Chicago Reader: print issue of April 21, 2016 (Volume 45, Number 28)

C H I C A G O ’ S F R E E W E E K LY | K I C K I N G A S S S I N C E 1 9 7 1 | A P R I L 2 1 , 2 0 1 6

Transportation Is CTA-friendly housing accelerating gentrification in Logan Square? 10

Arts & Culture An ambitious effort to preserve Chicago’s formidable dance heritage 12

AN ORAL HISTORY OF

THE EMPTY BOTTLE

By JOHN E. DUGAN 21

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EDITOR JAKE MALOOLEY CREATIVE DIRECTOR PAUL JOHN HIGGINS DEPUTY EDITOR, NEWS ROBIN AMER CULTURE EDITOR TAL ROSENBERG DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY DANIELLE SCRUGGS FILM EDITOR J.R. JONES MUSIC EDITOR PHILIP MONTORO ASSOCIATE EDITORS KATE SCHMIDT, KEVIN WARWICK, BRIANNA WELLEN SENIOR WRITERS STEVE BOGIRA, MICHAEL MINER, MIKE SULA SENIOR THEATER CRITIC TONY ADLER STAFF WRITERS LEOR GALIL, DEANNA ISAACS, BEN JORAVSKY, AIMEE LEVITT, PETER MARGASAK, JULIA THIEL SOCIAL MEDIA EDITOR RYAN SMITH GRAPHIC DESIGNER SUE KWONG MUSIC LISTINGS COORDINATOR LUCA CIMARUSTI EDITORIAL ASSISTANT CASSIDY RYAN CONTRIBUTING WRITERS NOAH BERLATSKY, DERRICK CLIFTON, MATT DE LA PEÑA, ANNE FORD, ISA GIALLORENZO, JOHN GREENFIELD, JUSTIN HAYFORD, JACK HELBIG, DAN JAKES, BILL MEYER, J.R. NELSON, MARISSA OBERLANDER, DMITRY SAMAROV, KATE SIERZPUTOWSKI, ZAC THOMPSON, DAVID WHITEIS, ALBERT WILLIAMS INTERNS CHRIS RIHA, SOPHIA TU, SUNSHINE TUCKER ----------------------------------------------------------------

IN THIS ISSUE

ARTS & CULTURE

10 4 Agenda The play Dead Man Walking, Kerry James Marshall at the MCA, the film The Measure of a Man, and more recommendations 8 City Life An adjunct professor makes a case for why universities should allow full-time contracts.

9 Joravsky | Politics Forget separation of powers: In Chicago, the mayor effectively appoints City Council committee chairs.

10 Transportation Will CTAfriendly housing accelerate gentrification in Logan Square?

15 Theater With Carlyle the Goodman premieres a boisterous new comedy about a black Republican.

15 Comedy Stand-up comedian Jen Kirkman has no shame about her shambolic life.

17 Visual Art “Children of the Playhouse” at Present is a big PeeWee adventure.

18 Lit Bob Mehr’s Trouble Boys is an account of one of the midwest’s greatest rock bands.

19 Movies The King goes to the White House in Liza Johnson’s Elvis & Nixon.

17

CLASSIFIEDS

34 Jobs 34 Apartments & Spaces 35 Marketplace

31

MUSIC

26 In Rotation Current musical obsessions, including an 80s punk zine, Cher’s Twitter feed, and Thai funk band Khruangbin 27 Shows of note Frankie Cosmos, Justin Bieber, Denise LaSalle, Anthony Hamilton, and more

FOOD & DRINK

31 Restaurant review: Imperial Lamian The pricey new River North spot is an argument against high-end Chinese food.

33 Bar review: Milk Room The ticketed bar inside the Chicago Athletic Association Hotel offers a history lesson via vintage spirits.

36 Savage Love Is vomit play cheating?

37 Straight Dope Did the U.S. intentionally starve American Indians to death by slaughtering bison?

38 Early Warnings Peanut Butter Wolf, Chic, Lauryn Hill, Bonnie Raitt, Paul Simon, Gwen Stefanie, and more shows in the weeks to come 38 Gossip Wolf Harmonica Dunn president Donnie Biggins buys the Tonic Room, and more music news

33

FEATURES

VICE PRESIDENT OF NEW MEDIA GUADALUPE CARRANZA SENIOR ACCOUNT MANAGER EVANGELINE MILLER ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE FABIO CAVALIERI, BRIDGET KANE MARKETING AND EVENTS MANAGER BRYAN BURDA DIRECTOR OF DIGITAL JOHN DUNLEVY ADVERTISING COORDINATOR HERMINIA BATTAGLIA CLASSIFIEDS REPRESENTATIVE KRIS DODD ---------------------------------------------------------------DISTRIBUTION CONCERNS distributionissues@chicagoreader.com CHICAGO READER 350 N. ORLEANS, CHICAGO, IL 60654 312-222-6920, CHICAGOREADER.COM ---------------------------------------------------------------THE READER (ISSN 1096-6919) IS PUBLISHED WEEKLY BY SUN-TIMES MEDIA, LLC, 350 N. ORLEANS, CHICAGO, IL 60654. © 2016 SUN-TIMES MEDIA, LLC. PERIODICAL POSTAGE PAID AT CHICAGO, IL. POSTMASTER: SEND CHANGE OF ADDRESS TO CHICAGO READER, 350 N. ORLEANS, CHICAGO, IL 60654.

ON THE COVER: PHOTO OF BEATLE BOB

BY MARTY PEREZ

ARTS & CULTURE

MUSIC & NIGHTLIFE

The Chicago Dance History Project takes center stage

An oral history of the Empty Bottle

A group of local advocates and scholars are working to preserve the city’s formidable dance heritage.

An excerpt from the forthcoming book The Empty Bottle Chicago: 21+ Years of Music / Friendly / Dancing

By JOHN E. DUGAN 21

By MATT DE LA PEÑA 12 APRIL 21, 2016 - CHICAGO READER 3

AGENDA RSM

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READER RECOMMENDED

! Send your events to agenda@chicagoreader.com

b ALL AGES

F The Few The folks at Steep R Theatre are so closely associated with contemporary British plays that it’s

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Ride Along 2

Dreamgirls ! MICHAEL COURIER

THEATER

More at chicagoreader.com/ theater The Book Club Play Karen Zacarias’s 2009 play, about a book club that agrees to be the subject of a documentary by a renowned Danish director, strives to be both sharp, witty social commentary and character-driven romantic comedy. The reality-show-like setup provides the stage for a discussion of high and low art, “quality” literature and cheap thrillers. But the work’s rom-com aspirations blunt the satiric message, while the barbed wit undercuts the storytelling. Nonetheless, this 16th Street Theater production features plenty of strong acting, most notably Ann Filmer’s hilarious and moving performance as a Martha Stewart-esque control freak and Brad Harbaugh’s turn as her incorrigibly gauche husband.

—JACK HELBIG Through 5/14: Thu-Fri 7:30 PM, Sat 5 and 8:30 PM, 16th Street Theater, Berwyn Cultural Center, 6420 16th, Berwyn, 708-795-6704, 16thstreettheater.org, $20.

Dead Man Walking Adapting R Sister Helen Prejean’s book and the 1995 movie starring Susan Sarandon,

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Tim Robbins (who directed the film) makes no secret of his opposition to the death penalty. As Louisiana prepares to execute convicted murderer and rapist Matthew Poncelet, Robbins presents capital punishment as cruel, expensive, and unfairly meted out to poor offenders who can’t afford decent lawyers.

But Robbins doesn’t let Poncelet off the hook, either, letting us hear from the victims’ families and showing the ambivalence of the prisoner’s spiritual advisor, Prejean. Mikalina Rabinsky’s richly atmospheric staging is anchored by complex and affecting performances from Patricia Lavery as the nun and Jay Reed as the killer. Lavery in particular pulls off the difficult feat of conveying strength through compassion and piety without judgment. —ZAC THOMPSON Through 5/15: Thu-Sat 7:30, Sun 2:30 PM, Piven Theatre, Noyes Cultural Arts Center, 927 Noyes, Evanston, 847-866-8049, piventheatre.org, $25-$35.

Don’t Make Me Over (In Tribute to Dionne Warwick) The Black Ensemble salutes Dionne Warwick with a feel-good revue of the iconic vocalist’s songs spanning a 54-year career, beginning with her 1962 debut single, “Don’t Make Me Over.” The bulk of the show focuses on Warwick’s partnership in the 1960s with composer Burt Bacharach and lyricist Hal David—a unique matching of singer and writers that produced such hits as “Walk on By” and “I’ll Never Fall in Love Again.” The second act highlights Warwick’s collaborations with the likes of Barry Manilow and Isaac Hayes. Scripted

by Jackie Taylor and staged by Rueben D. Echoles, the show features a talented cast but relies too heavily on formulaic girl-group choreography—a gimmick Warwick had no need for. —ALBERT WILLIAMS 4/21-5/15: Thu 7:30 PM, Fri 8 PM, Sat 3 and 8 PM, Sun 3 PM, Black Ensemble Theater Cultural Center, 4450 N. Clark, 773-769-4451, blackensembletheater.org, $65.

Dreamgirls Wow. And once again, to confirm: wow. The Porchlight Music Theatre production of Henry Krieger and Tom Eyen’s 1981 hit generates more pleasing, powerful sound per cubic inch than any musical I’ve seen for a long time. And as familiar as I am with the tale of the Dreams—a 60s-era black girl group experiencing many of the highs and lows associated with the Supremes—director Brenda Didier and her cast kept me rapt for the show’s full 160-minute running time. I loved the growl in Donica Lynn’s voice as Dream member Effie White, expressing her fierce nature; the sex in Eric Lewis’s moves as singer Jimmy Early, locating him at the beginnings of R&B; the steel in Evan Tyrone Martin’s manner as Svengali-esque manager Curtis Taylor, conveying both his vision and his blindness. The only thing this Dreamgirls lacks, ironically, is a larger contingent of white actors to play reporters, studio technicians, and such. Without them, we don’t get a strong enough sense of what the Dreams are up against as they struggle to crack a pink-complected music industry. —TONY ADLER Through 5/22: Thu 7:30 PM, Fri 8 PM, Sat 4 and 8 PM, Sun 2 PM, Stage 773, 1225 W. Belmont, 773-327-5252, stage773.com, $35-$48.

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refreshing when they take on something as hard-core American as this 2013 drama by Samuel D. Hunter. Set (with due metaphorical portentousness) on the eve of the millennium, The Few gives us Bryan, former publisher of a paper for long-haul truckers, who turns up back home in Montana, much the worse for wear, after having walked out on his life four years earlier. The play is at once soft and hard, sentimental and cool, giving and cryptic: a modest, assured, often funny look at the struggle between love and survival. Though there’s room for Peter Moore to push further into the hard-bitten, you’ve got to admire his restraint as Bryan. Dana Black is delightful for all her cussedness as Bryan’s jilted girlfriend. And Travis Coe’s performance as a damaged teen manages to be over-the-top and precise at the same time. —TONY ADLER Through 5/21: ThuSat 8 PM, Sun 3 PM, Steep Theatre, 1115 W. Berwyn, 312-458-0722, steeptheatre. com, $10-$35.

Jesus Hopped the “A” Train A cagedin yard on notorious Rikers Island is the setting of this unsettling 2000 agitprop drama by Stephen Adly Guirgis. Each of the two protagonists is guilty, but as the pragmatic public defender played

by Elizabeth Birnkrant observes, in neither case has justice been served.

Undermined by too-neat speeches and a surfeit of metaphors, Anish Jethmalani’s awkwardly blocked production for Eclipse Theatre isn’t the damning indictment of the U.S. prison system it wants to be. But Johnathan Nieves’s raw performance as a headstrong, ultimately empathetic youth is heartbreaking. — DAN JAKES 4/21-5/15: Thu-Sat 7:30 PM, Sun 2 PM, Athenaeum Theatre, 2936 N. Southport, 773-935-6860, eclipsetheatre. com, $30, $20 students and seniors.

Milkwhite/Pool (No Water) R The Kinematics are a new kid on the block—the fledgling theater collec-

tive barely have a website, and their Facebook page (first post November 2015) doesn’t give you much to go on either. But the talent on display in this double bill will leave you feeling that you’ve been missing out for a long time.

Produced by Chris Smith and staged at Pilsen’s Chicago Art Department, the show features a rarely performed work— English playwright Mark Ravenhill’s Pool (No Water)—and a world premiere, Milkwhite, by Anthony Kochensparger.

Both are raw, visceral plays that touch on addiction and the manic, compulsive behavior of the artist in society. That may sound overly broad, but thanks to superb performances the theme is never short on substance. With that in mind, it’s easy to imagine the Kinematics going from new kid to hot ticket in the blink of an eye. —MATT DE LA PEÑA 4/22-5/8: Fri-Sat 7 PM (no show Fri 4/29), Sun 3 PM; also Mon 4/25, 8 PM, Chicago Art Department, 1932 S. Halsted, #100, 312-226-8601, chenrysmith.org/the-kinematics, $15.

Othello: The Remix This slick hip-hopstyle reinterpretation of Othello dumbs down Shakespeare to adolescent levels. draining the drama from the classic tale Turning Othello from a Moorish military officer into a rapper from the ghetto, writer-directors Jeffrey and Gregory Qaiyum (aka the Q Brothers)—along with actors Postell Pringle and Jackson Doran—narrate the action in singsong, often sloppily rhymed couplets backed by an insistent electronic beat. The allmale crew tackle multiple roles, resorting to cartoonish caricatures—though oddly, Othello’s doomed bride, Desdemona, is invisible, represented only by synthesized voice. —ALBERT WILLIAMS Through 5/8: Wed-Fri 7:30 PM, Sat 3 and 8 PM, Sun 2 and 6 PM, Tue 7:30 PM, Chicago Shakespeare Theater, 800 E. Grand, 312-595-5600, chicagoshakes. com, $20-$35.

Pygmalion George Bernard Shaw’s classic makeover comedy gets the storefront treatment in this intimate production from Rogue Theatre. Lacking the budget for elaborate scenery, director Nathan Robbel has the cast recite Shaw’s detailed set and character descriptions—a clever idea that conjures early 20th-century London as effectively as any scenic designer could. But the interpretations of fussy phonetician Henry Higgins (Nate White) and cockney flower girl Eliza Doolittle (Nellie Ognacevic) undermine the duo’s battle of the sexes (and classes). And contra Shaw, White turns Higgins, into a jovial, knee-slapping good sport with about as much bite as Dickens’s Ghost of Christmas Present. —ZAC THOMPSON Through 5/7: Thu-Sat 8 PM, Right Brain Project, 4001 N. Ravenswood, 773-750-2033, therbp.org, $5.

The Realm Water on earth has nearly run out. Everyone lives underground.

Children routinely kill their parents at retirement age. The air makes people gradually forget language, extinguishing their desires and making them easily controlled by the never-seen leaders of the Realm. Playwright Sarah Myers

Iliza Shlesinger ! ROBYN VON SWANK

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Best bets, recommendations, and notable arts and culture events for the week of April 21

packs this drama from the Other Theatre Company with lots of potent ideas, but as George Orwell showed, the trick to making a dystopian future convincing is rigorous internal logic. Here Myers falls short. Why would language loss suppress desire? Why has humanity moved underground? And if the Realm’s leaders’ greatest fear is that a citizen will escape aboveground, why is an unlocked escape hatch always accessible by ladder? Director Kelly Howe nicely exploits the script’s creepy menace, but buying into this world is arduous.

—JUSTIN HAYFORD Through 5/8: Thu-Sat 8 PM, Sun 3 PM, Side Project Theatre Company, 1439 W. Jarvis, 773-973-2150, theothertheatrecompany.com, $25.

assault speaking out at this open mike.

Thu 4/21, 7 PM, Uncommon Ground on Devon, 1401 W. Devon, 773-465-9801, rapevictimadvocates.org, $5 suggested donation.

DANCE Three Rooms Kristina Isabelle R Dance presents a progressive dance performance that takes place in three different rooms. 4/14-4/28: Thu 7:30 PM, High Concept Laboratories, 2233 S. Throop, info@highconceptlaboratories.org, kristinaisabelledance. com, $12.

Erika Martinez ! MICHAEL SANTIAGO

COMEDY

Erika Martinez The author reads R from and discusses her latest book, Daring to Write: Contemporary

Helltrap Nightmare A night of ghoulish stand-up and live music featuring local comedians and DJs. Rebecca O’Neal headlines. Wed 4/27, 9 PM, Elastic, 3429 W. Diversey, 773-7723616, elasticrevolution.com, $7.

Pop-Up Book Store Twelve local R booksellers showcase their collections of rare books, manuscripts, prints,

R

Iliza Shlesinger The host of the podcast Truth and Iliza does stand-up. Sat 4/23, 10 PM, the Vic, 3145 N. Sheffield, 773-472-0449, victheatre. com, $29.50.

R

Vienna Juvenile Sketch ComR edy Vienna Juvenile presents The Adventures of Reginald Sampson

(and the Consequence of Bliss), a sketch comedy show about storytelling and its effect on reality. 4/22-5/27: Fri 10:30 PM, iO Theater, 1501 N. Kingsbury, ioimprov. com/chicago, $14.

VISUAL ARTS Museum of Contemporary Art “Kerry James Marshall,” an exhibition of the artist’s paintings from the last 35 years.

4/23-9/25. Tue 10 AM-8 PM, Wed-Sun 10 AM-5 PM. 220 E. Chicago, 312-2802660, mcachicago.org, $12, $7 students and seniors, free kids 12 and under and members of the military, free for Illinois residents on Tuesdays.

LIT Breaking the Silence Rape R Victims Advocates hosts poets, artists, and survivors of rape and sexual

self-sufficiency. Holly Morris and Anne Bogart (PBS’s Globe Trekker) directed.

In English and subtitled Ukrainian.

—ANDREA GRONVALL 70 min. Fri 4/22, 2 and 6 PM; Sat 4/23, 5:15 PM; Sun 4/24, 3 PM; Mon 4/25, 6 PM; Wed 4/27, 6 PM; and Thu 4/28, 8:30 PM. Morris attends the Friday-evening, Saturday, and Sunday screenings. Gene Siskel Film Center Criminal Early in this slam-bang techno thriller, London-based CIA operative Ryan Reynolds is killed before he can reveal the location of hacker Michael Pitt, who can access American weaponry anywhere. To catch the hacker, the agency approves an experimental medical procedure in which the dead spy’s memories will be implanted in the brain of hardened convict Kevin Costner.

Costner, in full badass mode, makes this crackpot premise work, assisted

by Tommy Lee Jones as the pioneering surgeon, who’s concerned only with the patient’s welfare, and crusty Gary Oldman as a CIA bureau chief, who’s bent on controlling his new pawn. The dialogue is less than scintillating, but the action sequences are sturdy. As brain-swap movies go, this isn’t half bad as long as you check your own brain at the door. Ariel Vromen directed.

—ANDREA GRONVALL 70 min. R, 113 min.

Arclight, Century 12 and CineArts 6

For more of the best things to do every day of the week, go to chicagoreader. com/agenda.

Bickerstaff peppers his lively narrative with the insights of curators, painters, and historians, able storytellers all. In English and subtitled Spanish. —ANDREA GRONVALL 135 min. Sat-Sun 4/23-4/24, 11:30 AM. Music Box Green Room Jeremy Saulnier (Blue Ruin) wrote and directed this survivalist horror indie, which is stylish and rinsed in a queasy yellow-green but too reliant on genre conventions to stand out. Instead of friends vacationing in a remote cabin, this features a rock band touring the Pacific Northwest (Anton Yelchin, Alia Shawkat, Joe Cole, Callum Turner), who arrive for a show in a forested town that appears to be run by skinheads. After the band members see something they shouldn’t have, the skinheads lock them in the venue’s green room and, as the hours pass, brutal plans are hatched on either side of the door. The violence is wellchoreographed and often shocking, the gore shown for only as long as a person in that situation would look before turning away. But the characters are picked off in predictable order, and

Narratives by Dominican Women. Sat 4/23, 5 PM, City Lit Books, 2523 N. Kedzie, 773-235-2523, citylitbooks.com.

autographs, and more. Proceeds benefit UNESCO’s Forest Whitaker Peace and Development Initiative. Sat 4/23, 10 AM, Glessner House Museum, 1800 S. Prairie, 312-326-1480, glessnerhouse.org.

MOVIES

More at chicagoreader.com/ movies NEW REVIEWS

The Babushkas of Chernobyl

The Babushkas of Chernobyl R You’d have to be pretty jaded not Goya: Visions of Flesh and Blood to fall for the irrepressible subjects of R Robert Hughes writes in his this stirring documentary, a group of magisterial biography of Francisco de elderly Ukrainian women who survived the Chernobyl nuclear power plant disaster in 1986. After the accident, a 19-mile radius around the plant was evacuated and declared forever off-limits; the majority of residents never returned, but about a hundred hardy women sneaked back into their homes, where authorities have let them stay, figuring they’ll die of old age before they succumb to radiation poisoning.

Though the women’s health is monitored regularly, they’re preoccupied most with food, whether farmed, fished, or scavenged from a nearby forest.

Jovial and outspoken, they stubbornly maintain their high spirits, buoyed partly by homemade hooch but mainly by their faith in Christ and their own

Goya that the visionary Spanish painter was “the last old Master and the first Modernist,” a view shared by this fascinating documentary (2015). Centered on a special exhibition at London’s National Gallery, the video traces Goya’s creative growth from his early days as an aspiring court painter to his impassioned canvasses indicting the Napoleonic wars and on through the intimate domestic scenes he painted during his final years.

As curator Xavier Bray explains, Goya’s most striking innovation involved his commissioned portraits of royals and power brokers; by eliminating the conventional props and tokens of the sitter’s worldly status, Goya revealed the psychology of his subjects through their gazes and bearing. Director David

a neo-Nazi angle leads to a dead end.

Patrick Stewart is miscast as the skinheads’ leader, his theatricality clashing with the other actors’ realism. —LEAH PICKETT R, 95 min. A discussion follows the 7:20 PM screening on Friday. FriMon 4/22-4/25, 2:30, 4:45, 7:20, and 9:40 PM; Tue 4/26, 2:30, 4:45, and 9:40 PM; Wed 4/27, 2:30, 4:45, and 7:20; and Thu 4/28, 2:30, 4:45, 7:20, and 9:40 PM, Music Box; also River East 21 A Hologram for the King I guess I’ll have to read the Dave Eggers novel to figure out what this thing is about. Tom Hanks stars as a washed-up salesman— his dwindling fortunes in the U.S. are dramatized in an awkward parody of the Talking Heads’ “Once in a Lifetime”—who journeys to Saudi Arabia to sell a new digital information system to the king.

While there he rides around the !

APRIL 21, 2016 - CHICAGO READER 5

AGENDA !B desert in a Lincoln Continental with an Arab chauffeur devoted to Electric Light Orchestra, tries to pull together his sales team for their big pitch, gets a giant cyst on his back, and falls in love with his doctor, played by Sarita Choudhury. It’s all very 21st century, with global economic forces shifting in the background like giant sand dunes, but that’s all I can tell you.

