Chicago Reader: print issue of May 12, 2016 (Volume 45, Number 31)

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 | M AY 1 2 , 2 0 1 6

VISUAL ART

POLITICS

How the gerrymandered Second Ward helps Rahm

Black Lives Matter organizes a gallery show.

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Al Scorch plays roots music with unlikely roots The Chicago banjo fiend talks about his inspirations—including freak bikes, DIY hardcore, and Kelly Hogan.

By LEOR GALIL 19

2 CHICAGO READER - MAY 12, 2016

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THIS WEEK

C H I C A G O R E A D E R | M AY 1 2 , 2 0 1 6 | V O L U M E 4 5 , N U M B E R 3 1

TO CONTACT ANY READER EMPLOYEE, E-MAIL: (FIRST INITIAL)(LAST NAME) @CHICAGOREADER.COM

EDITOR JAKE MALOOLEY CREATIVE DIRECTOR PAUL JOHN HIGGINS DEPUTY EDITOR, NEWS ROBIN AMER CULTURE EDITOR TAL ROSENBERG DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY DANIELLE A. 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 ---------------------------------------------------------------VICE PRESIDENT OF NEW MEDIA GUADALUPE CARRANZA SENIOR ACCOUNT MANAGER EVANGELINE MILLER ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES FABIO CAVALIERI, BRIDGET KANE, KEVIN SHEERAN MARKETING AND EVENTS MANAGER BRYAN BURDA DIRECTOR OF DIGITAL JOHN DUNLEVY ADVERTISING COORDINATOR HERMINIA BATTAGLIA CLASSIFIEDS REPRESENTATIVE KRIS DODD

IN THIS ISSUE 4 Agenda American Blues Theater’s revival of Little Shop of Horrors, “The Imaginative World of Dali,” BookCon, the film My Big Night, and more recommendations

CITY LIFE

8 Street View Max Goldstein of Yoko & the Oh No’s on the art of wearing superhigh platforms 8 Chicagoans Meet Morgan Dixon: church administrator, youth minister, and GirlTrekker.

10 Joravsky | Politics The gerrymandered Second Ward could help the mayor rezone the north side’s industrial corridors.

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ARTS & CULTURE

11 Culture Len Amato, the president of HBO Films, traces his trajectory from Columbia College to Hollywood.

12 Dance The Seldoms revisit the 1960s with RockCitizen.

13 Comedy Good Evening With Pat Whalen goes prime time in Uptown.

14 Visual Art “Our Duty to Fight” brings Black Lives Matter to the art gallery.

16 Movies J.G. Ballard’s High-Rise hits the big screen, but without the title character.

25 Shows of note Twin Peaks, Lupe Fiasco, Gary Numan, and lots more 27 The Secret History of Chicago Music The Evening’s Breezes almost disappeared after the 60s explosion of teen garage rock that birthed them.

FOOD & DRINK

31 Restaurant review: Il Porcellino It’s Italian for everyone at this Lettuce Entertain You joint in River North.

33 Key Ingredient: Tofu Shawn Podgurksi of the DonerMen food truck creates a fantasy dinner inspired by Dungeons & Dragons.

CLASSIFIEDS 34 Jobs

MUSIC

22 In Rotation Current musical obsessions: Max Martin’s Princeinspired track for Selena Gomez, and more 8

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34 Apartments & Spaces 36 Marketplace 37 Savage Love Is this wife and mother of three just tired or has she lost interest in kinky sex?

37 Straight Dope Do cigarette filters provide any benefits to smokers?

38 Early Warnings Cornelius, Girl Band, Talib Kweli, Pete Rock, Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band, Tobacco, and more shows you should know about in the weeks to come 38 Gossip Wolf Nic Collins screens the deeply weird webseries Year of the Snake at Beauty Bar, and more music news

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FEATURE

ONLINE

Al Scorch makes roots music with unusual roots

The second-most important ballot you’ll cast in 2016

The Chicago banjo fiend talks about his inspirations— including freak bikes, DIY hardcore, and Kelly Hogan.

It’s our annual Best of Chicago poll! Support your favorite things in the greatest city on earth by visiting chicagoreader.com/vote.

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ON THE COVER: PHOTO OF AL SCORCH

BY SUNSHINE TUCKER. FOR MORE OF HER WORK GO TO SUNSHINETUCKER. COM.

By LEOR GALIL 19

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F and ultimate ruin nursing a bloodthirsty, soul-singing alien plant, to the late 60s, making the show’s sly Kennedy-era naiveté feel incongruous. And despite some missing essentials (Mr. Mushnik, who’s mistreated Seymour since boyhood, is never mean), Austin Cook’s nearly faultless musical direction more than compensates. So does Dara Cameron’s effortlessly heartbreaking performance as Seymour’s love interest, Audrey. Her singularly poignant rendition of “Somewhere That’s Green” is one for the ages. —JUSTIN HAYFORD Through 6/26: Thu-Fri 7:30 PM, Sat 3 and 7:30 PM, Sun 2:30 PM, Greenhouse Theater Center, 2257 N. Lincoln, 773-4047336, americanbluestheater.com, $29-$39.

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Death of a Streetcar Named Virginia Woolf: A Parody ! MICHAEL BROSILOW

THEATER

More at chicagoreader.com/ theater American Beauty Shop Dana Lynn Formby’s new play is less a drama than a linked series of dramatic tics. The tale of Sue, a Colorado hairdresser facing various challenges as she struggles back from the 2008 economic collapse, it offers a checklist of conventional tropes, including a big-m Metaphor, a Spunky Ethnic Sidekick, a Quirky Old Lady, a Ticket Outta This One-Horse Town scenario, and lots of clunky foreshadowing.

Sue’s psychology is telegraphed—and then named outright for good measure—as is that of her alcoholic younger sister, Doll. And then there’s stuff that just seems peculiar, like: What’s with the fantasy sequences, dropped belatedly into an otherwise realistic play? I saw a preview performance at the invitation of the company; as things stood then, Megan Shuchman’s staging was somehow unfocused and schematic at the same time. —TONY ADLER Through 6/5: Thu-Sat 7:30 PM, Sun 3 PM, Chicago Dramatists, 1105 W. Chicago, 312-6330630, chicagodramatists.org, $18, $13 students and seniors.

And Now You Know Everything About Laurel Krabacher Attending this one-woman show truly is signing up to learn everything about comedian Laurel Krabacher, starting with the bits you’re least likely to want to know about. Monologues about stray hairs and her boyfriend’s noxious farts play better to those who know Krabacher already—including the BF himself, here doing double duty as light and sound operator. Krabacher’s loose storytelling style, frequently sidetracked by lip-sync interludes, is more effective when she digs deep—material about her gay father’s coming out, her teen brother’s aspiring to be a rapper, and her own coming to terms with a tough decision from her past is quirky and compelling.

—DAN JAKES Through 5/28: Sat 8 PM, CIC Theater, 1422 W. Irving Park, 773865-7731, cictheater.com, $10.

Death of a Streetcar Named R Virginia Woolf: A Parody Now I know why I’ve spent night after night

going to show after show. It was all prep for this Writers Theater/Second City coproduction, playing hilariously with a fistful of 20th-century stage classics.

Actually, you don’t need to be a critic to enjoy Tim Sniffen’s script, Stuart Carden and Michael Halberstam’s direction, and their cast of exceptional pros. A high school unit on American theater will do. We’re in New Orleans, at Stanley and Stella’s house, right off the Desire line. The Stage Manager from Our Town shepherds us along as Blanche DuBois gets acquainted with Willy Loman and George and Martha before ordering pizza from Godot’s. The great and pleasant surprise here is that Sniffen doesn’t go (only) for fish-in-a-barrel jokes. He builds on wide knowledge, a sophisticated sense of the ridiculous, and a nose for the grand obsessions of American drama. —TONY ADLER Through 7/31: Tue-Fri 7:30 PM, Sat 3 and 7:30 PM, Sun 2 and 6 PM, Writers Theatre, 325 Tudor Ct., Glencoe, 847-242-6000, writerstheatre.org, $80.

Double Text If the Reddit community crowdsourced dialogue for a play, it might sound something like the “friendzone” and “Instagram-stalking” commentary in this sexless sex comedy by Olivia Bagan about a budding couple overanalyzing each other’s text messages. After a single date, Philip and Emma retreat to their respective homes and hornball confidantes for a postgame breakdown.

The lecture-style soliloquies and close readings that follow feel ripped out of the public domain—and from the flipphone age, oddly enough. —DAN JAKES Through 5/28: Fri-Sat 8 PM, Public House Theatre, 3914 N. Clark, 800-6506449, pubhousetheatre.com, $15.

Once in a Lifetime George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart’s insubstantial 1930 Hollywood satire gets an unsettled treatment in Strawdog’s Theatre’s final production in its 26-year Lakeview home. Director Damon Kiely styles the opening scene perfectly, as two-bit vaudevillians May, Jerry, and George ditch their act and head to Hollywood, convinced they’ll cash in on the new talkies craze. Guided

by Kat McDonnell’s period-perfect precision as May, the trio are endearing, pathetic, and stylishly convincing.

But the slew of Hollywood types— know-nothing producers, know-less starlets, embittered writers, self-important critics—who overpopulate the remaining three acts are played mostly to frenetic excess. It’s ridiculous, energetic, and at times effective, but it’s rarely true. The group performances of contemporary pop songs (Katy Perry, Miley Cyrus) during excessively long scene changes add little beyond extra running time.

—JUSTIN HAYFORD Through 6/5: ThuSat 8 PM, Sun 4 PM, Strawdog Theatre Company, 3829 N. Broadway, 773-5289696, strawdog.org, $28.

A Piece of My Heart Based on oral histories compiled by Keith Walker, Shirley Lauro’s 1991 play tells the stories of six women who served in Vietnam as nurses, a USO entertainer, and an intelligence specialist in the Women’s Army Corps. Arriving in southeast Asia when the war is at its bloodiest and most quagmirish, the women survive the chaos of the combat zone, only to return

home feeling damaged and out of place. Victoria Alvarez-Chacon’s staging for Chicago Danztheatre Ensemble is brisk and compassionate, much like the nurses it depicts. But Lauro’s cautiously respectful, group-therapy approach seems to belong to a time when the psychic wounds of Vietnam were still relatively fresh. More than 40 years after the end of the conflict, we’re ready for a little nuance. —ZAC THOMPSON Through 5/15: Fri-Sat 8 PM, Sun 7 PM, Ebenezer Lutheran Church, 1650 W. Foster, 773-561-8496, danztheatre.org, $20, $15 in advance.

Seedfolks Paul Fleischman’s R celebrated 1997 children’s novel is narrated by more than a dozen people

living in a Cleveland tenement on Gibb Street; the story at the center begins with a young Asian-American girl who decides to clear a plot and plant seeds in a vacant lot nearby. Before long, other neighbors follow suit, planting their own seeds, and the lot becomes a symbol of hope, nature, and renewal in a divisive, dangerous space, the neighborhood a microcosm of urban America. It’s a compelling tale, but the real accomplishment here is Sonja Parks’s singular portrayal of 14 different characters who vary by age and ethnicity; she’s supported in this Anna Deavere Smith turn by projected videos that keep us aware of shifting seasons and perspectives. —SUZANNE SCANLON Through 5/22: Wed 10 AM, Thu-Fri 10 AM and noon, Sat 2 and 6 PM, Sun 11 AM and 2 PM, Tue 10 AM, Ruth Page Center for the Arts, 1016 N. Dearborn, 312-337-6543, chicagochildrenstheatre.org, $39, $28 children.

This Great Nation, Much Enduring A long-shot presidential candidate blunders through his home state’s primary in this political satire from Chicago Slam Works. The written-by-committee script is supposed to be about 2016, but it often feels more like 2008, focusing on the country’s military misadventures instead of the economic uncertainty that has fueled recent populist movements on both the left and the right. But a cast of motormouths—including a tightly wound Felix Mayes as the candidate and Teagan Walsh-Davis as his charismatically amoral chief advisor—turn J.W. Basilo’s

Little Shop of Horrors Howard R Ashman and Alan Menken’s 1982 musical is so cleverly, efficiently, and

tunefully written that a quarter of it can get glossed over—as it does in this American Blues Theater revival—and you’ve still got a good show. Director Jonathan Berry unwisely transplants an early 60s Skid Row, where lifelong schmuck Seymour finds fame, fortune

Seedfolks ! SONJA PARKS

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Best bets, recommendations, and notable arts and culture events for the week of May 12

artist. 5/14-6/11. Tue-Sat 10 AM-5 PM. 222 W. Superior, 312-787-3300, zygmanvossgallery.com.

LIT BookCon Panels, discussions, and signings with more than 80 authors, including Ann M. Martin (The Babysitter’s Club), Lucy Knisley (Something New), Ransom Riggs (Tales of the Peculiar), and Veronica Roth (the Divergent series). Sat 5/14, 10 AM-6 PM, McCormick Place, 2301 S. Lake Shore, 312-791-6300, thebookcon.com, $30.

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Love Song ! JOHN R. BOEHM fleet staging into a showcase for vigorous acting and vocal dexterity. —ZAC THOMPSON Through 6/10: Fri 8:15 PM, Stage 773, 1225 W. Belmont, 773-327-5252, chicagoslamworks.com, $20.

DANCE Cinderella The Joffrey Ballet R closes its 60th season with Sir Frederick Ashton’s classic ballet. 5/11-

5/22: Fri 7:30 PM, Sat 2 and 7:30 PM, Sun 2 PM; also Wed 5/11, 7:30 PM, and Thu 5/19, 7:30 PM, Auditorium Theatre, 50 E. Congress, 800-982-2787, joffrey.org, $32-$170.

Love Song Studio Mangiameli presents a dance performance inspired by T. S. Eliot’s “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock.” 5/13-5/15: Fri-Sat 7:30 PM, Sun 3:30 PM, Vittum Theater, 1012 N. Noble, 773-342-4141, studiomangiameli.com, $25.

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COMEDY Andorka’s Comedy Revue A comedy showcase in a sandwich shop, hosted by Erin Danielle Grotheer and Blake Burkhart. Revolution Brewing provides the night’s libations. Fri 5/13, 8 PM, Andorka’s Sandwich Shop, 2110 S. Halsted, 312-763-6916, andorkas.com. F

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KoolAid Mix Like all classic sitcoms, this improvised 90s comedy from 99 Problemz follows the misadventures of wacky characters, in this case employees of Bob’s Video Mart in 1999 Plainview, Illinois. While the audience suggestion of “film noir”paired with the 90s’ signature “learning a lesson” led to some continuity challenges at the show I saw, performances from Hannah Starr as the town’s wealthy, attention-starved socialite and Second City faculty member Joe Janes (the evening’s celebrity guest) as her vengeful husband added hilarious, 1940s flair. The Spotty Truth opened.

—MARISSA OBERLANDER Through 5/25: 8 PM, Second City Chicago Beat Lounge, 1616 N. Wells, 312-337-3992, $13.

The News Is Now Public access TV receives a confused and confusing sendup in The News Is Now, presented by comedy duo Cody Melcher and Chris Hauser. Hauser plays the oversincere host of a public news hour, with Melcher as reporter, pinkish foil, and interviewer.

It’s all funny enough, but we want to know which of the many late entrances, long silences, blown cues, prop malfunctions, and lighting mishaps are real and which are parodic. My guess is that many of the flubs are genuine—so many that the show becomes highly embarrassing to watch. —MAX MALLER Through 5/26: 10:30 PM, iO Theater, 1501 N. Kingsbury, ioimprov.com/chicago, $5.

Reality Ever After Under the Gun Theater’s improv setup gives Disney characters the Bravo reality-show treatment— or at least half the ensemble does. With the straightforward audience suggestion “political campaign,” it wasn’t clear what the rest were going for opening night.

Real Housewives parodies (Cinderella owns LA’s Pump restaurant) and princess and villain references are enough for each character to come up with individual riffs. But when a through line is never established, rake-effect jokes offer diminishing returns. —DAN JAKES Through 5/29: Sun 7:30 PM, Under the Gun Theater, 956 W. Newport, 773-2703440, undertheguntheater.com, $12.

Strip Joker Each comic at this stand-up showcase must take the Strip Joker challenge: every time a joke flops (or rocks) an article of clothing must be removed. Fri 5/13, 9:30 PM, Uptown Underground, 4707 N. Broadway, 773-867-1946, uptownunderground. net, $15.

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VISUAL ARTS Garfield Park Conservatory “Fashion 16,” an exhibit of work by SAIC fashion students. 5/13-5/15. 300 N. Central Park, 312-746-5100, saic.edu.

Zygman Voss “The Imaginative World of Dali,” a rare collection of etchings, paintings, and other works by Dali, including a sculpture modeled on the

Gemma Correll A meet and R greet with the cartoonist, writer, and illustrator, author of A Cat’s Life, A

Pug’s Guide to Etiquette, and The Worrier’s Guide to Life. Tue 5/17, 5:30 PM, Women & Children First, 5233 N. Clark, 773-769-9299, womenandchildrenfirst. com.

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

Sat 5/14, 5:15 PM; Sun 5/15, 3 PM; Mon 5/16, 6 PM; Tue 5/17, 7:45 PM; Wed 5/18, 6 PM; and Thu 5/19, 6 PM. Gene Siskel Film Center A Bigger Splash Italian director Luca Guadagnino, who enjoyed international success with his 2009 drama I Am Love, serves up another tale of the wealthy elite and their rarefied emptiness. Tilda Swinton, the filmmaker’s frequent collaborator, plays an Annie Lennox-type rock star relaxing on a remote island with her quiet, attentive young lover (Matthias Schoenaerts); her fatuous old musicbiz friend (Ralph Fiennes), who won’t shut up about his magical experiences recording the Rolling Stones’ dismal late albums; and the man’s snarky, minimally clad, perpetually undulating daughter

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FROM THE DIRECTOR OF

STAND BY ME A ROB REINER FILM

DIRECTED BY ROB REINER SCREENPLAY BY NICK REINER AND MATT ELISOFON

“MOVING. HONEST. REINER’S BEST

FILM IN MORE THAN 20 YEARS.

Ewan McGregor in Last Days in the Desert ! BROAD GREEN PICTURES

MOVIES

More at chicagoreader.com/movies NEW REVIEWS April and the Extraordinary World Based on a graphic novel by Jacques Tardi, this French-Belgian-Canadian animation (2015) presents an alternate universe in which the age of steam has continued into the 1930s and sinister lizard people kidnap the greatest minds in history for their own nefarious ends.

April, the daughter and granddaughter of scientists seeking a serum for everlasting life, makes for a winsome heroine, and the movie—equal parts Jules Verne, The Adventures of Tintin, and Inspector Gadget—should appeal to precocious children, especially little girls interested in the sciences. Adults may find it as derivative and simplistic as the steampunk aesthetic to which it’s indebted, but for a gateway to more resonant cinema and literature, you could do worse. Christian Desmares and Franck Ekinci directed. In French with subtitles. —DMITRY SAMAROV 106 min.

(Dakota Johnson), whom he’s met only recently. More than an hour of picturesque ennui follows, though Guadagnino wisely prods the narrative into action toward the end with a noirish weave of infidelity and violence. In English and subtitled Italian. —J.R. JONES R, 124 min.

Century 12 and CineArts 6, Landmark’s Century Centre, River East 21 Dark Horse In this documentary by Louise Osmond, cheery and self-satisfied seniors from the Welsh mining town of Blackwood recall the little syndicate they formed to train and race the prizewinning thoroughbred Dream Alliance, which won the 2009 Welsh National. “I suppose the attraction was, this couldn’t be done,” says Janet Vokes, a barmaid who partnered with her husband to buy a mare, breed it with an American champion, raise the foal that arrived in 2001, and pull together 30 friends and neighbors to invest ten pounds a week each in the horse’s career. Any such arrangement must have brought a fair share of interpersonal conflict, but the onscreen witnesses, remembering it all from a comfortable remove, spin their story as a feel-good movie of !

NICK ROBINSON DOES A PHENOMENAL JOB OF BRINGING CHARLIE TO LIFE. MORGAN SAYLOR IS PERFECT. COMMON SHINES!

COMES FROM A DEEPLY PERSONAL PLACE.”

-DAVID EHRLICH,

“AN INTRIGUING

COLLABORATION

BETWEEN THE DIRECTOR AND HIS SON. A FILM SET AMID REAL, RECOGNIZABLE HUMANS WITH REAL, RECOGNIZABLE ISSUES.” -ANDREW BARKER,

STARTS FRIDAY, MAY 13

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!B the year. Osmond reaches for political relevance with her brief treatment of a miners’ strike that roiled the town; it seems peripheral to the investors’ agenda of patting themselves on the back. —J.R. JONES PG, 86 min. Century 12 and CineArts 6, Landmark’s Century Centre Last Days in the Desert R In this meditative art film, writer-director Rodrigo García

imagines a key episode in the life of Jesus from both a spiritual and a psychological perspective. Ewan McGregor stars as Yeshua, the Jewish teacher of historical record, as well as the demon that torments Yeshua during his extended fast in the desert. Gaunt, exhausted, and disoriented, Yeshua encounters an isolated carpenter (Ciarán Hinds), his ailing wife (Ayelet Zurer), and their rebellious son (Tye Sheridan)—a family that resembles Yeshua’s own—and in trying to resolve their conflicts, he rethinks his mission of salvation, discovering the value of riddling parables, and confronts his own despair about the remoteness of his heavenly father. Cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki, who used only available light, imbues the rugged landscape with an otherworldly majesty.

