Friday 16
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SUFJAN STEVENS For all his greater musical sophistication, the temptation to compare Sufjan Stevens’s album Illinois (Asthmatic Kitty) to Songs About the Land of Lincoln by locals Illinois First! is pretty much overwhelming: both derived lyrical inspiration from books (Stevens from the writings of Carl Sandburg and others, Illinois First! from the textbook Discovering Illinois); both feature grand histories of entire towns (Stevens does Jacksonville and Illinois First! does Nauvoo); and both dedicate songs to infamous Illinoisans (John Wayne Gacy and George Ryan respectively). Granted, it’s hard to imagine Illinois First! coming within five feet of a glockenspiel, let alone an oboe, but while Stevens has compositional prowess, at least Illinois First! has focus. Illinois really is a beautiful tribute, but you know the Brooklynite is just passing through, writing out some very dense postcards in some very tiny handwriting. Laura Veirs opens; see also Saturday. 9 PM, Metro, 3730 N. Clark, 773-549-0203 or 312-559-1212, 18+, sold out. –Monica Kendrick
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Monday 19
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Thursday 22
NUMBERS San Francisco’s Numbers have spent half a decade specializing in post-no-wave dementia, releasing albums that are all high-velocity herky-jerky beats, chicken-scratch guitar, and sputtering, out-of-whack synths. I can’t blame them for wanting to change their sound, but on their new record, We’re Animals (Kill Rock Stars), they seem to think maturity requires acting like a bunch of geezers. They’ve cut their hyperactive tempos in half, and while there are still some noisy keyboard wheezes and slashing guitars, their inept attempts at writing actual melodies reveal Indra Dunis’s inability to carry a tune. You know things are bad when your best songs sound like bad Slits covers. This show is part of Estrojam; see page 22 for a complete schedule. King Cobra and Limited Express (Has Gone?) open. 10 PM, Bottom Lounge, 3206 N. Wilton, 773-975-0505 or 866-468-3401, $10, 18+. –Peter Margasak