Writer-director Tom Tykwer made a name for himself with the kinetic Run Lola Run (1998) before turning to such ponderous exercises as 3 (2010), Cloud Atlas (2012), and this movie. —J.R. JONES R, 97 min.

Landmark’s Century Centre The Jungle Book Disney’s live-action/CGI remake of its 1967 animation classic is both beautiful and superfluous. Adapted from the Rudyard Kipling novel, its story of an orphaned “man-cub” (Neel Sethi) raised in the jungle by animals, who fear he will one day wield man’s “red flower” of fire against them, is a powerful allegory. The animal characters, created through computer animation, with footage of real animal movement used for reference, look spectacular. The voice actors, particularly Lupita Nyong’o as the hero’s protective wolf mother and Idris Elba as the malevolent Bengal tiger, are superb. But director Jon Favreau has little else to add to the original film’s vision. Viewers hoping for reprises of “The Bare Necessities” and “I Wanna Be Like You” won’t be disappointed, though the awkward set-up of the latter generates the film’s only sour note. With the voices of Bill Murray, Ben Kingsley, Christopher Walken, Scarlett Johansson, and the late Garry Shandling. —LEAH PICKETT PG, 105 min. Arclight, River East 21 The Measure of a Man R American movies like The Company Men (2010) and Up in

the Air (2009) have dealt with the anger and despair of middle-aged unemployment, but nothing I’ve seen has captured the grinding humiliation of looking for work in the new economy like this 2015 French drama by Stéphane Brizé.

The graying hero (Vincent Lindon) is a good man hitting the pavement after losing his longtime manufacturing job. When a misconceived retraining program gets him nowhere, he endures frosty Skype interviews and brutal career workshops until, desperate to support his wife and mentally disabled son, he hires on as a security guard at a big-box store, where he’s forced to monitor his fellow employees as closely as he watches the shoplifters. Lindon was honored at Cannes and at the Cesars for his smoldering performance—it’s a memorable portrait of a man whose dignity and humanity are slowly pried away from him, until he snatches them

6 CHICAGO READER - APRIL 21, 2016

Sing Street

back at the end. In French with subtitles. —J.R. JONES 96 min. Fri 4/22, 2 and 6 PM; Sat 4/23, 3 and 7:45 PM; Sun 4/24, 3 PM; Mon 4/25, 6 PM; Tue 4/26, 8:30 PM; Wed, 4/27, 7:45 PM; and Thu 4/28, 6 PM. Gene Siskel Film Center Sing Street John Carney’s R dramas of musical invention (Once, Begin Again) are delicate

undertakings; the same gentleness and naivete that make them adorable can also make them twee.

Here he’s got the balance just right, delivering a funny and heartfelt tale about a Dublin teen in the mid-80s (Ferdia Walsh-Peelo) who starts a band to impress an older girl in the neighborhood (Lucy Boynton). Of course, that’s the very best reason to start a band, but an unexpected dramatic dividend is the hero’s sense of self-discovery as he teaches himself to play an instrument and write songs. (As usual with Carney, the blossoming amateurs immediately produce sophisticated pop tunes.) The hero and his bandmates embrace the look and sound of the foppish New Romantic craze, but this hardly diminishes their achievement, and their flamboyant getups generate plenty of laughs amid the sexual rigidity of their Catholic high school. With Maria Doyle Kennedy and Aidan Gillen.

—J.R. JONES PG-13, 106 min. Century 12 and CineArts 6, Landmark’s Century Centre, River East 21

Too Late John Hawkes stars R as an unorthodox private eye investigating a grisly murder

in this timeless LA detective story (2015). Writer-director Dennis Hauck divides the action into five vignettes, presented in achronological order, that take place in a hillside park, a mobster’s mansion, a strip club and bar, a drive-in movie theater, and a hotel; each scene plays out in a single, uninterrupted take lasting the length of a 2,000-foot reel of grainy 35-millimeter film. The actors, particularly the soulful Hawkes and Vail Bloom as a suicidal mob wife, give exquisite performances, even when they’re trading lines that were

meant to sound scripted. A stylized blend of classic film noir and New Hollywood pulp, this remarkable debut feature may grate on mainstream viewers with its affected drama and offbeat pacing, but cinephiles will be charmed. With Crystal Reed, Dichen Lachman, Robert Forster, and Rider Strong.

—LEAH PICKETT 105 min. Fri 4/22, 7 and 9 PM; Sat 4/23, 3, 5, 7, and 9 PM; Sun 4/24, 5 and 7 PM; and TueThu 4/26-4/28, 7 and 9 PM. Facets Cinematheque Vita Activa: The Spirit of Hannah Arendt Philosopher Hannah Arendt was suspicious of any ideology, right wing or left, because of its potential to harm people. Born in 1906, she grew up an assimilated Jew in Germany, though her lack of religious or patriotic fervor distanced her intellectually and politically from other Germans. The persecution of Jews and others that she witnessed under Nazism (she herself was interned in a camp for a while before escaping) informed her landmark analysis of the modus operandi of totalitarianism. But for all her brilliance, many have yet to forgive her for her reporting in Jerusalem on the 1961 war crimes trial of Nazi bureaucrat Adolf Eichmann, in which she wrote that he embodied “the banality of evil.” Israeli director Ada Ushpiz struggles to present the many layers of Arendt’s life in the proper light and mostly succeeds, sticking to her rigorous thought processes while also making them cinematic.

In English and subtitled German and Hebrew. —ANDREA GRONVALL 125 min. Fri 4/22, 7:45 PM; Sat 4/23, 3 PM; Sun 4/24, 4:45 PM; Mon 4/25, 7:30 PM; Tue 4/26, 6 PM; Wed 4/27, 7:30 PM; and Thu 4/28, 6 PM. Gene Siskel Film Center

SPECIAL EVENTS Chicago Feminist Film Festival Shorts and features addressing gender, sexuality, and race in mainstream media. For a full schedule visit chicagofeministfilmfestival. com. Thu 4/21 - Fri 4/22, Columbia College Film Row Cinema v

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CITY LIFE Higher ed

I’VE HAD A SORE THROAT for six straight weeks. To soothe my pain and preserve my voice, I’ve tried the typical home remedies: drinking fluids, avoiding cough drops with menthol (which dries out vocal chords), and sitting in my steamfilled bathroom. If I really wanted my pain to end, I’d have to give my voice a break and go to see a doctor.

But I can’t do either of those things because I teach six college courses and have no health insurance.

Since getting my PhD in 2014, I’ve juggled a trio of teaching jobs at three different Chicago universities. I regularly teach between four and six classes a semester. Taking on a course load this intense is the only way I can make rent, pay the bills, and chip away at my student loan debt. If one of the universities offers me a course, I have to accept it swiftly and without reservation, no matter how overcommitted I am; I would be quickly replaced by another, equally eager adjunct if I turned down any class offered to me.

Because course scheduling is incredibly unpredictable, it’s also necessary, unfortunately, that I work for (and remain in the good graces of) at least three universities at a time.

A school may offer me two classes one semester and zero classes the next. As an adjunct, my classes are scheduled last, after the needs of

full-time and tenured faculty are met, so I’m often unsure of my job prospects until a week or two before the semester starts. In addition, any courses I sign up to teach may be canceled at the last minute due to low enrollment, budgetary concerns, or simply because a full-time faculty member decides they want to teach it. I’m forced to strategically overcommit, then pray that only one or two of my classes is cut.

There’s one additional reason why I’m forced to teach at three schools, and it’s perhaps the most infuriating and unjust of them all: universities categorically refuse to give their adjunct professors enough courses to qualify as full-time employees.

It doesn’t matter how long I work for my employers, how glowing my student evaluations are, how reliable I’ve proved to be, or even what the school’s teaching needs are: I’m not allowed to teach enough classes to qualify for benefits and health insurance.

One of my employers, Loyola University Chicago, used to permit its contingent faculty to teach as many as three courses per semester.

A three-class load approached a livable wage and allowed adjuncts to devote themselves to teaching at a single institution. However, this policy ceased after the Affordable Care Act was passed. Now the university’s

adjuncts are barred from teaching more than two courses per semester, lest the school be legally required to provide health insurance.

Policies like these exist at all three schools where I teach, and they absolutely have a direct, negative impact on my teaching. On a typical day, I walk to one campus, teach a morning class, take two buses to my second campus, teach two classes, then take two more buses to my third and final campus, where I teach a night class and hold office hours. I’m spread thin emotionally, logistically, and cognitively. Necessity forces me to streamline my lectures and grading as much as possible; only students in my upper-level classes receive detailed, lengthy feedback on their writing assignments. If a student cannot make my regularly scheduled office hours, it’s unlikely I will be able to meet with them at all. I’m not able to provide advising or mentorship outside of the classroom, and struggle to learn the names of my 140-plus students. I approach my three separate university e-mail inboxes like rapidly sinking boats I’ll never fully bail myself out of.

I’m not alone in feeling this way. A fellow adjunct told me that she has to choose between teaching a few courses well and teaching enough courses to earn a living wage. “If a university values undergraduate

$ THINKSTOCK

The contingent life of an adjunct professor

education,” she said, “they should be ashamed of themselves for overburdening adjuncts who need to teach four or five courses a semester just to support themselves and their families. The undergraduates suffer from the adjunct crisis as well.”

Most of my students are unaware of the plight adjuncts face. Last spring, a bright-eyed business major said to me that it “must be cool to be a teacher and not have to work in the summer.” I met this comment with a laugh so bombastic and bitter that the student took a step back. I told him that if I don’t teach, I don’t eat.

Students are similarly baffled when they discover that I don’t have an office and don’t know which classes I’ll be teaching next semester or even if I’ll be teaching at their school at all.

In explaining my situation to them, I have to be careful not to complain.

Adjuncts have been fired for less.

The National Labor Relations Board ruled in December that it has jurisdiction over Loyola, and in January, the university’s adjuncts voted to join the Service Employees International Union, following in the footsteps of other Chicago-area

contingent faculty who have unionized in recent years, including those at UIC and the University of Chicago.

According to a union representative with whom I spoke, Loyola’s twocourse teaching cap was a deciding factor in the votes of many adjunct instructors.

If universities in Chicago and elsewhere were to remove their teaching restrictions and allow full-time contracts, I’d enjoy health insurance and financial stability, allowing me to quit at least one of my jobs and more deeply devote myself to improving the education of my students.

Loyola, however, is proving intransigent on this front. Back in February, the university filed an appeal to the NLRB’s ruling, maintaining that its adjuncts, as employees of a religious institution, have no right to unionize under the NLRB’s jurisdiction. In moments like this, I wish that Loyola actually did treat me the way it does members of the clergy. I don’t think priests get fired if they can’t deliver a homily due to strep throat.

—DAWN KENNARD

# Keep up to date on the go at chicagoreader.com/agenda.

SURE THINGS THURSDAY 21

FRIDAY 22

SATURDAY 23

SUNDAY 24

MONDAY 25

TUESDAY 26

WEDNESDAY 27

! Co nversati ons at the Ed ge Comics artist and filmmaker Lyra Hill presents three pieces that use “multiple film projectors, looping audio effects, and pulsating hand-drawn images.” Hill takes part in a post-screening discussion. 6 PM, Gene Siskel Film Center, 164 N. State, siskelfilmcenter. org, $11.

! Ja mes Beard Eats We ek More than 100 of Chicago’s top restaurants— including Belly Q, Frontier, and Ramen-san—offer special menus in celebration of the annual James Beard Awards. Through 5/2, various times, locations, and prices, choosechicago.com/jbf.

" Pop -Up Pot Shop A Reader-hosted pop-up shop featuring pieces, pipes, clothing, pins, posters, and more from contemporary artists— including Leah Ball, Silk Shaman, and Noël Morical—plus a panel addressing the state of marijuana in Illinois. 11 AM-3 PM, Emporium Arcade Bar, 2363 N. Milwaukee, emporiumchicago.com. F

♀ Sa di e Hawkins Da nce She Crew’s third annual dance features music by all-female Beastie Boy cover band She’s Crafty, food, drinks, and a literal smashing of the patriarchy (via a piñata). All proceeds benefit the female empowerment organization’s programs. 6 PM, Hideout, 1354 W. Wabansia, hideoutchicago.com, $20.

" Bee r an d Tacos for Literacy The Literature for All of Us Action Council hosts a benefit featuring raffles, Lagunitas beer, and all the Flaco’s Tacos you can eat. 5:30 PM, Lagunitas Tap Room, 2607 W. 17th, literatureforallofus.org, $10.

! Chicago Moth Sto r yslam The storytelling series presents a collection of tales inspired by the theme “romance.” 8 PM, Lincoln Hall, 2424 N. Lincoln, themoth. org, $10.

" Old-fashioned Tasting Blaze the bourbon trail with tastings of WhistlePig, Old Forester, Woodford Reserve, Bulleit, and Buffalo Trace bourbons, appetizers, and goodie bags. 7 PM, Ranalli’s, 1925 N. Lincoln, ranallislincolnpark. com, $25.

8 CHICAGO READER - APRIL 21, 2016

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CITY LIFE

Read Ben Joravsky’s columns throughout the week at chicagoreader.com.

Howard Brookins Jr. is the latest alderman stuck with the thankless job of education committee chair. ! BRIAN JACKSON/SUN-TIMES MEDIA

POLITICS

Who’s the boss?

In Chicago, the mayor effectively appoints City Council committee chairs.

By BEN JORAVSKY

O

ver the years I’ve grown accustomed to all sorts of fantastical press releases coming from the mayor’s office as Mayor Emanuel takes credit for things he had nothing to do with—like new businesses moving to Chicago.

But the mayor hit a new high—or low—with last week’s claim that he’d effectively overturned the Founding Fathers on the central underpinning of our democracy: the separation of powers.

“On Monday, Mayor Emanuel named three aldermen to committee chairmanships,” the press release read. “Alderman Howard Brookins will become education chairman, while Alderman Joe Moreno will take over as Economic and Technology chairman. Finally, Alderman Pat Dowell will chair the Human Relations committee.”

OK, Mr. Mayor. Clearly you weren’t paying attention to your social studies teachers back at good ol’ New Trier high.

You may get to give nicknames to your school appointees—remember JC and B3? But the mayor doesn’t have statutory power to appoint committee chairs. That’s the council’s job.

Of course, I can understand the mayor’s confusion. In Chicago democracy doesn’t really work like the Founding Fathers envisioned it—as this latest game of musical committee chairs shows.

This all started in February, when Fourth Ward alderman Will Burns took a job as director of midwest policy for Airbnb.

Before leaving the council, Burns chaired its education committee. That’s a rather thankless task for many reasons, starting with the fact that the committee has no real power—it’s the Board of Education, not the City Council, that approves school matters.

The education committee does hold symbolic significance, because it can be used as a venue for hearings on the three most pressing educational issues of the day: Can the city afford more charter schools? Should the mayor dip into his billion-dollar tax increment financing slush fund to help bail out CPS? And should we move from a mayor-appointed school board to an elected one?

The public, by and large, would answer these questions: No, yes, and yes.

Whereas Mayor Emanuel answers them:

Yes, no, no.

Burns’s chief task as committee chair was to bury any attempt to hold a hearing on these issues, one that would show the mayor doesn’t give a hoot about what most Chicagoans think.

In February, Burns effectively said the hell with this BS and took the gig with Airbnb. (The general consensus of many of his old councilmates is that Burns will make so much money in his new job that eventually he’ll be telling Mayor Rahm what to do, and not the other way around.)

If this were Congress, Burns’s education committee chair vacancy would be filled after much wheeling and dealing among D.C.’s political powerhouses.

This being Chicago, it means that the mayor doles out the chairs as rewards to his favorite aldermen—like TIFs to developers.

Independent aldermen—like, say, Scott Waguespack—never get to be committee chairs. No matter how smart or savvy they may be.

There are several advantages to chairing a council committee. This does not include being a legislative gatekeeper, as you might expect. But you do get to hire a staffer or two.

Plus, you get to hold the gavel at committee meetings and pretend you’re the mayor.

Hey, a lot of aldermen would sell their souls for less.

On the other hand, you run the risk of looking like a flunky as you bow to the mayor’s every command, putting forward or holding back key pieces of legislation.

The education committee chair had fallen into such low esteem that Emanuel had a hard time convincing anyone to take it after Burns left—especially after he made it clear that he would not, under any circumstances, tolerate hearings on charters, an elected school board, or TIF slush.

Alderman Brookins says he accepted the gig after several aldermen practically begged him to take it.

Brookins had been chair of the economic and technology committee. By moving to education, he gave the mayor another vacancy to fill.

Among aldermen, the tech chair is viewed as an easy gig. It’s low profile, and if you play it right you can get the hookup with rich, hightech companies.

So if push comes to shove, an alderman in that seat can make a Burns-like escape to

greener pastures.

With Moreno replacing Brookins at tech, that left a vacancy for chair of the human relations committee, which Moreno used to head.

OK, stay with me, readers—things are going to get a little complicated.

In Chicago, democracy doesn’t work the way the Founding Fathers envisioned it.

In 2012, the human relations committee had its brush with fame when its previous chairman—Alderman Joe Moore—agreed to hold hearings on, yes, a citywide referendum on an elected school board.

School activists had turned to Moore because 17th Ward alderman Latasha Thomas, who then chaired the education committee, refused to hold the hearings herself.

Thomas didn’t run for reelection last year, in part because residents were upset with her for burying the hearings.

Moore agreed to hold the elected school board hearings and then backed off under heavy pressure from the mayor.

Don’t cry for Moore—he landed on his feet.

He now chairs the housing committee, which approves every land transaction the city makes. For the housing chair, that means a potential gold mine of campaign contributions from developers and real estate lawyers.

Not that these contributions did much good for Alderman Ray Suarez, who chaired housing before Moore. Last year, Suarez was defeated, largely for being too close to the mayor.

So you might say that committee chairmen are stuck between a rock and Rahm.

Or as one aldermen put it: “You either piss off the public or piss off the mayor.”

Brookins predicts Emanuel will drop his opposition to an elected school board—probably after the mayor devises a face-saving way to make it look like it was his idea all along.

“I believe there will be a time when we have an elected board,” Brookins says.

Hey, alderman: Do everyone a favor and schedule a hearing real soon. If nothing else, it’ll be entertaining to watch Mayor Rahm blow his stack. v

! @joravben

APRIL 21, 2016 - CHICAGO READER 9

CITY LIFE The Twin Towers under construction ! JOHN GREENFIELD

TRANSPORTATION

Transit-oriented displacement?

Activists worry CTA-friendly housing will accelerate gentrification in Logan Square.

By JOHN GREENFIELD

T

ransit-oriented development (TOD) is a progressive approach to building new housing. Densely packed units with relatively few parking spaces are clustered close to rapid transit, making it easy for lots of residents to get around without a car. That means less driving in the neighborhood. And, since garage parking costs tens of thousands of dollars per stall and takes up precious ground space, fewer spots for cars means developers can build more apartments within a given footprint and pass on the savings to tenants, potentially boosting affordability.

So why did about 20 left-leaning activists blockade the worksite for the Twin Towers TOD project at 2293 N. Milwaukee on Saturday, April 9? They formed a human chain across the street and locked themselves to each other via PVC tubes and concrete-filled buckets, chanting “How high’s the rent? Too damn high.” Dozens more demonstrators cheered from the sidewalks, holding signs that read logan square is not for sale.

10 CHICAGO READER - APRIL 21, 2016

The protest, led by Somos (“We Are”) Logan Square and Lifted Voices, made the argument that the upscale ten- and 11-story rental towers, along with a high-end six-story transit-oriented apartment building down the street, will accelerate the already rapid pace of gentrification in the neighborhood. They say the transit-friendly aspects of the buildings, both located a few minutes’ walk from the Blue Line’s California station, are little more than greenwashing.

But First Ward alderman Proco Joe Moreno and others argue that, in addition to being a smart strategy for reducing car dependency, these developments will actually help longtime residents stay in the neighborhood. Ten percent of the new apartments will be affordable. And by increasing Logan Square’s housing supply, they say, the buildings will actually take pressure off the local rental market.

In 2013, Moreno got the city’s first transit-oriented development ordinance passed, which cut the usual one-to-one apartment-toparking-spot requirement in half for buildings

within 600 feet of an el or Metra stop. Last September the City Council beefed up the legislation, doubling that distance and eliminating the parking minimums for TODs altogether.

Reducing the parking burden helped fuel Chicago’s current rental building boom. About 30 new TOD projects are planned, under construction, or already built. But virtually all of them are high-end projects in affluent or gentrifying neighborhoods.

Many of these parking-lite buildings feature small studio or one-bedroom apartments aimed at young professionals—particularly tech workers, according to real estate professionals I’ve talked to—less interested in car ownership than in living in a hot neighborhood with easy train access to downtown jobs.

That’s developer Rob Buono’s strategy with the Twin Towers, which will contain 216 units but only 56 parking spots. Market-rate apartments will rent for $1,400 for a studio and up to $2,500 for a two-bedroom.

At the 120-unit tower at 2211 N. Milwaukee—dubbed “L” by Property Markets Group to emphasize its proximity to the train—market-rate units will cost between $1,575 and $3,900. There will be 12 affordable apartments and 60 parking spaces.

As a matter of policy, Alderman Moreno insists that 10 percent of units be affordable before he’ll grant a zoning change, rather than letting developers take the cheaper route of paying into the city’s affordable housing fund. Therefore the Twin Towers will include 22 affordable units that will run about $800 a month—a bargain for an upscale high-rise a block or two from the train in a trendy part of town.

Buono credited the TOD law with his decision to build the Twin Towers. “Absent that ordinance, it’s unlikely the building would have been constructed,” he says. (Property Markets Group declined to comment.)

Somos Logan’s Justine Bayod Espoz says her group is not opposed to building dense, low-parking housing near train stops. “TOD is a great concept, but affordability is key,” she says. “Having easy access to public transportation should not become a luxury that is extended only to the affluent.” Somos is calling for the amount of affordable housing in the Twin Towers and “L” developments to be bumped up from 10 percent to 30 percent.

And while the city requires that affordable rental units be within the means of households earning up to 60 percent of the Chicago region’s area median income, or $43,440 for a family of four, the group wants that threshold

lowered to 30 percent. That would make the apartments affordable for Logan Square’s Latino families, who have a median income of $34,346, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Bayod Espoz points to a 2015 study from the Georgia Institute of Technology, which argues that the real estate industry follows a “herd mentality.” As high-end development picks up in a neighborhood, the reasoning goes, other property owners are encouraged to convert their apartments to luxury units or sell their buildings for tear-downs. James Leyba from Chicago’s Center for Neighborhood Technology countered by pointing to a 2013 New York Times op-ed by Harvard economist Ed Glaeser.

