list.in.to.chicago this week: 02.01.2010

If you watched last night's Grammy Awards, you know that this apparently worked for Stephen Colbert: I want an iPad!

Pick of the week
The big show is probably tonight's La Roux show at Lincoln Hall, if you can find someone with an extra ticket. Other than that, nothing really jumps out.

list.in.to.COZ
Tuesday at Vaughan's and Wednesday at The Globe. Next Diver gig is 2/20 at Fado, and the next Andrew Fraker & Sons gig is TBD.

Recap
I caught Scotia Widows and The Maybenauts on Thursday at Lincoln Hall before heading down to see A Tribute to Moving Pictures at Reggie's. Scotia Widows did what I thought was an eminently capable job of classic midwestern post-punk, which means that they sounded like Husker Du to me. And on the one hand, The Maybenauts had at least two or three really good songs that made me sit up and take notice, but on the other hand, they seemed to be the ones that felt incongruous with the vibe I was getting from them overall. The easy comparison for those songs, in particular, is probably the band X.

As for the Rush tribute, once I remembered who drummer Greg Rapp was -- the guy who works at the Drum Pad that I see at almost every prog rock show I attend -- his selection for this gig made perfect sense. The band endured some technical problems that are going to happen when you're going for authentic late-70s synthesizers, but small details didn't really matter, as the band was clearly having a boatload of fun. Singer Steve Frisbie quipped at one point that he felt like he was driving his car home from high school, only with an audience, and I think Chris Siebold just reflexively started rocking back and forth like Alex Lifeson once one of the big riffs kicked in during "Red Barchetta."

2.01   monday
La Roux with Yes Giantess, Moneypenny (Lincoln Hall)   SOLD OUT!
Electropop is all the rage lately, to the point where any yahoo with a MacBook seems to be getting airplay, but this androgynous Brit does better with the genre than most. And according to the Reader, she brings a backing band out on the road rather than her studio partner, which should give the proceedings an extra boost that most laptop bands lack.

Nick Oliveri with My Cold Dead Hand, Blackbox (Double Door)
If the name sounds familiar, that's because he used to play bass in Queens of the Stone Age. Often without a shirt. Sometimes without pants. His most recent release is an acoustic record that covers songs from bands he's been in, and I think I read that this tour supports that record.

2.02   tuesday
Open Jam (Vaughan's)   COZ SINGS!
I think Tony, Anto and I will all be there this week, in case that's a determining factor in your decision process to come out on a Tuesday night and either sing or listen to people sing. And tell jokes, lately.

Open Jam (Vaughan's)   COZ SINGS!
I think Tony, Anto and I will all be there this week, in case that's a determining factor in your decision process to come out on a Tuesday night and either sing or listen to people sing. And tell jokes, lately. Plus, if I've used this joke before, it still works!

2.03   wednesday
Sing Along With Coz (The Globe Pub)   COZ SINGS!
The cold weather and the State of the Union speech put a dent in last week's turnout, so it was another one of those "Coz plays for a small but enthusiastic audience" nights, at least until I persuaded the two guys who were there from the beginning to come up and sing a couple of songs. Still, that gives me a chance to dig into my idiosyncratic songbook. Speaking of which, I think I've now been told I sound like Elvis Costello enough that I'm going to learn a few more of his songs.

Tributosaurus (Martyrs')   FRIENDS OF COZ!
This month, they become Prince. Two shows, and I may try to swing by the first.

Asobi Seksu with Barton Carroll (Schubas)
The NYC-based dream pop/shoegazer duo has been eclipsed by electropop by the likes of La Roux, I think, but might make for a nice consolation if you couldn't get tickets for that one.

2.04   thursday
Model N with Chresten Hyde (Elbo Room)
I have a hunch that Metromix doesn't have the full listing for this one, because I honestly can't remember the last time I only saw two bands playing any night of the week at Elbo Room.

Dorian Taj with Bitter Wigs, Soft Speakers, The Ragtones (Double Door)
Clutching at straws a bit tonight, but I'm pretty sure I've seen this band listed for years and years, so if they're not good, they're at least persistent. But they might be good, too.

Elusive Parallelograms with Wolfgang Jay, People Sometimes (Subterranean)
And as long as I'm devoting one night of the week to mostly non-musical commentary, I may as well include at least one band with a funny name. Because geometry is funny. It just is.

2.05   friday
Gov't Mule with Jackie Greene (House of Blues)
One of very few jam bands that seems forward-thinking enough to be tolerabale, it will be interesting to see how they fare against a pair of shows at The Vic from the definitively retro (and annoying) Dark Star Orchestra.

Dan Navarro with Michael McDermott (Schubas)
This show, from the half of Lowen & Navarro that's related to Jane's Addiction guitarist Dave Navarro, will be held on the corner of Belmont and Southport, despite being thoroughly middle of the road. Yes, I stole that line from a pre-Jon Stewart Daily Show story about Darius Rucker.

The Bad Plus (Mandel Hall)
They're known primarily for their arrangements of decidedly non-jazz songs, and last year released an album of prog rock tunes for piano trio that I still haven't had a chance to listen to. I don't see University of Chicago shows listed very often, so I'm guessing tickets sales may not be what they were hoping for a campus-only audience.

Save the Clocktower with DJ Yoda, Kosha Dillz, and Ohvaur (Abbey Pub)   FRIENDS OF COZ!
I heard good things about these guys from a couple of Wednesdays ago, and the over/under on the number of messages I get from them on Facebook between now and the show is 3. Here they share a bill with an English turntablist who is apparently featured in the DJ Hero video game. As for what kind of audience shows up to see a DJ from a video game, your guess is as good as mine.

2.06   saturday
Mavis Staples with Typhanie Monique (Old Town School of Folk Music)
Staples is a heavyweight of classic R&B and soul, and a Chicago native who has enjoyed a career resurgence lately in at least her hometown, so I can't imagine that there are tickets available for this one.

Big Science with AM Taxi, Royal Bangs (Lincoln Hall)
We're now over a year removed from the first time I saw these guys, opening for Local H on New Year's Eve as we ushered in 2009. Given what a crap year that turned out to be, maybe going to see them again will give me some closure.

North Mississippi Allstars with City Champs (Cubby Bear Wrigleyville)
I'm thinking these guys peaked about the time they backed up Buddy Guy on his Sweet Tea album, but they still command a decent amount of respect with the XRT crowd.

Fashion Bomb with Skinwalker (Logan Square Auditorium)
This band took androgynous goth/glam industrial way past anything Kill Hannah was doing for years and years, but I can't imagine they've aged that well. Then again, given the amount of makeup, you may not be able to tell. At least if this is the Fashion Bomb I'm thinking of.

2.07   sunday
The Who (Super Bowl XLIV)
I was surprised by how many of my friends were posting to Facebook and Twitter about the Grammys last night, so I'm a bit worried about the volume of random thoughts about football, advertising and classic rock halftime performances coming down the pike for this one. And since I started paying attention, the first commercial in the first commercial break once the game starts has always been for Budweiser, but if you make a bet with someone on that, I can't be held responsible if this year, their new owners decided on different timing.