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 | J U N E 3 0 , 2 0 1 6
Transportation Is a bus driver to blame for a bike courier’s death? 8
Food & Drink Leña Brava is another triumph for Rick Bayless. 36
EXPLORING REZKOVILLE
The last 62 acres of undeveloped wilderness near downtown Chicago
2 CHICAGO READER - JUNE 30, 2016
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EDITOR JAKE MALOOLEY CREATIVE DIRECTOR PAUL JOHN HIGGINS DEPUTY EDITOR, NEWS ROBIN AMER CULTURE EDITOR TAL ROSENBERG DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY DANIELLE 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 JESSICA KIM COHEN, SARA COHEN, MARC DAALDER, KT HAWBAKER-KROHN, FARAZ MIRZA, SUNSHINE TUCKER
IN THIS ISSUE
8
4 Agenda Hillary Clinton’s Faux Feminism, the film Eat That Question—Frank Zappa in His Own Words, and more recommendations
CITY LIFE
8 Transportation Two eyewitnesses say the bus driver who struck bike courier Blaine Klingenberg is at least partly to blame for the collision. 9 Opinion Let’s celebrate the loss of the Lucas Museum.
ARTS & CULTURE
21 Lit Katherine Ozment’s Grace Without God searches for a meaningful life without theism.
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22 Theater The Gift gives us a stripped-down version of Steinbeck. 23 Movies Free State of Jones turns a Civil War legend into a plea for racial equality. 24 Movies Independence Day: Resurgence isn’t as good as the original—but then, how good was the original? 25 Visual Art “With a Wink and a Nod” exhibits the best satirical illustrations of late 19th-century America.
MUSIC
26 In rotation Small keyboards, CDs, Randy Newman’s Little Criminals, and
25
more current musical obsessions 26 Gossip Wolf Rapper Psalm One celebrates a “Shitty Punk Birthday,” and more music news. 29 Shows of note Guns N’ Roses; Hal Rammel; the Roots, Billy Idol, and the Isley Brothers at the Taste of Chicago; the Chosen Few Music Festival; and more
FOOD & DRINK
36 Restaurant review: Leña Brava The Baja-inspired seafood spot is another triumph for Rick Bayless. 40 Bar review: Cruz Blanca Empire Bayless now has a cerveceria and taqueria as well.
36
CLASSIFIEDS
41 Jobs 41 Apartments & Spaces 43 Marketplace 44 Straight Dope Why haven’t tabloids been sued out of existence? 45 Savage Love Is it douchey to fob off a creep by claiming to be a lesbian? 46 Early Warnings Jah Wobble, Of Montreal, Progtoberfest, and more shows in the weeks to come
EXPLORING REZKOVILLE
---------------------------------------------------------------VICE PRESIDENT OF NEW MEDIA GUADALUPE CARRANZA SENIOR ACCOUNT MANAGER EVANGELINE MILLER ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES ARIANA DIAZ, BRIDGET KANE MARKETING AND EVENTS MANAGER BRYAN BURDA DIRECTOR OF DIGITAL JOHN DUNLEVY ADVERTISING COORDINATOR HERMINIA BATTAGLIA CLASSIFIEDS REPRESENTATIVE KRIS DODD ---------------------------------------------------------------DISTRIBUTION CONCERNS distributionissues@chicagoreader.com CHICAGO READER 350 N. ORLEANS, CHICAGO, IL 60654 312-222-6920, CHICAGOREADER.COM ---------------------------------------------------------------THE READER (ISSN 1096-6919) IS PUBLISHED WEEKLY BY SUN-TIMES MEDIA, LLC, 350 N. ORLEANS, CHICAGO, IL 60654. © 2016 SUN-TIMES MEDIA, LLC. PERIODICAL POSTAGE PAID AT CHICAGO, IL. POSTMASTER: SEND CHANGE OF ADDRESS TO CHICAGO READER, 350 N. ORLEANS, CHICAGO, IL 60654.
ON THE COVER: AERIAL PHOTO OF CHICAGO ON SEPTEMBER 24, 2015, BY KAREN BLEIER FOR AFP/GETTY IMAGES
No place to live
The homeless encampments of Rezkoville face an uncertain future as development looms. PHOTOS BY LLOYD DEGRANE WORDS BY KARI LYDERSEN 12
Into the wild
On the trail of discovery—and disappointment—in Chicago’s accidental badlands BY RYAN SMITH 18
Lender of last resort Will the city use TIF money to pay off Tony Rezko’s debt? BY BEN JORAVSKY 19
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Anony(mous) When Naomi Iizuka wrote Anon(ymous) in R 2006, there were 8.4 million refugees
registered with the UN. By the end of 2015, there were 21.3 million. Those numbers seem enormous, but of course they all represent someone: a mother, a son, a daughter, you or me, yearning for a home that no longer exists. Politicians love to paint immigrants as terrorists or a problem that must be dealt with, but conveyed through the lens of Homer’s Odyssey, this production helps us see the people behind both the photographs and the propaganda. Directed by Rocco Renda for the Cuckoo’s Theater Project, it’s a diversely cast and imaginative show employing physical theater and powerful sound and light design that make you realize anyone could become anonymous. —A.J. Sørensen Through 7/17, Thu-Sat 7:30 PM, Sun 2:30 PM, Collaboraction, 1579 N. Milwaukee, 312-226-9633, $20. Company It’s smooth, entertaining, great looking (thanks to Todd Rosenthal’s witty set), and features 14 talented actor/singer/dancers doing delightful work. But there’s a problem with William Brown’s staging of the musical by Stephen Sondheim and George Furth: cell phones. The tale of Robert, a 35-year-old Manhattanite whose married friends force him to confront his bachelor status, Company premiered in 1970 and its sensibilities are consistent with the era. Which makes them passé for ours. Brown clearly has an impulse to update, yet cell phones are where his rethinking ends. Gender remains binary here, sex stays hetero, and ring-a-ding-ding still qualifies as a worldview. Even Sondheim’s music channels a pop brightness reminiscent of period TV themes. Sure, Thom Miller’s Robert seems reticent about getting amorous with his various girlfriends, suggesting the possibility of homosexuality. But his behavior is also explicable as commitment phobia. The only real point of communication between 2016 and 1970 is the thought of
what it must’ve been like for the two gay authors to pretend they weren’t writing about themselves. —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, $35-$80.
Nick & Gabe: American Champions In Nick and Gabe’s America, everything is bigger, better, faster—like an athlete on steroids. So it’s no coincidence that over the course of this one-hour sketchcomedy revue one of the more prominent motifs is lampooning SportsCenter’s Top 10 Plays, thunderous dunks and all. On the one hand it’s a joke about redundancy; on the other hand it’s about domination. That sense of supremacy resonates throughout this mockery of democracy, with some of the more biting quips coming at the expense of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan (“We’re definitely not still in Iraq”) and the failure to close Guantanamo Bay. This may sound like stale material, but astute observations about chants of “USA,” along with original gems like ditties about our national parks and a group called the Beach Brothers, make this show worth your hard-earned American dollars. —Matt de la Peña 6/30-7/15: Thu 10 PM, Up Comedy Club, 230 W. North, 312-337-3992, upcomedyclub.com, $12-$17. Pygmalion Not many plays R survive being transformed into a popular musical (exhibit A, the almost
The Complete Works of Shakespeare (Abridged) There are those who think that Shakespeare’s plays need to be translated into an accessible language of sight gags and fart jokes in order to be appreciated by semi-educated modern audiences. This aptly describes the committee that thought up The Complete Works of Shakespeare (Abridged). Less a play than a long, dumbed-down vaudeville routine, it skewers Shakespeare’s plots and language in service of a highlight reel of choice bits that pretty much shreds everything that ever mattered to anyone encountering the Bard of Avon. If folks calling themselves the “Shakespeare All-Stars” actually think Shakespeare is stupid, well, they seem happy enough to cavort along with it. —Max Maller Through 7/3: Thu-Sat 8 PM, Sun 5 PM, Heartland Studio Theatre, 7016 N. Glenwood, 773-791-2393, $25, $15 students and seniors.
never produced Green Grow the Lilacs, source for Oklahoma!). George Bernard Shaw’s Pygmalion does—it’s just too rich to be thought of as mere source material for My Fair Lady. This current revival, directed by Jason Gerace, emphasizes the darker elements in a witty meditation on class and sexual politics—there’s more than a whiff of Christian Grey in Kevin Theis’s overtly aggressive Henry Higgins, and the sexual tension between him and Amanda Drinkall’s streetwise Eliza Dolittle, is always faintly sizzling. Likewise, every repetition of Eliza’s iconic line “I’m a good girl, I am” reminds us how common it is for a woman like her to be sexually exploited by a man like Higgins. —Jack Helbig Through 7/17: Thu-Sat 8 PM, Sun 7 PM, Oak Park Festival Theatre, Austin Gardens, Forest & Ontario, Oak Park, 708-445-4440, oakparkfestival.com, $29, $24 seniors, $15 students.
Lolita de Lares In 1954, Lolita Lebron led fellow members of the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party in an armed attack on the U.S. House of Representatives. If you’re curious to know why she did it, or how desperate things might have been in Puerto Rico at the time, you’ll learn little from Migdalia Cruz’s incessantly tangential 1995 play. Cruz lets flights of poetic fancy lead her anywhere except into the heart of the matter, and her politics are simplistic and reductive (Lolita is little beyond a zealous patriot). Director Marcela Muñooz struggles to makes sense of the fundamentals—like who or where half the characters are— and her exuberant but unpolished cast can’t extract convincing psychological states from Cruz’s needlessly florid dialogue. —Justin Hayford Through 7/24: Thu-Sat 7:30 PM, Sun 3 PM, Urban Theater Company, 2620 W. Division, 773-347-1203, urbantheaterchicago.org, $20, $12 seniors, $10 students; $30 dinner packages available.
This Four college buddies simultaneously endure near middle-age crises in Melissa James Gibson’s dramedy about life during the diaper-bag years. After
a dinner party for a widow turns sour, a desperate act of infidelity forces the group to examine what friendship in adulthood really means and where along the way their idealistic life plans went askew. Gibson gives a lot of grown-up concepts (waning marital sex drives, post-30s bachelorhood, adultery) the Neil Simon treatment via a lot of light zingers. Even in Windy City Playhouse’s well-acted production, though, director Carl Menninger’s cast has trouble working its way up to the climactic, hard-to-justify images that the show hinges upon. Even more curious is a hot, cartoony Frenchman who seems to have walked on from a different play entirely. —Dan Jakes Through 8/28: Wed-Thu 7 PM, Fri-Sat 8 PM, Sun 3 PM, Windy City Playhouse, 3014 W. Irving Park, 312-3743196, windycityplayhouse.com, $25-$55. The Unfortunates In Aoise Stratford’s one-woman play—a hit at the 2013 New York Fringe Festival—Victorian prostitute Mary Jane Kelly takes a late-night breather in her regular London watering hole, empty save for a silent, invisible male customer. She’s Jack the Ripper’s final victim, so his identity is a safe bet. For 90 minutes she flirts, cajoles, bargains, and ultimately relives her desperate life story, complete with multiple characters and accents. While Gail Rastorfer as Kelly is engaging (although sometimes given more to enthusiasm than craft), the familiar, squalid details of Kelly’s story feel like grittier-thanaverage Dickens. Worse, the play makes no dramatic sense. Why is she carrying on for this stranger? Why does he listen? And what barkeep leaves his saloon unattended for so long? —Justin Hayford Through 7/10: Wed-Sat 8 PM, Sun 3 PM; also Tue 7/5, 8 PM; and Sat 7/10, 3 PM, Theater Wit, 1229 W. Belmont, 773-975-8150, theaterwit.org, $38. The Woman Who Amuses R Herself Victor Lodato, perhaps best known for his 2009 novel Mathilda Savitch, wrote this intriguing drama about the 1911 theft of Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa from the Louvre by Vincenzo Peruggia, an Italian expat who had worked at the museum. Though his intention was to return the Renaissance masterpiece to the Italian people,
Inside/Out wth James Sanders and Stephanie Martinez ò STEPHEN GREEN
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Best bets, recommendations, and notable arts and culture events for the week of June 30
DANCE
Inside/Out With James Sanders R and Stephanie Martinez A sneak peek at Cerqua Rivera Dance Theatre’s collaboration with violinist James Sanders and choreographer Stephanie Martinez. Fri 7/1, 10:30 PM, Stage 773, 1225 W. Belmont, 773-327-5252, cerquarivera.org, $10.
Lincoln, 773-549-5549, choosechicago. com/event/secrets-lies-alibis/28938, $5 suggested donation.
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Peruggia kept the canvas all to himself in his Paris apartment for more than two years—because, according to Lodato’s interpretation, he fell under the emotional and spiritual spell of the lady with the mystic smile. (The play’s title is a reference to the painting’s Italian name, La Gioconda, which means “the happy one.”) Lodato presents a wide range of responses to the enigmatic image from characters ranging from Walter Pater to Marcel Duchamp to an elderly Italian peasant who reveres the Mona Lisa as a madonna figure. The play is at its best when focusing on the psychologically erratic Peruggia, compelling played by Nathan Thompson. Idle Muse Theatre Company’s fine production, directed by Nathan Pease, also features imaginative visual projections by Laura Wiley. —Albert Williams Through 7/24: Thu-Sat 8 PM, Sun 3 PM, Edge Theater, The, 5451 N. Broadway, edgetheater.com, $20, $15 students and seniors.
For more of the best things to do every day of the week, go to chicagoreader. com/agenda.
You, Me, Them, Everybody R Brandon Wetherbee hosts a special patriotic edition of the comedy podcast featuring Esmeralda Leon. Sun 7/3, 7 PM, Hungry Brain, 2319 W. Belmont, 773-709-1401, $5.
VISUAL ARTS Empty Bottle Local artist Darius Hurley’s boxing paintings are on display at the club throughout the month of July. Opening reception on Fri 7/1, 9 PM, features performances by the Hamburglars, Wet Wallet, and Claw Toe. 7/1-7/31, 1035 N. Western, 773-276-3600, emptybottle. com. Museum of Contemporary Art The MCA’s monthly Contemporary Art Stroller Tour is designed to allow parents to keep up to date with contemporary art while caring for their kids. Free with museum admission. Wed 7/6, 11:30 AM-12:30 PM. Tue 10 AM-8 PM, Wed-Sun 10 AM-5 PM. 220 E. Chicago, 312-280-
olution, which he wrote with the help of Lin-Manuel Miranda. Sat 7/2, 7:30 PM, Women & Children First, 5233 N. Clark, 773-769-9299, womenandchildrenfirst. com. Hillary Clinton’s Faux Feminism R In These Times and the Jacobin Chicago reading group host Liza Featherstone, Doug Henwood, Yasmin Nair, and Kathleen Geier for a panel discussion about the gendered nuances of Clinton’s campaign. Thu 6/30, 6:30 PM, In These Times, 2040 N. Milwaukee, 773-772-0100, inthesetimes.com.
