list.in.to.chicago this week: 11.17.2014

So, the bad news is that there was a mistake in last week's list. The good news is that I got the week of the Split Single show wrong, so I can actually go see them this Friday.

Pick of the week
My holdover pick from last week, then, is Split Single at Lincoln Hall on Friday, although Stars at the Vic that night would be a solid choice as well. Earlier in the week, the blowout birthday celebration for Mavis Staples (Wednesday at the Auditorium Theatre) will either be epic, totally disjointed, or both.

list.in.to.COZ
It'll just be regular Tuesday night office hours at Vaughan's from here on out, but if you know me, you know what that means as we head into the holidays.

Recap
I'll echo all the effusive praise from both the Trib and the Reader for Stevie Wonder on Friday night. Stellar performance from a stellar artist, and seeing a ten-minute "Superstition" live is one of those concert moments you're not going to forget anytime soon. And since he told a very long story about the Rolling Stones, I think it's totally appropriate to mention how hilarious Craig Ferguson was on Sunday.

In between those two, the Fado crowd was not nearly as excited about "Sister Havana" as we were, but that'll happen.

11.18   tuesday
Open Jam (Vaughan's)   COZ SINGS!
It's November and it's really fucking cold. Might be Grinch time.

Julian Casablancas + The Voids with Shabazz Palaces and Cerebral Ballzy (The Vic)
Not entirely sure what I was expecting from the Strokes frontman, but this album is much weirder than I thought it would be, and weird in a good way.

Alex Clare with Taylor Berret (Metro)
I think this is the first in the WXRT Holiday Concert for the Kids series. Another soulful British singer with modern production, and a pretty nice cover of "Addicted to Love," to boot.

11.19   wednesday
I'll Take You There: Celebrating 75 Years of Mavis Staples (Auditorium Theatre)
Pretty much the musical event of the year, as Mavis Staples has become a bit of a local hero over the last couple of years. With Arcade Fire's Win Butler and Regine Chassagne, Jeff and Spencer Tweedy, Gregg Allman, Bonnie Raitt, Widespread Panic, Emmylou Harris, Taj Mahal and others.

Carl Palmer's ELP Legacy with Kurt Michaels Continuum (Reggie's Rock Club)
While it's not necessarily weird for a single member of a famous band to be touring on that band's material with a bunch of hired guns, it gets a little weird when that band was Emerson, Lake and Palmer and the tour is a guitar, bass and drums trio. Palmer is also pushing a live DVD and a collection of "Fine Art...created completely from movements captured while he was drumming." I'm not making that last bit up.

Ryan Schultz Quintet (Jazz Showcase)   FRIENDS OF COZ!
Chicago's favorite (I'm guessing here, but how many others are there?) bass trumpet player is having a CD release party with Tom Hipskind on drums, Chris Siebold on guitar, Eric Montzka on keyboards and Larry Kohut on bass. It's actually the quintet "plus one" for this show, with keyboardist Paul Mutzabaugh also on board.

11.20   thursday
Mike Doughty (City Winery)
Having done his re-interpretation of Soul Coughing tunes, I think Doughty is just back to his "normal" solo show, which is typically either just him, or him with a bass player.

Jason Marsalis Quartet (Jazz Showcase)
I think drummer Jason--who has been fronting this group on vibraphone since 2009--is maybe pulling ahead of trombonist and producer Delfeayo on the Marsalis leaderboard. Nobody's catching Wynton or Branford, though. Not even their dad.

Mucca Pazza (SPACE, Evanston)
I'd say that the hipster marching band seems like an odd fit for the intimate venue in Evanston, but then again, I saw Living Colour play there, so it seems anything and everything is game.

11.21   friday
Split Single with Bailiff (Lincoln Hall)
Until I saw the Sonic Highways Chicago episode, I had thought that Jason Narducy's initial claim to fame was as half of Jason & Alison, and not as a 14-year old bandmate of Dave Grohl's cousin playing all-ages punk rock shows.

Stars with Hey Rosetta (The Vic)
The Canadian indie rock band has sharp songwriting and a potent combination of rock and pop. Add the male/female vocal dynamic, and it's like they're a less chamber-pop version of New Pornographers.

Suzanne Vega (SPACE, Evanston)
Now, this is an artist that seems to make more sense in a small, intimate space. Or, you know, on the second floor, upstairs from you.

Joshua Redman Trio (City Winery)
If City Winery starts booking jazz acts like tenor saxophonist Redman more aggressively, it could make for an interesting competitive dynamic for artists who don't want to conform to Joe Segal's standard four-night run.

Jason Marsalis Quartet (Jazz Showcase)
See Thursday's listing.

11.22   saturday
Fitz and the Tantrums with Big Data (Riviera Theatre)   SOLD OUT!
Part of the current "alternative party music" trend, but with a bit more of a funk revival vibe than either fun. or Foster The People.

Run The Jewels with Ratking, Despot, David Ruffin Theory (Metro)
One of the higher-profile rap efforts of the last couple of years, comprised of El-P and Killer Mike. Two shows, and the late show is sold out. They've been absolutely blowing up social media.

John Hiatt with Andrew Ripp (Thalia Hall)
Benefit for the Oak Park-River Forest Food Pantry.

Grood with Pipes, Alice Drinks the Kool Aid (Wire, Berwyn)
I don't know if we'll be seeing more of Grood now that This Must Be The Band has gone away. I hope so.

First Aid Kit with Samantha Crain (The Vic)   SOLD OUT!
Nominally a Swedish folk duo, but I could have sworn that I saw a clip of them performing with a larger band. And they're going to be on a stamp in Sweden, so that's cool.

Larry Graham & Graham Central Station (City Winery)
Broadly considered to be either the inventor or one of the inventors of the slap-bass style. So Jerry Seinfeld totally owes this guy a debt of gratitude.

Robyn Hitchcock with Astromomer (Old Town School of Folk Music)
Everyone's favorite crazy British uncle, in singer/songwriter form.

Jason Marsalis Quartet (Jazz Showcase)
See Thursday's listing.

11.23   sunday
Sloan (Bottom Lounge)
So, the whole post-Cheap Trick power pop thing hit Canada, too, only we didn't hear about it all that much. Sloan has a long. long history in the Great White North, and a moderate amount of success here in the States.

Fitz and the Tantrums with Big Data (Riviera Theatre)   SOLD OUT!
See Saturday's listing.

Jason Marsalis Quartet (Jazz Showcase)
See Thursday's listing.