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There’s a whole mess of stuff to do in this beautiful city this holiday weekend. And unless you have access to a stargate, or have a flux-capacitor wired into your hoopty, I doubt that you’ll be making it to all of the shows. And right up after only a day or two of down-time, we have Thanksgiving day itself, and another evening of onslaught. There’ll be a ton of people flooding the city, and this weekend is only the pre-gaming. I’ll be your tourguide through this chaos- here’s a lineup for where you should spend your time!

Friday Night

Straight out of the West Coast, Busdriver- Project Blowed’s man with the tongue of fire- will be playing a set over at The Empty Bottle. And to top that off, he’s touring with one of LA’s strongest and most progressive & experimentally-minded producers- Daedalus. Might be an earlier gig. I’m not quite sure, but it’s definitely worth catching! Both of them have extensive careers in underground hip-hop and it’s been a while since I have seen either of them live- it’ll be cool to see what directions they’re heading nowadays. Here is a sample of Busdriver & Radioinactive with Daedalus, in their project called “The Weather”. Very strange. Very cool. Listen a minute and a half into “Carl Weathers” and you’ll start to get it.

The Weather – Exxagerated Joy

The Weather – Carl Weathers

pic: toni francois

The Juan Maclean is swinging through Smart Bar on Friday as well, and he’s a DJ worth checking out. Hailing from NY & repped by DFA- those are all the credentials you really need. His style is very relaxed and organic in a world that is becoming overly static and electrified. The VHS or Beta remix is a nice rework. Along with Maclean you also get DJ Mother Hubbard, co-captain of Life During Wartime (alongside Bald Eagle)- one of Chicago’s biggest and baddest house movements that kick off on a regular basis. Considering how awesome the sound system is at Smart Bar- this might be the spot I’m kicking it at come tomorrow. We’ll see.

Lotus – Bubonic Tonic (The Juan Maclean Remix)

VHS or Beta – You Got Me (The Juan Maclean Remix)

Oh, and Paul Anthony is spinning at the Victor Hotel, and from what I’ve heard it ought to be pretty tight. Can’t find any music to post, so you’ll have to hit the myspace link above.

You can also find Oscar G spinning over at Spy Bar if you’re into that scene. Ought to be a good friday there, so if you’re drinking your face off trying to hook some girl (or guy) that ain’t feeling it and find yourself shit out of luck come 2AM, then this might be the place for you. Last time I went there some kid was throwing up in the toilet and the bathroom attendant was screaming “you can’t throw up in here, man!”.. haha. “dude! that’s fucked up! YAK !” the guy says. For such a classy joint you sure see some funny shit sometimes. Feed me enough whiskey on a Friday and there’s no telling where I’m gonna be.

Saturday Night

pic: steve asenjo

If you’ve been reading as long as you should have been, you’ll know of my never-ending love & adoration for Feist, Canadian singer & songwriter. She’s playing at the Riviera this Saturday night and I’m excited!! There are very few artists of her nature whom I can even tolerate, much less listen to on a regular basis. The fact that half of my favorite producers & DJs remix and spin her work at every show I go to is proof enough. She’s the chick on the iPod Nano commercial, she’s been on Letterman, and other Late-Nite shows. Her releases are stellar, her remixes do her justice and she’s attractive! What else can you ask for? – aside from a ticket (I can’t get my hands on one yet! Bullshit!) This is BY FAR the best performance this weekend, and perhaps, of the season in the city.

Feist – 1234 (Live On Letterman)

Feist- 1234 (Van She Technologic Remix)

Feist – My Moon My Man

Feist – My Moon My Man (Boys Noize Remix)

Feist – I Feel It All

Benny Benassi is at Crobar. Not really surprised, and though I will credit the man for if not starting, getting the ball seriously rolling on the whole electro scene, I probably won’t find myself there. I’ve seen the performance twice this year already! Yes it was a shit-ton of fun, and I danced my brains out. The fans went insane. It was very cool. One of the shows was at Coachella, and I don’t think that Crobar is going to stand-up to any performance you see at that summer-wonderland. That place is a musical odyssey. Though, if you have yet to see the master at work, I’d recommend seeing him so that your grandchildren don’t give you heaps of shit missing a legend. And he has probably the best music video of all time… big ups to Have Fun Club for the Soulwax track.

Underdog Project – Girls Of Summer (Benny Benassi Extended Mix)

Salt ‘N Peppa vs Benny Benassi – Push Me Push It (Soulwax Remix)

The show that I’ve been waiting practically all month is coming up, too. I’m talking about Thievery Corp remnants that are now the glorious Dust Galaxy as well as Ursula 1000 over at the Metro. These guys are going to kill it, and they’re both incredible. I imagine that many Chicagoans have slept on these guys for now. But if you want my 2 cents, and I know that you do, this is one of the most-affordable and most-accessible show that is coming up on this lineup. It’ll be a damn good time, and I can bring my little sister (who is only 20). A huge bonus considering that I’d feel really bad not being able to hang with her either of the two weekend nights. Sucks being under 21, huh? big ups to Carl Sandberg Visits for the tracks! YEAH!

Dust Galaxy – Sun In Your Head

Dust Galaxy – Overhead

Ursula 1000 – Kinda Kinky

Ursula 1000 – Megamix 2007

A little hip hop never did anybody wrong either. Enter the Blue Scholars, one of the only hip hop groups I can think of who have been gaining tremendous momentum this year. Guilty- I haven’t been following the genre very closely, but it’s hard not to notice these guys. Straight out of Seattle, they’re reminding me how great hip hop was when I was younger & have 2 new EPs comin out. A great throwback and a progressive face-forward presence, they’re a group that will be sure to leave an audience wanting more. Plus, local legend Psalm One will be there, over at Subterranean- a venue that holds a warm place in my heart. Who was saying hip hop is dead?!

Blue Scholars – Inkwell (Crashed Cop Car Remix)

Blue Scholars-SouthSideRevival

Psalm One – Things I Do

DAMN! that took a lot of time. But it’s not nearly over. Just take a look at the schedule to your left. There are so many shows coming up on Wednesday, I’ll be sure to follow this all up with another post. So have an awesome weekend, eat some turkey, dance your ass off and give your boy a holler! Happy holidays.