R
Tuesday Funk This monthly reading series features eclectic works
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gant expense of this Steven Spielberg production is evident in every frame, but no amount of money or technical trickery can make up for a story lacking any dramatic tension or a sympathetic protagonist. The most fantastical aspect here may be the Queen Mother having actual political or military power. —DMITRY SAMAROV PG, 115 min. ArcLight Chicago, Cicero Showplace 14, City North 14, Crown Village 18, Ford City, River East 21, Showplace 14 Galewood Crossings, Webster Place 11
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Eat That Question—Frank Zappa in His Own Words Frank Zappa was an innovative composer and musician, but as this royally entertaining documentary illustrates, he was also an articulate and opinionated man, high-minded and mordantly funny. Director Thorsten Schütte has pored through archives worldwide for video interviews of Zappa, which are excerpt-
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Rhythm World Chicago Human R Rhythm Project’s festival of tap and percussive dance features perfor-
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mances across the city at the Museum of Contemporary Art, the American Rhythm Center, and the Jazz Showcase. 7/5-7/24, various locations, chicagotap. org, prices vary.
COMEDY
Here Veteran iO improvisers Tara R DeFrancisco and Rance Rizzutto present the critically acclaimed show in
which they take an audience suggestion and turn it into a 45-minute-long, completely improvised musical. Through 8/11: Thu 8 PM, iO Theater, 1501 N. Kingsbury, ioimprov.com/chicago, $12.
Melinda & the Mushrooms R Presents: Good Things Come in Small Packages in Chicago Improv
groups with four members or fewer perform. 6/11-7/2: Sat 8 PM, Cornservatory, 4210 N. Lincoln, 773-650-1331, cornservatory.org, $12.
2660, mcachicago.org, $12, $7 students and seniors, free kids 12 and under and members of the military, free for Illinois residents on Tuesdays. Pilsen Outpost “Disco Art Exhibit,” Ricardo “Naco” Gonzalez uses vinyl records (discos in Spanish) as the canvases for his portraiture. Opening reception Fri 7/1, 6-10 PM. 7/1-7/31. 1958 W. 21st, pilsenoutpost.com.
LIT
Popcorn Dick Scott Lucas hosts Paul Booth The DePaul assoR this movie podcast, this time R ciate professor of media and diving deep into the Sylvester Stallone cinema studies leads a discussion about arm-wrestling classic Over the Top. Thu 6/30, 8 PM, GMan Tavern, 3748 N. Clark, 773-549-2050, popcorndick.com.
monsters in pop culture. Sun 7/3, 1 PM, Comfort Station, 2579 N. Milwaukee, comfortstationlogansquare.org.
Secrets, Lies & Alibis A monthly Hamilton: The Revolution R Chicago comedy show featuring R Andersonville-based author and stand-up, sketches, and musical comedy. artistic producer Jeremy Carter reads Tue 7/5, 8:30 PM, Elbo Room, 2871 N.
from the new book Hamilton: The Rev-
Eat That Question—Frank Zappa in His Own Words ò AP by local writers. July’s lineup includes Leland Cheuk, Hannah Gamble, Maggie Jenkins, Kendra Stevens, and Scott Smith. Tue 7/5, 7:30 PM, Hopleaf, 5148 N. Clark, 773-334-9851, tuesdayfunk.org.
MOVIES
More at chicagoreader.com/movies NEW REVIEWS The BFG A little orphan girl who has trouble sleeping befriends a giant whose job is to capture and distribute dreams, and he grants all of hers in short order. (The orphanage she lives in looks cozy, she always seems to get her way, and she has very few problems, so why does she need rescuing?) This sinister tale, adapted by Melissa Mathison (E.T. the Extra Terrestrial) from a 1982 children’s book by Roald Dahl, ends with the Queen of England marshaling the military to banish a bunch of “bad” giants to a remote island. The extrava-
ed here and punctuated by performance clips; the interviews range from a 1963 appearance on The Tonight Show, in which a clean-cut Frank plays an experimental piece on a bicycle to the poker-faced amusement of Steve Allen, to an intimate piece taped in Zappa’s home as he was dying from prostate cancer in 1993. Due coverage is afforded to Zappa’s high-profile opposition to the Parents Music Resource Center, which pushed the Senate for parental-guidance labels on CDs in the mid-80s, but the interviews are wonderfully various, revealing his iconoclastic thoughts about music, fame, drugs, parenting, and personal responsibility. In the last interview Zappa insists that he doesn’t want to be remembered; yet he has been, and well. —J.R. JONES R, 90 min. Fri 7/1, 3:45, 5:45, and 7:45 PM; Sat-Sun 7/2-7/3, 11:30 AM and 3:45, 5:45, 7:45, and 9:50 PM; Mon 7/4, 3:45, 5:45, and 7:45 PM; and Tue-Thu 7/5-7/7, 3:45, 5:45, and 7:45 PM, Music Box; also Century 12 and CineArts 6 µ
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AGENDA B 40-Love Olivier Gourmet, a favorite of Belgian filmmakers Luc and Jean-Pierre Dardenne (The Son, The Promise), stars as a middle-aged retail manager trying to cope with unemployment, his wife’s defection, and the tennis dreams of their 11-year-old son. Doggedly pursuing a new career, the father signals to the boy that winning is everything, a message the kid’s tennis instructor coldly reinforces. Director Stéphane Demoustier sets this 2014 domestic drama in his hometown of Lille, a historic French textile center, and it bustles with energy. But Valeria Bruni Tedeschi is a cipher as the wife, ceding the field early to Gourmet as the flailing husband and heart-breaker Charles Merienne as the ambitious son, In French with subtitles. —ANDREA GRONVALL 95 min. Mon 7/4, 3 PM, and Wed 7/6, 6 PM. Gene Siskel Film Center The Legend of Tarzan The tale of the man raised by apes has been told ad nauseam, yet David Yates, who directed the last four Harry Potter movies, makes a strong case, visually and thematically, for reinvention. In this telling the hero (Alexander Skarsgård) has been living in Victorian England for nearly a decade with his wife, Jane (Margot Robbie), when he’s lured back to the jungle by an envoy from the King of Belgium (Christoph Waltz). Inspired in part by Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, the narrative incorporates actual events (King Leopold II’s horrific regime in the Congo) and people (Samuel L. Jackson as a fictionalized version of American journalist George Washington Williams) into the established Tarzan lore. The examination of European colonialism elevates this above most movies about the ape man, even though Great Britain gets a pass. —LEAH PICKETT PG-13, 110 min. ArcLight Chicago, Cicero Showplace 14, City North 14, Crown Village 18, Ford City, River East 21, Showplace 14 Galewood Crossings, Webster Place Neon Bull A Brazilian cowboy in a traveling rodeo (Juliano Cazarré) dreams of becoming a women’s fashion designer but settles instead for designing erotic getups for the rodeo’s truck driver (Maeve Jinkings), who dances for crowds of men after each show. In this second feature by writer-director Gabriel Mascaro, the animalism of the cattle and their wranglers seems to extend to the characters, a roving band of misfits who form an unconventional family. The rodeo seems like an off-kilter life, as mundane as it is surreal, and cinematographer Diego Garcia (Cemetery of Splendour) underscores this duality by juxtaposing blanched wide shots of the itinerants’ duties with tighter, more richly colored shots that peek into their unspoken desires. The cowboy character would have
6 CHICAGO READER - JUNE 30, 2016
Wedding Doll benefited from a stronger story arc, but Cazarré is quietly charismatic in the role, a Brando-esque figure searching for meaning beyond maschismo. In Portuguese with subtitles. —LEAH PICKETT 101 min. Fri 7/1, 7:45 PM; Sat 7/2, 5 PM; Sun 7/3, 7:30 PM; Mon 7/4, 5 PM; Tue 7/5, 6 PM; Wed 7/6, 8:15 PM; and Thu 7/7, 8 PM. Gene Siskel Film Center Our Kind of Traitor A British professor of poetics (Ewan McGregor), trying to salvage his marriage with a romantic vacation in Marrakech, has a chance encounter at a bar with a Russian mobster (Stellan Skarsgård), who convinces the scholar to help him turn on his bosses and expose a conspiracy that extends to the upper echelon of British intelligence. (Many more non sequiturs follow.) I haven’t read the John le Carré novel that inspired this incoherent mess, but I have to imagine the old spymaster connected the dots better than they are here. To judge by the puzzled looks plastered on the actors’ faces for the entire movie, they had no clue what any of it meant or why anyone would care. Susanna White directed. —DMITRY SAMAROV R, 108 min. ArcLight Chicago, Landmark’s Century Centre, River East 21\ The Shallows Jaume Collet-Serra (Unknown, Non-Stop) directed this nail-biter about a Texas surfer and medical school dropout (Blake Lively) who’s terrorized by a great white shark in the waters off a secluded Mexican beach. Lively’s athleticism more than compensates for her limited emotional expressiveness as her character tries to outsmart the relentless predator, a preternaturally malevolent specimen that can chomp through a steel buoy. Her companion throughout this long, lonely ordeal is a wounded seagull, the movie’s version of Wilson the volleyball in Cast Away. This is silly stuff but often genuinely scary, with excellent aerial and undersea photography and some persuasive special effects. You want realism, watch the Discovery Channel; this is pure escapism. —ANDREA GRONVALL PG-13, 87 min. City
North 14, Webster Place Swiss Army Man A young castaway on a remote island (Paul Dano at his mooniest) discovers the body of another man his age (Daniel Radcliffe at his deadest) washed up onshore, and after he drags it back into the woods and cares for it, the corpse returns to life, becoming his zoned-out man Friday. (Can’t he find a volleyball?) This directionless fantasy, essentially a two-hander for an overtaxed Dano and Radcliffe, marks the feature debut of music video directors Dan Kwan and Daniel Scheinert (DJ Snake and Lil Jon’s chaotic “Turn Down for What”), who cite as their inspirations such music-video-tolegit-cinema crossovers as Spike Jonze (Her, Adaptation) and Michel Gondry (The Science of Sleep, Is the Man Who Is Tall Happy?). This movie is every bit as whimsical as the more established filmmakers’ work but lacks the minimal plotting and strong intellectual component that gives their flights of fancy shape and substance. —J.R. JONES R, 95 min. Landmark’s Century Centre Wedding Doll The townspeople of Mitzpe Ramon may be living amid visual splendor in Israel’s Negev Desert, but in this affecting 2015 drama they see only fading dreams. A radiant but mentally impaired young woman (Moran Rosenblatt) works in a toilet tissue factory and crafts miniature wedding dresses at home; her secret boyfriend (Roy Assaf) and overly protective mother (Assi Levy) consider the dressmaking a childish hobby, not fathoming how badly she wants to be taken seriously as a designer and a sexual being. Writer-director Nitzan Giladi understands the myriad reactions of “normal” people to the developmentally disabled but betrays his heroine with a condescending scene in which she dons a bridal gown made of toilet paper rolls. In Hebrew with subtitles. —ANDREA GRONVALL 82 min. Fri 7/1, 7 and 9 PM; Sat 7/2, 3, 5, 7, and 9 PM; Sun 7/3, 1, 3, 5, and 7 PM; and Mon-Thu 7/4-7/7, 7 and 9 PM. Facets Cinematheque v
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AGENDA B 40-Love Olivier Gourmet, a favorite of Belgian filmmakers Luc and Jean-Pierre Dardenne (The Son, The Promise), stars as a middle-aged retail manager trying to cope with unemployment, his wife’s defection, and the tennis dreams of their 11-year-old son. Doggedly pursuing a new career, the father signals to the boy that winning is everything, a message the kid’s tennis instructor coldly reinforces. Director Stéphane Demoustier sets this 2014 domestic drama in his hometown of Lille, a historic French textile center, and it bustles with energy. But Valeria Bruni Tedeschi is a cipher as the wife, ceding the field early to Gourmet as the flailing husband and heart-breaker Charles Merienne as the ambitious son, In French with subtitles. —ANDREA GRONVALL 95 min. Mon 7/4, 3 PM, and Wed 7/6, 6 PM. Gene Siskel Film Center The Legend of Tarzan The tale of the man raised by apes has been told ad nauseam, yet David Yates, who directed the last four Harry Potter movies, makes a strong case, visually and thematically, for reinvention. In this telling the hero (Alexander Skarsgård) has been living in Victorian England for nearly a decade with his wife, Jane (Margot Robbie), when he’s lured back to the jungle by an envoy from the King of Belgium (Christoph Waltz). Inspired in part by Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, the narrative incorporates actual events (King Leopold II’s horrific regime in the Congo) and people (Samuel L. Jackson as a fictionalized version of American journalist George Washington Williams) into the established Tarzan lore. The examination of European colonialism elevates this above most movies about the ape man, even though Great Britain gets a pass. —LEAH PICKETT PG-13, 110 min. ArcLight Chicago, Cicero Showplace 14, City North 14, Crown Village 18, Ford City, River East 21, Showplace 14 Galewood Crossings, Webster Place Neon Bull A Brazilian cowboy in a traveling rodeo (Juliano Cazarré) dreams of becoming a women’s fashion designer but settles instead for designing erotic getups for the rodeo’s truck driver (Maeve Jinkings), who dances for crowds of men after each show. In this second feature by writer-director Gabriel Mascaro, the animalism of the cattle and their wranglers seems to extend to the characters, a roving band of misfits who form an unconventional family. The rodeo seems like an off-kilter life, as mundane as it is surreal, and cinematographer Diego Garcia (Cemetery of Splendour) underscores this duality by juxtaposing blanched wide shots of the itinerants’ duties with tighter, more richly colored shots that peek into their unspoken desires. The cowboy character would have
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Wedding Doll benefited from a stronger story arc, but Cazarré is quietly charismatic in the role, a Brando-esque figure searching for meaning beyond maschismo. In Portuguese with subtitles. —LEAH PICKETT 101 min. Fri 7/1, 7:45 PM; Sat 7/2, 5 PM; Sun 7/3, 7:30 PM; Mon 7/4, 5 PM; Tue 7/5, 6 PM; Wed 7/6, 8:15 PM; and Thu 7/7, 8 PM. Gene Siskel Film Center Our Kind of Traitor A British professor of poetics (Ewan McGregor), trying to salvage his marriage with a romantic vacation in Marrakech, has a chance encounter at a bar with a Russian mobster (Stellan Skarsgård), who convinces the scholar to help him turn on his bosses and expose a conspiracy that extends to the upper echelon of British intelligence. (Many more non sequiturs follow.) I haven’t read the John le Carré novel that inspired this incoherent mess, but I have to imagine the old spymaster connected the dots better than they are here. To judge by the puzzled looks plastered on the actors’ faces for the entire movie, they had no clue what any of it meant or why anyone would care. Susanna White directed. —DMITRY SAMAROV R, 108 min. ArcLight Chicago, Landmark’s Century Centre, River East 21\ The Shallows Jaume Collet-Serra (Unknown, Non-Stop) directed this nail-biter about a Texas surfer and medical school dropout (Blake Lively) who’s terrorized by a great white shark in the waters off a secluded Mexican beach. Lively’s athleticism more than compensates for her limited emotional expressiveness as her character tries to outsmart the relentless predator, a preternaturally malevolent specimen that can chomp through a steel buoy. Her companion throughout this long, lonely ordeal is a wounded seagull, the movie’s version of Wilson the volleyball in Cast Away. This is silly stuff but often genuinely scary, with excellent aerial and undersea photography and some persuasive special effects. You want realism, watch the Discovery Channel; this is pure escapism. —ANDREA GRONVALL PG-13, 87 min. City
North 14, Webster Place Swiss Army Man A young castaway on a remote island (Paul Dano at his mooniest) discovers the body of another man his age (Daniel Radcliffe at his deadest) washed up onshore, and after he drags it back into the woods and cares for it, the corpse returns to life, becoming his zoned-out man Friday. (Can’t he find a volleyball?) This directionless fantasy, essentially a two-hander for an overtaxed Dano and Radcliffe, marks the feature debut of music video directors Dan Kwan and Daniel Scheinert (DJ Snake and Lil Jon’s chaotic “Turn Down for What”), who cite as their inspirations such music-video-tolegit-cinema crossovers as Spike Jonze (Her, Adaptation) and Michel Gondry (The Science of Sleep, Is the Man Who Is Tall Happy?). This movie is every bit as whimsical as the more established filmmakers’ work but lacks the minimal plotting and strong intellectual component that gives their flights of fancy shape and substance. —J.R. JONES R, 95 min. Landmark’s Century Centre Wedding Doll The townspeople of Mitzpe Ramon may be living amid visual splendor in Israel’s Negev Desert, but in this affecting 2015 drama they see only fading dreams. A radiant but mentally impaired young woman (Moran Rosenblatt) works in a toilet tissue factory and crafts miniature wedding dresses at home; her secret boyfriend (Roy Assaf) and overly protective mother (Assi Levy) consider the dressmaking a childish hobby, not fathoming how badly she wants to be taken seriously as a designer and a sexual being. Writer-director Nitzan Giladi understands the myriad reactions of “normal” people to the developmentally disabled but betrays his heroine with a condescending scene in which she dons a bridal gown made of toilet paper rolls. In Hebrew with subtitles. —ANDREA GRONVALL 82 min. Fri 7/1, 7 and 9 PM; Sat 7/2, 3, 5, 7, and 9 PM; Sun 7/3, 1, 3, 5, and 7 PM; and Mon-Thu 7/4-7/7, 7 and 9 PM. Facets Cinematheque v
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Remind you of anyone you know? Night Out in the Parks brings world-class performances to neighborhood parks!
