Friday15
Best of Chicago voting is live now. Vote for your favorites »
SERENA-MANEESH The 2005 self-titled debut full-length from this Norwegian band, released in the U.S. last May on PlayLouder/Beggars Banquet, was a transatlantic production–parts of the album were recorded in Boston and in Chicago at Electrical Audio, and Daniel Smith and Sufjan Stevens make cameo appearances. Their sound is a familiar but evergreen web of dreamy pop and twitching noise, with organ, violin, and female vocals drifting over the drones like clouds across a dark red moon. Imagine time reversing itself so that the Velvets were influenced by Sonic Youth and the Brian Jonestown Massacre instead of the other way around. They’re a last-minute addition to what’s otherwise a World Music Festival show; Otto headlines and Dengue Fever plays second. A complete pullout guide to the fest begins on page 25. 10 PM, Empty Bottle, 1035 N. Western, 773-276-3600 or 866-468-3401, $10 in advance, $12 at the door. –Monica Kendrick
Saturday 16
PETER EVANS & DAVID REMINICK On his new album, More Is More (released on Evan Parker’s Psi label), New York trumpeter Peter Evans confirms his status as one of the instrument’s most radical improvisers. Though his flawless technique has served him well in contemporary classical and jazz contexts–he sounds terrific on the recent eponymous debut by Carnival Skin, playing expansive postbop–on the new disc he explores new methods of using the horn as a sound generator a la Axel Dorner, Greg Kelley, and Mazen Kerbaj while also echoing the brittle lyricism of Wadada Leo Smith. But no matter how extreme his work gets, he never fully abandons the trumpet’s essential brassiness, whether he’s unleashing high-pitched long tones and abrasive low-end splats, clinking the valves, or subjecting his vocal whinnies to the distortions of the instrument’s tubing. He’ll perform improvised solos and duets with saxophonist David Reminick at this show, part of a weeklong local series featuring members of the International Contemporary Ensemble. 10 PM, Hungry Brain, 2319 W. Belmont, 773-935-2118, donation requested. –Peter Margasak
Wednesday 20
