list.in.to.chicago this week: 10.22.2012

Sorry, I was traveling yesterday. This week's Morrissey show has been postponed. Depressed fans can console themselves by, well, listening to Morrissey. M. Ward also got scratched, and I guess depressed fans can ask Siri what they can do instead.

Pick of the week
Looking forward to Afghan Whigs (Friday and Saturday at Metro), and bummed that my schedule probably precludes me from seeing Lionel Loueke (Thursday through Sunday at the Jazz Showcase) or Tinariwen (Sunday at the Old Town School of Folk Music).

list.in.to.COZ
Game-time decision for Vaughan's tonight due to a persisent cold. That's it, unless you happen to be attending a wedding in Milwaukee on Saturday.

Recap
One of the things that really stood out about White Rabbits was how they manage to make all the different sounds fit together so well in space, like a 3-D audio puzzle. And it doesn't hurt that the songs are really good and that Lincoln Hall's top-notch acoustics really bring out that spatial dimension. And I can't help thinking that Save the Clocktower probably sounds really good on headphones. Live, it was a bit subdued, to the point where the between-song banter seemed louder than the songs. And I still want stronger tone from the guitar, which I think I said last time.

10.23   tuesday
Open Jam (Vaughan's)   COZ SINGS!
Debuted an acoustic version of "Madness" from Muse last week, and Tony and I backed up Monica for "No Light No Light" from Florence and the Machine. Fun.

Dance Tribute to Mr. Bungle (Martyrs')
This is the first in a new series from Savvy and This Must Be The Band singer Kasey Foster. It's like Tributosaurus, but with dancing? I'm not quite sure if I'm intrigued by the concept, or very, very afraid.

Deftones with Scars on Broadway (Aragon Ballroom)
The hard rock band from Sacramento has managed to overcome what was a truly dreadful peer group back in the early aughts. Which is to say, I'm both happy and encouraged that Chino Moreno outlasted Fred Durst.

Grimes with Elite Gymnastics, Myths (Metro)
As it turns out, I just saw the Canadian artist on Later with Jools Holland over the weekend. She's mostly solo synth-pop, working sequences, loops and effects around her vocals. She also looks like she's 12.

10.24   wednesday
Swans with A Hawk & a Hacksaw (Metro)
Monica Kendrick of The Reader calls this band's new album their best album ever. She also describes their live show as "a vast caldera of sentient lava." Do with that what you will.

10.25   thursday
Divine Fits with Cold Cave (Logan Square Auditorium)
So, apparently the composition of indie rock "supergroups" goes like this: One guy everybody knows, one guy some people know, and one or two guys nobody has heard of. Worked for the Raconteurs, and it works for Divine Fits. With apologies to any Greenhornes or New Bomb Turks fans out there, respectively.

Joe Ely with Miles Nielsen (SPACE, Evanston)
I would say that last time I saw Joe Ely may have been before Miles Nielsen had ever picked up a guitar, but as Rick Nielsen's kid, he probably picked up a guitar in utero.

Lionel Loueke Trio (Jazz Showcase)
After seeing a tiny mention in an excerpt of a record review roundup in the New York Times, I took a long listen to Loueke's latest, and was not disappointed. Elements of afropop and jazz, with some other influences as well. Really strong stuff.

R. Kelly with Tamia (Arie Crown Theater)
First, Arie Crown is still a thing? Second, I wonder if former South Side gospel drumming wunderkind Calvin Rogers is still playing with Kelly.

10.26   friday
Afghan Whigs with Wussy (Metro)
My comments after seeing them practically set fire to the stage at Lollapalooza was that so few bands play with that kind of guitar-based ferocity anymore, we aren't ever even reminded of how much we miss those kinds of bands. Suffice it to say, I was, ahem, Dulli impressed.

Vlad the Impaler with Bon Mots, Buckstops, Dolly Varden, Johnny & the Creeps, Dirty Pigeons (Martyrs')
It's that time of the year. As Black Sabbath, Bad Company, The Police, Fleetwood Mac (!), Donovan and the Moody Blues, respectively.

Lucky Boys Confusion with Swizzle Tree (House of Blues)
This was probably the first venue I ever noticed Lucky Boys Confusion playing, many, many years ago. It's also one of the first times I remember seeing them on a bill since the band (and the music community) lost guitarist Joe Sell back in May.

Barbara Streisand with Chris Botti, Il Volo (United Center)
My only enduring Streisand moment was Johnny Carson doing his Carnak the Magnificent bit, where he'd give an answer, then the question it was answering. "Yentl. The sound made when strangling a bagel." Hey-o!

Rick Springfield (Joe's)
Honestly, if I were Springfield, I open with "Jessie's Girl," play it again to close the set, then once more for the encore. Maybe one more time in the middle. And people would go nuts.

Lionel Loueke Trio (Jazz Showcase)
See Thursday's listing.

R. Kelly with Tamia (Arie Crown Theater)
See Thursday's listing.

10.27   saturday
Mountain Goats with Matthew E. White (The Vic)
Fans of Mountain Goats seem to be very passionate about the band, but the one time I saw them live, it just reinforced the notion that I'm emphatically not a lyrics guy. I will say that drummer Jon Wurster, last seen backing up Bob Mould, has been tweeting excerpts from what may be an actual autobiography of Kiss drummer Peter Criss to pass the time during this tour. Or he's just making it all up.

Carina Round with Rosi Golan (Beat Kitchen)
The British singer/songwriter has been a touring member of Puscifer, but that's not why her name seems familiar. I feel like I've also seen her mentioned recently.

The Script with Tristan Prettyman (Aragon Ballroom)
Soul-influenced pop from Dublin, which explains why Anto was bugging us for a while to learn some of their songs to play in Diver.

16th Annual Halloween Bash (Double Door)
The Last Vegas as Billy Idol, AM Taxi as The Replacements, Hessler as Iron Maiden, Ryan Powers as Tom Petty, Blackbox as Social Distortion, The Sweeps as Beck, Panther Style as The Cult.

American Steel with Androgynous Mustache, Phil Angotti, Webstirs, Delafields, Tuffy UK (Martyrs')
More Halloween. As Judas Priest, The Replacements, The Bee Gees, Abba, WAR and PJ Harvey. So, two bands as The Replacements on the same night?

Off! with Spits, Double Negative (Bottom Lounge)
I'm not much of a punk guy, but I do know that these guys are high up on the punk food chain.

Afghan Whigs with Wussy (Metro)   SOLD OUT!
This is where I would apologize for the pun in Friday's listing if I was in any way sorry for the pun in Friday's listing.

Lucky Boys Confusion with 15 Minutes Late (House of Blues)
Looks like a couple of shows, with different openers.

Lionel Loueke Trio (Jazz Showcase)
See Thursday's listing.

10.28   sunday
Cat Power with Willis Earl Beal, Xray Eyeballs (The Vic)
From the capsule preview in The Reader, it sounds like Chan Marshall went in a more individual, electronic direction on her new record, rather than the throwback noir of recent years. As such, she's also apparently put together a new band for the new material.

Tinariwen (Old Town School of Folk Music)
The North African band made a big splash last year, with a performance on the Colbert Report and a tour that included members of TV on the Radio. Hopefully they're still getting a response without the big-name help.

White Denim with Maps & Atlases, Team Spirit (Lincoln Hall)
I'm still finding my level on Maps & Atlases, as my initial impression was good enough that the second impression didn't live up to it. Still, there's enough of a whiff of prog rock in a more indie context to keep me at least intrigued.

Lionel Loueke Trio (Jazz Showcase)
See Thursday's listing.