We made excellent time going to the concert — only 2 hours and 15 minutes from our house to downtown Chicago. The line outside House of Blues was quite long, because security was checking IDs and scanning everyone coming into the building. I didn’t have my ID ready when it was my turn, but the guard took one look and gave me a wristband anyway. I told him I would try not to be too offended.

So, the concert was sold out and standing room only. The kids went up toward the front, and I decided to wander around trying to find somewhere decent to hang out. My feet were tired by the end of the night. Lots of good people watching, though.

Nightwish was quite good live. The new lead singer did a great job and is a terrific performer. Moon thought the guitarist was gorgeous. All the guys have very long hair and look vaguely like vikings. The kids bought t-shirts and are planning to wear them to school tomorrow.

None of us slept on the way home. We were back by about 2 a.m. I’m totally not used to such late nights. The people of Chicago obviously are, though. As we were leaving, we saw many costumed people walking through the streets. There were many slutty girl costumes, a Shrek, and a group of penguins, among others.