thursday24
Thursday24
David Daniell & Douglas McCombs, Jack RoseSunny Day Real EstateUrinals
Friday25
Mark Mallman
Saturday26
Otis ClayDeathSleepy SunAllen Toussaint
Sunday27
Thee Oh SeesOs MutantesEvan Parker & Ned Rothenberg
Wednesday30
Frank Rosaly
Daniell and McCombs headline; Rose opens. 9 PM, Hideout, 1354 W. Wabansia, 773-227-4433 or 866-468-3401, $10. —Bill Meyer
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SUNNY DAY REAL ESTATE It’s hard to believe there was a time when the word “emo” didn’t carry a truckload of negative connotations, just as it’s hard to believe that you used to be able to smoke in restaurants or that people once communicated primarily by talking to one another rather than with acronyms and occasionally pornographic ASCII pictograms. Sunny Day Real Estate began their career during that forever-ago golden age and split up right as it was ending, and fairly or not they’ve received a lot of the blame for what emo has become since. They provided a good deal of the framework for what remains the preferred formula for codifying teen angst in epic rock songs—plaintive screaming, chugging guitars, abrupt transitions, as many parts as possible set to “soaring”—but even though legions of copycats have driven that formula into the ground, the band’s own records have held up fine. The first two, Diary and Sunny Day Real Estate (often called “LP2”)—both of which were just remastered and reissued by Sub Pop—are packed with moments of beauty and power that can still inspire a little sweater tugging. Sunny Day’s current reunion shows, its first since ’95 with all four founding members, coincide with the 15th anniversary of Diary‘s original release. The Jealous Sound opens. 8 PM, Metro, 3730 N. Clark, 773-549-0203, sold out, 18+. —Miles Raymer
friday25
OTIS CLAY It’s a mystery why Otis Clay hasn’t enjoyed the kind of late-career renaissance that has landed his contemporaries Solomon Burke, Al Green, and Bettye LaVette back in the spotlight. A major figure on Chicago’s thriving soul scene in the 60s, in the 70s he recorded several classic sides for the Hi label in Memphis, including “Trying to Live My Life Without You” and “If I Could Reach Out.” Though he hasn’t charted since late in that decade, he’s remained popular here and on the southern soul circuit, and in the world of gospel he’s best known for his distinctive version of “When the Gates Swing Open,” which has become a modern-day standard. Though he’s 67, Clay’s voice has lost none of its potency: grainy and taut, it combines churchy transcendence with tough worldliness, embodying the blend of fervor, grit, and sophistication particular to soul blues. This show is a benefit to help defray the medical expenses of vocalists Cicero Blake and Artie “Blues Boy” White; Blake is recovering from surgery to his leg, and White has been in poor health for a few years, suffering from at least one stroke. The evening’s bill, headliner first, is Clay, fellow Chicago soul legends Ruby Andrews and Garland Green, Stan Mosley, Deacon Reuben Burton & the Victory Travelers, Sherman “Moody” Thomas, the up-and-coming Theo Huff, and Tariq Griffin. 7 PM, Harold Washington Cultural Center, 4701 S. Martin Luther King, 773-521-2300, $25. —David Whiteis
