list.in.to.chicago this week: 09.07.2009

I hope you're all enjoying your three-day weekend. Or, if you're me, your 154-day (and counting!) weekend. Don't worry, I'm not actually concerned about job prospects just yet -- there's not a lot of hiring in the summer under the best of circumstances -- but if you know of anyone who needs numbers crunched, by all means, let me know.

Pick of the week
There's a lot to choose from this week, but The Mars Volta on Friday at the Congress Theater takes top honors for me, with Sid and Susie (aka Matthew Sweet and Susanna Hoffs) a close second on Saturday at the Old Town School of Folk Music. And you probably don't need me to tell you whether or not you should go see U2 this weekend at Soldier Field.

list.in.to.COZ
Things are looking a lot slower in the fall so far, but I may augment Tuesday's Open Jam at Vaughan's with another appearance at The Globe's reconstituted open mic on Wednesday night. Diver returns to action on September 19th at Fado.

Recap
There were some fairly epic moments in Monday night's Booty Movement Coalition show, with one huge, rocking effort in the first set that came from a more fully-formed chord progression than usual and featured guest vocalist Jayh Johnson, and a killer bass solo from Lamar Jones towards the end of the night.

I managed to make it to Metro on Friday night before they started charging admission, which was just as well, because Panda Riot needs a bit more polish and presence for their laptop-driven pop-rock, and Blane Fonda needs to "own their tones" a bit better if their ironic hipster take on The Killers stands a chance of working. And it's not out of the question that it could work, as unlikely as that sounds, mostly because the lead singer was the one guy who was really laying it down. The Hood Internet was just a DJ, so I didn't stay.

9.07   monday
Titus Andronicus with The So So Glos, CoCoComa (Bottom Lounge)
I had some friends who were all about this band when their latest record came out late last year, but it's simultaneously dense and lo-fi, which translates to being a bit too noisy for me, and I had a hard time getting into it. Sort of a less polished And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead if they were trying to write pop songs.

9.08   tuesday
Open Jam (Vaughan's)   COZ SINGS!
It's open season for songs about school, or songs about socialism and conspiracies if you're, well, insane.

The Psychedelic Furs with Happy Mondays, Amusement Parks On Fire (House of Blues)
I saw these classic 80s new wavers a few years ago, and at the time Richard Butler had a certain Bowie-esque timelessness about him as a frontman. I'm not sure if five or six years might change that. And the Happy Mondays are one of those bands that was a big part of the 80s Manchester scene that also spawned bands like The Stone Roses.

The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart with The Depreciation Guild, Cymbals Eat Guitars (Logan Square Auditorium)
There was a fair amount of buzz about this Brooklyn band back when their record came out in February, and it strikes me as an odd retro mashup of maybe Belle and Sebastian and Jesus and Mary Chain, in that it's poppy, but kinda fuzzy at the same time.

Tigercity with Royal Bangs, Deanna Devore (Schubas)
Rolling Stone tagged this Brooklyn band as "one to watch" earlier this year, but since proper buzz bands on weeknights at Schubas tend to sell out, I'm not entirely convinced.

9.09   wednesday
Paper Airplane Pilots with Satellite 66, Tennis Blondes (Subterranean)
I saw this band years ago, and thought they hadn't quite honed their sound yet, but showed some potential in a bit of a Jeff Buckley-inspired direction (although I wouldn't say they sounded like him, per se, just that he seemed like an obvious influence), so I'm curious to see how they've progressed since.

9.10   thursday
Jason Marsalis' Vibes Quartet (Jazz Showcase)
The youngest of the Marsalis clan is touring to support his first record as a band-leading vibraphonist, having switched from playing drum set recently. Two shows nightly until Sunday, when they add the matinee.

The PowWows (Uncommon Ground on Devon)   FRIENDS OF COZ!
Last time I saw Lauretta up here with her acoustic pop trio, I ended up mixing sound for about half the show. I did get a gift card for my efforts, so I may have to stop by again to put that to good use. Plus, you know, the music.

9.11   friday
The Mars Volta (Congress Theater)
I'd say that the neo-prog band's new album has sort of flown under the radar, but it's not like they're a big radio band, anyway. What I've heard of it is pretty good, and live, the band can be pretty epic, playing for three solid hours without a hint of letting up. And I think they nod to the coda of "The Gates of Delirium" from Yes at the end of one of the new tracks.

Amazing Baby with The Entrance Band (Schubas)
It's another Brooklyn band tagged by Rolling Stone as up-and-coming. Aren't their offices in New York? Do they ever look anywhere else? Also at Schubas, and also not sold-out at press time, which again belies that up-and-coming status.

