list.in.to.chicago this week: 05.29.2006

Hope you all had a great holiday weekend. I also hope you all had air conditioning. I didn't, and I'll be rectifying that particular situation tonight.

Pick of the week
Not having heard a single note, I'm going to go with The Panic Channel tomorrow at Double Door. Mostly because having not heard a single note makes it easier to ignore the lyrics if they turn out as godawful as on Dave Navarro's solo record, which sounded good sonically once you got past that obvious obstacle. And while we're on projects other than the one that made a band member or two famous, you've also got Eagles of Death Metal on Thursday at the Logan Square Auditorium.

list.in.to.COZ
Vaughan's tonight, then Diver on Friday (Fado) and Saturday (Cubby Bear), performing as the full band and as the trio, respectively.

Recap
I ended up down at Gaelic Park in the southwest suburbs on Saturday to see the Saw Doctors. They seem to resonate with their audience very strongly, and I figure a lot of it has to do with so many of their songs dealing with just being Irish. And that they're catchy songs.

Prior to that, I was so scintillating on my third of four Redmond's solo gigs that they uninvited me for the fourth. I'm going to crack wise about getting fired from that venue, but I harbor no ill will towards them. Okay, maybe just a tiny bit, but not much. What I've learned from this is that my particular schtick doesn't work as well with increased frequency. One gig a month, or one set a week, maybe. But three three-hour sets in four weeks, and I'd probably want to fire me, too.

5.30   tuesday
Open Jam (Vaughan's)   COZ SINGS!
Okay, we're back to small doses of me singing and that penchant for trying out new songs every other week. This time, something old and something new with tunes from 80s icon John Waite and Gomez.

The Fall with Cairo Gang (Logan Square Auditorium)
Last week was Charlatans UK. This week, The Fall. Manchester invades Chicago, some fifteen years after the fact. Weird.

5.31   wednesday
The Panic Channel with Bullets and Octane (Double Door)
This is new band that features Dave Navarro and Stephen Perkins from Jane's Addiction. That's pretty much all I need to know, right there, because how often do you get to see guys like that at Double Door?

Kick The Cat with The Cynics, Milkbaby (Martyrs')   FRIENDS OF COZ!
Your monthly night of jazz fusion at Martyrs'.

6.01   thursday
Eagles of Death Metal with Giraffe (Logan Square Auditorium)
This is project known best for the involvement of Queens of the Stone Age frontman Josh Homme. According to Wikipedia, the name comes from a drunken argument where someone said Poison was a death metal band, and the response was that if Poison was death metal, they were the Eagles of death metal. I wonder if Don Henley has heard that story?

The Walkmen with Mazarin, Rockwell (Metro)
I wonder if being a New York City band makes it easier to convince advertising people and television people to use your songs in their programming? These guys have done both, with a Saturn commercial and some O.C. love under their collective belt. Speaking of the latter, I guess I watch a different flavor of television drama, because killing off a character in the season finale just seems like something you're supposed to do.

6.02   friday
Diver (Fado)   SEE COZ LIVE!
This is our last four-piece show for a little while, as I'll be spending two and a half weeks in Germany in June. Speaking of that trip, all the advertising at Fado speaks of "World Soccer 2006," which makes me wonder if they needed to pay a licensing fee to call it by its proper name, the FIFA World Cup.

Brandi Carlile with Gran Bel Fisher (Metro)
I don't think any music afficionado of a certain age can look at Brandi Carlile and NOT get her mixed up with Belinda Carlisle of the Go-Gos. I suspect her music doesn't invite such comparisons, but I haven't gotten to that level of detail.

Frisbie with Anne Harris Band (Fitzgerald's, Berwyn)   FRIENDS OF COZ!
I want to say that this is the first full band show I've seen from Frisbie in a good while, so I'll say it. This is the first full band show I've seen from Frisbie in a good while. Plus, you've got the effervescent Anne Harris opening.

6.03   saturday
Diver with Mer (Cubby Bear)   SEE COZ LIVE!
This, on the other hand, is our last trio show in a while. It's also the end of a long night at Cubby Bear that features Ralph Covert in what's being billed as a separate early show, but people who check that out will be able to stick around for our nightcap set at 1am.

The New Cars with Blondie (Ravinia)
A few weeks ago, Ric Ocasek totally ripped on Todd Rundgren, who will be fronting the stars of the 80s on this tour, in a brief cameo on The Colbert Report. Which embattled congressman Tom DeLay doesn't realize is a parody. Really.

6.04   sunday
This Is Me Smiling with The Hush Sound, The Reputation, Dorian Minor (Metro)
Again, got a nice Weezer/OK Go/Joe Jackson vibe from these guys the one time I saw them. And I think they played in seven.