Had the cataclysmic storm prophesied by meteorologists last night brought with it a violent flood, it's unlikely Patty Griffin fans would have taken notice till the waters reached chin-level. Touring in support of American Kid, her first album of original material in more than six years, the Maine-born singer-songwriter made quick work of selling out the Athenaeum Theatre, and the venue proved a cozy harbor for her poignant and vital brand of Americana.Hailing from Taos, New Mexico, opener Max Gomez drew back the curtains with deft and often thunderous finger-picking. You can plan on hearing the solo guitarist's earnest songwriting and formidable chops on an episode-closing TV drama some day soon, but Gomez was at his most compelling with his tender cover of John Hartford's timeless "In Tall Buildings."

New Yorkers traipsing through MoMA last weekend can boast they saw Tilda Swinton napping in an aquarium. Chicago may have lost that round of the Marina Abramović Pastiche Olympics, but those lucky enough to have queued up early at the Museum of Contemporary Art tonight were treated to something far more memorable and exhilarating. As the final offering on the MCA's artistically fertile Face the Strange series, Kim Gordon drew an impressive loop of freezing, wind-slapped fans around the museum. With Sonic Youth's schedule indefinitely blank after Gordon's split with bandmate Thurston Moore, devotees were eager to get their hands on one of the very limited, very $0.00 tickets and see what new paths this sonic vanguard is embarking upon.

Friday Night Lights must be resurrected for one more season, if only so folk trio the Lumineers have the opportunity to close each episode with their endearing pigments of nostalgia and hope. That the music is TV-ready should not be a surprise, given that a large quotient of Thursday night's Riviera Theater audience likely became aware of the band by way of its hit single "Ho Hey," featured on the CW Network's Hart of Dixie. TV-ready is not pejorative in this case, though, as the trim set quickly proved with tightly constructed stomper after clap-inducing stomper.

Watching Reggie Watts vocally stack up a track (not Fuck Shit Stack up a track, mind you), starting with the kick drum, moving through the hi-hat and on to the grinding bass, its clear why thumbs are kept off mobiles and blottoed bachelorettes remain silent throughout the Seattle-based comic’s sets. The brain can’t compute how that much improvisational beatboxing talent and that much funny fit into one lone body. Not even the B-side Nine Inch Nails playing through the PA pre-show could tamp down the exuberance of a full house at Mayne Stage Friday night, and Watts walked out for the 8 o’clock set to a welcoming barrage of cheers. Between musical numbers, Watts’ stand-up can be a bit like being cornered at Thanksgiving by an uncle with ADHD: “You know Keith, yeah, uh, Keith’s a little bit of an asshole. He’s got a tiny little asshole. I don’t know personally, but his doctor says...I did a cal-cu-fu-lation and if we use 2.3 less electricity, we can save the world.” Non-sequitors abound, landing in large part because the face beneath the gargantuan afro is so earnest. 

The programming may have appeared cobbled together by a conference room of ADHD-afflicted classical music junkies, but Wednesday’s “Afterwork Masterworks” performance at Symphony Center proved an animated antidote to the 9-to-5 grind. Divertissement is the term Zac and I arrived at over pints of Boddingtons during our post-mortem of this CSO–Hubbard Street Dance Chicago mash-up, agreeing that a variety show approach seems likely to attract high-art first-timers. Whether a clever development department conceit or an unintentionally brilliant bit of programming stitchery, this Frankenstein of early music and contemporary dance (and $5 preshow drinks at Rhapsody) proved 90 of the more imaginative minutes hosted on Michigan Avenue.