CHICAGO’S FREE WEEKLY SINCE | DECEMBER
INSIDE E! SAIC ’S V BIO I A RT L LA B W H A E R E P S O ’ E T R T Y T I U R N S I N T O
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Plus THE SOON-TO-BE MAYORAL ALSO-RANS WORTH A CLOSER LOOK THIS WEEK CHICAGO READER | DECEMBER | VOLUME NUMBER
A NOTE FROM THE EDITOR
BOYHOWDY did it get exciting ’round these parts last week! take to make Chicago everything it can be. Certainly, we here seek o ce has been exhilarating. Thank you! (We’ll say that a Our Public Newsroom with City Bureau kicked o last Thurs- at the Reader are ready to ask the hard questions whenever lot in the coming days.) day with a toast in our new Bronzeville o ce—which then led that process falters. In this issue, we started posing some of those hard questions to some of the smartest discussions I’ve had in this city about When I say “your alternative newsweekly,” I mean it: Liter- right away—to folks who may never even make it onto the how we can hold public o ce-seekers publicly accountable. I ally yours! It is free, and you can have one. It is one of the very ballot. In a smart piece by our own Maya Dukmasova, we track don’t mean “we” the press, the royal/generic we that might few alternative newsweeklies that remain in the country, and down a few mayoral hopefuls unlikely to survive the petition allow me to pass o platitudes about what should be done, in it is right here in Chicago. Some of you write for us, illustrate, challenge—but who raise issues vital to the city’s future. general, without ever really doing them. I mean we, the Read- take photographs, or contribute in other ways. With City Bu- We’ve got plenty of other great stu in the issue, of course, er. Your alternative newsweekly. The newspaper that asked reau’s help, we asked those of you who don’t to come in and and some news: it’s our last issue with creative director Vince you to come in and help us develop piercing questions to bring help shape our coverage. And now, folks are pitching in to our Cerasani, the man who’s kept our covers bold and eye-catching to our mayoral and aldermanic candidates. The paper that is fund-raiser, too. over the last year. He’ll be leaving to pursue other projects, and using those questions to shape our coverage—coverage you It’s the fi rst time the Reader’s ever done anything like this, we wish him the best of luck. It’s also our fi rst issue with print will later read. And perhaps use to guide your decisions in the and we didn’t know what to expect. But watching over 700 managing editor Sujay Kumar, who brings a background in voting booth. Whereupon maybe we will have some elected donors (at press time) drop a buck (or more) in our co ers to cultural and investigative reportage to your alternative news- o cials in o ce ready to do some of the hard work that it will ensure we can continue asking hard questions of those who weekly. —A E M
POLITICS FEATURE Meet the Reverend Mayor Tycoon . . . and other mayoral candidates you may never otherwise hear about ART FEATURE B M D 8 Poetry under the microscope A science lab that experiments with aesthetics— and life.
B P D 16
COMICS FEATURE Beauty under duress Movement studies of a woman with multiple sclerosis MUSIC FEATURE B A S H 12 What the 90s got right Wicker Park bar Dorian’s brings an important moment of Chicago cultural history into the present. B L G 27
2 CHICA O READER - DECEMBER ll HERE’S THE QUESTION: Can a community-centered T R IN THIS ISSUE - independent paper survive in @ CITY LIFE this environment? 04 Street View A teen’s bold sense of style P T B catches our reporter’s eye E C AE M M E P S K 05 Public Service Announcement Warm M E D up fast with a visit to the Segundo Ruiz Belvis K H Cultural Center in Hermosa D E K S C D V C 06 Transportation Ever wonder why you D P can still get to work a er a heavy snowfall? J R Greenfi eld looks into it C E AL M E PM A E J L THAT’S NEWS & POLITICS S W D I 07 Joravsky | Politics The recent teachers’ BJ M S S W strike victory has our columnist musing on M D L G victories past S M E B W G D SK M L C FOOD & DRINK L C 14 Restaurant Review A FilipinoCuban F L C UP TO YOU, eatery in Ravenswood combines unlikely tastes P F T A E and traditionsdelightfully C S C D A E B D C L C ARTS & CULTURE M F I G 19 Comedy Second City’s new show doesn’t A G J H rise to the top J HI H D J 20 Theater La Ruta shares the stories of M K S K M M BM S M CHICAGO. women missing in Juarez JRN M O 21 Dance Stomp makes an inventive and L P J P BS For the first time, we’re asking readers to inclusive ruckus K S D S K W A W chip in to show their support for the 21 Theater The Play that Goes Wrong turns ------outspoiler alertpretty good in the end independent-once-again Chicago Reader. D D and two holiday shows produce hilarity JD (And, if you do, we’ll even put your name in this and wonder D P very paper in January.) 23 Book Swap Maya Dukmasova trades lit recs E & P with Chicagoan in absentia Mariam Kaba K K 24 Movies Shopli ers off ers a fartoo even S M P F handed tale of life under duress the Animation S A R GIVE A BUCK: Show of Shows won’t leave you in awe AM A R ChicagoReader.com/Backer LM -H MUSIC & NIGHTLIFE N S 30 In Rotation Current musical obsessions C R M T P of Racetraitor’s Dan Traitor Decline’s Fern X O M Decline and staff er Jamie Ludwig SN L 31 Shows of Note Previews of Tobe Nwigwe ------Charles Rumback Quartet Ivy Lab Adrian D C Younge and Ali Shaheed Muhammad Bob [email protected] Seger and other great concerts this week! -- STMREADERLLC B P D RL CLASSIFIEDS T ER 36 Jobs S J S 36 Apartments & Spaces 36 Marketplace C C EB ------36 Savage Love Some holiday advice for R ISSN- STMR LLC putting up with judgmental family members SM S 38 Early Warnings System of a Down C IL Cupcakke Imogen Heap My Brightest C ©C R Diamond and more upcoming shows P C IL 38 Gossip Wolf Joyride Records leaves WANT TO DONATE VIA CHECK? A C R R Make checks payable to “Chicago Reader” and mail to: Ukrainian Village the original Mannequin RR T ® Men reunite and sound artist Jeff Kolar at Chicago Reader, Suite 102, 2930 S. Michigan Avenue, Chicago, IL 60616. the ShortCuts series Include your mailing address, phone, and email—and please indicate if you are okay with us thanking you by name in the paper. ll DECEMBER - CHICA O READER 3 CITY LIFE
Street View Waste not A teenager sports high fashion on a low budget.
310346_4.75_x_4.75.indd 1 9/12/18 12:13 PM find hundreds of reader-recommended ISA GIALLORENZO
“IFEELLIKE if I’m not disgusted with what I wore a year ago, then I’m not doing my job,” says high school restaurants senior Zoe Axelrod, who tries to err on the side of boldness. “If it isn’t going to make a statement, then it’s not worth wearing. Not every look I put together is ‘good,’ but it’ll certainly get your attention.” She exclusive video features wasn’t always such a fashion enthusiast, though; up until around her freshman year, Axelrod favored basic items such as low-rise leggings and graphic tees. Her sartorial turning point came when she started fol- lowing fashion bloggers on Instagram and YouTube. “My current favorites are Beth Jones of B. Jones Style, and sign up for weekly news Tara Chandra, and Allison of Titi Alli. They all give me ideas of outfi ts to put together, but ultimately, my clothes are what inspire me,” says the avid thri er, whose personal style has been developed through “a lot of trial and error.” On the day she was photographed, she ended up missing her school bus because she chicagoreader.com/food couldn’t fi gure out what to layer under her olive button-down—an XL pajama top she found at a thri store in Arlington Heights, her hometown. “The fabric was so beautiful I couldn’t pass it by,” she says. The 17-year- old ended up pairing her esteemed shirt with a turtleneck she got on sale at Target a couple of years ago, vintage frames that used to belong to her mom, earrings handed down from her grandma, a belt that used to be a Gryffi ndor tie from a Hermione costume, and a pair of ASOS platforms, her “pride and glory,” thri - ed at the Savers in Schaumburg for eight bucks. Axelrod highly recommends that store. “They have the biggest and most organized kids section, which is where I get most of my funky pieces,” she enthuses. The precocious and frugal style savant has another shopping tip: “If you want to save time, skim the aisles for the colors you think your closet needs more of.” —I G
4 CHICA O READER - DECEMBER ll S R B C C W Armitage Ave, Chicago, IL , - -, segundoruizbelvis.org. CITY LIFE Never THE miss a M E X I C A N show 1 9 6 7 again. celebrating 51 EARLY YEARSYEARS WARNINGS OPEN 7 days a week Find a concert, buy a until X- mas ticket, and sign up to get advance notice please☎ for of Chicago’s essential Extended just steps from the holiday hours Dempster “L” stop music shows at chicagoreader.com/early. 847-475-8665
COURTESY SEGUNDO RUIZ BELVIS CULTURAL CENTER 801 Dempster Evanston
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Segundo Ruiz Belvis DJ collective Soulphonetics will spin Afro-Caribbean music and Cultural Center local vendors will have wares A good place to warm up in the winter available for sale. (Reserve tickets at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/ By A E M santisimo-sancocho- tickets-53020563934)
t had been over ten years since I’d visited this institution devoted to celebrating and Ipromoting Afro-Latin arts and culture in After School Matters to provide paid appren- Chicago. So when I wandered into the Hermo- ticeships to young adults to learn traditional sa space to vote last month at an ungodly early Puerto Rican bomba, Afro-Caribbean jazz, hour and was immediately greeted by live and music video production. In recent years music and center volunteers there just to hang the SRBCC has focused on supporting the out, I was delighted to be fl ooded with memo- people of Puerto Rico in the wake of hurri- ries of visits to a previous location during my canes Irma and María as a member organi- fi rst days in the city nearly three decades back. zation of the Puerto Rican Agenda, which Changes in location and the passage of time sent two planes full of immediately needed haven’t chipped away at the vibrant sense of items to Puerto Rico and funded grants in engagement on o er at the Segundo Ruiz Bel- 30 municipalities for projects focusing on vis Cultural Center (SRBCC). sustainable agriculture, health, solar energy, Founded the same year as the Read- clean water, and more. er—1971—and named in honor of the Puerto Heads up: on Sunday, December 16, a san- Rican patriot and member of a secret ab- cocho tasting from 5 to 9 PM will make for a olitionist society that freed slave children great introduction to the center if a chilly day under Spanish rule, the center offers per- gives you a hankering for Caribbean stew. v cussion classes, live music and art events, and community workshops. It partners with @superanne ll DECEMBER - CHICA O READER 5 CITY LIFE
having to make phone calls to coordinate, [sta ers are] sitting right there,” Tully said. For a plow driver’s eye view, he referred me TRANSPORTATION to Laureano, who worked on snow clearance for 20 years. “I call him ‘Glum,’ if you remem- ber Gulliver’s Travels,” Tully said, referring Snow patrol to the pessimistic Lilliputian from the Jona- than Swift novel. “I’m a positive person, but Streets and San does a great job he always gives me the worst-case scenario of clearing the roads—thanks to for the storm, so I have both ends of it.” Chicago-style politics. Contrary to his nickname, Laureano spoke glowingly of the job. “As a snowplow driver, By J G there’s a sense of accomplishment when you see a street where people just can’t get through, and when you’re done tra c is fl ow- ing like nothing happened.” However, Tully admitted that the 2011 STACEY SHINTANI LSD debacle was not his department’s fi nest ver since Mayor Michael Bilandic miles, to get the skinny. Tully started with to tracking storms via Doppler radar and hour. “It was a combination of heavy snow lost reelection to Jane Byrne after the department 24 years ago and moved up checking in with meteorologists, sensors em- and an accordion bus that got stuck, blocking the great blizzard of 1979 paralyzed the ranks until he made department chief a bedded in roads near eleven Chicago bridges two lanes.” He added that the problem was Chicago, snowplowing has been a year ago. provide data on ground and air temperatures exacerbated because the walls between the highly political matter in our city. Joining us for the conversation were dep- in key locations.) northbound and southbound lanes prevented ERichard M. Daley had announced his in- uty commissioners Cole Stallard and Ray Later that evening, when more severe the removal of stalled vehicles; nowadays the tention to step down months before the 2011 Laureano. As you might expect of seasoned weather was predicted, the storm was up- barriers are removable. Snowpocalypse hit in early February. Had he Streets and San workers, all three men graded to Phase III, with 287 large trucks put Also embarrassing for Streets and San was been running again, outrage over the hun- talked with a textbook “Bill Swerski’s Super- on the street, plus 26 pickup trucks for plow- a 2015 Chicago Sun-Times investigation of the dreds of half-buried cars and buses that were fans”-style Northern Cities Vowel Shift. ing narrow side streets. During more intense city’s Plow Tracker data, generated by GPS stuck on Lake Shore Drive for more than 24 According to Tully, preparation for a storm Phase IV storms, workers from F2M, Water, devices installed on snow trucks, that found hours during that weather event would have like last month’s starts around July, when and Transportation pitch in with plowing that the block where powerful southwest side been a major problem for him in the election, reps from Streets and San meet with their e orts. “It’s an all-hands-on-deck situation,” alderman Ed Burke lives was cleared multiple which took place later that month. counterparts at sister agencies, including Stallard said. times after a heavy snowfall, while nearby The failure to make Chicago’s snowplows the departments of Fleet and Facility Man- A Phase V event—the type of severe snow- streets resembled arctic tundra. (On Novem- run on time is political suicide nowadays, agement (F2M), Water, and Transportation, mageddon that has occurred only a few ber 29, FBI agents conducted a presumably and as a consequence the city generally as well as the city’s O ce of Emergency Man- times in the past 20 years, including the 2011 unrelated raid on Burke’s offices, but as of does a great, if somewhat obsessive, job of agement and Communications, to strategize. blizzard and major storms in 1999 and 2014— press time no charges had been fi led.) clearing major roads for bus passengers and The city classifies weather events of forces the city to hire private contractors for “I don’t think the whole story’s been told,” car drivers. (Not so much for winter bike rid- varying levels of severity by “phases,” and reinforcements. Tully said, referring to the plowing scandal. ers—cyclists have complained that the city’s responds with a predetermined number of Streets and San mostly uses old-fashioned He noted that in recent years a new high curbside protected bike lanes, which are plows and salt spreaders, Stallard said. He sodium chloride road salt. During the polar school and elementary school opened a few plowed by the Chicago Department of Trans- added that determining the phase of a storm vortex of early 2014, the region’s salt shortag- blocks east of Burke’s house on 51st Street, portation, are often impassable for several isn’t based on hard-and-fast rules, but rather es and price spikes were made worse by fro- and argued that plow drivers may have been days after a snowfall.) it’s a more qualitative judgement that weighs zen waterways that blocked shipments. But using the street as a turnaround. “I don’t For example, when a storm dumped 8.3 factors like temperature, precipitation level, Tully said the city later locked in a multiyear think we had anything to hide there.” inches on Chicago on the morning of Novem- and wind speed. price for salt and is getting more deliveries But Tully acknowledged that snowplow- ber 26, 1,254 fl ights were grounded at O’Hare During a mild Phase I event, such as the by rail nowadays. ing—or, in Bilandic’s case, the lack of it—has and all Metra commuter rail lines saw delays. light snowfall that occured two days after The department also keeps roughly political ramifi cations. “Residents hold their But commuters reported that the city’s arte- last month’s major storm, 75 to 100 full-sized 100,000 gallons of a more environmentally elected o cials accountable,” he said. “Most rials were in good shape for buses and motor- trucks are dispatched to make sure bridges friendly brine-and-beet-juice cocktail on of the time it’s for things that inconvenience ists just a few hours into the workday. and overpasses (which freeze and collect hand to spray on bridges and overpasses. them. . . . But I think that if [Streets and San Here at the Reader we were curious about snow before surface streets), arterials, and This helps prevent freezing during late fall workers] worry about public safety, which is exactly how the city manages to clear the Lake Shore Drive all stay clear. and early spring, when temperatures often our main concern, the rest will take care of major streets so e ciently after a major snow The early-morning November 26 storm hover around 32 degrees. itself.” v event. So I checked in with Commissioner was initially pegged as a Phase II event based Streets and San leads the city’s responses John Tully of the Department of Streets and on weather forecasts the evening prior, so to major storms from “Snow Command” at John Greenfield edits the transportation Sanitation, which spearheads plowing e orts Streets and San responded by sending out OEMC’s headquarters, 1411 West Madison. news website Streetsblog Chicago. on a route system of more than 9,400 lane the predetermined 211 trucks. (In addition “Each department has a desk, so instead of @greenfieldjohn 6 CHICA O READER - DECEMBER ll Listen to The Ben Joravsky Show on WCPT, AM, Monday through Friday from to PM. NEWS & POLITICS
against Rahm in 2015 because she got sick. But in many ways, it’s like she won. OK, I better stop before I get too cocky. After all, Rahm’s damage has already been done. Eight years of closing schools and sub- sidizing development in gentrifying neigh- borhoods has forced poor and working-class people out of Chicago. Rahm and his allies got upset when Chris Kennedy opined that the mayor’s planning policies were intended to drive black people out of town. But that’s what’s happened, whether the mayor was planning it or not. Also, we still have a mayoral election ahead of us. And I’m sure one of those candidates will pick up Rahm’s prodevelopment agenda, if only to win endorsements from the Tribune and Crain’s. To that point, I can smell the grease on the
AMERICAN FEDERATION OF TEACHERS wheels as Mayor Rahm prepares to ram the Lincoln Yards TIF deal through City Council When Sposato protested, Rahm got zoning before he leaves o ce. POLITICS committee chair Alderman Danny Solis to Remember how Tax Increment Financing rough up the rookie alderman. “It’s almost an works: the mayor raises your property taxes embarrassment that an alderman would say in the name of funding things like schools and Celebrating the successful no to children and to good education in this then diverts your tax dollars from the schools city,” Solis declared. to a slush fund that he controls. Rahm wants So much for aldermanic prerogative on to spend upward of $1 billion on the Lincoln teachers’ strike things like zoning and development. Yards project, located in a rapidly gentrifying And so it went for those fi rst few years of north-side neighborhood. City Council hates taking from the schools and giving to the rich—but Rahm’s rule. He closed clinics and schools and So far, Amara Enyia is the only mayoral can- sometimes they do it anyway. opened nonunion charters. He took property didate who says she unequivocally opposes taxes from the schools and gave them to devel- the Lincoln Yards TIF handout. By B J opers to build in upscale neighborhoods, like In fact, Enyia says she’d show up to a City the West Loop and the South Loop. Council meeting, if or when it meets to ap- So, yes, I’m very happy to report that things prove a Lincoln Yards handout, to demand the s I watched jubilant teachers, With f-bombs fl ying, he told her that he was have changed in many ways around here. aldermen vote no. And she might bring her wearing union red, from the Acero going to make teachers work more for less. Rangel stepped down long ago after he ally, Chance the Rapper, with her. charter school network celebrate And he was closing public schools and replac- got entangled in a contracting scandal. You The last time Chance showed up to oppose the new contract they’d won after a ing them with charters and that she’d better don’t hear Mayor Rahm singing his praises a TIF deal was last year, when the City Council four-day strike, I had a fl ashback to get her members to fall in line, whether they anymore, like in the old days. In fact, UNO was considering the $95 million police academy. theA way things used to be. liked it or not. changed its name to Acero in part to distance The aldermen politely listened to Chance voice The Chicago Teachers Union was in the When Lewis pointed out that more hours itself from the old boss. his opposition and then basically gave him and midst of its 2012 strike, which had shuttered in the classroom without resources to put the Rahm’s appointees at the Board of Educa- his allies the middle fi nger, bowing to the may- all the public schools in town. Juan Rangel, time to good use was little more than babysit- tion recently voted not to approve three new or’s wishes and voting 47-2 to fund the deal. then the head of the UNO charter network—the ting, Rahm told her—who cares, most of these charters, as they struggle to fi gure out how to Only aldermen Rick Munoz and Carlos predecessor to Acero—stood on a downtown kids won’t amount to anything anyway. fund the schools they already have. Ramirez-Rosa voted no. street corner and called on parents upset at Well, Karen says he said that. Rahm swears And of course Rahm’s not running for That’s the thing about aldermen in this CTU to send their kids to his charter schools. up and down that he didn’t. But then he also reelection, in part because he apparently town. They know it’s wrong to take from the After all, his teachers knew enough not to go swears he never watched the Laquan McDon- realized his Republican-lite policies are so schools and give to the rich. But they’re too on strike. ald tape. So you decide who’s telling the truth unpopular that he can’t win, even with all the afraid to say no to the mayor. So they bow to Man, have things changed—huh, Juan? in that Karen/Rahm dispute, Chicago. millions in his campaign war chest. his wishes and hope the rest of us aren’t pay- Wait, wait, as long as I’m reminiscing about And it wasn’t just Karen Lewis who got The front-runner to replace him—Cook ing attention. changes since the bad old days, remember marching orders from Rahm back then. In County Board President Toni Preckwinkle— So, while it’s good to see Acero’s teachers how recently elected Mayor Rahm, marching 2011, Rahm commanded Alderman Nick won CTU’s endorsement by agreeing to a four- celebrating their new contract, this fi ght is far into town like Napoleon, took Karen Lewis out Sposato to roll over and support a zoning year freeze on new charters and to spend TIF from over. v for dinner and told her how it’s gonna be with change for an UNO charter school in his north- reserves on the public schools. the schools? west-side ward. You know, Karen Lewis never got to run @BennyJShow ll DECEMBER - CHICA O READER 7 NEWS & POLITICS
