list.in.to.chicago this week: 07.15.2013

I know we like to say Chicago is a great city for live music, but this is starting to get ridiculous.

Pick of the week
Tonight's We Are Scientists show at Schubas and then ...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead on Thursday at Double Door are the clear standouts for me this week.

list.in.to.COZ
Office hours at Vaughan's on Tuesday. The next Diver show is July 27th.

Recap
Friday night at Toyota Park was a good time, on balance. I had no idea Richard Thompson was such a formidable lead guitarist, having thought of him primarily as a folky singer/songwriter. Shows what I know. My Morning Jacket are an enjoyable and engaging live act, but I still manage not to get overly excited about them. But, again, a thoroughly enjoyable performance. Wilco is getting to where I need to beef up my knowledge of their catalog, or their shows are going to all run together. With the exception of the parts where Richard Thompson joins them on guitar for three songs and My Morning Jacket comes out for a version of "Cinnamon Girl."

Bob Dylan was, frankly, disappointing. His voice has lost a lot over the years, to the point where he'd strain on higher notes in a way that made it sound like he had a hole in his throat. But for us, the evening didn't hinge on his performance, so we appreciated the backing band for a bit and then tried to beat traffic, only to be thwarted by weekend work on the inbound Stevenson.

Also managed to catch just over half of a set from The Steakhouse Mints at Taste of Chicago on Saturday afternoon. Probably my third time seeing them, and the first time I felt they really connected. Something about the environment made it work.

7.15   monday
We Are Scientists with The Avantists (Schubas)
As much as I like this band, the fact that the only way to buy tickets in advance was to download some bullshit app on my phone has kept me from committing. My little sister actually used a loop of one of their songs for a modern dance project, and asked them if they'd be interested in performing it with her, but they had by that point moved from Brooklyn to London, where they've sold a lot more records.

7.16   tuesday
Open Jam (Vaughan's)   COZ SINGS!
Every once in a while, I like to try out acoustic version of monster pop hits. Last week I suddenly felt like learning "Get Lucky" from Daft Punk, but didn't have enough time to absorb the vocal melody. So it might happen this week, and maybe even with the loop pedal so I can stretch the ending without it becoming excruciatingly boring.

Mona with Champions, Elsinore (Subterranean)
So, I've become one of those people who skips opening acts more often than not, and occasionally I'll regret that when the one or two songs I hear when I do show up are really good. Such was the case with Mona way back when I saw Noel Gallagher at the Riv last year. The problem is that these bands tend to fall through the cracks easily, at least until they come back through town on their own.

7.17   wednesday
Beyonce (United Center)
The parade of mega-shows continues. I intially thought there were shows Wednesday and Friday, but the second date in the Reader online listing is actually a Friday in December, for those of you who like to plan ahead.

Louis Prima Jr. & the Witnesses with Nick Willett (City Winery)
The son of the iconic swing-era singer reportedly brings "a new edge and current attitude" to his father's classic songbook. Which is probably different from what David Lee Roth did when he covered "Just A Gigolo."

Kyle Gass Band with Tom Fuller Band (Double Door)
Not sure if the non-Jack Black half of Tenacious D is doing anything different from his old band Trainwreck, or if he's just owned up to his headline-worthy role in that band.

Dance Tribute to David Lynch (Martyrs')
Okay, so you may recall the first in this series from Grood/This Must Be The Band vocalist Kasey Foster, which was a somewhat unlikely dance tribute to Mr. Bungle. I can't tell if this one is more or less weird, but it's certainly artistically adventurous.

7.18   thursday
...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead with Ume, Red Paintings (Double Door)
I got way into this band back when Century of Self came out, but then didn't keep up when they released another record last year, which is still the one they're supporting here and at Pitchfork over the weekend.

Savages with Parquet Courts (Lincoln Hall)
I've heard both of these bands talked about enough to make my "to listen" list. Although I might have actually listened to them already and they didn't make an impression. This is a "Sound Opinions Live" taping, much like the Japandroids/Ty Segall show last year.

