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This is the Best Hang Podcast featuring Max Kerman, Shane Cunningham, and I am Mike Bierman. Welcome to the Best Hang Podcast. We've got Max, Shane, and I am Mike. Fellas we have a lot to talk about.
A lot has happened. We haven't recorded a pod in a while. The last are listeners heard we were about to leave for a mystery bachelor trip. Well, we went on the bachelor trip.
We have returned. We can reveal the details now. The teasing is done. The trip has happened.
We're all back safe and sound. Guys, how are you feeling? I think we're all in the mend. I mean, it was a pretty crazy weekend.
And I've had this weird cough for a while. But if you have a cough or a sore throat, you just take Tylenol and that actually solves your problem. I probably could have been doing this about six weeks ago. Give some background here for the listeners.
You are a singer. You've had this tickle or something wrong with your throat. People need to know Max is a singer. That his voice has been bothering him.
And there's been a level of consternation for Max. How do I fix this thing for weeks? You're saying that the fix might just be Tylenol. Yes, I went to this doctor, the speech pathologist who's dealt with Michael Buble, Sting, Roger Daltrey.
And he's an interesting guy. He's an air really nice guy. And I enjoyed it because I really couldn't talk during the appointment because he just massaged my neck for 45 minutes. So he was like, trust me, you'll be good after this.
This seems weird. I don't understand how this is totally going to work. And then I was like, can you just tell me stories about Sting? And then he just proceeded to tell me 45 minutes worth of stories about Sting, which is awesome.
And then he actually did, I had a sore throat and it was hurt to swallow. And then a day later, after all the massaging, it kind of like resolved. And then he was like, I'll just take some time and I'll hold a sign instead of getting rid of your congestion and your chest and your throat. And then do that.
Wait, is it the throat massage or the Tylenol? Because I feel like people are going to go buying Tylenol when really it's the throat massage that's doing the trick. I don't know. Who's to say?
But I think they're both working. And shout out to Aaron. Good guy. But anyway, we're here to talk about Chicago.
I think we should just get into it, right off the bat. Mike did a hell of a job orchestrating this trip is a mystery trip, as our listeners would know. And probably by the time the date came around of the 23 guys coming, how many people actually didn't know where we were going? Yeah, mystery might be an exaggeration.
You know, it's a good question. So yeah, for a little bit of background, you know, Greg, he's getting married in October, so wonderful Laura DeSantis is very exciting. At some point along the way with the bachelor, we're going to go to Austin, but then like for some reason, flights got crazy expensive. And he was like, you know what, this is just me.
I don't want to bounce apart anymore. He's like, it's too expensive. I don't want to put that on people. I'm like, I have a bachelor party.
I'm like, guys, like one, you're going to regret it if you don't do it. Two, mostly fucking guys just want to get out of the house. Like we've been in a pandemic. We want like way less to do with Greg than it did dudes wanting to leave their families for they've been the house for three years.
It's like, yeah, I mean, I mean, I mean, I mean. It's like, it's just be vacation. People don't want to leave their families. Everything with you is everyone wants to get away from their families.
That's how you always position everything. I love their families. So I love their families. So he's like, Greg, I'm like, people will dig it.
They don't care what the money like. And if it reminds the thing, those people won't come. It's fine. So we find it goes, okay, you know, I just I don't want to know about it.
Like I'm stressing me out. Just if it happens, it happens. I'll be happy. Just surprise me.
So me and Julian and Dan who are in the wedding party, Shane's also actually the wedding party, but Shane's also sort of in the middle of being sort of the center of a huge sketch show. So he's not available necessarily to plan this mystery bachelor trip. Although I'm sure he would have loved to being part of a chess player. Well, let's not jump to assumptions.
So we start figuring out how are we going to do this? Where are we going to go? And so the way that we sort of want to vote is Greg's kind of tricky too because he's his job with the Raptors. He's fucking flying private to every like, you know, he's on the team plane.
He goes to every American city where there's obviously an NBA team. Greg has seen a lot of places. So it's not like you can just pick a spot and be like, Hey, Greg, we're going to New York City. He's like, Oh, I went there five times last year to shoot Raptor stuff.