“The best way to make cities more affordable is to reduce the barriers to building and unleash the cranes,” Glaeser wrote. “[That way housing] can become affordable to everyone, not just someone lucky enough to get an affordable unit.”

“Having easy access to public transportation should not become a luxury that is extended only to the affluent.”

— Justine Bayod Espoz, Somos Logan Square Moreno, meanwhile, says he’s interested in getting higher percentages of affordable units in future developments—“but if I had demanded 30-30 and the buildings [and their affordable units] didn’t get built, that would have been irresponsible of me.”

It’s a shame that the forward-thinking concept of transit-oriented development has become associated with luxury and displacement. It’s even more unfortunate that TODs are not yet being built for the poor and working-class residents and neighborhoods that most need better transportation access to jobs and schools.

Hopefully it won’t stay that way. On May 19, the Center for Neighborhood Technology will host an “ETOD Laboratory,” a workshop on equitable transit-oriented development to discuss strategies “to ensure residents of all incomes and backgrounds can afford to live near transit.” v

John Greenfield edits the transportation news website Streetsblog Chicago. ! @greenfieldjohn

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please recycle this paper APRIL 21, 2016 - CHICAGO READER 11

The archival ambitions of the

Chicago Dance History Project

By MATT DE LA PEÑA

Joel Hall Dancers, 1996. The CDHP will host a panel discussion with Hall on Wed 4/27 at the Newberry Library. ! COURTESY NEWBERRY LIBRARY

12 CHICAGO READER - APRIL 21, 2016

W

hen the Joffrey Ballet relocated to Chicago in 1995, after a series of protracted negotiations with local officials, former Tribune dance critic Sid Smith declared that it was “a bold new chapter in this city’s harried, checkerboard dance history.” Twenty years have passed since one of the nation’s most prestigious ballet companies moved its headquarters from Manhattan’s West Village to State Street, yet the city’s checkerboard history is still as harried as ever.

That’s the feeling among a group of local dance advocates who’ve set their sights on unearthing a forgotten piece of Chicago’s legacy.

They’re setting the stage for an archive that could one day compete with the one amassed

by Ann Barzel, the late Chicago dance writer who in 1996 at the age of 82 donated more than 300 boxes of books, photographs, film, and various ephemera to the Newberry Library.

Back then the New York Times called Barzel’s collection, which she started when she was nine years old, “unrivaled.”

Enter a new contender: The Chicago Dance History Project, a collective that’s dedicated its resources in part to unearthing “lesser-known individuals, organizations, and venues that have anchored Chicago’s strong local dance community.” The group envisions a public platform consisting of video interviews, digital images, and scholarly research, including oral histories from living, prominent figures in Chicago dance. Formed in 2014, CDHP is in the midst of a three-year endeavor to collect and house primary source material to determine “how Chicago has shaped dance—and how, in turn, dance has shaped Chicago—throughout the 20th century and into the present.”

The establishment of CDHP marks a turning point for the preservation of Chicago’s formidable dance heritage, says executive committee member Susan Manning, a professor of English, theater, and performance studies at Northwestern University and the author of several books on dance, including Modern Dance, Negro Dance: Race in Motion, and New German Dance Studies. She describes Chicago’s dance history as “underresearched” and, for better or worse, perpetually overshadowed by what comes out of New York City.

When the CDHP executive committee formed two years ago, Manning says, part of the plan was to bring renewed interest to Chicago dance, but an equally significant goal was to quash a pattern that has long been prevalent among historians covering this field.

“In terms of the way dance history has been written, until quite recently New York was a very big center . . . from the 30s well into the

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Sybil Shearer (top) and Katherine Dunham, two Chicago-based dancer/ choreographers the CDHP believes have been overlooked in dance scholarship ! HELEN BALFOUR MORRISON/SUN-TIMES ARCHIVE; COURTESY LIBRARY OF CONGRESS

70s,” Manning says. She refers to Japanese butoh, which gained prominence stateside in the 80s, and the work of European pioneers like Pina Bausch, as examples that forced dance historians to veer away from a New York-centric perspective on the art form. “So many of us who have been writing about the histories of American dance end up writing about the histories of dance in New York City,” she says. Manning recalls a particular “aha” moment during a trip to the Newberry Library in the mid-90s while doing research for one of her books. “Katherine Dunham launched her career in the 30s, Sybil Shearer was somebody who was always intriguing to me, Ruth Page made her career here,” she says. “I realized, ‘Oh my gosh, there’s this whole other narrative in Chicago.’”

That the narrative of American dance skews in favor of New York is nothing new. Lesser known are figures like Shearer, who received considerable notoriety after making her debut at Carnegie Hall in 1941 only to leave two years later for the quieter surroundings of the Chicago suburbs. Anchored there, Shearer’s unpredictable career—which spanned everything from performance to choreography to criticism—was locally relevant but little known to audiences outside Illinois.

Shearer’s career is one that reflects the broader concerns CDHP discussed during the early days of its inception, according to project director Jenai Cutcher West, a longtime dance writer and lecturer who earned her MFA in Dance and Technology at Ohio State University. “It’s a shame that I’ve been studying dance and its history for many years and knew so little about Sybil Shearer and her work,” she laments. “Given the quality of Shearer’s work and the fact that it was rather well documented, I don’t understand why it has been largely overlooked in existing dance scholarship.”

Shearer’s work may be overlooked, yet her legacy lives on thanks to the Morrison Shearer Foundation, established in 1991 to preserve the Northbrook home where Shearer worked and to house an extensive collection of materials related to her career. West, however, also strives to uncover the lives of performers who amount to historical footnotes, like area native Charles Grass, 88, who in 1940 founded the duo the Riff Brothers with his childhood friend Bob Fosse.

“Their situation was just fascinating,” West says. “It’s not something that would ever happen today: two guys from Ravenswood wearing tuxes and performing in everything from an Elks club to a strippers’ club. Everyone knows of Bob Fosse and his work, but J

APRIL 21, 2016 - CHICAGO READER 13

continued from 13

because he passed away 30 years ago, Charlie is the closest link to Bob’s early dance history.

And he’s got a mind like a steel trap.”

Since January, CDHP has been averaging at least one interview per week, and it’s completed more than 25 in just more than a year. The goal is to record as many as possible from a list that includes more than 300 names and continues to grow. “I’ve been putting names on the list every time I interview someone,” West says. “I ask, ‘Who else should be involved with this project?’ Then their names go on the list.

I see that as part of my job too: to make sure that we are filling the gaps of our knowledge.”

Filling those gaps, however, isn’t limited to interviews. Part of CDHP’s goal is to engage the community at large: it’s partnered with organizations including the Auditorium Theatre, the Old Town School of Folk Music, and the Newberry to host panel discussions with stalwarts like Joel Hall of Joel Hall Dancers and Dame Libby Komaiko of Chicago’s Ensemble Español Spanish Dance Theater.

CDHP’s undertaking has uncovered some colorful, never-before-heard anecdotes about influential characters such as Chicago

South-side native Carlton Wilborn, the lead dancer on Madonna’s “Girlie Show” and “Blonde Ambition” tours, was interviewed as part of CDHP. ! GETTY

Dancing Festival cofounder Lar Lubovitch, whose career—and by extension the Chicago Dancing Festival—might never have come about if a fire hadn’t ignited in a department store near the choreographer’s childhood neighborhood, Maxwell Street, one winter.

As residents surveyed the scene, Lubovitch’s attention was caught by the jets of water shooting into the store’s windows and freezing in place. As West tells it, the scene was so magical to Lubovitch that he suddenly felt the spontaneous urge to dance.

“At the most basic level the general public

Chicago native Bob Fosse (left) and Charles Grass (a CDHP subject) as the Riff Brothers, 1943 ! CHICAGO DANCE HISTORY PROJECT’S CHARLES GRASS COLLECTION

might not know that Chicago has a long history with dance and a very diverse dance scene that is still growing,” West says. “But even more, too, I think what I’m starting to hear from these interviews is that dancers choose to stay because they can actually work here.

They are supported in taking risks, and by support, that means everything from financial support to audience support.”

That account echoes the career of CDHP interview subject and former Hubbard Street dancer Carlton Wilborn, a native south-sider who staked his claim internationally as the lead dancer for Madonna’s “Girlie Show” and “Blonde Ambition” world tours. Wilborn counts Chicago as one of the few major cities that give fledgling artists a chance to succeed without depleting their bank accounts.

“I wish that there was a way that it could become a broader conversation,” says Wilborn of dance’s extensive yet untold history. “Whether we’re talking about dance or we’re talking about music, it’s crazy how many people don’t

14 CHICAGO READER - APRIL 21, 2016

know who so-and-so was, who [Rudolf] Nureyev was, who this person from Chicago was that made a big stand.”

Wilborn has since spent the majority of his career in Los Angeles, though whenever someone asks where he’s from he’s quick to say Chicago. He hopes other cities will undertake efforts similar to CDHP before it’s too late.

“Our younger generation, just because of the digital platform right now where everything is fast and swift and moving fast, it’s been challenging for that culture to take a moment to go backward,” Wilborn continues.

“Everything is so about forward movement, so about finding the new, that our current culture has lost sight of the value of history.

I’m open to spreading the conversation as much as I can, so that more people are taking stock of what makes us who we are. It’s essential.” v “CONVERSATIONS ON CHICAGO DANCE: FOUNDING AND SUSTAINING A COMPANY” Wed 4/27, 5:30 PM, Newberry Library, 60 W. Walton, 312-255-3700, newberry.org. F

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ARTS & CULTURE

R READER RECOMMENDED

b ALL AGES

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James Earl Jones II and Tim Edward Rhoze

THEATER

2 B young, pro-GOP, and black

By TONY ADLER

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ast November American Theater Company premiered Fulfillment, Thomas Bradshaw’s play about Michael, a 40-year-old black lawyer who’s convinced himself he’s on his way to living his version of the American dream, complete with randy white girlfriend and expensive new condo (including cabinetry done in Tanzanian Anigre wood). Turns out he’s wrong.

Michael’s tragedy repeats itself as farce— political farce—in Bradshaw’s latest, Carlyle, getting a boisterous premiere of its own now at Goodman Theatre.

The title character is an African-American lawyer, of course—only he’s not an associate at a high-powered New York firm, like Michael is. Carlyle Meyers has ventured much deeper into the belly of the beast. He works for the Republican Party.

And he’s happy to do it, too. Carlyle comes from money. His dad’s is a classic ghetto-kidmade-good story: worked his way up from the mean streets to attend Harvard (“For a black man to get into Harvard in my day he had to be 12 times better than all of the other white students”) and build a career as a Wall Street banker. Thanks to him and his Reaganite ways, Carlyle grew up in Greenwich,

Connecticut, where streets with names like Canterbury Drive don’t sound so mean, lined as they are with houses that go for six- and seven-figure prices Not that Carlyle hasn’t struggled with his identity. As a teen at Adams Country Day he fell under the influence of Shaniqua and Tyrone, poor urban blacks admitted under a diversity program. They called him out as a fake and a traitor (“You talk white, dress white, and act white. You an Oreo”) before making him over. In a flash Carlyle went from skiing triple-black-diamond slopes in Vail to wearing a thick gold chain and inhaling the Rastafarian worldview. His biology grade plummeted to a C+.

Fortunately for the conservative movement, Carlyle’s white schoolmates carried out a successful intervention. In Benjamin Kamine’s staging, a preppy cardigan drops from the heavens above when Carlyle comes to his senses. He picks it up and lovingly knots the sleeves around his neck.

The rest is meant to be history. Bradshaw’s premise is that Carlyle has been engaged by Goodman to be the subject of a theatrical inquiry into the question of how a black person becomes a Republican. In a very funny early

passage Carlyle explains that the company was nearing the bottom of the barrel—having been rebuffed by everyone from Condoleezza Rice to Herman Cain, then having to rebuff Ben Carson (“Of course he said yes, but his first draft had a whole section about how he was a Golden Gloves boxer and never lost a match because of the insatiable rage he felt inside”)—when he was put forward for the job.

But Carlyle doesn’t intend to be anybody’s case in point. He’s got an agenda of his own, which he pursues under the tutelage of his ambitious and, yes, randy white wife, Janice.

One problem with all this is that Carlyle’s attitudes and excesses can’t compete with those currently on display among his real-life colleagues in Republican politics. During this season of Trump and Cruz there’s something quaint, even nostalgic, about a conservative political operative who embraces his party’s establishment to the point of cherishing Florida for being the state that turned the 2000 election for Dubya. Who does that anymore?

Bradshaw’s 80-minute spectacle offers its quota of vivid absurdities, though, particularly for those of us who share what comes across clearly enough as a left-leaning perspective. Apropos of Carlyle’s idolization of Clarence Thomas, we get a hilarious/horrifying series of scenarios speculating on what really happened between the Supreme Court justice and Anita Hill. Tyrone and Shaniqua’s lessons in blackness offer a neat gloss on how fact can mix with folklore and anger to produce strange philosophy. And the scene where Janice’s family first meets Carlyle and his dad, each side checking out the other’s GOP bona fides, is a minor classic of its kind.

Meanwhile, James Earl Jones II (who’s not the son of that James Earl Jones) is a revelation throughout. A longtime Chicago actor, he’s had a journeyman’s career but never a showcase like the one he gets here. And he nails it with a Candide-like enthusiasm that stretches from cartoonish innocence—pretty much skipping across the stage—to a jovial opportunism shaded just this side of calculation. It’s Jones’s role. v R CARLYLE Through 5/1: Wed-Thu 7:30 PM, Fri 8 PM, Sat 2 and 8 PM, Sun 2 and 7:30 PM, Goodman Theatre, 170 N. Dearborn, 312-443-3800, goodmantheatre.org, $10-$40.

! @taadler

! ROBYN VON SWANK

! LIZ LAUREN

COMEDY

Jen Kirkman feels fine

JEN KIRKMAN IS 41 years old, divorced, and childless. And she’s completely unapologetic about it. When friends ask, “Who will take care of you when you’re old, if you don’t have kids?” the comedian replies, “Hopefully servants.” She even wrote an entire book about a child-free life, I Can Barely Take Care of Myself: Tales From a Happy Life Without Kids.

Since her view on parenting is perfectly clear, she’s using her next book and stand-up tour to prove to everyone that even though her life may appear to be in shambles, she’s actually doing just fine.

Between Kirkman’s latest memoir, I Know What I’m Doing—and Other Lies I Tell Myself, and her Netflix special, I’m Gonna Die Alone (And I Feel Fine), it’s obvious that she has moved past the “justifying her decisions to people” phase of her life and straight to the “I don’t give a fuck” stage. She talks about eating a block of cheese like a sandwich and accidentally but proudly becoming a cougar.

And she isn’t afraid to casually admit what she doesn’t understand, like: How does she reach the Department of Homeland Security to report potential terrorism? And what is feminism, really? She knows one thing for sure: “Feminism isn’t doing the stupid shit that men do. If that was the case I’d be peeing on my front lawn and starting wars.”

And those who wonder if it’s all just an act need look no further than Kirkman’s appearances on Comedy Central’s Drunk History (she’s a regular guest). Anyone who can recount the tale of political cartoonist Thomas Nast taking down Tammany Hall leader “Boss” Tweed—after downing two bottles of wine—knows exactly what she’s doing. — BRIANNA WELLEN R JEN KIRKMAN Sat 4/23, 8 PM, Thalia Hall, 1807 S. Allport, thaliahallchicago.com, $20-$25.

APRIL 21, 2016 - CHICAGO READER 15

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ARTS & CULTURE From left: New York duo Lazy Mom’s video installation Hungry Hungry Hot Dog is on display inside of an old-fashioned refrigerator; a reading nook filled with participating artists’ zines. ! SUNSHINE TUCKER

VISUAL ART

Children of the Pee-Wee revolution

By BRIANNA WELLEN

U

pon entering the Pilsen gallery Present, it’s hard to miss an old-fashioned fridge covered with neon alphabet magnets, the most prominent of which spell out OPEN ME. Inside the icebox is a bright and colorful video of dancing hot dogs squiggling their way through heads of lettuce and blocks of cheese.

If all that sounds like something out of PeeWee’s Playhouse, well, it should: the piece, by the New York-based artist duo Lazy Mom, is part of the Pee-Wee-inspired exhibit “Children of the Playhouse.”

There’s nothing subtle about the environment that curators Stella Brown, Harry Kuttner, and Emily Sher are trying to create.

The space (which actually is someone’s house) oozes early-90s nostalgia. The organizers know the era well: the trio grew up during the late 80s and early 90s, and they’ve invited other artists to assist them in fashioning a playhouse of their own.

“It’s not that we’re all obsessed with PeeWee’s Playhouse,” Sher says. “It’s just that that root can inspire so much.”

In fact, the initial inspiration for “Children of the Playhouse” didn’t come from the bizarre children’s television show but rather Leslie Buchbinder’s documentary Hairy Who & the Chicago Imagists. Gary Panter, an artist interviewed in the film, was one of the set

designers on Pee-Wee’s Playhouse, and from there Brown continued drawing connections between the television show and the outsider artists of the 60s and 70s. “[The artists featured in the exhibit] are mostly people our age,” Brown says, “but there are also four artists that are our parents’ age.

It’s another connection [with] the Hairy Who and the Imagists generation. We intentionally included some people of another generation to link it, because it’s not like we’re inventing this—it’s been going on.”

The result is an exhibit that’s much more dynamic than a simple re-creation of the television-show set. While some items, like

Lazy Mom’s refrigerator, are over-the-top and playful, others, like a woven canvas by Moira Quinn O’Neil, are indicative of how an adult might pull from the colorful worlds of Pee-Wee and the Imagists to decorate his den. There’s a sense that, despite some outlandish color combinations and nonfunctional art pieces (like an oversize tower resembling a game of Jenga), someone could actually inhabit this warped living space.

Along with the gallery showing, Present will be screening Hairy Who and the Imagists (Thursday, April 28), hosting a Pee-Weethemed supper club (Thursday, May 5), and providing a library of zines and art books for patrons to sit and enjoy in the brightly painted nooks of the exhibit. “We want it to be interactive, where people can play,” Brown says, “because that’s what you do at Pee-Wee’s playhouse.” v R “CHILDREN OF THE PLAYHOUSE” Through 5/8, Present, 2101 W. Cullerton, shootthelobster.com. F

APRIL 21, 2016 - CHICAGO READER 17

ARTS & CULTURE

LIT

Closer than you know

By ALFRED SOTO

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18 CHICAGO READER - APRIL 21, 2016

F

or starters, they didn’t pretend that a whole lot separated them from fans; biographical distance was a concept that they slept through in high school.

“They probably didn’t aspire to a whole lot, but also didn’t aspire to doing nothing either,” Tommy Stinson said. “That’s the kind of fan we probably appealed to most: the people that were in that gray area. Just like us.”

Onetime Reader staff writer Bob Mehr’s Trouble Boys: The True Story of the Replacements is a well-wrought account of how a band with guitarist and lead singer Paul Westerberg’s talent disintegrated thanks to substance abuse and, subsequently, Westerberg’s inability to write powerful music after going sober at the beginning of the 90s. A prodigious reporter, Mehr spoke to three-dozen sources, most importantly the crucial nexus of Westerberg and bassist Tommy Stinson.

He doesn’t dilute their voices. Besides being a first-rate biography, Trouble Boys imposes order on an unrelenting barrage of grotesque behavior that was leavened by several of the most beautiful, inchoate records of the 80s.

Westerberg and his mates behaved wretchedly: to promoters, club owners, managers.

It wasn’t that they wanted to record music on their own terms; they had no idea what the terms were, and, in Mehr’s recounting, if you reminded them of the terms they’d shit in your hat. And with the Replacements I can believe the phrase isn’t a metaphor.

The story is as grim as any by Bobbie Ann Mason. For the Minneapolis-born Westerberg childhood was an accidental whack on the head with a baseball bat and difficulty putting words in correct sequences, enlivened by Rod Stewart and 45s of Daddy Dewdrop’s “Chick-A-Boom (Don’t Ya Jes’ Love It).” With a penchant for violent behavior, possibly instigated by his stepfather’s sexual abuse, Bob Stinson was in and out of residential treatment centers and juvie prisons; half brother Tommy was marginally less troublesome. By comparison, drummer Chris Mars grew up as Teresa of Avila, although his beloved brother was schizophrenic and the burden of choosing between visual art and rock ’n’ roll was already a strain.

Walking home from his janitor job at the office of senator David Durenberger in 1979, Westerberg heard an unholy racket from a home on Minneapolis’s Bryant Avenue: Mars and the Stinson brothers’ band Dogbreath, murdering Yes’s “Roundabout” dead. Punk wasn’t on their radar. “They hated punk bands,” Westerberg told Mehr, “but they were playing like the MC5 or something.” Yet Westerberg’s ambitions dovetailed with Bob’s deepening inability to concentrate on more than a couple of fabulous smut-rock solos—his guitars, to cite critic Rob Sheffield’s piquant phrase, careened in search of cigarettes and cheeseburgers. Years later, when the band’s mythos started to calcify, their consistent disdain for what corporate types would call “career development” got them into the rock racket because, as Westerberg sang in “Bastards of Young,” it beat pickin’ cotton.

The Replacements’ debut, Sorry Ma, Forgot to Take Out the Trash (1981), coproduced by Peter Jesperson, won them national attention and local enmity: Husker Du front man Bob Mould recounts how the group showed no interest in helping colleagues. Westerberg was losing interest in their punk stuff (“I couldn’t write hardcore worth a shit”). A ragged slow one on 1983’s Hootenanny called “Within Your Reach”—in which Westerberg shouts the title over bursts of guitar and a drum-machine loop—demonstrated the sophistication he aspired to and in which Bob had no interest.

Before Bob got the boot—a career move for a

band that had hitherto given career moves the finger—there was 1984’s Let It Be to finish.

Kicking off a trilogy of albums that established Westerberg as the hero of fans who wanted a less adverb-drunk Morrissey, Let It Be also constituted the fourth corner in a series of acclaimed Ameri-indie albums released in 1984: Minutemen’s Double Nickels on the Dime, Husker Du’s Zen Arcade, and Meat Puppets II. Praise centered on Westerberg’s way with a ballad: “Unsatisfied,” “Androgynous,” et cetera. After the recording of 1985’s Tim, Bob was fired, and the band didn’t pretend to care about the fast ones. Producer Jim Dickinson treated the Replacements as if they were Alex Chilton (the group’s idol) for 1987’s Pleased to Meet Me, lavishing them with Fairlight tricks and mixing-board gewgaws, to middling effect—they were not a group for whom click tracks are made. Competent, uh, replacement guitarist Slim Dunlap joined an outfit that, judging by those depressing H.W. Bush-era albums Don’t Tell a Soul (1989) and All Shook Down (1990), had degenerated into a vehicle for toxic alcoholism and the Westerberg-Tommy rivalry, with a spooked Mars bracing for his own pink slip.

Finishing Trouble Boys led to an inescapable conclusion: the story of the Replacements is the love affair between Tommy and Paul.

