list.in.to.chicago this week: 10.12.2009

This week is totally stacked with great shows. So, naturally, I'm going to be out of town for the weekend. I live vicariously through you, dear reader. And here you thought it was the other way around.

Pick of the week
Almost too many to choose from. The big standouts for me are Rodrigo y Gabriela on Friday at The Riv and Dethklok, Mastodon and High on Fire on Saturday at the Aragon.

list.in.to.COZ
Might be at Vaughan's on Tuesday, might be at The Globe on Wednesday, and there's full-band action with Andrew Fraker & Sons next Wednesday at Martyrs'.

Recap
I ended up going to see Naked Raygun on Friday night at Metro with Friend of Coz and frequent listee Steve Gillis. What I found really fascinating about the band was that, without getting into too much detail, they clearly aren't in the kind of playing shape of their early days, but they still put whatever they could into their punk anthems for an appreciative crowd that would spontaneously burst out with one of their trademark wordless choruses in between songs. They didn't make a big deal about it. They just played.

The lead singer of Rights of the Accused seemed to be attacking the same issue of punk rockers getting old with a bit less subtlety, sporting a shiny silver jacket and pants that didn't quite cover his belly. The band also got a jolt from former Raygun guitarist John Haggerty and a couple of guys dressed like a gorilla and a banana. They also featured saturated, Les Paul-driven punk riffs that made me miss what Gene used to do in URT.

10.12   monday
Bob Mould Band with Alec Ounsworth (Metro)
The former Husker Du and Sugar frontman exists in sort of his own context for me, and strikes me as such a true believer in what he's doing that once you've bought into his overall aesthetic, it's always going to work on some level. There's some of the Sugar wall of guitar sound on his new record, along with some more acoustic, introspective stuff.

The Twilight Sad with BrakesBrakesBrakes, We Were Promised Jetpacks (Empty Bottle)
This Scottish indie rock trio has gotten enough recognition that I know the name, but not much else. Still, they came all the way over from Scotland to play on a Monday.

Hanson with Hellogoodbye, Steel Train, Sherwood (House of Blues)
I mentioned this one last week, but apparently it's two nights. That seems excessive to me, in part because I either saw Hellogoodbye or heard them on the radio, and they were brutally bad, in sort of a "paint-by-numbers" way.

10.13   tuesday
Open Jam (Vaughan's)   COZ SINGS!
I may be taking a bit of a hiatus from the regular Tuesday nights, although recent events could inspire me to learn "Fall Dog Bombs The Moon" from David Bowie. You should still go, though.

Lucinda Williams (Park West)
Even if she hadn't done anything other than Car Wheels on a Gravel Road, I feel like that would be enough, but she hasn't rested on the success of that record. And all of a sudden, the line of "well it's over, I know it, but I can't let go" is resonating with me. One or two of you will know why.

Soulfly with Prong, Cattle Decapitation, Mutiny Within (Bottom Lounge)
These band names are flitting on the edge of my consciousness, and a couple of searches identify Soulfly as an offshoot of Brazilian heavy metal icons Sepultura, while Prong is a "groove/industrial metal" band from New York that's been around since 1986.

10.14   wednesday
School of Seven Bells with Depreciation Guild, War Paint, Panda Riot (Empty Bottle)
Just a week and a half after his brother Brandon was here with his former band Secret Machines, guitarist Ben Curtis comes through town with his new ambient/atmospheric band, for what feels like the tenth time this year.

Lucinda Williams (Park West)
See Tuesday's listing.

10.15   thursday
Dinosaur Jr. with lou barlow + the missingmen (The Vic)
This band never quite broke as big as some of the heavyweights of the original grunge/alternative era, so their return hasn't been a bit quieter as well. Of course, the band itself is anything but quiet, and fans have welcomed them back on the strength of a pair of records that picked up pretty much where the guitar-driven trio left off.

Mike Doughty (Schubas)   SOLD OUT!
This is another "Question Jar" tour for the former Soul Coughing frontman, where he takes suggestions, comments and anecdotes from the audience. I'm not sure if that requires an intimacy that the venues he's played more recently don't afford, or if his ticket sales have been slacking off lately, but you wouldn't know if from the demand in this town.

Lucinda Williams (Park West)
See Tuesday's listing.

10.16   friday
Rodrigo y Gabriela with Rocco Deluca (Riveira Theatre)
The Mexican acoustic guitar duo have put out another album of Spanish guitar influenced by rock and metal that nods to their influences on each track, and features a couple of six-string guests, including shredder Alex Skolnik on a tribute to the late Dimebag Darrell.

Me'Shell Ndegeocello with Deep Blue Field (Old Town School of Folk Music)
After seeing the songwriter and bassist a bunch of times in the mid-90s, I've sort of missed out on what she's been up to lately. Hopefully she still can put together the sort of stellar musicians that marked those earlier efforts, because they took her introspective soul and funk to a level you don't see often, especially when she strapped on her bass guitar.

Gossip with Men, Post Honeymoon (Metro)
I've got this band's one big single on my iPod, and it comes up in a lot of Genius playlists. It's a pretty good song.

Mike Doughty (Lincoln Hall)   SOLD OUT!
The Schubas guys moved the second night of Doughty's run to their new venue at Lincoln and Fullerton, where the Three Penny Cinema used to be. This is the debut of that new room, so I'd love to hear what you think of it if you go.

We Shot The Moon with The Able Body, Lights Resolve, Destry (Reggie's Rock Club)
Score one for timeliness. See Tuesday's comment about current events if this makes no sense, and then search CNN.com or something.

10.17   saturday
Dethklok with Mastodon, High On Fire (Aragon Ballroom)
The live incarnation of the cartoon band from Adult Swim's Metalocalypse is anchored by two of my favorite musicians in Mike Keneally and Brian Beller, and if the thought of those two shredding some serious metal wasn't enough, Mastodon is considered one of the best new metal bands of the last, what, decade?

Liam Finn (Lincoln Hall)
The son of Neil Finn from Crowded House is the second show at the new Lincoln Park space, and he seems to have been making great strides in being considered more than just the son of Neil Finn from Crowded House.

Blackmore's Night (House of Blues)
I just like the idea of Ritchie Blackmore from Deep Purple and Rainbow playing music that wouldn't be out of place at a Renaissance Fair, complete with period costumes.

10.18   sunday
Wilco with Tortoise (UIC Pavilion)   SOLD OUT!
The local favorites are supporting Wilco (The Album) with what I'm assuming is Wilco (The Tour).

Mutemath with As Tall As Lions (House of Blues)
My lasting memory of this band is as part of an endlessly repeating video that they played at the main stage for Bonnaroo between acts the year I went, but they seemed affable enough and talked about their music in interesting enough ways in that clip that I wouldn't mind checking them out live.