—ANDREA GRONVALL PG-13, 98 min. River East 21 The Mobfathers The hero of this Hong Kong actioner is introduced in the middle of a machete fight that lands him behind bars for five years. When he’s released, his wife has given birth to a son he’s never met and rival gangs try to horn in on his turf. You likely know the rest, but there are enough odd wrinkles to lift this above the norm: a prostitute interrupts coitus to read her john’s fortune; a gangster’s open homosexuality is accepted instead of played for laughs; and an underworld cabal gives direct democracy a try. There’s also an overlord who’s equal parts Don Corleone and Dr. Evil. Herman Yau directed. In Cantonese with subtitles. —DMITRY SAMAROV 93 min. River East 21 My Big Night Álex de la R Iglesia, Spain’s master of grotesque comedy, checks his

more outre impulses at the door for this frantic backstage farce (2015) about a glitzy New Year’s Eve special being taped inside a giant TV studio. The movie opens with a dazzling musical sequence, dancers boogying to soul sounds against a screen of kinetic blackand-white graphics, before a camera crane accidentally plummets down into the audience and shatters someone’s skull. This basic formula—one part color, one part mayhem—carries through to the end, as the program’s star vocalist (Raphael, lampooning himself) clashes with a randy, golden-locked teen idol (Mario Casas) and nar-

6 CHICAGO READER - MAY 12, 2016

My Big Night

rowly escapes death at the hands of an assassin hired by his sullen, lumpish son. Meanwhile the chubby hero (Pepón Nieto), hired as an extra on the shoot, finds love with a beautiful dish (Blanca Suárez) who brings bad luck to every man in her life (troubling news for him, given that he’s been seated just beneath the crane). In Spanish with subtitles. —J.R. JONES 100 min. Fri 5/13, 6 PM; Sat 5/14, 7:30 PM; Sun 5/15, 5:15 PM; Mon 5/16, 8:15 PM; Tue 5/17, 6 PM; Wed 5/18, 8:15 PM; and Thu 5/19, 8:15 PM. Gene Siskel Film Center Norman Lear: Just Another Version of You Groundbreaking sitcom producer Norman Lear (All in the Family, Sanford and Son, The Jeffersons, Maude) is lauded in this profile for the PBS series American Masters. Childhood trauma (his father was imprisoned for fraud when Norman was only nine) fueled a rigorous work ethic and a compassion for the underdog that were evident in his TV series but even more in his tireless philanthropy and social activism.

Directors Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady (Jesus Camp) don’t shy away from Lear’s behind-the-scenes battles with stars Carroll O’Connor, John Amos, and Esther Rolle, but the documentary leans more toward hagiography than gossip. If it feels a little crammed—well, we should all live such a full life. With Jon Stewart, George Clooney, Amy Poehler, and Mel Brooks. —ANDREA GRONVALL 92 min. Lear, Ewing, and Grady attend the screening. Mon 5/16, 7 PM. Music Box Viktoria In the last decade of Bulgarian communism, a young woman longs for freedom in the West (we know this because the lighter she uses to chain-smoke her cigarettes is shaped like the Statue of Liberty). But instead of her dream coming true, she gets pregnant and, despite multiple efforts to induce miscarriage, gives birth to a baby girl; the child has no belly button to make sure we understand she has no connection to her mother. This 2014 debut

feature by Maya Vitkova is long on portentous symbolism and short on coherent storytelling. She’s trying to relate the whole history of her country, but her hollow, archetypal characters sag under the thematic load they’re made to bear. In Bulgarian with subtitles. —DMITRY SAMAROV 155 min. Fri 5/13-Sat 5/14, 7 PM; Sun 5/15, 5:30 PM; and Mon 5/16–Thu 5/19, 7 PM. Facets Cinematheque

REVIVALS Captain Blood Errol Flynn’s R first swashbuckler (1935)— he’s a mild-mannered doctor who

adopts the guise of a pirate in order to fight a revolution and win Olivia de Havilland. Michael Curtiz, the most polished of Warner’s studio technicians, starts Flynn off royally. With Lionel Atwill and Basil Rathbone. 119 min. —DON DRUKER Rory Flynn, the actor’s daughter, and Taryn Power, daughter of swashbuckling star Tyrone Power, attend the screening. Tue 5/17, 7:30 PM. Pickwick Four Lions Islamic jihadists plot to blow themselves up in the middle of the London marathon, but they’re such bunglers that the only real question is whether they’ll manage to take any infidels with them. Because of the subject matter, this 2010 British comedy by TV writer-director Chris Morris has been reflexively labeled as controversial, and more outlaw cred has rubbed off on the project from its U.S. distributor, Alamo Drafthouse, the beloved movie venue in Austin, Texas. But Four Lions turns out to be less edgy than you might expect: the terrorists are the butt of every joke, and Morris skitters away from both Islamic fundamentalism and Western imperialism as objects of satire. The comedy divides cleanly into dark, violent slapstick (much of it hilarious) and more routine gags highlighting the fanatical characters’ foolishness and incompetence. In English and subtitled Arabic. —J.R. JONES R, 102 min. Thu 5/19, 10 PM. Univ. of Chicago Doc Films v

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Fresh from CNN’s new hit show, United Shades of America

W. Kamau Bell

with Hari Kondabolu A night of Stand-up Comedy Friday, May 20 @7pm Tickets $30

Merle Reskin Theatre 60 E. Balbo, Chicago Photo: John Nowak/CNN

AVAILABLE AT: Binny’s Beverage Depot • Mariano’s Bottles & Cans • Chicago Cut Steakhouse The Green Door Tavern • Links Taproom Merkle’s Bar & Grill • Milk N More, etc.

The Northman • Old Town Pour House Old Town Social • River Valley Farmer’s Table Roots • Sheffield’s Beer & Wine Garden The Vine Martini & Wine Bar

All proceeds will benefit Housing Forward’s programs to end homelessness. www.housingforward.org

MAY 12, 2016 - CHICAGO READER 7

CITY LIFE !

OUR MOST READ ARTICLES LAST WEEK ON CHICAGOREADER.COM IN ASCENDING ORDER:

Chicagoans

The church administrator Morgan Dixon

Patio Theater lights up its silver screen again —J.R. JONES

! ISA GIALLORENZO

UNO’s recordsrequest dodge was artless, but other charter schools may try the same move —BEN JORAVSKY

Street View

Weathering heights THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE about Max Goldstein is the effortlessness with which he walks in precipitously stacked platform shoes. “People always ask how, but it’s pretty easy. I’ve had lots of practice,” he says. “I’ve tripped a bunch of times, but I’ve only actually fallen once or twice.”

The lead singer of the local rock band Yoko & the Oh No’s, Goldstein is no stranger to sartorial misfortune: “This past year at South By Southwest, I was going to the bathroom before our set, and right before we were about to play, my zipper popped. I didn’t know what to do,” he recalls. Acting quickly, he embraced the wardrobe malfunction in his own risk-taking way. “I ended up playing most of the set in my underwear, a white mesh shirt, a black-and-white checked leather coat, and white Doc Martens.” —ISA GIALLORENZO

Is the ‘spiritual’ experience of SoulCycle sacred or inane?

—LAURA PEARSON

Lucas Museum to Chicago: We’re looking elsewhere —DEANNA ISAACS

The apparent druggings in Chicago’s comedy scene are no joke —BRIANNA WELLEN

Diameters of circles are proportional to the number of page views received.

I WORK AT DUPAGE AME Church in Lisle. AME is an acronym for African Methodist Episcopal. It is a predominantly African-American denomination, and we got a lot of publicity last summer because of the massacre in Charleston at one of our sister churches, Emanuel AME. That was in June, and then Sandra Bland, who grew up in our church, was found dead at the end of July, so we have been dealing with that great loss. Last summer was a little bit much, to say the least.

As a result of the Charleston shooting, our church has a new ministry called the Gatekeepers, and they are a security team that is a very visible presence here on Sunday mornings. Not that we didn’t feel safe here before, but I bet Emanuel AME didn’t feel unsafe before either. We have a new normal now.

With Sandy [Bland], I think it has brought us together as a church family, and it has helped us to not take certain things for granted. Because of the way she was pulled over for not signaling, I don’t ever make a lane change now without signaling. We’re doing a church workshop for our kids called “Help, I’ve Been Stopped by the Police: Dos and Don’ts.”

Many times, black women are the standard-bearers for our homes. We

“Not that we didn’t feel safe here before, but we have a new normal now,” says Dixon of adding church security after last summer’s shooting in Charleston. ! CARLY RIES

are expected to be these superhero figures, to bear all this weight. At the end of the day, who takes care of the superhero?

Well, in 2012, I got involved with an organization called GirlTrek.

It encourages black women and girls to take charge of their health through walking. I was gung-ho at first, and then life got busy. Then March 10 came, which is Harriet Tubman Day, and she is kind of the patron saint of GirlTrek. We had a group walk scheduled that day. It was a big day at the church—we had three services—and it was raining, but I was determined to go on this walk. We were supposed to walk 100 minutes to honor the 100th anniversary of Harriet Tubman’s passing. I was just trying to get it done. There was one little boy who walked with me. I don’t remember his name or who he was with, but he kept up with me the whole time. I haven’t seen him since, and I don’t think I’d ever seen him before.

In hindsight, that rain was almost

like a baptism. It catapulted me into a persistent and focused state. Since then, I’ve been walking pretty much every day. It’s like there’s nothing I can’t do, because I walked in the rain for 100 minutes.

There’s about 60,000 GirlTrekkers across the country now, and the goal is a million by 2018. My friends and I are OG Trekkers; we’ve been in the game for a little while. I’ve seen many women whose lives have changed as a result of it. We had a woman who lost her husband unexpectedly, and the walking has helped her grieve and move forward. She’s been able to literally step toward her new life now.

I don’t think there’s ever been a concentrated focus on black women’s health in this way, and if there has been, it’s unbeknownst to me.

Sandy trekked with us once. I think GirlTrek has helped us as a community because many times we use the walking as a way to push through and to get back to center. It’s therapeutic. —AS TOLD TO ANNE FORD

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

SURE THINGS THURSDAY 12

FRIDAY 13

SATURDAY 14

SUNDAY 15

MONDAY 16

TUESDAY 17

WEDNESDAY 18

" Ch icago Home Th eate r Festival Chicago’s most hospitable residents—artists, students, professors, and bureaucrats among them—host performances, film screenings, and other arts events in their kitchens and living rooms or up on their rooftops. Through 5/22, various locations, chicagohtf.org, $10-$60.

# Chicago Science Fest Lectures, workshops, and demonstrations on topics like deep ocean research, the neuroscience of hallucinogenic drugs, and the physics of Game of Thrones. Through 5/14: Fri 3-6 PM, Sat 10 AM-5 PM, 1871, 222 W. Merchandise Mart, chicagosciencefest.org, free Friday, $30 Sat all-day pass, $10 per lecture.

" Buddha’s B irthday Celebrati on The birth of the original enlightened one is celebrated with forums on Buddhist practices, meditation services, and a vegetarian feast. Through 5/15, Zen Buddhist Temple, 1710 W. Cornelia, chicago. zenbuddhisttemple.org. F

$ Andersonville Wi ne Walk In Fine Spirits hosts this crawl to taste the best vino Andersonville has to offer, including stops at City Olive, Pastoral, and the Wooden Spoon. 3-6 PM, Swedish American Museum, 5211 N. Clark, andersonville. org, $40, $35 in advance.

% Ly nsey Ad dario The MacArthur fellow and Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist discusses her career. Mon 5/16, 5:30 PM, Field Museum, 1400 S. Lake Shore, 312-9229410, fieldmuseum.org. F

! Carol Burnett The legendary comedian reflects on her life. Through 5/20: Tue and Thu-Fri, 8 PM, Chicago Theatre, 175 N. State, thechicagotheatre.com, $33.50$195.50.

" Chicagoland Shorts , Vol . 2 Full Spectrum Features hosts a fund-raiser and launch party for Chicagoland Shorts Vol. 2., a touring collection of short films. 7 PM, Headquarters Beercade, 950 W. Wolfram, fullspectrumfeatures.com, $10.

8 CHICAGO READER - MAY 12, 2016

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please recycle this paper MAY 12, 2016 - CHICAGO READER 9

CITY LIFE

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

Redistricting in 2011 left the Second Ward looking like a lobster.

POLITICS

Manufactured maps

! SUE KWONG/ GOOGLE MAPS

The gerrymandered Second Ward could help Mayor Rahm rezone the north side’s industrial corridors.

By BEN JORAVSKY

A

lmost five years ago, I happily joined the chorus of Chicagoans straining to find clever ways to describe the bizarre boundaries of the newly created Second Ward, which zig and zag around several north- and near-north-side neighborhoods.

They’ve been likened to a pitchfork, earmuffs, a barbell, and, my personal favorite, a lobster—got to give some unnamed graphics wizard at DNAinfo credit for that one.

The general consensus of most political observers is that Mayor Emanuel engineered this peculiar configuration to stick it to maverick former alderman Bob Fioretti, who was redistricted out of his own ward.

But I’m starting to realize there was another—perhaps even more significant—consequence of the mayor’s creative gerrymandering that’s only now becoming apparent.

Many of the near north side’s remaining industrial sites were stuffed into one easy-tocontrol ward. And whether the mayor intended this or not, he’s now benefitting from it.

This includes the 28-acre Lincoln Park site of the recently demolished Finkl Steel plant, which the mayor’s eager to rezone from industrial to commercial and/or residential use, so his salivating developer pals can build high-end shops, condos—anything. Just get that noisy industrial stuff out of the near north side—now!

Helping the mayor try to rid the area of industry is Alderman Brian Hopkins. Elected just

10 CHICAGO READER - MAY 12, 2016

last year, Hopkins is a lot more accommodating toward the mayor than Fioretti ever was.

It’s true Hopkins voted against the mayor’s tax hike. But he did it quietly, without holding press conferences the way Fioretti used to.

And unlike Fioretti, he didn’t join the antiadministration Progressive Caucus.

Now Hopkins is clearly the mayor’s front man on the issue of industry on the near north side.

So let’s dive into the details.

Every decade, after the U.S. Census, the city redraws its ward map to make sure each ward contains roughly the same number of residents. It’s called reapportionment—and I will demonstrate tremendous restraint by resisting the temptation to devote another 1,000 or so words to one of my favorite subjects.

Before the 2011 remapping, the Second Ward linked the Loop to several near-south and near-west-side neighborhoods.

The 2011 map moved the Second Ward north, stitching together bits of the Gold Coast, Old Town, Lincoln Park, Ukrainian Village, and Bucktown.

In addition to messing with Fioretti, the 2011 reapportionment of the Second Ward roped in most of two planned manufacturing districts that stretch along the Clybourn and Elston Avenue corridors.

Oh no, people—more explanation.

A PMD is an area in which the city has adopted restrictive zoning to preserve heavy in-

dustry and protect it from encroaching retail and residential development.

The PMDs were largely the creation of two Lincoln Park aldermen—Martin Oberman and Edwin Eisendrath.

Back in the 80s, Oberman and then Eisendrath, his successor, were worried about the impact of residential and retail development on the manufacturers—and on the relatively high-paying jobs they provided—that had been clustered along the North Branch of the Chicago River since the early 20th century.

This was a time when north-side aldermen actually gave a hoot about working people.

As opposed to such present-day north-side aldermen as Brendan Reilly, Tom Tunney, and Michele Smith, who in 2014 voted against raising the minimum wage in Chicago.

Initially, Mayor Richard M. Daley resisted the creation of the PMDs. But in time he became a big proponent. As a result of the law, many industries have been able to withstand the pressure to sell their properties.

Today, the Second Ward includes about 15 industrial sites—with hundreds of decent-paying jobs—including General Iron, a scrap metal recycling facility; Ozinga Brothers, a concrete manufacturer; and A. Lakin, a rubber recycler. The Finkl plant was demolished last year, but the site’s still zoned for industrial use under the strict rules of the PMD. In the decades since the PMD law was passed, the areas east and west of the industrial corridors have gone upscale. And industrial property owners in the area say they’re feeling pressure to abandon the PMDs so residential development can occur along the river.

For the most part, Emanuel has stayed out

of the land-use debate. Then, on April 4, he issued a press release in which he pledged to “reform some industrial corridors to unlock new economic growth where industry is no longer the main driver.”

Beware, Chicago, of any mayoral statement that includes the word “reform.”

“In areas such as the north branch [of the Chicago River],” the press release continued, “the city will review existing and potential land use to accommodate market demands for potential technological, commercial, residential or retail development.”

Translation: I’m getting rid of those freakin’ PMDs just as soon as I can.

The industrial property owners and their allies realize that without the PMDs, it’s only a matter of time before factory owners “accommodate market demands,” as the mayor put it, by selling their land for residential or retail use.

It’s the old slippery slope. If the tannery owner sells his property for town houses, it’s only a matter of time before the new home owners complain about the trucks going in and out of the scrap yard next door.

So the scrap-yard owner says, “Forget it!

Who needs these headaches?” And he sells too. In time, all those good industrial jobs have left the near north side.

Mayor Emanuel says that’s just the free market at work. Well, it’s not exactly free. It cost taxpayers $21 million in tax increment financing money to keep Finkl in Chicago and move it to its current site on the far southeast side.

Admittedly, that’s a better investment of TIF funds than, say, the mayor’s DePaul basketball arena and Marriott hotel. Point is—you’re going to pay one way or the other.

Before it’s all said and done, the Second Ward boundaries—as wacky as they seem— may be more beneficial to residential or retail developers looking to dismantle the PMDs than a well-connected zoning attorney.

They won’t even have to pay legal fees— though my guess is that campaign contributions to Emanuel and Hopkins will always be appreciated.

In any event, this latest round of the landuse debate is just getting started. I’m sure the mayor and his real estate allies will be happy to know that this time they won’t have to deal with the nettlesome intrusion of an independent alderman unwilling to toe the City Hall line. v

" @joravben

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ARTS AND CULTURE

When you left Chicago in 1979, you went to New York. If you wanted to be a film director, why you didn’t go to Hollywood?

My girlfriend, Diana Conforti—who is now my wife—was a modern dancer.

We were lucky enough to get CETA [federal job-training] grants to spend a summer in New York, and we fell in love with it. She studied with Merce Cunningham and did a lot of modern dance downtown; I was writing fiction.

Then a friend wanted to do a movie about a garage band. I put a band together to do the prerecords on the music. The money for the film fell through, but I kept remnants of the band together, and veered away from film and played music for the next eight years. But I didn’t make any money.

Len Amato ! COURTESY OF LEN AMATO

CULTURE

The surprising career of Len Amato How this Columbia College alumn became president of mighty HBO Films

By DEANNA ISAACS

L

en Amato spent most of his childhood in West Garfield Park.

After graduating from Columbia College, he knocked around Chicago working freelance film-production gigs. He never made it as a musician, composer, actor, director, fiction writer, or screenwriter, and he never went to business school. So how did he end up as president of mighty HBO Films, whose roster of titles includes Game Change (2012) and The Normal Heart (2014) as well as the recent Clarence Thomas-Anita Hill drama The Confirmation?

Amato, who’ll be here for the city’s Lake FX events this weekend, talked by

R LEN AMATO In conversation with Bob Teitel of State Street Pictures and Bruce Sheridan of Columbia College Chicago, Fri 5/13, noon, Chicago Cultural Center, 78 E. Washington, 312-744-6630, chicagoculturalcenter.org. F

phone from his Santa Monica office last week about an upward trajectory that surprised even him.

How did you land at Columbia College?

I was always interested in a lot of things, didn’t really know which to concentrate on. I had this epiphany watching the movie Scarecrow—Jerry Schatzberg directed, kind of indieish. I remember thinking, “Oh, look at that. There’s photography, music, acting, writing—film has all these things.

Maybe I should do that.” That’s what led me to Columbia. I wanted to be a writer and director. I graduated in ’75.

Was there a turning point that brought you back to filmmaking?

I found out about this thing I didn’t know anything about, which was that they actually paid people to read books and see plays. I started reading for Gladys Nederlander, of the famous theater family, and eventually I became a freelance reader for a lot of the studios.

Then I got a job with an independent producer, just inputting a script into a computer. His company was called Force 10 Productions. I became the company’s story editor, and learned about buying books for film, which was a very active situation in the 80s and early 90s.

While I was at Force 10, I heard that Robert De Niro was going to start a company. I thought, “I’m not worthy to work for Robert De Niro.” But six months went by and they still hadn’t hired somebody, so I figured, well, maybe I just need to at least try.

I wrote a short letter, with my resumé with four things on it, and I FedExed it to him. He called the next day, and we met at this little restaurant in Tribeca. It was like a miracle.

I didn’t get that job. But eventually I became the reader for Tribeca Productions, and then I became story editor for Tribeca. Then I wound up moving from Tribeca to Spring Creek Productions.

When I was at Spring Creek, I produced my first movie, which was an HBO movie called First Time Felon. It was a story about a kid from my neighborhood, where I grew up, on the west side.

So you weren’t writing, you weren’t directing?

No. I had become this thing that I didn’t know what it was—a producer.

I was at Spring Creek about 16 years.

Then HBO asked if I would be interested in working there. I became a studio executive for the first time.

How much of of the job is creative and how much of it is the business end?

That’s completely a part of the job.

There’s show, and there’s business. You need a realistic grasp of the resources you’ve got, how those resources can be distributed, and how efficient you can be.