You know what I mean? So it can't the city is like a part of it, but it can't be the main thing. So how do you start figuring out where to go? Well, you start looking at what's happening in those cities on the weekend that we can go.
So we're like, is we's around to work? Greg, he was a fan. No, we just not playing anywhere that weekend. All right.
Is there like a is there a J somewhere interesting? You start kind of doing that thing and we came across the strokes and red hot chili peppers doing a stadium tour and it was in Chicago that weekend at Soldier Field. We were like, Okay, this can be the spot. There's so much to do in Chicago.
We could go to like a fucking Cubs game. We can do lots, but the crown jewel of the trip will be this this concert. How the hell do we get like 20 guys into a concert? Well, we've got this friend, you know, who happens to be in a pretty successful band who sells a lot of tickets and might know some people in the promoting game.
This is where we brought Max into the fold and Max, maybe you take it from here and the ask that came through. Okay. So Mike calls me is like, all right, we got this thing about this plan, but I think Max, we could use your help. So it's like, I know we're supposed to do this mystery trip.
We're going to let you in on the mystery because you'd be part of planning the thing. Am I cool? What's the thing? Red hot chili pepper, strokes, Chicago.
I'm like, awesome. Okay. Can we get tickets? I'm like, okay.
Well, you know, getting tickets for shows really depends on a lot of things. Like sometimes if it's like a tiny club and it's a big band, that's really hard because literally there's like a fire code. Sometimes if it's like a big band, but like in New York or LA, that's really hard because all the industry is there. When you said this show, I was like, you know what, there's a chance this could happen because it's not LA or Chicago.
So it's not like there's necessarily going to be like a ton of. LA or New York, sorry. LA or New York. LA or New York.
And also it's like soldier field is so massive. It's a football stadium. So it's like, okay, maybe there's a little bit of wiggle room here. Who's the promoter live nation?
Okay. We know the folks live nation live nation is like the main promoter for our council. We've worked lots of great promoters lately. They've been our go to and also the promoter of the rally.
So I go, oh, how many people are coming? And the way I remembered it and I could be again this wrong is I think the original number is like 15, maybe like maybe, you know, we're probably looking at 15. So my head, I go, it'll probably 12 people will show up. I could probably do that.
I'm like, okay, leave with me. So then I'm like, thinking about it. I was like kind of looking at how expensive the tickets were on the internet. I'm like, okay.
So I went through, I went down a few different paths that were ultimately not the right path. There's a whole strategy when it comes to asking for shit. And the expert at this is by the way, is the nut. The nut is the greatest at figuring out who to go to, when and why.
So he actually gave me a suggestion and I ignored him and I went down another road. And it was a total dead end. And he's like, Max, I told you, don't fucking do that. That's the wrong way to go about it.
Go here. I'm like, okay. So I was like, you want me to do, I just thought I'm going to wait till the day after the rally. And then I'm going to email the president or I'm going to call the president of LiveNation Canada and go, hey, he's our guy.
He's Eric. Remember yesterday? He's like, what about it? Remember how we sold 26,000 tickets?
He's like, yeah, yeah. I'm like, well, I'm 15 for Chicago. And he's like, and I was like, and also by the way, I fucked it up and already went to some of your colleagues and probably fucks shit up for you. And he's like, oh, why'd you do that, Max?
I'm like, sorry, I know I should just give you first. He's like, leave with me. So Eric has like a very big, important job. And that was probably beginning mid-July, yeah, end of June, mid-July, July is an insane time for the concert business.
But in Toronto, it's been really busy, but it's also been very chaotic because the weekend show without Eric was running got canceled the day of because of the power outage. You know, the Shawn Mendes Court door gets canceled, Drake's head gets COVID, gets canceled. Like all these tours are happening. And Eric in many respects is in the middle of all that stuff.
So I don't really want to bug him about like, hey, are we good? Are we good? Are we good? Are we good?
Are we good? Because Mike was asking him, Max, are we good with the tickets? And I was like, I think so. I'm like pretty sure.
And you're good about not asking me too many times. But I know it's probably on your mind a lot. You're like, is this actually going to fucking happen? Because this whole trip is predicated around this experience.
So basically like the Monday, we leave on Thursday, Monday, I still haven't heard back from Eric. I'm like, I'm texting him a couple of times. I'm emailed. He's going through a lot.
