list.in.to.chicago this week: 01.23.2006

In which the recap once again threatens to take over the entire newsletter.

Pick of the week
I'll admit I'm a bit intrigued by Tim Ries and the Rolling Stones Project on Tuesday at Martyrs', mostly because it's a recognition of the less-prominent guys who make that tour go. And after reading the bio on their website, I would almost certainly check out The Ladies and Gentlemen (Thursday at Schubas) if I didn't have an indoor soccer game at the ungodly hour of 11pm that night. And I'll likely be giving Madina Lake a listen on Sunday after talking to one of the guys in the band last weekend.

list.in.to.COZ
I hesitate to say unprecedented, because my memory ain't what it used to be, but this week you get at least the very rare phenomenon of two bands sharing both a bill and a drummer, at least when that drummer is me. It's Diver and Wingman, together again this Friday for the first time in Lincolnshire at the well-apportioned Cubby Bear North. If you need a ride, or can offer somebody a ride, let me know and I'll try to connect the dots for you.

Recap
On a bit of a whim, I ended up going to see Assassins at Metro last night. I had absolutely no idea that the headliner, Hard-Fi, currently holds the #1 spot on the UK charts. My gut reaction was that they were trying really hard to sound like The Clash, but probably ended up sounding more like Big Audio Dynamite. I'm still trying to figure out what doesn't sit right with me about Assassins. I think there's a lack of resolution, harmonically, in their songs and their melodies, but I'll have to investigate further. They're still very good, but again, there's something else I want to hear. Oh, and I counted two blazers among the five band members. I was starting to worry that the trend had come and gone.

Juxtaposed with that in a nearly all-Joe Cassidy and Merritt Lear week was Butterfly Child at Horseshoe on Wednesday along with a mostly acoustic Cisco Pike. I think I like the Butterfly Child songs better, which could be the disconnect with the duo's other band. As for Cisco Pike, I'm now really curious to hear them fully plugged in, because I'm skeptical as to whether or not the singer's range could rise above more distorted guitar. Other than that, they sounded good enough. I've decided I need two or three shows from a band to truly form an opinion.

Which brings -- non-linearly -- to Saturday night. I have to say, Soma Star packed Elbo Room unlike any other band I've played there with. I'm not going to go ahead and say we rocked harder than any band ever, but if you want to tell other people that and get some buzz going, we'd appreciate it. We did rock. And I'm reminded that one of the big differences between cover bands playing in bars and original bands playing in clubs is lighting. Here's hoping that the 1000-watt par can starting straight at me helped me sweat off five or ten pounds, 'cause I could use it. Quick hits on the other bands: Her Daily Obsession struck me as somewhere between Siouxsie and the Banshees and early Faith No More. Lunch's lead singer dresses funny. I didn't catch too much of Trim. Get your mind out of the gutter, but yeah, that too.

1.23   monday
The Rolling Stones with Antigone Rising (United Center)
I still don't understand rock critics who hate on the Stones for touring well into their sixties. It's what they've been doing all their lives. You really expect them to just stop because you think they're too old? At least the tour will likely be stocked with plenty of coffee, as openers Antigone Rising made some waves last year for initially releasing their debut album only through Starbuck's.

Relocation Fundraiser for Fred Anderson's Velvet Lounge (Jazz Showcase)
It's nice to see Joe Segal helping out somebody who is, ostensibly, his competition. The Velvet Lounge, as you may know, was a South Side jazz club that closed in the last year or so.

Jeff Parker Organ Quartet (Green Mill)
The Tortoise guitarist leads his own group at the Mill on a Monday, along with Scott Burns, Pete Benson and George Fludas.

1.24   tuesday
Open Jam (Vaughan's)   COZ SINGS!
Mick and Keith, if you're looking for ways to kill your off day, come on over!

Paperback Writer (Stadium West)   FRIENDS OF COZ!
The duo formerly known as the Pete Sutcliffe Project has taken on a more obviously Beatle-esque name and is playing regularly over at the emerging Logan Square hot spot.

Tim Ries and The Rolling Stones Project (Martyrs')
Okay, this is kind of cool. With a day off between Rolling Stones shows, the rest of the guys in the band who aren't old British geezers are playing on their own. With Bernard Fowler, Michael Davis, Darryl Jones, Larry Gouldings and others.

1.25   wednesday
Jeff Tweedy with Devil In A Woodpile (Abbey Pub)   SOLD OUT!
There are a bunch of shows going on this week to help out local soundman and musician Gary Schepers. Like most soundmen and musicians, Schepers is uninsured, and recent hospitalizations have mobilized a sizable chunk of the local scene to help pay his bills.