POLITICS Mayor Who? There’s more than funky names to the overlooked mayoral hopefuls. By M D
ith 21 candidates vying to be the next mayor of Chicago, hearings on challenges to their nominating petition signatures and other paper- Wwork began this week at the Chicago Board of Elections. The agency will issue its decisions on the challenges by Christmas. Many of the candidates will likely not be able to prove that they have the 12,500 valid signatures from registered Chicago voters necessary for mak- ing the ballot. It is with this round of disqualifications looming that the Reader decided to take a closer look at the lower profile candidates who’ve been written o by much of the media as not “serious” or “viable.” It’s possible, even likely, that most of them won’t be on the February ballot, but that says little about the viability of their ideas or the seriousness of their commitment to the city. As we met with and interviewed the Chicagoans who dream most vividly of taking up the city’s highest office, it became clear that, if nothing else, most of them are acutely aware of the prob- lems faced by ordinary people here. They may not have the campaign funds, party backing, Catherine Brown or name-recognition needed to win this elec- D’Tycoon SUE KWONG tion, but they also don’t stink of the bullshit 8 CHICA O READER - DECEMBER ll NEWS & POLITICS
that tends to envelop the “viable” candidates Life Center, where she’s a pastor, to collect far into Brown D’Tycoon’s retreating car, pepper who calculate statements to sound as inof- and wide. She plans to start campaigning in spraying her, beating her, and tearing her fensive as possible while withholding most earnest and speaking more to the media only clothes off. Morsi Murphy claimed Brown actionable opinions and commitments. after she knows for sure she’s on the ballot. D’Tycoon had dragged her from her car as she You may be surprised to learn that the In addition to her pastoral duties, Brown backed out of the alley behind her house—an candidate who submitted the most petition D’Tycoon is active with several community allegation that was never proved in court. signatures to the Board of Elections wasn’t organizations, including Action Now and Brown D’Tycoon ultimately sued the cops Toni Preckwinkle (60,000), Garry McCarthy the Chicago Alliance Against Racist and and recently won a $1.1 million settlement. (55,000), or Amara Enyia (62,000)—it was Political Repression. She’s also served on the She was convicted of misdemeanor reckless south-side pastor and life coach Catherine Local School Council at Garrett Morgan Ele- conduct, but the attempted murder charges Brown D’Tycoon. Her 88,000 signatures mentary School in Auburn Gresham, which were dropped. were submitted in 17 binders. Last week, was one of the 49 schools shuttered by CPS “I got arrested and fought for my life al- objections were filed on the grounds that in 2013. She says she even tried to buy the “He said all you most three years,” she says, and it made her hundreds of her petition pages were photo- building, just down the block from her child- gotta do is get reevaluate how she saw the neighborhood copied and that she didn’t meet the required hood home, to reopen a school there, but the youth who’d long told her of unfair treat- binding standards, among other paperwork deal never went anywhere. She says she was a paper and get ment by CPD. errors. But when she paid a visit to the active for a long time with the Chicago Police people to sign it.” “For years I really thought it was the young Reader o ces, she was confi dent her records Department’s sixth district CAPS. But her men that were out here being disrespectful would withstand scrutiny and that she’d attitude toward the police changed radically —Conrien Hykes Clark or reckless,” she says. “There was a time I make it onto the ballot. in May of 2013. had a sincere, deep compassion for the police Brown D’Tycoon, 44, was delivered for Driving into the alley behind her home one because they have such a tough job to do. But the interview in a black Cadillac Escalade evening, Brown D’Tycoon encountered a CPD when I went into this situation it opened my by her assistant and campaign aide Davar squad car and O cer Michelle Morsi Murphy, eyes.” She says reforming CPD and ending Jones. She wore a black turban and Burberry- who she says immediately cursed her out. police brutality would be at the top of her patterned hoodie, walking gingerly with a The incident quickly escalated into a fender agenda as mayor. hand-carved wooden cane. As we sat down to bender, o cers beating her, and charges of “I know that the Chicago police have been chat, she wasted no time addressing the ori- attempted murder, reckless conduct, and a crooked for years, it’s going to take a lot to gins of her unusual name. The “D’” stands in slew of other crimes. Three years later, the make a change,” Brown D’Tycoon says. “But for “the” and a tycoon is a “wealthy and pow- case became a widely reported story of police the fi rst thing they need to know is that you erful business leader,” she said. It’s supposed misconduct, after CBS 2 uncovered dashcam have to have total respect for the people to be aspirational but also evokes her family’s video showing cops ramming their vehicle paying you. We can no longer allow the J history of business ownership; she says God told her to take on this name as she was deep in prayer one day about a decade ago. “As a young girl in eighth grade I used to get teased and called a raccoon because I had dark rings around my eyes,” she went on to say. “And I know black people have been called ‘coons’ for a long time as well. So in my prayer time God gave me that name and He said ‘Yeah you’re indeed a ’coon but you’re a tycoon.’” Brown D’Tycoon believes in “speaking Brown D'Tycoon already presents things as though it was already so.” It’s herself as "Mayor why she already presents herself as “Mayor Tycoon." COURTESY Tycoon” on her business cards. She says her CATHERINE BROWN confidence in this election bid is rooted in D’TYCOON her faith. This isn’t her fi rst attempt at elected o ce; in 2011 she ran for 21st Ward alderman but was bounced off the ballot. She’d filed 389 signatures—107 more than was needed, but challenges held up against 172 of them, and she ultimately didn’t have enough. Knowing the importance of the signatures, this time around she says she enlisted the help of friends, family, and congregants at Kingdom ll DECEMBER - CHICA O READER 9 NEWS & POLITICS
continued from 9 Daley” was the best mayor this city ever anyone would hold those against him. “You’d police to neglect and disrespect when the car saw. “He didn’t talk a lot, he said a few words do me a favor if you showed me a police o - clearly says we’re here to serve and protect. and that was it. I liked that part about him,” cer that hasn’t been complained against,” . . . We no longer need beast o cers, we need she says. “I think he did good.” So far, she he says. “It’s all about the outcome of the peace o cers.” added, she hasn’t heard anything from her complaint.” Four of the complaints filed She was particularly disappointed that competitors that would prompt her to vote against him have been sustained over the o cers who were present and saw what had for any of them. years, leading to suspensions as long as 180 happened between her and Morsi Murphy “I believe in Even if she doesn’t get on the ballot or win, days. Washington says complaints go hand didn’t speak up to tell the truth. “It’s hard to speaking things Clark has no plans to sit around doing noth- in hand with disrupting people’s criminal say that all cops are bad because I know that’s ing. She says she’d keep volunteering at the activity. “When your crime has been stopped, not true, but the majority are, in my opinion,” as though it was school four days a week, which requires her you want to make it seem like the police o - she says. “I was looking at 30-plus years in already so.” to spend three hours commuting to and from cer was wrong,” he says. CPD records show jail, and that’s not right. To lose my children home. Maybe she’ll find other work to keep Washington has also received 15 honorable for a made-up lie? Are you kidding me?” —Catherine Brown herself occupied too. mentions for his service. In addition to police reform, Brown D’Ty- D’Tycoon This commitment to keep serving fellow Washington says he’s inspired by the coon wants to open up the Section 8 housing citizens regardless of the election outcome unifying spirit Mayor Harold Washington voucher waiting list to expand affordable was also expressed by CPD officer Roger L. brought to City Hall. “That’s what Chicago is housing options; start a city-sponsored Washington. He fi led 13,000 signatures and reaching for right now—they want transpar- mentorship and life coaching program for is frustrated by the challenges to his can- ency, someone they can trust without the ma- young black men; provide more funding to didacy, which have reportedly come from chine being involved,” he says. “That’s why I nonprofits and churches already working businessman and perennial mayoral hopeful see Chicago leaning towards me once all the to alleviate poverty in the city; improve Willie Wilson’s campaign. Washington says smoke clears.” the quality of CPS school lunches so they’re Wilson targeted him, activist Ja’mal Green, In addition to tackling crime, Washington more nutritious, delicious, and promote an and state representative La Shawn Ford with says economic development, improving public appreciation for home-cooked meals; restart Clark turned in just 53 petition signatures. challenges because “he wants to be the only schools, and increasing a ordable housing are the CeaseFire program for gang violence The whole process was very new for her, she black man in the race.” his top priorities. He wants to do something prevention; and bring a Moses-themed explained when reached by phone last week Washington, 46, says the absurdly high to curb the predatory contract-for-deed home amusement park to Chicago she’d call the after she had fi nished volunteering at Haines number of signatures required to get on the sales he sees in his North Lawndale neighbor- “Promised Land.” She also supports creating Elementary School in Chinatown. “I’ve never ballot and the petition challenge process hood and says he supports the movement to an elected school board. ran for mayor or alderman or nothing like undermines democracy. (Los Angeles, for ex- repeal the state ban on rent control and estab- Brown D’Tycoon adds that she’d push to that, I never had a public job like that,” she ample, requires just 500 signatures to run for lish local rent regulation. “The rent control reform the onerous rules governing who said. “I would have to learn just like you learn mayor; New York asks for 3,750). “If you take idea is awesome,” he says. “I want to be a part can get on the ballot to run for local office, anything else.” the time out and get through the process and of that to make sure that when these land- so it wouldn’t just be rich people who have Getting off the bus at 35th and Halsted get people to sign and make your best e ort, a chance to compete. She thinks the mayor one day, she was asked to sign a petition by I believe you should be let on the ballot,” he should be a person familiar to regular peo- another candidate running for mayor—a says. “All 21 candidates had a vision they’re ple, who spends time in the neighborhoods white man whose name she says she doesn’t trying to do, and I believe no one should be and takes everyone into consideration, even remember, though given the location perhaps able to stop that dream by challenging— criminals and drug addicts, “to learn what it it was John Kozlar, another under-the-radar that’s selfi sh and disrespectful.” is that people need.” candidate and Bridgeport native. Clark says Like Brown D’Tycoon, Washington is also More than a year ago, her childhood home she asked him how someone can run, and “he a pastor and has run for alderman before. He “. . . the first thing on Kerfoot Avenue burned and Brown D’Ty- said all you gotta do is get a paper and get made the ballot in the 24th Ward in the 2015 [the police] need coon was forced to relocate. Still, she thinks people to sign it.” election but lost to Michael Scott Jr. He’s also of the house as home and lists the address on Clark says her priority in o ce would be to concerned with crime in Chicago, though as a to know is that you her o cial paperwork. “The plan is to get the deal with the drug problem in the city. “It’s police o cer he views CPD as integral to com- have to have total house redone eventually,” she says. “If God a hurting thing in my neighborhood,” she bating the gun violence in the city. “I promise allows me to become mayor I would make says. “You watch the news, you know about you 90 percent of crime would stop,” he bold- respect for the that an o ce for me as mayor.” If she doesn’t the killing and stuff that’s going on.” She ly asserts without getting into specifi cs when people paying you.” win, Brown D’Tycoon says, she’ll continue doesn’t begrudge Rahm Emanuel or other asked what he’d accomplish as mayor. He says her community work. current city or police leaders for not doing that, because he knows the streets well and —Catherine Brown Brown D’Tycoon isn’t the only hopeful enough about the problem, though. “I think understands police-community relations, D’Tycoon who attributes her campaign to divine in- they’re doing all they can, all they know to he’d be able to rebuild confi dence in law en- spiration. Eighty-seven-year-old Roseland do,” she says. forcement and unity throughout the city. resident Conrien Hykes Clark has attracted “Grandma Clark,” as the third graders When asked whether his 16 misconduct some attention with her attempt to get on the at Haines call her, moved to Chicago from allegations since joining the force in 1999 ballot. Clark also says she received word from Mississippi in 1952. She’s seen a lot of may- would be a barrier to building trust with the God that she should run for mayor. ors come and go. For her money, “Old Man community, Washington says he didn’t think 10 CHICA O READER - DECEMBER ll NEWS & POLITICS
COURTESY ROGER L WASHINGTON help mend, repair, heal, and sustain our city for the long haul.” Our last call for this story was to Richard Mayers, 47, a west-side native who fi led simul- taneously to run for mayor, treasurer, clerk, and alderman of the 23rd Ward. He didn’t fi le any signatures and is being challenged. Mayers summarized his platform. He wants to see toll booths on North Lake Shore Drive and the Kennedy Expressway to discourage tra c and to lower the costs of the Chicago Skyway tolls. He also wants to see the cost of city parking stickers reduced in lower income wards. It wasn’t clear whether this was motivated by an interest in social justice or progressive taxation, as he added that he wants to see a return of restrictive covenants to prevent black people from buying homes, thereby creating “white island” neighbor- hoods in predominantly black south- and west-side communities. “If you take the Whatever one might think of these can- time out and didates’ ideas, the fact is that it’s not their ideas that risk keeping them out of the may- get through the oral election. Rather, it’s the city’s onerous process and get qualification requirements that prevent regular people from joining the ranks of people to sign and mayoral hopefuls and competing with the make your best candidates everyone assumes to be the only options. The front-runners are unlikely to effort, I believe you advocate for anything as blatantly o ensive should be let on as restrictive covenants or take a stand on the ballot.” something as controversial as rent control, but neither are they people who can claim —Roger L. Washington to have intimate fi rst-hand experience with displacement and homelessness, the closure of public schools in their neighborhoods, the physical and psychological wounds of getting beat up by cops, hunger, predato- ry lending, the tediously long commutes wrought by infrastructural inequality, and the burden of insurmountable debt. What they have instead are the credentials and lords open up these leases to these renters The Reader tried to interview candidate connections most of us associate with cred- they don’t give them a crappy contract. If the Sandra L. Mallory, 57, a West Englewood res- ibility, and the money to make their dreams economy hasn’t changed—if the salary hasn’t ident who fi led 15,000 signatures and hasn’t come true. Could it be that the unprece- changed—then the rent shouldn’t change.” been challenged. Her daughter answered the dented number of candidates attempting to Washington also wants to reform city phone and said Mallory “is not interested in enter the race this year is a sign of the city ticketing practices that are disproportion- all this publicity or you all scrutinizing her, rejecting these as the essential ingredients ately punitive toward African-Americans and she only cares about the citizens.” She did, of leadership? Catherine Brown D’Tycoon have been shown by ProPublica Illinois to be however, share her mother’s campaign web- certainly thinks so. driving record numbers of bankruptcy fi lings site—mallory2019.org—which makes it clear “I believe the ping-pong game of politics in Chicago. Washington himself has fi led for that the candidate’s main concern is Chica- has come to an end in Chicago and power will bankruptcy several times in the past, largely go’s homelessness problem. Mallory, an army no longer be the ball,” she says. “God is not due to onerous city ticket debt racked up by veteran and social worker, writes on the site pleased with how the city’s been run.” v family members who drove cars registered to that to be a successful mayor “it will take the his name, he says. good honest counsel of many Chicagoans to @mdoukmas ll DECEMBER - CHICA O READER 11 ANNELI S HENRIKSSON
12 CHICA O READER - DECEMBER ll ANNELI S HENRIKSSON
ll DECEMBER - CHICA O READER 13 B K R W. Montrose -- FOOD & DRINK facebook.com/bayankochicago
Luglug noodles SANDY NOTO
Bayan lechon SANDY NOTO
seem to have much trouble fi lling its 30 seats RESTAURANT REVIEW night after night. The best, most alluring specimen of this is Letrero’s interpretation of pancit luglug, Filipino Meets Cuban at Bayan Ko sometimes known as pancit palabok, an everyday street snack of rice noodles in a A snug Ravenswood mom and pop with postcolonial synergy shrimpy annatto-stained sauce, dressed with chicharrones and slices of hard-boiled egg. By M S Letrero subs sa ron for the rusty coloring, jig- gly scallops for shrimp, and a raw yolk, which along with silky uni contributes an outrageous sumptuousness to what—at $24— amounts to he song Bayan Ko (“My Coun- island cultures, colonized and enslaved by There are a healthy number of restaurants the crown jewel of his menu. try”) is a wistful Filipino anthem, Spaniards—and later, to certain degrees, Amer- around town where you might have eaten It’s well worth it though, especially since about a beautiful land suffering icans—and both presently suffering under Letrero’s food, most recently at the Waldorf much of the rest of the menu comprises small (and hopefully prevailing) under newer but unrelated forms of dictatorship. Astoria, but also Sable, Untitled, and the late portions at easier pricing, making an outing colonization. On the other side That’s the conceit behind a new Ra- Perennial, Karyn’s on Green, the Refi nery, and here an inevitable tour of many of the greatest Tof the planet, Cuba has a less oblique, more venswood restaurant from chef Lawrence the ill-fated Tribute. He also worked a stage hits of both cuisines. That’s not to say there strident song, La Bayamesa, about kicking Letrero and, in the front of the house, Raquel at Thomas Keller’s Per Se in Manhattan, but aren’t dishes that match the luglug’s rich- Spanish ass in the country’s decades-long Quadreny, children of fi rst-generation immi- nothing in that varied career comes close to ness—or far outstrip its assertiveness. Oxtail wars fought for independence. grants, Filipino and Cuban, respectively. The the highly personal yet che y interpretation kare kare is a thick, meaty peanut-based curry It says so much about the importance of food menu features the cuisines of both countries, of soulful granny food at play in this storefront with long beans, served with a side of intense- that a restaurant—and at its heart a marriage— drawing on the foods the two grew up on, in adjacent to the Brown Line, a snug space that ly salty, funky bagoong alamang, or fermented can clarify the two nations’ commonalities: some cases blending and innovating on them. is still unrepresented by a website but doesn’t shrimp paste. Lechon kawali is scored and 14 CHICA O READER - DECEMBER ll Search the Reader’s online database of thousands of Chicago-area restaurants—and add your own review—at chicagoreader.com/food. FOOD & DRINK
El cubano sandwich SANDY NOTO
Lumpia shanghai SANDY NOTO crackly-skinned fried pork belly, served with a sticky sweet glaze of soy, caramel, and vine- ice cream that echoes the fl oral mural painted the iconic liver-based Mang Tomas sauce, the gar that approximates the typical pinoy adobo by graffiti artist Revise CMW, aka Chef Won fatty understory and organic minerality of braise, while cultures collide with smoked Kim of Bridgeport’s Kimski, another restau- each cut by sweet and tangy achara, a pickled ham hock croqueta “tots,” paired with aioli rant that marries two superfi cially disparate green papaya slaw. An uncharacteristically spiked with Jufran, the sweet banana ketchup but complementary cuisines. chubby cubano stuffed with chopped roast improvised during a World War II tomato Filipino food is slightly more dominant than pork shoulder oozes with ropes of gooey Swiss shortage. A more straightforward rendition the Cuban at Bayan Ko, but while Letrero pulls cheese. Even the seemingly virtuous pinakbet, of ropa vieja subs the more tender shredded no punches in the kitchen, Quadreny, herself a ratatouille of eggplant, kabocha, squash, beef brisket for the typical fl ank steak. a service industry vet, runs the front of the long beans, and okra, murmurs darkly with Desserts feature a simple but wondrous house shimmering with warmth. Together bitter melon and bagoong. flan glistening with bitter salted caramel, they embody everything that’s right about a In the fried snack department, lumpia, crisp made extra dense with extra egg yolks in line literal mom and pop, one that happens to traf- cigar-sized egg rolls, jacket a surprisingly with both the Cuban and Filipino style; and a fi c in foods worlds apart but perfectly at home juicy pork interior along with Letrero’s moth- scaled-back take on the riotous sundae halo with one another. v er’s garlic-soy-vinegar sauce. Crackling rice halo, focused on red bean, jellied coconut, and fl our-battered chicken wings are treated with fl an crowned with a royal purple scoop of ube @MikeSula
ll DECEMBER - CHICA O READER 15 Bacterial colony ANDREW SCARPELLI IT’SIT’S ALIVE!ALIVE! Inside SAIC’s Bio Art Lab, where poetry turns into viruses and yeast into music By P D