It sounds like you didn’t have any formal training for that either.

That wasn’t my area that I was interested in. But you learn all those things if you have the opportunity to actually make the films. It’s one thing to find the story and develop it and put the talent together, but it’s another thing to deal with unions and budgets and everything else. It’s like a traveling army when you make a film of a certain size. So yeah, I learned on the way up.

What’s the hardest part of this job?

Not being able to do projects that, if you had more resources or more opportunities, you would try to do.

But you can’t do everything. Having to pass on those things, and tell people who are very passionate and care very much about the work that they’re doing, that’s a hard thing to do.

You appeared in the HBO series Project Greenlight—have you seen the Funny or Die parody where a pair of actors portray you on the Greenlight set, giving notes to yourself?

It’s funny. I thought that, you know, they could have had a more handsome actor. v

! @DeannaIsaacs MAY 12, 2016 - CHICAGO READER 11

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ARTS & CULTURE

READER RECOMMENDED

b ALL AGES

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DANCE

The Seldoms rock on

By BRIANNA WELLEN

C

ara, take off your bra,” Sarah Gonsiorowski bawls into a megaphone in the opening scene of RockCitizen.

And as the other dancers look on, Cara Sabin wriggles out of her bra and tosses it onto the catwalk above the stage.

“Freedom’s just another word for nothing left to lose,” the group chants as a swirl of blackand-white lights takes over the stage and the audience is invited to tune in, drop out, and spend the next hour reliving a tumultuous era filled with sex, drugs, and social protest.

When the Seldoms last hit the stage in 2015, they were digging deep into the time surrounding the presidency of Lyndon B. Johnson with the multimedia Power Goes.

Now the contemporary dance group is picking up where it left off, right in the midst of the 1960s counterculture that arose in response to the Vietnam war, the civil rights movement, and rock ’n’ roll.

The fractured time line featured in RockCitizen spans from 1956 (the introduction of Elvis Presley’s hips to the United States) to 2012 (when the Supreme Court found part of the 1965 Voting Rights Act unconstitutional), proving that not a lot has changed over the past 60 years. A scene depicting the feminist group Women’s International Terrorist Conspiracy From Hell (WITCH) hexing Wall Street in 1969 is all too reminiscent of the recent spell

The Seldoms ! BRIAN KUHLMANN

casting against housing insecurity in Logan Square. A black-power speech by Kwame Ture (aka Stokely Carmichael), used as the backdrop of another scene, is similar in tone and message to today’s Black Lives Matter movement. And the show’s visual centerpiece, Bob Faust’s “brascape” of 216 multicolored brassieres stitched together to create a net that entraps dancers at various points throughout the performance, is a reminder that women’s rights still has a long way to go.

Once again, the Seldoms prove themselves to be more than just a dance company; RockCitizen is an immersive theatrical experience with company members reciting stories, shouting into bullhorns, and singing between (and often during) their movements. Save for a few musical interludes and archival record-

ings, there’s rarely a sound that isn’t created by those onstage, but instead of simply playing or singing the songs straight, the group performs, e.g., a militant rendition of “Yellow Submarine,” an overtly sexual “What’s New Pussycat?,” and an emotionally harrowing sing-along version of “Glad to Be Gay.” Guest performer Brian Shaw marched around like the group’s own Timothy Leary, getting in the face of audience members and asking, “Are you uncomfortable yet?” And it was clear that some members of the crowd were squirming at least a little bit. Perhaps it was the subject matter, or perhaps it was because the show’s combination of swirling lights, repetitious chanting, and fluid body movements really did make the whole thing feel like an acid trip. The Seldoms don’t shy from spectacle.

But even with all the flash and added theatrical elements, what makes the Seldoms so successful is that they get the most basic thing right: the dancing. It’s with ease that the performers flip over one another and slide over and under the brascape, gyrating their hips like Elvis and falling into orgylike heaps of bodies.

The troupe continues to have a knack for bringing the past into the present and beyond—there’s a mention of Woodstock 2019— while pushing the boundaries of what a dance show can be. I’d love to see what they’d do with the 70s and 80s. v R ROCKCITIZEN Through 5/15: Thu-Sat 7:30 PM, Sun 2 PM, Storefront Theater, 66 E. Randolph, theseldoms.org, $15.

! @BriannaWellen

Rodgers and Hammerstein’s hit Broadway musical Only through May 22 “Visual and musical extravaganza.”

Rodgers & Hammerstein’s THE KING AND I Music by RICHARD RODGERS Book and Lyrics by OSCAR HAMMERSTEIN II Based on “Anna and the King of Siam” by Margaret Landon Original Orchestrations by Robert Russell Bennett

Photo: Todd Rosenberg

Original Dance Arrangements by Trude Rittmann

Original Choreography by Jerome Robbins

12 CHICAGO READER - MAY 12, 2016

CHICAGO ON THE AISLE

CHICAGO THEATRE REVIEW

LYRICOPERA.ORG | 312.827.5600

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ARTS & CULTURE

Ra Joy of CHANGE Illinois and Pat Whalen on Good Evening With Pat Whalen ! KATIE HENNEN

COMEDY

Pat Whalen wants Chicago to have a Good Evening

By BRIANNA WELLEN

A

t first glance, Pat Whalen is exactly what you’d expect from a late-night talk show host. The 29-year-old is a white man with thick-rimmed glasses who puts on a dark suit and skinny tie for his monthly comedic talk show, Good Evening With Pat Whalen. The self-described “late-night talkshow news-alternative” is like the love child of Conan and The Daily Show: the bits are quick and silly, the coverage has a political bent, and there’s almost always a musical guest. What’s unexpected is the lineup of people Whalen has brought on during the last two years. The actor and comedian has interviewed members of Black Youth Project 100; Ra Joy, the executive director of CHANGE Illinois; and Debra Shore, a commissioner for the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District. It’s not exactly a group that screams laugh riot.

“People who deal with these serious issues want to be seen in a light that isn’t so serious,” Whalen says. “They’re people. They like to laugh and go out on a Friday night too.”

Since 2014 Whalen and his team have hosted Good Evening on the first Friday of every month at Edgewater’s Frontier theater, hoping to inspire social and political change through entertainment. The show, episodes of which are also filmed and posted online, features comedic monologues and sketches as well as conversations with some of the city’s most prominent movers and shakers.

But after two years of cramming into the Frontier’s 45-seat theater, Good Evening is expanding, starting with a special free show at Truman College on Saturday, May 14, as part of Uptown Saturday Nights (a ticket normally runs $10). In addition to an interview with playwright Ike Holter and a musical performance by Chicago standbys White J

MAY 12, 2016 - CHICAGO READER 13

ARTS & CULTURE Sarah-Ji, Cairá Lee Conner at #StoptheCops, 2015 ! COURTESY GALLERY 400

continued from 13

VISUAL ART

The movement is the message

By NISSA RHEE

S

ince the release of the Laquan McDonald video, the Black Lives Matter movement has demonstrated its ability to reform local government: the group’s public protests indisputably contributed to the firing of CPD superintendent Garry McCarthy and the defeat of Anita Alvarez in the state’s attorney race this spring. But those who attend “Our Duty to Fight,” a new exhibit at Gallery 400, may be surprised to learn just how far-reaching the influence of BLM has become.

Organized by Black Lives Matter Chicago, the show captures the scope and impetus of the movement with a mix of campaign material and original artwork. It’s both an archive of activist efforts and a call to action.

The first part of the exhibition displays items used during BLM protests and explains the various campaigns that black Chicago organizers have initiated in recent years.

There’s a homemade “lock-on” tube that was used to link protesters’ arms during a May 2014 demonstration calling for a south-side trauma center. In a far corner hang three

14 CHICAGO READER - MAY 12, 2016

banners hand-painted with the names of police-torture survivors, carried by marchers in a February 2015 rally for slavery reparations.

Canvas lawn chairs used by the Dyett High School hunger strikers last year are scattered throughout the gallery. The objects tend to be simple and unpretentious: campaign posters are handwritten on construction paper, and images circulated in a social-media campaign are drawn by Stateville Correctional Center inmate Joseph Dole, who’s currently serving a sentence of life without parole. Such pieces reveal just how much organizers have been able to accomplish with few financial or political resources.

The second half of the exhibit shows how far the movement—and Chicago—has yet to go in the fight for a society that values black lives.

For it artists collaborated with the family members of nine Chicago-area residents killed by police to create original sculptures, video installations, photographs, and paintings.

After talking to the mother of Darius Pinex—a 27-year-old father of three who

was shot and killed by police during a traffic stop in 2011—artist Rhonda Wheatley built a “cloaking device” out of an old clock radio and crystals. According to the accompanying instruction manual, the cloaking device will “protect your unarmed children and loved ones from law enforcement officers who would without just cause inflict upon them bodily harm” by rendering them invisible in the event of a police attack. “We have to keep each other strong, ’cause there are so many days you just want to say to hell with it,” Darius’s mother, Gloria Pinex, told Wheatley. “But if you say that, you definitely won’t get no justice. . . . So we have to stand up and fight.”

“Our Duty to Fight” invites attendees to take their own place in the BLM movement. In one installation, visitors are encouraged to leave messages for the father of Flint Farmer—a 29-year-old killed by police in June 2011—in a gold alligator-skin box. Among the notes of solidarity, one reads: “Stay strong! The Revolution is happening now!”

As the deaths of Laquan McDonald and others fade from the news cycle, Chicagoans should remember that message. The revolution is here and, as “Our Duty to Fight” demonstrates, it’s stronger than ever. v R “OUR DUTY TO FIGHT” Through 6/11, Gallery 400, 400 S. Peoria, 312-996-6114, gallery400.uic.edu F

Mystery, the evening will include a pretaped sit-down with 46th Ward alderman James Cappleman.

“We’re going to address what, unfortunately, some people associate with Uptown, which is violence and homelessness,” Whalen says. “How the hell are we going to talk about this without stepping on the alderman’s toes? Walk into his office and ask for his help.”

It’s a tactic Whalen uses often—his flexible day jobs as an actor and Uber driver allow him the time to put on his best suit and “show up where I’m not supposed to be.” One such place is City Hall, where he’ll spend hours standing around just waiting to get face time with aldermen, city officials, or anyone who has something to say about the current state of Chicago. Once people realize he’s serious about what he does, they’re usually OK with coming on the show, Whalen says, and are more worried about being entertaining than anything else. “I tell them, ‘It’s my job to make it funny, you just be yourself.’” But he does have a list of dream guests who have yet to get on board, such as Governor Bruce Rauner, artist Theaster Gates, and writer Samantha Irby. (The Reader’s own Ben Joravsky also makes the list.)

It’s not lost on Whalen that he’s yet another straight, white male trying to penetrate the world of late-night comedy. “The Pat Whalen White-Privilege Guilt Show doesn’t really roll off the tongue,” Whalen jokes. He makes a point of diversifying his lineup to accurately reflect the makeup of Chicago’s population—the idea of too many white men on one show’s lineup “haunts my dreams,” he says. A new phase of that effort starts with the Uptown show, which he hopes to be one of many neighborhood-specific one-offs.

In the meantime, Good Evening continues its monthly run at the Frontier until it finds a new home in a bigger space for bigger guests. “I’m patient, and in the past two years I’ve seen it grow in a way that surprises me, big time,” Whalen says. “The goal is to be the late-night talk show of Chicago.” v R GOOD EVENING WITH PAT WHALEN Sat 5/14, 7:30 PM, Truman College, 1145 W. Wilson, besteveningever.com. F

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MAY 12, 2016 - CHICAGO READER 15

HIGH-RISE ss Directed by Ben Wheatley. R, 119 min. Music Box, 3733 N. Southport, 773-871-6604, musicboxtheatre.com, $11

ARTS & CULTURE

Tom Hiddleston in High-Rise

Crash (1996), adapted from another Ballard novel, you can see how someone might have bankrolled a modestly budgeted screen version of High-Rise. Unfortunately, “modestly budgeted” doesn’t cut it where High-Rise is concerned, because capturing Ballard’s vision onscreen would require hundreds of speaking roles and the art-direction resources of a Pirates of the Caribbean sequel.

In one sense the book is easy to dramatize: the narrative shifts back and forth among three characters who live in the tower block.

Jeremy Irons supplies his usual malign elegance as Anthony Royal, the wealthy architect who designed the building and lives atop it; Tom Hiddleston is vacantly gorgeous as the protagonist, Dr. Robert Laing, a professor of physiology who moves onto the building’s 25th floor after his sister’s untimely death leaves him with no family; and Luke Evans hurls himself around as Richard Wilder, an impetuous TV cameraman who lives near the ground floor with his wife and children and the rest of the block’s poorer tenants. Wilder resents the inequality between the classes and, as the building’s residents break up into hostile camps, he resolves to make the treacherous climb to the 40th floor and confront Royal, making an ally of Laing, the architect’s occasional squash partner.

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.G. Ballard’s dystopian novel HighRise (1975) takes place in a block of five apartment towers on the Thames River, the first-occupied of which, with 1,000 units and about 2,000 residents, gradually descends into barbarism. Ballard was writing at the tail end of England’s post-

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war boom in tower-block construction, when the practical drawbacks of such housing communities had become impossible to ignore.

Forty years later, the book’s topical moment may have passed, but it still holds up as an urban Lord of the Flies, and given the enduring cult reputation of David Cronenberg’s

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cells confined to single floors and, ultimately, solitary grubbing for food or sex. Like Cronenberg’s Crash, the movie offers lots of pervy, soft-core action—the horny Laing mates not only with Charlotte but with Wilder’s pregnant wife, Helen (Elisabeth Moss)—yet Jump omits much of the social detail about the little harems that form around the more forceful men as the law of the jungle prevails and the women are subjugated.

In the book, this unraveling of civilized norms is so gradual and so fascinating that Ballard can get away with his three main characters acting as little more than archetypes and his plot slowing to a stroll. No such luck for Jump or director Ben Wheatley.

Without all the observational detail (much of it involving the physical deterioration of the building) they haven’t got enough story, and to fill out the last act they’ve concocted a half-baked subplot in which Royal and the other muckety-mucks enlist Laing in a plot to lobotomize Wilder. They’ve also amped up the story’s political slant, scoring the upper-class gatherings with fussy classical music and the middle- and lower-class apartment parties with ballsy 70s rock. Early on, there’s an over-the-top scene in which the upper-floor residents attend a Marie Antoinette-themed costume party on the 35th floor (with a string quartet playing ABBA’s “SOS”), and the movie concludes with an ironic sound bite of Margaret Thatcher hailing the benefits of free enterprise.

This last flourish reconnects the story to its period, but High-Rise speaks to something timeless and savage in the human race, which is why the book still packs a punch four decades after its publication and why the screen adaptation succeeds as a punk-rock horror movie, even if it lacks Ballard’s finer sociological insights. If anything, the coarsening of civic life Ballard dwelled on has only accelerated since then. To Laing the high-rise is “a Pandora’s box whose thousand lids were one by one inwardly opening.” To Wilder it’s a prison like the ones he covers as a TV journalist, a “hanging palace self-seeding its intrigues and destruction.” To Anthony Royal it’s “a gigantic vertical zoo, its hundreds of cages stacked above each other.” Their various metaphors share a sense of something ugly and ungovernable, manageable perhaps when it’s spread out across a horizontal cityscape but potentially apocalyptic when it’s thrust into the sky. v

! @JR_Jones

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RSM

Screenwriter Amy Jump has tricked all this up into a proper three-act structure, and the first half of the movie is luridly effective at capturing the 70s mood of unchecked hedonism and emotional disconnection. Laing is first introduced sunbathing nude on his balcony; a wine bottle explodes on the floor next to him and Charlotte Melvin (Sienna Miller), his jaded neighbor from two floors up, bends over her own balcony to apologize. Within a couple days Laing is two floors up, vigorously humping Charlotte on her balcony as they trade gossip about Anthony Royal. While Laing is going down on her, she casually interrupts him to ask how his sister died; a few moments later, when her young son walks in on them midcoitus, she disengages herself from Laing as if nothing has happened. The child removes himself from this tawdry scene, and Charlotte begins to follow after him. “I thought we were doing this,” Laing protests weakly. “We’ve done it,” she shrugs, breezing off with a cigarette.

No matter how much one shades the characters, though, High-Rise defies adaptation because the most vivid character is the building itself. The initial conflicts among tenants are all exacerbated by flaws in the building design—elevators break down, garbage chutes jam up, and the parking, which spreads outward from the building at ground level, encourages people to compete for closer spots. Even worse, the building’s common spaces irritate the class differences between the tenants: the lower and middle classes are informally divided by a giant concourse on the tenth floor, with a grocery store, a hair salon, a swimming pool, a small grade school, and other amenities, whereas the middle and upper classes are separated by another, more exclusive concourse on the 35th floor, with a sauna, a swank restaurant, and another swimming pool. Some of these spaces appear in the movie, turning into war zones once hostilities erupt, but one loses the sense of verticality that Ballard used so effectively, with the stairs and elevators becoming tactical weapons.

Also lost is Ballard’s portrayal of the community as an organism within the building space, an organism that gradually disintegrates into vicious tribalism. Countless speaking roles would have been needed to dramatize the tenants’ elevator wars, the epic vandalism of the common spaces, the endless electricity blackouts and air-conditioning breakdowns, the systemic targeting and ransacking of apartments, and the formation of little societies among neighboring floors, which eventually break down into smaller

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AL SCORCH

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Sat 5/28, 9 PM, Hideout, 1354 W. Wabansia, $10, 21+

MUSIC

Al Scorch plays roots music with unlikely roots The Chicago banjo fiend talks about his inspirations—including freak bikes, DIY hardcore, and Kelly Hogan.

By LEOR GALIL

A

l Scorch plays the banjo like he knows the most scenic spots on the Appalachian Trail. The 30-year-old roots musician, who grew up on Chicago’s northwest side, takes inspiration from all over—he also loves hardcore punk—but his creative process is less about inhabiting different genres and eras and more about putting himself into other people’s heads.

“So much of songwriting is getting out of your own experiences and trying to think of what it’s like to be other people,” Scorch says.

“When everyone tries to always be aware of experiences different than their own, and to extend people understanding and compassion, that’s a world-changing thing. That’s

not to say writing songs saves the world— that is not the fucking case at all. It just so happens that the mechanism is the same.”

Scorch sings from someone else’s point of view on a few tunes from his new second studio album, Circle Round the Signs, due from Bloodshot on Friday, May 13. The jaunty, hyperactive “Want One,” for instance, explores the pangs of addiction from the perspective of a pill popper. The song also appears on last year’s Live at the Spirit Store, where Scorch prefaces it with a real-life anecdote about an addict who gave him a mystery pill while he was busking. (He still busks and Dumpster dives “on the regular,” he says, but this story comes from a stay in Chattanooga about ten years ago.) Scorch sings wearily about bot-

toming out, giving voice to his compassion for this odd stranger: “That tiny little bottle / Feels big, empty, and hollow / When I get to the bottom / I am incomplete.”

Scorch writes from a place of connection and empathy even when he’s the narrator of his songs. He wrote the tender, forthright “Lost at Sea” after Hurricane Sandy sunk the tall ship HMS Bounty in 2012 with his friend Drew Salapatek aboard. Salapatek was rescued, but the wreck still gave Scorch a bad scare: “I thought of a world without you around / And I will not lie, my dear friend, it was the lonesome-est sound.” Scorch says it took nearly two years for him to feel the time was right to write about it.

“Lost at Sea” is one of the more recent songs

on Circle Round the Signs—the earliest is from 2007, the latest from 2015. They’re all grounded in Scorch’s life, but they’ve got little else in common. “You can sit in an office in Nashville, read psychology books, and write songs—but I’d rather just have experiences and meet people,” he says. “That’s where the inspiration for songs comes from—songs are the stories from life. They’re the stories of everybody’s lives.”

Scorch is an outgoing guy, and he can lose himself in conversation—or, as he might call it, “jibber-jabber.” He’s lived in Chicago almost all his life, developing friendships and professional relationships with all sorts of people— he has long-standing connections in modern folk, string-band music, and bluegrass, of course, but also in the punk-rock scene and the cycling community (especially the freak-bike club Rat Patrol). To celebrate the release of Circle Round the Signs, he’s inviting the public on a free bike tour of record stores and venues on Saturday, May 14. Beginning at noon at Permanent Records, he’ll bike to five different spots around town, performing short sets with his backing band at each one; the tour ends with a barbecue at Logan Hardware. He also plays a more traditional record-release show at the Hideout on Saturday, May 28.

I asked Scorch to come up with a list of the local musicians who’ve inspired him to develop his voice and career, and then called him up to talk about them. The range of his choices should give you a good sense of the various scenes he’s rooted in.

RYAN DURKIN Hewhocorrupts Inc. label cofounder, 97-Shiki front man I think I met him through Douglas Ward from Fourth Rotor, 97-Shiki, and now Drilling for Blasting. I had been working on this record, Tired Ghostly Town, in 2011 or so—I put it out there online, or I was talking about putting it out there in the general sense. Ryan hit me up and was like, “Hey, do you want to do this thing I do, where I put out a tape and then donate half the proceeds to charity and then sell it on Bandcamp and do the same thing with that?” I was like, “Cool, someone cares.” ’Cause yeah, man, nobody cares, so when someone does care, it really means a lot.

He was the first person in Chicago who just got in touch with me out of the blue.

