felt would sum up their vision of a “Bling Fling” … the classic Aerosmith & Run DMC version of “Walk This Way”. We were more than happy to oblige, and we had the house rockin’ from the start of the evening. The ISES team had decorated the room beautifully, and everyone agreed the Park Ridge had never looked better. It was the perfect setting for a terrific party. We went on to play other classic house party songs like “Jump Around”, “Let Me Clear My Throat”, and “It’s Getting Hot in Here”.
We’d like to thank everyone at ISES for choosing us to be a part of their special event. We met some of the area’s very best event specialists, from a woman who specializes in puppetry to a guy who does the biggest fireworks shows on the east coast, and we look forward to working with all of them in the future.
Contagious Party Band: Shines at the Crystal Tea Room
The Contagious Band has once again been honored to have the privilege to perform at the Philadelphia landmark The Crystal Tea Room where the standard is set for elegance and style. There was no more appropriate place than here for the reception of one of the most adorable couples I’ve ever met Katie Schuster and Dr. Michael Johnson.
Surrounded by all their family and friends the magical evening started with Katie and Michael’s first dance was to Elvis Presley’s “I Can’t Help Falling In Love With You”. The moment seemed timeless. This may sounds like a Best Man speech when I say it but meeting them and watching them together it would be a challenge to image them with anyone but each other. They just fit so perfectly together.
For the parent dances the Contagious Band got to show our skills a little by setting up “I Loved Her First” by Heartland for Katie to dance with her father Daniel. With the Groom’s family being from Augusta Georgia we learned and performed a very special “Georgia On My Mind” by the late great Ray Charles. Seeing that Savannah Georgia is my home town we’ll have to keep the Georgia On my Mind song around for future use.
There are so many parts that make up a successful reception. The staff at the Crystal Tea Room made is so easy for Contagious to help make the evening unforgettable. We were aware of all the events that needed to take place and with their expert coordination made the evening seamless. Although I saw a wedding Bouquet completely “destroyed” during the toss to the single ladies J it was a ”fun” part of the evenings events. The dance party was incredible and the crowd met the challenge of The Contagious front line and kept the energy high all evening long. Katie and Michael finished off the evening showing their dancing skills and left everyone with a smile.
A special thanks to The Crystal Team room and most of all Katie and Michael for allowing the Contagious Band to be there when it all began. Best wishes to you both as you share life’s journeys together.
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Why book a party band? Want your party to be the talk of the town? There’s nothing like a party band to liven things up - from birthday parties and weddings to bat/bar mitzvahs or corporate functions. A party band will guarantee that your guests will be dancing the night away. Everyone wants to throw a successful party event. The important components of a great party are the invitation list, the venue and the food, and most importantly the party band.
How to book a party band? Listen to audio samples, read bios, watch video clips and compare party bands. Take advantage of live showcases that a talent agency holds to preview the best party bands in your area. This is your opportunity to talk to party band leaders and the musicians, helping you make an informed decision on the party band for your event.
You supply the people and your party band will supply the music. Once you’ve decided on your party band start discussing the music. The party band will provide you with their song lists and give you the opportunity to work together to discuss additional music. You want to give your guests the opportunity to mingle, enjoy and dance! Each requires special music that your party band will accommodate. Your party band will also become a big resource to you while planning your event. They will have suggestions and expertise to offer as they have most likely hosted many events in the past. Share ideas and help each other in planning and executing the perfect event.
When you choose the right party band for your event, you’ll have the right music! Remember, every great party needs music!
Midnight Hour: Rockin’ at The Ballroom at The Ben
The Ballroom at the Ben is one of the most stunning ballrooms in the city of Philadelphia, and we’ve played there many times. It’s always a treat to perform in the storied walls of ‘The Ben’, looking up at the high ceiling and the beautiful chandeliers that light up the room. On Saturday June 6th, we had the pleasure of returning to The Ballroom at the Ben to perform for the wedding reception of two of the nicest people in the world, the newly married Aaron & Allison Greenfield. As it happens, Aaron’s grandfather once owned The Ballroom at the Ben many years ago, so it was a very special return to a family landmark for the Greenfield family.
Aaron and Allison chose the song “Amazed” by Lonestar for their first dance, followed by a traditional Jewish Hora. The 200+ guests were all on their feet dancing to “Hava Nagila” (Hebrew for “Let us rejoice”) as Aaron & Allison were carried on chairs in the center of the circle – a moment the band always loves.
Later on, Aaron danced with his mother to “Stand By Me” by Sam Cook, and Allison with her father to the song “In My Life” by The Beatles.
