54 CHICAGO READER | AUGUST 26, 2005 | SECTION THREE

NUMBERS San Francisco’s Numbers have spent half adecade specializing in post-no-wave dementia, releasingalbums that are all high-velocity herky-jerky beats, chicken-scratch guitar, and sputtering, out-of-whack synths. I can’tblame them for wanting to change their sound, but on theirnew record, We’re Animals (Kill Rock Stars), they seem tothink maturity requires acting like a bunch of geezers. They’vecut their hyperactive tempos in half, and while there are stillsome noisy keyboard wheezes and slashing guitars, their ineptattempts at writing actual melodies reveal Indra Dunis’sinability to carry a tune. You know things are bad when yourbest songs sound like bad Slits covers. This show is part ofEstrojam; see page 22 for a complete schedule. King Cobraand Limited Express (Has Gone?) open. a 10 PM, BottomLounge, 3206 N. Wilton, 773-975-0505 or 866-468-3401,$10, 18+. —Peter Margasak

cAMY RAY, THE ORGAN If you say some-body’s new album is way more gay than the last one,

it’s hardly ever a compliment. But Indigo Girl AMY RAY hasdedicated her second solo disc, Prom (Daemon), entirely toquestions of queer identity—and this record isn’t just gay, it’sfiercely, fantastically gay. It’s about the drama and tumult ofhigh school and coming out, and its narratives are set in ruraland suburban Georgia, deep in the Bible Belt, at about thetime Ray first fell in love with another woman. Over punked-up bar-band riffs and sweet-toned, melodic fuzz blasts thatrecall the Breeders, she sings in fearless first person about herlife and her friends’ lives, sometimes speaking as a teenagerand sometimes as her 41-year-old self, looking back with allthe compassion and love she’s learned. “Rural Faggot” is awarmhearted anthem for some of her young neighbors inGeorgia, who use homophobia to mask their confusion: “Bythis time next year / You’ll know you’re queer / It’ll all be OK/ It’ll all be clear / You’ll run away from home / But not to bealone.” On her previous solo outing, Stag, Ray got help fromthe Butchies, but for Prom she’s backed by both theBirmingham garage band Nineteen Forty-Five and a cast ofdyke-punk icons, including guitarist Donna Dresch andbassist Jody Bleyle (from Team Dresch) and drummer KateSchellenbach (from Luscious Jackson). For this show Ray willbe backed by Bleyle, drummer Will Lochamy of NineteenForty-Five, and Les Nuby of Verbena on guitar.

Lots of people seem to have decided that THEORGAN is all about the 80s: this dude-free quintet fromVancouver has attracted an unceasing stream of Smiths andNew Order comparisons since releasing its debut full-length,Grab That Gun (Mint), late last year. (The band’s currentrelease is a seven-inch on Go Metric with one new song, “Letthe Bells Ring.”) Ashley Webber’s nimble bass lines do sound alittle like Peter Hook’s, and guitarist Deborah Cohen is biginto the popular death-disco combo of delay pedal and mini-malist skronking—but unlike more fashionable revivalists(Radio 4, Interpol, the Killers), the Organ doesn’t just jumblecynically deployed signifiers (skinny ties, art-school polemics,pre-Prozac journal entries, guys in eyeliner). These ladiesactually have solid songs and a mature, democratic sound,with no one element carrying the show—and no one nostalgicreference can sum up what they do.

Ray headlines, the Reputation plays fourth, and theOrgan plays third; the Reptoids and 8 Inch Betsy open. Thisshow is part of Estrojam; for a complete schedule see page 22.a 6 PM, Bottom Lounge, 3206 N. Wilton, 773-975-0505 or866-468-3401, $14, 18+. —Jessica Hopper

Numbers

JazzThe Treatment

thursday22continued from page 52

SUNDAY18

Gene Siskel Film Center 5:00 “Tony Conrad Filmworks” curatedby Andrew Lampert & Jim O’Rourke (see Movies)

WEDNESDAY21

Empty Bottle 9:00 Red Krayola; Mandarin Movie c;Diverse; Hisham Bharoocha, TyondaiBraxton & Robert Lowe

THURSDAY22

Gene Siskel Film Center 8:00 “Tony Conrad Filmworks” curatedby Andrew Lampert & Jim O’Rourke (see Movies)

Empty Bottle9:00 Acid Mothers Temple & the Cosmic

Inferno (see the Treatment), Eats Tapes,Akron/Family, Harris Eisenstadt’s theSoul and Gone (see the Treatment)

FRIDAY23

Empty Bottle9:00 Isolee, Henry Grimes, WilliamBasinski, Daniel Higgs

SATURDAY24

Empty Bottle9:00 Earth, Gang Gang Dance, Pita,Ghislain Poirier

SUNDAY25

Gene Siskel Film Center 5:00 NorNoise (see Movies)

Empty Bottle9:00 Four Tet, Khanate, Hot Chip, Phill Niblock

Festivals

Adventures inModern MusicCopresented by British music magazine the Wire, this festival features five nights ofmusic at the Empty Bottle, 1035 N. Western, and three film screenings at the GeneSiskel Film Center, 164 N. State. The Bottle shows are $15, and a pass good for all fivecosts $60; for more information call 773-276-3600 or 800-594-8499.

