list.in.to.chicago this week: 09.10.2007

I've got an extra ticket for Editors at Park West tomorrow (Tuesday) night. E-mail me if you're interested.

Pick of the week
If I wasn't playing soccer on Wednesday, I'd be all over Arctic Monkeys at the Riv on Wednesday. And if I didn't have a gig on Friday, I'd like to check out John McLaughlin on Friday at House of Blues.

list.in.to.COZ
Vaughan's tomorrow night, at least after I get done with Editors at Park West, and then the acoustic three-piece version of Diver on Friday at Fado.

Recap
Something about the Hideout Block Party is just comforting, in that I always run into people I know there. Musically, I have to confess that I don't get Dan Deacon. Art Brut were preceded by some locals hacking through their songs on no rehearsal, which Eddie Argos and company took in relentlessly self-deprecating stride. And The Frames played at least one song from "Once," although I wasn't close enough to hear who Glen Hansard had onstage singing harmonies with him on it. I didn't stick around much past that.

Meanwhile, l.i.t.c. operatives reported that Supermercado played a strong, if underattended, show at Double Door on Friday night.

9.10   monday
Stevie Wonder (Charter One Pavilion)
This is totally my fault, but I only came to appreciate Stevie Wonder as a drummer in the last four or five years. I don't know if it's just because I didn't know that he played the drums on a lot of his own records, or if I hadn't listened to those records for their drumming, or what, but since I figured it out, I've had a new appreciation for the R&B legend's catalog.

Aerosmith with Joan Jett and the Blackhearts (Allstate Arena)
I don't think there's anything I could tell you about Aerosmith that you don't already know, except maybe that this show falls on guitarist Joe Perry's birthday.

May or May Not with Eagle Seagull, Solid Gold (Schubas)
The September residency continues. One of these days, I may (or, um, I may not) make it out to one of these shows.

9.11   tuesday
Open Jam (Vaughan's)   COZ SINGS!
I think the properly defiant thing to do this week would be to play songs that Clear Channel "suggested" their radio stations not play six years ago. Waitaminute, "Wipe Out"?

Editors with Biffy Clyro, Ra Ra Riot (Park West)
I have an extra ticket for this one, so if you like the sound of Joy Division by way of Interpol, but played with quite a bit more intensity, let me know.

School of Seven Bells (Subterranean)
The bad news is that the guitarist from Secret Machines left that band earlier this year. The good news is that he's started this new band, presuming that he brings some of that spacey guitar goodness that made the Texas trio so powerful.

9.12   wednesday
Arctic Monkeys (Riviera Theatre)
Still the bratty British post-punk that put the band on the map in the first place, but I like the second record a bit better than the first.

George Clinton and Parliament Funkadelic (House of Blues)
With shows routinely clocking in around 4 hours and change, I've likened P-Funk shows to being bludgeoned over the head with a funky instrument. And loving every minute of it.

Midlake with Dawn Landes (Metro)
Lots of buzz about this band last year, but they never put out a record that showed up on Rhapsody for me to listen to. They may have since, but I haven't gotten around to it just yet.

Wilco with Dr. Dog (Pritzker Pavilion)   SOLD OUT!
Lots of people curious about this show just for the logistics of doing a paid, ticketed concert in Millennium Park. The band was great at Bonnaroo, and I think Nels Cline is over his bout with the chicken pox from last month.

9.13   thursday
Helicopters with Little Man, July 4th (Schubas)   FRIENDS OF COZ!
This may be their first show since kicking off all of Lollapalooza, but I may be forgetting one somewhere.

Aesop Rock with The Octopus Project, Blockhead, DJ Signify (Metro)
I remember this hip-hop artist piquing my interest a while ago, having read about him in CMJ New Music Monthly, but I don't think I ever closed the loop and checked out any of his stuff.

9.14   friday
Diver (Fado Irish Pub)   SEE COZ LIVE!
If you've been to Vaughan's and thought to yourself "I just wish the house band would play all night," then this is the show for you, as it's a three-piece acoustic show playing, as I alluded to earlier, all night.

John McLaughlin (House of Blues)
I have no idea what kind of band the legendary fusion guitarist has in tow these days, but he doesn't often tour with slouches. I think he's gotten away from the Trilok Gurtu-anchored trios of the early nineties, which is too bad, because those were something else.

Office with White Hot Knife, The Assembly (Metro)
Still cranked high on the buzz-o-meter, but it'll take me at least one more show to check them out, as you might have noticed that I've got a gig.

9.15   saturday
Karl Denson Trio with The Hue, Bumpus (Abbey Pub)
Sometimes the jokes just write themselves. Down to a trio, it would appear that Denson's Tiny Universe has gotten a little more tiny.

Rilo Kiley with Johnathan Rice, Grand Ole Party (Riviera Theatre)
It seems like this indie pop band has gotten more attention as a point of reference for band members out playing with other projects lately, but the reviews of their new record have been very good.

The Features (Double Door)
The band seems to be getting an inordinate amount of press in the U.K. recently, with The Evening Standard reportedly calling the Tennessee band "the United States' answer to the Kaiser Chiefs." Given the U.K. press, I'm not sure that's a compliment, but I think it might be.

Urge Overkill (Do-Division Festival)
The post-heyday Urge -- most of them, anyway -- comes out of hiding about once per year, and since I would venture a guess that Nash Kato has lived somewhere on or near Division between Ashland and Damen since about 1992, this seems like the obvious choice.

9.16   sunday
Nicholas Barron's Hyperactive (Long Room)   FRIENDS OF COZ!
It used to be "acid jazz," but now I think it's more bluesy soul, with some hints of pop. I sort of take Nicholas' sound for granted sometimes, having seen him play so damn much over the last ten or twelve years.

Camper Van Beethoven (Do-Division Festival)
So do you think that David Lowery has just been hanging around Chicago since Cracker played a couple of weeks ago, waiting for this show? The band has been reuniting sporadically over the last three years, so I don't know if this particular reunion qualifies as some sort of major event.