list.in.to.chicago this week: 08.22.2011

It's another "you weren't going out on a Monday night anyway" episode!

Pick of the week
Let's just say Peter Bjorn and John, because they're going to be very hard to miss with shows on Wednesday (Empty Bottle), Thursday (Lincoln Hall) and Sunday (Schubas). Also Monday at Schubas, but that's next week's newsletter.

list.in.to.COZ
If you missed Diver last week as a trio, you get another bite at the apple this Saturday at Fado with the full quartet, at least as of press time. Also the open mic on Wednesday at The Globe.

Recap
It was a good sign on Saturday night when the first request we got was for "Solsbury Hill." Too bad it's not one of those songs I can shout the chords to from behind the drum kit. And having a guy come up in the break and tell me he's a drummer did not make me self-conscious and prone to showing off in the second set. Nuh uh.

8.22   monday
Gary Clark Jr. with Dave Herrero Trio (SPACE, Evanston)
Saw his name mentioned in such a way that I wanted to investigate further. Turns out the guitarist is very prominent on the Austin scene, and draws comparisons to Stevie Ray Vaughan and even Jimi Hendrix? That's from Wikipedia, so I'm going to take it with a grain of salt until I check him out. Which ain't gonna be tonight.

8.23   tuesday
Open Jam (Vaughan's)   COZ SINGS!
I might opt for tracking voiceover auditions this week instead, but feel free to drop by and perhaps pay homage to songwriter Jerry Leiber, who co-wrote a bunch of Elvis ("Hound Dog," "Jailhouse Rock"), among others, and passed away today at 78 years old.

Stevie Nicks (Rosemont Theatre)
Can you imagine what might happen if she doesn't play "Landslide?" I suspect most of her hardcore fans are, like, level 14 witches by now. Not the kind of people you'd want to piss off. Do witches have levels?

8.24   wednesday
Sing Along With Coz (The Globe Pub)   COZ SINGS!
If we're lucky, this week will feature two working speakers!

Shift with Jaws, Svetlanas, Municipal Device, Scalding Hot Acid (Reggie's Rock Club)
This is not the same Shift that featured drummer Samantha Maloney before she went on to play with the likes of Courtney Love and Motley Crue. I got my hopes up there for a second.

Peter Bjorn and John with Moon Furies (Empty Bottle)
The Swedish indie popsters are going to be easier to spot around town than Ronnie Woo-Woo this week.

Ke$ha with LMFAO, Spank Rock (Charter One Pavilion)
In the grand scheme of things, I find some pop singers -- Katy Perry being a really good example -- mostly harmless fluff, and there's a time and a place for harmless fluff. Ke$ha, on the other hand, strikes me as not much more than auto-tuned come-ons over bad dance beats, and much more worthy of scorn. Also, I just assumed the dollar sign should be pronounced like it's an 'i' and an 's' mashed together, but I guess that's just me.

8.25   thursday
Death Cab for Cutie with Frightened Rabbit (UIC Pavilion)
I swear that the first time I heard their tune from that one Twilight movie, I thought it was something new from Rush. The band is starting to grow on me, but the new record hasn't quite hit me yet.

The Hold Steady with The Donkeys (Metro)   SOLD OUT!
If feels like about the twentieth time Craig Finn and his band have come through town this year. The new record doesn't seem to have caught fire with critics like their previous ones, but stands a good chance of making some year-end lists just because listmakers tend to grade certain bands on a curve based on prior output.

Tedeschi Trucks Band with Preservation Hall Jazz Band (Chicago Theatre)
That would be Susan Tedeschi and Derek Trucks, of course. Have I mentioned how I saw Derek Trucks sitting in with Col. Hampton and the Aquarium Rescue Unit (and this band has ARU alum Oteil Burbridge on bass) at Lounge Ax when he was about eleven years old?

Peter Bjorn and John with The 1900s (Lincoln Hall)
After the Empty Bottle on Wednesday, the tour of Chicago moves from Ukranian Village to Lincoln Park.

MyNameIsJohnMichael with Adam Fitz (Schubas)
Saw this band at Lollapalooza at some point -- last year? -- and I seem to recall liking them. And then I want to say one of the actresses from Battlestar Galactica gave them a shoutout on Twitter a few weeks back.

8.26   friday
Fareed Haque's Flat Earth Ensemble (Green Mill)
One of my favorite modern jazz guitarists playing eschewing his jam band and math jazz ensembles for what I think is more of his core group.

!!! (Bottom Lounge)
For better or worse, this band was pretty early on the indie dance craze. I think you probably know where I stand on better vs. worse by now.

8.27   saturday
DIVER (Fado Irish Pub)   SEE COZ LIVE!
So, remember that English guy who used to sing with us most of the time, only not so much this year? He'll be back for this one, or so I've been told.

The Graduate with Adora, Goodbye Coastline, Stay Golden (Reggie's Rock Club)
Another band I was introduced to on a side stage at Lollapalooza, and then managed to not follow up on. Now I won't get the chance, as this is billed as their final show.

NRBQ with Sanctified Grumblers (Fitzgerald's, Berwyn)
I forget if John gets this e-mail, so it's on Sommar to tell him or not tell him that they're in town, depending on whether or not she wants to get dragged to the near Western suburbs. Yes, occasionally these listings are highly targeted like that.

Fareed Haque's Flat Earth Ensemble (Green Mill)
See Friday's listing.

8.28   sunday
Peter Bjorn and John with Bone and Bell (Schubas)
Okay, now this is getting silly. I feel like maybe they're in town for a wedding over the weekend or something, so they booked a bunch of shows around it at different venues to cover the cost of the hotel.