thursday21
Thursday21
Charles Bradley
Low
Pak
Danilo Perez
Friday22
Black Lips
Chancha Via Circuito
Eleventh Dream Day
KEN Mode
Danilo Perez
TV on the Radio Canceled
Saturday23
Jacques Demierre & Vincent Barras
Martha’s Vineyard Ferries
Steve Ignorant
Sunday24
Booker Brown
Tuesday26
Wednesday27
Gobble Gobble
Best of Chicago voting is live now. Vote for your favorites »
PAK New York multi-instrumentalist and one-man jazz-prog maelstrom Ron Anderson has been leading PAK for more than a decade now, but it’s far from his only project (he recently reactivated the Molecules and has an occasional playdate with his Japanese soulmates Ruins), and even a player of his boundless energy can only juggle so many swords and flaming torches at once. Consequently the new Secret Curve (Tzadik) is only PAK’s third full-length—and it sounds like Anderson, drummer Keith Abrams, and multi-instrumentalist Tim Byrnes have been hoarding sounds for the occasion. Everything comes at you hard and fast—dazzling guitar lines dart through time signatures that feel like algebraic equations, and dumbfounding profusions of notes add up to grand, cryptic gestures. It’s as if a swarm of bugs has been harnessed to pull a chariot, with Abrams’s clattering drumming suggesting the cadence of a million tiny feet. Mayor Daley headline; PAK and Wrekmeister Harmonies open. 9 PM, Hideout, 1354 W. Wabansia, 773-227-4433, $7. —Monica Kendrick
DANILO PEREZ For nearly two decades Panamanian pianist Danilo Perez has been one of the most exciting keyboardists in jazz. His sharp musical intelligence allows him to connect disparate traditions by sussing out their commonalities—rarely more thrillingly than when he located the Latin American rhythms in the music of Thelonious Monk on 1996’s Panamonk. Over the past decade, however, his best recordings have been with the Wayne Shorter Quartet; for his occasional solo albums, he’s tended to work on huge canvases, often smothering the music with his ambitions. That’s certainly the case with last year’s Providencia, which is larded with epic, multipartite compositions and overdone arrangements. Perez is best when he stays focused, like he does on “Galactic Panama,” a trio cut with guest saxophonist Rudresh Mahanthappa—its fiery volatility complements the embroidery of feverish Panamanian rhythms onto a jazz cloth. On “Bridge of Life,” by contrast, an interruption by classical chamber instruments (flute, oboe, bassoon, French horn, clarinet) saps the music’s vitality; other pieces pack in so many ideas that they start to meander. Luckily, for this engagement Perez is playing in his long-running trio with bassist Ben Street and drummer Adam Cruz, the context where his complex ideas come across most clearly—his astonishing virtuosity, rhythmic mastery, and improvisational spark don’t need elaborate arrangements or guest musicians to take flight. See also Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. 8 and 10 PM, Jazz Showcase, 806 S. Plymouth Ct., 312-360-0234, $30. —Peter Margasak
KEN MODE When I stumbled across KEN Mode (KEN stands for “Kill Everyone Now”) in 2008, not long after the release of Mennonite, it was thanks to an automated Facebook recommendation—evidence enough, I think, that this Winnipeg trio weren’t getting the attention they deserved. Their Unsane-possessed noise rock boils with vitriol, sure, but it’s eloquent in its rage, with an expansive harmonic vocabulary and a sophisticated ear for structure. Since Mennonite came out, KEN Mode have signed with Profound Lore (which is on one of underground metal’s great hot streaks) and recorded their fourth full-length, Venerable, with Converge guitarist Kurt Ballou at his infamous GodCity studio—I can’t imagine the whole “not enough attention” thing being a problem much longer. “Book of Muscle” opens the album with a crushing rumble of bass and drums, while front man and master riff maker Jesse Matthewson swallows the mike, his vocals a distorted howl of pissed-offedness. Venerable is first and foremost about the bricks-through-your-boss’s-window jams, but Matthewson and his brother Shane, the band’s drummer, have the technical prowess to keep the ferocity crisp and focused—and the occasional brooding moment, like the eerie instrumental “Flight of the Echo Hawk,” adds depth to the power. Judging from the lineup for this show, the Mutiny is gonna be a smoldering crater come Saturday. The Chicago Thrash Ensemble headlines; Fuck the Facts, Bongripper, and KEN Mode open. 9 PM, Mutiny, 2428 N. Western, 773-486-7774. —Kevin Warwick
MARTHA’S VINEYARD FERRIES Bob Weston (Shellac, Volcano Suns, Mission of Burma) and Elisha Wiesner (Kahoots) started Martha’s Vineyard Ferries in summer 2009 as a “fake joke band,” in Wiesner’s words—Kahoots is based mostly on Martha’s Vineyard. But before long they enlisted Chris Brokaw (Come, Codeine, Pullman) to play drums and holed up in Chicago to write and record some for-real songs. Last year Sickroom released the EP In the Pond, four blasting, flinty tunes that recall the mid-80s heyday of Boston’s underground rock scene, when groups like Volcano Suns (pre-Weston), Salem 66, the Neats, and Christmas juggled sharp humor, postpunk noise, and brooding melodies. In the Pond is the best eight minutes of straight-up rock I’ve heard all year—most younger bands could learn something from its concise, terrific songwriting. These are the trio’s first Chicago shows; see also Tuesday. Stnnng headlines; Martha’s Vineyard Ferries and the Gary open. 8:30 PM, Hideout, 1354 W. Wabansia, 773-227-4433, $10. —Peter Margasak
DANILO PEREZ See Thursday. 4, 8 and 10 PM, Jazz Showcase, 806 S. Plymouth Ct., 312-360-0234, $30.
