I remember the summer before I left home for Northwestern, a family friend - Peter S. - said, "Brayer, you're going to love Chicago; it's a cultural 'Mecca'."
That phrase has always stuck with me - and I've used it many times over the past 23 years (have I really lived here that long?!) to explain to friends and family why Chicago seems like such a great fit for me.
Case in point: last night. We headed down to the city for two amazing music events, taking place just steps from one another. We arrived at Millennium Park around 4:30 PM, and staked out seats on the lawn for the free Grant Park Symphony concert, featuring Bernstein's On The Waterfront. Appropriate musical fare indeed. The concert was at 5:30 PM, and ended just before 7 PM. Then we packed up our chairs, walked across the street to Grant Park, and wandered through the famous (and again - free) Chicago Blues Fest, eventually landing a spot near the "Front Porch" stage.
What great musical contrasts, in the same city, within the same three hours. And speaking of contrasts, how about the contrast in the architecture of the two stages.
More pictures from our Friday night in the city here. Some of the shots of Miles playing in the fountain turned out particularly well, I thought.
