FREE AND FREAKY SINCE  | FEBRUARY  FREE AND FREAKY SINCE  

Recipes for restaurant survival

From heated yurts to community support, local eateries are doing what they can to make it through the pandemic’s bleakest months yet. By E O| THIS WEEK CHICAGO READER | FEBRUARY   | VOLUME  NUMBER 

T  R IN THIS ISSUE  -     @     14 Count For nearly  years the programming prepares for the GlitterGuts take to Patreon to United States was on the verge return to theaters and beyond survive the nightlife drought artist P P  TB P EC KH of adjusting the census and and musician Hali Palombo creates EC S K eliminating the Black undercount otherworldly collages from antique PM KW  audio cylinders and R&B singer GD  AH MEP M   ARTS & CULTURE Queen Mars drops the lead single T  D EKR 19 Essay When does drinking to from her upcoming EP C EBW cope become drinking too much? 41 Chicagoans of Note CaSera A EJL S W MD L G 20 Lit Evoking memory and mystery Heining producer at WGN Radio DI  BJ  MS two artists collaborate on Theorem and DJ Cah Era EA S N  L CITY LIFE 22 Visual Art Artist Susan Smith LCSC  -J SJ R  04 Shop Local Chicago Tool Trees works with the unknown to F  AM R  Library has proven to be a much encourage the “known” ------needed lifeline for locals sprucing 28 Movies of Note TheDig D DJ  D up spaces while quarantining THEATER leaps into the highest echelons SM CJ G 24 Reid | History David Blixt fi nds of archaeology movies Like is a SS P  ATA FOOD & DRINK a treasure trove of  unpublished refreshing retelling of the torture 06 Sula | Review The owners Nellie Bly novels fi lm and Malcolm&Marie features S I D  of Serai open the country’s only stellar performances M N  D  D C W nyonya restaurant devoted to M P CY
 the food of Malaysia’s Peranakan MUSIC & NIGHTLIFE D  
culture 30 Feature With federal aid to E  ASL K M P D   08 Survivial From heated yurts to venues only now arriving how OPINION A A C  community support local eateries are tour managers stagehands 42 Savage Love Dan Savage S E CK  K
 are doing what they can to make bookers and their colleagues in off ers advice on how to survive the ADVERTISING it through the pandemic’s bleakest the concert business making ends pandemic sex recession -- @     months yet meet? C   36 Records of Note A pandemic CLASSIFIEDS  - @     NEWS & POLITICS can’t stop the music and this week 43 Jobs V P  S A M  10 Joravsky | Politics Why it’s hard 26 Existential Romance Theatre the Reader reviews current releases 43 Apartments & Spaces S D AN to get outraged about the Steans Above the Law drops the masks by Casper McFadden Beach 43 Marketplace S AR     L M-H   T toCassidy handoff momentarily Bunny Sleaford Mods Coffi ns P
L  S    12 Isaacs | Culture The Chicago Mukqs and more C S M WR  labs of chemist Percy Julian 40 Early Warnings Rescheduled O  P  JM  FILM NA  brought us modern miracle drugs 27 The Gene Siskel concerts and other updated listings F   M’     Profi le    V MG - - - ­­ and much more Film Center’s new director of 40 Gossip Wolf Party photo crew      J LSB ------DC  [email protected] -- THIS WEEK ON CHICAGOREADER.COM CHICAGOREADERLC BP  D    R L T  E R  Twenty-four points of view A- S V  READERINSTITUTEFORCOMMUNITY JOURNALISMINC on the band Joan of Arc C  E R  T  C B Tim Kinsella lets everyone else tell the D A CV F
 story of his longest-running group— KL HJK-P D   R  LSV  entirely in keeping with their music’s ------embrace of illogic and reinvention. RISSN­-­      RLC By L G S M  SC  IL­­­ --€    

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2 CHICA OREADER - FEBRUARY   ll VOTE NOW!

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ll FEBRUARY   - CHICAOREADER 3 CTL Wed-Thu PM- PM and Sat  AM- PM by appointment only,  W. th, #, --, chicagotoollibrary.org. CITY LIFE

Tessa Vierk hands off power tools to Chicago Tool Library customer.

TRANTRAN

Shop Local ated this space as a hub for the community to quarantine. While tool usage is seasonal, Vierk says that borrow tools for up to seven days at a time. “We’ve never been busier,” Vierk says. “We a major trend for members over the last year Lending a hand Think of the CTL like a public library, but in- saw a lot of new visitors. Even after being was checking out sewing machines to create Chicago Tool Library has proven stead of books, the shelves are stocked with closed for a month at the beginning of COVID, face masks. The cofounder also says that the to be a much-needed lifeline for power tools and miscellaneous appliances you we still managed to have about 1,300 visitors.” nonprofi t’s kitchen section was a hit in 2020, locals sprucing up spaces while can check out for projects. Just to give you an idea of the impact, the allowing locals access to nontraditional appli- quarantining. “Over 90 percent of our inventory has been Chicago Tool Library’s members are from 80 ances like tortilla presses, food dehydrators, donated by community members, so if folks percent of Chicago’s zip codes. Damn, that’s a and ice cream machines. By J R   have tools or equipment hiding in their ga- lot of do-it-yourselfers, which can be a little “We have a broad defi nition of what makes a rages or closets they can donate them to us,” tricky when a pandemic works its way into the ‘tool’ and our library includes lots of items that Vierk says. “Our current list of accepted items mix. the average Chicagoan might want to access, andemic home remodeling provides a is here and it’s a great way for people to give When the virus first hit, Chicago Tool Li- but not own because it is either too expensive, productive way to cope with quarantin- their items a chance at a second life and help brary sprang into action in order to put some too bulky, or too rarely used for folks to want Ping and isolation. From fresh coats of their neighbors accomplish their tasks.” safety protocols in place for both members to purchase or own it,” Vierk says. “Access paint to reenvisioned bedrooms, Chicagoans The concept o– ers a sliding scale member- and volunteers. The CTL team built software over ownership is the point of libraries—it’s are getting crafty to stay sane indoors. While ship program making it easy for anybody to for the library inventory. more environmentally and fi nancially sensible many have big dreams of modeling their kitch- sign up, regardless of income. “As a COVID response, we added a new login and it builds community.” v en like Friends’ Monica Geller (complete with “Membership fees cover the entire year, feature that includes tool reservation and a yellow frame around the peephole), many of and it can cost whatever they want,” Vierk schedulings for pickups and drop-o– s,” Vierk If you want to get involved with Chicago Tool us don’t have the budget to invest in the neces- explains. “[Members] can pay $350 or $3 for says. Library as a handy volunteer, Vierk asks you sary power tools to get the job done. the year, it depends on what works for them.” This means no in-person browsing of the to hold off until the pandemic subsides. But if That’s where Chicago Tool Library (CTL) Once your membership is in order, you don’t library, but don’t stress it; the CTL team is you’re itching to be part of the team, there may comes in clutch. The nonprofi t made its debut have to sweat rental fees per item or late fees. working hard to keep the inventory on the be some remote opportunities available. Check at 1038 W. 37th, Suite 102, in August 2019— Vierk and Benton are keeping it simple. This site as up to date as possible. Once an item is out chicagotoollibrary.org/volunteering. just months before the arrival of COVID-19. method has proved to be invaluable to locals reserved, members can head over to CTL’s Cofounders Tessa Vierk and Jim Benton cre- who were looking to revamp spaces during service window for pickup. @j_rimensnyder 4 CHICA OREADER - FEBRUARY   ll Featured Properties

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A selection of kuih JEFF MARINI FOR CHICAGO READER a glutinous rice cake laced blue with butterfl y pea fl ower, and topped with the coconut-egg intermarried across the islands beginning in custard kaya; and the storied “red tortoise the 1400s. Over the centuries a sophisticated cake,” ang ju kuih. cuisine developed, employing Chinese cooking Kapitan dabbles in a few non-Peranakan methods with local ingredients. items like the ubiquitous street-cart, om- The culture is famously represented in elet-encased Ramly burger seasoned with the movie Crazy Rich Asians and the Netflix Maggi and black pepper sauce, as well as series The Ghost Bride, both of which feature notable Muslim dishes like roti and the eggy, Peranakan food. Also known as nyonya cuisine beef-stuffed pancake murtabak, each served (a term referring to the women who originally with a potato-mung bean dal for dredging. cooked it), prominent cameos included show- But the majority of the menu is nyonya-fo- stoppers like chili crab and Hainanese chicken, cused, as with the dainty pie tee, delicate pas- late-night noodle fi xes like Hokkien fried mee try shells stuœ ed with carrot, daikon, and jica- and laksa lemak, the civilized breakfast ritual ma slaw, each crowned with a snappy shrimp; of kaya toast and Kopi-O coœ ee roasted with or babi pongteh, thick slabs of quivering black sugar and margarine, and the galaxy of pork belly and potato cooked with fermented bite-sized sweets known as kuih. soybean, meant to be sandwiched in steamed “We started thinking, ‘Why isn’t there a buns and a bit sweeter than its Taiwanese true Peranakan restaurant in the U.S.?’” says counterpart. A variant of Hainanese chicken is Low, noting that Malaysian restaurants in served as a whole-roasted bird, while chillied the states feature Peranakan dishes here and shell-on prawns stand in for the whole crab there, but none are fully dedicated to it. “We featured in the storied Singaporean dish. realized the potential to educate people to the Turmeric coconut rice plates, nasi kuning, heritage.” are accompanied by one of two chicken curry RESTAURANT REVIEW Low leased the space nearly a year before options; the saucy, milder ayam kapitan and the fi rst COVID-19 lockdown, but the opening the hotter, dryer gulai ayam stand out among was first delayed by construction issues. heavier meatier entrées. Aye-Aye, Kapitan During the first months of the pandemic, he The Peranakan version of laksa lemak is a kept busy keeping Serai going, instituting milder curried, coconut-intensive version of The owners of Serai open the country’s only nyonya restaurant, lunch service, offering free food to those in the substantial portion at Serai, and though devoted to the food of Malaysia’s Peranakan culture. need, and not laying oœ a single employee. But it’s meant to be eaten in multiple tiny bowls the opening of Kapitan was never in doubt. it’s still an impressive specimen, loaded with By M S Low is looking forward to dine-in restrictions chicken, shrimp, fish balls, and slippery lai going away—the space is large and features fun noodles. Most of the standard, iconic Ma- tall windows that open onto Clybourn Av- laysian noodle dishes are present, from the es, the pandemic has been devastating foods, like the vegan Ku Rasa, the regional enue—and currently he’s offering private breakfast vermicelli mee siam, to the tubular for restaurants in Chicago, but for some research of the husband-and-wife duo behind dining for single groups. He definitely isn’t chee cheong fun. But the housemade dry pan Yreason it’s been a very good time for the Kedai Tapao, and Minahasa’s deep dive into banking on it, however, instead investing his mee are extraordinary: flat, snappy, hand- food of the Malay Archipelago, encompassing North Sulawesian food (now ensconced at energies into robust carryout capability that pulled noodles bathing in a rich, soy-spiked the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singa- Politan Row). preserves the integrity of the dishes, with anchovy broth, a rowdily textured bowl with pore, and more; and by extension, that’s good But the most audacious and exciting de- some assembly required. fish balls, hard-cooked eggs, and Chinese for everyone. (The awful demise of Lincoln velopment by far was the December opening Kapitan is open for three squares, notably broccoli. Park’s Rickshaw Republic notwithstanding.) of Kapitan, a 5,000-square-foot Lincoln Park with distinctly Malaysian breakfast options Low says Kapitan is one of only two restau- Filipino food has long been strongly repre- brick-and-mortar by the folks behind Serai. and smaller, snackier dim-sum-type bites. But rants in the U.S. serving the strong, black, sented in Chicago, but it surged in the time of When owner Victor Low opened the latter fi ve the real scope and ambition of the operation margarine-and-sugar caramelized Kopi-O COVID-19, with pop-ups such as pig & fi re, Lu- years ago it was a godsend, specializing in a is evident in one key category: though Low’s coffee (the other is in New York), and he’s zViMinda, and Adobo Loko. And even though generalized expression of Malaysian street Penang-born chef, Khoon Lew, previously promising many more singularities in the they’ve been sparsely represented historically, food that nonetheless tried to lead the uncom- cooked in a handful of suburban Chicago months ahead, particularly the spiced chicken so have Malaysian and Indonesian cuisine. In fortable or unfamiliar along, with hand-hold- Chinese restaurants, he’s of Peranakan her- dish ayam buah keluak, which employs the the Before it was limited to Arlington Heights ers like General Tso’s Chicken and pad thai. itage and has taken it upon himself to build notorious poisonous-until-cooked seeds of the stalwart Penang, Chris and Priscilla Reed’s But three years ago Low took issue with a repertoire of some 30 kuih, about two each kepayang tree. Indo-Cajun Bumbu Roux (formerly the Rice a passing comment from a customer that day made in small batches that Low says sell “We will stretch over time,” he says. “They Table), Logan Square’s Malaysian Serai, and Malaysian food would never overcome its out regularly. These include kuih talam, a dou- have over 150 diœ erent dishes. The Peranakan more recently the Bingo Tea minichain. association with cheap street food. On a trip ble-layered cake of coconut and vivid-green cuisine is so huge we couldn’t put everything But 2020 saw the rise of nimble Instagram back home to Kuala Lumpur, he dined in a pandan jellies; onde-onde, glutinous rice balls on there.” v pop-ups with the freedom to explore specifi c Peranakan restaurant serving the food of the rolled in salted coconut and loaded with an expressions of Malaysian and Indonesian Chinese merchant diaspora that spread and explosion of liquid palm sugar; pulut tai-tai,  @MikeSula 6 CHICA OREADER - FEBRUARY   ll CHICAGO READER SOMMELIER SERIES WRITTEN BY JENNA RIMENSNYDER

MARIE CHESLIK DANIELLE NORRIS AND KYLA PEAL Slik Wines

o the casual wine drinker, understanding the finer details during a tasting can seem overwhelming. That’s where Slik Wines comes in. Cofounders and certified Tsommeliers Marie Cheslik, Danielle Norris, and Kyla Peal wanted to create a plat- form to act as a liaison between winemakers and the people who drink it. With a combined 40+ years of experience in restaurants, the trio understands the in- tricacies of the niche wine industry and are on a mission to demystify the conversation surrounding the industry. Clients can range from the novice wine drinker who wants to host a virtual blind tasting for friends or a business happy hour to wine and beverage programs and cellars in need of consulting. Cultivated in August 2020, during the height of the pandemic, Slik’s business plan is focused on sustainability, with safety protocols baked in from marketing aspects to hosting events. The three leading ladies plan to continue with these practices long aer we shed COVID-19, allowing them to consistently offer safe and accessible ways to connect with clients. While gathering in intimate spaces isn’t on the agenda, the Slik trio is hosting virtual events as well as a handful of in-person get-togethers in open-air venues for small groups, covering the ins and outs of wine as well as hospitality. In the future, Slik hopes to offer larger events, widening the brand’s reach and growing its wine gang. Speaking of Wine Gang, that’s the name of Slik’s monthly wine club. The mascot is Cheslik’s moped, Zelda. If it isn’t obvious, Slik is all about authenticity and creating inclusion for all levels in a new and exciting way. The wonder women of wine want to create a community in times of quarantine, while showing members the ropes when it comes to wine education. Club membership includes two hand-picked wines delivered to your door (or for pickup) as well as access to a short video, made by one of the three cofounders, detailing the wine’s backstory and optimal pairing suggestions. This side hustle for Cheslik, Norris, and Peal continues to evolve and prove to be a necessary lifeline for both wine enthusiasts and professionals in Chicagoland and po- tentially beyond. In the meantime, Slik is spreading the love of wine one gang member at a time.

@slikwines

This Sommelier Series is supported by The Foley Food & Wine Society

Foley Food and Wine Society | 10300 Chalk Hill Road, Healdsburg, CA 95448 | foleyfoodandwinesociety.com ll FEBRUARY   - CHICAOREADER 7 Dining at a Distance FOOD & DRINK DiningataDistance.com

DINING OUT “I’m just waiting to the summer, in summer the challenge of seating customers in a way it will pick up a little bit,” she says. that both complied with the city’s COVID Recipes for restaurant survival Enriquez’s struggles are indicative of a mitigations and protected customers from the From heated yurts to community support, local eateries are doing what they larger plight faced by restaurant owners harsh Chicago winter. While indoor dining has can to make it through the pandemic’s bleakest months yet. throughout Chicago, where COVID-19 is still recently made a comeback in Chicago, these very much a reality. While the pandemic per- unique dining methods remain implemented. By E O sists, businesses are adopting new methods to Open Outcry Brewing Company, located in stay afl oat. Beverly, has implemented four heated outdoor Even for a veteran restauranter like domes that seat up to six guests. The domes rma Enriquez, owner and operator of restaurant and funds from the Small Business Uptown’s Baton Show Lounge owner Jim cost only $1 to rent per reservation and are Humboldt Park restaurant La Encantada, is Administration disaster assistance program— Flint—who boasts more than 50 years in the designed to keep distance between separate Ihoping for a better year. La Encantada has struggled to make ends industry—2020 proved to be a landmark year parties. Enriquez, who runs the restaurant without meet throughout the pandemic. in terms of economic hardship. “They’re probably more conservative than any full-time sta , is one of the countless local “I haven’t been busy and sometimes I don’t “I never thought I’d go through anything sitting in other outdoor dining options that business owners negatively impacted by the sell anything,” Enriquez says. like that in my lifetime, and I’m 79 years old,” other bars and restaurants across the country COVID-19 pandemic, despite having outdoor The fi nancial blow has been so severe that he says. “I never thought I would experience have been forced to do [like] setting up tents seating available for customers. Enriquez changed La Encantada’s business something like this last year.” outdoors that is basically an indoor dining While able to survive o of other means of number to her personal cell phone number to Prior to the reintroduction of indoor dining scenario,” says owner John Brand. “These income—like renting a out room above the cut back costs on paying multiple phone bills. in late January, dine-in establishments faced are structures that single parties are in by 8 CHICA OREADER - FEBRUARY   ll FOOD & DRINK

Baton Show Lounge owner Jim Flint has not seen city—with a 25 percent capacity limit—came older customers, and they come in there with “January is always a slow part of the season, anything like the economic hardship of 2020 in shortly after news of a new, more contagious their masks on and their gloves on,” she says. and February,” he says. “It’s cold. People are his 50 years in the restaurant industry. JEFF MARINI variant of the virus, believed to have already “Most of them are still insecure about coming restructuring their living and funds available. hit Chicago. While persisting cases and a in to sit down, but they’ll come in, get their . . . So, with new years, there’s always new en- largely infectious variant can reasonably což ee, get their food, and go . . . If they don’t deavors. And also, it’s just, you got to kind of inspire hesitation where indoor dining is have masks on, I don’t let them in.” be prepared for it as much as you can.” themselves.” concerned, many businesses cannot až ord to For Enriquez, the prospect of reopening Still, he remains optimistic. “We have to Across town, Fulton Market steakhouse close their doors to customers. for indoor dining was one she eagerly readied continue to try to work very hard, very dili- Swift & Sons has similarly implemented ad- “[Indoor dining reopening is] a morale herself for. Despite having her doors open the gently,” Adams says. “And I know that we will aptations to its dining options, most notably boost, for both myself and the staž here, for fi rst weekend of newly reimplemented indoor get past this and how we learn from this and through the use of a “yurt village,” where sure,” Brand says. “What I’ve seen, is for the dining, Enriquez did not seat a single custom- grow from this . . . There will be light at the customers can dine in heated tents themed by most part—and there’s exceptions—but for er on her fi rst day. end of the tunnel.” decade. Phillips says that while she hopes business The yurt village is the result of a partner- picks up in spite of the slow season, her busi- ship between American Express and Resy, ness has been greatly helped by the generosity wherein 13 high-end restaurants throughout “We have to continue to of her community. the country were chosen to receive the luxury “I’ll have a customer come in, they’re glad to heated tents. see us, and then they’ll put like a $100 tip on At Swift & Sons, the yurts are available by my tablet,” she says. “And these people have reservation only, where up to six guests can try to work very hard, very tipped us pretty nice on the tablet, or they’ll enjoy a “fi ve-course prix fi xe menu” to the tune put it in the tip jar. And then I had a minister of $85 a person, not including gratuity or bev- come in at the very beginning of COVID and erage taxes. Despite the high price tag, general asked me about how we had fallen ož with the manager Wesley Conger says customers have diligently. And I know that we business as far as employees, was I making been “ecstatic” about the yurt village. enough to pay my bills and everything, and the “We’re sold out pretty much every weekend church paid my expenses for two months.” at this point,” she says. “It’s really the perfect While Friedler admits that she considered escape from the cold and from COVID, I would will get past this and how we placing Fiya on hiatus during the pandemic, say.” she ultimately decided against it out of a de- But even with high price points and con- sire to keep her staž employed. She says she stant traffic, the restaurant has seen wildly has been “pleasantly surprised” by how the diminished numbers when compared to learn from this and grow from restaurant is faring amid the pandemic. pre-pandemic revenue. “I don’t mean to make it all sound rosy, it is “We were a restaurant that could do by no means ideal, but it’s not as awful as we $50,000-$60,000 on any given night [prior to thought it would be,” she says. the pandemic] and then when we reopened, this.” —Robert Adams Jr., When refl ecting on the hardships brought there were nights when we did like $9,000,” on by 2020, business owners have remarked Conger says. “So that was pretty much a big that the lessons learned from the previous blow for us. That was a lot of like when we year have largely been born by negative were just doing takeout. Now that we are Honey 1 BBQ experiences. open for the patio and the yurts and a portion “[COVID] taught me how to lay off people indoors, our numbers are definitely getting which I never had to do,” Flint says. “Second, better. People defi nitely want to be going out the most part, everybody’s taking [COVID “It is sad, but I’m still here,” she says. it taught me how to really cut down and watch and are tired of sitting at home.” mitigations] as seriously as they can. Not only When asked why no customers showed, everything that you’re doing, so you don’t While heated domes and other modifica- for contributing to the well-being of our fellow Enriquez remarked that many of her regular waste anything and you don’t spend money tions to outdoor dining have proven successful citizens but to keep your business alive.” customers are taking the pandemic seriously, that you don’t need to, because you don’t have for businesses with an adequate amount of Sara Phillips, owner of Chef Sara’s Cafe in with poor winter weather also being a factor. it. So you really take more of an interest in both space and resources, the new model is South Shore, opened the doors of her business While the beginning of the year is often every little penny that you have.” not without its setbacks. For Mindy Friedler, to indoor dining, despite her own fears regard- understood as being a slow period for restau- Moving forward, he is hoping that the new co-owner of both Jerry’s Sandwiches and Fiya, ing COVID; Phillips was previously operating rants, operating under a pandemic for 11 year brings something better for both his busi- the outdoor bubbles found at both locations on a pick-up and delivery model because the months has amplifi ed any potential struggles ness and his staž . add a new element of upkeep. restaurant is in an area where she couldn’t faced by businesses. Robert Adams Jr., of pick- For Enriquez, her hopes for the new year are “You can’t really leave [the domes] up if the have outdoor dining. She says that she trusts up spot Honey 1 BBQ in Bronzeville, says that even simpler. weather is very bad,” she says. “At Jerry’s we that her customers know how to keep them- the ability to go out to eat is a luxury many “My hope is [to] get the vaccine,” she says. take them up and down every night, because selves—and others—safe. can’t až ord, given the economic fallout of the “Eventually, everything is going [back to] they’re right on the public square. And we “I’m just a small area in a small community, pandemic. That, compounded with the tradi- normal.” v were worried about vandalism and theft.” and most of our people are aware of what they tional pledge to eat healthier in the new year, Indoor dining being reimplemented in the have to do to stay safe because I have a lot of can also serve as a detriment to businesses.  @emmaoxnevad ll FEBRUARY   - CHICAOREADER 9 NEWS & POLITICS

