So, you missed out on tickets for Girl Talk and Jens Lekman, huh? Join the club. Don't worry, though, you can still hear some high-quality tunes on New Year's Eve in Chicago. Here are our picks for the best of the rest:
Roy Hargrove Quintet 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. at Jazz Showcase; $50 Trumpeter Hargrove just can't stand still. Though he won much acclaim (and a Grammy) playing relatively straightforward jazz in the '90s, he soon switched gears and expanded his sound to include elements of hip-hop, funk and gospel. You young'uns are just as likely to know him from his work on albums like D'Angelo's
Voodoo, Common's
Like Water For Chocolate and Erykah Badu's
Worldwide Underground as for his collaborations with the likes of Wynton Marsalis and Herbie Hancock. With his quintet, he's been exploring a lot of soul-jazz of late, but come here expecting pretty much anything.
Todd Hembrook & The Hemispheres
9 p.m. at Bottom Lounge; $25
If you're down with the new soul trend, but don't want to spend an evening with a DJ spinning dusties, head on down to the Bottom Lounge, where Todd Hembrook's band of revivalists will treat you to an evening of classic covers. Everything from the standards to obscure gems will be on tap. Openers the Lowdown Brass Band, whom we interviewed at the beginning of '09, will add some funkified originals to the mix.
The Crystal Method
9 p.m.-4 a.m. at Green Dolphin Street; $40-$80
Want to dance? This massive club event is for you. In addition to electronic legends The Crystal Method (whose creations have been heard in clubs, on TV and in movies since the mid-'90s), you'll find 13 other DJs throughout the space, including Mario Florek and Just Joey. Forty bucks gets you in the door, while another $40 gets you open bar from 9 p.m.-midnight.
The Fiery Furnaces
9 p.m. at Lincoln Hall; $20-$25
One of the most exciting new clubs of 2009 (from the folks behind Schubas'), Lincoln Hall closes out the year in style with this eclectic brother-sister duo. Though the band's latest album, I'm Going Away (and its alternate version, Take Me Round Again), has something of a '70s pop feel, expect a variety of styles, as these two have run the gamut from experimental psychedelia to soft indie pop (they have a lot of love for the Beatles, it seems). This is also something of a homecoming, as the Friedberger siblings hail from Oak Park. Cryptacize (featuring former Deerhoof member Chris Cohen and entrancing vocalist Nedelle Torrisi) will open.
The Jesus Lizard
10 p.m. at Metro; $50
The recently reunited rockers have been drawing rave reviews for their appropriately raucous shows (wow, that was a lot of R's), and you can expect that David Yow and company will take the mosh-inducing energy to another level on New Year's Eve. Whether you're nostalgic for the '90s or just a newbie looking to thrash around, this show will not let you down. Buzz band Disappears will open.
Not a fan of these picks? Check out more New Year's Eve concerts.
More picks:
Kid-Friendly | Best Splurges
Dinners | Cheap Choices | Theater
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