The Replacements happened to come of age at a time when members could at least acknowledge aloud the—well, let’s call it the possibility. Let It Be boasts “Sixteen Blue,” a crawl through teen confusion that peaks with a forlorn Westerberg singing, “Now you’re wondering to yourself / if you might be gay.”

The last line is almost inaudible; when I heard the song 25 years ago I had to press my ear against a shitty speaker. “I thought, Jesus, he’s written about Tommy,” Jesperson tells Mehr.

As its title suggests, Trouble Boys chronicles the peaks and inevitable demise of a quartet whose songs, I’d argue, immortalize no one so much as themselves. This theory explains the continued allure of their catalog: the audience’s getting off on the band’s chance to get it all wrong. It explains why the Replacements had to collapse, leaving broken bodies and wonderful songs in their wake, over and over. v R TROUBLE BOYS: THE TRUE STORY OF THE REPLACEMENTS By Bob Mehr (Da Capo).

Mehr appears in discussion with Jessica Hopper, followed by a book signing, Sat 5/21, 3 PM, Hideout, 1354 W. Wabansia, 773-227-4433, hideoutchicago.com. F

! @SotoAlfred

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ELVIS & NIXON s Directed by Liza Johnson. R, 86 min.

ssss EXCELLENT

Michael Shannon and Kevin Spacey in Elvis & Nixon

MOVIES

Good ol’ boys

By J.R. JONES

E

lvis & Nixon chronicles the day in December 1970, treasured by absurdists and pop-culture fanatics the world over, when Elvis Presley got himself invited to the Oval Office to talk with President Richard Nixon. You’ve seen the photograph of them shaking hands, the mostrequested image in the National Archives; you’ve probably heard the story of their meeting, in which the King charmed Tricky Dick and came away with a special badge from the Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs.

Presley and Nixon have been objects of public fascination for so long, and have been portrayed onscreen by so many different people already, that any movie bringing them togeth-

er runs the risk of turning into a cartoon—as this one does. The spectacle of Presley visiting Nixon’s buttoned-down White House in his jeweled sunglasses, silk scarf, open shirt, and giant gold belt is inherently farcical, but Elvis & Nixon might have delivered more than dumb laughs.

Worse than dumb laughs, the movie offers a relatively dumb take on what was really going on during this summit between America’s biggest singer and America’s biggest square. As scripted by Joey Sagal, Hanala Sagal, and Cary Elwes, Elvis & Nixon is the story of a simple country boy (Michael Shannon) who mesmerizes a slick politician (Kevin Spacey) with his preternatural cool and self-confidence.

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Director Liza Johnson plays up the lunacy of all this, but even as a simple comedy Elvis & Nixon can’t survive Michael Shannon’s disastrous miscasting. Shannon is one of the best screen actors working, but his face could stop a clock—there’s no way he could be the gorgeous hunk whose bedroom eyes and lopsided grin inspired women at his concerts to clamor for his sweaty handkerchiefs. In person, Presley had a powerful sense of fun that could pull people into his mischief, but Shannon plays him as more of a Scary Elvis, intimidating people with his curled lip. Ushered into the Oval Office with Nixon, he immediately helps himself to the bowl of M&Ms and bottle of Dr. Pepper laid out exclusively for the president. What is supposed to be a five-minute visit turns into the better part of an hour as Elvis vents his spleen about the anti-Americanism of the Beatles (this actually happened), gives the president a chrome-plated World World II Colt .45 (so did this), and lobbies the leader of the free world for a ceremonial badge to add to his collection.

Kevin Spacey, who has plenty of experience playing a conniving politician on Netflix’s House of Cards, makes a much better Nixon, though he portrays the dark and damaged leader like a befuddled dad on a TV sitcom. Some of the movie’s best laughs come in Nixon’s rueful glances to his young aides (Colin Hanks, Evan Peters) as Presley takes over the Oval Office, pitching himself as a kind of showbiz secret agent who can go undercover and inform on the Rolling Stones and the Grateful Dead. J

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By the end of their meeting, Nixon stares in admiration as Elvis shows off his karate moves (this never happened). The truth is that Nixon was a political master and Presley was his dupe. Their meeting had nothing to do with narcotics, or America’s youth, or communist infiltration of rock music, or anything else Presley had on his mind—it was all part of Nixon’s crafty southern strategy, a sort of triangulation on the issue of race that had won him the presidency in 1968 and would return him to office again in 1972.

Elvis & Nixon draws heavily on a memoir

by Jerry Schilling, Presley’s old Memphis friend and confidante, who was working at Paramount Pictures when he received an unexpected call from the King. Presley, furious at his wife and father for lecturing him about his profligate spending, had impulsively grabbed a flight from Memphis to Washington, D.C., and was now heading for Los Angeles. “For the first time in fifteen years, nobody close to Elvis knew where he was,” writes Schilling.

Reunited with his old pal, Presley announced they were returning to Washington, and on the flight back to D.C. he wrote a semicoherent letter to the president in which he attacked “the Drug Culture, the Hippie Elements, the SDS, Black Panthers, etc” and offered his services to the country as a federal agent, “doing it my way through my communications with people of all ages.” On the ground in Washington, Presley and Schilling took a limousine to the west gate of the White House at 6:30 AM, where the singer emerged from the car to de-

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ARTS & CULTURE FRIDAY, MAY 6, 8:00 Chicago Symphony Orchestra Richard Kaufman conductor

continued from 19

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The president’s men want to enlist Elvis as a spokesman against drug abuse, though Presley looks so stoned in the famous photo that you don’t need to ask what happened to that idea.

By the end of the visit, Elvis has Nixon eating out of the palm of his hand, calling him a “cool cat” and signing a photo for his daughter, Julie.

On the phone with Julie that evening, Nixon tries to twirl the chrome-plated revolver as proof of his newfound cool but drops the gun on himself like a klutz.

This is all pretty amusing, but it puts too benign a spin on what was just another of Nixon’s cynical stratagems. Nixon wasn’t afraid of Jerry Garcia—he was afraid of George Wallace, the segregationist and former Alabama governor who had run for president as an independent in 1968 and had fought Nixon for the southern vote. Nixon, presenting himself as the sensible center between Wallace and liberal Democrat Hubert Humphrey, refused to play the race card that year because he wanted to be able to govern when he took office; his strategy against Wallace was focused not on the Deep South but on the more peripheral Florida, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee (he won them all). A Memphis boy like Elvis would have been useful to Nixon in ’72, when he expected to face Wallace again. In fact he was just the sort of representative Nixon needed, someone perceived by other whites as being in touch with African-American culture but also a true-blue patriot who wholeheartedly supported the president’s law-and-order agenda (and traveled armed to the teeth with registered firearms).

“Every single voter in the south loves Elvis,” argues one of the president’s men when he’s trying to sell Nixon on the meeting. The president doesn’t reply, and the screenwriters do nothing more with the idea. But there’s an unpleasant, rather undigested scene in which Elvis stops in at a coffee shop in a black neighborhood, pushes his way to the front of the line, and orders one of the shop’s “Original Maple Bars.” A woman who’s recognized him calls out, “Original my ass!” and the patrons all laugh. When a man compliments Elvis’s gold rings, he pulls up a pant leg to reveal the pistol in his boot and sneers, “We aim to keep them—me and Lucille.” Schilling comes in to rescue him, and Elvis gets the last laugh by ordering him an “original-my-ass maple bar.”

Not everyone in the south loves Elvis, but everyone learns to live with him. v

! @JR_Jones 20 CHICAGO READER - APRIL 21, 2016

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EMPTY BOTTLE ORAL HISTORY

Bobby Conn | Bobby Conn & the

! CLAYTON HAUK

Glass Gypsies

An oral history of

the Empty Bottle

By JOHN E. DUGAN

A

lmost no one remembers where the Empty Bottle started: 935 N. Western, currently home to the Ukrainian Village dive Stella’s Sports Bar. Owner Bruce Finkelman hosted one (and only one) show there in 1992, the bill for which featured the Coctails, a 90s Chicago staple fronted by Archer Prewitt. The landlord quickly put a stop to Finkelman’s plans for future live shows in the space, so the ambitious promoter began looking for a new venue—but he didn’t go far. On October 19, 1993, the Empty Bottle reopened just a block north, in the former Friendly Inn at 1035 N. Western.

That address, for thousands of current and former Chicagoans of a certain age, is considered sacred ground. This owes mostly to the fact that the nightclub at that location is imbued with innumerable memories: of experiencing great bands on the verge of stardom, of youthful nights of drunken revelry, of endearingly bad plumbing. Writer John E. Dugan spent the last two years recording many of those reminiscences—from

dozens of subjects, including employees, band members, regulars, publicists, and journalists (Reader staff and contributors among them). He’s compiled the best stories into The Empty Bottle Chicago: 21+ Years of Music / Friendly / Dancing, a 200-page oral history that local indie publisher Curbside Splendor is set to release in June. (The book’s subtitle references the words on the canopy over the club’s front door.)

“I came away [from researching the book] thinking a lot about memory and moments. Why did we hold on to one memory from the Bottle?” says Dugan, a Reader contributor who’s no stranger to the venue, having played there in the 90s as the drummer for Chisel and later as a member of Perfect Panther, the Tax, and Chicago Stone Lightning Band.

“Some of the most indelible nights of our lives are spent in these places, so is there anything to it beyond cheap drinks and really loud music? What else is there? Community? It’s odd to think that this is where we go searching for the sublime, but a lot of us do.” —JAKE MALOOLEY

CONDUCENT WAS A BAND that existed only because we couldn’t make a demo tape.

We tried to play at Lounge Ax, but our shit was too fucking obnoxious for anyone to want to listen to. We played open mics, we played at the Gallery Cabaret. They had to let you play your three songs if you signed up on the list. That was in the late 90s. Empty Bottle opened in 1993, but there weren’t that many shows at first. What I loved about it was that it was walkable from my house. Empty Bottle was so close.

Some people didn’t like how the Empty Bottle treated bands. I always thought it was the best deal. The production cost was really low and the bands got all the door. So if you could bring in a couple hundred people, you’d make a shit ton of money and they’d take a tiny cut.

Whereas the production costs at the Metro are way, way higher. Before E2 [the Chicago nightclub where a stampede killed 22 people in 2003] happened, a sold-out crowd at the Bottle might be 400 people. It might be insane. You could make thousands of dollars on a $10 ticket. That was always really cool.

The first show where I felt like, “Holy shit, there’s a lot of people here,” was a show we played opening for U.S. Maple. I was really into Jesus at that point. I built a cross that was ten feet high. There was a beautiful man looking down sort of sorrowfully at the crowd from his perch. It was this grotesque caricature, this dichotomy between this nasty little man—me—and this beautiful Jesus looking down on him. You could do stuff like that without people saying, “Oh, that’s going to be too much trouble.”

That’s kind of the magic of it. My friend did a dance performance. Greg Jacobsen and I were the dancers. I was wearing these pleather jeans that were way too tight and I don’t wear underwear. The whole inseam went about five minutes into the thing and there was another 15 minutes of the performance.

Lots of nonsense.

You could do dumb stuff. I brought smoke machines in and strobe lights. I made whole landscape sets. I’d coat the stage with polywrap and get messy with fluids. You can do that there if you clean up.

My wife has this theory that everyone has their Paris in the 20s. It’s not really Paris that’s the magic. Wherever you were in your 20s, that’s the magic. That’s the time you have the energy and inspiration to go out and do J APRIL 21, 2016 - CHICAGO READER 21

EMPTY BOTTLE ORAL HISTORY

continued from 21 weird shit. CBGB had their Paris in the 20s.

It’s not really the place. It’s everyone making it happen there.

treated well.

Jay Ryan | Bird Machine, Dianogah,

IN 1994, RED RED MEAT was playing the first annual Empty Bottle Prom, and I had just arrived with two old friends from my hometown who I hadn’t seen in years. What better way to welcome my friends from Rockford than to subject them to Red Red Meat in drag playing cover songs with a crowd dressed in thrift store tuxedos and taffeta? It was a disorienting, glorious racket—par for the course for RRM—but within minutes I spotted a woman across the room with a martini in one hand, a cigarette in the other. She had huge eyes and an even bigger smile. She was thoroughly engaged with the friends she was with and seemed to be ignoring the racket onstage. I watched her take a drag, take a sip, laugh, repeat. I asked Sarah [Staskauskas], the bartender, who she was, and armed with the info I was given, proceeded to mangle my attempt to impress her at the bar. I asked what her name was: Maria. She asked what I do. She told me she didn’t date musicians. I said, “I’m actually more of a businessman.” No response. I asked for a phone number. She rolled her eyes and spun away. Well played, Casanova. The rest of the night was a blur of Carpenters covers and beer and furtive glances toward this beautiful and unapproachable woman. Somewhere between the end of Saturday night and Sunday afternoon, I was able to call her and ask her out. We went to see Big Star at the Metro, but she had me that first night at the Empty Bottle. Maria and I celebrated 20 years married this year, and she still looks amazing with a martini and a cigarette in hand.

Hubcap

WHILE I WAS IN SCHOOL in Champaign, all these bands were getting signed to majors, post-Nirvana. We had Hum, Menthol, Hardvark, Poster Children, and Love Cup. I was in a band called Hubcap, and I think that was the first time I played at the Bottle, probably the summer of 1994. I finished school and moved to Chicago and started a new band called Dianogah. For a few years, the Empty Bottle was our home base. We were playing there every six weeks or so as the opening band for whenever someone unusual was coming through. We were the easy access opening band that would play for 75 bucks.

We opened for Uzeda, Bedhead, and Chisel in 1996. Within a couple days of returning from our first east-coast tour, we opened for Sebadoh at the Vic, because somebody asked Bruce who should open. We were total nincompoops at that point. He was trying to tack us on a lot of things.

I worked there in the office, 1996 to ’97, answering phones during the day, letting the delivery guy in. It was a daytime job. I got this one package from Lifter Puller and I just remember labeling it as “auto body shop rock” and giving it a thumbs down. In hindsight, I was a dumb-ass kid. I should have been paying better attention.

From 1997 to ’98, I lived there, first above [neighboring restaurant] Bite and then above the billiard room of the Bottle. Rent was cheap. I never minded living above a rock club; the noise of a show never bothered me.

Sunday nights the Deadly Dragon System would play louder than other acts on other nights. It would let out at one in the morning.

I’d lean out my window and talk to my friends as they came out. The loudest part was the trucks rolling down Western Avenue at three or four in the morning, all the semis coming into the city.

For bands operating on our level, something like the Empty Bottle—a 300-capacity club—is the best. Getting to the Bottle or the Lounge Ax meant knowing you weren’t going to get screwed. It wasn’t a competition between the band and the bar. You were given beer, you were given food, there was room to sit in the basement, and you were

22 CHICAGO READER - APRIL 21, 2016

Brad Wood | co-owner of Idful

Music, the now-defunct Wicker Park studio where the likes of Liz Phair, Tortoise, and Veruca Salt recorded

Alianna Kalabba | We Ragazzi AT ONE WE RAGAZZI SHOW at the Empty Bottle, we set up a kissing booth. It seemed like a great idea and everyone had a grand time smooching throughout the night. But kisses for a dollar and too much alcohol aren’t a good mix, and I remember couples arguing and feelings being hurt by so-and-so kissing so-and-so, and why did they want to kiss so-and-so? Thus, the kissing booth would never return to any future We Ragazzi shows.

Another time at the end of a feisty We Ragazzi show, Tony threw his guitar my way and hit me in the head. Not fun. Was it the excite-

“Some people didn’t like how the Empty Bottle treated bands,” Bobby Conn says. “I always thought it was the best deal.” ! ROBERT LOERZEL

ment, or were we angry at each other? Most likely it was a bit of both. Mike Lust always commented that he liked watching us play because Tony [Rolando, We Ragazzi singer and guitarist] and I would always be snarling at each other, and it came out in the music.

Brian Case | 90 Day Men, the Ponys, Disappears, Acteurs

THE FIRST NIGHT WAS in the fall of 1996. I think it was a Wednesday—90 Day Men, Boys Life, and C-Clamp, which was a huge show to be on at the time. I think only a hundred or so people showed up but we were so excited to be playing the Bottle. It was really early in the band—Rob was playing keyboard and clarinet, and Chandler was still on bass. I was 19.

What really makes the Bottle special is the people that work there. There’s a respect for what’s happening there between the artists and the staff. I love that it’s the same as it’s been since the 90s. It’s a rock club with no other ambition than being a rock club, and that goes a long way these days.

It’s positioned in an area that’s arguably the epicenter of the music being made in Chicago for the last 20 years, staffed by the people making it, and booked by the people absorbing it. And the Bottle grew as Ukrainian Village grew. It didn’t just come in after the neighborhood was “safe.”

I met my wife there, most of my friends, too.

I was there on my 21st birthday with my dad.

Bruce [Finkelman] pulled us aside and shook my dad’s hand and said something like, “Your son has been coming here for three years underage, we like him a lot, but now it’s time to pay,” and he gave me a warm, brown pint glass and told me to shoot it. I did, my dad left, and I spent the rest of the night blacked out, throwing up at the bar during a sold-out Bow Wow Wow show. Youth. Or the end of it.

I feel like Lustre King was the first true Empty Bottle band. They lived in the neighborhood, worked there. Craig [Ackerman, Lustre King bassist] even lived upstairs. They sounded like Chicago to me at that time. After Lounge Ax closed, all those shows moved over to the Bottle and things changed. It got way busier with national acts. They were really the only room that could fill the gap that Lounge Ax left.

Damian Kulash | OK Go I MOVED TO CHICAGO right after college in 1998. [OK Go members] Tim [Nordwind], Andy [Ross], and Dan [Konopka] had been living in Chicago for the duration of their college years, so they knew more about the scene than I did, and they were friends of mine from earlier in life. When I got to Chicago they were sort of my road map to the city, culturally and musically. They had been seeing shows at the Bottle forever. Pretty quickly the

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Allison Hollihan | Atombombpocketknife, Empty Bottle staff 1996-2009

ONE OF MY EARLIEST MEMORIES of the Bottle was when the Mono Men played their final two shows there in November 1995. The guy who runs [the record label] Estrus had a good relationship with Finkelman at the time.

When he lost all his records in a huge fire, the Bottle did Bottle Shock—a benefit for Estrus.

Because of that relationship, they did their final shows at the Bottle. Everyone was throwing bottles, not cans, at the band at the end of their show. Bruce was very concerned and worried and angry about it. At the end, the stage was covered in broken glass and everything was trashed. That was a lot of fun.

You’re reading an excerpt from the forthcoming book The Empty Bottle Chicago: 21+ Years of Music / Friendly / Dancing by John E. Dugan. Out in June from Curbside Splendor. Preorder at curbsidesplendor.com.

musical world of Chicago became my social scene, and I was amazed at how supportive it was. It seemed like every single person I met was in a band, and all of them went to everyone else’s shows.

We played the New Year’s Eve show in 2001. When you’re playing your own show, it’s fine, it’s your job to win people over. But when you’re playing New Year’s Eve, everyone has to be amused. You can’t have just some people enjoying it. So we decided we would do a whole set of covers that were total crowd pleasers. So there were three sets that night.

We opened as OK Go, then the Lonesome Organist played, and then we came back and played covers for an hour and a half. It was the most money we had ever been offered, at that point, to play a show. They had offered us a door deal or something like that, but it was $2,000 to $3,000 over anything we had ever been offered to play a show before. We took the entire sum of it and rented stage equipment, lasers, bubble machines, and foggers.

Basically, we filled the stage with these absurd machines that we didn’t really even know how to use and just tried to have the most arena-like show you could possibly have. It was a lot of fun. We played “The Boys Are Back in Town,” and I feel like you’re not an asshole for trying to cover that. But it’s pretty rare that I hear someone cover Prince. Like, dude, you’re not allowed to do that. We played “Under Pressure,” and I now wonder if that was a good idea. I’m sure we did not do it justice.

DON’T KNOW HOW TO PLAY? JUST COME STRUM ALONG.

Melisa Young | Kid Sister I LOVE THE EMPTY BOTTLE a lot. I can remember being too young to see shows there and being super bummed about it.

Then, many years later, I was making music of my own and hoping one day to play there.

Much to my surprise, I made my first money ever on that stage, a hundred bucks, opening for a group I just adored. They had me back a few months later and I made a few hundred more bucks. I was overjoyed. My cousin Pancakes came to that show and took her boots off because her feet hurt and she walked around in her white crew socks and pleather pants all night. We drank beers and danced.

Pieces of the ceiling fell on my friends’ heads that night, and one of them wrote about it in the Reader.

I went on a date there once and it was awkward. We ate at Bite. I think it was because he was vegan and I’ve never met a steak I didn’t like. Anyhow, I can only remember little bits and pieces like this, little floating memories.

I think it’s because I was always having such a good time, just being young and running around and wildin’ out.

Bruce Lamont | Empty Bottle

bartender 2004-present, Yakuza, Led Zeppelin 2, Bloodiest, Corrections House LATE 1995 OR ’96 was the first time I played there. Mike Tsoulos was trying to get me a job there from 1996 until late 2003. Finally one night after playing a show, Finkelman talked to me about working there, and he walked up to Mike and said, “I like this J

When you’re here, you’re part of it.

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APRIL 21, 2016 - CHICAGO READER 23

EMPTY BOTTLE ORAL HISTORY

“Basically, I had permission to play the Empty Bottle as a teenager because I didn’t drink,” says Miss Alex White of Hot Machines and White Mystery. ! C. ANDERSON

continued from 23 guy, Bruce Lamont.” And he says, “I’ve been trying to get him a job here for seven years.” I got hired in March 2004, and I’ve been there almost 11 years.

I was definitely a Ken Vandermark groupie back then. I was so happy to find someone I could relate to musically on so many levels.

They played at the Bottle every Tuesday. It was great just watching it kind of become a thing. It was pretty badass. All of a sudden the BBC comes out to recognize this killer Chicago underground improvisational community. That’s pretty sick. I was proud. We had signs we would put out during those shows to shush people because that music could get pretty quiet. I would work there on those nights and say, “I understand if you want to come here and drink, but you need to sit and pay attention or go in the poolroom. Be respectful of what’s happening on the stage.”

I loved the place pretty much from the first day I walked in. To this day, I think about how I’ve never seen a bumper sticker that says RESPECT YOUR BARTENDER at any other bar. I’ve been bartending in Chicago for 22 years, and early on in my days of slinging drinks I just thought that was the coolest thing. I thought this would be the baddest place to work because the owner allows this thing to say RESPECT YOUR BARTENDER, and it’s still up and it’s not a cocky thing. I’ve worked for bosses

24 CHICAGO READER - APRIL 21, 2016

who argue that the customer is always right, but here was the owner saying, “Not always.”

I wanted to work there just because of that.

To me, it’s by far my favorite club in the world.

And after traveling a lot of years and seeing other places, it’s still home. I played there last night. I love it. It’s home.

