My Gold Mask | photo by Audrey Leon

Hopefully, you have all managed to get through this blackest of Black Fridays without getting trampled upon for a $2 waffle maker, Chicagoans, because we’ve got an incredible line-up of musical acts setting up shop all round this fair city.

We’re talking Scott Lucas and the Married Men at Hard Rock Cafe, My Gold Mask at Empty Bottle, Tandoori Knights at Bottom Lounge and so much more.

Come on, Pilgrim!

FRIDAY

SCOTT LUCAS AND THE MARRIED MEN
When Scott Lucas isn’t playing and recording as part of the long-time Chicago duo Local H or mentoring young musicians with rock star aspirations, he is off showing his softer, Americana side with The Married Men. The septet is working on its follow-up to 2010’s George Lassos the Moon and have already let slip a taste of what is to come with a cover of Johnny Cash’s “(Ain’t No Grave) Can Hold My Body Down.” However, tonight, Lucas busts out his old acoustic guitar for a solo performance. Also on the bill tonight are Brit pop-inspired indie rockers Blah Blah Blah and swinging pop songstress Kirby Kaiser.

9:00 p.m. Friday, 11/25. Hard Rock Cafe. All Ages. $10.

MY GOLD MASK
I generally can’t say enough nice things about experimental dance poppers My Gold Mask. The husband and wife duo of Gretta Rochelle and Jack Armondo craft hauntingly beautiful pop gems that are simply inescapable and intoxicatingly beautiful. Last year the duo released not one, but two EPs that made my top ten albums of 2010 list and now that the band’s music has made its way onto the TV show Gossip Girl, I can only hope this means bigger and better things for My Gold Mask in 2012. Also appearing tonight are gypsy surf rockers La Scala and The Baby Magic, a band that somehow manages to make being singing about vulgarities incredibly adorable.

10:00 p.m. Friday, 11/25. Empty Bottle. 21+ $10.

SATURDAY

TANDOORI KNIGHTS
Bluesy 50s rock-inspired showman King Khan is making his second appearance in Chicago since this past July, now with his other dirty, distortion-laden surf rock side project Tandoori Knights. The group switches on the time machine and transports us back to a time when we’d all do the Mashed Potato with Buddy Holly and Little Richard. This bill is packed to the gills with five bands in all, including Oakland garage punks Nobunny, One-man-rock-band Bloodshot Bill, Chicago psych rockers Outer Minds, and jangly post-punks Radar Eyes. Five bands, $15? That’s $3 per band. Talk about more bang for your rock’n'roll buck.

8:00 p.m. Saturday, 11/26. Bottom Lounge. 17+ $15.

SUNDAY

MAGIC MILK
Party one last time this holiday weekend with the sleazy garage rock stylings of Magic Milk. The group creates sweaty, danceable grooves with plenty of ‘60s-esque metallic-toned guitars and bouncing rhythms backed by wailing, distorted vocals and bluesy harmonica solos. Magic Milk will be joined by experimental Chicago noise poppers Small Wonder and from Detroit, twinkling, melodic indie rockers PK Fire.

8:00 p.m. Sunday, 11/27. Panchos. 18+ $5.

Unicycle Loves You | Photo by Anthony Dixon

Three tennis-Mondays-continue-as-we-all-try-to-get-in-the-swing-of-things-get-it-swing reasons to get your weary self to the Empty Bottle tonight…

1. It’s Monday, it must be free. It’s Monday, you probably just sighed heavily. Fret not, music lovers, Chicago’s Unicycle Loves You wish to turn that sigh upside-down. These kids play just about the most up-beat and infectiously peppy music this side of the Mississippi. If you love them half as much as they love themselves, well, you’ll love them a whole lot.

2. La Scala is an interesting band. I say that because the group’s music is meticulous and rather adult. You don’t often come across music this serious and dark in our little underground scene. Maybe the Scotland Yard Gospel Choir would be a kindred spirit but even they sound like La Scala’s snotty younger brother at best. It’s refreshing the hear some locals take themselves seriously without sounding bloated and pretentious. Plus, Adam, formerly of Unicycle Loves You fame, has joined La Scala, basically moving from the kid’s table to the adult one. Cute.

