list.in.to.chicago this week: 03.20.2006

Best story of the week is how a friend who was at Mystic Celt on Friday was told by someone there that they were going up to Celtic Knot later because they heard there was this really rockin' band playing.

Hey, I'll take my rock star moments where I can find them, thankyouverymuch.

Pick of the week
The Dave Holland Octet on Friday at Symphony Center looks intriguing, as do Sellout and The Minus 5 on Wednesday at Hideout and The Abbey Pub, respectively.

list.in.to.COZ
The full band schedule is clear until mid-April. It's almost like a vacation.

Recap
It wasn't so much the four and a half hours of playing on Friday night that was so exhausting, it was the nearly three hours of downtime in between sets at Cullen's and Celtic Knot. That was brutal. But we persevered and, if I do say so, rocked quite adequately. If only we had remembered the mailing list signup cards. The high point was the older couple up in Evanston getting down with their bad selves, so to speak, to the Beatles and then, for some reason, to "Play That Funky Music."

3.20   monday
Billy Bragg with Jill Sobule (Double Door)   SOLD OUT!
Bragg -- whose early work has just been released as a box set on the Yep Rock label -- is a perennial favorite in Chicago, and Sobule is just coming off an appearance at the high-tech TED conference in California.

Richard Butler (Abbey Pub)
What is it with aging Brits and solo careers? You've got Ray Davies from the Kinks, David Gilmour from Pink Floyd and now Richard Butler from the Pschedelic Furs all out with albums and tours this year, Davies and Butler for the first time.

The Prodigy with DJ Adam Freeland (Congress Theatre)
I read in today's RedEye -- I pick it up on Mondays for the Best Buy circular, certainly not for the "journalism" -- that the guy who just sorta "danced" in the band has moved on, and is now DJing in Thailand or something like that.

3.21   tuesday
Open Jam (Vaughan's)   COZ SINGS!
I gotta be honest, I might not even make it out this week. After Friday's marathon, and with no drumming gigs on the calendar for a while, I could use a break. Although maybe not until I actually play "One Thing Leads To Another" somewhere close to correctly.

The M's with Dr. Dog, What Made Milwaukee Famous (Schubas)
See, this is another of those bands I've been meaning to see, but I'm pretty sure they were one of the initial onslaught of names released from the Lollapalooza bill, so the really lazy part of me might just wait until then.

3.22   wednesday
Sellout with Renee Giron (Hideout)
From the looks of it, this is sort of a "best of Tributosaurus" covers project as done by a couple of the regular guests with that band, namely Jason Narducy and Chris Siebold. The website says this is an acoustic show, and that Dag Juhlin is either also on the bill or performing with the band.

The Minus 5 with The Silos, Frisbie (Abbey Pub)
The allmusic.com entry calls this a "pop collective" helmed by Young Fresh Fellow Scott McCaughey, although I'm not quite sure what the difference is between that, a "supergroup," and an "all-star band." I can say it's probably the only place you'll find the mindbending combination of Peter Buck from R.E.M. and Bill Rieflin from Ministry. Plus, you've got Friends of Coz Frisbie on the bill as well.

Garaj Mahal with Kick The Cat (Martyrs')
With Kick The Cat opening this show, and Sellout looking like its headlining at Hideout, I'm going to guess that Siebold is double-dipping. I think the timing might just work out.

Loudness (Joe's)
You can always count on Joe's to come through with the 80s hair metal bands, even the Japanese ones.

3.23   thursday
Nicholas Barron's Hyperactive with Dan Arrecis Band (Elbo Room)   FRIENDS OF COZ!
It's been a couple of months now since Barron and friends returned to Lincoln Avenue, so I'm curious to see how big a crowd is starting to turn out.

Queen + Paul Rodgers (Allstate Arena)
Sound Opinions did a whole show where they ragged on bands -- notably this particular tour -- continuing on after the passing of a key member, but I don't buy it. If the guys who have spent their entire careers making this music want to continue making this music, they should be able to do so. It's what they do and who they are, so who are we to deny that?

3.24   friday
The Dave Holland Octet (Symphony Center)
The renowned jazz bassist and bandleader usually makes the cut here, but even moreso this time as his larger group includes master percussionist Trilok Gurtu, who I first saw with the John McLaughlin Trio back around 1990 or so. He's a monster.

Roger Clyne and the Peacemakers with Taylor Hollingsworth (Martyrs')
Who would win in a fight between Roger Clyne and the Peacemakers and Oteil (Burbridge) and the Peacemakers? Or do they both just alternate with the same bunch of Peacemakers?

3.25   saturday
James Blunt with The Boy Most Likely To, Sierra Swan (Riviera Theatre)   SOLD OUT!
A friend and former bandmate likes ripping on me when I characterize an artist as "chick rock," but James Blunt is, in a word, Oprah-riffic. It's for people who think John Mayer is just a little too "edgy."

Lucky Boys Confusion with Swizzle Tree, Lola Ray, Made in Hollywood (Double Door)
I'm fascinated by local bands who got called up to the big leagues and then came back down to the minors. If they can keep their perspective and continue to play to the fans that got them started, more power to them.

Yakuza with Angel Eyes (Beat Kitchen)
This is a CD release party and a late start over in Roscoe Village for Yakuza, who is one of those bands I've been meaning to see forever, first for their close association with Busker Soundcheck from "back in the day," and second after meeting one of the guys in the band when he was mixing sound at Elbo Room.

Roger Clyne and the Peacemakers with Taylor Hollingsworth (Martyrs')
See Friday's listing.

3.26   sunday
Don Ross and Michael Manring (Double Door)
This is one for all the bass players out there, as Manring is one of the few, the oft-maligned, the "lead" bassists. I just saw that Billy Sheehan, Stu Hamm and Jeff Berlin are coming through town next month, so it's a good stretch to be, um, on the bottom.