Guided By Voices and the Strokes performed. They played until two in the morning. I think Bob Pollard had just gotten separated or divorced, and he pulled a stripper on stage and said, “This is my new girlfriend, she’s going to dance for you.” So some clothes came off. Then one guitarist had a full Marshall stack and was drinking a bottle of Jack Daniel’s, and you saw his eyes kind of flutter and he just fell back and hit the top cabinet and the amp. Someone plopped down the stairs to get to the stage and they brought him back up and the amp made it back up. That shit was fucking chaos. That shit was nuts.

I did chuck a monitor off the stage once at a private event. A friend gave us all a bunch of mushrooms, so I ended up throwing a monitor off the stage during the set and then apologized to the owner of the monitor because he was standing at the bar. This was like day two of the new floor. I was opposed to that new floor anyway. I always oppose any upgrades in the bar. Just leave it as is. Plus, that old floor resonated. The sound reverberated on that floor really nicely.

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MUSIC FRIENDLY DANCING

bottom lounge ONSALE FRI 04.22 AT NOON

I’m a big music dork. I worked in record stores before, and that’s why I gravitated here. As long as I’ve worked there I’ve tried to contribute to that spirit, in a sense. Everyone that works there is really hardcore about music and art, so the only time there’s a complaint is the nights where it’s sort of generic bands. Not to sound elitist, but you could go anywhere for that stuff.

For $20 you could basically kiss your night goodbye with our cheap drinks. I was a buyer here for seven years. I remember Bruce was very adamant about keeping the prices down.

He would compare prices with the Rainbo, even though they weren’t a music club. No one ever complained about a drink price.

That’s rare.

I don’t smoke cigarettes, so when everyone else takes five I go sit in with the bands. The time with Black Lips I got in deep shit because I didn’t clear it with Bruce. I was managing the bar and I was like, “OK, I’ll be back in eight minutes.” I was doing the first two songs and I went in the back and I was just kind of warming up, and he comes back and is like, “What the fuck are you doing?” And Cole [Alexander] was like, “He’s going to play with us.”

Bruce was like, “No, he’s not. Let’s go.” And he pulled me back to the bar and was like, “You’re not playing with them.” And I was like, “What the hell?” And he’s like, “We’re fucking slammed.” And then literally as they’re hitting their first note, he’s like, “Go,” and I had to run through the whole crowd with my saxophone.

Miss Alex White | Hot Machines, White Mystery

WHEN I WAS ABOUT 13 years old, I started playing guitar. I quickly discovered I liked playing with other people and started playing in bands—basement shows, backyards, literally garages—up here on the north side and around the city. I’m a city kid. When I was a teenager in high school, I was “discovered” while playing in a basement where some adults stumbled upon the show. It ended up being Matt Williams, who tends bar at the Bottle, and the photographer Chris Anderson. They saw this band I was playing in called the Red Lights and invited us to play our first professional gig. I was 17 when I started playing with Matt in a band called the Hot Machines, and we went on to play a lot of shows at the Bottle.

I also played in a band which was my name, Miss Alex White. One iteration was with my best friend Chris [Saathoff], who was killed one night after leaving the Empty Bottle. He

was my bandmate, my best friend, and my label partner. He passed away the night of February 13, 2004. We were at a Ponys show.

His nickname was “Chris Playboy,” because like a lot of people that hung out at the Empty Bottle, he worked at Playboy downtown. That was a devastating for me. He was leaving the Empty Bottle, crossing the street. He got hit by a car and dragged. We had a lot of events at the Bottle commemorating his life, annual benefit shows we organized.

I was still a tender teen at that time. Basically, I had permission to play there because I didn’t drink. I was so riveted by the opportunity to actually go to shows and play shows at the Bottle that I was extremely respectful of that. I really appreciate that they allowed me to do that.

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1833 PRESENTS

*?3) % ,()*5 '21).81) /52.)5 )5')

w / the stone foxes / mail the horse

fall of troy / ‘68 / illustrations 04.23 KVELERTAK

TORCHE / WILD THRONE

04.24 THE SUMMER SET

HANDSOME GHOST / CALL ME KARIZMA

04.29 ZOOFUNKYOU

MARMALETTA / GOOSE CORP / BUTTER

Mike Gebel | Empty Bottle

04.30 DROPHOLLOW

2009-present, current head talent buyer I DECIDED TO QUIT a decent-paying job at the Twin Cities alt-weekly City Pages as an advertising account manager after 13 months, near the end of the Great Recession, to try and go promote bands, either in New York or Chicago. I slept on my brother’s couch in his studio apartment in Lincoln Park, got a job as a dog walker, and ended up getting internships at the Bottle and the Windish Agency. We moved to a coach house in Bucktown.

After a few months of interning once or twice a week at the Bottle and working a few Empty Bottle Presents shows, including two wrestling events, I got to start working the door and doing lights a few times a week.

There have been some absolutely insane shows. The one that stands out most was Skeletonwitch in 2011. The pit stretched almost all the way to the bar because 30 or 40 people were going out of their fucking minds. I was providing “security” on the edge of the pit near the stairs and my coworker A.J. grabbed me and yelled in my ear, “So we’re just gonna let ’em beat the shit out of each other, right?”

I shouted back, “I think that’s all we can do.”

Luckily no one was hurt, but one guy got on stage, sprinted across, and did a flip into the part of the audience that wanted no part of the pit. Everyone moved but one girl, and he landed on her. She was irate and started punching him! I think [Empty Bottle doorman] Bob Johnson said it was the wildest show he’d seen there. v

! @johnedugan

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www.bottomlounge.com 1375 w lake st 312.666.6775

APRIL 21, 2016 - CHICAGO READER 25

®

MUSIC IN ROTATION

A Reader staffer shares three musical obsessions, then asks someone (who asks someone else) to take a turn.

!

Cher ! WB RECORDS

THIS SATURDAY! APRIL 23 PARK WEST 8:00pm • 18 & Over

Khruangbin

The cover of Flip Side’s 1985 special issue about Washington, D.C. ! COURTESY LEOR GALIL

LEOR GALIL

MEAGAN FREDETTE

JOCELYN BROWN DJ Clerical Error,

Courttney Cooper’s fictional pop collaborations On a recent visit to Intuit I was transfixed by the work of outsider artist Courttney Cooper—he uses ballpoint pen to draw fantastical aerial views of his hometown of Cincinnati, and I got lost in their detailed expanses. One such “map” features a squadron of aircraft towing banners for collaborations between current pop artists (Bruno Mars, Sia) and midcentury sing-along sensations Mitch Miller & the Gang. I’m not sure these fictional mashups would work, but I’ll always be ready to hear “Kelly Clarkson ‘Stronger’ featuring Mitch Miller and the Gang ‘It’s Oktoberfest Time Today Batman!’ All Together.”

Posh Isolation I follow the release schedule of this Copenhagen record label with the feverishness of a cat chasing a wadded-up piece of aluminum foil. It operates on the fringe of what may be considered “music,” specializing in the harsh and inscrutable. Posh Isolation’s catalog includes Lust for Youth, Puce Mary (whose newest LP, The Spiral, is one my favorites of the year), and Damien Dubrovnik, a band that augments screeching feedback with delirious performance art—label cofounder Loke Rahbek, a member of the group, has been known to end a show covered in blood.

Khruangbin What does a Thai funk band from Houston with surf-rock leanings sound like? Phenomenal, that’s what. It would take a special amount of skill for any group of people to make this work well—but this band has heart, and it audibly sets them above the fray.

Reader staff writer

Special Guest:

DOTAN

SATURDAY, MAY 13 RIVIERA THEATRE 8:00pm • 18 & Over

Morimoto featuring Nnamdi Ogbonnaya and Gods Wisdom, “Guts” Morimoto and Nnamdi Ogbonnaya, two of Chicago’s most creative and adventurous young rappers, join molasses-mouthed Massachusetts MC Gods Wisdom on a track that samples the theme of the rough-and-tumble 90s Nickelodeon game show Guts. I was sold before I pressed play.

SEPTEMBER 20 & 21 VIC THEATRE 7:30pm • 18 & Over

BOTH SHOWS ON SALE THIS FRIDAY AT 10AM! BUY TICKETS AT

26 CHICAGO READER - APRIL 21, 2016

! COURTESY THE ARTIST

Flip Side’s 1985 special issue on Washington, D.C. A few weeks ago I bought a pile of zines that included Flip Side’s 47th issue, a large percentage of which documents D.C.’s punk scene during the height of Revolution Summer. I especially like the priceless interview with emo godfathers Rites of Spring, particularly when front man Guy Picciotto discusses the feelings his band addresses in its songs: “We’re dealing with emotions that sometimes seem to be sad but at the same time I don’t think we treat them cynically.”

Music writer

Berlin Community Radio Chicago’s CHIRP will always have my heart, but Berlin Community Radio is a gem of independent programming—no matter the hour, it’s bound to be streaming something fantastic. BCR showcases a huge variety of talk radio (in English!) and music—you can catch up on European politics or listen to clanging techno jams mixed live.

I especially love the show put on by Blackest Ever Black, where host and label owner Kiran Sande plays some of the finest experimental lo-fi music on the planet.

Cher’s Twitter feed I dearly love Cher on Twitter (@cher) for how wantonly unfiltered she is. She communicates in WELL-PLACED CAPS, uses emoji instead of words, trumpets her political views, and casually lets the world know about her colonic. She loathes Donald Trump, and she answers her haters with stunning clapbacks (or just calls them “buttface”).

Even if you don’t use Twitter, a scroll through her timeline is sure to be entertaining.

senior music producer at Leo Burnett

NTS Radio Whenever I find myself in a rut in terms of what I’m listening to, I can always turn on this London-based station and hear something that blows my mind. It doesn’t matter whose show it is or what time of day I decide to tune in, I’m left feeling inspired and challenged by what I hear. I’m also left feeling like there’s so much that I’m missing out on, and that I can do better at being an active music listener.

Jessy Lanza I was fortunate to see her recent set opening for Junior Boys at Metro, and let me say, the track “VV Violence” might just be the number one all-time anthem for every lady working hard and holding her own. I’m adopting it as such, regardless! Her new album, Oh No, is due on Hyperdub next month, and it’s had me dancing for weeks now.

The return of Telefon Tel Aviv If you know, then you know. Since I’m sneaking this item in here against the rules, I won’t say much other than that Telefon Tel Aviv’s sound has been missed, and I’m excited as hell that it’s coming back soon—TTA has been Joshua Eustis’s solo project since 2009, and it’s currently playing its first shows since then, including a May 21 date in Chicago.

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Recommended and notable shows, and critics’ insights for the week of April 21

MUSIC

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ALL AGES

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PICK OF THE WEEK

Frankie Cosmos commands attention during Next Thing’s unadorned moments of sincerity

Anthony Hamilton ! LEANN MUELLER

THURSDAY21 Sioux Falls Torres headlines; Boom Forest and Sioux Falls open. 9 PM, Lincoln Hall, 2424 N. Lincoln, $10, $3 RSVP. 18+

! MATTHEW JAMES-WILSON

FRANKIE COSMOS, ESKIMEAUX, YOWLER

Wed 4/27, 7 PM, Lincoln Hall, 2424 N. Lincoln, $15, $13 in advance. b

THE SINCERE AND OPEN, STARK yet emotionally complex, lessthan-two-minute-long indie-pop ditty remains the golden goose for singer-songwriter Greta Kline (aka Frankie Cosmos). And like she does on 2014’s Zentropy, Cosmos keeps on succinctly painting watercolors of scenes without blurring their wistful stories. Her lyrics on the very excellent new Next Thing (Bayonet) are still unapologetically direct—with the themes a tad bleaker and the approach more self-critical—but the instrumentation is crisper and more rock in its mission, thanks in part to Cosmos’s willingness to hop out the bedroom window and head for the garage. One of the

album’s best (and longest) tracks, “Too Dark” gently starts and stops as though Cosmos gathers her thoughts with each pause, and when the last minute really begins to thrum she delicately sings in her airy whisper, “When I know I’m not the best girl in the room / I tell myself I’m the best you can do.” It just makes you feel some kind of way. Unlike so much twee-flavored indie-everything it’s actually easy to never mind the preciousness of the arrangements if you’re not into that sort of thing, because the subtle power and command of Cosmos alone will be more than enough to lure you into loving her records. —KEVIN WARWICK

The Web has been as much a boon to the fourthwave emo scene as the DIY infrastructure that allows little-known bands to find their way into the upper-right atria of youngsters. And Portland’s Sioux Falls get it. One of the best tracks off their recent Rot Forever (Broken World Media/Standard Brickhouse), “Dom” explores the hard-to-define feelings that often arise while hunkered down in front of a computer for hours on end. Isaac Eiger’s soft, woebegone howls express the lows of bingeing on the Web, but his vocals also contain kernels of joy that say more about the uplifting possibilities of technology. The band’s bittersweet, lo-fi melodies fit right in in with the canon of sloppy indie rock, but anyone who’s spent hours studying the mysticism of cycling emo guitars should be able to grapple onto Rot Forever. The album’s distribution only adds to Sioux Falls’ emo bona fides: Broken World Media was founded by Derrick Shanholtzer-Dvorak of newemo mob the World Is a Beautiful Place & I Am No Longer Afraid to Die. —LEOR GALIL

FRIDAY22 Marisa Anderson Moon Bros. open. 10 PM, Hideout, 1354 W. Wabansia, $10.

In recent years Portland guitarist Marisa Anderson has toured the country with little more than her guitar and a deep knowledge of the byways of American rural music. Her last couple of recordings have featured blues and folk standards delivered J

APRIL 21, 2016 - CHICAGO READER 27

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with gorgeous moodiness and tonal richness, but her forthcoming record Into the Light (Mississippi) adopts a new approach and a much wider stylistic palette. The ten-track album is described by press materials as “an imaginary science-fiction western,” and Anderson largely eschews the blues in favor of ruminative twang, as overdubbed layers of slide and steel guitar, electric piano, and acoustic guitar come together to articulate oddly familiar melodies redolent of cowboy songs and instrumental surf music.

Other times, like during the haunting “Chimes,” she focuses on atmosphere and texture, conjuring a meditative mixture of damped piano, trilled guitar notes plucked off the neck, and tremulous fingerstyle patterns that recall the playing of Loren Mazzacane Connors. Together they form a lovely, mesmerizing tapestry that carves out spooky and alluring spaces as wide open as the American southwest. —PETER MARGASAK

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Bleached No Parents and Lala Lala open.

9 PM, Empty Bottle, 1035 N. Western, $12.

On their brand new LP Welcome the Worms (Dead Oceans), Jessie and Jennifer Clavin seem to reach for radio-rock glory. Following the dissolution of their previous punk band Mika Miko in 2010, the LA-based sisters immediately released a handful of seven-inches as Bleached, playing super lo-fi garage pop with fuzzed-out guitar jangle, endearingly flat harmonies, and a simplistic drum stomp.

The band polished their sound a tiny bit for the 2013 debut LP Ride Your Heart, but that record’s reverbsoaked garage rock sounds straight-up harsh in comparison to the high-sheen production of Worms (album engineer Joe Chiccarelli previously worked with big-name rock acts like Morrissey, Spoon, and Elton John). The Clavins take a turn into high-octane pop rock, cramming all ten tracks with shiny, high-gain guitar leads, massive pop hooks, and layered backup vocals. At their roughest the songs on

Worms sound like outtakes from the Ramones’ End of the Century, and they really swing for the cheap seats on closer “Hollywood, We Did It All Wrong,” a tune with a fist-pumping, power-chord chorus lifted directly from ELO’s “Do Ya.” —LUCA CIMARUSTI

Justin Bieber See also Saturday. Post Malone and Moxie Raia open. 7:30 PM, Allstate Arena, 6920 Mannheim, Rosemont, sold out. b On the New York Times video about the creation of his smash collaboration with Skrillex and Diplo “Where Are U Now,” Justin Bieber describes working on the tune with songwriting partner Jason Boyd (aka Poo Bear). “I was like, ‘This is wrong, Poo Bear,’” Bieber said. “He was like, ‘No, this is right, it’s just—it’s wrong-right.’” It’s an apt description of Bieber’s turn—and the reception to it—on November’s Purpose (RBMG/Def Jam). The intimate, restrained, and glimmering album isn’t perfect—it’s hurt by its length and an appearance by Big Sean—but the best songs offer the kind of transformation through pop that’s helped give Bieber a career jolt. It’s hard to ignore Purpose’s cornucopia of nonmusical narratives. It’s a critical delight by a former child superstar with golden pipes whose tumultuous teen years were intensified by the glare of the paparazzi (former Reader writer Miles Raymer perfectly describes the album in the A.V. Club as a “Teenybopper Growing Up Record”). The success of Purpose furthers new Bieber narratives—early single “What Do You Mean?” was his first Billboard number one—but the otherworldly parts of Purpose feel far removed from their maker’s mark. Yes, “Sorry” features Bieber pleading for forgiveness in breathy, yearning vocals that augment his earnestness, but when the song’s tropical-house thump and squeal kick in I’m more impelled to throw my hands in the air and move to the irresistible pulse than I am to identify with Bieber’s pouty face. Like many great pop songs “Sorry” is a three-minute burst of euphoria that feels unmoored by time. —LEOR GALIL

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Find more music listings at chicagoreader.com/soundboard.

Denise LaSalle See also Saturday. Mzz Reese opens. 9 PM, B&B Madison Entertainment Inc., 4422 W Madison, $25, $20 in advance.

On her recent track releases “Tip Toeing Through the Bedroom” and “Grown Folks Business”—recorded for the independent Chi-Jaxx label and thus far only available on YouTube—veteran chanteuse Denise LaSalle exhales a husky murmur that’s barely reminiscent of either the sensuous exuberance that characterized her 70s-era soul hits or the blues-toughened irony she adopted when she helped spearhead the “soul-blues” slash ”southern soul” revival of subsequent decades. In performance, though, she can still summon her old panache. You can often expect a carefully orchestrated career retrospective that extends back to her 1971 breakout hit “Trapped by a Thing Called Love” and ranges from ballads of heartbreak and vulnerability to trademark throwdowns of no-good men to R-rated demands for erotic satisfaction. Despite health setbacks that have curtailed her activities in recent years, the septuagenarian LaSalle seems determined to live up to her reputation as an unstoppable, and insatiable, force of nature. She’s currently working on a new CD with the early title Cougar on the Loose. —DAVID WHITEIS

Boban Markovic and Romania’s Fanfare Ciocarlia was embraced by the world-music industry it began to change, adapting a slick sound with bigger beats and a predilection for kitschy covers and producer-driven collaboration. A couple of years ago Fanfare Ciocarlia made Devil’s Tale (Asphalt Tango), which paired them with Canadian jazz-manouche guitarist Adrian Raso. The mash-up of Romani musical traditions was pleasant enough, but there was nothing about it that made me want to go back for more. With the new Onwards to Mars! (Asphalt Tango) the group is on its own and more appealing for it, but their cover of Screamin’ Jay Hawkins’s “I Put a Spell On You” is pure hokum and the production by Koby Israelite, who wrote most of the material, puts an emphasis on low end and adds extra drums for a sound far removed from the traditional tapan hectoring heard in Roma villages. I plead guilty to fetishizing a more primitive Romani sound because I object to the tradition evolving within the marketplace, but on the other hand, when these guys play live all of that studio jive thankfully melts away. —PETER MARGASAK

Graves at Sea Order of the Owl, Beak, and Of Wolves open. 7:30 PM, Reggie’s Music Joint, 2105 S. State, $15, $12 in advance.

Bleached ! NICOLE ANNE ROBBINS

SATURDAY23 Justin Bieber See Friday. Post Malone and Moxie Raia open. 7:30 PM, Allstate Arena, 6920 Mannheim, Rosemont, sold out. b Robbie Fulks 8 PM, Maurer Hall, Old Town School of Folk Music, 4544 N. Lincoln, $20, $18 members. b The calmly measured “Never Come Home,” a knockout from Robbie Fulks’s new album Upland Stories (Bloodshot), didn’t devastate me on first land, but it didn’t take long to sink its hooks in me.

I can’t count how many times I’ve surrendered to its subtle power, with Fulks delivering a withering variation on author Thomas Wolfe’s You Can’t Go Home Again. Sick, desperate, and alone, the narrator returns to his rural home and family after years in New York. “I had scarcely laid my bag down when my misjudgment hit me square / I was welcomed like a guilty prisoner, old grievances fouled the air / Four hundred miles change nothing, one man’s troubles are his own,” he sings in a clenched conversational tone, experiencing his folly with crushing force. The track is one of 11 remarkable character studies set in the Upland south, while Fulks, who spent time in North Carolina while growing up, also sings about pickers falling for old-time musical charms on “Aunt Peg’s New Old Man,” and emerging responsibility on the tender “Needed,” as imparted from a father to his son (“And when you were born is when I became a man”). The album delivers yet more evidence that Fulks is one of our greatest living songwriters, and while most traces of his trademark humor are missing here, his ability to convey heartbreaking stories without a whiff of cheap sentiment is ultimately more impressive.

Plus his singing has never been more pitch-perfect, imbuing each character with precision, quiet

soul, and honeyed beauty. As usual he’s joined by a remarkable crew of musicians that includes Robbie Gjersoe, Shad Cobb, Alex Hall, and Jenny Scheinman. —PETER MARGASAK

Anthony Hamilton Fantasia opens. 8 PM, Arie Crown Theater, 2301 S. Lake Shore, $35.50$100.50. b When he emerged as a solo artist in 2003 Anthony Hamilton was among those setting the example of how to marry hardcore soul virtues with hip-hop aesthetics. The onetime backup singer for D’Angelo melded a powerhouse voice rooted in the church with a worldview embracing southern culture with hip-hop production ideas, but unlike so many slow-jam lotharios, he never neglected songwriting. Over the years Hamilton tweaked his formula here and there, but by and large he’s stayed the course, so even if he’s removed from current radio tastes his strong new record What I’m Feelin’ (RCA) proves that he has no need to change. It’s a breakup album that takes listeners through a panoply of moods: from the pleading desperation of “Walk in My Shoes” to the finger-pointing of “Love Is an Angry Thing” (with its opening echoes of Otis Clay’s “That’s How It Is”) to the wounded chest-puffing in “Ain’t No Shame” to the healing optimism in “Grateful.” The record was made in Nashville, and it’s a bit surprising to see that country star Vince Gill laid down a couple of guitar solos, but producer Mark Batson keeps the sound deeply planted in Hamilton’s midtempo comfort zone. —PETER MARGASAK

Denise LaSalle See Friday. Mzz Reese opens.

9 PM, B&B Madison Entertainment Inc., 4422 W. Madison, $25, $20 in advance.

Woods Ultimate Painting and Bill MacKay & Ryley Walker open. 9 PM, Lincoln Hall, 2424 N. Lincoln, $15.

Part of what’s attracted me to bubbly upstate New York psych band Woods over their eight previous albums is their warm familiarity and consistency.

