list.in.to.chicago this week: 03.22.2004

Didja get your Phil Collins tickets on Saturday? Me neither. And I was ultimately vindicated on not mentioning the Britney Spears show last week, as the "singer" hurt her knee the night before in Moline and had to postpone the concert. I have to wonder aloud whether there would have been any problem had she, oh, I don't know, lost her voice?

In the "fun with typography" section (wait, there's a "fun with typography" section?), something got lost in the translation of the Bottom Lounge's Reader ad this week. I can't help it that these are the things I notice when I read the paper.

Pick of the week
Lots of good stuff this time around. The Darkness (Saturday, The Vic) if you can find tickets. Ted Leo and the Pharmacists (Tuesday, Logan Square Auditorium) if you're down with your indie rock self. The more modern rocker would tend toward the still-unfortunately-named Hoobastank (Thursday, House of Blues), and you really can't go wrong with Al Green (Friday and Saturday, House of Blues).

list.in.to.COZ
It's the triumphant return of the solo gig this Sunday at McGee's. I'm not quite to the point where I can carry the whole night just with '80s tunes, but I'm getting closer. Then there might be a Diver show Friday at Vaughan's, but expect another e-mail during the week if that's the case. And, of course, today and Wednesday with the lunchtime set at Potbelly's in the Merchandise Mart.

Recap
I have just one thing to say about the fantastic Elvis Costello show last Tuesday. Fuckin' hobbits. For more on that, check in with Louisa at custom-deluxe.com.

Nothing at the Assassins show on Thursday really changed my mind about the band. For such a sonically rich quintet, I just want the songs to reach out and grab me by the lapels, and they don't. Maybe I should actually wear lapels the next time I see them and see if that helps.

Last week, Diver was a good lesson in winging it. Anto was still hurting on Wednesday, so we handled nearly the whole evening as a trio. This meant Tony and Avi playing songs that they knew, but I didn't. Then, Friday, the voice was back, and Anto seemed hell-bent on singing lead on nearly everything to make up for lost time, so we dipped into the Vaughan's catalog. This necessitated Tony yelling chords across the stage to Avi, with mostly good results.

3.22   monday
Toots and the Maytals (House of Blues)
Ah, memories. We had these reggae standouts play at the U of C outdoor concert one year, and we lost Toots. Apparently he went for a walk from the band's hotel, and noone knew where to or when he was coming back. A little more stressful than the post-Marley Wailers show the previous year, which just involved listening to a bunch of Jamaicans telling really dirty jokes when I picked them up from their hotel.

3.23   tuesday
Open Jam (Vaughan's)   COZ SINGS!
I've been on a tear learning new songs, both eighties and otherwise, and will likely be persuaded to throw in an original or two as well. Last week saw a whole bunch of new participants; if you're a singer or a guitar player or, dare I say it, both, come on out and join in the fun. Also, $3 imports.

Ted Leo and the Pharmacists with Electrelene, Perfect Panthers (Logan Square Auditorium)
For whatever it's worth, Logan Square is clearly the new Wicker Park, if the guy with the quasi-afro, tweed jacket and glasses I passed yesterday is any indication. So it's no surprise that indie rocker Leo is playing in the neighborhood, and I'm encouraged that Empty Bottle, who is putting on the show, has secured what I'm assuming is a larger room in the neighborhood for bands that might be too big for the club itself.

3.24   wednesday
Yngwie Malmsteen, George Lynch (Joe's)
I'm not sure which is throwing me off more, that Malmsteen and former Dokken (and, for hair metal completists, the Lynch Mob) guitarist Lynch are still shredding like it's 1986, or that this show is at Joe's. Then again, the bar has a penchant for '80s acts, so maybe that's not such a surprise.

3.25   thursday
Pigmy Love Circus with Cougars, Fashion Bomb (Oasis One-Sixty)
I don't venture this far into the 'burbs -- Chicago Heights this time -- with the listings, but this band includes drummer Danny Carey from Tool. That's all I know about it, and if the show was closer to downtown, it would be enough for me to check it out.

