list.in.to.chicago this week: 07.21.2003

I just want to state, for the record, that you should always double-check your start time when you have a gig. I had a bad math moment in my pre-Fire game gig on Saturday, which resulted in an extra half-hour of solo acoustic cover tunes and fingers mashed to a pulp. It was still a good time, as I got to play plaza emcee for everything going on before the game, but it wasn't without some level of pain. And I did work in songs that used "Fire" and "Revolution," the two teams playing later in the evening.

Pick of the week
OK Go at the Empty Bottle on Friday should be good, if you can get tickets. Same goes for The Mars Volta on Thursday at Metro and Los Lobos at the Lincoln Park Zoo on Friday. Me'Shell Ndegeocello at the DuSable Museum on Friday will be great if you can get down to Hyde Park. The two shows without any caveats are Roy Haynes, Tuesday through Sunday at the Jazz Showcase, and EXO on Wednesday at Double Door.

list.in.to.COZ
Just Vaughan's this week, which I'll warn you about in just a moment, but also, you should take this time to mark your calendars for Lindsie Reitz at Beat Kitchen next Thursday.

Recap
First, I want to make it perfectly clear that E!'s Cindy Taylor was checking me out at the Ivory Wire gig. Depending, of course, on your definition of "checking out." Mine is "looked vaguely in my direction," but that's good enough for me. Friday's Cane Corso show at Beat Kitchen was the victim of some entirely made-up expectations. Put plainly, with Phantom Helsman's Steve Gerlach involved, and nothing else to go on, I incorrectly figured on some straight-up rock with some midwestern roots. Instead, it was a female-fronted hard-rock throwback band, not unlike American Motherload, with a bit of a Lita Ford-meets-AC/DC vibe. And being very tired, I wasn't dealing well with the cognitive dissonance that caused, so I'll hold off on any value judgements until next time.

7.21   monday
Long Count Quartet (Joy Blue)   FRIENDS OF COZ!
They're billed as a quartet, but I think that, most of the times I've seen them, there have been at least five people on stage. Curious. And still, really excellent Monday night jazz.

7.22   tuesday
Open Mike (Vaughan's)   SEE COZ LIVE!
If you missed last week, you missed a stirring rendition of solo David Lee Roth. Here's a little secret...I have this tendency to play songs from artists (and I use that term loosely) who have just come through town. So think back to last week's newsletter, and be afraid. Be very afraid.

Justin Timberlake (House of Blues, midnight)
Okay, I admit it. I'm really curious to see how a 21 and over show at midnight on a Tuesday does for the former member of...of...waitaminute, I know this one...O-Town? No, that's not it. It'll come to me. Plus, this show, along with a pair of big concerts with Christina Aguilera, give plenty of fodder for local music crits to flex their pejorative muscles, which are somewhere between the deltoids and abdominals, I think. So says Liz Armstrong in the Reader: "Justin Timberlake's sullen baby face and Michael Jackson falsetto make him seem less a womanizing pig than a castrated hamster." Ouch.

7.23   wednesday
EXO with Sour Deluxe, American Cosmonaut, The Assembly (Double Door)
I haven't thought real hard about it, but I think EXO is still my favorite local band that I'm not a member of. Plus, Sour Deluxe and American Cosmonaut are two bands that I see listed all the time on some pretty good bills, so it's probably high time I checked them out.

Eels with MC Honky (Metro)
This is one of those artists I keep hearing about, but never in a context where I would actually listen to them. And I probably have them on a CMJ compilation somewhere. Anyway, Monica Kendrick calls them (or him, as it's mostly the brainchild of one Mark Oliver Everett) "wonky pop" as a compliment, so take from that what you will.

7.24   thursday
The Mars Volta with Saul Williams, Rye Coalition (Metro)
This one's sold out, so it's a "scalp or find friends with extra tickets" kind of recommendation. I don't know that this band, comprised of half of the now-defunct At The Drive-In, has been getting any airplay, so the fact that the show sold out could be noteworthy. I haven't heard their new record yet, but it's gotten fairly good press for something that allegedly sounds like prog rock.

Mars Williams' Mushroom Massive (Double Door)
There's a definite "Mars" motif going here. I wonder if people will get the two shows mixed up. This one should be decidedly more funky, as most Chicagoans would recognize Williams as the saxophone-wielding, sunglasses-wearing leader of Liquid Soul.

7.25   friday
Me'Shell Ndegeocello (DuSable Museum of African-American History)
This show is part of the "Neo Soul Explosion" series going on this summer in Hyde Park. Given the progressive social and racial tone of her lyrics, Ndegeocello should thrive down on the South Side. And she's still one of the best bass players of her generation, although she doesn't play bass at her shows as often as she used to.

Los Lobos with Maktub (Lincoln Park Zoo)
I've seen some blistering outdoor shows from these guys. They're one of the most underrated rock bands in the country, and will likely roar louder than the lions at the zoo. That is, if the Lincoln Park Zoo has any lions. You guys don't expect me to check facts here, do you? Anyway, advance tickets are cheaper, and protect you against the eventual sellout, but for the love of God, turn off your speakers when you click over to the Zoo's website.

OK Go with Bang! Bang! and The Trouble With Sweeney (Empty Bottle)
The latest big thing out of Chicago is in town and playing a surprisingly small venue for a major label act. Which means it's either going to be packed, or their fifteen minutes are up.

7.26   saturday
Family Style with Free Space (Martyr's)   FRIENDS OF COZ!
I played a couple of gigs with Family Style saxophonist/vocalist Chris Neal about a year and a half ago, and his main project is one I've been meaning to check out ever since.

Scottish McMillan with Seven Day Run, Bamboo Groove (Double Door)   FRIENDS OF COZ!
I could go and actually listen to the CD Scottish gave me the last time I saw him, but that would be way too easy. As it stands, he was a big fan of URT back in the day, and that's good enough to earn a recommendation. Flattery will get you everywhere.

Weird Al Yankovic (Skyline Stage)
Before they changed over to their current format, 97.1 The Drive would just play a single artist all day, with no DJ and no commercial interruption. I had the good fortune to tune in the day they played nothing but Weird Al. All day. It was incredibly silly, but still entertaining, which is pretty much Yankovic in a nutshell, isn't it?

7.27   sunday
Roy Haynes Quartet (Jazz Showcase)
Remember what I said about how you shouldn't miss anyone from the bebop era when they come through town? Roy Haynes fits that bill, and then some. He's probably one of my favorite drummers from that era after the late Tony Williams, with a sense of phrasing and articulation on the drums rivaled perhaps only by the great Max Roach. This is the last day of a six-day stand at the Showcase.