list.in.to.chicago this week: 02.20.2012

So, you may have heard by now that the @lollaleaks Twitter account was totally fake. Completely made-up. Which is good, because the perpetrator had pretty shitty taste in music. Or music hoaxes, anyway.

Pick of the week
If you didn't pick up tickets for Van Halen on Friday at the United Center, they'll be back on April 1 at the Allstate Arena. Plus, I will have told you how they sounded by then.

list.in.to.COZ
Just regular office hours this week, but between trying to top last week at Vaughan's and my new equipment purchase, that might be more than enough.

Recap
With Charles Bradley headlining a night called the "Winter SOULstice," I wasn't quite prepared for Little Barrie as the opening act on the bill. The London band did convincing takes on multiple waves of English bands that came before them, from Primal Scream to the blues-influenced rock of the Stones era. And they looked quintessentially British -- I couldn't describe the shirt the drummer was wearing to accompany his excellent mustache if I tried.

Bradley brought an authentic and thoroughly entertaining delivery of 60s R&B. What struck me is that the backing bands for these Daptone artists all seem to be twentysomething hipster musicologists -- scruffily dressing the part, but completely reverent and unironic in their playing -- and the audiences are really, really white. There was a bit of press about this a few years ago with respect to labelmate Sharon Jones, and I find it really strange that the phenomenon carries over to Bradley as well.

2.20   monday
Patricia Barber Quartet (Green Mill)
There was a moment where it looked like Barber might be able to ride a wave of interest in female jazz vocalists post-Norah Jones, but it never quite got there. That's okay with me, because Chicago gets to hang on to her on a weekly basis, and she has never struck me as the type who would dumb down her material for a mainstream audience anyway.

2.21   tuesday
Open Jam (Vaughan's)   COZ SINGS!
It will be tough to top last week, which featured a keyboard that played "Livin' La Vida Loca" at the touch of a button, a two-song Foreigner excursion, and "Nights In White Satin" to close it out. We need to harness this free-wheeling energy into the Trollops gigs somehow.

Zola Jesus with Talk Normal, Chris Connelly (Lincoln Hall)
I sort of want to put together a playlist of every new "electro-pop" band I've come across in the last year or two, just to see if I can tell any of them apart.

2.22   wednesday
Sing Along With Coz (The Globe Pub)   COZ SINGS!
So, I finally went out and got a loop pedal today, which means I will be able to entertain myself for hours even if nobody shows up to play or to listen. But you should still show up to play or to listen.

Slow Club with Air Waves, Love of Everything (Empty Bottle)
This English band is described as "rich, dark folk-pop," which immediately makes them a welcome breath of fresh air from all the retro new wave bands coming in from across the pond at the moment.

Dastardly with Kentucky Knife Fight (The Whistler)
This one is testament to promotion, as I've noticed this band in the listings since they e-mailed me a long while ago. Of course, I haven't actually gone to see them, but I'm still writing about them, so they can chalk it up as a win.

2.23   thursday
Young The Giant with Walk The Moon (Riviera Theatre)   SOLD OUT!
So who would win a fight between Young the Giant and Foster the People? Young the Giant has the size, but Foster the People have the numbers. Young the Giant also have more guitars, so I may give them the edge.

Larry Coryell Trio (Jazz Showcase)
Usually, guitarist Coryell's annual appearance includes Paul Wertico and Larry Gray to fill out the trio. Unless I hear otherwise, I'll assume that's still the case.

Anvil with Admiral of Black, Beak, Iron Finger (Reggie's Rock Club)
From what I've heard, the documentary of this metal band went a long way to validate that This is Spinal Tap was uncomfortably close to the truth in a lot of ways, but I haven't seen it.

2.24   friday
Van Halen with Kool and the Gang (United Center)
Reviews of the new record seem to vary in direct correlation to the critic's history with Van Halen -- the Onion AV Club and Time Out Chicago both seem to close to my own take, in that the broad vibe is pretty darn consistent with the original David Lee Roth-era material, so if you're down with that, everything else is just overthinking it.

The Life and Times with Sweet Cobra, Electric Hawk (Empty Bottle)
I'm admittedly cribbing from critical picks across the Interwebs, but the capsule preview for this one puts it in the guitar-driven power-pop category, so we'll give it a shout.

Korn with Kill The Noise (Congress Theater)
Frontman Jonathan Davis has made some oddball political statements lately, which could serve as a nu-metal counterpart to "old" metal being in the political news last week when Dave Mustaine made comments that got misconstrued as an endorsement of Rick Santorum. My perception of most metal fans is somewhat apolitical, though, so I'd be curious if Korn's crowd just wants him to get on with the sludgy rock tunes.

The SoulJazz Orchestra with The Right Now, DJRC (Double Door)
They're from Ottawa, and are appropriately described as all over the map, moving between funk, afropop and "psychedelic jazz."

Larry Coryell Trio (Jazz Showcase)
See Thursday's listing.

2.25   saturday
Peter Frampton (Chicago Theater)
By now you've heard the story about Frampton's long-lost guitar, right? Hell, it was on 60 Minutes. It's cool that he got it back, to be sure.

Crocodiles with Bleeding Rainbow (Schubas)
I don't even remember why this band got on my radar. To be honest, I might be confusing them with somebody else.

Emilie Autumn (House of Blues)
Watching the classically-trained violinist cultivate her Victorian-goth audience has been fascinating, and I only wish I remember more of my initial meeting with her backstage on a shared gig before she changed into her stage persona.

Arriver with Anatomy of Habit, Swan King (Hideout)
I just love the concept of progressive concept-metal at the Hideout, just in case you were thinking of pigeonholing the venue as all-Bloodshot all the time.

Larry Coryell Trio (Jazz Showcase)
See Thursday's listing.

2.26   sunday
Tennis with In Tall Buildings (Lincoln Hall)
One of those bands that seems like they'll have critics and indie music bloggers at their shows than just fans of the music. The 60s girl-group and psychedelic signposts I keep hearding about are apparently just irresistible to music writers.

White Mystery with Earthquake Party!, Dark Fog (Empty Bottle)
The hook here is that one of the Whites in question is Miss Alex White, but while I've heard her name enough, I can't say I know enough about her music for that to subsequently reel me in to her garage-rock duo.

Larry Coryell Trio (Jazz Showcase)
See Thursday's listing.