After the main course, the dance floor opened and it was full for the rest of the night. Aaron and Allison had requested that we play lots of 80’s music for them, and we were ready for them … “What I Like About You” by the Romantics, “Summer of 69” by Bryan Adams, “Walking On Sunshine”, and many more. Ott is the Manager at The Ballroom at the Ben, and as always he was masterful in making sure the night flowed smoothly.
Aaron also secretly requested that the band learn a special song for him to sing to Allison, and we were happy to oblige … so right after the cake cutting, he took the microphone and we played “Everything I Do, I Do It For You”, another great Bryan Adams song. Allison sat in a chair surrounded by about 200 people who were all cheering as Aaron made the most of the big surprise moment.
We ended the night with the crowd on its feet, singing “Don’t Stop Believin’ by Journey. It was a blast, and we had a great time. Thanks to Aaron & Allison for choosing Midnight Hour!
On June 2, 2009 Jellyroll took the stage at the Radisson Valley Forge Waterford Ballroom for their latest video project, the Jellyroll “Philadelphia Sounds” show. Look for this new video to appear online soon and thanks to Tim Sudall from Video One, Brian Toner from Eventions Productions, James Buchakjian of Saget’s Formal Wear, the Waterford Ballroom staff as well as all of the Jellyroll band members. The video shoot was a total success and will feature Jellyroll’s renditions of songs that are closely related to our home town, Philadelphia. This video will help the band promote the great music of Philadelphia. The band is already scheduled to perform the “Philadelphia Sounds” show at a major Philadelphia convention in the fall of 2009.
Midnight Hour returns to West Shore Country Club
One of our favorite venues is The West Shore Country Club in Camp Hill, PA (not far from Harrisburg, PA), so we were really happy to perform there over this past weekend for the wedding reception of Kate and Eric Bowles. Their friends and family were an incredible group, and the band fed off their energy all night – the dance floor was just absolutely full all night long.
Kate and Eric chose a beautiful song for their first dance – “This Year’s Love” by David Gray. Of course we performed it live for them, and it was a great choice. Their dance had been professionally choreographed, so we worked with them in advance on the timing of the music and their dance moves. We received a lot of compliments on the song, so we’ll probably keep playing it at other weddings this year.
We also learned “Waiting on a Sunny Day” by Bruce Springsteen, and “Comes A Time” by Neil Young, at Kate and Eric’s request. We’re always happy to learn 2 or 3 songs for each of our wedding clients, and we had a ball playing those songs for them. “Waiting on a Sunny Day” turned into a sing along, with the whole crowd joining in on the choruses. Another one we’ll keep for future weddings where people want us to ‘bring out the Bruce’.
We enjoyed working with photographer Amy Deputy of Amy Deputy Photography. It was our first time meeting Amy, and we had a chance to talk with her when we all sat down for a quick bite during the main course. Amy was very nice and loved the band, and I’m sure her pictures of the event will turn out beautifully.
As always, the staff at West Shore did an incredible job of making the room look beautiful. Our sincere thanks are extended to Stephen Hanawalt (Director of Catering) and Bruce Bortone (Assistant General Manager) at West Shore for being so gracious to the band.
Congratulations Kate & Eric, and thank you for choosing Midnight Hour!
Looking out the huge floor to ceiling windows to see US aircraft carriers and destroyers on the Delaware River on the beautiful evening of May 30, 2009, made this wedding unusually special in many ways. What a great setting at the trend setting, fashionable Urban Outfitters headquarters at the Philadelphia Navy Yard. The location was perfect as Dara Imperatore married Rob Melchionni. This is a great couple that was an absolute pleasure to work with. Here is an excerpt from an email that Dara sent me from her honeymoon:
“Hi from Italy!!
I just wanted to write a quick note to thank you for everything, you guys were amazing!! Everyone was up and dancing the entire time, just as we wanted, they were all talking about how great the music was. Also, thank you for learning all of those special songs too, it made it really special for me and Rob, and our family!
Our planning started months in advance and nothing was left to chance. My sound technician and I met with our clients over a month before Dara and Rob’s unbelievable Philadelphia wedding to plan load-in, setup as well as technical details as Urban Outfitters uses an in-house sound company. The planning payed off as the event was a huge success. Our band started early that day with a full and complete sound check long before guests arrived. The highlights of the evening included our Philadelphia wedding band, Jellyroll’s performance of a song that we learned for Dara and Rob, “You Are The Best Thing” by Ray LaMontaigne as well as Jellyroll’s high energy rendition of “Proud Mary” which brought Jellyroll’s performance to an exciting conclusion.
We had the honor of working with a great Philadelphia wedding photographer that we have recently become fans of. Sarah has a great way with her clients as well as other professionals with whom she works alongside. Here are some of the images from this great wedding sent to me by Sarah DiCicco:
