Chicago is odd in that, while being the third largest city in the country (second if half of L.A. secedes, which is apparently an option being tossed around), it can actually seem quite small. Case in point: I've recently started playing drums with a singer named Lindsie Reitz, and yesterday went to a BBQ that a friend of her boyfriend was hosting. Also attending was a guy named Brett I used to know when he ran the booking at the now-defunct club Thurston's. I haven't seen him in I'd say at least seven years or so.

As if that weren't enough, I also ran into the third of five URT bass players at the Assassins/Caviar/Webb Brothers show at Metro on Saturday night, along with a guy I went to college with who now plays in Veruca Salt. This is a big part of why I didn't move to San Diego when given the chance. Well, this and the fact that I hate golf, don't surf, and don't particularly like to drive.

Speaking of shows at Metro, today marks the debut of list.in.to.chicago, an e-mail newsletter and column on the site that will run down a week's worth of shows in the area, giving me a chance to continue the sort of thing I used to do with URT, but covering more of the local scene and more of the projects I'm currently involved in.