list.in.to.chicago this week: 01.13.2014

One of the things I like about this Tomorrow Never Knows festival is that they aren't afraid to own some schedule that's typically a tough sell in Chicago, that being the month of January.

Pick of the week
The two standouts this week for me are definitely the Robert Glasper Experiment on Thursday at Double Door, and then Superchunk and Split Single at Metro on Saturday. If that's not enough, there's Justin Townes Earle on Friday at Concord Music Hall, which I have yet to visit.

list.in.to.COZ
At least a cameo appearance at Vaughan's on Tuesday, and then it's Diver again on Saturday night at Fado. See you there?

Recap
Between the cold and the return to the working world, I laid low last week.

1.13   monday
Robbie Fulks (Hideout)
The bard of Wabansia is back for his regular Monday night residency.

1.14   tuesday
Open Jam (Vaughan's)   COZ SINGS!
Having gotten the first week at the new job behind me, we'll see how I do with re-introducing elements of my normal weekly extracurricular schedule this week.

Crosses with Dawn Golden, Makeshift Prodigy, Dead Woods, Daylight Dawns (House of Blues)
Okay, so this is a side project of Deftones singer Chino Moreno. I knew I had heard some buzz about it, and that's undoubtedly why. And I still haven't seen Makeshift Prodigy since that one time way back in 2009 when they made not quite a good, but at least a not-bad impression.

1.15   wednesday
Cayucas with Jeremy Messersmith, Bonzie, Bad Bad Hats (Lincoln Hall)
Part of Tomorrow Never Knows. Peter Margasak at the Reader was reminded of early Vampire Weekend if they were trading in Caribbean rhythms instead of African, crossed with some old Beach Boys influences. Sounds reasonably intriguing.

1.16   thursday
Robert Glasper Experiment with R.O.E., Jeffrey Gibbs (Double Door)
Calling his new record simply Black Radio 2 had me thinking it was either another remix project, or maybe a bunch of unreleased music from those 2012 sessions, but it's apparently a whole new record. And I liked the first one a lot, so I'll have to check that out. Ticket price for this is a little steep, and the emphasis on the pricier VIP ticket has me a bit concerned about the non-VIP experience.

Snarky Puppy (Metro)
Another Tomorrow Never Knows show, and the lack of an opening act may have something to do with this Brooklyn collective's roster of as many as 40 people, playing "an infectious mixture of jazz, funk and world music." I suspect they like to stretch out. And they do not appear to have anything to do with industrial band Skinny Puppy.

Buddy Guy with Mike Wheeler Band (Buddy Guy's Legends)
It looks like only Saturday night's show this week is sold out. Not only that, but there's a video archive of select shows from the residency on the venue's website.

1.17   friday
Justin Townes Earle, Felice Brothers, Drew Holcomb (Concord Hall)
Tomorrow Never Knows isn't the only game in town this week. There's also the Chicago Bluegrass & Blues Festival, which used to be held primarily at the Congress, so it's not surprising it's moved down the street. Steve Earle's kid is a great performer in his own right, as I'm sure I've mentioned before.

Rural Alberta Advantage with Kopecky Family Band, Mutual Benefit (Lincoln Hall)
I have one friend who really likes these guys. I've either liked what I've heard, or I'm getting them confused with Alberta Cross. I think it's actually the latter.

Shemekia Copeland with Lucky 3 Blues Band (SPACE, Evanston)
The preview on this one points out that Copeland has expanded from just the heir apparent of female blues singers to a bit more of a roots rock artist.

Buddy Guy with Corey Dennison (Buddy Guy's Legends)
See Thursday's listing.

1.18   saturday
DIVER (Fado Irish Pub)   SEE COZ LIVE!
Let me take this opportunity to suggest to Andrew and Tony that we add "Let My Love Open The Door" to the set, because we probably all sorta know it already. Just in case they're reading.

Superchunk with Roomrunner, Split Single (Metro)
For a band that's been around as long as they have, the special place in my heart for Superchunk is a lot more recent, as their chunky, distorted pop-punk was such a welcome tonic to two nearly insufferable days of electronica and indie dance crap at Pitchfork a few years ago. Plus, you've got Jason Narducy's new project on the bill, which may or may not share Superchunk's drummer.

Shifting Totem with Tomorrow the Moon, Still Machine (Burlington)   FRIENDS OF COZ!
I'm developing a bad habit of seeing friends' new bands really early in their existence, while they're still working out their internal kinks. Such is the case with Tomorrow the Moon, who I wasn't able to get a good read on when I first saw them, and who I haven't had the opportunity to see again since to rectify that situation.

REO Speedwagon (Rosemont Theater)
First off, come on, it's REO Speedwagon. Second, I thought it curious that it was listed online as the Rosemont Theater. I thought someone had bought the naming rights for that venue, although those deals don't last forever.

Buddy Guy with Quinn Sullivan (Buddy Guy's Legends)   SOLD OUT!
See Thursday's listing. Again, as of press time, this was the only show this week marked as sold out on the club's website.

1.19   sunday
Yuck with Diarrhea Planet, Pink Frost, Alvvays (Lincoln Hall)
Reading the Reader capsule preview for this one, I can only just barely wrap my head around the notion that a band called Diarrhea Planet "occasionally quiets down for a serene melody."

Buddy Guy with the Chicago Blues All-Stars (Buddy Guy's Legends)
See Thursday's listing.