list.in.to.chicago this week: 07.19.2004

All things notabbott sorta went kablooey late last night, just when I was getting ready to tell you about some shows. I think I've angered the computing gods by bitching so much about the current state of my computer. Which is not good, but I've got the pieces assembled to make it better.

In the meantime, get your rock (and jazz; and hip-hop) on this week with list.in.to.chicago, won't you please? And if you like the list, feel free to forward it to a friend.

Say that ten times fast, I dare you.

Pick of the week
Lots and lots to choose from this week. Everlast (Tuesday, House of Blues) should be a good one, and those of you of the rock drummer persuasion, at the very least, should dig Danny Carey and Pigmy Love Circus (Thursday, Abbey Pub). John McLean on Friday (Green Mill) and EXO/Light FM on Sunday (Schuba's) round out the indoor shows, while the Summer on Southport street festival reminds us of what these things should be like.

list.in.to.COZ
Just Vaughan's this week, but I actually will be bringing my voice with me this time. Unless, of course, I go see Everlast, but that's sounding like a game-time decision. Mark your calendars for next week, though, when I'll once again be joining Marigold Engine on Thursday at Martyr's.

Recap
So, I'm riding my bike home after work and volleyball on Wednesday, and I hear music coming from the little cul-de-sac -- or as we like to say here in the states, dead-end street -- next to the Osco on Damen. As I get closer, I see the drummer has blue hair. It's gotta be Bob, and Siebold, and some bass player I don't know, and Anne Harris. So that was a nice surprise. She's got maybe a little more of an edge than the last time I saw her, but it's still generally very, very happy music. And Bob has got his hybrid drumkit/percussion rig down pat these days.

American Motherload's CD release on Saturday was, well, loud. And at that higher level of poise and professionalism I've come to expect, as discussed in last week's edition. I heard a little more Soundgarden than in the past, although I'd still mostly characterize the band as sounding like the bands Soundgarden started out sounding like.

7.19   monday
Van Halen with Shinedown (United Center)   SOLD OUT!
Eddie Van Halen rivals Def Leppard's Rick Allen for the best (or worst, depending on your point of view) Behind the Music story. He's survived, in no particular order, David Lee Roth, a high-profile divorce, tongue cancer, substance abuse and Gary Cherone, and yet he's still going. That said, I still infinitely prefer the Roth version of the band.

Kady Ditch (Uncommon Ground)   FRIENDS OF COZ!
This is actually a "battle of the bands" sort of deal, so there are a bunch of acts on the bill. Kady Ditch happens to be the one I want to win on account of that little "friends of Coz" tag, so I'm biasing you in their favor, even if you're probably not going to get this until Tuesday morning. Go empty gestures!

7.20   tuesday
Open Jam (Vaughan's)   COZ SINGS!
The influence of that Tributosaurus show a few weeks ago is long and lasting. We'll see if I can actually pull off some of the Peter Gabriel songs I've been working up. If not, maybe a song from Robyn Hitchcock about cheese.

Everlast with Buddahead (House of Blues)
Just picked up White Trash Beautiful, the new CD from the former resident of House of Pain. A couple of reviews described it as more like his first record, but I'm hearing a bit more of Eat At Whitey's. Live -- and on record, for that matter -- Everlast has a great funky, organic vibe going on that puts him head and shoulders over a lot of rap and hip-hop.

Van Halen with Shinedown (United Center)
Now that I think about it, Sammy Hagar and David Lee Roth toured together last year. How cool would it be if both singers toured with the band, and they played two nights -- one with Sammy, one with Diamond Dave -- in each market? It would never, ever happen, but a guy can dream, right?

7.21   wednesday
Camera Obscura with Scotland Yard Gospel Choir, Walker Kong (Empty Bottle)
Lots of advance alternative press on this one, mostly with more than a passing reference to fellow Scots Belle and Sebastian. And seeing that they're from Scotland, you gotta love Scotland Yard Gospel Choir being on the bill. Those crazy kids at the Bottle, what will they think of next?

Barenaked Ladies with Alanis Morissette (Tweeter Center)
If I had a million dollars, I'd raze the Tweeter Center. Isn't that ironic?

7.22   thursday
Pigmy Love Circus with Sixty Cycle, Deadman Holiday (Abbey Pub)
All I know about this band is that it features Danny Carey from Tool. While I've been burned by drummers I like in bands I don't in the past -- remember Winger? -- I don't think this is going to be like that.

Prince (Allstate Arena)
The upside of The Artist Formerly Known As The Artist Formerly Known As Prince having to postpone those shows last month is that you might actually be able to get tickets.