Enjoy FREE movies, theater, music, family fun, dance and festivals at your neighborhood parks all summer! View our entire schedule of events online now at:
We know what it’s like to get distracted when organizing your books.
nightoutintheparks.com
When you’re done reading, donate your extra books to support literacy in Chicago!
www.open-books.org
Welcome to McCormickville Join us for two outdoor walking tours inspired by the neighborhood surrounding the Driehaus Museum, once know as McCormickville. Saturdays, May 14 – October 15 Lasting Legacies: The Grandes Dames of McCormickville 10:30 a.m. This new and unique walking tour follows seven civic-minded entrepreneurial women who led fascinating lives in the prestigious neighborhood of McCormickville.
Mansions and Millionaires Walking Tour 1 p.m. This popular walking tour illuminates the lives of notable residents who once lived in the historic McCormickville neighborhood.
To purchase tickets or for more information please visit DriehausMuseum.org or call 312.482.8933, ext. 21. 40 East Erie Street Chicago, IL 60611
JUNE 30, 2016 - CHICAGO READER 7
CITY LIFE Sure things Ñ
Keep up to date on the go at chicagoreader.com/agenda.
THURSDAY 30
ã Oa k Fest Oak Forest holds its 29th annual Fourth of July festival featuring a craft beer tent, food vendors, and carnival rides. 6/30-7/4: Thu 6-10 PM, Fri 6 PM-midnight, Sat 3 PM-midnight, Sun 11 AM-midnight, Mon 3-10 PM, 159th and Central, Oak Forest, oakfest.com. F
FRIDAY 1
| Jurassic Jaws Do uble Feat ure Neither land nor sea are safe from the summer movie monsters at the heart of Thalia Hall’s latest Double Feature Movie Night. Jurassic Park begins at 7 PM, and Jaws screens at 9 PM. 7 PM, Thalia Hall, 1227 W. 18th, thaliahallchicago.com, $8.
SATURDAY 2
× Windy City Ribfest Pig out on food from the likes of Aussom Aussie Australian Barbecue, Chicago BBQ Company, and Rancho Mateo. There’s also music from Too White Crew, Think Floyd, and Trippin Billies. 7/1-7/3: Fri-Sat noon-10 PM, Sun noon-9 PM, Lawrence and Broadway, windycityribfest.com, $5.
An aerial view of Michigan and Oak; a memorial to Klingenberg at the intersection
Fatal errors
SUNDAY 3
N Th e Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged) Tonight marks the final night of the three women of the Shakespeare All-Stars’ attempt to perform 37 of the Bard’s works in 97 minutes. 5 PM, Heartland Studio, 7016 N. Glenwood, shakespeareallstars.com, $25.
Police blame bike courier Blaine Klingenberg for the crash that took his life. Witnesses tell a different story. By JOHN GREENFIELD
ò GREGORY KEITH PORTER
MONDAY 4
M Fo urth of Jul y See the rockets’ red glare and the bombs bursting in air at Navy Pier—or elsewhere in the city; we have a list of the best spots to watch the fireworks at chicagoreader.com. 9:30 PM, Navy Pier, 600 E. Grand, navypier.com/fireworks. F
TUESDAY 5
b First Tuesdays with Mick and Ben The Reader’s Ben Joravsky and Sun-Times’s Mick Dumke host this monthly roundtable discussing all things politics. 6 PM, Hideout, 1354 W. Wabansia, hideoutchicago.com, $5.
WEDNESDAY 6
* Jazzin’ at the Shedd The weekly summer cocktail party offers up live jazz, full bar, fireworks, and access to multiple exhibits in the aquarium. 5 PM, Shedd Aquarium, 1200 S. Lake Shore, 312-9392438, sheddaquarium.org, $18.
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ò VIA GOOGLE EARTH; JOHN GREENFIELD
TRANSPORTATION
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he intersection of Michigan and Oak, at the north end of the Magnificent Mile, is a complex and intimidating junction. Here, Michigan is a massive seven-lane boulevard, while Oak is a broad, two-lane street with turn lanes, lined with pricey boutiques and luxury high-rises. To the north are on- and off-ramps for Lake Shore Drive as well as curving roadways leading to and from Inner Lake Shore Drive. At the northeast corner there’s an underpass leading to the Lakefront Trail and Oak Street Beach. As such, this crossroads is often filled with a chaotic mix of pedestrians, bike riders, private cars, taxis, and buses. Bike courier Blaine “Beezy” Klingenberg, 29, lost his life in the daunting intersection of Michigan and Oak on Wednesday, June 15, after being run over and dragged by a double-decker tour bus at the height of the evening rush. Described by employers and colleagues as a hard-working, likable, and safety-minded messenger, Klingenberg has
been posthumously reduced to a poster boy for irresponsible urban cycling. The driver, 51-year-old Charla A. Henry, is employed by Chicago Trolley & Double Decker Co. She was the second company employee to fatally strike a vulnerable road user on Michigan Avenue within the last seven months. The Chicago Police Department along with major news outlets, reported that Klingenberg brought on his own death by pedaling through a red light. But in exclusive interviews with the Reader, two witnesses say they’re convinced the bus driver was at least partly responsible for Klingenberg’s death because she entered the intersection after the light turned red. Klingenberg, a native of Bakersfield, California, worked for Advanced Messenger Service, delivering envelopes and packages via a large, yellow, Danish-style cargo bike. On June 15, while he was finishing up the day’s runs, he posted on Facebook, “Who’s down for the lake?” According to friends, he
planned to meet up with other couriers after work at Oak Street Beach. Here’s the CPD’s account of the fatal collision from the crash report: Around 5:30 PM Klingenberg was riding his cargo bike north on Michigan. Meanwhile, the bus driver was heading westbound on Oak, east of Michigan (where Oak is officially called East Lake Shore Drive). “The victim disregarded the light at Oak and turned into the bus, causing the collision,” the crash report stated, laying the blame squarely on Klingenberg. Henry ran over Klingenberg, who was dragged and pinned under the bus’s middle-right side. Firefighters had to use large airbags to lift the bus off him. Klingenberg was rushed to Northwestern Memorial Hospital and pronounced dead on arrival. Henry has not been issued traffic citations or charged with a crime. Initial reports by CBS 2, ABC 7, DNAinfo, and Chicagoist essentially took the police version at face value. J
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OPINION
SIP FRESH, DRINK LOCAL
Let’s celebrate the loss of the Lucas Museum By ZACHARY SIEGEL
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he more I read about the departure of George Lucas’s neofuturist storage unit the sorrier I felt for the guy. He’s 72 and just wants a museum. “A legacy piece.” But by op-ed No. 100 the happier I found myself. First, that people actually preferred a lunar parking lot to a movie mogul’s spaceship should, at the very least, make us laugh. Rahm Emanuel and George Lucas were beaten by Friends of the Parks fighting to protect a parking lot. This sounds like a real Chicago story, or in Star Wars vernacular, a saga. Really, it’s more like a rollicking side plot in a Pynchon novel come to life. Truly, though, the most hilarious part was when Father Michael Pfleger compared Friends of the Parks to a notorious street gang. “Where I live, a self-appointed group that starts making calls for the neighborhood, they’re called a gang,” the reverend said. “Tell me the difference between Friends of the Parks and the Gangster Disciples?” There’s clearly no difference, Reverend. As for the Parks crew being elitists, the Reader thoroughly exposed the irony of that argument in May. Seriously, there is real cause for celebration: the defeat of Rahm and his fleet of self-interested, neoliberal stormtroopers. Rahm’s loss is a big gain for Chicago’s discontented citizenry. It’s a win against the creditor-debtor relationship constructed by billionaires and exploited by politicians, a win that shows the real elites have lost their abil-
ity to dictate outcomes on the political stage. Let’s celebrate that. But what about the jobs, the tourism, the field trips, you say? The notion that this museum would solve any of our economic and social woes was and always will be a political chimera. Plus, aside from the whole thing being a grift, Rahm is so detested that everything he touches looks ugly. The project was too politically tainted, simply because his name was attached. Yes, even too tainted for the “young black and brown children” Lucas’s wife, Mellody Hobson, invoked to tug at our heartstrings. Had Lucas and Hobson attempted to court us, had they even tried to explain what the shit “narrative art” is and why we should want it on our shore, maybe there would have been some capitulation. Or maybe the result would have been more favorable for Lucas if Rahm had stayed out of the fight so he could instead focus on reforming a police department powerful enough to cover up murders. That no one is willing to play ball with Rahm and his friends is what we’re celebrating. And so, this museum is going back to California, where it belongs. San Francisco previously quashed the project too—looks like it’s all you, LA! (A city more enlightened to the whims of billionaire celebrities.) Meanwhile, all of us backward Chicagoans will be waiting for real poverty-alleviating change that doesn’t come in the form of a supposedly magnanimous gift. v
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 Sheffield’s Beer & Wine Garden The Vine Martini & Wine Bar
JUNE 30, 2016 - CHICAGO READER 9
CITY LIFE
Klingenberg, right, and his girlfriend, Maja Perez, at her brother’s wedding last March ò BROOKE GUITON
Transportation continued from 8
But at least two eyewitnesses tell a different story. Nursing student Amy Ione Jones, 35, was driving from her nanny job in Bridgeport to her boyfriend’s house in the Gold Coast. As she drove west on Oak, she entered the Michigan intersection at the tail end of a yellow light. To her left she saw the westbound tour bus stopped behind a line of drivers waiting to turn left on Michigan. The bus’s front wheels were either on or just past the crosswalk, Jones says. She then turned right onto Inner Lake Shore Drive. After traveling two or three car lengths, Jones heard someone scream “No!” and stopped her car. Although Jones did not see the initial impact, she looked left and saw that the bus driver had run over a cyclist. She ran over to the “horrific” crash site to try to help, she says. Since Jones couldn’t reach Klingenberg’s arm to take his pulse, she ripped off one of his shoes and socks to search for a pulse on his foot. “I sat with Blaine’s foot in my hand until the fire department arrived,” she says. “I knew that he had passed before they arrived, but was in total shock and did not want him to be alone as he left this world.” Jones says that she herself had narrowly avoided entering the intersection on a red.