Lifehouse with Mozella (House of Blues)   SOLD OUT!
I guess a lot of people don't agree with my assessment that their last album really, really sucked.

Pelican with Russian Circles, Sweet Cobra (Empty Bottle)
The one or two times I tried giving the Chicago "instrumental epic-metal band" a listen, I just didn't get it. Having seen and greatly appreciated Isis back when they opened for Tortoise -- hey that's the second Tortoise ref this week without them actually playing -- I maybe should give them another shot.

The Rolling Stones with Antigone Rising (United Center)
See Wednesday's listing. And if you see any of them around town on Tuesday, be sure to report in and you'll be rewarded with your very own list.in.to.chicago t-shirt. If I ever get around to getting those made, that is.

1.26   thursday
Nicholas Barron with Charles Mack (Elbo Room)   FRIENDS OF COZ!
The songs are maybe a bit more mature and a little more concise than back in the Swimmer days, but there's still at least a bridge back to Chicago's acid jazz heyday. Plus, some of the most random between-song banter you'll ever hear in your lifetime.

The Ladies and Gentlemen with Say Hi To Your Mom, Magnus (Schubas)
I'm going to keep listing these guys until I either see them or don't have to look them up to figure out that their lineage includes Box-o-Car, Material Issue and Verbow.

1.27   friday
Diver with Wingman (Cubby Bear North)   SEE COZ LIVE!
It's Shubie's birthday, so maybe I should have listed Wingman first, but technically, Diver is the headliner. Come on out to Lincolnshire to see your humble correspondent double-dipping, as I hold down the drum chair in both of these cover bands. Maybe I'll wear those fake mustache glasses for one of the sets so the casual observer won't be able to tell.

Sunday Morning Chameleon with Gooey, Air This Side Of Caution, Kinetic Stereokids (Subterranean)
You may have heard an extended interview with SMC last night on WXRT's "Local Anaesthetic." And this looks like a very XRT-friendly bill all the way down the line, in that they're all good bands, but they're all staking out some pretty safe musical territory.

The Bon Mots with Brad Peterson, Greatest Hits (Double Door)   FRIENDS OF COZ!
Now that Light FM is gone, it's up to The Bon Mots to hold the mantle of the band with former URT bassist Chris Frantisak that I continue to not go and see. Sorry, Chris, I've got a gig tonight.

Feist with Jason Collett (Park West)
The Canadian songstress made a fair number of top ten lists last year with a sound described as somewhere along the Tori Amos-Fiona Apple axis.

1.28   saturday
Jah Wobble and the English Roots Band with Salvo Beta (Abbey Pub)
I know Wobble more from his collaborations with the likes of Brian Eno and Bill Laswell. I had no idea he played bass in Public Image Ltd. with Johnny Lydon after the Sex Pistols broke up. Learn something new every day.

Sheryl Crow (Auditorium Theatre)
Every day, of course, is a winding road. It helps if you read the last listing and this one right after one another. There's a Lance Armstrong joke here somewhere, but I'm not finding it.

The Derek Trucks Band (Park West)
I'm not 100% sure, but I think I saw Derek Trucks -- nephew of Butch Trucks of the Allman Brothers -- sitting in with Col. Bruce Hampton and the Aquarium Rescue Unit at Lounge Ax when he was only ten or eleven years old.

Waco Brothers with Motion To Fix (Martyrs')
This is a musical benefit for the nearby Bell School by who (I can never remember, should that be "whom"?) the Martyrs' web site calls "quite possibly the best live rock band on the planet." Of course, we here at l.i.t.c. know from experience that the Martyr's web site often steals unattributed quotes, so it's hard to say who actually wrote that about them. Still, it's the Wacos, and they're always a good time.

J. Davis Trio with Baldwin Brothers, Malcom Palmer (HotHouse)
Both J. Davis and the Baldwins are cut of a sort of "space-age bachelor pad" cloth, so while this should be an entertaining show, I'd bump up my caffeine intake in advance. Not boring, but soothing in a way that could be a little heavy on the eyelids.

1.29   sunday
Madina Lake with Bayside, Punchline, This Is Me Smiling, Sullivan (Metro)   FRIENDS OF COZ!
While I wasn't paying attention, it seems the now smoke-free Metro and Q101 have once again staked out Sunday nights for all-ages modern rock shows. This time, the lineup includes the new project from the Leone brothers, formerly of Blank Theory, which one of said brothers described as a sort of punk and electronica blend in the style of, say, My Chemical Romance.