W ow. Wednesday night was so hoppini, it took us a full day to prep this story. Weire talking about Party 1.0, of course, TMOis first Macworld party. It was held at the fabulous Chi Chi club in downtown San Francisco on Wednesday night. The event was co-hosted by TMO, Mactivity, and Dr. Mac Direct. Better yet, the party featured the one and only Macworld All-Star Band.
The All-Stars include Paul Kent (the boss at Mactivity), Bob LeVitus, Chris Breen, Chuck La Tournous of RandomMacess, Duane Straub, and TMOis own Dave Hamilton and Bryan Chaffin (the same "Bryan Chaffin" that wrote this report). You can also occasionally find other Mac folks who manage to sheen their way into the show, but the point is that this ainit your fatheris geek band.
The All-Stars were formed to play the remnants of the Mac the Knife party series, then moved on to the Your Mac Life party for the last couple of years. This year, the band entertained the crowds at Party 1.0. The show was invitation-only, featured a clown and henna tattoo artists (look around on the show floor today for a few folks who might not have known that henna tattoos last a few days), and it was packed. That was rather gratifying, considering the fact that it was our first party, but itis hard not to get a big Mac audience during Macworld when Chris Breen, Bob LeVitus, and even Andy Ihnatko are providing the entertainment.
Without further ado, we offer you an entire passel of photos from the party. If you are lucky, you might be able to score a ticket for our next party (which is tentatively titled Party 1.5, Party 2.0, or maybe Party X).
Lastly, there are a lot of pics below, but itis just that there were so many darned balloons...
Party 1.0 Photo Gallery
 "I donit know *how* these things got on our heads!" |
 "With my magic headgear, I am safe from all alien incursions!" |
 Bryan Chaffin, Darla Sasaki, Dave Hamilton, and Bob LeVitus of TMO (we donit know who the guy is with his back to the camera) |
|---|---|---|
 Andy Ihnatko sings *The Star Spangled Banner* |
 Chris Breen on keys, Bob LeVitus on the Explorer, Duane Straub on bass, and Paul Kent on lead guitar. Dave Hamiltonis on drums, but you canit see him. |
 White man sings the blues |
 "What key was that in again?" |
 Chuck La Tournous (RandomMaccess) sings "Time wonit let me," with Duane and Paul playing |
 Chris Breen is a great keyboard player. You should have been there. |
 Bob is a *great* writer! |
 "Get ready, icause here I come!" |
 "What key was that again?" |
 Speaking of great players, Dave Hamilton bangs a great set of skins. |
 The place was packed. Thatis Chuck Joiner from the MUG Center in the red shirt, with Lesa Snider next to him. |
 "Now I will shoot them with my Lazerabacus!" |
 Thatis Peter Cohen from MacCentral with the sultry woman on his shirt. His attempts to psyche us out WERE NOT EFFECTIVE! |
 "HOLY CRAP! That woman is going to shoot us with her Lazerabacus!" |
 Paul Kent is the other ringer that makes this band sound great. Check out his San Jose band called "The Silicon Valley Houserockers." Heis also the president of Mactivity. |
 Bob LeVitus is a *great* writer! |
 The bandis synchronized two-stepping is also *not* to be missed. |
 Dave Hamilton practices his spitting. |
 With our magic "MusicBoost?" control box on the floor, we sound great! |
 Our plan to hypnotize the audience with balloons was obviously effective. |
 Heis getting a henna tattoo, not shooting up. What some people might not have known is that henna tattoos last for several days... |
 Peter Cohen, Greg Snyder, and Darla Sasaki! |
 John F. Braun and Darla Sasaki. Theyire pointing. |
 James dancing away. |
 Bryan: "Ouch! I stubbed my toe!" Bob: "Whatever, you should have let me sing this one." |
 Geepers, why is he smiling? |
 The clown was responsible for the balloons, and was great fun. |
 Did we mention that the place was hopping? |
 Bob, Chuck, and Paul. |
 Hopping |
 I included this one because I could. :-) |
 "Damnit: I am shamed by the quality of her balloon hat." |
 You really have no idea how many balloon hats there were. |
 And thereis the blond again. Her friend (peeking from behind the white balloon) was just as well received. |
 Again, the place was packed. |
 "Let me make this last adjustment for you, sir." |
 Is that Chuck J. dancing? w00t! |
 Like sardines, we tell you... |
 "The Hokey Pokey" might have been the most popular number. |
 Dave on drums. |
 We love that shirt! |
 Play that funky music, Bob! |
 At one point, we had to put Dave in the corner. |
 John is pointing again. This time, itis at his hat. Heis fancy. |
 Andy Ihnatko explains that his heart can be found in the Bay Area. |
 "So I says to the guy, iNot if I see him coming first!i" |
 Our own John F. Braun with Peter Cohen. Peter is also fancy. |
 Though Bob looks like he is going to clock Duane with that maraca, weire actually doing "The tighten up." |
 Love that shirt!!! |
 "Cigars? Candy? Cigarettes?" |
 The clown apparently kept his excess inventory in his pants. |
 Wow, thatis just freakini elaborate. |
 Andy attempts to chug the microphone. |
 Sir David Attenborough: "The male Mac Geek often uses his forward appendages as bait to attract the female of the species." |
 Dave sings the lead on this one. |
All photos by John F. Braun.
Captions by Bryan Chaffin.