So i went out and bought the Zoom H1....tried it out the other night and after a few glitches (learning curve in a dark, crowded, noisy club...LOL) the recordings came out really good!!! The band was really loud, but i was able to adjust the input levels such that it recorded near perfect...at least for these old ears.
I'll be trying it out again tomorrow night in a different club, different band and see how it turns out...so far it's a great investment for just over $100!!