Concert picks
Wilco hits Millennium Park Wednesday.
The Flaming Lips with Black Moth Super Rainbow, 7:30 p.m. today at the Aragon, 1106 W. Lawrence Ave., Chicago. $37.50. Sold out. (312) 559-1212.
The freakiest live show currently on permanent tour is that of the Flaming Lips, the Oklahoma City band that continues to win new legions of fans through their psychedelic pop music that is matched only by a live show that includes furry animal costumes, a spaceship landing, puppets, projections and enough fog to choke a large animal. The band is on the road promoting "U.F.O.'s at the Zoo," a live DVD now in stores.
The 11th Annual Hideout Block Party, 5 p.m. today and noon Saturday at the Hideout, 1354 W. Wabansia Ave., Chicago. $20/day or $35/two-day pass. Purchase tickets online via hideoutchicago.com.
The club's annual outdoor festival features music on both stages plus activities for kids. This year, U.K. proto-punk band Bloc Party (appropriately) headlines tonight, supported by a host of local bands, including the 1900's, Scotland Yard Gospel Choir and the Changes. Andrew Bird, a local boy made good this year through a successful album released on Fat Possum, headlines Saturday, supported by Dublin art-rock band The Frames (featuring Glen Hansard of the hit indie film "Once"), Art Brut, Mucca Pazza and many more. Visit hideoutchicago.com for the full details.
Stevie Wonder, 8 p.m. Monday at the Charter One Pavilion at Northerly Island, 1300 S. Linn White Drive, Chicago. $49.50/$125. (312) 559-1212.
Hold onto your tickets for this show considering former teen genius and R&B innovator Stevie Wonder, 57, is not one for touring, having last played a series of live dates in 1995. This is a rare show, one of just 13 dates across the country, and one to feature songs from his entire five-decade career, from Motown to "The Woman In Red."
Wilco with Dr. Dog, 6:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Jay Pritzker Pavilion in Millennium Park, 201 E. Randolph St., Chicago. $10/$45. Sold out. (312) 559-1212.
Even though the latest Wilco album "Sky Blue Sky" (Nonesuch) hit stores in the spring, the band hasn't played a proper CD release show in the area since. This week, after a summer headlining festivals like Bonnaroo, Wilco returns home to play this downtown show, to feature an opening set by the experimental folk-pop band Dr. Dog.