There's like a, yeah, it's a very busy time from. So finally I call him. I'm like, you know, Eric, I'm supposed to come through with these tickets for like Thursday. It's like Tuesday.
He's like, when's the show? I'm like, it's Friday. He's like, oh fuck. I thought it was like three weeks from now.
Sorry about that. I'll take care of it. And then I'm like, oh, also Eric, you know how I said I need like 12 to 15 tickets? I need 23 tickets.
Because then the crew is ballooned. So he's like, okay. So basically, he says we're going to be good. He connects me with his colleague, like the live nation rep who's running the show in Chicago and we're set.
But I don't know anything other than the guy going, you'll be good. So maybe we'll come back to the concert, but let's get to the airport and we'll care. It's like a Tarantino film this story. We're back to the initial question about how many people knew about the surprise location.
So from our position, we're kind of like, these are grown men. They paid their money. They just gave everybody sent me money and just passed sports and trusted it would happen. I was like, people want to know because it was, I was like, we let people.
I was like, it's drivable. If you don't want to fly like you can drive will tell you location, et cetera. What we just didn't want really was people to know the main surprise, right? Like when they got there, it's like, oh, by the way, you know, you're covered for this awesome concert.
So people, I told Shane right away because I was like, I actually, Shane was only when I let the surprise, the concert part of it. And then I didn't really let anybody else, I mean, if you want to ask, they want to know, but we have a good friend, Dan Hamilton, who, you know, the old saying, loose lips and ships. I got a feeling that Dan was like a leak for every guy in Toronto. The whole Toronto contingent somehow found out, I think, through Dan, I know Max, you're on that side.
You're out with those guys all the time. How did everybody there sort of discover? Yeah, I don't know, but I do remember getting a text message. I want to see if I can find it here.
Basically, I'm in a group text with your brother and Dan and like literally like a month ago, he was like, can't wait till we hit the town in Chicago. He literally said it. And the Regg knew? And then I texted Dan and I was like, Dan, are you fucking stupid?
Like, what the fuck? You know, this whole thing is a surprise. And then Greg, Greg goes, what's going on in Chicago? I'm like, oh, we're going there next weekend.
Me and Dave Friesen, people that did Greg wouldn't necessarily be invited to, but like our Dan and I's friends. So we made up a quick excuse. Oh my God. He did not catch on.
I know I heard about this from, I think, Julian, or maybe Sean. Somebody told me that it happened. And so I was like, oh, God damn it. He probably pretended out of respect for you and Dan that he didn't know, but he knew.
I would think that, but because this was like three months before, and like Max and D, I see them in different cities. I only think that he didn't because when we got to the moment, because there's basically a whole thing where I heard about that thing and then it slipped a couple of guys in Hamilton, so a few people kind of guys knew. And I think Felix, like, guessed it, he claimed he guessed. So it was like, but then there was much people that actually didn't want to know.
Like there was a bunch of guys that like actually part of fun. Like, he didn't know. Easy to know. Brody.
Rob, there was a bunch of guys that had, like, No, and for the fun, for them, the fun was like, they wanted to sort of enjoy the experience of learning in the moment. So Greg, Greg shows up. And what happens, me, Dan and Julian were talking. And I was basically like, if you guys were all over drinking and Dan just told him one night, again, I don't care.
It's Greg's trip. I just want him to have a good time once we're there. But what we were planning was the reveal. And I was like, I don't want Greg to have to do some performative bullshit if we're gonna like, because basically our idea was we wrapped up the DVD Chicago starring Renee Zellwiger and Catherine Z I was just like, Dan, does Greg know?
I'm like, you guys are doing, I'm like, I just don't want to give him the gift and they can have to act in front of everybody. It's cool, just let us know. And then Dan didn't really respond. And I was like, what's going on?
And then Dan finally pipes and he's like, I honestly don't think he knows, he's like, honestly, like I don't. And I was like, all right, well, fuck it, let's do it. It'll be a laugh. And all I'll say is it's like, when he opened the diva, I just don't think my brother is that good of an actor.
Like his genuine sort of excitement and surprise. And then I did kind of ask him later in terms, like, did you know? He says he didn't. I think he did forget about it that enough stuff had passed and sports shit and things had happened where he just he actually dropped that.
