list.in.to.chicago this week: 09.10.2012

Good god, this week is kind of ridiculous. Saturday, especially.

Pick of the week
One look at the set list for this Rush tour--TWO drum solos?--puts Saturday's United Center show at the top of the list, with the two shows from Bob Mould (Metro, Thursday and Friday) not far behind. Mike Keneally and Rick Musallam at Reggie's Music Joint on Tuesday night is another huge standout. The Sunday lineup for Riot Fest is just gravy by this point.

list.in.to.COZ
Nothing this week. Things may be a little slow through the end of the year.

Recap
So it turns out I forgot to mention the 312 Urban Block Party last week. It wasn't that St. Vincent and Maps & Atlases weren't good (we got there just as Kelly Hogan was wrapping up), but more that they weren't that different from how I remembered them last time, so unless we got up closer, it wasn't going to have a big impact. The vibe of the event wasn't pushing the music to the forefront.

Saturday's Andrew Fraker & Sons show was blessed with wonderful weather and a passable rental drum kit, and I have to say, it's really weird finishing up a set with that band and having your whole day still in front of you.

9.10   monday
Robbie Fulks with Scavengers (Hideout)
No, I don't think you could hide under a table until the Block Party this weekend if you didn't get a ticket.

9.11   tuesday
Open Jam (Vaughan's)   FRIENDS OF COZ!
I'll be at the USA vs. Jamaica World Cup qualifying match in Columbus, OH this week, so carry on without me. After a poor showing on the road in Jamaica on Friday, the US needs a convincing win to regain their confidence and their primacy in the region.

Mike Keneally and Rick Musallam (Reggie's Music Joint)
I am so bummed that I'm going to be out of town for this one. Keneally just released an album of songs he co-wrote with Andy Partridge of XTC, and hadn't made any plans to tour behind it until his Dethklok obligations fell through.

9.12   wednesday
California Wives with Santah, Deserters (Lincoln Hall)
The Reader calls the headliners "one of Chicago's most promising and ubiquitous young indie-rock groups," so I guess it's time to start keeping an eye on them.

Saul Williams with Dessa (Schubas)
The hip-hop poet/performance artist is an odd bird, and not just because he actually wears feather headdresses on stage. He also figures into the "pay what you want" chapter of online music, as a sort of counterpoint to the success of big acts like Radiohead and Nine Inch Nails, whose Trent Reznor is the one who put him out there with that pricing model.

9.13   thursday
Bob Mould with All Eyes West (Metro)   SOLD OUT!
Not only is Mould revisiting Sugar's Copper Blue album in its entirety, but his new record is pretty great as well. With Jason Narducy on bass and prodigious Twitterer Jon Wurster on drums.

Mary J. Blige with D'Angelo (United Center)
This would be really appealing in a slightly smaller venue and on a different night. Blige has a serious enough gospel background that her bands tend to be pretty amazing, and D'Angelo is slowly returning to music after a decade-long absence following the huge success of Voodoo.

Antibalas with Black Bear Combo (Lincoln Hall)
Pretty sure that working on a musical about Fela Kuti is as good as you can get in establishing your world music/afropop bona fides, and that's just what this band has been doing until just recently.

Mulgrew Miller Trio (Jazz Showcase)
I'm sure I've said this before, but I remember seeing Miller on piano with Tony Williams at the Showcase back in 1989 or 1990 with my dad, and seem to recall my dad remarking that "he looks like he's mad at the piano about something."

Marcus Miller (Mayne Stage)
Not entirely sure what the foremr Miles Davis bassist/producer has been up to lately, but his pedigree is pretty strong in both jazz and funk, so it'll probably be really good.

9.14   friday
Hideout Block Party (Hideout)   SOLD OUT!
Iron & Wine, Glen Hansard, War on Drugs, Cave and Guitarkestra take the stage on the first day of the two-day festival. Still haven't seen Cave after all the buzz about them earlier in the year.

Riot Fest (Congress Theater)
This first night is indoors before two days of outdoor stages, and features the Offspring, Neon Trees, Pegboy and Dead Sara. And also wasn't included in my 2-day festival pass, but I'm okay with that.

Naked Raygun, Dan Vapid & the Cheats (Subterranean)
Not sure if this is an official Riot Fest aftershow, or just good programming given that Riot Fest is going on.

Tributosaurus (Martyrs')
Seeing as how they're doing this at Martyrs', it would be a lot funnier (or at least more meta) if they did Tributosaurus as Dark Star Orchestra as the Grateful Dead, seeing as how DSO plays this venue pretty frequently.

Bob Mould with All Eyes West (Metro)
See Thursday's listing. Last I looked, this one still had tickets left.

Mulgrew Miller Trio (Jazz Showcase)
See Thursday's listing.

9.15   saturday
Rush (United Center)
So, the veteran Canadio power trio has gone back to the concept album well, but as I listen down to Clockwork Angels, everything within the concept seems subservient to the conventional rock song. No overtures, no quiet passages that serve as exposition--it makes it a little harder to digest as a story. Although this time, there's a companion novel. The opening set may be problematic for purists, as it's heavy on the post-Moving Pictures 80s material, but it's hitting the sweet spot of my teen years listening to the band. "The Analog Kid?" "Territories?" Hell yeah! I may have to ditch the Riot Fest headliners and scalp a ticket.

Riot Fest (Humboldt Park)
So, you may have heard about that tornado touching down in New York over the weekend. Seems like the storms took out the Brooklyn installment of Riot Fest. Hopefully ours fares better. Rise Against, Coheed & Cambria, Descendents and Dropkick Murphys are the big names on Saturday, although earlier acts of note include Cursive, GWAR and Minus the Bear.

Hideout Block Party (Hideout)   SOLD OUT!
Wilco was the big late addition to the festivies but the lineup also includes Lee Fields & the Expressions, Wye Oak, Wild Belle, Corin Tucker Band, Kelly Hogan, the Waco Brothers with Paul Burch, and the Lawrence Peters Outfit.

Cultivate Festival (Lincoln Park)
G. Love & the Special Sauce, Allen Stone, LP, JC Brooks & the Uptown Sound, and others play at this festival that's being put on by Chipotle, of all people.

Guinness Oyster Fest (Roscoe Village)
Or, if burritos aren't your thing, how about oysters? With 10,000 Maniacs, the Tossers, Red Rebel County, Kevin Flynn & the Avondale Ramblers, Archie Powell & the Exports, and others.

Buddy Guy with Jonny Lang (Chicago Theatre)
One of Chicago's blues legends in the stately State St. venue.

Mulgrew Miller Trio (Jazz Showcase)
See Thursday's listing.

Tributosaurus (Martyrs')
See Friday's listing.

9.16   sunday
Riot Fest (Humboldt Park)
Pretty stacked on the final day, with my itinerary looking something like Fishbone, Built to Spill, The Jesus and Mary Chain, Elvis Costello, Gogol Bordello and Iggy Pop, plus or minus a few others here and there.

Guinness Oyster Fest (Roscoe Village)
Trippin' Billies, AM Taxi, Buddies, Canasta, Fionnghlas, and others on day two of the festival, which I won't have time to attend despite it being two blocks from where I live.

Mulgrew Miller Trio (Jazz Showcase)
See Thursday's listing.