list.in.to.chicago this week: 10.06.2008

What's up with all the shows tonight? It seems pretty heavy for a Monday.

And two different shows (Black Kids and MSTRKRFT) were moved from Metro to smaller venues. I don't know if you can tie that to available leisure dollars -- at least for new and/or overrated bands on a Monday or Tuesday night, anyway -- and the current state of the economy, but I've seen sketchier arguments made.

Pick of the week
I kinda like The Kooks on Saturday at the Riviera, and if you're looking to get out of the house tonight, Office kicks off a month's worth of Monday night shows at Schubas.

list.in.to.COZ
Hey, look! A solo Coz show! I'll be playing all night at The Globe on Irving Park and Damen this Sunday night, starting around 8pm in the front bar. No cover, unless you're talking about cover songs. There will be a lot of those.

Recap
It had been a while since I saw a show at the Aragon that fully succumbed to the crappy acoustics of that room. Unfortunately, Beck met that fate. While I liked the way he modified his arrangements, and even his vocal melodies, to fit the full-on rock combo behind him, a lot of it got lost in the echo. It certainly wasn't all bad, but it wasn't as strong a show for me as the UIC Pavilion show last year with the puppets, or even the H.O.R.D.E. Tour performance when he had the full horn section.

And openers MGMT were one extra beat per measure away from being early-70s Genesis, which is something I'd love to see them embrace. I think they'd do a good job of it.

10.06   monday
Office with Ed Laurie, Bob Nanna (Schubas)
I want to say this is a return engagement for the Monday night "Practice Space" series for local indie pop heavyweights Office, but I'm not sure. Mostly because I don't usually get out of the house for shows on Mondays.

Robert Pollard's Boston Spaceships with The High Strung (Double Door)
I'm not a gambling man, but I'd be willing to wager that Pollard's new project probably sounds quite a bit like his previous projects, most notably Guided By Voices.

Todd Rundgren (Park West)
Rundgren is the only act this week that appears on Stephen Colbert's "You're on notice!" list. Incidentally, you can get your own mini-notice board from Colbert Nation, but mine got back-ordered. And I think it's now official that I'm going to be Colbert for Halloween.

Ani DiFranco with Ryan Montbleau (Chicago Theater)
The indefatigable singer/songwriter who paved the way for anyone who thought they could exist outside the major label system may have lost a bit of her popularity in the last several years -- I seem to recall her selling out a venue this large in the past -- but I heard a new track on XRT last week and she's still putting out pretty compelling material. Anyone who can get me to listen to lyrics almost immediately is doing something very right.

Black Kids with Virgin, Team Band (Abbey Pub)
Moved from Metro, which should be a big red flag on how overrated this band is.

10.07   tuesday
Open Jam (Vaughan's)   COZ SINGS!
This follows right on the heels of the second presidential debate, so if we need an impromptu theme, I would say anything that involves spinning or revolving. I know we can throw the Lifehouse tune into the mix, and if someone wants to tackle Dead or Alive's hit from the 80s, that would be awesome.

Peter Hammill with Cheer Accident (Abbey Pub)
I am not The Stig, but if I were, I'd be all over this show from the founder of Van Der Graaf Generator. If you don't know who The Stig is, set your TiVo for re-runs of Top Gear on BBC America before we get stuck with our own version.

10.08   wednesday
Jamie Lidell with Baby Teeth (Metro)
As evidenced by his Lollapalooza set, this guy can make a hell of a racket with just his voice and a bunch of technology, but the looping and manipulating of his vocals was only part of a performance that also included a band that was dressed kinda funny.

Joe Satriani with Mountain (Chicago Theater)
I think Satch was one of my first major concerts here in Chicago, and almost certainly the first time I saw a show at the Aragon Ballroom. To date, I also think it's the only time I've been to a seated show at the Uptown venue. I recall the axe-slinger selling out House of Blues a year or so ago, but it looks like moving to a bigger venue this time around may not have worked out.

10.09   thursday
My Morning Jacket (Chicago Theater)   SOLD OUT!
The Kentucky psychedelic/borderline-jam band has been one of the bigger success stories in American rock music of the last several years, and while their new record is, for the most part, pretty good, there's one really, really irritating track that sorta spoils it.

