list.in.to.chicago this week: 01.05.2004

So, apparently guitarist Alex Lifeson was arrested on New Year's Eve in Florida. I don't want to presume he's guilty of the charges, 'cause that would be, you know, a Rush to judgement.

Pick of the week
I don't know if anyone still cares what Eric Clapton thinks, but at some point, he countered claims to his own godhead by pointing out "Buddy Guy is GOD!" Heretical implications aside, he makes a good case. Buddy Guy plays nearly every night this month at Legend's, starting on Friday. And speaking of Clapton, Tributosaurus morphs into Cream this Wednesday at Martyr's.

list.in.to.COZ
This week, just Vaughan's, where my stellar rendition of Outkast's "Hey Ya" is going over big despite my propensity to not get the words right. So maybe my definition of "stellar" is a little different than the norm. Next week, more than just Vaughan's, so stay tuned.

Recap
Back to the Outkast thing, last week somebody actually started shaking it like a Polaroid picture. No lie. Then it was New Year's Eve, and Drive, American Motherload, Matador Down and Thunderwing delivered the rock in fine style. In Drive's case, that came replete with powder blue tuxedos and a cover of "Feel Good Hit Of The Summer" from Queens of the Stone Age. It's probably a rare thing to go out by yourself for New Year's and have as good a time as I had, so I'm grateful.

Friday was the Dana Lawrence Trio at Uncommon Ground. What struck me this time was how she's able to get that real story-telling troubadour vibe without, presumably, having travelled the country playing coffeehouses a la Ani DiFranco. Also, I found out later that her percussionist's sister lives next door to the butcher shop my grandpa used to own in Greenwich Village. Small world. Finally, Nicholas Barron's Hyperactive last night, with bassist Shawn Sommer letting rip at the end of the first set, and a mutant variation of "Freebird" to start the second.

1.05   monday
Bryan Adams (Vic Theatre)
This one's sold out, but I wanted to mention it because I think it would be hilarious if somebody shouted out a request for a Ryan Adams song. You see, Ryan Adams threw a massive hissy fit last year when someone yelled out "Summer of '69" at one of his concerts, which prompted local musician Robbie Fulks to offer incentives for anyone else who tried it. Then again, I also think it would be really funny if NASA photo-shopped a fake Martian in one of the photos they're releasing to the public from this current mission, so take it for what it's worth.

1.06   tuesday
Open Mike (Vaughan's)   SEE COZ LIVE!
Maybe I don't mention this often enough, but this is an open mike. So if you sing, or think you'd like to, you should come out and give it a shot. It's very low pressure, and a forgiving (if occasionally inattentive) audience. I can learn most songs for accompaniment if you don't play guitar, and if it's prohibitively difficult for me, Tony knows every other song ever recorded, at the very least.

1.07   wednesday
Tributosaurus with Motion to Fix (Martyr's)   FRIENDS OF COZ!
It's that time of the month, and not in that bad way. This time, they're going to be Cream. I should be sitting in sooner or later on drums with these guys, but not this month.

1.08   thursday
Dremana with Sunhead King, Echosend, Bish (Metro)
The esteemed Mr. Holland would like you to know that Dremana, whose place on his list of favorite bands I can't be bothered to go look up right now, is playing this week up in Wrigleyville. It's also Elvis' birthday, but Kevin didn't mention that.

Matt Hoffer with Mark Johnson (Bottom Lounge)   FRIENDS OF COZ!
If you missed his opening set for Pat DiNizio, and given the paltry turnout that night, chances are you did, here's another chance to see Mr. Hoffer play solo. Which would sound much, much fuller with the addition of a percussionist, don'tcha think?

1.09   friday
Buddy Guy with Willie Kent and the Gents (Buddy Guy's Legends)
It's the beginning of Guy's annual residency at his near south side blues club. If you've never seen him play, you're missing out on one of the greatest blues guitarists alive today. This is not a matter for debate.

1.10   saturday
Anne Harris (Schuba's)   FRIENDS OF COZ!
Singer/songwriter/multi-intrumentalist Harris is one of the nicest people you're ever going to meet, and typically has a crack band behind her that usually includes percussionist Bob Garrett and either Scott Anderson or Chris Siebold on guitar.

Duvall with Life At Sea, Emily Shrine (Empty Bottle)
As is typically the case with new bands from old standouts on the scene, Duvall hasn't quite captured the city's ears the way singer/guitarist Josh Caterer's last band, Smoking Popes, did. At least not yet. It may be worth noting that the Reader ad has this show on Thursday the 10th, which doesn't exist, at least not this month. And this time I've checked that I didn't make the same mistake when pointing that out.

The Ethyl Mermen with The Wizards (Gunther Murphy's)
If I'm going to get punny with this thing, I absolutely cannot let this band name go unrecognized. At the outset, I was going to include a best/worst band name of the week in the newsletter, but decided against it. I'm actually not sure which one these guys would win.

1.11   sunday
Nicholas Barron's Hyperactive (Long Room)   FRIENDS OF COZ!
This will be the fifth year of Barron's weekly gig at the Lakeview nightspot. What I like about these guys is how they've managed to embed the night's drink special ($3 pints of Warsteiner Pilsener) into their listing on Metromix.