Every January Schubas’ Tomorrow Never Knows festival (in its sixth year — its fourth as a five-day bash) inevitably rolls around. And every year you say you’re really going to get into some of the up-and-coming acts playing there. Then it doesn’t happen.
This year will be different though, right? If not because the fest (comprising 12 shows held Jan. 13-17) also happens at Schubas’ sister spot Lincoln Hall, then because these 10 acts just can’t be missed. Note: Times denote set times for individual bands.
Tomorrow Never Knows 2010
Schubas, 3159 N. Southport Ave. 773-525-2508;Lincoln Hall, 2424 N. Lincoln Ave. 773-525-2501
When: Wednesday-Sunday
Tickets: $15 for most shows; $75 five-day pass; schubas.com; $50 five-day Lincoln Hall pass; lincolnhallchicago.com
The Dead Trees
9 p.m. Wed. at Lincoln Hall
On its debut, “King of Rosa,” this Portland band took the nagging deja vu out of retro rock. In its place: tightly crafted simplicity fit for post-work uplift and hazy rides home. Wander around somewhere between the Brian Jonestown Massacre and early Wilco and you’re on the right track. The band’s follow-up album will be recorded in February and is planned for release later this year.
Freelance Whales
10:30 p.m. Thu. at Schubas
Great name. Good record too: “Weathervanes,” FW’s debut, isn’t out until March 16, but this show should give you a good preview of what this exciting new band is about. Light indie pop pulled through pulsing electro-tunnels; multi-instrumental collages used to tell simple love stories; and eccentric lullabies that might jostle you awake with fuzz, as if your room had started trembling sometime around 3 a.m.
Gemini Club
9 p.m. Thu. at Lincoln Hall
Show headliners Voxtrot do nicely danceable,’80s-influenced pop rock, and opener Solid Gold will get people going too. But no one on this bill is going to have the hipsters freaking like electro-pop locals Gemini Club, whose EP, “Future Tidings,” is something we wished we started spinning months ago. “Show Me a Showdown” is a monster, and your feet are the tiny townfolk in its path.
Surfer Blood
11:30 p.m. Thu. at Schubas
A highly buzzed-about band that deserves the attention. The Florida group’s summery, indie-leaning power-pop debut, “Astro Coast,” drops Jan. 19. It was recorded in the band’s dorm room during freshman year at the University of Florida, so, yes, they’re the latest youngsters (like last year’s Cymbals Eat Guitars) to catch a wave early and ride the hype. Hopefully their age doesn’t show on stage.
Atlas Sound
Midnight Fri. at Lincoln Hall
“Logos,” the sophomore album from the solo project of Deerhunter’s Bradford Cox, is not a record that’s instantly likable or instantly anything, really, other than spacey and unusual. That makes going back to it that much more rewarding — and Cox’s live performances that much more intriguingly divisive.
The Rural Alberta Advantage
10:45 p.m. Sat. at Lincoln Hall
This Canadian band seems to split the difference between frantic indie rock and sweeter, countrified anthems you could discover in a bar or in the woods. Headliner Bowerbirds offers pleasant-enough folk rock, but I suspect TRAA will be the more memorably eclectic and puzzling act at this show. After several times through last year’s “Hometowns,” I still can’t fully get my arms around it.
Sharon Van Etten
10:45 p.m. Sat. at Schubas
Yes, another gentle female singer-songwriter plucking away at quiet folk ballads that risk getting drowned out by a fork falling on the ground. Van Etten, who released her debut “Because I Was In Love” last year, is pretty spellbinding, though, with a voice that could crack a solid-steel heart in half.
Owen Pallett
Midnight. Sat. at Schubas
Who? Well, Canadian singer-violinist Pallett is the artist formerly known as Final Fantasy — the name of a popular video game whose trademark Pallett is now voluntarily leaving alone. Glad to see him ditch distractions from the music. His new “Heartland” is a gorgeous showcase for his haunting voice and textured compositions, using violin to create the soundtrack for the wildly dramatic life you half-wish you had.
Skybox
10:30 p.m. Sun. at Schubas
“Morning After Cuts,” the sophomore disc from local outfit Skybox, is so warm, joyful and fun you might forget it’s freezing outside. The irresistible indie-pop album is out Jan. 19, and it’s as sweet as it is frisky, proving that pop can be playful without getting annoying. It’s the rare disc you can call “cute” and mean it as a compliment.
Pomegranates
9:45 p.m. Sun. at Schubas
As dreamy and strange as a carnival in the clouds, Pomegranates’ second full-length, last year’s “Everybody, Come Outside!” makes art-pop so seductive it’s easy to ignore the tricks this Cincinnati group plays. That they were invited on the road by Islands is no surprise; that they haven’t taken a bigger media leap from the blogs promoting them is more surprising.
Also: 5:30 p.m. Sun. at Reckless Records, 1532 N. Milwaukee Ave.
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mpais@tribune.com
