Courtesy Museum of Contemporary Photography Richard Mosse, Beaucoups of Blues, North Kivu, Eastern Congo, November 2012 Looking for something to do today? Agenda‘s got you covered. For more on these events and others, check out the Reader‘s daily Agenda page.
Soon after Governor Bruce Rauner took office last winter, he sat down for a meeting with state rep Kelly Cassidy. She says Rauner asked if she would support his “turnaround agenda,” a series of probusiness proposals that would, among other things, restrict union organizing and worker’s compensation. Cassidy is one of the most liberal members of the General Assembly, and she says she explained to the Republican governor that her far-north-side district wouldn’t support his “turnaround” plans....
Chicago’s Black and Brown Punk Show Collective describes its mission as “highlighting the black and brown, queer and trans DIY scene in Chicago” as well as building a local network of “safer spaces for queer and trans folks of color” and a “successful integrated punk scene that thrives on its diversity.” Sounds good to these furry ears! On Fri 8/28 and Sat 8/29 the collective hosts a festival with almost two dozen awesome acts....
Time to plan the holiday weekend. Here’s some of what we recommend: Through 12/27: In its 60th season, the Joffrey Ballet performs its late founder’s beloved adaptation of the holiday classic The Nutcracker one last time. The show’s run at the Auditorium Theatre (50 E. Congress) ends Sunday with special appearances from Joffrey Ballet alum. Sat 2 and 7 PM, Sun 2 PM
Not to put pressure on the Tribune‘s lawyers, but if we’re ever going to get to the bottom of the scandal known as Supesgate, they’ll have to win their Freedom of Information Act lawsuit against Mayor Emanuel’s administration. In Supesgate, the mayor’s handpicked school board approved a $20.5 million, no-bid principal-training contract with Supes Academy, a company that was kicking back 10 percent of the deal to Barbara Byrd-Bennett, the mayor’s handpicked schools CEO....
“Loom” About two years ago, Maps & Atlases guitarist Erin Elders showed me a handful of songs he’d been working on with his new band Wedding Dress, an indie-rock side project that had come to fruition during his main group’s downtime. Maps & Atlases are a band that are known for playing indie-pop music with serious technical and mathy leaning, incorporating polyrhythms and syncopated tapped guitar work to create something that walks the line between shreddy and catchy....
Few faces are as synonymous with Riot Fest as that of Andrew W.K. The irrepressibly positive personification of partying has appeared on every lineup since 2012. “Every year that we’ve gotten to play, I’ve always been surprised,” he says. “Each time we get invited back, I’m actually even more shocked, more amazed, more humbled, and moved by the gesture.” Did I mention he’s positive? Andrew W.K. Sunday 8:30 PM, Heather Owen Stage...
Daniela Speranza’s Rambleras screens at the Chicago Latino Film Festival tomorrow and Saturday. The English-speaking world remains largely unaware of the low-key, yet highly flavorful humanist filmmaking that’s been flourishing in Uruguay for the past decade or so. This may be because—unlike the cinemas of Romania and South Korea, which have received far more attention in the English-language film world since 2000—Uruguay has yet to produce an internationally celebrated auteur on the level of Cristian Mungiu or Chan-wook Park....
AP Photos Passengers want their two inches—next, the moon. The opposite of a placebo is the drug you don’t take because you know it won’t do you any good. It might be a fine drug. You might even have seen it advertised on television! But you’re certain it won’t help. Two inches—three for that matter—is not a recline that provides actual comfort. Claiming those two inches is simply a way to say screw you to the world, letting it know that in a world of deprivation I’m grabbing what’s mine!...
The six spritely, mercurial, wholly engaging performers behind Second City E.T.C.’s Apes of Wrath work overtime to make their show appear to be about something. But just what remains a mystery. And an unnecessary one at that. So if you’re going, the best course to take through Apes of Wrath is one without trajectory. The great majority of the two-dozen skits are well observed and tightly executed, thanks to the cast’s effortless precision and director Jen Ellison‘s ferocious pacing (the few skits that meander and peter out are over in a minute or two)....
Museum of Modern Art, New York. Purchase. © Charly Herscovici Magritte’s The False Mirror For the past few weeks ads across Chicago have given passersby a bold command: Unthink. The exhibition doesn’t deny Magritte’s hip recognizability. Everything from its promotional video to its engagement marketing milks the symbols that have cemented his coolness. There’s the bowler hat, worn by Magritte himself in street-pole banner ads. Then there are blue skies, black suits, and irises a la The False Mirror mixed into the marketing campaign....
