i may be a bird in a cage but at least it's your cage

I have what I call a bus friend -- a regular rider of my bus who I have also regularly seen out at shows, who I often chat with in the mornings, but who I rarely see outside the bus or dirty concert venues -- who I shall henceforth nickname Trees, based on his real name.

Anyway, this morning Trees and I were talking about the Rosebuds show from the weekend, and stuff we're going to see, and he asked me, what's the best show you've ever missed?

For example: he once walked out of a $5 Arcade Fire show at a tiny basement venue (the Cave, for Triangle-ites and ex-Triangle-ites) during the opener because he was tired. He also saw the Flaming Lips soundchecking at the Cradle, had no idea who they were, and skipped the show; he has since become a big fan. I sincerely regret missing any and all of the early Chicago dive bar Fall Out Boy shows. (He laughed at me when I said that, and I told him that I sincerely and unironically loved Pete Wentz and all P.Weezy stands for, including really ugly boots and loving Patrick Stump, and Trees told me that he could respect my love but he would never understand it.) Wilco played Carleton's spring concert my sophomore year and I was in London at the time. I'm pretty sure there were things at the Cave at Carleton that I would regret missing if I could remember what they were. Any of the Truckers shows in the Triangle between August '05 and April '07, which are, respectively, the dates when I moved to the Triangle and when Jason Isbell left the band, and also the Tres Tangled Truckers show (Caitlin Cary, Kevn Kinney, Jason Isbell) at the Pour House in Raleigh in December '05. REM ever before Bill Berry left. The Pixies reunion shows in Chicago.

So. It has to be, through timing and location, something you could have seen. (Because if we're talking history, I wish I could have seen Skynyrd in the 70s and the Truckers doing Southern Rock Opera start to finish at the 506 and Sam Cooke anywhere ever, but I wasn't alive for two of those and I was in Minnesota for the third.) What's the best show you've ever missed? Go.

(In other news: our electronic timesheet system hates me, I think one of my earbuds is breaking and I don't want to buy new ones, the bra that was fine when I left the house is now incredibly uncomfortable, our hot water heater seems to be busted again -- I had a shower like the ocean in December this morning, and I couldn't skip showering because I rode the exercise bike this morning and, well, gross -- and it's incredibly gloomy and foggy today. FAIL, WEDNESDAY. Also, I want spring to be here. Is it spring yet?)