list.in.to.chicago this week: 01.27.2003

As I've said many times, this whole thing is an outgrowth of my tendency to read Section 3 of The Reader from cover to cover every week, in order to know what's going on in the local scene. Sometimes I notice things other than the music itself. For instance, the ad for the Cubby Bear is suddenly very, very small. I have to wonder if their ideological switch to nearly 100% original music hasn't turned out to be as lucrative as they might have hoped.

If you have half as much fun reading this as I do writing it, then please forward it to your friends. Also, I'm having twice as much fun as you.

Pick of the week
Garaj Mahal intrigues me enough that I marked my big wall calendar with Friday's show, so I guess that qualifies. Eric Levy is an amazing soloist, and the format should give him ample opportunity to shine. Fareed Haque is no slouch, either.

Other than that, you can take a little "prominent Chicago drummers" tour this week with the Long Count Quartet on Monday (Steve Gillis), Neal Alger (Tom Hipskind) or the e-mics (Dan Liali) on Wednesday, Robbie Fulks on Friday (Gerald Dowd) and Impossible Recording Machine on Saturday (Matt Walker).

Recap
I posted a full review of the Zwan show elsewhere on NotAbbott.com, but the short version is that it was a good, but not great, show. Afterwards, the Long Count Quartet reminded me that there's no good reason for me to stay in on Monday nights. Henry Rollins was pretty darn cool on Wednesday, mostly because I don't think I've ever heard anyone go on a half-hour tangent before, even if I do disagree with him about Moby. And there was a certain feeling of vindication after dragging more than a bunch of friends out to see Drive on Saturday night, as said friends were all duly impressed.

Wow. I went out a lot last week. Not having a day job has its merits, I guess.

1.27   monday
Long Count Quartet (Joy Blue)   FRIENDS OF COZ!
I've been remiss in mentioning these guys lately, and for that I apologize profusely. I was forcibly reminded last week that they can PLAY, with a somewhat funked-up version of Wayne Shorter's "Footprints" being example number one. If you can afford to sleepwalk through your daily grind on Tuesday, or even if you can't, or if you just really like good jazz, or $1 bottles of domestic beers, check them out.

Bill Russo Tribute/Chicago Jazz Ensemble (Jazz Showcase)
Russo was a fixture, if a somewhat old-fashioned one, of the local jazz scene, both as an educator and as a bandleader. I haven't heard anything about what the future holds for this ensemble, which hearkens back to those of guys like Stan Kenton, Duke Ellington and Count Basie, with his passing a few weeks ago, but I would expect an elegiac tone to the proceedings.

1.28   tuesday
Open Mike (Vaughan's)   SEE COZ LIVE!
I probably won't be by until later in the evening, but it's fun anyway. There may be some more gratuitous 80s tunes in the offing, depending on how the rest of today goes, which will hopefully spur the crowd to dance all day long. That was a clue, by the way.

1.29   wednesday
Neal Alger Trio (Green Mill)   FRIENDS OF COZ!
Drummer (and friend) Tom Hipskind and bassist Larry Kohut fill out the group with guitarist Alger, who I don't know so much about. However, Tom and Larry are both worth checking out in their own right, and tend to associate with really good players.

e-mics (Lyon's Den)
Larry and Tom, as mentioned above, also play from time to time with guitarist Chris Siebold, who was in the e-mics with singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist-who's-so-good-it's-depressing Wes Cichosz last time I checked. The rest of the band may include drummer Dan Liali and bassist Shawn Sommer. It did last time I saw them, for whatever that's worth.

1.30   thursday
Open Mike (Goose Island on Clybourn)   SEE COZ LIVE!
It's a special Thursday edition of the parade of 80s and prog rock tunes adapted for acoustic guitar and limited vocal range.

Al Rose with Katie Todd and Twang Bang (Martyr's)
There's a common theme to all of these bands, and it's my friend Phineas. He designed Katie Todd's website, is in the process of doing the same for Rose, and is a big fan of Twang Bang. You should respect his opinion, as he is an excellent bowler. I'm not sure what that means.

1.31   friday
Garaj Mahal with Jerry Goodman and 1000 Vertical Feet (Abbey Pub)
I'm pretty sure I've said this before, but with Fareed Haque on guitar and Eric Levy on keyboards, these guys should blow the hell out of that lame-ass "jam band" label that I've seen attached to them.

Robbie Fulks with Dolly Varden (Double Door)   FRIENDS OF COZ!
So, this seems to be the week to recommend ALL of my drummer friends. This time it's Gerald Dowd with Robbie Fulks. You may recall that Fulks has offered a reward to anyone who repeated that little incident in the fall where somebody requested a Bryan Adams song at a RYAN Adams show, to hiliarious effect. No word on how that's going, or what would happen if you requested "Summer of '69" at this show. If you get in trouble, it wasn't my idea.

The Arrivals with Methadones, Mexican Cheerleader, The Matics (Fireside Bowl)
This is a CD release party for an "old skool punk" outfit recommended to me by a friend, and since I convinced him to go see Drive last week, it's only fair that I give them a shout here, right?

Joseph Arthur (Martyr's)
I've seen a lot of critical acclaim for this guy, described as "experimentl folk-rock" and "discovered" by Peter Gabriel and signed to his Real World label. That said, I don't know a damn thing about him other than that, but the buzz seems to be genuine.

2.01   saturday
Impossible Recording Machine with Bicycle Tricycle and Twilight Babies (Abbey Pub)
IRM is, for the most part, former Filter and Smashing Pumpkins drummer, Matt Walker and former EXO keyboardist Jim DiNou making weird noises and punishing rhythms. Unless, of course, that has changed. I think Bicycle Tricycle is former Starball guitarist Tamara Burke's new band, but it's possible that she only did a one-off recording with them last year. I'm not paid enough to actually RESEARCH this stuff.

2.02   sunday
Twinemen (Elbo Room)
This band is the remaining members of Morphine, carrying on after singer Mark Sandman passed away. So the overarching themes this week seem to be great local drummers and dead people.