list.in.to.chicago this week: 08.19.2013

Technology conspired against me to get this one done on Monday.

Pick of the week
Slim pickings this week, but you could make a day of the Festa Italiana on Taylor Street on Saturday and see both Grood and This Must Be The Band. And if it's not sold out, Grace Potter & The Nocturnals on Sunday at The Vic could be worthwhile.

list.in.to.COZ
Special full moon office hours Tuesday night at Vaughan's.

Recap
Ended up going to see Robert Randolph & The Family Band on Thursday. Probably would have appreciated it more had I never, ever seen gospel-driven blues before. Lots of arrangement and stylistic choices that wouldn't feel out of place at pretty much any Chicago blues club, and not necessarily done so well that it made the band stand out. Which isn't to say it was bad, just that I expected a bit more.

8.19   monday
Nootka Sound with Grood, Guide Our Ships, Z (Double Door)
Okay, it was last night, but worth pointing out that nobody has been able to knock Grood of the perch of being my favorite band in Chicago right now, and their last couple of shows have only solidified their lead. Being that weird without being off-putting is a neat trick, and not easy.

8.20   tuesday
Open Jam (Vaughan's)   COZ SINGS!
It's a full (and blue) moon tonight. Draw your own conclusions.

M13 (Quenchers)   FRIENDS OF COZ!
The adventurous big band is both filming this set and debuting an arrangement of "Third Stone From The Son" from Jimi Hendrix.

No with Motive (Schubas)
Assuming this is still the friend of a friend's band from Brooklyn, coming back through town again. And I like that marquee sort of reads "no motive."

Allman Brothers Band (Chicago Theatre)   SOLD OUT!
Jam bands playing traditional theatres with seats just seems weird. The Allmans and Widespread Panic seem to do that the most.

Journey (Ravinia Festival, Highland Park)
Despite their continued exhortations, I have to say I stopped believing a while ago. Probably around the Raised on Radio album.

8.21   wednesday
Whirr with Nothing, Videotape, Torture Love (Quenchers)
Time Out Chicago described them as a cross betwen Sigur Rós and My Bloody Valentine, which sounds intriguing.

Allman Brothers Band (Chicago Theatre)   SOLD OUT!
See Tuesday's listing.

Journey (Ravinia Festival, Highland Park)
See Tuesday's listing.

8.22   thursday
Alice in Chains with Jane's Addiction, Coheed & Cambria, and others (First Midwest Bank Ampitheatre)
This is unfortunately billed as the "Rockstar Energy Drink Uproar Festival." And the graphic on the Live Nation website does actually include a lion. Unironically, I think. I was also going to list out the "and others," but wow, they're nobody anyone anywhere has actually heard of. Unless they're big on Q87.7, which is sort of the same thing.

8.23   friday
Vintage Trouble with DJ Kaspar (Park West)
This band has been blowing up lately, but "blowing up" can also mean "marketed heavily by a deep-pocketed corporation who think they have all the surface trappings to be a moneymaker," so I'm not sure what to make of them yet. Let's just say I'm suspicious of new bands who play afternoon shows at ad agencies.

Sammy Hagar (FirstMerit Bank Pavilion)
Sammy's going to be pissed when he finds out the speed limit on Lake Shore Drive is only 40. I would get tired of mocking the time machine that is Northerly Island if it wasn't so much fun.

8.24   saturday
This Must Be The Band with Grood (Festa Italiana)
Okay, I'm guessing somebody lives near Taylor Street, as the same duo fronts both the "strangefunk" band I mentioned earlier and the Talking Heads Tribute band, who play different stages at this festival.

8.25   sunday
Negativland with Illusion of Safety, Good Willsmith (Empty Bottle)
Yes, I'm one of those people who only know this band because of the notoriety around their Casey Kasem/U2 mashup from back in the early nineties.

Grace Potter & the Nocturnals with Lucius (The Vic)
Bluesy rock with a powerful female vocalist, and a cursory listen to the last record made me think they're much, much better live, in part because Potter has some serious presence.