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Since the bus was stopped when she passed it, she’s convinced the bus driver must have blown the stoplight. “This is totally the bus driver’s fault,” Jones says. “But the police and the media automatically blamed the bicyclist.” Another witness who did see the moment of impact also believes Henry ran the red light. Bruce Boyer, a 55-year-old law professor at Loyola University, commutes regularly by bike from his Edgewater home to Loyola’s downtown campus via the Lakefront Trail and the Oak Street underpass. At the time of the crash, Boyer was standing at the southeast corner of the intersection by the Drake Hotel, waiting to cross north to the beach underpass with his bike. From there he was able to watch the entire incident unfold. Klingenberg was riding north on Michigan past vehicles that were stopped at the red light, Boyer says. “The biker just passed all of that stopped traffic and went into the intersection,” he recalls, adding that he definitely saw the courier go through the red. However, like Jones, Boyer is convinced Henry also ran a red. “I cannot say with certainty that I saw the color of the [bus driver’s] light as she entered the intersection,” he says in an e-mail. “But I can attest that when the collision occurred,
traffic on southbound Lake Shore Drive had the right of way.” He says he knows this because he saw several eastbound cars on Oak clear the intersection, while drivers behind them had to stop because their light went red. “I then looked [north] to Lake Shore Drive to watch for the traffic turning in front of me,” he says. “It was after I did this that I saw the biker coming towards the intersection, and then the bus start moving. I know the bus driver had no right of way because she did not start moving until seconds after the eastbound Oak Street traffic cleared.” “I’m confident that she went into the intersection after the light turned red,” Boyer says. He added that Henry did not seem to hit the brakes until after she struck the cyclist. “It’s important to me that if anyone’s passing judgment, whether it’s in a court, criminal or civil, or just in the court of public opinion, people should understand what actually happened,” he adds. We have no way of knowing what Klingenberg was thinking as he approached the junction, or why he decided to proceed through the intersection the way he did, but a couple of possibilities come to mind. He may have incorrectly assumed he was about to get a green light—although Klingenberg’s girlfriend, 28-year-old Maja Perez, and others who knew him say that, as a professional bicyclist familiar with the city’s streetlight patterns, it’s unlikely he made that mistake. Alternately, he may have known that traffic from the drive was about to get a turn signal, so he shouldn’t have had to worry about eastwest traffic on Oak, although he would have had to watch out for vehicles turning north onto the drive from Oak on his way to the beach underpass. Regardless, running the stoplight might not have cost Klingenberg his life if Henry had chosen to wait for her next green instead of proceeding through the intersection. Chicago police detectives have reviewed video of the crash taken from an Office of Emergency Management and Communications camera at the southwest corner of Oak and Michigan, according to a statement from News Affairs, but have not determined whether or not the bus driver was at fault. (OEMC denied a FOIA request to access the footage, arguing that allowing a civilian to see which parts of the intersection are visible to the camera would undermine efforts to prevent terrorism and other crimes.) “Chicago Trolley is fully cooperating with the authorities with their investigation,”
the company said in a statement. “Chicago Trolley takes safety as our top priority. Our thoughts and prayers go out to all involved.” Attorney Jim Freeman from the bikefocused firm FK Law (a Streetsblog sponsor) says his firm plans to file a wrongful death lawsuit this week against Chicago Trolley and the bus driver on behalf of Blaine’s father, Walter Klingenberg. “I have seen instances time and time again in which [the Chicago Police Department] blames a cyclist for a collision when it wasn’t their fault,” Freeman posted on Facebook a few days after the crash. “I guarantee when the truth comes out it won’t be as simple as ‘the cyclist blew the red.’” Perez, who works at nonprofit community bike shops, says she’s currently focusing on ways to honor her boyfriend and ensure that his short life has a lasting legacy. On the Friday after the crash, couriers gathered at the southwest corner of Oak and Michigan to offer a makeshift memorial, including candles, flowers, and a placard signed by dozens of Klingenberg’s friends and colleagues. The sign includes the epitaph “RIP RYB”— short for the hashtag #RideYoBike. Perez taped to the pole a single-serving container of Frosted Flakes, one of Klingenberg’s favorite prework meals, and wrote on the box, for you my love—sorry i didn’t bring the milk. As of late Friday night, the memorial had been taken down, its contents placed by a nearby recycling bin. But someone had locked a ghostly white-painted bicycle wheel to the pole with Klingenberg’s nickname, “Beezy,” written on the hub. Perez hopes that as the truth comes out about what happened to Klingenberg, his name will be cleared and he’ll no longer be viewed as a bicyclist who foolishly bombed an intersection and paid for it with his life. After Klingenberg died, Perez’s relatives informed her that, during her brother’s wedding last March in Bakersfield, the courier told them he wanted to propose marriage and asked for their blessing. “It’s unfair Blaine was taken from us so early and by such a terrible fate,” Perez says. “But I will make sure his death will change people’s views on street equality and spark a revolution towards safer streets.” v
John Greenfield edits the transportation news website Streetsblog Chicago. v @greenfieldjohn
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presents
Shop Local this Summer! Sunday · August 7, 2016 · 11am-5pm Chicago Plumbers Hall · 1340 W Washington FREE TO THE PUBLIC | FREE PARKING AVAILABLE | #MADEINCHICAGO For more information, visit ChicagoReader.com/MadeInChicago Vendors: for information, please contact Bburda@chicagoreader.com
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JUNE 30, 2016 - CHICAGO READER 11
REZKOVILLE
No place to live The homeless encampments of Rezkoville face an uncertain future as development looms. Photos by LLOYD DEGRANE | Words by KARI LYDERSEN
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ust south of the Loop and along the east bank of the Chicago River, there’s a sprawling parcel of land overgrown with trees, wildflowers, and thistles. Rabbits, turtles, and even coyotes hide in the underbrush. For a minute you forget you’re in the city—until you see the foliage is masking slabs of crumbling concrete, protruding rusty pipes, broken
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glass, reservoirs of fetid trash, discarded clothing, liquor bottles, and beer cans. Developers have eyed this 62-acre site between Roosevelt Road and Chinatown’s Ping Tom Memorial Park for decades, with visions of high-end condos dancing in their heads. This land is sometimes referred to as “Rezkoville,” since it was formerly owned by developer Antoin “Tony” Rezko, who was later convicted
on extortion and corruption charges. But Rezko abandoned his development plans nearly a decade ago, selling the land to a company led by Iraqi-British billionaire Nadhmi Auchi. The land remains undeveloped. And yet, for an increasing number of people, this wild, overgrown lot is home. Tents, shacks, and other makeshift encampments are scattered throughout the site.
Although the size of the community changes depending on the season, around 50 men and women from across the city, the suburbs, and other states and countries live outside here year-round. They suffer through both the misery of winter, with its frigid temperatures and howling winds, and the relative comfort of summer, still marred by mosquitoes, ticks, sweltering humidity, and the occasional del-
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Opposite: Small communities form within the larger population of “Rezkoville,” an undeveloped 62-acre site just south of the Loop that’s more like a patch of wilderness than a city block. Left: Among the residents of Rezkoville are 30 or so men who’ve immigrated from Mexico, Guatemala, and Honduras, and now work in Chinese restaurants around the midwest (the restaurant owners provide housing, but when the men are between jobs they stay here). They’re often placed by Jiao’s Employment Agency or Chinatown Agencia de Empleo, two companies under investigation by the Illinois attorney general’s office for alleged civil rights and labor law violations. Bottom: Thirtysomething Michael, left, peeks his head out of the tent that serves as his home.
uge, theft, or bout of violence. Their reasons vary: unemployment, mental illness, substance abuse, divorce, criminal records, immigration status, and the economic crisis. Many struggle with more than one. Police officers and railroad staff pass through periodically, but they mostly leave the residents alone. In May, Auchi’s General Mediterranean Holding formed a partnership with local developer Related Midwest. They announced plans for a massive residential and commercial development in Rezkoville, just days after Rezko himself was released from federal prison. On June 20, a federal appeals court upheld a lower court ruling that says Auchi owes $17.4 million to a businessman who gave loans to Rezko, loans meant to be repaid by the land sale. The Related Midwest development was originally slated to take 15 years; the court ruling now casts doubt on the plan. Still, land so close to the Loop can’t stay vacant forever, and development will eventually mean eviction for the inhabitants of Rezkoville. This limbo is perhaps fitting for a place where residents’ lives have long been defined by uncertainty and precariousness, where, as one resident put it, “You don’t know how hard it is just to make it from Monday to Tuesday.” v
JUNE 30, 2016 - CHICAGO READER 13
REZKOVILLE
Clockwise, from top left: Elmo, 34, considers himself a “country boy.” He loves animals, including his cat, Ghost, with whom he sometimes panhandles downtown. Elmo had to move from his shack north of River City when residents there were evicted to make way for development on an adjacent lot. Dolly the Drifter, one of Elmo’s sculptures made from Chicago River driftwood and other discarded items. Elmo has been traveling the country and living outside since leaving his home in Kentucky at age 11. Jeffrey, 60, doesn’t know when he last washed his hands. He spends nights in a concrete form under Roosevelt Road, or riding trains to keep warm. Slight, unassuming, and friendly, he hopes to one day reunite with family in California and Chicago.
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Left: Matt and Lauren (not her real name) grew up comfortably in Chicago’s western suburbs. They are educated, come from supportive families, and never thought they’d be living in a tent. But they’re now struggling with heroin addiction, and are trying to find detox and rehab programs so they can rebuild their lives. Bottom: Thirty-four-year-old Kevo, left, is from the Chicago exurbs and survives by selling his artwork on downtown streets. Pyro, also 34, is from Georgia. He wants to leave Chicago but feels trapped by his addiction and other circumstances.
“I just want to be normal, wake up in a bed.” —Kevo, 34
JUNE 30, 2016 - CHICAGO READER 15
REZKOVILLE
“It’s crazy how we terrorize our own bodies. We know what’s at the end of the tunnel but we keep doing it.” —Jim, 48
Top: Jim, 48, owned a home and a successful flooring business in the southwest suburbs until the economic crisis hit. For a while he lived in his truck; when that was repossessed he became homeless, and lived in an alley in the Loop. Through friends he found a safer and more comfortable existence in Rezkoville. But he says he’s suffering from cancer, which only makes it harder for him to fight his heroin addiction. Left: Winter is a brutal time in Rezkoville; snow can lie heavily on the tents, and the leafless trees do little to block the biting wind.
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Left: Mexican and Central American men have created elaborate encampments throughout Rezkoville. In the summer, leaves provide extra cover. Bottom: Jose, 46, one of the restaurant workers who lives in Rezkoville. He was robbed and severely beaten in an incident in November.
“With all the trees here, you never know what is around. You might see someone one minute and then not the next. Is it a ghost or is it the drinking? The night is supposed to be for sleeping, but sometimes it is something else.” —Jose, 46
JUNE 30, 2016 - CHICAGO READER 17
ò RYAN SMITH
REZKOVILLE
Into the wild
On the trail of discovery—and disappointment— in Chicago’s accidental badlands
By RYAN SMITH
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here I was in nothingness. Or at least in the 21st-century urban version of nothing: patches of forest thick enough to get lost in, tall prairie grass grazing my thighs, dirt paths without a destination. But on the horizon, a short distance north of where I stood, was the jarring juxtaposition of gleaming downtown Chicago—skyscrapers and condos and commuters. My maiden voyage to this improbable swath of wilderness—which at 62 acres is more than double the size of Millennium Park—was wholly accidental. I’d been searching for a shortcut to 18th Street from the South Loop and decided to keep biking down Wells to see where it might lead. One moment I was pedaling on the pavement past a shopping center, the next I was passing underneath the Roosevelt Road Bridge. Suddenly the sky opened up, asphalt shifted to earth, and I found myself on an expanse of barren, undeveloped land I never knew existed. Neither, it appeared, did Google. I opened my Maps app. The blue dot that represented my location pulsed on the border of a neighborhood-size blank space between Roosevelt
18 CHICAGO READER - JUNE 30, 2016
Road, 16th Street, Clark Street, and a stretch of the south branch Chicago River. It posed an interesting existential question: If a tree falls in a forest that’s not on Google Maps, does it make a sound? The place wasn’t always disused. The tract was part of a crooked bend in the Chicago River until the late 1920s, when the city spent $9 million ($126.4 million in today’s money) to straighten it. Filled with soil dug out for the new channel, the site was converted into a train yard and crossing connected to Grand Central Station—Chicago’s former terminus for passenger-rail service. As mass transit declined in the age of the automobile, Grand Central Station closed in 1969 and was demolished in 1971. A hulking bascule bridge on the south end remains as a haunting reminder of its mid-century heyday. In 2002, businessman Antoin “Tony” Rezko purchased the vacant land with plans to transform it into a mixed-use development dubbed Riverside Park, complete with a 50story tower and an IKEA. Once the Scandinavian furniture giant fled to the burbs, the deal went bust, and Rezko—a political fixer arguably more crooked than the old Chicago
River (he was later sentenced to prison on corruption charges related to his ties to former governor Rod Blagojevich)—pawned the land off to the Luxembourg-based General Mediterranean Holding in 2007. Still, a development deal remained elusive for the site that continues to be known as “Rezkoville” or “Rezkoland.” Mayor Rahm Emanuel threatened to use eminent domain to seize the property in 2014, but there was no progress until residential developer Related Midwest (ironically the same company behind the zombie Chicago Spire) took part ownership. Related finally announced plans in May for a multibillion-dollar project that features high-density housing, offices, and retail space. These were, of course, all facts I learned after my chance first journey to Rezkoville. Crossing the threshold of the Roosevelt underpass had sent me through a wormhole into some futuristic dystopia—the kind fictionalized in Veronica Roth’s Divergent series. In the popular YA books (and their attendant films), Chicago’s built environment has been slowly reclaimed by nature. Swamp and prairie land lap at crumbling high-rises, the hulking tombstones memorializing civilization’s end. When city dwellers delight in sci-fi visions of life in post-apocalyptic metropolises, there’s a perverse wish-fulfillment process at work that has nothing to do with death and destruction and everything to do with authenticity and adventure. In Chicago, we have more than our fair share of parks and zoos that provide a botanical respite from the concrete jungle— but they’re still part of a world where nearly every square inch has been bought, designed, curated, and made ready for easy consumption. These carefully plotted landscapes are meant to evoke nature without presenting any of the surprise or danger of the true untamed wild. Our city’s green space often feels like a temporary cure for a deeper malaise—we want to discover something, touch the surface of something vast and indifferent to our existence, something incomprehensible. We want to experience awe. On the face of it, Rezkoville offers some promise of uncovering the unexpected. Parts of it evoke rugged beauty. There’s a grassy flattopped hill that doubles as a scenic outlook with wilderness framed by the city skyline. There are gentle river banks where you can sit and dip your toes into the muddy water. But the further I explored, a sinking feeling intensified. The discoveries Rezkoville offers are not so much what urban explorers would call “ruin porn” as plain old lamentable ruin. Scattered about the site are overturned shopping carts pilfered from the nearby Target,
bags of trash that litter the paths, cracked concrete traffic barriers, and discarded broken furniture. And then there’s the fact that people actually live on the site. Homeless people who’ve slept outside in tents or lean-tos for months, even years. (See page 12 for more.) I spent time with a couple of inhabitants before midnight on a recent Tuesday, the third time I’d traveled to Rezkoville this year. The nearly full moon illuminated the
“Who are you? What do you want?” “I’m just a guy. Just wandering.”
