list.in.to.chicago this week: 12.10.2012

In today's music news, the one rock club I went to the last time I was in London just got busted by the police, primarily for license violations. And drug dealing, but mostly license violations.

Also, Yes is planning to play no fewer than three different albums in their entirety on the band's next tour. No indication as to whether or not they're actually inviting their lead singer along this time.

Pick of the week
I'm at Mike Doughty tonight at City Winery and The Faint on Wednesday at Metro. I'm sure Of Monsters & Men will be quality on Sunday at the Riv if you can find tickets and are willing to put up with the Riv.

list.in.to.COZ
Just Vaughan's this week, and again next week, and then I'm done for the year.

Recap
Ultimately, Stuttgart probably had a lot more in common with Cupcakes than EXO, although Scott Tallarida's fingerprints were definitely on a lot of the songs. I just wanted to hear more of the guitarist's influence, and didn't think the band quite fired on all cylinders until right at the end. Still, not bad for a debut, and the crowd was like a high school reunion where only the people you liked show up.

12.10   monday
Mike Doughty (City Winery)
Get all your chatter out of your system now if you're going to this one. The former Soul Coughing frontman notoriously shushes his own audience, to the point where I think he personally gave somone their money back and asked them to leave at least once. Probably also gets tired of constantly being referred to as "the former Soul Coughing frontman."

Robbie Fulks and Kelly Hogan (Hideout)
These two are each ominpresent on the alt-country scene--and specifically at the Hideout--on their own, so it always seems a bit special when their individual orbits come into alignment. Hogan, in particular, is still riding the wave of critical acclaim for the album she released earlier in the year.

12.11   tuesday
Open Jam (Vaughan's)   COZ SINGS!
Should have known that two good weeks in a row was too much to ask. Tony and I almost outnumbered bar patrons when we started last week, but then the crowd picked up. Two more performances of "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch" left for the year!

The Polyphonic Spree (Logan Square Auditorium)
Still haven't seen the indie rock orchestra since really enjoying them at Lollapalooza a few years back, but seeing as how this is at Logan Square Auditorium and it's billed as a "holiday extravaganza," that isn't likely to change this time around.

12.12   wednesday
The Faint with Trust, Icky Blossoms (Metro)
The name always makes me think some sort of twenty year-old UK post-new wave band, but they're actually "dance-punk" from Omaha, and celebrating the reissue of their landmark 2001 album Danse Macabre.

Peven Everett with Facetime (Reggie's Music Joint)
I'm not entirely sure if Everett still lives in Chicago. I seem to only notice the singer/trumpeter and former "secret weapon" from Swimmer around December, which makes me immediately think "home for the holidays."

Anne Harris with Deep Blue Field (City Winery)   FRIENDS OF COZ!
Haven't seen Harris in years, but it seems like a good sign that she's at the top of this bill, even on a Wednesday.

12.13   thursday
Ami Saraiya & the Outcome with Kory Quinn & the Comrades, Will Phalen & the Stereo Addicts (Hideout)   FRIENDS OF COZ!
If the Hideout had a marquee, I would worry that they have enough ampersands for this one. You may recall Kory Quinn from a Globe open mic visit about six months ago. I've known him for years, as his family were early supporters of the Chicago Fire.

Japandroids with Diiv (Metro)
For my money, the most overrated band of the year. The guitar and drums duo don't sound particularly original--at least to anyone who's ever heard a Husker Du record--and the songs don't strike me as particularly good. But critics like visceral punch more than actual songs in their rock bands these days, it seems.

Murley Shertz with Dead On, God & Architects (Schubas)
We've played with these guys a couple of times now, and they've got a certain youthful ambtion, or maybe precociousness about them. That may be a prerequisite when you're living anywhere near the jam-band genre, because so many of the core bases have been covered.

12.14   friday
Train with Karmin, Ed Sheeran, Tristran Prettyman (Chicago Theatre)
In what I can only assume is a holiday show for a radio station that hates me.

Sister Hazel with Vintage Blue, Russell Howard (House of Blues)
In case Train is just a bit too edgy for you. Or maybe it's vice versa. And Vintage Blue has some kind of promotional muscle behind them, as I've seen them a lot since they played a random showcase gig at the creative agency downstairs a bunch of months ago.

12.15   saturday
Outer Minds with Bare Mutants, Radar Eyes, Blizzard Babies (Empty Bottle)
Another Chicago band that's had a good year, and the capsule preview in the Reader makes me think the sound is an evolution from a 60s throwback vibe as the starting point.

Sister Hazel with Vintage Blue, Russell Howard (House of Blues)
See Friday's listing.

12.16   sunday
Of Monsters & Men with Elle King (Riviera Theatre)   SOLD OUT!
Of the current crop of contemporaries to Mumford & Sons, I rank these guys and Lumineers near the top of the list. They're also filming a JBTV performance and an XRT performance while in town, which I imagine will be pretty cool.

Richard Marx (Park West)
So, Tony and I have played a Christmas gig the last couple of years for the River North high-rise condo building where Richard Marx lives. True story.