list.in.to.chicago this week: 05.02.2011

This will be a rerun for those of you connected to me on Facebook or Twitter, but in light of recent events, I am considering changing my nom de Internet to notabbottabad. Or at least claiming the URL. Or, you know, not.

Pick of the week
This week's ceremonial "if I didn't have a gig, I'd go" award goes to And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead at Bottom Lounge on Saturday.

list.in.to.COZ
I would direct your attention to Saturday night at Temple Bar, where Tony and I will regale you with songs of mystery and wonder. Failing that, probably some Travis and Crowded House. Regular office hours at The Globe on Wednesday and then a solo set in the front room there on Sunday.

Recap
I don't know that I was fully engaged with Tuesday night's Metro show, given the magnitude of the playoff games that night. So take the tepidness with a grain of salt. The Naked And Famous did a serviceable job of electropop with male and female vocals, but I still think Chicago's Assassins set the high bar for the genre. Freelance Whales flirted with an organic, almost prog-rock vibe that might have made them just a bit more engaging, and The Foals suffered from that very English problem of an entire nation of drummers unable to play behind the beat, save for John Bonham. I thought their brand of dance-rock would have benefited from the additional space in the pocket, although I'll admit the drummer was quite good. He just could have been a little funkier.

Thursday at Lincoln Hall felt like stepping out of a time machine. Weakness came off as a young, precocious band who don't know any better than their older brothers' (or maybe even their parents') old punk records, but there was something endearing about it. They worked it. Twin Shadow offered up such a meticulous reading of 80s synth-pop that I assumed they had to be from L.A. instead of New York, where I feel like more modern elements tend to find their way into the sound. And The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart owed a huge debt to the likes of The Cure and Jesus and Mary Chain, but much like the opener, their youthful enthusiasm went a long way to sell what might have seemed overly derivative in others' hands.

5.02   monday
John Vanderslice with Damien Jurado (Lincoln Hall)
Used to get mentioned in the same sentence as Death Cab For Cutie and Spoon way back before the latter bands took off. Wikipedia points out that he has a knack for picking opening bands that have gone on to bigger things, so get there early.

5.03   tuesday
Open Jam (Vaughan's)   COZ SINGS!
You know the drill. And you know by now that I'm perpetually in the "maybe" category, especially with more business travel coming up at the end of the week.

Tame Impala with Yuck, Yawn (Lincoln Hall)   SOLD OUT!
Another day, another sold out show at Lincoln Hall. This has to be one of the biggest success stories ever in Chicago music scene history, and must go a long way to erase the memory of the failed venue that the Schuba brothers opened in Evanston some fifteen years ago.

5.04   wednesday
Sing Along With Coz (The Globe Pub)   COZ SINGS!
While I didn't have any other musicians last week, there was a crowd, and among other positive qualities, they were very excited to hear Yeasayer. That's pretty rare in a weeknight bar audience.

The Kills with Cold Cave, The Entrance Band (The Vic)
Alison Mossheart returns from her time away with The Dead Weather. I've seen the duo once or twice, and while they strive valiantly to make the music breathe -- and roar -- it's still built on a foundation of prerecorded tracks that make it a tough sell for me, personally. They'll also be at Lollapalooza.

Tributosaurus (Martyrs')   FRIENDS OF COZ!
This month's edition is Kool & The Gang.

Tame Impala with Yuck, Yawn (Lincoln Hall)
I thought I could get away with the description-free Tuesday listing because it was sold out, but since there are tickets still available for this one, I guess I should at least point out that they're from Australia and that you might remember them as the opening act on the last MGMT tour, an episode of Entourage or the soundtrack to "The Kids Are Alright."

5.05   thursday
Ted Leo with Che Arthur (Schubas)   SOLD OUT!
I think Leo has made a point of playing smaller stages since the whole Lollapalooza incident with the short guitar cord.

Yacht with Light Asylum, Bobby Birdman (Metro)
So, ?uestlove of The Roots just tweeted that this band is, and I quote "KILLING IT!!!!!!" for tonight's Jimmy Fallon show. He goes on to say "DAYUM!!!!!!"

Of Montreal with Painted Palms (The Vic)
One of the original Elephant 6 bands, whose Wikipedia page states: "Of Montreal's musical style has evolved from vaudeville and Beatles influenced psychedelic twee pop to a mixture of electronica, funk, glam, and afrobeat music influenced by Prince and David Bowie." Um, okay?

5.06   friday
Neil Young with Bert Jansch (Chicago Theatre)
On the heels of his most recent Le Noise album, the rock heavyweight performs solo on guitar and other instruments.

Big Science with Color Radio, An Aesthetic Anaesthetic (Subterranean)
I think it's been two and a half years since I first saw this band, so I'd be curious to see how they've developed. The thing that stood out most to me was a Cure-influenced guitar sound. Which is to say, chorus and reverb.

Disappears with The Eternals, Wumme (Empty Bottle)
Until further notice, I'm just going to refer to this band as the local guys who now have Sonic Youth's drummer playing with them.

5.07   saturday
Tony and Coz (Temple Bar)   SEE COZ LIVE!
There are unconfirmed rumors that Anto may join us for this acoustic gig. Given that uncertainty, we should confirm that you, too, will join us.

And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead with Surfer Blood, True Widow (Bottom Lounge)
While I'm skeptical of grandiose treatments of what basically starts out as punk-slash-emo, this Austin band manages to pull if off about a million times better than, say, My Chemical Romance.

Peter Bjorn and John with Bachelorette (Lincoln Hall)   SOLD OUT!
I've seen generally positive results of the new record, after most critics seemed disappointed with the followup to their breakout hit, "Young Folks." If I remember right, they're also on the "add more distorted guitar" bandwagon.

Neil Young with Bert Jansch (Chicago Theatre)
See Friday's listing.

5.08   sunday
COZ SINGS! (The Globe Pub)   SEE COZ LIVE!
Boasting the most Dave Matthews-free songbook in Chicago. It's not that I have a problem with him as a singer or songwriter, but because we have enough guys with acoustic guitars playing those songs in the corners of bars already.

Jonathan Richman (The Hideout)
Admit it, some of you haven't thought of him much since his musical role as half of the quasi-Greek chorus in There's Something About Mary.

Nicholas Barron Trio (Temple Bar)   FRIENDS OF COZ!
Free music! Cheap food! Exclamation points!