list.in.to.chicago this week: 01.23.2012

There's a fair amount of stuff that's just not getting me excited this week, so rather than force myself to just paraphrase something in Time Out Chicago, I just left those shows out.

But then Saturday sorta makes up for it.

Pick of the week
If you haven't ever seen them, Tortoise (Tuesday at Empty Bottle) is definitely worth checking out. And there are a bunch of good bands at the Chicago Blues and Bluegrass Festival on Saturday (Congress Theater), plus that chance you'll dig one of the lesser-known acts earlier in the day.

list.in.to.COZ
It's another Diver show at Fado on Saturday, along with regular office hours. Those of you who like advance notice should write down that we'll be doing a three-piece acoustic Andrew Fraker & Sons set next Saturday at Lincoln Hall. More on that one next week.

Recap
So, Wednesday actually was a really good night at the Globe open mic. We had prodigal son Kory Quinn in from Portland to deliver some southern blues, a hip-hop promoter/producer with three different emcees in tow, and then a couple more traditional acts to boot. I can't remember the last time things were that busy or that diverse. Hopefully it's part of a trend.

1.23   monday
Clip Art with Briar Rabbit, Sometimes Family (Schubas)
See last week's listing. It's okay, I'll wait while you go dig out the other email.

1.24   tuesday
Open Jam (Vaughan's)   COZ SINGS!
So, I feel like I haven't tried anything new in a while. It's usually a two- or three-week process from the point where I start feeling self-conscious about it, so this actually has no bearing on what I might try this week.

Tortoise with Dent-de-Lion (Empty Bottle)
The posters at Empty Bottle are still from Beacons of Ancestorship, the band's last full-length, so I don't know if this is going to be new material, or what. I certainly hope so, as the post-rock quintet has had a certain same-ness to it's shows for a while now.

1.25   wednesday
Sing Along With Coz (The Globe Pub)   COZ SINGS!
Of course, my strategy of not listing bands I've not actually heard (or heard of) just because somone else has them as a Critics' pick might just be a convenient excuse to make this the only thing you know about (at least from me) on Wednesday night. I'm clever like that.

KF Jacques with Ashley Andersen, Gregory Morland (Elbo Room)   FRIENDS OF COZ!
No sooner do I write that than I actually remember to check and see what I've been invited to on Facebook. I've only talked to KF Jacques about music -- I haven't actually heard him/them yet, but I'd like to.

1.26   thursday
Eight Bit Tiger with Audiences, Il Tandre Neu (Schubas)
When I see a band name like this, I sorta hope to myself -- or out loud, I guess -- that they're one of those bands that makes music with actual 8-bit synths and/or old video game consoles. That's apparently not the case with this "electronic dance duo with a pseudo-Swedish Motown Funk influence," whatever the Sam Hell that means.

Buddy Guy with Michael Coleman (Buddy Guy's Legends)
The residency rolls on. At least a couple of friends have made it to a show, if Facebook pictures are to be believed.

1.27   friday
Los Campesinos! with Parenthetical Girls (Metro)
Explicit and implicit punctuation. I'm sure they planned that.

Buddy Guy with Linsey Alexander (Buddy Guy's Legends)
See Thursday's listing.

1.28   saturday
DIVER (Fado Irish Pub)   SEE COZ LIVE!
That's right, two Diver shows in one month! This will be the electric trio, which means a somewhat different playlist than last time.

Fareed Haque's MathGames! with The Hue, Mos Scocious (Martyrs')
I should probably give guitarist Haque's new-ish project another chance, but I was expecting something a bit more, I don't know, mathematical the first time I saw them. Then again, that sort of concept may present itself differently to different people. When you give me someone like Fareed on guitar, and say there's math involved, I immediately set the bar very, very high.

Devotchka with Elephant Revival, Danny Black & Nora O'Connor (Metro)
I saw Gogol Bordello before I ever saw Devotchka, so they always strike me as Eugene Hutz's genteel uncle or something like that -- similar in style at the core if you take out all the craziness.

Mucca Pazza with Lasers and Fast and Shit (Double Door)
I'm hoping that, once this show from our own hipster marching band is behind us, I won't constantly be bombarded with their picture on the main Metromix music page.

Chicago Blues and Bluegrass Festival (Congress Theater)
This event just keeps getting bigger, with Drive-By Truckers and Dawes towards the top of the bill this time around.

Dolly Varden with Jason Narducy (Schubas)
Among other things, the Chicago quintet will be playing its 1995 debut in its entirety.

Buddy Guy with NuBlu Band (Buddy Guy's Legends)
See Thursday's listing.

1.29   sunday
Buddy Guy with Eddie Shaw and the Wolf Gang (Buddy Guy's Legends)
See Thursday's listing.