The bus ride was pleasant, and I made conversation with a legal ticket scalper and learned that my boyfriend Chris Isaak was in town and neglected to call me. That ass! He�s totally off the list now! Anyway... Come to find out most everyone on the bus was there for the Steely Dan concert.

I�ll be up-front about this. I don�t know who Steely Dan is. Gauging by the name and the age and dress of the fans on the Madison west-bound bus that afternoon, Steely Dan is someone my dad would have listened to back in the day as he was trying to drown out the gurgle of the bong water.

I could be wrong... But it�s just a guess.

When we arrived, I walked around to parking lot K to this HUGE blue swirled tent. I made my way in, and wandered through the booth that held the concession stand and a gift center. I got myself a Diet Pepsi and some popcorn, and found my seat.

Let me tell you -- My seat was fantastic! I really couldn�t have asked for anything better. I was on the edge of the fourth row with a clear view of all of the action.

I made friendly with my row neighbors, an engineer and his wife from Ohio, their daughter who�s interning downtown, and the daughter�s boyfriend. They took my popcorn because the buttered and salted supposed goodness made me want to heave. (If you really want to make me toss my cookies, force feed me chocolate soy milk and some kettle corn. After a particularly bad incident two summers ago, that�s now a guaranteed recipe for ChicagoJo chunks...)

The lights dimmed, the music was turned on, and the show started.

It truly tickled my senses.

I was so absorbed that I couldn�t clap along when requested.

I vowed to myself that I was going to keep up with my yoga so I could audition for next year�s show.

Simply, the entire time I sat wide-eyed and grinning.

If you can find the cash to go, I highly recommend it. From now on, I�ll definitely catch the show in whatever city I�m in. It�s really just too awesome to pass up. �