Confession time: I’m having trouble conjuring up any outrage over Steans (le ) handing off her Apparently, nothing is as outrageous to the state senate seat to Cassidy. Tribune as a union of teachers who think it’s LENI MANAAHOPPENWORTH a good idea to spend tax dollars hiring more nurses and librarians. was right.” She said it in a speech she made a As opposed to spending the money on un- few weeks ago. And I’m still not over it. derwriting Lincoln Yards, an upscale housing As outrageous as that is, Miller’s not even development in an already gentrifying neigh- the most outrageous Republican congress- borhood. Speaking of things that should really woman in Washington. outrage you. That dubious honor probably falls to Marjo- For the record, I may have mellowed a little rie Taylor Greene, a Republican representative on the whole legislative hando process. from Georgia. Among Taylor Greene’s more At least, I was way more outraged when outrageous behavior is that she sort of en- Heather Steans was appointed to fi ll a vacancy dorsed the execution of House speaker Nancy created when Carol Ronen stepped down. That Pelosi, said the Parkland massacre was staged, was back in 2007—long before I’d ever heard stalked David Hogg (a survivor of that massa- of Mary Miller or Marjorie Taylor Greene. cre), and apparently believes that forest fi res On the other hand, I wasn’t so outraged in California were caused by a laser beam fi red when Democratic committeepeople appointed from space by Jewish bankers. Cassidy to fi ll a vacancy created when Harry That’s pretty outrageous. Osterman stepped down to become 48th Ward But that’s not even the most outrageous alderman in 2011. part of the Marjorie Taylor Greene saga. No, As you can see, getting appointed to fi ll a va- that would be the fact that, aside from Con- cancy is like a coming-of-age ritual for north- gressman Adam Kinzinger, few Republicans side legislators. have called on her to step down. Upon reflection, I wasn’t really paying They’re as silent on Greene as they were on attention when Cassidy replaced Osterman. Mary Miller. My attention was diverted by way more outra- But they’re really outraged about Heather geous things. Like . . . POLITICS Steans handing o her seat to Kelly Cassidy. In Mayor Rahm storming into o“ ce, hell-bent fact, the Tribune wrote an editorial denounc- on proving how tough he is by closing mental ing it. health clinics in high-crime, low-income areas. So outrageous Not sure why Tribune editorial writers Still, I think the Tribune editorial on Cassidy didn’t denounce Mary Miller or Taylor Greene. and Steans sorta has a point—words I thought Why it’s hard to get outraged about the Steans-to-Cassidy handoff Who knows—maybe they agree with them. I’d never say. The whole vacancy-filling re- Now, I know what you’re thinking. You’re placement project is a little, oh, undemocratic. By B J thinking, Ben, if the Tribune is for something, But look on the bright side. If she’s appoint- you’re automatically against it. ed to replace Steans, Kelly Cassidy will have to I’m outraged that you’d think that! Though run for reelection in about a year. So it’s not as olks, I have a confession that I’m a little outrage. And if I were to go on a WBEZ pub- it’s not without some truth. though voters won’t get any say in the matter. embarrassed to make . . . lic affairs show, I’d say—“Oh, my God, I’m I will take this opportunity to point out that And getting named to fi ll a legislative vacan- F I’m not as outraged as I should be outraged!” the Tribune is curiously selective on issues of cy is not always a guarantee of winning at the about the hando that’s about to go down in But just so you know, deep down inside . . . legislative appointees. For instance . . . ballot box. the seventh senatorial district on the north I’m not that outraged. In November 2019, former state representa- Consider the case of Mark Kalish. In 2019, side of Chicago. I have many reasons for a lack of outrage, tive Luis Arroyo stepped down after he was in- Democratic committeepeople named Kalish to That’s the one in which—follow me—state starting with . . . dicted for allegedly bribing another politician. fi ll a vacancy created when state representa- senator Heather Steans has stepped down and Kelly Cassidy’s one of my favorites, having Arroyo then used his votes as Democratic tive Lou Lang stepped down. Democratic committeepeople seem prepared won me over years ago with her priapism bill committeeman to help select his legislative Then Kalish voted present on a reproductive to fill her vacancy with state representative back in 2012. Plus, she’s probably one of the successor—Eva-Dina Delgado. An act so outra- rights bill, as opposed to voting for it. Even Kelly Cassidy. few elected o“ cials who’s almost as far to the geous that even Michael Madigan opposed it. though he was supposed to be pro-choice. And Cassidy is one of those committeepeo- left as I am. And yet the Tribune—and Mayor Lightfoot, Last year, Democratic voters bounced him ple voting to fi ll the vacancy. That’s what you OK, well, along with state senator Robert for that matter—went on to endorse Delgado. out of o“ ce, replacing him with Denyse Wang would call bad optics, even for Chicago. Peters. Who, now that I think about it, was also That’s probably because her opponent was Stoneback. Hooray, voters. Every now and I know I should be more outraged because originally appointed to his seat. Nidia Carranza, a schoolteacher who was en- then you actually get it right. Democratic committeepeople filling legisla- Another reason I’m not so outraged is that dorsed by the Chicago Teachers Union. I think By the way, the Tribune editorial board sup- tive vacancies is one of the many outrageous there are so many other outrageous things to it’s safe to say that the Trib and Mayor Light- ported Kalish over Wang Stoneback. Now, that things about Chicago politics that we’re sup- be more outraged about. Like . . . foot abhor CTU almost as much as I abhor really is outrageous. v posed to feel outraged about. Mary Miller—a Republican congresswoman the world views of Mary Miller and Marjorie So, yes, I realize I’m supposed to express from downstate—thinks it’s OK to say “Hitler Taylor Greene.  @bennyjshow 10 CHICA OREADER - FEBRUARY   ll GET THE POWER OF

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ll FEBRUARY   - CHICAOREADER 11 NEWS & POLITICS

Percy Julian Nova

soybeans (and yams), making this “miracle drug” widely available and až ordable for the fi rst time to suž erers from arthritis and other infl ammatory ailments. In 1953, after Glidden decided to get out of the steroid business, Ju- lian went out on his own, establishing Julian Laboratories in Franklin Park, where he could continue to work on steroids and other med- icines. He provided a springboard for young Black chemists there, and made a personal for- tune when he sold it, in 1961, to the company now known as GlaxoSmithKline. In 1935, the same year as his glaucoma drug breakthrough, Julian married Anna Roselle Johnson, then a graduate student on her way to becoming the first Black woman CULTURE in America to earn a PhD in sociology. Their fi rst Chicago-area home was in Maywood but, in 1950, when their family included a son and The synthesizer daughter, they purchased a larger home in Oak Park. Racists greeted them with an arson The Chicago labs of chemist Percy Julian brought us modern miracle drugs and much more. attack on the house before they moved in and a firebomb afterward. In the documentary, By D I Percy Julian Jr. recalls that in the aftermath of the fi rebomb, he got some bonus time with his ou know the story of the brilliant the eighth grade. In 1916, when he entered ic furor. usually busy father, standing guard in the yard chemist Percy Julian, right? The Ala- Indiana’s DePauw University—the only Black More than a half-century later, this discov- at night. Ybama-born grandson of a man who’d student there—he had to take simultaneous ery, which staved ož blindness for masses of The attacks only strengthened the family’s had fingers amputated as punishment for high school courses to catch up with his bet- glaucoma sufferers, would be recognized by resolve to stay. (To leave, Julian wrote later, learning to read and write while enslaved, ter-prepared classmates. By graduation, he the American Chemical Society as one of the “would have been cowardly and wrong.”) And his discoveries led to everything from wa- was valedictorian. 25 greatest chemical research accomplish- their daughter, Faith Julian, still lives there. ter-based paint and a treatment for glaucoma, Although he went on to earn a master’s ments in the nation’s history. She told me last week that she thinks her to fi refi ghting foam that saved numerous lives degree at Harvard, none of the prestigious Still unable to land a job as a professor, father, who had more than 100 patents and, in World War II. If you’ve used a birth control American graduate schools would accept him Julian turned to industry, which wasn’t much in 1973, became the second African American pill for family planning, you’ve benefi ted from as a PhD candidate. With the help of a Rocke- more welcoming. When both he and Pikl were and fi rst chemist elected to the National Acad- his work. There’s a high school named for him feller Foundation fellowship he enrolled at the invited to DuPont for interviews, Pikl was emy of Sciences, might have also been a Nobel in Chicago, and a middle school in Oak Park, University of Vienna in 1929. There, he worked hired, while Julian was told, “We didn’t know laureate if it weren’t for the racism of the time. so his remarkable life should be familiar, on the synthesis of plant compounds, found you were a Negro.” An ož er of a research job “I think the things he did were so noteworthy, but on the chance that it’s not—as it wasn’t much broader freedom than he’d known in with the Institute of Paper Chemistry was he really deserved [it],” she said, “but that was for me or most folks I asked—PBS is ož ering America, and, in 1931, with a thesis written in stymied by the discovery that in Appleton, going to be an impossibility, for a Black man a free stream of Forgotten Genius, its 2007 German, earned his doctorate. He returned to Wisconsin, where the Institute was located, it in that day. Had his skin been white it would Nova documentary about Julian, through the the U.S. with a friend and colleague, Josef Pikl, was illegal for Black people to be in town over- have been a whole different story for him. month of February. It’s directed by Llewellyn who became a long-term collaborator. night. Finally, in 1936, the Glidden Company He would have received all the accolades he M. Smith and stars Ruben Santiago-Hudson as No career positions in academia were await- hired Julian as director of research for its new deserved, and the roadblocks wouldn’t have Julian, using a dramatized framework that has ing, however. In 1935, while working as mere soybean division, and he came to Chicago. been there. All the obstacles that he met along Julian narrating his own life. lab instructors and research fellows at De- At Glidden, Julian found a way to produce the way, all the racism—that would have been His story of success in an environment de- Pauw, Julian and Pikl became famous in their huge volumes of soy protein and his lab creat- nonexistent.” signed to defeat him is the American Dream on fi eld. They solved a high-profi le problem: how ed uses for it in the manufacture of everything Percy Julian died of cancer in 1975. In 1980, steroids. Which, by the way, in their synthetic to make a synthetic and až ordable version of from paint to pet food to plastic. He also dis- DePauw University, which back in the day form, he also gave us. a prohibitively expensive natural chemical covered a way to produce synthetic versions wouldn’t hire a Black man as a professor, Percy Lavon Julian was born in 1899, to a (physostigmine) used to treat glaucoma. Their of the human sex hormones progesterone named its Julian Science and Mathematics family passionate about education. But in the published paper, with Julian as lead author, and testosterone from soybeans. And in the Center for him. v early 20th century Jim Crow south, public refuted the work of an internationally known early 1950s, he developed a process that made schools for Black youngsters ended with and respected chemist, setting ož an academ- it possible to mass produce cortisone from  @DeannaIsaacs 12 CHICA OREADER - FEBRUARY   ll Vote RISE Niles for Best Dispensary!

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ll FEBRUARY   - CHICAOREADER 13 NEWS & POLITICS

AMBER HUFF Council for Black Studies organized a confer- ence at the University of Chicago to discuss undercounted on average at the rate of 7.7 the history and political impacts of the census percent, four times the rate for white people. undercount on Black and other minority com- (Hispanic was not fully listed as an option munities. It was the cusp of winter and snow for ethnicity until 1980, though Latinos were was starting to fall, but still around a hundred also likely to be missed at a disproportionate- people had made the trek, some from down ly high rate, the bureau later conceded.) the road in Woodlawn, some from across the There had never been a year without a city, and others yet from as far as Mississippi signifi cant undercount since the fi rst census, and Washington, D.C. in 1790, when the three-fi fths clause consti- To Abdul Alkalimat, a founding member tutionally mandated the undercount of Black of ICBS and a professor emeritus of African people by 40 percent; the bureau had not American Studies at the University of Illinois counted Indigenous people at all until 1840. at Urbana-Champaign, it seemed appropriate But hundreds of years after the repeal of the that a Black Studies council, which followed clause, and 17 after the height of the Civil the motto of “Academic Excellence and Social Rights Movement, it was shocking that such Responsibility,” should host a reform-orient- clear racial bias remained in the country’s ed forum not just between the bureau and most important data set. And with recent scholars but also organizers and the general policy changes increasing the importance public. of census data to the apportionment of “There was a major concern that the un- congressional seats and the distribution of dercount of Black people would diminish the federal funds to cities and states, the di“ er- possibility of Black self-determination,” he ential undercount started to be viewed as a said when we talked via Zoom in late July. serious threat to the voting rights of minori- Wearing a beige T-shirt and wire-rimmed ty groups. glasses, Alkalimat swiveled slightly in his of- In the years leading up to the 1980 Census, fi ce chair. “[The census] became an issue that the bureau conducted an apology tour of we were trying to link to Black Studies, which sorts. “We didn’t do as good a job counting was becoming the most successful project of black people as we should have,” Barabba the Black Power Movement.” conceded to the New York Times in 1974. In the tradition of the fi eld of Black Studies, Under his tenure, the bureau added programs the conference, “Black People and the 1980 and increased investments at federal and Census,” crossed disciplinary and political regional levels to increase census outreach lines. A wide range of participants had been in cities, where it was most likely to miss peo- invited to share their perspective on the ple, and made inroads with Black and Latino census and how its skewed picture of the leaders, including Bobby Seale of the Black country’s population a“ ected their work and Losin count Panther Party and other important radicals, communities. That list included organiz- For nearly 20 years, the United States was on the verge of adjusting the in the process of creating new Black and eth- ers representing the South Shore Housing census and eliminating the Black undercount. nic advisory committees. Center, the Woodlawn Organization (TWO), While many applauded the bureau’s ges- MALDEF (the Mexican American Legal De- By E P tures toward inclusivity, a growing group fense & Educational Fund), and Chicago’s Na- was critical of the bureau’s plan to eliminate tive community, to name a few; Chicago Pub- the undercount by putting more money and lic Schools deputy superintendent and chief resources into the same methods that were operating ož cer Manford Byrd; Illinois First n 1980, toward the end of a press confer- of mayors across the country, Feinstein was missing millions. Instead, they posed a ques- District representative Bennett M. Stewart ence on the state of the census count, frustrated by the persistence of an under- tion that would open up a 20-year political, and Mississippi senator Henry Kirksey; and Dianne Feinstein, then the mayor of San count and the appearance that the bureau’s statistical, and legal debate about equity in Census Bureau deputy director George Hall Francisco, turned toward Census Bureau e“ orts to decrease disparities hadn’t moved the census: If Census Bureau statisticians (who attended in place of Barabba, who had director Vincent Barabba with a harsh the needle much. were capable of calculating the number—and fallen ill), among others—in short, a “who’s Iwarning: if he didn’t recognize her requests, In 1973, the bureau had announced that the demographic information—of the people who” in Black politics, scholarship, and Chi- she said, “We may see you in court.” 5.3 million people were not included in the they had failed to count, couldn’t they add cago organizing. For a census gathering, it That year, it was just about the most ordi- final tally for the 1970 Census. The overall those people back into the data for the fi nal was monumental. nary thing that could have been uttered in undercount for the nation that year was 2.5 tally? And if they could, shouldn’t they? It was clear that little was left untouched a public exchange between a mayor and the percent—but the differential undercount, by incomplete census data: school district head of the bureau, who would be on the de- or the di“ erence between the rate of under- n November 1979, as preparations were funding, hospital funding and distribution fending side of no fewer than 52 lawsuits by count for Black people and white people, re- underway to conduct the most expensive across the south and west sides of the city, the end of the decade. Like a growing number vealed serious racial bias. Black people were Icensus to date, the newly formed Illinois affirmative action quotas, employment and 14 CHICA OREADER - FEBRUARY   ll NEWS & POLITICS

unemployment statistics, the fight against Hill to present on a procedure he had devel- under the radar. By 1979, Stanford Research The case, Young v. Klutznick, was closely gerrymandering in Mississippi, research on oped, through which the bureau could do just Institute had recommended its use in the followed by the media, but it wasn’t the only the economic and social barriers that Black that—eliminate the undercount of every ra- Office of Revenue Sharing, and the bureau one that year. At least 51 other cases were women face. cial and ethnic group through an adjustment had used the method to calculate the e™ ects filed against the bureau, the majority filed At the center of discussion, however, was process. of adjustment on funding and political rep- by cities, which had also come to question a bigger question. Census data had always This procedure, what he called somewhat resentation in response to a demand for such whether “Get Out the Count” initiatives been vital for House apportionments, redis- understatedly the “synthetic method,” was information by the National Urban League in would be enough to minimize the di™ erential tricting, and funding. But over the last de- based on the widely accepted statistical as- 1975. The bureau was planning its own under- undercount. cade, the amount of federal funding distrib- sumption of the null hypothesis, that there count conference for February 1980, and had In court, the Census Bureau took a hard uted to states and cities via population data is no significant difference between a pop- even invited Hill to present his work. line, arguing that adjustment wasn’t per- had increased. And the One Person One Vote ulation and smaller subpopulation groups. But, at least in the winter of 1979, it wasn’t mitted by the Constitution, which required Rule of 1964 now required that congressional So if the bureau could calculate the national yet convincing to the powers that were. When an “actual enumeration” of every resident. districts be drawn to contain roughly equal undercount for a certain demographic group, the ICBS had organized its conference, none Young’s legal team, which was joined by population size to ensure that all residents in say young Black girls under five, or home- of the major foundations Bailey or his co- Robert Hill and Philip Hauser, and a lawyer any given state had equal voting power. The owning white men ages 35-39, then they chairs had approached had agreed to provide on behalf of the U.S. Conference of Mayors as rule was intended as a protection against the could also calculate that rate of undercount any funding—which is why its member de- amicus curiae, argued that not adjusting the disenfranchisement of Black and minority (or overcount) at every area level from Illi- partments had covered the expenses. (“They data gave rise to a greater constitutional vio- communities, but, in light of growing public nois to Cook County to Chicago and assume love for us to talk about nothing,” Hill had lation, that of the One Person One Vote rule. consciousness of the severity of the under- it to be accurate. Or, more technically, not complained at the conference, and one could The court ruled in favor of Young. In testi- count, some questioned whether that prom- statistically di™ erent. basically see his eyes rolling through the mony, the bureau’s own o¡ cials had admitted ise of equal representation could be upheld. Crunching the undercount numbers for text. “I find there is a correlation with lack that the census regularly makes millions of This was a serious concern in major cities, states and cities was something that the bu- of funds and seriousness,” he added. “When adjustments as part of “imputation,” the pro- where more than 75 percent of the country’s reau had previously declined to do. But such they saw the agenda that was here, they knew cess of adding people who hadn’t responded Black population lived by 1980. In a presen- numbers would be necessary for census data that these people were serious.”) to the census back into the count. In 1970, tation on the census undercount of Black to be adjusted. The lack of public support from traditional these imputations had totaled 4.9 million, people as the “new disenfranchisement,” While the ICBS was eager to acknowledge gatekeepers wasn’t anticipated by the ICBS, just about half of all the people whom the ICBS executive director and Northwestern the work of the bureau, and especially the re- but it didn’t slow them down. Instead, they Census Bureau hadn’t been able to reach. political science professor Ronald Bailey gional Chicago o¡ ce under director Stanley invested more to make sure the conference “The decennial census undercount results wrote that it was possible that in the 1981 re- D. Moore (who was also present at the con- was recorded and printed to provide a record in dilution of plaintiff’s vote relative to the districting process, one of the three majority ference alongside regional coordinator for of the Black intellectual production of the votes of whites within the State of Michigan,” Black districts in Chicago could be expanded service programs Mary Grady, who had start- time. “It is a mistake to think that the only deciding judge Horace Gilmore concluded. or combined with another district. He was ed a Black Census Day in Chicago), they were pressure to be brought regarding the under- “The undercount gives rise to a constitution- particularly worried about the First District fi rm that there was no way forward without count issue is in that undercount meeting al violation of the one-person, one-vote prin- along the south lakefront, which had seen adjustment. “This is the era of Watergate, of [hosted by the Census Bureau] in Washington ciple because blacks are simply not counted a dramatic ten-year population decrease of COINTELPRO, and other gross government in February,” said Bailey. “In fact, this confer- as much as whites, and this is particularly 70,000, almost a quarter of the city’s total violations of the rights of people,” Alkalimat ence represents pressure. Who demands an true in the inner cities of this country.” He population loss that decade. How much of this had written in a statement for the congressio- adjustment, the Census Bureau asks?” ordered the bureau to come up with a plan to declining population loss was compounded nal oversight hearing in Chicago, just weeks adjust its data—not just for Michigan, but for or overstated by the undercount? before the conference. There was little to ix months later, in May 1980, Detroit the whole country. Bailey calculated that the number of peo- suggest that the Census Bureau could count- mayor Coleman Young filed a lawsuit Gilmore’s order would be reversed in 1981, ple missed by the census could easily equal er such levels of deep-seated government dis- Sagainst the bureau and its parent agen- before the bureau could move forward with the estimated population loss in the First trust, especially within communities of color. cy, the Department of Commerce, for their adjustment. In the Sixth Circuit Court of Ap- District as well as in Black-majority districts As an institution, the bureau’s response failure to count Detroit’s residents accurately peals the judges ruled in favor of the bureau throughout the country. If the Census Bureau to the suggestion of adjustment was mixed. and for the impact those omissions would on a legal technicality: The financial and did not adjust its counts to add those missed, Barabba persistently denied that adjustment have on city funding and on political represen- political harm Mayor Young had claimed in he wrote, such “mechanical” use of its pop- would increase the accuracy of the count. tation for Black and Brown residents. Young 1980 was hypothetical, based on “a state of ulation fi gures would continue to “mask the But at the conference, some of his former and demanded that the bureau adjust its data to affairs not yet in existence,” and therefore, characteristically racist and fundamentally current sta™ spoke enthusiastically about the mitigate the projected effects of the under- Detroit didn’t have the standing to fi le suit in undemocratic manner in which the American prospect. That included the bureau’s former count in Michigan. His executive assistant the fi rst place. political system has historically functioned acting director Philip Hauser—a respected Arletta Douglas had been in attendance at the In fact, most data from the 1980 Census with regards to Black people and other op- University of Chicago sociologist who had ICBS conference the prior fall. had been released and analyzed by this point. pressed nationalities.” previously gone on the record saying that The count hadn’t been completed yet, but The numbers showed only a slight decrease Bailey had arrived at this conclusion the bureau was “dumping money down the the bureau had shared preliminary numbers in the national Black undercount, from 7.7 using data made available by National Urban sewer” and that taxpayers wouldn’t be out of with Detroit along with other major cities as percent to around 6 percent, as well as in the League research director Robert Hill, one of line to tell census takers to “go to hell”—and part of a new program designed to decrease differential undercount between Black and the people most responsible for shepherding the current deputy director, George Hall. the undercount. Young found that the bu- white people, from 4.4 down to 3.7. But these the issue of the di™ erential undercount into Despite the bureau’s ambivalence, it was reau’s numbers departed signifi cantly from were national averages, and belied the more public view in the 1970s. The ICBS had invited clear that Hill’s method was not going to fl y the city’s calculation of its population. severe undercount in hypersegregated cities ll FEBRUARY   - CHICAOREADER 15 NEWS & POLITICS like Detroit and Chicago, where Black and good ways to check those assumptions. The undercount in the most undercounted areas In response to the Department of Com- Brown neighborhoods like South Lawndale real world is very messy.” in those big cities, like Chicago’s oft-cited merce’s override, Bailar resigned from her were undercounted by up to 8 percent, twice The fi eld of demography and statistics was Robert Taylor Homes in Bronzeville, which post. “It was a political decision, and if they the city’s estimated undercount of 4 percent. split by these questions. Wachter testified in was undercounted at 29 percent in 1990 but had said it was a political decision, I might But those rates may well have been higher: several cases through the 1990s, joining the only slated to see its population increased by have lived with it,” Bailar said in an interview the Northeastern Illinois Planning Commis- anti-adjustment side in arguing that the merits a fi fth of those who were missed. with Education Week. “But they tried to make sion, which had estimated the undercount of adjustment were outweighed by the conse- Demographers and statisticians, some- it look like a technical decision, and I couldn’t for the city and larger region in a 1989 paper, quences of creating new and potentially fl awed times from the same university department, live with that.” warned that their calculation of undercounts population totals for all the nation. could not agree on whether adjustment pro- To Bailar, and to proponents of adjust- in Black neighborhoods were probably When I asked how he balanced the serious- cedures would bring census numbers closer ment, the Department of Commerce was underestimates. ness of the introduction of error against the or further from the nation’s “real” popula- overstepping its bounds as a parent agency In the Sixth Circuit case, dissenting judge to the bureau. The major case filed against Damon Keith said that his colleagues were in the Department of Commerce by New York the wrong, “avoid[ing] grappling with a seri- argued that the decision was “arbitrary and ous question of constitutional harm.” capricious,” and beyond that, in violation of the Administrative Procedure Act, which ver the next six years, the bureau’s regulates the actions of federal agencies. associate director for statistical Increasingly, the debate over adjustment Omethodology and research, Barbara was viewed as a Republican-Democratic Bailar, who had previously testified against standoŸ , with Democrats pushing for more adjustment in the Young v. Klutznick case, qui- money and representation for the cities they etly oversaw the development of a procedure often represented, and Republicans fi ghting to adjust the fi nal numbers. The work was cut against losing the same for their states. out for her team: the number of demographic “If you look at the people who are usually categories had ballooned from 96 in 1979 to undercounted—blacks, Hispanics, Indians, 1,392 in 1990. That meant that there were more the homeless, and people who live in urban than ten times as many undercount rates to centers—well, they are not the kind of people calculate and then redistribute in the process of who are registered Republicans,” Bailar said adjustment. And while the process of distribut- need for equity in the count of Black people and tion. To some, it started to feel like there was to Education Week. ing the undercount in large cities was relatively people of color, Wachter reiterated what comes no good outcome. Leave the count unadjust- Though the partisan framing belied the straightforward, doing so for counties and cities to sound like a mantra by the end of our phone ed, and the diŸ erential undercount persists. more complex situation, there was certainly with smaller populations, more sensitive to sta- call: “Places, not races. Shares, not counts.” Adjust the count, and potentially introduce some truth to it: a report released by a Repub- tistical adjustment by nature, created a point of Earlier, he had asked me to repeat this back to other errors. As one New York Times journal- lican redistricting expert in 1994 predicted unease for some demographers. him. ist concluded somewhat pessimistically in that the GOP stood to lose 24 seats if census To Kenneth Wachter, a University of Califor- What Wachter was talking about was “dis- 1991, “heads you lose, tails you lose.” data was adjusted. Whether the reverse was nia-Berkeley professor emeritus of statistics, tributive accuracy,” which came to defi ne the true was not as certain; a Brookings report adjustment represented a Pandora’s box of conversation around adjusting the 1990 Cen- evertheless, by 1987, Bailar had ex- argued that the political and fi nancial ben- errors that could be introduced into the count. sus. The ICBS and proponents of adjustment pressed confidence not just in the efi ts of adjustment were tangible, but mini- He worried that the post-census survey of had been pushing for distributive accuracy by Nprocesses they had fine-tuned but in mal, pointing out that only several hundred 400,000 people was too small to be used as the race, in part to end inequities in how money the fact that adjustment would improve the million dollars of federal funds stood to be basis for adjustment of the entire country’s and political representation were distribut- overall quality of the census data. The post reallocated diŸ erently and that Republicans population. There were many ways, he said, ed. But what Wachter was saying was that the of director was empty at the time, but by the excelled at the art of gerrymandering, and in which the bureau could err in matching or conversation shouldn’t in fact be about race time Barbara Everitt Bryant took the position the majority-minority district. identifying that survey’s respondents while but about place—making sure that states in 1989, she too expressed unequivocal sup- The judge on the New York case had calculating the undercount. That would be and cities are receiving their “proper” share. port for adjusting the 1990 count. ordered the Department of Commerce to all well and good in the process of assessing Adjustment, he believed, would distort this But shortly thereafter, Secretary of Com- conduct the post-census survey and convene its own work—but in adjusting, a small error distribution. merce Robert Mosbacher shut down the con- a special advisory panel of experts before could multiply exponentially. To allay the Certainly, this was not a point of universal versation, overriding the bureau’s tentative making a final decision regarding adjust- concern, the Census Bureau had implemented agreement. Many scholars upheld the impor- plan to adjust. Cities and states, still worried ment. The panel split four-four, with director several procedures, one of them “smoothing,” tance of distributive accuracy by race, and it about the prospect of the undercount, once Bryant in favor of adjustment and the under which removed outliers and more extreme was irrefutable that adjustment, in adding again fi led suit. This time, certain states like secretary of commerce for economic aŸ airs data points before and after adjustment. But the disproportionately Black and Brown peo- Wisconsin also fi led suit to block adjustment against, though most agreed that the adjust- these added yet another set of technical issues, ple who had been missed by the bureau back on the grounds of distributive accuracy, ed data set was more accurate than the orig- Wachter said. into the count, would increase the share of claiming that they stood to lose funding inal. Mosbacher acknowledged the majority “A lot of these formulas work well if the world large, diverse cities—and thereby decrease and political shares if their population data consensus in 1991 when he announced for behaves,” Wachter told me when we spoke by the shares of states with whiter, less diverse was adjusted. Both sides expressed outrage the second time that the census would not be phone in November. “But in the context of the populations. But it remained uncertain over what they perceived to be political adjusted, but insisted that “strict numerical 1990 Census, on this huge scale, there were no how much adjustment would rectify the interference. accuracy”—the approximation of the true 16 CHICA OREADER - FEBRUARY   ll Mercedes says she prefers the word ‘discoteca’ to the word ‘club’ By José Olivarez

