list.in.to.chicago this week: 09.08.2008

Still have that extra Beck ticket. Anyone? Bueller?

Pick of the week
It's always much easier to do this when I actually have tickets to see shows. I'll be at The Fratellis on Wednesday at House of Blues and Stereophonics at Metro on Saturday, and recommend you do the same.

list.in.to.COZ
Just Vaughan's this week. Probably.

Recap
I totally would have gone to see music last week, but Prison Break and The Shield both started their new seasons. Plus, every band I really wanted to see was on Saturday, and I had a Diver gig. Which went great, even with certain elements in the audience who had been drinking since the Michigan game.

9.08   monday
Spiritualized with Grand Ole Party (Metro)
The British "space-rock" band never really broke it's way into my musical consciousness, but I see lots of reverential (virtual) ink spilled over Jason "J. Spaceman" Pierce's return to music after a serious illness, both for overcoming said illness and out of general appreciation for the band.

Tricky (House of Blues)
Remember back when electronica was supposed to be the next big thing? And all the main electronica dudes had only one name? There was Moby, Goldie and Tricky. And Chemcial Brothers, but they don't fit my narrative, so fuck 'em.

9.09   tuesday
Open Jam (Vaughan's)   COZ SINGS!
I'm listed as "questionable" on this week's injury report for the acoustic Open Jam, just because I've got a massively overscheduled week and may need the break.

Pigeon Detectives with The Dials, Team Band (Abbey Pub)
Time Out Chicago calls them "yet another band of players in the Brit-pop 2.0 sweepstakes," but I figured we were up to version 4.0 or so already. Sounds like they may be in a similar vein to the slightly bigger Fratellis playing on Wednesday.

9.10   wednesday
The Fratellis with The Airborne Toxic Event, Electric Touch (House of Blues)
Right now they may be a bit more popular for being the music featured in a current Amstel Light commercial than for their new record, which opens up sounding almost like Guided By Voices and ends a bit more polished than I would like based on their rip-roaring debut, the wonderfully titled Costello Music.

Does It Offend You, Yeah? with Dr. Manhattan (Subterranean)
I think we've officially reached the end of the post-Lollapalooza blackout period. I didn't see them in Grant Park, and won't here, and I'm having trouble remembering if they're the band my friend was texting me about during The Ting Tings, complaining that they were crap and their guitars were out of tune before they found their stride about halfway through and got much better.

9.11   thursday
Black Moth Super Rainbow with Evangelista, Colourmusic, Agathe Max (Empty Bottle)
I'm pretty sure these guys opened for The Flaming Lips the last time they came through town, and I'm pretty sure I said at the time that they should really be a Japanese band -- could be pop, could be heavy metal -- with that name. Instead, they're an indie band from Pennsylvania.

Ra Ra Riot with Walter Meego, Pepi Ginsberg (Subterranean)
There's a Post-It note on my desk with this band's name on it, which means I read something about them that made me think I should see if they've got an album up on Rhapsody, but I haven't gotten around to that just yet.

9.12   friday
The Walkmen with Golem, Erza Furman and the Harpoons (Metro)
The indie favorites from New Y ork City have a new album out as of, I think, last week, and it's currently number one on the Emusic download charts. That either tells you something about the band or about Emusic subscribers.

The Dandy Warhols with Darker My Love, Upsidedown (The Vic)
The alt-rock vets from Oregon just released their sixth full-length album last month (at least in CD form, after releasing it digitally a few months before), and it's just a matter of time before any of those songs end up on TV shows, seeing as how earlier tracks have made it into Undeclared, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Veronica Mars, among others.

Frank Russell Quartet (Andy's Jazz Club)   FRIENDS OF COZ!
One of many bass players to put in time with various Nicholas Barron/Steve Gillis projects, Frank is probably the funniest, and among the funkiest. I remember seeing him with Steve's Long Count Quartet and having a friend express horror at the prospect of having to take the solo after him.

Bound Stems with Maritime (Hideout)
One of Chicago's contributions to the alternating male/female vocal subgenre of current indie pop. Or maybe our main contribution, as I thought I read somewhere that Office moved out of town. I might be making that up, though.

Joan as Police Woman (Schubas)
New artist, fair amount of buzz, no idea what she sounds like.

9.13   saturday
Stereophonics with People in Planes (Metro)
Apparently the Welsh band did release a new record late last year called Pull the Pin, but never got around to releasing it in the U.S. They've also got a greatest hits compilation coming out in November.

Keith Jarrett, Jack DeJohnette, Gary Peacock (Symphony Center)
One of the greatest piano trios in jazz, hands-down. These Symphony Center shows are confounding, because tickets tend to go on sale about six months ahead of time, and I have a hard enough time committing to what I'm doing next week. Although I probably shouldn't point out my problems with commitment here in a public forum when I'm so emphatically single right now, unless I'm, um, committed to staying that way.

Ice Cube (House of Blues)
Hey, it's that guy from Anaconda!

9.14   sunday
Vortis with Team Band, The Lusties, Mad Minute (Reggie's Rock Club)
With the departure of Jay Mariotti, I wonder if Sun-Times music critic and Vortis drummer Jim DeRogatis now ranks as the columnist who receives the most angry letters at the paper. If he keeps writing scathing reviews of the Jonas Brothers, he will be soon enough.

Low vs. Diamond (Cubby Bear)
In an entirely odd coincidence, this band has a Post-It Note right next to the one for Ra Ra Riot. So someone somewhere online is talking about them in ways that seem interesting, but there's not a lot of room on these Post-It Notes for me to detail where they're from, what they sound like, and when they last released an album, and they haven't quite risen to the level of a Wikipedia search. Think of this as me lifting the curtain on how the magic that is list.in.to.chicago gets created every week, only with "magic" replaced by another word of your choice.