I’d released the same record on LP and CD. Ryan was at that show, at the Hideout, when we released that record and the tape was released. That show was a landmark thing for me. All these people from different J

MAY 12, 2016 - CHICAGO READER 19

AL SCORCH BIKE TOUR

Sat 5/14, noon, Permanent Records, 1914 W. Chicago; 1:30 PM, Reckless Records, 3126 N. Broadway; 3 PM, Laurie’s Planet of Sound, 4639 N. Lincoln; 4:30 PM, Bucket o’ Blood Books and Records, 3182 N. Elston; 6 PM, Logan Hardware Records, 2532 W. Fullerton F b

®

continued from 19

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communities that I’ve been a part of all my life in Chicago all came together. It just showed me the importance of trusting people to get behind your music and letting people help you.

Ryan manned the merch booth all night and just held it down. It made me appreciate those roles even more, just so many unsung heroes in music—and especially punk and DIY music.

He stood at that merch table for six hours.

He didn’t have to do that at all, but he did, and it was awesome. The punk thing is almost like, “Man, this is how I’m rocking out tonight—my friends are onstage, but I’m rockin’ the merch booth, or I’m running the bar at the show.”

Everybody brings that pride to it. Maybe that’s some blue-collar Chicago shit, where it’s like, “Hell yeah, I’ve got this shovel, fuck you!”

MARK MESSING Mucca Pazza musical director, Opera-Matic executive director I played this show at the Hideout when I was 18. It was a benefit for Bike Winter, which is a winter-biking education advocacy group. One of my first communities in Chicago, before the music community, was the bicycle-activism community around Critical Mass—in 2000 to 2004 or 2005. That and Rat Patrol. My world was bicycles—and it was simultaneously music, but it’s hard to get into music when you’re, like, 16, 17, 18, ’cause it’s all bars and clubs, and everybody’s in their 20s and they don’t want to hang out with you. Through the bicycle community there was this show at the Hideout, and I was like, “I wanna play.”

Mark was at that show—he’s a bike dude, and he’d go to the Hideout all the time. He reached out to me after that through Alex Wilson, who runs West Town Bikes (where I worked for a long time) and who shared space with Maestro-Matic, Mark’s company, on North Avenue. So Mark was like, “Hey, who’s that guy who hangs around who played that show? We need to hire all these singers and performers for this corporate music gig.”

He hired me when I was 18, on this gig that was like two weeks long, and there were 30 musicians on it—it was, like, live street performances with music.

That gave me the bug. I was like, “Man, you can just do gigs, and you don’t have to have a fuckin’ regular job and shit? OK, I’m in, I don’t want to fuckin’ work a job where I have to go be somewhere. I want to do this thing that just comes naturally to me that makes me feel really good, and I don’t have to fuckin’ answer to anybody all the time.”

Mark’s a lifer career artist, man. Whether he’s composing music for films and plays, or working with Opera-Matic, doing all this amazing community engagement through art in the parks and giving communities a space to collaboratively reimagine the futures of their neighborhoods. His continued work of just doing art not just for art’s sake, but for the sake of the community—to raise questions, to answer questions, to bring people together, and to bring people a voice. That’s really inspiring.

ANNIE SAUNDERS Former front woman of This Is My Fist and Ambition Mission I met Annie a couple times out on the road.

When she moved back to Chicago, I started seeing her more. She was in Ambition Mission—I love that fuckin’ band—but I wasn’t around for that. I was still trying to figure shit out and make friends. I was a kid on the northwest side—there’s shit going on, but you don’t know how to fuckin’ do it. It’s so important to connect with people who were around for things that happened that you weren’t there for—I feel like there’s kind of these flame keepers of stories and old-school shit, who would just keep the culture alive and remind people of things that happened, how things were, and how things are.

Annie’s just such a nice person, and a really nice friend. There’s this weird thing about punk—not a weird thing, it’s a great thing that happens in a really special way—where you know about people in bands and it’s not because they’re famous or something, it’s because they’re like, “Oh yeah, these are so-andso’s friends who do this over here.” There’s always that kind of attitude.

Annie was always someone who encouraged me to be funny. She was always like, “You’re fuckin’ hilarious, man.” That made me feel good about continuing to do that onstage between songs, and not be afraid to just run my mouth and say whatever ridiculous shit I’m thinking.

KELLY HOGAN Wisconsin-based singer-songwriter I don’t know her that well. We maybe met in passing once or twice, but she’s someone that I looked up to and admired from afar as a role model and an example of a career artist who’s talented, focused, driven, consistent, and just always themselves. She’s so hilarious and really smart. The cool thing about Twitter is I get to see that about her—I’m always cracking up at her tweets and stuff. She puts out solo records that are amazing, she sings with

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It’s hard to tell in this photo, but that banjo is just as happy to see Al Scorch as he is to see it. ! SUNSHINE TUCKER

everybody and road-dogs it on tour—she’s an amazing, inspiring example of how to carve out your life as an artist.

I first became aware of the culture around the Hideout and Bloodshot and kinda got hip to that as a young person—like, “Whoa, this is a whole thing, a whole community of people.” That show I mentioned that Mark saw me at, at the Hideout—that Bike Winter fundraiser show—Kelly was the bartender, and I remembered that. I didn’t realize it until a few years later. I was like, “Oh shit, that was Kelly Hogan!”

She had her dog; she was just opening the bar. Putting that together and being like, “Oh yeah, everybody just has jobs and just hustles as hard as they can on all fronts.” Realizing that context and learning that lesson for me, like, “Oh, shit, that’s the bartender for that show.” She’s got so much soul, when it comes down to it. Soul comes from having soul, being of the world, real and human. The person who’s exhausted from tour and the person who’s here early opening the bar with her puppy—that’s the soul that’s onstage and on the record.

LA ARMADA Chicago hardcore band, originally from the Dominican Republic I met them through some friends in Pensacola. I had seen them play once or twice before; they’re just always on point with their beliefs, put that into their music, play fucking revolutionary hardcore, and are at home in Chicago

in this awesome way. They’re welcoming of someone who’s different than them. I don’t play crazy hardcore music. I like to see that music live, and I like to listen to some of it for specific instances—it’s very powerful music. I can’t listen to it all the time. Let me tell you, it’s hard to be a young, dumb person with a banjo trying to play hardcore shows. People are like, “What the fuck are you doing?”

Again, it’s like, going to a place you don’t know anybody, just ’cause you want to check out the music and try to make friends, but just feeling like a weird, awkward fuckin’ nerdy dork. I’m up in my house listening to Woody Guthrie, practicing banjo and shit, and I’m like, “Man, I wanna go drink a million beers and fuckin’ thrash tonight.” That vibe carries you when you roll up at a house show and you don’t know everybody and everybody knows each other—you’re just like, “Ah, my God, so much anxiety.”

I’m a north-side dude. I didn’t grow up by anything—that house-culture scene coming out of Pilsen is so deep and has such an identity and a sense of self as a scene. I would go and check shows out and be like, “OK, cool, I’m just a weird loner here.” And La Armada, after I met them through my buddy, they were always super nice to me. They fuckin’ thrash and it’s so fierce and so good. Those are some shows that I think about, when I need inspiration for, like, “I just want to destroy this music right now.” v

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MUSIC IN ROTATION

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

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Citizen Boy appears on the compilation Gqom Oh! The Sound of Durban.

FRIDAY, MAY 13 8PM

Birds of Chicago / Luther Dickinson & the Cooperators

! TOMMASO CASSINIS

SATURDAY, MAY 14 8PM SUNDAY, MAY 15 7PM

Patti Smith Spring Awakening II (A Celebration of Poetry & Song) with Jackson Smith, Jesse Smith & Tony Shanahan

SATURDAY, MAY 14 8PM

The Ragbirds

In Szold Hall

Jehnny Beth of Savages at Metro on April 7 ! BOBBY TALAMINE

FRIDAY, MAY 20 7PM

HAPA SATURDAY, MAY 21 8PM

Jerry Douglas SATURDAY, MAY 28 8PM

Martin Hayes & Dennis Cahill SATURDAY, JUNE 4 7:30PM

National Tap Day Celebration FRIDAY, JUNE 10 8PM

Maxence Cyrin FRIDAY, JUNE 17 8PM

Mark Lanegan ACROSS THE STREET IN SZOLD HALL 4545 N LINCOLN AVENUE, CHICAGO IL

5/12 Inside/Out with Cerqua Rivera Dance Theatre 5/13 Global Dance Party: Ghana Seperewa Highlife 5/15 Mouths of Babes 5/27 Global Dance Party: Trio Balkan Strings with Ethnic Dance Chicago 5/28 Juanito Pascual

WORLD MUSIC WEDNESDAY SERIES FREE WEEKLY CONCERTS, LINCOLN SQUARE

5/18 The Breizh Amerika Collective 5/25 Alma Afrobeat Ensemble

OLDTOWNSCHOOL.ORG 22 CHICAGO READER - MAY 12, 2016

KEVIN WARWICK Reader associate

SULLIVAN DAVIS Talent buyer at the

LAURA CALLIER Performs as Gel Set

Nails, “You Will Never Be One of Us” The title track from this SoCal trio’s new full-length of hell-born hardcore (out June 17 via Nuclear Blast), “You Will Never Be One of Us” is a raging avowal that you shall wallow in flames of inferiority for however long this godforsaken planet deems to be eternity. Barely over a minute long, the Kurt Ballou-produced track combines blastbeats, enraged vocals, and rapid-fire, HGH-injected riffs—the kind that steamroll you so convincingly there’s no need to back up and confirm the damage.

Slow is cool I’ve had Rex’s 3 on the turntable for weeks, and after a few strung-out songs, I’m realizing that slow is cool. With summer starting, I only want to hear bands too hip to be quick—Codeine, Tindersticks, Low. I’m glad that there continue to be folks like Scott Tuma and bands like Earring who still think this trend is relevant.

Various artists, Gqom Oh! The Sound of Durban The Bandcamp page for the Gqom Oh! label explains, “Derived from an onomatopoeic Zulu word signifying a drum, ‘gqom’—in the local slang—‘iz da sound u get wen u drop a rock on tiles.’” This 2016 compilation from South Africa is everything I love in electronic music: minimal, dark, and gritty, with fun drum programming and samples.

editor

Horse Lords, Interventions Baltimore’s instrumental art-rock scene is alive and well, thanks in part to Faust devotees Horse Lords. Their new Interventions is a doozy, with looping riffs that devolve into looping riffs ad infinitum, all the while poked at by saxophone skronk and off-kilter percussive-doodad rhythms.

The saga “Toward the Omega Point” demonstrates the engaging and mesmerizing power of repetition—even the track’s subtle tweaks in tone feel like part of a bizarre chant—but it’s the challenging, noise-driven “Intervention” series that makes the album feel whole.

Savages at Metro on April 7 This show was very sold out, and those who hadn’t seen Savages prior were probably at least familiar with the four-piece’s reputation as a dominant force onstage. Still, when front woman Jehnny Beth dramatically climbed toward her upper register as the first song, “I Am Here,” began to crescendo, my significant other slowly gripped my arm in a way that could only mean “Holy shit.” The rest of their set was on par.

Hideout

Kara-Lis Coverdale & LXV, Sirens This 2015 collaborative release from Montreal’s KaraLis Coverdale and Philly’s LXV is one of the loveliest things I’ve heard in a long time. LXV can work some pretty dense textures that get harsh and pile on top of one another seemingly out of nowhere, while Coverdale’s more familiar layering and melodic sounds balance that out.

Nadia Reid, Listen to Formation, Look for the Signs I got hip to this 2015 record by following one of my new favorite labels, Oklahomabased Scissor Tail. They release a lot of progressive instrumental folk, so it surprised me that they also put out music by a great, accessible singer-songwriter like Nadia Reid. The New Zealander is deeply emotive as a singer, and her tunes exist somewhere between heartache and hope, which is songwriting gold.

and in Simulation and God Vol. 1

Selena Gomez, “Hands to Myself” I like listening to big-money pop music to hear what those artists do production-wise. I just read John Seabrook’s 2015 book The Song Machine: Inside the Hit Factory, about manufactured pop through the ages. Max Martin, a key player in the book and one of the writers of “Hands to Myself,” says the song was inspired by Prince—so this is my sideways homage to that nasty, funky man chillin’ in the purple rain of heaven.

Gone Girl soundtrack If I met Trent Reznor in real life, would I like him? Who knows. But I’ve had a crush on him since the early 90s, when I used to cut pictures of him out of Spin magazine to tape to my wall. Sometimes when I feel creatively uninspired, I listen to this soundtrack, because it’s so dynamic and rich with textures. By the way, if you’ve never seen the 1991 Hard Copy episode about the FBI investigating footage from a Nine Inch Nails video that a Michigan farmer found in his field (a balloon-borne Super 8 camera had gotten loose), you should go YouTube it ASAP.

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C H I C A G O ’ S F I R S T U R B A N W I N E R Y, CO N C E R T H A L L , R E S TAU R A N T, A N D P R I VAT E E V E N T S PA C E .

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READING, SIGNING, & IN CONVERSATION W/ MARK BAZER

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MAY 31

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CHAMBER BLUES & SAXOPHONE LEGEND ERNIE WATTS.

JUNE 1

AN INTIMATE EVENING W/

JOI

MAY 26

JUNE 2

JD SOUTHER

BILLY JOE SHAVER

W/ SPECIAL GUEST DJ MARK FLAVA

BEN SOLLEE

WITH SPECIAL GUESTS GIPSY MOON

MAY 12, 2016 - CHICAGO READER 23

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THE HOYLE BROTHERS

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WINDY CITY SOUL CLUB

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5/24: MUSIC TRIVIA SHOWDOWN - A BENEFIT FOR FOUNDATIONS OF MUSIC, 5/25: SPRAY PAINT, 5/26: THE CAVE SINGERS, 5/27: SWEET COBRA, 5/28: TONY CONRAD TRIBUTE, 5/29: BOYS VS. GIRLS, 5/30: LIFESTYLES (RECORD RELEASE), 5/31: MODERN ENGLISH, 6/1: OSHWA, 6/2: STONES THROW 20TH ANNIVERSARY TOUR FEAT. PEANUT BUTTER WOLF, 6/3: A PLACE TO BURY STRANGERS, 6/3 @ DO DIVISION: PEANUT BUTTER WOLF, 6/4: THE BODY, 6/4 @ DO DIVISION: A PLACE TO BURY STRANGERS, 6/5 @ DO DIVISION : BEACH FOSSILS, 6/6: BEACH FOSSILS, 6/9: CHRIS COHEN NEW ON SALE: 6/17 @ BEAT KITCHEN (2PM): NAILS, 6/18 @ BOHEMIAN NAT’L CEMETERY: GROUPER, 6/21: PAUL DE JONG [THE BOOKS], 7/19: GØGGS [TY SEGALL/EX CULT], 7/21: ALL THEM WITCHES, 7/22: SWEAR BEAM

24 CHICAGO READER - MAY 12, 2016

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Recommended and notable shows, and critics’ insights for the week of May 12

MUSIC

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ALL AGES

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Youth Code ! NICK FANCHER

PICK OF THE WEEK

Twin Peaks still evoke the energy of youth in all its confusing glory

THURSDAY12 The Bridge See also Sunday. 9 PM, Elastic, 3429 W. Diversey, $10 suggested donation. b

! DANIEL TOPETE

TWIN PEAKS, WHITE REAPER, FUNS

Fri 5/13, 7 PM, Lincoln Hall, 2424 N. Lincoln, sold out. b

POKE AROUND THE INSTAGRAM FEED of Chicago rock outfit Twin Peaks and you’ll see bursts of what it’s like whizzing around the world with friends when you’re in your early 20s—there are artfully angled live photos, a selfie with a Minion, and a short video of singer-guitarist Clay Frankel doing a diving elbow drop onto singer-guitarist Cadien Lake James as he lies prostrate. That said, a quick listen to the band’s brand-new Down in Heaven (Grand Jury) might suggest the members of Twin Peaks are decades older than they actually are. Sure, the fivesome dish out dreamy Zombies-like guitar tones and snarled vocals that hark back to the Rolling Stones, but they wield those classic influences to explore what it means to be a young person at a time when phallic, yellow animated creatures are inescapable parts of pop culture. The refined, cohesive Down in Heaven shakes off some of the jittery rambunctiousness of 2014’s Wild Onion, but as sophisticated and worldly as Twin Peaks sound on the album they still evoke the energy of youth in all its colorful and confusing glory. Lead single “Walk to the One You Love” pins down the members’ place in life: they’re old enough to understand the agency and free will of someone they pine for even as they wrestle with the desire to call that person theirs. Twin Peaks also play an in-store tomorrow at the Reckless Records on Broadway at 5 PM (admission with the purchase of Down in Heaven). —LEOR GALIL

A creative collaboration between jazz improvisers from France and Chicago, the Bridge wraps up its latest iteration this week with a fifth lineup, the Sync (the visit began May 5 with a performance at Constellation). The French component of the combo consists of flutist and vocalist Sylvaine Hélary and pianist Eve Risser; representing Chicago are cellist Fred Lonberg-Holm and drummer Mike Reed.

During their debut and subsequent tour in France in 2014, the quartet made a lovely recording, Sonic Communication, released last year by Bridge Sessions, that well demonstrates the players’ impressive rapport over the course of three extended group improvisations. Reed holds down a pulse that rises and falls with great subtlety, while Risser serves a similar function, carpeting the performances with jagged runs using both prepared techniques and conventional playing. Hélary plays with gossamer fragility but underlines her flute lines with wordless vocals that swoop and hector, and Lonberg-Holm uses various effects to generate wonderfully acidic, guitarlike splashes that inject an electric dissonance into the proceedings. Still, the combo consistently privilege a deep ensemble sound in which individual contributions are secondary to what’s generated as a whole. —PETER MARGASAK

Youth Code Replicant and No Ritual open.

8 PM, Subterranean, 2011 W. North, $12.

Right when “Transitions,” the first proper track from Youth Code’s new Commitment to Complications (Dais), rips open its ethereal synth predecessor “(Armed)” and Sara Taylor’s hoarse, ravaged vocals barrel over the hardcore-electro rhythms

programmed by Ryan George, it already feels like you’re deep in the muck. That’s because when they’re at their best Youth Code orchestrate claustrophobic environments of cathartic, angry sound, at once foreboding and devoid of hope, lawless and savage. An industrial breakdown of slicing beats and flickering strobe lights (“Anagnorisis”)— one somehow held steady by lyrical themes of disgust—might transition into an almost orchestral ’scape of swelling synths that support, you know it, plenty more about toil and disappointment (“Doghead”). That’s the tone of the aggressive EBM genre that Youth Code are loyal to—hat tip to Front 242, Skinny Puppy, and the like—where part of the mission is to convince a sliver of society that it’s probably best to effectively deprogram and revolt. —KEVIN WARWICK

FRIDAY13 Babymetal 8:30 PM, House of Blues, 329 N. Dearborn, $45-$55. b

When I wrote about this Tokyo idol group last year, I had yet to get over the fact that their giddy, kaleidoscopic fusion of J-pop and metal even existed.

Maybe I’ve just built up a tolerance to Babymetal since then, but the new Metal Resistance (RAL/ Sony Music) sounds like three people going at a piñata at once, not seven—their music is hardly just J-pop and metal now, but it no longer makes channel-surfing hops into completely unrelated idioms.

Part of its charm comes from its joyful heedlessness of fashion: lead single “Karate” brackets its hugely catchy chorus with a nu-metal riff, and the infectious “Awadama Fever” bustles with big-beat percussion that hasn’t been cool since the mid-90s. The skank beat and frothy keyboards of “Yava!” approximate techno-fied ska; “Amore” periodically erupts into furious power-metal twiddling; and the J

MAY 12, 2016 - CHICAGO READER 25

FRIDAY, JULY 15 Julia Holter

Beach House

Twin Peaks

Broken Social Scene

Mick Jenkins

Carly Rae Jepsen

Car Seat Headrest

Shamir

The Range

Whitney SATURDAY, JULY 16

Brian Wilson performing Pet Sounds

Super Furry Animals

Digable Planets

ANDERSON .Paak & the Free Nationals BJ the Chicago Kid

J U LY 1 5 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 1 7 2 0 1 6 U N I O N PAR K

RP Boo

Martin Courtney

26 CHICAGO READER - MAY 12, 2016

Kevin Morby

Jenny Hval Royal Headache

Girl Band

Circuit Des Yeux

SUNDAY, JULY 17

FKA twigs

Kamasi Washington

pitchforkmusicfestival.com

Holly Herndon

Savages

# P 4 K F E S T

Blood Orange

Sufjan Stevens

Thundercat

Woods

Miguel

Holy Ghost!

The Hotelier

Jeremih

Empress Of LUH

Neon Indian Oneohtrix Point Never

Sun Ra Arkestra

NAO

Porches

Oneman

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trance-pop of “From Dusk Till Dawn” stops dead for a breakdown that cuts up slate-gray metal with dubstep blurts. “Meta Taro” sounds like a jolly children’s marching song, a la the opening theme to My Neighbor Totoro. “Sis. Anger” segues from entirely credible tech-death into chirpy chanted vocals smeared with pitch drops, as though the singers were cartoon characters falling out of a plane. And even if you can wrap your head around what these songs are trying to do, when Babymetal pop the lid off one of their ludicrously sunshiny choruses, you won’t be able to have two thoughts in a row. On last year’s tour, the group’s public-facing members—lead singer Su-metal and dancing sidekicks Yuimetal and Moametal—were backed by a four-piece live band.

