list.in.to.chicago this week: 09.18.2008

Yeah, I forgot Gnarls Barkley last week. Sue me. That was an accident. Overlooking Blackeyed Peas this week, however, is not.

Pick of the week
Duh, Tool (Monday, Allstate Arena). And The Mars Volta (Friday, Aragon). For something different, maybe Glen Kotche and Nels Cline (Sunday, Black Orchid). And for jazz, Roy Hargrove (Jazz Showcase, Tuesday through Sunday).

list.in.to.COZ
Just Vaughan's this week, without the constraint of a theme, so I may not actually learn three whole new songs this week. At this rate, I'm going to need a bigger binder.

Recap
If you're wondering what I played last week when we did the "streets" theme, that would be "Boulevard of Broken Dreams," "Highway to Hell" -- which is kind of a bitch to sing and play at the same time -- and a rousing duet performance of "Road To Nowhere" from Talking Heads with Professor Fraker. And yes, I'm stalling because I didn't go out other than Tuesday night.

9.18   monday
Tool with Isis (Allstate Arena)
This is one of very few bands I would still go see in large arena, and even then, I probably would have skipped it had I not scored general admission floor seats. Which means you can expect lots of "damn, I'm old" comments in next week's recap.

Starsailor with Brother Man Dude, Pete Walker (Double Door)
Apparently, these guys were tabbed as "Britain's best new band" all the way back in 2001. The over/under on how many bands have been designated with that label by the UK music press since then is 25.

9.19   tuesday
Open Jam (Vaughan's)   COZ SINGS!
A bunch of the regulars are out this week, so we're taking a week off from the theme nights. Although I think next week is going to be TV show themes.

Jeff Beck (Chicago Theatre)
He's one of the defining guitarists of the seventies, along with Jimmy Page and Eric Clapton, and he couldn't get a better artist to draw his picture for these ads?

Roy Hargrove Quintet (Jazz Showcase)
Granted, it's not a very long list, but Hargrove remains one of my favorite modern jazz trumpeters. Since this is the Showcase, I suspect it will be a more traditional set, rather than his "Hard Groove" band, which is sort of a 21st century update of what Miles Davis in the Bitches Brew era. Through Sunday.

9.20   wednesday
Eric Clapton with Robert Cray (United Center)
I would venture a guess that you might spot Clapton at Beck's show and vice versa were it not for a 1992 TV special on Spinal Tap, when former MTV VJ Martha Quinn asked Beck "when you and Eric Clapton talk, what do you say about Nigel Tuffnel?" To which Beck replied "I don't talk to Eric." Not sure if he was joking.

Buddy Nuisance with Mark Mallman (Double Door)
Haven't had one of these tenuous listings in a while, but I feel like I know who these guys are, but can't quite put my finger on it.

NoMeansNo with International Playboys, Pyrite (Subterranean)
Just on principle, I want this "often bizarre punk band from Victoria, British Columbia" -- which is a phrase I don't think I ever expected to see -- to tour with Boy Kill Boy.

Roy Hargrove Quintet (Jazz Showcase)
See Tuesday's listing.

9.21   thursday
Man Man with Make Believe, Coyote (Logan Square Auditorium)
One of the upshots of all those festivals this summer is that I know have at least something to say about more bands coming through town. These guys were at Pitchfork and gave a pretty out-there performance, so I'd expect more of the same.

Trainwreck with Nice Peter (Martyrs')
At last check, this band featured Kyle Gass of Tenacious D, with a somewhat related sense of humor. Speaking of the D, I'm trying to figure out if casting Meat Loaf as Jack Black's dad in the upcoming Tenacious D movie is a better choice than Keith Richards as the sire of Johnny Depp's Captain Jack Sparrow. It's a tossup, really.

Three Dog Night (House of Blues)
I really shouldn't pick on a band that had twelve consecutive gold records, but it's been way longer than three dog nights. More like 259 dog years, if I did the math right. Here, Fido!

Roy Hargrove Quintet (Jazz Showcase)
See Tuesday's listing. Or Wednesday's if you want to take the scenic route.

9.22   friday
KT Tunstall with Kevin Devine (The Vic)
The Scottish singer/songwriter has a bit of a hit on her hands with "Black Horse and the Cherry Tree," at least here in the land of WXRT. Perhaps you've even heard a band I'm in cover it, and no, not Diver. Although that would be kinda funny. I don't know if she now tours with a band, or just with, according to her allmusic.com bio, an acoustic guitar with a loop pedal.

The Mars Volta (Aragon Ballroom)
Robert Fripp called from 1973, and he wants his guitar tone back. I've heard that the new record isn't quite as weird as the last one, which is to say it's probably more as weird as the first one. If that sentence structure seemed a bit off, but still interesting, then this may be the band for you.

Megadeth with Lamb of God, Opeth, Arch Enemy, On the ESP, Over Kill, Into Eternity, Sanctity, The Smashup (Congress Theatre)
That's a whole lot of heavy metal right there. Megadeth released a very political record a year or two ago, and no one seemed to notice.

Ruth Buzzy with Bitchy, Gertrude and Otto, Vigilantes (Elbo Room)
I used to see this band playing around town quite a bit, and then I didn't. There seems to be a lot of that going around.

Escape From Earth with The Rasmus, Shades of Fiction, On The Front (Metro)
For a while, I was hearing a fair amount of buzz for these guys -- "next big thing" buzz -- but it died down for a stretch. I haven't been watching closely enough to know why, and haven't actually heard the band since they played with URT at Metro some four or five years ago.

Roy Hargrove Quintet (Jazz Showcase)
See Thursday. Or Tuesday. But not Wednesday. That would be madness.

9.23   saturday
Madina Lake with The Junior Varsity, 2*Sweet, Powerspace, Night Kills The Day (Metro)   FRIENDS OF COZ!
It's the Leone brothers again, once more answering the question "how many different hair colors can a four-piece band have?" The answer may surprise you. Anyway, they're working in that My Chemical Romance vein, so if that's your thing, you'll probably like them.

Peter Frampton with The Elms (House of Blues)
Enough, already! Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton, Three Dog Night and Peter Frampton all in one week? What is this, 1975?

Roy Hargrove Quintet (Jazz Showcase)
Okay, just see Tuesday's listing.

9.24   sunday
Glen Kotche, Nels Cline (Black Orchid)
I was somewhat disappointed not to hear either of these Wilconians at their respective Pitchfork sets. On this tour, they'll each be playing solo and then as an improvised duo, which should be interesting in that way that "interesting" can mean it might not be for everybody. And hey, maybe Jeff Tweedy will show up!

Tower Of Power with Mike Milligan and Steam Shovel (House of Blues)
I first saw the funk mainstays in a high school auditorium at the urging of both my jazz band director and my guitar teacher. Since then, I think drummer David Garibaldi may have rejoined the band, which would make it definitely worth checking out again.

Roy Hargrove Quintet (Jazz Showcase)
The end of the six-day run. And of this week's newsletter.