This is the story about a band from Chicago that brings our local renaissance to magical moments. With over 2000 performances under their belt, including a major self-propelled festival aptly titled Blottopia, and a knock-out performance at the 10,000 lakes festival with other famous Chicago bands like Umphrey's McGee, this band of merry music makers might as well be the Led Zeppelin of our time. Their place in the hearts of Chicago's rock-solid music community is legendary.

To top it off, John Barlow, one of The Greatful Dead's most prolific songwriters, sought this group out to produce his most recent album, Barlow Shanghai.

Have you figured it out yet? If you are a Chicago resident and aren't familiar with Mr. Blotto, then you might not be a Chicago native.

Mr. Blotto is Chicago's most endearing band and one of the most formidable groups to lead us to places we might otherwise only dream of in our nostalgic connection to ourselves.

Let's start with Blottopia, one of Illinois' most important music events, held in Elgin at Vasa Park.

This 25 acre reprieve is one of the most romantic settings along the Fox River that any true romantic of Chicago's music explosion would cream over.

Upon arrival, you get the impression that this is the real deal.

Hundreds of vehicles, tents, and fans camp out for 3 days under the stars, along the Fox River, and in great company.

When I arrived, the scene was something out of a story book. There were campers everywhere, people smiling and dancing, and an awesome stage that waxed a Major Experience. There was fresh zuccinni, artwork, and a very respectable crowd.

As I was sitting under a full-moon and an amazing summer sky, Paul Bolger, lead singer and front-man lyricist for Mr. Blotto was walking onto a catwalk, with this surreal blue beam glowing behind him. At the microphone, a story was being presented. Words like "revolution" and "top of the mountain" drifted over the crowd as they eagerly watched and listened to the wise words. Paul is an iconic figure that immediately creates this connection to our most fantastic music association.

I couldn't help but think that something very important was happening here and I was part of something only a band like Mr. Blotto could pull off. If you haven't embraced the power of the Blotto spirit, then your time has come.

One of Chicago's royal talents, Mark Hague, Mr. Blotto's prolific guitarist, is an incredible performer that mesmerized the crowd as they bounced and frolicked to his famous guitar work. The control and direction of the sound was so impressive that I just couldn't believe I was lucky enough to be there.

The bass-work of Mike Bolger was clean, cladestine, and truely irremovable from the songs. His vocals were fantastic and a true delight to listen too. One of the most important components of a real rock star band is a solid bass player, and Mike aims to please.

Tony Dellumo was amazing on drums. The sound was so clear. The beats so succinct. A fantastic driving force and one of Chicago's most valuable drummers. The sound at Blottopia, the speakers, the whole ride brought tremendous justice to his percussion talent.

Steve Ball, Mr. Blotto's keyboardist, was religious in his contributions to this powerful line-up. Many references are associated with Mr. Blotto, including Phish, The Greatful Dead, and other jam-band gods, although this doesn't even begin to describe the range of talent Paul Bolger, Mike Bolger, Tony Dellumo, Mark Hague, and Steve Ball contain.

Personal references include The Allman Brothers and Led Zeppelin, but let there be no mistake: this is a Chicago family of extraordinarily talented artists that take things to much more important places.

Mr. Blotto is Chicago Royalty! Once you see them, you will forever live in their dream. One of the great things about Chiacago is it's street festivals. Several years ago I was downtown walking through the Lincoln Park neighorhood, and the streets were jam-packed. It took me 15 minutes to meander toward the stage. The music had the whole steet going ballistic, dancing and singing, and if you know anything about anything, you could tell that this was no ordinary festival. Mr. Blotto was jamming on Lincoln Avenue in a festival shell just blowing magic down the streets.

If there was one classic Chicago music moment, it was the approach of Mr. Blotto dominating Lincoln Park. There really is no way to describe the amount of energy going on there, but you had to have a piece of it.

Another recent stop at The Wisefools Pub in Lincoln Park featured a wide variety of songs. At one point, this girl Michelle got on-stage and started singing Led Zeppelin, and all I could remember was the crowd becoming mezmerized by the remarkable performance. All my renaissance dreams had come true as I sipped on my juicy cup of spirits and flowed with the sound.

As you can tell, I have a very special place in my heart for Mr. Blotto.

They embrace all of the magic that any true spirit-driven music lover might hope for.

As Chicago becomes a force in the music industry, no reference to our success can sustain itself without making reference to the Kharma of Mr. Blotto. They are, without a doubt, one of the greatest bands we have, and looking forward to their future is a gesture I can only bide my time waiting for. Formed in 1991, Mr. Blotto has continued to experience national awareness as Chicago's darlings of our renaissance music movement. With several albums under their belt, including their most recent national release, Barlow Shanghai, this is a band to follow.

Remarkable is the national bootleg collection of recordings that shows Mr. Blotto is not only a key element of the revolution of music locally, but a connection to the outside world.

Early in their formation, bootleg tapes started showing up, which reflects a national consciousness about the band and their ability to stimulate the greatest of endeavors of the spirit.

For information on upcoming shows, please visit www.mrblotto.com.

Mr. Blotto will be performing at Chicago City Limits on August 3rd.
Wise Fools Pub on August 7th, 14th, 21st, and 28th.
On September 9th at Walter Payton's Roundhouse in Aurora Illinois.
Another remarkable event will be the Valparaison Popcorn Festival on September 8th.

When I tell you that Mr. Blotto is one of Chicago's most important history pieces, I mean it.