—PHILIP MONTORO

Luther Dickinson & the Cooperators Birds of Chicago headline. 8 PM, Maurer Hall, Old Town School of Folk Music, 4544 N. Lincoln, $27, $25 members. b On Blues & Ballads (A Folksinger’s Songbook): Volumes I & II (New West) Memphis fixture Luther Dickinson essentially announces his promotion from upstart to veteran, revisiting a repertoire from all phases of his career—including the North Mississippi Allstars—and presenting his spin on American roots music. The low-key, rustic record was made in fits and starts with appearances from gospel great Mavis Staples and contemporaries like Jason Isbell and Alvin Youngblood Hart. Dickinson wrote all 21 tracks, but public domain might as well get cocredited, as melodies and snatches of lyrics are flush with the language of the blues and country music that courses through Memphis waters. The practice is familiar—it’s something everyone from the Rolling Stones to Luther’s brilliant dad, Jim, a Memphis producer and recording artist, has done over and over again. But in this stripped-down setting the younger Dickinson proves he doesn’t have the vocal chops or songwriting imagination to elevate these sessions beyond the level of a self-mythologizing curio.

It’s pleasant enough, especially when Dickinson taps into his raspy inner Mac Rebennack (aka Dr. John) on a track like “Bang Bang Lulu,” but it fails to best hundreds of earlier Memphis records. With a tour-

MUSIC

ing band that includes bassist Amy LaVere, guitarist Will Sexton, and drummer Shardé Thomas, however, there’s still the promise that live renditions will bring out enough charisma and presence to make it all worthwhile. —PETER MARGASAK

James Hunter Brad Cole opens. 8 PM, City Winery, 1200 W. Randolph, $35-$45. b

British soul singer James Hunter knows exactly what he wants, and he’s again nailed that sweet spot on the new Hold On! (Daptone), the second album he’s made under the direction of Dap-Kings capo Gabriel Roth. Hunter writes all of his own material, though little of it sounds like it’s from this decade— or any of the previous four, for that matter—and he’s expertly supported by a nimble, pitch-perfect band.

His love for Sam Cooke remains undiminished, but he also finds room to salute Ray Charles (“Something’s Calling”) and Curtis Mayfield (“In the Dark”), while his guitar playing offers a page ripped straight from the Freddie King playbook (“Satchel Foot”).

Hunter may be a simulacrum of those artists, but I still find him hard to resist thanks to his band’s light touch and keen sense of dynamics, his raspy and nuanced howl, and his melodies, which feel as if they’ve always been wafting through my consciousness. —PETER MARGASAK

Twin Peaks See Pick of the Week on page 25.

White Reaper and the Funs open. 7 PM, Lincoln Hall, 2424 N. Lincoln, sold out. b

SATURDAY14 Lupe Fiasco Monakr, Celine Neon, Marrow, Psalm One, and Pop Waits also perform. 7 PM, Sidney R. Yates Gallery, Chicago Cultural Center, 78 E. Washington, sold out. b

Lupe Fiasco proves several points on last year’s Tetsuo & Youth (Atlantic): (1) he can in fact rap steadily and lay out bars with style for roughly eight minutes (“Mural”); (2) he has the advanced grasp of cross-pattern stitching required to chart a J

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LINCOLN SQUARE • LINCOLN PARK

MAY 12, 2016 - CHICAGO READER 27

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PETER WOLF A CURE FOR LONELINESS

available now!

THE LEGENDARY ROCKER AND J. GEILS BAND FRONTMAN’S MOST ADVENTUROUS AND ACCOMPLISHED WORK TO DATE. “…hitting right in the sweet spot where Nashville meets the Bronx.”

— ROLLING STONE !!!!

ALSO CATCH Peter Wolf

performing live at Park West on 5·21·16.

28 CHICAGO READER - MAY 12, 2016

map of lyrics pinpointing the injustices that plague black Americans; (3) he has the power to transform a decades-long narrative about economic inequality and racial disparity into a radio-friendly allegory about places where pizza never arrives within 30 minutes (“Deliver”). In other words, one of the biggest points made by Tetsuo & Youth is never to count out Lupe Fiasco. That might’ve been easy to do after 2011’s Lasers, a slip-on-a-banana-peel of an album that Lupe has since distanced himself from, but he’s still managed to keep things interesting even when he doesn’t quite fulfill the heady expectations of his longtime stans. Last month Lupe tweeted that he’ll release three albums by the end of the year: Drogas, Drogas Light, and Skulls. He also claims they’ll be his final full-lengths—though we know he’s fallen behind on dates and flaked on retirement before. I’m cool with Lupe claiming almost anything and not sticking to it if it inspires him to put out more loose, off-the-cuff singles like “Express,” his spooflike remix of Desiigner’s inescapable hit “Panda.” —LEOR GALIL

Twin Peaks See Pick of the Week on page 25.

5 PM, Reckless Records, 3126 N. Broadway, admission with purchase of new LP Down in Heaven. A

SUNDAY15 Joe Adamik Big Sadie open. 8 PM, Hideout, 1354 W. Wabansia, $8.

The easy swing of Joseph Adamik’s drumming sounds apropos whether he’s sitting in with free improvisers Extraordinary Popular Delusions, driving the shape-shifting pop ensemble Manishevitz, or giving the gloriously entropic Califone rhythmic coherence. He’s also a versatile multi-instrumentalist with a knack for extracting antique-sounding timbres from clarinets and keyboards. On his first solo LP, Super Low (Meno Mosso), Adamik adds two more credits to his CV: singer-songwriter and orchestrator. His high, yearning voice is a persuasive vehicle for songs about ice-bound sailors and a kid growing up with a mentally ill mom. And his deployment of sputtering drum machines, woodgrained string passages, and long, low brass tones

generates both sonic intrigue and emotional complexity. Tonight Adamik will sing and play guitar and bass clarinet while leading a band that includes Marta Kallenberger and Andy Frickle on horns, Sam Wagster on guitar, and Califone vets Jim Becker on fiddle and piano, Ben Massarella on drums, and Gillian Lisee on bass. Acoustic vocal trio Big Sadie open. —BILL MEYER

Boogarins Dungen headline; Eye Vybe DJs spin. 9 PM, Empty Bottle, 1035 N. Western, $20, $18 in advance.

Fernando Almeida and Benke Ferraz cut As Plantas Que Curam, the first album by their band Boogarins, when they were still high school students growing up in the central Brazilian city of Goiâna, playing all the instruments themselves and making little effort to hide their 60s inspirations, including tropicalistas Os Mutantes. As enjoyable as that recording was, however, the band didn’t begin to transcend those influences until after several years of touring. On last year’s impressive Manual (Other Music) Boogarins have broken free of any particular psychedelic era, as their heady, gently rippling guitars blossom with rich coloristic fervor over seductively loose grooves. What ultimately distinguishes the band from countless other lysergic-driven explorers is Almeida’s soothing Portuguese-language vocals—they shape melodies in lithe, graceful arcs and flow in a manner that both complements and collides with an expansive instrumental attack.

—PETER MARGASAK

The Bridge See Thursday. 9 PM, Hungry Brain, 2319 W. Belmont, $10 suggested donation.

Gary Numan See through Tuesday. I Speak Machine open. 9 PM, Metro, 3730 N. Clark, $31, $71 three-day pass. 18+ In 1979 pioneering new-wave artist Gary Numan kicked off what he called the “machine phase” of his career: three records crammed with alien synth sounds and themes of bizarre, dystopian futures.

The trilogy’s first installment, Replicas, was recorded with Numan’s short-lived band Tubeway Army, though its guitarless follow-up that same year, The Pleasure Principal (which contains his best-

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3730 N. CLARK ST | METROCHICAGO.COM

Tengger Cavalry ! ANTON OPARIN known song, “Cars”), is the songwriter’s first official solo release. Closing out the “machine phase” is 1980’s Telekon, a monumental record that expands Numan’s synthetic palette and brings on darkness with heavy themes of twisted futuristic isolation— it’s a favorite of Trent Reznor’s and an influence that shows majorly in his work to this day. Over the course of the 17 albums that Numan has recorded since Telekon, dabbling in various forms of pop, goth, and industrial, his popularity and relevance have waxed and waned. But these eerie early works endure not only as cult favorites but as blueprints for oddball synthesizer music in general. Over the next three evenings at Metro, Numan will perform the entire trilogy in order, beginning with Replicas tonight. —LUCA CIMARUSTI

MONDAY16 Gary Numan See Sunday. I Speak Machine open. 9 PM, Metro, 3730 N. Clark, $31, $71 threeday pass. 18+

TUESDAY17 Gary Numan See Sunday. I Speak Machine open. 9 PM, Metro, 3730 N. Clark, $31, $71 threeday pass. 18+ The Used See also Wednesday. 8 PM, House of Blues, 329 N. Dearborn, sold out. 17+ Pop music was in a strange place right after September 11, 2001, as represented by the unpredictable rise of the Used. While emo’s groundswell and a thirst for earnest rock songs with bludgeoning pop hooks helped Jimmy Eat World’s “The Middle” become an anthem, this Utah outfit became a pop phenomenon in their own right—even though they had less than two years under their belt, exhibited a taste for pop-metal, and were fronted by a vocalist named Bert whose singing tested the limits of pop-punk’s hirsute whine. The Used’s 2002 self-titled debut for Reprise set the stage for the band to dominate the charts, and 2004’s In Love & Death predictably debuted at number five on the Billboard 200. The former album unloaded crossover hits such as the soaring “Buried Myself Alive” and confessional “The Taste of Ink,” which for better or

worse reshaped the idea of what emo is on a massive scale; meanwhile aforementioned singer and front man Bert McCracken was briefly transformed into a inescapable alt celeb when he dated Kelly Osbourne. To reiterate, the early aughts were really strange, and the Used nicely condense the zeitgeist’s confusion and angst into three-minute shots that occasionally sound like arena rock left to rot in the gutter. To celebrate their 15-year anniversary, the Used are touring on their first two albums—it might come as a surprise that they’re still going, but weirder things have happened. —LEOR GALIL

SATURDAY MAY 14 / 8PM / 18+ EMPIRE PRODUCTIONS WELCOMES

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WEDNESDAY18 Brooklyn Rider 6 PM, Harris Theater, 205 E. Randolph, $10. b String ensemble Brooklyn Rider formed thanks to the relationship its four members developed while playing in Yo-Yo Ma’s Silk Road Ensemble. Still a part of that outfit, they appear on the project’s most pointed crossover effort yet, the new Sing Me Home (Masterworks), which includes collaborations with roots singer Sarah Jarosz, jazz guitarist Bill Frisell, and folk-pop singer Rhiannon Giddens. While the players are all rooted in classical music, they have the desire and curiosity to move beyond the Western canon, whether by working with Iranian star Kayhan Kalhor, a master of the kamancheh (a bowed string instrument) or Brooklyn art-pop singer Gabriel Kahane. (“Brooklyn Rider” is a play on Der Blaue Reiter, an influential early 2oth-century German art group that embraced a multidisciplinary ethos within visual and other forms of art.) On 2014’s The Brooklyn Rider Almanac (Mercury), the quartet pour their own expansive thinking into commissioning a wide swath of folks—most of them outside the classical world—to write pieces inspired by other artists from the last half century. Tonight’s concert will focus on a disparate repertoire that includes “Show Me,” a gorgeously airy, Americana-drenched meditation on William Faulkner penned by singer Aoife O’Donovan, and pianist Vijay Iyer’s “Dig the Say,” a piece that simulates the cross-cutting rhythmic ingenuity of James Brown without sounding remotely like him; other composers on the program include Glenn Kotche, Padma Newsome, Christina Courtin, and Carla Kihlstedt. This will be the ensemble’s final Chicago performance with founding cellist Eric Jacobsen, who’s being replaced by ICE member Michael Nicolas. —PETER MARGASAK J

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Lupe Fiasco ! ALEX WROBLEWSKI / SUN-TIMES

05.20 MARWOOD’S FALL BUBBLES EROTICA

05.21 ODDITY

continued from 29

EVEN THIEVES / THE 92S / MINOR WITS

Tengger Cavalry 9 PM, Subterranean, 2011 W. North, $12.

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30 CHICAGO READER - MAY 12, 2016

M A RQ U EE PA R T N E R O F T H E C H I CAGO TH E AT R E ® Debit cards are provided by JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. Member FDIC Credit cards are issued by Chase Bank USA, N.A. © 2015 JPMorgan Chase & Co.

The Chicago Theatre provides disabled accommodations and sells tickets to disabled individuals through our Disabled Services department, which may be reached at 888-609-7599, any weekday from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

The last time I wrote about Mongolian folk-metal band Tengger Cavalry, in May 2015, they’d yet to play a show in the States. Founder and front man Nature Ganganbaigal, an ethnic Mongolian born in Beijing, had recently moved to New York to pursue a master’s in music at NYU, leaving his band behind in China—he made Blood Sacrifice Shaman (Metal Hell), released that month, by overdubbing all the parts himself. Since assembling an American lineup, though, Ganganbaigal and Tengger Cavalry have played at Carnegie Hall, and now they’re making their Chicago debut as part of their first U.S. tour.

Their newest release, last month’s the Mountain Side EP, follows the trail Ganganbaigal blazed with his earliest demos in 2009: hammering, energetic riffs, drawn mostly from death metal and hard rock, topped by swirling, stately melodies rendered with traditional instruments (including morin khuur, aka horse-head fiddle, and amaan khuur or mouth harp) and in the Mongolian throat-singing style called khoomei (I hear the rumbling kargyraa and whistling sygyt variants, among others). Ganganbaigal’s florid guitar solos contrast with the rhythmic and harmonic austerity of the songs, which borrow the galloping feel of Mongolian folk—they evoke the bittersweet solitude of a lone rider on horseback, the sounds of the unceasing wind, and the unforgiving grandeur of the landscape. Tengger Cavalry’s music has a taut, inexorable heartbeat—at every layer of the arrangements, something is chugging, sawing, pulsing, or quavering—and though the band’s studio output can feel top-heavy with acoustic ornamentation, onstage they’re athletic, even rowdy.

On this tour Ganganbaigal is joined by Alex Abayev (bass), Josh Schifris (drums), Uljmuren (morin khuur), and Robert McLaughlin (throat singing and igil, a Tuvan version of the horse-head fiddle).

—PHILIP MONTORO

The Used See Tuesday. 8 PM, House of Blues, 329 N. Dearborn, sold out. 17+ v

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FOOD & DRINK

IL PORCELLINO | $$$

59 W. Hubbard 312-595-0800 ilporcellinochicago.com Scampi spaghetti with fat, sweet shrimp, whole roasted garlic, and Calabrian chiles ! DANIELLE A. SCRUGGS

NEW REVIEW

Italian for everyone at Il Porcellino Lettuce Entertain You phones one in for the whole family in River North.

By MIKE SULA

I

taly’s il Tricolore flies proudly above River North’s Te’ Jay’s Adult Books—oops, sorry, it appears over Il Porcellino, the “Everyday Trattoria” next door. The flag is positioned just so as to blot out the porn shop’s sign as you gaze up at the restaurant’s own marquee.

Named for the Florentine bronze boar that tourists feed their spare lire for good fortune, Il Porcellino is the restaurant Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises has spawned, apparently by groupthink, to fill the space after retiring Paris Club (and Brasserie Jo before that). It certainly smells better than barnyard odor that greeted diners when Paris Club opened. But it has the same ersatz, Disneyesque artificiality that LEYE is prone to employ to entice the masses.

There are the padded red-leather booths, the red-checkered tablecloths, the wicker-jacketed Chianti bottles, and a wall bedecked with photos of pop culture icons. OMG Dean Martin! the tourists will squeal. Tony Danza! Danny DeVito! It’s a monument to Italian-Americans who’ve never eaten there nor will.

One evening before dinner at Il Porcellino I found myself having a drink at nearby Club Lago, the old-school, nominally northern-Italian joint that has weathered 64 years in River North, including a new Italian restaurant invasion over the last few. Club Lago’s effortless genuineness more than makes up for what it lacks in innovative or even genuine old-world Italian food. But there I was, wishing I could just dive into a pile of green noodles al forno rather than wade through LEYE’s meticulously researched effort to keep everyone’s butts seated firmly in their comfort zones.

That being said, restaurants like Il Porcellino have merit as places where a disparate group of diners can all find solace in a meal and a room that feels familiar and hard to hate. Whether it’s a corporate event or family reunion, rest assured that everyone’s special needs will met with minimal effort and half smiles.

So it’s pizza and pasta or chicken Parm and Caesar salad. But it’s also Slagel Farms and Anson Mills and MightyVine tomatoes, for

an inoffensive out-of-season caprese salad.

These are the boutique producers familiar to a certain group of diners who may be put off by the appearance of rigatoni alla vodka or steak pizzaiola on a menu.

And you know what? It’s fine. Mostly.

That caprese salad, a whisper of summer’s promise, contains not the best tomatoes, but perhaps the best available in spring. Among other insalata and antipasti, a Sicilian seafood salad is a mound of fresh, snappy squid, shrimp, octopus, and nutty chickpeas. A plate of tuna carpaccio garnished with green olives and pistachios is a pretty, texturally intriguing plate. A grilled artichoke blooms like a flower.

These are dishes that support the truism that Italian food is best when it’s uncomplicated and made with superior products.

Pastas are less consistent. Divided between “old school” and “new school,” the former are generally delicious and won’t be too intimidating for anyone who grew up on Prince (the pasta) and Ragu. Gnocchi is sauced with a bright, meaty prime-rib Bolognese that somehow doesn’t weigh down the fluffy dumplings.

A bowl of scampi spaghetti is similarly vibrant, with fat, sweet shrimp, whole roasted garlic, and the slow burn of Calabrian chiles. A special, spaghetti with meatballs, however, arrives covered in a wan, watery sauce containing meatballs so overextended with bread crumbs only a pigeon could be happy with them.

The more creative pastas feature a greater variety of seasonal ingredients: Dough rolled with black pepper and twisted into strozza-

preti has a dull slate color brightened by the fleeting presence of roasted ramps. Smoked mozzarella-stuffed ravioli with sweet peas are every bit as light and delicate as the aforementioned gnocchi, in contrast to nutty, ruddy farro orecchiette, which could use a bit more time in the pasta water.

Il Porcellino’s signature dish, a long stretch of roasted pork belly, is significantly fattier, larger, and more enjoyably decadent than most versions of this cliche you see around town. It rests on a bed of cicerchia beans, relatives of the chickpea that contain low levels of diaminopropionic acid, an amino acid that if consumed in excess can cause a paralyzing neurological disease called lathyrism (it also can result in the withering of the buttocks).

It’s a risk worth taking, if only once, and a far better bet than the crispy-skinned porchetta special I gambled on one evening only to face down an insurmountable serving of dry, overly herbed pork with pickled fennel and a dandelion-green salad with hazelnuts that was probably the best thing I’d eaten at Il Porcellino.

More familiar secondi such as whole grilled fish with green-olive salsa verde, brick chicken with giardiniera, and grilled octopus and beans round out the menu along, with daily specials featuring classics (lasagna, chicken Parmesan, steak fiorentina).

Cocktails are by recent Los Angeles transplant Julian Cox, who debuts three versions of the negroni along with more easy-drinking (if aggressively sweet) creations like a Paloma made with San Pellegrino soda and a mascarpone-washed gin drink that tastes like diluted pineapple juice. Older generations can unironically order daily wine specials served in wicker-wrapped carafes.

After-dinner sweets aren’t highly valued in Italy, and that seems to be reflected on the unsurprising dessert menu: sugary mascarpone-piped doughnuts known as zuccherati, basic tiramisu, or chocolate-hazelnut semifreddo.

But just as in Florence, where tourists drop coins into the mouth of the boar, tourists (and locals alike) will no doubt flock to drop their coins into the LEYE maw, so that their crotchety Uncle Lou can dine happily next to their vegan nephew, and mom can sip a jug of wine to the smooth stylings of Matchbox 20. v

! @Mike Sula MAY 12, 2016 - CHICAGO READER 31

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○ Watch a video of Shaw Podgurski working with tofu in the kitchen at chicagoreader.com/food.

Druid Pie and Efreeti Parfait ! JULIA THIEL

KEY INGREDIENT

A meal fit for a dungeon master

By JULIA THIEL

I

’m not opposed to TOFU,” SHAWN PODGURSKI says. “I’m just not a big fan.” The DONERMEN food truck chef—he identifies as “a real meat-and-potatoes guy”—was initially stumped when JEFF WANG of the YUM DUM TRUCK challenged him to create a dish with the pressed soybean curd. Soy-based products, he says, are often used as substitutes for his favorite ingredients to eat and to work with: meat, heavy cream, butter. “I don’t really like to substitute,” he says.

“I was actually losing sleep over the whole thing,” Podgurski says. Inspired by a night of partying and playing Dungeons & Dragons, he decided to make a dinner for a fantasy world. The main course: a vegan shepherd’s pie he calls Druid Pie. “I imagine it’s something that a druid living in the forest who

doesn’t want to cause harm to animals would make for when he has his druid friends and dryads and fairies over,” he says. Because he’d decided to make the dish vegan he couldn’t use milk or butter, so in addition to a dried tea-flavored tofu that he substituted for lamb, Podgurski used Korean silken tofu to add creaminess to the mashed potatoes.

(The various tofus came from a “Chicago culinary journey” that covered Chinese, Korean, and Vietnamese markets.)

