list.in.to.chicago this week: 07.26.2004

Okay, I'm still muddling through an operating system upgrade, so this week's edition will have to just live on the website for a couple of days before hitting your e-mail boxes. My apologies.

Pick of the week
If you can get tickets, I'm thinking Gomez and The Thrills will be a good one out in Palatine on Friday. Metromix says Shiela E. is playing House of Blues on Thursday, but the HOB website and the Reader ad disagree, so I've left that out, even though it would be a cool show to see.

list.in.to.COZ
Back with a vengeance this week. Vaughan's, as always, on Tuesday. Then there's Marigold Engine on Thursday at Martyr's, Coz Sings! on Saturday at the ATC benefit (Lincoln & Byron) followed immediately by mini-Diver, one of several three-piece versions of the band, at Chaser's in Niles. Rounding it all out is the full four-piece Diver on Sunday night for what is either officially or unofficial "Irish Pub Industry Night" at Cullen's.

Recap
I meant to go see some shows last week, honest. The rain on Thursday got me thinking of alternatives to the soccer I was supposed to play that evening, which had a bit of a domino effect on going to see Danny Carey and Pigmy Love Circus. So that didn't happen. Then Kevin pointed out how crappy the weather was on Saturday, which convinced me to skip the Summer on Southport festival. And I was eating dinner next to the EXO/Light FM/This is Exploding show, but we didn't finish in time to check it out.

Yeah, I suck, but this whole thing is more of a "do as I say, not as I do" sort of newsletter anyway, on account of the fact that I can't see every show I list here. And speaking of lists here...

7.26   monday
The Hives with Sahara Hotnights, Reigning Sound (Metro)   SOLD OUT!
Granted, I'm sorta doing the same thing, but I always find it amusing when the undercard of a sold out show gets a Critic's Choice in the Reader. Break out your critic-to-English translators, though, as Sahara Hotnights is apparently "nicking the Real Kids' look (jean jackets, sneakers, Bert-and-Ernie striped shirts) and sometimes sounding like a superbutch Holly & the Italians." I want a show of hands of anyone who can tell me anything about Holly & the Italians without checking the spiffy redesigned All-Music Guide.

7.27   tuesday
Open Jam (Vaughan's)   COZ SINGS!
If you missed last week, you missed yours truly being pushed into emergency co-host duties, as Tony was out of town. "Emergency" in the sense that I didn't know that until about noon that day. I suspect Anto knew about it sooner.

Ours with Dead Friends, Rockstars (Schuba's)
This falls into that "I heard good things about them once" category that I'm so fond of. As I'm sure I've told you a million times or so, Ours is primarily some guy who used to be Jeff Buckley's guitar tech, or something like that. So the sound is very Buckley-esque, although that makes having a band called Dead Friends on the bill a bit dark. I was telling a friend that I seem to like people influenced by Jeff Buckley more than I like the late singer/songwriter himself, but he looked at me like I was a heretic.

7.28   wednesday
Kite (Empty Bottle)
Coming up a little empty on stuff this week, so I'll make a blanket assertion that the Empty Bottle Jazz Series is a good thing. Not that I've ever been there, I just like it on principle. It seems to be a vastly different jazz scene than, say, the Green Mill, although Ken Vandermark tends to grace both clubs from time to time.

7.29   thursday
Marigold Engine with Catsplash, Clearly & The Mainstream (Martyr's)   SEE COZ LIVE!
This will be my second show with longtime "Friends of Coz" Marigold Engine, and it just happens to be at my favorite room in the city to see music. Still getting the songs under my belt, so to speak, but I'm feeling much more confident about them this time. We hit the stage first, so plan to get there around 9pm.

Sonic Youth with Wolf Eyes, Hair Police (Vic Theatre)
The fact that the nominal headliners of the cancelled Lollapalooza are only playing a 1,000-capacity venue on their own sorta rams home why Perry Farrell's magical mystery tour crashed and burned this year, doesn't it?

7.30   friday
Gomez with The Thrills (Durty Nellie's, Palatine)
The British and Irish bands, respectively, are playing the "Bud Light Night Out," which apparently means no advertising in the main ad for the club, and you may have to enter to win tickets in order to go. XRT is also giving them away at several different locations, including Blue Iguana on Thursday.

Duvall with Snaklab Allstars, Velvet Velvet, Divide By Zero (Bottom Lounge)
I think that, over time, Duvall (and former Smoking Popes) frontman Josh Caterer has been downplaying the personal religious discoveries that surrounded the genesis of this band, no pun intended. Oh, who am I trying to kid, of course that pun was intended. I may be completely wrong about Caterer, but it got me to the pun, so I don't care.

7.31   saturday
Coz Sings! (Lincoln and Byron)
I'll be playing a set in the parking lot in between Martyr's and the American Theater Company as part of a benefit for the latter. The eighties rock opera may be eminently appropriate for this one, we'll see.

Diver (Chaser's, Niles)   SEE COZ LIVE!
In our relentless pursuit of all two- and three-person combinations of band members, this suburban jaunt will be myself, Tony and Avi under the Diver umbrella. I think there are two or three combinations we haven't tried yet, but I'm sure we'll get to them.

Hanson with Ben Jelen, Michael Tolcher (Skyline Stage)   SOLD OUT!
Yeah, I can't figure out how enough people still care about Hanson to sell this one out, either.

8.01   sunday
Diver (Cullen's)   SEE COZ LIVE!
Back in the city and back to the full four-piece lineup, and it's always a good time on Sunday's at Cullen's.

Jill Scott (House of Blues)   SOLD OUT!
I saw a headline of a review of an earlier show on this tour, and it looked good. Obviously, there's some buzz here, as this is the first of two sold-out shows. My main memory of Scott is still her Grammy performance with Moby and Blue Man Group from five or six years ago. I think I still have that on videotape somewhere. You remember videotape, right?

Lou Gramm (Durty Nellie's)
Speaking of near-obsolete media, I still cling to my turntable as some sort of badge of musical relevancy, despite that fact that about half of my admittedly meager vinyl collection includes such titles as the former Foreigner singer's first solo album. Bonus points if you can give me the name of the first single from that record.

John Mayer with Maroon 5 (Tweeter Center)
I'm disappointed with Mayer's latest record, and while I could say the same about the debut from Maroon 5, I think that's largely due to me really liking "Harder to Breathe," and it's taking me a while to come to terms with the fact that the first single isn't a good representation of the overall vibe of the album.