list.in.to.chicago this week: 12.27.2010

It's the last list.in.to.chicago of the year! Do you know someone who is resolving to see more live music in 2011? Or at least read a weekly missive from a guy who used to know a lot more about the local music scene than he does now, and complains about it a lot?

Also, I have one spare ticket for Yeasayer on New Year's Eve. E-mail me if you're interested.

Pick of the week
If you're in town tonight, I'd recommend Booty Movement Coalition at Martyrs'. Roy Hargove is at the Jazz Showcase all week, which should be good. And the not-quite-New Year's Eve show from Yeasayer (Thursday at Metro) isn't sold out, and while their Lollapalooza set was nice, I feel like they're better in an enclosed space. Finally, how many chances are you going to get to see Chuck Berry? Saturday at Congress Theater, that's how many.

As for New Year's Eve itself, I'm going to go out on a limb and say that Chicago is spoiled for choice like we've never been as long as I've lived here. See below for details.

list.in.to.COZ
I'll definitely be hosting the open mic on Wednesday at the Globe, and then Tony and I will be at Celtic Crossings on Saturday for your post-NYE, post-bowl game chillout. Andrew might be with us on that, too.

Recap
So, seeing as how the holiday precluded any showgoing, I'll let you know what CDs I got for my siblings. The idea is "music you didn't know you wanted," and it had to come out in the previous year. It's not necessarily the best of the year, but what I think they would most appreciate. My older brother and his wife got The National, Mumford & Sons, Robyn and Jonsi. My younger brother got Spoon, Mavis Staples and Devo, and I gave my little sister Maximum Balloon, Gorillaz and Afro-Cubism.

12.27   monday
Paper Arrows with Miles Nielsen (Schubas)
The band will be playing their upcoming release in its entirety at this installment of the Schubas "Practice Space" series, and opener Miles Nielsen seems to be on the cusp of something lately, as more and more people realize who his dad is, and how close the apple has fallen from that particular tree.

Booty Movement Coalition (Martyrs')   FRIENDS OF COZ!
My track record has been bad on getting out to see the monthly improvised funk, rock and hip-hop since I started my latest day job, but I may have to make a New Year's resolution to fix that. Not until next month, though, as I'm still with my family on the eastern seaboard.

12.28   tuesday
Open Jam (Vaughan's)   FRIENDS OF COZ!
I may drop by depending on my travel experience coming back from Virginia, but you should turn out if you're in town, as this week's edition will be administrated by special guest host Andrew Fraker. If you can't make it, watch the Bulls game on TV and see if you see Tony.

Roy Hargrove Quintet (Jazz Showcase)
One of the more prominent jazz trumpet players to come out of the nineties, Hargrove has also been one of the more stylistically diverse, having worked with the likes of Common and, I think, D'Angelo. This will undoubtedly be a more straight-ahead weeklong residency, as Joe Segal doesn't care for that modern stuff.

The Ethyl Mermen with Young Jesus, Friends Having Fun, Shalloboi (Subterranean)
Band name of the week, hands down.

12.29   wednesday
Sing Along With Coz (The Globe Pub)   COZ SINGS!
Last week was a pretty good crowd, and given the general ambivalence towards day jobs during this particular week, I expect another decent turnout.

Umphrey's McGee (Riviera Theatre)
I'm pretty sure you have to buy tickets to the whole run of shows to get the New Year's Eve ticket, but I'm also pretty sure that's not a concern for most fans of the local jam band done good.

Lucky Boys Confusion with Treaty of Paris, Farraday, Steve Knecht (Beat Kitchen)
The suburban pop-punk band has a name for their trio of year-end shows, but I can't remember it and can't be bothered to look it up. I suspect this one might be all ages, or at least 18 and over.

dada with Wayland (Schubas)   SOLD OUT!
Having successfully scaled down their ambitions to meet demand by playing at a 125-capacity venue, I think maybe they'll be going to Great America, and not Disneyland.

