Now as the summer nears its halt making way for the cool breezes of the fall, there is not much time for you to throw your own block party. But, in case you have the courage and energy to pull together a great block party or even house party, you can take some great tips from the Old St. Pat's when hosting a great extravaganza.
MUSIC
You have to have great tunes. Old St. Pat's brought in the big guns. On Friday, Cake rocked the house, even though they were against having us Lumino photographers get close enough to get some great photos. Cake rocked out some of its older tunes as well as introduced a few songs from the next album, scheduled for release later this year. People danced. People drank. People drank and had their Cake, too.
On Saturday, Zox set the stage for a sequel to Friday night, as they not only jammed, but gave themselves an even bigger Chicago fan-base. And talk about getting two big performers on the same night - Rusted Root performed next and definitely did their job of exciting the already drunken crowd.
So, for Old St., they pulled out the big guns. In fact, they gave the stage to two of my favorite bands. For you, the budget to bring in the big guys for a block party or house party is out of reach, but Lumino has a solution - check out www.craigslist.com or www.myspace.com. Search the sites and find a local band to come jam for free beer and hot ladies.
BOOZE
Although I am not exactly sure why a church would encourage drinking - and give attendees five free drinks - it worked. With each cover, the World's Largest Block Party came out swinging and gave everyone plenty of alchy. For your party, maybe do the same. Buy a shit ton of Solo cups and a few kegs o beer and dispense away. Alcohol is the key to any good party. The drunker people get, the more interesting the entertainment.
FOOD
Old St. Pat's brought out the restaurants. Unless you have some mad connections, this won't work for your party, but a quick visit to the local grocery story can work wonders. Buy some dogs, burgers and chips and you are all set. Maybe add another dollar to your cover charge to cover this cost, but when people drink the munchies come a callin'.
HOTTIES
Be sure to invite the hotties. Even if your friends are not hot, make sure to get some beautiful people in the door. It's summer, damnit, so we need to see some hot bods working the grounds. At Old St. Pat's party, they had plenty of lookers. When people walked by, they saw these hotties and therefore were encouraged to join the party. Bottom line - hotties hang with hotties. For those nerds who weren't popular before their party, after the hotties knock on their door, popularity will naturally increase.
FINALE
Make your bash loud, please. Make sure it is so loud your angry neighbor calls the cops. And, I promise, if your party is bad ass, the cops will take a Solo cup, too. Here's to some mad parties putting a close to our great summer.