After sauteing onions, carrots, mushrooms, and jalapeno in coconut oil, Podgurski added some vegetable broth and Three Floyds Backmasking oatmeal stout, then the chopped tofu, peas, and corn. For the mashed potato topping he blanched garlic cloves, using both the blanching water and the garlic itself

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For dessert, he made what he calls Efreeti Parfait—named for a mythological Middle Eastern demon—a blend of Chinese silken tofu, almonds, pistachios, lemon juice, dates, a square of baklava, and a dollop of honey.

(An earlier iteration had also included Turkish delight, which he said made the parfait overly rich.) Podgurski served it in a carvedout dragonfruit with a sprinkle of chile powder on top. To go with the meal, he poured a little more of the Backmasking beer.

“Best Druid Pie I’ve ever had,” he says.

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EXPERIENCED BARTENDERS

AND Cooks Full time and part time available contact Tom or Barbara 773-7362644

General LEAD BANNER DBA NORTHEASTERN Illinois University (NEIU) seeks a Lead Banner DBA at its campus in Chicago, Illinois. Duties: Banner ERP application and Oracle database administrator for the Ellucian Banner ERP applications, and all related integrated components. Leading the development and implementation Teams for the Banner database, Operational Data Store and Enterprise Data Warehouse databases. Requirements: Requires a Master’s degree in Computer Science, or related field plus a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science Engineering or related field and five (5 years) of progressive work experience as a Database Administrator. Must possess Oracle Certified Associate (OCA) Certification or better (OCP or OCM) for at least 9i. Must have advanced knowledge (more than 5 years of experience) of database administration. Experience should primarily be with Oracle 9i, 10g, and 11g applications deployed in a UNIX or Linux environment. Must have experience in Oracle 9i, 10g or 11g database performance tuning, implementation of new databases, maintenance for existing databases, implementation and maintenance of security and database monitoring activities. Must be willing to work anywhere in the United States.

Full-time. To apply: Send letter of application, resume, official transcripts, and three letters of recommendation to : Northeastern Illinois University, Mr. James Thompson, University Technology Services, 5500 N. St. Louis Avenue, Chicago, Illinois 60625.

Northeastern Illinois University is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer and invites applications from Women, Minorities, Veterans and Persons with Disabilities, as well as Other Qualified Individuals.

Northeastern Illinois University’s positions are contingent upon the University’s receipt of its State of Illinois appropriation.

LEAD DATABASE ADMINISTRATOR: United Software Inc. has an opening for a Lead Database Administrator. Job located in Lincolnshire, IL, and various unanticipated client sites throughout the United States. Responsibilities include the following: Will design, build and maintain conceptual, logical, physical database models, Datawarehouse and multidimensional databases. Will set strategies and standards for data architecture and implementation.

Enhance database performance, calculate optimum values for parameters, evaluate, integrate and install new releases. Ensure archi-

34 CHICAGO READER | MAY 12, 2016

tecture design meets project requirements including mainframe components. Responsible for database creation, optimization, deriving conversion and migration methods for existing data. Will work on data acquisitions, security, back-up and recovery. Support mission critical systems in 24X7 environment. Expertise with HA/ DR on SAN Production environment, AlwaysOn, Mirrored Cluster, Log Shipping and Replication. Install and configure Oracle Fusion applications on Exadata setup and maintain the system and configurations on RAC environment. Implement AlwaysOn Availability.

Work independently, providing project status reports and formal presentations as required. Requirements: Minimum of an MS or equiv. in CS, CIS, Computer Engineering or a related field; no prior professional experience necessary.

Finally, this position does require extended travel and/or relocation to project sites/locations throughout the United States. Proof of authorization to work in the U.S. required if hired. Mail resumes to: United Software Inc., Job # USILDBA, One Overlook Point, Suite 105, Lincolnshire, Illinois 60069.

SR. R & D Engineer. Responsible for design, development, design transfer, and lifecycle management related activities for Medical devices and Combination products. Requirements management, Risk management, Design control activities, Failure investigation, Leading and assessing design changes, Develop test procedure Scope, Infusion sets, and Combination products. Maintain design specification, protocol & report writing, prototyping, DOE/SPC product optimization, design verification & validation, FMEA, etc. 3D CAD modeling software and drawing standards (SolidWorks or Creo (Pro/E) Mechanical design and product engineering.

Requirements Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering 5 years as mechanical engineer Experience must include: 2 years ·in drug/device combination product design and development. ·with combination product / medical device quality systems, proven design control experience ·In Europe (EMEA/CE Mark) & US ( FDA/PMA/510k) submission processes ·In Plastics Injection Moulding/ Extrusion Designs.

Mail Resumes to HR: IonTech Consulting 8295 Tournament DR Memphis TN 38125, email: resume@ i-ontech.com. Actual job location is Lake Forest, Illinois

O’Donovan & Son, Inc. seeks Laborer-Landscaping and Groundskeeping Workers for Naperville, IL & Naperville Metropolitan area loc. to water plants and lawns, clean flowerbeds using rakes, clippers, weed cutters and hoses, maintenance mowing, sod distribution and duties related to basic landscape installation. 10 temp. FT positions avail. 5/ 5/2016 to 9/30/2016, $13.49/hr, 40 hrs/wk, 7:30am-3:30pm, M-F. No edu req’d; no on the job training provided. Single workweek used as standard for computing wages due, wages paid every 2 weeks. Employer will make all de-

ductions from the worker’s paycheck req’d by law. Employer guarantees to offer work for hours equal to at least 3/4 of the workdays in each 12 wk period of the total employment period. All req’d. tools/supplies/equip. provided at no cost to worker. Cost of t ransportation/subsistence to/from place of employment reimbursed (amt. min. $12.09/day, max. $51/ day w/ receipts); daily transportation to/from worksite not provided. Employer will assist in finding room/board as needed. All H2B workers will be reimbursed in the first week of employment for all visa and related costs incurred. Apply at the nearest office of the Applicants should apply at the nearest office of the State Workforce Agency of Illinois: Lisle Employment Services; 2525 Cabot Drive, Lisle, IL 60532; (630) 955-2030; Job Order #3552459.

Employer Contact: Susan O’Donovan odonovanlandscp@ sbcglobal.net; 2720 W. Ogden Ave. Naperville, IL 60540; (630) 355-3370 BOTTOMER TECHNICIAN. PERFORM engineering tasks for

maximum production; Train staff in safe operation of bottomer functions of highly specialized packaging, bagging & converting machinery; Lead team members to ensure effective & efficient use of tubing resources, including maintaining, repairing, programming, revising & troubleshooting electronic components of machinery; Develop & motivate Production team to optimize manufacture of high quality bottomers; Set up WH machine models 2366, 2360 & 2368 according to job specifications for each customer order in a timely manner; Problem solve any issues that may occur during production runs; Complete orders in a timely & accurate manner w/ least amount of waste possible; Monitor quality during production run for accuracy acc. to customer & company standards; Ensure all materials ready prior to orders being run on shifts & prepare orders for next shift to begin; Assist in development of new policies & procedures regarding machine operation used in production. Reqs: HS diploma or equiv. + 2 yrs’ exp involving troubleshooting WH bottomer machine models 2366, 2360 & 2368. Drug & criminal background screen req’d. Resumes: Leticia Filecia, Mondi USA Inc., 1140 Arbor Drive, Romeoville IL 60446.

MARS INFOTECH INC h a s openings for Systems Analysts and Software Engineers.

Job Description: Gather, analyze, design, write code, document, customize, maintain, test, and modify software and computer applications using any combination of the following technologies such as Java, J2EE, Hibernate, Struts, ASP. Net, Share Point, VBScript, SAP R/ 3, IBM BPM, FileNet, Pega, DataStage, PL/SQL, SQL, SSIS, SSRS, SSAS, Unix, Linux, Shell Script, JavaScript, Hadoop, XML, DB2, Oracle Apps , SQL, MySQL, WebLogic, Web Services, WebSphere, QTP, UFT, Load Runner, Selenium, Informatica, PeopleSoft, Abinitio, Android, IOS, C, C#, C++, and other technologies.

All the positions require either US equivalent Master or Bachelor degree with/without experience. In lieu of Master degree, we will accept Bachelor degree with five years experience. Work location

will be at Lisle, IL and various unanticipated clients’ locations through out US. Travel and/or relocation may require. Mail to: Mars Infotech Inc, 906 Lacey Ave Suite 200, Lisle, IL 60532. EOE. THE NORTHERN TRUST COMPANY is seeking a Sr Client

Service Manager, Derivatives in Chicago, IL w/ the following reqts: BS degree in Business Administration, Finance, Accounting, or related field or foreign academic equivalent. 2 yrs of related experience. Liaise with internal, external parties and clients on queries and change requirements utilizing Fund Accounting and Derivatives product and system infrastructure knowledge; evaluate client service models during onboarding and develop processes to support existing and new client requirements within Project Management Life Cycle framework; research and analyze new Fund Accounting and Derivatives product and process development using Enterprise InvestOne, Fundmaster and Summit applications; implement process improvements within Project Management Life Cycle framework based on impact of industry, regulatory and client requirement changes. Please apply on-line at www. northerntrustcareers.com and search for Req. # 16044

SENIOR

RESEARCH

METH-

ODOLOGIST I (Chicago, IL) (mult pos). Resp for designg survey methdolgies for social sci prjcts rel’d to Hispnc popultn. Req Master’s deg or forgn equiv in Statistics, Survey Resrch & Mthdolgy, or rel field & 2 yrs exp in job or a rel’d pos condctg quant social sci resrch & analy w/ focus on Hispnc popultn; or in alt a Bachelor’s deg or for equiv in same & 5 yrs of exp in same. Must also have relvt wrk exp. Apply res/cvr let to NORC., Attn: J. Burchfield, Ref: RBM2016, 55 E. Monroe St, Chicago IL 60603. No calls.

MESIROW FINANCIAL HOLDINGS, INC. - (Chicago, IL) seeks

candidates for the following full-time positions w/ Mesirow Advanced Strategies (MAS) team: (1) Senior Analyst, to work on tech design/ dev/arch/impl, QA, training & support [Job #16A]; and (2) Quantitative Analyst, to research, analyze and provide recs on hedge fund investments across variety of strategies based on quant techniques [Job #16B]. Apply to aczaja@mesirowfinancial.com; ref job # in subject line of email. No calls.

INFORMATION CLERK, An swer inquiries & provide information to the customers, visitors regarding import/export of health care products. File & maintain records. Req’s a HS diploma, 3 mo exp & fluency in Korean. Job in Chicago, IL. Res to: Pharmatech USA, LLC, 1807 W. Sunnyside Ave., # 1G, Chicago, IL 60640 BILLING CLERK, Compile, compute & record billing, accounting, statistical data to develop bills.

Prepare billing invoices for services rendered or for delivery or shipment of goods. Req’s HS diploma & fluency in Korean. Job in Chicago, IL. Res to: City Sports on 87th, 112 W. 87th St., #G, Chicago, IL 60620 JAPANESE CHEF, DIRECT the preparation & cooking of Japanese foods. 2 yrs exp. req’d. Job in Arlington Heights, IL. Res to: LCB Village, Inc. dba Nikko Sushi, 282 E. Algonquin Rd., Arlington Heights, IL 60005

CSC SERVICEWORKS in Wheeling, IL is looking for an Appliance I nstaller to install

laundry equipment.

Vent experience and mechanical aptitude a plus.

Will provide training. Must have a Valid Driver’s License.

Please send your resume to lleprine@pearcoresolutions.com

US VETERANS NEEDED with

chronic low back pain. Researchers at Rush University Medical Center are studying effects of morning bright light therapy on pain, sleep and mood. Study does not involve drugs or blood draws. You will be compensated for your time. If interested, call 312-942-1529

CSC SERVICEWORKS is hiring a Field Service Technician for the North Side of Chicago to repair laundry equipment. Mechanical aptitude and experience a plus.

Will provide training.

Please send your resume to lleprine@pearcoresolutions.com FT MACHINE OPERATORS w/ forklift experience needed for 1st & 2nd shift. $13.5. HS diploma required.

Fax your resume to 847-671-3049

NICE ROOM w/stove, fridge & bath Near Aldi, Walgreens, Beach, Red Line & Buses. Elevator & Laundry. $130/wk & up. 773-275-4442

1 & 2BRS , garden apts, newly rehab, spac, appl, lndry facility, Quiet bldg. Sec 8 ok. $600/ month 773-344-4050

BIG ROOM with stove, fridge, bath & nice wood floors. Near Red Line & Buses. Elevator & Laundry, Shopping. $121/wk + up. 773-561-4970

EXCHANGE EAST APTS 1 Brdm $575 w/Free Parking,Appl, AC,Free heat. Near trans. laundry rm. Elec.not incl. Kalabich Mgmt (708) 424-4216

1 BR UNDER $700

6930 S. SOUTH SHORE DRIVE Studios & 1BR, INCL. Heat, Elec, Cking gas & PARKING, $585-$925, Country Club Apts 773-752-2200

OPENING WAIT LIST! 1BR sub-

sidized apts seniors 62 yrs & older 5/9/16-5/12/16 from 9:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. Pre-applications taken at 6141 S. Michigan Ave. Bring valid State ID, or Driver&#039;s License, birth cert &/ or eligible immigration status. Applicants must meet the current HUD income guidelines and our tenant screening and selection cri-teria.

Equal Housing Opportunity.

7022 S. SHORE DRIVE Impecca-

bly Clean Highrise STUDIOS, 1 & 2 BEDROOMS Facing Lake & Park.

Laundry & Security on Premises.

Parking & Apts. Are Subject to Availability. TOWNHOUSE APARTMENTS 773-288-1030

REAL ESTATE

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

RENTALS

Newly rehabbed. Appliances included. Low Move-in Fees. Hardwood floors. Pangea - Chicago’s South, Southwest & West Neighborhoods.

312-985-0556

STUDIO $500-$599

MIDWAY AREA/63RD KEDZIE Deluxe Studio 1 & 2 BRs. All

CHICAGO HEIGHTS - No depos-

it. Large Studio, 1,2 & 3 bed. Free heat, gas, parking. $550-$800/mo.

708-307-4290

STUDIO $600-$699 EDGEWATER!

1061 W. Rosemont. Studios starting at $625 to $675, All Utilities included! Elevator building! Close to CTA red line train, restaurants, shopping, blocks to the lakefront, beaches and bike trails, laundry onsite, remodeled, etc. For a showing please contact Jay 773835-1864 Hunter Properties, Inc. 773-477-7070 www.hunterprop.com

modern oak floors, appliances, Security system, on site maint. clean & quiet, Nr. transp. From $445. 773582-1985 (espanol)

2 BEDROOM, 1 Bath, Unfurnished apartment on Southside near 7700 Block of Hermitage. Newly remodeled Kitchen and Bath. Hard wood floors in living, dining, & bedrooms. $700-$725/mo. Call 773-720-2076 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

STUDIOS. CLOSE TO Public Transport at Howard/Rogers/ Greenview. Economy Rentals 3 Blocks from Howard CTA Station.

Rent $650. Heat/Water Included.

Move-in Fee $350.

Kathy 312.566.6567

79TH & WOODLAWN 2BR $775-$800; 76th & Phillips: 2BR $775-$800. Remod, appls avail.

Free Heat. Sec 8 welc. 312-2865678

4200 BLOCK OF W. GRENSHAW, newly decor bsmt studio apt, kit appls furn, incl heat. $675/mo + $675 sec. dep. Senior preferred 773-785-5174

1BR Garden Apt in quiet building, $650/mo, 1/2 mo sec, Incl Heat.

Laundry room on site, Parking 773-575-9283

STUDIO OTHER CLEAN ROOM W/FRIDGE & micro, Near Oak Park, Food -4Less, Walmart, Walgreens, Buses & Metra, Laundry. $115/wk & up.

773-637-5957 CHICAGO, HYDE PARK Arms

Hotel, 5316 S. Harper, maid, phone, cable ready, fridge, private facilities, laundry avail. Start at $160/wk Call 773-493-3500

CROSSROADS HOTEL SRO SINGLE RMS Private bath, PHONE,

CABLE & MAIDS. 1 Block to Orange Line 5300 S. Pulaski 773-581-1188

PLEASE STOP IN OR CALL 773-478-8111 AFTER 7PM or email resume to: JOHN@ADMIRALX.COM

CHICAGO WESTSIDE SMALL

Riverdale, Newly decor, 1BR, heated, appls, A/C, lndry, prkng, no pets, near metra, new carpet Sec 8 ok. $675/mo. 708-7984465

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

Near Transportation. Section 8 Welcome. Call 708-932-4582

1 BR $700-$799 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

7338 S. PAULINA, totally remodeled building, 1 BR garden apartment, $700/mo all util. incl. Laundry room on site.

773-803-7235 LARGE 1 BD accommodates king bed, 2nd fl, near public transport, quiet block, a/c, security cameras, $700/m plus util. 708-785-0034 RIVERDALE, IL 1 Bedroom

Condo, newly decorated, off st. parking, gated community. $750 + sec. Call Mr. Jackson 708-846-9734

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

Lawrence. 1 bedrooms starting at $895-$925 include heat and gas, laundry in building. Great view! Close to CTA Red Line, bus, stores, restaurants, lake, etc. To schedule a showing please contact Celio 773-3961575, Hunter Properties 773-4777070, www.hunterprop.com

MONTROSE/ CLARENDON VINTAGE one bedroom. Sunny/

bright, across from park, heat/ gas included. Miniblinds/ ceiling fans.

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

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 6/1. 773-761-4318, www. lakefrontmgt.com

ONE BEDROOM APARTMENT

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

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

Laundry in building. $850/ month.

Available 6/1. 773-761-4318, www. lakefrontmgt.com

CHICAGO BRONZEVILLE

WEST CHATHAM, 1BR, heat & garage space incl., laundry on premises, well maintained, quiet building. $775/mo. 773-233-7673

SOUTH.

4950 S Prairie.

1BR. Heat, cooking gas, appl incl. Sec 8 ok. Lndry on site, prkg. $660 & up.

Z 773-406-4841

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

1BD 4 Rooms,1506 West 109th Pl, Morgan Park, decorated, stove, cpt, fan,no pets,near trans $590+ utils. 773-778-6554 9am-9pm only NO SEC DEP 6829 S. Perry.

Studio $460.

HEAT INCL 773-955-5106

CHICAGO - HYDE PARK 5401 S. Ellis.

Studios. $400-$470 /mo.

Call 773-955-5106

ROOMS FOR RENT. Males pref.

6140 S. St. Lawrence. $450/mo., include all utilIties. Call Now. 773-7268263

W. AVALON , 1 & 2BR Newly decor. 8059 Ellis, hdwd floors,heat & appliances incl, $585 & $685 Call 708-769-6902

1 BR $900-$1099 Hyde Park West Apts., 5325 S. Cottage Grove Ave., Renovated spacious apartments in landscaped gated community. Off street parking available. 1BR $1195 - Free Heat, 2BR $1400 - Free heat, 4BR Townhome $2200. Visit or call 773-324-0280, M-F: 9am-5pm or apply online- ww w.hydepark west.com. Managed

by Metroplex, Inc

WEST

RIDGE,

6200N/

2200W. Spacious updated one bedroom garden apartment. Near transportation, shopping, parks.

Heat, appliances, electricity, blinds included. 773-274-8792. $900.

BEAUTIFUL BRONZEVILLE 1BR, sun-filled 900sf, new kit, FDR, oak flrs, lrg deck, backyrd, $875/ heated 773-743-4141 www. urbanequities.com WRIGLEVILLE 1BR, 900SF, new kit/deck, FDR, oak flrs, Cent H eat/AC, prkg avail. $1350 + util, Pet friendly, 773-743-4141 www. urbanequities.com

l

l

BEAUTIFUL BRONZEVILLE 1BR, sun-filled 900sf, new kit, FDR, oak flrs, lrg deck, backyrd, $875/ heated 773-743-4141 www. urbanequities.com

CHICAGO - BEVERLY, large 2 room Studio, 1 & 2BR Apts.

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

RAVENSWOOD 1BR: 850SF, great kit, DW, oak flrs, near Brown line, on-site lndy/stor., $1050/ heated 773-743-4141 www. urbanequities.com

CHICAGO, 1916 W. 78th, 3rd floor North. Recently decorated, large 4 room, 1BR, fully heated, $600. Charles (Manager) 312401-0911

HOMEWOOD- SUNNY 900SF

1BR Great Kitc, New Appls, Oak Flrs, A/C, Lndry & Storage, $950/mo Incls heat & prkg. 773.743.4141

1 BR $1100 AND OVER LOGAN SQUARE BLVD Carriage

House, 2-story LR with fireplace, loft, 1 bedroom & sitting room, modern kitchen & bath, utils included. $1250/ mo. Non-smoking. 773-235-1066

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

Spring is early LET’S GET MOVING!!

OUR COMMUNITY OFFERS...

HEAT, HW & CG Patio & Mini Blinds Plenty of parking on a 37 acre site 1Bdr From $745.00 2Bdr From $925.00 3 Bdr/2 Full Bath From $1200 **1-(773)-476-6000** CALL FOR DETAILS!

ROUND LAKE BEACH, IL Cedar Villas is accepting applications for subsidized 1BR apts. for seniors 62 years or older and the disabled.

