list.in.to.chicago this week: 08.14.2006

It's been a while since I brought up the whole "forward this to friends so they can follow the directions at the bottom and sign up" thing. So consider it brought up.

And I just noticed that LAST week was the 200th newsletter. That said, the system may count announcements that I was taking a week off, so if I can summon the motivation to check all that out in time, maybe we'll have a party to celebrate.

Pick of the week
I'll just give the shout-outs to the friends this week, with Soma Star at Elbo Room and Matt Hoffer at Durty Nellie's on Saturday.

list.in.to.COZ
It was looking bleak until as late as October before Wingman came in and booked a bunch of September dates. Until then, it's still just Vaughan's on Tuesdays.

Recap
I didn't see a goddamn thing last week, and I actually fell asleep at the bar at Vaughan's on Tuesday. Plus, I still haven't gotten around to that full-on Lollapalooza review. Yes, I've been that worn out from the previous weekends' festivities. So I'll give a quick recap of Rock Star: Supernova instead. Right now, I think it's between Dilana, Magni and Lukas, roughly in that order. Storm and Toby have outside shots. And Zayra still needs to find an excuse to sing "Army of Me" from Bjork.

8.14   monday
Gary Numan with Brand New Skin (House of Blues)
Okay, now "Cars" is going to be stuck in your head for the next hour. You can thank me later.

8.15   tuesday
Open Jam (Vaughan's)   COZ SINGS!
Yesterday, I was messing around with an acoustic arrangement of a Radiohead song that has no business being played on acoustic guitar. We'll see how I feel about that tomorrow night.

Dixie Chicks with Bob Schneider (United Center)
If you've been following the press, you'll know that the Chicks do much better in blue states nowadays, so I'd expect an enthusiastic crowd for this one.

The Like Young with Oppenheimer, Mira Mira (Beat Kitchen)
This is one of those weird, peripheral listings, where a band has flitted around the edges of my radar. I can't tell you anything about them, other than I have this vague notion I've seen their name at least a couple of times.

8.16   wednesday
Fairmont with Lokata (Nite Cap)   FRIENDS OF FRIENDS OF COZ!
This is the same band I mentioned last week. I didn't go to the Martyrs' show, so I can't give you any more info than what I said then.

8.17   thursday
Bobby Conn with Roommate (Schubas)
I've still only seen Conn once, but with eight or nine people on stage wearing green sparkly jumpsuits, it's the sort of thing that stays with you. I have a sense that, billed as just Conn and not a Glass Gypsies show, this might be more subdued, but that's purely a hunch.

8.18   friday
The Church with Rob Dickinson (Park West)
I'm pretty sure this was the first concert I saw once I got to college in Chicago. It wasn't the first show I saw in Chicago, though, as Ornette Coleman played when I was visiting Hyde Park as a "prospective student." I was already volunteering as a stagehand at this point, and the band's tour manager offered me $20 for the Paiste cymbal pin I had on my jacket. I totally should have sold it. It will suprise no one that I actually still have that pin, along with the Simmons electronic drumkit pin that adorned that particular denim jacket.

Jayh Johnson with Blackmaker, Last Conservative, Feathergun, Vsparks (Elbo Room)   FRIENDS OF COZ!
This is two shows in two weeks from Jayh, which is more than I think he's done in the last year. That's a good thing.

Sunday Morning Chameleon with Burn Rome Burn, Brother Lowdown, Oneil and Wean (Double Door)
Haven't given these guys a shout in a while, and the time I finally checked them out to see how they had grown, I was dog-tired and completely unable to form any conclusions. And I think Burn Rome Burn still rehearses in my building.

Bottle Rockets with John Kilmer (Schubas)
Wow, I remember when these guys were looking to ride the "no depression" wave that began with Uncle Tupelo, who are now mostly just a footnote in the history of Wilco.

8.19   saturday
Soma Star with Probably Vampires, The October, Firelight (Elbo Room)   FRIENDS OF COZ!
Part of me is curious to hear how Dario has either adopted or changed the drum parts I came up with for a bunch of the Soma songs. A much more significant part of me will be in Ohio, so it'll have to wait.

Matt Hoffer with Showoff, Escape From Earth, El Guapo (Durty Nellie's, Palatine)   FRIENDS OF COZ!
It's the first local show of note for Matt since his stint on television came crashing to an unceremonious, Duran Duran-fueled end. First one I've seen, anyway.

Eleventh Dream Day with Chris Connelly (Hideout)
I have this vague notion that Rick Rizzo is a schoolteacher, so shouldn't the band play more often in the summer?

Beirut with Essie Jain (Empty Bottle)
Based on recent events, you will not be able to go to this show and get really, really drunk. Think of another term for that, and you'll quickly learn that I'm going to hell.

Mary J. Blige with Jaheim and LeToya (Charter One Pavilion)
For a long while, I kept telling Steve Gillis that I was going to post on the Filter message boards that his favorite record of whatever year we were in was a live record from Blige, just to see how the hard rock kids would react. She's historically been a solid live act, with gospel underpinnings reminscent of the vibrant scene on Chicago's South Side. And I think LeToya has had either a hot single or album lately, but I'm not totally up on my R&B.

8.20   sunday
Ghostland Observatory with Fun Club, Comasoft (Abbey Pub)
This was the first band I saw, albeit briefly, at Lollapalooza last week. The best I could come up with for the duo was a sort of P.J. Harvey vibe with a lot more electronica.