list.in.to.chicago this week: 12.28.2009

I think tonight will make for 39 or 40 live shows this year (not counting ones I've played or sat in on), which is a bit on the low side for me. I'm trying to reconstruct my entire concert history, just to see how much of it I can account for. Somewhere in this apartment, there are a bunch of day planners with a big swath of shows written into them, because that's kind of how I (rock and) roll.

Pick of the week
Well, I'll be at Booty Movement Coalition at Martyrs' tonight, and may try to catch Roy Hargrove at the Jazz Showcase on one of the few nights I'm not playing this week. I'm also intrigued by a three-night stint from central Jersey's own Pat DiNizio and his trio at Fearon's, with Friday being the most likely night I'll turn up there.

list.in.to.COZ
Lots of gigs, but no drumkit on any of them. Vaughan's Open Jam on Tuesday, Open Mic at The Globe on Wednesday, Tony Calderisi Trio at the Signature Room on New Year's Eve and then me and Tony again as semi-Diver on Saturday at Celtic Crossing.

Recap
I feel horrible for totally forgetting to mention the Los Borrachos show at Elbo Room two Saturdays ago, but if I did, you would have gone to that instead of seeing Diver. That gig went well enough, and is really the only thing to report on from the past fortnight that's not an open mic night.

12.28   monday
Booty Movement Coalition (Martyrs')   FRIENDS OF COZ!
It may be the no-man's land between Christmas and New Year's, but it's still the last Monday of the month, and you know what that means. Two long sets of improvised funk.

Rusted Root with Tom Fuller Band (House of Blues)
These guys certainly have built a pretty long career off of what was really a brief moment in the spotlight way back in the late eighties, but getting on whatever the vegan equivalent is of radar for the jam band crowd in that brief moment can go a long way.

12.29   tuesday
Open Jam (Vaughan's)   COZ SINGS!
I could be persuaded to play "You're A Mean One, Mr. Grinch" one more time before the end of the year, but I'm hoping to work up a whole bunch of eighties mainstream rock tunes -- as opposed to new wave or hair metal/hard rock -- that have been bouncing around my iPod lately.

Roy Hargrove Quintet (Jazz Showcase)
I first heard Hargrove as part of Tony Williams' quintet back when I was in college, and since then the trumpeter has released a wide variety of material as a leader. Being the Showcase, I'm guessing this will be a more traditional affair.

Umphrey's McGee (The Vic)
Tickets for this smaller show are only available if you get tickets for Wednesday and then Thursday night's New Year's Eve show at the Aragon. Also, the saxophonist from Béla Fleck and the Flecktones is sitting in.

12.30   wednesday
Sing Along With Coz IV (The Globe Pub)   COZ SINGS!
Even if you do have to go to work on Thursday, you're going to be mailing it in, so come on by and sing some tunes, or listen to your humble correspondent and others sing some tunes. My point is, tunes will be sung.

Tributosaurus (Martyrs')   FRIENDS OF COZ!
In case you want to see the band as Tom Petty, but not on New Year's Eve, they're playing a show the night before.

This Must Be The Band with The Handsome Devilz, Kid A (Abbey Pub)   FRIENDS OF COZ!
TMBTB is a Talking Heads tribute band that has Jim DiNou on keyboards, and Kid A would most likely be a Radiohead tribute, but I'm not sure about The Handsome Devilz. If it's a reference, I'm not getting it.

The Fiery Furnaces with Cryptacize (Schubas)
I really have trouble keeping all of these "FF" bands straight. This one is the brother and sister from Oak Park that formed a band in Brooklyn and then released a record on Thrill Jockey that featured their grandmother narrating stories from her life. Not to be confused with Friendly Fires, who are from the U.K. and were on the short list for the Mercury Prize, or Fleet Foxes, who are in that sort of pastoral indie pop subgenre.

Roy Hargrove Quintet (Jazz Showcase)
See Tuesday's listing.

Umphrey's McGee with Z-Trip (Aragon Ballroom)
See Tuesday's listing, with an opening act and in a bigger room.