And then he actually was surprised when the moment came around him and he compartmentalized it. He's also planning a wedding too. He's like, I'm going to fucking things going on. But you could be right, Shane.
I believe though that he had just brained reset and he was genuinely surprised. I feel like he would have come clean. Greg's very honest guy. So if he said afterwards that he didn't know, he didn't know.
I did feel bad for Mark Myers though, because he had his bags packed with like Bermuda shorts and Hawaiian shirts and he loves the ocean and he was convinced that we could have been going to the Bahamas or something. He's more of that type of vacation than a city guy. So we had a hard hard afterwards. But he's just like, I am just glad we're hanging with the guys.
But I would have. Oh, poor Mark. Well, for my bachelor church, Mark was on. We did go to the Bahamas.
So he probably thought we were running it back. He brought his football to the beach. He does love the ocean. Mark Myers.
But we'll get some Mark Myers on this trip. Because it's funny. You've got 23 guys and certain personalities will stand out. A ton of different people travel different ways.
They feel like their comfort zone's different ways. Some people will rise to the top in the way that they sort of just naturally organize things. And it's a very fascinating social experiment to see what he's like, which we will get to. We all get to the airport.
The reveal is made. People cheer. But I think you're pointing to people that know. Like, are they like, are we going to Bahamas?
Are we going to Hawaii? It's like, well, not for the money you paid. But it's like, you know, it's Chicago. And then once the concert was like, there was a bus.
Guys were like excited. It was like, oh, this is like cool. And then like anything. Like you could throw 20 of us at fucking Five Star in downtown Hamilton.
And we're going to get excited to have a night. So it was like, we're all getting on a plane. Max had come through at this point. The word had come down.
I don't know. The night before, Max was like, we're good. So I'm like, awesome. That part is like sort of, if you can't.
I was like, I hope I could. I do want to tell you. Because the way it might probably would have had to work is I knew you could get us tickets. Like we could probably get GA or something at a price.
And then we'd all have to pitch in. There was going to be some permeation. But then you were like, we're good. Anyway, we're all there.
It's exciting. We're all going to go. We got all the guys there. Shane, you knew where we were going.
And I don't know if you were excited because as we both know, this ended up because of the way that the show unfolded that we're shooting right now. It kind of ended up being this huge thing in the middle of a ton of work, which it kind of didn't exist that way before. And all of a sudden, it's like, oh, yeah, we have to do this thing as well. How were you framing this trip?
How are you looking forward to it? Were you not even thinking about it? How did you perceive it as it was coming? I think you and I talked about it before, where we didn't even really have time to think about the trip until it was happening.
Because we were shooting the show right up until the night before. So once we wrapped the night before, let's say eight or nine PM, then you and I said to each other, oh, now we can actually start getting excited about the trip, thinking about the trip. And yeah, I was excited, but I'm also worried because I hadn't had one drop of alcohol leading up to there in months. So I'm thinking, oh, how's this going to affect me coming back?
Because we were in such a good mode of working and, you know, inertia is king. So once you fall out of that, then you get into party mode, you can get a little bit sluggish after that. So I was worried, how are my levels going to be coming out of this trip? So yeah, that was my concern.
That being said, I still had three beers at the airport before we got to. Which is at 11 AM. Yeah, 11 AM. You have to do that, by the way.
When you start a bachelor party, you just have to do it. I don't know why. You just have to get a beer at the airport. Then you get excited and then you have another one.
And then Mike bought me my third. And I was like, uh oh, now I'm trying to drink it. Months. This is feeling way too good.
And of course, on the tarmac, the plane is delayed for an hour and a half or two. So I was sluggish as hell by the time we landed. But yeah, I'll bring it away. I will say the thing I was most looking forward to on the whole trip was just to see how Shane Cunningham interacted with Sean Menard, his roommate.
And there's two of the most interesting, unique special people that I know who are lifelong friends, slash rivals, who do sort of similar things. And I was like, what is it going to be like, are they going to drive each other crazy? Are they going to get into a fight? Are they like, what's the, you know, they've also grown up?
