list.in.to.chicago this week: 05.24.2004

Still coping with the passing of jazz drumming great Elvin Jones last week. I highly recommend John Coltrane's A Love Supreme, as well as Ask the Ages from Sonny Sharrock for a taste.

Pick of the week
A bunch of no-brainers this week, which is good, as the whereabouts of my brain are currently unknown. Long day. Anyway, 30 Bands In 60 Minutes is worth checking out on Thursday (Metro), as is EXO on Friday (Subterranean) and the Charlie Hunter Trio on Saturday (Old Town School of Folk Music). Throw in the power pop of Frisbie on Sunday (Schuba's) for good measure.

list.in.to.COZ
There's a better than average chance I'll skip the open jam this week, so for the first time in a long, long while, I got nothin'. Don't get used to it.

Recap
We bid Patrick Hasbrook adieu on Wednesday, amidst something I'd never really seen before. Women at bars watching reality shows. In this case, there were a couple of TVs tuned to the finale of The Bachelor. I was waiting for him to get traded to, oh, I don't know, the Colts at the last minute, in a sort of Joe Millionaire twist.

I completely wimped out on Tortoise on Thursday, because it was raining and I might melt. You can just never be too careful. The Diver shows over the weekend went, um, swimmingly, although I got a lot of empirical evidence on Friday that I'm actually not water soluble, making Thursday a bit more suspect.

5.24   monday
Orange Goblin with Debris Inc., Tummler, Lamont, Bible of the Devil (Double Door)
Remember how 'stoner rock' was supposed to be the next big thing, riding the coattails of Queens of the Stone Age's success? Well the bad news is that it never quite took off. The good news is, by virtue of the very definition of the sub-genre, most of the bands probably don't care so much.

5.25   tuesday
Open Jam (Vaughan's)   COZ SINGS!
Debatable whether or not I'll make it out this week, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't go.

Giant Step with Light FM, Suffrajett, The Strategy Game (Metro)   FRIENDS OF COZ!
This is the latest installment of Metro's "Night School" series, with a host of sponsors too numerous for me to actually look up. Get down with your Cheap Trick-esque self with Giant Step and their able soccer player of a singer. That's one of the influences that stuck out last time I saw them anyway. And I still haven't really placed Light FM in terms of how they sound, but they sound good, and should translate well in the bigger room.

Kari Nelson (Martyr's)   FRIENDS OF COZ!
If I recall from the last time I saw her doing her own thing, Nelson has a bit of a more intense Sheryl Crow, with a bit of Fiona Apple thrown in, going on. Should be seeing more of her now that she's back in town again.

5.26   wednesday
Blazin' Saddles (Cubby Bear)
Chalk one up for effective, if misspelled, advertising. They're billing this as music ranging "from Lynyrd Skynyrd to Jimmy Buffet (sic) to Snoop Dog (sic)." Of those three, I'd have figured they'd get Skynyrd wrong.

Kick the Cat with Bad Dog (Lyon's Den)   FRIENDS OF COZ!
There are a couple of constants in the Chicago music universe. One is that you'll get one fusion show at Lyon's Den per month.

5.27   thursday
30 Bands in 60 Minutes (Metro)
It's time once again for the musical version of the Neo-Futurists schtick, which is always a treat. Telling you who's playing is sort of pointless, seeing as how they'll each be on stage only briefly. I really wish URT could have done one of these, just to play the 15-second ending of "Where Did My Roof Go?" You can now hear that whole track on both iTunes and eMusic (or download it for free from the eternal urt.net).

5.28   friday
EXO with Dig for Fire, It's a Wild Child (Subterranean)   FRIENDS OF COZ!
Now that I've actually written the review, what else can I talk about every time these guys play? I'm at a loss.

The Nadas with Matt Hoffer (Bottom Lounge)   FRIENDS OF COZ!
Met two friends of The Nadas on Friday, and they seemed very nice. Sounds like an odd fit for the new-sound Bottom Lounge, but I think they've been in since the changeover from Lakeview Links, so they know what they're in for. This may be the local debut of Hoffer's full band, I'm not sure.

Cyro Baptista and Beat the Donkey with The Lonesome Organist (HotHouse)
I have to recommend a 10-piece percussion ensemble on principle.

5.29   saturday
Charlie Hunter Trio (Old Town School of Folk Music)
Great setting for guitarist Hunter, as he likely won't have to scold smokers in the front of the house like he tends to at bar gigs. This is a new-ish version of the trio, which means I'm not going to rush the stage and steal the drummer's ride cymbal. This was a real risk last time I saw them. It was, I think, a Sabian HH 18" flat ride, and it was gorgeous.

5.30   sunday
Frisbie with Duenow and Los Shut Up (Schuba's)   FRIENDS OF COZ!
Unbeknownst to me, at least until I saw them last time, another friend of mine is now playing with these guys. So it's just friends all around now. Except the keyboardist. I don't think I know him.