list.in.to.chicago this week: 05.05.2008

I'm back from England, and you probably won't be surprised to learn that the last thing I did before heading to Heathrow Airport was find a place called Lee Ho Fook's and have myself a big dish of beef chow mein.

Pick of the week
I've heard particularly good things about Film School (Wednesday at Schubas) and if you didn't get your fill at Wrigley last year, I'm pretty sure there are tickets available for The Police and Elvis Costello (Saturday at Allstate Arena).

list.in.to.COZ
Big, big show from Diver at the Cubby Bear this Thursday, and it's FREE!

Recap
I did actually see some music in London. Friday was Laurie Anderson at the Barbican Centre, which will do nothing to dispel stereotypes of avant-garde artists as raging liberals. The pieces she presented were hit-or-miss, sometimes within the same song, but was mostly along the lines of what you would expect from her. Then I caught Cut Off Your Hands and The Shortwave Set at a club called 93 Feet East. The former were maybe a less obtuse version of Futureheads, particularly since all four band members sang, and were pretty good. The headliners took their psychedelic label seriously, going so far as to remind me of the Jefferson Airplane at times. They didn't quite do it for me, although they had a guy in the "mad scientist" role on stage left manning all manner of synths, turntables and a MacBook who was probably the best part of the band.

5.06   tuesday
Open Jam (Vaughan's)   COZ SINGS!
Between the time zone shift and all the rain, I'm not sure how well I'll be able to sing tonight, but I'll be there for at least a bit to regale friends with tales of faraway lands. Well, London, anyway.

Megadeth with In Flames, Children of Bodom, Job for a Cowboy, High on Fire (Aragon Ballroom)
Despite having to play second fiddle to Metallica for a long time, Dave Mustaine and company have persevered. They released an overtly political record a year or so ago that was pretty dire, though.

5.07   wednesday
Robyn (Park West)
Lots of recent press around the young Swedish singer, on account of her having taken a more virtuous and independent path to artistic respectability than a certain American Mousketeer-turned-pop-star. The starting points are too eerily similar to do anything else, and it's piqued my curiosity just enough to have not listened to Robyn's current -- not exactly new, as it's been out in other countries for a while -- album just yet.

Local H with Figdish (Beat Kitchen)   SOLD OUT!
The band has a new album coming out next week, and apparently they're devoting a night to each of their previous records during the run-up, which is kind of a cool concept. Usually, these sorts of multi-night retrospectives come from bands that are pretty much finished recording.

Cut Copy with Black Kids, Mobius Band (Abbey Pub)
Time Out Chicago is calling the Australian band's latest album the best pop record of the year, which is obviously saying quite a bit, seeing as how we're not even halfway through it yet.

Film School with Airiel, Urbanites (Schubas)
A bit of buzz around this indie band going back prior to their most recent release, which came out in September.

5.08   thursday
Diver (Cubby Bear Wrigleyville)   SEE COZ LIVE!
They're trying another series of free Thursday night shows at the Wrigleyville mainstay, and if you all show up and drink a lot, hopefully we'll do more of them throughout the summer. Bring friends.

Local H with Ultra Sonic Edukators (Beat Kitchen)   SOLD OUT!
I suppose I could go check which nights are which Local H albums done in their entirety, but they're all sold out, so it's not like it matters. I do like USE, though.

Ministry with Meshuggah, Hemlock (House of Blues)   SOLD OUT!
I think that "swan song" is entirely too nice and pretty of an image to associate with the final run of shows from the industrial rock pioneers.

Thunderwing with Super Priest, The Regrets (Darkroom)
I've seen listings for real live shows -- rather than bands spinning as DJs -- at Darkroom before, but I don't know that I've seen any from particularly hard rock bands.

5.09   friday
M.I.A. with Holy F*ck (Aragon Ballroom)
So I'm starting to use Time Out Chicago as a resource, and they point out that while M.I.A. is great on record, live is another matter altogether.

Sybris with Bon Savants, Apteka (Subterranean)
Still need to get out to see these guys. The latest comparison I saw that was intriguing was My Bloody Valentine.

Anne Harris with 56 Hope Road (Kinetic Playground)   FRIENDS OF COZ!
I need to go see Anne perform just to find out who's in her band these days. I'm guessing Siebold is pretty busy on the Maggie Speaks front, and Bob Garrett was getting increasingly busy a couple of years ago when I last talked to him.

Presidents of the United States of America with MOTO, Norwood Park All-Stars (Abbey Pub)
There's definitely a bit of a 90s resurgence going on right now. Maybe they got tired of the country, and eating lots of peaches.

Shemekia Copeland with The Special 20s (Buddy Guy's Legends)
She was once pegged as the next big thing in blues, but I don't think that trajectory held up over time if she's playing clubs instead of concert halls.

Ministry with Meshuggah, Hemlock (House of Blues)   SOLD OUT!
See Thursday's listing.

Local H with Fun Club (Beat Kitchen)   SOLD OUT!
See previous listings.

5.10   saturday
The Police with Elvis Costello and the Imposters (Allstate Arena)
Crowded House with Don McGlashan (The Vic)
Was Not Was with Todd Snider (Abbey Pub)
Quick, what year is this? No peeking. It's the attack of the 80s!

Local H with The Tossers (Beat Kitchen)   SOLD OUT!
Ministry with Meshuggah, Hemlock (House of Blues)   SOLD OUT!
Followed by the attack of the 90s!

Sunday Morning Chameleon with The Alarmists, Filligar (Metro)
I haven't written about these guys in a while, since I haven't actually heard them in a while, but headlining a Saturday at Metro is nothing to sneeze at.

5.11   sunday
Crowded House with Don McGlashan (The Vic)
Seriously, though, I have to say nice things about Crowded House, or else Tony from Diver will get mad at me.

Ministry with Meshuggah (House of Blues)
As of press time, this one wasn't sold out, but it probably will be sooner rather than later.

Local H with Josh Caterer (Beat Kitchen)   SOLD OUT!
This one, on the other hand, is.