You know, it's not like a couple of 21 year olds. For our listeners, you know, Sean Menard is a very celebrated documentary filmmaker. He's a very motivational guy. You know, if you're around him, he'll probably pump you up and give you like a speech.
Mike, how would you describe or Shane? How would you describe your relationship with Sean? Before we get before Sean being a motivational guy, I literally have a book sitting on my desk that he mailed me a couple months ago. That kind of guy who does that kind of thing.
4000 weeks, time management for mortals. So I haven't found the time to read it yet, but it is here. And he is ironic. Yeah.
Yeah. He's that guy who sends you a book about how to improve yourself. Totally. And I will say this.
When we got to the airport in Chicago, we all end up getting on the train to go into the city because we looked out of the way cheaper. It might be just as fast. And then we were in the first group to get on the train. We finally get to the hotel and who's there checking in?
Shane and Sean. Sean had car service arranged for him. At the airport is like, Mr. Menard, we're waiting for you.
And also when we get to the hotel, he has three packages waiting for him from the nuts. From Whole Foods, nuts, bars and water. He's like, hey, Max, what one? He tosses me this like big alkaline water thing.
I'm like, what is going on? So Shane, what were you, what were you anticipating when you knew Sean was going to be your roommate? And describe a little bit of your history. And could you consider it a rivalry?
I don't know if I considered a rivalry. Maybe at one point when you're a kid and you're just young and you're stupid and you can get competitive with anyone who's in your same field. But I met Sean through Mike's brother, Greg. They were attached to the hip in high school.
And then I became integrated in that group. And we were like the three musketeers. I don't know. We did everything together.
We all kind of did this thing. I was doing it at the time called Snatch TV. A little TV production. We all fell in love with the industry.
And from there, yeah, we all kind of took off in our own direction. Greg, of course, is working for the Raptors. He does the behind the scenes show. And Menard fell in love with documentary filmmaking.
But at one point, we were all kind of in the comedic realm. So I guess that can be competitive. The difference between Menard and me, I would say, is he is like me if I could be confident all the time. Menard has this awesome belief in himself that I don't have.
And it really propels him forward. I went to a premiere of his first documentary that made it into TIFF. And he was on stage with Drake and LeBron. And I'm just looking at this guy went to high school with.
When we were essentially just nerds walking around school and being ignored. And now he's on stage giving a speech in front of LeBron. He's a leader. So I can lead.
Don't get me wrong. But Sean leads in every aspect. And he's a very in control organized guy. And time management is something that he covets a lot.
So when we landed, it was a little bit awkward. Because I don't know how to be confrontational in a lot of ways in life. And Menard's like, hey, we're just going to leave. I got a car waiting.
Like I don't want to wait around and talk. So let's just get in the car and let's go. Let's not make a big to do of it. Let's just leave.
He though. It goes OK. Go to the washroom downstairs. But I'm also close to Mark Myers now, right?
And Mark knows I get lost easily. I get confused. I have no sense of direction. So Mark's kind of like my dad on trips.
So Mark starts going, Shane, we've lost Shane. Shane has lost everyone. He gave him music. Shane's gone.
Shane's missing. He goes, we can't leave until we find Shane. And then this speaks to him. So then Max goes, no, no, no.
We're getting on the fucking subway. And Max just grabs a hook. Because Max is also a leader. He grabs the group of guys who want to get on the subway and don't care about how the situation results.
And then he leaves with that contingent. So now the guys that are like, geez, we're not no man left behind. I'm still trying to keep the camaraderie. We've literally been on this trip for four hours.
And it's an overarching theme for the entire weekend. Moving forward, go ahead. Yeah. So Mark is like, trip dad.
We were talking about Mark, and we'll get into that. So he's like, we need to find Shane. So like me, Dan Hamilton, Greg Berman, the Bachelor. We're still waiting there.
Like, OK, well, I'm sure Shane is just maybe lost. It's going to be. And then Mark and Dan fan out to find Shane. And I'm like, oh, I just know he wasn't answering his phone.
Because I was like, the first thing you do if your Mark is like, oh, so I call Shane. He picks up. I'm like, yeah, where are you? Before that.
Before that. Yeah, go ahead. I was in the washroom peeing. And they found him.
