list.in.to.chicago this week: 03.30.2015

Damn. If you were planning to see a show this week, I hope you got tickets in advance.

Pick of the week
Even if so many good options (looking at you, OK Go at Metro on Friday) weren't sold out, I'd have The Ting Tings at Thalia Hall on Saturday pretty high up on the list. As it stands, it's almost the only real option. And a good one at that.

list.in.to.COZ
Once again, mark your calendars for NEXT FRIDAY, when Andrew Fraker & Sons celebrate the release of our new album (which is already available on iTunes, Spotify, etc.) at Cubby Bear. It might also be our last show, which means I don't know when you might hear me play live original music again.

Recap
Aside from personal space issues on the main floor of Metro, TV On The Radio was pretty great. In a perfect world, I'd like the drummer to dig in a bit more (like maybe Josh Garza from Secret Machines) and the guitars to have a bit more focus to their tone, but that's purely nitpicking. I loved hearing the new record live, and the rest of the set hit pretty much every other album in the catalog. Openers Nostalghia were as good of a drums-cello-vocal trio as I've ever seen (okay, the drummer was triggering a lot of stuff, and there were backing tracks).

3.30   monday
Big Data with On An On, Chappo (Lincoln Hall)
I'm still trying to figure out if modern electropop is conforming too much, given the sheer sonic possibilities once you decide a MacBook is an instrument in the band. I will say that if you don't want to be considered a flavor-of-the-month band, you may want to avoid trendy phrases from other subcultures. Although I would totally change my mind if they ever went on tour with Total Quality Improvement or Key Performance Indicators. Actually, a tour with Metric wouldn't be out of the question. It would be the modern version of Ratt touring with Poison (which actually happened, several times).

George Ezra with Ruen Brothers (Metro)   SOLD OUT!
While we're talking about touring combinations, this 21-year old (and clearly popular) English singer/songwriter should never, ever play within 50 miles of Better Than Ezra.

Robbie Fulks (Hideout)
For this week's installment of the residency, Fulks will be playing Elvis Costello's Get Happy record.

3.31   tuesday
Open Jam (Vaughan's)   COZ SINGS!
I don't know if the number of open mics in the city is dwindling, or what, but we've been enjoying a steady stream of musicians for a few months now, and almost always a few folks who have never been there before.

Owls with Love of Everything (Hideout)
You guys (presumably) read this every week, right? Why do I know who Owls are, again? I think I might have read something in the Reader and been just a little bit intrigued.

4.01   wednesday
Bleachers with Joywave, Night Terrors of 1927 (Riviera Theatre)   SOLD OUT!
You'll know that this whole electro-/alterna-pop trend will be fully played out when the next record from Fun totally switches gears in response to cheaper imitations running amok, sort of like Mumford & Sons is trying to do with the whole "arena folk" thing right now. Although the heritage of this band might actually be closer to Andrew WK, the more I listen to it.

Genome with Grood (Tonic Room)
The headliner has been playing there forever, but with Grood on the bill, and with Save the Clocktower there last week, the Lincoln Park seems to be trying to expand on the "DePaul jam bands" vibe.

4.02   thursday
Patti Smith (Old Town School of Folk Music)   SOLD OUT!
Billed as "Spring Awakening (A Celebration of Poetry & Song)" and, as you would expect from a name this big in a space this small, sold out for two of the three nights as of this writing. Saturday will probably be gone soon enough.

Darius Rucker (Joe's)
Of course he's playing Joe's. This reminds me of one of my favorite jokes of the Craig Kilborn-era Daily Show, when Rucker was up on an assault charge. "Lawyers for the Hootie & The Blowfish frontman said he could not have been involved in the attack, as it happened on the sidewalk, and everything Rucker has ever done has been middle-of-the-road."

4.03   friday
OK Go with Brede Baldwin (Metro)   SOLD OUT!
I'm digging the new record from the YouTube sensations, former Chicagoans and occasional New York Times opinion columnists a lot more than I had expected, so I'll be watching Metro's Twitter feed like a hawk this week in case any tickets shake loose.

Belle & Sebastian with Honeyblood (Riviera Theatre)   SOLD OUT!
The Scottish band just released their second album since The Life Pursuit sorta kicked off their second act back in 2006. Doesn't seem like the time off has scattered their fan base at all.

Father John Misty with King Tuff (The Vic)   SOLD OUT!
The side project from one of the Fleet Foxes is maybe the first of what I suspect will be many acts now officially coming through town in the spring before they hit Lollapalooza.

Cracker with Shams Band (Cubby Bear)
When a band is so closely associated with their biggest song and/or album ("Low" and Kerosene Hat in this case), it can seem like they're really milking a brief time in the sun. But the reality is that David Lowery and Johnny Hickman seem to be the type of artists who will continue to make and perform their music until they are physically unable to anymore. And there's nothing wrong with that.

Patti Smith (Old Town School of Folk Music)   SOLD OUT!
See Thursday's listing.

4.04   saturday
DIVER (Fado Irish Pub)   SEE COZ LIVE!
In which we will once again try to avoid playing "Wagon Wheel." Emphasis on "try."

The Ting Tings with Kaneholler (Thalia Hall)
Of all the guitar/drum duos (with and without backing tracks or sequencers) out there, Katie White and Jules De Martino are far and away my favorite. It's fun without being overly simplistic, and catchy without being overtly sugary.

The Mowgli's with Night Riots, Hippo Campus (Metro)
I keep thinking that this California alt-rock collective's name is pretty much just the plural form of that Scottish post-rock band from Scotland, but I checked, and that's actually Mogwai.

Clip Art with Power Haunts, Julian Lynch (Schubas)
This local band used to rehearse down the hall from us, and I recall liking what they were doing. I wonder where they've landed since that building kicked out all the bands.

Patti Smith (Old Town School of Folk Music)
See Thursay's listing, but with some tickets remaining.

4.05   sunday
La Dispute with Title Fight, The Hotelier (Metro)   SOLD OUT!
Given the ticket availability, I'm clearly late to the party on this Grand Rapids post-hardcore band. Sorta reminds me of a slightly sloppier (and not in a bad way) version of Sparta. Lots of similarities in the guitar tones and overall sound of the vocals.