list.in.to.chicago this week: 01.12.2004

Paging through the Reader this week, it looks like local singer Rachael Yamagata is going to be a busy girl in the early part of 2004, with opening slots on tours from both Gomez and Liz Phair. In other Section 3 news, somebody tell Gunther Murphy's that their new font is too small to read easily.

Pick of the week
If you can find tickets, it's a no-brainer. David Bowie is a legend, and one that doesn't tour very often. Three nights this week at the Rosemont Theatre. Then there's a great jazz show in the Paul Wertico Trio this Wednesday at HotHouse, and Ani DiFranco at the Chicago Theatre should be good as well.

list.in.to.COZ
This Friday at Blue Bayou, on Southport across from the Music Box, will be the big second show for the Sheffield Exiles, who you may recall as The Curtains from our debut last month, but I like this name a lot better. It's a lot of britpop (Beatles, Stones, Paul Weller, Oasis, Radiohead, Coldplay, etc.) and "related" stuff, and should be a good time, so you should come out.

Recap
Okay, so I didn't get out to see much of anything last week, but I did sing karaoke on Friday. Perhaps more importantly, I sang "Schism" from Tool on karaoke (among others). Saw it on the list, and realized that I had a responsibility to carry out, although there's a pseudo-bridge part that's a bitch to pull off when you don't actually know the words.

Seriously, karaoke Tool. I can't make stuff like that up. And there were witnesses, so you'd know if I was.

On Tuesday, I was apparently this close to playing a big rock song and having the guy who wrote it walk in while I was performing it. Which is funny, because that's how I set it up before I started.

1.12   monday
The Experiment (Bad Dog Tavern)   FRIENDS OF COZ!
Remember last week, when I mentioned how the percussionist in Dana's band has a sister who lives next to my grandpa's old butcher shop in New York? This is that percussionist, Alexander Rea, with an "improv-fusion" quartet. If you go, ask him if he's tried any of my New York-style pizza recommendations.

1.13   tuesday
David Bowie with Macy Gray (Rosemont Theatre)
Even though I disagree with him about the merits of Bowie's second-most recent record, Sun-Times critic Jim DeRogatis has an excellent interview with one of rock and roll's most enduring artists, even if he does keep prodding him early on to talk about politics. This is the first of three sold-out shows (the others are Wednesday and Friday), and will take up the large majority of next week's recap.

Open Mike (Vaughan's)   SEE COZ LIVE!
Depending on how long Bowie plays, I should still be by a bit later, and if so, I've got some new retro stuff to lay on you, as odd as "new retro" sounds as a phrase.

1.14   wednesday
Paul Wertico Trio (HotHouse)
Looks like there's a new CD coming down the pike from the longtime Pat Metheny drummer, whose debut Don't Be Scared Anymore was one of the best electric jazz records I've heard in a long, long time. Mike Kocour has replaced Eric Hochberg on bass for at least this outing, maybe more. I haven't checked, but that's not really a dealbreaker.

1.15   thursday
Buddy Guy with Nick Moss (Buddy Guy's Legends)
The good thing about this month is that, if I'm ever hard-pressed to come up with something, there's a 5 in 7 chance that Guy is playing that night, as he's only taking Mondays and Tuesdays off.

Karaoke night (Carol's Pub)
Have I mentioned being hard-pressed to come up with something? I don't know if they've got Tool at this karaoke night, but I've been here before, and it's fun. It's also the only real country bar I know of in the city, and not that glitzy Garth Brooks crap, either. On the downside, that puts a serious crimp in the beer selection.

1.16   friday
Sheffield Exiles (Blue Bayou)   SEE COZ LIVE!
This is the britpop cover band that was briefly called The Curtains. With any luck, and perhaps a massive outpouring of people to hear us on Friday, the new name will stick. The band is the Vaughan's Open Mike house band (Vaughan's is on Sheffield, get it?) with the addition of Avi Kopernik on bass.

Emergenza Festival (The Note)
A friend of a friend by the name of Bartley Fritzsche is playing at this, the second night of a weekend "Battle of the Bands" sorta thing. Fritzsche is described in the festival's mailing as "pop rock." Which means he fizzes if you put him in your mouth, and if you mix him with Coke, rumor has it that he will blow your stomach up just like he did with the kid from the Life cereal commercials. Oh, wait, those were Pop Rocks.

1.17   saturday
Evan Dando with Steve & Liam from Frisbee (Double Door)   FRIENDS OF COZ!
Former alt-rock heartthrob and Lemonheads frontman Danda is still kicking around. Didn't he date Winona Rider back before that was fashionable? I don't remember. Anyway, the Frisbee guys are on the bill, and while I'll refrain from the really long 80s urban legend joke for them, they could be classified as "pop rock" as well.

Ani DiFranco with Noe Venable (Chicago Theatre)
The righteous babe (it's the name of her record label, I'm not degrading her or anything) herself has come a long way from driving herself around the country playing any coffeeshop that would take her. The one time I saw her live, in a decent-sized auditorium, I was pretty amazed at how that relentless touring translated into one of the wittiest stage presences I've seen since the last time I played. Okay, I'm kidding about the last part. I ramble on stage. She doesn't.

1.18   sunday
The 13th Annual Hope Fest (Park West)
This benefit, for the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless, features a pretty stacked lineup, particularly if you're a fan of WXRT's bluesy, rootsy rock. Topping the list is David Hidalgo and Cesar Rosas of Los Lobos, along with Honeyboy Edwards, Pinetop Perkins, David Johansen, Hubert Sumlin and the Nicholas Tremulis Orchestra.