So I'm just peeing. And they're like, oh, there you are. And M&R is like, we got to get to the car. You got to break away yet again.
I'm like, hey, guys, I kind of like pretend to watch my hands. I just run out of the place. And my heart is like, keep walking. Keep walking.
And I'm like, I think they're worried about me. And so my my blood was same as you Mike. If they're that worried, they can call. I get in the car.
And it's this really nice car. This driver has assigned. It's this really fancy car. I don't know car.
They've been a Rolls Royce. I don't know. But we get in. And then I get a call from Mike.
And I'm scared because I know Mike, organized a trip. He wants everything to go smoothly. Because Mike's a little bit of a leader, too. So I'm going to call from Mike.
And he knows I'm doing something fucked up. So Mike's like, hey, what's going on? Where are you? I'm in a car.
And Mike goes, well, you're in a car. Just you and Bernard. I'm like, yes. Well, Greg, it's his bachelor party.
Maybe you could have invited him. And then I say something, which sounds like the biggest lot in the world. Like it's inexplicable when I say next. I'm like, well, there's only two seats for passengers in this car.
And Mike's like, oh, that seems impossible. But OK, I'll see you later. This car, it was like a weird luxury car. So it had me sitting in a seat, kind of like a first class.
Like the chair I'm sitting in was kind of like that. This big middle console that you can put snacks and a huge couple. There's some menartas in the other seat. Then in the front passenger seat, it had like this collapsed seat that was all fucked up and locked off.
Like Menard had said, we're only traveling for two. So and Menard got that seat. So he could essentially lay down and kick his feet out. So I wasn't lying, but I felt like the biggest jerk.
Because what I said seems impossible. Because what car can only see three, the driver and two passengers. Then we're stuck in traffic. And I'm panicking.
I'm like, they're going to get there before us. We look like assholes and we're not even going to get there before anybody. Sure enough, we show up. And Max is literally one, 10 seconds behind us.
You're just like, hey, guys, we took a car to get here faster. And we got five steps ahead of you. Yeah. It was what I honestly, and I did feel bad.
Because like, whatever, Shane, we know each other so well. And I didn't want my thing was just like, I wouldn't, I don't care that Menard got a car. Just tell us. Even if you don't have a spot for great.
Just like, we'll meet you at the hotel. Because what happened was we lost the Max group. And now we were like, now we were three ways divided. And I was like, let's just all roll to the subway, like 20 deep.
And we'll meet Sean and Shane. But because Menard was doing it kind of clean. Definitely like, Mark. Then anyway, it just broke the group up.
Also, Max was not going to wait. So it was like, all right, that's gone. Shane, they're gone. I guess it's only two seats.
And then I was kind of like, yeah. Anyway, it was very funny. And it was a very idiosyncratic, like Menard sort of is. And to Menard's point, like he didn't want to take the subway.
Like, you know, it's fine. Like, and he wanted, you know, but to Max's point, like at the time of day, it was actually quicker on the subway because of it was like almost rush hour on like on Thursday. Anyway, we all get to the, we all get to the hotel. Yeah.
Max, we're going to say something. I mean, the first night was fun. Like we kind of just like, all right, everyone mean up where we went to. Actually, the first night we did, it's hard to plan things for 22 people.
And so basically it's like, we kind of got in that funny zone where it's like getting into a cool bar with 22 guys. It's kind of impossible. So you kind of end up wanting to go around. So Thursday's was not the most happening night of the week.
We ended up going to this like Barstool Sports Bar, which was very odd. And you know, that first night that was good because it was like, we got to the hotel and everybody hits the rooftop pool. So we're kind of like, and this is the great thing too. Like Canadians and like, beer is pretty cheap relatively.
So everybody goes and we can be in a storm and buys a case of like, highlight for some shit. And so like, you walk in the lobby hotel, there's mountains where literally holding a case of beer. And he's like, all right, hand them out. It's like, okay, now we're on the trip.
We're getting into the groove. We all meet at the hotel, guys are drinking. I'm like, got to get my brother a burger so we can get to the night. The first place, there was some bar that you would recommend.
You're like, let's go to this bar because someone heard it was cool. So we're going to go there. Two slammed, we went up in this games room. Basically it's got like shuffleboard and all this shit.
