list.in.to.chicago this week: 04.08.2013

It occurs to me that Elbo Room doesn't show up in the Reader online listings. While I'm way out of the loop on the local bands that typically play my old home away from home, I know I've got a friend playing there in a few weeks, and I might forget about it without the memory cue.

Pick of the week
Seriously, Billy Bragg at City Winery (Friday through Sunday) might be pretty amazing in light of current world events. Living Colour (Thursday at Park West) and Fleetwood Mac (Saturday at United Center) are probably worth it if you haven't seen either band before, at least.

list.in.to.COZ
Just regular office hours Tuesday night at Vaughan's this week.

Recap
Managed to catch "Friend of Coz" Kelly Steward and the Restless Kind on Friday night at the Hard Rock Café, which was the first time I had ever seen a show there. Not a huge fan of the room, but Kelly's voice (and band) filled it up well.

4.08   monday
Young Man with T'Bone (Schubas)
Implodes with Population, Acteurs (Empty Bottle)
A couple of shows from Chicago artists that seem to be piquing enough interest for thorough previews in the Reader. Young Man has moved from covering indie rock on YouTube to recording original material, while Implodes is somewhere on the drone/shoegaze continuum.

Deerhoof with People Get Ready, Delphines (Lincoln Hall)
Not Deerhunter, the other one. I think they do this to me on purpose. And both of them get labeled as "noise rock," which doesn't help.

4.09   tuesday
Open Jam (Vaughan's)   COZ SINGS!
I forget if I mentioned it last week, but I finally got my copy of Beck's Song Reader. Not sure when I'll have anything from the album of sheet music ready to play.

Fu Manchu with Bloodnstuff, Jar'd Loose (Double Door)
I feel like these guys were stoner rock before stoner rock was really a thing, although their first proper record came out two years after the likes of Kyuss, Monster Magnet and Sleep.

Hot 8 Brass Band with Bumpus (Beat Kitchen)
New Orleans brassy soul-funk from a band I had not previously heard of, although they've been at it since 1995.

4.10   wednesday
Dirty Heads with Shiny Toy Guns, Midi Matilda, Oh No Fiasco (House of Blues)
The first time I saw Shiny Toy Guns was at Beat Kitchen a million years ago, and at the time, I was fairly convinced that the drums weren't miked and the drummer was just basically miming the pre-recorded tracks.

Massive Ego with Life Partner, Wedding Photography (Subterranean)
Okay, so one of these band names on a bill would seem a bit too cute by half, but all three of them together make it kinda funny.

4.11   thursday
Living Colour (Park West)
The band is touring to celebrate the 25th anniversary of their debut album, Vivid. If I hadn't seen them last time around at the much smaller Double Door, I'd probably all over this.

Kenny Garrett Quintet (Jazz Showcase)
The alto saxophonist's C.V. reads like a who's who of jazz, including the likes of Thad Jones & Mel Lewis, Miles Davis, and Chick Corea. I vaguely recall him touring with Sting behind Nothing Like The Sun, but I can't find confirmation online. Might be in the tour program I still have hidden away somewhere at home.

The Men with Gun Outfit, Skrapyard (Lincoln Hall)
Screaming Females with Treasure Fleet, Brokedowns (Subterranean)
Local music splitting along gender lines. Heh.

John Scofield's Hollow Body Band (SPACE, Evanston)
Still one of the best in the business as far as jazz guitar goes.

4.12   friday
Billy Bragg with Kim Churchill (City Winery)
The English activist singer puts on a strong show in the first place, but coming so close on the heels of Margaret Thatcher's death, this could be epic.

Family of the Year with Mowgli's (Schubas)
Hey, it's another indie folk band! This one has two Welsh brothers who grew up in the States, and almost as many former members as current members despite having only been a band since 2009. I thought Mowgli's were playing Lollapalooza, but apparently I saw the name somewhere else.

Roni Size with MC Questionmark, Stunna, Sebo, Alfonz Delamota, Kruser (The Mid)
This is just a DJ set from Roni Size, which is too bad, as he puts on as good an electronic music show as you're every going to see (read: uses live instruments) with Reprazent, now re-formed as of 2008. I saw them at House of Blues back in 2000 or 2001 after In The Mode came out.

Larry McCray (Reggie's Music Joint)
Notable mostly because I haven't ever seen the Detroit blues guitarist (or any other major blues artist) at this venue.

Widespread Panic (UIC Pavilion)
Actually saw TV commercials for this one, which proclaimed that "the hiatus is over." There was hiatus? Also proclaimed they'd be playing all your favorite songs, but I honestly don't think they're playing any of my favorite songs, because none of them are by Widespread Panic.

Kenny Garrett Quintet (Jazz Showcase)
See Thursday's listing.

4.13   saturday
Fleetwood Mac (United Center)
Not quite the close-up view of Lindsey Buckingham's spider-like fingers that we got at City Winery, but lots more songs to sing along to, for sure. Also, I still maintain that Animal from The Muppets is more Mick Fleetwood than Keith Moon. Mostly because of the bug-eyed expression.

Talib Kweli (Double Door)
I've mostly come down on the Mos Def side of Black Star, but that's because the highly-regarded collaboration with Talib Kweli pre-dated my introduction to Mos Def's The New Danger, and I never did go back to check out the history.

Redd Kross with Outer Minds, Circles (Empty Bottle)
This seems like a pretty small venue for the pop punk band, whose first ever gig was opening up for Black Flag.

Billy Bragg with Kim Churchill (City Winery)   SOLD OUT!
See Friday's listing. And go to Friday or Sunday's show if you're interested, because there aren't any tickets for this one.

Widespread Panic (UIC Pavilion)
See Friday's listing.

Kenny Garrett Quintet (Jazz Showcase)
See Thursday's listing.

4.14   sunday
Billy Bragg with Del Barber (City Winery)
Okay, apparently three nights from Billy Bragg, only with a different opener on the third date.

Ike Reilly Assassination with Mawcrest (Schubas)
Not quite sure how long this "Vespers Residency" is going on, but apparently it is, in fact, still going on.

Kenny Garrett Quintet (Jazz Showcase)
See Thursday's listing.