list.in.to.chicago this week: 03.19.2007

I'm currently savoring my position at the top of my office NCAA pool. You can't stop the math, baby!

Pick of the week
Nothing really jumps out at me this week, but you may find me at the Dearborn show on Friday (Metro) or the Bound Stems on Saturday (Double Door).

list.in.to.COZ
For those of you who missed Diver on Saturday, we've added another show this week for you, Thursday night at Victory Liquors. I think this has potential to be a really good space for live music, so the more support we can throw behind it, the better. And, of course, there's the Open Jam at Vaughan's on Tuesday.

Recap
I posted a full accounting of the St. Patrick's gig on the notabbott.com/drums page, but the short version is that someone requested Van Morrison while we were playing Van Morrison, and while the first random person you allow onstage to sing may be pretty good, the second one almost always sucks.

3.19   monday
All Smiles with Peter Walker, Dappled Cities (Schubas)
More of the Practice Space series, this month with one of the guys from Grandaddy, if I'm not mistaken.

Sevendust with Diecast, Red, Invitro (House of Blues)
Yes, because tuned-down guitars and screaming is just what I want to hear only a day and a half removed from my St. Patrick's Day hangover.

3.20   tuesday
Open Jam (Vaughan's)   COZ SINGS!
Man, if you missed the Open Jam last week, then you clearly had something else to do...

Brand New with Kevin Devine, Manchester Orchestra (House of Blues)   SOLD OUT!
Chalk up another sellout of a band I've never heard of. If I start to see too many of these from week to week, I think that's what tells me to stop writing the newsletter. As is the case with most of these shows, it appears to be a pop-punk band that has probably played the Warped tour more than once.

3.21   wednesday
Ratatat with 120 Days, Despot (Logan Square Auditorium)
Another one of those blog favorites. I downloaded one track that always strikes me as some sort of instrumental electronic remix of Cake's "No Phone," so if that sounds interesting, have at it. Also, you can type the name of the band with one hand.

Sebadoh with You Am I, The Bent Moustache (Metro)
The lo-fi heroes haven't put out a record since 1999, and Lou Barlow's former band, Dinosaur Jr., is also touring this year. I'm not sure if these things are related, but if anyone wants to concoct some sort of one-upsmanship story, have at it in the comments.

Brand New with Kevin Devine, Manchester Orchestra (The Vic)   SOLD OUT!
What's especially odd about the two-night stand at different venues is that House of Blues is Live Nation, and I'm pretty sure The Vic is exclusively JAM Productions. You don't often see bands doubling down with both promoters like this. And I would hate to be the road crew. "What? We have to tear everything down and set it up again four miles away?"

3.22   thursday
Diver (Victory Liquors)   SEE COZ LIVE!
Come commiserate with everybody else as they get mathematically eliminated from their NCAA pools once and for all. If you're having trouble visualizing the venue, it's on Halsted at Wrightwood, just south of Guitar Center and in the space that used to be Corner Pocket.

Isis with Jesu, Zozobra (Metro)
I think I can say with a fair amount of certainty that Isis is the most popular instrumental metal band going today.

Relient K with Mae, Sherwood (House of Blues)
This seems to be another one of those Christian bands who won't explicitly say they're a Christian band, with the singer saying he doesn't care how they're labeled. This, of course, means they care a lot about how they're labeled.

The Bomb with Horace Pinker, Textbook (Abbey Pub)
I guess I'm just comforted that members of important Chicago bands like Material Issue and, in the case of The Bomb, Naked Raygun, are still active and playing around town.

3.23   friday
Bloc Party with Albert Hammond Jr., Sebastien Grainger (Congress Theatre)   SOLD OUT!
I've read mixed reviews for the sophmore effort from this U.K. act, who I would consider more "socially aware" than "political." A couple of quick listens put A Weekend In The City ahead of plenty of other 2007 releases, but it still doesn't grab the way Silent Alarm did.

Dearborn with The Record Low, O'Neill and Wean, Buddy Nuisance, Exit Clov (Metro)
This is a CD release party for Dearborn, yet another band in the running for my new favorite local band, based on seeing them just once since they (thankfully) changed their name from Punsapaya.

Man Man with Icy Demons, Reds and Blue (Abbey Pub)
Lots of people considered Man Man's set at Pitchfork one of the highlights of the festival in some sort of Polyphonic Spree-meets-Captain Beefheart way, but it didn't quite grab me the same way. Too much emphasis on being weird just to be weird, although I think it marked the beginning of the trend where every other band I saw for about two months had a trombone.

3.24   saturday
Bound Stems with The Long Winters, Stars of Track and Field (Double Door)
There's a steadily building buzz about this local band. As with Ratatat, I've downloaded exactly one track. Unlike Ratatat, this band has vocals, and a sort of arch, intellectual indie pop vibe.

? and the Mysterians with Telenovela, Danny Dollrod (Empty Bottle)
The lead singer of the band that brought us "96 Tears" lost nearly all his possessions in a fire back in January. This show is one of several benefits for the man called Question Mark, who Wikipedia says claims to be a Martian who has lived with dinosaurs in past lives.

Joe Satriani with John Petrucci, Paul Gilbert (Congress Theatre)
The G3 tour returns with founder Joe Satriani and the lead guitarist from Dream Theater and Mr. Big, respectively. The shredder set will probably still dig it, but those two seem very pale in comparison to Steve Vai and Eric Johnson on the original G3 tour. Then again, I really, really dislike Dream Theater, so that will color my opinion somewhat.

Live (Riviera Theatre)
At this stage, I think the iconically earnest 90s band might be better off playing somewhere like the Vic where they might still sell out. What I'm trying to say is that "I Alone" might increasingly describe the band's fan base.

3.25   sunday
Bicycle Tricycle with Afterhours, Lindsay Anderson (Elbo Room)
I'm a little curious that this seems like a regular local rock show on Sunday night at my home away from home. Granted, I haven't been paying as close attention, but Sundays tended to be something a little different, even after Sumo gave up the ghost.

Hoodoo Gurus with The Goldstars (Abbey Pub)
I was going to say this band was a favorite of my first post-college roommate, but I might be confusing them with Hothouse Flowers. We either had Hoodoo Gurus play at my school, or at least pursued them, which may be where that confusion comes from, as said roommate was on the concert-booking group with me.