list.in.to.chicago this week: 01.24.2011

This week, a rare out-of-state recap, because you deserve it.

Pick of the week
I know fans of Guster (Saturday at the Riv) and The Jayhawks (Thursday and Friday at The Vic) are pretty passionate, so if you're into those bands -- well, you're probably already going. I'm more likely to check out Fareed Haque's Math Games on Saturday night at Martyrs', as Haque is always up to something worthwhile, and it's around the corner from my house.

list.in.to.COZ
If I can play guitar with this skier's splint on my thumb, I'll be hosting the open mic at The Globe on Wednesday.

Recap
After a whole bunch of business trips last year, I decided that sitting around in my hotel room, or just going out for dinner wasn't cutting it. So, when I was in New York last week, I headed to the Bowery Ballroom to see the next big thing out of London, The Vaccines. They sounded to me like what's left of The Clash's sound after Hard-Fi siphoned off all the reggae stuff, which is to say, more of the straight-up 80s English punk sound. I guess they did an okay job of it, but I wasn't blown away. Highlight of the evening was Young Buffalo, a band from Mississippi that had a little bit of Vampire Weekend, a little bit of Fleet Foxes, and a lot of vocal harmony. Sandwiched in the middle was Oberhofer, who will be in town this week, and they struck me as a cut-rate version of The Changes. Similar in sound, but not nearly as good.

1.24   monday
Patricia Barber Quartet (Green Mill)   FRIENDS OF COZ!
Saw on Facebook that guitarist Chris Siebold will be joining pianist/vocalist Barber for her weekly jazz gig.

1.25   tuesday
Open Jam (Vaughan's)   FRIENDS OF COZ!
That jammed thumb from a few weeks ago is still healing, so I'm not going to aggravate it if I don't have to. Still, Tony would love to see you and hear what you've got worked up on acoustic guitar, and there are beer specials.

B1g T1me (Morseland)   FRIENDS OF COZ!
I thought I had read that they were changing things up from the Tom Waits tribute motif in 2011, but if that happened, I haven't seen any indication. I have seen some kind words from other folks on the Internets, though.

1.26   wednesday
Sing Along With Coz (The Globe Pub)   COZ SINGS!
If I can play guitar, I'll be here. If not, I'll hopefully be able to rope somebody into covering it, in which case I'll probably still be here, just not playing. That's because it's up to me to determine if you're worthy enough for a paying Sunday night gig at the bar. I feel l like Simon Cowell, only without the $200,000 handmade British sports car.

Buddy Guy with Lurrie Bell (Buddy Guy's Legends)
Apparently the blues legend has added a Wednesday night to the home stretch of his homestand.

Linkin Park with Pendulum, Does It Offend You, Yeah? (United Center)
So the rap/metal band released a new album last year, but I couldn't take them seriously long enough to check it out. I have a hard time imagining they could fill an arena, but they're heavy on grassroots marketing, so I might just not see whatever momentum they've got. Or you'll see a ton of free tickets through various channels over the next two days.

1.27   thursday
The Jayhawks (The Vic)
I think the alt-country pioneers have a new record coming later this year, but in the meantime, they're getting on the "playing albums in their entirety" craze with Hollywood Town Hall as tonight's offering.

Fareed Haque's Math Games with Sara Masterson, Ahsan Saiyed (Goose Island Wrigleyville)
This seems like a really odd match of artist and venue, as Haque is known primarily as an electric jazz/world music guitarist. I suspect that, since they're the undercard on this bill, it's more of a dress rehearsal for the Saturday gig at Martyrs'.

Ultraviolet Hippopotamus with The Twin Cats (Cubby Bear Wrigleyville)
If you remember one band from the list this week, I have a hunch it might be this one.

Buddy Guy with Mud Morganfield (Buddy Guy's Legends)
See Wednesday's listing.

1.28   friday
Larry Gray Trio (Jazz Showcase)
The main run this week is prefixed with "Chicago Label Sessions," which makes me think they might be recording some notable local jazz musicians. Or it's just a way to respect the normal week-long run without playing an actual week-long run. I don't know who is playing with bassist Gray -- his web site insisted on assaulting me with his songs instead of useful information when I visited it --but Paul Wertico works with him fairly often, and since he's playing Saturday, that may be a good bet.

The Jayhawks (The Vic)   SOLD OUT!
If hearing Tomorrow The Green Grass in its entirety is more your thing, get thee to Craigslist to find an extra ticket.

Buddy Guy with Carl Weathersby (Buddy Guy's Legends)   SOLD OUT!
See Wednesday's listing.

1.29   saturday
Paul Wertico's Mid-East Mid-West Alliance (Jazz Showcase)
This is a combination of Wertico's own trio and the jazz duo Marbin that I've mentioned here a couple of times after they sent me a CD. With John Moulder having "Ring Modulator" as well as "Guitar" next to his name, and one of the Marbin guys listed as "Guitar, Prepared Guitar, Looping," this is likely to get weird in that good way.

Fareed Haque's Math Games with A Terrible Spaceship (Martyrs')
See Thursday's listing. The idea of a blazing, inventive guitarist and math makes me just a little giddy. Could also be that good kind of weird.

Guster with Good Old War (Riviera Theatre)
They tour pretty relentlessly, but I still feel l like this band has been generally unable to rise above niche status. Then again, they may not want that, since the nearest comparison for an acoustic rock band known for its live performances and humor that has broken big is Barenaked Ladies, and I don't feel like that band is taken very seriously in some circles. A mainstream audience might try to pigeonhole them in ways they might not like.

Tapes n' Tapes with Oberhofer, The Kickback (Lincoln Hall)
There was a lot of talk about this Minneapolis band after they opened up Pitchfork about four years ago, but I didn't find their sound terribly coherent or compelling. See my comments about Oberhofer from the recap of last week.

Buddy Guy with Quinn Sullivan and Tom Hambridge (Buddy Guy's Legends)   SOLD OUT!
The final show of the residency, I think. They may have added Wednesday because there's no Sunday show this week.

1.30   sunday
Jeff Tweedy with JC Brooks and the Uptown Sound (Park West)
Pretty sure this is supposed to be a fundraiser for Rahm Emanuel's mayoral campaign, so I'm not sure what happens if the current state of his eligibility holds through the week. If you haven't been watching the news, an appellate court said today that Rahm is not, in fact, a resident of Illinois and thereby not eligible to run for mayor. Should go to the Illinois Supreme Court soon.