foot-beaten paths well enough that I didn’t need a f lashlight to navigate. A man and woman, both middle-aged, sitting near a weathered red tent a dozen yards away called out to me: “Who are you? What do you want?” “I’m just a guy,” I answered sheepishly. “Just wandering.” We exchanged pleasantries once I reached their camp, but after a few moments the couple asked again—what the hell was I doing there at night, anyway? It wasn’t safe, they said. A couple of tents had recently been burned. Possibly by junkies. And then there are “the intruders.” Last weekend, it was an after-prom party. A vehicle full of drunken kids drove under the bridge and rolled up near the couple’s camp and did donuts in the gravel. “They almost hit me with their car,” said the woman, “so I had to call the cops on them.” It struck me as ironic. This is the kind of story I’d expect to hear in Naperville, not the wilderness. That’s the thing about Rezkoville: the people who live there don’t romanticize the place. It’s the rarest of secluded corners—away from the law-enforcement hassles of the streets and the restrictive rules of the city’s homeless shelters—that provides some modicum of privacy. But ultimately Rezkoville’s residents want peace and quiet. And they don’t give a shit about your Henry David Thoreau fantasies. v
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REZKOVILLE Tony Rezko outside Chicago’s federal courthouse in October 2006 ò NAM Y. HUH/AP PHOTO
Lender of last resort Will the city use TIF money to pay off Tony Rezko’s debt? By BEN JORAVSKY
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or the last few days I’ve been looking for takers on my bet that Mayor Emanuel will eventually spend about $17.4 million of your property tax dollars to pay off some of convicted felon Tony Rezko’s obligations. Not exactly at the top of anyone’s priority list of expenditures—except, perhaps, the people who made the mistake of lending Rezko their money. This has to do with the mayor’s mouthfrothing determination to spare no public expense to develop “Rezkoville,” the 62 acres of vacant land between Roosevelt and Chinatown that Rezko once owned, into a neighborhood filled with condos and townhomes. Apparently, Emanuel will do just about anything to avoid spending that money on boring things like our dead-broke schools. OK, everybody, settle in for a convoluted explanation. The site is part of the River South tax increment financing district, which Mayor Daley created in 1997. As you know, TIFs are, in effect, a surcharge
added to your property tax. The proceeds are used to pay for pretty much anything the mayor wants. In this case, Mayor Daley envisioned having someone build town houses, condos, and retail on the vacant South Loop property. As soon as Daley created the TIF, he made the land more valuable to developers. The TIF signaled the city’s readiness not only to approve but to subsidize any subsequent development. That’s where Rezko—a businessman with connections to both Republicans and Democrats—comes in. In 2002, Rezko purchased the land for about $72.3 million. His first proposal—which included an Ikea store—fell through. In 2005, he proposed that the city give him a $140 million TIF handout to help pay for a massive housing and retail development. But Daley turned down Rezko’s TIF request. By then, Rezko had apparently achieved a status I thought was impossible to reach: too controversial for a TIF. Specifically, he got entangled in a contracting scandal at O’Hare Airport involving a minority-front company.
In addition, the feds were starting to investigate Rezko’s involvement in former governor Rod Blagojevich’s pay-to-play scandals. With his legal bills mounting, Rezko turned to Semir Sirazi for a loan. In addition to being Rezko’s neighbor in Wilmette, Sirazi is one of the founders of U.S. Robotics’ network system division. The agreement they reached was a complicated one. The bottom line is that Rezko wound up owing Sirazi more than $12 million. Rezko was supposed to repay that obligation with the proceeds from, among other things, the sale of the 62-acre site. But he didn’t. In 2007, Rezko sold the land to General Mediterranean Holdings, a company owned by Nadhmi Auchi, a controversial Iraqi-British billionaire investor, for about $31.8 million. Rezko and GMH kept Sirazi in the dark about the deal, according to a lawsuit that Sirazi eventually filed. In 2011, Rezko was sentenced to more than ten years in federal prison for his role in the Blago scandals. And in 2012, Sirazi filed a federal lawsuit demanding that Auchi repay the money that Rezko owed him. Last year, a jury sided with Sirazi. Auchi appealed the ruling. On June 20, the Seventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruled in Sirazi’s favor, ordering Auchi to pay him about $17.4 million. The award includes $5 million in punitive damages. “We’re very grateful and gratified that the appellate court did a good job,” says Greg Scandaglia, Sirazi’s lawyer. “They got to the bottom of it.” According to the appellate court’s opinion, written by judge Richard Posner, “Rezko breached” his “agreement by failing to pay Sirazi anything.” And why should Auchi—or GMH, his company—have to repay Sirazi for a loan made by Rezko? Because “GMH did obtain money from defrauding Sirazi, by deflecting to itself money owed Sirazi,” Posner wrote. “It was thus enriched unjustly. Likewise it conspired with Rezko to transfer his property to it without paying anything to Sirazi, thus further deflecting to GMH money owned Sirazi.” But by the time Posner rendered his decision, Emanuel was moving full steam ahead to get that land developed. On May 12, the mayor issued a press release announcing that a local company, Related Midwest, had “acquired a stake in the site.”
Auchi would still be involved in the development, but Related Midwest would “serve as its master developer,” the mayor said. “I look forward to working with our private partners to transform this site,” the mayor said in his statement. “My administration will continue to use every tool at our disposal to drive private investment into sites like this.” Later that day, Department of Planning commissioner David Reifman filled out the details in a speech at the City Club, where he explained that either he or the mayor had been calling Curt Bailey, Related’s chief executive, on a daily basis for weeks, seeking updates on the deal. Clearly, this project was at the top of the mayor’s to-do list. One problem: Sirazi’s lien on the property. Essentially, because Auchi owes him money, he has to be repaid when the site’s developed. And that’s where you come in, taxpayers. There’s so much about this project we don’t know. We don’t know how much total TIF money they’ll get. We don’t know the terms of the acquisition deal between Auchi and Related Midwest. We don’t know how much it will cost to remediate this land. We could go on and on about what we don’t know. But I predict this: One way or another, Sirazi will drag out this project for so long that Emanuel, desperate to get it done, will use your property tax dollars to pay that $17.4 million Rezko owes Sirazi. So paying for Rezko’s chicanery will be added to the forevergrowing list of dubious TIF expenditures made by our mayors over the years. Of course, there’s always the possibility the mayor will walk away from the deal. After all, Auchi’s a controversial character in his own right, having been “convicted in what was France’s biggest postwar corruption scandal,” as an article in the Guardian put it. Also, because of Daley’s 1997 TIF, developing the land won’t generate property tax dollars for our schools, parks, or police. Instead, the new property taxes created by the development will go to the River South TIF. (By law TIF districts are good for up to 24 years.) Anyway, here’s my bet: Knowing how eager the mayor is to look like a guy who can get things done—especially in the aftermath of George Lucas taking his museum out of town—I say he’ll waste your tax dollars on this baby. And you say, “Oh, no, you’re wrong. Our mayor is a wise man who will only use our tax dollars for things we really need, like schools.” Any takers? Yeah, well, I didn’t think so. v
v @joravben JUNE 30, 2016 - CHICAGO READER 19
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ARTS & CULTURE LIT
Disorganized religion By RAYYAN AL-SHAWAF
Katherine Ozment ò CHRIS KIRZEDER
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hile peering out the window at a procession of Greek Orthodox faithful on Good Friday, Katherine Ozment’s eight-year-old son wanted to know why their family didn’t partake in the ritual. He learned from his mother that the reason was because they weren’t Greek Orthodox. “Then what are we?” he asked. Ozment, a former senior editor at National Geographic, was stumped. She tried answering her son’s question and fumbled royally. “We’re nothing,” Ozment told her child. She immediately sensed his disappointment. After that, Ozment spent five years researching the growing phenomenon of the “Nones”—the Pew Foundation’s term for religiously unaffiliated Americans, who jumped from 16 percent of the population in 2007 to nearly 25 percent in 2015. The inquiry resulted in her first book, Grace Without God: The Search for Meaning, Purpose, and Belonging in a Secular Age. Ozment’s writing is supple and accessible; critical to the book’s success is the author’s ability to segue between two stories—her enlightening journey with the Nones, and the wondrous moments of her family life. By the time she began conducting research for Grace Without God, Ozment had long since ceased to subscribe to any religion. Still, she was of the view that “parents who don’t want their kids to profess a creed and pledge allegiance to a faith tradition have to thoughtfully create meaning themselves.” She now wanted to know more about how similarly inclined Americans were doing just that. Ozment, formerly Presbyterian, didn’t abandon Christianity owing to any fundamental disagreement with its teachings, but strayed from the faith gradually for reasons unclear even to her. (Her husband Michael similarly shed his Judaism, as opposed to breaking with it.) At some point, the author realized she didn’t believe in God. Yet in addition to still finding hints of the numinous in certain religious ceremonies, Ozment wistfully recalls the sense of meaning and community the faith-based congregations of her upbringing provided. In other words, this isn’t the story of a woman looking for an alternative to traditional religion because she has a beef with it. If anything, Ozment has often felt drawn to groups that share core values with the Christian congregations of her past. Although the author dislikes certain aspects of religion,
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particularly its “tribalism,” she nevertheless retains a rosy view of its potential for edification, which she expresses in somewhat muddled language: “The practice of religion itself has as its bedrock the kind treatment of others, at least in principle if not always in practice.” Yet Ozment wanted to find groups whose outlooks are not structured around belief in a deity or deities. The voyage she embarked on took her from university professors’ cluttered offices in Boston to San Francisco’s countercultural Glide Memorial Church—which famously, or infamously, removed the cross from its sanctuary—and many points in between. Much of what she encountered was an attempt to retain or tweak the values, ceremonies, and rituals of a religion while redefining its dogma—or even dispensing with it entirely. The faith in question needn’t be Christian. For example, at the Upaya Zen Center in Santa Fe, Stephen Batchelor, a former Buddhist monk, presents one with a form of Buddhism shorn of all mystical elements, such as karma and reincarnation, which he claims are later accretions to the Buddha’s teachings. Other outfits profiled here range from support groups to atheists’ circles. In Chicago, Ozment met with Jim Lasko, coartistic director of Redmoon, the now-defunct theater company that sought to encourage a sense of community by bringing art to public spaces. This investigation gives Grace Without God its momentum while the insights of social scientists add depth. “Can there be a church of the Nones?” muses public policy professor Robert Putnam, one of several Harvard academics interviewed by the author. Then, alluding to the fact that the staying power of groups that form around secular alternatives to religion isn’t guaranteed, he answers his own question: “We won’t know for another three hundred years.” In the meantime, there are some unsettling issues to consider. Ever one to ponder the consequences of social transformation, Ozment laments what a large portion of American society is losing as a byproduct of its move away from religion. Younger people’s lack of familiarity with the Bible, which has exerted a profound influence throughout Western history, can be remedied through secular education. Unfortunately, to avoid controversy and charges of proselytism, teachers at public schools across the country often shy away from acquainting their students with the subject.
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Ozment also considers the effect of receding piety on common national values and narratives. Of course, Americans have long been a religiously diverse bunch, but within most religions on the American scene adherents have shared similar conceptions of life—and, often, an afterlife. Now, not only are Americans straying from traditional religions, but they aren’t necessarily all gravitating toward the newer ones Ozment discusses in this book. Many of the Nones seem to have given up on religion altogether. “How do we form a story of us,” the author asks, “if we are averse to joining not just religious institutions but all institutions?” Ultimately, the specific choices Ozment and her family made, while often interesting, matter little in the grand scheme of things. Her intellectual curiosity and diligent research led her beyond the confines of her domestic life and into religious meeting halls, spiritual retreats, and atheists’ gatherings across the country. This ensures that Grace Without God doesn’t merely evoke the early-21st-century “Nones-on-the-rise” American Zeitgeist, but dives right into it. v R GRACE WITHOUT GOD: THE SEARCH FOR MEANING, PURPOSE, AND BELONGING IN A SECULAR AGE By Katherine Ozment (Harper Wave)
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ARTS & CULTURE Namir Smallwood and Kona N. Burks in the Gift Theatre’s Grapes of Wrath. ò Claire Demos
2012
2013 THEATER
Once again, the Joads drive a clunker
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ack in 1988, Steppenwolf Theatre premiered an expensive, AT&T-sponsored stage version of John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath, adapted and directed by Frank Galati. In my review I argued that the show sabotaged itself, mainly through the absurd juxtaposition of a socialist novel with mega-corporate funding, but also by forcing the audience to “sit there and wait to be impressed by all the gimmicks that $500,000 buys. The real river and the genuine car, the honest-to-God rainstorm and the burn-yourfingers campfires. That car, especially—moved around and spun this way and that from scene to scene—is a great and unnecessary burden.” I may have got that last part about the gimmicks wrong. As directed by Erica Weiss, the Gift Theatre’s new production of the Galati Grapes is all but free of gewgaws. Its most elaborate coup de theatre is an onstage catwalk that adds an upper level—and precious square footage—to the Gift’s narrow playing area. There’s no river, no rain, no flames, and the car that locomoted around Steppenwolf’s original
is represented here by a flatbed resting on wheels that never turn. We don’t have to sit and stew while the tech kicks in. And yet this staging is as ponderous as its expensive forebearer. A certain amount of earnest tedium seems to be built into the script. Not that the tedium is unrelieved—or uncompensated either. As you probably remember from your high school English class, Steinbeck’s 1939 novel is a powerful piece of politically progressive melodrama about the Joads, a family of Oklahoma sharecroppers who lose their 40-acre farm to the bank when Dust Bowl storms render it unarable. Leaflets promising plentiful work convince them to load up their old Hudson and head down Route 66 to California. The trip pretty near destroys them. One Joad, Tom, takes his own, personal journey even as he accompanies the others on theirs. Merciless exploiters and vicious enforcers, fiery unionizers and brief glimpses of a better way combine to radicalize Tom, both socially and spiritually. The saga is as ennobling as it is agonizing. It’s also full of contemporary resonances. You
can’t watch the Joads get turned from selfsufficient farmers into despised “migrants” without thinking of bans on Muslims and walls along the Rio Grande. You can’t listen to talk about “one fella with a million acres” amid a million others with none without thinking about the wealth gap. And if you can sit through the passages about foreclosed family homes without thinking of the mortgage crisis, then just take an intermission-time stroll down to the realty office a block from the theater, where the listings posted in the window include a couple for “bank-owned” condos. Weiss and the Gift seize on these connections across time, emphasizing them with a cast whose diversity is clearly meant to transcend historical ethnic categories and send the message that it’s not only Okies who get treated like Okies. Black actors (Namir Smallwood and Kona N. Burks) play Tom Joad and Ma Joad, for example, while Pa Joad is played by a white one (Paul D’Addario). The rest of the family is multi-cultural, as well—and variously abled, with legally blind Jay Worthington in the role of Uncle John Joad. A Joad brother, Al, is depicted as gay, a possibility neither Steinbeck nor Galati seems to have contemplated, since it makes for some awkward dialogue. All of this is good-hearted, forward-looking, and very much in sync with Tom’s famous realization that “a fella ain’t got a soul of his own, just a little piece of a big soul.” But Weiss makes her point at the expense of coherence. It seems to me that she could’ve gone with a conventionally faithful treatment of the story, relying on her audiences to draw the necessary inferences. Or she might’ve risked breaking free of Steinbeck’s Depression-era context so as to make a more aggressively universal statement. As it happens, her production does neither by trying to do both. The show is at once authentic and figurative, both bound by time and untethered. Which leads to a weird sort of double-mindedness where you get the point yet wonder all the same why nobody seems to notice that Tom Joad is black, much less treat him according to racial practices standard for the time in the southwestern U.S. That plus the earnest-tedium problem leaves me waiting still for a Grapes that works. v THE GRAPES OF WRATH Through 8/14: Thu-Sat 7:30 PM, Sun 2:30 PM, the Gift Theatre, 4802 N. Milwaukee, 773-283-7071, thegifttheatre.org, $35
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ARTS & CULTURE
Directed by Gary Ross. R, 139 min. Get showtimes at chicagoreader.com/movies.
