list.in.to.chicago this week: 02.23.2004

I guess it's appropriate that my birthday falls in the midst of about five consecutive nights of shows I'm either playing or definitely seeing. Although I guess it would be more appropriate to be in a stretch of 34 shows.

To celebrate, tell a friend about the newsletter.

More birthday stuff next week, as the day in question is actually a week from today.

Pick of the week
In the "you can't go wrong" department, how about EXO and Regal Standard sharing the bill Friday at Metro? Sunday night, you've got The Changes at Double Door, as well as the chance to be there, in person, at the onset of your humble correspondent's birthday. If I stay around that long, anyway.

list.in.to.COZ
Speaking of my birthday -- have I mentioned that yet? -- it looks like Nitrous Foxide on Saturday at Joe's is going to be how and when and where I'll be celebrating it. I'll be going out on Monday, too, but some of you people actually have jobs and don't stay out late on weekdays, so I thought I'd give you another option. As if that weren't enough, it's Leap Day Eve on Saturday, which, if you ask me, should be a much bigger holiday than it is currently. It only happens once every four years!

As always, Vaughan's on Tuesday as well, although I may be running a bit late.

Recap
Good God, the Double Door was a hard rock scenester's paradise on Saturday night. Among those in attendance were members of The Blank Theory, Disturbed, Rock Star Club, Lucious Warbaby, Drowning Pool, Matador Down, (the) Late Lorraine, Digable Cat, American Motherload, Wednesday Society and Filter. I feel all hip and shit.

You may be wondering about the actual bands performing, though. Head On sounded solid, from what I heard. Shots Fired had a definite At The Drive-in thing going on, although their singer's between-song banter was painful. Drive and Premium were both on form, but both suffered from some tough mixing, from where I stood. Chris Bauer's vocals were maybe a bit too hot in the mix for the former, and Premium has so much going on that maybe Double Door is a bit too small to contain all the sounds. Oh, and they were introduced by a guy in a bear suit.

2.23   monday
Corey Radford Quartet (Phyllis' Musical Inn)   FRIENDS OF COZ!
Get your free jazz fix, and by that I mean there's no cover (I think), not that they're doing some Ornette Coleman kind of thing. Tell Scott I said hi, and tell Paul I haven't forgotten about the Zappa band, it's just firmly entrenced on the back burner.

2.24   tuesday
Open Mike (Vaughan's)   COZ SINGS!
Last week's love-gone-bad set went over well, but if I keep that up, I'll just sound pathetic. So it's looking like I'll dive back into the eighties, with a couple of heretofore ignored gems making the playlist this week. As always, if you play and/or sing, come on out and get your jam on.

(the) Late Lorraine with Electricon, Mojica and Snaklab Allstars (Double Door)   FRIENDS OF COZ!
This is the only band in Chicago that can make the claim that I produced their demo, so there's a bit of producer's pride here as they make their formal Chicago debut. Mike Sixx from Electricon, also on the bill, contributed bass guitar to the recording. For any number of reasons, I'm curious to see how it all turns out live, particularly since I "built" all the drum parts from various samples.

Deep Purple with Thin Lizzy (Chicago Theatre)
For all of you who have been clamoring for the proto-metal warhorses to play their classic Machine Head album in it's entirety, you've gotten your wish. If you're not one of those people, or don't actually know any of those people, then I'm not entirely surprised. Yes, that's the album with "Smoke on the Water" on it.

2.25   wednesday
Evanescence with Default, Atomship (Congress Theatre)
They won a Grammy. That has to count for something. Still, there's something that doesn't sit right with me about this band's sound, and it's not just the notion that they're essentially Linkin Park, but with a chick singer. Amy Lee's vocals have this way of being entirely non-commital, in almost a soundtrack-y way, and that gives everything the sheen of so much sonic wallpaper. Now, I actually like music that acts as sonic wallpaper, but I don't think that's what they're going for.

2.26   thursday
Robert Randolph and the Family Band with O.A.R. and Toothpick (Aragon Ballroom)   SOLD OUT!
If I read the situation correctly, this one didn't sell out until after opening act Randolph added to the big funk number in the middle of the Grammys. Because if O.A.R. hasn't flamed out as frat-rock flavor-of-the-month by now, I'm going to get really depressed.

Bobby Conn and the Glass Gypsies with Magas (Empty Bottle)
The new guy at the Reader does a good job of explaining this one. I saw Conn about six months ago at the Abbey Pub. It was an interesting show, and not in that way that "interesting" is code for saying that you didn't like it. It was truly interesting.

Common Rotation with Nerissa & Katryna Nields (Schuba's)
Remember Warren from Buffy the Vampire Slayer? The guy who built the robot girlfriend and was one of the leaders of the "Forces of Dorkness" in the show's next-to-last season and ended up getting flayed alive after he killed Willow's girlfriend and turned her evil? This is his band.

2.27   friday
EXO, Regal Standard with The Silent Treatment (Metro)   FRIENDS OF COZ!
Have I mentioned how much I love it when two local bands I really like share a bill? It's just so, so...cost effective. As if that weren't enough, free tickets are available on the bands' websites. Finally, in more ways than one, there's a review of The Safety Primer Justice, EXO's not-so-new-anymore CD, on my website.

Larry McCray (Kingston Mines)
You know how, when you live in a city, you tend not to do the tourist-y things that city may have to offer? That's sort of how I feel about the blues in Chicago. But if I were more inclined to go see live blues, Detroit native McCray would likely make the cut, based largely on seeing him once when I was in college.

Sting (Rosemont Theatre)   SOLD OUT!
The former Gordon Sumner continues his slide into pure adult contemporary. Since kicking drummer Vinnie Colaiuta out of his band, Sting seems content to support himself with lackeys who will do whatever he wants them to, rather than musicians that will actually challenge him to be more interesting. I guess he's earned that right, but that doesn't mean I have to like it.

2.28   saturday
Nitrous Foxide (Joe's)   SEE COZ LIVE!
The foxes are back, with some new material to boot, returning to the spacious stage of Joe's after the triumphant showing there for last fall's Scorpio Party. As if that weren't enough, this is probably as good a night as any to actually celebrate my birthday, seeing as how in any other year, it would start at midnight. This being a leap year, we've got to wait until Monday, but again, close enough.

Chris Whitley with Teitur (Martyr's)
One of the interesting things about Whitley is that he doesn't seem to subscribe to the "release and album, then tour to support it" model. So, while these two nights of Chicago shows could nominally be in support of Hotel Vast Horizon, an album I don't have yet and can't comment on, they just as likely might be something else entirely. The Houston-based singer/songwriter never stays in one place for very long, musically, so these live snapshots tend to give an interesting picture of his catalog.

Mountain Goats with Manishevitz (Empty Bottle)
All-Music Guide describes these guys as lo-fi indie-rock, so the fact that they're playing Empty Bottle to support their second recording for the 4AD label, We Shall All Be Healed, should come as no surprise. I have a friend who's a big fan, but the chances of her reading down this far are slim.

2.29   sunday
The Changes with Elefant, Life at Sea (Double Door)   FRIENDS OF COZ!
Darren and the boys will provide a nice contrast to all the hard rock I've saw this past weekend at this venue, and I'm going to keep calling it a cross between The Police and The Strokes with some Beatles thrown in until I come up with something better.

Chris Whitley with Teitur (Martyr's)
See Saturday's listing. See Saturday's listing run. Run, Saturday's listing, run.