Best concerts this weekend | March 15–17

Animal Collective, the former Mos Def, Nanci Griffith, the Chi-Town Blues Festival and more arrive this weekend to brighten your March.

Friday 15

Yasiin Bey (Mos Def)
The Shrine. 9pm; $40.
The artist formerly known as Mos Def—and before that, Dante Terrell Smith—Yasiin Bey plays a follow-up to his 2012 appearance at the Shrine. His most recent solo record, 2009’s The Ecstatic, was a major hip-hop groundswell, buzzing with choice samples, heady lyrics and classic production. Since then, the artist has won a clutch of Grammys, worked with Kanye and starred in Dexter. He’s due to release Yasiin Bey Presents any time now, but expect to hear from albums across the board tonight.

Chicago Symphony Orchestra with Asher Fisch
Symphony Center. 8pm; $27–$208.
Asher Fisch, principal guest conductor of the Seattle Opera, joins the CSO for an in-depth look at two masterpieces by Wagner. The composer’s heartfelt symphonic poem, Siegfried Idyll, was written as a birthday present for his wife, Cosima, and reveals Wagner at his most tender. The haunting Prelude to Parsifal, Wagner’s highly metaphysical 1882 opera, will be sandwiched between Schoenberg’s Violin Concerto and Mahler’s final symphonic work, Symphony No. 10.

Django Django + Night Moves
Metro. 9pm; $20. 18 and older.
Ingenious London quartet Django Django supports last year’s self-titled debut, a tropical swirl of arty chant-choruses, ricocheting beats and Beta Band–esque psychedelia (not a random connection—the outfit’s front man is the brother of a former Beta Band member). Minneapolis electrofolk trio Night Moves opens.

The Drovers
Abbey Pub. 6pm, 10pm; $15–$20.
For a while there the Drovers simmered on the brink of a national breakthrough, but then…the band broke up. Now the reconfigured group, which at its best transformed traditional Irish music into something loosely psychedelia, is back, just in time for St. Patrick’s Day.

Juicebox: Jazz String Quintet
Chicago Cultural Center. 10am; free.
Get your little ones hip to the jazz circuit as local composer and saxophonist Jim Gailloreto and his Jazz String Quintet serve up a perfect blend of classical and jazz. Families can stock up on BYO snacks and check out cutting-edge music in a kid-friendly setting.

La Bohème
Civic Opera House. 2pm; $34–$244.
Puccini’s classic and beloved opera returns to Lyric in a new-to-Chicago production owned by the San Francisco Opera Association. Russian soprano Anna Netrebko makes her Lyric debut as Mimi, alongside Maltese tenor Joseph Calleja as her lover, Rodolfo. Set in the vibrant Latin Quarter of mid-19th-century Paris, the plot revolves around the antics of the artistic community and beautifully straddles the divide between comedy and tragedy. The perfect opera for first-timers.

Helen Money + Douglas McCombs
Township. 10pm; $8.
Helen Money, the nom de string of cellist Alison Chesley, cranks her instrument through a guitar amp and pedals for a thick, heavy and entirely eerie instrumental sound. Here she celebrates a brand-new record, Arriving Angels, a captivating release highlighting the songwriter’s haunting chops that features Jason Roeder (Neurosis, Sleep) on drums. Opening is Tortoise/Eleventh Dream Day/Brokeback guitarist Douglas McCombs.

Afrika Freak Out
Maria’s Packaged Goods & Community Bar. 9pm; free.
Maria’s main music man Joe Bryl (in his DJ King Scratch guise) looks to the motherland for this continental exploration of African music and its renaissance. Bryl traces the musical language of the diaspora—which ranges from modern Afrobeat bands like Antibalas and Nomo and archival labels like Soundway to the diaspora’s cultural impact on jazz, house, techno and emerging scenes—all across the globe every third Friday of the month. Tonight, there’s a listening party for the new Chicago Afrobeat Project album.

Cosmix
Berlin. 10pm; $5.
With nothing more than a healthy bit of sweat-drenched dancing as its goal, DJ Greg Haus steps into the booth every Saturday to mix it up with dance tunes of every flavor, giving hipsters, freaks and club kids alike something to get excited about.

Danny Daze + Audiofly
Spy Bar. 10pm; $20.
Miami-based techy disco jock Danny Daze (of hotly tipped remix trio Discotech) and Barcelona-based duo Audiofly of Get Physical label fame head up the party tonight. Come for the contrast in smooth techy Euro and American styles, which is sure to be pronounced.

