At first, I thought this was going to be the start of the mass exodus of good shows in Chicago, as everyone heads down to Austin for SXSW. Â And then I looked at the listings and was like, oh, there’s a lot of good stuff going on, most of which I can’t make it to.
Also, if you’re not doing anything this weekend, you should head up to Evanston to catch the second Chicago-area showing of Xan Aranda’s Andrew Bird: Fever Year.  It’s playing at the Talking Pictures Festival on Friday, March 9th (9:15 pm) and Saturday, March 10th (4:30 pm).  I’ll be at the Saturday showing — maybe now I’ll be able to finish that blog post I’ve had sitting in draft since I first saw it last year.
Monday, March 5
Robbie Fulks, the Hoyle Brothers; Hideout. 7 pm, $10 suggested donation
The Kickback, Mutts, Psychic Twin, The Bears of Blue River; Schubas. 8 pm, $6
Tuesday, March 6
Korallreven, Young Magic; Schubas. 8 pm, $14
Mar Caribe; Hideout. 9 pm, $5 suggested donation
Wednesday, March 7
The Head and the Heart; the Vic. 7:30 pm, $25
The Heligoats, Robert Sarazin Blake, Many Places, Sam Vicari; Subterranean. 8 pm, $8
Scattered Trees, Santah, Great Life; Schubas. 9 pm, $12
Thursday, March 8
The Head and the Heart, Drew Grow & the Pastors’ Wives; the Vic. 7:30 pm, sold out
John Oates, Van Ghost, The Stay Smooth; Lincoln Hall. 8 pm, $25
Katie Herzig, Andy Davis; SPACE. 8 pm, $15-28
Lower Dens, Judson Claiborne, Michael Lux and the Bad Sons; Subterannean. 8:30 pm, $12
Yellow Ostrich, 1,2,3, Tin Tin Can; Empty Bottle. Â 9:30 pm, $8
Friday, March 9
Alabama Shakes, Canasta, Jennifer Castle; Lincoln Hall. 10 pm, sold out
Laura Gibson, Honey & Buffalo, Vic & Gab; Hideout. 10 pm, $10
Maritime, Panoramic & True, The Minor Leagues; Empty Bottle. 10 pm, $10
Saturday, March 10
SXSW Send Off Party, ft. Kids These Days, In Tall Buildings, Musikanto, Hollywood Holt, The Waco Brothers, Outer Minds, Cains & Abels, Redgrave, Unicycle Loves You, Football, Paper Thick Walls; Hideout. 1 pm, $10
Julian Velard, Jason Myles Goss; Schubas. 7 pm, $10
Teitur, Rose Cousins; SPACE. Â 8 pm, $15-27
Julia Nunes, Mark Rose; Subterranean. 8:30 pm, $15-18
Honey Island Swamp Band, Leah Druzinsky, The Oak Creek Band; Martyrs. 9 pm, $12
Sunday, March 11
Meh?