12.31   thursday
Tony Calderisi Trio with The New Invaders, SODA (Signature Room)   SEE COZ LIVE!
If you've got $200 burning a hole in your pocket, and no plans to ring in the new year just yet, you can hit the top of the Hancock and look out the windows at the fireworks at Navy Pier. We'll be playing some acoustic sets in between the other bands, mostly with Diver favorites, but with some of the other stuff Tony plays on his own sprinkled in as well.

Pat DiNizio Trio (Fearon's Public House)
The Jesus Lizard with Disappears (Metro)
The Tossers with Yakuza, Scott Lucas and His Married Men (Reggie's Rock Club)
The Fiery Furnaces with Cryptacize (Lincoln Hall)
Local H with Electric Six, White Mystery (Double Door)
Big Head Todd and the Monsters with Wayne Healy (House of Blues)
Jens Lekman (Empty Bottle)
Urge Overkill with A Friend Called Fire (House of Blues Back Porch Stage)
Pegboy with Shot Baker, Anxiety High (Beat Kitchen)
Tributosaurus (Martyrs')   FRIENDS OF COZ!
Roy Hargrove Quintet (Jazz Showcase)
Umphrey's McGee with Prefuse 73 (Aragon Ballroom)
If Metromix is to be believed, tickets are still available for all of these shows. So I don't want to hear you complain that you've got nothing to do. Although I went to see Local H last year at this time, and had an absolutely crappy night. Admittedly, that may have had to do with other stuff.

Girl Talk with Grand Buffet, Hearts of Darknesses (Congress Theater)   SOLD OUT!
The Black Keys with Kurt Vile and the Violators (Riviera Theatre)   SOLD OUT!
Pretty Lights (The Vic)   SOLD OUT!
These shows, on the other hand, have no tickets left, but across both categories, this is one of the better musical New Year's Eves I can remember in this town.

01.01   friday
Project/Object with The Hue (Martyrs')
I don't remember if I've seen the long-running Zappa tribute band since Dweezil started touring with his own thing and the Zappa Family Trust sort of declared war on them. I'm curious to see if that's been resolved.

Pat DiNizio Trio (Fearon's Public House)
If you're not inclined to see the Smithereens frontman on New Year's Eve, you've got a couple other nights to check him out. I'm compelled to go and talk about Scotch Plains, NJ with him, since that's where I'm from and where he still lives.

Jens Lekman (Empty Bottle)
A whole bunch of these New Year's shows have additional nights if it's not quite what you want to do to ring in the year, including this one from the Swedish indie popster.

The Black Keys with Kurt Vile and the Violators (Riviera Theatre)
I'm hearing some good things about this BlakRoc record, where the Black Keys are joined by a bunch of hip-hop artists, including Mos Def, but I'm not sure they'll be playing any of that material. Otherwise I would have thought they'd bill it straight out as BlakRoc. This one does not appear to be sold out.

Chris Isaak (House of Blues)
Remember when he had his own series on Showtime? Isaak's career has been all over the place, but seeing as how he had a hit single and appeared in "The Silence of the Lambs" in a bit part at right around the same time, that's not totally surprising.

Roy Hargrove Quintet (Jazz Showcase)
See Tuesday's listing.

01.02   saturday
Some of DIVER (Celtic Crossing)   SEE COZ LIVE!
Tony and I will be playing acoustic and seeing if this might be a good venue for Diver to play in it's full, electric form. If you all show up, it might help that happen.

Kid, You'll Move Mountains with Picture Books, Venna, Crayolala (Metro)
This is a local band from the Western suburbs that I found on a great locally-produced music blog called Can You See The Sunset From The South Side? It's firmly in that male/female indie rock strain, but they do it well, from the one or two tunes I've heard.

Poi Dog Pondering (Lincoln Hall)
Is a new venue in town really open until Frank Orrall brings his band there?

Jens Lekman (Empty Bottle)
Project/Object with The Hue (Martyrs')
Pat DiNizio Trio (Fearon's Public House)
Roy Hargrove Quintet (Jazz Showcase)
See previous listings.

01.03   sunday
Roy Hargrove Quintet (Jazz Showcase)
See previous listings.