list.in.to.chicago this week: 08.07.2006

I'm going to keep it short and sweet this week, as I'm pretty burned out. I may count up the number of bands I've seen in the last ten days or so at some point. It's a lot.

Pick of the week
I'll say it until I'm blue in the face. The band backing Henry Rollins on his Weight album is one of my favorites of all time, and they're back for the Rollins Band show this Sunday at House of Blues, opening for legendary punk band X.

list.in.to.COZ
It looks like it's just the Open Jam at Vaughan's on Tuesday nights for a while. At least until the end of this month.

Recap
Keep an eye on notabbott.com for the full-on Lollapalooza review. My favorite sets were from The Secret Machines, Peeping Tom and Queens Of The Stone Age.

I inexplicably had the stamina to make it to Metro Saturday night for Nada Surf and The Frames. The latter struck me as an Irish bar band with aspirations of being the next U2 or Coldplay, and I mean that in a good way. Although they went to the slow-tempo-and-build well maybe once too often. Nada Surf thought it would be clever to play their set in chronological order, but if the band has gotten better over time, that means that the first half would kind of suck, relatively speaking.

Diver started the Retro on Roscoe set as a trio, but once Anto got off work, he came by and -- in a moment that reminded me of Nigel's return in This Is Spinal Tap -- joined us on stage for the last three songs.

8.07   monday
Gayle Ritt and Friends (Schubas)   FRIENDS OF COZ!
Kevin ran into Gayle at Lollapalooza, which makes me think she either booked this show to take advantage of being back in town for Lolla, or went to Lolla because she was in town for the show. Her "friends" include Jayh Johnson, who you may recall from Cassius Clay and Two Ton Levee, as well as his stint playing with yours truly in the Lindsie band.

8.08   tuesday
Open Jam (Vaughan's)   COZ SINGS!
So, I've got "Crazy" from Gnarls Barkley stuck in my head, except that, since I don't know the words, I end up substituting bits of "Joe's Garage" from Frank Zappa, which has a similar opening melody. I haven't taken a crack at the Zappa tune in a while, so we'll see if I have a chance to practice it.

8.09   wednesday
Tom Waits (Auditorium Theatre)   SOLD OUT!
I'm curious about two things here. First, I'd love to know which show at the Auditorium Theatre sold out quicker, between this one, Radiohead and Tool. Second, with Keane -- who played the Riv last time through -- playing here in a month or so, I'm guessing the emergence of this venue for big rock and pop acts may be cannibalizing the Aragon a bit. So what I'm wondering is whether or not there's a Live Nation vs. Jam Productions story here somewhere.

Fairmont with Lindbergh, The Rikters, Anita (Martyrs')   FRIENDS OF FRIENDS OF COZ!
Actually, brother of friend of Coz, described as "Jersey-based indie-rock." Fairmont plays first.

Spare Parts (Tonic Room)
In a weird coincidence, this is also a show from a brother of someone I know (I think), but I was given no description, so you're on your own.

8.10   thursday
Anna Fermin (Davenport's)
Someone posted to the comments a while back that these Davenport's gigs are, in fact, with the full band, which is really just a subtle way for me to encourage people other than Niki and Al to post comments. Niki and Al can still post comments, but so can the rest of the ten or so people who actually read this thing.

8.11   friday
Bo Bice with Saving Jane, Tim Mahoney, Murph Acoustic (Joe's)
Other than the Lovehammers, has there been any sort of national splash from any of the Rock Star: INXS losers to match that of the American Idol circuit? Somebody just mentioned something about Mig, but I don't remember the details now, even though that conversation was last Sunday. I think. The live music overload has fried my circuits.

Robbie Fulks with Sam Winch (Martyrs')   FRIENDS OF COZ!
I'm going to assume Gerald is still playing drums, which qualifies this one for "Friends of Coz" status. Hopefully someone heckled Ryan Adams over the weekend and will show up for their reward.

311 with The Wailers, Pepper (Charter One Pavilion)
I had to drive The Wailers back and forth to their hotel when I was in college. They told really drawn-out jokes that weren't all that funny, if I remember it.

8.12   saturday
Al Weber with Patrick Thomas, Elsinore (Wise Fools Pub)
Haven't heard from Al in a little while, either in the comments or on stage, but I'm sure the latter is because I'm not looking hard enough, because he plays quite a bit. To that end, I think Wise Fools Pub has finally, um, wised up to submitting their schedule to Metromix. And I really, really hope Elsinore is named after the brewery in the Bob and Doug McKenzie movie, Strange Brew.

8.13   sunday
Rollins Band with X (House of Blues)
Actually, X is headlining, but with what I would consider the "classic" lineup of Chris Haskett, Melvin Gibbs and Sim Cain restored, I'm more interested in seeing Rollins back in a musical context again.