Performances to Ignite Fireball Weekend
Mon. February 14, 2005 12:00 AM
Chicago, IL -
With Kristine W, Ultra Nate, Eye of Newt Circus (Eric Newton & Sagiv Ben Binyamin, pictured), Mercury Rising, ROTC, a laser light show, flaggers and dancers from around the country and 20 cowboys, Fireball Weekend is packed with spectacular performers and offers something for everyone!
"Ignition" sparks the fundraising weekend at House of Blues (329 N. Dearborn, 10:30pm-4am, $45 advance, $55 at the door, DJ Manny Lehman) with a spectacular laser light and effects show by Laseronics Design. Laseronics will be using the newest state of the art equipment that will be already in place for the "Best of Floyd" LaserSpectacular Show taking place before and after the Fireball event. Kyler Garner, owner of Laseronics will be performing live laser effects and using multi-colored argon lasers, hi-power, solid-state, red diode systems and 2 hi-power laser projectors. Kyle "plays" the lasers live to the music and has a long history of working with the world's leading DJs and lighting designers. John Flaws of Windy City Sound and Lighting joins Kyle in the "booth." www.laseronics.com
A new, masculine, sexy and fresh talent burst onto the club scene last year, and Fireball has him! His name-Mercury!! He is bold and energetic, with lyrics that cut to the soul and lift one's spirits to new heights on the dance floor! He will debut the brand new club single "To The Top!" This new song was produced specifically for the "Ignition" event for Hearts Foundation and will feature many hot, local backup singers and dancers. Last year, Mercury debuted his first single, "Lift You Up!" as the opening act for the 2004 International Mr. Leather Competition at the Congress Theatre. You may also remember him as a special guest performer of the Hearts Foundation at the then-brand new, Sound-Bar.
Fireball's Main event: "The Great Chicago Fireball" will be held for the first time at Union Station's "Great Hall" (210 S. Canal, 10pm-6am, $95 advance, $105 day of event at Welcome Center, NO TICKETS WILL BE AVAILABLE AT THE DOOR-you must purchase in advance, DJs Rosabel). Tickets will be available for purchase at the Welcome Center (Circuit Nightclub-3641 N. Halsted on Wed. 2/16 from 6-10pm and Thurs. 2/17 from 11am-11pm OR Renaissance Hotel-1 W. Wacker Dr., 4th floor on Fri. 2/18 from 11am-6pm and Sat. 2/19 from noon-7pm). The main show promises to be uproarious! "The Big Dirty Barn Dance" will feature 20 cowboys reinventing the myth as to what really began "The Great Chicago Fire" and will climax with Billboard's Top Dance Chart Artist ever-Kristine W! Perfoming songs from her EIGHT #1 dance singles collection, revelers are sure to be dancing in their boots. Her latest album, Fly Again, has already produced three number one singles, with the third release The Wonder of It All breaking Kristine's own record of the most consecutive #1 Club Play Hits for Billboard Magazine! www.kristinew.com
At another point in the evening, Eye of Newt Circus marks their second Fireball performance and will be premiering a brand new act on aerial fabric-SO "HEADS UP!!! Eye of Newt Circus' Eric Newton & Sagiv Ben Binyamin (pictured above) have been performing together since 2001, in Los Angeles where they reside, and throughout the world. They are super excited to be back to perform at Fireball 2005 after debuting last year with their signature act-the duo trapeze. Since then, they've been busy 'gigging' together: at Lincoln Center in New York City, on the beach in Israel for Gay Pride/Tel Aviv, on national television for the Univision awards show-Premios Juventud, and in many corporate and community events. Recent appearances have included: Vision in Los Angeles with DJ/Producer Peter Rauhofer and Equality California's Annual Gala, which commemorated last year's same sex marriages at City Hall in San Francisco. The act heads to an RSVP Cruise through the beautiful Caribbean Islands immediately following their Fireball performance!! Another highlight for the act was their participation in the long anticipated film, The Polar Express, for which they provided motion-capture stunts, was released into theatres and became a huge success. Eric and Sagiv would like to thank the organizers, supporters and participants of Fireball for being awesome hosts and welcoming them back. To find out more on this captivating act go to www.eyeofnewtcircus.com.
