list.in.to.chicago this week: 08.10.2009

The agony and the irony, they're killing me.

Pick of the week
Tonight's Shellac show in Millennium Park looks interesting if you're at work in the Loop when you read this. And also free. If you know me well, you know I have to talk up Mike Keneally and Bryan Beller (Friday at Bottom Lounge and Saturday at Boocoo in Evanston) to the rafters. And since everyone else does "critic's picks" of shows that have no available tickets, let's throw in Harvey Danger on Saturday at Schubas.

list.in.to.COZ
We'll see how I survive double-dipping on Saturday, with a late afternoon set at Navy Pier with The Ripleys followed by Sugarbeat right down the street at Fado. Oh, and come out to Vaughan's on Tuesday for the Open Jam so that I don't end up drinking alone. Nobody wants that.

Recap
I highly recommend following @metrochicago on Twitter, because they sometimes release tickets for sold out shows, and announce it there. That's how I got to see Arctic Monkeys on Friday night. I was sitting at one of the tables up in the balcony, which blunted some of the visceral punch of the show, but I still got the sense of good songs played well. A little less convinced by some of the new material, but that may just be lack of familiarity. Openers Modey Lemon were loud, sludgy stoner rock that I'm not going to remember much about, except maybe one bit at the end where they approached Secret Machines territory. Oh, and at least three guys from Gomez were at the show, also watching from the balcony.

On Thursday night I was at Elbo Room for Kelly Steward, and she reminded me that the last time she was there may have been back when I was playing drums with her, some six years ago. It was just her duo again, although there's a chance I might start joining them on percussion on these sorts of Chicago gigs in the future. I had to leave during the band that came on after them, solely because the guy's snare drum sounded like a wet cardboard box. Nothing else about the band was bad in the slightest, but it was bugging the hell out of me.

8.10   monday
Shellac with Shearwater (Jay Pritzker Pavilion)
With the iconoclastic Chicago engineer and his abrasive post-punk outfit following on the heels of shows from St. Vincent and Dirty Projectors, I'm becoming more and more impressed with the variety and the independent sensibility of the booking for the Monday night series, but being free concerts, maybe indie bands are all the city could afford.

8.11   tuesday
Open Jam (Vaughan's)   COZ SINGS!
This is the part where I say something so tremendously witty that it inspires you to go out drinking on a Tuesday night and listen to a bunch of regular folks and professional/semi-professional musicians play songs on acoustic guitars.

Phish (Toyota Park)   SOLD OUT!
Maybe all these concerts out in Bridgeview will exorcise the grounds somehow, or the lingering smell of patchouli will be what the Chicago Fire needs to start winning at home again.

8.12   wednesday
Tracy Chapman with Gaby Moreno (Park West)
I'm trying to think about Chapman's breakthrough single "Fast Car" without associating it with getting rear-ended last week on the way to a gig, although that was fortunately by a much, much slower car. Don't worry, I'm fine. She released a new album late last year, so I'll go out on a limb and guess she's still on tour to support it.

8.13   thursday
The Breeders with Whispertown 2000 (Metro)
I liked the latest album from the Deal sisters -- last year's Mountain Battles on 4AD -- but not quite enough to crack the top ten list. So you can go to hear "Cannonball," but stay for the other songs, too.

Farewell Captain with Chaperone, Noise By Numbers (Double Door)   FRIENDS OF COZ!
I keep complaining about not knowing enough about newer local bands, and yet I keep continuing to not go see the ones that are on my radar. I suck.

8.14   friday
Mike Keneally and Brian Beller with The Hue, Lobster Newberg, Phat Cats (Bottom Lounge)
I think the main event is a CD release party for The Hue, but I don't know a thing about them. It's also part of the crowdsourced "My Keneally" tour, so I'm guessing maybe the headliners are fans, which would explain why this is in a proper club instead of a less traditional space.

AC/DC with The Answer (United Center)
I thought I saw some headlines somewhere that quoted Brian Johnson saying he might hang it up soon, so this might be one of your last chances to salute those about to rock, at least until the rest of the band decides to hire the singer from a tribute band and keep touring.

Art Brut with Team Band (Subterranean)
I'm a little surprised that Eddie Argos and his merry band are back already after their week-long stint at Schubas a few months ago, but they seem to like it here, particularly at small venues.

56 Hope Road (Double Door)
When I first saw this band many years ago, the Deadhead vibe was already pretty strong, so I'm not surprised that they seem to be playing here with no opening acts.

8.15   saturday
The Ripleys (Navy Pier Beer Garden)   SEE COZ LIVE!
Sugar Beat (Fado)   SEE COZ LIVE!
This should be interesting. I'm typically good for one gig a year subbing with Tony in his "other" cover band, The Ripleys, and this year it's a 5pm show right before I have to play at 10pm just a bit to the west along Grand Avenue with Gareth and Sugar Beat. So it's about four and a half hours of playing drums, along with setting up and tearing down the kit twice. I'm guessing I'll be more useless than usual for my soccer game on Sunday.

Harvey Danger with So Many Dynamos, Sleepy Kitty (Schubas)   SOLD OUT!
These two shows may have sold out just on the nostalgic power of "Flagpole Sitta," but I bought the album that contained that particular one-hit wonder, and it's actually pretty good punk-pop, back before that particular sub-genre got overly commercialized.

Mike Keneally and Bryan Beller (Boocoo, Evanston)
This would be one of the "non-traditional venues" I mentioned in Friday's listing. I think it's a coffeeshop. Part of the crowdsourcing seems to be that whoever brought them here is running ads on chicagoreader.com, which is more specific advertising than Keneally usually gets. This sort of effort may be an interesting example to bring up if the Chicago Promoter's Ordinance ball gets rolling again.

Daryl Stuermer (SPACE, Evanston)
Turns out that Saturday is a good night to be in Evanston if you like prog rock-related acts, as you might recall Stuermer as the touring guitarist with post-Steve Hackett Genesis and then with solo Phil Collins.

Edwin McCain with Paul Freeman (House of Blues)
I don't think I've ever seen McCain play anywhere other than House of Blues, which makes me wonder if that's by preference, happenstance, or contract. I could see certain artists who might see the River North venue as more a part of "downtown" Chicago than comparable-sized rooms in the "neighborhoods."

Tiny Masters of Today with Daniel Johnston, Ralston Bowles (Metro)
With a name like that, this band is almost exactly what you would expect. No, not midgets. It's a brother and sister from Brooklyn, ages 15 and 13, who have fans and collaborators the likes of David Bowie and Karen O from Yeah Yeah Yeahs.

Jimmy Buffett and the Coral Reefer Band (Toyota Park)
I'm trying to figure out just what's going on out in Bridgeview after AEG bailed on the soccer stadium as a concert venue back when they sold the team last year. This looks like a Live Nation show, but I don't know about the Korn/Filter show a week or two ago or the Phish concert earlier in the week. Or that ridiculous bill of 80s band earlier in the summer that featured Billy Squier as a headliner. Not sure if that was held on the mainstage or in the parking lot...

8.16   sunday
Colin Hay with Down The Line (Abbey Pub)   FRIENDS OF COZ!
So, apparently Men At Work are being sued for ripping off the flute melody in "Down Under" from that song we used to sing in elementary school music class about Kookaburra sitting in the old oak tree. So think of this show from that band's former lead singer as contributing to their legal defense fund or something. And I keep running into Derek from Down the Line at shows lately. Usually at Martyrs'.