Sunny melodies delivered in Jeremy Earl’s homey falsetto are swaddled by gentle-strumming guitars, easygoing grooves (including an occasional, welcome dip into Krautrock), and meandering guitar solos. Those elements are more or less still in evidence on the group’s new City Sun Eater in the River of Light (Woodist), but they’re surrounded by surprisingly lush arrangements that borrow from Ethiopian jazz, Studio One-era reggae, and 60s soul, casting the music in a seductive new light if not exactly an innovative one. The opening chord changes of “Can’t See at All” at first had me expecting a cover of Michael Jackson’s “Beat It,” but wah-wah guitar and roller rink organ lines upended that idea, while the climax of “The Take” is charged by minor-key horn stabs that wouldn’t sound out of place on a Mahmoud Ahmed record. Not every track takes detours, but with hooks popping out of songs like “Politics of Free” or “Hollow Home” it sure doesn’t matter. —PETER MARGASAK

SUNDAY24 Fanfare Ciocarlia 5 and 8 PM, City Winery, 1200 W. Randolph, $27. b The high-octane energy and minor-key darkness of Balkan brass music took root in my heart nearly two decades ago, and the sound still quickens my pulse today. But as the music of Macedonia’s

The slow-and-steady strategy seems to be working for superheavy sludge/doom outfit Graves at Sea. Founded in the southwest in the early 2000s, this rough beast uprooted and slouched off to Portland to be reborn in 2007—and though they’ve chugged along dropping a steady stream of demos, EPs, and splits (with Asunder and Sourvein), incredibly enough their new The Curse That Is (Relapse) is their first proper full-length. And, man, it was worth the wait. The densely packed album features four tracks over ten minutes and a fifth that’s nearly there, and while it’s bone crushingly heavy of course, it’s also surprisingly beautiful.

The raw sustained violence of “Waco 177” (named after last year’s biker shootout, not the famous cult disaster) touts a different kind of cathartic anguish than the straight-up gorgeous “The Ashes Made Her Beautiful,” with its poignant string flourishes. My only worry would be that the follow-up to The Curse might be disappointing since this album was so long in the making—but we’ll burn that bridge when we come to it. As official debuts go, this one is stunning. —MONICA KENDRICK

TUESDAY26 Klaus Johann Grobe Hecks and Chandeliers open. 9 PM, Empty Bottle, 1035 N. Western, $10.

The insinuating groove music of the Swiss duo called Klaus Johann Grobe thrives upon unexpected hybrids, but the imperturbable rhythmic patterns doled out by Sevi Landolt and Dani Bachmann provide a through line that won’t quit. The group’s forthcoming second album Spagat der Liebe (Trouble in Mind) delivers an overt push toward old-school disco beats, moving away a bit from the motorik patterns that defined its J

APRIL 21, 2016 - CHICAGO READER 29

Find more music listings at chicagoreader.com/soundboard.

MUSIC continued from 29

2014 debut Im Sinne der Zeit. Ultimately it’s just a shift in feel rather than emphasis; in both cases the relentless, crisp, and irresistible bass lines and post-Krautrock drumming act as an armature and an engine. Atop those grooves woozy organ and synthesizer patterns deliver striking counterpoint—imagine that Brazilian bossa nova master Walter Wanderley is a guest at the party and a shy lounge singer just seized the mike. A bunch of tunes extend the hard-soft juxtapositions even further with jaunty flute lines. A song like “Ohne Mich” injects a shot of 80s-style new romanticism, like a low-rent ABC but with washed-out German-language vocals pinging around. On paper the formula shouldn’t work, but when it’s on the box it pulls me in every time.

For their debut U.S. tour bassist Stephan Brunner expands the group into a trio. —PETER MARGASAK

WEDNESDAY27 Frankie Cosmos See Pick of the Week on page 27. Eskimeaux and Yowler open.

7 PM, Lincoln Hall, 2424 N. Lincoln, $15, $13 in advance. b Lesley Flanigan TALsounds open. 8:30 PM, Constellation, 3111 N. Western, $10. 18+

30 CHICAGO READER - APRIL 21, 2016

Fanfare Ciocarlia ! ARNE REINHARDT

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There are many, perhaps too many, experimental-electronic musicians in New York City, but few put as much thought into the aural presentation of their work as Lesley Flanigan. Not only does Flanigan build her own instruments, she also performs with speakers and microphones that she constructed, establishing a level of control over her sound that hardly any performers can match. A cursory listen to her music will likely lead nerds to flippantly group Flanigan in with contemporary drone artists, but her compositions are more textural, defined, and layered. The title track of the recently released

Hedera (Physical Editions) reminds me more of Steve Reich than any other forgettable drone album that makes the Wire’s year-end list. Persistent, percussive scratching of what sounds like wood grain acts as the baseline pulse of the piece, and as Flanigan gradually threads her vocal harmonies, they dissolve into each other, creating an immeasurable, vaporous musical backdrop. Flanigan will perform “Hedera” live, but expect it to take on dimensions beyond what’s on the album. And anticipate that it will be equally, if not more, hypnotizing.

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NEW REVIEW

Soup dumplings rule Imperial Lamian But the new high-end spot in River North is ultimately an argument against pricey Chinese food.

By MIKE SULA

A

The hand-pulled noodles of the the fried vegetable lamian breathe a hint of wok smoke; xiao long bao are color coded based on the contents of their interior. ! DANIELLE SCRUGGS

respectable soup dumpling in Chicago is as elusive as a proper bagel.

Occasionally, some imported master arrives in Chinatown with the skills to pleat xiao long bao, those delicate Shanghainese pouches of forcemeat and scalding hot stock. It seems at first he or she can be depended upon to prevent them from rupturing before spoon meets mouth, or not to roll dough so thick it requires the jaws of life to nibble off the topknot, or to put together an order of dumplings without including a proportion of sad, soupless duds. And yet it never seems to last.

There is, however, a new contender to watch: Imperial Lamian, the first stateside import from the 24-unit strong Imperial Group out of Indonesia, specializing foremost in said dumplings and fresh hand-pulled noodles (aka lamian), but also offering a typically broad Cantonese-style menu encompassing dim sum, barbecue, fried rice, and other wok-fired dishes. Overall, it’s a pretty exciting-looking selection. But while there are some good things here, going in unbriefed is like navigating a minefield, as it is with most epic-length Chinese menus.

High-end Chinese downtown isn’t an anomaly. Not long ago Tony Hu’s ballyhooed Lao 18 withered just down the street. Shanghai Terrace is a veritable grandfather and Chinatown’s terrific MingHin Cuisine recently moved into the space overlooking Millennium Park where Yum Cha died. Imperial Lamian, in the corner spot briefly occupied

by Centro, has made strides to fit in among its neighbors, with a lavishly designed interior that tastefully references Chinese tropes, yet spews the generic, beat-driven aural Cream of Wheat that provides the soundtracks for most River North restaurants these days. The menu prices are commensurately steep too.

Why shouldn’t people pay premium prices for Chinese food? Let’s find out.

Take those dumplings: offered in a half dozen varieties, their dough is color coded

to telegraph the contents of their interior, presumably so the kitchen, servers, and guests don’t get confused; say, bright blue for duck, black for truffle, orange for crab, yellow for Gruyere, bright red for “spicy Sichuan.” From a logistical standpoint, it’s understandable that a busy kitchen would want to dye xiao long bao dough bright, primary colors—but they look like lumps of carcinogenic Play-Doh. And structurally, they sag like a breast implant with a slow leak. But with all that against them, every single dumpling I ate contained the requite pool of hot broth. And the flavors are pretty good, even the oddballs such as the cheesy Gruyere, which as the least Chinese thing on the menu, could pass for ravioli.

The dumplings are prepared in a steamy open kitchen in full view of the dining room, as are the noodles, which, in a variety of preparations, are consistently long, thin, snappy, and fresh, still with a hint of raw flour to them.

Lamian is apocryphally said to be the ancestor of ramen, and served in soup you will certainly notice an affinity. But not all of these soups are created equal. The beef brisket bowl features pleasant slurpable starch surrounded by dishwater-bland bone marrow broth among bok choi and gummy beef. The char siu (barbecued pork) and wonton variety, on the other hand, features the same noodles in a rich, porky brew among plump dumplings and vivid red barbecued pork. A more reliable way to enjoy these noodles is to order them fried. Tossed with vegetables, beef, or shrimp, they’re fatter, chewier, and breathe a hint of wok smoke.

Dumplings and noodles are among the more affordable items on Lamian’s menu. Things get trickier among the higher-ticket items.

A stingy portion of delectably crisp-skinned, pleasantly gamey Rohan duck runs nearly $30.

A few ounces of cubed, crispy pork belly would be better served with a drizzle of sinus-scouring Chinese mustard than the insipid ballpark variety it currently comes with. Sliced turmeric-tinged New York strip, tenderized with the classic Chinese velveting technique (typically executed by marinating the meat in egg white, corn starch, and rice wine), is bathed in a sticky-sweet chili-garlic sauce and has all the appeal of beef-flavored chewing gum. Sweetly sauced pork ribs smoked with jasmine tea lack so much structural integrity they slip from the bone with the tug of the chopsticks.

Meanwhile, a piece of flaky, moist sea bass topped with crispy frizzled leeks and lightly, subtly glazed in plum and honey is an admirable exercise in restraint, a nice foil for J

APRIL 21, 2016 - CHICAGO READER 31

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Buckets of Miller & Bud Bottles (Mix & Match) $14, Guinness & Smithwicks Drafts $4, Bloodies feat, Absolut Peppar Vodka $5, Ketal One Cocktails $5

CLOSED

Moosehead pints $3.75, Hamms cans $2.50, Special Export Bush Longneck bottles $3, Foster Big cans $5

All Draft Beers Half Price, Makers Mark Cocktails $5, Crystal Head Vodka Cocktails $4

$6 Firestone Walker Opal pints $6 Finch Vanilla Stout 16 oz. cans $7 house wines $8 Few Spirits

Moosehead pints $3.75, Hamms cans $2.50, Special Export Bush Longneck bottles $3, Foster Big cans $5

Jim Beam Cocktails $4, Jameson Cocktails $5, Cabo Wabo $5, Malibu Cocktails $4, Corona Bottles $3.50, PBR Tall Boy Cans $2.75

$6 Firestone Walker Opal pints $6 Finch Vanilla Stout 16 oz. cans $7 house wines $8 Few Spirits $10 classic cocktails

Moosehead pints $3.75, Hamms cans $2.50, Special Export Bush Longneck bottles $3, Foster Big cans $5

Stoli/Absolut & Soco Cocktails $4, Long Island Iced Teas $5, Herradura Margaritas $5, Stella/Hoegaarden/ Deschutes Drafts $4, Goose Island 312 Bottles $3.50

OUR READERS LOVE GREAT DEALS! CONTACT YOUR READER REPRESENTATIVE AT 312.222.6920 OR displayads@chicagoreader.com FOR DETAILS ON HOW TO LIST DRINK SPECIALS HERE.

32 CHICAGO READER - APRIL 21, 2016

SOUTH LOOP

PHOTO: ALEXEY LYSENKO/ GETTY IMAGES

smoky, slightly dry yang chaofan fried rice with char siu and shrimp.

The introductory sections of the menu are equally unpredictable. Duck soup has a strong foundation of roasted bone flavor with a blossom of tofu that is pretty and fun to eat, while a hot-and-sour soup is a $6 cup of corn starch, neither hot nor sour, without even a hint of white pepper or self-respect. (Please see the exemplary version at the comparatively down-market Hong Huah.)

A starter of characterless Chinese pickles made with Japanese cucumbers have a dusting of black sesame and a single superfluous Thai red chili that adds nothing but color, while “golden” mapo tofu is a gimmicky arrangement of six deep-fried cubes of tofu that bear no resemblance to the classic Sichuanese dish, least of all its characteristic ma la buzz (neither, for that matter, do the Sichuanese soup dumplings).

Among the dim sum items, the highly stylized turnip cake is a winning reinvention of the classic: delicious cubes of lo bak ko tossed with egg, bean sprouts, and XO sauce, while stuffed wings are taut jackets of crisp chicken skin filled with minced shrimp.

More dim sum items appear at dessert. A trio of classic egg tarts are no more remarkable than those found at half a dozen Chinatown dim sum joints. The more interesting

Chef Lim Kee Tiong makes soup dumplings " DANIELLE SCRUGGS

salted egg bao is a steamed dumpling concealing an inner core of molten sweet-savory yolk.

None of the great inconsistency across the broad menu is surprising coming from a kitchen with three head chefs. As restaurant consumers we demand variety. Specialists aren’t treasured. I reject the premise that Chinese food should be cheap, or that it can only be enjoyed in grim, overlit dining rooms. I’m for high-end Chinese if it delivers on value, and right now, while Imperial Lamian may be this town’s reigning king of soup dumplings, the rest of its menu presents more risk than reward. v

! @MikeSula

A UTH E NTI C PH I LLY C H E E S E STEA KS!

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S P DR EC INK IA LS

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4757 N TALMAN · 773.942.6012 · ILOVEMONTIS.COM ·

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R MILK ROOM

This is but one of the hundreds of bar suggestions available at chicagoreader.com/barguide.

Bottoms up!

12 S. Michigan, 2nd floor Daily 5 PM-midnight 844-312-2221 milkroomchicago.com

Port of Spain; Boulevardier; Bobby Burns ! CLAYTON HAUCK

BAR REVIEW

A history lesson via vintage spirits

By JULIA THIEL

W

alking into Milk Room, the tiny eight-seat bar in the Chicago Athletic Association Hotel, is disorienting in more ways than one. First there’s the darkness.

Our waiter attempted to show us to our seats, his task made more difficult by the fact that we’d just come inside from the early evening sunshine and couldn’t actually see the stools he was pointing to. “Your eyes do adjust, I promise,” he told us as we groped blindly for our seats.

He was right—and once they did, it felt like we’d been transported back through time. Like the rest of the hotel, the space has been meticulously restored to its 1890s glory, an era when athletic clubs were significantly tonier than they are today. Historic brick walls, stained glass windows, and candelabras hanging from the ceiling contribute to the old-timey atmosphere, an effect somewhat diminished by the little flashlights we were given with which to read our menus (though I was grateful for the light). Milk Room feels like a secret club from another century.

It may not be a secret, exactly, but it does take some effort to get in. Unless you want to take your chances on getting the two seats re-

served for walk-ins, entry is by ticket only and those tickets sell out weeks in advance (the $50 per person fee is deducted from your bill at the end of the evening, though). If you’ve got tickets you can’t use for some reason, you either try to resell them or eat the cost. It’s not a new concept: Alinea, Next, and the Aviary have been using the same system, Tock, for years, and other restaurants like Elizabeth and Band of Bohemia have also gotten on board.

I was a little cranky about the whole thing before arriving, though. I had made a mistake when booking my ticket: my two-hour reservation conflicted with a class I was taking.

I thought there might be an option to cancel since I realized it within the hour, but no such luck. (Yes, it was my own fault that I’d double-booked myself, but that didn’t make it any less frustrating.)

Still, once inside it’s hard not to be charmed—not to mention impressed. As far as I can tell, Milk Room has the largest collection of rare and vintage spirits in Chicago. When I was there the reserve included Old Fitzgerald bourbon from the 1960s, Spanish chartreuse from the 50s (no longer available), and British Royal Navy rum from the 40s—rarities that make the Pappy Van Winkle 23-year-old bour-

bon also listed on the menu look commonplace by comparison. The cocktails are classics (or maybe extra-classic, considering the age of some of the ingredients). And because the recipes for some liqueurs have changed over the past several decades—Lillet is a good example—you may be drinking cocktails that taste exactly the way they were intended to, back when they were first created.

We were served a miniature welcome drink while we studied the menu: a light, nicely balanced Bamboo made with amontillado sherry, Dolin dry vermouth, Angostura and orange bitters, and a touch of simple syrup. The simplicity of the cocktails—all have at most five ingredients, none of which are exotically flavored bitters or infusions—allows the spirits they’re made with to shine. The Port of Spain combines Navazos Palazzi cask-strength rum and Caroni 16-year-old single-barrel rum with Valdespino Pedro Ximenez sherry and Angostura bitters for a round, full-bodied cocktail that tastes intensely of the remarkable rums in it, backed up by the nutty sherry and spicy bitters. The smoky, savory Mexican Firing Squad pairs Del Maguey Chichicapa mescal with Corazon blanco tequila, balancing the agave spirits with lime juice, pomegranate molasses, and Angostura bitters.

For our next round, I asked bartender Stephen Andrews for recommendations. (Lost Lake’s Paul McGee is the beverage director, but isn’t behind the bar most nights.) I should mention that my visit wasn’t exactly anony-

mous: because of the ticketing system, I had to make the reservation under my own name.

Even if I’d managed to reserve under another name, Andrews would probably have recognized me; we met a couple of years ago at Billy Sunday when he made a memorable Fireball cocktail served inside a flaming pumpkin for the Reader’s ongoing Cocktail Challenge series. The size of Milk Room guarantees a certain level of personal attention, though, and I saw Andrews making the time to chat with other customers about the drinks as well.

Andrews asked if I liked Campari, producing an ancient-looking bottle with a singed label; raised letters in the glass spelled campari.

Most Campari is made in Italy, but the content of this bottle was made in Switzerland in the 1940s, he said. I confessed that I’ve never been a fan of the popular amaro, and Andrews surprised me by agreeing: modern Campari is two-note and not particularly interesting, he said, but older versions are very different—particularly this vintage. He poured a small taste. After the characteristic bitterness came more nuanced flavors, including a distinct mintiness.

Andrews made me a Boulevardier with the vintage Campari (which has since sold out) and a ten-year Old Scout bourbon from a barrel that McGee bought specifically for Milk Room, a spicy cocktail with layer upon layer of complexity and a slightly cooling sensation from the Campari. My drinking buddy chose the Bobby Burns, about as far as you can get from a Boulevardier in the whiskey cocktail category. Made with 1997 Glen Grant caskstrength scotch, Cocchi di Torino vermouth, Benedictine herbal liqueur from the 1950s, and Angostura bitters, it’s floral, delicate, and barely smoky.

You don’t need to be a booze nerd to enjoy Milk Room, but it helps. Even casual fans of craft cocktails might not recover from the sticker shock in time to appreciate the drinks or atmosphere. Cocktails range from $18 to $50, and some of the rare spirits on the menu make those drinks look cheap by comparison.

That bourbon from the 1960s is $400 a pour; the Pappy Van Winkle is $200—though most of the spirits, like the cocktails, are in the $20 to $50 range. But Milk Room is a rarefied experience as much as it is a bar, sort of like a museum where you get to taste the exhibits (assuming you can afford to). v

! @juliathiel

APRIL 21, 2016 - CHICAGO READER 33

JOBS

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Sr. Account Director: Evanston, IL; perf marketing/ consumer-centric online acqn strategies. Client mgnt, perf targets leveraging exp w/digital search, display, programmatic, advanced analytics & predictive modeling. Meet financial objectives; P&L mgnt. Domest. travel (4 days per month) req’d. Masters in Marketing or Market.

Comm., & 2 yrs dig. agency exp. req. SEM, PPC, display, digital marketing/ecommerce, & new cust. acq. across desktop, mobile, & tablet req. To apply, send resume: 807 Greenwood St., Evanston, IL 60201 (c/o Jackie Kaweck) POTTER, IS YOUR clay your oxygen? Can you handbuild and throw on the potters wheel? Have you got the heart of a teacher and the desire to share what you have learned? We are looking for that special person. E -Mail me, claythink@aol.com or call Mary 312-421-8000

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1 BR UNDER $700 QUALITY PANGEA APARTMENTS, Studios-4BR, from $450.

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12.25/HR FOR 90 DAYS THEN 15.00/HR

A P P LY N O W 8 7 2 . 2 0 3 . 9 3 0 3 34 CHICAGO READER | APRIL 21, 2016

73rd and Jeffery Blvd. Large 1BRs, heated, hardwood flrs, laundry room, appls, near trans. $700 and up. 773-881-3573

CHICAGO - SOUTH SHORE Large 1BR, $6 60/mo. Free heat.

Near Transportation. Section 8 Welcome. Call 708-932-4582 NEWLY REMODELED, 5 rms, 2BR home, fin. bsmt, cac, $1100/mo,

4700 Block S Laporte, Lambert Realty 773-287-3380

CHICAGO 70TH & KING DR,

1BR, clean, quiet, well maintained bldg, Lndry + Heat. Section 8 Ok $645mo. 773-510-9290

70TH/ MAPLEWOOD. 2BR, appls, hardwood flrs, ceiling fans, laundry facilities, intercom system. $775 & up. 773-881-3573 NO SEC DEP 6829 S. Perry.

Studio $460. 1BR. $515.

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avail. No utilities included. $825$875/mo. Near 55th & Ashland - 71st & Halsted. Call 872-203-5734 6930 S. SOUTH SHORE DRIVE Studios & 1BR, INCL. Heat, Elec, Cking gas & PARKING, $585-$925, Country Club Apts 773-752-2200

EXCHANGE EAST APTS 1 Brdm

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PLAZA ON THE PARK 608 East 51st Street. Very spacious renovated apartments. 1BR $722 - $801, 2BR $837 - $1,009, 3BR $1,082- $1,199, 4-5BR $1,273 - $1,405. Visit or call (773)548-9300, M-F 9am-5pm or apply online at www.plazaonthepark apts.com Managed by Metroplex, Inc WEST HUMBOLDT PK 1 & 2BR Apts, spacious, oak wood flrs, huge closets. heat incl, rehab, $765 up to

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by Metroplex, Inc

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1 BR $800-$899 LAKESIDE TOWER, 910 W

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ONE

BEDROOM

GARDEN

apartment near Warren Park and Metra. 6802 N Wolcott. Hardwood floors. Cats OK. Heat included. Laundry in building. $800-$850/ month.

Available 5/1. 773-761-4318, www. lakefrontmgt.com

MONTROSE/ CLARENDON VINTAGE one bedroom. Sunny/

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Free laundry, private porch, block Montrose Harbor. $875 773-9733463.

ONE BEDROOM APARTMENT

near Red Line. 6824 N Wayne. Hardwood floors. Pets OK. Heat included.

Laundry in building. $850/ month.

Available 5/1. 773-761-4318, www. lakefrontmgt.com

NICE, SUNNY ONE bedroom.

Hardwood floors, new kitchen, white tile, bathroom. 3602 W. Irving Park. $800-$1000 plus utilities. 773-5392246, cell 773-332-2098.

MAY 1. ONE BR. modern kitchen/ bath, oak floors, hutch, and miniblinds. Lots of light, private deck. Garage option. $895.(708) 482-4712.

1 BR $1100 AND OVER LOGAN SQUARE Carriage House,

2-story LR with fireplace, loft, 1 bedroom & sitting room, modern kitchen & bath, utilities included. $1250/mo.

