list.in.to.chicago this week: 05.03.2010

Imagine I said something really witty here. And then forward the list to a friend because what you imagined I said was so darned witty.

Pick of the week
Should be a good one at Park West on Thursday night for Kaki King. If you can scare up tickets for Frightened Rabbit on Saturday at Metro, that's one that folks will be talking about for sure. If I can't work that out, I might saunter around the corner that night to see This Must Be The Band reproduce Remain In Light at Martyrs'.

list.in.to.COZ
On Friday night, you can see me with my trusty djembe and shaker alongside Patrick Hasbrook at Bird's Nest. And, of course, Vaughan's on Tuesday and The Globe on Wednesday.

Recap
So, as much as I like Porcupine Tree on record, the live show is just way too serious. They almost seem to be coming from the same heavy, complex place as Tool when they get those thick, dropped-D riffs going, and don't have that same ironic sense of self-awareness that Maynard Keenan brings to those proceedings. And it's a lot easier to ignore the overwrought conceptual underpinnings of The Incident on record, but somewhat tougher when you've got video screens hitting you over the head with it.

Still, the music was executed flawlessly, and Gavin Harrison is just a flat-out amazing drummer to watch. He does things that should totally not fit within the concept of the groove he's playing -- or at least they wouldn't if I tried them -- but they do.

5.03   monday
Patricia Barber Quartet (Green Mill)
Yeah, it's the "in case of emergency, break glass" Monday night listing, but it's still some damn good piano/vocal jazz.

5.04   tuesday
Open Jam (Vaughan's)   COZ SINGS!
Happy Cuatro de Mayo! Best I can think of for a theme right now is something from Foreigner's 4 album.

Shelby Lynne with Findlay Brown (Marytrs')
Kind of a big deal -- at least in modern country music -- to be playing as small a venue as Martyrs'. Lynne has gone the indie route as of late, releasing her latest record on her own label.

Ozomatli with Salvador Santana (House of Blues)
My easy thumbnail sketch for these guys has always been a more urban version of Los Lobos -- with a bit more hip hop and ska. I liked them a lot the first time I saw them, years ago at the Bumbershoot Festival in Seattle, and then was a bit less impressed when I caught the band at the Abbey Pub a year or two back. I think it was an overly enthusiastic trombone player that sorta turned me off at that show.

5.05   wednesday
Sing Along With Coz (The Globe Pub)   COZ SINGS!
Come out for the Blackhawks game, stay for the acoustic versions of Iron Maiden tunes.

Aqualung with Krista Polvere (Schubas)
I really liked "Brighter Than Sunshine" when it came out back in 2005 -- I had been lobbying Diver to play it for a while, since it's right in our wheelhouse of English singer/songwriters with a tendency to sing falsetto -- but I haven't heard much from Matt Hales since, despite the fact that he's dropped three more records under the Aqualung moniker since then, including a new one last month.

Tributosaurus becomes Jefferson Airplane (Martyrs')   FRIENDS OF COZ!
I'm going to go out on a limb and predict that the band will make several wiseassed references to "We Built This City." I'd actually love to hear them tackle some of the severely underrated mid-period Jefferson Starship material (think "Jane" and "Find Your Way Back"), but I sorta doubt they will.

5.06   thursday
Kaki King with An Horse (Park West)
When I saw her a couple years back, the diminutive singer and guitarist seemed to be struggling just a little bit with the transition from her Michael Hedges-inspired solo acoustic work to playing in front of a full band. Presumably, she's had some more time to work out that balance.

Everybody Was In The French Resistance... Now with Team Band, Chaperone (Schubas)
This is a side project from Eddie Argos from Art Brut, and when you think about the sort of stylized schtick of that band, you have to wonder what creative whims he's not acting on that would require a side project.

5.07   friday
Patrick Hasbrook with The Western (Bird's Nest)   SEE COZ LIVE!
Once again, I'll be accompanying Patrick's acoustic originals -- he'd probably be the first to tell you that Wilco and James Taylor are a couple of big influences there -- and covers.

The Dials with Swiss Dots, The Wanton Looks (Beat Kitchen)
For better or worse, this band sounds pretty much like you would imagine a three-girl-and-a-guy punk pop band to sound like. I'm in the "for better" camp on this one. Been meaning to check out the Wanton Looks for a while now, as well.

Annuals with Most Serene Republic, What Laura Says (Empty Bottle)
On the one hand, I've been curious to see how this band -- sort of a Smoky Mountain version of those Canadian indie rock "collectives" -- sounds when they're not fighting with the kind of bad house mix they had when I saw them at Bonnaroo a few years back. On the other, only just a little curious. It wasn't like I could tell they were destined for greatness or anything.

This Must Be The Band (Martyrs')   FRIENDS OF COZ!
The Talking Heads tribute band will be tackling Remain In Light in it's entirety over two consecutive nights.

5.08   saturday
Frightened Rabbit with Maps & Atlases, Our Brother the Native (Metro)   SOLD OUT!
The Scottish indie band is getting a lot of praise for The Winter Of Mixed Drinks, which I have to say, I like a bit more than The Midnight Organ Fight. Didn't quite hear what everyone was going on about with that one. Anyway, I'll be keeping an eye on the Metro Twitter feed to see if they release any tickets at the last minute.

This Must Be The Band (Martyrs')   FRIENDS OF COZ!
See Friday's listing.

5.09   sunday
Kick The Cat (Simon's Tavern)   FRIENDS OF COZ!
Guitarist Chris Siebold has been posting well over two dozen of his favorite albums to his Facebook profile, and we overlap on maybe as many as half of them.

Butch Walker & The Black Widows, Locksley (House of Blues)
I was going to say I was surprised this show wasn't sold out after his last Chicago appearance was in high demand, but I think that was three or four nights at Schubas, which is still fewer people than you can fit in the River North club.