list.in.to.chicago this week: 08.23.2010

Thanks to those of you who made it out to see Andrew Fraker & Sons on Friday night. It was fun.

Pick of the week
Get your shoes and socks on and head right around the corner, because the one to catch this week is tonight's debut from Chris Siebold and Psycles at Martyrs'.

list.in.to.COZ
Regular office hours this week. On the off chance you're reading this for the first time, that's Vaughan's on Tuesday and The Globe on Wednesday for open mic.

Recap
I'm both happy I got to see Jon Anderson at Park West on Thursday and happy I didn't have to pay for it. He's clearly not a guitarist by trade, which would have made the arrangements of those songs suspect for anyone but the guy with that distinctive Yes voice. Think one side of Tales From Topographic Oceans condensed to about three or four minutes. But there was a lot of good will in the room, and Anderson seems to be reveling in the chance to really interact with this size of an audience, telling stories about having lunch with Vangelis and trying to write his memoirs that he never would be able to recount outside of a solo performance.

8.23   monday
Chris Siebold and Psycles with M13 (Martyrs')   FRIENDS OF COZ!
I've been a fan of Siebold since I first saw him playing guitar with Lexie Bloor's band a long, long time ago, and even got the chance to play with him in a sort of ad hoc funk band some nine or ten years back. In all that time, I'm pretty sure he's never led his own band. Until now. I don't know exactly what to expect, musically, but I'm still looking forward to it.

Rush (Charter One Pavilion)
This is the make-up show for the one that got rained out back in July, featuring the album Moving Pictures in its entirety. It's worth noting that you won't be able to see the video screen behind the band if you're in certain sections. That's why they didn't cost as much.

Brandon Flowers (Park West)   SOLD OUT!
The frontman for The Killers steps out on his own, and based on the tiny bit of a song I heard on the radio while I was in the shower a week or so ago, the result isn't half-bad. The easy description is that it sounded about halfway between Sam's Town and the other two records.

8.24   tuesday
Open Jam (Vaughan's)   COZ SINGS!
I don't think I'll have time to add any new songs this week, but I think I may have found a better key for the Metric tune from last week. Although I'm back in the gym for the first time in a fortnight, so I may pass out on the couch before getting down to the bar. In which case, say hi to Tony for me.

8.25   wednesday
Sing Along With Coz (The Globe Pub)   COZ SINGS!
There's an event going on in the back room this week, so we're going to try setting up in the front bar. That might be fun, or might be a total disaster. Only one way to find out. Okay, two ways, because I'll probably say something about it next week.

David Gray with Ray LaMontagne, Serena Ryder (Pritzker Pavilion)   SOLD OUT!
I'd say this would be a good place to meet thirty-something women who like those sensitive singer/songwriter types, but I also get the sense that they'll be there with their boyfriends, fiances and husbands, who bought the tickets as a gift, possibly on the condition that they get to see Rush on Monday night. Also, it's sold out, and hanging out over by the edge of the pavilion to intercept the single ones on the way out just seems creepy. Or, um, so I've heard.

8.26   thursday
Art Garden with Pheta Morgana, Waiflike, Polymer Twins (Abbey Pub)   FRIENDS OF COZ!
I've still only heard their songs through my floorboards, but my downstairs neighbor and his band are at it once again. They're on first, so get there early.

8.27   friday
Guster with Griffin House (Lincoln Park Zoo)
After a brief dalliance with the mainstream when they first broke, I feel like this adult alternative-oriented band have carved out a nice little niche for themselves, because they seem to have kept things going for some time now at a lower altitude without looking desperate.

Pat DiNizio (Temple Bar)
Scotch Plains, New Jersey's favorite (musical) son -- best known as the frontman for The Smithereens -- clearly knows the owners of this bar, as he seems to play here at least twice a year. I've said this before, but I think one of his kids lives in the area.

Big Science with Post Honeymoon, The Kickback (Bottom Lounge)
The last time I wanted to go see these guys and their Cure-era love of reverb, I had a gig that I had forgotten about. I will double-check my calendar this time.

Liquid Soul with Land of Atlantis (SPACE, Evanston)
Again, I was a little bit skeptical about the drummer from Hey Champ taking over for the longtime Chicago acid jazz outfit -- mostly out of loyalty to Dan Leali -- but he did a really nice job with it. I'm still not sure that we're on the cusp of any sort of acid jazz resurgence, but it's still a good time.

Cameron McGill and What Army with Horse in the Sea, Kevin Andrew Prchal, Rachele Eve (Metro)
He's been playing around Chicago for at least a decade now, but I'm pretty sure this is the biggest venue I've seen him in, so good for McGill.

Spitalfield with Just Left, The Forecast (Beat Kitchen)
This one jumped out at me because I got a CD from this band many, many years ago for some reason. It may have been one of those things where band members and friends accost people on their way out of another show at a bigger venue, like Metro. Anyway, it seems like the local rock quartet broke up back in 2007, reunited back in the spring for a show, and now are doing it again.

8.28   saturday
I AM FEST (House of Blues)
This is being put on by Elbo Room as an opportunity for some of their bands to play a bigger venue, and it's also an effort to get those bands to work together as an actual music community -- something the organizers feel is missing on the local rock scene lately. I'm really curious to see if it works, because I definitely feel that same void.

Rodrigo y Gabriela (Ravinia Festival, Highland Park)
While I normally don't list Ravinia shows -- I know most people really like them, but it strikes me as little more than a soundtrack for an alcoholic picnic -- this Mexican acoustic guitar duo would make for a particularly good soundtrack for an alcoholic picnic, so I'll make an exception.

American Motherload with Black Angus, Admiral of Black, Blackbox (Double Door)
Wow, I haven't seen this band out and about in a long, long time. There was a time when their Black Sabbath-influenced sludgy rock was going to make them the next big thing out of Chicago, but then they just sort of disappeared.

The Rural Alberta Advantage with The Wooden Sky (Schubas)
My old boss is a big fan of this band, but I think some of that stems from the fact that he's from rural Alberta. Or somewhere in Canada.

Spitalfield (Beat Kitchen)
See Friday's listing.

8.29   sunday
Iggy and the Stooges (Aragon Ballroom)
I'm pretty sure this is the first time Iggy has been back since inviting the Lollapalooza audience on stage with him some four years ago. I'm guessing that S3 Security remembers.