list.in.to.chicago this week: 10.08.2007

Columbus sailed the ocean blue, but if he got to Chicago, how would he know what to do?

And more importantly, where the hell did that come from? I need a nap.

Pick of the week
I even left out a couple shows on Friday because it was so packed, but Ted Leo (Metro) and Spoon (Riviera) are pretty clear winners there. I'm a little curious about Mute Math (Tuesday, House of Blues), but will probably stick with the Open Jam instead.

list.in.to.COZ
The triumphant (?) return of Open Jam themes is all you've got from me this week. Stay tuned, as I may pick up a real, live jazz gig some time in the future.

Recap
I almost went to see Electric Six on Friday night. Does that count?

10.08   monday
Alter Bridge with Another Animal (House of Blues)
I seem to recall the first time this band rose from the ashes of Creed without singer Scott Stapp, they sold out a multi-night stand. Apparently that honeymoon is over.

Tokyo Police Club with White Rabbits, The Virgins (Schubas)   SOLD OUT!
There was some press late last week on these guys, but I'd be hard-pressed to tell you what it said. Schubas seems to do a good job of getting up-and-coming artists just at the moment when they're getting too big for that room.

10.09   tuesday
Open Jam (Vaughan's)   COZ SINGS!
It's entirely possible that you didn't notice, but the NHL season started last week. So that's going to be this week's theme, however you want to interpret it. I would recommend songs from Canadian artists, songs about ice, and/or that Martin Zellar Zamboni song. If I had thought about it, we could have done songs about fire, as Monday is the anniversary of the great Chicago fire, and of the creation of the soccer team of the same name. Needless to say, I didn't think about it.

Mute Math with Eisley (House of Blues)
This band was featured in a nearly endless video loop shown between acts at the main Bonnaroo stage, and to their credit, I didn't completely hate them after their earnest commentary on playing at the festival bombarded me at least a dozen or two times. The short clips of music that accompanied the mini-documentary seemed worth another look/listen.

Patrick Wolf with Bishi (Metro)
The main music page on Metromix calls him "Brit-pop's enfant terrible." I have no idea what that means, and if I were to venture a guess, I would think Pete Doherty still wins that battle, doesn't he?

Bob Mould (Schubas)   SOLD OUT!
So, it seems like a bad week for wanting to go to Schubas for some music on the spur of the moment. I want to say Mould is doing something vaguely innovative or non-traditional with this particular tour, but I don't remember where I saw that, and I may be confusing him with Mike Doughty. About the tour thing, not musically.

10.10   wednesday
This Is Me Smiling with Bryan Scary, The Lemurs (Schubas)
Finally, a Schubas show you didn't have to buy tickets for in advance! And it's a band I liked the one time I saw them! I think Ben Folds was the lazy comparison, Joe Jackson the allegedly more enlightened one.

10.11   thursday
Interpol with Liars (Aragon Ballroom)
I do have to wonder if the emergence of bands like Interpol have led to any sort of resurgence of interest in bands like Joy Division. I got my fix of the band's live act at Lollapalooza, so I feel entirely comfortable not going to this show.

Blue October with Yellowcard, Shiny Toy Guns, Lovedrug (The Vic)
I'm starting to think that this is the perfectly innocuous band name. Seriously, it's like there's some sort of dampening field around the very idea of this band that makes it impossible for any actual perception of it to stick. They've come through town a lot, they're apparently somewhat popular, and yet I feel completely and utterly ambivalent. I think I've actually seen them. Not even a Wikipedia reference to sometimes sounding like Peter Gabriel can overcome it. It's just weird.

Yo La Tengo (Lakeshore Theater)
There's been a smattering of shows over at this Broadway and Belmont venue. I think it's all all-seater, if I can borrow a European soccer phrase, which I guess is appropriate since most serious-slash-longtime fans of the indie stalwarts are probably pushing or have already pushed past forty.

Brandi Carlile with A Fine Frenzy (House of Blues)
I don't remember the size of the venue she sold out last time she was here, but it would seem maybe the Grey's Anatomy halo only lasts so long.

10.12   friday
Ted Leo and the Pharmacists with The Eternals, The A-Sides (Metro)
On some level, Leo and his merry band seem like our era's more rocked-out version of Elvis Costello, and I may say that only because there's that hint of reggae influence that crops up among strong songwriting. Whatever. I finally got to see him at Lollapalooza, and was impressed enough to want to see him again.

Spoon with The Ponys (Riviera Theatre)
Would it be wrong to say that many critics have gone ga ga over the Austin indie band's latest record, Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga? It would? Okay, never mind.

The Mekons (Hideout)
There are only so many snarky comments one can make about Jon Langford's ubiquity in Chicago before those comments become, themselves, ubiquitous. How very meta.

Serj Tankian with The Nightwatchman (The Vic)
I have a hunch that if you attend this show, you may at some point learn the political leanings of one or both of these artists. Just a hunch.

Johnette Napolitano (Abbey Pub)
I can't stress enough that this is the former singer from Concrete Blonde, and not the current governor of Arizona. And I'm pretty sure I've used that before. Metromix spelled her name really wrong, too.

The Del Moroccos with Red Wanting Blue, New Collosus (Cubby Bear)
This is another throwback band from Jimmy Sutton of Mighty Blue Kings and Four Charms fame, but if you've got something that works, why change? I heard them on the XRT Local Anaesthetic "capsule" yesterday, and it works that retro magic.

Catfish Haven with Wax Fang (Double Door)
I think the buzz has died down a bit around this local blues-rock band. I want to say since they played at Lollapalooza in 2006, but that seems too long ago.

Brandi Carlile with A Fine Frenzy (House of Blues)
See Thursday's listing.

10.13   saturday
The Go! Team with The Cool Kids (Double Door)
Thus answering the question of where The Cool Kids will be on Saturday night. And I'm pretty sure I've used that one before, too, but I can't be bothered to Google myself, mostly because that sounds kind of dirty.

Shock Stars with The Singleman Affair, Drug Rug (Reggie's Rock Club)
On the one hand, I'd like to check out this new near South Side club. On the other, not to see this band, who were the inexplicable judges' pick for the Lollapalooza "Last Band Standing" contest.

10.14   sunday
Nicholas Barron's Hyperactive (Long Room)   FRIENDS OF COZ!
Dana tells me she saves all of her and Steve's "Friends of Coz" mentions, so I may or may not now be on a quest to make her buy a bigger hard drive.