list.in.to.chicago this week: 01.16.2006

I'm still reeling a bit from Saturday. I don't think I've seen so many members of that particular slice of the local scene in one place at one time, and obviously, it's sad that it took tragedy for that to happen.

Pick of the week
Tonight's We Are Scientists show at Subterranean looks like a good one. And Dana Lawrence has a brown belt, I think, so she'll kick your ass if you don't go to Uncommon Ground on Friday.

list.in.to.COZ
Soma Star is back in business this Saturday at Elbo Room, and we are fully prepared to rock. Locked and loaded, baby. And Vaughan's is getting fun again.

Recap
Within a few minutes of arriving at the 3Friends benefit, I wasn't sure if I could stay. I can't imagine what I would have been feeling if I knew any of the three musicians being memorialized more than just tangentially. The Returnables and The Dials both offered up different flavors of punk, with the former sounding a bit like Husker Du at times, and the latter a more new wave and more punk version of Veruca Salt that really found their stride about halfway through their set.

What can I say about EXO? Rejoined by keyboardist Jim DiNou and drummer Gerald Dowd, they nailed a sort of cathartic ferocity that the evening demanded, offset by quieter, more introspective songs and a very moving poise and poignance from singer Scott Tallarida in the spaces between. The high point was an extended intro to "God Save The Milky Way" fueled by technical difficulties but transformed by Dowd and DiNou into a thunderous tribute to former drummer Doug Meis, whose image graced the huge screen behind the band midway through, playing in time with his old bandmates. It really, truly, and kinda spookily seemed like he, John Glick and Michael Dahlquist were palpably hovering in the air over a room packed with the friends, relatives and fans who came together for this event.

So yeah, it was pretty heavy. Less so was the previous evening's Diver show. That'll teach me to talk so much about people falling into the band, as we were joined briefly on stage by a quite drunken, allegedly 73-year old gentleman gone horizontal. Right into the drums, too, which was a first. I guess it was only a matter of time.

1.16   monday
We Are Scientists with Oxford Collapse, Aberdeen City (Subterranean)
I keep going back and forth on these guys. First listen, I liked them. Second, not so much. Now, on the third listen to their major-label debut With Love Or Squalor, I'm back to digging their Radiohead meets The Cure meets Interpol meets Franz Ferdinand meets Bloc Party amalgam again, and there's a considerable amount of music blog buzz around the trio. Aberdeen City is pretty good, too.

1.17   tuesday
Open Jam (Vaughan's)   COZ SINGS!
I have to say, the vibe last week was as good or better than I've ever felt it at the open jam. Lots of musicians, and an overall feeling of community throughout. While past performance is no indicator of the future with both mutual funds and open jams, I think we'll be riding this wave for at least the next couple of weeks.

The Renegades with Sleeper Car (Elbo Room)
If this is the same Renegades that plays with Kick The Cat at Martyrs', then it's encouraging to see jazz fusion branching out to more Chicago clubs, although I readily admit I'm probably one of the few who hold that opinion. Then again, if you hate jazz, maybe this could start some sort of punk rock backlash like the one that happened in the 80s, epitomized by, I think, John Lydon expressing how much he hated Emerson, Lake & Palmer. Which is the second gratuitous ELP reference I've made in two weeks. Hmmmm.

1.18   wednesday
Cisco Pike with Butterfly Child (Horseshoe)
One of these days, I'm going to figure out how I came to be on this band's e-mail list, because I still don't think I've ever actually seen them. Maybe this acoustic show, with Joe Cassidy and Merritt Lear opening up with their pre-Assassins identity, will change that.

Liquid Soul (The Note)
Now that they've been playing with much more regularity, I'm curious to see if the band is sounding more like a band and less like Mars Williams fronting a bunch of hired guns, which was the feeling I got the last time I saw them six months ago or so.

1.19   thursday
Anne Harris with Helen Money (Schubas)   FRIENDS OF COZ!
I haven't seen mention of a Harris show in a while, so I can't say for sure if the band is the same lineup or if the music has or hasn't taken any detours from where it was a year or so ago, which was a sort of jazzy worldbeat folk sound backed by some top-notch musicians including Chris Siebold on guitar.

Nicholas Barron with Charles Mack (Elbo Room)   FRIENDS OF COZ!
At this point, you have to be asking yourself, "is Coz going to mention NIcholas at Elbo Room every week?" Maybe. Probably.

1.20   friday
Dana Lawrence with Liz Stahler, we/or/me (Uncommon Ground)   FRIENDS OF COZ!
All hail the MySpace queen!

8 Bold Souls (HotHouse)
A lot of people look to thelikes of Ken Vandermark when they think of avant-garde jazz in Chicago these days, but 8 Bold Souls has been at that game since Vandermark was playing a recorder in elementary school.

New Duncan Imperials with Mr. Rudy Day, Diamond Jim Greene (Abbey Pub)
More proof that old Chicago bands never really die, they just play much more infrequently.

Paper Airplane Pilots with Cracklin' Moth, Poison Control Center (Schubas)
It wouldn't be l.i.t.c. without as least one band I saw a while ago that piqued curiousity and showed potential, but I haven't gotten around to see in over a year.

1.21   saturday
Soma Star with Trim, Lunch, Her Daily Obsession (Elbo Room)   SEE COZ LIVE!
In case you're wondering what happens when I have to play on a bill with a band I've talked at least a little bit of smack about, this is your chance. I was thinking about how I might keep a low profile, but forgot that I have a big "NOTABBOTT DOT COM" emblazoned on my bass drum. Oops. Among other things, we've got a killer cover in store for this one.

Vulgar Boatmen with Riviera, Second Hand Poets (Schubas)
See the NDI listing above, as the Vulgar Boatmen have been around since I was in college. Which, if you don't know, was a long time ago. Also on this bill is Riviera, who I've mentioned with regard to some low-level buzz and/or hype I've picked up in the last year or so. In a perfect world, I'd actually go try to find music on MySpace or on their own website, but if we've learned anything in the rapidly-approaching-200-or-so editions of this newsletter, it's that I'm exceptionally lazy.

Big Head Todd and the Monsters with Jackie Greene (The Vic)
Yeah, I didn't realize they were still around, either.

1.22   sunday
Blue Man Group (Briar Street Theater)
Seeing the long-running show this week is not your only avenue to hearing music from Blue Man in a live context. I'll let you fill in the blanks.