Startin up a posse (Chicago Obama rally-related)

verb606verb606 2,518 Posts
edited November 2008 in Strut Central
So Pickwick and I were talking on Saturday (at his ill soul night, real heads know the deal) about perhaps having a SoulStrut meetup somewhere down in the Grant Park area tomorrow. Me and the wife will be roaming about since we don't have tickets.b,121b,121I don't know if any of you are down or what we would do, since it seems like every bar in the area is booked, but if any Chicago heads want to put something out there, this is the place to do it. I have a feeling it's gonna be a celebration, batches! so what's really good?

  Comments


  • I'm definitely down! But, I'm still trying to think of an appropriate meeting place...Luck, Toast, anybody else got any ideas?

  • white_teawhite_tea 3,262 Posts
    I wish I could do it. I was planning to walk down to the rally and see what's what. b, 21b, 21But I got the call from the workplace and will have a seat in Obama's press pool, which basically follows him wherever he goes. So, hopefully, I'll be up close during the event. b, 21b, 21As I have often voiced my support for Obama in the past, I should make a note in the sake of press parity that I am only a stand-in on Obama coverage. I sit in on the pool whenever the campaign swings through Chicago and am there in case anything happens -- he falls, someone takes a shot at him, etc. -- but I don't actually write the write-ups. Regardless, I feel like I'd give him a fair shake regardless of my personal opinion.b, 21b, 21In any event, I can try to provide the Strut any details I might see tomorrow. I was actually looking forward to a little Meet-Up, too.

  • skelskel You can't cheat karma 5,033 Posts
    /font1
    Quote:/font1h,121b,121I'm definitely down! But, I'm still trying to think of an appropriate meeting place...Luck, Toast, anybody else got any ideas? b, 21b, 21h,121
    font class="post"1b, 21b, 21where else but the corner of Randolph and Frankie Knuckles?

  • /font1
    Quote:/font1h,121b,121/font1Quote:/font1h,121b,121I'm definitely down! But, I'm still trying to think of an appropriate meeting place...Luck, Toast, anybody else got any ideas? b, 21b, 21h,121
    font class="post"1b, 21b, 21where else but the corner of Randolph and Frankie Knuckles? b, 21b, 21h,121font class="post"1b, 21b, 21ZING

  • verb606verb606 2,518 Posts
    /font1
    Quote:/font1h,121b,121/font1Quote:/font1h,121b,121I'm definitely down! But, I'm still trying to think of an appropriate meeting place...Luck, Toast, anybody else got any ideas? b, 21b, 21h,121
    font class="post"1b, 21b, 21where else but the corner of Randolph and Frankie Knuckles? b, 21b, 21h,121font class="post"1b, 21b, 21b,121 img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/sscg.gif" alt="" 21 img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/sscg.gif" alt="" 21 img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/sscg.gif" alt="" 21b, 21b, 21b,121Sir, my hat is off to you.

  • LaserWolfLaserWolf Portland Oregon 11,517 Posts
    Tickets? All you all don't have Craig's List in Chicago?

  • How close is Randolph & Knuckles, anyway? We oughta meet THERE just to be funny...(what's the REAL name of Knuckles St.?)

  • white_teawhite_tea 3,262 Posts
    I typed it into Google and it looks like Jefferson -- a bit too far out of the way, no?

  • verb606verb606 2,518 Posts
    When I originally uttered "Randolph and Frankie Knuckles," I wasn't even confident that the two streets even crossed. b, 21b, 21Randolph and Jefferson is pretty far. Pickwick and I can troop out there to take a picture on some other day as a separate pilgrimage.

  • Yeah, there's way too much going on that day to go that far away...we gotta cut it as close as possible...

  • verb606verb606 2,518 Posts
    Pickwick probably needs to be the pointman. I have a feeling that everyone, or nearly everyone, has meet Pickwick. So if he posts up first, we can all gather around him. img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/pasue23is.gif" alt="" 21 b, 21b, 21plus, dude's hard to miss. img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" 21

  • Dunno if y'all still want to make it out there...the Tribune article I'm looking at promises that there WILL be a long line no matter what...if I go, I'd say we meet around 7:30 on the corner of Wabash and Jackson in front of the Starbucks...b, 21b,121(this is gonna be a circus!!)

  • verb606verb606 2,518 Posts
    Cool, although I don't know if I can make 7:30. I got some homework to do before I can roll out. The wife is pushing for us to ride bikes down there, so there's that.b, 21b, 21I'm not planning on "getting in" anywhere. I'm expecting to simply wander around the area and soak in the vibe. b, 21b, 21Anyone know if the "non-ticketed" area is subject to the same security measures as the main joint? In other words, can I bring a backpack in there? If I'm able to get in someplace, I don't want to get fronted on because of the bag.

