list.in.to.chicago this week: 09.12.2005

A new band is born! Details below.

Pick of the week
Very rarely do I get to make thematic recommendations, so I'm happy to tell you that the two shows you don't want to miss this week are Bloc Party on Wednesday (Congress Theater) and the Hideout Block Party (Hideout, duh) all day on Saturday.

list.in.to.COZ
It's the world premiere, the auspicious debut, the, um, I ran out of clichés. Dammit. Where was I? Oh yeah, Wingman takes the stage for the first time Tuesday at Duffy's in a sneak preview of the faux-official first show on Friday at Goose Island Wrigleyville. I can say without a doubt that this is the best band I'm debuting with this week.

Recap
I ended up catching Shiny Toy Guns on Friday night at Beat Kitchen, and had a bit of mixed reaction. The songs were great, with a lot of Depeche Mode, New Order and Gary Numan flitting around as obvious influences. But the band had one-and-a-half too many people, with a drummer that was so insignificant they didn't even bother miking his drums and a female vocalist who sang maybe every other song, if that, and lip-synched some other vocals from the backing tracks. The male singer, who also played guitar -- and I'm guessing was the principal songwriter -- was really impressive, so I'll give them a thumbs-up. If they are going to cement any kind of "next big thing" status that I've seen conferred on them, though, they have to tighten up the act. And lose the drummer.

And I'm not going to tell you about Diver at Cubby Bear, 'cause if you really wanted to know, you could have shown up. I can't believe that a bunch of sexagenarians prancing around on stage and Germanfest thumped us so bad. This, of course, does not apply to those of you who did show up, because you're infinitely cooler than the rest of you slackers. Not that I'm bitter or anything. Just a little exasperated.

9.12   monday
Nada
Let's face it, you're reading this on Tuesday, at least. Someone once asked me why I don't just cut my losses and send this out on Tuesday, but originally, it went out Sunday night, so if I let it slide another day, it'll eventually be an e-mail with a bunch of shows for Saturday night and that's it.

9.13   tuesday
Wingman with Ben DeBruin (Duffy's)   SEE COZ LIVE!
Consider this a sneak preview of the new band, doubling as a showcase for two contestants from the Bar 1 Big Break contest Duffy's had been running over the summer, including our own Shubie.

Open Jam (Vaughan's)   COZ SINGS!
I have to stop by after I get done at Duffy's, so I'll probably sing a song or two while I'm there.

Stellastar with The Changes   FRIENDS OF COZ
Another good opening slot for Darren, David, Jonny and the bass player whose name I'm destined to forget forever.

9.14   wednesday
Bloc Party with The Kills, Noisette (Congress Theater)
The comparison I keep seeing in the press for these guys is Gang of Four, but I don't know that band well enough to say if it's accurate. Very angular, very aggressive guitars -- but not heavy or distorted -- with interesting melodies and vocals that have that sort of deliberate wobbliness to them. Not quite in a Roger Waters way, but maybe in that direction. I'm just happy there's a new British band that doesn't sound like Franz Ferdinand.

Brian Jonestown Massacre with The High Dials, Richard Swift and Sons of National Freedom (Metro)
These guys seemed almost resentful to be playing something as big as Lollapalooza, so maybe this will be more their style. I think the sound guy should play Dashboard Confessional during the breaks, though, just to see if the lead singer screams about them some more.

9.15   thursday
Brendan Benson with Miss Alex White and the Red Orchestra (Metro)
I've mentioned Benson's relationship with Jack White and the White Stripes before, and here he is playing with a "Miss Alex White." Coincidence?

Absent Star with Edmer (Schubas)
Now that I've got my expecations back in line for these guys, I should probably give them another listen. I should have maybe tempered my initial enthusiasm given that the members of this band that I know from previous bands weren't the primary songwriters in those projects.

9.16   friday
Wingman (Goose Island Wrigleyville)   SEE COZ LIVE!
It's the official debut of the new band after Tuesday's "soft launch" at Duffy's. The full lineup is Melissa Shubalis on vocals, Lisa Zarov on vocals and acoustic guitar, Kevin Holland and Patrick Barrett sharing guitar duties and one brain, Randy Firfer on bass, and little old me on drums. And now they can all Google themselves and find this page. Also, we kinda rock and stuff.

Sufjan Stevens with Laura Veirs (Metro)   SOLD OUT!
Lots of good local ink was dedicated to Stevens' latest album, a song cycle about the Land of Lincoln, and those good reviews have translated to ticket sales, as both Metro shows are sold out.

Minus The Bear with These Arms Are Snakes, Thunderbirds Are Now, City On Film (Bottom Lounge)
Unless I'm misremembering something I read recently, this band is trying to shake their reputation as "that band with the weird song titles." Of course, saying they're not about their weird song titles is fairly self-defeating, isn't it?

North Mississippi Allstars with the Jamie McLean Band (House of Blues)
I haven't gotten my Sound Opinions e-mail yet this week, but I would go so far as to guarantee this show is one of Jim and Greg's picks for the week, as both local critics credit the band with breathing new life into the rock side of the blues.

Seth Horan with Timothy Daniel (Abbey Pub)
You wouldn't think you could do too much with solo bass guitar and vocal, but you'd be wrong. At the very least, you can play mutant versions of Journey tunes.

9.17   saturday
Sufjan Stevens with Liz Janes (Metro)   SOLD OUT!
Okay, you know what I said before about Stevens' Illinois album being a song cycle? I have to level with you. I don't know exactly what a "song cycle" is, or how it's different than, say, a concept album or even a rock opera. I don't even know if that's an apt description of the record. But I think it's a bunch of songs that are thematically similar, without necessarily forming some kind of narrative, so it's probably right.

Hideout Block Party (Hideout)
There are a lot of street festivals in this city, but none with the indie cred of the Hideout's block party, which starts Friday night. Saturday's all-day lineup, though, boasts Eleventh Dream Day, The M's and the Redwalls, among others.

The Muck Brothers with Drowning Wallace (Martyrs')
While I see the Brothers' bass player here and there, I didn't realize the Irish quartet was still an ongoing concern.

Buddha's Belly with Burning Spear (House of Blues)
This is the band of a recently-minted co-worker, who tells me the band was essentially called out of retirement by the House of Blues to open this show for the venerable reggae act.

9.18   sunday
My Chemical Romance with Alkaline Trio, Reggie and the Full Effect (UIC Pavilion)
This is one of those bands whose name I keep seeing, but I know I'm going in the wrong direction because the name reminds me of the Chemical Brothers, and from what I've been able to find out, they're not anything like the Chemical Brothers. I have that same problem with Alkaline Trio and Aluminum Group.