Kansas with Mother Root (Skyline Stage)
You know, I don't really mind rock nostalgia acts playing Navy Pier. It seems oddly appropriate. I saw Kansas play in Indiana once, which still amuses the hell out of me.

7.23   friday
John McLean Quintet (Green Mill)
McLean is one of the top jazz guitarists in the city, but if you've been on the list for a while, you'd probably know that already. No idea who will be backing him up, but I'm sure it'll be somebody good. Which reminds me, every once in a while, it seems like they don't get the personnel for a Green Mill show in by press time at the Reader, so the ad will say something like "Someone Good, drums." Yes, I'm that easily amused.

Beatallica with London Calling (Cubby Bear)
"Beatles songs done Metallica-style." Yeah, I don't quite know what to make of that, either, but it'll either be really cool or a complete train wreck, both of which may be worth seeing and hearing.

Psychedelic Furs with Ted Ansani (Lincoln Park Zoo)
It's "Jammin' at the Zoo" time again, this time with the John Hughes soundtrack favorites. Ansani seems to be out and about more often than with his previous post-Naked Raygun project, The Bomb. It may just be that he decided to trade on his own name instead, I'm not sure.

Prince (Allstate Arena)
While we're on the subject, Prince is the reason I don't listen to the Zone anymore in the mornings. The entirety of the "Morning Zone" team, which I must point out, is just one letter away from being a "Morning Zoo," were just absolutely slamming Prince about two months ago. Every single one of 'em. I don't care how tattooed and pierced your target demographic is, if you're in the business, you just don't do that. Or at least have somebody stick up for him. I had considered The Zone the least of several evils in the morning, but that pushed me back to XRT since I can't get good AM reception in my bathroom. No, Mancow is not an option. Not in a million years.

Dale Bozzio (Martini Ranch)
This is sort of almost billed as Missing Persons, Bozzio's former band, but if the band was still actually together, there'd be no way in hell they'd ever be able to ex-husband Terry's drumkit in this small of a bar. Although it would be awfully funny to see them try. The big question, of course, is how well will those see-through plastic outfits work now that Bozzio is pushing middle age?

Deals Gone Bad with Go Jimmy Go, The Drastics (Bottom Lounge)
What amazes me is how consistently almost every single ska show in Chicago is all ages. It's almost uncanny that so many clubs go along with the conventional wisdom that the kids love the ska. Not because it's a false assumption, but that they all seem to agree on it, although that could be more the legacy of Chuck Wren's promotional effort in putting the bulk of these things together over the last ten years or so. Can't say for sure.

7.24   saturday
Disturbed with Escape from Earth, The Perfect Red (House of Blues)   SOLD OUT!
This is the band's first show with their new bass player, but to be honest, I don't understand why that's a selling point. It's not like they couldn't move a thousand tickets without that particular piece of information. While there's already been a good bit of evidence pointing to Escape From Earth going somewhere soon, their spot on such a high-profile bill is certainly going to help as long as the Disturbed fans don't get impatient and turn on them.

Summer on Southport (Southport between Waveland and Byron)
Finally, somebody gets one of these street festivals right. Nary a cover band in sight, and the selection of local bands includes new l.i.t.c. favorites Rockets Over Sweden (featuring old l.i.t.c. favorite Jason Narducy), Air This Side of Caution and Woolworthy. I swear to god, I haven't seen an outdoor lineup like this in about ten years, and it's making me very happy.

The Dead with Warren Haynes (Alpine Valley)
On the one hand, I'm firmly in the "when they're dead, I'll be grateful" camp. On the other, I love guitarist Jimmy Herring, who gives the band exactly what they didn't have before, and that's someone who brings both jazz sensibility and a more aggressive guitar tone to the band's legendary improvisation.

Magnafux with Twice Pipes, Last Caress (Lyon's Den)
The North Center bar, who likes to remind us that it was voted the "best music room in Chicago" at some point, is closing it's doors on Sunday, but this looks like the last band to grace the award-winning stage.

Prince (Allstate Arena)
See Thursday and Friday's comments.

7.25   sunday
EXO with Light FM, This Is Exploding (Schuba's)   FRIENDS OF COZ!
I think one of my favorite EXO shows of recent memory was at Schuba's, and here they are playing with another "friend of Coz" in Light FM. Can't go wrong, even on a school night.

Summer on Southport (Southport between Waveland and Byron)
Same rules apply as on Saturday, today with the likes of Kelly Hogan and Wooden Leg, Andrew Bird and Giant Step.