list.in.to.chicago this week: 06.05.2006

Okay, so I'm out for nearly three weeks starting on Saturday. There may still be newsletters in that time in one form or another, but that hasn't been finalized yet. Neither has where I'm staying in Berlin for a short stretch of the trip, for that matter.

Pick of the week
Lots to choose from this week, including Snow Patrol (Saturday @ The Vic) if you can find tickets, and the irrepressible Bernie Worrell and the Woo Warriors on Friday at Double Door. And I'll admit, I'd be curious to see prog-rock warhorse Carl Palmer and his band on Saturday at the Abbey Pub if I were in town.

list.in.to.COZ
I'm playing at Vaughan's this week on 6/6/06. May have to dust off the acoustic versions of Ozzy Osbourne and Judas Priest for that one.

Recap
Okay, I'm finally going back and checking up on the other guys in The Panic Channel, and apparently I saw bassist Chris Chaney on the same stage a month or so ago with Taylor Hawkins. I knew I had heard the name, but I was thinking he might have been in the Jimmy Chamberlin Complex. Anyway, shirtless guitarist Dave Navarro seemed pretty jazzed to be playing such a small, intimate venue, but I got the feeling he might say that to all the small clubs. The band was pretty muscular -- with the set-closing version of Led Zep's "Dazed and Confused" as exhibit number one -- but vocalist Steve Isaacs struck me as a good technical singer, but without a lot of character to his voice or even his lyrics and melodies. Openers Bullets and Octane were the classic Tinseltown Rebellion band from downtown Hollywood, coming across as a carefully manicured ripoff of early Motley Crue updated for all the latest rock and roll fashion trends.

6.05   monday
Cougars with Just A Fire, Catamount (Empty Bottle)
I have no idea who these guys are or what they sound like, but can't pass up the chance to wonder if their audience consists of older women looking for younger men. Coo coo ka choo, Mrs. Robinson...

6.06   tuesday
Open Jam (Vaughan's)   COZ SINGS!
It's my last live performance of any kind for almost a month! Come by to wish me goodbye, good luck, and/or good riddance!

Band Of Horses with Mt. Egypt (Schubas)   SOLD OUT!
Sold out shows from artists I've never heard of always make me curious. This band seems to have leapt into the public consciousness with a debut album on Sub Pop and a well-received performance at South By Southwest back in March. allmusic calls them "dense" and "aching." I have no idea what that means.

Ravi Coltrane Quartet (Jazz Showcase)
I can't imagine what it would be like to be the son of someone like John Coltrane and to play the same instrument. I guess if you can get past the first couple of rounds of lazy comparisons and endless questions about it, you're in pretty good shape from that point on. Still, I would think you would maybe take up trumpet instead. Through Sunday.

6.07   wednesday
Gina Crosley with Holly Senchak (Uncommon Ground)
The former Rockit Girl seems to be getting her solo act together following the end of that band.

Tributosaurus (Martyrs')   FRIENDS OF COZ!
The musical dinosaur hits the stage this month as Otis Redding. Oddly enough, I just listened to the Sound Opinions podcast -- and keep in mind that Tributosaurus' Matt Spiegel is a producer for that show -- where Greg Kot picked an Otis Redding song as his "Desert Island Jukebox" selection.

Band Of Horses with Mt. Egypt, The Can't See (Schubas)   SOLD OUT!
See Tuesday's listing.

Ravi Coltrane Quartet (Jazz Showcase)
See Tuesday's listing.

6.08   thursday
Aberdeen City with Army of Me, Light Pollution (Schubas)
Mostly because their name includes that of a city in Scotland, I just assumed these guys were part of the latest wave of UK bands that seem to scurry out from under every rock these days. Apparently, they're from Boston. Using the same logic, Army Of Me must be from the town of Björk.

The Dials with Submarine Races, Ladyfinger (Empty Bottle)
Out of all the bands touched by the tragedy of that car crash last summer, The Dials seem to have come out the most determined to press on. Critical reaction to their record has been positive, and, for better or worse, bolstered by a touch of sympathy as well. Also, critics just tend to like women playing any flavor of punk rock. Even more so if they're actually good at it.

Suffrajett (Pontiac Cafe)
This is the second anniversary party for Chicagoist.com, who have ignored all the hints I've dropped about linking to my website. Yet I pimp them anyway. It's just the kind of guy I am. They've been pretty high on Suffrajett for a while now, too.

Ravi Coltrane Quartet (Jazz Showcase)
See Tuesday's listing.

6.09   friday
Bernie Worrell and the Woo Warriors with Jagoff (Double Door)
The former Parliament-Funkadelic keyboardist brings a somewhat different vibe than the mothership, but it's still typically a whole lot of funk. I think I last saw Worrell at South By Southwest, and he seemed awfully unhappy that the band had to stop because someone else was coming up after them.

The Boy Least Likely To with The Bicycles (Schubas)   SOLD OUT!
Another duo act at Schubas after the Band of Horses shows earlier in the week, this one coming from the UK and recently gracing the cover of CMJ New Music Monthly, which I still recommend for its monthly CD of new music, even in this digital download age.

Local H with 5 Horse Johnson, Scott Lucas (Metro)
I, for one, can't criticize Scott Lucas for being an opening act at his own band's show, although when you consider Local H is a duo, you have to wonder what the difference is. Now, if Cisco Pike were also on the bill, then I'd have to say something.

Bela Fleck and the Flecktones (Chicago Theatre)
At some point, Fleck and his ragged band of Wootens shifted a bit into jam band territory, I think, and I sort of lost track of them. Seeing them in town makes me curious as to how the electric-banjo-jazz sound has aged, as the lineup and approach had a certain degree of novelty value ten or fifteen years ago when they first burst onto the scene.

Ravi Coltrane Quartet (Jazz Showcase)
See Tuesday's listing.

6.10   saturday
Snow Patrol with Augustana, The Duke Spirit (The Vic)   SOLD OUT!
The Scottish quintet made a bit of a splash with their Final Straw album in late 2004, but either they didn't realize how big of a splash -- particularly in Chicago, where they could crossover from Q101 to WXRT to even WTMX -- or they're deliberately touring smaller venues to build up buzz.

Alison Breitman with David Mead & Band (Schubas)
Friend of Coz and frequent listee Dana Lawrence has been talking Breitman up for quite a while now, but I still haven't had a chance to see her.

The Carl Palmer Band with Velcro Lewis and The 100 Proof Band (Abbey Pub)
Yes, that Carl Palmer. The former ELP and Asia drummer is touring with his own band, playing ELP classics and who knows what else. The trio is just guitar, bass and drums, which means that all of Keith Emerson's keyboard parts will likely be on guitar. To steal from one of my favorite old pithy Musician magazine record reviews, I guess that's why they call it progressive rock.

Ravi Coltrane Quartet (Jazz Showcase)
See Tuesday's listing.

6.11   sunday
Elvis Costello and the Imposters (Ravinia)
I normally don't include Ravinia listings for some reason, but come on, it's Elvis Costello! Featuring Allen Toussaint with his New Orleans Horn Section.

ABC (House of Blues)
I was going to try to work some kind of pun with either "Poison Arrow" or "The Look Of Love" in it, but apparently I haven't had quite enough coffee to be that (not) funny.

Wendy DeBias with Ana Egge (Schubas)
Come to think of it, I haven't seen either of the people by which I'm connected to Ms. Wendella, in the true Kevin Bacon sense, in quite a while.

Ravi Coltrane Quartet (Jazz Showcase)
See Tuesday's listing.