list.in.to.chicago this week: 03.19.2012

So, the listings for today on Time Out Chicago are missing both the Black Keys and Fiona Apple. Not even as critics' picks. They're not in the listings at all. WTF? I still default to the Reader, but crap listings from both Metromix and TOC are disappointing.

Pick of the week
Depends on your mood. If it's not sold out, you've got two chances to see a living legend in B.B. King at House of Blues on Thursday and Friday. If you want to melt your face with guitar noise, there's A Place To Bury Strangers at Empty Bottle on Wednesday. If you want virtuostic acoustic guitar, you've got two options, with Al Di Meola on Thursday at Reggie's Music Joint and then the California Guitar Trio on Sunday in Evanston. I'm intrigued by that Cursive and Cymbals Eat Guitars show on Sunday night as well, but will have to watch Twitter to see if more tickets get released.

list.in.to.COZ
Regular office hours this week. Nothing else until April, I think.

Recap
Lots of people seem to be going on about the length of last night's Fiona Apple show, and it definitely felt a bit on the short side (with no encore), but she was also sucking down tea between songs and I may have caught her sneezing right at the end. Even if she was under the weather, you could tell she hadn't lost her trademark intensity when she let out an almost feral scream onstage before the band opened with "Fast As You Can," featuring what could only be called a blistering ukelele solo. I actually liked her guitar player quite a bit, as he took some nice solo turns.

Saturday night was not quite the shit show I expected at Fado. Yes, it was a big, loud crowd, but they were pretty well-behaved. Between that drunken energy and the occasion of Sue's last show with us, I think we turned in one of the better Diver performances in a long while.

3.19   monday
The Black Keys with Arctic Monkeys (United Center)   SOLD OUT!
We're just going to have to agree to disagree with this one, everyone else who listens to modern music. I don't get the overwhelming appeal of these guys. Yes, there's a nice visceral, bluesy guitar punch, and Danger Mouse seems to have brought some focus to the songs, but I just don't see what has what seems like every rock critic in the English-speaking world tripping over themselves to sing their praises. To be honest, I like Arctic Monkeys a lot better. So be sure to get there early.

Fiona Apple with Blake Mills (Lincoln Hall)   SOLD OUT!
Second of two sold out nights. Technically, the first of two sold out nights, since they added the Sunday date after this one crashed Lincoln Hall's servers and sold out in minutes.

3.20   tuesday
Open Jam (Vaughan's)   COZ SINGS!
So, now that we've got a public performance of "The Irish Rover" under our collective belts, we may start dropping alternate verses into it that make fun of certain Irish and English friends of ours, just because that seems apropos for the tune.

Saul Williams with Spoek Mathambo (Bottom Lounge)
I remember hearing a lot of hype about hip-hop poet/performance artist Williams in the run-up to his side stage Lollapalooza appearance three or four years ago, but while it may have been the afternoon sun, or a problematic mix, the tunes and the theatrics didn't quite grab me. Maybe it works better indoors.

3.21   wednesday
Sing Along With Coz (The Globe Pub)   COZ SINGS!
So, I honestly don't know what to expect this week at The Globe, because as of this week, the Globe gets bigger -- they've acquired what was Red Brick next door, and I think they punched the hole through the wall today. So they may or may not have food on Wednesday night while they make the transition, but they still have beer. And the Open Mic.

A Place To Bury Strangers with Apteka, Big Sleep (Empty Bottle)
It's easy to just point out that this Brooklyn trio is really loud, but in addition to saying just that, Kevin Warwick from The Reader adds a nice turn of phrase with "front man Oliver Ackermann melts sheets of dissonant guitar and feedback into a single deafening swell." That's about the size of it.

3.22   thursday
B.B. King with Beverly McClellan (House of Blues)
If this is some sort of special event, and not just the legendary B.B. King in a medium-sized room for about a hundred bucks, I haven't found any evidence of it.

Al Di Meola with Andreas Kapsalis, Chris Siebold (Reggie's Music Joint)
Apparently it's a good night for legendary guitarists, as the heavyweight of 70s jazz fusion plays acoustic with pianist Gonzalo Rubalcabal. Two of Chicago's finer guitarists open.

Mike Doughty (SPACE, Evanston)
This tour is in support of the singer/guitarist's new memoir, The Book of Drugs, about which I've heard many good things, although mostly good things Doughty has retweeted from well-wishers and fans. He'll read from the book, answer questions (and if you've read the book, you probably know not to ask him about Soul Coughing) and play some songs.

3.23   friday
Rachel Yamagata with Madi Diaz (Schubas)
No matter how deep she goes into adult alternative and soundtracks to dramas on the CW network, she'll always be the former singer of Bumpus to me.

The Temper Trap (Lincoln Hall)
I have this vague notion that this was an afternoon Lollapalooza band from the last couple of years that lots of people were talking about, but I didn't see. Boy, this list is going to get increasingly lame as my memory starts to go, isn't it? At least I'm right -- they played Lolla in 2010, and I commented on them when they came through town that fall. Oh, and I guess they're Australian.

B.B. King (House of Blues)
See Thursday's listing.

3.24   saturday
Ode with Wildlife City, Dead Sheriff (Elbo Room)
The Eastern European-influenced local folk-pop outfit headlines at my old home away from home. I'm skeptical that there are, in fact, only three bands on the bill. They're like a factory over there now.

Rachel Yamagata with Madi Diaz (Schubas)
See Friday's listing.

The Temper Trap (Lincoln Hall)
See Friday's listing.

3.25   sunday
Cursive with Cymbals Eat Guitars, Conduits (Lincoln Hall)   SOLD OUT!
I saw a short fragment of this band at Lollapalooza many years ago, but then was unable to find them on Internet streaming services, so I wasn't able to follow up. Their new record is available online, but a couple of listens in, it hasn't got its hooks in me yet. And I liked Cymbals Eat Guitars when I saw them live at that big summer festival on the lakefront, but I've got one account of them not quite living up to that on later tours.

Andrew W.K. with Math the Band, Aleister X (Riviera Theatre)
This might be an anniversary tour for his breakthrough record I Get Wet. Of course, if you go to Toyota Park on Saturday night, you may hear the Chicago Fire supporters section's rendition of "Don't Stop Living In The Red." Moved from Metro, with original tickets honored.

California Guitar Trio (SPACE, Evanston)
These guys seem to be the only graduates of Robert Fripp's Guitar Craft that have lived to tell the tale, and by that, I mean they've actually built a solid musical career.