list.in.to.chicago this week: 10.23.2006

I want to start by apologizing to Friends of Coz Soma Star, whose Saturday Elbo Room show I managed to completely miss last week. The process is not infallible. I'm trying to incorporate Google Calendar so I can park shows there whenever I hear about them. I may even end up making that public as a sort of interactive version of the list, but that sounds ambitious enough for me to never get around to it.

Pick of the week
Oddly enough, I've never actually been to one of the Double Door Halloween Bashes (Friday, Saturday), but that won't stop me from recommending it just on reputation and concept. Speaking of blind endorsements, I'm kind of curious about Lindsey Buckingham (Tuesday and Wednesday at Park West). I have actually seen Sparta (Sunday at Metro) live, and they're a pretty powerful live band, even if they look too young for the size of their sound.

list.in.to.COZ
Just Vaughan's this week. Diver next Saturday (late) at Cubby Bear.

Recap
I couldn't shake the feeling that the Gin Blossoms have become a band of dads trying to act like they're still cool around their kids. And I'm still torn on The Changes, because they're very good, but I still think they used to be better before they started sharing responsibilities. Which is me trying to be diplomatic in saying I think Dave shouldn't sing lead. And the Judas Priest cover just did not work at all at the end. This also marked the first time I've watched a Double Door show from the couch in the "balcony." If you try it, watch your head when you stand up.

10.23   monday
Glen Hansard with The Swell Season, Dove Mann (Hideout)
First of two local shows from the frontman from The Frames, who happened to be in the movie The Commitments way back when. Hansard has a certain charm to his onstage banter that should be even more prevalent in the intimate confines he'll be playing this week.

James Blunt with Starsailor (Aragon Ballroom)
I have absolutely no basis for this, but I see the name James Blunt and I think it's one of those singer/songwriter types that has a certain amount of popularity, but that I just don't get. It's just a hunch.

10.24   tuesday
Open Jam (Vaughan's)   COZ SINGS!
This week's theme is Jeopardy, in that your songs must be phrased in the form of a question. I'll also allow songs that have questions in their choruses but not in their titles. One big question is "did I sprain my wrist badly enough playing soccer over the weekend to even play guitar on Tuesday?" We'll wait and see.

Lindsey Buckingham (Park West)
The former Fleetwood Mac guitarist -- and I say "former" assuming the Mac hasn't hit the nostalgia circuit full-force, but really, who cares? -- has gotten quite a bit of critical acclaim for his recent solo record. I'm intrigued by the reviews, but haven't checked it out yet.

Jars of Clay with Matt Wertz (House of Blues)
I can't exactly recall if these guys did anything terribly memorable after "Flood" from their 1995 record, which apparently was produced by none other than Adrian Belew of King Crimson. As a nominally Christian band, it's possible that they have been living in a sort of alternate universe from the normal music grind.

Rhythm Devils (Chicago Theatre)
Mickey Hart, who is one of the performers involved with this project, always confounds me. On the one hand, I want to encourage interesting percussion-based shows. On the other, I can't stand the Grateful Dead, and it's hard to divorce one from the other for Hart and the other Dead alumni involved here.

Saw Doctors (Metro)
I'm not entirely sure how to classify this band. Irish folk/rock, maybe? Anyway, I saw them at some Gaelic Fest in the 'burbs over the summer, and they're certainly fun, with a dedicated following among Irish-Americans and expats, among others.

The Renegades with Arwin (Elbo Room)
Unlike the Martyrs' shows with Kick The Cat, I can't be sure that both bands here are instrumental jazz, but there's probably a better than 50/50 chance.

Glen Hansard with Dove Man (Schubas)
See Monday's listing, although this show is about two miles north of that one.

10.25   wednesday
The John Popper Project with DJ Logic, Trevor Hall (Abbey Pub)
Yes, it's that John Popper. The Blues Traveler frontman has been doing sporadic solo shows when he's not with his primary gig, and has recently hooked up with DJ Logic for whatever it would sound like if you had John Popper and DJ Logic on stage together.

Edie Brickell & New Bohemians with Joe Purdy (Martyrs')
I'm not entirely sure what has spurred the reemergence of Mrs. Paul Simon, but if you were into her stuff seventeen or eighteen years ago (!), this will be a nice, intimate room in which to reintroduce yourself.

Switchfoot with Moses Mayfield (Metro)
You may remember these guys as having a minor hit or two on modern rock radio two or three years ago, but I sorta doubt it.

Bowling For Soup with Treaty of Paris, Inept (House of Blues)
I'm still trying to figure out how you can have a name like "Bowling For Soup" and not be a ska band.

Lindsey Buckingham (Park West)
See Tuesday's listing.

10.26   thursday
Mew with A Thousand Pictures (Double Door)
I'm not entirely sure where to put Mew in the rock spectrum. There are elements of Arcade Fire-esque orchestral pop, but there seem to be elements of something vaguely shoegazer-ish about them as well. I had only heard one song before today, and I'm kinda digging the record right now.

The Hold Steady with Sean Na Na, Catfish Haven (Metro)
The New York band is piquing a lot of people's interest right now, but their Lollapalooza set came across as very liberal borrowing from Bruce Springsteen, although with a bit more verbose storytelling. Then again, if I had to choose between The Hold Steady's Bruce and The Killers' Bruce, I'd probably go with these guys.

