This past weekend the band returned to Rivercrest Golf Club in Phoenixville, PA. It seems we’ve played at Rivercrest so many times just this year that it feels like home to us. It’s truly a beautiful facility, and we loved playing for Mike and Sarah’s reception. Their bridal party entered the room as we played the groove to “Superstition”, and then Sarah & Mike walked in to the chorus of “Gimme Three Steps,” with the crowd hollering and screaming. They chose Michael Buble’s “Everything” for their first dance, and I must say, the band did a great job with that song – our keyboardist, Vince Dimento, is really fantastic and played the piano parts just perfectly.
Great ending to the night – the guests all raised long sparklers out by the pool area at Rivercrest as we gave the bride and groom a sparkler send-off … just an awesome sight. Our best to Mike and Sarah, and our sincere thanks to them for choosing Midnight Hour!
A Weekend of Fireworks for Midnight Hour
Happy Fourth of July, everyone! We just logged another full weekend of gigs, fun and special moments with some great people, and we wanted to tell you all about it.
On Saturday July 4th, Midnight Hour performed for newlyweds Seth & Calli Alberts at Appleford Estates in Villanova, PA. Our keyboardist (Vinny Dimento) and guitarist (Gerry “Rooster” Corrado) performed the music for the wedding ceremony on the grounds of Appleford, and it was really beautiful. Later, the bride and groom were announced to “Bittersweet Symphony” under the tent, and shared their first dance to Kenny Chesney’s “Me & You”. It was a marvelous night, topped off by some fireworks that some locals set off around 9:30 … and then the band closed out the night at 10:00 with a full dance floor. Special thanks to that guy who got up with us and performed “Satisfaction” by The Stones … that guy was great. Thanks for having us, Seth & Calli!
On Sunday night July 5th, we performed for another wedding at The Chase Center in Wilmington, DE. Rachel & Hal Ossman were married on site, and once again Vinny performed for their ceremony, preparing special Jewish traditional music that they had requested. Later we performed an extended Hora for their families, including “Hava Nagila”, “Artsa Alinu”, “Ose Shalom”, and “Havenu Shalom Aleicham”. When our music for the Hora ended, the dancing just kept going and the crowd stomped and clapped and sang other traditional songs, having a wonderful time. Later, the bride and groom danced to the song “Amazed” by Lonestar, and the dance floor was full all night long.
We also celebrated the birthday of our own Tom “Tiny” Callan this past week – Tiny is a great guy, and boy does he love birthdays! He made sure everyone knew it was his birthday, and we had lots of fun with him this week.
Also wanted to mention we premiered our new light show this past week, and it looks great – it was kind of like having our own little fireworks show on the 4th of July. We can size it to fit any room and it adds great color and motion when the band is playing. We’re excited about it, and we hope you get to see it some time soon.
Take care,
Pepper & The Midnight Hour Band
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.
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!
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!
A Night to Remember: Midnight Hour at the Sheraton Society Hill in Philadelphia, PA
It was our pleasure to perform for the wedding reception of Todd and Megan Brandenberger in the Grand Ballroom of the Sheraton Society Hill in Philadelphia, PA. The room was beautifully decorated, and the dance floor was packed from the first song we played to the very last.
It was terrific to work once again with Mark Kingsdorf of Queen of Hearts Wedding Consultants. Mark is a long time friend of the band, and widely regarded as one of the very best wedding planners in the Philadelphia market. As usual, Mark did a terrific job of helping us to dovetail our services with all of the other elements of the evening.
Todd and Megan made a wonderful couple. As they entered the ballroom the band played U2’s “Beautiful Day”, and the crowd erupted. Next we performed a very popular new song they had chosen for their first dance, a song called “Lucky” by Jason Mraz … it was the perfect song to compliment that special moment.
Later when things heated up on the dance floor, the crowd kept the band on its toes with one request after another, all of which we were happy to play … Bruce Springsteen, Journey, Outkast, Beyonce, Louis Armstrong, Chuck Berry, 70’s, 80’s, 90’s, 00’s, you name it – they loved it! The time came to say goodnight but they wouldn’t let us leave without one more “BRUUUUUCCEEE” song, so we played “Born To Run” for the bride and groom. The guests took care of most of the singing, quite a sight.
So we extend our sincere thanks to Todd and Megan for choosing Midnight Hour, to Mark Kingsdorf for making things so easy for us, to the staff at The Sheraton Society Hill, and to everyone who helped to make this a night we’ll not soon forget.
