In a busy concert week featuring more than the usual number of worthwhile shows-especially on Friday-Consolidated and MC 900 Ft. Jesus’ show Saturday at Metro is one of the most interesting.
On its current “Business of Punishment” album, Consolidated gets your attention immediately with profane lyrics and outspoken messages over musical beds that merge hard rock with hip-hop and funk. The San Francisco trio of Adam Sherburne, Mark Pistel and Philip Steir tackles such topics as the criminal justice system, abortion rights, pornography, prostitution, safe sex, the homeless and censorship. That’s quite a laundry list, but rather than just inundating you with dogma, Consolidated balances the rhetoric with some well-muscled and danceable music as well.
The nominal headliner is MC 900 Ft. Jesus (a k a Mark Griffin), a classically trained trumpeter/keyboardist/guitarist whose musical vignettes and rambling, wry spoken-word stories set against acid jazz and hypnotic hip-hop grooves make him the perfect foil for the somewhat dour Consolidated. The name? It’s inspired by the famous religious “vision” evangelist Oral Roberts said he had.
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Other concerts of note
Live, Friday at the Riviera Theatre: Live’s current “Throwing Copper” album has been a surprising success, having sold more than 500,000 copies thanks in part to massive airplay for the anthemic single “Selling The Drama” and its follow-up, “I Alone.” The young Pennsylvania-based foursome led by lyricist/lead vocalist Ed Kowalczyk is, appropriately enough, as compelling live as on disc. Also appearing at this sold-out show are Weezer and Fatima Mansions.
Moe Tucker, Friday at the Empty Bottle: Former Velvet Underground drummer Moe Tucker retired from rock ‘n’ roll, moved to the Southwest, raised a large family and then re-emerged a few years ago as a singer/songwriter of quirky, charming, homespun tunes that are miles away from the New York angst of the Velvets. Word is her band includes fellow ex-VU member Sterling Morrison and the Violent Femmes’ Victor DeLorenzo.
The Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Friday at FitzGerald’s in Berwyn: Founded in 1977, New Orleans’ Dirty Dozen Brass Band plays an amazing mixture of traditional and modern jazz, R&B, funk and traditional Crescent City street parade music. Even more remarkable, they make all that music with a lineup consisting of only six brass and woodwind players and two drummers.
Meat Puppets, Friday at the Vic Theatre: Hugely influential in “indie rock” circles since the early ’80s, Arizona’s Meat Puppets are practically grizzled veterans now. Now on major label London Records, the band’s current “Too High To Die” album is perhaps their most radio-friendly yet, featuring plenty of hummable tunes without sacrificing any of the aggressive approach of yore. Opening are Cellophane and Denver’s Spell.
Blues Traveler and Sheryl Crow, Friday at the Aragon Ballroom: Consummate road animal Blues Traveler is making its third trip to Chicago this year, having last played at the H.O.R.D.E. show at the World Music Theatre in July. The New York band’s brand new “Four” album ought to reach even more fans with its mixture of harmonica blues-rock and upbeat folk-rock. Opener Sheryl Crow is back for her fourth (!) Chicago gig this year, as her “Tuesday Night Music Club” album nears sales of 1 million, thanks in part to the hit “All I Wanna Do.”
Deee-Lite, Friday at Metro: The spirit of disco lives on in the cartoon-ish persona of Deee-Lite. This is dance music pure and simple, with Lady Miss Kier’s warm and playful vocals and rapping humanizing the heavily sampled and electronically programmed music on the new “Dewdrops In the Garden” album. Wear your most outlandish dance duds, because you can be assured that Kier, Super DJ Dmitry and DJ One-e will. Also appearing in a spinning mode are DJs Doc Martin from L.A. and Derrick Carter, Jessie De La Pena, Tom Pazen and Sativa from Chicago.
Oasis, Saturday at Metro: One of the notoriously fickle British music scene’s latest “buzz” bands is Oasis. While their American debut album, “Definitely Maybe,” may not exactly be groundbreaking with its borrowed T. Rex and Stones riffs, the Manchester-bred band knows a thing or two about how to insert a catchy hook in its tunes, resulting in an album chock-full of soaring, guitar-driven tunes with sing-along choruses that echo through the canyons of your mind. Opening are the Figgs.
This Picture, Sunday at Metro: While it may not yet be setting radio on fire, This Picture’s new “City Of Sin” album on Arista Records is one of the most immediately accessible disks to come down the pike in a while. The British quartet, which spent a couple of months in Chicago this summer rehearsing and hanging out, is kicking off its U.S. tour with this free, all-ages show. Opening is Chicago’s own Insiders.
David Lindley and Hani Naser, Sunday at the Cubby Bear: David Lindley’s ska party band El Rayo-X has been grounded, as the master of all things with strings goes acoustic with percussionist Hani Naser, playing music from their acclaimed “Official Bootleg” live album. If you ask nicely, maybe “Mr. Dave” will play “She Took Off My Romeos” or “Tiki Torches at Twilight.”
Jonathan Richman, Sunday at Park West: Terminally adolescent troubadour Jonathan Richman too often wastes his time onstage with such silly throwaways as “Hey There Little Insect” and “Rockin’ Rockin’ Leprechaun,” making it easy to forget that he’s also capable of writing more enduring and adult fare like “Back In Your Life” and “Pablo Picasso.” As has been his practice in recent years, Richman will be performing solo.
Offspring, Monday at the Vic Theatre: As with fellow “Class of ’94” success stories Green Day and Collective Soul, 1994 has been a very, very good year for the post-punk foursome Offspring, whose current “Smash” album has gone platinum. Expect plenty of turbo-charged riffing and chanted tales of southern California-style suburban malaise at this sold-out show.
Billy Joel, Wednesday at the United Center: The Billy Joel/Elton John tour skipped Chicago this summer, opting instead for Milwaukee. Since Joel played at the Horizon last fall, he and Christie Brinkley have gotten divorced, so perhaps he’ll skip such odes to marital bliss as “Uptown Girl” and “This Is the Time” this time around.
Katell Keineg, Wednesday and Thursday at Schubas: It’s tempting to compare singer-songwriter Katell Keineg to everyone from Alison Moyet to Kate Bush, but putting your finger on the Irish-based singer’s music is a bit more difficult. On her wonderful new “O Seasons O Castles” album, Keineg mixes acoustic Celtic music, folk, jazz and the occasional Edith Piaf-style dirge. Providing the cohesion are her passionate lyrics, superior songs and that lush, throaty voice.
God Street Wine, Thursday at the Cubby Bear: Bummed out that you missed the Grateful Dead at Soldier Field? If a reasonable facsimile will do, check out New York’s God Street Wine. The band’s new “$1.99 Romances” album on Geffen Records is full of chugging Dead-style rhythms and spidery Jerry Garcia-influenced guitar work-if you like that sort of thing. The band has a strong grassroots following, in part because of its availability online through the Internet. How very ’90s.