I received a response the next day from David Orr, the coordinator of the event, who was, without a doubt, very excited about this concert.  He explained that it was a reunion of a band called MSFunk and explained the Ides connection:  Mike Borch was MSFunk's drummer after the Ides broke up in 1973.  David went on to describe MS Funk's history, how other famous musicians came out of this band namely: Tommy Shaw, Fergic Frederiksen, Larry Stewart, Robert Orr, Robert "Chaz" Baker, and his hope that a full reunion would happen.  He asked for my help in spreading the word in Chicago and that all proceeds would be donated to the Lions club in Chanute for their work with children.  David volunteered to help with hotel reservations and anything else I needed.

 As the saying goes, "the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry."  Why should this time be any different?  The 'after' party was moved to a hotel in town due to an increase in the number of guests.  That prompted a change in our hotel accommodations.  Was that okay with everyone?  It was ok except for Wayne, who arriving on a later flight and would be stranded at the airport if everyone else took the pre-arranged ground transportation that morning.  A change in his flight would be expensive and a layover for everyone else would be boring.  Tim and I had decided to drive (with a lay over at his parent house in St. Louis) and a review of our travel plans demonstrated that we were driving through Kansas City anyway.  We volunteered to meet his plane and drive him down with us.  A few e-mails later and the crisis was averted.  Four Extreme fans had last minute emergencies and couldn't attend.  There were eleven of us representing the Ides fan base from Chicago.  Not too bad for a show 700 miles away!

We  found Wayne at the airport without a problem and formed a fast friendship during the 2 1/2 hour drive to the hotel.  Upon check-in we were greeted with our purple neck chains and yellow t-shirts- both had the names of all three bans on it and the t-shirts had the Lions logo on the front pocket.  Across the top of the back was "Extreme Ides".  At 6:00 we met the vans four our ride to the auditorium.

We were met by event staff who made sure that we had our t-shirts, gave us our raffle tickets, showed us to our seats and generally treated us like royalty.  We were early enough to explore the stage.  Jeffrey's guitar was on display and it was a beauty!  There was also a dated specially engraved limestone rock on display to be raffled off later.  It had the logos of the Ides, MSFunk, a local radio station, the City of Chanute and the Lions Club on it.  Jeffrey gave us our credentials, which identified us as VIPS and would allow us into the party later.  They were color miniatures of the poster that was printed on durable vinyl and included the words "Extreme Ides"

PART 2  THE SHOW The show opened with Stewart Wolf.  Comprised of Larry Stewart and his wife, this former MSFunk member now leads this Christian rock band.  With a slide show flashing behind them, their first number was an instrumental accompanied by Robert "Chaz" Baker on the keyboards.  Larry proved to be extremely talented, playing the guitar and the flute.  It was followed by their unique rendition of "The House Of The Rising Sun" which had "Amazing Grace" lyrics woven in.  Their last song was a catchy gospel number.  They had their own fan club in attendance as well, wearing their own version of the t-shirt and credentials and were well received by all. After an impromptu solo medley of "Somewhere Over The Rainbow" and "The Addams Family" by Chaz Baker, due to a technical glitch, the MSFunk reunion was ready to begin. The band took stage:  Colin O'Keefe at the mic; Robert Orr and Chaz Baker sharing Keyboard duty; Larry Stewart and Lindy Gallagher on guitar and our own Mike Borch on drums.  There was a special set-up of blue drums for Mike with the MSFunk logos gracing the two bass drums.  There was a slide show playing behind him showing the guys in the band as they were in the '70s.  They sounded great!  The music really rocked!  Mike outdid himself and looked like he was having a ball!

We were all getting into the music when the band paused to introduce themselves.  Then came the surprise:  Fergie Frederiksen was there!  He came out and let it rip, sounding just like he did with Toto and Mecca.  A few songs later, they introduced Jim who was going to assist with one last song.  They played two notes and it was all I could do to stay in my seat!  It was "Velocitized" from the Mecca CD!  It was one of the highlights of the evening for me.  MSFunk sang another song before announcing that it was time for intermission, during which the guitar and rock would be raffled off.

Then it was the Ides turn.  We were on the right side of the stage and the horns sounded as if they were in front of us in "Aire Of Good Feeling" and "Age Before Beauty."  The bass guitar boomed beautifully during the "Hold On Loosely" and "High On You" medley.  "Love's Got The Power" let everyone get a good idea of the flexibility of the Ides and "The Search Is Over" is always well received.  I don't think Larry has ever sounded better than he did on "Flipside" that night.  When the band joined him on the second verse, I swear that everyone, (even us regulars) jumped.   It was just magical!

PART 3  AFTER THE PARTY When we got to the lobby, it was obvious that the Ides were a hit.  The merchandise table was swamped.  As always, the Ides were there, charming everyone is sight.  When we finally got to the table, Mike was busily eating the Power Bars that Julie and Wendy had sent.  The poor guy was pooped!  It was a wonder he could lift his arms! We weren't at the table long when our van driver found us and asked if we didn't mind if Fergie rode back to the hotel with us?  He needed a ride and we have the room.  Of course it was all right!  We headed out to the van immediately where Fergie was waiting.  He thanked us profusely, saying that we had saved his life!  While we waited for our remaining Extreme fan, Fergie told us the RV parked in the lot belonged to the Stewarts and had a couple of cats traveling inside  On the ride to the hotel, this topic morphed into a discussion of Shreck II with Fergie imitating the French killer cat in the film.  What a great guy!  What a good time!  It was the highlight of the night for me!  But the party was yet to come.

The party room was already crowded when we arrived.  A buffet of barbeque pork and potato salad was set up, with a snack of torilla chips and salsa for the less starved.  We all ate and drank while we waited for the many stars of the show to arrive.  There was a rousing round of applause when the Ides entered the room.  After they grabbed a quick bite to eat, it was time to auction off the second of Jeffrey's donated guitars.  Jim was asked to perform one more time, so the winner could proclaim that the guitar was actually played by the one and only Jim Peterik.  A shout went up for a drummer and Chuck volunteered since Mike had understandably hung up his drumsticks for the night.  The duo of Jim and Chuck played the rarely heard "Caught Up In You."  The guitar sounded great!  Jim gave the guitar his unbiased endorsement and the bidding began.  It sold for $1300 to my new friend, the raffle ticket volunteer!

It was then time to auction off three more specially crafted rocks - one rock for each band with their logo on it.  I had spotted the "Ides 40 in 04" rock while Jim was performing and I knew the perfect spot for it in my home.  After a few rounds of bidding and getting encouragement from my husband, I finally got the rock for $60.  David Orr was very happy that an Extreme Fan won and announced that fact to the crowd.  It was the final highlight of the night for me!