list.in.to.chicago this week: 09.27.2010

It's really hard not to love fall in Chicago as a music fan. Yet another stacked week, to the point where you almost can't go wrong this weekend.

Pick of the week
One of the greatest guitarists on the planet is playing around the corner from my house, so you can be sure that Allan Holdsworth (Sunday at Martyrs') tops the list this week. You could also see how well Primus has stood the test of time on Saturday at the Congress Theater.

list.in.to.COZ
So my attendance on Tuesdays is starting to flag, but I should be at Vaughan's on Tuesday. Definitely at The Globe on Wednesday, and then Tony and I will be doing the acoustic duo thing at Celtic Crossings on Clark & Chicago on Saturday night.

Recap
I left Cubby Bear before the headliner on Saturday, so I still don't know why I should remember who Spacehog is. Judging by the sparse crowd for a free show from a band that ostensibly had a hit at some point in their career on the radio station promoting the show, it's not just me. Also, the entire proceedings started over an hour and a half late. So if I didn't think Maybenauts were as good as I've seen them in the past, some of that may be the frustration of standing out on the sidewalk for over an hour talking. And maybe it's because Brandon Flowers just released his solo record, but I suddenly heard a lot of Killers in the Holding Mercury set, and I mean that in a good way.

Last night's show from The National rammed home the inescapable fact that the Riviera probably has the worst sight lines of any venue in Chicago. I could see the tops of most of their heads. Fortunately, the sound was pretty stellar, and that band has the slow build to the big finish down pat. I was a little unprepared for the ferocity of some of their older stuff, particularly from singer Matt Berninger. I wasn't really expecting him to scream so much. And the completely conversational tone of their between-song banter was endearing, if somewhat inaudible.

9.27   monday
Laura Veirs and the Hall of Flames with The Watson Twins, Led To Sea (Lincoln Hall)
After headlining up in Evanston last month, the Watson Twins return in support of Portland-based folkie Laura Veirs.

9.28   tuesday
Open Jam (Vaughan's)   COZ SINGS!
So, while I didn't make it last week, I have been on a bit of a tear of learning new songs. The two I'm currently most excited about are "Come Dancing" from The Kinks and "Common People" from Pulp, but I need to work out a bit on the latter before it's ready for prime time.

The xx with Warpaint, Zola Jesus (Chicago Theatre)
I'm not sure about the venue for this one. On the one hand, the band's music isn't necessarily conducive to standing up. On the other hand, that same quality could make you fall asleep in your seat. I sorta regret missing most of their set at Lollapalooza, but was getting so preoccupied with a dying cell phone battery -- at 3 in the afternoon, no less -- that I wouldn't have been able to enjoy it.

Stanton Moore Trio featuring Anders Osborne (SPACE, Evanston)
The New Orleans drummer was just here two weeks ago backing up Galactic. Maybe they accidentally left him behind?

9.29   wednesday
Sing Along With Coz (The Globe Pub)   COZ SINGS!
I'm not entirely sure how we're going to co-exist with the late Chicago Fire game on the TV, but after going winless in their last seven and fading from the playoff picture, the turnout for the soccer game might be smaller than the turnout for the music.

Talvin Singh (Mayne Stage)
This is part of the World Music Festival, and if the venue doesn't sound familiar, that's because it used to be the Morse Theatre, and even then it wasn't that for very long. Talvin Singh made a splash maybe a decade ago by fusing electronica and Indian music. Once you hear it, you realize that, for instance, drums and bass goes pretty well with tabla.

The Ladies and Gentlemen with Verona Account, God and the Architects (Subterranean)
I really should go back and check to see if I said "it looks like these guys are starting to play more often" the last time I saw their name pop up again. Whatever. Local bands I like playing with increased frequency is always a good thing. And while I liked their original tunes, one thing that has always stuck with me about these guys is that they closed with a Soft Boys cover once.

The Boxer Rebellion with Amusement Parks on Fire (Empty Bottle)
This band is featured prominently in that new Drew Barrymore movie. I have to stress that I came into this knowledge through a friend, NOT through any first-hand experience. As far as I know, nothing blows up in the new Drew Barrymore movie, so I have no interest in seeing it.

M.I.A. with Rye Rye (The Vic)
What I didn't realize when she sang at the Grammys while nine months pregnant was that the cosmopolitan rapper/singer is married into the family of Edgar Bronfman, Jr., who has headed up both Seagram and Warner Music. Maybe she'll buy an American soccer team. And maybe one of you will get that reference.

!!! with Fol Chen (Bottom Lounge)
I saw this band at Lollapalooza back in 2007, and my assessment then was that they were "built on maniacal, ironic energy, and that just wasn't enough to cut it for me."

9.30   thursday
Klaxons with Baby Monster (Lincoln Hall)
This UK band won the Mercury Prize back in 2007, but that's never exactly a barometer for large-scale success in the States.