avid Hale doesn’t know whether his let the biological, poetic virus culture sitting claiming human genes as intellectual property rotrophic factor gene, which helps create a poem will kill the culture. in the freezer of his San Antonio apartment in order to profi t from any medicines or treat- protein found in our brains and spines. They It’s not that “A iction 11” is a bad replicate and grow. ment derived from studying those genes. then identifi ed the noncoding RNA, identifi ed poem. It’s a beautiful one, a brief, “It itself could be toxic,” he says. “Or maybe “Part trying to raise awareness and explain a sequence that was part of the gene but not DD subtle meditation on the transmis- it doesn’t do anything. Or maybe it does some- this to my peers and part trying to really see the coding sequence, designed primers to sion of belief, filtered through the 32-year- thing weird, like it grows hair.” what I can get away with, I am trying to do the amplify a region of the sequence, purifi ed their old’s experiences at a Catholic university. But Em Adele Oppman, 22, meanwhile, is work- slightest mutation possible so I can say that I DNA with Chelex 100, performed a polymerase now that the poem’s 309 characters have been ing out how to patent themself. tweaked this gene just enough that it’s now my chain reaction, and put it in gel. assigned their accompanying letter-coded Oppman’s goal is to see whether the 2013 intellectual property,” Oppman explains. “But Once they have their DNA growing in a amino acids, which were then coded into RNA, Supreme Court case Association for Molecular hopefully the gene will still function as normal.” bacterial plasmid—a small DNA molecule that which was then coded into DNA and inserted Pathology v. Myriad Genetics, Inc., actually Oppman, who came to the School of the can replicate independently of the rest of the into E. coli, Hale doesn’t know what will hap- ended the 25-year practice of gene patent- Art Institute of Chicago to study sculpture, DNA in the same cell—the process of mutating pen if he splices in the genetic code that will ing—that is, for-profit labs identifying and decided to work with the brain-derived neu- it starts. There are several options for mutat- 16 CHICA O READER - DECEMBER ll ing the sample; Oppman is currently leaning Outside the lab, Scarpelli is one of the toward exposing it to UV light. Their goal is to founders and lead organizers of ChiTownBio, fi nd the smallest mutation that a patent lawyer a 501(c)(3) biotechnology meet-up. Eventually can turn into a design or utility patent, which hoping to open a community biolab like New Oppman considers a loophole in Myriad. York’s Genspace or Silicon Valley’s BioCuri- Oppman and Hale, and also the student dis- ous, the group holds events like biotech book tilling the essence of gym socks, the student clubs, barroom lectures on and playing with growing a mask out of mushrooms, and the slime molds, enzymes, and strawberry DNA, student collaborating on a song with the yeast and the yearly Bacterial Art Holiday Spectac- from her sourdough starter have all done their ular, held tonight at the Empirical Taproom , work at SAIC’s Bio Art Lab. Down in the base- where attendees paint glowing E. coli rein- ment of the MacLean Center at 112 S. Michi- deer, Christmas trees, bacteriophage viruses, gan, they use test tubes, beakers, microscopes, and dreidels. centrifuges, fungi, bacteria, and worms to “What’s great about [the SAIC program],” create art that, quite literally, is alive. Scarpelli says, “is that artists have a great enthusiasm, and it’s really just being here as “DON’T OPEN THOSE” a biologist to match up what they do with the Lichen ANDREW SCARPELLI right language.” Department of Art and Technology Studies professor Eduardo Kac and grad student Yuta- ETHICS AND ETHYLS ka Makino fi rst opened a bio lab for research, not classes, on the MacLean Center’s fourth The Bio Art Lab is part of SAIC’s Art and Tech- fl oor in 2003. molecular biologist. “We don’t have an ethical It wasn’t a good fi t. She arrived at the SAIC nology Studies department. Starting in 1969 “It was a very, very small kind of tiny review board, so we don’t do anything with lab in August. as the Kinetics area, “Art and Tech,” as Yu, Kac, space—basically a closet,” recalls Anna Yu, the animals. But if we wanted to [study multicel- “I think what drew me to this position, I would and the faculty call it, has evolved into a catch- department’s assistant director of facilities. lular organisms], it’s just human cells are out be doing a little bit of everything,” she says. “It all wonkaverse for media that don’t quite fi t That lab shuttered in 2004 so the valuable of line and certain unsafe microorganisms. For wasn’t just focusing on streak plating and iso- into painting, sculpture, or the rest of SAIC’s space in the gallery-packed campus could be instance, certain strains of Yersinia pestis that lating colonies and doing that same thing over more traditional o erings used to fabricate surface-mount circuit boards. caused the [bubonic] plague would be allowed and over again. After a while it becomes very One of Art and Tech’s basement rooms holds Bio art seminars continued, showing students here as long as they’re not deemed dangerous repetitive, it becomes very annoying.” what Yu called “retrotech”—Apple IIes, eight- the work being done in the fi eld, but there was to people, but if there’s any that could cause Scarpelli, who received his Ph.D. from inch floppies, Atari cartridges, and oscillo- no lab where students could dive in and create disease, those would be banned.” Northwestern and has expertise in micro- scopes. Students either use the tech to create their own living art. Kac had to wait 10 years That’s a hypothetical—there’s no Yersinia biology and synthetic biology, says his goal new art or for “media archeology,” preserving before the perfect spot became available. pestis in the lab. But there are plastic con- is to give the artists the science they need to old art created at the time when a Commodore “Life is supple and also very resilient, but tainers full of dirt and earthworms used to make their ideas happen, whether it’s bury- 64 was the most bleeding of edge. It’s next to the one thing that we know that life cannot compost. There are wonky cat masks, cuddly ing a polylactic acid toy boat in worms and the Light Lab, where students with blowtorch- exist without is water,” Kac says. teddy bears, road cones, and pillows, all grown dirt to see if PLA plastic is as biodegradable es in hands and breathing tubes in mouths In other words, they needed a sink. from mycelium (that’s mushrooms to us). And as believed or it’s helping one of the three melt and shape glass rods, making sure to The current facility—with an industrial there’s a metal locker fi lled with vials from the current students trying to get di erent micro- blow into the tube so the hot glass doesn’t col- sink—opened in the basement in 2014, costing olfactory art class that also meets in the room. organisms—slime mold, yeast, and bacteria, lapse on itself before krypton, argon, or neon the school a total of $50,000 covering every- The names scribbled on the vials include “Big respectively—to write music by converting can be pumped into it and lit up. Next comes thing from carpentry to centrifuge. It’s a bio- Sur,” “Magenta,” “Meadow,” and “Gym Socks.” their chemical signals into MIDI fi les. the Kinetics Lab, one of the nation’s oldest fa- safety level 1 lab. The highest biosafety level “It is a lot worse than you can possibly “The Bio Art course as it currently is right cilities for teaching art students how to build is 4, at which Ebola, Kyasanur Forest disease, imagine,” Scarpelli says of the distilled es- now is that the fi rst eight weeks become this and use mechatronics: whirling gears, chains, Marburg, and other potential pandemics are sence of sock. “When it starts to degrade, it’s giant crash course in all sorts of di erent bi- motors, rotors, and sundry doodads that make studied. A level 1 lab like SAIC’s is similar to this very acrid thing that just eats the back of ology,” he says, “just because we have some artwork dance like clockwork. what one might fi nd at a community college your throat. Don’t open those.” students who want to work on human genetics Kac created the term “bio art” in 1997. He’d or a particularly well-funded high school, Scarpelli and lab coordinator Lynika Stro- and then other students who want to work been creating digital art since 1982 and work- according to the Federation of American zier are the scientists among the artists. on sculpting like topiary or bonsai, and then ing online since 1985, transmitting graphics Scientists. The biosafety levels set security In May of this year, Strozier, 34, received some students who want to work on some- through the French network and Internet protocols (whether you need a hazmat suit or her master’s degree in biology from Loyola thing purely bacterial.” precursor Minitel. By the 1990s, he wanted can eat your lunch in the lab) and also limits University Chicago and her master’s degree in It’s often a starting point for projects the a term to separate the kind of art he wanted on what materials a lab can work with, from science education from UIC. With 12 years of artists will continue on their own, Scarpelli to develop from what he called the “frenzy” DNA strands to individual cells to multicellu- research experience and what she describes says, either because of graduation or other around the then-newfangled Internet craze. lar organisms like living animals. as a dedicated personality—“I eat, breathe, reasons. For example, the type of DNA work “There was a lot of, in my view, nonsensical “We can do multicellular organisms. We sleep science,” she said—she soon parlayed required for the next step of Oppman’s discourse around the web,” Kac says, “people don’t,” says Bio Art studio and Critical Genet- her education into a research position at Rush self-patenting project will require a biosafety talking about uploading their consciousness ics lecturer Andrew Scarpelli, who is also a University Medical Center. level 2 lab. online and things like that.” J ll DECEMBER - CHICA O READER 17 continued from 17 Since then, the Brazilian-born artist has used the banner of bio art and, later, trans- genics, which he defi nes as the transfer of syn- thetic or natural genes between organisms, to install a computer chip inside his body (Time Capsule, 1997), translate a Bible verse into Morse code and from there into DNA base pairs (Genesis, 1999), and implant his genetic code into a petunia he calls “Eduina” (Natural History of the Enigma, 2003-08). In 2017, Kac and five other practicing bio artists wrote “What Bio Art Is: A Manifesto,” a mission statement for the medium, containing such directives as “All art materials have ethical implications, but they are most pressing when the media are alive.” “This is more of a renewal of vows, if you will,” Kac says. “It was written deliberately, consciously, 20 years after the fact by the founders of the movement.” Hale, who came to SAIC for the writing pro- gram, had long been interested in taking “words off of the page,” with past projects including projecting his poems on a wall. He wanted to ex- plore what a poem is when separated from the ink on a page or the pixels on a screen. He had a chance not to write on college rule or iPad, but on the stu of life, and he took it. Much of his effort, he said, was writing a poem good enough to be worthy of the medi- um. Writers talk about breathing life into their words. Hale had to come up with words to breathe into life. Kac understands. “It’s humbling to work with life,” Kac says. “Life is absolutely incredible and marvelous, Genesis by Eduardo Kac and the more we believe we know, the more amazing and incredible life becomes.” But why work in bio art at all? Why sculpt in mushrooms and paint in slime mold? Why There are no prerequisite courses and it’s used for decades to standardize communica- His project is on hold since his May 2017 write poems in DNA instead of on paper? The not part of any particular program, although tion. Phenylalanine, which is found in breast graduation, since funding comes more easily answers are as varied as the reasons students Bio Art Lab is one of the courses recommend- milk and NutraSweet, is F. Tryptophan, which to a project living in SAIC’s Bio Art Lab than a few fl oors above work in paint. Picasso had ed for students interested in studying Sustain- helps adults balance nitrogen content and, de- in a Texas poet’s freezer. Catching funding as di erent motives than Bob Ross. able Design. spite constant Thanksgiving assertions, does he can, Hale’s next goal is to code for biolumi- The cat masks and teddy bears grown of “The Fine Arts program is very open. You not actually make you sleepy, is W. nescence so each strand of E. coli in the sample mycelium are cute but also train future makers can be a photographer one year and you can Each amino acid also has a corresponding starts to glow as “A iction 11” infects it. in the use of what Scarpelli calls “a really nice be a sculptor the next year. You can just move DNA codon, a three-letter combination made His poem about the transmission of faith futuristic packaging material” and insulator around and take whatever you want,” Yu says. up of A, T, G, or C to symbolize the four nucleo- through human culture will spread through a that could be used to replace Styrofoam. “The bio art curriculum in terms of Art and bases that make up DNA: adenine, thymine, bacterial culture, leaving a deep, internal glow The compost worms show the artists which Tech, you don’t have to have any [science] guanine, and cytosine. on all it touches. supposedly biodegradable materials actually background. You can just decide ‘I want to So “M,” the fi rst letter of “A iction 11,” be- Or it will kill everything. Or make it grow hair. biodegrade, and how quickly. Starting with the make something that I just thought up.’” comes methionine, which becomes ATG, which Lights like palliating glimmer inaugural contest in 2016, Bio Art Lab students becomes adenine joined to thymine joined to A wish masks have competed in the yearly Biodesign Chal- —PHENYLALANINE guanine in the possibly toxic, possibly hairy A prayer lenge, an international competition among ISOLEUCINE ASPARAGINE— poem in Hale’s freezer. Distilled colleges and universities around the planet One of the fi rst hurdles was linguistic rather As epithet to fi nd biotech solutions to social issues, sub- But back to the question that may have been than chemical. There are 26 letters in the al- In epidemic’s wake mitting ideas like a startup that converts used bothering you since the fi rst line of this story: phabet but only 20 amino acid codes, meaning That’s the end of a poem written in the lan- diapers into fertilizer and a prototype “living How do you put a poem inside E. coli? Hale’s bijou, expressive stanza couldn’t use guage of life itself. v bathhouse” that (hypothetically) recycles the Each of the 20 amino acids has a correspond- the letters B, J, O, U, X, or Z. waters of California’s Mono Lake. ing single-letter database code biologists have “I couldn’t put the title in,” he says, laughing. @1001chicago 18 CHICA O READER - DECEMBER ll ARTS & CULTURE
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The cast of Algorithm Nation or, The Static Quo TODDROSENBERG
COMEDY Strictly status quo The Second City’s Algorithm Nation or, The Static Quo feels stuck in the system. By B W
n a recent episode of the improv progress since Newsome’s tenure. Well, all ex- podcast Spontaneanation with Paul cept for Je rey Murdoch, who in the opening F. Tompkins, comedian Tawny New- scene is in his underwear, tied to a chair with some aired some grievances about duct tape over his mouth and nipples. Nate her time at Second City in Chicago. Varrone, fl ashing an eerily large smile, joins OShe said that up until at least 2012, the fi nal him and begins giving the tourist-friendly year she was a part of the ensemble, female Second City spiel about the famous alums performers were required to wear dresses. who have graced the stage in between bouts of That was di cult because improv is all about berating Murdoch and smacking him as hard moving around, losing yourself in a scene, not as he can with a pool noodle. What follows is a worrying if a skirt will fl y up, showing o bits very aggressive opening number that involves you might not want to show o . It’s something guns, violence, and red flashing lights and that the men on stage didn’t have to worry seems intended to shock and upend expecta- about. And it’s a subtle reminder that even if tions. Even with those Second City boundaries some of the most progressive, boundary-push- in place, the cast wants the audience to know ing performers are cast in a show, Second City they’re doing things di erently. Or they’re at is still drawing the boundaries. least trying their very best. The cast of the 107th mainstage revue, Algorithm Nation hits the requisite political Algorithm Nation or, The Static Quo, was all punchlines, unavoidable in 2018, with mixed dressed in black turtlenecks and black pants results. Later in the first half, Ryan Asher regardless of gender, which is at least some plays the host of a “Women for Trump” J ll DECEMBER - CHICA O READER 19 ARTS & CULTURE continued from 19 altar, played by Kimberly Michelle Vaughn, rally. Asher is one of the most high-energy cries her way through the Cha-Cha Slide; THEATER performers in the cast, and it’s hard to keep a girl group comprised of Asher, Pope, and your eyes o her when she enters a scene. In Vaughn sings about astrology and goes The that way, this sketch was a great showcase into the crowd to ask audience members, of her talent. But it also demonstrated that, “What’s your sign?”; a son and stepdad, disappeared given how quickly events have progressed played by Asher and Murdoch, try to find and the seriousness of current accusations, common ground; and the entire ensemble, in Isaac Gomez wanted Trump jokes aren’t that funny anymore. a wordless sketch, endures a middle-school to know more about The folks who support Trump are becoming dance. But as talented as the cast is and as the women who were more and more difficult to parody because entertaining as some moments were, noth- abducted on their way they already feel like parodies of themselves. ing felt unexpected. Even in the show’s fi nal to work in Juarez. So he How do you parody a parody? As Asher high- moments, when things really go o the rails wrote La Ruta. kicked her way across the stage listing off (I don’t want to spoil the surprise), it’s still
By J H JOEL MOORMAN the president’s values, it was more trigger- very clear how everything falls into the Sec- ing than entertaining. ond City algorithm, a concept that the title Moments that didn’t directly reference suggests this show is trying to upend. 45 were more successful. Tyler Davis was a ome writers write to explain. Others write working conditions. standout in this regard with a song called to entertain. Isaac Gomez, the 27-year-old Gomez became interested in las desapareci- “Dave is Dead.” While the song itself is not A N Sauthor of La Ruta, now receiving its world das when a friend at school asked him what he overtly hilarious, Davis uses a blues-style S Q premiere at the Steppenwolf Theatre, writes knew about the abducted and murdered women ballad to tell the story of a young black man Through / / : Wed-Thu PM, because he can’t not write; writing is how he and he had to admit he knew nothing. He was Fri-Sat and PM, Sun PM, and who was killed, then came back as a zombie Tue PM; also PM Tue / -Thu fi nds words for as yet unnamed, unexpressed ashamed of his ignorance because he had grown for some “undead vigilante justice,” noting / and PM Sun / ; no ideas and feelings. up in the El Paso-Juarez area and even had cous- at the end of the song that, just kidding, “he’ll performances Tue / and / , “I was always a writer,” he says. “I kept a ins who lived in Juarez, so he began researching. Second City Chicago Mainstage, never get this chance because Dave is dead.” N. Wells, -- , journal and in middle school, I did a stage The more he researched, the more obsessed he What is always most impressive about the secondcity.com, $ -$ . adaptation of [Barbara Robinson’s 1971 became. He interviewed women who worked in Second City cast is its range of talents, and comic young adult novel] The Best Christmas the maquiladoras, family members of women Davis should be given every opportunity to Pageant Ever.” But growing up in a working who had been killed, and a newspaper editor in showcase his musical chops. Murdoch and As far as a night of comedy goes, you could class Mexican-American family in El Paso, Juarez who had connections to the drug cartels, Varrone nicely wrapped several of the past definitely do worse. This is a group of dy- Texas—his mother worked at a Walmart and trying to put it all together. year’s scandals into one sketch as a pair namic performers who have a shot at a spot his father worked construction—Gomez had of television hosts who realize through an in the Second City-to-Saturday Night Live no idea writing, let alone playwriting, could anniversary clip show that when it comes to pipeline. But when there are so many other be a full-time profession. So instead, he turned racism, sexism, and good ole fashioned big- progressive and innovative shows happen- his attention to acting. L R otry, they might have ended up on the wrong ing in the city, it’s becoming increasingly When Gomez was a student at the Universi- /-//: Wed-Fri : PM, Sat- side of history (Asher and Emma Pope play di cult to see where a theater that wanted ty of Texas at El Paso, a friend committed sui- Sun and : PM, Tue : PM, their younger counterparts). to keep women in dresses fi ts in. v cide by jumping o a garage roof. The suicide no performances Tue /, /, and /, and Wed /, Steppenwolf The biggest laughs of the night came a ected Gomez deeply. Theatre, N. Halsted, -- from evergreen sketches: a bride left at the @BriannaWellen “That really broke my spirit,” Gomez says. , steppenwolf.org , $-$. “The only way I could cope with all of the feelings was to write about it.” His writing turned into a play, and in the process he found his vocation. Today his plays have been Gomez ended up writing two pieces based workshopped or produced at theaters around on his research: La Ruta, which he describes the country, including the Goodman, Victory as “a creative reimagining based on the in- Gardens, Chicago Dramatists, and the Oregon terviews I collected,” and a one-woman show Shakespeare Festival. called The Way She Spoke that follows his Gomez has been working on La Ruta spo- journey talking with people in Juarez and El radically since his senior year of college. “It Paso and features their stories in raw and un- was my fi rst formal play,” he says. It’s set on edited form. the U.S.-Mexico border where he grew up and “Writing for me comes from trying to un- focuses on the plight of las desaparecidas, the derstand,” he explains. “When I write there missing women of Juarez who were abducted is something in the pit of my stomach, some- and murdered on their way to and from work thing I am trying to shake out. Writing for me in the maquiladoras, factories set up by for- is a very cathartic experience.” v eign, often U.S.-based, companies in Juarez that were notorious for low wages and poor @JackHelbig 20 CHICA O READER - DECEMBER ll S R Through /: Wed-Fri : PM, Sat and PM, Sun and PM, Tue : PM; no performance Tue /, Broadway Playhouse, E. Chestnut, --, broadwayinchicago.com , $-$ ARTS & CULTURE
THEATER Maybe get an Uber next time? Hellcab’s appeal remains just as mystifying now as it was in 1992.
