list.in.to.chicago this week: 12.16.2013

There probably won't be a list next week, just so you know. Even this week, things seem to peter out a bit at the end.

Pick of the week
I'm down with that Steak House Mints show on Thursday night at Martyrs', for sure. Also, Harry Shearer and Judith Owen in Evanston that same night looks like fun.

list.in.to.COZ
Tuesday night at Vaughan's will be the last chance to see me perform live in any capacity in 2013, as well as the last Vaughan's Open Jam of the year, since New Year's Eve is on a Tuesday.

Recap
Didn't see anything last week. Well, I saw The Hobbit. But that doesn't count. If you go see it, look for Stephen Colbert among the townspeople. I didn't see him.

12.16   monday
Red Fang with Cancer Bats, the Shrine, Radkey (Logan Square Auditorium)
The Reader calls it "groovy post-stoner metal," and they seem to really, really like it.

Patricia Barber Quartet (Green Mill)
I would love to see someone catch up with some of the local musicians who have been holding down steady, weekly gigs for years. Barber would be front and center, for sure.

12.17   tuesday
Open Jam (Vaughan's)   COZ SINGS!
There's been some talk about bringing back "theme nights" among the regular Open Jam participants. If we wanted to get crazy and topical, we could pick songs that have been sampled by Kanye West. Not sure if we can turn that around in time, and some folks may object to being asked to care about Kanye West in any capacity. Also, final Grinch performance of the season from yours truly. Last week got a brief taste of "Don't Eat The Yellow Snow," too.

Kanye West with Kendrick Lamar (United Center)
These are the rescheduled shows from back in early November. A lot of people are putting West's Yeezus album at or near the top of their year-end "best of" lists, but that doesn't quite make me curious enough to check it out. Feel free to let me know what I'm missing.

Wooten Brothers with Andreas Kapsalis & Goran Ivanovic Guitar Duo (Reggie's Rock Club)
I had previously only heard of the two Wootens who came up through Belá Fleck & The Flecktones, but I'm not surprised there are more musicians in the family. Added bonus that one of them is named Regi, given the venue.

12.18   wednesday
Kanye West with Kendrick Lamar (United Center)
See Tuesday's listing. Or the one I did back when these shows were originally supposed to happen.

12.19   thursday
Steak House Mints with Leslie Hunt, Temple Schultz (Martyrs')   FRIENDS OF COZ!
The first time I saw Steak House Mints was the first time they had performed their new record live. So it felt a bit stiff. By the next time I saw them in July, the band felt like they had fully inhabited the songs. And the record is really growing on me. "Eclectic pop" is probably the best way to describe it, as it can be all over the map, stylistically.

Harry Shearer & Judith Owen (SPACE, Evanston)
It's a holiday sing-a-long from the noted voice and character actor and his wife. My irrational hope is that Shearer sings "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch" as C. Montgomery Burns.

Bad Plus (Jazz Showcase)
While the trio may play fast and loose with their selection of material, the treatment is still traditional enough to not run afoul of Joe Segal's constraints.

Chicago Opera Theater's Orpheus & Euridice (Welles Park)
I mention this primarily because, unlike most operas, this one will be performed in a pool.

Mark Kozelek (Lincoln Hall)
Formerly of Red House Painters and Sun Kil Moon.

12.20   friday
This Must Be The Band with Genome (Martyrs')
If you're wondering why the Talking Heads tribute band ends up at the Lincoln Avenue venue so often, the lead singer is actually also a bartender there.

Deal's Gone Bad with Hard Lessons, Green Room Rockers, 6'10 (Double Door)
My history may be a bit off, but I think DGB is one of the longer-running local ska punk bands, of which there have been many.

Bob Mintzer Organ Trio (Green Mill)
The saxophonist has played with the likes of Buddy Rich, the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Big Band, Jaco Pastorius, and has been with the Yellowjackets since 1990. The organ trio record has Larry Goldings and Peter Erskine, but they're not doing the tour.

Bad Plus (Jazz Showcase)
See Thursday's listing.

Chicago Opera Theater's Orpheus & Euridice (Welles Park)
See Thursday's listing.

12.21   saturday
Eddie From Ohio with Jake Armerding (SPACE, Evanston)
I'm just amused that these guys are still around, seeing as how they were a niche act at best when I first heard of them about a dozen years ago. If they've managed to eke out a legitimate musical career over all that time, god bless 'em.

This Must Be the Band with Goran Ivanovic (Martyrs')
See Friday's listing, with a different opener.

Bad Plus (Jazz Showcase)
See Thursday's listing.

Bob Mintzer Organ Trio (Green Mill)
See Friday's listing.

Chicago Opera Theater's Orpheus & Euridice (Welles Park)
See Thursday's listing.

12.22   sunday
District 97 with Might Could, Zip Tang (Double Door)
Okay, so most of what I knew about this local prog-rock band was that John Wetton (King Crimson, U.K., Asia) has occasionally played/toured with them. What I didn't realize was that Leslie Hunt, who is playing earlier in the week at Martyrs', fronts the band, and that she was on American Idol.

Bad Plus (Jazz Showcase)
See Thursday's listing.

Chicago Opera Theater's Orpheus & Euridice (Welles Park)
See Thursday's listing.