list.in.to.chicago this week: 03.06.2006

Yeah, I could have told you it was my birthday last week, but I would have used it to try to get you to come to a show. Then, if you weren't able to make it, I'd get all bummed out, and that would make for a lousy birthday.

Pick of the week
Gotta go with the Phantom Helmsmen reunion-slash-benefit show on Thursday at the Empty Bottle, then probably Ted Leo and Pharmacists on Friday at the Abbey Pub. And if you can find tickets, The New Pornographers are opening for Belle and Sebastian on Friday at the Riv.

list.in.to.COZ
If you had penciled in the Diver show this Saturday at Blue Bayou, get out your erasers. We've been bumped. Next show is the St. Patrick's Day doubleheader at Cullen's and then Celtic Knot in Evanston.

Recap
I was bound to have a lousy Diver gig sooner or later. Friday night was one of those nights that reminds you that you should keep a spare snare drum bottom head with you at all time, just in case. Saturday's Other World CD release party got a strong turnout and went pretty well, and also may have been the most Italian backing band pretty much ever with myself, Tony Calderisi and Bob Lovecchio, just in time for the new season of The Sopranos.

3.06   monday
The Hellacopters with Nebula (Double Door)
So, when I think of a band from Sweden, my first guess is always going to be "sloppy, high-octane garage rock" and "wry southern blues rock," which is how the Reader's Monica Kendrick describes this band.

Open Mike (Stadium West)   FRIENDS OF COZ!
I'm going to drop in on Dana's new weekly forum over in Logan Square one of these weeks, but I don't think it's gonna be tonight.

3.07   tuesday
Open Jam (Vaughan's)   COZ SINGS!
I've been once again visited by the muse of the eighties, and among other things, should be debuting a song that I only just realized is in my personal top ten songs ever. No, it's not going to be the Billy Squier tune.

Damnwells with Augustana, The Foster-Walker Complex (Schubas)
Okay, I just stumbled across a Damnwells track on my iPod that must have caught my ear off a CMJ compilation disk. Also, I know something about The Foster-Walker Complex, I just don't remember what. Aren't I helpful?

Sunday Morning Chameleon with 2 Fast Jack, Juggernaut Trio (Double Door)
I really wanted to report on the growth of this band after I saw them last week, but again, I felt like hell and my critical faculties had more or less abandoned me.

3.08   wednesday
Long Count Quartet (Stadium West)   FRIENDS OF COZ!
A completely unbiased observer whose name rhymes with "Steve Gillis" told me that the band is smokin' despite the long layoff since their last stint at Tryst.

Wes John Trio with My My My, Eric Fredrich (Martyrs')   FRIENDS OF COZ!
I know I've mentioned this before, but Wes John is the Wes formerly known as Wes Cichosz, of E-Mics fame. Now he's struck out on his own in a somewhat more pronounceable form.

Mest with Allister, Scary Kids Scaring Kids, The Classic Crime (House of Blues)
Apparently this is a farewell tour for the Chicago punk band. I tended to get them confused with Ness, which is to say I didn't really care about them one way or the other, and probably won't notice that they're gone.

3.09   thursday
Phantom Helmsmen with Falstaff (Empty Bottle)
It's another benefit for local soundman Gary Scheppers, and any cause that brings one of my absolute favorite local bands out of retirement is okay by me.

3.10   friday
Belle and Sebastian with The New Pornographers (Riviera Theatre)   SOLD OUT!
I'm not sure if the much ballyhooed "new sound" is enough to call this band the "former twee popsters," but man, I've seen that talking point pretty much everywhere. I'd be curious to see if the New Pornographers play anything from Neko Case's new record, which is out this week.

Nicholas Barron with Dynamite Blue, Tiffany Hull (Elbo Room)   FRIENDS OF COZ!
Okay, I'm done trying to figure out how Nicholas' schedule at Elbo Room is working. He's there a lot, let's leave it at that.

Ted Leo and Pharmacists with The Duke Spirit, Les Aus (Abbey Pub)
Indie maven Leo is one of several artists who have been announced for this summer's Pitchfork Music Festival, for which tickets went on sale this morning. This is not to be confused with the Intonation Music Festival, which was "curated" by Pitchfork Media last year, but won't be this year.

Umphrey's McGee (Chicago Theatre)
One of these days I'm going to check this band out, because I keep hearing that they're better than the "jam band" label would have me think.

Lee Rocker with Hot Rod Hucksters (Fitzgerald's, Berwyn)
I'm assuming this is none other than the former Stray Cats bassist. Do you remember when the rhythm section struck out on their own without Brian Setzer and replaced him with longtime David Bowie guitarist Earl Slick? I can't say I remember any of the songs, just that it happened.

3.11   saturday
Muck Brothers (Martyrs')
Martyrs' gets in on the St. Patrick's Day festivities early, but then again, the South Side Irish Parade is this weekend, despite the actual holiday being next Friday.

Smoking Popes with Bayside, The Fold (Metro)   SOLD OUT!
I'm not exactly sure what the status is of the Popes' "reunion," because their comeback album is a live effort, and I don't know if that includes any new songs. In any event, the band still has some pull, as the first of two nights at Metro is sold out.

Sour Deluxe with The Hopefuls, Team Rockit, Sunday Runners (Double Door)
Another vaguely "old school" local band that's been back on the circuit lately, these guys seem back at it pretty much full-tilt. I was going to say "full-bore," but some casual Googler might think I meant they were boring, which isn't really what that means.

Stereolab with The Espers (Vic Theatre)
If you're like me, you occasionally need to be reminded that Stereolab is the electronica outfit, and Stereophonics the Welsh rock band.

3.12   sunday
Smoking Popes with Bayside, The Fold (Metro)
This is the non-sold out show. Get there late enough to miss Bayside if at all possible. They're not good.

The Wedding Present (Double Door)
I knew this name sounded familiar, but I didn't realize the band had been around since 1985. That nugget, along with a helpful, ASCII-friendly chart showing who was in the band when, is available in the Frequently Asked Questions on the band's site. Which proved more helpful than Mest's site in putting together this week's edition, for the record.