Roy Hargrove Quintet (Jazz Showcase)
See previous listing.

12.30   thursday
Yeasayer with Health (Metro)
While I liked Odd Blood quite a bit, I didn't think it was as good as the band's previous record, so I'm leaning towards leaving it off my year-end list of favorites. Which I may write up by, say, July. They manage to create interesting sonic landscapes without detracting from the songs' inherent catchiness.

The Black Keys with The Greenhornes (Aragon Ballroom)   SOLD OUT!
The guitar and drums blues-rock duo, lately augmented with a few more instruments, is one of a handful of bands that are close to consensus picks for one of the top ten records of 2010 that I just don't get.

The Hold Steady with Tim Kasher (Lincoln Hall)   SOLD OUT!
I'm actually kind of surprised that Craig Finn and his band's Midwestern, too-clever-by-half hipster take on Springsteen didn't make more top ten lists at the end of the year.

Umphrey's McGee (Riviera Theatre)
See previous listing.

Roy Hargrove Quintet (Jazz Showcase)
See previous listing.

dada with the Tom Fuller Band (Schubas)   SOLD OUT!
See previous listing.

Lucky Boys Confusion with Penny and the Loafers, Close Enough, Backdrop (Double Door)
See previous listing.

12.31   friday
Yeasayer with Health (Metro)   SOLD OUT!
The Black Keys with The Greenhornes (Aragon Ballroom)   SOLD OUT!
Cursive with Yourself and the Air, Noah's Ark Was A Spaceship (Subterranean)   SOLD OUT!
Pegboy with Mannequin Men, Sweet Cobra, White Mystery (Abbey Pub)
Robert Randolph and the Family Band with North Mississippi Allstars, The Steepwater Band (House of Blues)
Lucky Boys Confusion with Swizzle Tree, The Dog and Everything, Saraphine (Double Door)
Local H with State and Madison (Bottom Lounge)
Mucca Pazza with SSION, Outer Minds (Logan Square Auditorium)
Umphrey's McGee (Riviera Theatre)
Smoking Popes with Company of Thieves, The Fold, August Premier (Reggie's Rock Club)
Roy Hargrove Quintet (Jazz Showcase)
So, the overall trend is bands playing a bunch of nights that include New Year's Eve. Even if you waited until the last minute, there are some pretty intriguing options. If I weren't going to the Yeasayer show, I was impressed enough with Company of Thieves at Lollapalooza to want to ring in the New Year with them. Mucca Pazza should be a lot of fun. So should Robert Randolph and the Family Band. Local H seems to be making Bottom Lounge a tradition. And Pegboy scratches the punk itch for your holiday entertainment. Roy Hargrove probably isn't late enough of a show to actually celebrate the clock striking midnight, but I could be wrong.

1.01   saturday
Tony Calderese (Celtic Crossings)   SEE COZ LIVE!
Okay, a bit of an inside joke here, as Celtic Crossings has never quite spelled Tony's name correctly on the marquee or the chalkboard inside when we've done these acoustic gigs. I expect the fireplace will be a bigger attraction on New Year's Day, but that's fine with us. We get paid either way.

Chuck Berry (Congress Theater)   FRIENDS OF COZ!
No, legendary rock and roll pioneer Chuck Berry is not my friend, but he hires locally for his gigs, and unless something has changed, I know both the drummer and the keyboardist backing him up here in Chicago. He also famously doesn't rehearse with these local bands he hires, and has no set list, so this is not a job for the squeamish.

Liquid Soul (Double Door)
The only real constant in this band at this point has to be bandleader and tenor saxophonist Mars Williams, and while I still miss some of the "classic" lineup, he's a pretty good judge of character.

The Black Keys with The Greenhornes (Aragon Ballroom)   SOLD OUT!
See previous listing.

Roy Hargrove Quintet (Jazz Showcase)
See previous listing.

1.02   sunday
Roy Hargrove Quintet (Jazz Showcase)
See previous listings.