list.in.to.chicago this week: 03.15.2010

All the cool bands seem to be in Austin for South by Southwest this week.

Pick of the week
Well, that Experience Hendrix show on Thursday (Chicago Theatre) is pretty stacked. The cool kids who aren't in Austin will probably be at The Big Pink with A Place to Bury Strangers and Gatekeeper (Saturday at Metro).

list.in.to.COZ
I'll be sitting in with The Good Mondays on percussion out on the far Northwest side on Friday, then it's a rare full-band Diver show at Cullen's on Saturday. And regular office hours Tuesday and Wednesday.

Recap
So, Friday night at the United Center. Silversun Pickups definitely earn their ascribed spot on a continuum between My Bloody Valentine and Smashing Pumpkins. Sound was typical of opening acts at arena shows, so not knowing their catalog was problematic. Muse was, well, huge. They do huge really, really well. Anders Smith Lindall has a pretty good assessment of that hugeness over at the Sun-Times.

3.15   monday
John Doe with Danny Black (Schubas)
The guy from The Blacks opening up for the guy from X. At least, I'm assuming it's the guy from X. And the guy from The Blacks, for that matter.

Imelda May with The Del Moroccos (Martyrs')
If you got shut out of seeing her as an opener on Tuesday, you've got a chance to see her the night before if you hurry.

3.16   tuesday
Open Jam (Vaughan's)   COZ SINGS!
If you stay out past midnight, you'll be there on St. Patrick's Day and can get that out of the way before all the amateurs come out on Wednesday.

Jamie Cullum with Imelda May (Park West)   SOLD OUT!
Anto from Diver has always been a big fan of Cullum, and our version of "High & Dry" from Radiohead probably owes a bit to his cover of that song. I want to say he's moved a bit from his jazzier background on his new record, but I might be imagining that I read that somewhere.

3.17   wednesday
Sing Along With Coz (The Globe Pub)   COZ SINGS!
It should be a fun night of explaining to people that The Globe is more English and Scottish than Irish.

Matisyahu with Company of Thieves (Mystic Celt)
No, I'm not entirely sure why a Jewish reggae-influenced rapper is headlining the XRT St. Patrick's Day celebration, either.

The Clientele with Field Music, Liam Hayes (Lincoln Hall)
This is one of those British indie rock bands that's been around for nearly a decade, but hasn't quite punched through to the level of their peers in the States.

Bret Michaels (Joe's Bar)
Oh, dear.

3.18   thursday
Experience Hendrix (Chicago Theatre)
With Billy Cox, Joe Satriani, Sacred Steel featuring Robert Randolph, Susan Tedeschi, Jonny Lang, Eric Johnson, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Ernie Isley, David Hidalgo and Cesar Rosas, Brad Whitford, Doyle Bramhall II, Living Colour, Hubert Sumlin and Chris Layton. Wow.

Company of Thieves with John Henry and the Engine, Hollus (Lincoln Hall)
The Chicago band headlines on the heels of the big Mystic Celt St. Patrick's Day show. Interesting to see if they pick up a bunch of fans as a result of the Wednesday gig.

3.19   friday
Great Big Sea (House of Blues)
The band from Newfoundland is a pretty good proxy for an Irish band this time of year, as their music is steeped in a lot of traditional Irish folk music.

The Right Now with Vertikal, Weber Band (Lincoln Hall)
I got a CD from this local R&B outfit a few months ago that was produced by Steve and Vijay over at Transient. I'm guessing Al Weber is busting out the horn section for his slot, given that context.

The Good Mondays (Moher Irish Pub)   SEE COZ LIVE!
This is an acoustic cover song gig with a childhood friend of Tony from Diver that I've been talking with for a while, and now it's going to finally happen at an Irish pub way west on Devon.

3.20   saturday
DIVER (Cullen's)   SEE COZ LIVE!
Think of this as the St. Patrick's Day afterparty.

The Big Pink with A Place to Bury Strangers, Gatekeeper (Metro)
This band was surging on the eMusic charts late last year. Also, Greg Kot compared A Place To Bury Strangers to classic shoegazer bands like My Bloody Valentine, and while I see the similarities in terms of sheer volume, I'm not sure if it holds up past that. Then again, I've only seen them live once, and haven't heard them on record.

The Ex with Shellac (Lincoln Hall)
All I really know about this band is that they collaborated with Tortoise on an EP many, many years ago. And Shellac seems to have ramped up to maybe two shows a year now, but I still haven't ever seen Steve Albini and his buzzsaw guitar stylings.

The Bomb with Team Band, Ready The Destroyer (Empty Bottle)
If this band keeps playing more shows, I may eventually be able to spell Jeff Pezzati's name without having to check the Naked Raygun Wikipedia page. Because searching for "the bomb" on the Internet might attract the wrong kind of attention.

Alice in Chains with Middle Class Rut (Aragon Ballroom)   SOLD OUT!
I've heard from Alice In Chains fans who are not put off at all by the new singer, and think they're rocking just as hard as ever. I want to say that said fans (okay, it was just Kevin) pointed out that the difference between Layne Staley and today is more apparent on the slower tunes.

Norah Jones with Elvis Perkins (Chicago Theatre)   SOLD OUT!
The singer/songwriter stretches out a bit on her new record, playing more guitar-based songs than in the past. It seems to be working, to some extent, as she's still moving tickets.

Great Big Sea (House of Blues)
See Friday's listing.

3.21   sunday
Spanish for 100 with Nick Miller and the Neighbors, Redwood Plan (Schubas)   FRIENDS OF COZ!
This is the Seattle-based band that features a former RollingStone.com co-worker. Haven't seen them, but I've seen nice things said about them by other friends who knew Aaron when he lived here.

John Oates with Matt Duke (SPACE, Evanston)
Yes, that John Oates.

Zakir Hussain's Masters of Percussion (Symphony Center)
This sounds pretty cool, to me at least. With Taufiq Qureshi, Ganesh and Kumaresh, Sabir Khan, Sridar Parthasarathy, Navin Sharma, The Motilal Dhakis from Bengal.