Matthew McConaughey in Free State of Jones ò MURRAY CLOSE/STX PRODUCTIONS
MOVIES
A rebel’s rebel By J.R. JONES
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hen the word emancipation turns up in the narrative titles of Free State of Jones, a new Civil War drama, it’s enclosed in quotation marks. That skeptical touch is only a sign of our times— growing racial tension in the U.S., stoked by police killings of unarmed black citizens, the rollback of voting rights, and the ongoing injustice of the drug war, have created an appetite for fresh views of American slavery and more critical assessments of its legacy. Steven Spielberg’s Lincoln (2012) painted an unvarnished portrait of the president as he pushed the 13th Amendment through Congress, and Steve McQueen’s 12 Years a Slave (2013) shocked people with its frank re-creation of the racist antebellum south. More recently the History Channel unveiled a remake of the 1977 miniseries adapted from Alex Haley’s best seller Roots, about several generations of a slave family, and this fall Fox Searchlight will release Nate Parker’s Birth of a Nation, which dramatizes the Virginia slave rebellion led by Nat Turner in 1831. ssss EXCELLENT
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Free State of Jones tells the story of Newton Knight, a Confederate deserter who commanded a company of pro-Union insurrectionists in Jones County, Mississippi, and his life is tailor-made for this sort of cinematic investigation. Knight has long been a divisive figure in the south, scorned by some as a common bandit and lionized by others as an egalitarian hero. “Newt Knight is a kind of Rorschach,” notes Jones County descendant Jonathan Odell. “If he never lived, we would have to invent him.” Knight served in the Seventh Battalion of the Mississippi Infantry, Company F, but deserted in the fall of 1862. After the siege of Vicksburg in 1863 sent even more deserters trickling back to Jones County, Knight united them and the community in armed combat against the government, staging raids on Confederate warehouses, capturing and killing soldiers, and chasing tax agents out of the county. For Gary Ross, who wrote and directed Free State of Jones, Knight was a utopian socialist and integrationist, dreaming of a world where all races are equal and people keep the fruits of their labor. He’s a hero for our times, though to
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some extent Ross has had to invent him. As Victoria Bynum explains in her book Free State of Jones: Mississippi’s Longest Civil War, Knight’s life story has been pulled this way and that over the years, not least because his postwar sexual relationship with Rachel Knight, one of his grandfather’s former slaves, may have produced as many as five mixed-race children. Newton Knight’s life story was first told in a book by his son, Thomas Jefferson Knight, who portrayed him as a man protecting the women and children of Jones County; this heroic conception was echoed in James Street’s 1942 novel Tap Roots, which was made into a Hollywood movie six years later. Three years after that, in 1951, Newt’s grandniece Ethel Knight published her biography The Echo of the Black Horn, which pilloried Newt as a bloodthirsty killer and exposed his relationship with Rachel Knight. A strict segregationist and anticommunist, Ethel had her own political axes to grind with Newton Knight, blaming the recent interest in his story on communist subversion. In fact we know little about Knight’s motivations. A yeoman farmer, he was too poor to own slaves, and his resentment of the Confederacy stemmed more from class inequality than racial injustice. According to one historical witness quoted by Bynum, Knight was incensed by the Twenty Negro Law, which exempted from military duty any man who owned at least 20 slaves: “He felt that the law wasn’t fair; that it enabled the rich man to evade service and that it wasn’t right to ask him to risk his life for people who rated themselves so far above him.” Talking to a reporter in 1921, Knight complained that the voters of Jones County had opposed secession from the Union but were double-crossed by their delegate to the Mississippi state convention. After the war Knight was appointed a relief commissioner for the community, and records indicate that he used his political clout to help freed slaves; even more significant, he defied the racial codes of the old south by taking Rachel Knight into his household and raising her children as his own. Working from a story by Leonard Hartman, Ross plays up the racial and economic angles with a narrative in which Newton Knight (a smoldering Matthew McConaughey), having gone AWOL to bring home the corpse of his teenage nephew, hides out in a swamp with a handful of escaped slaves and then integrates them into his ragtag army. When one of the
deserters tries to assert white privilege over the slaves, Knight reminds him that they’re all held down by the big plantation owners who control the Confederacy: “I mean, they just pick cotton for ’em. You? You was willin’ to get killed for ’em.” After the Knight Company defends the town of Ellisville from Confederate forces, Knight lowers the old battle flag and raises the Stars and Stripes, declaring a “Free State of Jones” and enumerating such principles as “No man ought to stay poor so another man can get rich” and “You walk on two legs, you’re a man. It’s as simple as that.” As Bynum notes in her book, the so-called Free State of Jones represented “an alternative Southern vision of the Civil War,” and Ross runs with that idea, giving white southerners something the cinema rarely offers them: the chance to embrace their heritage while rejecting the Confederacy. The legend of the Knight Company is thrilling precisely because it hijacks some of the most romantic aspects of Confederate mythology: it’s a doomed rebellion against the larger doomed rebellion, a lost cause (of African-American equality) inside a larger lost cause (of southern independence). McConaughey plays Knight as the ultimate southern gentleman and badass, rooted in his community and sensitive to the humanity of women and people of color. As statehouses around the Deep South remove their Confederate battle flags, Free State of Jones gives them something to run up the flagpole to see if anyone salutes. Free State of Jones may be hitting theaters as a Fourth of July feel-good movie, but to Ross’s credit it ends with a sobering lesson in how easily hard-fought freedoms can be snatched away. No one ever makes movies about Reconstruction because the topic is such a downer; Ross devotes a good 20 minutes of his 139-minute drama to the years after emancipation, when modest gains by freed slaves are reversed by members of the land-owning aristocracy as they reassert their dominance in the political process. Knight may have taken over the county during the war, but he can’t fight the tides of history as local governments conspire to disenfranchise African-Americans and the Klan launches its reign of terror. Independence Day movies are supposed to let freedom ring, yet as we all know from experience, sometimes freedom rings hollow. v
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ARTS & CULTURE RSM
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INDEPENDENCE DAY: RESURGENCE s Directed by Roland Emmerich. PG-13, 120 min. Get showtimes at chicagoreader.com/movies.
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MOVIES
Oh God, not you again By LEAH PICKETT
W please recycle this paper
“FANTASTIC!”
E AT T HAT Q UESTION FRANK ZAPPA IN HIS OWN WORDS WWW.SONYCLASSICS.COM
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-Neil Genzlinger, THE NEW YORK TIMES
hen a studio declines to screen a film for critics before its opening day, you can bet that the film stinks and the studio knows it. Such is the case with Independence Day: Resurgence—Roland Emmerich’s long-awaited sequel to his 1996 summer blockbuster Independence Day—which 20th Century Fox ushered into theaters last Friday before word of its ineptitude could leak to the paying masses. Resurgence is a poorly written, sloppily edited, and altogether boring regurgitation of the original, devoid of any real tension, surprises, or compelling characters. Keep in mind, however, that Independence Day is only slightly better; if and when the nostalgia-induced sheen wears off, you might be dismayed to discover that it doesn’t hold up. Resurgence is the inferior film because it doesn’t improve upon the first in any meaningful way except for enhancing the CGI and upgrading the weaponry. “We had 20 years to prepare,” reads the movie’s tag line. “So did they.” Yet Earth’s forces remain unprepared for the alien vessels’ deflector shields, which frustrated them so badly in the War of ’96. So the aliens easily invade again, this time with a giant “queen” and her “hive” hell-bent on sucking out the Earth’s core. Various characters mutter about how humanity “won’t survive this one,” but the stakes seem smaller and sillier this time around. Emmerich—second
only to Michael Bay in his skill at eroticizing explosions and jingoizing happy endings— returns to the modus operandi he established in Independence Day and fortified in a subsequent string of disaster movies (Godzilla, The Day After Tomorrow, 2012): humanity prevails, no matter how long the odds or how asinine the premise. What elevated Independence Day is what torpedoes Resurgence: the actors. Will Smith, who played the heroic fighter pilot in the first film, opted out of the second; replacing him are Liam Hemsworth and Jessie T. Usher as frenemy pilots, without a drop of chemistry or charisma, who repeat some of Smith’s old catchphrases. The actors who have returned (including Jeff Goldblum, Judd Hirsch, Brent Spiner, and Bill Pullman) look lost and at times embarrassed, and the new additions are insipid (especially Maika Monroe, who seems to have been cast for no reason other than her fashion-model proportions). But the two films are not really that different. Both ooze American exceptionalism, oversimplify the invaders, and infantilize the audience. That Resurgence makes Independence Day seem seminal by comparison is a testament to the studio’s marketing strategy and the Hollywood status quo. Remake a ’90s blockbuster, and the millennials will come. v
v @leahkpickett
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ARTS & CULTURE Fashion’s Decree by Louis M. Glackens, from an October 1907 issue of Puck ò COLLECTION OF JEAN S.
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amed after the devilish sprite in A Midsummer Night’s Dream and established in New York in 1876 by Austrian immigrant Joseph Keppler, Puck was a Germanlanguage satirical magazine (with an English edition following in 1877) that skewered powerful people and high society for the next 40 years. “With a Wink and a Nod—Cartoonists of the Gilded Age,” now open at the Driehaus Museum, displays 74 original drawings and some 20 magazines from this pioneering publication, providing invaluable insight into how the visual and written press interpreted, elucidated, and took the piss out of events in American history in the years between the Civil War and World War I. The setting for the exhibit provides the perfect, if ironic context for the work. The opulent Nickerson House is precisely the kind of abode a Puck cartoonist would have drawn to depict the residency of the wealthy types the magazine loved to lampoon. The show is broken up thematically, with rooms devoted to “Modern Life,” “Love and Marriage,” “Culture and Society,” “Social Commentary,” “Cast of Characters,” and “Cornball Humor.” Each space houses original pen-and-ink drawings by noted illustrators of the day, like Louis Glackens and Louis Dalrymple, with the issues in which the drawings appeared presented in cases below each piece. One of the joys of this show is that it details how an illustrated publication is assembled. Puck was one of the first weeklies to use
full-color lithography, setting a standard that would be imitated later on by magazines like Life. The drawings in the exhibit bear the smudges, corrections, and notations inherent to the printing process—comparing them to their lithographic reproductions gives them added complexity and nuance. Many of the works can be appreciated purely on aesthetic terms: they were produced before photography was popularized, and are rendered with skill and acuity that is rare in contemporary visual art. The artwork and its presentation undoubtedly convey the 19th century, yet much of the subject matter is timely. Alfred Zantzinger Baker’s The Haunted Auto depicts a driver spooked by the animals he’s killed with his reckless driving. And the many illustrations of the excesses of political figures will be familiar to anyone following the absurd current election cycle. It remains to be seen whether The Onion or The Daily Show will be of interest to subsequent generations, but the artwork created by Puck’s illustrators during its 40-year run holds up. Will a GIF of an eagle flying into Donald Trump’s hair hold someone’s attention 100 years from now? I wouldn’t bet on it, but I’m confident she’ll still be enjoying back issues of Puck. v R “WITH A WINK AND A NOD— CARTOONISTS OF THE GILDED AGE” Through 1/17/2017, 10 AM-5 PM, Driehaus Museum, 40 E. Erie, 312-482-8933, driehausmuseum.org, $25, $17.50 seniors, $15 students and children ages 6-12.
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JUNE 30, 2016 - CHICAGO READER 25
IN ROTATION
WOLF BY KEITH HERZIK
MUSIC A Reader staffer shares three musical obsessions, then asks someone (who asks someone else) to take a turn.
GOSSIP WOLF A furry ear to the ground of the local music scene
The cover of the Nils Økland Band album Kjølvatn
Vladimir Vysotsky ò CREATIVE COMMONS
Casio SK-1 keyboard ò VLAD SPEARS / FLICKR
PETER MARGASAK Reader staff writer
of the duo Homme
SIMA CUNNINGHAM Solo artist, half
PETER COTTONTALE Producer, music director of the Social Experiment
Blind Joe Taggart, A Guitar Evangelist: 1926 to 1931 (Herwin) During the four years I worked at Jazz Record Mart, I bought loads of used vinyl, much of which took years to finally listen to. I wish I hadn’t waited so long to get to this collection of gospel-blues from South Carolina-born singer and guitarist Blind Joe Taggart—the album compiles eight rare 78s he cut for Paramount and an earlier single for Vocalion. His voice was more mellifluous and measured than that of fellow guitar evangelist Blind Willie Johnson, and some tunes bear the distinct influence of white country music.
Vladimir Vysotsky, “Koni Priveredlivye” I was introduced to singer-songwriter and poet Vladimir Vysotsky in 2011 with this video of him performing “Koni Priveredlivye,” which translates as “Capricious Horses”—I’ve been told it’s about his struggle with heroin addiction. Vysotsky was a tragic Soviet hero, and he absolutely transfixed me. In a record shop in Seattle, I found a reissue of a 1967 live recording from the 21-album series At Vladimir Vysotsky’s Concerts. I don’t understand Russian, but his wit and the vigor of his words cut through the language barrier. He drags out his consonants and ends the songs before you know what’s happened. The other day I was blasting the record, and the masons who were tuck-pointing the house next door got all excited and started singing along.