Nadastrom + Switch + Sinden 
Sound-Bar. 10pm; $20. 
It’s not dubstep, but moombahton is certainly taking dance floors by storm in 2012, the way its bass-heavy cousin did last year. Think of it as a mix of slowed-down electro and reggaeton, and think of recent Lolla initiates Nadastrom as the genre’s originators. Hailing from D.C., the duo created the genre and christened it. Tonight, it shares billing with U.K. rave instigator Switch, and bass and dancehall-favoring Sinden. Quite a big bang for the buck tonight, we think.

Tanner Ross
Smart Bar. 10pm; advance $10, day of show $20.
Boston wild man Tanner Ross might hang with the Wolf + Lamb crew, but his heart is in vintage R&B and hip-hop, which is why his self-description “electrobootybassfunktastdiscohiphop” doesn’t sound like the typical house set. Tonight, he joins San Francisco–spinner Nick Monaco and Nick Bassett.

Kevin Saunderson + Magda + Dusky
The Mid. 10pm; advance $15, day of show $20, before 11:30pm free with R.S.V.P. to clubtix.com.
Detroit techno legend, Belleville Three member, seminal DJ-producer, college football player—that’s Kevin Saunderson we’re talking about. Thank goodness the EDM boom is bringing Detroit heavies such as Saunderson and upstart techno maven Magda to town. We’re richer for it. DJ duo Dusky spins as well.

Nanci Griffith + The Kennedys
City Winery. 8pm; $45–$60.
Angel-voiced Texas songstress Nanci Griffith drops into the winery to share songs from Intersection, her 20th album, out on the Hell No! label, as well as selections from throughout her storied career.

Dave Herrero
SPACE. 7:30pm; $15.
Just a couple of weeks ago Dave Herrero got to open for Johnny Winter, and tonight he and his band the Hero Brothers get to show off their brand of bluesy rock & roll as a headliner.

Jimmy Johnson
B.L.U.E.S. 9pm; $TBA.
One of this city’s finest blues artists, Johnson has been around since the ’50s but didn’t release an album stateside until he was in his fifties. His intense vocals and soul-dripping guitar continue to groove after all these years.

George Jones
Rialto Square Theatre. 8pm; $31–$82.
Even a combination of hard living and long stints of hardly trying couldn’t hurt George Jones’s status as a country legend. If he hasn’t quite had the late-career hipster crossover that benefited peer Johnny Cash, well, he’s giving you one last chance: At 81, Jones is threatening to retire after this tour.

Switchback
Mayne Stage. 8pm; $30–$40.
A Celtic-tinged Americana duo, Switchback has a good thing going on, playing jammy pop-rock with high-low harmonies reminiscent of Squeeze. Here they provide the tunes for “A Reel Chicago Saint Patrick’s Celebration” at Mayne Stage.

Brian Blade & The Fellowship Band
Old Town School of Folk Music, Maurer Hall. 8pm; $26–$28.
The fourth album from the Fellowship Band, Landmarks, arrives later this year, five years after the outfit’s last disc. Chalk up the gap to bandleader Brian Blade and his busy schedule. One of the most in-demand drummers both in the jazz world and beyond, the Louisiana native can be seen playing behind everyone from sax titan Wayne Shorter to super producer Daniel Lanois, whose Black Dub project brought Blade through town recently. And while the consummate sideman takes top billing in the Fellowship, he does so with some reluctance—he considers the quintet a collective, hence the group’s name.
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Jeremy Pelt with the Columbia College Big Band
Jazz Showcase. 8pm, 10pm; $20, students $15. 
Soul sophisticate Jeremy Pelt's robust tone has turned him into a scene-making jazz trumpeter to watch. During this four-day run he steps away from his myriad sideman gigs to lead the Columbia College Big Band.

Saturday 16

Animal Collective + Dan Deacon
Riviera Theatre. 7:30pm; sold out.
Animal Collective’s David Portner, a.k.a. Avey Tare, has always been fascinated by the idea of an alien band. If you’ve ever experienced the glitchy beatscapes, oddly stretched-out melodies and synthesized digital mayhem of the group’s epic live shows, then you have a taste for what he’s talking about. Tonight the avant-pop MVPs bring their spacey, jammy anthems to the Riv, where they’ll celebrate the release of their latest pleasantly perplexing opus, Centipede Hz. Dan Deacon is one of the indie world’s most joyous personalities. The perennial crowd favorite opens.

