list.in.to.chicago this week: 01.22.2007

If this seems kind of rushed, it was. If it doesn't, forward it to your friends and see what they think.

Pick of the week
I'm thinking Asobi Seksu (Friday, Abbey Pub) or Eleventh Dream Day (Saturday, Empty Bottle), off the top of my head, although the odds-on favorite for me to actually attend is Helicopters on Friday at Double Door.

list.in.to.COZ
Just Vaughan's this week.

Recap
The three songs I did catch from NYCO were good, but I was practically falling asleep on my feet, so we had to go. The band before them was eminently forgettable, and probably could have used a lead singer instead of having the guitarist cover it. Sometimes that's not the best idea, and yes, I'm looking at you, Billy Corgan.

Friday's Diver show featured a fairly colossal train wreck in the second song, which is certainly atypical, especially of the trio version. And I officially have to stop bitching about how my co-workers never come out to see the band, as they were out in force.

1.22   monday
Patricia Barber Quartet (Green Mill)
Well, Norah Jones has a new album coming out, which means the inevitable halo effect should fall on Ms. Barber, who is generally regarded as deserving much more than Norah Jones' halo.

1.23   tuesday
Open Jam (Vaughan's)   COZ SINGS!
Theme's are back! Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to come with songs about old man winter, as the last forecast I saw had a high of 22. Cold, snow, winter, that sort of thing, either in the title or in the lyrics. Although I may have to beat you up if you go for "Ice Ice Baby."

Jolie Holland with St. Vincent (Schubas)
Apparently Tom Waits played a role in helping the "neo-traditionalist folk singer" get her start, and you pretty much have to give Tom Waits the benefit of the doubt, right?

1.24   wednesday
Jake Johannsen (Zanies)
What can I say? It's a pretty light week, and to be fair, Johannsen is one of my favorite comedians from way back when I used to watch Letterman while he was still on NBC. Yes, I'm old.

1.25   thursday
Augustana with Vega4 (Metro)
I was just talking about this band last week. I think the context was that they opened for Snow Patrol. They're definitely in that sort of "adult alternative" vein. The first tune on their Epic debut from 2005 is right in that medium tempo range with songs like "Yellow," "Somewhere Only We Know" and "Run."

Jake Johannsen (Zanies)
See Wednesday's listing.

1.26   friday
Helicopters with Odium Nation, Air This Side Of Caution, On A Sun (Double Door)   FRIENDS OF COZ!
I've got the latest recording from Helicopters via my co-worker and frontman Dave Moran, and listening to it, I'm struck by how much he can sound like Joe Cassady from Assassins at times, and that's probably a good thing. They've just finished mixing some new recordings, but I don't know if they'll be available at the show. Also, they're on first.

Redman with Rhythm Roots All-Stars, DJ Haul (Metro)
The NJ rapper is perhaps best known to mainstream audiences for his short-lived sitcom with Method Man, Method and Red, but that gives me a sort of six degrees of separation angle, as Method Man appears on a Roni Size/Reprazent album that I kind of like. This one is free if you RSVP to www.scion.com/livemetro, but who knows what manner of personal info they'll extract from you in return.

Asobi Seksu with Appleseed Cast, So Many Dynamos (Abbey Pub)
This NYC band combines J-pop and shoegazer influences, and I want to say they made a fair number of hipster top tens last year, but I'm not totally sure of that. I know I ended up downloading a track of theirs from someone, probably Pitchfork, and I liked it.

Big Head Todd and the Monsters with The Brakes (The Vic)
I used to always get these guys confused with Toad the Wet Sprocket, but have since been able to remember that Big Head Todd is the one Tony doesn't like as much. The songs are a little more vanilla.

A Birdsong Valentine with Mecha, Three To Go, Pontius, Josh Hawkins (Elbo Room)
I remember going to Elbo Room once and the place had practically been wallpapered with A Birdsong Valentine posters, right at the time I felt like I couldn't escape them on myspace. So they hold a place as the most relentless marketers on my radar, as far as local bands go. Couldn't tell you a think about what they sound like, though.

1.27   saturday
Eleventh Dream Day with Chin Up Chin Up, Bobby Conn, The Life And Times, Red Eyed Legends (Empty Bottle)
Pretty stacked bill at the Bottle, which makes me think it's for a cause. Not to say they can't put together this strong of a bill on their own, but Eleventh Dream Day typically doesn't play with this many bands when they're down there.

Catfish Haven with The Blacks, The Living Blue (Subterranean)
I haven't heard enough of Catfish Haven to mediate the intra-Chicagoist.com squabble about them, but hey, they did play Lollapalooza. And it looks like The Blacks are fully re-engaged with the local scene.

Deerhoof with Busdriver, Trin Tran, Maps and Atlases (Metro)
One of those indie bands I see mentioned often online, but haven't actually heard.

Kasim Sulton with Easy Tiger (Abbey Pub)
Sulton seems like one of those guys who made rock and roll tick in the 70s and 80s, having played with Todd Rundgren, Utopia, Meat Loaf, and even Joan Jett and the Blackhearts. Then again, you can say that about mostly everyone in Toto. Then again, again, you can also say that about guys like Tony Levin and Vinnie Colaiuta.

Rik Emmett Band (House of Blues)
It may seem inconsistent to make fun of someone for being associated with Meatloaf, Utopia and even the New Cars, and then turn around and extol former Triumph guitarist Rik Emmett, but I don't care. Emmett was one of my favorite guitarists growing up, and I'm almost to the point where I rip the "T" section of my CD collection, which will undoubtedly cause me to remember that band fondly.

1.28   sunday
Nicholas Barron's Hyperactive (Long Room)   FRIENDS OF COZ!
There's something about Sunday afternoons, football, hype week and the Bears to say here, but I'll be damned if I can find it.