Joan Jett and the Blackhearts with Eagles of Death Metal, Throw Rag (The Vic)
Jett has released two new records in the last seven years, including one this year, that allmusic.com says "return to her punk roots," which could make for an interesting balancing act between that material and the inevitable fans calling out for "I Love Rock And Roll."

Duran Duran with Assassins (Sears Centre, Hoffman Estates)
It's the opening weekend for the new venue out in Hoffman Estates, and they get rolling with the new wave icons. Chicago's Assassins are a pretty fitting opener, I think. Given the size of the building (11,000 capacity), I wonder if we'll see a trend away from UIC Pavilion?

10.27   friday
10th Annual Halloween Bash (Double Door)
I've heard rumblings that this may be the final Double Door Halloween show, but I haven't gotten that confirmed. Local H is keeping their "costume" a secret, but you've also got Hush Drop as The Beatles, The Pinks as The Go-Go's, Figdish as The Replacements, Bicycle Knife Fight as The Rolling Stones, The Midnight Shows as The Clash and May Or May Not as Daft Punk.

Androgynous Moustache as T-Rex (Gunther Murphy's)
While they're not being original with the concept, that doesn't mean they can't have fun. With The Bon Mots as Echo and The Bunnymen, All City Affairs as George Michael, Avalanche Rescue Team as Madonna, John Aselin and The Dirty Rugs as Neil Young and Crazy Horse and Epicycle as David Bowie.

Indigo Girls with Three 5 Human (The Vic)
It's easy to make fun of the Indigo Girls as a certain kind of rite of passage for twentysomething women, but they're really good songwriters. Also, I've learned that they really like crossword puzzles.

Bob Dylan with Kings of Leon (Sears Centre, Hoffman Estates)
More of the opening weekend at the new Sears Centre, complete with the pretentious spelling of "centre." If I have to explain Dylan to you at this point, I have to wonder what you're even doing here.

Dashboard Confessional with Brand New (Allstate Arena)
I know they're big, but I wouldn't have pegged the emo standard-bearers as arena material.

Flogging Molly with Bedouin Soundclash, Zox, The Whitest Kids U Know (Riviera Theatre)
I think I've recounted the story before about how the one time I saw Flogging Molly, I was actually out of breath just from watching them by the end. Really uptempo Irish punk-inflected drinking songs is the long and short of it. And this is another one that's in a bigger room than I would have expected.

Fareed Haque Group with The Greyhounds, Delta Nove (Kinetic Playground)
The jazz guitarist appears with his own group at the relatively new club across from the Aragon.

Dan Trudell's B-3 Bombers featuring Clyde Stubblefield (Green Mill)
An organ trio -- okay, I'm assuming it's a trio -- with the original "funky drummer" from James Brown's band? I'm thinking it'll be pretty funky.

10.28   saturday
10th Annual Halloween Bash (Double Door)
Again, Local H is playing it close to the vest, but night two features The Last Vegas as Skid Row, Colombian Local Pike as The Rolling Stones, Billion Yen as The Eagles, Dogs of Ness as Pink Floyd, Hush Drops as The Beatles and Blackbox as Hole. I'm not sure what makes Million Yen increase by a factor of ten, and I'm assuming The Rolling Stones will be impersonated by members of Colombian Monkey Knife Fight, Local H and Cisco Pike.

Ten Hundred as AC/DC (Gunther Murphy's)
The second night of Gunther Murphy's version of Double Door's show, with Inchworm as Bob Seger, Midnight Shows as Billy Squire, The Delafields as The Cure, The Webstirs as Steve Miller Band and Phil Angotti as Bob Dylan.

Michael Franti and Spearhead with State Radio (House of Blues)
When I do foray into hip-hop, I'm a sucker for rappers with really deep voices, and Franti certainly falls into that category. He also raps about deeper subjects than your typical artist in the genre, which I also like.

Cowboy Junkies with Finlayson Maize (Old Town School of Folk Music)   SOLD OUT!
Not counting the Halloween shows, it's another of those weird time warp weeks, with Cowboy Junkies, Edie Brickell, Joan Jett and even Pet Shop Boys all making appearances.

The Fuzzy Bunnies of Death with First Jason, Death By Design, One Day Criminal (Red Line Tap)
Band name of the week.

Indigo Girls with Three 5 Human (The Vic)
See Friday's listing. I should also point out that these are full band dates, and Jerry Marotta laid down some fantastic drum tracks on a lot of their records.

Dan Trudell's B-3 Bombers featuring Clyde Stubblefield (Green Mill)
See Friday's listing.

Bob Dylan with Kings of Leon (Sears Centre, Hoffman Estates)
See Friday's listing.

10.29   sunday
Sparta with Sound Team, As Tall As Lions (Metro)
The Texas band who shares its At The Drive-In lineage with Mars Volta had the distinction of having the loudest kick drum of any band I saw at Lollapalooza. And I figure that I'll eventually leak all of my unwritten review of that weekend into all manner of individual listings for bands I saw there.

Escape From Earth with Bandcamp (Beat Kitchen)
For a while, these guys were headlining weekends at Metro, and now they're opening on a Sunday night at Beat Kitchen. I'm not quite sure what happened there.