list.in.to.chicago this week: 10.11.2010

I think I should keep a weekly tally of bands who are playing Chicago that I've seen at Lollapalooza, let alone who have played the festival with or without me in the audience.

Pick of the week
You've got Alejandro Escovedo at Lincoln Hall on Tuesday, The Walkmen at Metro on Wednesday, The New Pornographers at the same venue on Thursday, and you're not even at the weekend yet. I may actually try to double-dip on Saturday and catch Gorillaz at UIC Pavilion and then the second set from Me'Shell Ndegeocello at the Old Town School.

list.in.to.COZ
Just the open mics this week. Diver is back on 10/30 and 11/6 at Fado.

Recap
Friday at Fado with The Band Who Shall Not Be Named Because We Haven't Thought Of One Yet was fun, at least once we got rid of a couple of gremlins in the sound system. We still need to zero in on that happy medium between Diver shows and Andrew's solo shows, but we'll get there.

10.11   monday
Belle and Sebastian with Smith Westerns (Chicago Theatre)
If you've ever heard of light, predominantly British indie pop music referred to as "twee" and wondered why, this band is why. Although most reviews point out that they've gotten a bit less so over time.

Miike Snow with Etienne De Crecy (Riviera Theatre)
No, that's not a typo, they're just Swedish. Although the "Miike" bit allegedly comes from a Japanese film director. They're also pretty steadily playing larger rooms, I might add, having just come off a show -- or maybe a pair of shows? -- at Metro within the last six months or so.

Neon Indian with Prefuse 73, Class Actress (Metro)
Don't know much about this band, but with the sheer number of random ways I've seen to get free tickets -- which, admittedly, is only 2, but that's 2 more than I'm used to seeing -- I'm guessing sales have been a bit on the sluggish side.

10.12   tuesday
Open Jam (Vaughan's)   COZ SINGS!
I'm on a flight back from New York earlier in the evening, but I should be back in time to get some songs in this week. And to get my electric guitar back from Tony.

Alejandro Escovedo and the Sensitive Boys with Jimmy Griffin (Lincoln Hall)
I think it was a display ad in Red Eye that called this "a rare appearance" from Escovedo, but he seems to play here quite a bit, so I don't know where they're getting that from. I like the new record, and I think this one is getting better reviews than the last one, which I also liked.

John McLean with Gyan Riley (Martyrs')
This show is part of a larger "Chicago Guitar Festival," and includes a bunch of other great six-stringers as well. I thought I saw something from Chris Siebold saying he's on this bill somewhere, but I'm not sure where.

The Temper Trap with Delphic, The Hundred in the Hands (Metro)
I'm a little bit surprised that some of the lesser bands that were getting some serious buzz at Lollapalooza aren't moving more tickets, but seeing as how I had never heard of this band before that buzz, maybe it's not that surprising.

Helmet with Intronaut, Villain vs. Villain, Bruiser (Double Door)
Apparently Page Hamilton is still at it. To date, I still think "See You Dead" is one of the best breakup songs ever. Despite being as heavy as you'd expect a Helmet song to be, the melody gives it some real emotion. I've toyed with the idea of an acoustic version, just to see if it would work.

10.13   wednesday
Sing Along With Coz (The Globe Pub)   COZ SINGS!
If we could get all the musicians who have dropped in over the last month to all show up on the same night, I swear this thing would be huge. Of course, even if they don't, you get to hear me work through the far reaches of the songbook. Or play the same Muse and Elvis Costello tunes I play every week.

Guided By Voices with Times New Viking (Riviera Theatre)   SOLD OUT!
If I wanted to drop into my crotchety, "get off my lawn" persona, I might point out that this band was indie rock before indie rock turned all hipsterrific. I've seen frontman Robert Pollard -- whose excesses are on par with some of the best in rock and roll -- as a solo artist, but never with the band that made him a household name in a very small subset of households.

