list.in.to.chicago this week: 03.31.2003

Under normal circumstances, I'd have been plotting some devious April Fools Day prank for this week's newsletter. Unfortunately, I'm just not in the mood. Sorry. If you're deeply concerned about my well-being, I would recommend (a) coming out to Double Door on Friday and (b) forwarding this on to someone who might enjoy it. If you've received this as a forward, or are reading it on the web, subscription instructions are at the bottom.

Pick of the week
Did I mention Lindsie Reitz at Double Door on Friday? It may be our last show for a little while as we hunker down and put together a real demo, and it continues to amaze me that we're playing a Friday night at Double Door without one. Click here for a discount off the cover.

And I'm definitely planning on making it out to the Tony Piscotti CD Release Party on Saturday. See below for details, particularly the address, as it's in a loft and not at a club or anything. That's BigHOUSE, not Big Horse.

Recap
The only show I saw that I wasn't implicitly involved in was Friday night at the Rock House in Rolling Meadows. Ivory Wire, well, they rocked the house. I got there late, but reputable sources told me that 2 Ton Levy did much the same. Lindsie's show there on Saturday seemed to be well-received, but I couldn't really tell, as I was in a really bad mood. I mean really foul. And it was only exacerbated by a god-awful band (who will remain nameless so as not to get me in trouble if they Google themselves) before us that actually thought they deserved an encore. Note to bands reading this: If you're a local band playing your standard 45-minute set, and there's a band coming on after you, YOU DON'T GET AN ENCORE. EVER. Or at least VERY RARELY. Don't make me come over there.

3.31   monday
Corey Radford/Scott Anderson Quartet (Phyliss' Musical Inn)   FRIENDS OF COZ!
Yeah, it sucks that all the good, younger jazz groups get relegated to Monday nights, but you don't have anything important to do Tuesday anyway.

4.01   tuesday
Queens of the Stone Age with Ivory Wire, Head On (House of Blues)
The tickets for this Q101 promotional show, if you can manage to get a hold of them, state at the bottom that the tickets don't actually guarantee admission to the concert. That just strikes me as weird, regardless of the circumstances.

The Soundtrack Of Our Lives with Caesars, Paloalto (Metro)
These guys have been getting the indie-rocker nods, and are touring relentlessly, which leads me to believe, for no real good logical reason, that there's something happening here. I think this is the third time I've mentioned them in less than six months. And yet I still haven't seen them. I'll be missing this show as well.

Open Mike (Vaughan's)   PRETEND COZ IS THERE!
There's a slim chance I'll stop by later, but I'm allowed to have other plans on open mike night. At least until they start paying me.

4.02   wednesday
Common with Talib Kweli (House of Blues)
Lots and lots of critics have been raving over Common's Electric Circus CD, released late last year. I'm not quite on the Common bandwagon yet, but it sounds like he's got something good going on with a much more trippy, organic hip-hop than you might typically hear. He's here Thursday as well.

Tributosaurus as The Cars (Martyr's)
I still need to wrap my head around this concept, as it seems like a more fluid bunch of musicians on a month-to-month basis. This time around, WXRT DJ and occasional Shadow Traffic copter guy Ken Sumka is part of the cast paying respects to Rik Ocasek and friends. No word as of presstime whether anyone will be showing up as Ocasek's one-time (and possibly still) girlfriend/wife/whatever Paulina Poriskova, and I know I mangled that spelling.

4.03   thursday
The Waxwings with The Datsuns and The Sights (Metro)
For a while, there was a bunch of hype and bluster about The Waxwings being some sort of "next big thing," but that seems to have subsided. However, three bands with "the" in their name means serious indie rock, doesn't it?

The Changes with The Saturday Nights, Paper Airplane Pilots (Beat Kitchen)   FRIENDS OF COZ!
The Vaughan's open mike alumni are back in action. Headlining, even. It's cool seeing bands progress like this, pretty much right in front of you.

4.04   friday
Lindsie Reitz with Sapo, Head On and The Sharks (Double Door)   SEE COZ LIVE!
I've been told that Head On is actually signed to a major label, so they just might rock. Even if they don't, WE do, and we're getting better all the time. And because you're a close, personal friend of mine, I'll even give you two dollars off the cover. I promise I'll be in a better mood this time.

4.05   saturday
Tony Piscotti, Dawn and Ally (Bighouse, 3036 North Lincoln, 2nd Floor)   FRIENDS OF COZ!
This is a release party for local singer/songwriter Piscotti's new CD, Soapbox Parade, and he's both a good guy and darned good at what he does. Dawn and Ally have been working up a musical comedy act that I haven't seen yet, but they're both really funny, and I'm not just saying that because they may be reading this right now. Okay, maybe just a little. Which isn't to say that they're not funny, just that I'm...okay, never mind. I'll dig myself out of that hole later. They're also behind Bluefence, a collective of local artists that's putting on the show.

Andrew Bird with Shu Shabat and Jellyeye Band (Old Town School of Folk Music)
It's been a while since Bird staked out most of the more progressive jump-swing territory in Chicago, so it will be interesting to see what he's up to with the release of his new CD, Weather Systems, which the blurb in the display ad calls "stark and moving." I've seen Jellyeye once, and I'm not sure if the "Jellyeye Band" is a different mutation of the percussion and dance troupe or what, but they probably have lots of drums, and that's always good.

4.06   sunday
Pele with Architecture (Schuba's)
I know I've said almost these exact words before, but my limited exposure to Pele puts them in the post-rock camp. Not as good as Tortoise, but interesting in that weird, non-attention grabbing way that post-rock typically operates.

The Vines with The Music (The Vic)
I think The Vines are the indie-ish garage rockers that aren't as well-regarded as The Strokes or The Hives, but it's hard to keep track. I do know that they're Australian. Meanwhile, it takes a certain kind of cheeky bastard to simply call your band The Music. How did I know they were Brit pop?