Hiromi (Jazz Showcase)
All I know about this band is that it includes guitarist David Fiuczynski of Screaming Headless Torsos fame, but that's good enough for me.

Broken Social Scene with Land of Talk (The Vic)
The Canadian collective calls my bluff on saying I'd like to check them out somewhere more intimate than Lollapalooza. Given the sheer number of shows I'm seeing this fall, bands whose music I'm barely familiar with are going to fall by the wayside.

Steve Smith's Jazz Legacy (Martyrs')
Some people remember him as the drummer for Journey during their eighties heyday, but he's always been a jazzer at heart. Lately, he's been going back to traditional New Orleans jazz with his group Vital Information, and it looks like now he's going even further to surface more of the early days of jazz and jazz drumming.

10.10   friday
Ben Folds with Missy HIggins (Congress Theater)
This is in support of Folds' new solo album, and not a continuation of the Ben Folds Five reunion show from a few weeks ago.

Silver Jews with The Mattoid (Metro)
This band gets the dubious honor of getting the most pretentious writeup I've ever seen in my life from The Reader when they were part of Pitchfork two summers ago, which started something like "Silver Jews are kind of like Jesus..."

Taj Mahal (Morse Theatre)
The blues legend is helping break in a new venue up in Rogers Park. I'll be there next week to see Dweezil Zappa and give a full report.

Melvin Taylor and the Slack Band (House of Blues Back Porch Stage)
If you're like me and have some sort of mental block about seeing local bluesman Taylor when he plays Rosa's on the west side nearly every week, this might be the show for you.

My Morning Jacket (Chicago Theater)   SOLD OUT!
See Thursday's listing.

Hiromi (Jazz Showcase)
See Thursday's listing.

10.11   saturday
The Kooks with The Whigs (Riviera Theatre)
Another bratty British post-punk export that I've seen on various TV shows from across the pond. And I think The Whigs got some good reviews at Lollapalooza.

Cold War Kids with A.A. Bondy (The Vic)   SOLD OUT!
I caught about ten minutes of their set last year at Bonnaroo and decided they're a bit too whiny for me, but at least 1,000 ticket buyers think otherwise.

Dan Deacon with The Deathset, Adventure, Video Hippos, Future Islands, Nuclear Power Pants, DJ Dog Dick, Blood Baby, Height, Cex, Smartgrowth, Double Dagger (Epiphany)
This sounds like quite the hipster rave, as Deacon was considered one of the sweaty highs of last year's Hideout Block Party. I think.

Taj Mahal (Morse Theatre)
See Friday's listing.

Hiromi (Jazz Showcase)
See Thursday's listing.

10.12   sunday
COZ SINGS! (The Globe Pub)   SEE COZ LIVE!
I've been grumbling about how I get to work through my big book of cover songs at a rate of three to five songs per week, so I've finally got a night all to myself to get through a lot more. The plan is to start around 8pm, and you've got to have dinner somewhere, so come on out! Please?

Mighty Mighty Bosstones with ALL (Congress Theater)
This is the main event for Riot Fest 2008, with an all-ages bill featuring at least two dozen bands and headlined by the Boston ska-punk legends and a band that was a big influence on URT, to the point where I think I was in a band with Gene that covered some ALL tunes back in college.

Fleet Foxes with Frank Fairfield (Metro)
The current indie darlings seem to go a bit too far in that "rustic" sound that helped propel at least earlier stuff from Okkervil River. There's something about "let's go record in an open field with a bunch of antique instruments" that I just don't get, and while that's almost certainly an oversimplification, it's the thumbnail sketch of what I hear.

Jay Reatard with Cola Freaks, Prizzy Prizzy Please, The Frankl Project (Double Door)
This is an afterparty show for Riot Fest that includes some of the acts appearing earlier in the day, and is notable because Metromix has it listed as "Jay Retread." Damn spellcheckers.

Hiromi (Jazz Showcase)
See Thursday's listings, with an additional matinee show.