Small keyboards I’ve been into smaller keyboards and synths recently. They’re easy to transport and usually have interesting functions. A few examples are the Casio SK-1, Yamaha CS01, and Roli Seaboard.
Nils Økland Band, Kjølvatn (ECM) Norwegian violinist and Hardanger fiddler Nils Økland leads a new quintet with saxophonist Rolf-Erik Nylstrøm (of new-music heavies Poing), harmonium player Sigbjørn Apeland, jazz bassist Mats Eilertsen, and percussionist Håkon Stene. Norwegian folk pulses at the heart of Økland’s compositions, which are as varied as the lineup, but he explores other traditions too (Arabic, Balkan) and borrows the improvisational dynamic of jazz. The total aesthetic, though, belongs to Økland alone. Jurmo, Gnistor, Irrbloss 1:2 (Sing a Song Fighter/Ausculto Fonogram) Jurmo is a beguiling new project from Swedish reedist Johan Arrias, who blew my mind 16 years ago with his delicate trio Gul 3. Here he fronts a group employing drums, trumpet, trombone, and tuba that zigzags between soundoriented abstraction, European military brass, woozy ballads, and art-pop songs (two tracks feature great Swedish singer Nicolai Dunger).
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Seval, “Details” Sofia Jernberg’s voice is one of the greatest instruments in the world. I caught Seval’s set at the Umbrella Music Festival a few years back and bought the quintet’s second album, 2. I love the arrangements on the record; Fred Lonberg-Holm’s cello is masterful throughout. “Details” I enjoy for its lyrics—“I listened to your story / I heard it with all the gory details”—and for Jernberg’s dazzling, incredibly nimble vocals. Randy Newman, Little Criminals Randy Newman doesn’t need any more accolades, but I was a latecomer, and I’ve been listening to him on repeat. He makes me want to be bolder and to fearlessly embrace the singersongwriter inside me, even if a little cheese seeps out.
CDs It’s a funny thing that I’m “into” CDs right now, when they haven’t been a necessity for the past decade or so. I’ve stumbled upon some great CD sets recently (one in particular called Rhapsodies in Black contains four discs of music and poetry from the Harlem Renaissance era, reissued by Rhino in 2000) as well as old mix CDs that my friends and I made, where I’ve found many forgotten 90s and early-2000s jams. Pete Nelson, Be in a Treehouse It doesn’t have much to do with music, but it’s been inspiring my music lately. This 2014 book shows you current tree houses all around the globe. Some are for rent, and they all look like great places to make music in.
EMPTY BOTTLE FLOOR MANAGER Bob Johnson may look surly, but that’s never fooled Gossip Wolf—though he’s never had to toss us out for acting a fool, either! As longtime patrons and local musicians know, Bob’s back-cracking hugs have been the highlight of any night at the club since he started working door in June 2003. Johnson’s last shift is Sunday, July 17, and he tells Gossip Wolf that he’s moving to Minneapolis soon thereafter: “It’s time to make a change. If I don’t leave now, I never will.” When pressed about his all-time favorite Empty Bottle gig, Johnson mentions “the Lightning Bolt show where the crowd passed around Brian Chippendale on his drum kit and he kept playing. That was pretty fucking cool.” So are you, Bob! You’ll be missed! On Thursday, June 30, Manny Rodriguez (aka DJ Manny Muscles and coowner of streetwear boutique Jugrnaut) hosts Manny Muscles for Muscles: A Muscular Dystrophy Benefit. The event is a fancy dinner at Sub 51 (51 W. Hubbard), and Manny will spin. Tickets are a bit pricey at $100, but it’s for a great cause: some of the proceeds go to the Muscular Dystrophy Association, and the rest help pay for summer camp for kids with muscular dystrophy. Attendees will dine alongside the likes of Fake Shore Drive founder Andrew Barber, fashion designer Anna Hovet, in-demand producer C-Sick, street artist Ali 6, and Ken Bennett—he’s director of the Mayor’s Office of Public Engagement, but most hip-hop fans know him as dad to rappers Taylor and Chance. Buy tickets or donate at mannymuscles.com. Local rapper Psalm One throws a “Shitty Punk Birthday” party at the Hideout on Friday, July 1—and it actually sounds pretty unshitty! In addition to the woman herself, a slew of guests will perform, including Celine Neon, ShowYouSuck, Angelenah, and DJ All the Way Kay—and don’t miss the Jell-O wrestling, drink specials, and free food from Jerk Modern Jamaican Grill! —J.R. NELSON AND LEOR GALIL Got a tip? Tweet @Gossip_Wolf or e-mail gossipwolf@chicagoreader.com.
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A family festival of music, food, arts, craft, games and more! M ORE DETAIL S AT FESTIVALO FLIFE . BIZ JUNE 30, 2016 - CHICAGO READER 27
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Recommended and notable shows, and critics’ insights for the week of June 30 b
ALL AGES
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PICK OF THE WEEK
Instrument maker Hal Rammel joins Ken Vandermark and Olivia Block to honor the 30th anniversary of Experimental Sound Studio
THURSDAY30 David Bazan Laura Gibson opens. 8 PM, Lincoln Hall, 2424 N. Lincoln, $22. 18+
I’d heard some stray comparisons made between David Bazan’s recent third solo album, Blanco (Barsuk), and the self-titled debut by short-lived synthbased rock group Headphones, a band Bazan launched in 2005 after the long-running Pedro the Lion called it quits. Sure, both albums employ synths, but the lo-fi grit of Headphones is nowhere to be found on Blanco. Bazan’s first album in five years moves with the sweeping, large-scale melodic sensibility of a film score while retaining a stellar sense of intimacy. The music’s ornate maximalism augments the lonesomeness in Bazan’s yearning vocals; his performances resonate well after each song comes to a close. Bazan’s vivid lyrics on the swaying, bittersweet “Trouble With Boys” provide a snapshot of a young woman’s lifelong strife, his somber vocals filling out the details of the world his protagonist inhabits, and in a stroke of songwriting excellence his vocal inflections suggest there’s light beyond the gloom. —LEOR GALIL
Jaap Blonk, Fred Lonberg-Holm, and Tim Daisy Chris Brown opens. 9 PM, Elastic, 3429 W. Diversey, $10 suggested donation. b
ò JOHN KANNENBERG
HAL RAMMEL, KEN VANDERMARK, OLIVIA BLOCK, MICHAEL ZERANG, AND JAAP BLONK
Sat 7/2, 7 PM, Constellation, 3111 N. Western, $30. 18+
THOUGH TONIGHT’S EXTRAVAGANZA is organized to fete both the 30th anniversary of Experimental Sound Studio and the departure of executive director Lou Mallozzi, there’s another anniversary lurking in the background. Celebrated improvisational musicians saxophonist Ken Vandermark, sound artist Olivia Block, percussionist Michael Zerang, and vocalist Jaap Blonk will all perform tonight; lesser known is Milwaukee veteran instrument maker Hal Rammel, whose best-recognized creation, the amplified palette—a painter’s palette fitted with a contact mike and a series of beautifully arranged wooden and metal rods played with mallets, bows, and other objects—recently turned 25. As showcased in the dazzling new The Amplified Palette: A History in Pictures (Penumbra), Rammel has taken artistic liberties over the years with the
shape and design of the instrument’s foundation. That album includes unreleased solo improvisations—disc one features material from the late 90s, while the second disc was cut over the last few years—along with a series of photos of his beautiful instruments, which double as exquisite sculptural objects. But Rammel has always been interested in functionality first, and the otherworldly sounds his creations conjure. Guitarist, composer, and Rammel collaborator Chris Burns writes in an essay, “Onomatopoeia can’t do the palettes justice: grunting, crying, keening, chiming, pealing, clanging, sawing, sizzling and scraping barely begin to suggest the range of timbres, or to express their depth and intricacy.” Tonight Rammel will perform solo, in a duo with Block, and in a trio with Blonk and Vandermark. —PETER MARGASAK
When crowds of celebrated minds guided nations into the bloodbath of World War I, a generation of intellectuals refuted respectability, reality, and the status quo. Collage, noise, and nonsense became artistic weapons against nationalism, colonialism, and militarism. It’s impossible to precisely date the formation of a multinational, nonconformist movement, but Dutch vocal artist Jaap Blonk has decided to celebrate 100 years of Dada this year, the centenary of the launch of Zurich’s Cabaret Voltaire. Though Blonk is well-known for his collaborations with improvising musicians, the core of his work is in sound poetry, a Dada-derived medium in which vocalizations are deployed to confound rather than convey meaning. Blonk’s command over his instrument is astounding—he can sound like a gargling duck, a celluloid dictator fulminating in a nonexistent language, a zombie, an announcer delivering the news in immaculate Dutch, or your annoying little brother making mouth noises. He’s periodically performed with local cellist Fred Lonberg-Holm since the 1990s, but it’s the bill’s other local musician who put this trio together, in particular, Tim Daisy, a justly renowned percussionist who in recent years has subverted his own technique to perform with radios and record players. He’d long admired Blonk, but they didn’t meet until sharing a stage at a Dada event last year in Columbia, South Carolina. This event—which will feature Daisy on turntables and a small drum kit—is the first time that the three musicians have played together. Pianist and electronic musician Chris Brown opens; the trio headlines. Blonk will also perform as part of the Experimental Sound Studio Gala on Sat 7/2 (see Pick of the Week for more). —BILL MEYER J
JUNE 30, 2016 - CHICAGO READER 29
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MUSIC The Roots ò MARK SELIGER/NBC
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FRIDAY1 Guns N’ Roses See also Sunday. Alice in Chains open. 8 PM Soldier Field, 1410 Museum Campus, sold out. b It’s no secret Guns N’ Roses have made a lot of missteps in their long, storied career. After their 1987 landmark debut, Appetite for Destruction, a Jack Daniel’s-soaked affair that terrified parents the world over and defined generations of Sunset Strip metalheads—the band strayed from their dangerous, grimy blues-rock roots and fell into a void of over-the-top concept records, absurd multimillion-dollar music videos, systematic member firings, a 15-year recording process, and a lead guitar slot that was briefly held down by a guy who performs with a KFC bucket on his head. But it looks like polarizing front man Axl Rose—the only remaining member of note for about 20 years—is attempting to make up for bad decisions by getting the gang back together. And though they said it would never happen, founding lead guitarist Slash and bassist Duff McKagen have returned to the fold for the “Not in This Lifetime” tour, featuring sets of mostly Appetite tracks. It’s hard to say exactly how good this time around will be: Rose broke his foot during the reunion’s warm-up performance at LA’s Troubadour in April, so all the footage from the band’s Coachella headlining slots feature him performing from the same giant chair that warmed the buns of a similarly injured Dave Grohl this past summer, and it really puts a damper on the performance of a singer who is one of rock’s most charismatic and confrontational presences. The songs still sound good if a bit sterile: detrimentally missing from this reunion is not just Appetite’s heart and soul, drummer Steven Adler, but rhythm guitarist and chief songwriter Izzy Stradlin, whose sleazy swagger was as important to the band as Axl’s bad attitude. —LUCA CIMARUSTI
Last False Hope, Gallows Bound Part of MoonRunners Music Festival (see page 33). Last False Hope play at 8:10 PM and Gallows Bound at 5:30 PM. Reggie’s Music Rock Club and Joint, 2105 S. State, $30, $100 three-day pass. 17+ (Rock Club only) Now in its fourth year, the MoonRunners Music Festival has steadily grown over the years, with a rich menu of alt-country, roots rock, rockabilly, country cabaret, bluegrass, and all manners of punk-roots fusion. It’s a friendly affair (a 2014 stabbing incident between a security guard and an attendee notwithstanding)that tends to repeat a lot of acts from year to year to present a family reunion vibe. Though many are worthy of attention, two dark bluegrass outfits stand out. From Winchester, Virginia, Gallows Bound turn the Appalachian murder ballad into a rollicking subgenre, duet vocalists Jordan Joyes and Jesse Markle bringing a plaintive male-female tension to their grim tales of betrayal (they do offer some gentler numbers). Even grimmer, wilder, and more terrifying are Last False Hope, who play it fatalistic and white-knuckled—evoking the sensation you’d likely feel if your car’s brakes went out while traversing a steep downhill grade—drawn out for the length of a proficient, rigorous set. —MONICA KENDRICK
2014
SATURDAY2 Wild Belle Part of Mamby at the Beach (see page 33). 6 PM set time, Oakwood Beach, 4100 S. Lake Shore, $69.50, $130 two-day pass. 18+ It’s not as if Wild Belle’s Natalie and Elliot Bergman were pushing the envelope when they dropped their debut album, Isles, in 2013: the music combines nasally post-Amy Winehouse soul with shiny pop-reggae grooves for a lovely if slight summertime confection. But they’re definitely aiming for mainstream listeners on their recent follow-up, J
2015 6 - L A Y E R , 1 6 . 5 X 1 7 ”, S C R E E N P R I N T O N 1 8 X 2 4 ” C O U G A R W H I T E P A P E R
GET THEM WHILE THEY LAST AT CHICAGOREADER.COM/PITCHFORKCOVERS JUNE 30, 2016 - CHICAGO READER 31
MUSIC
Slash ò ED JONES/GETTY
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Dreamland (Columbia), which shows the group’s great investment in studio time—a dozen producers and engineers are listed in the credits—with the results a reflection of the micromanaged process. Though the more superficial Jamaican signifiers are absent, plenty of dub-like grooves remain, while melodies embody current Top 40 flavors more than the old-school-soul shapes of the group’s debut; Wild Belle even channel some postpunk and goth energy on “I’m Giving Up on You” (produced by Dave Sitek of TV on the Radio). The lyrics remain pretty dumb throughout, especially when Natalie delivers the inane lines of “The One That Got Away” in a clunky dancehall style. The song celebrates the narrator’s euphoric emotions after leaving a no-account lover (“Life without you is like a rollercoaster,” she sings clearly unaware of what that metaphor actually means). But such nitpicky details might miss the point—people don’t notice things like that when they hear them in TV commercials. —PETER MARGASAK
Big Business Andy the Doorbum opens. 9 PM, Beat Kitchen, 2100 W. Belmont, $14. Starting with the bellowing, sonorous vocals of Jared Warren, who seems less than a tweak away from summoning a subterrestrial demon, troll, or gremlin—take your pick—and going right down to the lumbering rhythms of Coady Willis, played on a drum set apparently constructed of boulders and what sound like dragonfire-forged medieval battle shields, the sludge vets in Big Business return with their newest, Command Your Weather (Joyful
32 CHICAGO READER - JUNE 30, 2016
Noise). As members of the Melvins the pair have gotten plenty of reps over the years for building riffs that torpedo from one crash-cymbal explosion to the next while still maintaining the fortitude to orchestrate a giant track like the seven-minute “Popular Demand,” which moves in a kind of molten slog as the vocals bleed into the background of the clatter. Its tense follow-up, “Own Throats,” features flailing rhythms from Willis that occasionally beat the core riff into a mass of carnage, all swallowed up in the groove and regurgitated at the feet of its masters. Then come the strange vocal harmonies of “Send Help,” about as close to Hall & Oates as Warren and Willis could probably get, the weirdness of it all playing into their mission of doing whatever the fuck they think is awesome. —KEVIN WARWICK
SUNDAY3 Cactus Blossoms Part of the FitzGerald’s American Music Festival (see page 33). 9 PM set time, FitzGerald’s, 6615 W. Roosevelt, $50, $120 four-day pass (in advance), all-ages until 10 PM. As the Cactus Blossoms, Minneapolis brothers Page Burkum and Jack Torrey follow a venerable tradition of close-harmony singing, vividly recalling the gorgeous vocal blend of the Everly Brothers (who borrowed from the Louvin Brothers). The group’s impressive debut album, You’re Dreaming (Red House), revisits the era when the Everlys first made their mark, tapping into a pleasing mix of country, early rock ’n’ roll, and dream pop with original love songs marked by melodies worthy of the sweet J
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THURSDAY, JUNE 30 7:30PM
Deeply Rooted Dance Theater
Emerging Choreographers Preview Performance In Szold Hall
SUNDAY, JULY 10 5 & 8PM
Sarah Jarosz SATURDAY, JULY 16 9PM
Pape Diouf SATURDAY, AUGUST 13 7 & 10PM
Hot Tuna Acoustic SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 18 7PM
The Handsome Family with special guest Anna & Elizabeth
ACROSS THE STREET IN SZOLD HALL 4545 N LINCOLN AVENUE, CHICAGO IL
Chosen Few Music Festival ò DAWN COLQUITT-ANDERSON
FESTIVALS
Spend Fourth of July weekend on the south side bathing in house music and electro pop FitzGerald’s American Music Festival Now in its 35th installment, this festival features four days of Americana inside and outside its namesake Berwyn club. Donna the Buffalo, Webb Wilder, the Cactus Blossoms (see page 32), Willie Nile, and Dos Lobos perform. 6/30-7/3, FitzGerald’s, 6615 W. Roosevelt, Berwyn, fitzgeraldsnightclub.com, $25-$50 per day, $120 four-day pass (in advance). International Festival of Life This four-day festival showcases sounds from all across the African diaspora, including plenty of reggae and Caribbean music. The bill includes Lova Boy, Supa G, and Luciano. 7/1-7/4, Union Park, 1501 W. Randolph, festoflife.biz, $25, four-day pass $100, children under 12 free. MoonRunners Music Festival Having expanded to three full days, MoonRunners runs out lineups of outlaw country, roots, bluegrass, and punk. Headliners include Scott H. Biram, Split Lip Rayfield, and Dale Watson, with acts like Last False Hope and Gallows Bound opening (see page 31). 7/1-7/3, Reggie’s, 2105 S. State, moonrunnersmusicfestival.com, $30, $100 three-day pass.