Hoobastank with Lost Prophets, Ima Robot (House of Blues)
If you were to, say, create a ratio of "quality of band" over "qualilty of band name," Hoobastank would be the best band in the world. If that made no sense whatsoever -- and I've only had half a cup of coffee, so it's definitely a possibility -- what I'm saying is that they're a pretty darn good band despite having a really, really stupid name. The rest is just math.

The Distillers with The Icarus Line, The Lot Six (Metro)
A lot of comparisons have been made between Distillers singer Brody Dalle and Courtney Love. I'll let you decide whether or not that's a good thing.

Southern Culture on the Skids with The Greenhornes (Schuba's)
I know my roommate is a fan, and she probably doesn't know about this mini-tour of Chicago, with the band playing Fitzgerald's on Friday and Double Door late on Saturday.

3.26   friday
Diver (Vaughan's)   SEE COZ LIVE! MAYBE!
Okay, I'm not 100% sure this one is a go, so check back with me later. Even if it isn't, Vaughan's is a fun enough place to have a drink on a Friday night.

Al Green with Ricky Fante (House of Blues)
The reverend has been staging a bit of a secular comeback in the last year and a half, following the release of I Can't Stop. From what I've read, that album was a mostly successful attempt to recreate the old-school funk sound of earlier Green efforts, but I haven't had the opportunity to check it out first-hand. Yet.

The Vines with Jet, The Living End, Neon (The Vic)   SOLD OUT!
Are the Vines the ones from Sweden that all dress in black? No, waitaminute, they're the Aussies with the similar vibe and the singer that everybody says sounds a lot like Kurt Cobain. And Jet is the band that sounds like The Strokes, but isn't.

Missile with Last of the Showmen, Magnaphonic (Beat Kitchen)
Yet another opportunity for me to not see these guys. I'm sure they'll do fine without me.

3.27   saturday
Mekons (Double Door)
This is some side project of the Waco Brothers, right? It's the early show down in the town of Buck. I'm kidding about the side project thing. Far and away the pride of Leeds, since their soccer team is in pretty dire straits right now.

Southern Culture on the Skids with The Greenhornes (Double Door)
Did I mention my roommate is a fan? As such, this is in no way an effort to get her out of the apartment so I can just chill out at home by myself. This would be the late show at Double Door, following the aforementioned Mekons.

Al Green with Ricky Fante (House of Blues)
See Friday's listing.

Gene Stovall (Hoghead McDunna's)
Met this guy last night at an open mike. He's a recent transplant from Pittsburgh, and has a sort of Ben Harper/Stevie Wonder thing going on that's also very informed by hip-hop, to the point where he was vocalizing turntable sounds during a rendition of Radiohead's "Karma Police" that was pretty darn cool.

The Darkness with The Wildhearts (The Vic)   SOLD OUT!
The beauty of these guys is that they have completely given themselves over to their over-the-top throwback sound and image, to the point where you can't always tell if they have even a drop of self-awareness. As a result, I'm not sure if they're so popular because of that sound and image, or if people just think they're funny. Probably a combination of both.

3.28   sunday
Coz Sings! (McGee's)   SEE COZ SING!
Back by popular demand -- if you consider me calling Lisa at Bar1 Events and asking her nicely "popular demand" -- it's a whole night of tunes down in Lincoln Park. And parking in that 'hood isn't so bad on a Sunday night. I worry a little that the LP crowd skews young enough that they don't even remember the eighties, but we'll see how it goes. Showtime is 8pm or whenever the basketball games wrap up, depending on the crowd.

Dana Lawrence with Jennifer Boeder (Uncommon Ground)   FRIENDS OF COZ!
Wow, just one FOC show making the cut this week, and it's the same night I'm playing. If you're ambitious, you might be able to do both, seeing as how the McGee's gig will be four hours long.