list.in.to.chicago this week: 02.15.2010

Lots of ground to cover this week, but many of you have the day off, so you should have extra time to kill, right?

Pick of the week
If you can still get tickets, I highly recommend St. Vincent at Metro on Thursday night. And there are two "traditional" favorites on Saturday night in Tortoise (Lincoln Hall) and the Frank Zappa tribute band Ugly Radio Rebellion (Reggie's Music Joint), which features Zappa alum Ike Willis on vocals and, presumably, guitar.

list.in.to.COZ
This Saturday is our monthly show at Fado for Diver, so hopefully you can make it out to that. If not, there's always Tuesday at Vaughan's or Wednesday at The Globe for acoustic guitar and cover tunes.

Recap
Thursday was my first time back at Elbo Room in quite a while, and downstairs seems a lot brighter. More lights on stage and in the main room, I guess. Anyway, I thoroughly enjoyed The Hudson Landing, in large part because they reminded me what it was like to be fresh out of college and way, way into Steely Dan. I had them, um, pegged even before they closed their set with "Peg," and they did a good job with that jazzy pop sound. The band I was there to see, Soulfix, has added a lot more of the Tool influence that had been creeping into their sound recently, which is a good thing. It was riff-tastic.

I ended up playing percussion with a sort of songwriter roundtable in the front room at The Abbey on Friday, so I didn't catch as much of the show in the main room as I had originally planned. Also, I'm not necessarily a good judge of heavy metal -- one thing that really stood out with HEMI was their use of somewhat jarring tempo changes, which I'm pretty sure is a convention of the genre, but not something I'm on board with. Bouncing between the two rooms, I only saw a couple of songs from Cealed Kasket, who do the whole over-the-top costumed metal thing. I will give them credit, though, because if you're going to do something with that sort of schtick, you've got to have the musical side nailed down, and they had it dead to rights. The band sounded really good, which frees you up to appreciate the silly stuff on it's own silly merits, presuming you stay long enough and aren't burned out from trying to follow songs you don't know on percussion through bad monitors.

2.15   monday
The Love Hangover (Double Door)   FRIENDS OF COZ!
I'm intrigued by this evening of male/female duos "singing Eros-centric duets that range from poignant to comical to just plain naughty," according to the Double Door website. And in what can only be described as a reflection (or a root cause) of why I don't particularly care for Valentine's Day, the "Friends of Coz" on this one -- Zebulun Barnow, Liam Davis, Matt Spiegel -- are all dudes. Why couldn't I have become friends with Susan Voelz (playing with Davis) over the umpteen years I've been around this scene? That ain't right.

Editors with The Antlers, The Dig (The Vic)
The English band originally had a the same sort of guitar-based take on Joy Division as bands like Interpol, but their latest album got retro synth-heavy in a more Killers-esque way that made it almost unlistenable to me. That may make The Antlers the bigger draw here, as there was a fair amount of indie buzz about them last year.

John Butler Trio with Tim Brantley (Lincoln Hall)   SOLD OUT!
I heard on XRT the other night that Butler is flying all the way from Australia for just one show here in Chicago. This makes me wonder about that conventional wisdom that says bands make most of their money touring, but like a regional snowstorm versus global warming, it's just one anecdotal data point, and probably doesn't mean much. And maybe the label is paying for it.

2.16   tuesday
Open Jam (Vaughan's)   COZ SINGS!
Many ways to go this week. Saturday was Peter Gabriel's 60th birthday, so I'll be sure to play something from him. Sadly, Doug Fieger from The Knack passed away over the weekend, so "Good Girls Don't" is a must. Also sadly (zing!), yesterday was Valentine's Day, so you'll probably get "Love Stinks" and/or "All Of The Good Ones Are Taken." Plus, it's Mardi Gras, and if pressed, I'm sure someone can come up with a good song for either Presidents' Day or Chinese New Year.