Sunday night's "Fraterni-tea/Closing Party" at Excalibur (632 N. Dearborn, 4pm-4am, $55 advance, $65 at the door, DJs Warren Gluck & Brett Henrichsen) is jammed pack with excitement. Not only do you have the main floor DJs, but in adjoining club Vision, you will find the DJ Showcase in two different spaces! Internationally acclaimed, singer/songwriter and performer Ultra Nate joins Fireball weekend! She is not your cookie cutter dance princess! Her music incorporates various musical mediums such as house, soul, future jazz, drum 'n' bass, electronic and rock-pop. Ultra first appeared in 1989, with the international club anthem, It's Over Now. Her best known smash, Free, was the song that catapulted this dance music diva into the spotlight in 1998. Her music is infectious, urgent and daringly eclectic! www.ultranate.com
ROTC, The Righteously Outrageous Twirling Corps, Chicago's all-male volunteer twirling group, marks another Fireball appearance! Originally formed in 1994, ROTC has been providing entertainment to Chicago's GLBT community during the annual Pride parades. The typical ROTC performance consists of a precision, military-style warm-up and one or two traditional routines selected from their ever-evolving repertoire that may be adapted to either marching or standstill routines. You won't want to miss this show on Excalibur's stage!
Crobar's VIP Closing Party (1543 N. Kingsbury, 10pm-4am, DJ Paulo) is for VIP Weekend Pass holders only! Greg Drescher will be spinning the upstairs lounge, DJ Paulo gives you a taste of the Fireball 2005 CD! For a track listing and sample listening go to
http://www.centaurmusic.com/cdOne.asp?CDID=241
Volunteers heading the Performance and Entertainment portion of the weekend include: Steve Hiltebrand-Entertainment Director, Dawn Fenton-Stage Manager, Brenda Didier-Choreography, Jeffrey Jackson, Nicholas Holmberg and David Andora-Design and Concept, Joe Finn-Visual Design, John Flaws-Lighting Design, Randall Flaws-Sound Design, Kyle Gardner-Lasers, and Dustin Waflart-Lighting Technician. And throughout the entire weekend, Fireball revelers will enjoy flaggers from around the country, headed by Phillip Bryan from Dallas (www.flaggerboy.com). There will also be six go-go boys from around the country on hand each night entertaining atop the dance cubes.
Ticket purchases available at the participating Chicago-area retail outlets until close of business on Tuesday, February 15. Tickets may be obtained from these retailers: Bad Boys, Borderline Music, GayMart, Kafka Wine Co., RJs Video, The SunTan Club, Unabridged Bookstore and Universal Gear. Web purchases end at midnight that same day. Tickets can then be obtained at the Welcome Center. Circuit Nightclub (3641 N. Halsted) will host the Welcome Center on Wednesday, February 16 from 6pm to 11pm and Thursday, February 17 from 11am to 11pm. The Welcome Center then moves to the Renaissance Hotel (1 W. Wacker, 4th floor) on Friday, February 18 from 11am to 6pm and Saturday, February 19 from noon to 7pm. Will call tickets will be held at individual events during the events hours of operation for those who don't make it to the Welcome Centers. Fireball 2005 CDs will be available for purchase at the Welcome Centers.
Free shuttle service will be provided from Boystown and the Renaissance Hotel to ALL Fireball events. Bus stops in boystown at Sidetrack. Please check Boi Magazine's "Official Fireball Weekend Guide" for details and schedule.
Fireball 2005 annual sponsors are Bacardi, ChicagoPride.com, Chicago Renaissance Hotel, Gay Fuel, Ice Mountain, JustCircuit.com, Atlantis, Wet International, Steamworks, Service Is Us, Gelder Designs, Centaur Music, David Barton Gym, Chicago Department of Public Health and Sticky Bottoms. Partylist.com, OutinChicago.com, GayWired.com, GayWebMonkey.com, TexasCircuitBoyz.com, MarkNelson.biz, TheMenEvent.com, GaytoZ.com, Gaylocal.net, 360Presents.com, Dragtastic.com, GayHappenings.com, WestHollywood.com, ClubChannel1.com, Bluedoorflixxx.tv, CircuitMom.com, JessikaSterling, Gay.com and PlanetOut.com provide internet resources. Print media sponsors are Boi Magazine, Windy City Media Group, My Gay World Magazine, Chicago Free Press, Gay Chicago, Metra, HX, Circuit Noize, EXP, Between the Lines, Lavender, Gay People's Chronicle, UR Chicago, Scene Magazine, SWIIG Magazine and Flava Men Magazine, Cross-promotional partners are Winter Party, Purple Party, Black & Blue, Jungle Party, Cherry Fund, Circuit Asia, Skeleton's Ball, Southern Decadence, Windsor Pride and White Party.
The Hearts Foundation was formed in June 1998, as an all-volunteer, not-for-profit Illinois organization and became the steward of a longstanding fundraising tradition in Chicago. Over the past fifteen years, the Hearts Foundation and its predecessor, the Hearts Committee, have raised over $2.4 million for Chicago's GLBT and HIV/AIDS service organizations. Last year, nearly four thousand individuals from across the nation and abroad participated in a series of fundraising events, helping to donate a significant amount to the Foundation's beneficiaries. With the success of life-sustaining medication in the treatment of HIV/AIDS came a false sense that the pandemic is over. Complacency is now as significant a threat as the virus itself. Incidence rates are climbing once again, and new communities are becoming vulnerable. More information on the Hearts Foundation can be obtained by visiting www.heartsfoundation.org.