And that worked because it was like big enough that it could like hold our group and we could have a good time. From there, we ended up in a bar that I didn't realize it was like a bar stool sports bar until I started seeing like all these quotes from Dave Portenoy like on the wall. And I was like, oh, they like, frant interesting. Okay.
I was like, that's it. But the DJ was awesome. It was like early 2000s Billy Bobs. I was kind of like, well, the music's pretty fun.
And then someone from there, and there was like a work party going on there on the second floor. And like, I just remember saying it with like, Unzi and like, Shaney were there. And I just like, from an anthropological standpoint, like that was like a work party. Those two look like they've got something going on, but they're trying to keep it from everybody else at the work party and that boss is really drunk.
I'm like, somebody's trying to keep them away. And so you're kind of doing that thing which is entertaining. And then I don't know who said it, we're like, we're going to the next bar. I'm like, it's fucking like, why not?
The music here's popping man. They're about to play this out. By the way, I just want to say for others, this really speaks to how little Mike has gotten out of the house because it was a shitty bar. It was a shitty bar.
You're like, like, so impressed. Literally it was maybe 20% capacity. And they're playing like fine music. You're like, this place is awesome.
It was not awesome. But I like that you thought it was so awesome. I am a people watcher and the people watching in that bar was very good. That was my thing.
I'm like, I'm entertained here from a people watching standpoint and these weird Chicago people like out for their work drinks. I do like watching Max too when he's not in a place where he's known everywhere. It's like how you react. You're like going around and you were talking to one person.
I'm like, wow, that person's really into that conversation. And we're having a debate. We're like, do they know he's in our Kels or not? And I'm so adamant because I don't know why, but I'm like there's no way anyone has a conversation like that with anybody unless they know they're famous.
And I was like, no, Max is pretty charismatic. So we're having this debate like an hour. I come up to you. I'm like, Max, do they know you're an R Kels lead singer?
And you're like, yeah, they're from Burlington. I'm like, yes. I was so happy. So then the next bar, because as Max has already said, he was not pleased with the Portnoy bar, but whatever the drinks were cold.
So we go to the next bar. I'm like, fine, let's go. But I just hope it's good. Because we couldn't get in places.
We'd already struck out in a couple of max. That was the other thing. So it's like once you land somewhere where you can get drinks pretty quickly, it's like fine, we're groove. I was so glad we left because the next bar was a bar called How With The Moon in Chicago.
And it's like this sort of like Elton John Billy Joel two dual piano set up where they face the pianos at each other. And they just go back and forth on the songs. And it's like all these pop songs. And that was the bar with the person from Burlington.
Yes, sorry. Yes, that's right. You're correct. Yeah.
But that was when we pivot there. Had you heard about that one, Max? How do we get there? Who's suggestions?
How do we got there? I'm not sure. Maybe Mike D. I'm not sure.
But it was good. It was good suggestion. Anyway, so that night's great. Everybody goes up till three in the morning.
And then we go back to the hotel. Everyone gets their sleep because the big attraction is the Friday. What happened during the day on Friday? Anything on note?
We don't have to tell every detail. But I think it was the real. We went to the Cubs game. Oh, fuck.
Jesus. Yeah, we went to the Cubs game. That was an out of virtual production. That was his production.
He really wanted to go to a Cubs game. The nuts set up in a group of us went. I'd never been to Wrigley Field before. Max had you been?
I've been a couple of times. But it's been OK. Yeah. But yeah, Wrigley Field is awesome.
Perfect. It was like a hot day. Probably about eight or nine of us went. It was wicked.
And it was a great way to spend the afternoon. But yeah, so we go back. Trip dad, Mark Myers, right? He's very much.
Mark, Mark, ethos to us. He really wanted to keep the group together. So I think there was times when things splintered off, which I don't care if guys went dropped. I just don't like if it impedes what we were planning to do.
So if it's like we're waiting for someone in a lobby, and then they ultimately be on like, well, you just you cost us a half hour. But again, it's a trip. There's 20 guys. People are going to do things.
But Mark, I think, likes, let's keep it together. Let's keep it together. If we're all going to do something, he wants to experience everything on the trip. I don't know how this happened, but it just pops into the group before we go to Riggly that it's like, all right, everybody, this is Mark.