Shavin, 5/20/09
On Saturday April 25th, 2009, Midnight Hour had the distinct privilege of sharing a very special night with some very special people – the proud members of the Jefferson Fire Company of West Norriton Township, PA, who gathered with 300 in attendance at The Crowne Plaza in King of Prussia to celebrate their 100th Anniversary. What an amazing night it was … they even had a special cake prepared by ‘Ace of Cakes’ that was made to look like an old fashioned fire truck, complete with a working siren! Fun stuff.
Also in attendance was Pennsylvania Senator John C. Rafferty (44th District). Senator Rafferty emceed much of the night, and his personal relationship with Jefferson was evident in how well he knew many of the firemen on a first-name basis. The Senator came armed with some great jokes and he did a wonderful job of entertaining the audience of over 300 guests.
Our thanks go out to all of the wonderful people from Jefferson Fire Company who worked so hard to make the event so wonderful, especially Donna Benz. We’re looking forward to performing again for your 200th Anniversary in the year 2109!
To all of our friends & family:
Many of you may remember Bobby Bello, who was the lead male vocalist for Midnight Hour back in the late 90’s. Bobby is a wonderful guy and a truly gifted musician, and has remained a good friend of ours since leaving the band in 2001. In recent years, Bobby has encountered some medical issues that have brought him to the point of requiring serious surgery. In short, Bobby needs an intestinal transplant – and since no local hospitals specialize in this unique transplant surgery, Bobby will be traveling to Georgetown University Hospital in Washington, D.C. for treatment.
The costs for the transplant alone are significant, of course, but compounding those costs will be the financial challenges Bobby will face after the surgery, as he works through recovery; several months of living in the Washington D.C area after the surgery in order to receive daily treatments at Georgetown University Hospital, with continued weekly visits to Georgetown for at least a year to follow.
We’re urging all of our friends to give generously to this fund, and if possible to attend the benefit on May 31, 2009. There will be food, prizes, great people, and of course, live entertainment by many of Bobby’s friends.
For information, tickets or donations, please call either of the following numbers:
(856) 401-8229
(215) 668-6040
Or you can send check or money order to:
“The Bob Bello Transplant Fund”
49 Stratton Lane
Sewell, NJ 08080
On Saturday April 4th, 2009, Midnight Hour performed for the wedding reception of Deborah and Bob Rosenfeld at The Hotel DuPont in Wilmington, DE.
The reception was absolutely beautiful in the Du Barry Room, and the guests just loved the band. We performed Larry Graham’s “One In A Million” for the bride and groom’s first dance, and midway through the dance all of the guests joined Deborah and Bob on the dance floor – a very nice way to begin the evening.
It turns out Bob was a well known college basketball player, and some of his guests were players from his college days, including Los Angeles Laker’s Power Forward Kermit Washington. Kermit played with the likes of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and we were thrilled to meet him. It was easy to spot Bob’s former teammates – they were the tallest guys in the room!
The night ended with a packed dance floor, and we stayed afterward to talk with the guests and to say farewell to Deborah and Bob. They loved the rock & roll and the oldies, as well as the newer material we played. Tiny made a big impression when he launched into “Run Around Sue,” handing the microphone over to several of the guests to let them sing their favorite parts.
Our thanks to Jillian and everyone at The Hotel DuPont for their fantastic service – they always go the extra mile to make things special, and it makes the band look great. We truly love each opportunity we get to play in their beautiful ballrooms!
On Saturday March 21st 2009, Midnight Hour was very proud to perform at the “Black & White Ball for Autism”, presented by the wonderful people of New Jersey Autism (COSAC) at the beautiful Hilton Hotel in East Brunswick, NJ. Over the years, Midnight Hour has performed for Autism more often than for any other cause, and we were thrilled to have been chosen to be a part of this special event.
Emceeing the event was CNN’s Kiran Chetry, who offered touching comments and did a wonderful job of keeping the evening moving seamlessly. Also appearing at the Gala was Comedienne and Emmy Award Winner Judy Gold, who we were thrilled to meet. Judy is well known for her work in film, theater and television, including her many appearances on Sex & The City, The View, Hollywood Squares, Law & Order, and many other programs and specials. She had the room in hysterics, and she was the perfect addition to the evening.
The night was a great success, with some amazing items being sold in silent auctions, and we had a wonderful time. We want to thank Linda Meyers, Executive Director of Autism New Jersey, and also Brynn Aberici, the Special Events Coordinator for Autism New Jersey, for all they did to arrange for our performance.
Pictured below: CNN’s Kiran Chetry
Pictured Below: Linda Meyers, Executive Director of New Jersey Autism, along with none other than Max Weinberg (drummer of Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band) and NJ Governor Jon Corzine.
