list.in.to.chicago this week: 04.17.2005

For those of you keeping count, the system is telling me this is edition number 188 of the newsletter. No word as to whether or not I'm planning anything special for number 200.

Other than that, you know the drill. Read, forward, subscribe, rock out. Not necessarily in that order.

Pick of the week
There's no question that it's Taylor Hawkins and the Coattail Riders on Sunday at Double Door, as that record is an early candidate for my year-end top ten list. And I'm a big enough Zappa fan that I have to plug Project/Object (Saturday at Martyrs') whenever they're in town.

list.in.to.COZ
For whatever reason, I think Diver plays particularly well at Fado, and Anto should finally be rejoining us on Friday after suffering through some voice problems last week.

Recap
Big, huge thanks to those of you who came out to see the three-piece version of Diver at The Globe on Saturday. The dynamics of playing in that back room, particularly on the day before Easter, were really, really strange, so we'll wait and see if we get another shot at it.

For whatever reason, I noticed small details more than anything else at the Stellastarr*/Editors show last night, mostly because I got lazy and never updated my "Editors sound like Interpol"/"Stellastarr's singer sounds like Robert Smith" first impressions. To wit, the lead guitarist of Editors had very pointy shoes, the drummer's time was shaky in a way that reminded me of Bloc Party and there was a certain Coldplay-esque attempt at grandeur from the band overall. Stellastarr*'s bassist's voice and choice of vocal parts made her sound like Kate Pierson of the B-52s, and the final piece of the sport coat and Converse All-Stars uniform as worn by Stellastarr's singer seems to be a Fender Telecaster Custom.

4.17   monday
Talent Magnet Mondays (Stadium West)   FRIENDS OF COZ!
It sounds so much better than just calling it another open mike, doesn't it? The irrepressible Dana Lawrence hosts.

4.18   tuesday
Open Jam (Vaughan's)   COZ SINGS!
On the other hand, calling it an open "jam" lets you make posters with a jar of what looks like some sort of green jelly. Or maybe paint. And no, I have no idea which three or four songs from the ever-burgeoning catalog I might lay on you this time.

Ours with Dredg, Ambulette (Metro)
Dredg is the nominal headliner, but I have a policy about poorly spelled band names. Also, Ours is much more interesting of an artist from what I've heard of the band, making me wonder what a Jeff Buckley and Radiohead-influenced act is doing sharing a bill with an aggro, nu-metal outfit. Weird.

Shiny Toy Guns with Kill Hannah, Clear Static, DJ Mark Gertz and DJ Trancid (House of Blues)
This L.A. band isn't headlining either, but they're also the band I'd be most likely to check out on this bill. I've seen Kill Hannah often enough at this point, and yet I still don't understand the whole "wearing a tube sock on your arm" thing.

Mulgrew Miller Trio (Jazz Showcase)
This pianist cut his teeth in Tony Williams' more straight-ahead band back in the early nineties, and was a key contributor to the sound of that group. Through Sunday.

4.19   wednesday
Death Cab For Cutie with Franz Ferdinand, The Cribs (Aragon Ballroom)   SOLD OUT!
Dammit, another UK band that sounds just like Franz Ferdinanad. Oh, waitaminute...

Fall Out Boy with All American Rejects, Hawthorne Heights, From First To Last, The Hush Sound (UIC Pavilion)   SOLD OUT!
I wish I could find that Google video about the emo haircuts. If you've seen it, you know how perfect that would be for this particular show.

4.20   thursday
Hoobastank with The City Drive (House of Blues)
This is some sort of "fan appreciation show," and if you're a poor man's version of Incubus with as unfortunate name as Hoobastank, I guess you have to thank your fans as often as you can.

Lord Mike's Dirty Calypsonians (Beat Kitchen)   FRIENDS OF COZ!
This is the new project from former Deals Gone Bad and notorious Chicago Fire fan Mike Park.

Nicholas Barron's Hyperaktive with Abe Quigley (Elbo Room)   FRIENDS OF COZ!
I have this vision of the 24th century or so. Chicago has been rebuilt after World War IV and, not unlike on Futurama, Nicholas Barron's disembodied head still plays two or three regular gigs a week. Of course, he's going to read this and name his next band "Nicholas Barron's Disembodied Head," because that's the kind of guy he is.

4.21   friday
Diver (Fado Irish Pub)   SEE COZ LIVE!
Okay, you were out of town for Easter last weekend. This time you've got no excuse.

Down The Line with NYCO, Dolly Varden (Logan Square Auditorium)
This seems like an odd fit for Logan Square, as I tend to think of bands with less sunny disposition and more indie cred playing at this venue. On the other hand, DTL plays a ton of college gigs, and this is one of few places where you can put together an all ages show now that Bottom Lounge has been reduced to rubble.

Ladytron with The Presets (Metro)   SOLD OUT!
This glam/electronica quartet made a lot of year-end lists in 2005 with Witching Hour on Rykodisc. I probably had it somewhere between 11 and 25 -- not quite top ten material, but still pretty good.

Neil Finn Tribute (Uncommon Ground)
With Dave Stagl, Evan Cantor, Gabriel Otto, John Sabal, Kenneth Cady, Lester Moore, Matt Tiegler, Nick Johne, Patrick Russell, Ross Freedman, Sarah Pfouts, Scott Levy, Tommi Zender and Travis Dow, which makes me wonder where the hell they're going to put the audience. Good thing they took over the deli next door and didn't use a single square foot of the space to expand the music room.

4.22   saturday
Project/Object (Martyrs')
With the frequency this Frank Zappa tribute band -- touring once again with latter period dynamic male vocalist Ike Willis -- comes through town, I have to wonder if any of them actually, you know, live anywhere on a semi-permanent basis.

Somastar with Trim, Racing To The Fall (Elbo Room)   FRIENDS OF COZ!
Yep, this has officially moved from a "see Coz live" show to a "friends of Coz" show. The analogy I've been using is that I'm like the guy you bring in to help build your startup company that leaves after the IPO, and since the International Pop Overthrow Festival (aka IPO) seems to be getting started this weekend, that means it must be time for me to leave.

4.23   sunday
Taylor Hawkins & The Coattail Riders with Driveblind, The Translation (Double Door)
The drummer from Foo Fighters is touring behind a debut album that's one part tuneful songwriting, one part bombastic over-the-top drumming, and one part Trick of the Tail-era Genesis. How could I not like it? And I remember liking Driveblind when I saw them open for Nikka Costa last year.

Van Morrison (United Center)
For anyone who has ever asked me or any band I'm in to play "Brown-Eyed Girl," please go to this show so you can hopefully get it out of your system. Now if we can only get Jimmy Buffett and Steve Miller to tour together, I'll be free and clear.