  • /font1
    Quote:/font1h,121b,121Cool, although I don't know if I can make 7:30. I got some homework to do before I can roll out. The wife is pushing for us to ride bikes down there, so there's that.b, 21b, 21I'm not planning on "getting in" anywhere. I'm expecting to simply wander around the area and soak in the vibe. b, 21b, 21h,121
    font class="post"1b,121b,121What time is good for you? 'Cause I'm not planning on "getting in" myself, I just wanna stand around just to see what I can see...any time leter is fine by me.b, 21b, 21My only worry is this: when Stevie Wonder played in Grant Park this past summer, I wasn't planning on "getting in" then, either, but even if you were just standing around, it was too crowded. And if the lines were backed up almost to the street for Stevie, they're gonna stretch all the way to Evanston for Obama. b, 21b, 21/font1
    Quote:/font1h,121b,121[Anyone know if the "non-ticketed" area is subject to the same security measures as the main joint? In other words, can I bring a backpack in there? If I'm able to get in someplace, I don't want to get fronted on because of the bag. b, 21b, 21h,121
    font class="post"1b,121b, 21To be truthful, I wouldn't take the chance. I'm starting to see news reports about beefed-up security (1968 Demcon-related). I'm already reconsidering bringing binoculars.b,121b, 21Not to be a downer, but they're not jiving today.

  • Hmmm. i gotta pack and fix my bike tire but might try to make it down there. b, 21b, 21I dont do well in large crowds and this might get pretty insane but ill consider it...

  • verb606verb606 2,518 Posts
    Pickwick, I'm going to email you my info. I'm thinking maybe 8 or 8:30. Maybe I can just call you when we get down there. b, 21b, 21Coma Toast, let us know if you wanna holler at us. You and I have met actually (Ground Lift basement record sale-related) so I can pick you out of a crowd if need be. b, 21b, 21I'm a take this to email and PM'z. anyone who wants to jump in send PM's to me or Pickwick.

  • /font1
    Quote:/font1h,121b,121b, 21I dont do well in large crowds and this might get pretty insane but ill consider it... b, 21b, 21h,121
    font class="post"1b,121b, 21That's why me and Verb are going to take it easy...just stand close enough to say we were there, but far enough that we don't get caught up in the madness.b,121b, 21To be safe, I'm not bringing anything that won't fit in my pocket.

  • verb606verb606 2,518 Posts
    Pickwick check yr email

  • white_teawhite_tea 3,262 Posts
    Just got back -- spent all day with the Obama press core. Heard the clinching vote tallies in the depths of the city, underneath the Park Hyatt Hotel, with about 200 Chicago cops, armed guards and a ton of campaign staffers. Rolled up to the rally in Obama's motorcade, ran into the press area, and he started speaking not five minutes later. Lynn Sweet from the Sun-Times was with us, and she actually tripped and fell on the way into the rally and supposedly went to the emergency room with an ankle.b,121b,121Unbelievable day. I was super nervous about the election up until this morning and, for some reason, I just knew he was going to win. I have a sticker on my car window calling for change on Nov. 4 (or 55,000 or so miles -- whichever came first). It may have been an oil change, but it's a decent coincidence in my book.

  • Here's what I wrote over in the "celebration in the streets" thread, written maybe an hour after it ended:b,121b,121/font1
    Quote:/font1h,121b,121I just got back from seeing the man himself address leventy-thousand people in Chicago's Grant Park...the city closed off the streets so people could dance in it!!b,121b,121Even the presence of camera-hogging Oprah Winfrey and Jesse Jackson (seen crying on the huge screen) couldn't kill the feeling... b, 21b, 21h,121
    font class="post"1b,121b,121My side of the story:b,121b,121I did not receive a ticket, so I had resigned myself to just going down there, casing the area, then going back home. Then a few of my friends turned up with an extra ticket, so all of a sudden I was officially on the scene.b,121b,121What I liked about it was that people were acting crazy and having a good time, but no one ACTED THE FOOL. It didn't get out of control like a lot of crowd situations. There was an endless line that actually moved pretty quickly, and even the mild irritants (Jesse and Oprah, the playing of "Sweet Home Chicago") didn't get in the way. I was as nervous as White Tea was, and it felt good to say "WE'RE A WINNER" - and mean it.

  • verb606verb606 2,518 Posts
    /font1
    Quote:/font1h,121b,121 the playing of "Sweet Home Chicago") didn't get in the way. b,121b,121h,121
    font class="post"1b,121b,121b,121Cosine. That shit was cornball to the fullest. I gritted my teeth throughout that long-ass song.

  • LaserWolfLaserWolf Portland Oregon 11,517 Posts
    /font1
    Quote:/font1h,121b,121 Rolled up to the rally in Obama's motorcade. b, 21b, 21h,121
    font class="post"1b,121b,121 img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/baller3ae.gif" alt="" 21b,121b,121 img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/badassbuddy_com-lowrider.gif" alt="" 21b,121b,121 img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/581.gif" alt="" 21b,121 img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/jeigh.gif" alt="" 21
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