list.in.to.chicago this week: 07.27.2009

Zappa music tonight at Martyrs'. EXO on Sunday at Schubas. I need to make sure that gets through to anyone who just "autopreviews" their e-mail.

Pick of the week
Some weeks, this part is really easy. EXO with Absentstar and Regal Standard on Sunday at Schubas would be worth it just to remember Doug, but the music will be great, too. And there's no way I can miss the performance of Joe's Garage and Billy The Mountain tonight at Martyrs'. Finally, Holding Mercury needs a big turnout on Friday at Bottom Lounge for their particularly catchy brand of rock.

list.in.to.COZ
It's getting to where I should have a keyboard macro for "Diver is playing at Fado." This time it's on Friday, and with main man Brian Cohen on the bass. There's also Vaughan's on Tuesday, as usual, and I may sit in with Andrew Fraker on Thursday at Messner's after an episode on a bar crawl on Saturday at that particular bar where I happened to have my djembe with me and ended up playing it while drunk people danced appropriately.

Recap
So, the Wednesday gig at Fado wasn't actually a public event, but some of you were able to get in anyway, so crisis avoided. Saturday was another one of those slow-starting nights that ended up being really good. And the timing and weather didn't work out for me to be able to make it to Double Door on Friday night. I did run into Ronnie Woo-Woo, though. We just won't say where, so I can keep a shred of dignity.

7.27   monday
Joe's Garage and Billy The Mountain (Martyrs')   FRIENDS OF COZ!
On the one hand, it's a little odd that this show is being billed by the material being performed, rather than who's doing the performing. On the other hand, when you're tackling two sprawling, musically intense parts of the Frank Zappa catalog, you want people to know about it. Chris Siebold and Paul Mutzabaugh, who I had recruited for a very short-lived Zappa project that never got anywhere, are on guitar and keyboards for the proceedings.

Toad The Wet Sprocket with Dick Prall (Park West)
Tony and I had a conversation about modern-day Toad shows last week -- they are pretty clearly the Diver guitarist's favorite among the 90s AAA-format bands -- but I can't remember for the life of me what the content of that conversation was.

7.28   tuesday
Open Jam (Vaughan's)   COZ SINGS!
After learning "Misunderstanding" a few weeks back, I'm now on an all-out mid-period Genesis kick. Also, I have a hard time thinking about Twitter without "Follow You Follow Me" getting stuck in my head. Speaking of which, Diver is now on Twitter (@divertheband).

The Dead Weather with Screaming Females (The Vic)
Jack White hates it when you call his other bands "side projects," so I will now piss him off by calling this his latest side project, in which he mostly plays drums while Alison Mosshart from The Kills handles vocals. I haven't heard it yet, but most critics have been dutifully kissing up to White in their reviews, using words that don't help me understand at all what the music really sounds like.

7.29   wednesday
Andrew Fraker (Vaughan's)   FRIENDS OF COZ!
Andrew has been playing every Wednesday at Vaughan's for a while now, but I mention it now on the possibility that Jack White takes a walk down the street to Vaughan's after the Dead Weather show specifically to argue with Fraker about music and public personae. How awesome would that be?

The Dead Weather with Screaming Females (The Vic)
See Tuesday's listing, and the aforementioned debate challenge.

7.30   thursday
Mekons with Mar Caribe (Schubas)
So, after I issued that correction at calling Jon Langford a "former" member of the Mekons, I got another e-mail informing me that yes, he was in the Mekons. Which wasn't what I meant. I knew he was in the band, but my error was that he still is in the band.

7.31   friday
Diver (Fado Irish Pub)   SEE COZ LIVE!
This is the last of a stretch of four shows at Fado in fourteen days, and the funny part is that each of them has been a different lineup. Brian Cohen will be the third of three bass players during the run, with one three-piece acoustic gig in the middle.

Holding Mercury with AMFM, Stereo Deluxe, Goatmotor (Bottom Lounge)   FRIENDS OF COZ!
Apparently, this show has important repercussions for the band's future prospects with a major record label, so get on out and show your support for Matt Hoffer and the rest of the guys.

Korn with Filter, Powerman 5000 (Toyota Park, Bridgeview)
All of these bands rode the wave of active rock and "nu metal" back in the late 90s and early 00s, but I honestly have no idea how durable that era of music has been. But if Limp Bizkit can try to mount some sort of comeback, it's only fair that better bands from that era get their shot, too.

Richard Cheese and Lounge Against The Machine (House of Blues)
Some novelty bands get stale over time, but I can keep going back to my first exposure to this band -- a lounge version of "Down With The Sickness" from Disturbed that was featured in the remake of Dawn of the Dead -- and continue to find it hilarious.

8.01   saturday
Baby Teeth with Brilliant Pebbles, Sonoi (Schubas)
I honestly don't remember if I've seen this band or just heard about them. They have a new record out this month, and if the first track I encountered on the website is any indication, they're quite fond of the 80s, but I can't quite put my finger on the band from that era they remind me of. There's more than a hint of Journey in there, though.

Yakuza with Sweet Cobra, Years of Cold, Deminer (Beat Kitchen)
I still mean to see this band sooner or later, because I'm intrigued by the idea of heavy metal saxophone.

8.02   sunday
EXO with Absent Star, Regal Standard (Schubas)   FRIENDS OF COZ!
Since drummer Doug Meis was tragically killed in that car accident just over four years ago, the band has played about once a year to honor his memory and raise money for a memorial fund. The first two of these shows were acoustic sets, but this time Meis' predecessor on the drum chair, Gerald Dowd, will be joining the celebration, which makes this an absolute can't-miss show before you even get to the other bands (and friends) on the bill.

Mos Def with Jay Electronica (House of Blues)
I've been meaning to give his new record The Ecstatic a listen, although some of the reviews make it sound like The New Danger was more the exception and this new one is a return to the rule. Still, I wouldn't even like the rock stuff if I didn't like his vocal delivery, so I'll give it a shot eventually.