list.in.to.chicago this week: 03.07.2011

For those of you wondering, yes, I did submit an application for the Cubs in-stadium P.A. announcer gig, and yes, since the mode of submission was a YouTube video, you can find it online.

Pick of the week
If I were in town, I'd be at We Want Miles! (Tuesday at Martyrs') with bells on. As it is, I'll have to see if I have enough in the tank after playing an afternoon St. Patrick's Parade Day gig to check out Middle Brother, Dawes & Deer Tick at Metro on Saturday night.

list.in.to.COZ
I think I have a gig with Gareth Woods and Sugarbeat on Saturday afternoon at the Harry Carey's on Kinzie, but as of this writing, I don't if they still need me to fill in. Still, Sugarbeat after the parade doesn't suck, on its own merits.

Recap
I did get to see a taping of Late Night with Jimmy Fallon last week while I was in New York, which meant getting up close and personal with the always stellar Roots. I'm pretty sure ?uestlove has perfected laying down a groove and reading Twitter at the same time. Musical guest was Lykke Li, who fronted a raggedy bunch of musicians presumably also from Sweden -- or possibly L.A., where she recorded -- for a bouncy tune from her new record that still managed to be a bit dark. She'll be in town soon in support of that effort, but I think it's sold out already.

3.07   monday
Janet Jackson with Mindless Behavior (Chicago Theatre)   SOLD OUT!
It may surprise you to learn that I thought about maybe getting tickets for one of these shows back before the third of three nights sold out. Historically, I think Janet Jackson has been one of the more reliably interesting pop stars of the last twenty years. Or at least she was at the peak of her popularity, which is where I believe the bulk of the material for this tour is coming from.

The Jezabels with Brother George, Bigcolour (Schubas)
This Australian four-piece band that is said to blend indie pop, indie rock, rock and whatever "disco pop" is, comes recommended by a friend.

3.08   tuesday
Open Jam (Vaughan's)   FRIENDS OF COZ!
Yet another trip taking me out of town, so it's probably just Tony this week holding down the fort with the regular cast of characters participating in the "open" part of the open jam.

We Want Miles! (Martyrs')   FRIENDS OF COZ!
All this business travel is killing me, as it means missing things like Tom Hipskind, Chris Siebold, Vijay Tellis-Nayak and others dipping into the electric era of the Miles Davis catalog.

Bon Jovi (United Center)
The Ex with Follows, Ken Vandermark, Zerfu Demissie (Lincoln Hall)
Part of me wishes that there's someone, somewhere in Chicago, who is trying to decide between the increasingly cliched arena rock of Bon Jovi and a 30-year old Dutch punk rock band. I actually think The Ex have been around longer.

Janet Jackson with Mindless Behavior (Chicago Theatre)   SOLD OUT!
See Monday's listing.

3.09   wednesday
Sing Along With Coz (The Globe Pub)   FRIENDS OF COZ!
This week, the open mic is in the capable hands of Mr. Oakley Stevens. Pay him a visit, won't you?

Kick The Cat with District 97, Bad Forum (Martyrs')   FRIENDS OF COZ!
I'm going to guess that some of the guys from the Miles show on Tuesday are just going to leave their gear on the stage for tonight's jazz fusion proceedings. The sound guy is going to love that.

Tahiti 80 with Chateau Marmont, Gemini Club, The Nurse Novels (Abbey Pub)
For those of you who think French electronic pop started with Phoenix.

Janet Jackson with Mindless Behavior (Chicago Theatre)   SOLD OUT!
See Monday's listing.

Bon Jovi (United Center)
See Tuesday's listing.

3.10   thursday
Portugal, The Man with Kellen and Me, The Soil and the Sun (Lincoln Hall)   SOLD OUT!
Not to overstate the obvious, but there is no man named Portugal in this band, who are orginally from Wasilla, Alaska, and probably get asked more about that than their fictitious country-person. On principle, they should tour with I'm From Barcelona, who are also not from Barcelona.

Bobby Conn with Arts of Life Band, DHF Express (Hideout)
There were a couple of effusive Twitter previews of the last show Conn played over here -- I think those were some sort of retrospective of a particular period of the local glam rocker's output that was a bit more wide-ranging than playing albums start to finish, but I may be making that up.

3.11   friday
Flogging Molly with Moneybrother, The Drowning Men (Congress Theater)
Most of the Irish or Irish-influenced bands seem to end up here a week or two before St. Patrick's Day so they can play somewhere else on the holiday itself. Two nights from these guys, who I probably like the best out of the lot, and neither night appears to be sold out.

Miniature Tigers with The Get Up Kids, Brian Bonz (Bottom Lounge)
I'm pretty sure I saw this band in the afternoon at Lollapalooza last year, and that I thought they were pretty alright. I do wonder if anyone will accidentally come to this show thinking they're seeing the Cold War Kids -- who are playing at the Riv -- or vice versa.

3.12   saturday
Middle Brother with Dawes, Deer Tick (Metro)
Speaking of afternoon bands at last year's Lolla, Dawes was a bit of a sleeper pick, in that only a few people were talking about them, but they were talking very loudly. So it was a smaller, more discerning crowd, as opposed to some of the other draws on that side stage that were totally overrun. Should be a solid bill of straight-shooting rock and roll.

OMD with Oh Land (Park West)   SOLD OUT!
So, there's an ad agency called OMD, and I've interviewed there at least once or twice. Every time, I have to force myself not to make Orchestral Maneuvers in the Dark comments. I'm maybe just a little bit surprised that they can sell out over a thousand seats in 2011, but I honestly have no idea what kind of following they still have, on account of not knowing anyone who says they're a big OMD fan from back in the day.

Crystal Castles with Teengirl Fantasy (Riviera Theatre)
Dammit, now I'm getting the "CC" bands confused with the "FF" bands like Fiery Furnaces.

Miniature Tigers with The Get Up Kids, Brian Bonz (Bottom Lounge)
See Friday's listing.

Flogging Molly with Moneybrother, The Drowning Men (Congress Theater)
See Friday's listing.

3.13   sunday
Emilie Autumn (Metro)
Third time's the charm? The last two dates for this show, including the one I listed last month, were both postponed, although I haven't looked into why.

Nicholas Barron Trio (Temple Bar)   FRIENDS OF COZ!
With half-price food and drinks and free entertainment of this caliber, this Sunday night residency could really take off. So get in while the getting is good.