"Ignition" sparks the fundraising weekend at House of Blues (329 N. Dearborn, 10:30pm-4am, $45 advance, $55 at the door, DJ Manny Lehman) with a spectacular laser light and effects show by Laseronics Design. Laseronics will be using the newest state of the art equipment that will be already in place for the "Best of Floyd" LaserSpectacular Show taking place before and after the Fireball event. Kyler Garner, owner of Laseronics will be performing live laser effects and using multi-colored argon lasers, hi-power, solid-state, red diode systems and 2 hi-power laser projectors. Kyle "plays" the lasers live to the music and has a long history of working with the world's leading DJs and lighting designers. John Flaws of Windy City Sound and Lighting joins Kyle in the "booth." www.laseronics.com
A new, masculine, sexy and fresh talent burst onto the club scene last year, and Fireball has him! His name-Mercury!! He is bold and energetic, with lyrics that cut to the soul and lift one's spirits to new heights on the dance floor! He will debut the brand new club single "To The Top!" This new song was produced specifically for the "Ignition" event for Hearts Foundation and will feature many hot, local backup singers and dancers. Last year, Mercury debuted his first single, "Lift You Up!" as the opening act for the 2004 International Mr. Leather Competition at the Congress Theatre. You may also remember him as a special guest performer of the Hearts Foundation at the then-brand new, Sound-Bar.
Fireball's Main event: "The Great Chicago Fireball" will be held for the first time at Union Station's "Great Hall" (210 S. Canal, 10pm-6am, $95 advance, $105 day of event at Welcome Center, NO TICKETS WILL BE AVAILABLE AT THE DOOR-you must purchase in advance, DJs Rosabel). Tickets will be available for purchase at the Welcome Center (Circuit Nightclub-3641 N. Halsted on Wed. 2/16 from 6-10pm and Thurs. 2/17 from 11am-11pm OR Renaissance Hotel-1 W. Wacker Dr., 4th floor on Fri. 2/18 from 11am-6pm and Sat. 2/19 from noon-7pm). The main show promises to be uproarious! "The Big Dirty Barn Dance" will feature 20 cowboys reinventing the myth as to what really began "The Great Chicago Fire" and will climax with Billboard's Top Dance Chart Artist ever-Kristine W! Perfoming songs from her EIGHT #1 dance singles collection, revelers are sure to be dancing in their boots. Her latest album, Fly Again, has already produced three number one singles, with the third release The Wonder of It All breaking Kristine's own record of the most consecutive #1 Club Play Hits for Billboard Magazine! www.kristinew.com
At another point in the evening, Eye of Newt Circus marks their second Fireball performance and will be premiering a brand new act on aerial fabric-SO "HEADS UP!!! Eye of Newt Circus' Eric Newton & Sagiv Ben Binyamin (pictured above) have been performing together since 2001, in Los Angeles where they reside, and throughout the world. They are super excited to be back to perform at Fireball 2005 after debuting last year with their signature act-the duo trapeze. Since then, they've been busy 'gigging' together: at Lincoln Center in New York City, on the beach in Israel for Gay Pride/Tel Aviv, on national television for the Univision awards show-Premios Juventud, and in many corporate and community events. Recent appearances have included: Vision in Los Angeles with DJ/Producer Peter Rauhofer and Equality California's Annual Gala, which commemorated last year's same sex marriages at City Hall in San Francisco. The act heads to an RSVP Cruise through the beautiful Caribbean Islands immediately following their Fireball performance!! Another highlight for the act was their participation in the long anticipated film, The Polar Express, for which they provided motion-capture stunts, was released into theatres and became a huge success. Eric and Sagiv would like to thank the organizers, supporters and participants of Fireball for being awesome hosts and welcoming them back. To find out more on this captivating act go to www.eyeofnewtcircus.com.
Sunday night's "Fraterni-tea/Closing Party" at Excalibur (632 N. Dearborn, 4pm-4am, $55 advance, $65 at the door, DJs Warren Gluck & Brett Henrichsen) is jammed pack with excitement. Not only do you have the main floor DJs, but in adjoining club Vision, you will find the DJ Showcase in two different spaces! Internationally acclaimed, singer/songwriter and performer Ultra Nate joins Fireball weekend! She is not your cookie cutter dance princess! Her music incorporates various musical mediums such as house, soul, future jazz, drum 'n' bass, electronic and rock-pop. Ultra first appeared in 1989, with the international club anthem, It's Over Now. Her best known smash, Free, was the song that catapulted this dance music diva into the spotlight in 1998. Her music is infectious, urgent and daringly eclectic! www.ultranate.com
ROTC, The Righteously Outrageous Twirling Corps, Chicago's all-male volunteer twirling group, marks another Fireball appearance! Originally formed in 1994, ROTC has been providing entertainment to Chicago's GLBT community during the annual Pride parades. The typical ROTC performance consists of a precision, military-style warm-up and one or two traditional routines selected from their ever-evolving repertoire that may be adapted to either marching or standstill routines. You won't want to miss this show on Excalibur's stage!
