Jess and I are going to be there. Anyone else going?

Nope. Have a wedding.

Edit: and I'm pissed about it because these are two of the best live rock acts currently going.

I would love to hear some totally awesome stories about what I am sure would have been the concert of the year, should I have been able to see it.

I guess the only real consolation for missing the show is that The Hold Steady closes in Chicago. But that's not much consolation.

I just saw them in Boston and you should not be disappointed. They alternate closing and on this night THS closed. I had originally bought the tix to see DBT, who did put on a great show (as usual). But, I thought THS had a better set, louder and more energy. The DBT highlights for me were "World of Hurt" and "Let There Be Rock" (with THS guitarist). The THS highlights were some of the songs from "Stay Positive". Most of DBT came back on stage for the encore.

On the surface, it may sound like an odd pairing, but they are both storytellers. And a lot of the songs really were about rock and roll meaning well. Both bands have a great deal of respect for those that came before them; The Replacements, The Clash, Lynyrd Skynyrd, AC/DC...

DBT allows taping of their shows, so you can find some recent recordings at http://www.archive.org/details/Drive-ByTruckers

I have most of the DBT discs and "Stay Positive" from THS. I ordered THS "Boys and Girls..." today.

We didnt' go. Jess needs rest from her cold.

And ZOla missed the tix that we had; he never called back.

Oh well.