Modern Day Romeos: NYE 2008

New Years Eve, 2008, a plethora of choices and places to go and I choose to head to Old Chicago in Elk Grove Village to see the Modern Day Romeos.  Steve Gill-guitar, Mike Zaitz-drums, Jim Wojdyla-lead singer, Justin Wojdyla-acoustic guitar/cowbell and Chris Perfect on bass (yes, that’s his real last name). 

Brief- The Modern Day Romeos have been rockin the local Chicago scene since 2002 and play covers of their favorite songs as well as playing some of their own material.  Their mantra is “The best experience you can have with your clothes on”.  Clever..

I found out that the band had agreed to play this gig because there was a hotel attached to the bar where they would be playing (which is always good on new Years Eve).  I arrived early to find my room, locate the food (free buffet with admission) and scope out the scene.  The Modern Day Romeos always draw a big crowd and tonight was no exception.  I saw 20 somethings dressed to the 9’s, 30 something’s dressed to kill, and yes, even 40 somethings (40 IS the new 20 after all) in attendance.  Before the music even started, the band had set up beer pong and Bag-O to pump up the crowd and get their freak flags flowing.  I also saw numerous flashes…..of cameras of course )  The music started around 9, with a band called Hyperflo.  They were good, they got the crowd going and ready for MDR who took the stage around 10pm. 

The Romeos opened their set with their medley of Dancing with Myself/I wanna be sedated which is a HUGE crowd pleaser.  They then went into their heavy hitters of All Summer Long, Black Betty, Sweet Emotion etc.  This band is all about crowd participation, which is how they go about picking songs to play.  Jim Wojdyla (lead singer) gets in your face, makes you sing, makes you dance, as they have a “bad dancing” competition durring one of their songs.  They sure get you into their show.  I once was talking to Mike Zaitz (drummer) and he told me, “if you leave with a smile on your face, we’ve done our job”.  Midnight- the band takes a break to salute one another, thank the crowd for spending NYE with them, then they got right back into the music.  Metallica, Jet, Outfield, Aerosmith, Led Zepplin and many more came with their 2nd set.  They played until 1am, when the hotel finally turned them off (or else they would have played all night).

All the members have been in local bands and know the ropes of connecting with a crowd.  Syncronized jumping, strobe lights flashing, beer bong competitions, letting the crowd sing, taking random pictures during the show…all learned by the band over their years of playing in local clubs, and they all pay off.  The buzz surrounding the Modern Day Romeos has not faltered, in fact, it has gotten bigger since their inception in 2002.  People want to see them, people want to hear them, people want to be entertained by them, people want to hang out with them.   All in all, it was a great New Years Eve 2008 with the Modern Day Romeos.

For more information on the schedule of the Modern Day Romeos, visit their website at www.moderndayromeos.com or http://myspace/moderndayromeos.