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Decent Days and Nights

By Scott Smith in Arts & Entertainment on Jan 2, 2007 5:45PM

The advent of the New Year ought to bring with it joy and hope. But fans of live music know that January 1 often brings nothing but doldrums thanks to cold winter temps that discourage even the heartiest of bands from touring. So this week is as good as any to get caught up on some local “comfort food” that might get passed over in warmer weeks.

Neither Lacona or Driftless Pony Club seems to be breaking any new ground with the tracks posted on their respective MySpace pages. Lacona goes for more of an experimental rock vibe, while DPC’s new album Cholera includes guest spots from some of our favorites (Sybris, May or May Not), and would earn a “burn it” rating if we were co-hosting Sound Opinions. Both bands are playing a free show (if you get there before 9 p.m.) at Metro this week that includes admission to Smart Bar afterwards to see Peter Hook from New Order spin. And that’s reason enough to see if they fall into the “you have to see them live” category.
Metro, Friday, 9 p.m., $9 (free if you arrive before 9 p.m), 18+

If you choose to go to Dick Prall’s show at Schuba’s this Friday, please don’t chat up your friends as he plucks out his quiet acoustic melodies. He may seem the sensitive type, but he’s not above giving the chatterboxes a dressing-down from the stage. A songwriter who out-earnests the average Braff rocker, Prall’s better off when he lets his reflective songs do the talking for him.
Schuba’s, Friday, 10 p.m., $10, 21+

2007_01_top.jpgOur pompous asses have been sitting on the EP from Treaty of Paris (pictured) for months now, trying to deny how much we enjoy its pop-punk flavors. But no sooner do we hit the play button on our iPods then we find our heads-a-bobbin’ and our toes-a-tappin’. Perhaps it’s because there’s far more Chicago in their sound than the L.A. skate punk bands that grow on trees. Its familiarity breeds not contempt, but contentment.
Metro, Saturday, 6 p.m., $9, 18+

While the indier, of-the-moment bands got all the press, the album Purple Girlfriend by Chicago stalwarts The Goldstars was — in our opinion — one of the musical highlights of 2006. Reminiscent of the Detroit sound of the late 1960s, Goldstars deliver tales of heartless women wrapped in go-go beats, which ought to spark a dance party in the back room of Hideout.
Hideout, Saturday, 9 p.m., $8, 21+

We profiled The Fake Fictions at the beginning of last month, so we’ve little else to say about them, though the Reader’s new music columnist, Miles Raymer, had a few thoughts as well. Go see them. They’re lovely.
Ronny’s (2101 N. California, corner of California and Dickens), Saturday, 9 p.m., $5, 21+