Michael Buble

In the mobile entertainment industry, my good friend, Jim Cerone, is known as the Perfect Host.   In the contemporary pop-jazz category that features old-school romance and classic performances  like Sinatra and the rat pack used to bring to the table, Michael Buble is as close to perfection as they come.

I know a lot of talented emcees, but I’m not sure if any of them could make 15,000 people feel like they were sitting in the front row at the Copacabana with such poise and savior-fair.  Did I mention that Michael can accomplish this without a microphone too?  (If you’ve never been to a MB show, Buble always performs one track…un-plugged-acapella.   I wouldn’t believe it either if I hadn’t seen him do it at three concerts.)

As always, Michael mixed in just the right amount of newer releases like Everything and Haven’t Met You Yet with his modernized versions of classics like Georgia and Heartache Tonight.   What everyone will be talking about today though will be his heartfelt impromptu shout-out to his grandfather who was in the audience and his mini-Michael Jackson tribute. The band ripped into Billie Jean to the delight of the crowd and Buble almost brought the house down when he did the moonwalk after singing the first chorus.

I’d like to welcome Danielle, Joanna & Luigi to the MMP family.  They sat behind us and were the perfect fans.   They were reading all of Buble’s Wikipedia stats on their iPhones before the show started, (“did you know he was Italian and that his middle same was Steven?”) and knew almost every word to every song.   They also joined our little dance party when Michael did his homage to Ferris Bueller and sang Twist and Shout! The whole stadium, (except for about 18 party poopers who refused to get their butts up off their seats, smile and enjoy life for a few minutes) was up and dancing the night away.  What a moment!

MB

When Michael Buble told us “it’s just a party for 15,000 people and you’re invited” after the first set… we believed him.

I know we’ve got readers from all over the country so check out the Crazy Love Tour dates and treat yourself to a night of what Andy Ebon and James Cameron might consider perfection, you deserve it. Special thanks to our good friends, Mike and Kelly, for treating us last night. And it was a pleasure catching up with Dominick and getting to know his girlfriend, Sarina… best wishes with your nursing career.

P.s   Kudos to Mike who got up and ran the NYC half marathon in 1:45:18 this morning.   At dinner last night, Kelly joked that Mike only scans the first section of lengthy e-mails and articles- so he probably won’t even see this.

Sweet Home Chicago, filled with stunning views, architecture, character, and history

White Sox pitcher Mark Buehrle throws a no hitter on 7/23/09. The whole state was amped up!

It felt like Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, only better.  My colleagues and I enjoyed 5 days of business and pleasure in the windy city.

We experienced everything from a double decker bus tour of all the downtown landmarks (where Ferris had everybody Twisting and Shouting) to singing Karaoke at Harry Caray’s. I played Whirly Ball and Lazer Tag for the first time and finally got to have some deep dish pizza at Lou Malnati’s. (Even though Lou’s was delicious, Oakland Pizza in my hometown of Jersey, is still my favorite.)

On the business side, we had the opportunity to improve our performance skills at the famous Second City improv theater on day one, then to hone our CEO skill set from a former Burger King Corporation executive on day 2, and then to stimulate our creativity in an Apprentice competition for the finale.

Alumni- Chris Farley, Bill Murray, Mike Meyers & John Belushi

Second City trainers, Robyn and Colleen. Watch out Tina Fey!

I competed with and against 35 other entertainment-based entrepreneurs from all over the country to produce a Black and White themed dinner party at the Chicago Hilton.

We had 8 hours to brainstorm, hit the phones, work our butts off and bring our vision to reality.  The idea was to stimulate and challenge our logistical prowess, leadership qualities, teamwork  capabilities  and delegation techniques.   I’m delighted to report that the local event experts who came in that evening to judge the two teams, chose our over-all production as the winning effort.

My teammates included professional event producers and entertainers from Arizona, Miami, New York, Connecticut, Nashville, Los Angeles, Washington and Boston.   Everybody rolled up their sleeves, handled the intense pressure and made it happen.

Black & Whitle table design and decor

Spandex screens and live shadow dancers

Post victory jam with Chicago's 'New Groove' band

Our concepts that came to life included an 11 piece band/dj combo, live shadow dancers, a Michael Jackson impersonator, plasma tv’s playing vintage black and white film footage, casual yet elegant table settings, a modern yet relaxed decor, and a group sing-a-long to the classic music video, Ebony and Ivory.

The judges were impressed and my team was pleased with my contribution,  I couldn’t ask for more than that.   It was a very rewarding way to end a great week.

Special thanks to my good friend and teammate from Miami, Jeffrey Greene, for sharing his photos for this entry.

PS – I didn’t want to take all the credit for being a good luck charm, but Mark Buehrle just happened to throw his no-hitter when I was in town. 

Encore Gallery:

Our Michael Jackson impersonator, Alex, proved to be a winning touch

The Apprentice comes to Chi-town. Trump telling the competition, "You're Fired!"

L.E.D up-lit feature bar with custom old school b&w footage on 3 plasmas