list.in.to.chicago this week: 08.13.2007

Still haven't gotten the Sunday rundown from Lollapalooza posted. Hopefully soon, along with pictures of the ubiquitous stuffed chicken and equally ubiquitous Beetle Bob.

Pick of the week
I'm thinking that a late afternoon set from the Nicholas Barron Trio (Navy Pier Beer Garden on Friday) while sitting outside, looking out over the lake, and partaking in a tasty beverage will be just the thing at the end of the week.

list.in.to.COZ
It's not that the location of the Diver lunchtime show in the Loop on Wednesday is some kind of secret. I just don't know where it is. For more locational certainty, we're also playing on Saturday at Cullen's. And Vaughan's on Tuesday for the Open Jam, as usual.

Recap
Lots of music for a non-festival weekend. The Smithereens alternated between their hits, their recent Beatles record and some quieter songs in the middle, busting out of the gate with "Only A Memory" followed by a slightly overlong jam on "House That We Used To Live In." I did get to chat with Pat DiNizio about how it wasn't a real Italian Festival without zeppole.

Saturday night was the big Birds At The End Of The Road reunion, and it feels weird saying that they sounded very 90s. Which makes sense seeing as how that's when they were active, but again, it just feels kind of weird to affix that description. Makes me feel old. Chuck Gladfelter and Rob Byrne put together a nice little acoustic set accompanied by original Dovetail Joint drummer Joe Dapier. I think it was the first time I've seen Chuck perform without a hat. Openers Red Shirt were just a really good hard rock band. I'm going to have to check them out again. And their t-shirts were very meta, which is to say they were red.

Finally, Sunday night at Schubas. Alison Breitman is as good as I had been led to believe: powerful voice, great dynamics, good songs, tight arrangements. The EXO set felt like some alternate universe VH1 Storytellers, and I mean that as a compliment. There was plenty of banter and explanation from Scott Tallarida, Joe Dapier again on drums, a cool new arrangement of "Unsteady," guest appearances by the old Cassius Clay horn section, and an encore of songs the band barely remembered. Very cool vibe to the evening.

And with all the Chicago music scene veterans out on Saturday and Sunday, you could arbitrarily form a band out of the little pockets of people having conversations, and it would probably be a pretty darn good band at that.

8.13   monday
Slayer with Marilyn Manson (Allstate Arena)
RAWK!!!

8.14   tuesday
Open Jam (Vaughan's)   COZ SINGS!
I don't have anything witty to say about this, but some might argue I never actually have anything witty to say about this, despite all efforts to the contrary. Vaughan's has a myspace page now, featuring lots of pictures of everyone who was there one Tuesday night in May...

The Syllable Section with The Conformist, The Miracle Condition, The Lovely Little Girls (Double Door)
Okay, so maybe my proclamation that era of "the" bands was over from a few weeks ago was a bit premature.

8.15   wednesday
Diver (somewhere downtown)   SEE COZ LIVE!
As of press time, I still don't know where we're doing this lunchtime outdoor set. Possibly in the plaza just south of the Sears Tower. A l.i.t.c. operative reports live lunchtime music by Monroe and Wacker, but that location a few blocks south of there came from another band member. Who also doesn't know exactly where we're playing. We run a very tight ship.

The Rikters with Company Of Thieves, The Sapiens (Schubas)
I was surfing the Schubas site to get EXO tickets last week and have to say, the description of this band was kind of intriguing. They cite Radiohead, Elvis Costello and At The Drive-In as influences.

Anne Harris with Dadfactory (Martyrs')   FRIENDS OF COZ!
Haven't seen the multi-instrumentalist and singer with her band in some time, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't, either. If I need to remind myself of my age again, I can look and see how long ago she played violin with Underwater People.

8.16   thursday
Soulfix with Air This Side Of Caution (Pontiac Cafe)   FRIENDS OF COZ
From what I understand, Soulfix lost the battle of the bands gig last week to some band with a following so young it was debatable whether or not they should have been allowed in the bar. Help them drown their sorrows. Or something.

Farewell Captain with Christians and Lions, One For The Team (Schubas)   FRIENDS OF COZ!
I know that Tankboy over at Chicagoist is all about these guys, and they do boast URT alum Chris Frantisak on keyboards. So, with that in mind, maybe they can approach the record of "most citations without actually going to see the band" of Frantisak's previous band, Light FM.

Joe Satriani (House of Blues)
I don't spend as much time leafing through guitar magazines as I used to, so I don't know if Satriani is still any sort of big deal, or if he's doing anything different than he did when he broke through with Surfing With The Alien, which was just re-released as a 20th anniversary edition.

8.17   friday
The Graduate with June, The Higher, 2*Sweet, Driverside Impact (House of Blues)
I only caught two and a half songs from this band early on Sunday at Lollapalooza on the "baby band" BMI stage, but I liked what I heard. Big, layered guitars, keyboard texture, lots of harmony vocals, but I can't quite put my finger on a sub-genre.

Nicholas Barron Trio (Navy Pier Beer Garden)   FRIENDS OF COZ!
This is a late afternoon set from Nicholas out on Navy Pier, which is perfect if, like me, you're on "summer hours".

8.18   saturday
Diver (Cullen's)   SEE COZ LIVE!
All the cool kids will be there. I asked them. Yes, all of them. There aren't as many as you think.

Crowded House with 16 Frames, Liam Finn (House of Blues)   SOLD OUT!
The most recent album from the New Zealand band started out as another Tim Finn solo record, but somehow morphed into a reunion record and subsequent tour. Beck drummer Matt Sherrod is filling the role of the late Paul Hester.

8.19   sunday
Mae with Dear And The Headlights, As Tall As Lions (Schubas)
I had Mae pop up in one of my Pandora stations, which initially left me optimistic about this show. Until I went and dug into their catalog, anyway. The band has the dubious honor of attempting overblown, overproduced emo in the vein of My Chemical Romance and failing. Dear And The Headlights aren't bad -- enough post-rock guitar textures over indie rock to sound like The Shins meet Maserati or something like that.

Crowded House with 16 Frames, Liam Finn (House of Blues)   SOLD OUT!
See Saturday's listing.