Fast-Forward: Next Week In Music

By Veronica Murtagh in Arts & Entertainment on Oct 8, 2009 3:20PM

We're just as guilty as the rest of you when it comes to living for the weekend. We have a habit of working hard for the pleasure of playing hard come Friday night. All routines get old after awhile and lately we've found ourselves venturing away from our desks and outside our living rooms on weeknights to partake in the shows that grace our favorite venues on the off evenings. Here's our picks for the week ahead in weeknights.

Nicknamed "Philly's Constant Hitmaker", Kurt Vile has self-recorded and released an abundance of material over the past few years, catching the attention of Matador who signed on to release this year's Childish Prodigy. Drawing influence from folk and classic rock, and reimagining the genres through lo-fi lenses, Vile buries Bob Dylan-esque crooning in a sea of distortion and reverb. Bluesy harmonica mixes with vocal loops and agitated hoots and howls throughout Childish Prodigy, Vile's deepest and darkest work to date. Emotional and introspective, the material of Kurt Vile leads the outsider Americana wave, injecting the music of our past with the pulse of today.
Kurt Vile and the Violators with Love of Everything and Ken Camden, Tuesday, October 13, at Empty Bottle, 1035 N Western, 9:30 p.m., $5/$8, 21+.

Friend of the Sex Pistols and one-time lover of the Clash's Mick Jones, Viv Albertine would make her mark on music's history by means far greater than association. Albertine is best known as the guitarist for the influential and notable all-female punk group, The Slits. The Slits disbanded in 1982, but this year Albertine returned to music again, releasing a self-titled EP and unveiling a rare handful of shows. Lucky for us, Chicago was among the six select U.S. cities to score a live performance from the talented Albertine.
Viv Albertine with Jon Langford and Sally Timms, Wednesday, October 14, at Schubas, 3159 N Southport, 7 p.m., $12, 21+.

Going by the name tUnE-YaRdS, one-woman act, Merrill Garbus collected the sounds of her life over a two-year period on a digital voice recorder, added live instrumentation by way of tom tom drums and ukelele, and interspersed warbling, Appalachian vocals to produce the project's debut album, BiRd-BrAiNs. Weird, powerful and memorable, Garbus doesn’t make music that sounds experimental, Garbus embodies the term experimental.
tUnE-YaRdS with Aleks & The Drummer, Thursday, October 15, at Chopin Theater, 1543 W Division, 10 p.m., $5/$8, All Ages.