list.in.to.chicago this week: 05.03.2003

With the International Pop Overthrow festival mostly over, and the new MECA conference not yet underway, you would think that this might a slow music week. You'd think wrong.

Pick of the week
The big standout this week is Ozomatli at Metro on Thursday. Should be a good time. On Wednesday, both the WLUW Benefit at Double Door and Tributosaurus as Fleetwood Mac at Martyr's look promising.

list.in.to.COZ
No, I didn't just copy and paste last week's schedule into the newsletter, Blue Line Transit is playing Wrightwood Tap again this Friday. In case you're wondering, Diver should be back in action in a couple of weeks.

Recap
I wound up going to the IPO fest at Beat Kichen on Thursday to see Frisbie, who played a short set of new material capped off with a strong reading of "Under Pressure" from David Bowie and Queen. Also on the bill were a whole bunch of Detroit bands whose names I can't recall. The sound was nominally "garage rock," which leads me to believe that most garages in Detroit have old analog keyboards in them.

The Blue Line Transit show on Friday was, dare I say it, fun. Once again, "Hey Ya" killed.

5.03   monday
Kanye West with Dilated Peoples (House of Blues)   SOLD OUT!
I've been hearing a lot about West lately, and in terms of the overall Chicago hip-hop scene, he seems to be picking up where Common left off. As far as I can tell just from reading about him, it's a more "traditional" hip-hop thing than Common, though, which I might have gleaned just from his being signed to Jay-Z's Roc-a-fella label. First of three shows, with limited tickets allegedly still available for Wednesday.

AREXP/Alex Rea and the Experiment (Bad Dog)   FRIENDS OF COZ!
Not to be confused with the Jamie Kennedy Experiment. Although the thought of Alex dressing up in costumes and tricking people, coupled with the notion of Jamie Kennedy playing improvised fusion in Lincoln Square on a Monday, is kinda funny.

5.04   tuesday
Open Jam (Vaughan's)   COZ SINGS!
Considering how shredded my voice is from Saturday night's Fire match, it's looking like we might get the all-Everlast-and-Tom-Waits set when I get my turn at the mike. If you would like your own turn at the mike, come on out. If not, it's still just three bucks for any micro brew on tap, which is better than a sharp stick in the eye, among other things.

Yes (Allstate Arena)
Unlike other prog rock indulgences of my youth (sorry, Geddy), I think Yes' music holds up pretty well. Or maybe it's that their songs don't resonate as strongly with adolescence as Rush does, which allows them to be separated from that time of one's life a bit more easily. Unless, of course, you saw all good people turn their heads each day when you were a teenager, or maybe saw mountains come out of the sky and stand there.

Kanye West with Dilated Peoples (House of Blues)   SOLD OUT!
See Monday's listing.

5.05   wednesday
Tributosaurus, Motion to Fix (Martyr's)   FRIENDS OF COZ!
This month it's Fleetwood Mac, with guests including Rikki McCray on vocals and Chris Siebold on guitar. At the Bowie show last month, singer Matt Spiegel was talking about trying to find a small marching band for "Tusk," which would be hilarious.

EXO with Lying in States, The Detholz!, Troubled Hubble, Dakota Dakota and Black Print (Double Door)   FRIENDS OF COZ!
Good bands, good cause. This is a benefit show for WLUW, Loyola's radio station and probably the best college radio station in the city. You may recall that the university put the station under the control of WBEZ last year as an alternative to cutting it entirely, but the current situation is still financially tenuous. Hence the raising of funds via some of the local bands featured on the station, but this would get the nod even if that weren't the case, it's just a good show.

Kanye West with Dilated Peoples (House of Blues)
See Tuesday's listing, or skip the middleman and go all the way back to Monday's listing.

5.06   thursday
Ozomatli with Blue Merle (Metro)
Every once in a while, you stumble onto something that just kicks your butt. Ozomatli is one of those things. I saw the L.A. band at Seattle's Bumbershoot festival five or six years ago, and have been a fan of them ever since. The easiest description, although it's probably a tad superficial, is Los Lobos with a more hip-hop bent.

Apples In Stereo with Apollo Sunshine, High Water Marks (Bottom Lounge)
As far as indie rock goes, I vastly prefer the Elephant 6-orchestral pop vibe to the plaintive, whiny songwriter vibe. Which isn't to say that the Shins record isn't going to grow on me, only that it hasn't yet. Anyway, Apples In Stereo continue to carry the ork-pop torch, unless they've completely changed direction without telling me, and that would just be rude.

5.07   friday
Blue Line Transit (Wrightwood Tap)   SEE COZ LIVE!
The thoroughly amusing thing about these Wrightwood Tap shows is that I wind up seeing every woman in the bar, by virtue of the "stage" practically blocking access to the ladies' room. That, and the sheer incongruity of your humble correspondent taking a brief turn on the mike and belting out OutKast. Which led to Section 8 appropriating the "Hey Ya" melody for a new Fire cheer on Saturday night.

5.08   saturday
Busker Soundcheck's Zeppelin (Martyr's)
I'm trying to think if, back when Busker played more frequently, guitarist Paul Kamp reminded me of Jimmy Page at all. Maybe a bit more of a Jeff Beck thing, but either way, he always struck me as one of those classic lead guitarists that seem so rare these days. So the notion of playing a night of Led Zeppelin music, along with Yakuza's Bruce Lemont, doesn't seem like a stretch at all.

Bree Sharp featuring Don Dilego with Kevin Lee (Gunther Murphy's)
Apparently, this is the nostalgia edition of l.i.t.c., as we've already covered high school (Yes), the early nineties Chicago scene (Busker Soundcheck) and now, the mid-to-late-nineties phenomenon of The X-Files and the semi-novelty hit from Ms. Sharp, "Why Don't You Love Me, David Duchovny?" Who knew she'd be the one still standing?

Soulfix with Nice Peter (Cubby Bear)   FRIENDS OF COZ!
Mitch, Marlon and Dario hit the stage once more. Dunno if it'll be mostly originals, mostly covers, or a healthy dose of each, because I can't quite get a read on what Cubby Bear has been trying to do lately. There's a vague notion that they're moving away from the cover band thing, but it's just a vague notion. Soulfix can cover either base equally well, so that's not a concern.

5.09   sunday
The Redwalls with Chris Robinson and the New Earth Mud (Park West)
I'm not a fan of Robinson or the Black Crowes, so my only two reasons to see this show would be to see what all the fuss is about with the recent Capitol Records signees and big Beatles afficianados The Redwalls, and to see if Kate Hudson is on tour with her husband again.