From the Road: Chicago 12/09 (FF Concert)

Susan at the Chicago Show with Nobuo, Arnie, And Square Enix!

I just got back from Chicago late yesterday. It was so great to play at the Rosemont Theatre... 4500 people!! Crazy. My producer, Gerard, mentioned that the last time he was at this venue he was running sound for Anita Baker. It brought back a lot of memories for him. I had never been there before and was glad he came along to make sure everything went well and of course to cheer me on!

We had 2 rehearsals for this show. I was glad too as I did 2 new songs in this show and had not been able to practice them with the orchestra yet! Arnie (Roth) is amazing to work with. It's funny when he cues me in; he always looks over at me with this big smile on his face. It's like I'm about to give him a present or something. It's really cute. I can't believe all the information he has to keep track of. It certainly makes my job seem easy. It was awesome to be on that stage and see the crowd. They were so full of energy. It is inspiring to see people still passionate about great music.

One of the many reasons I have enjoyed being involved with this project is the chance I get to work with so many exceptional musicians. Of course the orchestra is the bomb. And as it turns out, the drummer, bass player, and guitar player at this show were all guys I have worked with many times in Chicago at different studios! It was great to reconnect with friends I hadn't seen in a while. They put on a fabulous & Entertaining show Saturday!! And of course Nobuo was unforgettable. Certainly I think we can all agree that the stage is his calling. And the fans loved every minute of it.

There were over 175 fans waiting for our autographs at the private party after the show. It was so great to meet everyone and hear the distances everyone had traveled to come to this event. Some of them even brought Susan CD's with them for me to sign. Which was very cool! I am honored to be a part of this concert series and can't wait to work on more music with these guys in 2010. We will be performing in San Francisco in July and there are other dates in the works! We will post this stuff for you guys when dates are confirmed.

After the fan party / meet & greet we all hung out backstage for a while with some of the people who came to the show from Square Enix (the Final Fantasy game co), Dog Ear Records (the record Label from Japan), Nobuo, Arnie and his people (Chris, Leanne, Marcy) along with some Susan Team people (Gerard & Tracy). Marcy, Arnie's amazing wife, went and got us all some AMAZING food as none of us had a chance to eat too much before the show. At this point we were needing some fuel for sure. There is something so symbolic about sharing a meal together with my new friends. In spite of how deliriously tired I was at this point in the night, I think this was one of my favorite parts of the evening. We weren't musicians at this moment, just friends sharing a meal. I especially enjoy how funny and entertaining Nobuo is. Seriously, he could be a comedian. He was telling me that he just got a Dutch oven and learned how to make pot roast. That is his favorite right now. Got to say I didn't see that one coming. What a nut. I just wish I spoke more Japanese. My New Japanese friends speak English pretty well. It is impressive. I guess I know what to ask for for Christmas this year... a "Learn to speak Japanese" CD. Let me know if you guys have any suggestions...

Thanks to everyone who came to the show and made this such a magical night for us. After all, in the end, it is all about the fans!! This music and our performances are meant to inspire you. As a Performer, that is my great privilege and reward. Connecting with you :-)

Love,
XXSuz

p.s. Here's one song from the show... other videos can be found on my YouTube Channel playlist