Gee, it's been more than two weeks since my last post. Did you miss me? Anyway, I guess there's been some stuff happening. Most of it not very interesting, but here are the main points, in capsule form with details in the cuts:

( We went to the Jeff Tweedy show. It was awesome. )

( And went to see This Is Me Smiling. Also awesome. )

( My iPod broke. Then I fixed it. )

Then wallacecat's iBook needed replacing, ( so we got him a new one, with a graphics tablet for me, which tablet is the coolest thing ever. )

( I was so excited about the new laptop that I forgot to watch the Beauty and the Geek finale. )

( I hurt my foot and now I can't leave the house. )

That about sums it up. Now I'm looking forward to the Doughty concert next Saturday. Speaking of which, izzat, RSVP on that?

Oh, and I knitted a laptop cozy but this post is way long enough already so I'll save those pictures for a knitting-only entry.

Hee, this morning while I was listening to the WBEZ pledge drive I swear I heard Steve Edwards thank "Mikael Jorgensen" for his first-time pledge. Just another reason he's my favorite member of Wilco.

Aside to hobbitgrrl, were you at all considering going to the Cracker duo/unplugged show at Martyrs tomorrow night? I wasn't really planning on it, but if somebody else wanted to come with me...

As much as I love Wilco, as transcendent a band as they are live, despite the joy of seeing Nels Cline in a miniskirt and as grateful as I am that tmhopscotch made the journey all the way from New York City to go to the show with me, I don't think I can bear going to an assigned-seating rock show again.

I suppose I'm spoiled from having gone to so many shows with great, fun audiences to keep me company, but if I were in charge, this is who would never be allowed to go to a rock concert:

• people who sit down for the entire show (while everybody else is standing)
  
• people who incessantly check their cell phones for messages (during songs!)
  
• people who leave before the encore (when it's not even 11pm yet)
  
• people who sing along very loudly and out of key during the quiet parts of songs
  
• people who put their fingers in their ears during "At Least That's What You Said"

I'm sure there are more that I've forgotten. Anyway, those people were to the left and right of me last night, ahead of and behind me...frankly, I was disappointed. Not by Wilco—the music was fantastic, the boys are beautiful, and Jeff was in rare, fine form—but the overall experience just wasn't that fun. If, as I've read, they plan only to play in assigned-seating venues in Chicago from now on, I'll probably just skip it next time. After all, somebody will record it and I can download and listen and have the experience of nobody standing next to me without having to leave my home.

I didn't think I could hate Ticketmaster any more than I already did, but after this morning's Wilco password fiasco, I do. Luckily one of the nice people on the Via Chicago message boards (and they are the nicest fans in the world, seriously) hooked me up with two good seats, so tmhopscotch and I will be spending Halloween night together. As long as he survives the Chicago Marathon.

All righty, the Wilco show on Saturday was so good, but I just don't know what to say about it. (Uncharacteristic, I know.) Um, maybe you should just go download it and listen to it yourself. You don't need to know what I thought about it.

But here's my pictures (typical "at the Vic" dark and blurry photos) 'cause I know y'all are dying for 'em.

I do want to say thanks to leahrosmerta for standing in line outside the Vic to get a good spot for hours and hours while I was stuck in Bluesfest traffic. Thanks, Wilco buddy!

This persistent ringing in my left ear is making it hard for me to concentrate, but I'll try to explain ( why you must go see Wilco when you have the chance. Basically, they rock. Really, really hard. )

I have a few, not very good photos (of the 5/19 show only), and also the scan of Wednesday's setlist. A BitTorrent of the Wednesday show is already up on Sharing the Groove and the Thursday show should follow shortly, if you'd like to take a listen and dispute anything I've said here.

All right, I had to get up early way too many times in the last week. (Those of you who have actual jobs probably do not want to ask me to define "early.") But there was finally a payoff on Saturday. First of all, leahrosmerta and I had this most excellent fruishi at breakfast. Okay, then there was an unpleasant episode of standing in front of an hysterical psycho bitch in line at the Vic. But we came out of it with Wilco tickets anyway. And while I was driving home, there was a rainbow over Lake Michigan. I'm not kidding you.

Two Wilco shows this week and then another in June. I'm doing okay.

Okay, so, I'm heading out early tomorrow morning to lovely DeKalb to try to get tickets to these two Wilco shows at Otto's on May 19+20. Otto's is this most excellent concert venue—a tiny dive, with a[n also tiny] balcony, and I am amazed at how they get such great acts out there.

I don't know how big the crowd is gonna be and what my chances of getting a ticket are, but anyway, there's a 2-ticket limit and I'll only need one, so is there anyone in the Chicagoland area who'd like me to pick one up for them if I can get 'em? Of course, I could always go ahead and get 2 for each show and scalp the extra for fabulous sums of money later.

Drop me a comment or an email if you're interested. $22.