friday20
magda After years of sponsorship from god-of-all-techno Richie Hawtin, who handpicked her to open multiple tours, it’s surprising Magda isn’t better known stateside. Her first official mix CD for Hawtin’s label, She’s a Dancing Machine (M-nus), proves she’s definitely got chops–she hustles through 71 tracks of wordless clicks, propulsive plinks, and frosty ticktocks in just over an hour. Berlin’s subtle, cool bounce is her main inspiration these days, but she breaks up some of the quiet stretches with flashes of microhouse and (true to her roots) Detroit acid. U.S. appearances have been rare since she left for Germany in 2003–best catch a glimpse while you can. Paco Osuna and Kate Simko open. a 10 PM, Smart Bar, 3730 N. Clark, 773-549-4140 or 312-559-1212, $10. –Jessica Hopper
Best of Chicago voting is live now. Vote for your favorites »
cskerik’s syncopated taint septet Take a mix of funk and hip-hop rhythms laced with New Orleans street beat, slather it in tried-and-true harmonies for five horns, and keep it airy enough to incorporate Basie-style riffs and Balkan counterpoint. Voila, Skerik’s Syncopated Taint Septet–a hearty hybrid of latter-day rhythms grafted to jazz melodies and chords. Anchored by Hammond organ and heavy on both baritone sax and flute, the ensemble has a cosmopolitan sound that encompasses the earthiness of hard bop and the neon tones of a jam band; its second disc, this year’s Husky (Hyena), quivers with smarts and energy. Skerik, a Seattle tenor saxist best known for his work with Charlie Hunter in Garage a Trois, is an unprepossessing front man, handing off most of the solos and almost all the writing. Much of his job as bandleader entailed coming up with the group’s concept (reminiscent of the 80s band the Microscopic Septet) and its wry sensibility–illustrated by the name, taken from a statement by a 1930s drug czar about the supposed dangers posed to upright Americans by the “syncopated taint” of jazz. Chris Berry & Panjea opens. a 10 PM, Subterranean, 2011 W. North, 773-278-6600 or 800-594-8499, $12 in advance, $15 at the door. –Neil Tesser
These Arms Are Snakes headline, Mouth of the Architect plays third, the River City Tanlines go on second, and the Young Widows open. a 8 PM, Beat Kitchen, 2100 W. Belmont, 773-281-4444 or 866-468-3401, $10 in advance, $12 at the door, 18+.
Califone headlines, Angela Desveaux plays second, and Peter & the Wolf opens. a 10 PM, Empty Bottle, 1035 N. Western, 773-276-3600 or 866-468-3401, $10 in advance, $12 at the door.
FLORIAN HECKER Viennese sound artist Florian Hecker makes one hell of a racket, overloading computer systems to kick up an awesome, disorienting noise, but there’s usually an elaborate method to his madness. At this performance he’ll present a new six-channel work composed with an artificial neural system he designed with a software engineer; in simplest terms, the program analyzes Hecker’s creative choices and then sets off on its own, mimicking his style. a 9 PM, 6Odum, 2116 W. Chicago, 312-282-7676, $12. A –Peter Margasak
nguyen le: tiger’s tail quartet The title of Nguyen Le’s latest album, Walking on the Tiger’s Tail (Highnote), suggests danger, an element often present in the guitarist’s work. But the record is a gentler affair than some of Le’s previous projects: his quartet includes reedist Paul McCandless, cofounder of Oregon, and pianist Art Lande, whose playing has mostly trod Oregon’s path, guiding jazz through acoustic folk and world-music influences. Le’s music has always evinced an East-West connection, which reflects both his heritage (he was born in Paris to Vietnamese parents) and his experimentalism. But here it takes a more subtle and complicated form: an Asian melodicism, already tempered by the West, fused with American timbres and structures influenced by the East. French drummer Patrice Heral fills out the group on this tour. a 7 PM, HotHouse, 31 E. Balbo, 312-362-9707, $12 in advance, $15 at the door. –Neil Tesser