Cracker with Brandi Shearer (SPACE, Evanston)
After I made that comment a few weeks ago about Camper van Beethoven and Cracker still being joined at the hip after all these years, a friend helpfully reminded me that this is because David Lowery started both bands.

Snoop Dogg (Metro)   SOLD OUT!
I follow Metro on Twitter, and what I found funny about this one was that they had to stress that this was not some sort of prank when they announced it. Metro does their share of rap, so I guess it was more about an artist of that stature playing a 1,000-capacity venue.

M13 with The E-Mics (Quencher's)   FRIENDS OF COZ!
I got word of a show that The E-mics played last night at Quenchers after the list "went to press," and then I wimped out after playing soccer in the morning and melting into my couch after that and didn't go out. So I figure I owe Wes and Chris a little shoutout here as they open for an "experimental big band" that sounds pretty intriguing in their own right.

2.17   wednesday
Sing Along With Coz (The Globe Pub)   COZ SINGS!
I have to apologize to someone named Alex Kreller for last week's Open Mic night. Somehow, he managed to sign up on the list when I wasn't looking, and the turnout was pretty sparse, so I assumed no one was there to play, and he never said anything during the course of the night. Boneheaded move on my part. So, if you come back out, Alex, drinks are on me. To all of you who may try to impersonate Mr. Kreller, I'm going to check ID. And play the balance of my more skeptical Valentine's Day songs. If I'm sticking with themes, I guess the appropriate one the day after Mardi Gras would be anything by Irish rock band Ash?

2.18   thursday
Billy Corgan with Matty Walker (LaSalle Power Company)
This is a benefit show for the 10th anniversary of NorthShore University HealthSystem's Integrated Medicine program, so tickets are not cheap. And then, for $300, you can see the show and meet the band. Given his ornery reputation, there's probably a joke in there about how much it's worth to NOT meet Billy Corgan, but since this is a benefit show, I'll refrain.

St. Vincent with Wildbirds and Peacedrums (Metro)
Speaking of that Metro Twitter feed, they tell me tickets are scarce for Annie Clark and her band, who were at the top of quite a lot of year-end top ten lists for 2009, including mine. There's one foot in a more classic Kate Bush/Laurie Anderson quirkiness, but with some of that modern indie rock aesthetic mixed in, to good effect.

Yes (House of Blues)
I sort of get the decision last year to tour with a tribute band singer after Jon Anderson was unable to go out on the road for medical reasons not too long before that tour was supposed to start, but I'm pretty sure that Anderson is better now -- he's touring solo in March -- and they're still using the new guy. Looks like that previous decision ruffled some feathers that haven't become unruffled. Even so, it might be worth it just to see Steve Howe (and Chris Squire and Alan White, but mostly Howe) playing Yes tunes.

Wild Beasts with Still Life Still (Schubas)
Pitchfork calls this UK band's latest two Domino Records release "steely art-funk...that's no less alluring in its austerity" after a previous record described as "fidgety, impulsive baroque'n'roll". If you go to one of these shows, please try to translate that into English for me.

2.19   friday
Trey Anastasio and Classic Tab (Riviera Theatre)   SOLD OUT!
Someone has their target marketing down to a science, because this is the first time I've even heard about this show. Which is as it should be.

Four Tet with Nathan Fake (Empty Bottle)
I've noticed Four Tet crawling up the charts over on eMusic with a new record, but reviews indicate that it inhabits that indie/electronica space that I tend to struggle with. Still, bands tend to have buzz for a reason, so if you're into that sort of thing, you'd probably dig it.

Smoking Popes with Blasted Diplomats (Reggie's Rock Club)
Having dissolved a band that was just starting to break big for very personal reasons, then trying something else, then coming back to it, I have to think Josh Caterer's musical journey might make for a good book. Or movie. Or maybe rock opera.

Evan Dando with The Candles, Hospital Garden (Double Door)
The most recent recorded output from Dando seems to be a Lemonheads covers album that came out in the U.S. last June, but with this being billed as a solo Evan Dando show, I'm not sure that this has anything to do with that.