We're going to all pitch in, and we're going to get Greg a jersey since it's like his trip. I know how it happened, by the way. Oh, I got to hear this because we're by the pool. And Greg, he can be very forth right with what he wants.
So Greg's just like, hey, guys, today everyone's going to buy me a jersey. OK? And then Mark's like, OK, I'm going to make that happen. I really want that.
And I want this thing at the Stroke's concert too, this stroke shirt. So Mark's like, OK, yeah, we'll start with it at Jersey. And then Mark immediately got on honoring Greg's request. And then Matt puts in the group, I love how Greg found the one guy who will honor Greg's request.
And then he organized it. And Greg got himself a jersey and hat. So one of the great things about the hotel location is right downtown. And we are able to walk to Soldier Field.
So basically, we all mean the lobby at six o'clock. And I talked to the live nation rep on the phone. And he's like, yeah, you'll be taking care of me. You'll be outside of the gate.
And we'll get your tickets. So when I was at listen, there's 23 of us. I know a suite only holds 20. So if we can buy three more tickets and sneak the guys into the suite, he's like, I'm going to find three other tickets from another suite.
Just give him to you so you get through the door. But everybody can hang up together. I'm like, awesome. So we get there.
He's like, hey, you know what I actually end up doing for you guys? I'm giving you 40 tickets. The suites are right next to each other. So those should be a lot more room for you guys to spread out.
There's also food and beverage. I'm like, what the fuck? This is sick. This is like completely exceeded our expectations.
It was the best. So we all go, and the thing which was kind of nice too, is that we get very lucky with being treated to very nice times. But there's a bunch of guys who haven't been to a sporting event in a long time, let alone go through this fancy entrance or going to a suite. So it was cool.
I really felt happy to be able to share that. Everybody was very, very pumped when we got to the suite. And yeah, there was like a fridge full of beer, and there's wine, and there was these food and the chicken tendies. They were like, chicken tenders were amazing.
And the strokes were like good. But there was still like kind of that opening act energy, which is hard in the daytime too, at a stadium. You know, because you can see sort of the patches of some seats. And it's like, yeah, it was an interesting thing to watch.
But the two and there's a stadium band. They're not a stadium band. They kind of stand there and they do their thing. They're almost too cool for a stadium in a weird way.
You know what I mean? Like it's like where stadium energy needs to be like, well, come everybody, you kind of got to play everything. And they just kind of do their thing. So the tunes are great and you're watching them.
But it wasn't until like about their last three, where now like the sun had gone down and it felt like you were at like the concert. And you're like, oh, you know, then we go on. Yeah, so and I'd say that like with our group, everybody was excited to see the strokes. And a few of us are like, yeah, I think we all like the chili peppers, but didn't they would no one be like, hey, who's your top five bands?
No one would have the chili peppers in that list. But we're like, you know, happy to be at this big event. It's like totally sold out. And we're like, OK, so let's go down.
Chili peppers come on. And it took about like two songs for us all to kind of look the fucking chili peppers. And everyone's got to get like drunker and like, you know, people are dancing around and the lights are and it just like turns into the best thing. And Julian, God bless him, is the first person as he normally is to take his shirt off.
And by about 40 minutes into the concert, basically all 22 of us, a few people did, had their shirts off dancing around in this luxury suite to the chili peppers. Shane, you had your shirt off, right? At one point I took my shirt off. I was, you know, I was in Greg's bad books, let's say, by the time that this happened.
Because full disclosure, I miss the Wrigley game. And Greg had misrepresented himself a little bit on this trip. Because Greg is two different people. Like for people who don't know Greg, he can say one thing but mean another.
And he can actually mean the thing. But if he's hung over, he does it. Or if he's a little drunk, he doesn't. So Greg had presented it like, listen, this trip, I don't want anyone to feel like they have to be around.
Like everyone do what they will. And we'll all get together at night and don't feel any pressure. So I miss the baseball game because Chicago isn't one hour time difference from Canada. But people were looking up the time of the game in Canadian time.
So people said the game was at two when really the game was at one. So that morning, I was, I stayed up very late. OK, I stayed up till 5am the night before waiting for my White Castle Burgers to be Uber each time. It's a long time.