Steve Scott's Blog

Jeanne and I were at Starved Rock Lodge near Utica, IL, on Friday...for The Roe Conn Show remote broadcast. Roe, Jim and Christina put on a great show for the more than 500 people who packed the lodge.

Entertainment was provided by the classic Chicago rock band The Ides of March. Ater more than 40 years together - with the same band members - the Ides can still still rock! Lead singer Jim Peterik went on to front the band Survivor...and he's written dozens of other hits. They kept the crowd entertained during the show breaks...and when they went into Vehicle (recently made popular again by Bo Bice on American Idol) the place went crazy. The Ides' horn section is still one of the tightest in all of rock & roll.

A note about Utica...the town has - at least physically - bounced back almost completely from the horrific tornado that killed eight people in March of 2004. Most of the buildings that were destroyed back been rebuilt...and the town is definitely open for business!

We stayed at a B&B operated by our friend Dorelle Denman in Utica. Landers House is located kitty-corner from the site of the Milestone Tavern, where the eight people were killed in the tornado. You could literally throw a baseball from Landers House to the Milestone. Yet, amazingly, Dorelle's property survived the tornado. While I am certainly not a paid endorser, I would highly recommend Landers House for any one headed to Utica. By the way...there's been a makeshift memorial up at the site of the Milestone since shortly after the tornado...and plans are being discussed for a more permanent memorial.

More later...