list.in.to.chicago this week: 11.15.2010

In which I wish one of my musical co-conspirators a happy birthday several times. Or at least encourage you to.

Pick of the week
I think I like Maserati at Empty Bottle on Wednesday, and then Fareed Haque at Mayne Stage on Saturday.

list.in.to.COZ
It's a very special, mid-week, somewhat acoustic Andrew Fraker & Sons this Thursday night at Goose Island Wrigleyville. We go on first, so get there early.

Recap
I got nothin'. What did you go see last week?

11.15   monday
Paul and Storm with Peter Sagal (Lincoln Hall)
Usually, these geeky troubadours are in town to support Jonathan Coulton, which makes me think that this Peter Sagal may be cut of the same cloth. Although he probably doesn't have as good of a song about zombies.

11.16   tuesday
Open Jam (Vaughan's)   FRIENDS OF COZ!
I'll be in Boston on business again, but you should totally come by to wish Tony a happy [actual numerical birthday deleted out of respect]th birthday!

Jeff Buckley Tribute (Uncommon Ground)   SOLD OUT!
One of these days, I'd love to get a read on how many people claim to have been at that legendary Jeff Buckley mid-winter performance at the Wrigleyville coffee shop, and compare it to the actual capacity of the room. Featuring Dastardly, Deanna Devore, Todd Kessler, Arthi Meera and Tyler Beach, Jann Klose, Nelken, Patrick Gemkow, Matt Crews, Spencer Michaud and Nick Miller.

11.17   wednesday
Sing Along With Coz (The Globe Pub)   FRIENDS OF COZ!
I'll be stopping by as soon as I get back from the airport, but Tony has things covered in my absence, and you should totally come by to wish him a happy [actual numerical birthday deleted out of respect]th birthday! In case you didn't on Tuesday. Or if you really like Tony.

Maserati with Parlour, Psychic Twin (Empty Bottle)
Delorean with Lemonade, Light Pollution (Lincoln Hall)
I'm detecting a pattern here. Too bad Trans Am isn't on tour. Seriously, though, Maserati is a pretty cool post-rock band.

The Dresden Dolls with Mucca Pazza (The Vic)
Amanda Palmer has been out and about doing all sorts of different projects in the last two years, but now she's back in town with her main project. Although now her "main project" might be her engagement to novelist Neil Gaiman.

Powerman 5000 with Heart Set Self Destruct, A Friend Called Fire (Cubby Bear)
I suspect a partnership between the Cubby Bear and Q101, given some of the active rock outfits of the late 90s and early 00s that have been coming through lately. Spacehog, Filter and now Rob Zombie's little brother's industrial-ish band.

Jeff Buckley Tribute (Uncommon Ground)   SOLD OUT!
See Tuesday's listing. Not sure if it's the same lineup both nights, or if it's broken up into two discrete bills.

11.18   thursday
Andrew Fraker & Sons with Matt Burke, Eyes Around (Goose Island Wrigleyville)   SEE COZ LIVE!
As long as they haven't started tearing the building down for that new hotel and retail complex across from Wrigley, we will continue to play there. This time, it's a slightly stripped-down almost-acoustic show, which I daresay is "Andrew Fraker & Sons like you've never seen us before." Also -- and don't stop me if you've heard this before -- you should totally come by and continue to wish Tony a happy [actual numerical birthday deleted out of respect]th birthday, naturally. We're on at 9pm sharp.

Donavon Frankenreiter and John Oates with Ximena Sarinana (Double Door)
I'm pretty sure the mustachioed half of Hall & Oates will be performing as a special guest with Frankenreiter, whose association with fellow southern Californian singer/songwriter Jack Johnson wasn't obvious from the one song I had heard from him.

Atreyu with Bless The Fall, Chiodos, Architects, Endless Hallway (House of Blues)
There are a whole bunch of these post-Disturbed metal bands that have carved out a certain angsty, all-ages niche that seems to sustain them quite well.

11.19   friday
Ezra Furman and the Harpoons with South of 80 (Kingsbury Hall)
I've seen Furman's name often enough, but what jumped out at me here was the location. This is the old Crobar space, which has apparently been doing live music since May without me noticing. I have no idea what the booking aesthetic is at this point, but I'll keep an eye out from now on.

Bill Frisell's Disfarmer Project (SPACE, Evanston)
I don't know anyone in his band for this gig -- Viktor Krauss, Greg Leisz and Jenny Scheinman -- but Frisell is one of the pre-eminent modern jazz guitarists, particularly because he's a bit weirder than just a jazz guitarist. So it should be interesting.

Soulive (Double Door)
One of the newer jam bands to come down the pike, and while I wasn't blown away when I saw them at Lollapalooza a couple of years ago, they do have a certain amount of reverence for more traditional funk and R&B, which counts for something.

11.20   saturday
Josh Caterer with Scott Lucas (Schubas)
I would expect some aging Chicago scenesters coming out to see the frontmen of both Smoking Popes and Local H share a stage, as both of those bands -- while still active today -- were kind of a big deal, locally, throughout the 90s.

Fareed Haque (Mayne Stage)
While I'm not sure if the jazz/world/fusion guitarist still calls Chicago his home, I will always consider him a Chicago artist. I have no idea what sort of project he's bringing up to Rogers Park, but it should be good one way or the other. You may recall Mayne Stage from its brief existence as the Morse Theatre, where I won that guitar from Dweezil Zappa.

iPop with Spazmatics (Cubby Bear Wrigleyville)
Credit where it's due -- that's a pretty good name for a modern cover band. Unless it's not a modern cover band, in which case it's a terrible name.

11.21   sunday
No Age with Lucky Dragons, Cacaw (Lincoln Hall)
The L.A. indie band has an album out this year on Sub Pop, although I don't know if that still means as much as it used to mean in and of itself. Lots of people seemed to like their last record, 2008's Nouns, although if I listened to it at the time, it didn't stick.

KT Tunstall with Hurricane Bells (Park West)
I think at some point, it was easier to list off the movies and TV shows that hadn't used either "Black Horse and the Cherry Tree" or "Suddenly I See." As oversaturated as those two songs are, Tunstall is an engaging live performer -- witty banter with a Scottish lilt is pretty irresistible. Moved from the Vic.