list.in.to.chicago this week: 09.27.2004

Okay, I think I'm going to have to face facts and realize that getting this thing out late Sunday/early Monday isn't going to work anymore. So the new schedule is going to be that the newsletter goes up on the website around lunchtime on Monday, then the e-mail goes out Monday night.

So, if you want to go out on Monday, and really, really need my advice as to where you might go, check it out on the web. Then, if I actually do find time over the weekend to pen the column, I'm actually ahead of schedule. It's all about managing the expectations.

Pick of the week
Lots and lots to choose from as we go further into the busy concert season in Chicago. You can probably find tickets for Franz Ferdinand (Thursday at the Riv) somewhere if you look hard enough. Brian Wilson (Auditorium Theatre) and P.J. Harvey (Riviera) should both be unassailable choices on Saturday. Locally, we've a CD release from Your Little Ponies on Wednesday (Elbo Room) and throwback hard rockers American Motherload on Friday (Metro). A pretty good week.

list.in.to.COZ
For those of you in the Loop/downtown area during the working day, grab a bit to eat somewhere after work on Friday and then come on over to Fado for Diver's first show there. We go on late, so take your time.

Recap
The Monday show in Millenium Park with Tortoise was good stuff. Great venue, great weather and a consistently great band. And I have just three words to say about Diver on Saturday night: Avi on Vicodan.

9.27   monday
Deicide with Goatwhore, Cattle Decapitation, Jungle Rot (House of Blues)
Okay, so we're killing gods, chopping the heads off of cows, and sleeping with goats in the jungle and getting unpronounceable diseases in the process. What's not to like? This is, what, a country show? Smooth jazz, maybe?

9.28   tuesday
Open Jam (Vaughan's)   COZ SINGS!
I have absolutely nothing unique to say about the Open Jam this week. If I haven't sold you on going out on a Tuesday by now, I don't think it's ever going to happen.

McCoy Tyner (Jazz Showcase)
The former Coltrane sideman is in town with his trio for the week at the River North spot. I'm still not sure that I like the current location as much as the old Blackstone Hotel location, but it's not like they really had a choice when they moved.

Missile with Wisely (Bottom Lounge)
The funny thing about all those bands I constantly say I'd like to see but don't is that I still default to that line, despite the fact that, in this case, I actually got out and saw Missile a couple of months ago. Perception is reality, and all that.

9.29   wednesday
Your Little Ponies with The Grommits (Elbo Room)   FRIENDS OF COZ!
This is a CD release show for the Ponies. I'm not sure to be excited or very, very afraid. Will they serve fried chicken? Will the night be brought to you by the letter 'R'?

9.30   thursday
Franz Ferdinand with The Delays, The Futureheads (Riviera Theatre)   SOLD OUT!
This is part of "you should have planned better" Thursday, as there are a couple of sold-out/high-demand shows on the docket. The Scottish quartet is supporting it's first full-length and self-titled album, which has gotten a pretty darn good reception here in the States. Which means they must be huge in the UK, so I suspect NME has declared them the biggest thing since Oasis, or will shortly.

Alter Bridge with Crossfade, Submersed (House of Blues)   SOLD OUT!
This is the first of two nights that have been sold out for weeks, which typically led to me asking no one in particular, "who the hell is Alter Bridge"? Turns out it was supposed to be a side project of Creed without uber-annoying frontman/messiah wannabe/drunk Scott Stapp, but then the band folded (yay!) and it wound up being the most likely vehicle for the band's continued popularity. I've noticed that Creed songs sound better when Creed doesn't actually play them, so maybe that goes for the quality of the songwriting, too.

Rachel Yamagata with Tom McRae, Cameron McGill (Metro)
I'm a little suprised this one isn't sold out, or at least wasn't as of Reader press time, but maybe the former Bumpus singer has played in town a few too many times in support of her solo debut to be able to drive another thousand people to Wrigleyville.

Steve and Liam of Frisbee (Fizz)   FRIENDS OF COZ!
If you can't get tickets for the sold-out shows, this is a good alternative, with the Chicago power popsters sitting down for an acoustic set.

10.1   friday
Diver (Fado)   SEE COZ LIVE!
The band breaks in a new venue tonight, and we'll see how we fare this time out with what should be a new crowd for us in River North. Coming right on the heels of the Cullen's show, it'll be almost like we had a rehearsal. Almost.

American Motherload with Egostatic, A.D.D., Marazene (Metro)
I know I've said it before, but these guys are playing at a level above your average, everyday local band. There's a sense of spectacle without pretension. They play big because they are big, not necessarily in the celebrity sense, but the sound of the band almost requires it.

Alter Bridge with Crossfade, Submersed (House of Blues)   SOLD OUT!
See Friday's listing.

the e-mics (Chicago Cultural Center, noon)   FRIENDS OF COZ!
It's a little downtown lunchtime show from the purveyors of Steely Dan-esque "badass intellipop." Probably just an acoustic set, but there's nothing wrong with that to accompany your Chipotle. Or your Quizno's. Or whatever you kids are eating for lunch downtown these days.

10.2   saturday
P.J. Harvey with Moris Tepper (Riviera Theatre)
If I was a little surprised that Rachel Yamagata didn't sell out, I'm doubly so when it comes to Harvey. Granted, I don't think her latest record has arrived to the universal acclaim of her last few, which in itself is somewhat surprising. Anyway, her live shows in Chicago have this tendency to make people's top ten lists at the end of the year, which is pretty telling.

Brian Willson (Auditorium Theatre)
Thanks to the Barenaked Ladies, we're all much more familiar with the story of the former Beach Boy. I'm not one of those guys who worships at the altar of Pet Sounds, so Wilson performing his would-be epic Smile, now complete after over twenty trouble-ridden years on the shelf, doesn't hold quite so much resonance for me, but it's still somewhat touching to see him back at it again.

Chris Whitley with Kelly Joe Phelps (Old Town School of Folk Music)
Whitley seems to have eschewed the major-label path, despite the critically acclaimed Rocket House on Dave Matthews' ATO imprint. The Houston-based singer-songwriter has releasted two solo acoustic records this year available only via the Internet and at gigs, so if you aren't on the Internet, and want to buy one, well then I'm really surprised that you're reading this right now.

Marillion with John Wesley (Park West)
As one of very few prog-rock bands to actually originate in the eighties (why is that?), Marillion have been spending the last decade or so finding new and different ways to conduct themselves in their chosen niche, including tours entirely sponsored by fan contributions. I don't know the details of this one, but the lack of any real advertising makes me think there's something going on behind the scenes. That or Jam knows darn well that they've got enough of a grass roots, Net-enabled following to do all the heavy lifting for them.

10.3   sunday
Mountain Goats with John Vanderslice (Empty Bottle)
This is actually the second of two nights for the band, with Saturday night at the obscure-but-still-more-CTA-accessible-than-the-Bottle Open End Gallery at 2000 West Fulton (take the Green Line). I still struggle with Mountain Goats as a listener, because they absolutely demand that you pay attention to the lyrics, and I'm not so good at that.