Semi Precious Weapons (Subterranean)
Seems like a small venue for a band that opened for Lady Gaga, but I guess I've seen other openers for arena acts at the Wicker Park venue, sometimes the night before or after.

Chris Potter Trio (Jazz Showcase)
Typically, the Chicago-born saxophonist and Dave Holland alum plays with his "Underground" group, so I'm not sure how different the trio will be.

M.I.A. with Rye Rye (The Vic)
See Wednesday's listing.

10.01   friday
The Hold Steady with Wintersleep (The Vic)
I'm kind of surprised that this one isn't sold out yet. Could it be that the music bloggers have found a new shiny object upon which to lavish their attention? I still figure the critics will come back to Heaven is Whenever when top ten list season comes around, but that's mostly because I feel like you could write at least half of this year's top ten lists just by looking at the release schedule for perennial favorites.

Eels with Jesca Hoop (Metro)
There was some thing about the 47-year old (!) singer/songwriter from this indie rock band -- who just goes by 'e' -- being mistaken for someone, or someone being mistaken for him, but that story is proving to be somewhat Google-proof. It's not like searching for 'e' is going to be helpful. And I'm not trying to be ageist by pointing out that Mark Everett is 47. I'm just surprised, because the current "indie rock" field seems populated mostly by people younger than me.

Atari Teenage Riot with Aluminum Babe, Caustic (Bottom Lounge)
Bettie Serveert with Lover!, David Singer and The Sweet Science (Abbey Pub)
Wait, what year is it? Did we travel back in time to the early 90s while I was writing about Eels? Specifically, the 90s in Europe?

Chris Potter Trio (Jazz Showcase)
See Thursday's listing.

10.02   saturday
Half of DIVER (Celtic Crossings)   SEE COZ LIVE!
I would apologize for sending you all the way out to Edison Park to see Tony and I last week, except that I'm reasonably sure none of you made that trek. This week's show is definitely on, and definitely easier to get to for you city types. For all the Chicago expatriates in various parts of the world, maybe not so much.

Primus with Portugal. The Man, Split Lip Rayfield (Congress Theater)
There was a point many years ago where I felt like I got all I was going to get out of Primus as a live act. I think it was when Tim Alexander rejoined the band and they were playing Sailing The Seas Of Cheese in its entirety. It wasn't that they were bad or anything, just that seeing them live wasn't enhancing my appreciation of the band enough to put up with, for example, being twice as old as half the room. This may have actually been all the way back in 2003.

James with Ed Harcourt (The Vic)
The English band had been in various states of turmoil since releasing their breakthrough album (and eponymous single) Laid until about three years ago, when the lineup that recorded that record -- and recorded it with über-producer Brian Eno, which I didn't know -- reunited. They put out two EPs in the U.K. earlier this year that have just been released together in the U.S. to coincide with this tour.

Broken Social Scene with The Sea and Cake (Riviera Theatre)
As they become better known for the band's alumni and extended family than for the band themselves, this Canadian collective seems to be morphing into an indie rock version of Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers. Or, for those of you who don't know jazz well enough to have any idea what I'm talking about, maybe The Yardbirds.

Local Natives with The Love Language, The Union Line (Metro)
I want to say I heard something from this Afropop-influenced California band on XRT a week or two ago, and made note of it, but I'm not entirely sure where I put that (figurative) note. They played South by Southwest earlier this year in support of their debut, which actually came out in late 2009 in the UK.

Local H (Beat Kitchen)
I still have a tough time imagining Beat Kitchen as leaning punk rock, given the long history of the Roscoe Village club. To be fair, Local H isn't exactly punk in their sound as much as in their overall aesthetic. It's still a long way from what it used to be.

Chris Potter Trio (Jazz Showcase)
See Thursday's listing.

10.03   sunday
Allan Holdsworth (Martyrs')
This was originally supposed to be with Chad Wackerman on drums and Jimmy Johnson on bass, but it looks like Johnson has been replaced by Ernest Tibbs. I'm still really, really excited about this one. I think the last time I saw Holdsworth live was back at the China Club, which hasn't even existed for probably 15 years now.

Thermals with Cymbals Eat Guitars, Black Math (Logan Square Auditorium)
Since I never got around to writing my actual review of Lollapalooza, I had to go back and search Twitter to remind myself what I thought of Cymbals Eat Guitars. The verdict? They "remind me a lot of Sparta with some Explosions In The Sky thrown in for good measure." That's pretty solid.

L.A. Guns with Bang Tango, Black Actress, Sonic Pistol, Felon Love (Reggie's Rock Club)
After reading the band's Wikipedia entry, I think they need either an episode of Behind The Music or a reality series. It looks like there are currently two active versions of a band that I'm not sure warrants one in 2010, and Marty Casey of Lovehammers and Rock Star: INXS fame recorded some yet-as-unreleased material with one of them.

Chris Potter Trio (Jazz Showcase)
See Thursday's listing.