list.in.to.chicago this week: 03.07.2005

Obviously, there's a new kid on the block in the world of recommending shows this week in Time Out Chicago. What I find odd about the magazine is that they don't actually tell you where any of the venues are. You're supposed to be hip enough to just know.

On the one hand, I know it may seem hypocritical for me to criticize them on this count, because I don't give addresses, either. On the other hand, they're actually marketing themselves as a serious resource for Chicago nightlife, and I'm doing this mostly to amuse myself for your benefit.

To that end, if you know anyone else who might be amused or interested, feel free to forward the e-mail or the URL. Subscription info is at the bottom.

Pick of the week
Lots of good stuff this week. The Paul Wertico Trio (Wednesday, HotHouse) probably tops the bill, with the "Raising the Bottom Concert" (Thursday, Park West) and Flogging Molly (Tuesday and Wednesday, House of Blues) following closely behind.

list.in.to.COZ
Nothing but Vaughan's this week, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't go, now does it?

Recap
Went to see The Changes on Friday night, and they're back on the upswing after a couple of performances that were somewhat off-pace. A lot of their newer tunes are added considerable amounts of synthesizer, with every member of the band taking a turn, and it's adding a somewhat different element to the sound that I haven't quite placed yet. As it turns out, Manishevitz gets "Friends of Coz" treatment on account of keyboardist Jim DiNou recently joining the band. They had this vibe of new wave before MTV got a hold of it, with early eighties CBGB's emanating from nearly everything they played, and I mean that in a good way. Although the largely anti-melodic vocals could have used a little more variation, but that's a minor quibble.

3.07   monday
Herbie Hancock, Michael Brecker and Roy Hargrove (Symphony Center)
These three jazz heavyweights visited Chicago a few years ago with a concert focused heavily on the music of Miles Davis and John Coltrane. This time around, they'll be treating Wayne Shorter, Stevie Wonder, Ray Charles and someone else I don't quite remember from the radio commercial I heard.

3.08   tuesday
Open Jam (Vaughan's)   COZ SINGS!
I was thinking of taking the week off, but I have to complete my collection of this year's Guinness glasses. And I might have one or two new tricks up my sleeve after spending a little bit of quality time with my guitar over the weekend.

Flogging Molly with Hot Water Music, The Riverboat Gamblers (House of Blues)
The parade of Irish acts continues unabated, this time with one of the standouts in the unique blend of traditional Irish music and punk rock. My one Flogging Molly experience left me out of breath just listening to them play at such a breakneck pace for an entire set.

Kick the Cat with the John Novello Project (Martyrs')   FRIENDS OF COZ!
The local fusioneers are back with their monthly installment, this time opening for Hammond B-3 whiz Novello, who has previously played the North Center club with the band Niacin.

3.09   wednesday
Paul Wertico Trio (HotHouse)
No, I still haven't gotten the former Pat Metheny drummer's second CD with this band, but that's not going to preclude a recommendation. Especially given the incendiary playing on the first record and the handful of shows I've seen.

Flogging Molly with Hot Water Music, The Riverboat Gamblers (House of Blues)
See Tuesday's listing.

3.10   thursday
Motley Crue (Allstate Arena)
Tension can be a good motivator of musical performance, or it can cause massive train wrecks. Does that tenet scale to arena-sized concerts? We'll see, as there's no question that singer Vince Neil and drummer Tommy Lee aren't exactly best of friends. Also, I'm way too lazy to figure out how to get the proper umlauts in this entry. So was Metromix, for that matter.

Raising the Bottom Concert (Park West)   FRIENDS OF COZ!
Longtime l.i.t.c. favorite Tributosaurus is operating as the house band for this tenth anniversary show for Lakland basses, which features notable guests Daryl Jones (Sting, Miles Davis) and Donald "Duck" Dunn (Booker T and the M.G.'s).

Light FM with The Assembly, Textbook (Subterranean)   FRIENDS OF COZ!
I wonder if mentioning these guys so often gets me off the hook for not having seen them in about two years?

3.11   friday
Interpol with Q and not U (Aragon Ballroom)
It seems like there's been a minor shift away from this New York band, as tickets are still available for this show, in support of their second album, Antics. That record hasn't quite gotten the reception of their first, and this audience seems to be moving away from the angsty angularity that marks the band's sound.

56 Hope Road with Punsapaya, Duenow (Double Door)
I'm as surprised as you are that I liked a band with such a heavy Grateful Dead influence on their collective sleeve as much as I did, but I haven't gone back to see them since that initial impression. I remember seeing Punsapaya four or five years ago at Hoghead McDunna's, of all places, and thinking to myself that they've got too weird of a name to be successful. Kudos to them for proving me wrong with a sweet spot on a Friday night Double Door bill.

KC and the Sunshine Band (House of Blues)
If the eighties are making a comeback, I'm not sure what that does to the era immediately preceding it. Go to this show, and you might be able to figure that out.

3.12   saturday
Ted Ansani with The Bradburys, Phil Angotti and The Idea, Michael Patterson (Beat Kitchen)
I'm starting to wonder if the collective scene has shifted to the point where most people don't remember Naked Raygun. I was never exactly a big fan, or anything, but I knew who they were. Getting old sucks.

Pat Martino Quartet (Jazz Showcase)
Sorta slim pickings for Saturday, so I'll default to a fairly well-known jazzer at the River North institution. Guitarist Martino, as is usually the case, will be there from Tuesday through Sunday.

3.13   sunday
Proto-Kaw (Martyrs')
Chalk this one up to curiosity, as it's founding Kansas guitarist Kerry Livgren and either members of, or the entirety of, that band's early seventies lineup. I have no idea if these guys are stuck in their particular timewarp, or if they're playing music that's aware of, say, the last ten or fifteen years of rock and roll. It's always a bit of a crapshoot.

Jade Maze Trio (Katerina's)
I want to say Maze used to be part of the smallish jazz scene down at the University of Chicago -- which, incidentally, included historical author and freshman year roommate Rick Perlstein -- in the early nineties. The name definitely rings a bell from that era, but I'm not sure I'm making the right association.