Chicago Symphony Orchestra with Asher Fisch
Symphony Center. 8pm; $27–$208.
Asher Fisch, principal guest conductor of the Seattle Opera, joins the CSO for an in-depth look at two masterpieces by Wagner. The composer’s heartfelt symphonic poem, Siegfried Idyll, was written as a birthday present for his wife, Cosima, and reveals Wagner at his most tender. The haunting Prelude to Parsifal, Wagner’s highly metaphysical 1882 opera, will be sandwiched between Schoenberg’s Violin Concerto and Mahler’s final symphonic work, Symphony No. 10.

STS9 + Maserati
Congress Theater. 9pm; $30–$40. 17 and older.
STS9 (Sound Tribe Sector 9) melds dub-influenced psychedelia with improvisation and straight-up rock for seemingly endless sets. The death of ace drummer Jerry Fuchs briefly cast a pall on the future of Maserati, but the Athens, Georgia, post-rock-ish group not only went ahead and released Pyramid of the Sun (the last release to feature Fuchs) but decided to tour again, too. Last year the dudes dropped a new LP, Maserati VII, featuring new drummer Mike Albanese, which you’ll likely hear from tonight.

They Might Be Giants + Moon Hooch
Vic Theatre. 7:30pm; $27.50. 14 and older.
It doesn’t take long to figure out that the 2011 album from They Might Be Giants album, Join Us, isn’t one of the New York duo’s family-friendly efforts. “I was outnumbered a million to one,” John Linnell sings over a crisp power-pop groove. “All of the dicks in this dick town can’t keep Johnny down.” That’s the first line in the first song. As usual, though, the Giants attack this adult-minded material with an energy and enthusiasm no less contagious than when they’re selling the ABCs and 123s. The same can be said of new record, Nanobots, released Mar 5, which has attention-grabbers such as “You’re On Fire”: “Hi, I forgot your name, whatever / My point is, hi, your head’s on fire.” Pow!

The Tossers + Kevin Flynn & The Avondale Ramblers + The Blind Staggers + Continental
Metro. 9pm; advance $18, day of show $20. 18 and older.
The South Side’s answer to the Pogues, local Celtic-punk flag-bearers the Tossers have been turning out hard-driving (and -drinking) tunes for the last 20 years. The group’s latest for Victory Records, The Emerald City, landed earlier this month, and as the group heads to the Metro to both celebrate the album and ring in St. Paddy’s Day, it seemed only fitting to have frontman Tony Duggins run down his favorite Irish drinking songs, plus a few of his own for good measure.
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Planet Earth
Late Bar. 10pm; free.
With a track record stretching back to 1994, Dave Roberts’s Planet Earth night is a Chicago staple. His new wave selections have taken him from Club Foot to Exit to Neo. It’s now found a permanent home here. DJ Tarsis Lopez, host of the Alternative Classix podcast, adds his take on rare new wave to the mix the first Saturday of the month.

Soul Summit
Double Door. 10pm; free.
There’s no shortage of dusty soul nights around town these days, but when they are manned by DJs like these, you won’t hear us complaining. Dave Mata of Rogers Park arts space Impala Sound, Duke Grip of Spectrum and Numero Group collaborator Sloppy White preside monthly over this raw R&B, funk and soul dance party. They just celebrated three years of good times.

Seth Troxler
Spy Bar. 10pm; advance at residentadvisor.net $20.
In just over ten years, Detroit’s Seth Troxler has risen from record-store clerk to the guy making the off-the-wall techno tracks stocked in the shelves. Last year’s place on the Sonar tour cemented his rep as one of North America’s top left field techno dudes. The nutty Troxler says his influences include “the chirping of crickets, the whirring of space ships, and the sweet sounds of whistling voodoo magic.” He’s claimed the whole night as his own for an epic, six-hour display of his wide-ranging tastes.

Windy City Soul Club
Empty Bottle. 10pm; $5.
Inspired by vinyl-only dance parties in Seattle, Ann Arbor and Milwaukee, five record obsessives teamed for this Northern Soul–oriented Chicago monthly. They concentrate on upbeat cuts that were staples of the all-night dance parties at Wigan Casino in England well into the mid-’70s. If you don’t like Motown, you won’t get it. Their followers come dressed to impress, and we suggest you do the same.

Chi-Town Blues Festival: Bobby Rush + Mel Waiters + Bobby “Blue” Bland & Floyd Taylor
Arie Crown Theater. 5pm; $95–$190.
The elder statesman tonight is Bobby “Blue” Bland, one of the greatest soul/blues singers of all time. After a half-century of musical magic it’s fair to ask why he never crossed over to become a mainstream superstar like James Brown, Aretha Franklin or his buddy B.B. King. Septuagenarian Bobby Rush (not the U.S. rep) makes consistent appearances at Buddy Guy’s club and plays in support of his new disc, Down in Louisiana, an ode to his home state. Silky Southern R&B/soul crooner Mel Waiters is a spring chicken by comparison and cites the great Teddy Pendergrass as an influence.

