list.in.to.chicago this week: 01.09.2012

In which no mention is made of either Tim Tebow or Downton Abbey, unlike anyone's Twitter timeline last night.

Pick of the week
That Eric Johnson show on Thursday night at House of Blues is screaming out to me, and Sunday night's Shel Silverstein tribute at the Hideout could be really cool.

list.in.to.COZ
Regular office hours this week, plus the inaugural Diver show of the year at Fado on Saturday night.

Recap
So, the original listing said Hollows was the first band at Empty Bottle on Saturday, but now I feel like they announced their name as something else. It's just as well, as they came across like they were aping the sound of a band that was aping the sound of Joy Division -- Interpol or Editors, but much rougher around the edges. Of the three, Apteka was the brightest spot, to the point where I was actually hearing Billy Corgan's voice in my head over the big rock maelstrom. To be fair, they reminded me a bit more of Silversun Pickups, but there we go again with second-generation influences.

Headliners Secret Colours had a big, full sound, but the songs just didn't grab me at all, which may be an occupational hazard of Britpop influences. A lot of those bands had killer hooks, so if you resemble them sonically, you're going to suffer by comparison without stronger songwriting.

1.09   monday
Clip Art with Algebro, Any Kind (Schubas)
For some reason, I feel like Schubas abandoned the Monday night "Practice Space" series last year, but if they did, it's apparently back. I also feel like I read something about this band that piqued my curiosity a while ago, but I'll be damned if I can remember what it was.

1.10   tuesday
Open Jam (Vaughan's)   COZ SINGS!
Part of me wants to come up with wiseassed political themes for every primary date that falls on a Tuesday. Maybe tweak a Duran Duran lyric into "and Huntsman's after you"? Or, of course, "Robot" from Futureheads. Yeah, this could get old really quickly.

Blast! with Psycles (Martyrs')
It looks like Chris Siebold's ensemble is starting to ramp up their schedule as of a couple of months ago. This is a good thing, because sooner or later, one of these shows won't be on a Tuesday night or out in the suburbs, and I might be able to go.

1.11   wednesday
Sing Along With Coz (The Globe Pub)   COZ SINGS!
One of these days, I'm going to buy a loop pedal for this gig, because (a) figuring out how to use it would effectively pass the time on more sparsely attended nights, and (b) I could just set a loop going and pretend I'm playing while reading the paper or playing Angry Birds or something.

Little Big Fat with Bobcat Williams, Michael Lux and The Bad Sons, Common Shiner, Simpleton and Cityfolk (Double Door)   FRIENDS OF COZ!
The headliner calls themselves "improvisational rock" on their website -- which presumably translates somewhere along the jam band spectrum -- and counts former URT bassist Craig Urban among its members.

Nick Miller and the Neighbors with Sat. Night Duets (Subterranean)
This is a friend's cousin's band, if I'm not mistaken, but I'm pretty sure I haven't met him or seen his band yet, so that's all I can say about it.

1.12   thursday
Eric Johnson with Andy McKee (House of Blues)
The last time I saw the "Tone Ranger" was either opening for Rush at an arena or at the now-shuttered Bottom Line in New York City. Either way, it was close to twenty years ago. I still prefer his debut album Tones to the more successful Ah Via Musicom, and admit to being largely ignorant of nearly everything he's done since those two records.

Buddy Guy with Carlos Johnson (Buddy Guy's Legends)
Week two of the January residency kicks off.

1.13   friday
Theophilus London with Lunice, Chrome Sparks, Retrospect, DJ Misa (Lincoln Hall)
While I'm curious about the critically-acclaimed rapper based mostly on his involvement with Dave Sitek's Maximum Balloon album, I'm not sure I'm curious enough to endure three opening acts for a rap show. That's where my peripheral/occasional interest in rap and hip-hop runs out of patience.

Filligar with Daniel Ellsworth & the Great Lakes, Save The Clocktower (Subterranean)   FRIENDS OF COZ!
If you chose our Metro show last month at the expense of meeting Save The Clocktower's new bass player, here's your chance to make amends.

Buddy Guy with Li'l Ed and the Blues Imperials (Buddy Guy's Legends)
See Thursday's listing.

1.14   saturday
DIVER (Fado Irish Pub)   SEE COZ LIVE!
No, we did not resolve to learn new songs thie year, either. Although that doesn't mean we won't.

The Walkmen (Metro)
These guys were the toast of the indie town back when this current indie rock revival was taking shape, and with no opening acts, I almost get a sense that they're playing the role of elder indie statesmen for this Tomorrow Never Knows festival appearance. Or I'm reading way too much into the lack of openers listed as an excuse to use "indie" three times in one sentence.

Chairlift with Class Actress, Polica, Wild Belle, Willis Earl Beal (Schubas)
The capsule preview in Time Out Chicago focuses on Class Actress in such a way that I suspect they'll be largely indistinguishable from headliners Chairlift. Dramatic, breathy vocals over keyboards? Check.

Alejandro Escovedo with JT Nero, Allison Russell (Old Town School of Folk Music)
I think this may be the second time the Austin singer/songwriter has played at the Lincoln Square venue, and I can't say that I blame him. Also, I get a bit flush at the idea of violinist Susan Voelz in an intimate venue, but that's mostly due to the proximity of the words "Susan Voelz" and "intimate." Hey, I'm not made of stone over here. Heck, I don't even know if she's on the gig, but she usually is, even for smaller, stripped-down Escovedo shows.

Grouplove with Hospitality, 1,2,3, Kid Color (Lincoln Hall)
I'm not saying that all you should think about when naming your band is whether or not you'll come up in an Internet search. I'm just saying that you shouldn't go out of your way to hide, as not everybody would automatically modify their search to "1,2,3 band." Clip Art, I'm also looking at you.

Buddy Guy with Billy Branch & The Sons of Blues (Buddy Guy's Legends)
See Thursday's listing.

1.15   sunday
Freakers Ball: A Tribute to Shel Silverstein (Hideout)
Jon Langford and friends are putting this show together as part of Tomorrow Never Knows. My family was just talking about Silverstein over Christmas, and how there's so much more too him than children's poems, particularly as a songwriter.

Nicholas Barron Quartet (Temple Bar)   FRIENDS OF COZ!
Actually, it might be a trio -- I suspect that varies from week to week. In any event, if you've got Martin Luther King Day off on Monday, it might be a good night to soak up some of Nicholas' funky blues.

Buddy Guy with Kate Moss & Samantha Fish (Buddy Guy's Legends)
See Thursday's listing. I'm guessing it's not that Kate Moss.