Bottle band to perform at Palatine High School

When Lauren Bacall entices Humphrey Bogart by telling him to “put his lips together and blow,” it sets a sultry scene in a classic movie. When members of the St. Luke’s Bottle Band put their lips to work, a silly scene ensues more reminiscent of a Marx Brothers movie.
St. Luke’s Bottle Band will return to Palatine High School for the third time for a performance at 7 p.m. Saturday, March 7, in the Altergott Auditorium at the school, 1111 N. Rohlwing Road, Palatine. Tickets cost $12 for adults and $7 for students/children. It is open seating, not reserved. Tickets will be sold between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. March 2-6 in the high school’s main office, as well as the night of the concert.
The show will feature Palatine High School choral director Steve Sivak playing Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue” with the Bottle Band. Also performing will be Palatine High School’s own groups Midnight Blues, Treble in Paradise and The Guys.
“It’s a zany show incredibly entertaining and funny. Yet, the people involved are excellent musicians, They bring creativity to every performance,” said Sivak, promising your sides will ache from laughter.
The director of the bottle band specifically wrote the orchestral arrangements for “Rhapsody in Blue” and for a previous performance of the Tchaikovsky Concerto. Sivak said he was honored the Bottle Band has used him as an instrumentalist and a performer.
“My very favorite memory was playing in the cowboy medley and coming out on stage dressed like a cow, complete with cowboy boots, sunglasses and the ever popular whip that is needed for the ‘Rawhide’ segment,” Sivak said. “I felt like something out of a Boynton cartoon.”
The bottle band previously visited Palatine High in 2012 and 2013 and Sivak was thrilled to welcome them back again to perform. The band incorporates great music, vocals, violin, percussion, costume changes, creativity, hilarity and great entertainment, all rolled up into one show, he said. Sivak said both he and choir assistant Kyle Cartwright, enjoy playing with them to show the students and community they just don’t pay “lip service” to keeping up their craft.
The show is appropriate for all ages. “Kids will love all of the cleverness in the use of the bottles,” Sivak said.