give me words that sing. ojala is three chickens laying brown eggs. hope has its own music, but it’s missing an accordion. my friends are up to their usual shenanigans: drinking good wine & being sad. my friends don’t get into trouble. trouble wears sombreros & calls it a costume. my friends are traviesos y malcriados y sin vergüenzas. let me translate: DJ Ca$h Era is making the walls sweat. slow jams crawl through the speakers & our hips move like someone spilled syrup over the night. Mercedes is right. i’m always down to go to the discoteca. A word that spins on the tongue like a disco ball. keep your clubs. cops carry clubs & in this poem there are no police. someone spilled syrup over the night. it was us. the moon is a chicken singing ojala ojala ojala.

José Olivarez is the son of Mexican immigrants. His debut book of poems, Citizen Illegal, was a fi nalist for the PEN/ Jean Stein Award and a winner of the 2018 Chicago Review of Books Poetry Prize. A biweekly series curated by the Chicago Reader and sponsored by the Poetry Foundation.

Free online events with the Poetry Foundation Event information and registration at PoetryFoundation.org/Events

Open Door Reading Series: Kristy Bowen, laaura goldstein, Dominique Dusek & Damon Locks Highlighting Chicago’s outstanding writers Tuesday, February 9, 2021, 7:00 PM Reading for Young People: Jillian Tamaki A special Valentine’s Day themed reading for ages 8 and under with Caldecott Honor book author and illustrator Jillian Tamaki Saturday, February 13, 2021, 11:00 AM Palabra Pura Fifteenth Anniversary Celebration Reading and conversation with Francisco Aragón, Brenda Cárdenas, Miguel Marzana, and Johanny Vázquez Paz, and moderated by Mary Hawley Wednesday, February 17, 2021, 7:00 PM

ll FEBRUARY   - CHICAOREADER 17 NEWS & POLITICS

continued from 16 back into the count—demographer William tricting battles to watch in the lower courts scientifi cally.” number of residents in the country—came O’Hare found that there remain dramatic ra- as states begin the process of redrawing their And it’s not just what’s done with the data, second to distributive accuracy, which he cial disparities. Compared to the 3.8 average districts. but what data is thought fi t to be collected in said would only be improved in 29 states. omissions rate for white people, Black people He’s not alone. In October 2020, incoming the fi rst place that’s a matter of politics. At When the New York case was taken to the had an omissions rate of 9.3 percent, Latinos American Statistical Association president the ICBS conference back in 1979, Waymon Supreme Court, the justices set what would 7.7. The diš erential gap between Black people and chief methodologist at the Urban Insti- Watson, director of the South Shore Hous- become the standard for upholding adjust- and white people remained low in terms of tute Robert Santos told WBEZ that he expects ing Center, identifi ed the bureau’s failure to ment-related decisions by the secretary of how many people the Census Bureau was legislation demanding adjustment will be collect data about crucial housing issues, commerce: he had been neither “arbitrary adding or removing as they calculated who fi led by advocacy groups after the data is fi led such as redlining, segregation, and absentee nor capricious” in his decision not to adjust, they had counted twice and missed. But what with the White House. “This will be perhaps landlordism, as a failure to serve Black com- and so the decision would stand. In 1999, O’Hare found was that even as their average the worst census ever,” Santos said. He an- munities, which needed this information to when deciding another case fi led by Indiana undercount had dipped to 2.17, Black people ticipated the undercount would hit cities like organize against harmful and racist practic- residents concerned about the dilution of were still being disproportionately omitted Chicago hardest, leaving middle-class white es. As such, it was a double-edged sword. As their voting power, the Supreme Court then from the count by 5.5 percent. He recom- suburban communities with the best count long as “the Census data [was] blind at the blocked the use of adjusted data for congres- mended his data be used by states, cities, and and a disproportionate share in funding. neighborhood level,” he said, distrust of the sional apportionment—leaving it open, how- local organizations to target their outreach But since experts never arrived at a con- institution among Black people would linger. ever, for the purposes of funding allocation in future census years. sensus about the merits of adjustment, any No one at the ICBS conference suggested and local redistricting. It will be di› cult to argue that there are renewed push would probably fail in the that adjusting the census would fully resolve To the statisticians who ran the bureau, the no issues requiring attention pertaining to courts, where the decision of the secretary its bias or its use in supporting the racism of legal fi ght that began in 1980 had contributed the 2020 Census count. Actions taken by the of commerce has almost always been upheld the status quo. But the ICBS had seen adjust- to the politicization of adjustment and the Trump administration in attempts to change as “reasonable,” write lawyers Molly Danahy ment as only part of the battle. Their other takeover by the Department of Commerce. the nature of the count—by including a sur- and Danielle Lang in a paper for the Univer- demands included the training and hiring of “The lawsuits have diminished the bureau’s vey question about immigration status and sity of Memphis Law Review. (A notable ex- Black demographers to participate in census autonomy,” Bryant complained, “moving by threatening to exclude undocumented ception is the 2019 Supreme Court ruling that analysis, and building a public-facing educa- adjustment decisions away from the purely immigrants—have likely contributed to low- deemed then-secretary of commerce Wilbur tional campaign to engage the broader public statistical arena.” ered response rates in spite of being struck Ross’s push to add an immigration question about the census, the resources that are tied down by the courts, as have complications both arbitrary and capricious.) There is, to it, and who is impacted by incomplete data. ould the bureau have done more to because of the pandemic. It is almost certain however, a “narrow but important” exception Alkalimat said that he sees the past year make adjustment a reality? “This was that the undercount will rise, and with it, originating in a Seventh Circuit decision. of uprisings as a “wake-up.” “It’s like—what! Cthe biggest statistical enterprise that the diš erential undercount. A University of If plaintiffs can prove an undercount is the Somebody turned the light on in the room!” had ever been conducted,” Wachter said. “It California-Los Angeles study published in direct result of “intentional discrimination” he said, laughing. He hopes that this new wasn’t that one side could prove they were early 2020 suggested that, even controlling under the Voting Rights Act, it could bring expression of anti-racism will reverberate worse, and another side could prove they were for a general decrease in census responses the possibility of adjusted census data back within the scientific community, and that better. It couldn’t really be established wheth- because of COVID-19, the gap was growing to the table. scholars will take on more responsibility for er they were better or worse.” between white people and people of color. census education. The question of how to By many metrics, the accuracy of unad- When I spoke with Bailey, he said that the orty years later, the conference that the make the census important and accessible to justed census data has increased. Every eš orts to undercut the 2020 Census remind ICBS hosted at the University of Chicago people, and how to transmit that knowledge, year since 1990, the net and differential him of what happened in 1980. The Feder- Fremains an important record in the ar- was a central part of that 1979 conference. undercounts have decreased. In 2010, there ation for American Immigration Reform, a chive of Black Studies and in the history of the To that end, Alkalimat expressed relief was an overcount of 0.49 percent, down from conservative-interest group now designated Census Bureau. and a sense of conviction that the ICBS had 1.61 in 1990; the Black undercount had been a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law On our Zoom call, Alkalimat interrupted recorded the conference proceedings, estab- more than halved from 1990 from 4.57 to 2.17 Center, had fi led a suit in 1979 to remove un- me to bring up the 1840 Census, which he lishing a record of the work of Black Studies percent, the Hispanic undercount from 5 to documented immigrants from the count. But sees as crucial for understanding the stakes in recentering the signifi cance and failings of 2.85 percent. The differential undercount this census, Bailey saw a difference in how of the census and its data in the United the census. Today, several copies of that or- between Black and white people remains, the powers that be responded to accusations States, where the Black undercount had long ange-covered tome sit in stacks at the Wood- however, at around 3 percent. This steady de- of bias and inaccuracy. “That dedication to been a matter of law, enacted for the political son Regional Library, its 680 pages refl ecting cline in the overall undercount, Wachter said, accuracy is not now the case,” he told me. He and financial benefit of white landowners. lifetimes of research, organization, and the is due to improved data and especially to the said that it felt like Republicans have decided The results from that year were used to prove fi ght against racism in all its forms. introduction of the fi ve-year American Com- “we have a pandemic that we know is ham- that free Black people “tended to be more “We really wanted to make sure that this munity Survey, which has given the bureau pering the count—there is 40 percent that insane” than enslaved Black people. “You can conference was documented,” Alkalimat access to higher-quality data. still hasn’t been counted—and there’s no way believe that has been attacked, that has been said. “Because a lot of things happen and But charting census accuracy by under- we’ll be able to complete an accurate count.” exposed, and the Bureau of the Census in the they’re forgotten.” v count rate gives only a partial picture of prog- There hasn’t been much mention of ad- U.S. government has never said anything ress toward racial equity. In a 2019 paper on justment for the 2020 data, though Bailey about that,” he said. “So that remains part This story was completed with support from the bureau’s data for omissions—that is, the thinks that the prospect of an increasing un- of the historical record of the census without Reveal’s Seeing 2020 Census Reporting full original undercount, the total number dercount for the fi rst time in several decades any repudiation. Even within our scientific Collaboration. of people who don’t respond to the census, means the circumstances are right for a new record, there are these examples of racism including those who the bureau “imputes” conversation. And that there may be redis- that fabricate an image that’s incorrect @emelpos 18 CHICA OREADER - FEBRUARY   ll ARTS & CULTURE

KIRK WILLIAMSON

sobriety has helped him feel and experience life more deeply, though I admit I’m not sure if that’s exciting or terrifying in the year of 2021. Vela wasn’t alone in that sentiment either. Steven Stra™ ord, a Chicago-based actor and playwright, said that he didn’t feel like he was missing out on life because of his sobriety; in fact, he said it oftentimes made him more present and more himself. “Living your life as an unadulterated you, is exceptional,” Sta™ ord said. But the actual science of substance use is another thing. Take alcohol for example. According to Dr. Daniel Fridberg, a University of Chicago psychiatry professor who studies addiction and impulse control, said that tech- nically, no level of alcohol is safe. Admittedly not what I wanted to hear, but a strong argument in favor of sobriety. As for ESSAY when substance use becomes a problem, the answer to that is less cut-and-dried. Fridberg When does drinking to cope become drinking too much? said substance use becomes a problem when, Examining and altering our pandemic-induced substance habits nearly one year in as he put it, it begins impacting lives. But what level of impact is enough to warrant sobriety? By A MR  That, as much as it feels like everything related to sobriety, seems to also be up to the individual person and their using habits. Ugh. More introspection. used to drink so rarely that my doctors con- nearly always end up snoring loudly next to are “yes.” And some are “no.” But just like everyone’s relationship with sidered me a nondrinker. I used to safely es- him on the couch; but regularly occurring For folks who are similarly examining their substance is different, so is everyone’s rela- I timate my drinking to be around one drink blackouts haven’t exactly been good for my own substance use, particularly during this tionship with their vice. And it doesn’t always a month. I used to joke that I wanted to drink anxiety either. di cult time, local photographer Sarah Joyce have to be an all-or-nothing approach. more, wanted to be able to appreciate fancy But I’m not alone in this journey. I have said that finding alternatives—like running, In fact, to be as extremely corny and on the cocktails and fi ne wine. friends with eerily similar experiences, meditating, or hiking—could be an avenue nose as possible, most of the people I spoke But that joke turned into my not-so-funny friends who have started regularly drinking at worth exploring. with said they take it . . . wait for it . . . One. reality when wishful thinking was crushed by 3 PM, others who are nearly constantly stoned “Using this opportunity to come up with Day. At. A. Time. And it makes an obnoxious the realization that a lockdown was not going during the day. We all agree that we got caught di™ erent coping mechanisms isn’t a bad thing amount of sense. to be a quick solution to the pandemic, but a up in the culture of winding down after a long at all,” she said. “If I go to bed saying I didn’t drink as much long, di cult one that has no end in sight just day of work with a drink or a smoke. But even before the possibility of sobriety today, that’s a good day,” Vela said. “Can I go to yet. What started as more regular, but still ca- But when the last year—or longer, depend- pops up in my head, more alarm bells sound, bed saying that I treated people with respect sual, drinking at the start of the pandemic now ing on who you ask—has been long day after this time prompted by the fears that abstain- more today, and I didn’t hurt anyone? That’s a feels like a nightly ritual. Cue the alarm bells long day after long day, at what point does ing from alcohol leaves me and others like me good day. So again, and with each single day of in my head that I will likely be pushing down relaxing turn to dependence? To quote Vic out of social circles. Am I going to be the bor- ‘one day at a time,’ that becomes a cumulative with a heavy bong rip. Vela, a Colorado Public Radio journalist who ing sober person, sitting in the corner while thing and you accumulate time; and that’s the My relationship with alcohol has always celebrated six years sober from cocaine this my friends rage in front of me? And with so only reason why I’m able to celebrate six years been a little complicated. I often wake up at week, that question is an individual one. And much queer culture centerring on substance of sobriety is because I said those things every least a little anxious after drinking, and rough- it takes what he said is an “honest inventory” use in some capacity, whether it’s a mandatory single day.” ly six months ago, I stopped being able to re- of our lives. mimosa at brunch, a bump in the bathroom, So, with that in mind, I may not be putting member anything I did after I drank. Not just “It’s examining ‘OK, how many drinks did I or some G at a circuit party, there’s also a real down the weed or the wine just yet; but to- when I drank to excess. Any time. It could be a have today? Am I drinking more? Am I just fl at fear that sobriety is a death knell to queer night I’m going to bed having had less to drink single drink or it could be 12, and I’d similarly out drinking more during the pandemic? Am I social life. and less to smoke. And I think that’s a really forget what happened that night. More alarm OK with this? Is my partner OK with this? And But as Vela and others told me, sobriety good start. v bells. just kind of go from there,” he told me. And isn’t the barrier people think it is, and much Thankfully, my partner informs me I would truthfully, some answers to those questions of that isolation is fabricated. In fact, he said,  @byadamrhodes ll FEBRUARY   - CHICAOREADER 19 T  R By Elizabeth Bradfield and Antonia Contro. The trade edition is for sale on Poetry Northwest. The fine art ARTS & CULTURE edition is for sale on Candor Arts.