Crobar's VIP Closing Party (1543 N. Kingsbury, 10pm-4am, DJ Paulo) is for VIP Weekend Pass holders only! Greg Drescher will be spinning the upstairs lounge, DJ Paulo gives you a taste of the Fireball 2005 CD! For a track listing and sample listening go to
http://www.centaurmusic.com/cdOne.asp?CDID=241
Volunteers heading the Performance and Entertainment portion of the weekend include: Steve Hiltebrand-Entertainment Director, Dawn Fenton-Stage Manager, Brenda Didier-Choreography, Jeffrey Jackson, Nicholas Holmberg and David Andora-Design and Concept, Joe Finn-Visual Design, John Flaws-Lighting Design, Randall Flaws-Sound Design, Kyle Gardner-Lasers, and Dustin Waflart-Lighting Technician. And throughout the entire weekend, Fireball revelers will enjoy flaggers from around the country, headed by Phillip Bryan from Dallas (www.flaggerboy.com). There will also be six go-go boys from around the country on hand each night entertaining atop the dance cubes.
Ticket purchases available at the participating Chicago-area retail outlets until close of business on Tuesday, February 15. Tickets may be obtained from these retailers: Bad Boys, Borderline Music, GayMart, Kafka Wine Co., RJs Video, The SunTan Club, Unabridged Bookstore and Universal Gear. Web purchases end at midnight that same day. Tickets can then be obtained at the Welcome Center. Circuit Nightclub (3641 N. Halsted) will host the Welcome Center on Wednesday, February 16 from 6pm to 11pm and Thursday, February 17 from 11am to 11pm. The Welcome Center then moves to the Renaissance Hotel (1 W. Wacker, 4th floor) on Friday, February 18 from 11am to 6pm and Saturday, February 19 from noon to 7pm. Will call tickets will be held at individual events during the events hours of operation for those who don't make it to the Welcome Centers. Fireball 2005 CDs will be available for purchase at the Welcome Centers.
Free shuttle service will be provided from Boystown and the Renaissance Hotel to ALL Fireball events. Bus stops in boystown at Sidetrack. Please check Boi Magazine's "Official Fireball Weekend Guide" for details and schedule.
Fireball 2005 annual sponsors are Bacardi, ChicagoPride.com, Chicago Renaissance Hotel, Gay Fuel, Ice Mountain, JustCircuit.com, Atlantis, Wet International, Steamworks, Service Is Us, Gelder Designs, Centaur Music, David Barton Gym, Chicago Department of Public Health and Sticky Bottoms. Partylist.com, OutinChicago.com, GayWired.com, GayWebMonkey.com, TexasCircuitBoyz.com, MarkNelson.biz, TheMenEvent.com, GaytoZ.com, Gaylocal.net, 360Presents.com, Dragtastic.com, GayHappenings.com, WestHollywood.com, ClubChannel1.com, Bluedoorflixxx.tv, CircuitMom.com, JessikaSterling, Gay.com and PlanetOut.com provide internet resources. Print media sponsors are Boi Magazine, Windy City Media Group, My Gay World Magazine, Chicago Free Press, Gay Chicago, Metra, HX, Circuit Noize, EXP, Between the Lines, Lavender, Gay People's Chronicle, UR Chicago, Scene Magazine, SWIIG Magazine and Flava Men Magazine, Cross-promotional partners are Winter Party, Purple Party, Black & Blue, Jungle Party, Cherry Fund, Circuit Asia, Skeleton's Ball, Southern Decadence, Windsor Pride and White Party.
The Hearts Foundation was formed in June 1998, as an all-volunteer, not-for-profit Illinois organization and became the steward of a longstanding fundraising tradition in Chicago. Over the past fifteen years, the Hearts Foundation and its predecessor, the Hearts Committee, have raised over $2.4 million for Chicago's GLBT and HIV/AIDS service organizations. Last year, nearly four thousand individuals from across the nation and abroad participated in a series of fundraising events, helping to donate a significant amount to the Foundation's beneficiaries. With the success of life-sustaining medication in the treatment of HIV/AIDS came a false sense that the pandemic is over. Complacency is now as significant a threat as the virus itself. Incidence rates are climbing once again, and new communities are becoming vulnerable. More information on the Hearts Foundation can be obtained by visiting www.heartsfoundation.org.