list.in.to.chicago this week: 04.01.2013

Honestly, I can't remember the last time a cold took me out for more than a week. I think I'm finally mostly back to normal, but early last week I barely moved off the couch. Which meant no list. Sorry.

Pick of the week
Highlights this week include The Joy Formidable tomorrow at The Vic and Garbage on Wednesday at the Riv.

list.in.to.COZ
Just Vaughan's this week, unless you're getting married at the Irish-American Heritage Center this Saturday.

Recap
So, between Django Django a few weeks ago and alt-J this past Thursday, I'm detecting a bit of a trend with weak vocal melodies (harmonically speaking) with sort of "extended" harmonies. It could be a byproduct of recent Radiohead records. given the lack of traditional song structure that seems to go with it. In this particular instance, it would be more problematic if the drummer for alt-J wasn't as good as he was. He even adopts the old late 70s/early 80s aesthetic trick of eschewing cymbals entirely, which I only hope he did knowing the history of that particular choice.

4.01   monday
Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds with Sharon Van Etten (Chicago Theatre)
I feel like Cave is some sort of dark prince of indie rock. He's been around for so long, but still comes across as a cult figure, big show at a very mainstream downtown venue notwithstanding. There's an aftershow at Empty Bottle that was announced this morning, too, but tickets are probably gone for that already.

Dawes (Reggie's Rock Club)
This is a free show, starting at 6pm, from a band that's gotten a fair amount of buzz as a good, old-fashioned rock and roll band.

Wavves with FIDLAR, Cheatahs (Subterranean)   SOLD OUT!
So, you could see them in a small club on a Monday night, or wait and see them in the early or mid-afternoon in a big field at Lollapalooza, as they're on the list that was just officially announced.

Les Rhinoceros with Gottes Sohn (Township)
I think I saw something last week that described this band as a regional prog-rock band that has evolved their sound, but the band itself is proving to be somewhat ungoogleable, which Google tried to prevent from being an actual word in Sweden last week.

4.02   tuesday
Open Jam (Vaughan's)   COZ SINGS!
As with the list, I had to take last week off to wage an epic battle for my overall health. But I'll be back this week. To celebrate Easter, I may tackle some songs about zombies.

The Joy Formidable with Guards, Kitten (The Vic)
The Welsh trio continues to rock out on their latest album in ways Silversun Pickups wishes they could, but I can't help thinking there are at least a few spots where they sort of mouthed the sounds they were looking for, then forgot to record those sounds with actual instruments. And I want to say I heard a bit of noise about Guards from South by Southwest a few weeks back.

Sigur Ros with Oneohtrix Point Never (UIC Pavilion)
I've read that the live show from the Icelandic band is supposed to be really good, but I can't help thinking that a really good performance of Sigur Ros songs would put me to sleep. A really satisfying, ethereal sleep, but still, I might snore.

4.03   wednesday
Garbage with IO Echo (Riviera Theatre)
The second U.S. leg of the band's current tour brings them to one of my least favorite venues in Chicago, making me really happy I saw them on the first leg. They do seem to be having fun now that they're out on their own and not beholden to a record label.

Genome (Tonic Room)
A new generation of acid jazz on a Tuesday. For their sake, I hope it's a steady thing, because that's how you build that sort of thing.

Mika (Lincoln Hall)
Pop music that seems to have been buffered to a high shine. A bit too shiny for my liking.

4.04   thursday
Mutts with Paper Thick Walls (Hideout)
Saw Paper Thick Walls a month or two back, and liked them quite a bit. And a colleague of mine in New York knows Mutts and has been telling me to go see them for a few years now.

Toots & the Maytals with On Your Marx (House of Blues)
One of the longer-running reggae acts in the business. We had Toots do a show at the U of C back when I was there, except he decided to go shopping on Michigan Avenue and didn't tell anyone.

4.05   friday
Archer Live! (Chicago Theatre)
Not music, but some of the cast of the FX animated series will be reading a script live and taking questions. Should be fun.

Anthrax with Exodus, High On Fire, Municipal Waste, Holy Grail (House of Blues)
After sitting out the band's Australian tour for personal reasons, Charlie Benante seems to be back in the drummer's chair here for the "Metal Alliance" tour.

Bad Religion with the Bronx, Polar Bear Club (Congress Theater)
Speaking of drummers, when we last saw Brooks Wackerman, he was backing up Tenacious D to great effect. He's been playing for the long-running L.A. punk band since 2003.

Makeshift Prodigy with Comasoft, Mighty Fox, Bright White, Ship Captain Crew (Reggie's Rock Club)
Since I saw this local band back in 2009, they've apparently been signed to Atlantic Records and have landed a spot at this year's Lollapalooza.

Smith Westerns (Schubas)
There's a good chance the Chicago band will preview material from their upcoming album, which should be out in June. The last one seemed to do well on Fat Possum, so I'm not sure why they've switched to another indie label for this effort. Tickets are apparently going fast.

Sybris with Rabid Rabbit, Killer Moon (Bottom Lounge)
Could a Saturday night headlining slot in a decent-sized venue mark a bit of a comeback for the local hard rock band?

Engines (Green Mill)
Peter Margasak at the Reader calls this jazz band one of Chicago's best, and reminisenct of the Dave Holland Quintet.

4.06   saturday
Flatlanders (Mayne Stage)
Pretty much a who's who of roots music, with Joe Ely, Butch Hancock and Jimmie Dale Gilmore having played together on and off since the 70s.

Mike Nesmith (Old Town School of Folk Music)
The one member of the Monkees who wasn't just an actor. Not sure what he's doing on this tour, but he's always been a bit of an odd duck. Or monkey, I guess.

Jamie Lidell with Empress of, Ludwig Persik (Lincoln Hall)
Of the two acts playing tonight that straddle the line between soul and pop, this is the one I'd rather check out.

Galactic with Nigel Hall Band (Park West)
Save maybe the Neville Brothers, I'm hard-pressed to come up with a more prominent New Orleans funk band. And the Nevilles are maybe more R&B, anyway.

Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band with Joe Walsh (United Center)
Things I learned just now from Wikipedia: Bob Seger opted to not take a third of the songwriting credit for "Old Time Rock and Roll," but he did co-write "Heartache Tonight" from the Eagles.

Maroon 5 with Neon Trees (Allstate Arena)
I haven't read his book, so I'm not sure, but based on a short exchange with Bill Maher, I think Clive Davis may be the main reason Adam Levine and his band started chasing the dance-friendly pop sound rather than continue the more blue-eyed soul vibe on their first record.

Cold War Kids with Houses (Metro)
The California quartet's last two records charted higher than their debut record, but none of the songs from those two seemed quite as pervasive as "Hang Me Up To Dry" or "Hospital Beds," the latter of which worked it's way onto my iPod at some point.

Engines (Green Mill)
See Friday's listing.

4.07   sunday
John Medeski (Old Town School of Folk Music)
This reminds me, I never did track down that Spectrum Road record, where keyboardist Medeski paird up with Vernon Reid, Cindy Blackman-Santana and Jack Bruce.

Liquid Soul (Abbey Pub)
I still have this vague feeling that acid jazz is making a bit of a comeback in Chicago right now.