COURTESY THE ARTISTS

Whether that’s between Bradfi eld and her sis- ters, or the mystery of what once was, themes of loss and secrets recur throughout the book. This reflects painfully on our year livingin a pandemic. A year of bereavement, pain, and confusion. But this feeling of loss doesn’t hurt the book. Bradfi eld writes about childhood in a curious way. It’s all a mystery, rather than a ca- sualty. Complemented by Contro’s intentional and soft drawings, the book gives the reader the gift of refl ection, beauty, and repose. After I turned the last page, I sat with it for a while before opening it up again and rereading it for a second time. I simultaneously feel the weight of this last year on my shoulders in addition to the weightlessness of letting go. Contro has been an artist since she was a young girl. Though she got her MFA in paint- ing later on in life, she says that drawing has always been at the foundation of her work. She describes herself as an artist whose work lies LIT two artists decided to work together. Contro anywhere from site-specific installations to explains that when she left Bradfi eld the book, collaboration that engages artists from vari- Theorem is more than a book of poetry she wanted her to sit and ponder it. “Later that ous disciplines. Evoking memory and mystery, two artists collaborate on an art piece. fall, she sent the book back to me—accompa- Bradfi eld is a naturalist, a guide in her ev- nied by text she had written in response to eryday life. When I ask her about the infl uence By S NL my images. It took my breath away.” Conver- of her career on her writing she says, “I bal- sations, planning, collaboration, and years ance my life between two vocations: biology of ruminating were put into Theorem. It is a (natural history, in particular) and literature very intentional art project and it’s clear when (poetry, in particular). I call them both voca- read Theorem in the bathtub. My feet were worlds were, we recognized one another turning each page. tions because while sometimes they are jobs, propped up as I made sure I didn’t get the as dedicated artists who also lived in other In much of Bradfield’s text, she questions I pursue them both because they feed more I bottom of the pages wet (a bad habit I worlds and, indeed, who valued those other childhood memory. Alongside a drawing of a than my refrigerator. Both are vocations ded- have). The book opens with an image of a red worlds,” explains Bradfi eld. mountain and clouds, Bradfield writes, “We icated to close observation and to the seeking cube and an o -white cylinder. “At 13, I fell in For years, the pair talked about collaborat- lived on the west side of the western moun- of questions. Both push me to ask: ‘What love with the tidy solution of geometry,” reads ing. “Then, in 2017, when Antonia was on Cape tains yet / I don’t really remember rain. / (I puzzles me here? What moves me? What the text. Theorem is not what you may expect Cod, she handed me a maquette [a mock-up] of am very good at forgetting. I still am).” This seems strange? What do I know or not know?’ from a book of poems. The long text is a push- a book she’d made from her journals for anoth- particular image strikes me—both the draw- And then to seek answers—either through pull relationship between writer and artist. er project,” Bradfi eld says. “I think she said, ing and the text—as I grew up in Appalachia, research or through writing.” The reader is immediately thrown into the ‘What about this?’ She went upstairs to her in the foothills where it seldom snows. I’m When reading Theorem, the images comple- conversation between two artists, separated studio space in the temporary rental, I settled back there again for two months, taking care ment the text; however, they do not entirely by distance. Elizabeth Bradfield’s text poses in on the couch below, and, ‘Yes,’ I thought. of some family business, and it’s currently illustrate the story. Contro explains that this life’s questions, while Antonia Contro’s draw- ‘This could be the thing.’” snowing heavily outside of my window. Last was “absolutely critical.” The two artists ings, watercolors, and collages reference time When Contro traveled back to Chicago, she week, I had to abandon my car on the side of wanted the text and artwork to stand on their and travel. In a year so hectic, so traumatic, I left Bradfield the book. After ignoring it for the road because it wouldn’t make it up the own. There are two versions of Theorem—the found myself pausing for the fi rst time in what days, and eventually months, she began to mountain. As a child, I don’t remember any of fine art edition and the trade edition. In the felt like months. While holding this book, I write in a dune shack in Provincelands. From this. As a teenager, I only remembered rain. fi ne art edition, the text and images are dis- think I found the ability to relax. her writings, she explains that she tried to When reading Bradfield’s words, I’m struck played on independent pages, and in the trade Bradfi eld and Contro were friends for many fi nd a genuine story to engage with. “And from by our childhood memories: what we choose edition, the artists worked to see which imag- years before they began their collaboration. that, Theorem was born,” she says. to remember and what we don’t. How are our es and text should be displayed together. Bradfield, located in Massachusetts, and I ask Contro the same question about their memories formed? How do we choose what “We want the text and images to have an Contro, located in Chicago, were introduced collaboration and friendship. I’m interested we want to permanently stay? associative rather than descriptive relation- through a mutual friend. “Different as our in how Theorem came to fruition, how these With memory, comes the feeling of loss. ship—neither text nor image illustrating or 20 CHICA OREADER - FEBRUARY   ll Announcing ARTS & CULTURE THE READER INSTITUTE FOR COMMUNITY JOURNALISM Board of Directors The Chicago Reader is moving to a nonprofit journalism model this year. The Reader Institute for mapping the other but expanding and deep- Community Journalism (RICJ) is a 501(c)3 nonprofit. RICJ is now operating and accepting contributions ening the meaning of each other; and in key at www.chicagoreader.com/donate. Chicago Reader L3C is winding down operations parallel to the places and moments, provoking questions and operation of RICJ, while the L3C completes PPP loan forgiveness. presenting complexities of interpretation,” says Contro. “Theorem posits that we have ex- The following are the RICJ board of directors. periences, and memories of these experiences, that we spend a lifetime trying to understand, Eileen Rhodes, Director and Chairwoman calculate, feel, and see.” Eileen is president of East Lake Management, the largest African-American-owned real estate company I’m particularly interested in the inclusion in Chicago, focused on affordable housing development and management. She is also co-owner of Blanc of maps in the writing and in the imagery of Gallery, which showcases the work of underrepresented communities. Bradfi eld and Contro’s works. Collaged maps, and text alluding to direction, fill up a few pages of the book. Bradfi eld explains that she Dorothy Leavell, Director loves the physical and applied use of maps. Dorothy is Editor and Publisher, The Crusader Newspaper Group. Leavell continues to be at the helm of When I ask her more about the tie to maps, she the Black Press of America. Since 1968, she has served as editor and publisher of the Crusader Newspaper says, “Place, too, is something that looms large Group—Chicago and Gary, Ind.—a‡er the death of her first husband Balm L. Leavell Jr., co-founder of in my writing. The nuances of how place infl u- both publications in 1940 and 1961, respectively. ences memory, experience, and even ‘truth’ obsess me. What does a pitch pine mean on Carol Bell, Director and Board Treasurer Cape Cod, where I live, compared to a muskeg Carol is Executive Officer of Business Development for East Lake Management & Development Corp.; in southeast Alaska, another place I hold dear? previously served as Vice President of B. Coleman Aviation, LLC. (affiliate of ELMDC). She also helped The resonances are di erent. How do we map the Chicago Defender newspaper during a critical turn-around era. Director and Treasurer for Ada S. those geographies? I don’t have an answer, McKinley Social Services and Trustee of East West University, both Chicago, Ill. but I think the pursuit of such an answer is valuable.” Alison Cuddy, Director There’s also a distance between the two Alison is the Marilynn Thoma Artistic Director of the Chicago Humanities Festival. She has more than artists—one from the Cape, the other from 15 years’ experience developing cultural and other programs for diverse publics, including 10 years at Chicago—which I find interesting in their the NPR affiliate in Chicago, where she gained a national profile as the host of WBEZ’s flagship program relationship. Collaborating via the post oˆ ce, Eight Forty-Eight. mailings, technology, and FaceTime calls were all a part of the design and production process. Though they weren’t collaborating Sladjana Vuckovic, Director side by side, their process and means of com- Sladjana is an attorney who practices in the areas of criminal, transportation, and personal injury litigation. municating culminated in a dialogue of words She has been a trial lawyer for the past 23 years in the areas of criminal and insurance defense litigation. and images. Theorem begins and ends with a red image. Kim L. Hunt, Director When I fi nish the text, it almost startles me. Kim is executive director of the Pride Action Tank, a project incubator and think tank that focuses on After pages upon pages of fi ne drawings and LGBTQ+ issues that is a project of the AIDS Foundation of Chicago, where she also serves as the senior muted hues, the red color cleanses my palate. director in the Policy & Advocacy department. Contro says, “Red saturates the two fi nal im- ages of the book. We both wanted a concluding Vanessa Fernandez, Director image that was powerful, emotional, engulf- Vanessa is the Sr. Manager of Development at Resilience Force. For nearly a decade, Vanessa has been ing, transportive.” The saturated page makes fighting for a more equitable and just economy for poor communities and communities of color. As a me feel like I’ve just fi nished a long walk. The fundraiser and project manager, she supports organizations that build power for working people by words are lyrical as they carry you along the developing and expanding institutional and individual giving programs. journey of Theorem. Bradfield’s recollection of time and Contro’s smart drawings propel Jackie Kaplan-Perkins, Director readers into a contemplation of the self. I Jackie has been recognized as one of the city’s dynamic leader and consummate connector whose life’s found myself sighing, stopping and refl ecting, work has focused on equity, diversity and advocating for the disenfranchised and underserved. Jackie radiating, and by the end of it, I felt—most has worked in senior leadership at Movement Voter Project, Human Rights Watch, Shriver Center for importantly—at ease. v Poverty Law, Chicago Foundation for Women and with Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky. @snicolelane ll FEBRUARY   - CHICAOREADER 21 “R” R Through /, Evanston Art Center,  Central, Evanston, #TVKUV9TKVGT evanstonartcenter.org. Please call -- for entry. All visitors are required to wear masks and take their temperature upon entry using 2GTHQTOGT! ARTS & CULTURE provided gloves, and share results with an EAC staff member. %4'#6+8' 51.76+105 (14 Susan Smith Trees manipulates polyurethane %4'#6+8' 2'12.' expandable foam in “Roots.” ASHLEIGH PASTOR 5WRRQTVKXG #HHKTOKPI CPF )QCN &KTGEVGF 2U[EJQVJGTCR[ CPF *[RPQVJGTCR[ HQT #FWNVU

/#: - 5*#2'; .%59 that she begins by spraying polyurethane .QECVGF KP &QYPVQYP 'XCPUVQP expandable foam into piles. She explains that because the foam expands quickly, before it  hardens, she peels it away, stretches it, and YYYOCZUJCRG[EQO tears the material to create rippled forms. She OCZUJCRG["CQNEQO says she enjoys the unpredictability. “By the NWG TQUU NWG 5JKGNF 2TGHGTTGF 2TQXKFGT act of manipulating the material, I experiment KIPC 2TGHGTTGF 2TQXKFGT and explore the possibilities and witness what is revealed.” In a way, Trees collaborates with the material. She navigates most of the direc- tion that it will take, but ultimately the foam will do what the foam wants to do. Her thermoplastic works are made up of melted plastic which she heats in water. VIS ART “When the material obtains a leathery con- sistency, I remove it from the water and soak Bursting and bubbling it in paint,” she says. “As it hardens the color Artist Susan Smith Trees works with the unknown to encourage the “known.” becomes embedded in the substance. I then reheat the material using the same procedure. By S NL When it becomes of a malleable consistency, I shape it over molds of rocks and wood and earthenware. As the material dries, it is knead- ed and rolled and pulled to create biomor- phic-like forms.” Trees’s work is very tangible, y God, I love a fl eshy piece of artwork. organisms under a microscope. These orifi ces very process-focused. When artists make works that are are detailed, yet I’m unsure of what they re- Having this sort of freedom in art-making Mburgeoning and mysterious, I’m imme- mind me of. I describe them as human forms, is refreshing. Much like our body forms, each diately drawn to them like white on rice. So, something removed from a body, but are they? work takes on a unique shape. Whether they I’ll go ahead and say I’m a little biased when it While they appear to be living and breathing, are on the walls or hanging from the ceiling, comes to Susan Smith Trees’s work. the works aren’t one particular body part or Trees’s sculptures appear heavy and promi- The Chicago-based artist has been making one particular organ. They queer the body and nent. In fact, the viewer may not realize it, but work for 35 years. Her show “Roots” opened disrupt our idea of nature. expandable foam is very light in weight. In the this month at the Evanston Art Center’s (EAC) Not all of Trees’s sculptures are textured same way that she manipulates the physical second-floor atrium gallery. In the gallery, with detail. The work Stretch is less crinkled form of the works, the presentation is also Trees’s expandable foam wall reliefs hang and more polished. In fact, it’s smooth and manipulated. These works appear foreign in delicately and pronounced. They appear onyx in color. It rests on a pedestal, appearing material and hang delicately along the walls of otherworldly and mysterious. They demand like a membrane or a cell under a microscope. the gallery inviting viewers to peer longer and attention. Still referencing bodily qualities, this work ap- deeper inside. They are displayed like magni- For Trees, material drives her process. “I pears in mid-motion as it curves upward from fied organisms—both earthly and alien—on have always been stimulated by a variety of the fl oor. Worm-like and slinking, Stretch is in the white gallery walls. The relationship materials. The experimentation is the key the spotlight on its white podium. between material and artist is obvious. to discovery,” she explains. Trees began her On the walls and hanging from the ceiling Trees’s closeness with her works is apparent, sculpture practice with clay and has expanded are Trees’s expandable foam sculptures. I’ve although some distance is necessary as these Providing arts coverage to working with stone, cast resin, thermoplas- worked extensively with expandable foam in materials forge their own paths. This is what tic, expandable foam, as well as pen and ink my own practice so I know how this material makes the works so strong. While Trees is in Chicago since 1971. drawings. takes on a life of its own. It’s sticky, messy, the creator, the sculptures conclude their By manipulating the form, Trees’s sculp- it gets on everything, and it bulges at such metamorphoses. tures look at abstraction and draw from the a rapid pace that you have to let go of any “I put my trust in the materials,” Trees form of the human body. The bulbous, frothing control. says, “because they put me in touch with the pieces appear veiny and alive. The lumps hang I’m curious about Trees’s process and how known.” v www.chicagoreader.com on the walls of the gallery, bursting with life as she works with a material that defi es author- the sculptures contract, bubble, and grow like ity and takes on its own shape. Trees tells me  @snicolelane 22 CHICA OREADER - FEBRUARY   ll Chicago Readers Thank you for nominating us Best clinic to get a medical cannabis card! BULL HO N

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PHOTO COURTESY MAURA WALSH Introducing CIVL SAVE Alice Blander, Annah Garrett, and Shannon Nico Shreibak n a time characterized by waiting—waiting to wanted to highlight the fact that the continuous Get A Qualifying Medical Cannabis leave the confines of our homes, waiting to see moratorium on live events a‡ects not only the Iour loved ones closer than six feet away, wait- business owners, but also the thousands of per- Diagnosis Certification ing to truly exhale—those of us who have found formers, sta‡ members, and independent con- ourselves estranged from our usual gigs in Chi- tractors who have lost their livelihoods. It’s easy cago’s illustrious independent music scene knew to underestimate the robust inner workings of an that waiting was simply not an option. In a mat- independent venue: the irreplaceable box o†ce, ter of days following March 12, 2020, COVID-19 security, production, bar sta‡, building mainte- splayed across the country, tours were scrapped, nance, and booking/marketing/ticketing gurus venues were shuttered, and income for a major- who make the magic happen. Being that we un- ity of music industry workers slipped away like derstand each other’s distress firsthand, the pri- sand through a sieve. As months drifted by, we, mary round of applications are designed by venue like many other industry professionals, found sta‡ for venue sta‡. In order to maintain trans- ourselves disillusioned, disenfranchised, and parency and equity, we’ve conducted surveys and grasping for a life raft. With neither an end to the led a virtual town hall in order to gather input, pandemic in sight, nor su†cient government as- which has made the CIVL SAVE Emergency Relief sistance for the music venue sta‡ers, artists, and Fund truly tailor-made for the collective needs of touring professionals that power Chicago’s—and our extended music family. Cannabis Follow-Up the world’s—live music ecosystem, it became Thanks to the support of loyal Chicagoans and clear that the solution would be an inside job. far away fans, CIVL has raised invaluable funding Education Services As a city and as an artist enclave, Chicago was thus far. We encourage anyone and everyone who built on a legacy of scrappiness. It can be felt in has the means to support the individuals who the disposition of its residents and the sound of are responsible for some of your favorite concert the music that colors the city. For the vitality of memories in one way or another. You may donate Telemedicine At Compassionate Clinics of America, Chicago’s independent music venues to be wrest- directly to the fund at CIVLChicago.com or pur- Appointments your health and quality of life are our ed in the vigor of its sta‡ers felt all too appropri- chase merchandise designed by local artist Maura top focus. Let us guide you and assist ate. Thus, a small team of Chicago Independent Walsh. If you’d like to apply for funding, sign up Venue League (CIVL) member venue employees for CIVL’s e-mail list for more information. for Your you on your medical cannabis journey began work on the CIVL SAVE Emergency Relief What is CIVL SAVE hoping to “save,” exactly? for maximum benets and results. Fund, an e‡ort powered by The Giving Back Fund We hope to save our colleagues from one more un- Convenience that will provide micro-grants to fellow Chicago paid bill, from further financial woes than those music venue workers and local artists in need, that this past year has wrought. To send crucial as well as the institutions themselves. And we aid to some of the toughest souls we know, those decided to raise the money by doing what we do who embody Chicago’s grit and tenacity, who will best: promoting (virtual) shows, slinging merch, continuously forfeit sleep to make an experience and recruiting the time and talents of creatives unforgettable––because that’s what they do. we admire. It is all these things and more than words can Aside from being a perfectly apt name, SAVE express. stands for Sta‡, Artists, and VEnues. Our team

Chicago Independent Venue League (CIVL) is a coalition advocating for nearly 50 member venues in and around Chicago, all independently owned and operated. They can be found at CIVLChicago.com Bull Horn is an avenue to give wings to the stories that matter most. This series, from Red Bull in partnership with the Chicago Reader, will invite guest writers, artists, activists, and community members to share their ideas and amplify timely, crucial topics they feel are important now. ll FEBRUARY   - CHICAOREADER 23 THEATER

Nameplate from the London Story Paper, where Nellie Bly’s novels were serialized COURTESY DAVID BLIXT

UNCOVERING HISTORY Pauline, it’s all the silent fi lms of the intrepid And that is where Bly’s unpublished novels young woman discovering some dastardly lived on, hidden from public view for 125 years. Whoa, Nellie! deed or whatever. And looking at movie after After spending “weeks and weeks” scanning David Blixt fi nds a treasure trove of 11 unpublished Bly novels. movie, each one said ‘based loosely on the life through the Bly collection online (and spend- of Nellie Bly.’” ing New Year’s of 2020 in Toronto transcrib- By K R  Blixt started researching Bly, and ended up ing sections from the microfi lm that weren’t writing three fictional books based on Bly’s legible), Blixt had a bundle of Bly books. He life: What Girls Are Good For, Charity Girl, and released ten of the previously unpublished Clever Girl. But in the course of his research, works late last month, just in time for the n 1885, the Pittsburgh Dispatch ran an conditions in the Women’s Lunatic Asylum on he stumbled across a treasure trove of unpub- anniversaries of the publication of her first op-ed under the byline “The Quiet Observ- Blackwell’s Island (now Roosevelt Island). Her lished novels by Bly herself. story (January 25) and of her death at age 57 Ier” entitled “What Girls Are Good For.” In 1887 book, Ten Days in a Mad-House, made Bly published one novel in her lifetime: (January 27). the view of Erasmus Wilson (owner of the her a household name and led to some (small) 1889’s The Mystery of Central Park. Says Blixt, One of the novels Blixt decided to leave pseudonym), the short answer was essentially reforms in mental health treatment. She won “She wrote 11 more for a serial weekly news- unpublished because “It leans hard into the staying home and making babies, where they further fame when she outdid Jules Verne’s paper published by her publisher, Norman same racist tropes as Gone With The Wind.” could “play the part of angel.” Phileas Fogg and traveled “around the world Munro, whose brother George kind of popular- Notes Blixt, “She wasn’t any more racist than Elizabeth Jane Cochrane was having none in 72 days,” as described in her 1890 book of ized the dime novel. And so he and his brother anybody at the time, but she certainly has of that. The 20-year-old, whose father died that title. split about a decade earlier and Norman went Chinese characters speaking in dialect and when she was six and who dropped out of David Blixt is a Chicago-based historical o£ on his own. it’s o£ ensive, and Black characters sometimes college due to lack of funds, wrote a letter to fiction writer (Lifeline Theatre adapted his “He found huge success in publishing Nellie speak in dialect and that’s o£ ensive.” the editor, signed “Lonely Orphan Girl.” She Shakespearean spy thriller, Her Majesty’s Will, Bly and also the Allan Quartermain books and The new novels, released as e-books, audio told the men in charge that they knew nothing in 2013), and theater artist whose stage cred- detective stories and romances. The New York downloads, and print through Blixt’s Sordelet of the plight of working-class women. It so im- its include acting at the Goodman and Mich- Family Story Paper was his big engine. Every Ink publishing house, were mostly inspired by pressed managing editor George Madden that igan Shakespeare Festival (where his wife, week you’d get eight pages of new stu£ , and Bly’s reporting, and bear sensationalist titles he put out an ad seeking its author. When she Jan Blixt, is artistic director) and lots of fi ght Bly ends up writing for them and getting an such as Eva The Adventuress: A Romance of a appeared in the newsroom, he gave her a job direction. The latter is what led him indirectly enormous salary. She got $40,000 over three Blighted Life (based on an interview Bly con- and a new nom de plume: Nellie Bly, after an to an obsession with Bly. years. And everyone just kind of fi gured, ‘Well, ducted with Eva Hamilton, the “scorned wife” 1850 song by Stephen Foster (though they got “I can pinpoint the exact moment. I was that was money that was thrown away’ be- of Alexander Hamilton’s great-grandson, the spelling wrong on the fi rst name). reading an article in April of 2016 in the At- cause nobody knows about her novel.” while she awaited trial on charges of attempt- Bly’s intrepid reporter instincts took her lantic that was about how there were more But Blixt found out that Munro did a knock- ed murder). Each of the books comes with from Pittsburgh to Mexico, where she spent female action stars in Hollywood a hundred off of his paper overseas—the London Story the original art from the London Story Paper six months as a foreign correspondent, and fi - years ago than there are today. And that fas- Paper. And while only one issue of the New and the news stories that inspired them. Blixt nally to New York, where she became a star for cinated me, and it’s right up my alley,” says York edition exists in American archives, com- is also releasing the two-volume collection Joseph Pulitzer’s New York World, going un- Blixt. “So I started looking at the movies they plete sets of the London version were stored Nellie Bly’s World, bringing together all her dercover as a patient to investigate the brutal were listing and you know, it’s all the Perils of on microfi lm in London, Sydney, and Toronto. New York World pieces from 1887-1890, and a 24 CHICA OREADER - FEBRUARY   ll THEATER

David Blixt; illustration of Nellie Bly from London Story Paper, March 28, 1891  PHOTO BY BRIAN MCCONKEY ILLUSTRATION PROVIDED BY DAVID BLIXT

complete collection of the reporting that fi rst journalism, but it didn’t exist back then in the brought her fame, Into the Madhouse. way that we can think of it today.” Blixt notes that, while Bly’s “stunt journal- The 1978 month-long undercover “Mirage” ism” made her a household name, that portion series in the Sun-Times, exposing corruption of her career was short-lived. among Chicago city inspectors, got heat from “After the race around the world, she was Washington Post editor Ben Bradlee, among having health problems, she was having others, for its use of misrepresentation in migraines. The stress of it was too much. So pursuit of the story. And perhaps now “under- when she comes back in ’93 to be a reporter cover investigation” makes us think more of again, she stops doing the stunt thing entirely. James O’Keefe’s ethically dubious and politi- They hand that o­ to another woman named cally motivated Project Veritas. Meg Merrilies, and Bly is purely interviews But for Blixt, the passion that motivated Bly and investigative journalism. No more stunt to write that fi rst letter to the editor is what stu­ . They still bill it as stunt stu­ —‘Nellie Bly held his interest throughout the past several and the elephant! Nellie Bly and the tiger!’— years of research, writing, and editing. “What but she’s not undercover anymore.” made me set aside everything and devote Though Bly has appeared in several incar- those fi ve years to Nellie Bly was how she got nations in pop culture (including two episodes her fi rst job. How angry she was.” of Drunk History), Blixt found it diˆ cult to get She didn’t need to be a vampire, a detective, agents and publishers interested in his novels or a man to make her mark. Says Blixt, “Lois about Bly. “It’s one of those things where I Lane is a direct analog to Nellie Bly. My tagline was told that there was no hook, no one would as I started researching her was ‘The Real Lois be interested. And I kid you not, one agent Lane Didn’t Need a Superman.’” suggested to me that I make her a vampire or But in Blixt, she’s found a fan and ally. v a detective or even a man. ‘There’s no hook.’ I was told this again and again, nobody would @kerryreid be interested in a straight story of her life. And I’m like, ‘You’re kidding me. You’ve got to be kidding me.’” Blixt thinks part of the issue is that Bly’s ap- proach to undercover journalism itself is now seen as “trickery. And for some reason, we’ve eschewed trickery from journalism. People please recycle poo-poo it, but it was revolutionary at the this paper time. And needed. People still do investigative ll FEBRUARY   - CHICAOREADER 25 Ross Compton and Melanie McNulty in READER RECOMMENDED ALL AGES Theatre Above the Law’s Constellations R b F THEATER TYLER CORE

