Lasers and Fast and Shit

Let’s get with “it” before they change what “it” was.

FRIDAY

SWIMSUIT ADDITION
Nothing gets you through an immensely long day that never seems to end like some bouncy power pop. Swimsuit Addition boost your energy levels with fun, snappy guitar solos and raw, scratchy vocals that feel warm and inviting through all that cigarette smoke. And, hey, the fine ladies of Swimsuit Addition just so happened to make our 12 Bands to Watch in 2012 list. So you definitely don’t want to waste this opportunity to bask in our raditude. Also appearing are Chicago by way of Portland (does that happen?) post-punks Big Joy and the grimiest sludge pop trio ever made, Rodeo. Come for the beer, stay for the bands. (Audrey Leon)

10:00 p.m. Friday, 1/27. Cole’s Bar. 21+ FREE!!!

SATURDAY

LASERS AND FAST AND SHIT
Get ready to sweat. Locals LASERS AND FAST AND SHIT bring their frenetic take on jerky punk rock to the Double Door on Saturday night. Their songs, which rarely reach three minutes in length, are rowdy but quite danceable, oh, and expect excessive use of fog machines. Also on the bill are Chicago’s, and I feel wholly comfortable saying this, best gypsy punk marching band, Mucca Pazza! Opening is Chicago-plant and house music spinning DJ RomaSoul. Get crazy. (Richard Giraldi)

9:00 p.m. Saturday, 1/28. Double Door. 21+. $15.

DOZENS
While everyone else is out getting “cray cray,” the Empty Bottle will be awash in Chicago trio Dozen’s sweet new-wave jams. The group creates relaxed pop melodies that easily mix with spacey atmospherics and plenty of vibrating synths. Also appearing are Chicago new-wave meets gypsy rock group Milano, folk rockers Property of Saints and ambient shoegazers Oil Fields. (Audrey Leon)

9:30 p.m. Saturday, 1/28. Empty Bottle. 21+ $5.

SUNDAY

MANIPULATION
Because there’s no pro football on Sunday, you need something to take place of the violent hits and concussion-worthy sacks. Good thing the Empty Bottle put together a rad bill of local hardcore punk and metal. Manipulation headline with their wall of fuzz guitars, breakneck rhythms and scruffy vocals. But that’s not all! be sure to get there early for the smooth jazz ear-fuck stylings of Shithammer, Kontaminat and Die Time. If there was ever a show to use the word, “rage,” it’s this one. Let’s, uh, rage. (Richard Giraldi)

7:00 p.m. Sunday, 1/29. The Empty Bottle. 21+. $3.

1. Chicago power poppers Daemon Familiar certainly have an apt name. The trio contains trace amounts of such familiar artists as the Beatles and Cheap Trick, but with less than serious song titles that are generally named after celebrities like “Oprah” and Bangles lead singer “Susanna Hoffs.” LISTEN: “Oprah.”

2. If The Day Lewis look familiar, trust that you have seen at least a few of the members around. Specifically, drummer Rob Majchrowski doubles as guitarist for rowdy rockers We Repel Each Other. Under the Day Lewis banner, the band focuses on darker (read: morose), melodic rock. But don’t let that description fool you, there’s plenty of grinding distortion for all to go around. LISTEN: “Never Wrong.”

3. Bringing up the rear are two bands that are very familiar to LLP. Percolator specialize in fun, bouncy indie rock that is sure to get your body moving. Openers I Lost Control will waltz in with their Brit Pop-influenced brand of melodic indie rock and quite possibly steal the show.
LISTEN: “I Lost Control – TWB.”

7:30 p.m. Thursday, 1/12. Double Door. 21+ $5.

Dozens

The Chicago new-wave synthpop trio are preparing to release its debut album in February and have released the second single, “Forget me,” to whet our collective appetites.

The intro of “Forget Me” could easily find itself on a MGMT record, but the track’s funky, dream pop vibe could be more accurately described as Hall & Oates with more sweeping, upbeat synths. Yes, “Forget Me”’s beat bounces in all the right places while the vocals get all serious and soulful. Check out the single below:

Dozens will appear next at the Double Door this Friday, December 23, along with Goodbye Cleveland, Rememberwhens, and Turbo Controller. Tickets are $5.