The Walkmen with Japandroids, Miniature Tigers (Metro)
Another afternoon Lollapalooza band that I would have expected to do better with advance sales, and this time, it's one that's got some history and a fair amount of critical success in the indie rock world.

10.14   thursday
The New Pornographers with Tokyo Police Club (Metro)
I could just cut and paste the entry for The Walkmen here. Could the indie "supergroup" already have peaked? I know they've sold out Metro before, and I think they maybe even played The Riv in the past. It could be that they haven't been able to really improve upon the formula of their first couple of records, so while it's a good formula, there's still an element of just "more of the same."

Greg Dulli with Craig Wedren (Double Door)
The former Afghan Whig was last heard from (I think) on that brilliant Gutter Twins record from about three years ago.

Bell X1 with James Vincent McMorrow (Schubas)   SOLD OUT!
I still only have the one song on my iPod from this Irish band that I had the last time they came through town. This time, it's the tried-and-true "intimate acoustic show."

Surfer Blood with The Drums (Lincoln Hall)
Lots of the kids with the ironic facial hair and the ill-fitting t-shirts buzzing about this band, but I heard something on XRT -- which has become an increasingly great place to actually hear new music on the radio in the last couple of years -- and wasn't terribly impressed.

10.15   friday
Sufjan Stevens (Chicago Theatre)   SOLD OUT!
Of course, the dynamics of this week could be that there are only so many entertainment dollars to go around, and with heavy hitters like a reunited Guided By Voices and indie heartthrob Stevens, bands that would otherwise have done well just got the short straw.

Massive Attack with Martina Topley Bird (Riviera Theatre)
Along with Portishead, this was one of the iconic bands of the trip-hop genre that had a brief period in the sun back in the mid- to late-nineties.

Devotchka with Angus and Julia Stone, Scotland Yard Gospel Choir (Lincoln Hall)
I caught about half a set from this band two years ago at Lollapalooza, and the thumbnail sketch was that they sort of seemed like Gogol Bordello on tranquilizers. There was a similar gypsy vibe, and odd instrumentation to the point of having a female sousaphone player, but they were very mild-mannered on stage. The songs themselves were good, but not great.

Graham Czach with Dave Miller (Martyrs')
I believe this is a CD release party for Czach, and I think there are some reputable folks I know backing him up who speak very highly of the music.

10.16   saturday
Me'Shell Ndegeocello with Helen Money (Old Town School of Folk Music)
It's been a long time since I've seen her, so I don't know if she even plays bass at her shows anymore. For a while, she was getting farther and farther away from that, which is a shame. The first time I saw her play, the band opened with the intro to "D-flat Waltz" from Weather Report, before switching gears into her intensely introspective soul and funk.

Gorillaz (UIC Pavilion)
Easily one of the top two cartoon bands out there. Seriously, though, the music behind the screens is pretty damn good, and I think there are no less than two members of The Clash touring with the band.

Joe Pug with The Changes, Vandavee (Metro)
Given that it's been years since we heard from Chicago's own -- and "Friends of Coz!" -- The Changes, I'm not positive that this is them, or if it's a new band that didn't look back more than a year or two when coming up with their name to see if it was taken already.

Devotchka with Angus and Julia Stone, Scotland Yard Gospel Choir (Lincoln Hall)
See Friday's listing.

10.17   sunday
Mary J. Blige with Jazmine Sullivan, Miguel (Chicago Theatre)
To dismiss her as just a pop/R&B singer -- and, to be fair, I'm not sure that anyone does -- is to miss the deep, deep gospel influence in her music. And, more importantly, in her band. Gospel players -- particularly in Chicago -- tend to be absolutely stellar musicians.

Eli "Paperboy" Reed (Bottom Lounge)
I'm not sure that knowing Reed came out of the University of Chicago as an undergrad is going to help dispel his squeaky-clean image, but he seems to be embracing it anyway. If he was a history major, it might explain his reverence for classic R&B.