“This was supposed to start our fourth certain dinner, we got part of the proceeds. season,” he said. “We were coming o– our fi rst Life’s Sweet is doing a honey tart as a dessert, Je– Recommended season, our fi rst Je– nom- only on show nights. ination—we were riding that wave, thinking “We got 20 new subscribers during a this would be a great thing to end on, keep the pandemic for a season that’s totally up in the momentum going. air which I think is pretty great for our little “Nobody wanted to let it go. We kept post- storefront. It’s a tight-knit neighborhood, and poning it and postponing it. We thought about I really love being a part of it,” he said. doing it outside somewhere in the summer, That season is not entirely up in the air. In but that didn’t feel safe. And the city wasn’t March, Lawry hopes to drop a reboot of their giving theaters space to do outdoor perfor- 2017 world-premiere adaptation of Cyrano, mances like the restaurants were getting for only this time as a radio play complete with outdoor dining. ad jingles. In May or June (or later), there’s a EXISTENTIAL ROMANCE “So by late last fall, I was like, ‘We just need world premiere of War of the Worlds on deck, to do it, even if it’s just for us. We’ve all been only this time, as Lawry explains, “The heroine prepping for this show for so long, and I’m is a 13-year-old girl and the aliens are gross Connecting across Constellations afraid if we postpone it anymore, we might not men.” all be able to do it together. So let’s get it out Finally, TATL will close out with Compton’s Theatre Above the Law drops the masks—momentarily. of our system so we can move on, but we have Henchpeople, a three-person comedy about to fi gure out a way that we can do that without which Lawry will say nothing else except for “I By C S  shortchanging the brilliant material in any really hope we can do it for a live audience by way and we have to be safe.’” then. But we’ll see.” Lawry bought a green screen and came up For now, Lawry and his cast and crew with a production budget that was mostly remain immersed in Constellations, and the n COVID times, gestures that would have of wrenching ordinariness. about editing and filming. (Credit for video often weirdly apropos existential dilemmas been banal and forgettable a year ago now Compton and McNulty dropped their masks. goes to Max Zuckert; George Pitsilos and Wil- Payne’s characters insist you think long and Iarrive embedded with loaded backsto- McNulty recalled experiencing a heady sense liam Schneider created the sound.) hard about. Take, for example drunk-but-still- ries—even those (especially those?) that play of marvel. an-expert-physicist Marianne’s science-based out on stage. “There was a slight moment where I felt C   statement that “We’re just particles governed For the past year and a half, actor Melanie like I was naked. The air, suddenly on my face. Opens Thu 2/4, 7:30 PM CST: through by a series of very particular laws being 2/28, Fri-Sat 8 PM CST; also Sun 2/28 McNulty has been prepping to open Constel- But that went away, and it was just sheer joy. 3 PM CST, 773-655-7197, theatreatl.org, knocked the fuck around all over the place.” lations. In September 2019, Theatre Above I’m watching someone smile and laugh and $15. McNulty has given it some thought. the Law artistic director Tony Lawry cast her breathe, right in front of me. “In this play, there are multiple universes as the astrophysicist heroine in Nick Payne’s “After so many hours of rehearsal where all we’re jumping in and out of, and depending on mind-stretching, multiverse-pondering ex- I could see was my scene partner’s eyes, it was Lawry wanted to replicate, as much as he which one you’re in, you see a di– erent version ploration of love, the cosmos, and the infi nite liberating.” could, the feeling of an actual play you could of Marianne. And this version has seen some capacity of the human brain to both defi ne and It was also brief. see in person in the Jarvis space. There were things that have hardened her. This is the Mar- betray the very heart that feeds it. “It felt pretty sweet during that part of tech, times over the past year when Lawry won- ianne who says emotions don’t compute, so At fi rst, the two-hander also starring Ross to have that freedom,” McNulty said. “We all dered whether the Rogers Park space would I’m just going to bury my head in my spread- Compton was slated to open in March 2020. It have to do what we have to do to stay safe— survive, at least as Theatre Above the Law. sheets and data.” was postponed. Then it was postponed again. I’m not complaining about having to wear a “There were a couple months when it was “What I love about this play,” she added, “is And again. About a year after McNulty and mask or anything else I have or need to do. But iffy—our landlord has been OK. We got a that the playwright took something as convo- Compton were cast, TATL decided to do it as a yeah. I was pretty melancholy after, knowing couple of grants, not what we’d hoped for but luted as string theory and quantum mechanics virtual production, which opens this week. it’s going to be a long time before we have that some. It’s month by month. We just extended and turned them all into a love story between The commitment made, the cast and kind of freedom again.” our lease for six months. We’re good through two human beings. two-person crew (Lawry and stage manager For Lawry, it was a defining moment in a August. But I wouldn’t be truthful if I didn’t “At the beginning of all this I spent a lot of Stina Taylor) embarked on weeks of Zoom production he’d been committed to for the say my stimulus money goes into the theater’s time questioning what I had to give. What is rehearsals and quarantine, punctuated by better part of two years. Lawry said he’s bank account. an actor’s role when everything is crumbling COVID tests for all four. always found Payne’s elliptical tale of an as- “I have an ensemble that’s just as passionate around us? What can we o– er? This was bog- Eventually, the group stepped o– Zoom and trophysicist and the beekeeper who loves her as I am. So we’ve done some Zoom murder gling my mind for a while,” she said. “I don’t met for tech week in TATL’s Rogers Park space. an emotional roller coaster. Smart romantic mystery fundraisers, and they’ve put every- know all the answers. But this play makes me It was the first time the maximum-45-seat comedies are his go-to genre, and this one thing behind them,” Lawry continued. “And think about how I am spending my time. Am I Jarvis Square Theater had been used for live had humans dealing with quantum physics our neighbors have been so supportive. I feel doing what brings me joy? Am I being loving? theater in almost a year. With Taylor taking on and aphasia and string theory in addition to like we’re very much a part of our community. Am I being me? The play makes you realize you chau– eur duties so the actors could avoid pub- drunken sex, major trust issues, and witty Like, even people who didn’t attend the online really have to ask those questions, because we lic transit, the group did two days of masked wordplay. fundraisers bought tickets. The restaurant might not have a lot of time.” v rehearsals. Then, they all did another COVID He did not, however, expect it to be quite the across the street [R Public House] did this test. Then there was an extraordinary moment emotional roller coaster it became. pairing dinner thing, where if you bought a  @CateySullivan 26 CHICA OREADER - FEBRUARY   ll FILM

Rebecca Fons (le ) leading a CIFF education that much of what makes the Film Center the screening of The Hate U Give. DAN HANNULA cultural bastion it is will stay the same. “There are absolutely long-standing partnerships and programs that will continue,” she says. “Black Harvest is a great example . . . certain things at FilmScene in Iowa City, where she attended like that will not change at all. Long-standing the University of Iowa as an undergraduate; series that are the spine of the Film Center she’ll continue to work at FilmScene until won’t go anywhere.” she becomes full-time at the Film Center. She But: “I’m also interested . . . [in] looking at received her masters in Media Management programs that in the past haven’t worked, and from Columbia College Chicago, during which they’re sort of just limping along, and fi guring time she interned with the Chicago Interna- out if there’s a way to activate them in a new tional Film Festival. That internship led to a way or move on. This is an interesting time to job as the festival’s education director, a posi- be able to do that.” tion she held from 2007 to 2016. Some of Fons’s ideas include exploring the Her next step would take her back to her potential for late-night grindhouse o‘ erings, moviegoing roots. Fons is from the small town and on the flip side, a series of films geared of Winterset, Iowa (population 5,190, as of the toward families. And like many curators, Fons 2010 census), where in 2015 her local theater, is considering how the Film Center can expand The Iowa Theater, closed. Her mom, who on its already robust programs showcasing PROFILE raised Fons and her two siblings as a single fi lms by and about groups that aren’t properly mother, had an idea: she suggested they buy it. represented in mainstream cinema, such as “She was like, this is where you saw the the aforementioned Black Harvest Film Festi- Rebecca Fons leads Gene Siskel world,” Fons says. “This is where you realized val, the Annual Festival of Films from Iran, the your passion, in the seats of this movie the- Chicago Palestine Film Festival, and the Asian ater. Should we buy it? Should we rehab it? Is American Showcase, among others. Fons Film Center into a new era that a crazy idea? And I did not think that was is part of the Alliance for Action, a working a crazy idea. Who doesn’t want to rehabilitate group of Arthouse Convergence that brings The new director of programming prepares for the return to in-theater a movie theater?” together programmers, exhibitors, fi lm festi- viewing and beyond. After establishing a nonprofi t organization val sta‘ , and even some distributors to discuss and raising roughly a million dollars to rehab issues related to equity. By K S  the space, the new-and-improved Iowa The- “There are only two screens at the Film ater reopened in 2017. That same year, Fons Center,” she says. “It’s a limited landscape, it’s got the job at FilmScene, commuting back and a limited canvas, and so thinking about how by forth among Winterset, Iowa City, and Chica- programming female fi lmmakers, fi lmmakers t this stage in our nearly year long exile But with such developments comes a go, where she still had an apartment with her of color, we become the infl uencers, the Film from cinemas, the text emblazoned on passing of the torch. Earlier this month the husband, Jack C. Newell, himself a fi lmmaker Center becomes the influencer and guides Athe stairs of the Gene Siskel Film Center Film Center announced that Rebecca Fons and program director at the Second City’s Har- Chicago patrons and audience members to an now reads like a prophetic asservation: “Just a would be coming on as the new director of old Ramis Film School. understanding of the fi lm community and sto- few more steps to great movies.” programming (part-time for now) until the “The magic of the moving image has kind rytelling. I think there’s a huge responsibility Having stayed closed for the duration of much-anticipated reopening of the theater, of always been my north star,” she says. “The of the programmer, and I take it on with much the COVID-19 crisis, the Film Center—often when it’s intended that she’ll assume the role arts are where I fi nd myself at home. I’m very, reverence.” referred to as just “the Siskel” by local cine- on a full-time basis. very fortunate to have a career where I can do Navigating a more-or-less traditional philes—is no stranger to the dual condition of I spoke with Fons about this new opportu- what I love. Even though it’s been kind of all exhibition space during a global pandemic discouragement and optimism that’s become nity and learned that one of the fi rst items on over the place, it’s been a true pleasure.” and various occurrences of societal unrest— two sides of the same coin for those in the her agenda is, as one might expect, to contin- Fons is especially compelled by what drives during a time when many are taking the arts arts during these trying times. Back in July, 13 ue honing the Film Center’s virtual cinema moviegoers’ viewing habits, as the path from for granted, as is evidenced by a general of the Film Center’s 19 employees (including offerings. “We’ll be closed for a while,” she the couch to the theater seat has taken on fur- disregard for those workers displaced by the longtime associate director of programming says. “We’re not going to reopen, you know, ther significance with exhibitors around the crisis—Fons, like others in her position, has Marty Rubin) were unceremoniously let go tomorrow. So immediately [we’re] thinking world looking forward to a return to in-person her work cut out for her. But still, she’s not as part of wide-reaching layo‘ s at the School about virtual. Exhibitors across the country programming. “There’s this huge question of, willing to let click bait headlines announcing of the Art Institute of Chicago, under which pivoted to virtual programming so quickly, what do people want to see when they come the death of cinema distract her from what she the Film Center is a public program. Then, in and distributors did, too. So [we’re] thinking back to the movie theater for the fi rst time in knows to be true about the communal movie- November of last year, the organization an- about how we can utilize that virtual space. what will be over a year for most people,” she going experience. nounced that their director of programming, It’s essentially another screen.” says. “I truly do feel that when we’re able to come Barbara Scharres, would retire after 45 years We spoke via Zoom after Fons had complet- While the Film Center’s virtual cinema is together as an audience in the movie theater, in the job, signaling the end of an era at one of ed a long day at her current—and soon-to-be one of her more immediate concerns, Fons is it’ll be like the cloud is lifted and, oh, right, this Chicago’s most important exhibition venues. concurrent—job as director of programming already thinking long-term. She assures me is the best thing in the whole wide world.” v ll FEBRUARY   - CHICAOREADER 27 R READER RECOMMENDED b ALL AGES N NEW F Get showtimes and see reviews of everything playing FILM this week at chicagoreader.com/movies.

Malcolm & Marie skylines, then plunges us into the dirt itself, with Fiennes than “Are they or aren’t they?” Márta (Natasa Stork, a o en seen caked in dust and, in one crucial scene, scintillatingly enigmatic presence) is an accomplished nearly buried alive. The work of pulling bodies and their Hungarian neurosurgeon who’s spent much of her worldly eff ects out of time’s annulling darkness is set career in the U.S. She meets another Hungarian doctor against Europe on the brink of all out war; biplanes whiz at a conference in New Jersey, where they arrange over the site, reminders of death in life and life in death. to meet up a month later on a bridge in Budapest. There are moments of the movie that feel over-attached Márta makes the trip only to be stood up; when she to its admittedly low stakes. Getting the site of an tracks down the doctor at the hospital where he works, Anglo-Saxon burial ground catalogued before Europe he claims not to know her. Likewise dismayed and goes to war doesn’t scream movie material. But when intrigued, Márta moves back to Budapest, takes a job at it gives its metaphors the space and scope to breathe a nearby hospital, and begins following him, meanwhile is when this gem of a picture shines brightest. —M  attending therapy to determine if perhaps she invented M  112 min. Netflix the circumstances of their alleged meeting; mirroring Márta’s self-deception is that of a young medical student #Like who’s enamored with her, convinced that she returns R It’s been one year since the death of Rosie’s the sentiment. Overall I appreciate the intent of this (Sarah Rich) sister, and she still wants answers. With no modern take on the gaslight noir, in which we not only help from the police or anyone around her, Rosie takes experience the purported delusion from the woman’s NOW PLAYING The Dig matters in her own hands to track down the man she perspective, but also accompany her in a journey toward R By common consensus, there isn’t allowed to believes bullied her sister to suicide. Sarah Pirozek’s discovering the truth behind her fi xation. One can’t help Atlantis be more than one major movie a year that’s set at an debut feature is an energetic look at one young woman’s but to be pulled in by the narrative machinations—the R In the not-so-distant future (2025, to be exact), archaeological site. Whether this is a shame, or whether quest for justice, revenge, or whichever best fi ts the bill. ambiguity of the premise is duly evocative, played for eastern Ukraine is a virtually uninhabitable wasteland one topsoil-and-shovels movie a year is already too #Like is also a refreshing retelling of the torture fi lm. genuine suspense—which makes the underwhelming where water is scarce and the arid landscape is lit- many, is a question of principles. Leaping into the While the dark basement setting and intense interro- revelation toward the end all the more frustrating. Like tered with abandoned mines. At the beginning of highest echelons of dig movies is The Dig, directed by gations feel familiar, #Like gives Rosie all the power Márta’s own obsession, it might be that whatever’s good Ukrainian writer-director-cinematographer Valentyn Simon Stone with a screenplay by Moira Buffi ni. Typical and lets her do whatever she wants with it—and Rich’s about this fi lm exists only in your head. In Hungarian Vasyanovych’s conspicuously spare third feature, two period dramas pretend to off er history laid bare, with layered performance makes it impossible to look away. and English with subtitles. —K S  95 min. veterans of a recently concluded war with Russia take every layer of intervening time between our lives and #Like can feel underdeveloped when it takes Rosie out Music Box Direct turns doing target practice, which devolves into one of the characters’ denuded away by movie magic. Here’s of the torture room to maintain her relationships in the the men shooting the other in his bulletproof vest—in one that recognizes that historical reconstruction on real world, but it’s fascinating to watch her fi gure out The Weasel’s Tale a subsequent scene, the tormented aggressor throws fi lm is itself a kind of archaeology; as with that down and what it is she wants and what she needs to do to get Much like making a movie, scheming is o en done himself into a pit of melted iron ore. The man who’s le , dirty science we see in action here, the pleasure is in the it. —CC 93 min. In wide release on VOD best when undertaken as a collaborative eff ort—these a similarly PTSD-affl icted former soldier called Sergiy digging. What’s found is for museums. two worlds collide in this middling dark comedy from (Andriy Rymaruk), is soon established as the protagonist Ralph Fiennes plays the self-taught archaeologist Malcolm & Marie Oscar-winning Argentine writer-director Juan José of this severe examination of life a er war; he gets laid Basil Brown, who hits upon the discovery of a millennium Lush and claustrophobic, Sam Levinson’s new fi lm Campanella (The Secret in Their Eyes). A remake of Jose off from his job at a factory and fi nds a new one deliver- during an ostensible leisure project on a landed widow stars John David Washington and Zendaya as the A. Martínez Suarez’s 1976 fi lm Yesterday’s Guys Used No ing water. He also begins working with an organization named Edith Pretty’s estate in pre-World War II rural titular Macolm and Marie. The couple return home a er Arsenic, it stars Graciela Borges (the lead in Lucrecia that salvages the remains of unidentifi ed soldiers, where Suff olk. Regional authorities want to fi le it under Viking attending a premier for Malcolm’s new movie and a Martel’s La ciénaga) as a once-illustrious, now-faded star he meets Katya (Liudmyla Bileka), the two forging a and be done with the thing, but Brown insists that what series of arguments ensue, revealing both the so ness tormented by her longtime house guests, a pestiferous tentative romance amid the economic and ecologic he’s found is older, much older, and he’s right. (Fiennes’s and the brokenness in their relationship with each other. writer-director duo with whom she and her infi rmed depression of their homeland. Vasyanovych conveys dialect, part of a magisterial working class performance The performances in this fi lm are stellar, Washington’s actor-painter husband worked in their heyday; they’ve much of the plot through enveloping medium-long at every level from an actor we’re used to seeing play frenzied mania playing off of Zendaya’s sinuous slow become increasingly enmeshed with her husband, much shots and protracted takes in which it’s o en initially aristocrats, is a marvel throughout; he says “Voiking” and burn. The cinematography is also exquisite, the fi lm shot to the old woman’s chagrin. She embraces the illusion unclear as to what’s happening—sometimes there’s little I cheer, it’s that simple.) Ms. Pretty (her real name, would in luminous black and white with some truly spectacular of escape from her unconventional living situation context to the activity onscreen, while other times the I lie?), played with frayed nerves, poor health, warmth, tracking shots. The story, however, has the feeling of when two young developers trick her into selling her action is obscured altogether. Vasyanovych’s aesthetic and magnifi cent screen elegance by Carey Mulligan, standing on the street and watching someone’s muted regal (albeit crumbling) country estate, the attractive is commanding, with occasional experimental fl ourishes gives Brown free rein over the site, even a er the British domestic tableau unfold through a well-lit window. A chiselers a formidable match for the actress’s wily, and the rendering of a post-apocalyptic hellscape com- Museum and its detachment of card-carrying scholars sense of voyeurism sparkles. Still, the initial eff erves- ersatz family unit. Not wishing to leave their comfortable parable to The Zone from Andrei Tarkovsky’s Stalker; arrive to claim it. To them, Brown is no archaeologist cence fades as one fi ght becomes two, then three. arrangement, the three men of the house conspire to it feels well-trod, however, another art-house-infl ected but a mere “excavator.” The fi lm’s portrayal of class is How long can someone stand outside a house and hold ward off the interlopers; along the way, deception and trip through something we’ve seen before and, in razor sharp. Much of its drama comes from the tensions interest in the scene in the window? Perhaps not nearly mysteries on both sides come to light. The premise our ever-increasingly wartorn civilization, no doubt between self-taught expertise on the one hand and two hours.—N LC 106 min. Netflix is entertaining, especially with its sporadic moments will again. In Ukrainian and English with subtitles. prestige on the other. “I may not be a fellow at Cam- of genuine macabre humor, and the central cast adds —K S  106 min. Gene Siskel Film Center bridge,” Brown intones, cradling his pipe, “but I worked Preparations to Be Together for an charisma where the narrative otherwise falls fl at. In From Your Sofa out what was down there.” Unknown Period of Time total, however, the fi lmmaking is o en cheesy and rote, Exhuming the remains of forgotten worlds is not and it feels overly long compared to what it’s off ering. only the movie’s subject but also its method. Mike Eley’s With Hungarian writer-director Lili Horvát’s second In Spanish with subtitles. —K S  129 min. cinematography fi lls the frame with clouds and wide feature, it’s less a question of “Will they or won’t they?” Gene Siskel Film Center From Your Sofa v

28 CHICA OREADER - FEBRUARY   ll A New Podcast About the Most Pressing Economic Matters of Today.

Presented by:

AT THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO

LISTEN AND SUBSCRIBE thepie.uchicago.edu

ll FEBRUARY   - CHICAOREADER 29 M w’ b d  a , u t
 b  d ’t

With federal aid to venues only now arriving, how are tour managers, stagehands, bookers, and their colleagues in the concert business making ends meet? B MC

