list.in.to.chicago this week: 05.28.2012

In which I say "and are also playing at Do Division fest" and talk about 80s hair a lot.

Pick of the week
Your biggest bang for the buck has to be Saturday at Do Division Fest, with at least three or four strong acts you've heard of -- Craig Finn, Le Butcherettes, Besnard Lakes -- and probably a bunch more you haven't. Tonight's free Kelly Hogan show is worth checking out if the skies don't open up, but that's looking like a big "if."

Also, Battles at Bottom Lounge and The Ladies & Gentlemen at Township on Saturday night.

list.in.to.COZ
Strictly speaking, there's just regular office hours Tuesday and Wednesday and then Diver at Fado on Saturday. For a select few, however, there's also a reunion of the only band I've ever been in that won a Battle of the Bands on Saturday afternoon down in Hyde Park.

Recap
I had teased Dry the River's similarities to Mumford & Sons in the preview last week, but within a song or two, the better description might be a louder version of Fleet Foxes. The sweet, pastoral harmonies were more reminscent of that band, with occasional buildups of guitar intensity that reminded me of Explosions In The Sky. They were also very, very skinny, and self-effacing in that way that only certain British bands can be. I think they said they'd be back for Lollapalooza in August.

5.28   monday
Kelly Hogan with Scott Lucas and the Married Men (Pritzker Pavilion)
The free concert series on Monday nights in Millennium Park gets started this week with Chicago's own Kelly Hogan, who has just released her first solo album in quite a while. It's getting a lot of love from the local press already. As long as the weather holds, this one is a no-brainer. Unfortunately, the weather does not look like it's going to hold.

Red Hot Chili Peppers with Little Dragon (Allstate Arena)
For some reason, I went back and downloaded Mother's Milk a couple of months ago. Wow, that was a fun, raw, funky record. I liked the Chili Peppers a lot better back then, before the success of "Under The Bridge" turned them irrevocably towards the mainstream.

5.29   tuesday
Open Jam (Vaughan's)   COZ SINGS!
Never sure what to expect the day after a holiday, but with a long, hot weekend, it might be what we would call an "intimate audience."

Todd Rundgren (SPACE, Evanston)   SOLD OUT!
I cannot imagine how quickly tickets evaporated for somebody as legendary as Todd Rundgren in a space as small as, well, SPACE. I'm envious if you did get one.

I Break Horses with California Wives (Lincoln Hall)
I couldn't tell from the preview if the band is actually a duo, or if the band is driven by a duo. Sounds like there are psychedelic and electronic influences, and I'm pretty sure they were just here opening up for a slightly bigger fish.

5.30   wednesday
Sing Along With Coz (The Globe Pub)   COZ SINGS!
After a couple of returning acts last week, I'm cautiously optimistic that we might be finding a little bit of traction. Help keep the momentum building.

Big Science with Bring Yr Ray Gun, Jared Grabb, Boy Blue (Burlington)
This is the point where I mention a band I know a little something about to bring attention to a Logan Square venue I don't. I saw Big Science on New Year's Eve three or four years back, and dug the Cure-esque guitar tones enough to want to see them again, but apparently not quite enough to actually follow through.

Nickelback with Bush, Seether, My Darkest Days (Allstate Arena)
What, Creed wasn't available?

Todd Rundgren (SPACE, Evanston)   SOLD OUT!
See Tuesday's listing.

5.31   thursday
Black Belles with Michael Lux & the Bad Sons, Esta Vivo (Empty Bottle)
I only know about the Jack White-produced indie-garage-goth girl group because of the segment on the Colbert Report, which means it was some effective marketing on White's part. Given how they dress, I hope it's not still in the mid- to high-90s, for their sake. Also playing Do Division Fest over the weekend.

Pat Martino Trio (Jazz Showcase)
The jazz guitar legend is typically in town once a year, this time with an organ trio.

