Blogging Molly

A little pre-note here. I worked all God-damned day on this thing and then the program crashed leaving half of my brilliant work lost. LOST! I was so fucking mad I almost flame-threw my desktop at work. Then I thought, "That's what you get for working all day on this- at work."

Here we go again, previous brilliant bits lost in the ether. LOST! New brilliant bits inserted.

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In typical fashion of trying to keep up with the ever-verbose and oft-verboten Michael P. Johnson, I am going to have to step it up a bit here to keep things even-steven. God, I hate that I am so competitive- and always about the weirdest shit.

So, we'll continue in the vein of music, but I will aggrandize a bit and give my own prediction/forecast of sorts. Here's a forecast of shows coming to the Chicago area that I am titillated (or should we call it Tillettated?) about for one reason or another, with a little write-up to accompany each.

Alejandro Escovedo- Feb. 5 and 6 at Old Town School
A mix of Latin and country, for an Americana sound, but he used to play with a punk band, so there's that woven in as well. One of the best things I've ever read about him "He's more Ryan Adams than Ryan Adams."
http://www.alejandroescovedo.com

Lyle Lovett- Feb. 11 at Chicago Theater
Shitballs, I love this man. Julia Roberts was not crazy, I tell you. His voice, and demeanor for that matter, are more calming to me than baby deer suckling their mother by a placid lake on a spring morning. He just makes the world feel right.
http://www.lylelovett.net/

Low/Pedro the Lion- Feb. 11 at Metro
If you're having problems sleeping lately, get to the show early and nap during Low. Low really has relaxation mastered, damn near infecting narcolepsy. They remind me of Mazzy Star without the whole singing-down-a-long-concrete-corridor feel.
http://www.chairkickers.com/
Pedro the Lion is more upbeat, which it would be hard not to be following Low- short of absolute silence, that is. It'll feel like the Ramones have taken the stage. I hope Metro is ready with lots of couches and a waitress walking the floor handing out bottles of warm milk, who will come back around to wipe the tears over spilled milk when Pedro takes the stage and startles everyone from their peaceful slumber.
http://www.pedrothelion.com/

Jump, Little Children- Feb. 16 and 17 at Schubas
There was a period of time when I was in college that I must've seen JLC perform at least once a month, sometimes twice a month. They always put on a fun show in the same way Bare Naked Ladies do (Marisa's favorite band). They were famous all over the Piedmont, and I am curious if they still put on the same sort of show. They're still at it even though they never broke through. Not at all.
http://www.jumplittlechildren.com/

I Love You But I've Chosen Darkness- Feb. 19 at Empty Bottle
Britt Daniel (the man who is Spoon) produced their EP and in songs like 'When You Go Out', you can hear his influence at work. Something about them feels very 80's, but in an Oingo Boingo sorta way. They feel like alternative when that's really what it was- the alternative- one row of cassette tapes at Camelot music. ILYBICD has been described as "doom pop", which fits being as they've been lumped at times with Interpol and The Cure.
http://chosendarkness.com/

Soulfly- Feb. 22 at House of Blues
Max Cavelera is one of the most transfixing lead men I have ever witnessed. He took what he learned with Sepultura and tweaked into something all his own. The first and only time I saw them was at Ozzfest in the late 90's. The Brazilian influence shone through in the rampant, infectious percussion that dominated their set that day. The band lineup changes with every record, which can't help but keep their performances fresh and unpredictable.
http://soulfly.com/

Handsome Family- Feb. 22 at The Hideout
Not so much a family as it is a couple, but I was converted the first time I heard 'The Giant of Illinois'. The Handsome family is what would come down the birth canal if Morrissey, George Jones and the Crash Test Dummies had a lovechild. And oh yeah, they play the fucking saw. How hot is that?
http://handsomefamily.com/

Luna- Feb. 23 at Metro
When Dean Wareham sings it's like he's across the table from you, pulling you in to tell you a secret. Then you pick up on his Kiwi accent and you go temporarily crazy from the caged, irrepressible heat.
I wore the shit outta 'Penthouse' when I was in college and it's been easily as long since I've seen them play.
On a sad note, after over 12 years together, Luna has recently announced that this will be their last CD and last tour. And yet Creed lives...
http://fuzzywuzzy.com/

Ani DiFranco- Feb. 26 at the Auditorium Theater
She is the epitome of female empowerment. 'Dilate' keeps finding it's way into my player and into my Top-5-Desert-Island list. She sings 'Superhero' and I feel like she wrote it expressly for me. She sings 'Sorry I Am' and I cry even though it's not happening to me. I always feel like she's in the room with me when I listen to her. This is the intimate power she wields.
Her style is such that I cannot think of another who even remotely sounds like her. Especially her guitar, which sounds like weakness in the knees incarnate at times. She can be fast and furious as slow and heartbrokenly tender. I'll put her up against any male guitarist and dare him to keep up.
http://www.righteousbabe.com/ani/index.asp

Decemberists- April 7 at Metro
Any of you who know me at all know that I cannot shut up about this band. Colin Meloy is an amalgam and an anomaly. His lyrics are of another time and place. The titles will indicate the trip you are about to take. 'My Mother Was a Chinese Trapeze Artist', 'The Legionnaire's Lament' and 'The Chimbley Sweep' to name a few. His words are intelligent and emotionally-specific all at once, aggrandizing the already-heady swirl. He shepherds us through unwonted terrain, but there's a feeling you've been here before, maybe in a previous life.
While we're slobbing his knob here, I will say that 'Red Right Ankle' is perhaps the best love song ever written.
http://decemberists.com/

King Diamond- April 27 at House of Blues
It's King mother-fucking Diamond for the love of God. No explanation needed, but I'll give one anyway. I have never seen him live and have to see what erupts from the man responsible for such titles as 'Mother's Getting Weaker', 'Up From the Grave' and 'No Presents for Christmas'.
http://www.kingdiamond.com.ar/

Reverend Horton Heat/Supersuckers- April 30 at Metro
The Reverend and his boys sound like George Thorogood on speed. Rockabilly speed. Same content, lots of songs about liquor, beer and wine. Even one actually named 'Liquor, Beer and Wine'. Other favorite titles include 'Baby, I'm Drunk', 'Bales of Cocaine', 'It's Martini Time', 'Gin and Tonic Blues', 'Marijuana' and 'Beer'.
http://www.reverendhortonheat.com/
Supersuckers have a definite roadhouse feel. I keep looking around for Patrick Swayze and Sam Elliott, but they aren't even bad-ass enough to hang with these guys. More rock, less -abilly, but still the same George Thorogood feel, minus the liquor-named tracks. Track titles run this sullied gamut instead: 'Fisticuffs', 'Juicy Pureballs' and 'Someday I Will Kill You'. And yet there's an acoustic version of 'Skip to My Lou' on their site. Ah, the dichotomy.
http://supersuckers.com/

Now, obviously I cannot attend every single one of these shows, but I will bust my ass trying. If any of y'all wanna catch up with me to catch one/some of these, lemme know, yo.