So, thanks all! I will no longer cower in fear of rain.
Moke seemed to get pissed at me earlier in this thread when I implied that real tapers prepare for and tape in the rain, but tell the truth now...don't you feel like you took it up a notch and feel a greater sense of accomplishment with that recording since now you know you can get a great recording (without one iota of damage to your gear) even if it rains on you?
I personally wouldn't feel that it's a badge of honor or something, this isn't a competition. If you do it and enjoy yourself, great, if you don't and pack it up and that makes you happy, great too. I find it difficult to believe that standing in a rain storm with electircal equipment that costs hundreds or thousands of dollars adds much to ones machismo. All except the most hardcore taper would look at that as a being a tool really.
Myco, all I'm talking about is satisfaction at the success or failure in getting a recording, which has nothing to do with being macho. To me, it's geek-ily satisfying to know that if I've prepared for rain and if it starts to rain, that I'll still come home with the goods anyway. It's the silly notion of a goofy taper geek (which I am) that even rain won't keep me from getting my recording.
The analogy was when I played golf and still shot my handicap in the rain...I didn't feel like I was any better than anyone else for shooting my score, but I felt pretty dang good that, because I had prepared for it, a little rain didn't spoil my day.
That said, there's no way I'm standing out in a driving rainstorm to get a stupid recording (the preacher scene in Caddyshack comes to mind LOL), and there's REALLY no way I'm sticking around if lightning is in the air, even in the unlikely event the band keeps on playing.