list.in.to.chicago this week: 06.08.2009

Part of me wants to only list artists who play in 6/8 time this week because of the date. I'd say that's the music geek part of me, but really, what part of me isn't the music geek part?

Pick of the week
The standouts for me this time around are PJ Harvey and John Parish (Friday at The Riv) and Metric (Sunday at Metro). Down at ground-level, there's also The Graduate (Friday at Beat Kitchen). Plus that free St. Vincent show in a couple of hours on the lakefront.

list.in.to.COZ
We'll be sort of easing back into the wonderful world of Diver this Friday at Fado with a three-piece acoustic outing, and there's still always Vaughan's.

Recap
I did manage to get up to the Uncommon Ground on Devon to catch Kelly Steward on Thursday night. I had forgotten how powerful of a voice she's got, but she tempered it well in her country-tinged folk songs, accompanied by an electric guitarist.

6.08   monday
St. Vincent with Anna (Pritzker Pavilion)
Free outdoor concert from the multi-instrumentalist who played Metro last night, who reads like a female version of Andrew Bird, at least on paper. If the weather holds, I'll probably check it out.

The Steak House Mints with The Vindits, Ian Wilson (Martyrs')   FRIENDS OF COZ!
How did I not know about this band? According to their MySpace page, it's Steve Gillis on drums, Vijay Tellis-Nayak on keys and Shawn Sommer on bass, backing up a singer and guitarist that I don't know. I know Shawn is definitely on the gig tonight, but I would guess Steve and Vijay are in, too.

Art Brut with U.S. Royalty (Schubas)
The self-deprecating English art school post-punks are playing five nights in Lakeview club in support of their new, Frank Black-produced record. Which I haven't heard yet.

Nicholas Barron (Underground Wonder Bar)   FRIENDS OF COZ!
As I guessed last week, this looks like a steady Monday night gig for the former Swimmer frontman, and almost has to be solo, considering all of the usual suspects that play with him are presumably at Martyrs'.

The Crystal Method with LA Riots (House of Blues)
With The Prodigy in town recently, and The Crystal Method here this week, you might think there's a renewed interest in late 90s high-energy electronica, but I'm not sure that's really the case.

6.09   tuesday
Open Jam (Vaughan's)   COZ SINGS!
So, anyway, we do this thing on Tuesdays where two or three of us from Diver host an open jam, singing some cover songs and offering up the guitar and the microphone to anyone who wants to take a whack at it, while folks drink some beers. It's fun. You should come out.

Levon Helm Band (Chicago Theatre)
I think it would be funnier if this were billed as "Levon Helm from The Band Band," but that's probably just me. A friend of mine has been getting worked up about this one for about two or three months now.

Art Brut with Team Band (Schubas)
The thing about this week-long stand is that Art Brut only has three albums, so I'm not sure exactly how they're going to sustain five shows. Then again, I don't know that the band has the kind of fans that will buy tickets for the whole run, so overlap may not be a problem.

6.10   wednesday
Art Brut with Unicycle Loves You (Schubas)
See Monday and Tuesday's listings, with a different opener.

6.11   thursday
Kanye West (Chicago Theatre)
I have to wonder if the same people who watch South Park go to Kanye West shows, and if so, whether or not they keep running with the whole "gay fish" thing from last season.

These Infamous Gifts with the West Philadephia Orchestra (Martyrs')
Good thing I checked Facebook before finishing this, otherwise I would haven't seen the fairly clever idea to play "Marquee Moon" from Television to "commemorate" the switch to digital TV.

Jon Langford and the Pine Valley Cosmonauts (Hideout)
I don't think I've seen any of the higher-profile Langford projects on a bill in a while, but that probably doesn't mean the English ex-pat hasn't been playing.

Jonathan Richman with Vic Chestnutt (Empty Bottle)
Do you think Richman still gets mileage off of his Greek chorus-esque role in "There's Something About Mary"? He doesn't seem to have had too high of a profile since that gig.

Art Brut with Lasers and Fast and Shit (Schubas)
Four down, one to go.

6.12   friday
DIVER (Fado)   SEE COZ LIVE!
After a bit of a hiatus, we're back in acoustic form to kick off the summer. Now if summer would just cooperate, we'll be in business.

PJ Harvey and John Parish (Riviera Theatre)
I've lost count of how many glowing live reviews I've read of PJ Harvey shows, so I would imagine that, despite this being a duo show with Parish, this will be a good one. Yet another record I need to track down, too.

The Graduate with Mathletes, Hotel Ahead (Beat Kitchen)
Still like this downstate band from a Lollapalooza appearance a couple of years ago, and still haven't actually heard them since.

Isis with Pelican, Keelhaul (Bottom Lounge)
Get your instrumental metal fix west of the Loop on Lake Street. And the front room is a good hang pre-show, or just for drinks. Haven't checked out the roof yet.

Art Brut with Dusty Rhodes and the River Band (Schubas)   SOLD OUT!
See all the other listings.

Jonathan Richman with Vic Chestnutt (Empty Bottle)
See Thursday's listing, and I'll assume he's got a new record out.

6.13   saturday
Alice Peacock with Anne Harris (Schubas)   FRIENDS OF COZ!
Haven't seen Harris -- the Friend of Coz in question -- playing as much lately. I did see a couple of songs from Alice Peacock many years ago when she opened for Elvis Costello during Taste of Chicago, and vaguely remember being impressed with her. Two shows, and the first is sold out.

Phoenix with Amazing Baby (Park West)   SOLD OUT!
The name of this band keeps popping up all over the place, but never with enough context for me to have the slightest idea who they are or why they're breaking right now. Usually, that means they have a song on a TV show I don't watch.

The Aggrolites with Green Room Rockers, The Void Union (Beat Kitchen)
I saw this L.A. "dirty reggae" band back in March when they opened for Flogging Molly, and if you liked, for instance, the reggae side of The Clash, you might like these guys, too. I found that they were mired in the same tempo for far too many songs, which ends up being the problem I have with almost any kind of reggae show.

6.14   sunday
Metric with Sebastien Grainger, Smile Smile (Metro)
The stream of indie bands with male and female singers continues unabated, with a pretty high signal to noise ratio. Lots of nice things have been said about the band's new record, and most of them seem entirely justified.

311 with Ziggy Marley (Charter One Pavilion)
I'm having a hard time imagining who might still be a fan of 311. I'll admit that I like some of their songs, but they seemed very much of a musical period that was particularly ephemeral.