list.in.to.chicago this week: 03.01.2010

Yes, I took yesterday off for my birthday. I sorta needed it, but we'll get to that in the recap.

Pick of the week
If you haven't seen Gomez (Thursday at The Vic) live, I'd recommend them, but if you have, I don't know that I've gotten a lot of value out of additional exposure. And if you can scrounge up a ticket for Robyn Hitchcock (Friday at Schubas, Saturday at SPACE in Evanston), that'll be a good one.

list.in.to.COZ
I will be rejoining longtime Friend of Coz Patrick Hasbrook for one set at the Bird's Nest over by the DePaul campus on Friday night. Next Diver show is next Saturday -- which I think is the downtown St. Paddy's parade -- at Fado.

Recap
I made it out to the tribute band double-bill at the Bottom Lounge on Friday with my two brothers, but only caught a bit of Kid A. I'm not positive, but I think the singer got the words wrong on "Karma Police," which is a strike against them. This Must Be The Band either has a ton of very supportive friends, or they've tapped into some latent demand for live Talking Heads, because the place was packed and rocking. Sonically, they nail that Stop Making Sense vibe really well.

Sunday's birthday festivities included my mom playing cowbell with Diver, then short sets from Dennis Fuentes, Patrick Hasbrook, The Powwows and Tony Calderisi. We closed it out with a solo acoustic set from yours truly before I switched to electric and was helped out by Tony on bass and Steve Gillis on drums, with Anto then joining us on vocals for a raucous "Sympathy For The Devil" as a finale. It was a lot of fun, and I look forward to coming up with an excuse to do it again sometime.

3.01   monday
Happy Birthday to Me!
Yeah, so I spent most of the actual birthday ferrying family at least towards, if not to, O'Hare, and then becoming one with my couch. Kind of an exhausting weekend, but in a good way.

3.02   tuesday
Open Jam (Vaughan's)   COZ SINGS!
If I have time between now and 9pm, I'm going to try to learn "40" from U2 as we try to extend the birthday weekend just a little. Because it didn't wipe me out enough as it is. Also, "Time" from Pink Floyd is an obvious choice.

Fishbone with The English Beat, Outlaw Nation (House of Blues)
The English Beat is nominally the headliner on the "Spring Ska-ward" Tour, but I'm really curious who's even in Fishbone at this point. While it seems guitarist Kendall Jones and keyboardists Christopher Dowd made a couple of guest appearances in the past two years, the touring band has only three original members and some other guys they've picked up since the band's slow-motion implosion over the past seventeen years.

FURTHER: Phil Lesh and Bob Weir (Auditorium Theatre)   SOLD OUT!
Anyone who knows me knows I'm not a big fan of the Grateful Dead, but the band's alumni have this habit of hiring guys I like for their post-Jerry projects. In this case, it's original Primus drummer Jay Lane.

3.03   wednesday
Sing Along With Coz (The Globe Pub)   COZ SINGS!
I think the end of the night on Sunday -- sort of a mutant version of Diver with Anto in front of Tony on bass, Steve Gillis on drums, and me on guitar -- is what Sing Along With Coz aspires to, although I'm not schlepping a drum kit and monitors on a weeknight. Still, there's probably a happy medium.

Tributosaurus (Martyrs')   FRIENDS OF COZ!
While the band tends to avoid repeating artists, one stated exception (according to their website, anyway) is XTC, as this is the third time they'll emulate Andy Partridge and his classic band, with some overlap from the first two, but some new stuff as well.

Alicia Keys (Allstate Arena)
File this one under "current R&B/Pop artists I would be listening to if I listened to current R&B/Pop."

FURTHER: Phil Lesh and Bob Weir (Auditorium Theatre)   SOLD OUT!
See Tuesday's listing.

3.04   thursday
Gomez with One Eskimo (The Vic)
I don't know if it's because they recorded it here in town, but I thought last year's A New Tide had a bit more bite than the band's previous album. They've also done some shows that focused on their earlier, looser material, which could have been a factor. Two things always strike me when I see this band. One of their frontmen looks like Anto's friend George, and the little guy switching instruments all the time seems to be having a tremendous amount of fun whenever he plays. The last time I saw this band, they were standing behind me at Metro for the Arctic Monkeys show.

