list.in.to.chicago this week: 08.25.2003

I'm going to remind you of this about eight times below, but this weekend is the Chicago Jazz Festival. It's also an excellent opportunity to see your humble (okay, not-so-humble) correspondent playing in a whole bunch of different contexts. Lindsie on Friday! Foxide on Saturday! I can't think of a better way to spend the holiday weekend. Well, I can, but that would sort of defeat the promotional nature of that part of the newsletter.

If you have friends staying in town for Labor Day, and they've wondered just how the heck they're going to fill their time, might I suggest forwarding this to them? If you are them, might I suggest subscribing? I might? Thanks!

Pick of the week
I absolutely, positively, can't recommend the Branford Marsalis Quartet/Tribute to Art Blakey show at Symphony Center on Thursday highly enough. If I had the time and/or the money, I'd be there in a heartbeat, but sometimes these things just don't work out. Jazz is your friend, and there's a lot of it this weekend with the annual Chicago Jazz Festival. Big bands led by Dave Holland and McCoy Tyner also round out those festivies.

list.in.to.COZ
Big week in Cozland this week, with Lindsie Reitz on Friday at Elbo Room and Nitrous Foxide on Saturday at Goose Island Wrigleyville. So if you're in town for the holiday weekend, I expect to see you all there. No excuses. I may be hosting the Vaughan's open mike again as well.

Recap
This week is busy for me as musician. Last week was busy for me as music enthusiast. Regal Standard triumphed over adversity on Thursday night after their bassist broke a string early in the set. Seriously, how often does that happen? Then The Changes proved they could deliver on what had to be their biggest stage yet, with a sound I might describe as sophisticated garage rock, or maybe a more raw retro pop. Either way, it's nice to see an actual lead guitarist in a rock band for once. There hasn't been much of that since about 1991.

Friday was EXO at Elbo Room. Possibly a tactical error in taking the second slot on the bill, as it took some time for the room to fill up, and subsequently, for the band to hit their stride. They were rocking it out by the end, though.

Then, there was Radiohead. First, there was a long-ass drive, but that's going to happen when you see shows in Wisconsin. It was quite a captivating show, and I stand my contention that the band's crew superglues Thom Yorke's lips to the microphone, and he spends most of the show flailing about trying to get free. Also, everyone should get the chance to see this band play Kid A's "Idioteque" live. Both times I've seen the song performed, it's been damn near transcendant.

8.25   monday
Patricia Barber Quartet (Green Mill)
Apparently, Barber is back from last week's "tour," which, near as I could figure, took her to the Green Mill, but on Wednesday instead of Monday. I wonder if they rented a van for that? Yeah, I realize there might have been other dates and whatnot, but that would ruin the joke.

8.26   tuesday
Open Mike (Vaughan's)   SEE COZ LIVE!
You may be happy to know that I learned EVEN MORE eighties tunes over the weekend. Which ones? You'll just have to show up and find out.

B.B. King, Jeff Beck, Galactic (Arie Crown Theater)
Had I realized these guys were here this week, I might not have plugged their show in Madison last week, but then again, that served a higher, if somewhat cheesy, purpose of one day of nothing but Wisconsin shows.

8.27   wednesday
Billy Idol (House of Blues)
Someday, when you're bored, seek out the lyrics to "Rebel Yell." They're really, really silly. For the diehard Idol fans, you may be happy to know that guitarist Steve Stevens is with him again. At least the initial ads said so. The new ones don't, so either they sold enough tickets not to need the extra incentive, or he quit mid-tour.

8.28   thursday
Branford Marsalis Quartet, Tribute to Art Blakey (Symphony Center)
I don't know that the Chicago Jazz Festival has included an indoor show before, but with tenor saxophonist Marsalis performing both with his own group and with the star-studded Blakey tribute, I'm all for it.

8.29   friday
Lindsie Reitz with Marigold Engine and Segway (Elbo Room)   SEE COZ LIVE!
It's our first show since finishing the 5-song EP, so come on out and here the new arrangements of some of your favorite Lindsie tunes. More drastic on some than others, but all very good. And very BIG. Bring the rock! As if that weren't enough, "Friends of Coz" Marigold Engine are also on the bill.

David Lee Roth (House of Blues)
This is twice now that Diamond Dave has been playing the same night as us. Not sure what to make of that. HOB felt it necessary to tease the names of some of Dave's songs in the ad, which I thought was interesting. I'm sure they were forbidden from mentioning Van Halen either by Roth or by Eddie, but is there really anyone who would go to this show who doesn't know who he is?

Sex Pistols with Dropkick Murphys and Reverend Horton Heat (Aragon)
If their last tour was the "Filthy Lucre" tour, and admittedly just a money grabbing reunion, what does that make this one? The "we realized we can still make money at this" tour? The "I rediscovered old, expensive habits on the road last time" tour?

8.30   saturday
Nitrous Foxide (Goose Island Wrigleyville)   SEE COZ LIVE AGAIN!
Good beer, good food, and some damn fine renditions of all sorts of rock and roll, if I do say so myself. We've got a couple new ones in store for you this time around, so come on down.

Elvin Jones Jazz Machine (Petrillo Music Shell)
The second full night of the Jazz Festival features drumming legend Jones, best known for his work with John Coltrane in the sixties. I've said it before, and I'll say it again. You should take advantage of any and all opportunities to see the few remaining guys from bebop's heyday.

Rock Star Ball 2003 (Aragon Entertainment Center)
This party is "hosted" by Papa Roach, which makes me think they're there but not playing, along with some Playboy playmate and "25 of Chicago's hottest dancers," but that's not the point. The point is that it's advertised at the Aragon ENTERTAINMENT CENTER. Entertainment Center? Are they that upset about everyone always calling it the "Brawlroom"?

8.31   sunday
Dan Darrah with Seven Day Run, Javier Mendoza Band, Dave Tamkin and the PPC (Metro)   FRIENDS OF COZ!
The Darrah band shares our rehearsal space, although I've never actually heard them. I do know that people have told "Friend of Coz" and longtime vet of the Chicago scene Nicholas Barron that he sounds like relative newcomer Darrah, which is sort of sad and funny at the same time, but is ultimately more about the audience than the artists. Following up on my lament from a few newsletters back, I thought I had heard a rumor that Metro was going back to more purely local shows on Sundays, but outside of this one, I don't see much evidence of that on the schedule.