The reason for the popularity of Hellcab, Will Kern’s evening-length one-act set in a Chicago taxicab right before Christmas, has long eluded me. Famous Door’s original 1992 production, initially slated for 12 performances, ran for ten years, a nearly unheard of feat for an off -Loop show. In the middle of that COURTESY THE ARTIST
streak, Chicago’s New Crime Productions turned it into a movie, featuring Gillian Anderson, John Cusack, and Julianne Moore, no less. This millenni- um, Profi les Theatre staged it for four consecutive DANCE holiday seasons, and now the Agency Theater Collective off ers its second annual take on the Everything and the seemingly indefatigable piece, this time with a female cabdriver. kitchen sink Regendering the cabbie makes for good pro- motional copy (“the fi rst ever female-led produc-
Just about anything can be an tion”) but leaves the script’s fundamental fl aws Photo by Chris Lee instrument in Stomp. unaddressed. Beyond its halting, underdeveloped scenic structure—most of the cab rides end just as something of consequence arises—the whole aff air reifi es a certain bourgeois privilege: it’s somehow TOBEMORTAL is to sense that time pass- the cabdriver’s “hell” to drive rude, drunk, creepy, es and is finite. To make rhythm is to know belligerent, racist, distressed, and/or devoutly reli- that time subdivides infi nitely—the more you gious people a few blocks for money (tell that to the young female passenger with the hatefully abusive make, the more you have. This is the beauty boyfriend, or the one who was just raped). Worse, Strauss Symphony of America of Stomp, a wordless percussion piece, creat- the script asks us to accept unquestioningly the ed by Luke Cresswell and Steve McNicholas cabbie’s belief she’s in dangerous territory driving featuring and developed through the nearly 30 years of anywhere on the south side except Bridgeport. Director Cordie Nelson’s underpaced produc- ensembles that have performed it. It demon- tion features a number of aff ecting performances, a Oliver Ostermann, conductor (Vienna) strates this concept in vignettes that can be real cab center stage, and a truly moving fi nale. But Micaëla Oeste, soprano (Vienna) appreciated as much for their mathematics the route to that climax is a dispiriting slog. —J as they can for their visceral wit. Presented H H Through 12/30: Thu-Sat 8 Brian Cheney, tenor (New York) PM, Sun 3:30 PM; also Mon 12/17 8 PM, Raven on a stage set with scrap metal, street signs, Theatre, 6157 N. Clark, 773-680-4596, wearet- and trash cans, the scene is an urban alley heagency.org, $5-$20. anywhere, its personages ragtag and bruised Dancers from Kiev-Aniko Ballet of Ukraine & but unbowed by the vocations and situations Ready, set . . . R A lot goes right in The Play That Goes implied by the objects that come into their International Champion Ballroom Dancers Wrong. hands and under their feet: brooms, sawdust, pipes, matchboxes, paint cans, and (yes, liter- This 2012 play, written by Henry Lewis, Jonathan ally) kitchen sinks. Anything can be an instru- Sayer, and Henry Shields for London’s Mischief The- ment and anything can be expressed in the atre and now playing at the Oriental Theatre, could A spectacular recreation of as easily have been called The Set That Goes Wrong. music they produce—territories established, At least 50 percent of the comic bits in this amusing, Vienna’s famous New Year’s Concert! kings and queens made and unmade, defi- intensely physical comedy involve mishaps with ance, humor, pleasure, idiosyncrasy, communi- the scenery (brilliantly designed by Nigel Hook): ty. The principles are clear and quickly estab- wall hangings fall, a door won’t open, an elevator malfunctions, etc. The set is so integral to the story lished: it’s not the ones who tap the loudest about a provincial theater company that tries—and who have the greatest power but the ones fails—to put on a rather lackluster fi ctional 1920s Sunday, Dec. 30, 2018 at 2:30 pm who make the most of what they have and murder mystery that it’s virtually another character. share it with the others. Every brown, black, (The Broadway production of the play won the Tony ORCHESTRA HALL, SYMPHONY CENTER for best scenic design, naturally.) and white face and body in the 12-member The humans in this production—the host of 312.294.3000 • cso.org cast is distinctive, alive, and intent on creating awful actors and incompetent crew members—also and connecting. play their part in running the show off the rails. The salutetovienna.com/chicago Stomp says nothing and everything; its mes- ensemble’s packed with adept physical comedians, sage of invention, inclusion, and play is all the able to wring laughs out of jokes both small (in one Produced by Attila Glatz Concert Productions. Artists subject to change without notice. running bit, one actor keeps stepping on the hand affi rmation of life and hope we need in a dark of another actor playing a corpse) and large (one of season. —I H the more elaborate gags is a blatant steal from/ ll DECEMBER - CHICA O READER 21 The Play That Goes Wrong ARTS & CULTURE JEREMY DANIEL
B homage to that master of silent physical comedy, coziness of the surroundings. Audience members can Buster Keaton). The show’s slow to get started—some of sit on big, comfy sofas, ensconced amid a half dozen the repetitions in the fi rst act make it feel padded—but tastefully decorated artifi cial Christmas trees, and listen the stakes are higher in the deliriously funny second act, to Grandfather tell young Cora the legend of the as the level of chaos rises and the actors are forced to Winter Wolf while sipping hot cocoa on Christmas Eve. do increasingly dangerous feats. They struggle mightily Depending on your tolerance for holiday feel-goodism, to keep the story going—and, to our intense delight, you’ll either roll your eyes at the shameless pandering or fail. —J H T P T G W snuggle up to the theatrical equivalent of comfort food. Through 12/16: Thu-Fri 7:30 PM, Sat 2 and 8 PM, Sun Certainly, this Otherworld Theatre premiere off ers 2 PM, Oriental Theatre, 24 W. Randolph, 800-775- its fair share of nourishment in the form of folklor- 2000, broadwayinchicago.com , $32-$157. ic mysticism. The eponymous character, a pathetic animal spirit who hunts for humans standing on the Elf name: Crumpet brink of death, is an ingenious invention that feels R The Santaland Diaries hilariously exposes both ancient and contemporary, and Shariba Rivers, the ugly underbelly of the holiday season. manipulating an oddly suitcase-like puppet version of the creature, breathes just the right combination of The Santaland Diaries at the Goodman is a hilarious he’ll make you thank your lucky stars for your nonretail PM, Sat 4 and 8 PM, Sun 2 PM; also Tue 12/18, 7:30 solemnity and playfulness into the proceedings. And adult romp through the holiday season. This one-man day job. PM, and Mon 12/24, 2 PM, Goodman Theatre, 170 as Cora and Grandfather, Molly Southgate and Mike show, adapted by Joe Mantello from David Sedaris’s The story of an aff able loser is evergreen no matter N. Dearborn, 312-443-3800, goodmantheatre.org, Rogalski fi nd exquisite chemistry. While Zettelmaier’s 1992 This American Life essay, delivers an uncensored the era, and most of the decades-old references still $25-$61. Twilight Zone-esque tale is ultimately a bit slight, it holds tour through the dark heart of retail, told through the work well comedically, funny now for their glorifi ed irrel- a certain genuine wonderment. eyes of Crumpet, one of Santa’s elves at Macy’s. This evance. Like many older productions, though, a few lines The weather outside is Speaking of wonderment, we were informed during show off ers desperately needed catharsis: someone in the script have unintentionally traded their comedic R frightful an opening-night curtain speech that Otherworld The- fi nally admits that maybe the dog-and-pony show we call weight for dramatic over the years. One antiquated atre is the only theatrical venue “in the world” dedicated Christmas isn’t really for the kids a er all. reference to mentally handicapped people, for instance, But The Winter Wolf is so delightful, with its to fantasy and science fi ction, making me quite intrigued Actor Matt Crowle possesses an easygoing scruff y, landed like the proverbial turd in an otherwise tasty infi nite capacity for wonder. to see the company’s enormous compendium of every yet impishly charming persona that plays like a best punchbowl; it was 15 minutes before Crowle regained performance space on the planet. —J H friend dishing hot gossip a er work as he delivers a the trust of the audience. Fortunately, he was able to With his original 70-minute Christmas “fairytale play,” T W W Through 1/6/19: Thu-Sat 7:30 long string of anecdotes about the terrible behavior turn things around, no small feat when one is the only Joseph Zettelmaier takes a stab at creating a new fam- PM, Sun 2:30 PM; no performance Sun 12/23, Oth- of ridiculous parents, crazed shoppers, and a less-than- person on stage. —S F T S ily-friendly holiday classic, and director Lauren Nicole erworld Theatre, 3914 N. Clark, 773-857-2116, oth- ideal Santa Claus. He keeps the laughs coming—and D Through 12/30: Wed-Thu 7:30 PM, Fri 8 Fields makes a concerted eff ort to up the Hallmark erworldtheatre.org , $20 or pay what you can. v
A visceral and powerful world premiere about the missing women of Juárez, Mexico
2 FOR 1 TICKETS
12/13 - 12/19
USE CODE: CHIREADER
steppenwolf.org | 312-335-1650
22 CHICA O READER - DECEMBER ll ARTS & CULTURE
BOOK SWAP new biography written by the brilliant Imani Perry. I was not disappointed by this book. It’s beautifully written and covers Lorraine’s short Lit recs to dismantle but incredibly full life, from her childhood in Chicago to her abbreviated college years in Wisconsin through to her success in New York violence, both the City. Hansberry was part of most of the signif- icant radical movements of the early-to-mid- 20th century, including communism, social- personal and systemic ism, and the black freedom struggle. The vio- lence of racism, homophobia, and sexism is ever-present in her life, but she is not defeat- ed by the forces of oppression. Instead, she courageously confronts them. Perry captures her self-doubt and her confi dence. Hansberry n Book Swap, a Reader sta er recommends serve to explain so much about our adult lives. was ahead of her time in so many ways. two to five books and then asks a local Bechdel’s grayscale drawings are accented This is an unconventional biography, as Iwordsmith, literary enthusiast, or pub- only by shades of pink, and they powerfully Perry doesn’t shy away from sharing parts lishing-adjacent professional to do the same. render much of the conceptual, inarticulable of her own life and journey too. Rather than In this installment, Reader sta writer M content of her thoughts and experiences into detracting from Lorraine’s story, that liter- D swaps book suggestions with ac- concrete gestures, expressions, and actions. ary device adds to the readability of this tivist and organizer M K . The second book my therapist encour- book. Too little is known about Hansberry’s aged me to read is A A L N life. When people talk about her, they usual- Maya Dukmasova, Reader staff writer V (William Morrow, 1999) by Bell Hooks. ly focus on her play A Raisin in the Sun, but I’m a slow reader and rarely fi nd time to pick Turns out it’s not a favorite among some die- Looking for Lorraine underscores the fact up books unrelated to my Reader beats. But hard Hooks fans, but I’m ashamed to say it’s that there’s so much more to her than that lately my therapist has been recommending the fi rst book I’ve ever picked up by the leg- one play. In the current era of people talking titles, books I probably wouldn’t have had the endary feminist critic and scholar. I’ve never about citing black women and elevating black wherewithal to pick up on my own. They are before considered all of the assumptions that women’s intellectual contributions alongside about the most fundamental relationships in go into the concept of love—assumptions we our organizing, this book is essential. our lives—the ones that set the tone for all never discuss or dissect or challenge. The My friend Ann Russo has a new book out that comes a er and our relationship to the goal of the book is to pick apart what exact- titled F A D - world within and outside ourselves. ly love means and to gently untangle ideas V T P One was Alison Bechdel’s A Y M about love from those about caring, about (NYU Press, 2018). It’s another perfect book M ? A C D (Houghton Mif- responsibility, about desire or fear. Hooks pos- for our current historical moment. The word flin, 2012). It’s a graphic novel sequel to her its that the cycle of pain, misunderstanding, “accountability” has become a buzzword in much more famous Fun Home, and, frank- and lovelessness that animates not only our this #MeToo moment. Yet the concept is poor- ly, it’s much better. While Fun Home was all lives but also our society begins with a fun- ly understood. Russo explores the praxis of about Bechdel’s relationship with her father, damental misconception about what it means accountability as a feminist, a scholar, a prac- this book is about her mom and an unsettling to love and to be loved. She delivers her mes- titioner of transformative justice, and an inter- and thought-provoking meditation on the per- sage in terse, thematic chapters that present nationalist. This book is a useful primer for ils of daughterhood. The narrative doesn’t her revelations about love through pointed those who want an introduction to the con- emerge from any chronological storyline but personal anecdotes and well-curated refer- cepts of transformative justice and communi- rather from concentric circles of self-can- ences to other academic and literary work. ty accountability. As we consider how to sup- nibalizing thoughts that somehow, over the If you don’t come away with a transformed port people who cause harm to take respon- course of the book, lead to new conclusions. mindset, you’ll at least have an exciting new sibility for their actions, we need more clarity Bechdel never does fi gure out her mom (as I reading list. about how to do that without relying on the think is the case for most of us), but she some- punishing state. This book helps us to formu- how finds peace and relief from the anxiety Mariame Kaba, activist and organizer late better questions as we strive not to rep- of long-held grievances against her. It’s sur- I’ve spent a lot of time reading this summer licate the limitations of carceral feminism, prisingly soothing as a third-party reader- and fall, which is surprising given how busy which tries to end violence by relying on the observer to witness her getting there. Not I’ve been with work. violence of the prison industrial complex. We only will the book get you thinking deeply I’m a huge admirer of Lorraine Hansberry, need more books that focus on nonpunitive about your own relationship with your moth- so I rushed to pick up a copy of L ways to address harm. Feminist Accountability er, but it’s also an excellent primer on psy- L T R R L is wonderfully readable and a great addition chological theories of child development that L H (Beacon Press, 2018), a to the canon. v ll DECEMBER - CHICA O READER 23 S sss Directed by Hirokazu Kore-eda. In Japanese with subtitles. R, min. Music ARTS & CULTURE Box, N. Southport, -- , musicboxtheatre.com, $.