Van Ghost with David Singer and the Sweet Science, Daphne Willis and Company, Josh Rosen (Subterranean)
They've progressed from that band that I can't figure out why I've heard of to the band that sent me a very nice e-mail after that last listing a couple of weeks ago. And someone I know on Facebook knows them, but I don't remember who right now, and can't be bothered to look. I was a bit hard on David Singer and the Sweet Science after I saw them play with Frisbie a while back, but they kind of deserved it, and I hope they've gotten better since.

Yacht with Menace Ruine, Burning Star Core, Ju Suk Reet Meate and Oblivia (Empty Bottle)
The hype about this band has been pretty deafening lately, but I think it's along that indie/electronica axis of bands like Phoenix, and I'm still struggling with that particular sub-genre. For one, it needs a better name. MacBookRock?

Datarock with Esser (Double Door)
Apparently it's a good night for that sort of electro-rock sound, although someone who knows more than me about it will probably get mad that I'm lumping Yacht and Datarock together, when they're probably totally different if you really like this kind of music. Plus, Datarock are from Norway. That's got to count for something.

The Most Dangerous Race with Gemini Club, Saurab Bhargava, Tobias Theodor (Bottom Lounge)
There used to be a bunch of people I knew in this band, but I think now it's down to just uber-drummer Matt Walker, if he's even still involved.

Enuff Z'Nuff with D'Molls, Social Wreck (Cubby Bear)
I swear, Chip Z'Nuff is going to outlast us all.

Jason Marsalis' Vibes Quartet (Jazz Showcase)
See Thursday's listing.

9.12   saturday
U2 with Snow Patrol (Soldier Field)   SOLD OUT!
While the Irish quartet is always committed to developing crazy and outlandish stage shows to accompany their tours, I prefer the parts where they're just four guys rocking out in close proximity to each other. And while No Line On The Horizon is far from the band's best work, it's still a lot better than the handful of Op-Ed columns Bono has written for The New York Times.

Common with The Roots, Elevator Fight (The Shrine)
As far as what I would consider "less dogmatic" hip-hop, you can't get much better than Common and The Roots sharing a bill. This is part of something called the Hennessey Artistry Series, which is a series (says so in the name!) of four concerts in Chicago, Atlanta, Houston and New York featuring national and local acts. The Shrine is located at 2109 South Wabash. According to Time Out Chicago, the catch is that you have to enter a contest to get tickets.

Sid and Susie with Pieta Brown (Old Town School of Folk Music)
This is actually Matthew Sweet and Susanna Hoffs, in support of their second album of covers songs, and I think the Old Town School doesn't provide ticket availability to Metromix, because I can't imagine that there are tickets available for this one.

Bloodshot Records' 15th Anniversary Beer-B-Q (Hideout)
There's no Hideout Block Party this year, but given the prevalence of Bloodshot artists at that event every year, this isn't really going to be that much different than the earlier versions of that festival, albeit somewhat shorter. Alejandro Escovedo and the Waco Brothers headline.

Absentstar with The Heyday, Nathaniel Moon (Beat Kitchen)   FRIENDS OF COZ!
I liked some of the newer stuff they played on that bill with EXO a little while back, and if their major-label aspirations have taken a hit -- not sure on that, but I have a hunch -- the music may have gotten a boost as a result.

Todd Rundgren (Park West)
I'm not a big Rundgren fan, so I don't know the significance of his playing 1973's "A Wizard, A True Star" in its entirety, other than he's part of this growing trend of performing full albums. And good god, the man's website is a mess.

Matt and Kim with Amanda Blank (Bottom Lounge)
What, are they fumigating rehearsal spaces in Brooklyn this week, forcing all the bands to visit Chicago in the meantime? This time it's the somewhat popular indie duo that's keyboards/synthesizers and drums, instead of the White Stripes guitar-based two-person model. And I've heard some rumblings about female rapper and occasional Spank Rock collaborator Amanda Blank, but she doesn't sound like my type.

Regina Spektor (Chicago Theatre)
The Russian-born singer and pianist/guitarist has been building a pretty loyal following over the last couple of years. You can tell because of the depth of her Wikipedia page. There's a natural urge to make her out to be sort of a 21st-century Tori Amos, but that's probably way too simplistic of a take.

Jason Marsalis' Vibes Quartet (Jazz Showcase)
See Thursday's listing.

9.13   sunday
U2 with Snow Patrol (Soldier Field)
See Saturday's listing, and this one's not listed as being sold out as of Monday afternoon.

Todd Rundgren (Park West)
See Saturday's listing, but I seem to recall one of these two shows being sold out.

Jason Marsalis' Vibes Quartet (Jazz Showcase)
See Thursday's listing.