Lucky Boys Confusion with The Action Blast (Subterranean)
I fully realize that this list carries a real risk of becoming "some old guy cracking wise about bands that have been around for quite some time," but really, I'm trying to change that. And Lucky Boys Confusion is proving more resilient than I would have figured.

Yes (House of Blues)
See Thursday's listing.

Wild Beasts with Still Life Still (Schubas)
See Thursday's listing.

2.20   saturday
DIVER (Fado Irish Pub)   SEE COZ LIVE!
I'm going to make a concerted effort to actually get some practice time in on the drums this week, just to see how much different that makes three sets of Britpop-leaning cover tunes feel over the course of four hours. I played a bit Saturday and Sunday, and will hopefully get at least a half-hour in every other day until the gig. This probably has no bearing whatsoever on whether or not you'll attend the show, but we're to the point that if I haven't sold you on the concept by now, you're probably not interested.

Chevelle with Sick Puppies, Janus (Riviera Theatre)   SOLD OUT!
Chevere (Green Mill)
I really, really hope someone gets these two shows confused due to their proximity, goes into the Green Mill thinking they're going to hear some bracing modern rock and is very surprised to see a Latin jazz ensemble. Probably not going to happen, though.

Patti Smith with Troubled Identity (Park West)   SOLD OUT!
In a sort of cross-channel effort, Smith is touring as a singer in support of her new book, Just Kids, which recalls how she came up through the New York City art and music scene in the 1960s and 1970s.

Regal Standard with Melismatics, Cavalry (Empty Bottle)   FRIENDS OF COZ!
If you've managed to catch Larry and Justin as The Zittz at either The Globe or Vaughan's lately, then you might be interested in hearing Larry's other band, who will be kicking off this show down in Ukranian Village.

Tortoise with Lichens (Lincoln Hall)
I've pretty much made my peace with the local post-rock band in concert, because I've seen them live enough that I don't know that seeing them again will bring any new insight. Of course, having only been to Lincoln Hall once and liking the room, that's a new context by definition. And given the cinematic quality of their music, a converted movie theater is a perfect venue for the band.

Ugly Radio Rebellion with Ike Willis (Reggie's Music Joint)
If there's an unofficial Zappa repertory band out there with any level of notoriety, you can bet that Ike Willis is touring with them.

Sybris with Scott Lucas and the Married Men, Apteka (Schubas)
For a while there, it looked like Sybris was going to break from just being a Chicago band and maybe go somewhere bigger, but that doesn't seem to have panned out. At least not yet.

Smoking Popes with The Copyrights, The Brokedowns (Reggie's Rock Club)
See Friday's listing.

2.21   sunday
Tributosaurus for Kids (Martyrs')   FRIENDS OF COZ!
The musical chameleons do a pared-down version of their first foray into the Beatles catalog in an afternoon show aimed at families, but if you missed the proper show, it might be a good way to catch the highlights.

Bela Fleck (Old Town School of Folk Music)
The multi-cultural banjoist is billing this show -- and, presumably, tour -- as "The Africa Project," and to be fair, some of the traditional African pop instruments can sound somewhat banjo-like, so it might not be as incongruous as it would first seem.

Lotus (Schubas)   SOLD OUT!
Another sellout from someone I've never heard of, and this time it's some sort of electronica/jam band hybrid from Indiana, which has the benefit of adding to my list of "things that tend to keep you off my musical radar." The jam band piece is probably what keeps them both underground and very popular with their particular underground niche.

Mark Cohn with Kristina Train (SPACE, Evanston)   SOLD OUT!
Best known for his song "Walking in Memphis" -- which got him a Grammy for Best New Artist in 1991 -- as well as for being married to Elizabeth Vargas of ABC News and, apparently, getting shot in the head five years ago. And if your biggest song is almost two decades old, playing in Evanston is probably shrewd.