list.in.to.chicago this week: 08.20.2007

I've actually posted Lollapalooza pictures on the site, although I'm already second-guessing my process for dealing with photos, which could mean overhauling it again.

Pick of the week
Gotta go with Los Lobos at the zoo on Friday, Fountains of Wayne and Office at Double Door on Saturday, and Wallace Roney Tuesday and Wednesday at the Velvet Lounge for your jazz fix.

list.in.to.COZ
It will be the first ever appearance by Diver at a new bar called Trio out in Palos Heights on Friday night. If you know anyone in that neck of the woods, please feel free to pass on the details.

Recap
If you guessed "311 South Wacker" in the "where did Diver play on Wednesday" pool, congratulations! And the rain held off, for the most part, so even better! The weather also cooperated for the Nicholas Barron Trio show over on Navy Pier on Friday, which was a nice, relaxing way to spend the late afternoon. I can't remember the last time I saw Gillis with his drums actually amplified. Saturday's Diver show hit a good stride in the second set, but other than that, nothing really stood out.

8.20   monday
Professor Murder with Jai Alai Savant, Waterbabies (Empty Bottle)
Jim DeRogatis wrote a fairly glowing preview of this show on Friday, so I'll defer to his judgment, despite thinking he was totally out to lunch on most of his Lollapalooza review.

8.21   tuesday
Open Jam (Vaughan's)   COZ SINGS!
I'm tempted to solicit songs about rain, but Diver already has "Why Does It Always Rain On Me?" and "Weather With You" covered. So I guess what I'm saying is that I got nuthin'.

Wes John Cichosz with Cortlandt Homes, My My My (Martyrs')   FRIENDS OF COZ!
As someone who has occasionally gotten dates and days of the week scrambled in promotional e-mails, I thought Wes was a little too strong with his offer to remove people from his mailing list when he sent around a correction for this gig this week, but maybe that was an artifact of reading the e-mail in "AutoPreview" mode. That's Tuesday the 21st.

Wallace Roney Quintet (Velvet Lounge)
I'm still keeping an eye out for jazz shows with a more national footprint now that the Jazz Showcase is kaput. Here we've got one of the best young trumpet players out there -- although he's not necessarily that young anymore -- playing a brace of shows down at State and Cermak.

Josh and Eli Caterer (Welles Park)
This outdoor show from the key figures behind Smoking Popes would be a good choice if it wasn't going to rain every single day this week. Except maybe Wednesday, I think.

8.22   wednesday
The Cool Kids with Phono, Hollywood Holt and Mano (Schubas)
In answer to the question "where are the cool kids going to be tonight," natch. I played right into their hands, dammit!

Wallace Roney Quintet (Velvet Lounge)
See Tuesday's listing.

8.23   thursday
American Anti-Gravity with Meqqa, Janus, Minus Six (Double Door)
There was a time -- right about the time American Hi-Fi broke through -- that it seemed like every other band started their name with "American," but this is one of the weirdest variations that I've seen of that concept.

Goo Goo Dolls with Lifehouse (Charter One Pavilion)
The way this weather has been, they should be playing with LifeBOAT! Hey-yo!

Sunday Morning Chameleon with The Assembly, Milk at Midnight (Empty Bottle)
Granted, they may have changed a bit since I last saw them, seeing as had they'd overhauled the band quite a bit, but I wouldn't have figured these guys for the Bottle. I guess the Western Avenue club does get it's share of pop-minded acts, but there's something qualitatively different to the ones I've seen there that I can't quite put my finger on.

8.24   friday
Diver (Trio, Palos Heights)   SEE COZ LIVE!
This one is for all you l.i.t.c. readers in the southwest suburbs! What's that, you say? I don't have any readers in the southwest suburbs? Hmmm. In honor of the new venue, we'll be playing this one as a trio. At least I'm pretty sure we're playing this one as a trio.

Los Lobos (Lincoln Park Zoo)
With any luck, I'll be able to check out the "Jammin' at the Zoo" set from one of the greatest live bands in the business before heading out to the 'burbs for the Diver gig.

Kanye West (House of Blues)   SOLD OUT!
I'm still more a fan of Common than Kanye, but that's not based on all that much listening.

Lucky Boys Confusion with Logan Square, The Rydells, Verona Grove (Double Door)
For whatever reason, I expect bands that have flirted with major label success to crash and burn harder than bands that just slog it out locally for years, but LBC seems to fly in the face of that stereotype.

Gin Blossoms with Bottle of Justus (Cubby Bear)
One of the more embarrassing moments from the set I caught at Park West earlier this year was the lead singer grabbing all the cell phones held out in the front row and singing into them. There's something occasionally untoward about aging middle-of-the-road music fans.

Pelican with Clouds, Your Black Star (Beat Kitchen)
Looks like a CD release party spread over two nights and two venues in order to accommodate an all-ages performance on Friday.

8.25   saturday
Fountains of Wayne with Office (Double Door)
See, it's funny because Fountains of Wayne sing about working in an office in "Hey Julie," and now they're playing with a band called Office.

A Flock of Seagulls, Naked Eyes (Jonquil Park Flavor Fest)
Is it me, or does A Flock Of Seagulls turn up for about one street festival per year nowadays? Apparently they didn't run that far away.

Pelican with Pinebender, Tirra Lirra (Empty Bottle)
Again, this seems to be the second half of the CD release "weekend," but without the under-21 fans, in the event that you plan your shows based on where the kids aren't.

Umphrey's McGee with North Mississippi All-Stars (DeVry University)
I'm pretty sure Umphrey's headlines the Riverview Music Festival every single year, so the interesting part may be the undercard. Music starts at 2pm, with five bands in total.

8.26   sunday
Cracker (Jonquil Park Flavor Fest)
I think I first saw Cracker at South By Southwest in 1994, on the same stage where I had seen Ben Harper for the first time the same weekend. This was back when it was still some kind of new project from one of the guys from Camper Van Beethoven. Man, I'm old.

Wu-Tang Clan (Charter One Pavilion)
I don't know if this is just an early show in and of itself, or if they have to start at 3pm in order to give everyone in the Wu-Tang Clan their turn on stage.

Umphrey's McGee with Banyan (DeVry University)
Banyan is a project that includes Stephen Perkins from Jane's Addiction. I actually own one of their CDs, but it's in pretty light rotation if at all, so I can't really say much about it.