Shopli ers Shoplifters tells the story of a surrogate before it) how children acclimate to the worst family scraping together an existence in Tokyo situations. In one of the fi lm’s most revealing through means both legal and illegal. The de scenes, Shota and Juri, walking home from a facto patriarch, Osamu (Kore-eda regular Lily shoplifting expedition (the little girl quickly Franky), works odd jobs; his partner, Nobuyo learns to steal just like the rest of the family), (Sakura Ando), irons clothes at a commercial pass two other children on their way home laundry. They live with an elderly woman, Hat- from school. Shota explains to his surrogate sue (Kirin Kiki), and her granddaughter, Aki sister that school is only for kids who can’t (Mayu Matsuoka), along with a boy, Shota (Jyo study at home—likely a lie he’s heard from Kairi), who appears to be around ten years old. one of his “parents.” The unassuming way The elderly woman brings in money through with which the boy reiterates the lie shows her pension checks and by milking her grown the extent to which he’s been manipulated daughter for cash, while the granddaughter by the adults in his life, and it points to the works at an erotic peep show booth. Even moral questionability of their behavior. Yet taken together, these sources of income aren’t for much of the film, Kore-eda undercuts enough to keep this group afloat, so Osamu this moral complexity by making the parents and Shota steal food from local supermarkets seem like children themselves. Their clever to feed everyone. The fi lm, in fact, starts with responses to poverty sometimes suggest a scene of them shoplifting; Kore-eda presents children’s games, and their desire for familial MOVIES their smuggling in fascinating detail, showing bonds seems to exceed that of the kids they’re how the two have gotten their routine down to raising. (Osamu’s insistence that Shota call a science. Already the fi lm achieves a balance him “Dad” is certainly the fi lm’s most mawk- The head and the heart between toughness and sentimentality, as one ish motif.) If anything, the characters are too recognizes the winning camaraderie between likable; Kore-eda renders them so sympathet- In Shopli ers, the sharpest insights are blurred by sentimentality. the grown man and the boy while intuiting the ic—and the culture they inhabit so cruel— dire conditions that have forced them to steal. that one can overlook their transgressions. By B S Later that evening, the family decides to The film implies that the characters take in a five-year-old girl named Juri, who wouldn’t have to break the law if life under lives in their neighborhood with parents who late capitalism were more equitable, and rson Welles has made films with Kore-eda’s Hana and After the Storm start out are alternately abusive and neglectful. The Kore-eda’s reminders of everyday inequity his right hand and films with his tough and then go soft, which is why I consider group’s fi rst dinner with Juri exudes warmth throw the family’s kindness into sharp re- left hand,” Francois Truffaut once them minor works.) and a sense of interpersonal connection, with lief. In a pivotal scene, Nobuyo’s boss at the wrote. “In the right-handed films, With Shoplifters, which won the Palme d’Or the various members taking protective inter- laundry takes Nobuyo and a coworker aside there is always snow, and in the at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, Kore-eda est in the little girl. (In a nice touch, Hatsue and informs them they must decide between Oleft-handed ones there are always gunshots.” strikes a balance between the two sides of blows on Juri’s food to keep it from burning themselves which one will agree to be laid o . By a similar token, one might say that Jap- his creative persona, with neither one over- the girl’s mouth.) Kore-eda encourages In another, Aki cuddles with one of her cus- anese writer-director Hirokazu Kore-eda has whelming the other. Shoplifters alternates viewers to disregard the fact that the family tomers at the peep show after she intuits that made films with his head and films with his between tender and sobering observations, has just kidnapped a child—their behavior he’s having a bad day—her behavior seems heart. The “head” fi lms (which would include and the frequent alternations keep the movie towards her is so loving that one excuses altruistic until she interrupts the cuddling Maborosi , Still Walking, and The Third Mur- unpredictable. Kore-eda doesn’t just change their crime, much like one forgives Osamu for session because the man has paid for only so der ) tend to be unsparing in their scrutiny of the emotional register from scene to scene, having taught a boy to steal since their e orts many minutes of intimacy. This scene exem- characters and the social codes they live by, but within individual scenes; he also manages keep several kind people from starving. It plifies the push-pull quality of Shoplifters, while the “heart” fi lms (which would include these shifts so gracefully that they never feel complicates matters somewhat that neither presenting an almost trite observation about After Life, Air Doll , and I Wish ) tend to be more jarring. When he moves from a sentimental Juri nor Shota comes across as excessively the need for human connection in an unfeeling sentimental, focusing on growth and reconcil- mood to a stark one, the effect is like being cute. Kore-eda, one of the best directors of world, then following it up with a stinging iation. Yet the distinction between Kore-eda’s woken with a splash of cold water; yet when children in cinema, renders the characters insight of how even those who feel that need two sides isn’t as hard and fast as it is with Kore-eda transitions the other way, it feels like as complex as the adults; one sees in their the strongest have been conditioned to think Welles. One reason why Nobody Knows, Our he’s retreating from his own insights. These guarded behavior how poverty has made them of themselves fi rst. I think the fi lm would have Little Sister, and Like Father, Like Son are such moments of retreat, which make Shoplifters an prematurely tough, even if they’re too young been stronger, though, if the sweet and sour powerful films is that they begin as “heart” occasionally frustrating experience, speak to to realize how tough they are. (Note how details weren’t so evenly dispersed. Kore-eda films and move unexpectedly into “head” Kore-eda’s worst tendency as a fi lmmaker—his Kore-eda allows his child actors to appear is at his best when he’s suppressing his senti- territory. Some of the best Japanese movies Spielbergian desire to reassure, if not placate, fi xated by small details and look away from the mentality, not when he’s indulging it, but like of the 21st century, they draw you in with their his audience in spite of the bitter truths he has other players—with this strategy, he captures his characters, fans of this inspired fi lmmaker sympathetic character portraits, then surprise to share with them. Thankfully these moments the enigmatic quality of children that most must learn to take the good with the bad. v you with their complex insights about the dif- aren’t fatally distracting, as Kore-eda’s head is other fi lmmakers seldom bother to consider.) fi culties of family relationships. (In contrast, around to keep his heart in check. Shoplifters also relates (like Nobody Knows @1bsachs ssss EXCELLENT sss GOOD ss AVERAGE s POOR • WORTHLESS
24 CHICA O READER - DECEMBER ll T A A S S ss min. In English and subtitled German. Fri / -Thu /. Gene Siskel Film Center, N. State, - -, siskelfilmcenter.org , $. ARTS & CULTURE
Weekends
MOVIES most ambitious selection, tells a tale of a ship Solomon uses shape-shifting clay figures to captain and a female passenger lost at sea in perform modern-style dance, and the e ect is Sketchy 1900. The storytelling is moderately engaging, often mesmerizing. The choreography is also This year’s Animation Show of Shows but I found the clunky 3-D animation distract- surprisingly dark—it makes up for the handful amuses more than astonishes. ing; additionally, director John Kahrs crams of saccharine shorts on the program, namely so many climaxes into the 12-minute running the Pixar knocko One Small Step, about the By B S time that the piece feels monotonous. By con- relationship between a girl who longs to be trast, the 15-minute, dialogue-free Weekends an astronaut and the devoted father who sup- is more modest both narratively and visually, ports her dreams. v but far more entertaining on the whole. he selections in this year’s Animation Comprised of hand-drawn images, it presents @1bsachs Show of Shows (curated, as always, by short, witty scenes of a grade-school-aged boy TRon Diamond) tend to be more amusing spending time with each of his divorced par- than inspired; my favorite works in the pro- ents in 1980s Toronto. As the short progresses, 164 North State Street gram provided me with momentary delight director Trevor Jimenez (who based the piece $11 GENERAL | $7 STUDENTS | $6 MEMBERS rather than lasting astonishment. The most on personal memories) drifts into the boy’s MOVIE HOTLINE: 312.846.2800 representative piece may be Business Meeting, dream life, showing how events from his daily 20TH ANNUAL a pencil-drawn short from Brazil that delivers life turn terrifying in his subconscious. The CHARM an absurdist send-up of corporate confer- result is a wry if not especially novel portrait ANIMATION SHOW ences. Running a little under two minutes, of a child of divorce. CITY OF SHOWS Business Meeting presents a distinctive style, The piece that came closest to bowling A powerful documentary DEC 14 - 27 serves up some laughs, makes its point, then me over was Grands Canons, a stop-motion on the fight against 15 films from 6 promptly ends. Less funny but no less terse is animation by French artist Alain Biet. In inner-city violence countries in the ace in Baltimore. of animation the German short Carlotta’s Face, which con- this work, Biet assembles realistic drawings compilation Fri 12/14 @ 4 & 8 pm; shows! Sat 12/15 @ 3 & 7:45 pm; veys in fi ve minutes what it’s like to live with he’s made of tools, writing implements, and Sun 12/16 @ 5:30 pm; face blindness. Codirectors Valentin Riedl other everyday objects, presenting one after Mon 12/17 @ 8 pm; DEC 14 - 20 Tue 12/18 @ 6 pm; (who’s also a neuroscientist) and Frédéric another in a sort of cavalcade. I marveled at Fri 12/14 @ 3:45 pm & 6 pm; Sat 12/15 @ 3 pm; Wed 12/19 @ 8:30 pm; Schuld incorporate into their 2-D animation the specifi city and verisimilitude of Biet’s art Sun 12/16 @ 5:30 pm; Mon 12/17 @ 7:45 pm; Thu 12/20 @ 6 pm; Tue 12/18 @ 6 pm; Wed 12/19 @ 6 pm; VISIT OUR WEBSITE FOR drawings made by a girl with this mental con- as well as the sheer multitude of drawings Thu 12/20 @ 7:45 pm SHOWTIMES THROUGH DEC. 27 dition, and the images provide deeper insight he’s produced. Another stop-motion work, Guest appearances than the poetic narration. Veronica Solomon’s Love Me, Fear Me, also DEC 14 - 20 • HAPPY NEW YEAR TIJUANA • 12/15 & 12/19 The lengthier pieces in the program vary in brings together two kinds of artistry, in degrees of success. Age of Sail, perhaps the this case clay animation and choreography. BUY TICKETS NOW at www.siskelfilmcenter.org ll DECEMBER - CHICA O READER 25 ARTS & CULTURE Get showtimes at chicagoreader.com/movies.
Free Solo
tokyo godfathers W/JAPANESE X-MAS PARTY 12/14 AT 8 PM DEC 14-17 AT 11 PM
elf DEC 18-20 AT 10:30 PM
For showtimes and advance tickets, visit thelogantheatre.com MOVIES movie takes on a zen-like meta aspect. Equally pleasing that launched its previous artistic directors Sam Mendes is the yin-yang dynamic between the sinewy, boyish, and Michael Grandage into movies). She reinvigorates intense Honnold, a UC Berkeley dropout who is philo- the o en staid biopic genre with her keen eye for Charm City sophical about death, and his petite, irrepressible lover composition and movement within the fi lm frame; we This documentary that captures the daily lives of citizens, Sanni McCandless, cheerily dedicated to keeping him can almost feel the sweep of history as Mary (Saoirse police offi cers, and government offi cials in Baltimore alive. —A G PG-13, 100 min. Fri 12/14, 2 Ronan) and Elizabeth (Margot Robbie) target each between 2015 and 2017 also shows how encounters and 6 PM; Sat 12/15, 5 and 7:30 PM; Sun 12/16, 2 PM; Mon other through their proxies, none more alluring and among this uncomfortable triad by turns help and com- 12/17, 6 PM; Tue 12/18, 8 PM; and Thu 12/20, 8 PM. Gene treacherous than lusty Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley (Jack pound the issues of a troubled city. Highlighted members Siskel Film Center Lowden), who, as Mary’s second husband, plots for the
R SM R of this system include a young councilman who declares throne. Screenwriter Beau Willimon (House of Cards) Baltimore’s epidemic of drugs, violence, and poverty a The Great Pretender specializes in complex political scenarios; it’s a shame www.BrewView.com public health crisis; a female police offi cer raised in one R Self-delusion is the principal subject of this that everything collapses when the queens fi nally meet of the city’s most blighted neighborhoods who empathiz- short, acerbic comedy by Nathan Silver (Stinking Heav- in a sequence that has all the he of a gauzy Chanel 3145 N. Sheffield at Belmont es with the residents’ struggles; and the paternal head en), which centers on the production of an autobiograph- fragrance spot. —A G R, 125 min. 10:45 of an East Baltimore community center who inspires ical stage play. The author (Maëlle Poésy-Guichard) is a AM, 12:15, 1:40, 3:15, 4:50, 6:15, 7:45, 9:15, and 10:40PM. Movie Theater & Full Bar peacekeeping on a high-risk block. Filmmaker Marilyn young French woman who’s using the play to work Century 12 Evanston/CineArts 6 18 to enter 21 to drink Ness gains extraordinary access to her subjects and through her feelings about her boorish ex-boyfriend $5.00 Photo ID required apparently their trust, given her ride alongs with police (Linas Phillips); the stars (Keith Poulson, Esther Garrel) admission and attendance at funerals for victims of gun violence. are a couple of well-intentioned narcissists looking for for the Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse Movies Moreover, in humanizing all sides of the confl ict, Ness love in all the wrong places. Each of the four characters Phil Lord—one half of the duo responsible for The Lego arrives at its crux: that all sides should spend more time takes a turn narrating the story, and Silver, directing a Movie and 22 Jump Street—cowrote this animated Mar- talking and listening to one another. —L P 108 script by Jack Dunphy, mines plenty of humor from the vel Comics adaptation, and like the fi lms he codirected, Sat-Sun, Dec. 15-16 @ 5:30pm min. Fri 12/14, 3:45 and 6 PM; Sat 12/15, 3 PM; Sun 12/16, ri between how these people behave and how they see it exhibits a free-for-all wackiness reminiscent of 1930s Tue-Thr, Dec. 18-20 @ 6:30pm 5:30 PM; Mon 12/17, 7:45 PM; Tue 12/18, 6 PM; Wed 12/19, themselves. Garrel gives a standout performance as the Looney Tunes. Set in a parallel universe, the story 6 PM; and Thu 12/20, 7:45 PM. Gene Siskel Film Center most naive of the bunch; she’s so winning in the role that follows a mixed-race teenage boy who transforms into you almost forgive her character for the lies she tells Spider-Man a er some baddies kill the original Spidey, Smallfoot Free Solo herself. Sean Price-Williams’s dreamy cinematography Peter Parker. Those same villains have also opened up R This awe-inspiring National Geographic doc- is another asset, conjuring up a romantic mood that a portal to alternate realities, and soon enough, the Sat-Sun, Dec. 15-16 @ 7:30pm umentary is as much a celebration of U.S. parks and provides ironic counterpoint to the bitter comedy. —B young hero fi nds himself fi ghting crime alongside every Tue-Thr, Dec. 18-20 @ 8:30pm wilderness as it is a record of one of the most audacious S 71 min. Fri 12/14, 7 and 9 PM; Sat 12/15, 3, 5, 7, and iteration of Spider-Man in the Marvel canon. Main- feats in the history of mountaineering: Alex Honnold’s 9 PM; Sun 12/16, 1, 3, 5, and 7 PM; Mon 12/17-Thu 12/20, 7 taining a breathless pace, the fi lmmakers pile up sci-fi 2017 ascent of Yosemite’s 3,000-foot-high El Capitan and 9 PM. Facets Cinematheque conceits, one-liners, and a melange of animation styles; without ropes or backup in under four hours. Codirec- as opposed to lots of other comic book adaptations, this Venom tors Jimmy Chin and Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi (Meru) actually captures the sensation of getting absorbed in a prepared for three years to fi lm the summit, meticulous- Mary Queen of Scots comic book. Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey, and Rodney ly planning every possible angle and approach so that The rivalry between the Tudor Queen Elizabeth I of Rothman directed. —B S PG, 117 min. ArcLight they could be ready to go on short notice and also stay England and her cousin the Stuart Queen Mary of Chicago, Century 12 Evanston/CineArts 6 Chatham 14 out of the athlete’s way to avoid endangering his life. Scotland makes for a gripping tale of palace intrigue Theaters, City North Stadium 14 IMAX & RPX Crestwood Not surprisingly, the small production crew, climbers in the feature directorial debut of Josie Rourke, head 18, ICON at Roosevelt Collection, River East 21, Rose- themselves, share facetime on camera, and thus the of London’s prestigious Donmar Warehouse (a theater mont 18, Showplace Cicero 14 v
26 CHICA O READER - DECEMBER ll Dorian’s programming director Joe Bryl spins records on the small stage behind the bar.
Honoring the vanishing musical ast month, Block Club Chicago mering since the mid-80s, and in the early 90s, broke the news that Texas cooler tensions boiled over between established Lat- company Yeti would open its inx residents and the majority white newcom- culture of second brick-and-mortar store in ers who’d built a burgeoning arts community L the 4,796-square-foot Wicker Park in the neighborhood. The Double Door opened space occupied till February 2017 by long- two months before his story came out—and running music venue the Double Door. Earlier three months after the New York Times put a Wicker Park this month, the odds of the venue reopening spotlight on Wicker Park in an e ort to declare in the neighborhood apparently declined to Chicago as “the Latest Next Seattle .” In some ways, Dorian’s is just one more zero when a sign reading “Future home of As Reader culture editor Aimee Levitt boutiquey bar and restaurant. But its record the brand new Double Door” appeared at a pointed out in the 2013 story “The migration store and music bookings connect it to the Smashing Pumpkins pop-up at the Wilson of the hipster,” Wicker Park had lost its repu- neighborhood’s 1990s arts community. Avenue Theater in Uptown. tation as a hotbed of anything by the turn of Both developments provided new opportu- the century. Today rents and property values By L G nities for locals to bemoan the fate of Wicker continue to skyrocket, and in June, real estate P P I Park, though in fairness the Double Door, firm CA Ventures bought the Double Door’s which opened in June 1994, helped fuel the old building for $9.1 million. rising rents that eventually forced it out. In The legacy of Wicker Park’s time as a cre- a 1994 Reader story , Je Huebner wrote that ative hub survives here and there, though. complaints about gentrifi cation had been sim- Subterranean has one of the most eclectic J ll DECEMBER - CHICA O READER 27 The small record store that fronts Dorian’s has an even smaller listening booth that doubles as the entrance to the bar and restaurant. It’s also the only room with windows.