• • WindyCityRock reviews last Saturday’s raucous Moon Furies show at the Double Door.
• • Pitchfork has all the deets on the new Andrew Bird album, Break It Yourself, and tour dates that include a May 2012 stop in Chicago.
• • Chicagoist’s Tankboy writes in-depth about the Smashing Pumpkins and the new Gish and Siamese Dream reissues.
• • The Tribune’s Howard Reich reviews the jazzy side project of Tortoise’s Jeff Parker, the aptly named Jeff Parker Organ Quartet, at the Green Mill.

I Lost Control

Three everybody’s-working-for-the-weekend reasons to bear down at the Double Door tonight…

1. If there’s one thing I love, it’s a free show. Chicago’s own I Lost Control will serenade beer-and-or-whiskey clutching audiences with its Brit pop-meets-Ian Curtis and Talking Heads sound. Vocalist Steven Anderson draws you in with a couple of deep monotone howls over driving bass and drums (provided by Tina L. Sunny and JB Hopkins, respectively) and bluesy guitar licks (provided by Toby Tennant). I Lost Control released its first EP Cones and Arrows this January. LISTEN: “TWB.”

2. Los Angeles trio Burial at Sea is the calm before the storm tonight. The group plays delightfully slow pop jams with just a hint of folk rock hanging out in the background. With a name like Burial at Sea, one would expect a rowdy metal or screamo band, but instead we’re all greeted to the dulcet, husky harmonies and swirling guitars of a much different band. And it’s a pleasant surprise. WATCH: “Who‘s Gonna Love You.”

3. Opening the show tonight are Wheaton’s own The Beez Neez. The quintet have a kind of folky John Mayer thing happening, which is no coincidence since the band lists on its Facebook page that frontman Brian Allison once played with Mayer. LISTEN: “Walk Around the World.”

8:00 p.m. Wednesday, 11/16. Double Door. 21+ FREE!!!

Shonen Knife

We’re talking about some sweet shows including Shonen Knife’s 30th anniversary tour stop at Empty Bottle, plus Mastodon at the Riv and Panda Riot at the Burlington.

Let’s hop to it.

FRIDAY

MASTODON
How does heavy metal breakthrough act Mastodon follow-up a concept-heavy record with 10 minute plus epics? The exact opposite. Their latest, The Hunter, instead is powered by thirteen face melters that usually fall in the 3-4 minute range. Mastodon show off their chops as they not throwdown the heavy riffge but offer some southern rock-tinged ballads (“Stargasm”) and big theatrical pieces (“The Creature”). Red Fang and Dillinger Escape Plan open. (Richard Giraldi)

7:00 p.m. Friday, 11/11. Riviera Theatre. $24.

PANDA RIOT
Lush dream poppers Panda Riot are a favorite of LLP for a reason. The group can write simple, catchy pop gems that draw you in and never let go. We recently previewed a new track from the group’s upcoming new album and it is easy to hear the influence of shoegaze legends My Bloody Valentine on each floating, haunting harmony. Also on the bill tonight are lo-fi pop duo The Halamays and and equally dreamy pop janglers Careful Q. (Audrey Leon)

8:30 p.m. Friday, 11/11. Burlington Bar (3425 W. Fullerton Ave). 21+ $5.

MEAT PUPPETS
Alt rock pioneers The Meat Puppets have influenced dozens of bands over their 30 year career, but probably no one more than Kurt Cobain was able to move the band into the consciousness of alternative rock fans by covering the Meat Puppet’s own songs “Plataeu” and “Lake of Fire” on Nirvana’s 1993 MTV Unplugged session. The Meat Puppets are on tour in support of its 13th studio album Lollipop. Supporting the group are Belgian psych rockers The Black Box Revelation and Chicago rockers The Sweeps. (Audrey Leon)

8:00 p.m. Friday, 11/11. Double Door. 21+ $15.

