list.in.to.chicago this week: 06.04.2007

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Pick of the week
It's a bit of a no-brainer this week, as Ozomatli plays the Abbey Pub on Thursday, a venue very conducive to their traditional parade through the crowd to get to the stage. Another band I'm quite fond of, Maserati, plays the Lakeshore Theater at Broadway and Belmont on Tuesday.

list.in.to.COZ
So apparently teasing shows I'm playing beyond this week gives some people the wrong impression -- l.i.t.c. will be nice and not name names, but Diver plays this week at Fado (Friday) and Cubby Bear North (Saturday).

Recap
The e-mail touting the pre-Open Jam party at Vaughan's last week made absolutely no mention of it being the 10th Anniversary of said jam, so it's not my fault that I didn't bring it up. Much fun had by all. Aside from that, I went with the college reunion over Porcupine Tree, so nothing to report there. I did catch one song from some unidentified band at Mayfest in Lincoln Square on Saturday that was pretty good before I high-tailed it out of the over-crowded, over-humidified, over-served mess.

6.04   monday
Talent Magnet Mondays (Slainte)   FRIENDS OF COZ!
I may or may not give continued shout-outs to Dana in part to make up for the fact that the likelihood of me actually getting to her open mike are just north of nil. I could probably make that sentence less syntactically-challenged, but I choose not to.

6.05   tuesday
Open Jam (Vaughan's)   COZ SINGS!
Dual anniversary themes this week. On the one hand, last week was the 10th Anniversary of the Open Jam, so jammers should be encouraged to play anything from 1997 and/or anything involving the number 10. I'm expecting a lot of Pearl Jam. Also, this weekend was the 40th Anniversary of the release of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, so feel free to try anything from that record.

Maserati with Del Rey, The Beauty Shop (Lakeshore Theater)
I think I name-dropped these guys a few weeks ago when Trans Am was in town. And now they're here. Excuse me while I carefully consider the next band I should name-drop, although that'll probably end up as effective as washing your car to make it rain. And it's worth noting -- to me, anyway -- that the Lakeshore Theater seems to be one of the very few venues in the city that doesn't use the more pretentious spelling "theatre."

6.06   wednesday
Tributosaurus (Martyrs')   FRIENDS OF COZ!
With this month's installment paying tribute to Beck, I think we now have the most contemporary artist the band has covered in its history, although I'm not 100% sure on that count.

Average White Band with The Mauds (House of Blues)
Scottish guys playing very American funk and R&B, and playing it well. "Pick Up The Pieces" is still one of my favorite tunes ever.

6.07   thursday
Ozomatli with Opus (Abbey Pub)
Good thing I didn't rely solely on Metromix this week, as this show seems to have fallen through the cracks of their musical categorization. Which is kind of fitting, I guess. I would have gone with Rock, and if not that, World Music.

Air This Side of Caution with The Bandages (Pontiac Cafe)
Having seen this band on a bigger stage, I'm definitely intrigued at how they'll strip it down for the more "intimate" venue, which is, of course, industry code for "really, really small."

Ian Hunter (House of Blues)
AKA the driving force behind Mott the Hoople. While most people are more likely to remember that he wrote "All The Young Dudes," I actually went and learned "All Of The Good Ones Are Taken" for Valentine's Day a couple of years ago.

Jill Scott (Auditorium Theatre)
As far as I know, Scott is still the reigning queen of neo-soul, although I regrettably admit not keeping as close an eye on the genre as I should.

6.08   friday
Diver (Fado)   SEE COZ LIVE!
Something about the wooden bench-enclosed stage area at the River North Irish Pub warms up the sound of the band nicely. Not quite the resonant chamber of the Schubas stage, but something similar, and I think that's one of the reasons we feel like we sound better in that venue. Get there before the kitchen closes and order the chicken boxty quesadilla. Trust me on that one.

Albert Hammond, Jr. with The Dead Trees (Metro)
I was going to say that I recall this guy touring as an opening act for The Strokes, but what's more likely is that I remember him as an opening act for someone else, and that he is a member of The Strokes.

The Dials (Empty Bottle)
With the high-energy beats and female harmonies, I think this band may fit in the bigger continuum of Chicago music as picking up where Starball left off, although a little more punk and with a farfisa organ thrown in for good measure. Although I would not actually advocate the throwing of farfisa organs. And certainly not Hammond B-3s. They're really heavy.

McCoy Tyner Septet (Symphony Center)
I worry nearly every time I start a listing with the phrase "one of the last remaining musicians from the be-bop era" that I'm dooming us to have one less of those musicians, but Tyner has been there since his days in John Coltrane's band.

Brighton, MA with Canasta, Mason Proper (Subterranean)
As you might have guessed, the band Brighton, MA is from...Chicago. Seriously, stop it.

6.09   saturday
Diver (Cubby Bear North, Lincolnshire)   SEE COZ LIVE!
Okay, rumors of Anto actually venturing out to the 'burbs for a gig may have been unfounded. Or, they were entirely founded until he came up with an excuse in an attempt to weasel his way out of it, the success of which has not been determined by press time.

Les Claypool with Two Gallants (The Vic)
Not sure what the Primus bassist is touring in support of, exactly, but when he's out on his own, he tends to do things like cover 30-minute long Pink Floyd tunes.

Roger Waters (United Center)
Speaking of 30-minute long Pink Floyd tunes...

The Wood Brothers with Andreas Kapsalis Trio (House of Blues)
I don't know if the noodle-dancing fans of Medeski Martin & Wood have crossed over to support this project from bassist Chris Wood and his brother. Said noodle-dancing really wouldn't fit the folk-country-jazz vibe of the band, but I'm pretty sure that's never stopped the noodle dancers before.

Thunderwing with Viceroy, The Regrets, Sam Saunders (Elbo Room)
For a while, it looked like these guys, along with American Motherload and Drive, were ushering in a local hard rock revival before all three bands mostly disappeared. And you may recall Viceroy as the heavily Thin Lizzy-influenced band with the drummer who looked as if he was going to bug out of his own head.

Fall Out Boy with +44, The Academy Is, Paul Wall and Cobra Starship (Charter One Pavilion)
Whatever your opinion of the suburban emo superstars, they are almost certainly the best band I know named after a Simpsons reference.

6.10   sunday
Fall Out Boy with +44, The Academy Is, Paul Wall and Cobra Starship (Charter One Pavilion)   SOLD OUT!
See Saturday's listing, only without the tickets.