list.in.to.chicago this week: 02.23.2009

No proofreading this week. These things happen. Also, it's web-only for a bit while I figure out what's wrong with my e-mail announcement setup.

Pick of the week
Best of the bunch by a wide margin is a rock-solid jazz show from Joshua Redman on Sunday at the Old Town School, to the point where I'm bummed that I'll be out of town. And I'm guessing you'll see a lot of t-shirts from the ThinkGeek catalog at the Jonathan Coulton show on Saturday at Park West, as he's very big with the bloggers for his clever lyrics and association with the likes of John Hodgman.

list.in.to.COZ
Nothing but Vaughan's this week, and if you're wondering about my birthday, I figure we can celebrate it at said same bar next Tuesday at around 8 or 8:30, which is close enough. Diver is back on Saturday, March 14th at Fado.

Recap
As an audience member, I have to say I think Cubby Bear gets a bad rap as a concert venue. Went to see the XRT Local Anesthetic showcase there on Saturday, and thought Helicopters sounded much, much better than they did a few weeks ago at Reggie's. The Dials do the girl-fronted punk-pop thing pretty much as well as it can be done, and while I didn't stay for all of Smoking Popes, they were rocking it out. Much like Local H back on New Year's Eve, I thought you could definitely sense the band was older. Not quite as raw around the edges as they were back in the day, but that's not a bad thing.

As a performer, it's encouraging that even when we ("we" being Andrew Fraker & Sons) feel like we collectively didn't play as well as we could -- as was the case Friday night at Double Door -- it's still mostly just us who notices. Great crowd, great energy, abject lack of fine motor control. I blame the Busch Light in the dressing room.

2.23   monday
Brighton, MA with The Deep Vibration, Love Raid (Schubas)
The last week of their residency, and still free.

2.24   tuesday
Open Jam (Vaughan's)   COZ SINGS!
So, anyway, we do this thing every week, you know? And Diver gets up and sings a couple of songs, then some other folks sing some songs. I'll get up and do a few. Cocktails are consumed. It's a good time.

2.25   wednesday
Off With Their Heads with Vicelords, The Please and Thank Yous (Beat Kitchen)
I got nothin', other than wanting this band to tour with Cut Off Your Hands from Australia.

Jay Johnson with Laser Love, Large and Lovely (Elbo Room)
Judging by the picture on the Elbo Room site, the lack of an "h" at the end of his first name, and the fact that I haven't heard it from him, I can say with a reasonable amount of certainty that this is not Friend of Coz Jayh Johnson. In case you saw it and were wondering.

2.26   thursday
This Is Me Smiling with Bryan Scary and the Shredding Tears (Schubas)
I'm pretty sure I've seen these guys before, and that they teetered on the edge of a sorta Joe Jackson/Ben Folds thing that almost worked.

The Uma Thurmans with Lyon and the Notary, Patrick Thunder (Ronny's)
Entirely appropriate so shortly after the Oscars, although it would be better if there was a band that referenced Oprah. I actually thought David Letterman was fine when he hosted the awards way back when, but that's because I was very familiar with his style of humor, where people who don't watch his show will find it off-putting. Same goes for Jon Stewart more recently.

2.27   friday
Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra featuring Wynton Marsalis (Symphony Center)
I'm guessing this will be a reverent, serious jazz affair, with all the requisite tributes to the likes of Duke Ellington and Count Basie that have marked Wynton's work throughout his career. Personally, I like Branford better, and am currently digging his contributions to drummer Jeff "Tain" Watts' new record.

Don Caballero with DD/MM/YYYY, Cougars, White Devil (Reggie's Rock Club)
This was the only band I ever saw at the late, lamented Fireside Bowl. They were kind of early on the math rock train, and I never quite found a way into what they were doing on stage.

Michael McDermott with Anna Fermin, Divebar (Metro)
The longtime Chicago singer/songwriter with a pretty high-profile gig, although I guess I do see him at Park West from time to time, which is about the same capacity.

Ne-Yo with Musiq Soulchild, Jazmine Sullivan (Chicago Theatre)
I'm not that in touch with the mainstream hip-hop scene, so I only barely knew that this was a person and not a fruit-flavored soft drink until the Grammys a few weeks ago, although I'm pretty sure I've got opener Musiq Soulchild guesting on someone else's record somewhere in my collection.

moe. (Riviera Theatre)
Should be an invasion of the noodle dancers to the uptown venue for this Coloradan jam band. If the wind is right, you should be able to pick up the scent of patchoulli and weed as far south as Wrigleyville.

2.28   saturday
Jimmy Eat World with Reubens Accomplice (Metro) SOLD OUT!
Weren't they just here? I seem to remember recently telling that story about how the overnight train to Seoul during the World Cup seemed to be playing a program over the P.A. system that was explaining (or maybe translating) the lyrics to "The Middle" as we came back from either the US-Mexico or US-Germany match.

Jonathan Coulton with Paul and Storm (Park West)
Obviously, two sold out shows at Schubas last time have begat a bigger venue this time around, but I'm not quite sure how this nerdy of an audience will cope with a washroom attendant. Still, you're almost certain to hear one of the best, if not the best, songs about zombies that you've ever heard. And you will likely sing along.

The Airborne Toxic Event with Henry Clay People, Alberta Cross (Schubas)   SOLD OUT!
I saw this band when they opened for The Fratellis back in September, and afterwards compared them to The Annuals, adding that they "didn't really work for me." Obviously, a couple hundred people disagree, but sounding like The Annuals seems like a good recipe for selling out a place like Schubas.

moe. (Riviera Theatre)
Okay, it's a two-day stand, which may actually justify all those head shops around Clark and Belmont.

3.01   sunday
Joshua Redman (Old Town School of Folk Music)
The tenor saxophonist's new album Compass is my favorite album of the year so far, and evokes a Giant Steps-era Coltrane vibe as good as anything I've heard in a long, long time.