Friday 26
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CHARLIE SCHMIDT In the Meter a few weeks back Bob Mehr told the story of a prank that Skokie fingerstyle guitarist Charlie Schmidt pulled with his longtime friend and mentor, John Fahey. In 1993 Shanachie Records asked Fahey to recut his classic 1963 album, Death Chants, Breakdowns, and Military Waltzes, but Schmidt made the actual recording, adding four tunes of his own as “previously unreleased bonus tracks.” That album never came out, but when Fantasy Records released The Best of John Fahey Vol. 2: 1963-1983 last year, three of Schmidt’s recordings appeared on it, credited to Fahey–including one of the originals. On Xanthe Terra (Strange Attractors Audio House), his recently released debut, Schmidt gives a dynamic reading of Fahey’s raucous “Dance of the Inhabitants of the Palace of King Philip XIV of Spain,” and his liner notes reflect a geeky obeisance to his late pal (“The slide guitar part was played on an instrument once owned by John Fahey”), but he also has ideas of his own. His stabs at humor, like the quotes from Grieg’s Peer Gynt that ripple through his “Slavic Mountain,” can get cutesy, but his originals capture the beautiful, melancholy spirit of Fahey’s work without sounding as busy or dense. Emmett Williams opens. 9 PM, Heartland Cafe, 7000 N. Glenwood, 773-465-8005, $5. All ages. –Peter Margasak
KATIE TODD BAND In June this middle-of-the-road machine put out its third album, the self-released Make Some Time for Wasting. It’s music-school adult rock so mature and well-thought-out it’s impossible to argue with–and impossible to get excited about. Dave Tamkin & Co., the Al Weber Band, and Buddy Nuisance open. 9 PM, Metro, 3730 N. Clark, 773-549-0203 or 312-559-1212, $9, 18+. –Monica Kendrick
Wednesday 31