music. When record-subscription service Vinyl Me, Please launched in 2013, it bundled the discs with cocktail recipes intended to complement the “listening experience,” which made its shipments look like starter packs for a uent wieners willing to pay for simulations of good taste. Were the records for sale at Dorian’s playing a similar role? Dorian’s co-owner Zack Eastman is also co-owner of Logan Square hot spot East Room, so he already knows how to cater to music fans. He had music in mind when he started batting around ideas for the business with the other two folks involved—Debonair Social Club co-owner Steve Harris and Beauty Bar operat- ing partner Derek Berry. The three of them had already used the Dorian’s space for three pop- ups: the Saved by the Bell diner, Saved by the Max, which ran from June 2016 till May 2017; the Riot Fest restaurant, Riot Feast , open for three months in summer and fall 2017; and the Fake Shore Drive tenth-anniversary bar, Fake Shore Dive , which lasted three days in October 2017. The partners considered continuing with pop-ups, but Eastman says they were worried The records that line one wall of the the bloom was o the rose. “We were seeing bar and restaurant aren’t back stock for the shop—they were added as an this success,” he says, “and then also dilution acoustic treatment. of that whole style of short-term concepts.” Eager for a permanent project, the trio stuck with the combo of food, drinks, and continued from 27 music, deciding to abandon the tie-in aspect of concert calendars in the city, and last month the pop-ups, whose novelty seemed destined its Tuesday-night hip-hop open mike series to expire. “It’s a big thing for all of us to say, celebrated its 20th anniversary with a con- ‘How can we make music a focal point in this cert headlined by west-side heroes Do or space as well?’ That was something that we Die. Chop Shop has booked some surprising really tried hard to accomplish,” Eastman up-and-comers and exciting reunions since says. To help, they recruited scene veteran Joe veteran talent buyer Brian Peterson took over Bryl as programming director. Bryl has been in 2015. Danny’s Tavern (technically in Buck- DJing in Chicago since 1982, and his CV reveals town) dodged a bullet in 2015 and continues him as a consistent thread through decades of to endear itself to fans from several di erent Chicago nightlife. He cofounded adventurous scenes: it’s where Chicago jazz drummer jazz venue HotHouse in Wicker Park in the Makaya McCraven recorded his 2017 mixtape mid-80s, became the first DJ for River West Highly Rare, where Beau Wanzer has hosted nightclub Funky Buddha Lounge in the late progressive electronic-music night Hot on the 90s, served as musical director for Ukrainian Heels for 12 years, and where friends and fans Village dance spot Sonotheque in the 2000s, recently paid tribute to the late Phil Hertz , and started as music programmer at Bridge- founder of dance-focused distributor Crosstalk port bar Maria’s Packaged Goods in 2012. International. can’t see any of that: it’s all hidden behind a “Dorian’s” doesn’t appear anywhere on the Harris pitched Bryl on Dorian’s late last year. The neighborhood’s bona fides as a desti- tiny, brightly lit record store. The store’s wide, front of the building. Instead the front door At the time, Bryl had been DJing at cozy spots nation for serious music people got a boost shallow space is just 120 square feet, and its says “The Record Shop” and lists hours of such as Sportsman’s Club and the Whistler, in September, when a new venture called listening room, equipped with a turntable operation unusual for a retail space: 5 PM till sometimes with friends Scott McNiece (of Dorian’s opened in a storefront of the Flat and headphones, is only slightly bigger than a 2 AM Thursday through Saturday, 5 PM till record label International Anthem and music- Iron Arts Building at 1939 W. North. The space phone booth. The only way to get into the bar midnight Wednesday and Sunday. programming service Uncanned Music) or includes an intimate bar and restaurant with a and restaurant (a much more generous 2,500 I was skeptical of the gimmick at fi rst. The Alejandro “King Hippo” Ayala. During his sets, small stage for live music and DJs (ostensibly square feet) is through a sliding door in the vinyl format increasingly seems like more of he would experiment with what he perceived to the main draw), but from the sidewalk you western wall of the listening room. The name a lifestyle accoutrement than a way to hear be fringey music in order to test his audiences. 28 CHICA O READER - DECEMBER ll The view from the Dorian’s stage, over Joe Bryl’s shoulder
“People were really kind of focused, and insistent even, on grooving to the music, even though it might be some spiritual-jazz track that was 20 years old,” Bryl says. “There was an interest I didn’t understand at the time that existed out there. I think it has some rela- tionship to how artists like Kamasi Washing- ton, and even how people on the International Anthem label like Makaya McCraven, are making inroads into the mainstream. It was a heartening thing to see people’s interest in music I thought they might not have a rela- tionship at all to.” Bryl brings the same sensibility to his job at Dorian’s. In the short time it’s been open, he’s shown how broad the umbrella of jazz can be—and that such music can feel at home in a space that also showcases DJs interested in soul, boogie, outre house, and hip-hop. Among Bryl’s DJ bookings so far are Alejandro Zerah (aka Leja Hazer), a Gramaphone Records em- ployee and cofounder of the globally minded The door from the listening Hesperian Sound Division label; Shazam Ban- room to the bar is just out gles of DJ collective Boogie Munsters, which of sight to the le . focuses on boogie, funk, and soul; and house and hip-hop veteran Tone B. Nimble, who also has a keen ear for gospel. Bryl also sporadical- ly books live jazz combos on the 250-square- foot Dorian’s stage, located behind the bar— Chicago jazz saxophonist and composer Isaiah Collier performed with his trio, the Chosen Few, the fi rst weekend of December. record-resale site Reverb LP, and further fi lls Bryl hired McNiece and Uncanned Music out the Dorian’s stacks with selections on to re-engineer the space acoustically to consignment from DJ David Tropicalazo (who benefit DJs and live performers. McNiece brings in records from Mexico City) and for- recommended buying a sound system from mer Shake Rattle & Read owner Ric Addy. Italian company Esoteric Pro Audio, because Dorian’s store holds roughly 600 records. the International Anthem artists who’d played Bryl says they’ve sold about 300 since opening London’s Total Refreshment Centre in fall in September—the bar and restaurant bring in 2017 had been so impressed by the EPA setup the real money—and they refresh part of their there. “It wasn’t a muscular PA, but it was real- stock at the beginning of every month. There ly natural sounding and full,” McNiece says. are no LP divider cards, but when I stopped by Dorian’s purchased two of EPA’s compact Trio the night before Thanksgiving, the selection systems, one for each leg of the L-shaped main was broadly organized by genre—jazz, soul, room. “It’s very clear—you could do a live gig Latin, indie rock, funk, hip-hop. I didn’t expect or a DJ gig, and it could have a resonance,” Bryl to buy anything, but I couldn’t help myself visit, when I caught DJ sets by Star Creature a little pricey, with $13 cocktails and “shared says. “It could be loud, but at the same time, when I found a 1986 copy of Schoolly-D’s 1984 Universal Vibrations owner Tim Zawada and plates” going for $15 to $22—but in others, you and I could have a conversation like we’re debut single, “Gangster Boogie” b/w “Maniac.” Chicago hip-hop legend the Twilite Tone, I most notably the way it respects music and having now and it’s not gonna be intrusive.” Eastman and his collaborators intended to got a mild shock when I stepped back onto the people who love it, it respects the values Bryl also oversees the record store, which give the bar and restaurant at Dorian’s a tiki the sidewalk and into the cold wind, in part of 1990s Wicker Park. “Double Door closed doubles as a check-in and waiting area for the feel: chef Brian Fisher, formerly of Schwa and because it’s impossible to see the street from down, and for a lot of people that signifi ed the main room (and also sells vinyl until closing Entente, devised a menu distantly inspired by inside—I’d temporarily forgotten where I was. cultural demise of Wicker Park,” McNiece says. time). Most of the 12-inches in stock are Polynesian food, and beverage director John Dorian’s is right around the corner from “For something like Dorian’s to pop up not long used, and many come from Bryl’s personal Hess included tiki-inspired cocktails on his the old Double Door space, but it provides a after that, it’s a nice reminder that the culture collection—he estimates he’s amassed 20,000 menu. They were less interested in tiki-bar degree of reprieve from the congested, hectic lives on.” v records over the years. But he also buys vinyl kitsch, though, and more in creating an immer- six corners neighborhood. In some ways it fi ts from International Anthem and Chicago-based sive experience. After my pre- Thanksgiving the area’s new character—it’s boutiquey and @imLeor ll DECEMBER - CHICA O READER 29 Est.Est.1954 1954 Celebrating over 6165 years of service service A Reader staff er shares three musical obsessions, then asks to Chicago! 1800 W. DIVISION someone (who asks someone else) to take a turn. (773) 486-9862 IN ROTATION Come enjoy one of Chicago’s finest beer gardens! fi rst two installments—an introductory essay ute Minor, Redbait, Time & Pressure, Bet- FEBRUARYSEPTEMBERJADECEMBERNUARY 11...... 20 23 .....13 .....MIKE DA FLABBYVID QUINN FLABBY FELTEN HOFFMAN HOFFMAN SHOW SHOW 8PM 8PM SEPTEMBERJADECEMBERNUARY 12...... 21 .....WAGNER14 UNIBROW AMERICAN& MORSE DRAFT and a feature about satanic-fascist group ter Days, New Heart, Bystander, Through N FEBRUARYSEPTEMBERJADECEMBERNUARY 13...... 22 24 .....THE15 ..... LOCKOUTDADYRKNAMOS DJRO SKIDOM LICIOUS MEN Order of Nine Angles and its ties to neofolk— Through, Shots Fired Shots Fired, Vortex, Bur- SEPTEMBERJADECEMBERNUARY 14...... 23 16 ....WHOLESOMERADIO TONYWHITEWOLFSONICPRINCESS TODONY ROSARIO DO DJRO NIGHTSARIO GROUP GROUP DECEMBER 17 MURPHY RCMOJO BIG THOMPSON 49BAND 7PM 9:30PM and they’re both sobering, essential reads. dened, Bitter Truth, Spine, La Armada, Justice JA NUARY 17...... MIKEPROSPECT FELTENJAMIE FOURWAGNER 9PM & FRIENDS DECEMBER 19 WAGNER & MORSE Decays, Death of Self, and Treason. FEBRUARYJANUARY 18...... 25 .....WHOLESOMERADIOTHE RON MIKEAND RACHEL FELTON SHOW DJ NIGHT SEPTEMBERJADECEMBERNUARY 19...... 24 .....RC20 MIKE BIG BAND FELTEN SITU 7PMATION DAVID DECEMBER 21 Z28 MAXLIELLIAM ANNA F X D FEBRUARY 26 .....RCBIRDGANGSMURDER BIG 9:30PMBACITYND SAINTS 7PM Vocalist of Decline JADECEMBERNUARY 20...... 22 TITTY THE CITTY ACOUSTIPUNKS FIRST WARD PROBLEMS D T FEBRUARYJA NUARY 21...... 28 .....PETERDUDEMAYA SAME TOKEYTAR CASANONY DO ROVASARIOQUARTET GROUP 8PM Guitarist of Racetraitor SEPTEMBERJA NUARY 22...... 26 .....PETERJOHN CASANOVA RCGREENFIELD BIG QUARTETBAND 7PM MARCHSEPTEMBERJADECEMBERNUARY 1...... SMILIN’ 24...... 27 .....DORIAN23 WHOLESOMERADIOTA PETERJ BO CASONOBBY AND DJVA THENIGHTQUARTET CLEMTONES Galaxie 2.0 My favorite DIY venue in Chica- SEPTEMBERJADECEMBERNUARY 25...... 28 .....27 TOURS KEITH THESCOTT WICK go is defi nitely worth mentioning. Located in Nicholas James from Redbait Nicholas MARCHDECEMBER 2...... ICE 28 BULLY STRAY PULPITBO BOLTSX AND BIG HOUSE JADECEMBERNUARY 26...... 29 THE CLAM THE HEPKATSBAND Ravenswood, Galaxie 2.0 is a community art James met his comrades in Saint Louis hard- SEPTEMBER 29 .....SOMEBODY’SSKIPPIN’ SINS ROCK MARCH 3...... CHIDITARODFEATURINGFEATURING JOE LANASABK ANDREADTARRINGTON 10PM space used for dinners, wedding receptions, core band Redbait through activism, and he’s SEPTEMBERJADECEMBERNUARY 27...... 30 .....OFF30 THE THE LAY VINE THE DOWN 4:30PM STRAY RAMBLERSBOLTS MARCHJADECEMBERNUARY 7...... 28...... 31 NUCLEAR DANJAMIE WHITAKER WHOLESOMERADIO JAZZWA QUARKTETGNER & THE & 7:30PM FRIENDS SHINEBENDERS DJ NIGHT swing-dancing nights, dance lessons, and of a union organizer with the SEIU. When I asked EVERYOPENEVERY MIC TUESD TUESD HOSTEDAY (EXCEPT BY MIKE 2ND) 2ND) &ATAT MIKE8PM8PM course alcohol- and drug-free all-ages punk him about connections between his music OPENON TUESDAY MIC HOSTED EVENINGS BY JIMIJON (EXCEPT AMERICA 2ND) and hardcore shows whose positive atmo- and work, he said, “I represent 6,000 black sphere makes the venue unique. Shows at workers in a post-Jim Crow state. The insti- Galaxie 2.0 are mostly booked by FYR Book- tutional racism I witness daily makes the job’s ing, so you can check FYR’s Facebook page infl uence unavoidable.” James invites cowork- for more info about upcoming events. ers to address the crowd during setup at the band’s shows. “White male punks are not used Ray Cappo from Youth of Today, Shelter, to having middle-aged black women tell them and Better Than a Thousand I’d like to share to get their political head out of their collec- this funny/silly fact about myself, which is also tive ass,” he says. “I love to watch this.” the answer to a question people frequent- Deniz Tek (top) and Rob Younger of ly ask me: my main influence as a front man Radio Birdman COURTESY THE ARTIST is Ray Cappo. He’s the most energetic front man I’ve ever seen, with his intense screaming J L and high jumps onstage. When I fi rst saw the Reader associate editor album cover for Youth of Today’s Can’t Close My Eyes when I was a teenager, I said I want- Descent Into the Maelstrom: The Radio Bird- ed to be like the guy in that photo; I’m now in man Story Protopunks Radio Birdman have a my 40s, and I’m still not like him. special place in my heart. The group emerged in 1970s Sydney with a transgressive attitude, smarts to spare (two members are doctors), and an ambitious sound that merged garage, surf, and high-energy Detroit rock ’n’ roll. This 2017 documentary explores all that, plus how their outsider status and rejection of indus- Redbait VERONIKA REINERT try convention helped inspire a movement. I would’ve liked a closer look into the band’s songwriting, but the fi lm’s wealth of concert The Defi ant Ones This HBO miniseries focus- footage and straightforward interviews make es on the collaboration between Jimmy Iovine it a must-see for Birdman fans—and anyone and Dr. Dre. Its portrayal of Dre is compel- else who loves independent culture. ling—he was exploited by Jerry Heller, Eazy-E, and Suge Knight, but never gave up. He re- The Hideout Few venues enjoy the Hideout’s invented himself by working with artists who well-earned reputation for high-quality book- pushed the envelope and created a sense of ings, community atmosphere, and integrity. danger. And he seemed genuinely regretful The cozy club has been there for us, and it’s about assaulting Dee Barnes. Also moving inspiring to see artists, fans, and industry folks was Iovine’s commitment to Dre—a big part of alike helping it defend our city’s musical cul- their friendship seemed rooted in values they ture against the Sterling Bay/Live Nation proj- developed growing up in harsh environments. ect threatening to swallow its neighborhood. Ray Cappo fronting Youth of Today The search for “heavy” It’s a driving force in The Quietus on extremist ideologies in TERRORMACHINE/FLICKR black metal, death metal, and metal- infl uenced underground music The global surge of the hardcore. Old Man Gloom’s No, Nails’ You Will far right has inspired a new Quietus series Midwest hardcore In the U.S., hardcore Never Be One of Us, Behemoth’s The Satanist, exploring how fascism and its cousins have scene people unfortunately tend to look at Nile’s Annihilation of the Wicked—lo-fi or hi-fi , appeared in underground music since World bands from the coasts and overlook what’s they’re all brutal, aggressive albums in diff er- War II. The stories aim to push listeners to going on in the midwest. But here are some ent ways. Is it the guitars, bass, or vocals that reappraise the past and to hold present-day midwestern hardcore bands that I think are drive a record home? Rawness and energy or artists accountable. Dylan Miller wrote the worth mentioning: Abraxas, Inclination, 2 Min- precise, mathematical polish?
30 CHICA O READER - DECEMBER ll Recommended and notable shows and critics’ insights for the week of December 13
b ALL AGES F MUSIC
THURSDAY13 Frode Gjerstad 4tet 8:30 PM, Constellation, 3111 N. Western, $15, $12 in advance. 18+
A rattling combination of jazz and unfettered free- dom will be unleashed at Constellation when Nor- wegian reedist Frode Gjerstad arrives with a quar- tet replete with a pair of bassists. It’s always conve- nient to contextualize a performer within a national scene or genre, but Gjerstad has long had connec- tions to improvisers in the UK and the U.S. (includ- ing Chicago percussionist Hamid Drake) and is able to adroitly navigate just about any collective. The saxophonist frequently performs alongside drum- mer Paal Nilssen-Love and bassist Jon Rune Strøm, both of whom have been known to frequent the Windy City. That trio, augmented by trombonist Steve Swell, recently released a live album called Bop Stop (Clean Feed) featuring four adamant- ly impromptu works recorded at the Cleveland venue of the same name in 2017. “Pop Bop” brims with squiggles and thuds courtesy of Rune Strøm, who’s given more than ample space on a bandstand crowded with elder performers. He ekes out some ecstatic proclamations while engaged with Nilssen- Love’s clattering backdrop; Gjerstad and Swell still manage to fi nd brief, fl owery moments of harmony amid the vortex. Rounding out the quartet for this local gig—but not in an attempt to replace Swell’s chattering brass—is bassist Øyvind Storesund, who’s been performing with Gjerstad since the 90s. With such an unorthodox lineup, the bandleader’s pen- chant for explosive spontaneity should be met PICK OF THE WEEK head-on by sympathetic players challenged and inspired by his frenetic display. —D C Rapper Tobe Nwigwe shares the many J facets of his life through his music
Tobe Nwigwe and Fat FRED AGHO T N Thu 12/13, 8 PM, the Promontory, 5311 S. Lake Park, Chicago, $25. b
INJANUARY, Houston rapper Tobe Nwigwe uploaded a feature Tobe, Fat, and Tobe’s producer, LaNell Grant, and the YouTube video called “#getTWISTEDsundays {Chill Bill},” the trio almost always appear in boldly colored clothes that match fi rst in a series in which he freestyles while getting his hair twist- the tones of their surroundings, such as their yellow outfi ts in ed by his girlfriend Fat (the two got married later that year, and March’s “Chill,” shot in Houston’s LeRoy Crump Stadium. Most she took his last name as her own). Tobe, a 31-year-old fi rst-gen- of the videos feature dancing—sometimes from just Fat, other eration Nigerian American and former linebacker for the Uni- times from all three, doing an uncomplicated, synchronized versity of North Texas, had released a prolifi c stream of singles routine. Tobe often raps about Fat and LaNell, which makes his punched up with raw skill, lyrical craft, and unique charm, but songs and videos feel like glimpses of his interior life—and he his magnetism is most evident in the #getTWISTEDsundays comes o as unbelievably sweet natured, even when his verses videos. This year he’s launched a new series of videos, dropping land with the force of an anvil. By frequently fi nding new ways to one almost every week under the banner “The Originals” and celebrate the women in his life in song, giving them agency, and repackaging the audio into two self-released collections: May’s showing how they play a pivotal role in his work, Tobe shows The Originals and October’s More Originals. The simple yet so- how men in music at large—and hip-hop specifically—can be Frode Gjerstad JUDITH S phisticated video clips have a few things in common: they always better allies and make great art. —L G ll DECEMBER - CHICA O READER 31 Find more music listings at MUSIC chicagoreader.com/soundboard.
continued from 31 with his trio of pianist Jim Baker and bassist John Russ Johnson 8:30 PM, Fulton Street Tate, and both of those subdued acoustic albums Collective, 1821 W. Hubbard, suite 307, $10 play with the relationship between structured suggested donation. b improvisation and composition. But with Colorlist, his trio with Charles Gorczynski on woodwinds and Trumpeter Russ Johnson is a fl eet, lyrical soloist and synths and John Hughes on synths and other elec- a shrewd, supportive accompanist with a satisfying- tronics, he approaches music from another angle. ly broad tone—qualities that made him a prized side- On the group’s recent Full Circle (Serein), the band man during his 23-year sojourn in New York City. creates soundscapes that are clearly informed by Since moving back to his home state of Wisconsin jazz but incorporate a sonic palette rooted in the in 2012 to take a teaching position at University of broad genre of electronica, which allows them to Wisconsin-Parkside, he’s been a frequent visitor explore realms of bubbling and pittering ambience, to Chicago. He is equally valued as a collaborator collections of subtly glitching gestures, and wash- and supporting player for saxophonist Nick Maz- es of frequencies that emphasize the ambiguity of zarella and bassist Matt Ulery, among many others, sound; it can be hard to distinguish what’s synthe- but he’s really come into his own as a bandleader. sizer and what’s saxophone (processed or acoustic). On the 2014 album Meeting Point (Relay), his fi rst Tonight at Elastic, Rumback will experiment with recording as a midwesterner, there’s plenty of com- another group entirely—a quartet consisting of vio- mon ground between his melodic sensibilities and linist Macie Stewart, alto saxophonist Greg Ward, the freewheeling improvisational approach favored and Baker (who will be playing electronics in addi- by the rest of the band. This fall’s The Headlands tion to piano), which will undoubtedly surprise and Suite (Woolgathering), on the other hand, showcas- innovate. This show is the stage debut of the quar- es Johnson’s gi s as a composer. Originally commis- tet, and soon they’ll make their debut on record—an sioned by the Hyde Park Jazz Festival, it’s a sturdi- album with these musicians, Hughes, and others is ly constructed and deliberately paced sequence of currently in the works. —I Y themes that elicit forceful rhythms and lucid solos from Ulery, drummer Jon Deitemyer, and keyboard- ist Rob Clearfi eld—whose reverberant electric piano provides a rich contrast to Johnson’s bold, rasping FRIDAY14 leads. During the fi rst set tonight, the quartet will play the entire suite, and in the second they’ll per- Bruges Oozing Wound headlines; Rectal form Cluster, another suite that will be released as a Hygienics and Conduit open. 9:30 PM, Sleeping digital-only album next year. —B M Village, 3734 W. Belmont, $10. 21+
When you take members of unhinged noise- rockers Tobe Nwigwe See Pick of the Week, page 31. Den, crusty grinders Moral Void, and doomy hard- 8 PM, the Promontory, 5311 S. Lake Park, Chicago, core outfi t Angry Gods and put them together in a $25. b band practice room, you can be sure of a couple of things about any music they’ll produce: it’s gonna be intense, and it’s gonna be fuckin’ loud. And that’s Charles Rumback Quartet 9 PM, Elastic, exactly what’s happened in Bruges, a local four- 3429 W. Diversey, $10. b piece consisting of bassist Matt Russell, vocalist Pat Nordyke, drummer Nate Kappes, and guitarist At the core of the Chicago jazz and improv scene Dylan Piskula. In 2016, the group released a five- is the constant building of new groups fueled by song demo of sludgy pigfuck noise-rock layered distinct personnel, concepts, or instrumentation. with distorted bass and ear-piercing guitar feed- Drummer-composer Charles Rumback has back, but on their brand-new singles “Through a THE LATEST ON WHO’S PLAYING AND WHERE THEY’RE PLAYING exemplified this particularly well in his many Muted Lens” and “Atop a Precipice,” the group real- projects. In 2017, he released Threes and Tag Book ly show what they’re made of. Engineered by Pisku- la and Russell, the tracks are grim, achingly slow exercises in amplifi er worship, alternating between all-out Unsane-fl avored noise fury and minimal, tor- EARLY WARNINGS tured throbs. Later this month, the band will hit the studio to begin work on a new full-length, and if their recent output is any indication, you should be very scared for your eardrums. And speaking of WEEKLY E-BLAST your eardrums, earplugs are absolutely mandatory for tonight’s show. Local thrashers Oozing Wound GET UP TO DATE. SIGN UP NOW. headline, and two more groups of deranged wall- of-sound noise-rockers join Bruges to open: Chica- go four-piece Rectal Hygienics and New York outfi t Conduit. —L C
Ivy Lab 8:30 PM, Subterranean, 2011 W. North, $18, $15 in advance. 17+
As Ivy Lab, London producers Gove “Sabre” Kidao CHICAGOREADER.COM and J “Stray” Fogel are associated with UK bass—an Bob Seger PATRICK MCBRIDE ambiguous melange of British-born electronic sub- genres: drum ’n’ bass, UK garage, dubstep, and a 32 CHICA O READER - DECEMBER ll MUSIC Less clicking.
