list.in.to.chicago this week: 01.25.2010

Many of you know this already, but I'm hosting my own 40th birthday party on Sunday, February 28th at The Globe Pub. If I didn't track you down on Facebook for the invite, and you're interested, let me know and I'll fill you in on the details. I'm hoping to drag out as many of musician friends as possible for a sort of revolving jam session, among other things. That's one of the reasons I'm doing it on a Sunday night, since the large majority of my musician friends tend to work Fridays and Saturdays.

check out list.in.to.chicago (and leave comments!) on the web at notabbott.com/litc

Pick of the week
No question. A handful of top-notch Chicago musicians are re-creating Moving Pictures from Rush in its entirety on Thursday night at Reggie's Music Joint? I'm so there.

list.in.to.COZ
Regular office hours Tuesday at Vaughan's and Wednesday at The Globe, and I hope to see you one of those nights.

Recap
I ended up taking a gig with Sugarbeat on Saturday night, so between that, the Andrew Fraker & Sons show on Friday and the two open mikes, there wasn't much time for seeing anything else.

As for said Fraker & Sons show, there was much rocking, and some approximation of rocking when hands and fingers wouldn't do what they were supposed to. I can vouch for the fact that repeating the mistake to make it sound like you meant it doesn't always work. There's going to be video evidence of that.

1.25   monday
Booty Movement Coalition (Martyrs')
The last Monday of the month sort of snuck up on me, but if you hurry, you can still make it for the monthly installment of improvised funk.

1.26   tuesday
Open Jam (Vaughan's)   COZ SINGS!
I don't know if this sways you one way or the other, but I may revisit my acoustic rendition of "The Safety Dance" from Men Without Hats. I haven't been staying up on my 80s new wave tunes lately.

B1g T1me (Morseland)   FRIENDS OF COZ!
It may be a bit of a reach to give the Tom Waits cover band "Friends of Coz" status, seeing as how I haven't actually talked to Zebulun in at least a decade, but I have an annoying tendency to do that with a lot of friends, actually.

Farewell Captain with John Roeser Avenue, Mick Bassett and the Marthas (Empty Bottle)   FRIENDS OF COZ!
Still haven't gotten out to see this band, who I'm assuming still have former URT bassist Chris Frantisak on keys. And I went to high school with a guy named John Roeser, but this probably isn't him.

Marbin with Mr. Blotto (Reggie's Music Joint)
These guys -- typically a jazz duo, although I think they sometimes have more people -- were nice enough to send me a CD a month or so ago. I have not been nice enough to listen to it. Yet. I will. I promise.

1.27   wednesday
Sing Along With Coz (The Globe Pub)   COZ SINGS!
Okay, so the guy with the accordion didn't make it last week, but he said he'd be back. In the meantime, we're starting to carve out a nice little vibe on Wednesday nights, despite some massive technical difficulties that required a bit o' Jameson and a whole bunch of Spaten Optimator for me to deal with properly.

Buddy Guy with Lubriphonic (Buddy Guy's Legends)   SOLD OUT!
It's the last week of the residency, and all the shows are sold out. I guess you could stand out on the sidewalk and wait for that part of the set where Buddy goes for a walk with his guitar.

1.28   thursday
Rush's "Moving Pictures" with Steepwater Band, Hollus (Reggie's Music Joint)   FRIENDS OF COZ!
The importance of Rush to my musical development is no secret, and I've been geeking out more than usual to some of the rock music I grew up on in the early 80s. So when I saw that the likes of Chris Siebold and Steve Frisbie were mounting a front-to-back performance of the band's best album, I knew I had no choice but to go.

The Wanton Looks with Leslie Hunt, The Maybenauts, Scotia Widows (Lincoln Hall)
This lineup is being billed as "Girls Out Of The Garage," and while I know The Wanton Looks are an all-female band -- and one I've been trying to get out and see for a few months now -- I guess I can assume at least a dominant female/male ratio for the rest of the acts.

Someone Still Loves You, Boris Yeltsin with One For The Team (Schubas)
I feel like this band has been around long enough now for someone to ironically start a band called Someone Still Loves You, Too, Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin.

Buddy Guy with Moreland and Arbuckle (Buddy Guy's Legends)   SOLD OUT!
See Wednesday's listing.

1.29   friday
DOOM (Congress Theater)
I have no idea what this is about, other than that Mos Def is involved, which might be good enough for me. Also featuring Mike Relm, Qwel and Maker, BBU, The Comeups, Rude 1, Trew, Demchuk and RTC.

Buddy Guy with Cedric Burnside and Lightin' Malcolm (Buddy Guy's Legends)   SOLD OUT!
See Wednesday's listing.

1.30   saturday
The Bottle Rockets with Otis Gibbs (Schubas)
I've said it before, but I remember these guys selling out Schubas years and years ago, and there was a notion they might be the next great alt-country band out of Chicago. They did follow along that trajectory for a little while, but have ultimately come full circle. Still, playing Schubas ain't a bad gig.

Cold War Kids with Alec Ounsworth, Flashy Python (The Vic)
There was a bit of buzz about this band about three or four years ago, but I'm a firm believer that sometimes you just have a nails-on-the-chalkboard reaction to someone's voice, and that's pretty much where I'm at. Sonically, I want to say "indie rock with piano," but to double-check, I'd have to deal with that chalkboard again.

Dumpster Babies with Coco Coma, Radar Eyes (Cal's Liquors)
A few weeks ago, I noted that Cal's seems to still be doing shows, after some uncertainty. It also seems like they're booking bands that are taking their names from episodes of It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia, which I wholeheartedly endorse.

Buddy Guy with Quinn Sullivan, Lil' Ed and the Blues Imperials (Buddy Guy's Legends)   SOLD OUT!
See Wednesday's listing.

1.31   sunday
Burton's Garden with The Blushing Gun, Brother Abraham, Ryan Richko (Elbo Room)
I know absolutely nothing about any of these bands, but there wasn't anything notable for the evening, so I just sorta threw a dart at Metromix. Figuratively speaking, as an actual dart would sorta suck for my computer monitor.