BOBBY SIMS

30 CHICA OREADER - FEBRUARY   ll efore the shutdown of live music are hard to document, and because they aren’t stimulus checks, an extra weekly $300 in un- anything! It was absolutely horrible for my this past March, if you’d asked being taken into account by policymakers, employment benefits for ten weeks, and the mental health. And there are so many creative tour manager Kat Lewis what she they could impact the ability of the live-music extension of the PUA program. But those are people that I know—stagehands, musicians, expected to be doing in February sector to rebound after COVID. all general measures—unlike SOS, none of even people who run photo booths and bars— 2021, she would’ve been able At the end of December, Congress finally that money is earmarked to help the especially just people that can’t sit down at a desk and do Bto describe her workdays right down to the passed a version of the Save Our Stages Act, hard-hit live-music business. that kind of work every day. It’s soul-crushing bands she’d be having wake-up coffee with. which had been introduced in June. This $15 to them in a way it isn’t to others.” After nearly 20 years of booking and manag- billion stimulus bill, now technically retitled ik Brink, 30, has been a stagehand and Even people who’d be happy to transition ing music events such as Warped Tour and the Shuttered Venue Operators Grant Pro- live sound technician in Chicago for from the live-music business to an oŽ ce job West Fest Chicago, her life had settled into an gram, o¢ ers grants to entertainment venues Nmore than ten years, employed exclu- sometimes end up told they’re not a good unusual but predictable rhythm: she’d sched- (concert halls, clubs, theaters, museums, sively as a 1099 worker. He studied photogra- fi t. When venues fi rst shut down, Lewis took ule commitments two years in advance that movie theaters) that can demonstrate rev- phy at Columbia College and played in bands, any and every temp job she could find, but would require her to work in clusters of long enue losses of more than 25 percent. The gradually becoming more involved behind the she couldn’t land interviews for long-term days, starting around 2 PM and ending just as grant amount is capped at 45 percent of 2019 scenes at shows. When the A¢ ordable Care Act white-collar work. She’s organized and level- the sun came up. income, and a second round of grants, half the was signed into law in March 2010, it allowed headed enough to secure an emergency tour It wasn’t the sort of beat that just anybody size of the first, may be available to venues him to stay on his father’s health insurance bus in the middle of Wyoming at 4 AM, but she could tolerate, but it had its rewards. Lewis, with losses of 70 percent or more. until he was 26 while he grew his connections discovered that employers didn’t think her 39, had grown up in a working-class family in Venues receiving SOS grants will render in a fi eld that seldom provides full-time work skills would translate to an oŽ ce environment. Connecticut but had been able to buy her own themselves ineligible for future Payroll Protec- or benefi ts. As the weeks of lockdown stretched into split-level home in Logan Square. She had tion Program loans, but PPP relief was never a “I’m really lucky,” he explains. “My wife— months and Chicago moved among various a fi ancé and a yard with a vegetable garden. good fi t for live music in the fi rst place. Venues she’s a Chicago public school teacher. So she phases of reopening and shutting back down, They had money in the bank and plans to start would sometimes exceed the allowed number makes . . . not enough money for us to survive.” Lewis’s husband saw his construction work a family. The couple got married in October (a of employees due to their heavy reliance on He laughs dryly. “But almost enough money dry up. She applied for unemployment and fi ve-person ceremony, including the oŽ ciant), part-timers and freelancers, and because of for us to survive.” got denied; she says she was told she didn’t but over the past year the pandemic has forced their disproportionately high overhead—es- Brink’s wife has health benefi ts through her meet the state’s criteria for contract workers Lewis to surrender almost everything else: her pecially rent—they continued to bleed money job, so the couple were able to welcome a baby impacted by the pandemic, though by her house, her savings, and at least for now even unsustainably even with their payroll costs in May. But between the demands of family own count she’d spent 318 days last year her Chicago address. covered for a few months. This past summer, life and the increasing precariousness of live working festivals and shows. She contested Lewis’s situation isn’t what people typically Beat Kitchen and Subterranean owner Robert music, Brink does not plan on returning to the the decision twice, was denied both times, imagine when they hear “gig worker,” but it Gomez told the Reader’s Leor Galil that SubT’s fi eld. and couldn’t a¢ ord a lawyer to take the fi ght represents the reality of many workers in the monthly expenses totaled $12,000 even when Much of his work came through Chicago further. live-music industry: employment is piecemeal it was shuttered. Stagehand, a labor service that connected Lewis and her husband were renting out the and often on a contract basis. When it dries In July, the National Independent Venue As- vetted stage workers with venues. (It’s now basement of their house to a band, but they up, there are few safety nets—and COVID-19 sociation surveyed its 2,000 members and es- defunct.) Stagehand wasn’t affiliated with a nonetheless blew through their savings quick- has caused the equivalent of a civilization- timated that 90 percent of independent music union, but it still required employees and em- ly. They felt forced to sell their home and move ending drought. Wide swaths of the live-music venues would face permanent closure without ployers alike to meet standards of expertise back to Connecticut, where her husband now ecosystem are populated by independent aid targeting the industry. Since then, Chicago and compensation. Brink was also a contract puts in as many as 18 hours per day between contractors and freelancers (1099 workers, has lost several beloved spots, including Dan- worker for A&A Studios, which provides and shellfi shery work and construction while she as the IRS classifi es them), including not just ny’s Tavern, the California Clipper, and Crown services many of the photo booths in Chicago. babysits and does under-the-table accounting many musicians but also behind-the-scenes Liquors. It’s diŽ cult to say if more timely help Without live events, there’s little need for for two local businesses and waits for live laborers such as roadies, sound techs, and from the feds would’ve saved them, but Save photo booths either. music to come back. Their last day o¢ together independent promoters. Unlike employees Our Stages at least o¢ ers hope that people like Luckily, Brink qualified for PUA as a con- was their wedding day, four months ago. who receive W-2s and whose employers pay Lewis will be able to hit the road with bands tractor in May—but only after spending eight into state and federal unemployment funds, again when the U.S. can fully reopen. hours on hold with the Illinois Department of ot everyone who relies on touring is these 1099 workers aren’t usually eligible for However, many music workers fear the Employment Security nearly every business suffering like Lewis, but many share unemployment benefi ts. They’re presumed to long delay in passing the act means it’s too day for two months. His daughter arrived just Nthe anxieties she feels. Schenay Mos- be not working by choice. little, too late. The primary e¢ ect of Save Our two weeks after his first round of benefits. ley is part of hip-hop collective Zero Fatigue The CARES Act created Pandemic Unem- Stages will be to keep some venues afl oat so That money, plus two stimulus checks, has and since 2017 has been supporting herself ployment Assistance (PUA), which among that they’ll be around to rehire people (or been just enough to keep Brink afloat and primarily as a background singer for rapper other things extends benefi ts to gig workers bring them back from furlough) once relative allow him to invest in cybersecurity classes. Smino. She ended 2019 by performing at the who don’t qualify for traditional unemploy- normalcy returns. For now, most of the work He’s hoping to be certifi ed and knowledgeable Red Bull Music Festival in Chicago and then ment. But it’s often tricky for 1099ers to estab- their employees used to do just doesn’t exist. enough to fi nd full-time work in IT safety by at Smino’s fourth annual Kribmas concert in lish a base income or demonstrate lost wages, SOS grants can legally be used to pay staff, the time the city opens up again. Saint Louis, where he announced a collabora- because their workloads can be so unpredict- whether W-2 or 1099, but not if they’re already “There were two years where I was just tion with Nelly and subsequent touring. Music able. And if someone freelances while earning receiving unemployment benefi ts—and since doing stagehand work on the side, and I got has taken Mosley all over the United States W-2 wages, the state can choose to calculate aid took more than nine months to arrive, an oŽ ce job,” Brink says. “I sat at a desk every and the UK as well as to Africa and Australia. benefi ts based only on the latter. Music work- most venue staff who can get those benefits day, and after a while, I couldn’t look at myself In 2020, she was looking forward to more ers may also have to account for cash tips, or already are. in the mirror. I hated being at the same place international adventures and preparing to for checks issued to one band member but The broader relief bill of which Save Our every day, doing the same work. I wasn’t even release two solo albums. COVID-19 had other split between four. These financial concerns Stages is a part provides for second, smaller sure how it was helping anyone or . . . doing plans. ll FEBRUARY   - CHICAOREADER 31 continued from 31 for 1099 workers, even if they’re not artists. Now she’s providing virtual vocal and piano Just period. It’s so hard for all of us.” lessons through My Music Lessons in Oak One bright spot is that Illinois allocates Park. Her solo music is popular enough that more money to arts grants than many states she can expect a modest check from streaming with similar or greater populations—and it services every month, and she was able to took steps early in the pandemic to preserve qualify for an Economic Injury Disaster Loan that funding. Of course, such grants are usu- through the Small Business Administration. ally awarded to institutions or artists, not Mosley has a BA in music business from Co- to people working behind the scenes in live lumbia College, so she knows about some of music. And unfortunately the pandemic has the resources and protections available to also aš ected Chicago’s extraordinary devotion help her make a long-term commitment to her of public resources to its robust creative com- music career. She’s also had collaborators and munity. In 2020, the Department of Cultural mentors who taught her pitfalls to avoid. Set- Aš airs and Special Events (DCASE) had a bud- ting herself up as a sole proprietor—basically get of $40 million. This year, it’s only $24 mil- a business owner without employees—al- lion. Some of that will pay for artists’ grants to lowed her to qualify for SBA assistance. fund projects such as full-length albums, but “Applying for it wasn’t hard,” she explains, even in the best of times, this money is diŸ cult “but it’s very tedious. You have to have a busi- to secure. ness bank account and tax information. I don’t “I’ve been on a couple state- and city-level think that it’s hard for the average person, but panels for reviewing grants,” says Olivia you have to make sure you do everything ex- Junell, development and outreach director for actly right and get it in on time.” Mosley hired Experimental Sound Studio. “It’s always very a friend to file the application on her behalf striking how narrow the pool of applicants because the process was so time consuming. is. The applications are on the Internet; they According to a poll by the Music Workers require reading a lot of detailed instructions.” Alliance, an estimated 9 percent of musicians Right out of the gate, that disadvantages ap- who applied for PPP loans have received them, plicants with learning disabilities or trouble and signifi cantly fewer EIDL loans have been accessing the Internet. granted overall. “People who aren’t used to writing grants Other established musicians I spoke to or using very specific, formulaic writing to described similar experiences—studio musi- describe what they do often don’t make an cians and composers, for instance, are riding attempt,” Junell continues. “There’s not a lot out the pandemic by combining smaller- of opportunity to understand someone’s work income opportunities such as virtual concerts or its impact outside of that form, so they’re and donations with SBA assistance and grants. being judged on how they convey that in this Everyone reports signifi cant pay cuts, which restricted space. It’s mainly musicians or squares with the MWA’s poll data. Chason artists who have been through some sort of Rice, a musician as well as a talent buyer for academic system who apply and get it.” Bourbon on Division, blew through his modest This leaves a lot of people fi ghting through savings early in quarantine, but he’s been able bureaucratic barriers for a scrap of the dwin- to stay afl oat thanks to unemployment bene- dling financial help available. One musician fi ts, three private grants (including one from who contacted me via Twitter DM has been the Grammys), and one public grant through forced to do gray-market work to survive (and the Illinois Arts Council’s Arts for Illinois Re- thus wants to remain anonymous) because lief Fund (awarded in October). He’s glad for their unemployment benefi ts were calculated the funding SOS will provide, but he’s angry to refl ect only their extremely sporadic part- about how long it’s taken. time W-2 work at a popular nightspot. “Our government response to the pandemic “I’ve been lucky that [the club] has gotten compared to other first-world countries has donations for out-of-work staš ,” they say, “but been a joke,” he says. “There’s been nowhere as the pandemic has progressed, those have near enough aid.” dried up. I don’t qualify for PUA as a contrac- Mosley is relatively business savvy, but tor, even though that was the bulk of where my even she describes a difficult landscape for income came from. I was receiving more in un- musicians trying to shore up their collapsed employment benefi ts, but it turns out that was fi nances. “A lot of these grants are extremely actually an IDES mistake—now I get $70 every specific and closed off,” she says, “like for two weeks while owing them $5,000. I’m doing classical musicians, but I’m not in the classical work under the table to barely squeak by and world. It’s hard for average artists to really get don’t want people to know for fear of further

BOBBY SIMS support. . . . I would like to see more support retribution from IDES.”

32 CHICA OREADER - FEBRUARY   ll im Toomey, 36, founded Covert Nine, a like me—I got the degree, the social safety net, full-service digital marketing agency I’m a white dude who grew up in the suburbs, “Oi w Twhose bread and butter was brands I’ve got a resumé, I’ve got all of these things, such as Ruido Fest and Riot Fest, in 2013. After and it’s still really hard to fi nd my way in these seven years of building the business, he had an fields. So what does that mean for everyone p i a
e n office in Lincoln Square with three full-time else?” employees, two full-time contractors, and a o h e€ tƒ„  †a a client roster (Punk Rock Bowling, Randolph ydney, whose last name I’ve omitted for Street Market, Aloha Poke) that must’ve made her safety, is a Black woman who came kˆ‰ Š g„ Œ a m‘ for entertaining workdays. He periodically Sto Chicago from Tennessee in 2017 to took on paid interns too, then helped them fi nd join a bigger music scene and transition in rel- staff positions at local advertising agencies ative safety. She started playing piano at eight wƒŠ h g’‘“”e n• and continued to work with them as freelanc- and graduated to guitar and tuba by ten. Now ers. He was living his dream with Covert Nine, 21, she’s sustained her solo project, the Cortex r—˜™š cœžŸ ¡Œv‘ g’‘ bringing to his business the same punk-rock Club, for seven years. Since moving to Chica- ingenuity and passion that had hooked him go, she’s also formed the trio Softviolent. Her as a suburban teen in the late 90s, when he’d work history includes various under-the-table u a cœŠ“ mˆŸŒšŠ †a drive with his friends to shows at the Fireside odd jobs, gig work such as Postmates, and per- Bowl. But lack of fi nancial support for his busi- forming and releasing music. rˆ ¤„nš h e¥ ¦§ ness and its clients have forced him to reduce “People don’t want to hire people like me,” it to a side gig. Sydney says. She hasn’t received either stim- “For me, the PPP loan experience reinforced ulus check, and despite needing the money i ”¦r‘ i§‰“¨žn¨ †a the whole capitalist-versus-labor story that she’s unsure whether or how she should press we’ve been dealing with since the dark ages,” the issue. In 2020, she was hoping to do a na- pˆ ¤©ˆ’s l’‘.” Toomey says. “I couldn’t even get Chase to tional tour and start demanding more money pick up the phone to give me a PPP loan. I’ve for gigs. She’s felt forced to play for little to got a line of credit and all of my accounts with nothing too many times, just to get her foot —I±² T³‘, m—™µžn n• c¶·¸e Chase, except for my mortgage now. So you in the door. As the art-world joke goes, she’s do what you can, you ask your network.” He dying from exposure. o Cƒ„ºŒš ’s cƒž¤»ˆ¼ ¦¶ h U„ ¦¶ wound up in talks with the CEO of a company In some ways, the pandemic has made he’d worked for as a teenager, then with the playing shows easier for Sydney, because live- M—™µžn n• Aœ˜™À W¼Â CEO’s son, who referred him to a small bank streaming is less physically demanding than in Toomey’s hometown of Algonquin, Illinois. hauling gear and dealing with the chaos that “So I e-mailed this woman—Karen, the presi- can come with live music. Plus she gets all the dent, the best Karen! A very un-Karen woman. audience tips, without a venue or promoter government and communities to step up and “When it comes to culture writing, it’s all She had me approved for the loan with a check taking a cut. actually provide us some support!” Sydney alt-weeklies and underground magazines,” for $25,000 in my hand the next day. I almost In other ways, though, streaming has in- is working as an assistant to a friend who’s a Brown says. “There’s less opportunity for cried. I just couldn’t believe it.” troduced new challenges. The Internet was sex worker, and she’s haunted by the possibil- someone on the ground who’s like, ‘These guys But when you have employees waiting on already an unimaginably crowded place, but ity that full-service sex work might be in her know these guys, and I went to their studio late paychecks and a landlord waiting on for livestreamers it’s become a house party future. and talked to them about this project.’” back rent, $25,000 disappears quickly. “It with an infi nite number of rooms. Every online “It’s dangerous and scary,” she says matter- National outlets don’t tend to cover artists was gone in two months,” Toomey says. He event—concerts, book launches, birthday of-factly, referring to the legal and physical or stories with no obvious national appeal, got the loan in June, and by August he was celebrations—has to compete with Twitter, risks of the work. “It’s too easy to get into and the local outlets who might support such forced to lay everyone o£ . He’s still working PornHub, and the rest of the Web, so that de- trouble. It’s not something I’m fully comfort- coverage have been hit especially hard by the with clients, but his business has taken such a spite all the people spending too much time able with, and I have a lot of worries.” pandemic. Chicago has a diverse media land- hit that resuscitating it would basically mean online during the pandemic, it’s even harder Despite everything, Sydney has no desire to scape, but not every outlet covers music, and starting from scratch. He has a mortgage and for musicians to draw a digital crowd. And leave Chicago. It’s a regional beacon for trans those that do have generally cut back—wheth- a wife, and they’d like to have kids, so now he’s many artists, especially emerging ones such resources, and she adores her friends and fam- er through sta£ layo£ s and buyouts, as at the searching for a permanent full-time position. as Sydney, don’t feel prepared to act as the ily here. Still, many have felt forced to move Tribune, or through reduced print schedules He says some of the high-level marketing sole or primary promoter for a digital show, away. Since 2017, Chicago has undergone a net and freelance budgets, as at the Reader. Fewer jobs for which he’s applied demand extremely despite the pressure to expand their audience loss of more than 100 residents per day, a loss paying opportunities than ever exist for advanced expertise—and one position that in anticipation of live music’s return. The only mildly accelerated by the pandemic. Lewis music writers hoping to develop hyperlocal attracted more than 200 applicants would’ve pandemic makes it feel even more like success doesn’t expect to return, and freelance music expertise. represented a signifi cant pay and benefi ts cut depends on who you already know and who writer Austin Brown (who’s contributed to from running his own business. already knows they want to see you. the Reader) moved back in with family in San ronically, it was a local institution—the “It’s asshole-ish of me to say that,” Toomey “Chicago’s queer community and DIY Diego after being laid o£ from their day jobs. Chicago Independent Venue League—that admits, “because there’s people that have community are very cliquey,” Sydney says. They didn’t see staying in Chicago as worth the Igave the city a head start in pushing for no options, that are fi guring out how to buy “All these communities need to take more expense, given that investing e£ ort in learning the Save Our Stages Act. CIVL formed in late food, and I’m here, you know, pouting about time actually listening to each other and be a local scene is increasingly unlikely to lead to 2018 to push back against Live Nation’s inte- a salary I’m not happy about. But if someone more open to new things. And I want the local a sustainable music-writing career. gration into the Lincoln Yards development. ll FEBRUARY   - CHICAOREADER 33 installment of Bull Horn, a Reader collabo- per stream (and that’s a generous estimate). ration with Red Bull—you can fi nd it on page By the winter, Chicago had one of the largest 23.) The fund is supported by direct donations, chapters in the country. merchandise sales, and the streaming concert Musician Izzy True helped found the local series CIVLization, for which local artists such UMAW chapter. “Organizing within my pro- as Half Gringa and ESSO are fi lmed playing in fession has been one of the few things that has Chicago venues. SAVE has issued a survey to kept me going at a time when the government would-be benefi ciaries so it can identify who’s and ruling class have given us a clear message hardest hit and develop an equitable distribu- that reopening the economy is more important tion model. than people’s lives,” they say. Though still in “The first round of funding is going to go its infancy, UMAW Chicago has already raised to furloughed and unemployed staff from funds by raœ ing oš swag and gift certifi cates Chicago live-music venues,” explains Annah donated by businesses such as 606 Records Garrett, who’s the marketing and publicity co- and Pretty Cool Ice Cream. It’s also organized ordinator for Metro and its subsidiaries. She’s a livestreamed benefi t show at the Hideout to on furlough and collecting unemployment, benefi t the DIY Chi Mutual Aid Fund. but she’s been volunteering for CIVL since New York pianist Kathleen Tagg is a mem- the shutdown. “The second round will go to ber of the Music Workers Alliance (MWA), artists, and the third round will go to venues. a similar organization founded in NYC—it’s So I think it’s great that they’re prioritizing a national group, though its activity so far individuals fi rst. We’ve raised about $70,000 has been concentrated on the east coast. In so far.” December, MWA collected data on how musi- Given that $25,000 couldn’t save Toomey’s cians are surviving, so that it’d have numbers business, though, $70,000 won’t go very far— to empower organizers and take to legislators. not with so many people in live music strug- When congress was debating extending the gling to pay bills and no end to the shutdown PUA program, MWA compiled and delivered in sight. No one I interviewed wants to risk testimonials demonstrating how crucial the their safety returning to in-person work now, assistance has been for music workers. In New not with the vaccine rollout still barely oš the York, it teamed up with restaurant workers to ground and so much about the next stages of fi ght for COVID-safe outdoor spaces for dining the pandemic still uncertain. and performing. Tagg hopes to see more such The Trump administration’s disastrous groups emerge and link up. pandemic response has musicians here feel- “We’re fed up with the unfair treatment, ing frustration and outrage as they watch lack of benefi ts, unfair contracts, and unfair European bands begin to plan tours again. In representation,” she says. “In 2017, the arts their eyes, the overseas music industry is in a and culture industry was 4.5 percent of the great position to bounce back, thanks largely GDP, a gargantuan $877 billion sector—some- to those countries’ state-subsidized arts sec- thing like five times the size of agriculture tors and civilized health-care systems. In the and twice the size of all transportation and U.S., though, more and more people worry warehousing combined. . . . And people are that the pandemic is widening the chasm figuring, there’s been a bailout of the arts, between those who can survive the precarity but it’s really dealing more with institutions of the entertainment business and those who or venues or organizations and not people don’t have the resources—a well-paid partner, themselves.” BOBBY SIMS generational wealth, whatever—to endure a All through the pandemic, people have been serious downturn. In the long term, this can saying they can’t wait for things to get back to lead to high turnover and to attrition of work- normal. But many Chicago music workers see ers with the knowledge and experience to plan the pandemic as an opportunity to establish a tours and run shows smoothly and safely. It new, better normal. Maybe one with universal also stacks the odds of career success in favor health care, so they don’t need a certain in- continued from 33 spotlight up-and-coming acts that don’t move of people who already have money. come or a full-time W-2 job in order to see a This meant that even before COVID, member the needle for corporate giants such as Live This concatenation of institutional failures doctor. One where musicians are always paid businesses such as Metro, the Hideout, and Nation and Clear Channel. is inspiring more music workers to organize for performances and compensated fairly the Empty Bottle had experience working But CIVL would be the first to admit that and call attention to their plight. Their first when their music is streamed. Where the peo- collectively to advocate for themselves and SOS doesn’t help everyone in music who priority is money to carry them through the ple pouring drinks, taking tickets, and hauling demonstrate to legislators that the loss of needs it right now, especially this far into the crisis. The Union of Musicians and Allied gear are taken care of even when the music independent venues would destroy much of pandemic. That’s why it launched the Staff, Workers (UMAW) formed in April of last year stops. Dreaming is the fi rst step. Action is the what makes Chicago culturally unique. Not Artists, and Venues (SAVE) Emergency Relief and has been using the increase in streaming second. v only are they neighborhood economic drivers, Fund at the end of November. (CIVL repre- during the pandemic to highlight the fact but they also have the resources and desire to sentatives discuss the project in this week’s that Spotify pays an average of half a penny  @miccoslays 34 CHICA OREADER - FEBRUARY   ll ll FEBRUARY   - CHICAOREADER 35 Recommended and notable releases and critics’ insights for the week of February 4 MUSIC

PICK OF THE WEEK Beach Bunny, Blame Game Mom+Pop Casper McFadden’s breakcore fuels optimistic dreams beachbunny.bandcamp.com/album/blame-game Beach Bunny singer, guitarist, and songwriter Lili Trifi lio established herself as a surrogate older sis- ter to a generation of listeners when the band’s sin- gle “Prom Queen” went viral on TikTok in 2019. The Chicago four-piece are more than a “TikTok band,” though. Sure, the teens who dominate the popu- lar video-sharing platform connected with Trifi lio’s concise melodies and with the feminist themes of “Prom Queen” (it indicts the unrealistic beauty stan- dards applied to young women), but by then Beach Bunny had already come up through the city’s DIY rock scene—they’d earned their bona fi des by play- ing years of house shows and self-releasing a string of EPs. Beach Bunny’s music has always focused on heartbreak, but on the group’s new fi  h EP, Blame Game, Trifilio expands the emotional palette of her songs to include righteous anger. On lead sin- gle “Good Girls (Don’t Get Used),” she gleefully talks down to emotionally manipulative, two-timing guys with poor communication skills: “You say you won’t but then you do,” she repeats on the coda, while drummer Jonathan Alvarado, guitarist Matt Henkels, and bassist Anthony Vaccaro echo the turmoil in the lyrics by cycling through four diff er- ent grooves. On the title track, a sarcastic retort to anyone who blames women for being sexual- ly harassed, Henkels and Trifilio’s power chords seem to grimace as the narrator apologizes that her clothes can’t keep other people’s hands off her body. The EP’s highlight is “Nice Guys,” a rebuke of sex-focused men who treat female friendship as a consolation prize, played at the perfect tempo for self-empowered headbanging. Blame Game is the first time Trifilio has mentioned sex in her depic- tions of romance, but it only appears in the past tense, as a nuisance or a betrayal—these are songs by a woman who knows what she’s done tolerating. This shi in tone mirrors Trifi lio’s own evolving atti- tude. “I can’t really see myself resonating with feel- ing super-insecure in relationships anymore,” she recently told The A.V. Club. “I feel like—as of late, at least—if people have those red fl ags, I usually get out of there.” Beach Bunny’s music already sounds ecstatic when it describes sadness and anger; as the band prepare for their sophomore album, I hope Trifi lio will fi nd reason to tell a story with a The cover of Casper McFadden’s Stasis (Log) COURTESYTHEARTIST happy ending. —J R

The Body, I’ve Seen All I Need to See Casper McFadden, Stasis (Log) Thrill Jockey Kitty on Fire thebody.bandcamp.com/album/ive-seen-all-i- caspermcfadden.bandcamp.com/album/stasis-log-2 need-to-see