Contemporary jazz saxophonist and composer Daniel Schnyder’s 90-minute chamber opera about legendary jazz saxophonist and composer Charlie Parker was first performed in Philadelphia in 2015, and it’s receiving its Chicago premiere under the auspices of Lyric Opera. The libretto by Bridgette A. Wimberly begins with Parker’s death at 34—brought on by drugs, alcohol, and a heart condition—and flashes back Christmas Carol-style to significant episodes in his life. Schnyder uses Parker’s music only as inspiration and a touchstone for his score, which will be played by a 16-piece orchestra....
The last time record label Mad Decent brought its annual block party to town was in 2012, and even though the free blowout hit capacity in the afternoon, that didn’t stop people from showing up and trying to get in. Enough successfully crashed—the gates that organizers were forced to end the event early due to safety issues. It’s been widely speculated (though never publicly confirmed) that the shutdown is what’s kept Diplo’s label from bringing the daylong event back to Chicago the past couple years; whatever the case may be, the Mad Decent Block Party returns at the end of September to bid a belated adieu to summer....
One unspoken rule of improvisation is to never introduce a gun because the presence of a weapon artificially heightens scenes to the point of making them unrealistic. I’d argue murder falls into the same category as an improv faux pas, seeing as it’s one of the most logical step after pulling a handgun. It derails scenes otherwise focused on relationships by raising questions about the plot: Who? Why? How? Naturally Clued In: An Improvised Murder Mystery includes at least one murder by design, and it similarly kills momentum and drags out each plot point....
Julia Thiel The Brace cocktail, made with whey When I got a promotional bottle of vodka in the mail recently (unsolicited—if I were going to solicit anything, it certainly wouldn’t be vodka), I glanced at the press release that accompanied it and did my usual eye roll at its puffed-up claims. The co-owner of the company, Broken Shed, is quoted as saying, “We wanted to create a drink that was not only enjoyable—but also better for you....
JACKSON FIVE PHOTO FROM THE COLLECTION OF JAKE AUSTEN; PHOTO OF TAPE BY JIM NEWBERRY The Jackson Five; the “Big Boy” reel from One-derful Records Next Tuesday eclectic Minneapolis label Secret Stash launches a yearlong reissue program that will give deluxe treatment to singles released on the constellation of Chicago soul imprints owned and operated by brothers George and Ernie Leaner between 1962 and 1971. The first 25-track installment (on a single CD and double vinyl) will focus on singles released on the One-derful label, featuring Chicago fixtures such as Otis Clay, McKinley Mitchell, Betty Everett, and the Five Dutones alongside lesser-known artists including the Lucky Laws, the Admirations, Liz Lands, and Beverly Shaffer....
Nowadays, it’s strange to remember that it wasn’t that long ago when gay men who wanted to be out and proud—who wanted to dance and flirt and fuck without facing violence or death threats or worse from the straight community—had to seek safety in numbers and hide out in their own rainbow-colored ghettos. But we live in a kinder age, where Lady Gaga can sing “Born This Way” during the Super Bowl halftime show, same-sex couples can get married, and even straight boys can dance at Roscoe’s....
Sometimes it’s nice to be reminded of a particularly special body of work, if only to give it some loving reconsideration. I certainly don’t take the music that Mac Rebennack (aka Dr. John) created during the late 60s and early 70s for granted—every time I hear one of his prime cuts I have to resist diving into a rabbit hole of his classic stuff. But a couple of weeks ago the folks at Omnivore released The Atco/Atlantic Singles 1968-1974, a handy 22-track compendium that rounds up a lot—but not all—of the killer material he crafted after he graduated from ace studio musician to singular solo artist....
In the past week two members of the Chicago hip-hop pantheon have been making big public moves as they ready forthcoming albums. Lupe Fiasco dropped a horn-sampling single featuring ratchet crooner Ty Dolla $ign called “Next To It,” and it’s a banger that’s got me more interested in August’s Tetsuo & Youth than I otherwise expected. Meanwhile Common recently began posting profile photos of local street rappers (Lil Herb, G Count, etc) on Instagram along with quotes about their experiences in Chicago to promote Nobody’s Smiling; it’s an interesting marketing push that embraces this city’s hip-hop community, and I’m eager to see if Common approaches Chicago in a similar way with his new music....
During the artistic ascent of rock music during the 1960s, strains of psychedelia developed at an astonishing rate, with each individual scene advancing some unique take on the music. Sweden’s Träd, Gräs och Stenar only released music for a few short years during the early 70s, but they’re considered by some to have outstripped stateside psych acts in improvisatory daring on live recordings such as Djungelns Lag and Mors Mors. The band’s lineage stretches back through several noteworthy bands of the era: the caveman thudding of Pärson Sound gave way to the tripped-out noodling of International Harvester (later shortened to Harvester), hedging a bit closer to an Acid Test vibe before Träd, Gräs och Stenar brought it all together in a full embrace of bucolic hippie idealism....
