friday27
Friday27
The Big Pink, Crystal AntlersBottle RocketsThe Jesus Lizard
Saturday28
AxemenThe Jesus Lizard
Sunday29
Guillermo Gregorio & the Madi EnsembleRempis/Rosaly
Monday30
Melt-Banana
Tuesday1
The XX
Wednesday2
Bebel GilbertoThe King Khan & BBQ ShowMunicipal WasteJason Stein
The Big Pink headlines; Crystal Antlers and White Car open. 10 PM, Empty Bottle, 1035 N. Western, 773-276-3600 or 866-468-3401, $13, limited $10 tickets.
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BOTTLE ROCKETS In “Shame on Me,” from the Bottle Rockets‘ new Lean Forward (Bloodshot), front man Brian Henneman plays the role of repentant boyfriend, rattling off promises to his girl—not to waste any more days, not to lie, not to start fights—that she knows he won’t be able to keep. But he knows the score too, and he understands how vulnerable his own fuckups make him: toward the end he sings, “I never want to lose her company / She knows who holds that key.” The song’s another gem from a guy who’s been turning out blue-collar poetry for 15 years now—you can have your Bruce Springsteen. On Lean Forward the band sticks to its long-established formula—a mix of Crazy Horse stomp, ZZ Top choogle, and Nashville twang—and thanks in part to producer Eric “Roscoe” Ambel, who worked on the Bottle Rockets’ classic second record, The Brooklyn Side, it’s still pretty irresistible. A few songs put a foot wrong: the commentary on war in “Kid Next Door,” about a neighbor who’s gone off to fight, falls flat, and the Zen optimism of “The Long Way” sounds a little strange coming from a hardened cynic like Henneman. But the simple pleasures of the album win out: “Nothin’ but a Driver” is about a valet who gets a kick from very short joyrides in the fancy cars he parks, and “Get on the Bus” is full of sharply observed thumbnail sketches of the faces Henneman encounters. The Giving Tree Band opens. 9:30 PM, FitzGerald’s, 6615 Roosevelt, Berwyn, 708-788-2118 or 866-468-3401, $15. —Peter Margasak
saturday28
sunday29
monday30
THE XX Right now a lot of excellent young artists are making records that pose interesting questions about what dance music is and what it isn’t. If a track fits comfortably in a dance DJ’s set but leans heavily on guitars and, say, some sort of unidentifiable clanging sound, should it be considered danceable rock music or rocking dance music? What about a song that uses beats straight from the dance floor alongside tones and melodies that would clear the room at most clubs? For at least the next 15 minutes the band that’s probably most likely to bring these questions to a wider pop audience is the XX, three mopey-looking Londoners whose recent self-titled debut for XL combines a sparse postpunk aesthetic—imagine a sleepy, gently soulful Joy Division with boy-girl vocals—and a pile of postdubstep influences, ending up with something supercatchy and extremely tough to pin down. The Friendly Fires headline. 8 PM, Bottom Lounge, 1375 W. Lake, 312-666-6775, sold out, 18+. —Miles Raymer
