list.in.to.chicago this week: 10.04.2004

I'm hoping maybe you had written those baseball playoff games into your calendar in pencil. And those NHL games. Need something to fill the void? Support your local music scene.

You know the drill. Forward, subscribe, repeat. Turn somebody else on to this, because if you have half as much fun reading it as I do writing it, I'm having twice as much fun as you are.

No, that joke NEVER gets old. Thanks for asking, though.

Pick of the week
The Zappa fan in me cannot let this week go by without plugging Project/Object, with FZ alumni Ike Willis and Napolean Murphy Brock, on Saturday and Sunday at Martyr's. Gomez (Friday, The Vic) should also be a good bet, and you know I'm always pro-Tributosaurus (Wednesday, Martyr's), this time as The Doors.

list.in.to.COZ
If my calendar is right, Friday at Blue Bayou will be the last full-band Diver show for two or three weeks, so come on out and trip and fall into the stage area. Everybody else is doing it!

Recap
Saw Franz Ferdinand on Thursday. On the one hand, they played the same song twelve times in a row. On the other, it was a good song and they played it very well. I was also struck by how the singer from opener The Delays -- who sounded a lot better live than on record, to the point where I though they were actually the other opening band -- reminded me of Ivory Wire's Rob Byrne, and how Franz's singer reminded me of former Regal Standard frontman Larry Schroeder. Mostly just the mannerisms.

Speaking of resemblances, WXRT's Marty Lennartz introduced PJ Harvey on Saturday, and with the microphone turned up vertically, looked remarkably like Peter Gabriel bassist Tony Levin. Polly Jean's set was pretty intense, and I really liked the degree to which she was "inside" her songs, rather than just being the aloof frontperson that you'll see from time to time.

10.04   monday
Chicago Rock Club (Elbo Room)
I figure this is a good week to plug the weekly demo-listening and acoustic-version-playing session on Lincoln Avenue, because you never know when there's going to be a top-secret show from a local band I really, really like instead. I'm just sayin'....

10.05   tuesday
Open Jam (Vaughan's)   COZ SINGS!
On Saturday afternoon, I decided to have Popeye's for lunch. This somehow led me to think about Queen's "One Vision," where the band sneaks "fried chicken" in at the end instead of repeating the song's title. So I started messing with an acoustic arrangement of the tune that might be ready for this week. Just in case you were wondering what my "process" is for adding tunes. And now you probably wish you weren't.

Stuart Davis (Uncommon Ground)
I had this notion that kinetically witty singer/songwriter Davis was from either Wisconsin or Minnesota, which would go a long way to explain why he plays Chicago so much. Turns out he lives in Colorado. Hmmm.

Matt Sharp with Goldenboy (Bottom Lounge)
Every time I see Sharp, who you may recognize from both Weezer and the Rentals, I think for a minute it's the former Nitrous Foxide singer/guitarist, and have to catch myself.

10.06   wednesday
Tributosaurus with Motion To Fix (Martyr's)   FRIENDS OF COZ!
This month, The Doors get the Tributo-treatment. I'm trying to envision Matt Spiegel as Lizard King, but -- and I think this is fortunate -- I can't quite come up with the image. Makes you wonder how this thing would work if they actually tried impersonating the band's persona on top of just doing a kickass job of recreating the music.

The Faint with TV On The Radio, Beep Beep (Metro)
This is the first of two shows at Metro, but I think the second one was actually announced first, so technically, this is the second show, even though the other one actually happens second. Got it? Oh, and the second show is sold out. Rather, Thursday's show is sold out.

10.07   thursday
Mike Watt and the Secondmen with Oh My God, Camaro Rouge (Double Door)
Get it? Mike Watt's old band was The Minutemen, so his current band is The Secondmen? You can't spell "punk" without "pun."

The Faint with TV On The Radio, Beep Beep (Metro)
See Wednesday's listing if you didn't go cross-eyed the first time you read it.

Vortis with Slantwise, Pie Eyed Pete, Kenn Sommer, The Real Democracy (Abbey Pub)
I gave Sun-Times writer Jim DeRogatis a hard time when he criticized Audioslave for not being overtly political on stage, but seeing as how his neo-retro-punk project Vortis is headlining this "Defeat Bush Show," at least you can't call him a hypocrite. On this subject, anyway.

10.08   friday
Diver (Blue Bayou)   SEE COZ LIVE!
If you thought "Avi on Vicodan" was crazy, imagine "stuck in an elevator with Avi on Vicodan" was for yours truly at Fado last week. Who knows what's in store this week? I also dare you to look at the neon martini being poured in the front window of the bar and NOT see a huge phallic symbol.

Gomez with Augie Marsh (The Vic)
These guys have been touring over here in the States relentlessly lately, which makes you think they don't actually want to go home. This has to be the third or fourth time through Chicago in support of their latest, Split The Difference, although one of those was a semi-private XRT show in Palatine.

Flogging Molly with Street Dogs, The Briggs (Congress Theater)
I swear, I have no idea how this Irish punk band keeps up just the breakneck speed of their set for the duration. It's pretty impressive to watch just from a sheer endurance standpoint.

10.09   saturday
Project/Object (Martyr's)
I still would love to put together a Chicago-based Zappa tribute band, but in addition to not being able to find a "dynamic male vocalist" and a mallet percussionist, I just don't think I have the time anymore. So we'll just have to make do with P/O playing in town every couple of months, but that's not a bad thing by a long shot.

Dio with Anthrax, Fireball Ministry (House of Blues)
Disgusted with the political process following the debates during the week? While it doesn't seem to have been updated for a while, perhaps www.dioforamerica.com is the cure for what ails you. No news as to whether Anthrax is Ronnie's official running mate.

The Pink Spiders with The Deans, The Dirty Things, The Scissors (Beat Kitchen)
I actually don't know anything about any of these bands, but wanted to point out that this evening's entertainment is brought to you by the word "the."

10.10   sunday
Project/Object (Martyr's)
See Saturday's listing. As has been the case for the last year or two, both Ike Willis and Napolean Murphy Brock are touring with the band.

Ministry with My Life With The Thrill Kill Kult, Pound of Flesh, Hanzel Und Gretyl (The Vic)
You would think that such heavy industrial bands would be, by nature, self-destructive and hedonistic to the point where they shorten their lifespans considerably, but Ministry and Thrill Kill Kult keep on going like a severely demented Energizer Bunny.

Seth Horan with J. Scott Franklin, John Sabal (Uncommon Ground)
What can I say? I'm a sucker for two-handed bass tapping and crazy use of loops to begin with, and Horan actually builds some pretty good songs around those techniques. And if you haven't seen Journey's "Don't Stop Believing" arranged for solo bass and vocal, well then you're clearly missing that experience, for better or for worse.