Non-smoking. 773-235-1066

1 BR OTHER APTS. FOR RENT PARK MANAGEMENT & INVESTMENT LTD. UNSATISFIED WITH YOUR LIVING CONDITIONS??

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NEWLY DECORATED BSMT STUDIO APT, KIT APP’S FURNISHED, INC HEAT. $675/MO + $675 SEC. DEP. CALL 773-785-5174 CALUMET CITY 158TH & PAXTON SANDRIDGE APTS 1 & 2 BEDROOM UNITS MODELS OPEN M-F, 9AM-5:30PM *** 708-841-5450 *** CHICAGO, 7727 S. Colfax, ground flr Apt., ideal for senior citizens. Secure bldng. Modern 1BR $595. Lrg 2BR, $800. Free cooking & heating gas. Free parking. 312613-4427 OPEN HOUSE, SAT. 10a-12p.

3+ BRs, 7811 S. Loomis., $1250.

OPEN HOUSE, Sat. 1p-3p, 1BR, 854 E. 82nd St., $900. Section 8 Welcome. Call 708-513-7057 LARGE SUNNY ROOM w/fridge & microwave. Near Oak Park, Green Line & Buses. 24 hr Desk, Parking Lot $101/week & Up. (773)378-8888 DOLTON - 14526 C o t t a g e Grove. 1 & 2 BR, heat, fridge, & stove incl. $825-$925/mo + sec.

Section 8 Ok. 773-568-1218 or 708-846-5342 SUBURBS, RENT TO O W N !

Buy with No closing costs and get help with your credit.

Call 708-868-2422 or visit w ww.nhba.com CHICAGO, RENT TO OWN! Buy with no closing costs and get help with your credit. Call 708-868-2422 or visit www. nhba.com CHICAGO - BEVERLY, large 2 room Studio, 1 & 2BR Apts.

Carpet, A/C, laundry, near transportation, $650$975/mo. Call 773-233-4939

7022 S. SHORE DRIVE Impecca-

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CAMPAIGN JOBS

7337 S SHORE DR. Beautiful lakefront, XL 1BR, all utils, appls & heat incl. elev. bldg, lndry, workout rm, $850/mo Section 8 ok. 888-249-7971

THE LATEST ON WHAT’S HAPPENING AROUND TOWN READER RECOMMENDS

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CHICAGO SOUTH - YOU’VE tried the rest, we are the best.

Apartments & Homes for rent, city & suburb. No credit checks.

773-221-7490, 773-221-7493 WINTER SPECIAL $500 To-

ward Rent Beautiful Studios 1, 2, 3 & 4 BR Sect. 8 Welc. Westside Loc, Must qualify. 773-287-4500 www. wjmngmt.com

79TH & WOODLAWN 1BR $650-$700, 2BR $775-$800; 76th & Phillips: 2BR $775-$800. Remodeled, appls avail. FREE HEAT. Sec 8 welc. 312-286-5678 CHICAGO, BEVERLY/CAL Par k/Blue Island Studio $550 & up, 1BR $650 & up, 2BR $905 & up.

Heat, Appls, Balcony, Carpet, Laundry, Prkg. 708-388-0170

CHICAGOREADER.COM l

l

RHEABBED STUDIOS, A v a ilable Today. Hdwd floors, heat & appliances included. 1957 E. 73rd Place, 7450 S. Luella.

Call 773-888-3413

MOVE IN SPECIAL!!!

B4 the N of this MO. & MOVE IN 4 $99.00 (773) 874-1122

Ashland Hotel nice clean rms.

24 hr desk/maid/TV/laundry/air.

Low rates daily/weekly/monthly.

South Side. Call 773-376-5200

FREE HEAT RENT TO OWN 2, 3, 4 & 5 BR Homes 2 & 3 BR apts also avail, 708-737-2036 or 312-662-3963 CHICAGO SOUTH SIDE Beautiful Studios, 1,2,3 & 4 BR’s, Sec 8 ok. $500 gift certificate for Sec 8 tenants. 773-287-9999/312-446-3333 CHICAGO S. MALE Preferred.

All Utilities Included. $400/mo. $50 Deposit.

773-253-8541 CHATHAM- 718 E. 81st St. Newly remodeled 1 BR, 1 BA, Dining room, Living room, hdwd flrs, appliances. & heat included. Call 847-533-5463

NO MOVE-IN FEE! No Dep! Sec 8 ok. 1, 2 & 3 Bdrms. Elev bldg, laundry, pkg. 6531 S. Lowe.

Call Moni 773-874-0100

77TH/LOWE 2BR. 101ST/MAY

1 & 2BR, 69th/Dante, 3BR. 71st/ Bennett 2 & 3BR. 77th/Essex. 3BR. New renov. Sec 8 ok. 708-503-1366

3BR 1.5 bath & 2BR: newly remodeled. Hrdwd flrs, heat & hot water incl. No Sec Dep. Sec 8 welc.. Call 9am-5pm 773-731-8306

CHATHAM - 7550 S Blackstone 2BR, $750/mo. Sec 8 OK. Heat & appl. Call Office: 773-966-5275 or Steve: 773-936-4749 CHICAGO

ACACIA SRO HOTEL Men Preferred! Rooms for Rent. Weekly & Monthly Rates. 312-421-4597

ROYALTON HOTEL, Kitchenette $135 & up wk. 1810 W. Jackson 312-226-4678

2 BR UNDER $900 SECTION 8 WELCOME. 7442 S. Vernon. 2BR, remod hdwd flrs, Sec 8 OK, heat and appls incl, laundry on site. $ 800& up.

Call Z. 773-406-4841

7701 S. South Shore Dr. 2 BDs with 1.5 Baths, Large Combo Living-Dining Rm, FREE Heat & cking gas. Prkng extra. $785-$850, Kalabich Mgmt (708)424-4216

AVAILABLE NOW SENIOR CITIZENS 62+ YEARS Section 8 Eligibility-Low Rents 1 BR & STUDIO APTS 3939 S Calumet Ave 773-373-8480 or 373-8482 6225 S Drexel Ave 773-955-6603 or 955-7162 Offering Quality services for Senior Citizens 62 years and older • Wellmaintained, secure-gated parking • Close to shopping, restaurants, public transportation • On-site Internet center • Computer training • Movies • Arts & Crafts classes • Bible classes • free weekly transportation for grocery shopping • Coin-operated laundry machines • Vending machines • Secure mail system and more Get more information at the website: www.trinityseniorapartments.com

7600 S Essex 2BR

$599, 3BR $699, 4BR $799 w/apprvd credit, no sec dep. Sect 8 Ok! 773287-9999 /312-446-3333

CHICAGO SOUTH SHORE Newly remodeled Studio & 1BR Apts.

Near Metra, appls incl. $500-$775/mo. Ray 312-375-2630 CHATHAM , 736 E. 81st (Evans), 2 Bedroom, 5 rooms, 2nd floor $825/month Call Mr. Joe at 708-870-4801

2 BR $900-$1099 BUCKTOWN/ WICKER PARK.

Milwaukee/ Damen/ North. 4 rooms, 2 bedrooms, 2 skylights. Victorian building. Walk to everything. Two blocks Blue Line. $950. 773-7103634.

CHICAGO, 9305 S. Saginaw, Newly rehabbed, 2BR, carpet, stove & fridge, heat not incl, $950/ mo. Sect 8 welc. Mr. Johnson, 773294-0167

2 BR $1100-$1299 NICE, SUNNY TWO

bedroom.

Hardwood floors, new kitchen, white tile, bathroom. 3602 W. Irving Park. $1250 plus utilities. 773-539-2246, cell 773-332-2098.

SECTION 8 WELCOME SOUTHSIDE, Recently renovated, 2BR Apts. $1000-$1150/mo. Call Sean, 773-410-7084 SECTION 8 OK 11831 S Wentworth, 2BR, 1BA, finished basement, $1100 heat included. Fred 773-443-0175 CHATHAM

BEAUTIFUL

REMOD 2 & 3BR, hdwd flrs, custom cabinets, avail now. $1100-$1200/mo + sec. 773-905-8487 Sec 8 Ok

2 BR OTHER OPEN HOUSE WELCOME TO Town Home Living and Affordable Rents at PRINCETON PARK HOMES A privately-owned south side Chicago rental town home community since 1944 Rents Starting at $844/mo Sat April 23 & Sun April 24 Noon - 6PM

FREE CREDIT CHECK – Applicants encouraged to bring last 6 pay check stubs, ID & Social security card.

Two and three bedroom residences featuring: Spacious landscaped grounds – Walk to public transportation (CTA, “El”) Nearby public and private schools - Ample parking – Convenient to shopping Centrally located Campus Park - Easy access to Dan Ryan Annual Resident’s Lawn & Garden Contest Each unit includes: Deck or patio – Private front and rear entrance – Basement with hook-ups for washer and dryer – Modern kitchen and bathroom cabinetry – Meet our manager Anthony Jackson, A.R.M. and professional staff for a guided tour: Princeton Park Homes 9119 S. Stewart Avenue Chicago, Illinois 60620 Phone: 773-264-3005 Visit our website at www.ppkhomes.com Open House Special: FIRST TWO-MONTH’S RENT FREE ON SELECTED 3BR UNITS! Directions: From Dan Ryan Expressway – Take 87th St. Exit south to W. 91st St. Right on 91st St ½ mile to S Stewart Ave. Left ½ block to rental office.

From W 95th St – Turn North onto S. Wentworth Avenue (200 W) and go 4 blocks to W 91st St. Turn left on W. 91st St. and go 2 blocks to S. Stewart Ave. Turn left ½ block to office.

ROUND LAKE BEACH, IL Cedar Villas is accepting applications for Subsidized 2 and 3 bedroom apt waiting list. Rent is based on 30% of annual income for qualified applicants. Contact us at 847-546-1899 for details CHICAGO, PRINCETON PARK

2 BR $1500 AND

OVER

LARGE BRIGHT LINCOLN PK

2Bd, 1Bth, In Unit W/D, Roof Deck, Back Porch, HVAC, Fireplace, DW, Hardwood Flrs, Available Immediately. $2000-$2500 Call: 773 472 5944

HOMES. Spac 2 - 3 BR Townhomes, Inclu: Prvt entry, full bsmt, lndry hook-ups. Ample prkg. Close to trans & schls. Starts at $816/mo. www. ppkhomes.com;773-264-3005

LOVELY UPDATED 2-1/2BR

sep. lr & dr, crpt , blinds, ceramic tile, appls, garage space avail. nice blk Sec 8 approved. Michelle 773-8689394

7359 S. DORCHESTER, 7804 S. Maryland. 2BR Apts, brand new, heat & appliances incl. Section 8 OK. Call Miro, 708-4737129 MATTESON, 2BR, $990$1050; 3BR, $1250-$1400.

Move In Special is 1 Month’s Rent & $99 Sec Dep. Sect 8 Welc. 708-748-4169

CHICAGO, 1945 S. DRAKE, 3rd floor, 3BR, 2BA, newly renovated, hardwood floors, storage, no dogs, $975/mo. Call 773-485-3042

North Lawndale, 3BR, 1.5BA Remod Garden Unit, hardwood floors, $1100/mo, no security, leave message, 773-203-0288 3 BEDROOM 65TH & Talman, stove, fridge, laundry facilities. $900+ Sec. 773-881-8836

CHICAGO: 7000 S Paxton, 3BR, 2BA, hdwd flr, appls incl., heat incl., lndry in bldg, sun porch, Sec 8 welcome. Call (773) 429-0988

3 BR OR MORE $1200-$1499 CHICAGO: E. ROGERS PARK

74TH & ARTESIAN, Section 8 Welcome. Newly remodeled, huge 2BD, 1BA, hdwd flrs, separate utils.

Sec dep req’d. 773-908-1080

6726 N. Bosworth Ave. Beautiful, large 3BR, 2BA, DR, LR, Hrdwd flrs.

Nr trans/shops. Heat, appls, laundry included. $1450. Available now.

847-475-3472

3 BR OR MORE UNDER $1200

SECT 8 OK, 2 STORY, 5BR/2BA WITH BSMT. NEW DECOR, ARPT THROUGHOUT, CEILING FANS, ST OVE/FRIDGE, $1490. 12037 S. PARNELL, 773-443-5397

CHATHAM 7900 BLOCK of Langley. 3BR 1.5BA, renov kit & BA. Appls & heat incl, lndry. Sec 8 Ok. $1450 Mr. Johnson 630-4241403

73RD/LAFAYETTE, 3BR Lrg newly decor 1st fl apt, LR, formal DR, hdwd flrs, stove, NO SECURITY DEPOSIT $875 +utils 773.405.3472

PARK FOREST 3BD/1BA, New rehab incl kit, BA, cer.tile, shed, fcd yrd, Wtr/ Trash/ Alarm, cent air. $1125.

Sec. Dep/Cre. Ck. 708-582-7420

6400 S. HONORE Recently

rehabbed, Huge 3BR apt, $875/mo.

Tenant furnishes utilities.

708-720-0084

FREE HEAT 8036 S. Green. 3BR,

Front porch, DR, LR, nr shops, laundry on site. Sec 8 Welcome. $1150/mo. 1 mo dep. 773-576-5002

3&4 BDR FOR rent in a quiet area.

2flat perfect layout. 1ST & 2ND floors available. UNITS SETUP TO PASS SECTION 8. Call 708-269-7669

CHICAGO, 124TH & NORMAL, 3BR, 1.5BA, Brick Georgian, finished basement, hardwood floors, $13 50/mo. Call 708-705-6879 VERY NICE 4BR, 2BA, new decor, ceiling fans, ceramic tile, $140 0/ mo + 1 mo sec. Ten pays utils.

Sect 8 welc. Call 773-406-2450

$995/mo. Sec 8 ok. 773-791-1920

SOUTH SHORE: 6801 S.Clyde 3 lrg BRs, 2BA, LR, kitchen, sun parlor, $1325/mo; 2BR, $1000/ mo.

Call 773-374-0772, 773CHICAGO 8457 S Brandon, 1st flr, 4BR, Section 8 ok, 3BR voucher 490-1558 ok. Call 847-926-0625

HUMBOLDT PARK - HUGE IMMACULATE 3BR, 1BA LUXURY UNIT CLOSE TO TRANS & SHOPS NEWLY REMODELED WON’T LAST LONG MUST SEE, SEC 8 WELCOME . Nigel 312-770-0795

75 Hoyne 4&1.5 LRG YRD FIN BSMT $1395. 142 LOWE 4&2 LIV/ DIN FIN BSMT $1400. NEW RENO. APPT ONLY773.619.4395 CHARLIE 818.679.1175 CHICAGO, NR 12200 S Lowe.

4BR house, large front & backyard. All appl. inc. Wheelchair Accessible Sec 8 welcome 708359-2210 WEST PULLMAN, 5BR, 2 Full Baths, LR, DR, lrg fenced yrd, big bsmnt, nr schls, metra & CTA $1435mo + $1435 sec, Sec 8 ok 773610-1332

80th & Paulina , 3BR, Living room, dining room, hardwood floors throughout, 2nd fl, appl. included. Sec. 8 Welcome. 773-8075496 RECENT REHAB. 4-5BR Single Family Homes. S. Holland, Dolton, Markham, Harvey. Sec 8 ok. $1000 sec & bkgrnd chk. 630247-5146

3 BR OR MORE $1500-$1799

116XX S LAFLIN STREET 4BR, 2BA House, 2 car garage w/patio, encl yard. $1550/mo Call C. Johnson 773-865-4741

SECTION 8 WELCOME \WEST PULLMAN 255 W. 111th Pl, 6BR, 3BA, $1620. Newly remod, appls incl, full bsmt, garage. Joe, 773-793-8339

HOMAN SQUARE AREA, Newly

remod Spacious 4BR, 1.5BA Apt, hdwd flrs, Heat & appls incl, Sect 8 Welc. 708-593-4740

NEAR 83RD & Yates. 5BR, 2BA, hdwd flrs, fin basement, stove & fridge furn. Heat incl. $1600 + 1 mo sec. Sect 8 ok. 773-978-6134

CHICAGO HEIGHTS, 3BR, 1BA Newly rehabbed, granite kitchen, HF school district. No pets.

Call (708)359-1440

BEAUTIFUL, HUGE 3 1/2 bed-

CHICAGO SOUTHSIDE, NEWLY remodeled 3BR/2BA w/appl. w/d & newly remod 3BR w/ appl Call 773-908-8791

rooms. Lots of living/closet space.

May 1st $1590 Heat inc Call or text 773-600-0550

3 BR OR MORE 8443 Hermitage. Newly decorated 4BR. Fridge, stove, W/D incl. Fenced in bkyd, 1.5 car garage. 773-881-1410 or 773-8529423

CHICAGO - SOUTH SIDE. 5435 May. Free Heat, Section 8 ok. 1st floor, quiet 3BR, hdwd flrs. 773-9251188

non-residential SELF-STORAGE CENTERS. T W O locations to serve you. All

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roommates 37 YEAR OLD male, investor in

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OTHER

6343 S. ROCKWELL - 3BR, incl heat. hdwd flrs, lndry facility, fenced in bldg, fireplace, appiances

GENERAL

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APRIL 21, 2016 | CHICAGO READER 35

SAVAGE LOVE

By Dan Savage

The emetophiliac’s conundrum She’s found someone who shares her kink, but is vomit play cheating?

Q : I’ve been aware of my

emetophilia since a very young age and have always kept it private. The actual substance doesn’t turn me on—I have no desire to be puked on. For me, the fantasy involves being with someone as they begin to feel sick, and then taking care of them as they puke. It has something to do with the buildup and release. Who knows? I’m married, and I told my husband about my kink once, a few years ago.

He wasn’t judgmental, but he never brought it up again.

We have a great sex life otherwise, but recently, on a whim, I posted a message on a kink site. A few weeks later, a guy reached out to say the description exactly mirrored his own kink.

We’ve been texting for a few weeks, and it’s been superhot. Now we’ve talked about meeting up and roleplaying for each other. It makes me go crazy just to think about this. In light of the health risks—and the fact that I’m married—this would be a one-time thing. Do I have to tell my husband? I don’t want to have sex with this person, but obviously we will both get off, so there’s a definite sexual element.

My husband and I have had threesomes, so he’s not a “strictly monogamous” guy.

But I’m mortified at the thought of him knowing and would would just rather not tell him. But is that cheating?

—A LADY EMETOPHILE MEETS HER MATCH

A : The answer to your last

question—is that cheating?— is obvious. Getting together with your vomit buddy would constitute infidelity, albeit a low-grade, nonpenetrative, not-for-everyone kind.

So do you have to tell your husband? Lots of people would insist you do—but I’m

36 CHICAGO READER - APRIL 21, 2016

sitting here wondering if your husband would rather not be told.

You shared your kink with him once, and he never brought it up again, so we can reasonably assume that your husband isn’t interested in discussing, much less indulging, this very particular sexual interest of yours.

Another reasonable assumption: Your kink may not be something your husband wants to think about. The awareness of your kink, to use Emily “Dear Prudence Emeritus” Yoffe’s phrase, could be a libido killer for him.

So you could make—as I’ve just made—an argument for sparing your husband the reminder of this kink of yours and sparing yourself discomfort by not telling and/or asking him, and then discreetly meeting up with your VB just this once. But if you do, let someone know where you are and who you’re with on the big night.

luck! I hope he says yes.

Q : I’m a straight white girl in

test results to come back before we pick out your coffin, OK? If it turns out you’re seriously ill, HMP, you won’t find the help you need from a man who isn’t your boyfriend, isn’t around much, and has told you he doesn’t respect you. That guy couldn’t come through for you during a haircut. Lean on family and friends, join a support group, and take comfort in knowing that if/ when your health is restored, there are plenty of shitty, selfish, sadistic guys on the planet who’ll treat you badly, cheat on you flagrantly, and— not coincidentally—get you off spectacularly. v

the most boring of pickles: My boyfriend is dragging his feet on proposing. I’m 29, and he’s 31. We’ve been dating for three years.

Things are great. We talk about our future a lot— buying a house, vacations, blah blah blah. Lack of proposal aside, we’re solid.

But I would hate to waste another year in this city for this guy when I could have been working toward tenure somewhere else. (I’m in academia.) I’ve tried bringing this up to him several times with no concrete results —REALLY INTO NOT GOING SOLO

A : Propose to him, RINGS.

Go get a ring for him and ask him to marry you, for fuck’s sake. You have the power to pop the question too. Good

Q : I met a man two and a

half years ago on Tinder. We slept together a few times— the most mind-blowing sex I’ve ever had—and I caught feelings. But Tinder man is married and lives in France.

I see him only three times a year. Fast-forward to now.

He pursues other people.

Women throw themselves at him. We were at the mall, and he picked up a girl while I was getting my hair done.

He’s not my boyfriend. He hurts me. I am terrified of losing him. Now my doctor has found a tumor on my lymph nodes. I go in for tests on Friday. I’m ready to pick out my coffin at this point. I know what he’s capable of.

I don’t want to change him.

I love him. I go insane when we don’t talk. He told me he doesn’t respect me any more than he respects his current wife. I’m so scared. —HELP ME PLEASET

A : Um . . . let’s wait for those

Send letters to mail@ savagelove.net. Download the Savage Lovecast every Tuesday at thestranger.com. ! @fakedansavage

l

l

Atty. No. 42525 IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF COOK COUNTY COUNTY DEPARTMENT, CHANCERY DIVISION BETTYE MALONE, on behalf of herself and all others similarly situated, No. 14 Plaintiff, CH 20875 v.

SLUG SIGNORINO

STRAIGHT DOPE

By Cecil Adams Q : Did the U.S. government intentionally

TO: Those persons who gave a security deposit for an apartment located at 2701 S. Indiana Ave. in Chicago, Illinois, which was held on, and for at least 15 days after, the date of September 11, 2013:

A : One thing’s for sure: the latter half of the

• The simple fact is that, for whatever ultimate

•

reason, the army killed a hell of a lot of bison, as shooting practice or as part of army-sponsored civilian hunts. And it was easier than fighting Native people on their own turf. Sometimes military commanders equated the two; Smits quotes Colonel George Custer alerting his men to “a chance for a great victory over that bunch of redskins the other side of the hill.” Custer was referring to bison.

In 1869, the Army Navy Journal reported that Sherman had floated what Smits calls a “trial balloon”: he’d “remarked, in conversation . . . that

NOTICE OF CLASS ACTION AND PROPOSED SETTLEMENT YOU MAY BENEFIT FROM READING THIS NOTICE.

starve the American Indians to death by slaughtering the bison? Is there official documentation to support this claim?

I’ve read a variety of accounts about the slaughter of the American bison—food, sport, shits and giggles.

—FEELING BUFFALOED IN TEXAS

19th century wasn’t such a hot time to be an American bison. The animals’ numbers, in the tens of millions when Europeans arrived on the continent, plunged to fewer than 400 before the end of the 1800s, with the worst of it coming between 1870 and 1883. There were, as you suggest, a number of reasons the bison took such a bad turn. A new tanning technology made the processing of hides more efficient; more extensive rail lines made transporting them easier; a burgeoning market thus inspired more buffalo hunters.

