list.in.to.chicago this week: 09.15.2003

Busy day today. I'll try to make this brief [ editor's note: oops, maybe not ]. In the meantime, you know the drill. Forward. Subscribe. Repeat.

Also, I stand corrected on last week's Anne Harris listing. Friend of Coz Scott Anderson did not play guitar with Anne, with that role falling to Friend of Coz Chris Siebold. So there.

Pick of the week
I'm once again passing the buck, this time with the World Music Festival in town this week. Check the Reader for the rundown there. Aside from that, there's lots and lots of good shows this week, from local (Sidewinders, Ivory Wire, John McLean) to national (Interpol, Raveonettes) to both (OK Go, the sold-out Wilco shows that I didn't list).

list.in.to.COZ
For those of you left hanging last week, my Tuesday night soccer team did, in fact, win our Tuesday night matches to become league champions, and we still got over to Vaughan's for celebratory drinks and 80s tunes. This week just has me at Vaughan's again, but a little later in the evening.

Recap
Did I mention that we won our Tuesday soccer league? Okay, I thought so. After soundchecking for the Lindsie gig on Friday, I snuck over to catch some of the Michael Manring/Greg Howard show at Elbo Room. Howard's set, on solo Chapman Stick, was awfully cool. Manring is quite a bass player, but I felt self-indulgent just listening to solo bass for even three or four tunes. There were perhaps a surprising amount of women there, in that there were any.

9.15   monday
Long Count Quartet (Joy Blue)   FRIENDS OF COZ!
See Steve. See Steve drum. Drum, Steve, drum.

9.16   tuesday
Open Mike (Vaughan's)   SEE COZ LIVE!
As I mentioned earlier, I'll be running late this week, but I'm leaving the earlier part of the evening in the very capable hands of Matt Hoffer, who is worth seeing in his own right. And I'm working on more Zappa tunes for acoustic guitar, so watch out.

9.17   wednesday
Billy Corgan Poetry Reading (Art Institute)
This is just too odd not to mention. Especially since it suddenly appears to be Corgan's primary artistic outlet with the announcement that Zwan is no more.

9.18   thursday
OK Go (Double Door)
Not nearly as much buzz for this Chicago band anymore, which is too bad. They were a bit of a breath of fresh air on the local modern rock stations. Speaking of which, can someone explain to me why The Zone is playing AC/DC?

The Sidewinders with Gary Stier (Fitzgerald's)   FRIENDS OF COZ!
This is the CD release party for my favorite local rockabilly band. If you must know, they're pretty much the only local rockabilly band I know, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't go see them anyway. Double negatives are fun!

9.19   friday
Interpol with The Stills, The Broke Revue (Riviera Theatre)
They sound vaguely British, but Interpol is actually from New York City. Could be all the Joy Division and Chameleons records they probably listen to a lot. Since those bands are featured right up top in allmusic.com's writeup of the band, that's probably obvious in the extreme to everyone, but lazy journalism is still journalism, dammit.

Ivory Wire, Regal Standard with Blackmaker, Supermint (Elbo Room)   FRIENDS OF COZ!
Come out and welcome Chuck back from his honeymoon, and see how good the band sounds having had one rehearsal in the last month or so. Should be fun all around, with an acoustic set from the Standard to open the evening.

John McLean Septet (Green Mill)
I have no idea who the other six band members might be, but McLean is a quality guitarist who invariably plays with some of Chicago's top jazz musicians. And top drummers, too!

9.20   saturday
The Raveonettes with Stellastarr*, Kittens for Christian (Metro)
Garage meets math rock, sort of. This Danish band recorded an album comprising totally of songs in Bb minor with three chords or less. And they had to be less than three minutes long and have no ride cymbal or hi-hats. Their latest album is entirely in Bb major. It's not exactly King Crimson's Discipline, when it comes to "rules-based" writing, but a neat concept nonetheless. And a major label released it. Go figure.

Cheer-Accident with Bobby Conn and the Glass Gypsies (The Abbey)
How's this for a tenuous recommendation? I think I've heard Cheer-Accident rehearse in the building where my drums live, and if it was them, I also seem to remember them being really, really interesting. Much like last week's Vaughan's gig relied heavily on what you thought of my soccer skills, this one depends on how good you think my memory is.

New Duncan Imperials with Rolling Clones (Beat Kitchen)
I had no idea these guys still existed. There was a time when this local trio brought their wacky antics to clubs around Chicago three and four times a month. It'll be interesting to see how well said antics have aged.

9.21   sunday
Twinemen with Lizzie West (Martyr's)
This band features the remaining members of Morphine, and seem to come through Chicago at least twice a year. And yet, I haven't seen them before.