The night before AXPONA's official opening, people mobbed the reception for press and exhibitors. As audiophiles chattered, drank, and ate away—the food was a major notch above the oft-mediocre, and the bartenders quite busy—Chicago's Deep Blue Organ Trio turned up the heat. With Bobby Broom on guitar, Chris Foreman on organ and Greg Rockingham on drums, the heat was certainly welcome, given the freezing temperatures outside.

Given that I've never been one for shouting over amplification, and do my best to protect my ears, I replaced critical listening with uncritical chatting in the adjacent art exhibit room. Nonetheless, the Deep Organ Trio, who recently toured as the opening act for Steely Dan, brought copious pleasure to those who were able to focus on their music amidst the din. On their break, two members of the trio dashed to the 7th floor to hear some their music played on the Tidal–Vitus–Aurender–Purist–Stillpoints system assembled by Doug White of The Voice That Is. Doug, it turns out, is a fan, and already had their music ripped to his Aurender music server's hard drive. The word is that the artists were quite taken with what they heard.