Rent is based on 30% of annual income. For details, call us at 847-546-1899 ∫

LARGE SUNNY ROOM w/fridge & microwave. Near Oak Park, Green Line & Buses. 24 hr Desk, Parking Lot $101/week & Up. (773)378-8888 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 69TH/DANTE, 3BR. 77th/Essex.

3BR. 71st/Hermitage. 3BR 101st/May 1 & 2BR, New renov. Sec 8 ok. 708-503-1366 NO MOVE-IN FEE! No Dep! Sec 8 ok. 1, 2 & 3 Bdrms. Elev bldg, laundry, pkg. 6531 S. Lowe.

Call Mani 773-874-0100

CHATHAM- 718 E. 81st St. Newly

remodeled 1 BR, 1 BA, Dining room, Living room, hdwd flrs, appliances. & heat included. Call 847-533-5463

LANSING: 18309 WENTWORTH lg 2 BD. din rm, appl, c/a, carpet, parking, laundry room, secure bldg. Sec 8 OK. $800/mo.

773-497-9687 AUBURN GRESHAM 1814 W

79th, 2b-drm, Stove, Refrig, AC, Laundry, Garbage Shoot, Elevator, Heat, $800 plus Sec Dep 773-3587757

NORTH LAWNDALE, 2BR Apts, Multiple Units Available.

New construction, next to park and elementary school. Sec 8 welcome. 972-256-1141 CHICAGO - NEWLY REMODELED, Studio & 2BR Apts. 70t h/Aberdeen, heat included. $475-$695/month + security.

Call 773-651-8673 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

CHICAGO- 8446 SOUTH Ex-

change. 4 room, 2 bedroom, 2nd flr rear. $600/month + security. Tenant pays heat & electric. 773-297-6594.

CHICAGO, 2 BEDROOM, 1 Bath, living room, second floor, $725 per month plus Utilities. 11729 S. Princeton. 773-480-6414

CHATHAM - 22 E 70TH 2BR, $750/mo. Sec 8 OK. Heat & appl. Call Office: 773-966-5275 or Steve: 773-936-4749

MOVE IN SPECIAL!!!

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

Chicago, 5209 West Augusta Blvd 2 BR $875/ mo & 2 BR $895/mo

CHICAGO SOUTH SIDE Beauti-

ful Studios, 1,2,3 & 4 BR’s, Sec 8 ok. $500 gift certificate for Sec 8 tenants. 773-287-9999/312-446-3333

CHICAGO, 7443 S. Dante. 2BR, 1BA, 1st flr, heat incl, quiet building. $ 800/mo. 1 month’s rent + 1 month’s security. 773-752-2764

Ashland Hotel nice clean rms.

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

Low rates daily/weekly/monthly.

South Side. Call 773-376-5200

NEAR 111TH & KING Dr.: Clean 2nd floor 2BR, $650/mo. Near bus stop. Call Vernon, RPC 773-7851400

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

CALUMET CITY 158TH & PAXTON SANDRIDGE APTS 1 & 2 BEDROOM UNITS MODELS OPEN M-F, 9AM-5:30PM *** 708-841-5450 ***

2 BR UNDER $900

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

2 SPRING SPECIALS 773-4154970 2BD w/hdwd floors, bonus room & cherry kit cabs, ten. pays heat, 5816 Sangamon & 2BD w/ carpet, cherry kit cabinets & Kolher prod, ten. pays heat, 8632 Escanaba, each $600 + security 773-415-4970

plus deposit heat included, Ready now. 773-251-6652

9116 S. CHICAGO AVE $650/month plus security Nice 2BD 1BA carpet & appliances incl. 312-683-5174 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

CHICAGO 7600 S Essex 2BR $599, 3BR $699, 4BR $799 w/apprvd credit, no sec dep. Sect 8 Ok! 773287-9999 /312-446-3333 CHATHAM , 736 E. 81st (Evans), 2 Bedroom, 5 rooms, 2nd floor $825/month Call Mr. Joe at 708-870-4801

2 BR $900-$1099

2 BR $1300-$1499

MONTICELLO & OHIO Beautiful

LAKEVIEW! 1739 W. Addison.

2BR apt, freshly painted, appl incl. tenant pays all util. No pets. Sect. 8 welcome. $900/mo + sec. dep. 773533-0140

SOUTH SHORE 8221 S. Clyde.

Quiet area, Large 2BR, hdwd flrs, heat incl, liv and dining rm. $1035/mo + 1/2 mo sec.

708-951-4486 SECT 8 WELC, 71st & Wentworth, newly decorated, 2BR, 1st floor unit, $900/mo, heat incl., lndry on site. Contact Frank, 708-205-4311 6117 S. CAMPBELL, newly decorated 4BR Apt. Heat included.

Stove & refrigerator. $1000/mo + $1000 sec dep. Sect 8 welc. 312719-0524 CHICAGO, 9305 S. Saginaw, Newly rehabbed, 2BR, carpet, stove & fridge, heat not incl, $950/ mo. Sect 8 welc. Mr. Johnson, 773294-0167

Chicago - 6747 S. Paxton, newly renovated, 2BR, 2BA, HWFs thru out, $985/mo, appls, heat & prkg space incl., 773-2853206 CHICAGO, 8041 S. Rhodes Ave. 2BR, 3rd floor, $900/mo + 1 mo sec dep. FREE HEAT! West Hyde Park neighborhood. 773-562-2953

Glenwood - Large 2BR Condo, H /F High School. Balc, C/A, appls, heat, water incl. 2 parking, lndry. $950/mo. Call 708-268-3762

Must See, 2 bedrooms at $1350 hardwood floors, completely renovated apartments, 1 blk to CTA brown line, walking distance to Wrigley Field, restaurants and shops. Application fee $40. No security deposit! Parking space available for a monthly fee.

For a showing please call Saida 773407-6452, Hunter Properties 773477-7070 www.hunterprop.com

LARGE VINTAGE 2-BED near M

ontrose/Lake Shore Drive. Yard, AC, wd floors, laundry, DW, stor. Near Red Line, 8 bus lines, Target. GDarch s@g-mail.com, 773.230.5810 Call or text.

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

2 BR OTHER 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

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

CHICAGO, 2BR, LIVING room, dining room, heat & hot water included, hardwood floors, laundry room in basement, 773-213-1850

BEAUTIFUL NEW APT! 7651 S Phillips 2-4BR $1000-$1350 6943 s Woodlawn 4 bdrm $1350 Stainless Steel!!

Appliances!!

Hdwd flr!! marble bath!! laundry on site!! Sec 8 OK. 773- 404- 8926 CHICAGO, 119th S. Wallace, Rehabbed Apartments Available. 2BR $870 & 3BR $970.

1BA, parking. Call 773-4406562 MATTESON, 2BR, $990$1050; 3BR, $1250-$1400.

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

3 BR OR MORE UNDER $1200 CHATHAM BEAUTY 8041 S. Dobson, Updated 3BR, 1.5 BA, New HrdWd Fls. Prvt.Prkg. Appls.Incl. Tnt pays Ht. Sec 8 Welcome 773-2805554 SEC 8 WELCOME , 3BR, 1BA, Austin Area 1425 N. Lawler hdwd flrs, off strt prking, near trans, no pets. $1100/mo. 773-5750708 ALERT! ALERT! Apt avail. 1st Month Rent Free. 3BR/1BA, $875. $250 move in fee. 41 W. 14th Pl. Chicago Heights, Lincoln Hwy / Chicago Rd. 331-777-0223 4141 PRAIRIE, 3RD flr, A/C, lndry rm, new crpt, stove/fridge, 3BR, $895. Tenants pay heat. Sec, rent req’d. 773-704-4153, bwtn 11a6p.

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

SOUTH HYDE PARK

3 brm 1 ba, vintage, very spacious, heat inc., 68th & Stony Island. $1075.

Call 858-699-5096

SOUTH SIDE AUBURN Gresham area, 3BR, 3rd floor newly decorated, wtw carpet, quiet atmosphere, Sec. 8 OK. $925. 773-931-7405 SECTION 8 WELCOME, 2 Different locations, 503 E 89th St & 6714 S Eberhart, 3-5BD c/a, 2 car garage, all appls inc 312-804-0209 NEWLY DECOR. LYNWOOD

3BR, 2BA. $900.CHICAGO 76th/ Drexel. 2BR. $700. Heat Incl.

773-874-9637 / 773-493-5359

69TH & S. East End, lrg 3BR, top

flr, stove & frig incl, Secure, 6 unit bldg. Nr bus & stores. $850. Ms. K. 773-909-9077. Crdt checks req!

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

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

83 ELIZ. HUGE remod 3BR, ce-

ramic & beaut. wd flrs, lndry on site, no pets / smoking. Ten pays heat. $1050+sec. Crdt chk. 773.354.9750

CHICAGO, 6627 S. DREXEL,

2BR, 1.5BA Condo, SS appls, hdwd flrs, $1095/mo, heat included. Section 8 ok. Call Jarry, 773-699-5774

3 BR OR MORE $1200-$1499 CHARMING TWO BEDROOM. Oak Park three flat. Features dinein kitchen, on-site laundry, hardwood floors. Garage & parking in-

cluded. Near Green and Blue Lines. $1475 includes all utilities except electric. Mike, 312-446-5857.

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

8619 S. LAFLIN St. 3BR, 1.5BA,

Comp Remod, $1450/mo + 1 mo dep & ten pays all util. Sect 8 ok. No pets/smkg. 773-892-7639

PROVINCETOWN COUNTRY CLUB Hills: Beautiful 3BD townhouse, 1.5BA, 1 car garage, $1250/ month 773-615-5698 SEC 8 3BR voucher! Markham 3br/

1ba Ranch 2 car det gar no bsmt; AC & super clean! $1400/-month 708267-0011

A MUST SEE newly remod 3brm 1.

5bth w/hwd flrs, ss appls, close to tra ns.Ten pays util. $1200 + move-in fee. Shawn 773.916.1861

3 BR OR MORE $1500-$1799 ASHBURN: 8101 S. Albany, Beaut rehabbed 3BR, 2BA house, granite ctrs, SS appls, whirlpl tub, fin bsmt, 2 car gar., $1650/mo 708-288-4510 PARK MANOR: 7805 S. Maryland, Beaut rehab 3BR, 2BA house, granite ctrs, SS appls, fin bsmt. 2-car gar. $1475/mo 708288-4510 SECTION 8 WELCOME. No Security Deposit. 314 W 106th Place, 3BR house, appls included $1250/mo. Call 708-288-4510 BEVERLY/MORGAN PARK. 3BR brick ranch house. C/A, $1,500/ month + sec dep req. No pets/ smoking, Sect 8 OK. 708-647-9737

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

2 BR $1100-$1299 RAVENSWOOD BEAUTIFUL, SUNNY 2 BR. Hardwood floors.

Dining room with stained glass.Eat in kitchen with pantry.Laundry, storage and heat in-cluded.Parking available.

Walk to L and Metra. $1100. call 773561-8173

CHICAGO - 2BR, 1ST flr, $1100/ mo, appls/heat, A/C, carpeting, blinds incl. near 95th/Cottage Grove. Sec 8 ok. Smoke Free bldg 773-429-0274 Elmhurst: Sunny 1/BR, new appl, carpet, AC, Patio, $895/incl heat, parking. Call 773-743-4141 www.urbanequities.com Bronzeville, 35th/King Dr, 2BR, 2BA Condo , W/D in unit, maple cabinets, hdwd flrs, granite, $1195. 773-447-2122

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3 BR OR MORE OTHER

NEWLY REHAB’ED 2, 3, 4, 5 & 6BR single family homes with 2BA, Sect 8 Welcome, located in Southside Chicago & South suburbs.

224-436-5000, 708-203-6491 CHICAGO, 6111 S. Normal 2BR apt, stove/refrig., 6101 S. Normal 4BR T/H apt, newly decor. Sec. 8 welc. 773-422-1878, 708-757-3897

CHICAGO HOUSES FOR rent.

Section 8 Ok, w/app credit $500 gift certificate 3, 4 & 5 BR houses avail.

312-446-3333 or 708-752-3812

GENERAL

CHICAGO 4BR apts 8457 S Brandon & 2861 E 93rd St. SECTION 8 WELCOME. 1st flr, Section 8 ok, 3BR vouchLarge, newly rehabbed 3 or 4BR er ok; Call 847-926-0625

CHATHAM 8356 SOUTH Wabash Very clean 1BR $700; 2BR $800, heat & water incl., off st. parking, + security. Call 773-7831656

6200 BLOCK OF Greenwood Ave., newly renov 3BR/1BA Apts, appls incl., W/D on site. $1000$1200 /mo + sec. Close to public trans. No pets. Michael, 773-8587551

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

Call 773-374-0772, 773490-1558

56TH & PAULINA, N e w l y Remod, 4BR $1150/mo. Sect 8 welc. Accepting 2-4BR Voucher.

No Sec Dep for Voucher Holder.

773-895-9495 CHICAGO, NR 12200 S Lowe.

4BR house, large front & backyard. All appl. inc. Wheelchair Accessible Sec 8 welcome 708359-2210

apts, 11334 S. Michigan, 2nd flr.

Call 773-517-5175

RECENT REHAB 2-5BR SF Homes. S. Holland, Dolton, Harvey, Markham. Sec8 Ok. $1000 Sec & Bkgrnd Chk. 630-247-5146 HISTORICAL PULLMAN, 3BR townhome, $80K, FHA VA Owner will pay closing cost. Call Vernon RPC 773-785-1400 MATTESON, SAUK VILLAGE &

UNIVERSITY PARK. 4, 3 & 2BR, House/Condo, Section 8 ok.

For information: 708-625-7355

FOR SALE OPEN HOUSE 1-4, 5/15, 2848 N.

Merrimac Chicago. Total Gut Rehab with 5 bedrooms, 3.5 baths, walk out basement, 2 car Brick Garage and More. MLS 09195231. See video at ht tps://youtu.be/rn0wI1UGJxA. Call Mary Petri, Solid Realty Services 773590-6500

non-residential

COLLEGE GIRL BODY RUBS $40 w/AD 24/7

224-223-7787

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

units fully heated and humidity controlled with ac available. North: Knox Avenue.

773-685-6868.

South: Pershing Avenue. 773-523-6868.

roommates SOUTHSIDE - 55TH & Ashland, Clean Rooms, use of kitchen and bath. Available Now. Call 773-434-4046

CHICAGO - 4928 West Gladys.

Room for rent. Basement, $400, furnished, free internet/cable, util incl.

No dep. 773-287-1270 FURN ROOM FOR rent 67th and

Loomis. cable, Wi-Fi and all utils incl, W/D, $250/bi weekly.

Call/Text 312-221-9912

MARKETPLACE GOODS

NEIGHBORHOOD GARAGE SALE: Sun-day, May 15th 10a-4p

Every year Ravenswood Manor, a picturesque northwest side neighborhood, organizes its large, community-wide, garage sale. Spend your Sunday exploring the many bargains in the alleys and on the sidewalks of the neighborhood.

100+ households offer 1000s of bargains. Opens at 10:00am and closes at 4:00pm, rain or shine.

Ravenswood Manor extends from Lawrence (4800N) on the north, to Montrose (4400N) on the south, from the north branch of the Chicago River on the east to Sacramento (3000W) on the west. It is west of Lincoln Square, east of Albany Park. Maps available online at: http://ravenswoodmanor. com/-manorgaragesale/

MULTI-FAMILY GARAGE SALE! 872 Bristol Lane, New Leno x.Thurs 5/12 - Sat 5/14, 8am-4pm.

Household items, toys, clothes, crafts, electronics & much, much more.

MASSAGE TABLES, NEW and

used. Large selection of professional high quality massage equipment at a very low price. Visit us at www. bestmassage.com or call us, 773764-6542.

KILL BEDBUGS AND their eggs!

Buy Harris Bed Bug Killers/ KIT Complete Treatment System. Hardware stores, the Home Depot, homedepot. com

KILL BEDBUGS AND their eggs!

Buy Harris Bed Bug Killers/ KIT Complete Treatment System. Hardware stores, the Home Depot, homedepot. com

BALLROOM DANCER MIN 2y

exp to rprsnt Studio @ BD Showc Compt Trophy Balls & coach dancers HS Dpl must M-F $24/h fax CV & photo to 847-310-8305 or call Bill @ 847-310-8300

HEALTH & WELLNESS LOW COST BLOOD Test. CBC $10; LIPID $15 and more. Unilabinc, OakPark.

Phone: 708-848-1556.

GROUPON Special on Wellness Blood test with Doctor visit $49. www.BloodTestInChicago.com

UKRAINIAN MASSAGE. CALLS in/ out. Chicago and sub-

urbs. Hotels. 1234 S Michigan Avenue. Appointments. 773-616-6969.

ADULT SERVICES DANIELLE’S

LIP

SERVICE.

Adult Phone Sex and Web Cam provider. Must be 21+. Credit/Debit cards ac-cepted. 773-935-4995

NOTICE IS HEREBY given, pur-

suant to “An Act in relation to the use of an Assumed Business Name in the conduct or transaction of Business in the State,” as amended, that a certification was registered by the undersigned with the County Clerk of Cook County. Registration Number: D16146477 on April 25, 2016 Under the Assumed Business Name of BONES OF THE EARTH with the business located at: 4025 N CLARENDON AVE APT 1, CHICAGO, IL 60613. The true and real full name(s) and residence address of the owner (s)/partner(s) is: NANCY HOLLAND 4025 N CLARENDON AVE APT 1, CHICAGO, IL 60613, USA

NOTICE IS HEREBY given, pursuant to “An Act in relation to the use of an Assumed Business Name in the conduct or transaction of Business in the State,” as amended, that a certification was registered by the undersigned with the County Clerk of Cook County. Registration Number: D16146459 on April 25, 2016 Under the Assumed Business Name of LIZI S CREATIVE T S - JOE FRAMES with the business located at: 5020 W. EDDY ST., CHICAGO, IL 60641. The true and real full name(s) and residence address of the owner (s)/ partner(s) is: ELIZABETH SANTANA, 5020 W. EDDY ST.

NOTICE IS HEREBY given, pursuant to “An Act in relation to the use of an Assumed Business Name in the conduct or transaction of Business in the State,” as amended, that a certification was registered by the undersigned with the County Clerk of Cook County. Registration Number: D16146611 on May 5, 2016 Under the Assumed Business Name of DIAMOND TO DIAMOND with the business located at: 2530 N NEVA, CHICAGO, IL 60707. The true and real full name(s) and residence address of the owner (s)/partner(s) is: NATOSHA WOODS, 2530 N NEVA, CHICAGO, IL 60707, USA

NOTICE IS HEREBY given, pur-

NOTICE IS HEREBY given, pursuant to "An Act in relation to the use of an Assumed Business Name in the conduct or transaction of Business in the State," as amended, that a certification was registered by the undersigned with the County Clerk of Cook County. Registration Number: D16146663 on May 6, 2016, under the Assumed Business Name of No Real Jewelry with the business located at 6915 S Crandon Ave Apt 3, Chicago, IL 60649. The true and real full name(s) and residence address of the owner(s)/ partner(s) is: Jessica Lauren East, 6915 S Crandon Ave Apt 3, Chicago, IL 60649, USA.

suant to “An Act in relation to the use of an Assumed Business Name in the conduct or transaction of Business in the State,” as amended, that a certification was registered by the undersigned with the County Clerk of Cook County. Registration Number: D16146512 on April 26, 2016 Under the Assumed Business Name of SKOKIE SPROUTS with the business located at: 9118 KENTON AVENUE, SKOKIE, IL 60076. The true and real full name(s) and residence address of the owner (s)/partner(s) is: ERIN SCHMIDT, 9118 KENTON AVENUE, SKOKIE, IL 60076, USA

NOTICE IS HEREBY given, pursuant to "An Act in relation to the use of an Assumed Business Name in the conduct or transaction of Business in the State," as amended, that a certification was registered by the undersigned with the County Clerk of Cook County. Registration Number: D16146495 on April 25, 2016, under the Assumed Business Name of Love and Light Tarot with the business located at 10111 S Union Ave, Chicago, IL 60628. The true and real full name(s) and residence address of the owner(s)/ partner(s) is: Erica Moore, 10111 S Union Ave, Chicago, IL 60628, USA.

NOTICE IS HEREBY given, pursuant to "An Act in relation to the use of an Assumed Business Name in the conduct or transaction of Business in the State," as amended, that a certification was registered by the undersigned with the County Clerk of Cook County. Registration Number: D16146372 on April 14, 2016, under the Assumed Business Name of Third Coast Psychotherapy with the business located at 1903 North Sheffield Avenue Unit 2, Chicago, IL 60614.

The true and real full name(s) and residence address of the owner(s)/ partner(s) is: Tanya Komblevitz, 1903 North Sheffield Avenue Unit 2, Chicago, IL 60614, USA.

NOTICE IS HEREBY given, pursuant to "An Act in relation to the use of an Assumed Business Name in the conduct or transaction of Business in the State," as amended, that a certification was registered by the undersigned with the County Clerk of Cook County. Registration Number: D16146306 on April 13, 2016, under the Assumed Business Name of Notary Runners with the business located at 1402 Tonset Ln, Schaumburg, IL 60193. The true and real full name(s) and residence address of the owner( s)/ partner(s) is: Alesia Respondi, 1402 Tonset Ln, Schaumburg, IL 60193, USA.

CHICAGO, IL 60641, USA

NOTICES HOST A FRENCH/SPANISH student 3-4 weeks this summer.