F: Mondays, 8:30 PM, Daniel Huber &Ivan Martirena with Joel Styzens. 773-525-7313.

Gunz Bavarian Haus 4128 N. Lincoln:Tuesdays, 9:30 PM, Ten Cats F. 773-472-4287.

Hotti Biscotti 3545 W. Fullerton: Sat 9/17,10 PM, Eric Leonardson, Bob PerkinsF.Tuesdays, 8 PM, Jim Baker/Steve Hunt/BrianSandstrom/Mars WilliamsF. Tue 9/20, 11PM, Dave Rempis. 773-772-9970.

Jazz Showcase 59 W. Grand: Music at 9and 11 PM Fridays and Saturdays; 4, 8, and10 PM Sundays; 8 and 10 PM Tuesdaysthrough Thursdays. Fri 9/16 through Sun9/18, Nicholas Payton Quartet. Tue 9/20through Thu 9/22, Junior Mance Trio. 312-670-2473.

Blue Water Grill 520 N. Dearborn: Fri9/16, 7 PM, Shawn Salmon Trio withMichelle Thomas. 312-777-1400.

Cafe Mestizo 2123 S. Ashland: Sundays, 6-9 PM, jam session with NicoleMitchell, David Boykin, Karl E.H. Seigfried, and Mike Reed. 312-942-0095.

Cafe Mud 1936 Maple, Evanston:Thursdays, 8 PM, Orb. 847-733-9904.

Chicago Hot Glass 1250 N. Central Park:Mon 9/19, 8 PM, D. Bayne Septet. 773-394-3252.

Coq d’Or Drake Hotel, 140 E. Walton F:Piano bar and restaurant. Fridays, 7 PM,Marc Pompe. 312-932-4623.

Cosmicafe 1944 W. Montrose: Thu 9/22, 8PM, Tom McCarthy Trio F. 773-728-2233.

Davenport’s Piano Bar & Cabaret1383 N. Milwaukee: Wed 9/21, 8 PM,Barbara Johnson, Willie Pickens. 773-278-1830.

Dee’s Mandarin Restaurant 1114 W.Armitage: Fridays and Wednesdays, 7 PM,Birdhouse Quartet. 773-477-1500.

Family Den 8948 S. Stony Island: Sundays,6-10 PM, Crosswind hosts a jam sessionF. 773-734-8545.

50 Yard Line 69 E. 75th: Music at 6 PM. Sundays, 8 PM, open jam sessionwith Corey Wilkes, Robert “Baabe” Irving III, Charles “Rick” Heath, JoshRamo. Thu 9/22, Dwayne Armstrong.773-846-0005.

FitzGerald’s 6615 Roosevelt, Berwyn: Sun 9/18, 6 PM, John BurnettOrchestra. Wed 9/21, 8 PM, Rob Parton’sJazz Tech Big Band. 708-788-2118 or 312-559-1212.

Gale Street Inn 4914 N. Milwaukee:Fridays, 7 PM, Tom Muellner Trio. 773-725-1300.

Gallery Cabaret 2020 N. Oakley: Music at10 PM on weekends, 9 PM on weeknights.Mon 9/19, Brian O’Hern & the ModelCitizens Big Band. 773-489-5471.

Germania Place 108 W. Germania Place:Thu 9/22, 7 PM, Nestor Torres & ShunzoOhno. 312.573.1968.

Green Dolphin Street 2200 N. Ashland:Sun 9/18, 8 PM, Chris Greene Quartet F.Tuesdays, 6 PM, Jose Valdes Trio F; 9PM, Edgar Marroquin, Luis Rivera, and

Carlos Latalladi spin mambo, salsa, cha-cha, bachata, and merengue.Wednesdays, 9 PM, Bill Porter Orchestra(preceded by dance lessons with MannyLopez at 8:15 PM). 773-395-0066.

Green Mill 4802 N. Broadway: Fri 9/16,9 PM, and Sat 9/17, 8 PM, ErnestDawkins’s Live the Spirit Band. Fridays,1:30-4 AM, Green Mill Quartet F.Saturdays, midnight-5 AM, SabertoothOrgan Quartet. Sun 9/18, 11 PM, SeanHarris Trio. Mon 9/19, 9 PM, PatriciaBarber Quartet. Tue 9/20, 9 PM, DeepBlue Organ Trio. Wednesdays, 9 PM,Kurt Elling Quartet. Wed 9/21, 2 AM,Frank Catalano Quartet. Thursdays, 9PM, Alan Gresik’s Swing Shift Orchestra.773-878-5552.

Griffin’s Public House 2710 N. Halsted

CHICAGO READER | SEPTEMBER 16, 2005 | SECTION THREE 55