After four cast members of MTV’s runaway reality hit Jersey Shore abruptly canceled a weekend’s worth of Chicago appearances back in January, two of the newly minted celebs, Mike “The Situation” and DJ Pauly D, attempted to make amends by holing up in a VIP booth at Lumen last Friday. Our photographer pounded the pavement and stood in the press line but nonetheless found herself at the divas’—excuse us, dudes’—mercy when the guys decided they were more interested in rubbing elbows with local ladies than zoom lenses. Even so, the people watching was rich, and if you browse carefully, you can spot The Situation (reddish T-shirt) and Pauly (behind the laptop).

Photography by Megan Dodge