list.in.to.chicago this week: 09.29.2003

No takers on the Bowie tickets yet, if you were procrastinating. Also, mark your calendars NOW for the big Lindsie Reitz CD release party, next Saturday (10/11) at Double Door. More details and a discount ticket on her website, www.lindsiereitz.com.

In other news, I just downloaded (legally, natch) the new Andy Summers CD, Earth and Sky, and wow, it's good. A whole lotta Vinnie Colaiuta on drums, which makes me happy.

And holy crap, King Crimson is touring with Living Colour?!

Pick of the week
Hmmm. While there are a bunch of good shows this week, nothing really jumps out at me. I guess I'll go with an old standby, Tributasaurus on Wednesday at Martyr's, as they "become" Talking Heads. Seeing as how I've compared guest Nicholas Barron to David Byrne in the past (albeit crossed with the likes of Al Green), that should be fun.

list.in.to.COZ
Vaughan's on Tuesday, and again, I expect to see each and every one of you at Lindsie's CD release party next Saturday. Especially those of you on this list who are, you know, in the band.

Recap
Scott Anderson's CD release party was an enjoyable affair, and looked like a good turnout. Great backing band, among other things, along with a mid-set performance that featured more berimbaus than I've ever seen in one place. EXO tore it up last night, ripping through their new disc track by track with some serious intensity. Scott Tallarida looked like he might explode, and had to offer a disclaimer before launching into "A Day Like Today" to the effect that it was actually turning out to be a great day, much better than the one depicted in the tune. For some reason, opener Phistine Verona reminded me of Pere Ubu, but I'll have to check to see if that's accurate, and Giant Step had hints of both early Soul Asylum and recent Queens of the Stone Age going for them.

9.29   monday
Long Count Quartet (Joy Blue)
I have it from a completely unbiased source that these guys were really hot last week. Wait, did I say "a completely unbiased source"? I meant "the leader of the band." I get those confused sometimes.

Lisa Marie Presley with John Eddie (House of Blues)
If you believe in the power of heredity, then you have to think Lisa Marie has got some talent. At the same time, you have to imagine she's going to get old and fat and do a lot of drugs sooner rather than later, too. This show is sold out.

Finn McCool's Irish Pub Opening Night (Finn McCool's)
Note to the City of Chicago: We don't need any more Irish bars. Really. This one sounds so much like a Simpsons episode it isn't even funny in that ironic sort of way.

9.30   tuesday
Open Mike (Vaughan's)   SEE COZ LIVE!
For perhaps the first time in a month or so, I will definitely be at Vaughan's. All night. I might even watch the Cubs game there earlier in the evening, which could make for a much more intoxicated, and thereby more interesting, open mike set. And it feels really weird talking about Cubs games right now.

10.01   wednesday
Remember Shakti (Chicago Theatre)
The 70s jazz-fusion movement had a penchant for the mystical, which oftentimes would up grounded in Eastern culture and religion. Nowhere was that connection more clear than Mahavishnu Orchestra founder John McLaughlin's Shakti. The guitarist has done a couple of recent tours with a "revival" of sorts of that group, which features master tabla player Zakir Hussain.

Chicago Fire vs. Colorado Rapids (Abbey Pub)
A recent partnership with The Onion has resulted in a spate of watch parties for away matches for Chicago's pro soccer team, to the point where it looks like American soccer is even trumping music at the northwest side club for this midweek match. There'll be giveaways and stuff to boot, pun very much intended.

Tributasaurus, Motion to Fix (Martyr's)
It's the first Wednesday of the month, which means Tributasaurus. This time they'll become Talking Heads, with special guest including Chris Siebold, who's been a guest so often that he should probably just be in the band by now, and Nicholas Barron.

10.02   thursday
Kings of Leon (Double Door)
I caught these guys on Letterman a few weeks ago, with the sound off, and they sorta look like Motorhead if Lemmy was a redneck instead of a Brit. Judging by some of the press I've seen on them, that may be an accurate description of the music, too. Or not.

10.03   friday
Bret Michaels (Joe's)
On the one hand, I'd be really curious to see what kind of people turn out in what kind of numbers to see the former Poison lead vocalist. On the other, I would never, ever want to mistaken for one of them, or contribute to washed-up artists thinking they can still draw, so I'll be sitting this one out.

The Avishai Cohen Quartet with Hamster Theater (HotHouse)
Chick Corea sure does know his bass players. Like John Patitucci before him, Cohen has been anchoring Corea's band for a number of years, and lately has been stepping out on his own to considerable acclaim.

Red Elvises (Fitzgerald's, Berwyn)
I don't know if you saw it in the ad, but these guys have what is one of the most disturbing band photos I've seen in a long, long time.

10.04   saturday
Nicholas Payton Sextet (Jazz Showcase)
You can only call somebody a "young lion" in jazz for so long. At this point, Payton has earned the right to be called something else, maybe a "modern jazz heavyweight." I haven't heard of any of the guys rounding out the band, but you don't get to this level by playing with chumps. As usual at the Showcase, this is part of a Tuesday to Sunday run.

Gina Gershon with Girls Against Boys (House of Blues Backporch Stage)
I honestly have no idea what to make of this. Gershon clearly has some degree of singing chops, as evidenced by her musical contribution to the craptacular Comedy Central Roast of Denis Leary. She was also in Showgirls. I'm not even sure which of those is supposed to be the pro and which is supposed to be the con. Apparently she and the band will be performing music from the film "Prey For Rock And Roll."

10.05   sunday
56 Hope Road, Down the Line, Katie Todd Band, Knee Deep Shag (Metro)
This is a remarkably consistent bill, focused mostly on feel-good, slightly hippie-esque, bluesy college rock, so it'll be a great show if you're into that sort of thing. The fun part is the juxtaposition with the Mos Def show that hits the stage later in the evening. Not expecting much crossover there.

The Polyphonic Spree with Starlight Mints, Corn Mo (Empty Bottle)
I've heard a couple of tunes from these guys, and it's right up the alley of bands like The Flaming Lips, nominally in that "orchestral pop" space that fans of Brian Wilson and The Beatles like to go on and on about.