list.in.to.chicago this week: 11.29.2010

Stop buying stuff online and check out this week's shows!

Pick of the week
Lots to choose from this week. You know I like Booty Movement Coalition tonight at Martyrs', and Tributosaurus as The Beatles at the same venue on Wednesday. The Roots is almost a no-brainer on Saturday at House of Blues, if it weren't for the location of the tickets. And Broken Bells on Sunday at The Vic should be pretty good, too.

list.in.to.COZ
Just The Globe on Wednesday this week. Diver is back next Saturday at Fado.

Recap
Sometimes you don't pay a cover charge as much as you pay tuition. I wound up checking out Daniel Lanois' Black Dub on Tuesday after learning that Brian Blade was on drums, and I'm really glad I did. Stylistically, I thought a lot of the tunes had much in common with Los Lobos when they're stretching out, except with female vocals and lots of harmonies. Blade was fantastic -- amazing touch, and a fantastic command of the space between notes that can totally open up the feel of a song. Opener Rocco Deluca played solo on acoustic with a slide and heavy effects, which reminded me of the late Chris Whitley in spots, but with a much less gravely voice.

On Saturday night, I think Tony got revenge on me for the way I apparently don't put down a clear '1' when I start "Mrs. Robinson" on percussion by playing it in a different key than I'm used to. He didn't actually mean it as revenge, but it was funny.

11.29   monday
Booty Movement Coalition (Martyrs')   FRIENDS OF COZ!
It's been entirely too long since I've been out to see one of Chicago's last remaining improvised funk-rock-r&b-hip-hop collectives, and with business and holiday travel, it looks like it'll be another two months before I get a chance. But that doesn't mean you shouldn't go. It's a really good time.

Lee DeWyze (Hard Rock Cafe)
Back when he was on American Idol, I had more than a few people tell me I looked like this guy. The combination of that pedigree and the choice of venue makes it hard for me to take this show seriously as anything other than a promo spot for a TV show.

Merlin Wall with House Sounds, Maybe, Baby, Weird Science (Cafeteria y Restaurante de Pancho)
The fact that I simultaneously winced and chuckled at this one can only mean one thing. Band name of the week!

11.30   tuesday
Open Jam (Vaughan's)   FRIENDS OF COZ!
Last week had a nice turnout after the Frames show let out. This week will have a nice turnout because of [insert totally made-up reason here]. I'm out of town again, but Tony continues to hold down the fort.

Rego with April Smith and the Great Picture Show (Beat Kitchen)
Friend of a friend's band, who I've never heard, but I mostly trust this particular friend when it comes to music.

12.01   wednesday
Sing Along With Coz (The Globe Pub)   COZ SINGS!
We narrowly avoided karaoke madness last week with the crowd of regulars who had been at the bar since 1:30pm for the Champions League matches. I will be getting my Grinch on -- I actually mostly remembered the chords when I gave it a whirl last time.

Tributosaurus (Martyrs')   FRIENDS OF COZ!
This is the third "volume" of their Beatles series, which will be picking up where they left off last time, with three singles released in 1965, all of Help!, and then first side of Rubber Soul. Which I hear you can download on iTunes nowadays.

Jenny Scheinman with Nora O'Connor and Liam Davis (SPACE, Evanston)
I have no idea who she is, but her band features Nels Cline from Wilco and Jim Black, who was teaching at Berklee way back in 1988 when I was there for a summer. Both of those guys like to push the jazz envelope, so it should be pretty good.

Chris Greene Quartet (Jazz Showcase)
If you've been going to those Booty Movement Coalition shows, and have thought to yourself that you'd like to see the saxophonist in a different context, then this is your chance.

12.02   thursday
Freelance Whales with Miniature Tigers (Lincoln Hall)
Indie rock can't seem to decide if it's a zoo or an aquarium these days. Although I think zoo is winning.

Superchunk with Times New Viking (Metro)
Another one of those classic indie bands that I should know more about, but don't.

12.03   friday
BoDeans with Miles Nielsen (The Vic)
Another XRT holiday show, in which I don't care much about the headliners, but would like to see Rick Nielsen's son, about whom I've heard lots of good things.

Erykah Badu (UIC Pavilion)
Also a benefit show. In a full-length show, the antics she pulled at Lollapalooza -- having a DJ, and then just the backing band warm up the audience before she took the stage almost twenty minutes late -- will just seem like a typical R&B concert. It only stood out at the festival because it was a short set, and the broader context for concertgoers was the festival itself, not what is pretty much R&B tradition going back at least as far as James Brown.

1900s with Tyler Jon Tyler, Tristen (Empty Bottle)
I want to say these guys were sort of Chicago's answer to The Walkmen, stylistically, and since those guys have a new record out, it's only fitting that this band has a gig this week.

Dolly Varden with The Western, Mooner (Martyrs')
I feel like this band comes out of the woodwork every year right about this time. In any event, their gigging schedule is much less than it was back in the band's heyday. To the extent that they had an actual heyday.

Maroon 5 with Ingrid Michaelson, Ryan Star (Chicago Theatre)
Ryan Star was just here a month ago. Was he just getting a headstart on this tour, and has been waiting around for everyone else to arrive?

12.04   saturday
The Roots (House of Blues)
This is billed as the "Dare 2 Dream Benefit starring The Roots," which gives me slight pause, but now that they're in residency in NYC on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, you have to figure that the chances to see the best band in hip-hop are few and far between, no matter what the context. That said, it looks like the only available tickets are general admission in the balcony, which are pretty crappy seats in that room.

Chicago Bluegrass and Blues Festival (Congress Theater)
This event is actually at Double Door on Friday and Lincoln Hall on Sunday, but the big bill is tonight, featuring Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros in the headlining slot, along with Grace Potter and the Nocturnals and Chicago's own Van Ghost, among others.

Roger McGuinn (Old Town School of Folk Music)
The former lead singer of The Byrds is pretty much a natural fit for the Lincoln Square venue.

12.05   sunday
Broken Bells with Maps and Atlases (The Vic)
I'm surprised that this one hasn't sold out, but maybe most people got their fill of James Mercer of The Shins and Danger Mouse back when whey played for free in Millennium Park over the summer. Another XRT holiday concert, so they ask that you bring a toy or book.