sorry, glenn

concert-going is a unique hobby. most people choose where and when and for how long they will participate in their extra-curriculars. but with concert-going you go where and when and for how long pollstar tells you to. most of the time sarah and i are more than willing to make the necessary sacrifices that our hobby of choice requires. sleep deprivation, extra mileage on our vehicles, not to mention the strain on our budgets. it's all worth it in the end. but there are those rare times when this hobby can feel more like a burden than a release.

last night we had tickets to see glenn hansard, lead singer of the frames, play an acoustic set at martyr's pub in downtown chicago. there is no doubt about it, this would have been an excellent show. the frames have become on of our favorite bands over the past year and glenn's stage presence is both commanding and endearing. hearing him play acoustic versions of this band's powerful rock songs would have been a treat, indeed. would have been...

we decided not to go to the concert last night. various factors contributed to this good, albeit difficult, decision. the tickets were non-refundable, so glenn got our financial support even without our physical displays of admiration at the show. and we both got a decent night's sleep instead of the short 3 hours we would have been promised had we made the journey to the windy city.

i don't ever want to resent the things that i love. last night we just weren't feeling it. and sometimes you just have to make the call. the call to get off the highway, turn around and go back home. or, in our case, get off the highway, go to rivertown crossings mall and buy stuff on sale at the gap.