Categorizing the doomsday sonic bludgeon wield- ed by Providence duo the Body over their two- INARECENTVIDEOINTERVIEW with New York City arts and culture site Lumka, Chicago producer Casper McFadden explained that he made decade reign of terror isn’t an easy task. Guitarist and screamer Chip King and drummer Lee Buford his new second album, Stasis (Log), while his landlord renovated his bedroom over the summer. The construction took longer than anticipated, slice and dice doom, sludge, noise, and avant-metal and McFadden spent months stuck on his couch, unable to access the gear he’d left in his room or make music where he was used to doing it. The into a monolithic, nails-on-chalkboard wall of sound. pandemic had already made him feel like he was trapped in limbo, and the renovations intensifi ed that; fortunately, the music he made during that Buford’s hip-hop-mangled thumping and pounding and King’s six-feet-under caterwaul could carve out period never feels stuck in place. McFadden uses a hyperactive blend of intricate, superfast breakcore percussion, luxurious trance synths, and a niche for the duo all on their own, but they only vocal samples to articulate his pent-up anxiety, and his approach somehow makes those sounds feel cathartic and joyful. On “Trippp” he sets a occasionally create their bleak and heavy hellscapes drum ’n’ bass loop racing atop a blissful acoustic guitar melody, then cranks up the tempo so that the song becomes positively triumphant—and it’s alone. The Body thrive on collaboration and com- munity, welcoming guest vocalists such as Chrissy that kind of gesture that makes the stylistic wildness of this album feel less like chaos and more like freedom. —LG  Wolpert (Assembly of Light Choir) and Kristin Hay- 36 CHICA OREADER - FEBRUARY   ll MUSIC

Casper Clausen HANNA STURM Harry James NICK BROSTE

ter (Lingua Ignota) and collaborating in the studio infused indie rock, and for performing with that er a patchwork of death and doom metal from fi ve ter of Brenner’s drums has kept Chandeliers’ mer- with fellow outsider noiseniks, including Uniform, group’s synth-heavy and relatively spontaneous sis- out-of-print releases that trace their development curial instincts from running away with them, giv- Full of Hell, and Thou. And for 2019’s Remixed, the ter project, Liima. This year, for the fi rst time since throughout the 2010s. Coffins spike the collec- ing even their most ostentatiously experimental Body handed over some of their crushers to Moor he began making music as a teen, he’s stepped out tion with covers of iconic American groups such as escapades an irresistible groove. He’s also part Mother, Moss of Aura, Container, Lingua Ignota, and from a collaborative setting. His debut solo release, Death and Buzzoven, faithfully executing each hom- of Chandeliers offshoot Songs for Gods, whose other soundscapists to put through the grinder. The Better Way, was recorded in his home studio in Lis- age, and their original tracks simply swing. Metal 2017 single “Boss” grafts mutant synth blurps and Body’s previous studio album, 2018’s I Have Fought bon and mixed by Peter Kember (aka Sonic Boom), can swing as surely as jazz and funk can, and with- swooning R&B vocals onto a driving, workout-ready Against It, but I Can’t Any Longer, is strangely upli - and it merges indie rock and avant-pop with various out that crucial element of their sound, Coffins rhythm. On Brenner’s new solo debut, Buy the Num- ing and even somewhat melodic—its damaged elec- electronic fusions and dreamy experiments—Clau- might have ended up just another plodding rock act bers (Potions), he leaves behind art-rock and tech- tronic beats and orchestral-metal sprawl are high- sen’s songs tap into intimate moments in turbu- pummeling worn-out musical tropes. Defilements no and instead draws from soul, jazz, ambient, and lighted by sharper production than usual for the lent times and dare to imagine a day to come when starts with cuts from the 2015 mini LP Craving to R&B, gently but thoroughly reimagining them. He group. But their new record is its polar opposite: hardships and heartbreak will recede into memory. Eternal Slumber, including its title track, which builds tidy instrumentals from sometimes sparse I’ve Seen All I Need to See is a thunderous chunk Even “Dark Heart,” which hints at a downward spi- merges doomy tempos with guttural laments. It’s but always comforting piano arrangements, tight- of unfettered brutality and primal noise, as terrify- ral into depression, dilutes its sorrow by conjuring tough to clock the lyrical content of album open- ened up with percussive latticework. His leisure- ing as it is revelatory. King and Buford enlist some dreamy images of flickering celluloid and almost er “Hatred Storm,” and the muddy recordings of ly, soulful songs have a lived-in feel, and even their of the usual suspects as guests (Wolpert on piano, idyllic isolation. Clausen’s taste for patchwork styles “Under the Stench (Alternative Version)” and “Hell- negative space has weight to it—which gives an out- vocalist Ben Eberle of Sandworm), and they also is evident right from the album’s opening track, bringer’’ make it hard to decipher much of anything size charge to the languid drumming on “Dapper.” get help from drummer Max Goldman and engi- “Used to Think,” which starts with bright, Krautrock- besides fl ying double kick drum and theatrical riff - If I didn’t know this album was brand-new, I’d swear neer Seth Manchester, who adds drum program- fl avored electronic beats that he drops into an easy- ing. Tracks from the 2012 EP Sewage Sludgecore it was one of those forgotten LPs that hip-hop pro- ing and keyboards. But this isn’t a hybrid eff ort—it going indie-pop melody. The mood never stays Treatment, which earned some stateside acclaim ducers keep secret while mining for the samples in thoroughly and completely embodies the core duo’s stable for long: on “Snow White,” where Clausen when it came out here in 2013, insinuate a more their best tracks. Brenner’s songs o en rely on a sin- relentless vision. Opener “A Lament” immediately croons about a lover’s suspected betrayal, the dis- nefarious death-metal infl uence, slowing the tempo gle mood or beat, but the magnetism they create— sets a harsh and he y tone, driven by the feedback jointed, smoky textures and jazzy swing recall the on a cover of Buzzoven’s “Broken” before breaking most notably on the heart-wrenching “Last Dance” blasts that power all eight of the album’s deliberate- spooky, tantalizing feel of 90s downtempo, while into an undeniable swing on Eyehategod’s “Sister- and ruminative “Kid Icarus”—can last for their entire ly plodding tracks. Monster drumming anchors the the upli ing dream pop of “Little Words” feels like fucker Part 1” and Grief’s “I Hate You.” The album length. —L G rumbling distortion and squawking of “Tied Up and it’s one ad placement or viral TikTok away from finishes out with material from Live at Asaku- Locked In,” “Eschatological Imperative,” and “The becoming a huge hit. If that happens, Clausen might sa Deathfest 2016, and by adding the gluey bonus Handle/The Blade,” while the freewheeling fi ts and want to follow up with the steamy, dance-floor- track “Evil Infection,” Coffi ns spotlight their ability Mukqs, My Most Personal Album to spurts on the unpredictable closer, “Path of Failure,” ready “8 Bit Human,” which joins pulsing kaleido- to move from thrash to doom and back. They cre- Date display a touch of free-jazz mettle. On I’ve Seen All scopic pop to electronic experimentalism. He fl ips ate a through line with guitar solos that pull from Self-released I Need to See, the Body mine the darkest of places, the page once again on the closer, “Ocean Wave,” a NWOBHM and cement the band’s purview: every- mukqs.bandcamp.com/album/my-most-personal- trading much of the form and structure of their pre- refl ective track inspired by his life in Lisbon and the thing plangent and tempestuous. —DC album-to-date vious albums for distortion-dripping, amp-busting motion of the river outside his studio windows. It salvos that can fl atten walls with their whiplashing dri s along peacefully, with sparkling synths adding The multifarious outlets of Chicago experimental intensity. —B C touches of light—a fi ne way to move into the future. Harry James, Buy the Numbers musician Maxwell Allison include the solo project —JL Potions Mukqs and the improvisational ambient trio Good harryjamesbrenner.bandcamp.com/album/buy- Willsmith, whose Twitter account he uses to opine Casper Clausen, Better Way the-numbers about music. His incisive comments on the granu- City Slang Coffins, Defilements lar details of his daily listening make it clear he’s had casperclausen.bandcamp.com/album/better-way HPGD New Jersey native Harry James Brenner found his the experience of loving a song while hating how it’s hpgd.bandcamp.com/album/defi lements footing in Chicago’s music scene partly by play- marketed—which means he knew exactly what he Danish-born musician Casper Clausen is best ing in art-rock group Chandeliers; he joined in was doing when he named his new solo full-length known for fronting the long-running Efterklang, On the new double-disc compilation Defilements, the mid-aughts as a percussionist, and he’s since My Most Personal Album to Date. Allison is a prank- which plays exploratory and o en ornate electro- long-running Japanese band Coffi ns solder togeth- played keys for them too. The sharply defi ned clat- ster—he and fellow Hausu Mountain label cofounder ll FEBRUARY   - CHICAOREADER 37 Find more music reviews at MUSIC chicagoreader.com/soundboard.

Nervosa COURTESYTHEARTIST Sleaford Mods JASMIJNSLEGH

continued from 37 Last spring, the future of Nervosa seemed uncer- tributes vocals to the anarchic pounding of “Geno- guitars. As the beat swells up, Fagan sings, “We will Doug Kaplan have done truly unspeakable things to tain. The powerful Brazilian thrash-metal band had cidal Command,” and Brazilian guitarist Guilherme rise again,” shaping the beginning of an album-long chintzy Christmas music—so of course he’s not just changed drummers a few times since forming in Miranda from Entombed A.D. appears on the boil- journey taken by the album’s unnamed protagonist. mocking a PR cliche that’s been fl ogged to death. 2010, but in April 2020 bassist and vocalist Fernan- ing “Until the Very End.” Perpetual Chaos moves The self-assured swagger of Excerpts culminates He actually did make his most personal album to da Lira and drummer Luana Dametto, two-thirds assuredly between pure thrash and death metal, wonderfully in “Part Two: Crossing the Desert,” date. of the trio on 2018’s Downfall of Mankind, quit the and Nervosa prove they can keep the pedal all the which reinforces the album’s story line with noise The songs on Allison’s new record incorporate group. That le just one founding member, guitar- way to the fl oor without succumbing to monotony. samples and clatter reminiscent of the band’s pre- incidental recordings made inside his apartment ist Prika Amaral, to rebuild from scratch. That she —MK  vious album, 2015’s Tape Hiss. Despite those echoes during the pandemic, giving them an unmistakable did so in such a short time, under pandemic condi- of the past, Excerpts proves that Rats on Ra s have intimacy. I’ve seen photos of Allison’s cat—that’s tions—and emerged this month with the solid, blis- the maturity and confi dence to leap into new terri- basically all he posts in his Twitter Fleets—but I’d tering new album Perpetual Chaos—is nothing short Rats on Rafts, Excerpts From tory. —S C-J never heard its meow till I listened to My Most Per- of heroic. Nervosa’s new lineup is multinational: Chapter 3: The Mind Runs a Net of sonal Album to Date. I’ve corresponded with Alli- lead vocalist Diva Satanica hails from Spain, drum- Rabbit Paths son for years and listened to a lot of his work, but mer Eleni Nota from Greece, and bassist Mia Wal- Fire Sleaford Mods, Spare Ribs I’ve never heard him as relaxed and unguarded as lace from Italy. Perpetual Chaos was produced fi rerecords.com/product/rats-on-ra s-excerpts- Rough Trade he sounds on “Baal,” where you can eavesdrop on by Amaral and Martin Furia at Artesonao Casa de from-chapter3 sleafordmods.bandcamp.com/album/spare-ribs him and his girlfriend casually answering Jeopardy! Grabación in Malaga, Spain, a studio they chose questions. These everyday moments make up just in part for its isolated and beautiful location—liv- In their 15 years together, Rotterdam postpunk band When I first heard Nottingham duo Sleaford a tiny fraction of his sonic collages—you’re more ing communally in such surroundings during the Rats on Rafts have built a comfortable existence Mods, Jason Williamson’s unhinged vocal deliv- likely to hear straggly, fi ngerpicked acoustic guitar sessions could easily help these four musicians and a decent hometown following, but their new ery immediately captured my attention. Their min- (“Story About Nothing”), gentle new age sound- sound as seamless together as if they’d been play- album, Excerpts From Chapter 3: The Mind Runs a imalist music—which is simply Williamson ranting scapes (“Northshore”), or gooey samples of 1950s ing together for years. Opening cut “Venomous” is Net of Rabbit Paths, is a declaration that they’re no about working-class struggles over Andrew Fern’s pop (“Splish Splash”)—but they might be its most everything a thrash album should be right out of the longer satisfi ed with mere comfort. On their 2008 sparse, chintzy electronic beats—could appeal to important element. Allison arranges serrated synth gate: tight, fierce, and swaggering. “Blood Eagle” EP, So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish, and their anarcho-punks, hip-hop heads, and Mark E. Smith sounds into volatile pileups or massages them into segues from sparse, blood-chilling percussion into debut full-length, 2011’s The Moon Is Big, they toed devotees alike. Williamson is a force: wide-eyed serene interludes, changing the shape and tone of thick shuffling riffs and Satanica’s savage growl, the line between cra ing the perfect three-minute and frothing at the mouth, he breathlessly spills his material frequently enough that even its most and it shows off Nota’s drumming to great advan- punk screed and embracing their more outre infl u- out his profanity-laden, machine-gun rap-ram- soothing passages aren’t actually relaxing. My Most tage—she’s not as fl ashy here as she is on some of ences, especially the example set by fellow Nether- blings, and onstage he’s the punkest, angriest mad- Personal Album to Date hints at stability only in its the album’s faster tracks, but she’s steady and pow- landers the Ex. The songs on Excerpts mix musical man you’ve ever seen perform. A few years ago, I peeks at Allison’s life, which exist in tension with erful. “Guided by Evil” starts out with an archetyp- experimentation and magical-realist storytelling. noticed that Sleaford Mods had seemed to so en the music’s rough edges and disorienting juxtapo- al doom riff before erupting into the classic thrash Singer and guitarist David Fagan, a founding mem- their approach. Starting on 2017’s English Tapas, sitions in a way that evokes the intense feelings of bait-and-switch of speed and stop, and also gives ber of Rats on Rafts, told English-language Japa- Williamson began delivering his lyrics with a bit pandemic-induced cabin fever. —L G Amaral’s straightforward guitar soloing a moment nese magazine Metropolis that the band’s 2018 Jap- more restraint, even permitting himself some har- in the (eclipsed) sun. Though Nervosa are commit- anese tour opening for Franz Ferdinand inspired monizing and catchiness. On their brand-new LP ted to their all-woman lineup, the band invited three the album’s concept: it colors its loose fi ctional nar- for Rough Trade, Spare Ribs, the first thing that Nervosa, Perpetual Chaos men to make cameos on the new album. Singer Erik rative with moments drawn from the past four or hit me was the slower tempos of the songs—I ini- Napalm “A.K.” Knutson of Flotsam & Jetsam gives an epic fi ve years of the musicians’ lives. The second track, tially felt some disappointment, as I realized that nervosa-brazil.bandcamp.com/album/perpetual- Iron Maiden-ish performance on “Rebel Soul,” bass- “A Trail of Wind and Fire,” features a driving, koto- Williamson might never again be the deranged chaos ist Marcel “Schmier” Schirmer of Destruction con- like pattern created by Fagan and Arnoud Verheul’s maniac on the mike that he once was. But upon 38 CHICA OREADER - FEBRUARY   ll MUSIC

Layton Wu COURTESYTHEARTIST

further listening, I’m fi nding this to be one of the wordless cries, high-voltage noise, breathy exhorta- best collections of songs the duo have ever made. tions, lyrical melodies. On their new second release, Williamson trades fury for focus, letting gloomy Instant Opaque Evening, their solution is to use the melodies and frustrated storytelling channel his improvised negotiation of relationships among play- power rather than simply spraying it everywhere. ers and elements as a source of dramatic tension. At Sleaford Mods sound calmer and more collected any given moment, one musician has another’s back than they’ve ever been on Spare Ribs, but there’s while the third proposes a contrasting approach. In dark energy under that surface—and it suits them an instant, alliances might shi or someone might well. —L C  drop out altogether. Playing out in album-side- length segments, the music evokes the uncertain- ty of court intrigue and the multifaceted bombard- The UnderFlow, Instant Opaque ment of a kaleidoscope. —BM Evening Blue Chopsticks theunderfl ow.bandcamp.com/album/instant- Layton Wu, Summertime Mixtape opaque-evening Sunset Music laytonwoohbill.bandcamp.com/album/ The Underflow take their name from the Greek summertime-mixtape record store where guitarist David Grubbs, cor- netist Rob Mazurek, and saxophonist Mats Gus- Chicago-based, Taiwan-born bedroom-pop auteur tafsson played their fi rst trio gig in May 2019. But Layton Wu blurs boogie, yacht rock, and sun-kissed the connections joining the three musicians were 60s pop into a calming sound that helps dial back forged in the 1990s, when Grubbs and Mazurek my anxiety when every scrap of news cranks it to were associated with Chicago’s postrock scene and “high.” He released the luxuriant Summertime Mix- the Sweden-born Gustafsson played here so o en tape (Sunset Music) four days a er the insurrection that he was considered an honorary Chicagoan. at the U.S. Capitol, and since I fi rst listened to it, I’ve Nowadays they’ve scattered across two continents absolutely needed to keep listening to it. Wu sings (Brooklyn, New York; Marfa, Texas; and Nickels- in a so -edged but outgoing coo that’s both sultry dorf, Austria), and it takes a European tour to get and endearing, accompanied by tight funk bass, them on the same stage at the same time. But the nimble percussion, and soothing keys that fl oat in breadth of their combined stylistic and instrumen- the background or gleam like sunlight off a window. tal resources is even greater than it was back in In someone else’s hands this might end up musical the day. Grubbs contributes poetic verses and ver- wallpaper, but Wu’s ear for hooks and total com- satile electric-guitar playing; both Gustafsson and mitment to his almost otherworldly retro aesthetic Mazurek have added rough, nonvirtuoso electron- combine to give his songs a magnetic charm. The ics to their respective tool kits of woodwinds and tender surf guitar and post-lounge electronic drums brass. Perhaps the biggest challenge they face is on “Honey Ginger Tea” help me dream of a sum- fi guring out how best to combine everything they mertime getaway—especially welcome now that I’m bring together in this group: carefully cra ed songs, barely stepping outside. —LGv ll FEBRUARY   - CHICAOREADER 39 CHICAGO SHOWS YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT IN THE WEEKS TO COME

