here's a list of places I've seen The Hold Steady because they're the only shows that I can think of in a linear fashion.

• Metro, Chicago IL, Oct. 2006. First show, Craig says that I know what he means when he says the part about City Center in "Yr Little Hoodrat Friend." He also mentions my hometown (which we discussed while talking before the show), which I am still astounded by.
• House of Blues, Chicago IL, Jan. 2007. This show, I meet Hot Grad School Mike for the first time. He offers me a ride home, we end up getting milkshakes at McDonalds and they kick us out 90 minutes after they close.
• Metro, Chicago IL, Oct. 2007. Preserved for posterity on "A Positive Rage." Not particularly noteworthy.
• Pitchfork Music Festival, Chicago IL, July 2008. I meet the Unified Scene for the first time and appear in pictures with a guy who I eventually date for over a year. I bite a frat boy in the arm.
• Riviera, Chicago IL, Nov. 2008. Double headlined along with Drive-By Truckers. I actually meet the guy I end up dating for over a year. I also meet his friend who I flirt with the entire show.
• House of Blues, Chicago IL, Jan. 2009. First show in the relationship with aforementioned guy. He is obsessed with getting to every show from here on out incredibly early, which is embarrassing on its own, but this is worse because it is also something like, -15 degrees out. The show is sponsored by the Cubs Charities, which sucks, because the Cubs suck. We see Franz Nicolay's solo shows two nights in a row after this and he becomes the member of the band we are closest to.
• The Recher, Towson MD, Mar. 2009. First show of seven on the road trip. Sponsored by Jack Daniels, but I only have one Ginger and Jack because I said I would drive seven people back to Washington DC that night. Everyone survived.
• Irving Plaza, New York NY, Mar. 2009. Second show. Boyfriend introduces me to Rob Sheffield. I tell him I hear that he has a collection of luxurious sweaters from Chuck Klosterman (article). He genuinely laughs and seems impressed that I remember that reference. My boyfriend later berates me for saying something allegedly stupid.
• Valentine's, Albany NY, Mar. 2009. Third show. Fantastic tiny venue. It is the debut of my "I Go For Status" shirt. Franz seems especially tickled by this, as he hugs my head while leaving the stage.
• The Tralf, Buffalo NY, Apr. 2009. Fourth show. I have a really bad sinus infection and nearly get in fisticuffs with a middle-aged guy wearing a denim jacket that has "The Replacements Don't Tell A Soul" embroidered onto it. (I told him it was a half-shitty album, because it is; he tells me that I don't know shit about music. Everyone around us agrees with me. I should have punched him.)
• Courtyard Cafe, Urbana IL, Apr. 2009. Fifth show. I'm really sick. The stage is about six inches high. At one point, a drunk girl falls head first into Franz's keyboard and the crowd surge breaks one of the amps or monitors or something. Afterward, we stop at Taco Bell and then I drive three hours on rural roads to our hotel by myself, in the dark.
• Jake's, Bloomington IN, Apr. 2009. Sixth show. I get really sick of my boyfriend and go shopping at one of the city's many used bookstores. During this time, he apparently says something to Dusty and gets Craig to dedicate "Yr Little Hoodrat Friend" to us. After, I see Craig on the street and thank and hug him. He does not seem terrified, which is good. Boyfriend can't let me think it's a nice thing and has to mention that he did it.
• The Picador, Iowa City IA, Apr. 2009. Last show. I bake the band cookies, which are put onto individually labeled plates. Dusty decides I need to personally hand them over, so boyfriend and I get a personal meet-and-greet of sorts. We are able to request "Midnight Hauler" and they play it. We are invincible.
• Bowery Ballroom, New York NY, June 2009. First show of four. Boyfriend and I take a train 20 hours (CHI to NYC). The band starts out with "Killer Parties," coming on stage individually. I don't remember much about this show as compared to the rest of them this week. It was good. I also met my British friends Hannah and Ros, which is very good.
• Bowery Ballroom, New York NY, June 2009. Second show. The band plays the entirety of Separation Sunday, out of order, starting with "Crucifixion Cruise" and going into "How a Resurrection Really Feels." I get one step closer to my life being complete.
• Music Hall of Williamsburg, Brooklyn NY, June 2009. Third show. The show is good and stuff, but that whole night boils down to this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TJ3Ql1qBHqs&feature=player_embedded
• Music Hall of Williamsburg, Brooklyn NY, June 2009. Fourth and final show of the trip. We weren't going to go to this show but we got listed. And then we weren't going to go but someone said we could stay at his place. And that was just like, whaaaaaat. It was a good show. Craig apologized to me and Brendan for "getting so much spit on
  
  ." It was nice of him.
• Taste of Randolph Street, Chicago IL, June 2009. Boyfriend insists on getting to a street festival 2 hours before gates. It is possibly the most embarrassing experience of my life. I bake the band cupcakes and we buy them squirt guns. They are both hugely popular. After, we run into Galen at the bar and suddenly my friend Emily and I are far drunker off two beers than we thought we were.
• The Majestic, Madison WI, July 2009. Easily the most mediocre show of all. The sound is only alright. I think I remember more about the mac-n-cheese I ate beforehand.
• Basilica Block Party, Minneapolis MN, July 2009. My first hometown show. We are listed and get VIP badges, which don't allow us to do anything. It was good to see the band in the shadow of a church.
• Lee's Palace, Toronto ON, Sep. 2009. I am in a bad mood because of some family news I heard earlier. Sometime in the middle, I apparently punch a guy, allegedly unprovoked. Sometime in the encore, I have a full-blown panic attack. It is the first time I don't watch a full THS show.
• Lee's Palace, Toronto ON, Sep. 2009. I have a better day. The show is much less crowded and far more laid back. I also have ketchup chips. The band plays new songs that later show up on Heaven is Whenever. They don't improve much between the show and their formal release.
• St. Olaf, Northfield MN, Oct. 2009. Last show with the boyfriend, who I dump in early February. The show is odd because I could have been third generation at the school it's held at. I feel a strange sense of guilt, partly from that and partly because I'm really not interested in the boy anymore.
• The Cabooze, Minneapolis MN, July 2010. First show after breaking up with the boyfriend, which he is also attending. Also the first show since moving back to Minneapolis and the first Franz-less show. It is far less fun to watch.
• First Ave, Minneapolis MN, July 2010. First show at First Ave since my friend Jayson died. I bake cupcakes for Tad and Steve's birthday, vanilla and vanilla-rum. They go over well. It is easily the best and most redemptive show I've seen from them in over a year. The staff hands out freezies and tiny American flags. The crowd goes wild.
• Otto's, DeKalb IL, Nov. 2010. First show without the ex-boyfriend. In case that isn't the best part, my friends' band is opening, I've got about two dozen pals there and I'm pretty schwasted. It is easily one of the best shows of my life. Some friends and I have a ball making fun of the fact that we're not there early and it is fantastic.