list.in.to.chicago this week: 10.28.2013

I feel a bit left out so far this week, as I was in no way musically influenced by Lou Reed or the Velvet Underground. Somehow, my path through music just missed them entirely.

Pick of the week
Liking the idea of Hood Smoke playing Synchronicity in its entirety on Thursday night at Jerry's in Wicker Park. Frank Turner (Tuesday at the Vic) is a fun show if you haven't seen him before, and probably the artist playing the Vic most likely to stop at Vaughan's afterwards. Finally, if you're of a certain age, My Bloody Valentine on Sunday night at the Aragon is probably a pretty big deal.

list.in.to.COZ
Saturday night will feature Diver at our home away from home, upstairs at Fado. Plus Tuesday night at Vaughan's, as per usual.

Recap
Remember when I wasn't sure if Janelle Monáe could replicate her expansive, eclectic records in a live setting? I shouldn't have worried. Very glad I got to see her in this small of a venue, because she probably won't be playing them for long.

10.28   monday
Cameron McGill with Wes Hollywood, Daniel & the Lion (Schubas)
Despite having mutual friends and hearing really good things about the Champaign, IL native, I think I've only heard him once. Vaguely remember it being pretty good, but honestly can't recall the details past that.

Speck Mountain with Implodes, Coke Weed, Lux Perpetua (Empty Bottle)
Free show, but keep an eye on your rearview mirror, as one of the guys from Speck Mountain rear-ended me in my old Subaru once.

10.29   tuesday
Open Jam (Vaughan's)   COZ SINGS!
I keep having good ideas for stuff to try out with a loop and an octave pedal, and then I both forget what I wanted to try, and subsequently don't have much time to work on it. Someday.

Frank Turner & the Sleeping Souls with Smith Street Band, Koo Koo Kanga Roo (The Vic)
Really enjoyed the English folk/punk singer when I saw and heard him for the first time two summers ago at Riot Fest. On record, the shout-along bar room choruses get to be a bit much, but it makes for a nicely raucous live show.

Born Ruffians with Twin Peaks (Lincoln Hall)
A friend of a cousin told me about these guys four or five years ago, but they were too underground at that point to show up on streaming services. If they're playing Lincoln Hall, I'm guessing they'll be easier to find online.

10.30   wednesday
Of Montreal with La Luz (Lincoln Hall)
Their new record sounds more like Odelay-era Beck than I remember.

John Vanderslice with Samantha Crain (Schubas)
An indie rock veteran, if there is such a thing. I recall a time when Vanderslice, Ted Leo and Spoon were a sort of indie holy trinity. Maybe Mountain Goats, too, at that point.

Lamb of God with Killswitch Engage, Testament, Huntress (Aragon Ballroom)
Now that frontman Randy Blythe's European legal troubles are behind him, I'm assuming the metal band is looking to make up for lost time. What I don't think I realized was that the Czech court did find Blythe "morally repsonsible" for the death of a teenage fan at a 2010 concert, just not criminally liable.

Toro y Moi with The Sea & Cake (The Vic)
I had originally assumed this was an electronica duo, what with the "y" in the Spanish/French mashup of a name. But it's just one guy, chilling with his laptop.

10.31   thursday
17th Annual Halloween Bash (Double Door)
Still the gold standard of bands pretending to be other bands for Halloween. With Slutter as KISS, AM Taxi as The Cars, Big Paraid and Brighton MA as Queens of The Stone Age, Hessler as W.A.S.P., and Silver Machines as Motorhead. Yes, W.A.S.P.

Hood Smoke with Miss Remember (Jerry's)   FRIENDS OF COZ!
Taking the Halloween show up a notch, this one has the bands performing specific albums from specific bands, rather than just covering the band. On tap are Synchronicity from the Police and Unplugged in NY from Nirvana. And Hood Smoke features the ubiquitous Chris Siebold on guitar.

Drive-By Truckers (The Vic)
For those of you who don't want to see bands pretending to be other bands, there's some modern southern rock, and they actually do tend to bring out the best of both the "modern" and the "southern" parts of that description.