3. Opener Elephant Gun share a similar gypsy vibe with La Scala, but sound drunk at best. Maybe picture an Eastern European Pogues? I’ll wait while your brain wraps itself around that train wreck. It’s an interesting line-up the Bottle’s thrown together. Start off the night in a drunken swagger, then tighten your tie and comb your hair for some sophistication time, and end it by putting on your short shorts and propeller beanie for the gosh darndest happiest music on Earth. No, really. Do all of those things!

9:30 p.m. Monday, 7/25. Empty Bottle. 21+. FREE!!!

The Loneliest Monk | Photo by I Shoot Rockstars

Three this-week-is-really-flying-by reasons to head over to the Hideout tonight…

1. I love duos. The best ones are creative and masterful enough to make their sound larger and fuller than two musicians rightfully should be able to. Chicago orchestral art rockers The Loneliest Monk cozily fit into this category. The duo of cellist Michelle Morales and pianist/percussionist Miles Benjamin at times channel a stripped-down Broken Social Scene with lush orchestrations and beautiful simultaneous male and female harmonies. Visually, the Loneliest Monk impress with dramatic costumes truly worthy of the theatre stage.

2. California singer-songwriter Eliza Rickman has amassed quite an intriguing collection of hauntingly dark, piano-driven pop songs. At times the singer can emulate great female rockers are PJ Harvey or Feist, but Rickman’s operatic vocals are all her own.

3. Opening this shindig are Chicago pop rockers La Scala. Let’s pretend you haven’t read our numerous descriptions of the band and start fresh. La Scala create a sense of wonder and merriment with its combination of 1960s-style surf rock and upbeat gypsy rock rhythms. Vocalist Balthazar de Ley brings the music together with his booming and dramatic voice. La Scala is well worth getting to the Hideout on time.

9:00 p.m. Thursday, 6/2. The Hideout. 21+ $8.

Mission Of Burma | Photo by Audrey Leon

Howdy, Chicago! Tis the week before Lollapalooza and all through the house, not a creature was stirring except…oh…Wicker Park Fest! Yeah, a pretty nice prelude to next week’s big enchilada. Our own Audrey Leon breaks it down below.

But that’s not all that’s going on in the windy city this weekend. Plenty more great shows like La Scala at the Empty Bottle, Light Pollution at the Hideout and much more!

Let’s get to it, shall we?

FRIDAY

MISSION OF BURMA
If one thing is clear about Boston post-punk legends Mission of Burma is that they don’t waste any time. The group reunited six years ago and in that time it has created three albums worth of material that are far superior to bands purporting to be of the same genre. The group last played Chicago in April to support its latest effort The Sound, The Speed, The Light and now Burma return, not once, but twice to the Windy city. MIssion of Burma will make its first stop at Subterranean and then spend its Saturday night at Wicker Park fest. Now you have no excuse not to see them. (Audrey Leon)

9:00 p.m. Friday, 7/30. Subterranean. 17+ $15.

LA SCALA
Remember way back to last week when we told you about La Scala’s debut record The Last Carousel, and its subsequent release party? Welp. Here we are. The time has come for you to not only get to see these kids live but pick up a copy of the album hot off the presses on glorious vinyl no less. What more could you ask for? Nothing. Then Chicago’s Loneliest Monk and their “more cello please” ethos are a bonus. A pretty rad bonus at that. So what of Violetness and her Bjork like tendencies? Super secret double bonus I guess. This show is like a late night infomercial…but wait there’s more. Except that’s it. Go forth music fans. (Ross Meyerson)

10:00 p.m. Friday, 7/30. Empty Bottle. 21+. $8.

SATURDAY

WICKER PARK FEST
Wicker Park Fest is the creme de la creme of Chicago neighborhood festivals. The bands are bigger; the selection is better. Don’t believe me? Just look at the lineup. Saturday’s fest includes appearances by the recently reunited Cap’n Jazz, Mission of Burma, Big Science, Holy Fuck and LA Riots. Sunday’s edition includes Baroness, The Scotland Yard Gospel Choir, California Wives, The Hood Internet and Local H. Where else could you get that much fantastic music for the low, low price of $5 a day? Pass me my sunscreen. (Audrey Leon)

Noon to 10 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, 7/31 – 8/1. North Milwaukee Avenue (between North and Wood). All Ages. $5 (donation).