Courtney Love with Starred (House of Blues)
This is a tricky one, because so much of her on-stage persona centered on behavior that might not age very well. So she could be more mature, and be subsequently less interesting to fans who were attracted to that chaotic element, or she could stay that course and risk looking ridiculous doing it. Or she could still pull off the rebellious thing. And how many people are going to this show just for the train wreck potential?

New Kids on the Block with 98 Degrees, Boyz II Men (Allstate Arena)
Okay, so it's been possible to see Justin Bieber, The Jonas Brothers, One Direction (who apparently just played somewhere in the suburbs) and these three "elder" boy bands in the Chicagoland area in the space of, like, ten days. You get the sense that some parents are going to find refuge in this one after having to schlep their kids to one or more of the others, because it's "their" boy band.

7.19   friday
Pitchfork Music Festival (Union Park)
Of the three days, Björk is by far the most interesting headliner for me. Other acts on day one that I've heard of include Joanna Newsom and Wire. Or, rather, the other acts I've heard of are Joanna Newsom and Wire.

Pearl Jam (Wrigley Field)
Once again, the music schedule seems to be the only way we'll see a lot of hits at Wrigley. And I'm probably the only person who would be just as excited to see drummer Matt Cameron as Eddie Vedder, but I'd watch Matt Cameron play drums in a wedding band.

Glittermouse with Swimsuit Addition, Cell Phones, Blaise B. (Metro)
This is a CD release party for the local indie collective, who showed some promise when we played with them way back at the ill-fated Enclave show.

Phish (FirstMerit Bank Pavilion)
Well, I guess it's nice that it's not an 80s or 90s retread act? I've never really bought into Phish's quasi-academic approach to jamming, and they seem to fall into the Grateful Dead trap of rounding off all the rough edges to their improvisation.

Savages with Sky Ferreira, Johnny Hostile (Lincoln Hall)   SOLD OUT!
This week is apparently all about Savages, with the Thursday Sound Opinions thing, then this proper Pitchfork aftershow, and finally their actual Pitchfork set on Saturday. I wouldn't be surprised if they were playing somewhere on Sunday as well.

New Kids on the Block with 98 Degrees, Boyz II Men (Allstate Arena)
See Thursday's listing.

7.20   saturday
Pitchfork Music Festival (Union Park)
Day two seems kinda old-school indie, with Belle and Sebastian (est. 1996) heading up a dance card that also includes Low (est. 1993), The Breeders (est. 1990) and Swans (est. 1982).

Grandmaster Flash (The Shrine)
Okay, this kinda seems like a big deal that's going to get buried in Pitchfork coverage. It's not often you have the opportunity to see someone who helped invent such an influential genre of music.

Smash Mouth with Sugar Ray, Gin Blossoms, Vertical Horizon, Fastball (Ravinia Festival, Highland Park)
Well, if Matchbox Twenty and Goo Goo Dolls could play three nights at Rivinia, it's only fair that all these guys get to play one.

Godsmack (The Venue, Hammond, IN)
The thing that excites me most about this show is that it means I won't have to see those goddamn sponsored ads on Facebook about it anymore, because I have friends who have "liked" The Venue.

Phish (FirstMerit Bank Pavilion)
See Friday's listing.

7.21   sunday
Pitchfork Music Festival (Union Park)
So, yeah, R. Kelly is an odd choice for Pitchfork. But with M.I.A. up before him (and even Killer Mike much earlier in the day), it almost works as a standalone show for people willing to shell out $50 for a single-day ticket, and then an opportunity for people who have been standing out in the sun and mud for three days to either cut out early or expand their musical horizons.

Skylar Grey with Teammate (Schubas)
Call it the Colbert Bump. I saw Grey with Lupe Fiasco on The Colbert Report some time last year, and have been at least casually interested in checking her out since. I do like that the first track on her new album prominently features a Theramin in an urban/mainstream pop tune. The music aspires to a much larger venue than Schubas, so this could be interesting.

Phish (FirstMerit Bank Pavilion)
See Friday's listing.