EARLY WARNINGS b ALLAGESF WOLFBYKEITHHERZIK Jeremy Zucker & Chelsea Never miss Cutler 2/10, 8 PM, livestream a show again. at momenthouse.com b Sign up for the UPDATED newsletter at chicagoreader. GOSSIP Acid Mothers Temple & the com/early Melting Paraiso U.F.O. 2/26, 8 PM, Subterranean, canceled WOLF Randy Bachman & Burton livestream broadcast, location Cummings 8/14, 8 PM, and showtime revealed to A furry ear to the ground of Rosemont Theatre, Rosemont, ticket holders, 2/14 and 2/26 rescheduled b sold out b the local music scene BendeLaCreme Is Ready to Be Chris Smither 4/14/2022, 8 PM, Committed 4/27, 7 PM, Thalia SPACE, Evanston, SINCE, photo crew GlitterGuts Hall, canceled rescheduled b Black Pumas, Seratones 4/26- Sunshine Boys, Bobbleheads have been key documenters of Chica- 4/27, 9 PM, House of Blues, 3/26, 8 PM, SPACE, Evanston, go’s nightlife scene. They’ve brought their 4/26 added, 17+ canceled cameras to Zine Fest, Girls Rock! Chica- Peabo Bryson, Will Downing 24-7 Spyz, Sweet Diezel Jen- go events, nearly all of Beauty Bar’s hap- 10/2, 8 PM, the Venue at kins, Pipe 4/8, 7:30 PM, Reg- Horseshoe Casino, Hammond, gies’ Music Joint, canceled penings, and practically every show by rescheduled Dar Williams 1/1/2022, 7 PM, turbocharged cabaret collective the Fly Kenny Chesney, Florida Maurer Hall, Old Town School Garcia Peoples ETHANCOVEY Honeys—if a GlitterGuts photographer Georgia Line, Old Dominion, of Folk Music, rescheduled b had a booth set up, you knew you were Michael Franti & Spearhead Dave Hill 2/23, 6 PM, hosted by SPACE at mandolin.com b 6/26, 5 PM, Soldier Field, at a great party. The pandemic’s destruc- NEW by City Winery at mandolin. Nielsen Trust 2/24, 8 PM, live- venue changed b UPCOMING tion of nightlife has of course hurt Glitter- com b stream at audiotree.tv b Chi-Town Blues Festival fea- Guts too—for the past 11 months, they’ve Gary Allan 4/8, 7:30 PM, Gen- Green Day, Fall Out Boy, Wee- Niiice 2/22, 1 PM, livestream at turing Pokey, Theodis Ealey, Paul Bedal Quartet 2/20, 8 PM, relied on portraits and the occasional out- esee Theatre, Waukegan b zer 8/15, 5:30 PM, Wrigley audiotree.tv F b Nellie Travis, Chic Rodgers, livestream at youtube.com/ America 10/30, 8 PM, Rialto Field b Parkway Drive, Hatebreed, Lenny Williams, Bobby Rush constellationchicago F b door event. Last month, founders Sarah Square Theatre, Joliet b Guess Who 5/29, 7:30 PM, Knocked Loose, Fit for a 9/18, 8 PM, the Venue at Besnard Lakes 2/5, 6 PM; 3/6, Joyce and Eric Strom launched a Patreon Jason Bonham’s Led Zeppelin Genesee Theatre, Waukegan King 9/15, 6:45 PM, Wintrust Horseshoe Casino, Hammond, 6 PM; 4/3, 6 PM, livestream to help sustain the company and perhaps Evening 5/1, 7 PM, Genesee b Arena b rescheduled hosted by Subterranean at fund more of their nontraditional creative Theatre, Waukegan b David Guetta 2/6, 8 AM, Phia Z 2/11, 9:30 PM, livestream Brandy Clark, Kelsey Waldon noonchorus.com b Anne & Mark Burnell 2/4, livestream at youtube.com/ at phiaz.veeps.com 4/10, 8 PM, SPACE, Evanston, Jenny & Robin Bienemann work. Subscribers can receive Strom’s 7 PM; 2/11, 7 PM; 2/18, 7 PM; davidguetta F b Platters, Marvelettes, Classic postponed b 2/21, 7 PM, livestream hosted detailed, funny Chicago party histories 2/25, 7 PM, livestream at Julia Holter 2/25, 9 PM, hosted Dri ers 5/14, 7:30 PM, Rialto Cowboy Mouth 11/20, 8:30 PM, by Lake County Folk Club at and high-res photos from the GlitterGuts facebook.com/BurnellMusic by Audiotree at veeps.com b Square Theatre, Joliet b SPACE, Evanston, resched- eventcombo.com b archives. “It gives us a space to experi- F b I Am King: The Michael Reventon Total 2021 featuring uled b Corky Siegel’s Chamber Blues Chromeo, Ian Isiah 2/5, 8 PM, Jackson Experience 3/26, Los Askis, Sonido Condor, Dabin, Last Heroes, Trivecta Extravaganza featuring Ernie ment with some writing and see where livestream at bandsintown. 8 PM, Genesee Theatre, Grupo Sonador, JRS 5/29, 2/13, 9 PM, Concord Music Watts, Marcella Detroit, that goes,” Joyce says. “Maybe sharing com b Waukegan b 9 PM, Joe’s Live, Rosemont Hall, postponed, 18+ Lynne Jordan, Cantor Pavel work in progress, or just diff erent projects. A.J. Croce 3/18, 7:30 PM; 3/25, Boney James, Marcus Miller Lenard Simpson Quartet 2/12, The Dip 3/25, 8 PM, Thalia Hall, Roytman, Frank Orrall, and Patreon is hopefully a space to do that.” 7:30 PM, hosted by City Win- 9/24, 8 PM, the Venue at 8 PM, livestream at youtube. canceled Toronzo Cannon 3/6, 7 PM, ery at mandolin.com b Horseshoe Casino, Hammond com/constellationchicago or Driver Era, Wrecks 11/17, livestream at citywinery.com Gossip Wolf has been intrigued by Curtis & Loretta 3/21, 7 PM, Mario 2/14, 7 PM, livestream at facebook.com/jazzinchicago 7:30 PM, the Vic, F b artist and musician Hali Palombo since hosted by Lake County Folk mandolin.com b F b rescheduled b Cradle of Filth 2/20, 4 PM, seeing her haunting installation “Grand Club at eventcombo.com b John McCutcheon 2/14, 3 PM, Small Town Titans 2/6, 6 PM, Ferris & Sylvester 9/18, livestream at cradleoffi lth. Detour” last summer—it mixes sparse fi eld Def Leppard, Mötley Crüe, hosted by Old Town School livestream at smalltowntitans. 7:30 PM, Martyrs’, veeps.com Poison, Joan Jett & the of Folk Music at mandolin. veeps.com b rescheduled Kurt Elling 2/13, 8 PM, live- recordings with surveillance- style video Blackhearts 8/29, 4 PM, Wrig- com b Smile Empty Soul, Hearts & Sue Foley 10/25, 7:30 PM, stream hosted by Epiphany of empty midwestern retail and industri- ley Field b Mest 2/13, 8 PM, livestream at Hand Grenades, Execution SPACE, Evanston, Center for the Arts at al locations. Last week, she released the Dupla Salsera featuring Maelo mest.veeps.com b Day, A Sunday Fire 5/5, 7 PM, rescheduled b mandolin.com b cassette Cylinder Loops, which creates a Ruiz & Willie Gonzalez 6/26, Amanda Miguel & Diego Ver- the Forge, Joliet b Fuzz 4/19/2022, 8:30 PM, Thalia Hlday Magik 2/13, 7 PM, live- 10 PM, Joe’s Live, Rosemont daguer 8/7, 8 PM, Rosemont Frankie Valli & the Four Sea- Hall, rescheduled, 17+ stream at noonchorus.com/ wonderfully blurry, dislocated ambience Melissa Etheridge 10/3, Theatre, Rosemont b sons 10/2, 8 PM, Rosemont Halsey 6/26, 7 PM, Hollywood hideout b by collaging crackly recordings more than 7:30 PM, Genesee Theatre, The Millennium Tour featuring Theatre, Rosemont b Casino Amphitheatre, Tinley Hollyy 2/10, 4 PM, livestream at a century old from the University of Cal- Waukegan b Omarion, Bow Wow, Ashanti, Versa 2/9, 6 PM, livestream at Park, canceled audiotree.tv F b ifornia at Santa Barbara’s Cylinder Audio Flux Pavilion 2/5, 9 PM, live- Pretty Ricky, Soulja Boy, arlenesgrocery.veeps.com b John Moreland, S.G. Goodman Kara Jackson 2/18, 1 PM, live- stream at momenthouse. Lloyd, Ying Yang Twins, Waltzer 2/25, 8 PM, livestream 4/24, 8:30 PM, Thalia Hall, stream at audiotree.tv F b Archive. It’s available digitally and as a com b Sammie 4/10, 8 PM, Wintrust hosted by Empty Bottle at canceled Michael McDonald 2/12, 8 PM, limited-edition tape via Bandcamp. Alasdair Fraser & Natalie Haas Arena b noonchorus.com/ Sinead O’Connor 8/18-8/21, livestream at mandolin.com b Local singer Queen Mars has been on a 2/19, 7 PM, hosted by Old Moonrunners Music Festival empty-bottle-waltzer-tv b 8 PM, City Winery, 8/21 sold Terrance Simien & the Zydeco tear lately, releasing standout R&B singles Town School of Folk Music at presents a Valentine’s Day Waxahatchee 2/11, 8 PM, live- out b Experience with Marcella mandolin.com b Special featuring Mikey stream at bandsintown.com b Pokey LaFarge, Esther Rose Simien 2/13, 7:30 PM, live- with beguiling videos and earworm mel- Garcia Peoples 2/18, 8 PM, Classic & Jayke Orvis, Jesse Weathers 10/10, 7 PM, Beat 2/19, 8:30 PM, Thalia Hall, stream hosted by FitzGerald’s odies tinged with alt-pop. Her hot streak livestream at showclix.com b Wagner, Yes Ma’am, Smelliot, Kitchen b canceled at mandolin.com b includes “B!tch,” “Queen of Hearts,” and Glenn Miller Orchestra 4/30, Starving Wolves, Liz & the John Paul White, Cedric Burn- Maggie Rose, Them Vibes A Very Special Valentine’s now “Boys Like You,” a slow burner about 7 PM, Genesee Theatre, McGovern Brothers, Gallows side, Erin Rae 2/14, 8 PM, 2/13, 8 PM, SPACE, Evanston, Day: A benefi t for Chicago Waukegan b Bound, Last False Hope, livestream hosted by SPACE postponed b Community Jail Support fea- emotionally closeted men who want “a The Great Unknown featur- Local News Legend, CW at mandolin.com b Todd Rundgren 2/14; 2/16- turing Ohmme, Monogamy, good girl, to fuck it up.” It’s the first cut ing Loudon Wainwright Ayon, and more 2/12-2/14, Windy City Gospel Celebra- 2/20; 2/22-2/23; 2/25-2/26; Nnamdï, Bone Reader, Meg from her EP Trust Issues, due Friday, III, Suzanne Vega, Steve 11 AM, livestream at tion featuring Marvin Sapp, 2/28-3/1; 3/3-3/4; 3/6-3/7; Indurti, Grace Freud, A.J. April 9. —JRNLG Forbert, Terre Roche, moonrunnersmusicfestival. Donnie McClurkin, Ricky 3/9-3/10; 3/12-3/13; 3/15-3/16; Marroquin, Julia Shiplett, Christopher Guest, Michael com F b Dillard, Le’Andria Johnson, 3/18-3/19; 3/21-3/22, limited and more 2/11, 7 PM, live- McKean, Harry Shearer, Ivan Neville, Jon Cleary Duo Jekalyn Carr 5/9, 7 PM, capacity in-person tapings stream at noonchorus.com/ Got a tip? Tweet @Gossip_Wolf or e-mail Wesley Stace, Jill Sobule, 2/16, 8 PM, livestream hosted House of Hope b at a Chicago location for hideout b v [email protected].

40 CHICA OREADER - FEBRUARY   ll MUSIC

COURTESY THE ARTIST

year, then I left and went to AMC Theatres. When Northwestern picked me up, I went to my manager—months in advance—like, “Hey, I got this super cool job DJing for Northwest- ern. I’ll need certain dates o– on the weekends. Can you give them to me?” He looked me dead in my eye and he was like, “No, we can’t do that, ’cause you already only work Friday, Sat- urday, Sunday for us.” As soon as he said that, I took a piece of receipt paper and said, “Well then, I quit. I’m putting in my two weeks now.” After graduation I had the scare of no job reaching back out. I applied to everywhere in Chicago and nothing was coming back, so I started looking at other cities. Kevin Coval sat me down, and he was like, “Yo, we are not los- ing you. We need you here—what do you want to do?” He helped me to meet the right people to get me a job at WGN Radio. CHICAGOANS OF NOTE and this girl walked up and asked me if I would August, September of 2017, I was just get- DJ her birthday party. And I agreed. As soon as ting booked a lot. It just kept growing from I said yes, I text my mom, like, “Hey, I have to there, and it got to a point where I looked at CaSera Heining, producer at buy equipment.” I had no speakers—all I had my funds and I’m like, “Yeah, I make all of my was my laptop and a small controller, like the money DJing right now.” WGN is cool, and I cheapest one you could buy from Serato and still get paid from that, but the bulk of my in- WGN Radio and DJ Ca$h Era Pioneer. come is DJing. I just started putting way more My mom, she was always in my ear, like, energy on that. “For a couple months, I was just DJing for tips. Luckily the community that I “OK, you need to go online, and you’re gonna I didn’t really look at myself as a full-time DJ have around me, they were pouring into me as much as I give out to them.” find a set of speakers. You’re gonna use this until mid-2017. I was still so in my head about credit card that we gave you—that way you wanting to work in radio or television. I was so As told to L G can build up your credit. And then make sure in my head about what my degree was actually that you make payments to pay that back.” The in. It took a while for me to actually look at my- very fi rst pair of speakers that I ever bought, self as a full-time DJ. I feel like everyone else they were a pair of JBLs—I still have them around me saw it before I did. CaSera “DJ Ca$h Era” Heining, 25, is a produc- and get paid to do it?” I’m like, “Hell yeah—I and use them to this day. Bought them back in When the pandemic hit, I lost all of my gigs er at WGN Radio and runs her own mobile DJ only gotta walk from building to building, and 2014. Then after that, my mom came back and in two or three days. I had to wait for all the company. She’s also the official DJ for Young I can make some money? Let’s do it.” I literally was like, “OK, you need business cards.” I had e-mail cancellations. Louder Than a Bomb Chicago Authors’ annual Louder Than a Bomb fi nished the class in December, and then Feb- no logo at the time; all it said was my name, my went fully virtual—they had me hop on and DJ, youth poetry festival and competition. ruary 2014, I started DJing for Louder Than a e-mail, and my phone number. It was a very so I had to master Zoom in a matter of a day Bomb. stock design from Vistaprint, and I started or two. That helped me in the long run, ’cause hen I hit Columbia, my freshman I always thought of that as a side job; my using those business cards. then other orgs started to book me. I even year—that was fall of 2013—I took a main focus was always radio. I first wanted YCA had me DJ their open-mike series, did a New Year’s party via Zoom, so that was WDJ course. It was called Club DJ 1, and to be on-air at a radio station, and then that WordPlay, every Tuesday that summer, for a di– erent. I took it because I needed to hit 16 credit hours. energy switched my junior year, ’cause I kept month or two. When I got back to Columbia for I started looking at Twitch—for a couple My guidance counselor was like, “Just take it, hearing horror stories—like on-air talent can my second year, some of the people on campus months, I was just DJing for tips. Luckily the it’s an easy A and it’s in your building.” I was get let go at the drop of a dime for nothing. I started learning that I was a DJ, so then di– er- community that I have around me, they were like, “Yeah, ’cause I don’t want to have to leave was just like, “I want something with a bit ent orgs would book me. Northwestern Uni- pouring into me as much as I give out to them. during the wintertime anyway—let’s do it.” more job stability.” So I started looking at the versity caught wind of it, and then my junior It was beautiful, and I definitely cried some I excelled better than I thought I would. My production side of radio—sales, music pro- and senior years I was going out to Evanston nights. Like, that’s what helped me—the peo- professor was DJ I.N.C., and he was working gramming, music directing. By my senior year, to DJ their football and basketball games. All ple that I DJ for all the time, they came back to with Louder Than a Bomb. So when the semes- I was looking at DJing way more seriously the while, I was still working a job o– campus pay it forward. And they don’t have to, ’cause ter ended, he reached out to me at the begin- because I was full-time at that point. ’cause I commuted. we’re all in a pandemic. v ning of January and was like, “Hey, would you I didn’t have a plan; it all kind of just came My fi rst job was at Culver’s—I stayed there be down to DJ some poetry events on campus to me. I was doing one of the ballots for LTAB, until sophomore-ish year, going into junior  @imLeor ll FEBRUARY   - CHICAOREADER 41 OPINION

SAVAGE LOVE feet again professionally and was willing to make an effort emotionally, you’re going to sexually, there’s no guarantee The pandemic sex recession is upon us need to take his yes for an that working on it will actual- Too stressed, overworked, and overwhelmed to get it on answer. If he tells you he’s ly work. Some couples work willing to tough/rub it out on this shit for decades and By DS until you’re less stressed out, get nowhere. Opening the less overworked, and less relationship up might make it overwhelmed, and he’s not possible for you to have him being passive aggressive and sexual satisfaction too— about your lack of desire, by getting sexual satisfaction : I’m a 30-year-old straight I suff ered, which is making to the overlapping stresses then you should take him at elsewhere—but opening up woman in a three-year me want to be touched even of lockdowns and job his word. If he’s not trying to a relationship also requires relationship with my live- less. He’s been extremely losses that sex researchers make you feel bad about the effort, INTIMATE, and effort in partner, who is also 30. patient, and says that we are talking about (and sex you aren’t having right clearly isn’t his thing. DTMFA. I love him and he loves me can work through it, but documenting) a “pandemic now, WAH, don’t make your- and he wants to make a life I’m really worried that this sex recession.” self feel bad about it. : My fi ancé and I (both with me. However, in this is the death knell for our So what can you do? There’s no guarantee your male) have been together pandemic, the stress is so relationship. I’m really trying You have a long, hard slog relationship will survive this for six years. I am fully great that I have lost all to fi gure out ways to get in front of you, personally (the pandemic), that (your out but he is only out to desire to have sex. I don’t myself back in good working and professionally, and you crushing workload), or the his close friends and his want anyone touching me order, Dan, but honestly I’m need to carve out enough other thing (the trauma mom. The rest of his family right now, not even myself. I just trying to survive every time and space for yourself you’re working through in doesn’t know. His coworkers feel like I’m in survival mode. day right now. Help? —W  to get through this. And to therapy). Any one of those JOENEWTON don’t know. I’ve met his I lost the career I love and AH do that you’re not just gonna things or some other thing family and coworkers who I’m working four diff erent need to reset your partner’s could wind up being the when we do have sex, it lasts don’t know and played the jobs to make up for it. I have A: First, you’re not alone. expectations for the dura- death knell for your rela- about fi ve minutes and I do “friend” and “roommate” also been coming to terms in So many people have seen tion of the pandemic and/ tionship. But the only way all of the work and get ZERO and it kills me but he still therapy with a sexual trauma their libidos tank in response or until you’re back on your to find out if your desire for satisfaction out of it. He will won’t budge. It’s also not your partner will kick back hold my hand on the couch like homosexuality is taboo into gear post-pandemic, but if I ask him to cuddle in his family. He has a gay post-career-crisis, and post- he acts like I am asking for uncle and his uncle and his coming-to-terms-with-past- a huge favor. I’ve explained partner are invited to family sexual-trauma is to hang in to him I need to feel wanted holidays and welcomed with there, WAH, and reassess and to have some kind of open arms. Is it even worth once you’re past those posts. intimacy in this relationship. continuing this relationship? Will you two still be togeth- And yet, despite the multiple —F I A   er once you’re out of survival conversations about how NC mode? Survive and find out. sexually, physically, and E Good luck. emotionally unsatisfi ed I am, he has put in little eff ort. A: Your fi ancé has to choose: : I’m a 34-year-old straight Otherwise, our relationship he can have you or he can woman dating a 32-year- is great. We have fun have his closet but he can’t old straight man. When together, I love him, I want to have both. It’s not about we fi rst met, we had both be with him, and we’ve talked telling him what to do, recently relocated to our about marriage and kids, but FIANCE, it’s about setting hometown and were living I also can’t live this way for boundaries around what with our parents. When we the rest of my life. What can you’re willing to do. And fi rst started dating, things I expect from a man who is for the last six years you let were great, however, the emotionally and physically him drag you back into the sex wasn’t mind-blowing. unavailable?—I  closet—you were willing to Foreplay was limited and NTI pretend to be his friend or he always jumped out of M ATE  his roommate—but you’re not bed a erward. I thought willing to do that anymore. If this was probably due to A: A lifetime of frustration. he wants to have a life with the fact that while we had You wanna make the sex you, he can choose to come privacy, we were having and physical intimacy work out. If he’s not willing to come sex at my parent’s house because so much else is out, he’ll have to learn to live which isn’t particularly working—it sounds like pretty without you. v sexy. We fi nally moved in much everything else is work- together nine months ago ing—but you can’t make the Send letters to mail@ and now it feels like we’ve sex and intimacy work if he’s savagelove.net. Download been married for decades. not willing to work on it. And the Savage Lovecast at He almost always turns my even if he was willing to work savagelovecast.com. sexual advances down. And on it, INTIMATE, even if he @fakedansavage 42 CHICA OREADER - FEBRUARY   ll Sr. Technical Lead Ruby, or .NET; (4) Serv- Essendant Manage- C O U N S E L I N G & JOBS (Bachelor’s w/ 5 yrs ing as a liaison between ment Services LLC is P S Y C H O T H E R A P Y exp; Major: Computer client and development seeking an Application IN THESE DIFFICULT NOW hiring account Engineering or equiv.; – team to defi ne scope and Developer 3 in Deer- TIMES we need not Don’t managers who are mo- Chicago, IL. Job entails technical direction of the field, IL to implement isolate. 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LEGAL NOTICES Email details to classifi [email protected] ADULT SERVICES ll FEBRUARY   - CHICAOREADER 43 the cannabis platform CHICAGO READER a Reader resource for the canna curious INDEPENDENT BOOKSTORE PROFILE: PILSEN COMMUNITY BOOKS WRITTEN BY TARYN ALLEN GREEN MIND PHYSICIANS MEDICAL CANNABIS CARD CERTIFICATION BY PHONE QUICK & CONVENIENT TELEMEDICINE

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Your partners in health and wellness. Find out today if medical cannabis or infusion therapy is COURTESY KATHARINE SOLHEIM right for you. Telemed available! Serving medical cannabis patients since 2015. ast friends Katharine Solheim and Mandy Medley originally met at Unabridged Bookstore in 312-772-2313 www.neuromedici.com Lakeview, where they daydreamed about running a shop of their very own. The opportunity Fcame about in 2019, when Aaron Lippelt and Mary Gibbons, founders of the three-year-old Pilsen Community Books, put the bookstore up for sale. Solheim and Medley partnered with Thomas Flynn, another local bookseller interested in PCB, to take over what they envisioned as a political project and experiment. PCB worker Manuel Morales y Mendez joined the trio, on a track toward partial ownership, when they started on March 1, 2020, just 15 days before COVID would prompt their switch to exclusively curbside pickup and home delivery. Though financial limitations meant Medley and Solheim had to part ways with their colleagues, they remain committed to a worker owned and operated model.

When asked about the importance of their shop and Chicago’s independent bookstores, the PCB team actually cited a 1993 Chicago Reader piece titled “Everybody’s Watching Chicago’s Book Wars.” It acknowledges the city of Chicago’s education and sophistication, but also its grit, and grit feels like the key for PCB: “We think it’s that grit that has helped Chicago’s independent bookstores survive the onslaught of big box stores, then Amazon’s terrible business practices and market dominance, and multiple recessions. At the end of the day, Chicago’s literary-minded citizens want to support actual brick and mortar bookstores run by passionate booksellers who are deeply invested in their communities and give back.”

And despite the limitations of the pandemic, the PCB team does give back.

Reader 420 “We’re pretty outspoken about our politics on social media, and we work hard to ensure they Companion Book are reflected in the books we choose to carry and promote,” the owners said proudly. The team A cannacopia of fun! regularly amplifies and participates in marches, mutual aid efforts, and protests, even matching Minnesota Freedom Fund donations out of personal pockets last summer. PCB partnered with CBD / cannabis recipes, psychedelic Liberation Library to provide incarcerated youth with books; they relaunched the Pilsen Reads d awings to color, word puzzles to stimulate program with a raffle in order to distribute free books through the Pilsen Food Pantry; and they your b ain, growing tips, and more! regularly host literary and political virtual events, all of which can be found on YouTube, and many of which have served as fundraisers for local organizations like Chicago Abortion Fund and Brave Print and digital versions available. Space Alliance.

chicagoreader.com/420book “We’re constantly grappling with what it means to try and live our politics under capitalism as small business owners, and we’re grateful for the support of our local community here in Pilsen and our literary community all over the country as we try to figure it out each and every day,” they noted. “We’ve always thought of reading not as political action itself, but as a tool to inform action.”

This yearlong partnership with To advertise, email [email protected] independent bookstores is supported by the Poetry Foundation.

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44 CHICA OREADER - FEBRUARY   ll The Chicago Reader Author Talk BOOK CLUB Feb. 25, 2021 The Chicago Reader BOOK CLUB Mikki Kendall Natalie Moore Hood Feminism: The South Side Book Club Notes From the April 21 membership Women That a 4/22/2021 includes: Movement Forgot Rebecca Makkai Book Club Month: Exclusive The Great October 20 access to Author Talk: Believers conversations 10/22/2020 May 21 between 5/27/2021 Authors and Sonali Dev the Reader Recipe for Fatimah Asghar Eve Ewing Persuasion If They Come for Discounts to Author November 20 Us your favorite Dr. Eve L. Ewing is a sociologist of education and a writer from Chicago. She is the award- 11/19/2020 June 21 independent winning author of the poetry collections Electric Arches and 1919 and the nonfi ction work 6/24/2021 Ghosts in the Schoolyard: Racism and School Closings on Chicago’s South Side. She is the bookstores co-author (with Nate Marshall) of the play No Blue Memories: The Life of Gwendolyn Brooks. Riva Lehrer She also currently writes the Champions series for Marvel Comics and previously wrote the acclaimed Ironheart series, as well as other projects. Ewing is an assistant professor at the Golem Girl Kayla Ancrum A curated University of Chicago School of Social Service Administration. Her work has been published in December 20 Darling monthly The New Yorker, The Atlantic, The New York Times, and many other venues. Her fi rst book for young readers, Maya and the Robot, is forthcoming in July 2021. 12/17/2020 July 21 newsletter 7/22/2021 Emil Ferris A members- Maudlyne Ihejirika is an award-winning Chicago Sun- only Times urban aff airs columnist with 30 years of experience My Favorite Jessica Hopper in journalism, public relations, and government. Thing Is Monsters (TBD) discussion Building on a B.A. in journalism from the University of January 21 August 21 forum Iowa and an M.S.J. from Northwestern University’s Medill 8/26/2021 School of Journalism, Ihejirika’s work in state government 1/28/2021 and media has resulted in countless achievements, Special off ers including serving as president for both the National from Reader Association of Black Journalists Chicago Chapter and the Eve Ewing Precious Brady- Chicago Journalists Association; ranking one of “The 25 1919 Davis partners Most Powerful Women In Chicago Journalism” in 2019; publishing her book Escape From Nigeria: A Memoir of February 21 I Have Always Faith, Love and War; and launching Ihejirika Media & Been Me: A Maudlyne Ihejirika Communications Group to manage media for members 2/25/2021 of U.S. Congress, Illinois Legislature, and City Council. Memoir Moderator Her awards include the Studs Terkel Award, national and local awards from the Society of Professional Journalists Nnedi Okorafor September 21 and National Association of Black Journalists, and several civic awards, including the Chicago 9/23/2021 Defender Woman of Excellence and African Festival of the Arts Community Servant Award. Remote Control Ihejirika is a frequent guest contributor on PBS-TV’s “Chicago Tonight: Week In Review” and March 21 FOX-32’s “Good Day Chicago,” and she has appeared as a political analyst on CNN, TV One, ABC, CBS, NPR, WBEZ, WVON, and V103. 3/25/2021

She currently pens the Sun-Times “Chicago Chronicles,” long-form columns off ering diverse narratives and untold stories of inspiring people, places, organizations, and issues in Black and Brown communities. Follow her at @maudlynei on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Presented by:

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