SATURDAY

SCRATCH ACID
Before Jesus Lizard’s maniacal frontman David Yow played bass down in Austin, Texas, and ended up forming a band with vocalist Steve Anderson, guitarist David Wm. Sims and drummer Rey Washam in 1982. That band then promptly kicked out Anderson, and thus Scratch Acid was born. The outfit rocked a noisy assault that’s definitely similar to Jesus Lizard but offers a more frantic and punk edge. After initially disbanding in1987, Scratch Acid has regrouped a few times before announcing a tour earlier this fall. Opening are local droners Anatomy Of Habit. (Richard Giraldi)

9:00 p.m. Saturday, 11/12. The Metro. 18+. $20.

SHONEN KNIFE
It’s hard to believe that Japanese punk-loving pop rockers Shonen Knife have been kicking around for 30 years. The trio’s longevity can only be attributed to its penchant for creating bouncy, fast-paced pop gems like “Twist Barbie,” from its 1982 debut Burning Farm and “Perfect Freedom” from 2010’s Free Time. Shonen Knife may be heavily influenced by the Ramones but the femmes’ own sound certainly won over plenty of pioneering rockers like Nirvana and Sonic Youth. Nashville surf-punks Heavy Cream and Chicago garage rockers Tyler Jon Tyler will open. (Audrey Leon)

10:00 p.m. Saturday, 11/12. Empty Bottle. 21+ $10 adv./ $12 day of.

SUNDAY

MISTER HEAVENLY
Indie rock supergroup Mister Heavenly are out of love. Indeed. You can forget about bringing your never nude jean short shorts and Les Cousins Dangereaux posters for signing, because Mister Heavenly and one-time bassist Michael Cera (AKA George Michael Bluth AKA Scott Pilgrim) have parted ways. Mister Heavenly released its debut full-length Out of Love, which is filled with competent jangly rock jams or “doom wop” as Honus Honus called the band’s music in an interview with Spinner this past March. Hopefully, the band is calling this the “Mister Mister” tour because Brooklyn dance rockers Mr. Dream (but are they the misters of Mister Heavenly’s dreams?) will open along with Chicago, by way of Schaumburg, pop rockers Camera. (Audrey Leon)

7:00 p.m. Sunday, 11/13. Subterranean. 17+ $12 adv./$14 day of.

Norman Toronto

1. The Albany Park quintet Norman Toronto and His Band easily fit within Chicago’s vast and exciting psychedelic rock scene with its penchant for low-rumbling, swirling rhythms and sharp guitar solos. The glue that holds these ragamuffins together is Norman Toronto himself. The frontman’s rich baritone triggers thoughts to other great dramatic vocalists such as Morrissey and Danzig. The band’s album Rock and Roll Tide features those low, golden tones set to what sounds like a 1991 Seattle-era second coming of the Doors. The music is a rollercoaster ride of famous baritones but damned if it isn’t soothing. LISTEN: “Roll Tide”

2. Chicago R&B rockers The Mood aren’t really moody. In fact, the – sometimes known as “Harris and the Mood” – group exudes a rather chipper disposition on the majority of its 2009 EP Kingdom Come. Songs like the title track and album closer “Why Haven’t We Been There” have lyrical content that would sour most people’s moods, but for some reason the backing blue-eyed soul, beefed up with trombone and saxophone, just bounces like tiny rays of sunshine. And that’s just fine. LISTEN: “Why Haven’t We Been There”

3. Rounding out the showcase are New York ensemble Ashen Figure. The group playfully changes mood from avant-guard spoken-word pop to wild free jazz to accompany singer Kellie Norris-Bergman’s intriguing flowing verses. Opening tonight are Milwaukee’s own Will Phalen and the Stereo Addicts. The alt-country outfit plays a more endearing Midwestern folk than simple country, but that shouldn’t scare anyone off from jamming out to Middle West, Phalen’s sophomore LP.
LISTEN: ”I Can’t Run”

8:00 p.m. Wednesday, 11/9. Double Door. 21+ $5.