Ivy Lab COURTESY THE ARTIST
little bit of grime. But Ivy Lab don’t make that style ple heard Seger’s mellow, downer-folk fourth solo of music as much as they thoroughly distort it; on LP, 1971’s Brand New Morning (another way-out-of- 2015’s 20/20, Vol. 1, recorded when producer Lau- print rarity begging to be reissued). Sure, Seger’s rence “Halogenix” Reading was a member of the radio-friendly anthems, including “Still the Same” group, they seem to slow their UK bass down with and “Like a Rock,” were rammed down our throats cement bricks—eliciting slow, mutant groans and via commercials, but while having a song placed in unexpected bass drops. But on May’s Death Don’t an ad was considered passé in rock circles for gen- Always Taste Good (20/20 LDN Recordings), they erations, these days it’s essentially on par with get- shed some of their earlier supersize affectations, ting a hit record in terms of status. And yeah, “Old which I can only describe as American: big, plod- Time Rock & Roll” is still overplayed, and Spinal- ding, and incorrigible. The new album has more tallica ruined the haunted ode to weary truck- More picking. obvious hooks and the kind of thorny, gnashing ers “Turn the Page,” but neither offense negates multilayered production that makes it sound like a Seger’s status as a true heartland demigod. This is mutant instrumental hip-hop collection. Perhaps supposedly the last leg of Seger’s “Roll Me Away” some inspired MCs will try to rhyme over, say, the tour (which stretches into 2019), so if you have some kitchen-sink clatter of “Snack Time,” but it’ll take a serious cash to burn, go see him belt out “We’ve visceral performance to stand out against Ivy Lab’s Got Tonight,” “Mainstreet,” and “You’ll Accompany unsettling collage. —L G Me.” And if you can do it unironically, wave a lighter in the air for me. —S K
Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band 8 PM, Allstate Arena, 6920 Mannheim, Rosemont, sold out. b SATURDAY15 Famed gonzo music critic Lester Bangs once Bomba estéreo See also Sunday. La Reyna exclaimed, “I respect Bob Seger as much as Tropical opens. 8:30 PM, Thalia Hall, 1807 S. almost anybody I can think of in the music busi- Allport, sold out. 17+ ness today.” Bangs’s admiration was mostly due to the fact that since the mid-60s, Seger had paid his In the 90s, Bogotá bassist and producer Simón dues hacking it out in grimy rock bands, most nota- Mejia was strongly influenced by Sidestepper, a bly Bob Seger & the Last Heard, which by the end British and Colombian collective that combined of the decade had morphed into the magnificent, electronic music with salsa and cumbia rhythms. swaggering acid-rock group the Bob Seger Sys- He’s been following a similar blueprint with his band tem. Earlier this year, the singles produced by the Bomba Estéreo since 2005, and the formula hasn’t Last Heard (which never recorded a full album) gotten old yet. That’s in no small part thanks to were fi nally released as an LP compilation, Heavy Mejia’s incendiary collaborator Li Saumet, who sings Music: The Complete Cameo Recordings 1966-67, and raps with tireless, infectious grit. The band’s and pressed by Third Man, a label from Seger’s most recent release, Live in Dublin (Polen), captures home turf, Detroit Rock City. The Last Heard were the butt-swiveling, arm-waving rush of their perfor- a grunting, sweaty, primal garage band on par with mances, with loose-limbed drumming from Andrés many of their more celebrated peers, and they Zea and stinging wah-wah guitar from Jose Castillo Start a new tradition inspired fellow Michigan rockers such as a young vying for attention with Mejia’s joyfully cheesy synth Iggy Pop. It might be unfair to even discuss this era lines. The track “Raza” evokes the atmosphere of a of Seger’s career, as he hasn’t played this material raucous party on a fl ying saucer, with every space this holiday season. live in decades—but the Bob Seger System’s “Ram- alien tentacle-slipping and hip- dipping off into the blin’ Gamblin’ Man” has appeared in some recent stratosphere. Saumet attacks their 2010 break- Grab gift certificates for yourself and everyone set lists, which makes me wonder if Seger might through hit “Fuego” with passion, imploring listen- allow their fi rst LP, Noah, to be reissued someday. ers to keep the party going as she spits out the cho- on your list. Winter group classes in music, So back to the issue of respect: Seger is beloved rus: “Mantenlo prendido fuego / No lo dejes apagar dance & more are forming now. by millions, but I can’t help but feel that he doesn’t y grita ‘fuego’” (“Keep it on fi re / Do not let it go and get the same level of mad props as fellow every- shout ‘fire’”), as coiled rhythms find the common oldtownschool.org man troubadour Bruce Springsteen. Maybe that’s ground between Colombia and Jamaica. World beat because Seger never fashioned himself a poet, and electronic dance music can both get tedious, or produced a hip, singular masterpiece such as but Bomba Estéreo keeps them fresh by shaking Springsteen’s Nebraska—though not enough peo- them together. —N B J ll DECEMBER - CHICA O READER 33 MUSIC N LINCOLN AVENUE, CHICAGO IL OLDTOWNSCHOOL.ORG . .
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Justin Roberts & The Not Ready for Family Naptime Players concert continued from 33 this distinctive bricolage couldn’t have turned out THURSDAY, JANUARY PM any other way. Younge and Muhammad assem- bled a small army of collaborators for the proj- Sammy Miller and SUNDAY16 ect, including CeeLo Green, Raphael Saadiq, and Digable Planets’ Ladybug Mecca—and they got the The Congregation Bomba estéreo See Saturday. La Reyna OK from Luther Vandross’s estate to reimagine his Tropical opens. 8:30 PM, Thalia Hall, 1807 S. 1986 song “So Amazing” with his original vocals THURSDAY, JANUARY PM Allport, sold out. 17+ intact. One contributor whose appearance piqued my interest is standout young Chicago soul singer Kasey Chambers Eryn Allen Kane, whose gravelly vocals on “Love Is Campfi re Tour USA • with guest Carly Burruss Adrian Younge & Ali Shaheed Free” bring some much-needed grit to a thorough- Muhammad Dave Mata opens. 8:30 PM, Empty ly polished project. —L G FRIDAY, FEBRUARY PM Bottle, $20, $18 in advance. 21+
Dead Horses Over the past five years, Adrian Younge has with special guest The Brother Brothers become an in-demand producer within veter- TUESDAY18 In Szold Hall an hip-hop circles; he’s received equal billing on full-length collaborations with Ghostface Killah Mike Kinsella Dave Davison, Mark Rose & SATURDAY, FEBRUARY PM (2013’s Twelve Reasons to Die) and Souls of Mis- Bob Nanna, Avery Springer & Elton John Cena, chief (2014’s There Is Only Now), and he’s knocked Chris Sutter, Kyle Geib, Gillian McGhee, and Masters of Hawaiian Music: out tracks with the likes of Common, Jay-Z, and Patrick Kelly & Alex Beach open. 7 PM, Beat Kendrick Lamar. His most important collabora- Kitchen, 2100 W. Belmont, $20. 21+ George Kahumoku Jr., tor, though, has been Ali Shaheed Muhammad Nathan Aeau & Kawika of A Tribe Called Quest, and this year the pair At the Beat Kitchen’s Holiday Toy Drive, a jam- released a self-titled album as the Midnight Hour packed lineup of local emo and indie-rock icons will Kahiapo (via Younge’s label, Linear Labs). They started play acoustic sets while raising cash and collecting the project in 2013 but had to table it a er being toys to benefit the SOS Children’s Villages of Illi- SUNDAY, FEBRUARY PM hired to create the score for the short-lived Net- nois. Headlined by American Football’s Mike Kin- fl ix series Luke Cage, a program based on the Mar- sella (who moonlights as Owen in a solo capacity), Mariachi Los Camperos vel comic of the same name in which music plays the eight-set showcase includes bandleaders Dave a central role—a fictional nightclub called Har- Davison (Maps & Atlases), Bob Nanna (Braid, Li ed THURSDAY, FEBRUARY PM lem’s Paradise provides a key backdrop. Younge Bells), Mark Rose (Spitalfi eld), Avery Singer (Retire- and Muhammad’s involvement in the show wound ment Party), and Chris Sutter (Meat Wave), among up having a significant effect on The Midnight others. Though prolifi c with his solo material, Kinsel- Dessa Hour, beyond just delaying its release. “It pushed la is enjoying a higher profi le of late thanks to the with special guest MONAKR us and made us better musicians,” Younge said popularity of American Football’s reunion—unex- of Luke Cage in a June Billboard interview. That pected for a mathy, sensitive, underground band WORLD MUSIC WEDNESDAY SERIES experience also helped make T he Midnight Hour that barely played live before disbanding—and the FREE WEEKLY CONCERTS, LINCOLN SQUARE feel detached from any specifi c time period. The self-titled second album that it released in 2016. SOUL sprawling, 20-track album is an orchestral trip Just months prior to that album, Kinsella released André Mehmari Trio through pop music, splicing together soul, hip-hop, his eighth LP as Owen, The King of Whys (Polyvi- Los Pireris jazz, and funk, but the producers have erased the nyl)—another collection of gorgeous, instrumental- Beppe Gambetta lines between the styles while highlighting their ly lush, emotionally resonant indie-rock tunes. The El Sonido de la Juventud roots—it’s evident that the drum groove that opens singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist remains “Dans un Moment D’errance” (played by Quest- at a creative zenith, and he’s booked regular tour love) comes from the world of hip-hop, while the dates for both of his main projects—he doesn’t OLDTOWNSCHOOL.ORG fl amboyant trumpet lines by Keyon Harrold come seem to be slowing down anytime soon. —S from jazz. The end result comes out smooth, as if v 34 CHICA O READER - DECEMBER ll ®
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CCNA and registered by the undersigned CCENT cert. req’d. Travel req’d. with the County Clerk of Cook SAVAGE LOVE By Dan Savage Vintage 1bd/1bath in Ra- Mail CV to Attn: HR/Job #0830, County. Registration Number: venswood avail now. Dishwasher, D&D Internetworking, Inc., 2385 D18156043 on December 3, gas range, formal dining & living Hammond Dr. #8, Schaumburg 2018. Under the Assumed Busi- room. Heat and water included. IL 60173. ness Name of MK CONSULTING Laundry in building, hardwood with the business located at: 740 fl oors. 2 blocks to Metra and bus Roland Berger LLC in Chicago, W. FULTON ST. UNIT 1006, CHI- lines. $975 a month, $200 move IL seeks Project Mgr. II. Masters CAGO, IL 60661. The true and in fee, no deposit. 202-557-1916 orfor. equiv. in Econ., Fin., Mgmt., real full name(s) and residence Chem. Eng. or related + 3 yrs. address of the owner(s)/partner(s) Vicinity Ada and Ohio. One exp., or Bach. or for. equiv. in is: MEGAN KOVACH 740 W. FUL- bedroom with an offi ce. Available Econ., Fin., Mgmt., Chem. Eng. TON ST. UNIT 1006, CHICAGO, January 1st. Quiet, secure family orrelated + 5 yrs. exp. req’d. IL 60661, USA (12/27) Slight Christmas building. Good light, good neigh- Conduct econ. analyses & prep. bors. NO smoking. Cats allowed. econ.impact rpts. 80% travel Publication Notice of Court Sex advice for folks headed home for the holidays Internet and cable included. req’d to various client sites. Emp. Date for Request For Name $1050 + Heat. No texts, please willaccept any suitable comb. of Change: Request of: Anthoula leave a message. 347-633-0005 ed., trng or exp. Send resume: Roberta Patelidas. There will be [email protected]& ref. a court date on my request to job title & job code “DDS2018” in change my name from: Anthoula subject line. Roberta Patelidas to Athoula JOBS Roberta Lagunas. The court date GENERAL will be held 1/29/2018 at 1 PM Canoesys, Inc. in Rolling Mead- at 50 W. Washington Chicago Straight and married driven off most other online with your brother, as he’s the Robert D. Ahlgren & Associates ows, IL has multi openings in the in Cook Country in courtroom : seeks Legal Assistant II in Chica- following: Java Dvlprs I, II, III; .Net #1704. (12/20) but not boring, and heading platforms by anti-sex-work one who showed it to them. go, IL to: Anlyz case docs & prep Dvlprs I, II, III; QA Analysts I, II, III; imm apps for filing w/ approp Systems Analysts I, II, III. No trvl Notice is hereby given, pursuant to my parents’ house for crusaders, and now sex work- gov agcy. Reqs HS diploma & 12 or telecomm. Job duties are proj- to “An Act in relation to the use our fi rst family Christmas ers are being driven off Tum- How can I explain to mo exp in rltd occ. Reqs 12 mo based @ unanticipated sites w/in of an Assumed Business Name : exp w: imm case mgmt sftwr, U.S. Relo may be req’d at project in the conduct or transaction since my asshole MAGA blr as well. Forcing sex work- my sisters that although I such as INSZoom, Immigration end. Mail resumes to: Canoesys, of Business in the State,” as Pro, or Law Logix; prep & submt Inc., Attn: HR, 3315 Algonquin amended, that a certifi cation was brother “stumbled over” ers off the Internet won’t end am a free sexual woman, I imm frms: I-485, I-131, I-765, Rd, Ste 102, Rolling Meadows, registered by the undersigned the Tumblr blog where the sex work, the stated goal of still prefer men as sexual I-130, N-400, I-918, I-751, I-601, IL 60008. with the County Clerk of Cook I-601A, & I-90; Mcrsft Word & County. Registration Number: wife and I posted about our anti-sex-work crusaders, but it partners? My sisters are Excel. Mail resume to K. Vannucci Channel Manager, Butter & D18155944 on November 16, @ 33 N LaSalle St #1800 Chicago Cheese – Evanston, IL – Achieve 2018Under the Assumed Busi- sexual adventures. (Pics will make sex work more dan- both involved with women IL 60602 channel objectives for butter ness Name of ATM CARES with & cheese categories, KPIs, & the business located at: 12722 of MMF threesomes and gerous—which tells us every- and they cannot understand 7303 Incorporated, Inc. seeks targets; develop relationships S. LAFLIN, CALUMET PARK, cross-dressing/pegging thing we need to know about how, with all the awful sexual CLASSIFIEDS Senior Accountant in Northlake, w/ portfolio of customers; liaise IL 60827 The true and real full IL to: Guide mnthly rcnciliatns b/w customers & global teams name(s) and residence address of sessions, plus some dirty the motives of anti-sex-work inequality in the world, I can & perfrm mnth- & yr-end clsng to ensure delivery of solutions; the owner(s)/partner(s) is: ALICIA “true enough” stories.) My crusaders. While they claim to still be primarily attracted & fi nan statmnt prep, incl maint develop new grocery channels; ROBINSON, 12722 S. LAFLIN of gen ldgr. Imprt lrg datasts frm work w/ demand planning team CALUMET PARK, IL 60827, USA brother has always been an oppose sex work because it’s to men. Sometimes I even Vadar Tax Liens Sys & Mcrsft to develop forecast & manage (12/20) Excl to Mcrsft Accss databses & inventory fl ow; lead joint partner angry screwup, so he leapt dangerous, they push policies imagine my sexuality as creat, edit, & maint databses w/ planning process; lead solution Notice is hereby given, pursuant on the chance to make me that make sex work more dan- a gay man’s sexuality in a in Mcrsft Accss. Domestic travel: development efforts; ensure to “An Act in relation to the use JOBS 3%. Reqs Bach dgre in Acctng account activities are aligned of an Assumed Business Name look bad by sending the gerous. Sex workers weren’t woman’s body, and I try to or rltd & 2 yrs exp in rltd field. w/ brand & category objectives; in the conduct or transaction ADMINISTRATIVE Reqs 24 mo prep incme frcastng manage the trade marketing of Business in the State,” as link to my parents, siblings, just advertising online, they explain it to them in this way. cllctns & rprts; 24 mo prep annl budget & spend; ensure price amended, that a certifi cation was and even some close family were organizing—in addition I’m not a secret right-winger SALES & company bdgt, bus prjctns & perf & commercial agreements are registered by the undersigned anlys; 18 mo utlzng Vadar Tax fully implemented; & keep the with the County Clerk of Cook friends. Our Tumblr blog is to honing and making the or someone kidding around MARKETING Liens Sys or smlr indstry spcfc business informed of account, County. Registration Number: sftwr to trck mncplty tax cllctns; channel, and competitor devel- Y18000033 on December 6, 2018 still up because we aren’t political argument for decrim- by asking this question. This FOOD & DRINK 18 mo utlzng Mcrsft Accss to opments. 40% domestic & int’l Under the Assumed Business ashamed. Any advice? — inalizing sex work, they were is a real issue.—G I T creat, edt, & maint lg pools of tax travel req. Reqs: 4 yrs. of exp. Name of EMMA’S DINER with SPAS & SALONS data; & 18 mo utlzng QuickBks In the pos. offered or rltd pos. the business located at: 5200 N T U M screening potential clients M S & Mcrsft Excel to prep accntng 4 yrs. of exp. with sales and SHERIDAN RD APT 301, CHI- rprts & anlyz data. Mail resumes mgmt.. in a dairy sales environ.; CAGO, IL 60640. The true and B ’ L R and sharing information with P.S. I have a straight male BIKE JOBS key account mgmt. w/ a brand real full name(s) and residence to Greg Bingham @ 336 E. North each other about dangerous friend who says he’s a lesbi- Ave #200, Northlake, IL 60164 led consumer packaged goods address of the owner(s)/partner(s) GENERAL bus.; sales data collection, anal- is: JOSHUA W GOLDSTEIN a: Your Tumblr blog isn’t clients. Just like anti-choice/ an trapped in a man’s body. Platform Specialist (Entara Corp., ysis and interpretation to build 5200 N SHERIDAN RD APT 301 Chicago, IL): Administer & main- credible recommendations to CHICAGO, IL 60640, USA (12/27) going to be up for much antiabortion crusaders, anti- What do you think of this? tain proprietary tech platform for the bus. & customers; working longer, TUMBLR, as the sex-work crusaders don’t IT service mgmt., monitoring, with European Commodity Mkts., VALENTINE’S DAY ISSUE REAL security, & remote mgmt. incl specializing in butter & cheese; Want to send a note to someone company that owns Tumblr— want to protect women; they a: People don’t choose ServiceNow, ScienceLogic, Ka- dairy manufac. production cycles special? An old fl ame, a missed ESTATE seya, public cloud svcs & access and seasonality; and working match, or an ongoing partner? Verizon—is ashamed of want to punish women for to be straight—some poor & identity mgt solutions. Develop w/ logistics routing products The Reader wants to be your your blog and the millions making choices they disap- motherfuckers are born & enforce processes for auditing between the US & Europe, incl. destination for love. Call 312- RENTALS & standardizing platform tech- license, duty, tariffs & quotas. 