list.in.to.chicago this week: 12.09.2002

This is one of those weeks where there are lots of big name shows in town that I'm not really forgetting, it's just that I'd rather spend my entertainment dollars elsewhere. With no offense intended to fans of Tom Petty (Wednesday at the United Center), Alanis Morissette (Saturday at the Chicago Theatre), or the Dave Matthews Band (Friday at the United Center). If you're fans of the violinist or saxophonist with DMB, however, take all the offense you want, because their histrionic-yet-stunningly uninteresting bleatings annoy the living crap out of me.

Pick of the week
Let's see, you've got five bands fronted by attractive women, and an hour of free drinks? And only for five bucks if you e-mail me for one or more of an ever-dwindling number of advance tickets? Sounds like Lindsie Reitz at Vision on Wednesday night is the place to be. Failing that, Schuba's on Saturday looks like a real solid show. See below for details.

Recap
Two Ton Levy's recent time in the studio seems to be helping them grow, as they sounded considerably better Friday night at Elbo Room than the last time I saw them. The rest of last week is a bit of a blur, as I had a twenty-four hour trip to Mexico on Saturday for a soccer game. I vaguely recall playing some acoustic guitar and singing earlier in the week.

12.09   monday
Long Count Quartet (Joy Blue)   FRIENDS OF COZ!
I'm taking it on faith that these guys are still holding down the jazz fort on Mondays. Call first.

12.10   tuesday
Open Mike (Vaughan's)   SEE COZ LIVE!
Join me and my Tuesday night soccer team as we either celebrate a rare win or drown our sorrows after a disappointing season. Guess which eighties tune I'm going to play and win a prize! Well, not a "prize" per se, but the admiration of all your friends! Well, probably not that, either.

Dillinger Escape Plan with Mastodon, Yakuza and Tub Ring (Metro)
Margasak did a better job of explaining these guys than I could, as I've only just started listening to them, and not really enough to say anything useful.

12.11   wednesday
Lindsie Reitz with Emilie Autumn, Stigma Doll, Sarah Hollister with Heavy Mental, and Marizen (Vision)   SEE COZ LIVE!
This is billed as the "Ladies of Rock" installment of the "Plug-N-Play interactive visual arts music tour. I've been instructed to just bring my "symbols," and there's apparently a "raffel" for a $600 pair of speakers, so if any of you out there can spell and are looking for work in marketing communications, maybe you should bring a résumé. Did I mention the hour of FREE DRINKS? As if the "Ladies of Rock" weren't enough?

12.12   thursday
Mighty Blue Kings (Cubby Bear)
The darlings of the twenty-to-thirtysomething set are back, although they're considerably more bluesy than their jump swing origins as of the last time I saw them. Cubby Bear purports to be free before 8pm on Thursday, but since this week is a break from the regular "local unsigned showcase," don't be surprised if that's not in effect.

12.13   friday
Vinx (HotHouse)
Back around 1990 or so, Sting started his own little record label called Pangea, and Vinx was one of the first artists he signed, along with an Indigo Girls-ish duo called Kennedy Rose, both of whom he took on tour to support The Soul Cages. We booked the singer/percussionist at the University of Chicago at some point after that as well. It's a sparse sound, to be sure, but Vinx has a heck of a voice to accompany his djembe. I'm assuming it's still a solo gig, even though he's had some backing musicians on his records.

The Webb Brothers with Turner Joy (Schuba's)
The first time I saw these guys, I was very impressed. The next time, not so much. They seem to be walking a fine line between melodic psychedelia and drug-addled meandering, so it remains to be seen which side wins out at any given gig.

12.14   saturday
Box-o-Car, Verbow and EXO (Schuba's)
This is pretty much the cream of the crop as far as pop/rock songwriting goes in Chicago, although each band has it's own distinct and almost equally compelling context for the big hooks. The more I think about it, the more I like this lineup a LOT. Go see it.

Meat Loaf and Friends (Congress Theater)
Okay, at this point, I just have to mention that I have an autographed picture of Mr. Loaf that reads "To Coz, Rock on. -- Meat Loaf." I'll treasure it always, provided I ever find where I put it.

12.15   sunday
Joey DeFrancesco Trio (Jazz Showcase)
This is the end of the traditional Tuesday to Sunday run at the Showcase, and in the interest of time and better writing, I'll defer again to the Critic's Choice in this week's Reader.

Q101's Twisted 9 (Allstate Arena)
I include this more as a curiosity than anything else, as it will be interesting to see how the ongoing war between Q101 and The Zone plays out at this event. Is the inevitable trash-talking going to piss off any of the artists? Will some enterprising Zone fan find a way to inject their "phrase that pays" into the proceedings? Will Moby realize that he really doesn't belong here? Will any of the crowd have a clue as to who Public Enemy is and why they're important? More sub-plots than a Tom Clancy novel!