list.in.to.chicago this week: 07.14.2014

Recovering from the Brazil trip took a bit longer than I expected.

Pick of the week
The Dum Dum Girls P4K aftershow on Saturday night at Bottom Lounge looks solid if it's not sold out. Tonight's Veruca Salt show at Lincoln Hall definitely is, otherwise I'd recommend it. And then Saturday with Gelheads at Elbo Room is quite a blast from the past.

list.in.to.COZ
After a two-month layoff, Diver is back in action this Saturday at Fado. Might be late for Vaughan's on Tuesday, because they're showing the RiffTrax version of Sharknado at the movie theater down on Roosevelt, and I can't miss that.

Recap
Since we last spoke, OutKast was a fun ride at Summerfest a few weeks back, and Gary Clark, Jr. exorcised his lackluster Lollapalooza set from a few years back with a blistering show to open things up.

Then it was Thalia Hall for the first time to see Gillian Welch. They've done a great job with the new venue, and for a decent-sized room, it worked really well with an artist as intimate as Welch. Her "hillbilly music" ran the gamut from uplifting to heartbreaking, with the kind of on-stage poise that comes from lots and lots of performances.

7.14   monday
Veruca Salt with Battleme (Lincoln Hall)   SOLD OUT!
Mark Caro at the Trib did a long piece on the reconciliation and reunion of one of Chicago's 90s success stories. Heard one of the new tunes today, and they sound like they've hardly missed a beat. Also, yet another reason you should follow Chicago music venues on Twitter, as Lincoln Hall released a few tickets to the sold out show this afternoon.

Seun Kuti & Egypt 80 with Chicago Afrobeat Project (Concord Music Hall)
It's been mostly EDM and pop-punk at the Logan Square venue so far, so it's nice to see some world music get in on the action.

Counting Crows, Toad the Wet Sprocket, Daniel & the Lions (Ravinia Festival, Highland Park)
We were going to do a band field trip for this one, but sorta lost some steam on the follow-through. It's probably going to rain anyway.

7.15   tuesday
Open Jam (Vaughan's)   COZ SINGS!
It's turning into a pretty solid mix of participants doing interesting things coupled with "what the hell is the house band going to try next," which last week included an acoustic version of "Whole Lotta Love" sung by our favorite bartender Monica.

3 Doors Down with Amy Lavere (House of Blues)
Not to be confused with Third Eye Blind. Or 311. But now that I've ruled those two out, I can't remember what their one or two radio hits were.

7.16   wednesday
Virgil Donati Band (Martyrs')
I think Donati broke through mostly on the strength of his drum clinics, so this should be one of those shows where all the notes get played.

Lauryn Hill (House of Blues)
It's been sixteen years since The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, and the singer has most recently been applying her creativity to interpretation of tax law, which landed her in prison last year.

7.17   thursday
Farewell Captain with Intimate Machines, Dog Brain, The Fabulous Naturals (Township)   FRIENDS OF COZ!
It's been quite a while since I've seen one-time URT bassist Chris Frantisak's last-known band (to me, anyway) playing a show, and the fact that their most recent Facebook post starts with "Wait, bands are supposed to play shows?" suggests they've been laying low.

Chris Siebold & Psycles with Misremember (Wire, Berwyn)   FRIENDS OF COZ!
It's a good night for musicians I've played with in previous bands, with the local guitarist's stylistically wide-ranging ensemble is back in action.

Dick Dale, Ambassadors to Earth (SPACE, Evanston)
Are we getting to where "the guy who does the surf-rock song from Pulp Fiction" no longer works as a point of reference? And if so, could you please GET OFF MY LAWN?

7.18   friday
Billy Joel (Wrigley Field)
The piano man takes a break from his monthly Madison Square Garden residency to play another venue that rarely sees sports championships.

Pitchfork Music Festival (Union Park)
The big festivals are finally upon us. Highlights of the first night include Sharon Von Etten, Giorgio Moroder and, of course, Beck.

Deafheaven with Perfect Pussy (Bottom Lounge)
This is the band that made a bunch of year-end top ten lists last year that I hadn't really heard anything about until that point, and while I know I gave them a spin back then, I don't recall much.

Sons of the Silent Age with Gnuman (Wire, Berwyn)   FRIENDS OF COZ!
Chris Connelly's Bowie tribute is back, and I think this is another benefit show of some sort. Not sure if Matt Walker is back in the fold for this one, or if he's still on the road with Morrissey.

Phish (FirstMerit Bank Pavilion)
I'm not sure if it's three nights of shows from the uber-jam band, or one single show that lasts three nights. Could go either way.

7.19   saturday
DIVER (Fado Irish Pub)   SEE COZ LIVE!
Since joining us on bass, Andrew has been keeping us on our toes and pushing us to add new songs, to the point where we could probably do an entire set of songs we either just learned or have only tried once so far.

Pitchfork Music Festival (Union Park)
Honestly, the only must-see for me on day 2 of the festival would be St. Vincent.

Dum Dum Girls with Ex Hex, Speedy Ortiz (Bottom Lounge)
Real Estate with Peter Matthew Bauer (Lincoln Hall)
Pitchfork aftershows that features some of the better acts from Sunday's festival lineup.

Shoes with Valley Downs (SPACE, Evanston)   FRIENDS OF COZ!
A rare show from the local power-pop heroes, who released a new record in 2012 after an eighteen-year hiatus. Our good friend Mike G and Valley Downs open.

Gelheads with Drawing a Blank, Simple Simon, Mari Zen (Elbo Room)   FRIENDS OF COZ!
Looks like some longtime Chicago music scene vets got the itch to play again, as this lineup could have easily been from, say, 2004.

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

7.20   sunday
Pitchfork Music Festival (Union Park)
Kendrick Lamar follows up his well-attended Lollapalooza afternoon set last year with the final headlining slot here. Real Estate and Dum Dum Girls are a few other standouts.

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