392-2934 or email snlane@chi- of others like it. Tumblr prove of. (As a general rule: if that way—any more than nologies, coordinate & perform Send resume to Fergal Roche at cagoreadercorp.com to submit FOR SALE tech. support for stakeholders Ornua Foods North America Inc., your message. First ten words announced last week that what you’re doing makes peo- heteroromantic bisexuals that depend on platform & utilize [email protected]. free, $10 for additional twenty all “adult” content is banned ple less safe, you don’t get choose to be heteroromantic NON-RESIDENTIAL a mature understanding of Entara words. operations to drive continuous Islamic Community Center of as of December 17. And the to claim you’re trying to pro- bisexuals. You can’t help who ROOMATES improvement of platform. BS in Illinois (Chicago, IL) seeks an Notice is hereby given, pursuant CS, Info Systems, or IT. 2 yrs of Imam to lead daily prayer 5 times/ to “An Act in relation to the use defi nition of “adult content” tect anyone—it’s like claiming you’re attracted to, GITMS, rel. work exp. Apply at talent@ day, deliver sermons & provide of an Assumed Business Name is pretty broad: “photos, you only set houses on fire to primarily or otherwise, and entaracorp.com. community consulting. Position in the conduct or transaction requires certifications in: Holy of Business in the State,” as videos, and gifs of human drive home the importance of the contempt of family MARKET- Software Developer: gthr user Quran & Quranic Sciences/Had- amended, that a certifi cation was rqmts; anlyz, dsgn, dvlp, code, ith/Islamic Jurisprudence. Submit registered by the undersigned genitalia, female-presenting smoke alarms.) members can’t change a test & dply sftwr apps using resumes to mohamed.elnatour@ with the County Clerk of Cook nipples, and any media Anyway, fuck your person’s sexual or romantic PLACE exp w/ Java, J2EE, JDBC, XML, gmail.com. Ref. Job ID: Imam in County. Registration Number: XSLT, Spring, Junit, SOAP Web subject line. D18156043 on December 3, 2018 involving sex acts, including sex-shaming/smut-shaming orientation. Your sisters GOODS Services, IBM WebSphere Appli- Under the Assumed Business cation Server, IBM MQ, JMS & Name of MK CONSULTING with illustrations,” although they brother, TUMBLR. As for the should understand that, since SERVICES Jenkins; & perf unit tstng. Reqs the business located at: 740 W. will allow genitals and those rest of your family, you and they most likely wouldn’t be BS/MS in comp sci, info sys or LEGAL FULTON ST. UNIT 1006, CHI- eng +5 yrs exp (3yrs w/ MS). Job CAGO, IL 60661. The true and wicked “female-presenting the wife should slap smiles with women if the contempt HEALTH & in Evanston, IL & unanticipated NOTICE real full name(s) and residence WELLNESS locatns thru’ US.No Relocatn address of the owner(s)/partner(s) nipples” in images of classical on your faces and act like of family members had that benefits offrd. No telecommtg. is: MEGAN KOVACH 740 W. FUL- art. (No contemporary junk or you’ve done nothing wrong— kind of power. INSTRUCTION Bckgrnd check reqd. Resumes TON ST. UNIT 1006 CHICAGO, IL to KatalystTechnologies, Inc- ca- Notice is hereby given, pursuant 60661, USA (12/27) lady nips allowed.) because you haven’t done As for describing your- MUSIC & ARTS This is not just a blow to anything wrong. Your asshole self as a gay man trapped NOTICES people who use Tumblr for brother is the bad guy, and in a woman’s body and your MESSAGES porn—and that’s most people any family members who wish straight male friend describ- please recycle this paper who use Tumblr—but also to to discuss how offended they ing himself as a lesbian LEGAL NOTICES the sex work community. Sex were by your Tumblr blog trapped in a man’s body . . . ADULT SERVICES workers had already been should be directed to speak unless the two of you are 36 CHICA O READER - DECEMBER llll SAVAGE LOVE
trans—in which case, you they were cordial but distant wrong with it—and you won’t could be homos trapped with the last guy I dated just be saying that to your in the wrong bodies—your (who was my age). I’m afraid parents, AGEGAP, you’ll be friend is just another straight the age gap with my new saying it to Michael as well. guy mortifi ed by the mess boyfriend will create even And let’s say things work straight people (mostly more discomfort for them out with Michael. The lie you white, mostly men) have and that Michael will sense told that fi rst Christmas will made of the world. You’re it when he comes along to only serve to make things also mortifi ed by straight- visit for the holidays. I’m more awkward a er you fi nal- ADMIRAL ness, GITMS, or at least the considering lying to my ly tell them the truth about ★★ THEATRE ★★ sexual inequality that o en parents if Michael’s age your boyfriend’s age. And if comes bundled with it. But comes up. I’ve challenged your parents are like other instead of your straight male my parents’ attitudes for mildly or wildly homopho- friend opting out of hetero- many years—but at this bic parents, i.e., if they’re sexuality (which he can’t do) point, I’m willing to trade inclined to regard the man or you framing your attrac- honesty for the chance to be who sodomizes their son as a tion to men as a gay thing to treated even a little bit more negative infl uence in his life, get your sisters off your back like a “normal couple” at they may not believe the lie (which you shouldn’t have to Christmas. Is it selfi sh to ask was your idea. They’ll think 3940 W LAWRENCE do), your friend should iden- Michael for permission to lie this creepily youthful older tify as straight (because he about his age? I’m nervous to man—this man who showed OPEN 7PM TO 6AM is) and you should identify as even share my feelings with up in their home wearing a someone who doesn’t give him for fear it will give the suit made out of the skins of ADMIRALX.COM a shit what her sisters think impression I’m embarrassed younger gay men—encour- (773) 478-8111 (because you shouldn’t). by him.—A aged their son to lie to them If good straight guys and G E G so they wouldn’t object to MUST BE 18 TO ENTER “free sexual women” in oppo- A P the relationship in the early site-sex relationships don’t stages, when their objections identify with heterosexuality a: Tell one lie to make your might have had the ability to and/or heteroromantic orien- relationship seem more derail it. tations, GITMS, all the shitty acceptable to your parents, Finally, AGEGAP, if your straight people will conclude and you’ll be tempted to tell older boyfriend is concerned that they get to defi ne hetero- them more lies—and I don’t you may be too immature for sexuality (which they don’t). know about you, AGEGAP, him—not all young people are but not having to lie to immature and not all imma- : I’m a gay man in my mid mommy and daddy anymore ture people are young, but 20s, and I’m getting more was one of the reasons I this shit does correlate—tell- serious with a guy I met came out of the closet. And if ing him you’re still in the lie- a few months ago. I was you want your parents to be to-mommy-and-daddy stage surprised to eventually learn comfortable with Michael, if might prompt him to end this that “Michael” is in his late you don’t want them to think relationship. v 30s, since he easily passes there’s anything wrong with for my age. I’m comfortable their son dating an older Send letters to mail@ with the age gap, but I’m man, deceiving your parents savagelove.net. Download struggling with how to about Michael’s age is a the Savage Lovecast every present this to my parents. terrible fi rst move. That says Tuesday at thestranger.com. Religious and conservative, you think there’s something @fakedansavage early warnings never miss a show again chicagoreader.com/early please recycle this paper
ll DECEMBER - CHICA O READER 37 CHICAGO SHOWS YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT IN THE WEEKS TO COME
EARLY WARNINGS b ALL AGES F WOLF BY KEITH HERZIK Baroness Never miss ROSSHALFIN a show again. Sign up for the newsletter at chicagoreader. GOSSIP com/early WOLF Knuckle Puck 12/22, 6:45 PM, Bottom Lounge b A furry ear to the ground of Le Butcherettes 2/20, 8 PM, Cobra Lounge, 17+ the local music scene Phil Lesh & the Terrapin Fam- ily Band 3/7-8, 8 PM, Thalia INSEPTEMBER, Jesa Espinoza and Hall, 17+ Jenny Lewis 3/30, 7:30 PM, Rosemary Villaseñor opened Joyride Riviera Theatre, 18+ Records in the Ukrainian Village store- Jeff Lynne’s ELO 6/27, 8 PM, front at 1914 W. Chicago that had previ- United Center ously housed Permanent Records. But King Crimson 9/10, 8 PM, Role Model 2/2, 8 PM, Ariana Grande 4/7-8, 7:30 PM, Macabre 12/22, 6:30 PM, Reg- NEW Auditorium Theatre, on sale Schubas b United Center, second show gie’s Rock Club, 17+ Joyride is saying good-bye to that space— Fri 12/14, 10 AM Rusko 1/25, 10 PM, Sound-Bar added, on sale Fri 12/14, Cass McCombs 3/16, 9 PM, its fi nal day will be Sunday, December 16, Bad Examples 2/8, 9 PM, The KVB 3/29, 9 PM, Empty Martin Sexton 4/12-13, 8 PM, 10 AM Lincoln Hall, 18+ and until then it’s discounting part of its FitzGerald’s, Berwyn, on sale Bottle City Winery, on sale Thu 12/13, Rolling Stones 6/21 and 6/25, Kevin Morby, Sam Cohen 6/7- inventory for a moving sale. Espinoza says Fri 12/14, 11 AM Let’s Eat Grandma 4/9, noon b 7:30 PM, Soldier Field, second 8, 8:30 PM, Thalia Hall, 17+ Baroness, Dea eaven, Zeal & 8:30 PM, Thalia Hall, 17+ Soledad 5/22, 8 PM, Maurer show added Graham Nash 3/17, 7 PM, Athe- Joyride will take a couple months off while Ardor 3/31, 6:30 PM, Riviera Like a Storm, Royal Tusk, Hall, Old Town School of naeum Theatre b he seeks out a south-side location for the Theatre, on sale Fri 12/14, A erlife 2/21, 7 PM, Bottom Folk Music, on sale Fri 12/14, John Oates 1/13, 7 PM, SPACE, store, and he’s got his eyes on Bridgeport. 10 AM b Lounge, on sale Fri 12/14, 8 AM b UPCOMING Evanston b Chicago garage-punk maniacs Man- Beats Antique 2/1, 9 PM, Con- 10 AM, 17+ Marco Antonio Solis 3/31, 7 PM, Pom-Poms 1/12, 8:30 PM, cord Music Hall, 18+ Lily & Madeleine 3/2, 7 PM, Allstate Arena, Rosemont, on Aurora, Talos 3/1, 7:30 PM, Empty Bottle nequin Men broke up in 2015, ending a Adrian Belew 4/4, 8 PM, Maur- Schubas b sale Fri 12/14, noon Metro b Procol Harum 2/20-21, 8 PM, 12-year run of careening live shows, mild- er Hall, Old Town School of Liquid Stranger, LSDream JD Souther & Karla Bonoff 3/3, Bad Boy Bill 1/19, 10 PM, the City Winery b ly scandalous album covers , and power- Folk Music, on sale Fri 12/14, 2/22, 9 PM, Concord Music 5 and 8 PM, City Winery, on Mid Queensryche, Fates Warning house jams (on three albums and a slew 8 AM b Hall, 18+ sale Thu 12/13, noon b Basta 2/3, 7 PM, Concord 3/14, 7 PM, Concord Music Spencer Brown 3/15, 10 PM, Doug Martsch 1/19, 8 PM, Southside Johnny & the Music Hall, 17+ Hall, 17+ of singles). At the time, guitarist Ethan Sound-Bar Maurer Hall, Old Town Asbury Jukes 4/10, 8 PM, Body/Head 3/7, 7:30 PM, Art Quinn XCII 3/20, 6 PM, Riviera D’Ercole told the Reader, “I can’t imagine Chicago Open Air with System School of Folk Music, on sale SPACE, Evanston, on sale Institute of Chicago Theatre b that we won’t play together in some proj- of a Down, Tool, Ghost, Fri 12/14, 8 AM b Fri 12/14, 10 AM b Cannibal Corpse, Morbid Robyn 3/6, 8 PM, Aragon ect down the line.” Now they’re doing just Prodigy, Meshuggah, Gojira, Michigan Rattlers 1/26, Vince Staples, JPEGmafi a 3/12, Angel, Necrot 3/4, 6 PM, Ballroom b Beartooth, and more 5/18-19, 8:30 PM, Schubas, on sale 8:30 PM, Riviera Theatre, Concord Music Hall, 17+ Royal Trux 2/22, 8 PM, Lincoln that . . . and the project is Mannequin Men! SeatGeek Stadium, Brid- Fri 12/14, 10 AM, 18+ Fri 12/14, 10 AM, 18+ Mariah Carey 3/11, 8 PM, Chi- Hall, 18+ On Saturday, December 15, at the Empty geview, on sale Fri 12/14, noon Monolord 4/26, 8:30 PM, Steep Canyon Rangers 3/10, cago Theatre Todd Rundgren 4/23-24, 8 PM, Bottle, the original lineup will celebrate Claypool Lennon Delirium Empty Bottle 3 and 7 PM, Maurer Hall, Old Cherry Glazerr 2/23, 9 PM, Athenaeum Theatre the band’s 15th anniversary. Drummer 4/26, 9 PM, Thalia Hall, on Mormor 4/26, 8 PM, Sleeping Town School of Folk Music, on Bottom Lounge, 17+ Saint Pe 12/29, 8:30 PM, Empty sale Fri 12/14, 10 AM, 17+ Village, 18+ sale Fri 12/14, 8 AM b Corrosion of Conformity, Bottle Seth Bohn says they’ve mellowed a bit: Com Truise, Jack Grace 4/3, Muse, Walk the Moon 4/12, Patrick Sweany 2/16, 9 PM, Crowbar, Weedeater 2/9, Sheer Terror 1/12, 7 PM, Reg- “As we’ve been rehearsing those songs, it’s 8 PM, Lincoln Hall, on sale 8 PM, United Center, on sale FitzGerald’s, Berwyn, on sale 7:30 PM, Bottom Lounge, 17+ gie’s Rock Club, 18+ almost as though those are cover songs of Fri 12/14, 10 AM, 18+ Fri 12/14, 9 AM Fri 12/14, 11 AM Daughters, Blanck Mass 3/8, So Moon 1/24, 8:30 PM, Thalia some other band. I’m like . . . why were we Copeland 4/11, 8 PM, Bottom My Brightest Diamond 5/9, Toh Kay 2/1, 8 PM, Thalia Hall, 8 PM, Bottom Lounge, 17+ Hall, 17+ Lounge, 17+ 8 PM, Lincoln Hall, on sale on sale Fri 12/14, 10 AM, 17+ Dead & Company 6/14-15, 7 PM, Spiritualized 4/9, 8 PM, the so mad back then?” Cosmic Gate 3/15, 8 PM, Con- Fri 12/14, 10 AM, 18+ Oliver Tree 2/26, 7:30 PM, Wrigley Field Vic, 18+ Earlier this month, the Chicago Loop cord Music Hall, on sale Fri Anna Nalick 5/3, 8 PM, SPACE, Lincoln Hall b Direct Hit!, Copyrights 1/26, Suicide Machines, Goddamn Alliance launched an underground (liter- 12/14, 10 AM Evanston, on sale Fri 12/14, Trisomie 21 3/9, 8:30 PM, 8 PM, Reggie’s Rock Club, 17+ Gallows 12/28, 7 PM, Reggie’s ally) pop-up art series called Short-Cuts Cupcakke 3/21, 8:30 PM, 10 AM b Empty Bottle Dream Theater 3/29, 8 PM, Rock Club, 17+ Thalia Hall, on sale Fri 12/14, Justin Nozuka, Craig Cardiff Wet, Kilo Kish 3/12, 6:30 PM, Chicago Theatre Supersuckers 3/12, 8 PM, Beat in the Chicago Pedway. Gossip Wolf is 10 AM, 17+ 3/4, 8 PM, Schubas, 18+ Metro b Fleetwood Mac 3/1, 8 PM, Kitchen stoked about the contribution of local Destructo, Redlight 1/11, 9 PM, Ocean Alley 6/10, 8:30 PM, Luke Winslow-King 1/11, United Center Teenage Fanclub 3/6, 7:30 PM, sound artist Jeff Kolar, an exploration of Park West, 18+ Schubas, 18+ 8:30 PM, FitzGerald’s, Ber- Flesh Eaters 3/10, 8 PM, Lin- Metro, 18+ background music called Music for Phone Donna the Buff alo 5/17, 8 PM, Papa Roach, Asking Alexan- wyn, on sale Fri 12/14, 11 AM coln Hall Tokyo Police Club 4/26, 9 PM, SPACE, Evanston, on sale dria, Bad Wolves 8/23, 7 PM, Wisin y Yandel 6/7, 8 PM, Marty Friedman 2/13, 7 PM, Empty Bottle Booths (also to be released as an album). Fri 12/14, 10 AM b Aragon Ballroom, on sale Allstate Arena, Rosemont, on Reggie’s Rock Club, 17+ Uncle Acid & the Deadbeats, Five vintage phone booths scattered Stella Donnelly 3/29, 9 PM, Fri 12/14, 10 AM, 17+ sale Fri 12/14, 10 AM G-Herbo, City Girls, Jacquees, Graveyard 3/26, 7 PM, around the pedway level of the City Hall Schubas, 18+ Jerry Paper 3/23, 8:30 PM, Rachael Yamagata 1/29-30, Summer Walker, Queen Key Metro, 18+ and County Building (121 N. LaSalle) will Graves 2/22, 9 PM, Schubas, 18+ Empty Bottle 8 PM, City Winery, on sale 12/28, 8 PM, Chicago Theatre Carrie Underwood 10/29, 7 PM, Health 4/20, 8:30 PM, Bottom Perturbator 5/9, 8:30 PM, Thu 12/13, noon b Gang of Four 2/13, 8 PM, United Center play his recordings , made with electronics, Lounge, on sale Fri 12/14, Thalia Hall, on sale Fri 12/14, Yoshi Flower 2/5, 8 PM, SPACE, Evanston b Sharon Van Etten 2/14-15, voice, and an 1863 pump organ, from noon 10 AM b 10 AM, 17+ Schubas, 18+ Hatebreed, Obituary, Terror 8:30 PM, Thalia Hall, 17+ to 1 PM on Wednesday, December 12, and Imogen Heap, Guy Sigsworth Picture This 5/5, 7 PM, Lin- 4/11, 6:30 PM, Concord Music Veil of Maya 12/21, 6:30 PM, from 5 to 6 PM on Thursday, December 5/14, 7:30 PM, the Vic, on sale coln Hall, on sale Fri 12/14, Hall, 17+ Bottom Lounge b Fri 12/14, 10 AM, 18+ 10 AM b UPDATED High on Fire 1/22, 8 PM, Viagra Boys 3/28, 8:30 PM, 13. At 12:15 PM on Thursday, Kolar will dis- High Kings 3/12-13, 8 PM, City Chuck Prophet & the Mission Metro, 18+ Empty Bottle cuss the project at the Space p11 gallery, Winery, on sale Thu 12/13, Express 3/15, 8:30 PM, Taylor Bennett 1/19, 7 PM, Hives, Refused 5/20, 7 PM, the Kurt Vile & the Violators 12/22, on the pedway level at 55 E. Randolph. noon b FitzGerald’s, Berwyn, on sale Metro, rescheduled from Vic, 18+ 7:30 PM, Riviera Theatre, 18+ —J R N L G Thomas Jack 1/18, 10 PM, Fri 12/14, 11 AM 12/22 b Judas Priest 5/25, 8 PM, Rose- Ray Volpe 12/20, 8 PM, Chop Sound-Bar Psychedelic Porn Crumpets, Boy Harsher 2/8 and 2/10, mont Theater, Rosemont Shop, 18+ Kami, Duffl eBagBuru 1/4, Frankie & the Witch Fingers 9 PM, Empty Bottle, second Mark Knopfl er 9/1, 7:30 PM, Ryley Walker 12/28, 9 PM, Got a tip? Tweet @Gossip_Wolf or e-mail 8:30 PM, Thalia Hall, 17+ 3/3, 8:30 PM, Empty Bottle show added Chicago Theatre Empty Bottle v [email protected].
38 CHICA O READER - DECEMBER ll
Don’t Miss UPCOMING SHOWS 1200 W RANDOLPH ST, CHICAGO, IL 60607 | 312.733.WINE 12.16 VIENNA TENG 12.26-27 SHEMEKIA COPELAND 12.25 CHRISTMAS FOR THE JEWS 1.6 SONS OF THE NEVER WRONG WITH 12.28-29 MACY GRAY MICHAEL SMITH 1.3-4 MUSIQ SOULCHILD 1.7 DAN TEDESCO 12.17-18 Tab benoit 1.8 SHANE KOYCZAN 1.5 TALIB KWELI 1.10 SLICE - FILM SCREENING 1.11 THREE WOMEN & THE TRUTH: MARY 1.13 CORKY SIEGEL’S CHAMBER GAUTHIER, ELIZA GILKYSON & GRETCHEN PETERS BLUES FEAT. TRACY NELSON 1.12 MAYSA Kurt Elling 1.16 EAGLEMANIA 1.14-15 STEVE EARLE 12.19-20 2 nights, 2 unique shows 1.17 PARIS COMBO 1.18 SKYLAR GREY 1.24-25 RANDY BACHMAN (OF THE 1.19 MELANIE FIONA GUESS WHO) Michael 1.20 JODEE LEWIS & JONAS FRIDDLE McDermott 1.21 LET FREEDOM RING, CHICAGO! A MUSICAL 1.29-30 RACHAEL YAMAGATA 12.21-23 Mischief & Mistletoe CELEBRATION OF DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. 1.23 THE HOT SARDINES 2.4-5 MS. LISA FISCHER & GRAND 1.27 SUSAN WERNER BATON 1.28 TREY MCLAUGHLIN & THE SOUNDS OF ZAMAR Avery*Sunshine 1.31-2.2 ALEJANDRO ESCOVEDO WITH DON 12.30-1.1 New Year’s Shows ANTONIO BAND - THE CROSSING TOUR ll DECEMBER - CHICA O READER 39 HERE’S THE QUESTION: Can a community-centered independent paper survive in this environment? THAT’S UP TO
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