And then there’s the claim you’ve heard, Buffaloed: that the U.S. government—finding its westward expansion policies unwelcome to the people who, you know, already lived out there—made it a policy to slaughter the bison, not necessarily to starve the Native people to death, but to pressure them onto reservations.

A persuasive case for this comes in a 1994 paper by David D. Smits in Western History Quarterly. Smits reminds us, first, just who happened to be prosecuting the campaign against the Plains Indians: Generals William Tecumseh Sherman and Philip Sheridan, who’d enjoyed great success in laying waste to the Confederacy during the Civil War. They’d learned from that experience, Smits argues, that it’s not enough to fight the enemy on the battlefield: you’ve got to destroy his resources, as Sherman famously did on his March to the Sea. It’s true that Smits is working with thin official documentation, but there’s plenty of other evidence to go around:

YORK TERRACE APARTMENTS, LLC, CLASS RMK MANAGEMENT CORPORATION, ACTION & CMIF YORK TERRACE LLC, Defendants.

•

•

the quickest way to compel the Indians to settle down to civilized life was to send ten regiments of soldiers to the plains, with orders to shoot buffaloes until they became too scarce to support the redskins.” In Smits’s view, this proposal was accepted tacitly if not publicly.

In an 1868 letter to Sherman, Sheridan wrote, “The best way for the government is to now make [resisting Plains warriors] poor by the destruction of their stock, and then settle them on the lands allotted to them”; Smits takes “stock” to include bison as well as horses.

The growing hide market brought hunters to buffalo grounds in Texas that had been set aside for Native people, but a local military commander, Colonel Dodge, who at the least didn’t discourage them and in fact seems to have suggested they could hunt in Indian territory without interference. Smits relates an earlier quote from Dodge: “Every buffalo dead is an Indian gone.”

All told, Smits believes (as do other historians) the dots connect sufficiently to reveal a government policy, however unspoken— he notes Sheridan’s “tendency, when dealing with contentious or potentially embarrassing matters, to issue oral rather than written commands.” Smits’s article occasioned a rebuttal from another academic, one William A. Dobak, whose argument frankly strikes me as weak. Taking issue with Smits’s use of private journals as sources, Dobak reminds us that “memoirists are not under oath”—as if historians should rely on sworn testimony and nothing less.

So was there an “official” policy? I’m not convinced it particularly matters. We know the army enthusiastically slaughtered bison; we know it encouraged others to do so; we know that the men directing the campaign viewed this as an important front in the Indian wars. Official or no, the actions were deliberate, and the outcome devastating for any people or animals not lucky enough to be affiliated with the U.S. Army. Sheridan and Sherman really couldn’t have hoped for any better. v Send questions to Cecil via straightdope.com or write him c/o Chicago Reader, 350 N. Orleans, Chicago 60654.

IF YOU WISH TO RECEIVE A PORTION OF THE CLASS SETTLEMENT YOU MUST RETURN THE FORM AT THE END OF THIS NOTICE BY MAIL, FAX, OR EMAIL POSTMARKED ON OR BEFORE June 22, 2016. *If you do not wish to be part of the settlement, you must submit a written request for exclusion pursuant to the instructions below* WHAT THIS CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT IS ABOUT On December 31, 2014 Plaintiff, Bettye Malone, filed a class action complaint in the Circuit Court of Cook County, Chicago, Illinois. Plaintiff’s class action complaint alleged that Defendant, CMIF York Terrace LLC, violated the Chicago Residential Landlord and Tenant Ordinance (“RLTO”) by failing to disclose to tenants the address of the financial institution that their security deposits would be held at within 14 days after they were transferred on or about September 11, 2013.

The Plaintiff and Defendants have reached a proposed settlement of the lawsuit. The Court has preliminarily approved the settlement, has appointed Toole Law Office LLC and Mark Silverman Law Office Ltd. as counsel for the class (“Class Counsel”), and has approved this notice.

This notice explains the nature of the lawsuit and the terms of the settlement, and informs you of your legal rights and obligations.

THE FAIRNESS HEARING: A hearing will be held by the Court to consider the fairness of the proposed settlement and to decide whether to issue a final approval of the settlement. At the hearing, the Court will be available to hear any objections and arguments concerning the fairness of the proposed settlement, including the amount of the attorneys’ fee awarded. The hearing will take place before the Honorable Judge Peter Flynn on August 4, 2016 at 2:00 p.m. in Room 2408 of the Richard J Daley Center, Chicago, IL 60602.

YOU ARE NOT OBLIGATED TO ATTEND THIS HEARING BUT MAY DO SO IF YOU PLAN TO OBJECT TO THE SETTLEMENT. THE PROPOSED SETTLEMENT Summary of the Benefits Under the Settlement: Class Members who submit timely proofs of claim shall receive a payment equal to 133% of their full security deposit amounts. For example, if you are a Class Member and gave a $100.00 security deposit, then your recovery under this Proposed Settlement is $133.00.

Only one Claim Form may be submitted by Class Members who rented the same apartment as co-tenants In the event of timely receipt of multiple valid Claim Forms for a single apartment, the Settlement Payment shall be divided equally amongst the valid claimants sharing a single security deposit.

Recovery to Plaintiffs: Subject to Court approval, Plaintiff, Bettye Malone shall receive an incentive award of $4,500.00. This agreement reflects both the sums that Plaintiff claimed as a member of the Class as well as an incentive award in connection with Plaintiff’s services as a representatives of the class during the pendency of this litigation.

Attorney’s Fees and Costs: Class Counsel Toole Law Office, LLC and Mark Silverman Law Office Ltd. has requested that the Court award attorneys’ fees and costs payable by Defendant in the amount of $36,000.00, and the costs of administering the settlement agreement to be reimbursed or paid by the Defendant. This request is based on the litigation costs incurred and the amount of hours worked by Class Counsel at their normal hourly rate.

Unless you exclude yourself from the settlement, you will be part of the Class and bound by the Settlement.

Regardless of whether you submit a Claim Form, if you stay in the Class you will release the Defendant for all claims that you may have had, as of December 31, 2014, arising out of your relationship with Defendant (except for claims of bodily injury).

WHAT TO DO IF YOU WISH TO RECEIVE MONEY FROM THE SETTLEMENT: If you wish to obtain the benefits of the Settlement, and you are a Class Member, then you must submit a completed Claim Form,

by U.S. mail, fax, or email, postmarked no later than

2016 to Class Counsel, Mark Silverman Law Office Ltd., 225 W. Washington Street, Suite 2200, Chicago, IL 60606.

Alternatively, you may submit the Claim Form to Mr. Silverman by email at mark@depositlaw.com. To fax your Claim Form, please fax to (312) 256-2055. If you submit the Claim Form by email or fax it must be received no later than June 22, 2016.

REPRESENTATION BY CLASS COUNSEL – OR YOUR OWN ATTORNEY: As a member of the Class, your interests will be represented by the attorneys for Plaintiffs without any additional charge to you. If you wish to participate on your own or through your attorney, an appearance must be filed with the Clerk of the Circuit Court, Chancery Division, by June 22, 2016. If you participate through your own attorney, it will be at your expense.

WHAT TO DO IF YOU OBJECT TO THE SETTLEMENT: If you object to the settlement and do not wish to exclude yourself from the class action, you must submit your objection in writing to the Clerk of the Circuit Court of Cook County, Chancery Division, Richard J Daley Center, 50 West Washington Street, Chicago, Illinois 60602. The objection must be mailed to the Clerk of the Circuit Court postmarked on or before June 22, 2016. Your objection must include the name and case number. On the same date that you mail your objections to the Clerk of the Court, you must also mail copies of that objection to Class Counsel and Defense Counsel, as follows: Class Counsel: Mark Silverman Law Office, Ltd., 225 W. Washington St., Suite 2200, Chicago, IL 60606 Defense Counsel: Mr. Jeffrey Ross, Seyfarth Shaw LLP, 131 S. Dearborn Street, Suite 2400, Chicago, Illinois 60603 Your written objections must include detailed reasons explaining why you contend that the settlement should not be approved. It is not sufficient to simply state that you object. Provided that you have submitted a written objection, you may also appear at the fairness hearing.

WHAT TO DO IF YOU WISH TO BE EXCLUDED FROM THE SETTLEMENT: You have the right to exclude yourself from both the Class and the settlement by submitting a written request for exclusion to Class Counsel postmarked (or by fax or email) on or before June 22, 2016. Your request for exclusion must state your name, address, and the name and number of the case.

WHAT IF THE SETTLEMENT IS NOT APPROVED? If the settlement is not approved, the case will proceed as if no settlement had been reached. There can be no assurance that, if the settlement is not approved, the Class will recover more than is provided in the settlement or, indeed, anything at all.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: The description of the case in this Notice is general and does not cover all of the issues and proceedings thus far. In order to see the complete file, including a copy of the settlement agreement, you may visit the office of the Clerk of the Circuit Court of Cook County, Chancery Division, Richard J Daley Center, 50 West Washington Street, Chicago, Illinois 60602, Room 802, where you may inspect and/or copy the court file for this case at your own expense.

In addition, you or your attorney may direct questions to Class Counsel: Mark Silverman Law Office Ltd., 225 W. Washington, Suite 2200, Chicago, IL 60606, tel. (312) 7751015, fax (312) 256-2055, email: mark@depositlaw.com.

PLEASE DO NOT CALL THE JUDGE’S CHAMBERS. MALONE v. CMIF YORK TERRACE LLC CASE NO. 14 CH 20875 -CLASS MEMBER CLAIM RELEASEIf you are a class member because you gave a security deposit and still rented an apartment located at 2701 S. Indiana Ave. in Chicago, Illinois on September 11, 2013, and you want to participate as a member of this class action settlement and receive an amount equal to 133% of your full security deposit amount at 2701 S. Indiana Ave., please fill out this form and promptly mail, fax, email, and/or deliver it back to Mr. Mark Silverman, Mark Silverman Law Office Ltd., 225 W. Washington, Ste. 2200, Chicago, IL 60606, PHONE (312) 775-1015; or you can return your completed form by Email: mark@depositlaw.com. If you return this by mail, it must be postmarked no later than June 22, 2016. If you send it by email or fax it must be received by that date.

Please write the word “MALONE” on the envelope.

Current Name (First)

(M.I.)

(Last)

Your Current Address: Street City

Unit Number State

Zip

Your Current Telephone Number(s): Your Current Email: Signature:

Date:

APRIL 21, 2016 - CHICAGO READER 37

Broods ! COURTESY WINDISH AGENCY

NEW Lila Ammons & Ben Waters 6/12, 7 PM, SPACE, Evanston, on sale Fri 4/22, 10 AM b Barenaked Ladies, OMD 6/9, 6:30 PM, Ravinia Festival, on sale Tue 4/26, 5 AM Tony Bennett 8/13, 8:30 PM, Ravinia Festival, on sale Tue 4/26, 5 AM Berlin 8/8, 8 PM, City Winery, on sale Thu 4/21, noon b Blood on the Dance Floor 6/26, 5:30 PM, Reggie’s Rock Club b Bodeans, Martin Sexton 6/17, 7:30 PM, Ravinia Festival, on sale Tue 4/26, 5 AM The Body 6/4, 9 PM, Empty Bottle, on sale Fri 4/22, 10 AM Geof Bradfield’s Our Roots 6/11, 8:30 PM, Constellation, 18+ Scott Bradlee’s Postmodern Jukebox 10/29, 8 PM, Rosemont Theater, Rosemont, on sale Fri 4/22, 10 AM Broods 8/8, 7:30 PM, Metro, on sale Fri 4/22, noon, 18+ Chris Cohen 6/9, 9 PM, Empty Bottle Chris Cornell 7/3, 6:30 PM, Ravinia Festival, on sale Tue 4/26, 5 AM Culture Club 7/22, 8 PM, Chicago Theatre, on sale Fri 4/22, 11 AM Gavin DeGraw, the Fray 6/25, 6:30 PM, Ravinia Festival, on sale Tue 4/26, 5 AM Delicate Steve 6/3, 11 PM, Subterranean, 17+ Direct Hit! 7/1, 8 PM, Double Door, 17+ Do Division Street Fest with Peanut Butter Wolf, A Place to Bury Strangers, Beach Fossils, and more 6/3-5, Division between Damen and Leavitt b

Jerry Douglas 5/21, 8 PM, Maurer Hall, Old Town School of Folk Music, on sale Fri 4/22, 8 AM b Duran Duran, Chic 7/8-9, 7 PM, Ravinia Festival, Highland Park, on sale Tue 4/26, 5 AM Bob Dylan & His Band, Mavis Staples 6/24, 7:30 PM, Ravinia Festival, on sale Tue 4/26, 5 AM Bryan Ferry 8/6, 7:30 PM, Ravinia Festival, on sale Tue 4/26, 5 AM Neil Finn, Guster 7/7, 6:30 PM, Ravinia Festival, on sale Tue 4/26, 5 AM Flat Earth Society 6/29, 8:30 PM, Constellation, 18+ John Fogerty 8/25, 8 PM, Ravinia Festival, on sale Tue 4/26, 5 AM Garbage, Lumineers, Young the Giant 6/18, noon, Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre, Tinley Park Brantley Gilbert, Justin Moore, Colt Ford 7/9, 7 PM, Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre, Tinley Park, on sale Fri 4/22, 10 AM Go-Go’s, Best Coast 8/19, 7 PM, Ravinia Festival, on sale Tue 4/26, 5 AM Glen Hansard 9/20-21, 7:30 PM, the Vic, on sale Fri 4/22, 10 AM, 18+ Don Henley 8/14-15, 7:30 PM, Ravinia Festival, on sale Tue 4/26, 5 AM Lauryn Hill 9/1, 7:30 PM, Ravinia Festival, on sale Tue 4/26, 5 AM Will Hoge 8/5, 8 PM, City Winery, on sale Thu 4/21, noon b Indigo Girls, Mary Chapin Carpenter 7/1, 6:30 PM, Ravinia Festival, on sale Tue 4/26, 5 AM Jmsn 6/9, 8 PM, Double Door, 18+ Joey Purp 5/27, 7 PM, Metro b

38 CHICAGO READER - APRIL 21, 2016

Patti LaBelle, Commodores 6/23, 7:30 PM, Ravinia Festival, on sale Tue 4/26, 5 AM Lyle Lovett & His Large Band, Emmylou Harris 7/18, 7 PM, Ravinia Festival, on sale Tue 4/26, 5 AM Maritime, Casket Girls 6/17, 8:30 PM, Subterranean, on sale Fri 4/22, 10 AM, 17+ Masked Intruder, Bigwig 5/26, 7 PM, Reggie’s Rock Club, 18+ Nellie McKay 5/17, 8 PM, City Winery, on sale Thu 4/21, noon b Milemarker 8/19, 9 PM, Empty Bottle Steve Miller Band 7/2, 7:30 PM, Ravinia Festival, on sale Tue 4/26, 5 AM Mrs. Magician 6/11, 9 PM, Subterranean, 17+ Marissa Nadler 7/12, 9 PM, Empty Bottle, on sale Fri 4/22, 10 AM Nails, Full of Hell 6/17, 9 PM, Empty Bottle, on sale Fri 4/22, 10 AM Aaron Neville Duo 7/14-15, 8 PM, City Winery, on sale Thu 4/21, noon b O.A.R. 9/4, 7 PM, Ravinia Festival, on sale Tue 4/26, 5 AM Beth Orton 6/7, 8 PM, City Winery, on sale Thu 4/21, noon b Oxford & Co. 6/9, 8 PM, Schubas, on sale Fri 4/22, noon Dolly Parton 8/7, 7:30 PM, Ravinia Festival, on sale Tue 4/26, 5 AM John Patitucci & His Electric Guitar Quartet 7/1, 8 PM, SPACE, Evanston, on sale Fri 4/22, 10 AM b Bonnie Raitt 9/3, 7:30 PM, Ravinia Festival, on sale Tue 4/26, 5 AM Reuben & the Dark 6/11, 9 PM, Beat Kitchen, on sale Fri 4/22, 10 AM

b Rites of Thy Degringolade 10/14, 8 PM, Reggie’s Rock Club, 17+ Kenny Rogers 7/24, 7 PM, Ravinia Festival, on sale Tue 4/26, 5 AM Diana Ross 7/27, 8:30 PM, Ravinia Festival, on sale Tue 4/26, 5 AM Rusted Root 4/29, 10 PM, Cubby Bear Seal 8/28, 7 PM, Ravinia Festival, on sale Tue 4/26, 5 AM Chris Sies, Seth Parker Woods 5/29, 8:30 PM, Constellation, 18+ Paul Simon 6/18, 8 PM, Ravinia Festival, on sale Tue 4/26, 5 AM Gwen Stefani, Eve 8/6, 7 PM, Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre, Tinley Park, on sale Fri 4/22, 10 AM Superheaven 6/3, 6 PM, Subterranean, on sale Fri 4/22, 10 AM b Temperance Movement 7/14, 8 PM, Bottom Lounge, on sale Fri 4/22, noon, 17+ Train, Andy Grammer 8/26-27, 7 PM, Ravinia Festival, on sale Tue 4/26, 5 AM Urinals 5/26, 9 PM, Hideout Frankie Valli & the Four Seasons 6/12, 8 PM, Ravinia Festival, on sale Tue 4/26, 5 AM War, Los Lonely Boys 8/11, 7 PM, Ravinia Festival, on sale Tue 4/26, 5 AM Wolvhammer 5/24, 7 PM, Reggie’s Rock Club, 17+ Yonatan Gat 6/2, 9 PM, Hideout

UPDATED Walk the Moon 8/19, 7:30 PM, Aragon Ballroom, canceled XXYYXX 7/14, 6:30 PM, Bottom Lounge, rescheduled from 3/16 b

UPCOMING Amon Amarth, Entombed A.D. 5/5, 7:30 PM, Riviera Theatre b Asleep at the Wheel 4/28, 6:30 and 9 PM, City Winery Balkan Beat Box 6/22, 9 PM, Metro, 18+ Beach Slang 5/16, 5 PM, Bottom Lounge b Black Mountain 5/12, 8 PM, Lincoln Hall Black Sabbath 9/4, 7:30 PM, Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre, Tinley Park b Marc Broussard 5/14-15, 8 PM, SPACE, Evanston b Built to Spill 6/17, 9 PM, Thalia Hall, 17+ Cave Singers 5/26, 9 PM, Empty Bottle Chain & the Gang 5/10, 9 PM, Empty Bottle Dark Star Orchestra 6/25, 8 PM, Park West, 18+

ALL AGES

WOLF BY KEITH HERZIK

EARLY WARNINGS

CHICAGO SHOWS YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT IN THE WEEKS TO COME

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Alejandro Escovedo 5/6-7, 8 PM, SPACE, Evanston b Ex-Cult 6/1, 9 PM, Hideout Ben Frost 5/19, 9 PM, Empty Bottle Gore Gore Gore 5/7, 10:30 PM, Beat Kitchen, 17+ Hit the Lights, Seaway 5/20, 5 PM, Double Door King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard 5/8, 8 PM, Lincoln Hall La Sera 5/6, 9 PM, Empty Bottle Like Rats 5/1, 7 PM, Subterranean, 17+ Memphis May Fire, We Came as Romans 5/19, 5:30 PM, Concord Music Hall b Psychic TV 7/22, 9 PM, Reggie’s Rock Club, 17+ Quinn XCII 5/11, 9 PM, Schubas, 18+ Sheer Terror 5/21, 8 PM, Cobra Lounge Richard Shindell 6/12, 7 PM, Szold Hall, Old Town School of Folk Music b Shinedown, Halestorm 8/16, 6:30 PM, FirstMerit Bank Pavilion Corky Siegel’s Chamber Blues with Ernie Watts 5/31, 8 PM, City Winery b Sigur Ros 9/30, 8:30 PM, Chicago Theatre Sioux Falls 5/4, 7 PM, Subterranean, 17+ Christopher Paul Stelling 5/13, 9 PM, Hideout Al Stewart 7/19, 8 PM, City Winery b Stick Men 5/4-6, 7 PM, Reggie’s Rock Club, 17+ Sting, Peter Gabriel 7/9, 8 PM, United Center Sunn O))), Big Brave 6/7, 8 PM, Thalia Hall, 17+ Swans, Okkyung Lee 7/15-16, 11 PM, Lincoln Hall Swim Deep 6/10, 9 PM, Lincoln Hall Tallest Man on Earth 7/15, 8 PM, the Vic, 18+ Tame Impala 6/9, 7:30 PM, UIC Pavilion Useless Eaters 5/11, 9 PM, Empty Bottle Water Liars 7/12, 9 PM, Schubas, 18+ We Banjo 3 8/9, 8 PM, City Winery b Jimmy Webb, Robin Spielberg 6/12, 8 PM, City Winery b Weedeater, Author & Punisher 5/15, 7 PM, Reggie’s Rock Club, 17+ Young Thug 5/25, 8 PM, the Vic b Youth Code 5/12, 8 PM, Subterranean v

GOSSIP WOLF A furry ear to the ground of the local music scene IT’S GOING TO BE a great weekend for fans of harsh, sadistic hardcore! If Gossip Wolf were crushed to death in a trash compactor with powerviolence pukes Sea of Shit and grindcore gadflies Sick/Tired, it’d sound only half as brutal as the two bands’ new split LP on Deep Six Records.

On Sat 4/23 at the Wicker Park Reckless Records, both groups will bring the velocity to an in-store concert—and they’ll sell a version of the LP available only there.

Plus the Repos are playing a release party for their new LP, Poser (Youth Attack), at a DIY venue that night—wear your Infest T-shirt to Reckless, and maybe someone will tell you where to go. Fellow locals Rectal Hygienics and Final Grin open.

Gossip Wolf spent the 90s glued to the work of Rollerderby publisher Lisa “Suckdog” Carver and gothy alt-comic artist Dame Darcy—but their supremely cracked universe is always a great place to explore! On Fri 4/22, the Learning Machine (3145 S. Morgan) hosts a partial reunion of Carver’s group Suckdog, billed as the Dame Darcy & Lisa Carver Show With the Kuzak Sisters and promising a hybrid of performance art and theater— among other things, they’ll act out scenes from The Jaywalker, a new collection of Carver’s stories illustrated by Darcy. The bill also includes a “tortured new age puppet show” (with members of Forced Into Femininity and Toupee) and a solo set from Heather Lynn of Pure Magical Love.

Last week Donnie Biggins, president of promotions company Harmonica Dunn, announced that he’d become the proud new owner of cozy Lincoln Park spot the Tonic Room. He started booking there nearly four years ago, after leaving House Call Entertainment; he also organizes Dunn Dunn Fest, which wrapped up its fourth annual celebration of American music in February. Biggins has put his mark on the Tonic Room, helping turn it into a place to see impromptu sets by the likes of Chance the Rapper and Hannibal Buress.

Congrats! —J.R. NELSON AND LEOR GALIL Got a tip? Tweet @Gossip_Wolf or e-mail gossipwolf@chicagoreader.com.

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