list.in.to.chicago this week: 12.16.2002

Getting close to Christmas, and there's still lots of quality entertainment to go around. Once again, if you think I've missed something, feel free to post a comment on the website making your own recommendations.

There may or may not be a newsletter next week, as I'm heading out of town on Monday and I don't know if I'll have time to put it together over the weekend. The following week's installment will probably be a little late as well.

Pick of the week
Obviously, there's the Foxide gig on Saturday that I'd love to see some familiar faces at. At which I'd love to see some familiar faces? Why does proper grammar sound so damn weird? Anyway, you can't go wrong with the Wednesday show at Green Mill, and Stuart Davis on Sunday is another good 'un. I'd recommend the OK Go show more strongly, except that you can't get tickets at this point.

Recap
Went off the map a bit last week, including previously recapped Two Ton Levy way the heck out in Rolling Meadows. There was a guy playing solo guitar before them who had his backing tracks on a four-track, which was fine, but his overtly hip stage wear coupled with his lack of a band made it look like he had spent WAY too much time in front of a mirror working on his image. I'm just sayin'. Then there was lots of "modern" rock and nu-metal at Metro on Saturday. Swidden was really, really bad, The Blank Theory was alright but mostly unremarkable, and From Zero wasn't quite as bad as I had expected from their ultra-cheesy press photo. That said, their use of prerecorded Backstreet-esque vocal harmonies took me aback.

Then, to clear the palate, I took in a brief but powerful and VERY well-mixed set from EXO at Schuba's, followed by a blistering set from Verbow, who now boast Dovetail Joint's Rob Byrne on guitar. After those two, Box-o-Car's sloppy Guided By Voices-esque brand of rock didn't really pass muster, so we hung out in the front of Schuba's until massive drunken and negative energy from some newly-arrived and overdressed Lakeview residents with a general obliviousness to the concept of "personal space" got us thinking that sticking around could get ugly.

12.16   monday
Corey Radford/Scott Anderson Quartet (Phyliss' Musical Inn)   FRIENDS OF COZ!
I have to give Scott a shoutout this week, as I keep cancelling rehearsals for the R&B/funk project that he's signed on for. Plus, these guys are good, so everybody wins.

12.17   tuesday
OK Go, Seether and SR-71 (House of Blues)
This show is sold out, but it's still going to be good. Well, apart from the fact that it's a Q101 event, and I still can't tell the difference between SR-71 and Sum 41. That said, I'm looking forward to finally seeing OK Go. Could be worse, could be all ages.

Open Mike (Vaughan's)   SEE COZ LIVE!   MAYBE!
If I get out of HOB in time, I'll come by, but if not, I won't be back at Vaughan's until NEXT YEAR!

12.18   wednesday
Guitar Madness (Green Mill)
This show is free if you bring a toy, and if not, it's only $5 to see John McLean, Dave Onderdonk, John Moulder, Ernie Denov and Neal Alger. That comes out to $1 per guitarist. Alger is the only one of these guys I don't know, but given the company he's keeping, I'm sure he's quality.

12.19   thursday
Wendy DeBias with Riviera and Transition, Transition (Beat Kitchen)   FRIENDS OF COZ!
Actually, it's "sister of girlfriend of friend of Coz," but that's not nearly catchy enough. Anyway, it also turns out that Wendy knows former URT bassist Craig Urban through interning at Chicago Recording Company. So chalk this one up to the "small world" department. Or the "cute girl hands me promotional material at another show" department.

12.20   friday
Strain Busy Sky with Lyla Stone and Swizzle Tree (Elbo Room)
The SBS kids are good people, and I've talked about Lyla Stone in this space previously. That said, I'm torn between this and catching a late show of The Two Towers, but I'm a geek like that. Also, the Trib's website (again, I'm not falling for their stupid branding tricks) has an almost entirely different lineup, but, as evidenced by their recommendation of Peter Gabriel on the night between his two concerts last month, they typically don't deal with change very well. Which can probably be said for the paper in general.

12.21   saturday
Nitrous Foxide with Rubber (Cubby Bear)   SEE COZ LIVE!
Technically, this is our first "public" appearance since I joined the band. It's a pretty eclectic mix of old and new rock that I heartily recommend, and not only because I have financial incentive to do so.

Regal Standard with Brian Whitman, University and All for Adeline (Beat Kitchen)   FRIENDS OF COZ!
I didn't realize Larry was allowed to do shows without Lindsie's band sharing the bill. Hmmm.

12.22   sunday
Stuart Davis with Bree Sharp (Schuba's)
I could list this as a birthday present to Phineas, who's a big fan, but I've seen Stuart and he warrants recommendation in his own right. You might recall Bree Sharp for the novelty hit "Why Don't You Love Me, David Duchovny" a few years back, while he still had a career.