Happy Halloween, folks! And a good Jesusween to all you lil angels. We’ve got a packed weekend again with JC Brooks & The Uptown Sound combining forces with White Mystery tonight at the Double Door and Mannequin Men making plans to tear it up at the Empty Bottle tomorrow night.

Let’s not waste anymore time. Allons-y!

FRIDAY

JC BROOKS & THE UPTOWN SOUND
JC Brooks & The Uptown Sound have a new record out titled Want More, and based on what we’ve seen and heard, it’s everything you imagined it to be and more. This means, of course, it’s a fun and funky listen than seamlessly melds classic Chicago soul with indie rock tendencies. Tonight is the album release show at the Double Door, so you know it’s going to be on hell of a time especially considering also on the bill are the mighty White Mystery. (Richard Giraldi)

9:00 p.m. Friday, 10/28. Double Door. 21+. $10-$12.

DISTRACTIONS
All the coolest local bands seem to be playing the Burlington lately. And Chicago dream poppers Distractions are the perfect fit. I once called them the ultimate modern lounge act due to their big sound that comes equipped with a piano and horn section. It doesn’t hurt that singer Tom Owens’ deep crooning vocals swoop in to whisk you off to sensual beachfront vacation on the toe-tappin’ jam such “We Were Better Off in the Rain.” Distractions will be joined by fuzzed-up indie rockers House Sounds and Kansas City’s atmospheric poppers Minden. (Audrey Leon)

9:00 p.m. Friday, 10/28. The Burlington (3425 W. Fullerton Ave). 21+ FREE!!!!

SPOOKFEST: 3-D Rock & Roll Monster Party
Yes, it’s a good ol’ fashion 3-D Rock & Roll Monster Party at the Viaduct Theatre tonight. There will be bands, art, video games, baked good a petting zoo…well, wait…scratch that last one. Set to rock late into the night are power girrrrls Swimsuit Addition, phuny post-punkers T’Bone, garage poppers The Runnies and much more. On a sadder note, tonight’s Spookfest also brings about the end of Earth Program as you currently know it as the band will go separate ways. They’re calling it a “hiatus,” but that;s never a good word. Anywho, tonight they will still rock, so lets “Get Bored!” one last time, shall we? (Richard Giraldi)

9:30 p.m. Friday, 10/28. Viaduct Theatre. 18+. $7 w/ costume. $10 w/out.

SATURDAY

ELEANOR FRIEDBERGER
The Oak Park native and one-half of brother/sister duo Fiery Furnaces returns to Chicago to promote her first solo album Last Summer. The whole record is covered in Friedberger’s light-as-air pop and filled with as much sunshine and bouncy beats as one would expect summer to sound like. Need more convincing? Check out her single “My Mistakes.” Not to mention, Friedberger’s golden, smoky voice is reason alone to catch her on stage. Joining Friedberger on Saturday is Chicago’s own melodic indie rockers Pet Lions.

8:30 p.m. 10/29. Subterranean. 17+ $12.

MANNEQUIN MEN
Hot of the heels of their super rad new LP, Mannequin Men, Chicago’s anti-dubsteppers Mannequin Men hit the Empty Bottle on Saturday night to play Football. Whoops. I mean play WITH Football, and their rowdy, punky take on indie rock. Lest we forget the sweet, sweet smile-pop of Outer Minds and the twisted guitar workings of Coffin Picks. (Richard Giraldi)

9:00 p.m. Saturday, 10/29. Empty Bottle. 21+. $10.

SUNDAY

PILLARS & TONGUES
It’s not Halloween until someone breaks out the Harmonium. Luckily for all of us, hypnotic folk quartet Pillars & Tongues have one and, boy, do they know how to use it. The chicago band entrances and delights audiences with its slow, methodical atmospheric rhythms and ghostly low, rumbling wails. If you need more convincing on the type of captivating live act Pillars & Tongues can be, check out my review from May. Pillars & Tongues will open, This is Cinema headlines. (Audrey Leon)

8:00 p.m. Sunday, 10/30. Panchos. 18+ $5.