list.in.to.chicago this week: 01.01.2007

A bit sparse as we recover from the holidays. And if you don't mind, a moment of silence for the Jazz Showcase. Here's hoping Joe finds new digs again.

Pick of the week
Well, I'm curious to hear Tall Dark Stranger (Thursday, The Note) given the degrees of separation. And you have to know I'll give a tip o' the hat to Project/Object on Friday and Saturday at Martyrs'.

list.in.to.COZ
Get 2007 underway with Wingman at Famous Freddie's in Mount Prospect. No, I don't know how to get there, either.

Recap
Didn't see too much music over the break, although I did end up at the Eve of the Eve Ball at Union Station the other night, where I apparently was listening to Gayle Ritt, but didn't notice it was her. And the less said about the jobbing band that came after her, the better.

01.01   monday
The Hold Steady (House of Blues Backporch Stage)
I'm actually not sure if this one is in the main room or downstairs, as the latter was where the band played on New Year's Eve. The Brooklyn band is finding its way onto nearly every rock critic's top ten list, as near as I can tell, and while they're good, they still strike me as just a bit too derivative of mid-seventies Springsteen.

01.02   tuesday
Open Jam (Vaughan's)   COZ SINGS!
We'll get back to the themes in a week or two. I'm curious to see what kind of turnout we get right after the holidays.

01.03   wednesday
56 Hope Road with Hue Trio (Wise Fools Pub)
Anyone who knows me knows that I don't care for the Grateful Dead, and yet I think this local band, which brings with it a pretty heavy Dead influence, is pretty solid.

Open Mike Night (Globe Pub)   FRIENDS OF COZ!
Stolie is picking up on the themes at her eighteen open mikes per week, and is going with TV themes this month. I may need to brush up on my Sopranos.

01.04   thursday
Tall Dark Stranger with Central Standard, Monitors, Integrated Cookbook (The Note)
I don't really know much about this band, other than their upcoming CD is being produced by Friend of Coz Steve Gillis, and that one of the guys in the band knows a guy I work with.

Liftpoint with Moxy, Gnomeattic, Kazy (Double Door)
I think the bass player for this band ended up touring with Chevelle for a while, so I don't know what effect that had on the band, but they're clearly still playing out.

01.05   friday
Project/Object with Crescent Moon (Martyrs')
Time for that periodic Zappa fix as Ike Willis, Napoleon Murphy Brock and the gang from New York bring their Tribute to Frank back into town for two nights.

01.06   saturday
Wingman (Famous Freddie's, Mount Prospect)   SEE COZ LIVE!
First gig of the new year, and it goes to Wingman. If you had been checking the website, you might have noticed that this has been relocated from Atlantic Grille in Lincoln Square to the 'burbs.

Dubious Moniker with John Wasem, Sleep Car, Wiitala Brothers (Double Door)
I give them credit for trying, but I believe it was Nigel Tuffnel who once said there's a fine line between clever and stupid. That also applies to band names.

The Blacks with The Thin Man (Schubas)
This is at least two shows in the last three months or so, which I take to mean that the band is back.

The Ladies and Gentlemen with Welcome To Ashley, Plane, Pale Blue Dot (Subterranean)
Still in the running for my new favorite local band.

Project/Object (Martyrs')
See Friday's listing, but with no opener, which one would presume means more Zappa.

01.07   sunday
Nicholas Barron's Hyperactive (Long Room)   FRIENDS OF COZ!
According to Nicholas' MySpace page, the band will be back in their usual Sunday night spot after a gig in New York City during the week that I'm trying to get my little sister to check out.