list.in.to.chicago this week: 02.12.2007

If you wonder why I keep at this each and every week, my response to you is that WINGER IS PLAYING HOUSE OF BLUES THIS SUNDAY NIGHT. How could I not be inspired by that?

Pick of the week
This show from The Eternals (Friday, Empty Bottle) has suddenly caught my eye. And if you like Bassists with a capital 'B' then the BX3 show the same night (Cubby Bear) is for you.

list.in.to.COZ
Just Vaughan's this week, and for all you single folks out there, I can personally vouch for Vaughan's being a great place to be on or around Valentine's Day.

Recap
I was out of town this weekend, but I did see my little sister in a modern dance piece that I'll let the New York Times speak to (registration required, and there would be a link if you had HTML e-mail) that did feature some very cool accompanying music. And see below for some music news to come out of the weekend. I'd say something about The Police last night, but I haven't watched the tape and they didn't announce any Chicago dates yet.

2.12   monday
The 1900s with Singlman Affair, Spires That In The Sunset Rise (Schubas)
The monthlong residency continues. From the little bits I've read here and there about this "Practice Space" series, do the bands actually rehearse in front of an audience? Is that what goes on here? That could be either fascinating or really, really excruciatingly boring.

2.13   tuesday
Open Jam (Vaughan's)   COZ SINGS!
No formal theme this week, but if you want to respond to Wednesday being Valentine's Day, in whatever way you see fit, please feel free. Present conditions suggest that it would be hypocritical for me to take the dark, cynical view this year, but to be fair, I've been thinking the backlash against the holiday is starting to deserve its own backlash.

Wendy Debias with Gordon Wright (Uncommon Ground)
As it so happens, Wendy's name just came up in conversation, as her sister was or is dating the guy who recorded the URT CD, and I just met with Gene and Derek yesterday while out east. I don't want to get your hopes up, but there may be URT news in the future. And urt.net is apparently up and running again.

2.14   wednesday
Midlake with St. Vincent (Schubas)   SOLD OUT!
Lots of critics and bloggers said lots of great things about this band last year, but their record wasn't available on Rhapsody, so I never got to check it out.

Fall Out Boy with The Hush Sound, Dirty, Powerspace (Metro)
I don't think tickets every actually really went on sale for this, so it's perhaps inaccurate to say the local heroes have sold out. The show, that they've sold out the show...what did you think I meant? I'd actually be a little more excited to see The Hush Sound, as I've heard people say that Wingman plays "Sugar, We're Going Down" better than the band that wrote. I'm not saying I believe it, just that I've heard it.

2.15   thursday
Carbon Leaf with Steve and Liam from Frisbie (Park West)
"Rootsy Celtic-influenced rock" I understand, but from Richmond, VA? That seems just a little incongruous, but Richmond has a strong enough scene -- mostly fueled by local colleges -- that I guess I'm not surprised at the variety that may come out of it. And the front half of Frisbie opens, which is a good thing.

Papa Roach with Kill Hannah, It Dies Today (Vic Theatre)
I thought Q101 abandoning the "active rock" format meant we didn't have to deal with bands like this anymore?

2.16   friday
The Eternals with Watchers, Low Down Brass Band (Empty Bottle)
Okay, I was about to write about how I didn't understand the appeal of this band's last album when I realized I was getting them confused with The Thermals. This band features two guys who used to play in a band called Trenchmouth, and another guy in that band's brother was good friends with the bass player from Step Zero from back when I was in college and shortly thereafter. The current group sounds pretty eclectic -- citing both Headhunters and Gang of Four as influences -- and pretty interesting to boot.

BX3 Featuring Stu Hamm, Billy Sheehan and Jeff Berlin (Cubby Bear)
There are schools of thought that a real virtuoso on the bass guitar is the guy you barely notice, who holds down the bottom without drawing attention to themselves. This show has absolutely nothing to do with that school of thought. Lots of people may recognize Hamm as having played with Joe Satriani, and Sheehan for having played with David Lee Roth, but Jeff Berlin is probably the guy I'd be most interested in checking out, seeing as how he's the only guy on a record in my all-time top ten list, Bruford's One Of A Kind.

G. Love and Special Sauce with Redeye (Vic Theatre)   SOLD OUT!
I realize it's unfair to continue to judge an artist based on one song I know from over ten years ago, but I still like "Cold Beverage." I have no reason to believe G. Love has departed from that rootsy, organice hybrid of soul, blues and even a little hip-hop, and if you parse that statement, it has nothing to do with what he may or may not sound like today.

2.17   saturday
Manishevitz with Miss Alex White and The Red Orchestra, Euphone, DJ Randy Young (Schubas)
I saw this band over a year ago, and while I don't specifically remember much, I remember thinking they were pretty big. I want to say that The Hold Steady actually reminded me a little of them, now that I think about it, but the sound was almost certainly more expansive than that just based on the number of people in the band.

Soil with Fashion Bomb, Disonic, Chainwax (Metro)
Looks like a night of local hard rock. I've heard Disonic a couple of times on JVO's "Chicago Street Fight" segment as I come home from Vaughan's, and my guess is that they're from the same suburban metal scene that spawned Disturbed.

Bobby Conn with Bird Names (Empty Bottle)
Now that I've seen him listed under his own name more often than he does with the Glass Gypsies, I'm genuinely curious to see how Conn solo differs from the bigger band.

2.18   sunday
Winger with Enuff Z'Nuff (House of Blues)
As fate would have it, I was on a JetBlue flight back from New York earlier today, and being midday, there wasn't much on the 36 channels of live DirectTV they give you. So I ended up watching VH-1's "Metal Mania," which on this particular day, featured Kip Winger and his very, very white teeth. Enuff Z'Nuff is pretty much the only band that could open this show in Chicago, right?

Open Mic Host Night (Silvie's Lounge)
I don't know exactly how they're billing this one, but I know Stolie and some other open mic hosts are all playing a show together. Tony and I were asked, but we're both at a wedding earlier in the evening, so it's unlikely we'll make an appearance.