Dot Dot Dot with The Insecurities, Jupiter One (Schubas)
When they were on Fox's Next Great American Band reality show, this band seemed to be trying so hard to be larger than life that I can't really picture them in the intimate confines of Schubas. And I have a hard time disagreeing with the one judge on that show who called them "an advertising executive's idea of what a rock band is supposed to be," but as I think about it, I don't know if it's that they push their "look" harder than I'm comfortable with, or if they have that cover band neediness that I've been noticing in a lot of "street festival" bands bleeding over into their original repertoire.

Stephen Stills (House of Blues)
I'm slowly working my way through the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame concert that was on HBO a while ago, but one of the things I've learned already is that Stephen Stills is a heck of a guitarist. I don't think I had ever seen him tear it up live. You tend to overlook anything that's not a vocal harmony in Crosby, Stills and Nash sometimes, which is unfortunate.

3.05   friday
Patrick Hasbrook with Tim Reid, Romeo Champagne (Bird's Nest)   SEE COZ LIVE!
If you've been on this list for a long, long time, you may remember an acoustic three-piece band I was in called Blue Line Transit, with Jeff Goldford (who apparently made it to the final 24 on this season's American Idol) and Patrick, who then moved to California, and has since moved back to Chicago. This is his first proper gig since returning, save for some Vaughan's and Globe appearances.

Robyn Hitchcock (Schubas)   SOLD OUT!
I don't know if he's touring in support of a new record, but it doesn't really matter. As a sort of classic English wit, his lyrics are great, and his between-song banter may be even better. To this day, Hitchcock has still written my favorite song about cheese that actually makes a sociological point ever.

Urge Overkill (Cubby Bear Wrigleyville)
Wikipedia lists Chris Frantisak as a "former member," which I think I knew, so they've officially lost "Friends of Coz" status. That said, I still want to see the band getting a slice of late-night pizza afterwards among all the Wrigleyville types, just for the sheer incongruity of it all.

J. Davis Trio with Blah Blah Blah (Bottom Lounge)
Liquid Soul with Macpodz (SPACE, Evanston)
Okay, what's odd about these two shows, apart from making me think I woke up when acid jazz was still reigning the city circa 1999 or so, is that both bands have been around much longer than the venues in which they're playing.

Citizen Cope (The Vic)   SOLD OUT!
On a related note, I've finally remembered that the name of the band I keep confusing this band with was Citizen King, who were a sort of Fishbone wannabe from Wisconsin. And now we've come full circle.

3.06   saturday
Robyn Hitchcock (SPACE, Evanston)   SOLD OUT!
Not sure if the Evanston gig came before the Schubas gig, in terms of booking, or if they were both part of the tour from the get-go. I had to check the SPACE website to see if there were still tickets for this one, given that the Schubas date is sold out, at which point I learned that these are solo acoustic shows.

Jon Langford (Schubas)
Of course, if you didn't get Robyn Hitchcock tickets, and really want to see a witty English songwriter, Jon Langford isn't a bad choice, either. This is the early show.

The Blacks with Son of Cops (Schubas)
After reuniting for the Hideout Block Party (I think), one of the earlier local alt-country bands has recorded a new bunch of songs and is presumably back in action, to some degree. That degree may be "one show to celebrate the new record," but that's better than nothing. Curious to see if Gina Black's badass-with-an-upright-bass persona still works.

Gauge with Runner, American Heritage, Big Science (Bottom Lounge)
I've definitely been noticing Big Science a lot lately. I don't know if that's because they happen to be one newer local band that I've heard of, or if they're ramping up their schedule. Either way, it might make for a good anchor to check out other bands I haven't heard.

3.07   sunday
The Magnetic Fields with Laura Barrett (Harris Theater)
I'm not sure if the downtown show at the Millennium Park venue means mainstream acceptance for previously underground iconoclast Stephen Merritt, or if it's just the band wanting to play theaters instead of bars/clubs.

The Avett Brothers with The Low Anthem (House of Blues)   SOLD OUT!
I know there's been a lot of chatter about these guys, but I heard one song on XRT a little while ago, and seem to remember being thoroughly unimpressed.

Acumen Nation with Christ Analogue, Cyanotic, The Gothsicles, Sheriff Scabs, Xuberx, Millipede (Darkroom)
Goatwhore with Enfold Darkness, The Muzzler, Hate, Dark Spectrum (Bottom Lounge)
There has got to be some sort of heavy metal festival going on, because I saw a couple other bills with band names like these earlier in the week.