list.in.to.chicago this week: 11.07.2005

Occasionally, people ask me how I can keep going to see (and playing) lots of shows at my advancing age.

One word. Coffee.

Pick of the week
You know the drill. If Tortoise is playing (Saturday, Metro), I must recommend them. And if you like punk rock, that Bad Religion show (Thursday, Congress Theatre) should be a good one.

list.in.to.COZ
Just Vaughan's this Tuesday, with SomaStar and Diver both on deck for next week.

Recap
I ended up seeing -- and forgetting to mention in this space -- Henry Rollins in a spoken word performance last Wednesday. Took him a little while to get going, but the three-hour show had moments of side-splitting laughs and real poignance, the latter coming from Rollins' tales of his recent USO tours in the Middle East.

Meanwhile, Diver had one of our better shows in recent memory on Friday at Fado, and I sorta muddled through Ben Folds' "Rockin' The Suburbs" at Vaughan's on Tuesday.

11.07   monday
Audioslave with Seether (UIC Pavilion)
It might have been a tepid first single, but I didn't dig into the new Audioslave record the way I did the first one. I have to wonder if the decision to dip into the catalogs of the band's "parents" is an acknowledgement of this idea that the whole isn't quite the sum of its parts in this case.

11.08   tuesday
Open Jam (Vaughan's)   COZ SINGS!
After dallying with more recent tunes in more recent weeks, I think it may be time to whip out some more good eighties stuff. Maybe some Big Country, maybe some Who, we'll see.

Local H with Detachment Kit, Russian Circles, Big Business (Metro)
The local favorites headline one of a string of shows called "Flower 15," to benefit an organization called P.L.A.Y., which bills itself as being "focused on providing creative outlets for children and teens in Chicago who have been exposed to abusive or violent environments." Sounds worthy to me, and you can buy passes that get you in to all eight shows.

11.09   wednesday
Shout Out Louds with Essex Green, The Sun (Double Door)
I think I saw this Scandinavian band touted over at Coolfer.com last week, but the record didn't grab me. It's got elements that remind of me Death Cab or Modest Mouse, and a hint of the 80s retro thing that's all the rage, so it's very possible you'll think differently upon listening.

Minus the Bear with Pelican, Criteria, Cougars (Metro)
Second in the Flower 15 series, this time with a couple of indie bands who have come through recently.

11.10   thursday
Bad Religion with Pennywise, Anti-Flag, Murphy's Law (Congress Theatre)
On the one hand, this seems like a heavyweight punk bill in the middle of the week. On the other, there's something seemingly anachronistic about punk rock and longevity, and I'm really curious what kind of crowd turns out for a headliner that's been at this for over twenty years.

John Cale with Chris Connelly (Double Door)
I've never been one of those guys who worships at the shrine of the Cale's old band, the Velvet Underground, but that doesn't mean I don't acknowledge that they were important.

Ted Leo + Pharmacists with Sweep the Leg Johnny, These Arms Are Snakes, Essex Green, Just a Fire (Metro)
More indie rock goodness from the Flower 15 series.

11.11   friday
Jimmy Eat World with American Analog Set, Maritime (Metro)   SOLD OUT!
Far be it from me to quibble, but Allmusic.com's entry for these guys begins with "in the midst of mid-'90s grunge, four childhood friends formed a band that would eventually impact modern rock of the new millennium." That seems to lay it on a bit thick, but a thousand fans apparently disagree with me, despite not having an album out in 2005 to support.

The Meters (House of Blues)
One of the things that sort of surprised me about the John Mayer Trio show from a few weeks back was that they covered a Meters tune. It indicated to me that Mayer was serious about this new direction somehow. While the Neville Brothers have always been ambassadors of New Orleans R&B, and the Marsalis' the same for jazz, the Meters are it when it comes to funk from the recently-submerged Crescent City.

Your Little Ponies with The Blissters, Johnny Rumble (Elbo Room)
If Joe is up on stage, who's going to serve the drinks? It's that Kelly Hogan conundrum again.

Freakwater with The Zincs (Schubas)
Maybe it's just because I remember when Eleventh Dream Day was starting out, but this will always be "Janet Bean's other band" to me.

Dickey Pimpkins with Maggie Speaks (Cubby Bear)
Band name of the week. It's got a bit of that pre-Pearl Jam "Mookie Blaylock" quality, while appealing to the dyed-in-the-wool Chicago sports fan who still actually remembers the guy that the Bulls used one of those eleven hundredth-round draft picks from the Jordan era on. Of course, if Dickey Simpkins was actually in the band...

11.12   saturday
Tortoise with Isis (Metro)
I grabbed a couple of tracks from The Brave and the Bold, the post-rock poster boys' cover song collaboration with Bonnie "Prince" Billy, and I'm immediately taken aback by the presence of vocals. That's kinda weird, but so is the whole notion of Tortoise playing "Thunder Road."

Lt. Dan Band featuring Gary Sinise (Joe's)
It's a weird twist of fate that has two bands with ties to Hollywood adopting such similar names and a penchant for the Joe's stage. This is not the house band from Old School -- that's just the Dan Band. This is Gary Sinise, who is a better bass player than you would think, raising money for veterans with what is typically a who's who of young lions on the Chicago scene.

Down The Line with Tally Hall, The Bandages (Double Door)
This is the first time I've seen the local folk-pop quartet in this venue, which seems slightly incongruous. I feel like it sets up a battle royale between the band's relentless optimism and the jaded cynicism embodied by Wicker Park and Bucktown in general.

The Meters (House of Blues)
See Friday's listing.

11.13   sunday
Nicholas Barron's Hyperactive (Long Room)   FRIENDS OF COZ!
I still think that, in accordance with their Metromix listing, these guys should actually change the name of the band to include "$3 pints of Warsteiner."