Sam Lay
SPACE. 7pm; $30.
Alabaman drummer Sam Lay has been a major player in the blues world since the ’50s, playing with Little Walter, Willie Dixon, Howlin’ Wolf and more, continuing with the Paul Butterfield Blues Band and Bob Dylan, up through various solo and band projects. Needless to say, he earns the living legend title more than most.

Becker, Adamik, Kotche & Gray + Becker, Adamik Duo + Darin Gray
Hideout. 9pm; $10–$12.
Califone’s Jim Becker and Joe Adamik improvise as a duo and as part of a quartet with Glenn Kotche of Wilco and Darin Gray, who’s played bass with Jim O’Rourke for about two decades. Gray opens with a solo set.] Jeremy Pelt with the Columbia College Big Band 8, 10pm. See Thu 14.

Paulinho Garcia Quartet
Katerina’s. 10pm; $10.
An understated singer and dazzling guitar player, Chicago resident Paulinho Garcia does his native Brazil proud throughout his sparkling bossa-jazz repertoire.

Felix Da Housecat 
The Mid. 10pm; $20. 
You could be forgiven for wondering what Felix Da Housecat has been up to recently. The Chicago stalwart, who helped usher in electroclash over a decade ago with his concept-driven Kittenz and Thee Glitz, hasn’t released new music in nearly four years, unless you count a 2011 cover-mount CD from Mixmag. With EDM’s stock rising, it seems natural that he’d up his game.
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Paddy Homan
Wilmette Theatre. 8pm; $25, advance $22.
We sort of love that famed Irish tenor Paddy Homan bears the same name as the green-beer guzzling, highly misinterpreted March observation that essentially bankrolls the rest of his fiscal year. Here you’re in for an evening of traditional Celtic tunes.

Sunday 17

Orion Ensemble with Patrice Michaels 
Music Institute of Chicago. 3pm; $26, seniors $23, students $10. 
Guest soprano Patrice Michaels joins Orion for “A Voice from Heaven.” Michaels will belt out a selection of arias from her recent CD, Divas of Mozart’s Day, plus choice picks by Ralph Vaughan Williams, Schubert and Shostakovich.

Boom Boom Room
Dolphin. 10pm; $10.
This legendary, polysexual Chicago-house night is back at Dolphin, settling on a Sunday night spot, rather than the Monday it used to call home. It remains an awe-inspiring blend of clubbers and regular city folk who like to party, and it’s a Chicago institution. Tonight, clubbers will succumb to the lucky charms of Chicago’s oddball acid originator DJ Pierre who heads up a special edition dubbed Leprechauns on Acid! Gene Farris, Diz, Justin Sheridan and Martin Stoy spin every week.

Wayne Montana
Rodan. 8pm; free
To get your Saturday off on the right track, Eternals bassist Wayne Montana takes over this modern Asian-themed and always-packed-with-beautiful-people haunt on Milwaukee Avenue for early evening dubby jams.

Queen!
Smart Bar. 10pm; $5.
Smart Bar maintains its hold on Sunday-night polysexual dancing with Queen! Gathering residents Michael Serafini, Donovan DJ and Garrett David, Queen! also spices things up with guest DJs from a spectrum of sounds and scenes weekly. Derrick Carter spins tonight.

Sunday Transmission Series: Danny Fox Trio + Branch, Gilgore, Hatwich & Rosaly
Hungry Brain. 10pm; $7.
Bassist Anton Hatwich joins hard-gigging drummer Frank Rosaly, one of the scene’s strongest improvisors, Jarrett Gilgore (alto sax) and Jaimie Branch (trumpet) in the second set.

Paddy Homan
Beverly Arts Center. 2pm; $16–$20.
We sort of love that famed Irish tenor Paddy Homan bears the same name as the green-beer guzzling, highly misinterpreted March observation that essentially bankrolls the rest of his fiscal year. Here you’re in for an evening of traditional Celtic tunes.

Ten Strings
Open Door Theatre. 10:30am; $10.
The spousal string duo of guitarist Jason Deroche and his violinist wife, Sherri, get Sunday morning off to a good start with music from Spain and Latin America, plus a sample of works by Gluck and Paganini. Head down a half hour early for pre-show coffee and cookies.