11.01   friday
Chris Cornell with Bhi Bhiman (Cadillac Palace Theatre)   SOLD OUT!
The Soundgarden and Audioslave singer is doing another 'Songbook' tour, where he plays acoustic versions of songs from those bands and his solo records. Hopefully not all of his solo records, because that Timbaland-produced Scream was really, really bad. Most recently, he's got a song on the soundtrack to the new movie 12 Years a Slave.

Kansas (Copnernicus Center)
The 40th anniversary tour from what is probably the most successful American prog rock band features three original members, the bass player who's been with them since the 80s, and a violinist/multi-instrumentalist who joined in 1991. Carry on, wayward sons!

Cyndi Lauper with Hunter Valentine (Chicago Theatre)
Thirty years ago, girls just wanted to have fun. Now they want Tony awards. This is the 30th anniversary of Lauper's breakthrough album, She's So Unusual.

The Black Crowes (Riviera Theatre)
This band, to me, has a stronger claim as the heir apparent to the Grateful Dead than Phish, or Widespread Panic, or any of those latter-day jam bands that came into the game intending to jam. With the Crowes, I feel like the live experience evolved from a more traditional rock band origin more organically. They're still anchored by both Robinson brothers and one other original member. along with a new second guitarist and some other band members they picked up in the last ten years.

17th Annual Halloween Bash (Double Door)
Night 2 features a bunch of bands I've never heard of as bands that I have heard of. Sex Therapy as Janis Joplin, The Dead On as Joan Jett and The Blackhearts, Blackbox as U2, WaxWorks as The Black Keys and Tony Manno as Neil Young.

11.02   saturday
DIVER (Fado Irish Pub)   SEE COZ LIVE!
The bad news is that we only have two shows left this year. The good news is that we may be back at Fado every other week in 2014, and the increase in frequency has us stockpiling a whole bunch of new songs.

Okkervil River with Matthew E. White (Metro)
Seeing this band a bunch of years ago--opening for The Changes in 2005, actually--made me realize that a lot of the same qualities that make pastoral, elegiac indie-folk qualitatively good also makes me want to go to sleep while listening to it.

Cold War Kids with In the Valley Below (The Vic)
This is one of those bands where I have trouble getting past the sound of the singer's voice. On the other hand, this was the opening act I saw with White Lies a few weeks ago, so they're working their way up the food chain one tour at a time.

Eyehategod with Plague Bringer, Sweet Cobra, Repos, Witchbanger (Cobra Lounge)
Someday there will be a metal show comprising entirely of bands that are featured on the Kuma's Corner menu.

The Black Crowes (Riviera Theatre)
See Friday's listing.

11.03   sunday
My Bloody Valentine with Variety Lights (Aragon Ballroom)
Kevin Shields' seminal shoegazer band emerged from a long hiatus and returned to touring back in 2007, and then self-released a new record earlier this year with a "pay what you want" price tag. It must be noted that MBV still holds the title of loudest concert I've ever seen, at Metro with Dinosaur Jr. all the way back in February of 1992.

Pat Benatar and Neil Giraldo with Nicholas Barron (Copernicus Center)   FRIENDS OF COZ!
So, yeah, the Copernicus Center has become the go-to venue for seventies and eighties artists, it would seem. Longtime listee Nicholas Barron snagged the opening slot on this one, and I think he should show up in a denim jacket with the sleeves ripped off in tribute to Giraldo, because showing up in Benatar's outfit from "Love is a Battlefield" would be awkward.

Liquid Soul (Abbey Pub)
I was pleasantly surprised by the new-look Liquid Soul when I saw them a few years ago, so I'm curious to see how that's evolved with their monthly residency.

Eyehategod, Black Tusk, Inter Arma, Bloodyminded (Cobra Lounge)
This one doesn't have any Kuma's bands, but since I mentioned the show Saturday, I feel obligated to follow through on a two-night stand with entirely different support each night.