6.01   friday
Do Division Fest (Division and Leavitt)
Black Belles and JC Brooks and the Uptown Sound headline the two stages at this Wicker Park outdoor festival, which was one of the first to break out of the generic cover-band mold a few years ago, enlisting the Empty Bottle and Subterranean/House Call Entertainment to curate the music.

Tomorrow The Moon with Squirrel (Darkroom)   FRIENDS OF COZ!
This is a CD release party for Squirrel, who I've never heard of, who are joined by Tomorrow The Moon, who I have, by virtue of their ties back to Phantom Helmsman a couple of decades ago.

Urizen with Winterhymn, Act of Destruction, Lords of the Trident, Gamma Gulp (Reggie's Rock Club)
With a name lifted from a godlike being out of a book and a new album that's an 8-bit rendering of their last album, I think this may be as geeked out as you're gonna get this week.

Besnard Lakes with Brain Idea, Judson Claiborne (Empty Bottle)
I remember giving this Montreal band a good listen when their previous album came out, but they've since been off my radar until now. They, too, are also playing Do Divsion Fest on Saturday.

Le Butcherettes (Subterranean)
Honestly, the better option for seeing Teri Gender Bender and her Mexican art-rock trio would be at the oft-mentioned Do Division on Saturday, as the band never quite got their sound dialed in last time at Subterranean. I'm just not optimistic that this time will be any better.

The Cult with Against Me!, Icarus Line (Congress Theater)
Every time I see that Budweiser ad on TV, I think it's going to actually be "She Sells Sanctuary" as the soundtrack, and not some hip-hop tune that samples it. Also, Against Me! recently made headlines when the punk-pop band's singer announced that he was transgender, and they recently performed their first show with their "new" frontwoman.

Everelle with List of Strangers, Michigan City Vandals (Ultra Lounge)   FRIENDS OF COZ!
I've been seeing more and more shows listed at this location on the Northwest edge of Bucktown and now my friends in Everelle bring their female-fronted, electro-influenced rock there.

Dokken (Cubby Bear)
All I remember from this band in the 80s -- other than Don Dokken's hair -- was that one video where they were all playing in the rain.

Pat Martino Trio (Jazz Showcase)
See Thursday's listing.

6.02   saturday
DIVER (Fado Irish Pub)   SEE COZ LIVE!
We'll see how much of my graduating class from college I can drag up to River North after our reunion festivities during the afternoon. And Mitch is starting to get the hang of it on bass.

Battles (Bottom Lounge)
The math-rock whizzes have managed to keep their momentum after losing a key band member between their first and second records. The vibe is a little different, but still intense as they build up rhythms and angular motifs brick-by-brick.

Craig Finn with Minor Characters (Empty Bottle)
The singer from the Hold Steady released his first solo album last year to some inevitably positive reviews, and also plays Do Division fest.

Ladies & Gentlemen with Dead Girls, Life at Sea, Textbook (Township)
When I last saw this band, they were mashing up midwestern power pop with British post-punk, and it worked pretty brilliantly.

One Direction (Allstate Arena)
Eventually, we're going to realize that these boy bands are the product of some sort of genetic testing that is so resource-intensive that there can only be around two of them active at any given point in history.

Do Division Fest (Division and Leavitt)
Acts on day two include Le Butcherettes, Craig Finn, White Mystery and Besnard Lakes. If you only make it to one of the three days, this is the one you want.

Pat Martino Trio (Jazz Showcase)
See Thursday's listing.

6.03   sunday
Do Division Fest (Division and Leavitt)
The big draw for the final day of the festival is Antlers, who had one of my favorite albums of 2011, but it's a full day on two stages, so there's more for your festival dollar, including Pinebender, Murder by Death and Mutts.

Oz Noy, Dave Weckl, and James Genus (Martyrs')
If Don Dokken had memorable 80s hair in heavy metal, drummer Dave Weckl was his equally-coiffed counterpart in jazz-fusion of the same era. I have no idea who he's playing with here, but being Sunday night at Martyrs', it's undoubtedly electric jazz.

Pat Martino Trio (Jazz Showcase)
See Thursday's listing.