list.in.to.chicago this week: 01.21.2008

Okay, so last week got away from me. And you would have thought that, with Monday off, I would have gotten this week done sooner.

You would have thought wrong.

Pick of the week
I have to say, that Editors/Louis XIV/Hot Hot Heat show (Friday at The Vic) looks real good. And I've heard lots of good things about Cornelius (Wednesday at Metro) as well.

list.in.to.COZ
I believe the full name of the group is Andrew Fraker & Sons Quality Plumbing Since 1953, and we're playing this Friday at the Abbey Pub. It's my first gig with an original band in quite some time, and should be a good time. Plus, Al Weber (also on the bill with Weberband) will be able to give me shit for a change, instead of the other way around.

Recap
I think the only show I caught in this two-week stretch was The Lifeline, Absent Star and Butterfly Assassins at Metro two Fridays ago. The singer from Butterfly Assassins beamed when I told him they seemed to be pulling off an entirely unlikely cross between Muse and The Decemberists. And I still really want to like Absent Star, but I struggle. I think they have a tendency to play it a little bit too safe rhythmically, harmonically (backing vocals notwithstanding) and lyrically, and the collective stage presence is kind of weird. The best thing about The Lifeline was clearly the lead singer's voice. The boy has got pipes. The tunes weren't bad, but very much of a sort of suburban emo/metal crossover that got a bit repetitive after time. For me, anyway.

01.22   tuesday
Open Jam (Vaughan's)   COZ SINGS!
Man, I butchered David Bowie so badly a few weeks back that the police could have brought me in for questioning. The Fratellis tune went much better, although I may drop that down two whole steps anyway. I think the weeknight crowds are still trying to figure themselves out in a smoke-free Chicago, but the cold weather hasn't exactly helped.

01.23   wednesday
Cornelius with Spinto Band (Metro)
Lots of critical acclaim across the board for the Japanese "pop-noise savant," and I have one friend that ordered me to see him, but I'm not going to be able to this time around. Spinto Band began as a dance troupe of some sort, and added some fun to an Art Brut/We Are Scientists bill a while back.

Via Audio with Mason Proper, Kid, You'll Move Mountains (Empty Bottle)
I've got one Via Audio tune on my iPod, and it's pretty darn good. Lots of indie-friendly textures with female vocals, sort of a quieter version of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs.

Wyclef Jean with Lyfe Jennings (House of Blues)
He's a little less omnipresent than he used to be, but still out on the circuit. I'm guessing he doesn't have a record out, as I would have figured that, with some album marketing dollars behind him, he might be able to move 1,000 tickets or so.

Buddy Guy with Joanna Connor (Buddy Guy's Legends)
The one show from Guy this week that apparently still has available tickets.

01.24   thursday
Velvet Revolver (Riviera Theatre)
Lots of musing about ticket sales this week. Weren't these guys playing arenas earlier in this tour? And now they can't even sell 3,500 seats or so?

Big Bad Voodoo Daddy (House of Blues)
One of those swing/pop/rock hybrid horn section bands from the 90s that you might not have realized still exists, but being in a stylistic niche may allow for a certain sort of longevity.

Le Concorde with Brad Peterson, After School Special (Double Door)
This band rehearses in the same building as I do, but that's all I've got on them.

Buddy Guy with Nellie Travis (Buddy Guy's Legends)   SOLD OUT!
Not sure if day of show tickets might open up because of the weather, or if Buddy Guy still does his patented trip along the sidewalk on Wabash when it's as cold out as it's supposed to be later this week, but I seem to think frigid temperatures didn't stop him the one time I saw him in January.

01.25   friday
Andrew Fraker & Sons with Weber Band, Karyle Lepetina (Abbey Pub)   SEE COZ LIVE!
As mentioned up top, the full name of the band is somewhat longer. I've been bitching a bit lately about how I'm not doing any original projects anymore, so I'm happy to be back on stage for a 40-minute set among other bands playing parts that I came up with for Andrew's record. He should have a four-song preview of that -- recorded by Tony from Diver/Vaughan's, who is also backing him up -- available at the show. I've said elsewhere that the best indicator of the sound is that the Pete Yorn cover we're planning sounds totally at home.

The Changes with Bronze, Coupleskate (Double Door)   FRIENDS OF COZ!
I liked that opening set with Athlete more than I thought I would, so I'm hoping the band is "back" from their digression into more texture and less song.

Editors with Louis XIV, Hot Hot Heat (The Vic)
A pretty stacked lineup here headlined by a band that could be considered the energetic British cousin of Interpol. Not sure if Louis XIV is regretting their remake of the Flash Gordon theme for the god-awful SciFi Network series.

The Bon Mots with Felix Jones Band, The Moves (Cubby Bear)   FRIENDS OF COZ!
Another Frantisak show, another one that I can't make.

Todd Rundgren & Band (Park West)   SOLD OUT!
Despite being on Stephen Colbert's "On Notice" board, Rundgren can still sell out venues.

Buddy Guy with Guy King (Buddy Guy's Legends)   SOLD OUT!
At some point, you have to figure everyone in Chicago has been to one of these shows.

01.26   saturday
The Ladies and Gentlemen with Otter Petter, Slings and Arrows (Subterranean)
As it happens, the Soft Boys came up on my iPod this morning, and regular readers know that I find it super cool that these guys cover "I Want To Destroy You" by that band.

Lenny Kravitz (Riviera Theatre)   SOLD OUT!
If you're scoring at home -- or if you're reading by yourself -- Velvet Revolver can't sell out the Riv, but Lenny Kravitz still can.

Jackopierce with Creede Williams (Park West)
I think I was in some sort of project that covered one of their songs once, which I seem to recall was very much in that mainstream, adult album alternative format. Which isn't the worst thing in the world when done well, but a whole night of it might drive me to listening to the weirdest shit I can find on my hard drive afterwards just for balance.

Buddy Guy with Nublu Band (Buddy Guy's Legends)   SOLD OUT!
See all the other listings.

01.27   sunday
Trouble (House of Blues)
I don't know the names of any of the members of this band. Which is to say, I don't know who's in Trouble, but I know somebody's in Trouble.

Nicholas Barron's Hyperactive (Long Room)   FRIENDS OF COZ!
There was no Metromix listing for this show, so I don't know if that means the residency has finally run its course, or if somebody didn't send the Trib kids a renewal e-mail. I do know that I had every intention of seeing them on Sunday because of the holiday yesterday, but two gig nights ending after 2am and an indoor soccer doubleheader on Sunday afternoon made that a tall order at my advanced age.

Buddy Guy with Matthew Skoller (Buddy Guy's Legends)   SOLD OUT!
I think there's only one week left in the residency, and there may be tickets available for one or two of them.