list.in.to.chicago this week: 12.07.2009

Happy Birthday to my little sister, who isn't a subscriber, but can see these intros via Facebook!

Pick of the week
The one that sort of jumps out at me is Grant Hart on Friday at Darkroom, although tonight's Mew show at Metro would be in the cards if I didn't have to go play soccer. And if I hadn't just seen them fairly recently.

list.in.to.COZ
Maybe Vaughan's on Tuesday. Definitely The Globe on Wednesday. And Diver plays next Saturday at Fado.

Recap
After a long day watching the World Cup draw on Friday, I ended up hibernating most of the rest of the week. Now I'm wondering if the Absentstar show I missed on Saturday was their last one, based on some random comments on Facebook.

12.07   monday
Mew with All The Day Holiday (Metro)
When I saw the Danish psychedelic band open for Nine Inch Nails a few months ago, they had a video screen behind them that would make Adam Jones from Tool blush. It was just beyond weird, but will give you something to watch while they play their newest stuff, which doesn't hit me quite as hard as their previous record.

Sloan with Magneta Lane (Lincoln Hall)
The best way to describe this band is probably the Canadian answer to power pop acts like Toad The Wet Sprocket or Matthew Sweet. They're at least somewhere in that ballpark. Or hockey arena, being Canadian.

GWAR with Job For A Cowboy, The Red Chord (House of Blues)
This is the first of a handful of high-profile, small-ish venue heavy metal shows in Chicago this week, so why not start with the most over-the-top? Although, I have to wonder if this band has had to up their game with the rise of bands like Insane Clown Posse or Mushroomhead.

Dashboard Confessional with New Found Glory (Subterranean)
The big full-band show from these bands originally scheduled for later in the week has been canceled, so I have a hunch this one isn't happening, either. But even though I'm not big on either of these two, an acoustic show in such a small venue would have been pretty cool for their fans.

12.08   tuesday
Open Jam (Vaughan's)   COZ SINGS!
Nights with crappy weather sometimes end up being a lot of fun at Vaughan's, if only because the people who do show up feel a bit trapped, in that they're reluctant to go out into the aforementioned crap weather. It's sort of a bonding experience. That said, I'm not sure if I'll make it out.

Helicopters with Poster, Soft Speaker, King Sparrow (Double Door)   FRIENDS OF COZ!
I've only finally, and somewhat reluctantly, started listening to this new crop of dance-pop that's been dominating the indie rock scene lately, so I can't tell if Dave and band have been way ahead of the curve or not.

Darren Spitzer with Fink (Schubas)   FRIENDS OF COZ!
Actually, Fink is the headliner, but I haven't seen the lead singer from The Changes pop up anywhere in quite some time, so I wanted to call it out.

12.09   wednesday
Sing Along With Coz! (The Globe Pub)   COZ SINGS!
Week one of the new Open Mic had a promising turnout on the talent side, including a duo from Saint Louis with mandolin and some good tunes, and this one guy who used to show up back when Jimmy was hosting who played this crazy, uptempo old-school jazz/blues. This week, I'm hoping for some more audience members, as I think Friend of Coz Patrick Hasbrook was the only musician who actually brought someone to watch/listen to him play.

Priestess with Early Man, Rabid Rabbit, Naam (Empty Bottle)
Not only is there a lot of metal this week, but it seems to be on parallel tracks, with the indie/underground acts at Empty Bottle and the more mainstream stuff at House of Blues.

12.10   thursday
Ivan Neville's Dumpstaphunk with Katastrofist (Martyrs')
Ivan is the son of Aaron Neville, which makes him a nephew of the Neville Brothers. He has also played with The Rolling Stones, Keith Richards' solo project, and even the Spin Doctors, although that must have been well after I stopped paying attention to them, which can also described as before their second album came out. This particular band has been together since 2002.

Hatebreed with Cannibal Corpse, Unearth, Hate Eternal, Born of Osiris (House of Blues)
More metal. I'm hoping that there's at least one person, somewhere in Chicago, who is trying to decide between seeing Hatebreed and seeing Ivan Neville.

12.11   friday
The Flaming Lips with Phoenix, Pete Yorn (Allstate Arena)
It's the big holiday show for WXRT, which I find myself listening to more and more often, as they're actually playing a lot of new bands, at least in isolated patches. I haven't listened to the new Flaming Lips record yet, and as mentioned in the Helicopters listing, I'm only starting to come around on bands like Phoenix.

Grant Hart with Farewell Captain, Wild Peaks (Darkroom)   FRIENDS OF COZ!
Bob Mould apparently isn't the only former member of Hüsker Dü with an album out this year. Maybe I'll take this opportunity to finally check out Farewell Captain, too.

McCoy Tyner and the Chicago Jazz Orchestra (Symphony Center)
There's rarely a jazz show at Symphony Center that doesn't look strong, and this one, featuring one of John Coltrane's former pianists, is no exception. Do I get bonus points for a triple negative? I didn't not think un-so.

The Flat Five (The Hideout)   FRIENDS OF COZ!
Every once in a while, it seems like The Hideout spawns some new band comprised of members of a handful of other bands who always play at the bar on Wabansia. This one features Gerald Dowd, Kelly Hogan, Scott Ligon, K.C. McDonough and Nora O'Connor.

The Ike Reilly Assassination with U.S. Royalty (Lincoln Hall)
There probably have been others already, but this is the first primarily local act I've noticed at the new Lincoln Park venue. Assuming Reilly still lives here, anyway.

Pelican with Black Cobra, Disappearer (Empty Bottle)
There's even a bit of local flavor to the week of heavy shows, with the hometown instrumental hard rock band capping off a short tour that took them along the east coast over at least the past week and a half.

Ivan Neville's Dumpstaphunk with The Ragbirds (Martyrs')
See Thursday's listing.

12.12   saturday
Chicago Bluegrass and Blues Festival (Congress Theater)
When a friend told me about this, I winced a bit at the idea of over 10 hours of bluegrass, but it's bluegrass and blues, and even some indie rock sprinkled in. I could go either way on this one, as I'm a big fan of Béla Fleck & the Flecktones -- who I haven't seen in years -- but I really didn't care for Dr. Dog when I saw them at Lollapalooza a few years back.

Garaj Mahal with UV Hippo (SPACE, Evanston)
Their website calls them "an innovative fusion of funky jazz with a tasty world music flare," which is helpful if you need to flag down help when your world music car breaks down on the side of the world music road. Just because you're good musicians doesn't mean you can neglect spelling, people!

The Subdudes with Matt Campbell (Park West)
I guess it's a pretty good week for bands from New Orleans, too. After about a six-year hiatus, it seems these guys have been pretty consistently active.

Better Than Ezra with Vedera (House of Blues)
The Verve Pipe with Kevin Andrew Prchal (Schubas)
The fact that The Subdudes have been releasing records steadily for the last six or seven years meant I couldn't lump them in with these two bands and make some wiseassed comment about partying like it's 1999. Seriously, though, is it the tenth anniversary of either of these two bands being relevant or something?

12.13   sunday
Straight No Chaser (Park West)   SOLD OUT!
This is an a cappella band originally from Indiana University who recorded a Christmas album last year after an old video of "The 12 Days of Christmas" got some 10 million hits on YouTube. That may make this the biggest Internet music success story I've ever seen that wasn't somehow manipulated behind the scenes by a major label.

Shinedown with Halestorm, Rev Theory (House of Blues)
Maybe the most mainstream of the metal and quasi-metal bands playing this week, or the least "metal" if you're particularly hardcore about your definitions.