LIGHT POLLUTION
Chicago’s Light Pollution will be racing back from the far corners of Missouri in order to play Hideout Saturday night. This will be the last time to see the rabid dancing and hear the psychedelic chaos of keyboards with these chill-wave rockers here in Chicago until late September. The release of Light Pollution’s latest album, Apparitions, has the boys off and running on a North American tour for the next two months. Also taking the stage that night is the San Diego duo, Cults. (Britni Day)

9:00 p.m. Saturday, 7/31. The Hideout. 21+ $10

CYNIC
Los Angeles’ Cynic are your typical release your debut in ’93 to much critical acclaim, break up in ’94, reunite and release your second album 15 years later to much critical acclaim story. It’s pretty much a cliche these days. Well, Decibel Magazine has deemed this story rich enough to have Cynic headline their inaugural Hall Of Fame tour and who am I to quibble? I mean, many progressive metal bands follow their template including fellow Los Angeleans Intronaught whose Prehistoricisms took me surprise enough that when I found it at Amoeba on vinyl – gate fold and white vinyl no less – I bought it despite already have the CD. New York’s Dysrhythmia open and will also mind fuck you with progressive stops and starts and time changes that you couldn’t possibly air drum to. Prepare to be left mouth agape. (Ross Meyerson)

8:00 p.m. Saturday, 7/31. Bottom Lounge. 17+. $16.

SUNDAY

SUN SPLITTER
Chicago’s Sun Splitter play plodding, demonic metal. It’s almost as if they’ve written the heaviest intros to songs they never planned on finishing and then strung them together into long, slow charging head nodders. Sure, occasionally they pick it up and add some really distorted, buried vocals. But for the most part they work off that tension that something is coming right around the corner only to replace that corner with another. Also from Chicago, Drug Honkey play in the red psych doom metal. Again, genre inventing is my game. Just know they go from heavily distorted to keyboard filled ambiance without batting an eyelash. The Chicago metal scene just keeps getting better and better. (Ross Meyerson)

9:30 p.m. Sunday, 8/1. Empty Bottle. 21+. $3.

That reason? To record. So fear not Chicago, as La Scala are definitely “on” these days and their debut full length The Last Carousel is about to hit the streets running.

Full of gypsy indie rock meets 60′s Continental pop, The Last Carousel should cement La Scala’s place back in the upper echelons of our city’s musical landscape. There’s no firm release date (although there’s hope for a July 27th iTunes release) but you sure as shit can pick up a copy at their release party at The Empty Bottle on Friday, July 30. Hopefully this is the re-launch of a beautiful friendship.

You can listen to the album’s first three tracks, and even download the song “The Bachelorette’s Needs”, right now at Lascala.bandcamp.com.

In the meantime, here’s the complete track Listing:

1. Enter
2. Two Pistols in a Walnut Case
3. The Bachelorette’s Needs
4. My Checkered Past
5. The Last Carousel
6. Blow Out the Candelabra
7. Exit

Loud Loop Press presents La Scala this Wednesday, Nov 11th at the Empty Bottle!

Fronted by Balthazar de Ley (formerly of Hum and Menthol) on guitar and vocals and backed by guitarist Kirk Mcmahon, bassist Ryan Jewell and drummer Joshua Lohr, La Scala’s music embodies all of their influences. Sure, there’s indie rock in there, but both Balthazar and Joshua come from or spent formidable years abroad. And that international flair is evident in their sound. It’s equal parts cabaret and indie pop and probably unlike anything you’ve heard before. They’ve been kicking around this summer working on material for a full length record and this show is their re-introduction to the outside world.

Fellow 60622′ers My Gold Mask play their blog buzzed pop-rock second with opener Josh Mease making his Bottle debut.

With a line-up this sweet, how could we not throw our name on it?

9:30 PM. Wednesday, 11/11. Empty Bottle . 21+. $5 advanced/$8 door.

Get your tickets on ticketweb.com right now!