list.in.to.chicago this week: 06.10.2013

I'm not forgetting the "Spring Awakening" festival. I'm ignoring it.

Pick of the week
Keep an eye on Lincoln Hall's Twitter feed to see if they release any tickets for Dirty Projectors on Thursday. You've also got Divine Fits on Friday and then The Joy Formidable on Saturday at Taste of Randolph Street, which should both be worthwhile.

list.in.to.COZ
Just Vaughan's this week. Diver is back at Fado a week from Saturday.

Recap
Kinda bummed that we only caught half a song from Buke & Gase on Friday night, because seeing how much sound two people were putting out was pretty intriguing. I liked that the first three songs from Tomahawk were opening tracks from three different albums, but the band had some trouble reconciling Mike Patton's vocal gymnastics with the rest of the band. I love the guy, but we needed less of him and more of Duane Denison's guitar.

Sunday's Glen Hansard show featured the most punctual crowd I think I've ever experienced at Metro. Usually you can show up when the opener goes on for a sold out show and still get a halfway decent spot. Not this time, but he has a lot of short fans, so it was okay. Hansard is very talented, to be sure, and it showed through in both his songs and his emotional, earnest delivery. But his success may be leading to over-indulgence, as the horn section was unnecessary at best and detrimental at worst (the arrangement for "When Your Mind's Made Up" was a particular sticking poing), and after about two hours, the set just dragged on. Some of that may have been the 120% humidity in the venue, but honestly, I could have lived without the last 45 minutes or so of the performance and been perfectly happy.

6.10   monday
Glen Hansard with Lisa Hannigan (Pritzker Pavilion)
Not sure if the Frames and Swell Season singer/songwriter plans another 3-hour epic, but if you're going, I'm just saying be prepared for the long haul. And Lisa Hannigan is going to be completely inaudible in a large outdoor setting.

Chvrches with Still Corners (Lincoln Hall)
I've seen this band's name out there quite a bit, and I'm sure some of why I remember that is the odd spelling. But I'm starting to get tired of electropop, to be honest.

6.11   tuesday
Open Jam (Vaughan's)   COZ SINGS!
No hockey until Wednesday, so there's a really good chance we'll start on time, seeing as how the Vaughan's Tuesday night crowd is not likely to demand that they turn the sound on for the World Cup Qualifying match between the U.S. and Panama.

Japandroids with Crocodiles (Metro)
Can anyone out there explain why everyone gets so hot and bothered about this band? I just don't hear it. At best, they sound like a bad imitation of Husker Du to me, only without actual songwriting.

Henhouse Prowlers (Martyrs')
One of several things Martyrs' does really well is bluegrass, and they're starting a Tuesday night residency with this bluegrass band. Not sure for how long.

Chvrches with Still Corners (Lincoln Hall)   SOLD OUT!
See Monday's listing.

6.12   wednesday
Patty Griffin with Max Gomez (Athenaeum Theatre)
If you read that review of Laura Marling one or two newsletters ago and were bummed that you missed her, this show might be the next best thing.

Genome with Quantum Mechanics, Grunt (Tonic Room)
Some local college-crowd jam bands, if that's your thing.

Tributosaurus (Martyrs')
This month, they will become Neil Young.

6.13   thursday
Dirty Projectors (Lincoln Hall)   SOLD OUT!
Two shows. The first is all ages, and both are sold out. I didn't really find my way in with this band until I saw them live, at which point all the interlocking vocal parts really came together for me in a big way. It may have been that I thought those parts were synthesizers, so it was totally unexpected.

Winard Harper Quintet (Jazz Showcase)
The drumming half of the long-defunct Harper Brothers has had his own groups since the early nineties.

6.14   friday
Divine Fits with Escort, JC Brooks & the Uptown Sound, Great Divide, Heard, and others (Taste of Randolph)
This year's Taste of Randolph festival is pretty stacked, musically, with Britt Daniel's "other" project and Chicago's up-and-coming R&B act among the first day's highlights and headliners.

Fleetwood Mac (Allstate Arena)
If I had a lot more free time than I have now, I'd pay closer attention to which bands route United Center and Allstate Arena back-to-back, and which bands criss-cross the country and hit them coming in opposite directions, like Fleetwood Mac and also Van Halen last year.

Crystal Fighters with Alpine (Lincoln Hall)
I'm going to play the "it's at Lincoln Hall, and I feel like I've seen the name here and there, so it's probably good" card. Because, seriously, Lincoln Hall's track record has been pretty amazing so far.

Winard Harper Quintet (Jazz Showcase)
See Thursday's listing.

6.15   saturday
Joy Formidable with Greensky Bluegrass, Bear in Heaven, American Royality, Nathan Scott, and others (Taste of Randolph)
The Welsh rock trio headlines the second day of the festival, along with a bunch of bands I'm pretty sure I've never heard of.

Reverend Horton Heat with JD McPherson, Lee Rocker, Supersuckers (Aragon Ballroom)
This show is part of the "Mods vs. Rockers Vintage Motorcycle and Scooter Rally." Which could make for an interesting crowd. It's firmly taking the "rockers" side, and more specifically the rockabilly side.

Winard Harper Quintet (Jazz Showcase)
See Thursday's listing.

6.16   sunday
Daniel Lanois (Old Town School of Folk Music)
The uber-producer is in town for this show, and then a free Millenium Park show the following day. Not entirely sure what he's going to be doing, as it's just under his own name, and not his most recent project, Black Dub.

Mountain Goats with Baptist Generals (SPACE, Evanston)
I know just how fervent Mountain Goats fans are, so seeing John Darnielle in this small of a room is probably going to be a religious experience for those so inclined.

Eleventh Dream Day (Hideout)
The venerable local indie band sort of seems like our own version of Yo La Tengo in some ways. I'm not entirely sure why, but the comparison feels right for some reason.

Milo Greene with New Mastersounds, Main Squeeze, Lord Huron, Van Ghost, and others (Taste of Randolph)
After those two strong nights, this one is a bit less interesting. To me, anyway.

Winard Harper Quintet (Jazz Showcase)
See Thursday's listing.