Adventure Time, featuring Black Flag and Robby Krieger.

After a remarkably easy drive into Chicago, we drove around for 45 minutes trying to park. We finally found a spot, for $2 an hour until 10pm (5 hours away), but you could only buy three hours at a time. We paid for our first three hours knowing we'd just have to come back out halfway through our night to buy more time, which is annoying but not devastating.
We were in town to see Black Flag at Reggies, with HOR and Cinema Cinema opening. Isaiah, who went with me, had his ticket waiting at will call. We went into the first of three Reggies, four if you count the rooftop bar, to ask about the ticket. The guy there sent us to the second floor Reggies record store for the ticket. The guy there said we'd have to wait until the show let in to get the ticket, so we decided to have a drink and kill some time. Our next stop was the rooftop bar at Reggies, which we soon found out was crazy crowded due to some sort of party. Rather than deal with the heat, noise, and standing room only crowd, we hit the bar downstairs at Reggies.
We took two seats and ordered two drinks. Before we could get our drinks, we were asked to move down a little (even though there was nowhere to move to) so the door-person could do her job. They were just about to start a show at the bar, in addition to our show at the rock club part of Reggies. Being that we had no place to sit, we headed out to the patio/sidewalk with our drinks. Finding open space at the end, we went through the crowd to our seat at the open table. As soon as we sat down, we were booted because the table was reserved.
Once back out at our standing room only sidewalk beer drinking spot, the lady that booted us from our seats explained that the party sitting down included former Doors guitarist Robby Krieger. To apologize for moving us around, she bought us the next round. Once we realized what was going on, and once we had free drinks in our hands, we started to appreciate the situation.
Black Flag was playing a free, all ages, "striped down kids show" at the rock club prior to the paid 17+ show. I had planned to catch both Black Flag sets, but it turns out they were only letting people with small children into the first set. As Isaiah and I stood around waiting for the main show and missing the pre-show show, another friend of mine, Jay, who happened to also be friends with Black Flag, saw us and let us in just in time to catch the kids show.
Black Flag played at a low enough volume for the small children, and they played fairly kid friendly versions of their songs. They changed the song Fucked Up to Fed Up, used kids shows for the shows shouted during T.V. Party, and ended the shorter set with Louie Louie while a few little kids danced on stage.
Then came the main event. Although the show was supposed to be just Black Flag, HOR, and Cinema Cinema, Jay Lipe opened the show with a short solo set. Jay played a similar set last time Black Flag played Reggies. Solo electric bass guitar with vocals. A somewhat uncommon set up, but it works very well. Short, fun, catchy, different. An excellent start to the show.
Cinema Cinema, a guitar/drums two piece played next. They were noisey and energetic, and fun. They closed with a Nirvana cover, School, which happens to be both one of my favorite Nirvana songs, and one of the first songs I played with other people when I first started playing guitar.
At some point Isaiah went out to have a smoke. He wandered next door and crashed the private roof party. Then he went into the other Reggies show, which was The Doors' Robby Krieger and three former members of Frank Zappa's the Mothers of Invention. Tickets were $50 and sold out, but they let Isaiah just walk on in. He said it was really great.
Greg Ginn's band HOR was supposed to play before Black Flag, but Greg Ginn and the Royal We played instead. The Royal We is basically pre-recorded/programmed drums and bass, Greg Ginn playing guitar and theremin, and a video collage on a projection screen. I'm a huge fan of Greg's many bands, and the Royal We definitely didn't disappoint.
Then came Black Flag, for the second set of the night. They tore into their set, as expected, and were just on fire. I was at the stage but all the way to the left edge. Standing behind me, basically using me as a shield, was a pregnant lady. She was trying to stay out of the fray, which was difficult the way the people moshing were trying to run all over and bump into everybody. I did manage to keep the pit from spilling over her way a few times. She gave me a beer, which was pretty cool, and really hit the spot.
Near the end of the Black Flag set, Robby Krieger, whose set had recently ended next door, surprised everyone including the band when he came out on stage, plugged in, and played two songs with the band. The first was just a jam, I think. If it was based on a song then I didn't recognize it. Greg and Robby went back and forth on the soloing. At one point Robby insisted that Mike Vallely join in, so Mike sang a verse. Then they played Fucked Up, which is basically another jam, based on Kickin' and Stickin', one of the last Black Flag songs recorded before they initially disbanded in '86.
After Robby left the stage, Black Flag tore through Revenge, then ended their set, as always, with Louie Louie.
Outside, post-show, Isaiah used his phone to take a photo of me with Greg Ginn, and then I took a photo of him with Greg Ginn. He had taken many pictures and video of both the Robby Krieger show next door and Robby Krieger with Black Flag, but he somehow managed to delete all of it when taking the pictures with Greg. He was understandably very upset at this turn of events. I would have loved to see his footage.
After a little hassle trying to buy beer in Michigan City, our once in a lifetime adventure ended with a long, dark drive home, with distant flashes from the large storm to the north. Have been to some great shows and I've had some great adventures, but this night, with Robby Krieger playing onstage with Black Flag, is the only time I've seen history unfold.