Activities planned; Students insured & speak English. Join the fun, make a new friend! www. share-america.org

SERVICES FULL BODY MASSAGE. hotel, house calls welcome $90 special.

Russian, Polish, Ukrainian girls.

Northbrook and Schaumburg locations. 10% discount for new customers. Please call 773-407-7025

legal notices

MESSAGES ADOPTING YOUR NEWBORN IS OUR DREAM. Security & endless love awaits.

Ex.Pd. Randi and Dan 1800-399-8751

NOTICE IS HEREBY given, pur-

suant to “An Act in relation to the use of an Assumed Business Name in the conduct or transaction of Business in the State,” as amended, that a certification was registered by the undersigned with the County Clerk of Cook County.

Registration Number: D16146410 on April 20, 2016 Under the Assumed Business Name of SENIOR BENEFIT SERVICES with the business located at: 947 W 31ST PL APT 2, CHICAGO, IL 60608. The true and real full name(s) and residence address of the owner (s)/ partner(s) is: DYLAN GRIEVE, 947 W 31ST PL APT 2, CHICAGO, IL 60608, USA

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36 CHICAGO READER | MAY 12, 2016

l

l

By Dan Savage

STRAIGHT DOPE

Mother of three kids under ten no longer likes kinky sex

By Cecil Adams

Is that just life? Plus: a bi guy with girl trouble, “accidental” anal

Q : Do cigarette filters provide any benefits to

Q : Straight male, 48,

married 14 years, three kids under age ten. Needless to say, life is busy at our house.

My wife and I have stopped having sex. It was my decision. I get the obligation vibe combined with a vanilla sex life, and it just turns me off. We’ve had many conversations about it, and we want to find a balance.

But it always defaults back to infrequent and dull, making me frustrated and cranky. We used to be pretty kinky—dirty talk, foursomes, toys, porn, etc—but all those things wear her out now, and her interest has disappeared.

My guess is that she was just playing along with my kinks to keep me happy and is now over it. Is this just life as a 48-year-old married father of three? —HARD UP HUSBAND

A : Is sex wearing your wife

out, HUH, or is raising three kids wearing your wife out? I suspect it’s the latter.

But in answer to your question: Infrequent and underwhelming sex, sometimes with an obligatory vibe, is not only the sex life a 48-yearold married father of three can expect, it’s the sex life he signed up for. Kids are without question a logistical impediment—but a temporary one, provided you don’t go nuclear. A couple’s sex life can come roaring back so long as they don’t succumb to bitterness, recrimination, and sexlessness. To avoid all three, HUH, it might help to ask yourself which is the likelier scenario: for years your wife faked an interest in dirty talk, foursomes, toys, porn, etc, in order to trap you, or your wife is currently too exhausted to take an interest in dirty talk, foursomes, toys, porn, etc. Again, I suspect it’s the latter.

My advice: masturbate more, masturbate together

more, lower your expectations so you’ll be pleasantly surprised when a joint masturbation session blows up into something bigger and better, carve out enough time for quality sex (weekends away, if possible, with pot and wine and Viagra), and take turns reminding each other that small kids aren’t small forever.

ual violence at the same rates that women are, and a weirdand-awkward first impression is far likelier to turn them off.

Something else that couldn’t hurt: getting on a site like OkCupid and approaching bisexual women there. You may have better luck with women if your initial interactions are over e-mail.

Q : I’m one of those bi guys.

WHAT, the lady whose boyfriend “accidentally” assfucked her. “I didn’t mean to stick my dick in your ass” is in my experience a lie men tell—as you say, it’s not an accident. I’ve had way too many conversations with women friends about the pain and anger and sometimes shame that they’ve felt when male partners have just stuck it in abruptly, unlubricated, and without permission.

Honestly it was kind of gross and disappointing when your answer was just jokes about butt plugs. —WHATEVER

I had trouble dating girls in high school and at 18 found guys so much darn easier.

And as sexual promiscuity in the gay world goes, I got around there easily. Fastforward a few years. I’m in college now and desiring women and stability more.

But women find me weird and awkward—I admit I am—something I was never judged for in the gay world.

I’d love to find a bisexual woman to start a family with who is up for mutually agreed-upon swing-and-fun sessions with others. But from what I’ve experienced with girls so far—always on the watch for a “player,” zero understanding of male bisexuality—that seems far from possible. Lately I’ve just been sitting on my hands in social situations, afraid to even interact with women. Is this therapy worthy?

—UPSET PITTSBURGHER IN TROUBLING TIMES

A : Therapy couldn’t hurt . . .

unless you get a terrible therapist. Start your search at the American Association of Sexuality Educators, Counselors, and Therapists (aasect.org), and you’re likelier to find a good/sexpositive one.

As for why your “weird and awkward” first impression seemed to be less of an impediment when you were sleeping with men: Men aren’t subjected to male sex-

Q : About your answer to

ACRONYM STRONGLY STRESSES UNDERLYING POINT

A : I’m with you, WASSUP.

But as I alluded, on the two occasions when I’ve urged straight female callers on the Savage Lovecast to dump boyfriends who “accidentally” penetrated them anally, the pushback from male and female listeners was overwhelming. Perhaps I should’ve come down harder on WHAT’s boyfriend—OK, I should’ve come down harder—but it seemed possible that anal might’ve been an accident; WHAT was certainly convinced it was. I still believe “accidental” anal is highly unlikely. v Send letters to mail@ savagelove.net. Download the Savage Lovecast every Tuesday at thestranger.com. ! @fakedansavage

the smoker, or were they simply created by the tobacco companies to make customers think they were addressing the health risks of smoking?

Filters seem to trap something, as evidenced by the discoloration noticed on any discarded butt.

While I’m on the topic, why don’t manufacturers make filters out of something that actually decomposes when exposed to the environment, rather than something that litters our beaches, parks, and sidewalks forever? —TOM M.

A : Why don’t they design a biodegradable

butt? Yeah, that’s a real puzzler—if there’s one thing cigarette makers are known for, it’s their deeply felt sense of social responsibility.

The short answer is no, filters don’t really do anything. They’re about the illusion of a lighter cigarette. This revelation shouldn’t exactly be shocking, but you may be interested to learn that manufacturers didn’t set out to make a deceptively useless filter—early on, cigarette manufacturers appear to have actually wanted something that would remove some of the harmful materials their products contained.

You old enough to remember the 1950s, Tom? Americans had by then been puffing happily away on their mass-manufactured smokes for half a century, while at the same time lung cancer—previously quite rare—was becoming epidemic. It was only after the Second World War that scientists started putting the pieces together. As we know now, cigarette-industry players—Philip Morris, Lorrilard, et al—were soon well aware of the link between their products and lung cancer; they just didn’t feel like sharing this info publicly.

Manufacturers did, however, put some cash behind a project to mitigate, in earnest, some of the malign side effects of smoking: the cigarette filter. And they appealed to textile and chemical companies for help.

An early result was the Kent Micronite filter, designed by Lorillard; it used asbestos fibers to trap, uh, harmful substances. The fact that it was literally full of carcinogenic matter wasn’t what made it unpopular. Rather, the thing worked too well: the Micronite, which removed 30 percent of tar particulate, also removed the cigarette’s flavor, and forced smokers to pull harder on their draw. It also proved excessively tricky for mass production, as did filters using natural materials like cotton and wool, which have a nonuniform structure.

What manufacturers needed was something that could be made in volume and at low cost— Americans at the time were, after all, going through about 400 billion cigarettes a year.

The answer turned out to be a filter made of cellulose acetate. This did, indeed, block

SLUG SIGNORINO

SAVAGE LOVE

a little tar and toxic gas, but smokers, ever resourceful, responded by changing their behavior—smoking more, taking deeper puffs, etc—thereby making the practical effect of the cellulose-acetate filter approximately nil.

At this point cigarette makers basically threw up their hands, yielding to the intractability of what was known as the “filter problem.” As a 2011 paper in the journal Tobacco Control put it, researchers had “confronted an engineering contradiction: to design a cigarette filter that would appreciably reduce the health hazards imposed by smoking (caused by tar, nicotine and gases) while preserving the taste and ‘satisfaction’ that smokers craved (provided by tar, nicotine and gases).”

Accordingly, the industry did something that conformed much more to our expectations for its behavior. One chemist discovered that if you adjust the pH in cellulose-acetate filters, you can get them to change color during the smoking process, making it look like some really bad stuff is being screened out. Thus does the filter story take its ghoulishly cynical left turn: hoping to keep concerned smokers on board but unable to actually make cigarettes safer, manufacturers settled for tricking the smokers into thinking the cigarettes were safer.

Getting to your other question: cellulose-acetate filters are photodegradable, meaning UV in sunlight breaks them down somewhat.

This might be OK but for the fact that so many of them end up in the environment—globally about 4.5 trillion butts become litter every year, out of six trillion cigarettes smoked annually. We don’t yet know what damage this is doing, though (for instance) under lab conditions, one cigarette butt in one liter of water is enough to kill both salt- and freshwater fish.

The tobacco industry’s position? It’s smokers’ responsibility not to litter—full stop.

You can expect to be waiting on your better filter just a while longer. v Send questions to Cecil via straightdope.com or write him c/o Chicago Reader, 350 N. Orleans, Chicago 60654.

MAY 12, 2016 - CHICAGO READER 37

b

UPDATED Common 6/9, 9 PM, House of Blues, postponed, 17+ Saul Hernandez 11/5, 9 PM, House of Blues, rescheduled from 9/17, 17+

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Talib Kweli ! COURTESY PRESS HERE PRODUCTIONS

NEW Acceptance 7/23, 9:30 PM, Metro, on sale Fri 5/13, noon, 18+ Julion Alvarez 7/24, 7 PM, Allstate Arena, Rosemont, on sale Fri 5/13, 10 AM Dave Alvin & Phil Alvin 9/10, 8 PM, Maurer Hall, Old Town School of Folk Music b Art of Rap Festival with Public Enemy, Ice-T, Naughty by Nature, Furious 5, and more 8/5, 5:30 PM, Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre, Tinley Park, on sale Fri 5/13, 10 AM Authority Zero 6/22, 7:30 PM, Reggie’s Rock Club, 17+ Bear vs. Shark 10/29, 8 PM, Subterranean, 17+ Belly 7/7, 9 PM, Bottom Lounge, on sale Fri 5/13, 10 AM, 17+ Taylor Bennett 5/28, 8 PM, Reggie’s Rock Club b Beyond Creation 7/21, 7 PM, Reggie’s Rock Club, 17+ Boris, Earth 8/14, 9 PM, Metro, on sale Fri 5/13, noon, 18+ Boys Like Girls 8/12, 8 PM, the Vic, on sale Fri 5/13, 10 AM b Jay Brannan 8/20, 7 PM, Schubas Castle 7/26, 7:30 PM, Reggie’s Rock Club, 17+ Cornelius 8/13, 8 PM, Park West, on sale Fri 5/13, 10 AM, 18+ Kris Davis & Craig Taborn 10/5, 8:30 PM, Constellation, 18+ Paul De Jong 6/21, 9 PM, Empty Bottle, on sale Fri 5/13, 10 AM Eyehategod, Negative Approach 6/1, 10 PM, Reggie’s Rock Club, 18+ Fear of Men 7/8, 8 PM, Schubas, 18+ Girl Band 7/16, 11 PM, Beat Kitchen, 17+

Grouper, Breadwoman 6/18, 6:30 PM, Bohemian National Cemetery, on sale Fri 5/13, 10 AM b Handsome Family 9/18, 7 PM, Maurer Hall, Old Town School of Folk Music, on sale Fri 5/13, 8 AM b Hepcat 8/12, 9 PM, Subterranean, on sale Fri 5/13, 10 AM Honne 8/8, 7:30 PM, Lincoln Hall, on sale Fri 5/13, 10 AM b Hush Sound 8/10, 7:30 PM, Thalia Hall, on sale Fri 5/13, 10 AM b Jose James 9/25, 8 PM, the Promontory, on sale Fri 5/13, 10 AM b Ella Jenkins 5/29, noon, the Promontory b Talib Kweli 7/2, 7 and 10 PM, City Winery, on sale Thu 5/12, noon b Fedde Le Grand 5/26, 10 PM, the Mid Lion Babe 8/19, 8 PM, Double Door Mali Music 6/23, 8 PM, Subterranean, 17+ Marduk, Rotting Christ, Carach Angren 9/11, 7 PM, Reggie’s Rock Club, 18+ Mac McAnally 8/7, 8 PM, City Winery, on sale Thu 5/12, noon b Jon McLaughlin 9/15-16, 8 PM, City Winery, on sale Thu 5/12, noon b Montana of 300 6/16, 8 PM, Double Door, on sale Fri 5/13, 10 AM Mrch, Masses 6/14, 8 PM, Schubas, on sale Fri 5/13, noon Ott & the All-Seeing I 6/2, 9 PM, Concord Music Hall, 18+ Pet Shop Boys 11/5, 9 PM, Civic Opera House, on sale Fri 5/13, 10 AM Pitbull, Prince Royce 8/16, 7 PM, United Center, on sale Sat 5/14, noon

38 CHICAGO READER - MAY 12, 2016

The Plot in You, Erra 7/10, 5 PM, Bottom Lounge b Protoje 7/13, 8 PM, House of Blues, 17+ Raq, Particle 6/24, 11 PM, Metro, on sale Fri 5/13, noon Rdgldgrn, Skints 6/22, 8 PM, Lincoln Hall, on sale Fri 5/13, 10 AM Reggae Fest Chicago with Toots & the Maytals, Lee “Scratch” Perry, Hepcat, and more 8/13, noon, Addams/ Medill Park b Res 6/4, 10 PM, the Promontory Eric Roberson 8/25-27, 8 PM, City Winery, on sale Thu 5/12, noon b Pete Rock 5/28, 10 PM, the Promontory Royce da 5’9” 6/3, 8 PM, Reggie’s Rock Club, 18+ Darius Rucker 8/20, 7 PM, Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre, Tinley Park, on sale Fri 5/13, 10 AM Skinny Lister 11/3, 9 PM, Lincoln Hall Jordan Smith 6/6, 8 PM, City Winery, on sale Thu 5/12, noon b Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band 8/28, 7:30 PM, United Center, on sale Sat 5/14, 10 AM Templars 7/9, 8 PM, Cobra Lounge Tobacco 9/30, 9 PM, Lincoln Hall Twenty One Pilots 1/28, 7 PM, United Center, on sale Fri 5/13, 10 AM Steven Tyler 8/13, 8 PM, Chicago Theatre, on sale Fri 5/13, 11 AM Sara Watkins 9/21, 8 PM, Maurer Hall, Old Town School of Folk Music b Zakk Wylde 7/24, 8 PM, Concord Music Hall, on sale Fri 5/13, 10 AM, 17+

Against Me! 6/19, 6:30 PM, Metro b All Them Witches 7/21, 9 PM, Empty Bottle Architects, Counterparts 7/13, 6 PM, Bottom Lounge b Berner 6/1, 6 PM, Reggie’s Rock Club b Black Sabbath 9/4, 7:30 PM, Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre, Tinley Park b Cage the Elephant 6/7, 7 PM, UIC Pavilion Cam’ron, Underachievers, G Herbo 6/29, 7 PM, Concord Music Hall b Dead Kennedys 6/17, 8 PM, House of Blues, 17+ Eagulls 6/16, 8 PM, Subterranean Ex-Cult 6/1, 9 PM, Hideout Flag, Off With Their Heads 6/8, 7 PM, Double Door, 17+ Goggs 7/19, 9 PM, Empty Bottle Steve Gunn 6/23, 9 PM, Schubas Helmet 7/15, 9 PM, Double Door, 17+ Sierra Hull 8/5, 7 PM, SPACE, Evanston b Vijay Iyer Trio 7/1, 7 and 9:30 PM, Constellation, 18+ Jesu, Sun Kil Moon 11/13, 8 PM, Park West, 18+ King Khan & the Shrines 6/19, 10 PM, Subterranean, 17+ Jenny Lewis, Watson Twins 9/8, 7:30 PM, Chicago Theatre b Mad Decent Block Party 8/21, 3:30 PM, FirstMerit Bank Pavilion MSTRKRFT 6/4, 8 PM, Double Door Nothing 6/10, 9 PM, Subterranean, 17+ Old Crow Medicine Show 7/18, 7:30 PM, Thalia Hall b Ought 7/25, 8 PM, Beat Kitchen, 17+ Perfume 8/31, 8 PM, the Vic b Pity Sex 7/9, 7:30 PM, Bottom Lounge b A Place to Bury Strangers 6/3, 9 PM, Empty Bottle Psychic TV 7/22, 9 PM, Reggie’s Rock Club, 17+ Revelers 7/8, 9 PM, FitzGerald’s, Berwyn Cathy Richardson 5/27, 8 PM, City Winery b Hot Rize 8/21, 7:30 PM, City Winery b Rogue Wave 5/26, 8 PM, Thalia Hall b Sadies 5/21, 9 PM, Wire, Berwyn Darrell Scott 7/21, 8 PM, City Winery b

ALL AGES

WOLF BY KEITH HERZIK

EARLY WARNINGS

CHICAGO SHOWS YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT IN THE WEEKS TO COME

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Scythian 8/4, 8 PM, City Winery b Shannon & the Clams 6/11, 9 PM, Logan Square Auditorium, 17+ Spray Paint 5/25, 9 PM, Empty Bottle Water Liars 7/12, 9 PM, Schubas, 18+ Waxahatchee, Allison Crutchfield 6/19, 8 PM, Beat Kitchen, 17+ We Banjo 3 8/9, 8 PM, City Winery b We Were Promised Jetpacks 6/24, 9 PM, Bottom Lounge, 17+ Jimmy Webb, Robin Spielberg 6/12, 8 PM, City Winery b Wizard Rifle 6/10, 9 PM, Empty Bottle Peter Wolf & the Midnight Travelers 5/21, 7:30 PM, Park West, 18+ Chelsea Wolfe 5/20, 8:30 PM, Thalia Hall, 17+ Wolves in the Throne Room 9/23, 9 PM, Empty Bottle Wolvhammer 5/24, 7 PM, Reggie’s Rock Club, 17+ Wussy 6/24, 9 PM, Empty Bottle Yonatan Gat 6/2, 9 PM, Hideout

SOLD OUT Alabama Shakes 7/19, 7:30 PM, Civic Opera House and 7/20, 7:30 PM, Aragon Ballroom b At the Drive-In 5/19-20, 7:30 PM, Riviera Theatre b Borns 7/21-22, 7:30 PM, Metro b The Cure, Twilight Sad 6/10-11, 7:30 PM, UIC Pavilion b Drake, Future 7/26-27, 7 PM, United Center Eagles of Death Metal 5/25, 9 PM, 18+ Lush 9/18, 8 PM, the Vic, 18+ Pearl Jam 8/20 and 8/22, 7:30 PM, Wrigley Field Pierce the Veil, I the Mighty 6/10, 7:30 PM, House of Blues Pvris 6/2, 6 PM, House of Blues b Paul Simon 6/18, 8 PM, Ravinia Festival, Highland Park Sturgill Simpson 6/3, 8 PM, Riviera Theatre, 18+ Son Lux 5/19, 8:30 PM, Constellation, 18+ Thrice 6/23, 6:30 PM, House of Blues, 17+ Wombats 7/13, 7:30 PM, Metro b Young Thug 5/25, 8 PM, the Vic b v

GOSSIP WOLF A furry ear to the ground of the local music scene EYE VYBE RECORDS founder Karissa Talanian, who also plays in this wolf’s fave “witch punk” trio, Lil Tits, launched Good Vybes Fest in 2014, and the vibes just keep getting better. This year the fest expands from two days to three, all at the Empty Bottle. After dates on Fri 5/13 and Sat 5/14, the fest takes a rest on Sunday, then closes Mon 5/16 with a free show jam-packed with local favorites. Rabble Rabble headline that final night, which doubles as a record-release party for their acid-fried grunge opus Composure—the first piece of Eye Vybe vinyl! Good Vybes Fest tickets are $10 for each of the first two nights, $15 for both.

Filmmaker Nic Collins has moved from Chicago to Los Angeles, but his hilarious and deeply weird new sci-fi webseries, Year of the Snake—think Mork & Mindy, but with two dudes making stoned jokes about music and technology—still has a lot of the Windy City in it. The series was shot here and features music from Gossip Wolf faves such as Evasive Backflip and Nnamdi Ogbonnaya. On Sun 5/15, Young Camelot hosts a screening at Beauty Bar; Evasive Backflip perform and Young Camelot DJs spin records.

Local garage rockers Twin Peaks celebrate their new album, Down in Heaven, at the Wicker Park Reckless Records on Sat 5/14. The event includes an in-store performance and a record signing—to get in, you have to buy a limited-edition version of the LP that comes with a banddesigned coloring book and crayons.

It’s been a minute since Gossip Wolf checked in on Kimochi Sound, the local electronic label run by DJ M50, aka producer Area. Last week Kimochi dropped its third 12-inch of 2016—fourth if you count the debut of its Tesuji imprint, Area’s Entireless EP. The new Spindrift is from Portland producer Strategy, and this wolf loves the gently echoing house keys that open its first cut, “I Want Your Love.”

The 12-inch is streaming at Kimochi’s Bandcamp. —J.R. NELSON AND LEOR GALIL Got a tip? Tweet @Gossip_Wolf or e-mail gossipwolf@chicagoreader.com.

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MAY 12, 2016 - CHICAGO READER 39

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