list.in.to.chicago this week: 10.20.2014

Lots of shows that have moved from their original venue this week. Well, three. But that's more than usual.

Pick of the week
I think Minus The Bear on Thursday at Bottom Lounge should be pretty good. Liking Dum Dum Girls (Metro) or maybe Rodrigo y Gabriela (Chicago Theatre) on Friday night. And I have to say, the Sunday lineup for Progtoberfest at Reggie's looks solid. If you're into that sort of thing.

list.in.to.COZ
Regular office hours at Vaughan's on Tuesday, and that's it unless you're attending a certain wedding in Vernon Hills.

Recap
Another one of those nights at Fado where a late-arriving crowd breathes life into what was a pretty slow gig. And apologies to Regal Standard for not catching their rare Elbo Room appearance in last week's list. There are still some holes in my sourcing for this thing, although you'd think I would at least check for Facebook events I've been invited to.

10.20   monday
Bryan Adams (Chicago Theatre)
Somebody somewhere is going to show up to this show with their Ryan Adams Chicago Theatre ticket from last week and be really disappointed.

Robbie Fulks & Jon Langford (Hideout)
They play Hideout often enough individually that it was only a matter of time before they played together.

Sinead O'Connor (City Winery)
Three shows total from the Irish singer, including the one last week.

10.21   tuesday
Open Jam (Vaughan's)   COZ SINGS!
Perfect for those of you who want to watch the World Series but don't want to listen to the excruciatingly painful Joe Buck.

Bastille with Grizfolk (Aragon Ballroom)   SOLD OUT!
Because they're a one-word electro-pop band with a very French-sounding name, I always want to compare this band to Phoenix, but that comparison does not flatter this English act. Not that it's hurting their box office draw at all.

Anberlin (House of Blues)
If a band you've never heard of announces they're breaking up after this tour, do they make a sound?

10.22   wednesday
Tune-Yards with James Tillman (The Vic)
This one's been moved from the Riviera, so apparently her voice got on everyone else's nerves after a while, too.

Sinead O'Connor (City Winery)
See Wednesday's listing.

10.23   thursday
Method Man with Redman, B-Real, Berner, Mick Jenkins (Concord Music Hall)
It looks like some smaller subsets of Wu-Tang Clan are striking out on their own after those Riot Fest reunions over the summer.

Minus The Bear with Young Widows (Bottom Lounge)
Speaking of Riot Fest alumni, I saw this Seattle band a few years ago at that festival and enjoyed the set. But more importantly, who would win a battle between them, Cage The Elephant and Pedro The Lion? Which, of course, would be witnessed by Foster The People and Portugal The Man.

Bruce Hornsby (Thalia Hall)
This seems like an odd booking for the new venue, but the positive spin is that maybe they're looking to be more eclectic than we might have expected.

Yellowjackets (Jazz Showcase)
The jazz group must have gotten a bit less smooth and a bit more traditional if they're playing the Showcase. The lineup is mostly the same guys who have been with the band for decades, with one notable exception in bassist Felix Pastorius. Yes, that's Jaco's son who recently replaced Jimmy Haslip, who himself just came through town a few weeks ago with Allan Holdsworth.

10.24   friday
We Were Promised Jetpacks with Twilight Sad (Metro)
This one is moved from The Vic, so it's an early-late doubleheader at Metro, with this one on deck first. I was going to make this big long joke about the Scottish band's name being seen as a grievance against the U.K., but now that independence has been voted down, they've got less traction, until I remembered that the two venues are pretty much the same capacity. Oh well.

Dum Dum Girls with Ex Cops (Metro)
As I mentioned a few weeks ago with Warpaint, I don't think either band name does either band justice. And as long as the two keep coming through town within weeks of each other, I'm never going to be able to tell them apart. Late show, after We Were Promised Jetpacks clears out.

Flying Lotus with Thundercat (Concord Music Hall)   SOLD OUT!
I'm seeing praise for the nominally hip-hop artist from a bunch of seemingly random directions, which makes me think it's approaching the hip-hop/jazz hybrid, but more from the hip-hop side than, say, Robert Glasper or Roy Hargrove have done in the past.

Rodrigo y Gabriela with Todd Park Mohr (Chicago Theatre)
The modern flamenco guitar duo have become somewhat accustomed to the State Street venue, having played there two or three times now.

Drive-By Truckers with Houndmouth (The Vic)
They're based in Georgia, but the rock band comes across more as blue-collar than southern. Moved from the Riviera.

The Right Now with Get Up With the Get Downs (Hideout)
A bit more funky than perhaps the average Hideout act, but I probably would have said that when Liquid Soul started playing Double Door, too.

Yellowjackets (Jazz Showcase)
See Thursday's listing.

10.25   saturday
Ex Hex with Speedy Ortiz, Split Feet (Empty Bottle)
While not quite as big a deal as what Carrie Brownstein is up to after Wild Flag--a new Sleater-Kinney album and tour has just been announced--Mary Timony has been plugging away with her new band for at least a year and a half now, maybe more.

This Will Destroy You with Future Death, Silent Land Time Machine (Lincoln Hall)
The Reader describes this band as being similar to and yet different from Explosions in the Sky. And they don't like being labeled "postrock."

Progtoberfest (Reggie's)
Two days of prog rock at both the Rock Club and Music Joint, although the only act that piques my interest on the first night is Spock's Beard, headlining in the larger Rock Club. And see my comment a few weeks back about how Reggie's is slowly but surely drawing these kinds of bands away from Martyrs'.

Walsher Clemons with That Freak Quincy, Aliver Hall (Tonic Room)   FRIENDS OF COZ!
So this band features former URT bassist Craig Urban, and I think falls somewhere in the blues-rock/jam band spectrum.

Yellowjackets (Jazz Showcase)
See Thursday's listing.

10.26   sunday
Hozier with James Bay (Metro)   SOLD OUT!
I don't know this for sure, but from the overall sound of his ubiquitous single "Take Me To Church," I'm guessing that song has been featured in at least a dozen TV shows and/or commercials by now. You know, when they cut between main characters shown alone in their rooms, trying to make sense of some dramatic revelation or other.

Progtoberfest (Reggie's)
Once again, the action seems to be better on the Rock Club side, with Tony Levin and Pat Mastelotto headlining their Stick Men project, fellow King Crimson alumnus Trey Gunn, a Paul Wertico project and local band District 97. Although the Music Joint has a set from Adam Holzman, a keyboardist I first heard of back when I was in college with a band called The Fents.

Richard Marx (Park West)
So, Tony and I have played a holiday gig in the lobby of the River North high-rise where Marx lives. A fitting 80s endcap for a week that starts with Bryan Adams.

Yellowjackets (Jazz Showcase)
See Thursday's listing.