Chosen Few Music Festival The beloved all-day picnic expands to a two-day festival honoring the legendary house DJs who helped build Chicago’s storied scene. Roy Ayers and Cheryl Lynn perform in addition to the Chosen Few DJs themselves. 7/2-7/3, Jackson Park, 6401 S. Stony Island, chosenfewdjs.com, $30 per day, two-day pass $50. Mamby on the Beach The name of the game: feel-good beachfront jams from pop, dance, and hip-hop acts like Santigold, Atmosphere, Lupe Fiasco, Chromeo, and Wild Belle (see page 32). 7/2-7/3, Oakwood Beach, 4100 S. Lake Shore, mambybeach.com, $69.50, twoday pass $130. 18+ Taste of Chicago The Taste is a Chicago institution, combining well-known restaurants, popular bands, and thousands of drunk people. This year the Roots (see page 35), the Decemberists, Billy Idol, and the Isley Brothers headline the shows at the Petrillo Music Shell. 7/6-7/10, Grant Park, 235 S. Columbus, tasteofchicago.us, free (ticket prices for seats at Petrillo vary).
8/6 Laketown Buskers 9/10 Erwin Helfer / Barrelhouse Chuck with Billy Flynn / Gospel Keyboard Masters: The Sirens Records CD release show for all 3 artists!
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JUNE 30, 2016 - CHICAGO READER 33
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and drummer Brian Blade. That agile rhythm section, appearing here as well, moves with weightless grace as it deftly supports the pianist through countless moods and grooves—driving here, gliding there. Corea’s lyric mastery shines throughout. Following the trio set, Corea will perform with the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra. —PETER MARGASAK
seem to possess several discrete personalities. Most famously, they play the enthusiastic, versatile yet largely toothless live band for The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon, but they haven’t let that mainstream platform impede on their creativity when making records. In fact, it seems to have emboldened them. It’s been two years since they dropped . . . And Then You Shoot Your Cousin (Def Jam), but that album’s sense of experimentation and unrepentantly bleak worldview—a vision peeped from a desire to be responsible and righteous—remains nearly as weighty and audacious as anything heard from that period. In song after song lead MC Black Thought, along with regular Roots adjuncts Dice Raw and Greg Porn, reflect on suffocating pressure, a stress that consistently hobbles them as they try to straighten out their lives. The tough “Black Rock” describes dead-end
WEDNESDAY6 Roots Part of Taste of Chicago (see page 33). Donnie Trumpet opens. 5:30 PM, Petrillo Music Shell, 235 S. Columbus, $23. b Veteran hip-hop band the Roots have never fit any single stylistic model, and these days they
Never miss a show again. Jaap Blonk ò STUDIO FILMLOVE FOR CRICOTEKA
continued from 33 harmonies. Current roots star JD McPherson crisply produced the album, wisely enlisting a trio of Chicagoans to play behind the Minneapolitans: bassist Beau Sample and drummer Alex Hall (both members of the Fat Babies), and guitarist Joel Paterson, who doubles on woozy pedal steel). Together, they give the brothers a full-bodied platform marked by twangy resonance. Most of the songs embrace a midtempo amble: “Mississippi” includes a gently rolling groove, while “Change Your Ways or Die” moves with a trainlike chug. There’s not a single thing about the album that sounds like it was developed in the last 50 years, but I don’t care—the execution, tunefulness, and those amazing harmonies transcend time. —PETER MARGASAK
Guns N’ Roses See Friday. Alice in Chains open. 8 PM Soldier Field, 1410 Museum Campus, $44.50-$250. b
MONDAY4 Chick Corea Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Chick Corea headline; Chick Corea Trio and Ms. Lisa Fischer & Grand Baton open. 5 PM, Ravinia Festival, 200 Ravinia Park Rd., Highland Park, $15-$50. b Few jazz artists have enthusiastically embraced such a wide array of approaches as keyboardist Chick Corea, an early adopter of jazz fusion whose pursuit of novelty went so far as to embrace the lowly keytar for a number of years in his Elektric Band. That side of his personality often obscures his deep talents as a more conventional pianist, a role he reembraces tonight with one of his best recent projects. A couple of years ago Corea released Trilogy (Concord), a live triple-CD set of originals, jazz standards, and even a Scriabin prelude tackled by a topflight trio that features bassist Christian McBride
EARLY WARNINGS
chicagoreader.com/early
1800 W DIVISION 773.486.9862
12PM: BK READ 12:30PM: PHYLLIS’S MUSICAL BOYS 1PM: CRACKPOT/REACTION FORMATION 2PM: AMERICAN STANDARD 3PM: GNUMAN 4PM: THE PHONE CALLS 5PM: AMERICAN DRAFT 6PM: ENVIORNMENTAL ENCROACHMENT 7PM: SMILING BOBBY AND THE CLEMTONES WITH DANNY DRAHER 8PM: THE POLKAHOLICS 9PM: JAMIE WAGNER BAND 10PM: UNIBROW 11PM: BAD FORUM MIDNIGHT: GENERAL PATTON
THURS é JUNE é 30 MIKE FELTON FRI é JULY 1 é PETE BERWICK SAT é JULY 2 é THE TELEPATHS WED é JULY 6 é JON RARICK NONET FRI é JULY 8 é THE DHARMAS SAT é JULY 9 é LOST IN THOUGHT SUN é JULY 10 é HEISENBERG UNCERTAINTY PLAYERS MON é JULY 11 é RC BIG BAND
cycles, with Dice Raw roughly singing, “Once you pay the price you can never do right.” And on “The Dark (Trinity)” Black Thought raps the fraught lines “The law of gravity meets the law of averages / Ain’t no sense in attempting to civilize savages,” which seems as much an expression of exasperation as cynicism. Jazz pianist D.D. Jackson wrote the string arrangements coursing with dissonance on some tracks, while the brief “Dies Irae” is a shockingly abrasive collage of samples from French composer Michel Chion’s musique-concrete Requiem. The album concludes with the soulful “Tomorrow,” whose spare piano and drums by Raheem DeVaughn inject a touch of hope as Black Thought’s voice dissolves within a jazzy coda. I expect a version of the Roots somewhere in between these poles when they play Taste of Chicago. —PETER MARGASAK v
3855 N. LINCOLN
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THU, 6/30
GREAT MOMENTS IN VINYL PRESENT VAN MORRISON’S “ASTRAL WEEKS” & “MOONDANCE” TUE, 7/5
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BIG C JAMBOREE W/ MONDO CORTEZ FEATURING DAVID GONZALEZ FRI, 7/8
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THE NATIONAL PARKS JUNE 30, 2016 - CHICAGO READER 35
FOOD & DRINK
R LEÑA BRAVA | $$$
900 W. Randolph 312-733-1975 rickbayless.com/restaurants/lena-brava
NEW REVIEW
Leña Brava is another triumph for Rick Bayless The chef summons fire and ice at his Baja-inspired seafood spot. By MIKE SULA
T
Clockwise from top: Yellowtail in a sauce of guajillo chile and hibiscus flower, with mango relish garnish; whole striped bass; uni on grilled cactus paddle, with sea beans, tomato, olives, and toasted sesame ò DANIELLE A. SCRUGGS
36 CHICAGO READER - JUNE 30, 2016
wo years ago, when Rick Bayless devoted the entire eighth season of his PBS series Mexico: One Plate at a Time to the syncretic food of Mexico’s Baja Peninsula, someone should’ve guessed that his long-gestating, closely guarded plan for Randolph Street—something he promised would be completely new to Chicago—would be somehow related. Well, here it is: Leña Brava is the chef ’s love letter to the seafood-dominant riches of Baja, with its inherent Mediterranean and Asian influences, cooked in the crucible of three wood-burning fires at the back of a busy, clamorous room. The alluring aromas of the “ferocious wood,” as the name translates, permeate the restaurant, particularly the second-floor bar, and even the restrooms, where you might feel as if you’ve wandered among the fading embers of a forest fire. Under chefs Lisa and Fred Despres, dishes treated by those flames take up the second half of the menu, but its first page, titled “Ice,” is dominated by raw seafood, aguachiles, ceviches, cocteles, and other dishes cooked, so to speak, in acid and served cold with a brilliant kaleidoscope of flavors, colors, and textures. This is where Baja’s confluence of Mexican and Asian influences becomes most apparent. Uni, served atop a refined brunoise of grilled cactus paddle, sea beans, tomato, and olives and sprinkled with
toasted sesame, is a creamy, surprisingly mild counterpoint to its briny garnish. Slabs of rosy, pearlescent opah bathe in a pool of cool lime, spiked with habanero and lemongrass, scattered with sweet, bubblegummy Asian pear dice, and dotted with deposits of garlicky chive oil. These aren’t the dainty, fussy plates chefs try to pass off as crudo these days. They’re surprisingly meaty slices of fish treated with extraordinarily vivid flavors, like tiles of pink yellowtail offset by a plate painted with a sweet and sour sauce of guajillo chile and hibiscus flower, garnished with a mango relish. Worlds collide with a makimono of ceviche, avocado, and jalapeño, moist with Peruvian leche de tigre. Even a classic Mexican coctele of shrimp and octopus in mildly sweet sauce gets a hit of wasabi-scented jicama. Fruits and vegetables sometimes feature prominently among this section of the menu. Avocado, coconut, hearts of palm, and pineapple all take center plate, the latter grilled and mounted atop dollops of goat cheese from Indiana’s Prairie Fruits Farm & Creamery, with a hazelnut-based salsa macha to approximate something like a 70s-era hors d’oeuvre as done south of the border. The “Fire” side of the menu contains a whole other cohort of compelling dishes that require significant tolerance for dithering to settle on. Gingery shrimp albondigas feature ground crustaceans and pork shoulder with a tight but J
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JUNE 30, 2016 - CHICAGO READER 37
S P O N S O R ED CO N T EN T
DRINK SPECIALS LINCOLN PARK
LINCOLN SQUARE
2683 N Halsted 773-348-9800
4757 N Talman 773-942-6012
ALIVEONE
THU
$4 Lagunitas drafts, $4 Absolut cocktails, “Hoppy Hour” 5pm-8pm = 1/2 price IPAs + pale ales
FRI
“Hoppy Hour” 5pm-8pm = 1/2 price IPAs + pale ales
S AT
$6 Jameson shots $3 PBR bottles
SUN
$4 Temperance brews, $5 Absolut bloody mary’s
MON
MONTI’S
BERWYN
FITZGERALD’S 6615 Roosevelt 708-788-2118
WICKER PARK
PHYLLIS’ MUSICAL INN
1800 W Division 773-486-9862
SOUTH LOOP
REGGIE’S
2105 S State 312-949-0120
LINCOLN PARK
DISTILLED CHICAGO
1480 W Webster 773-770-3703
AVONDALE
ROGERS PARK
2829 N Milwaukee 773-227-1688
7006 N Glenwood 773-274-5463
EL RANCHITO
RED LINE TAP
$6 Firestone Walker Opal pints, $6 Finch Vanilla Stout 16 oz. cans $7 house wines $8 Few Spirits
Moosehead pints $3.75, Hamms cans $2.50, Special Export Bush Longneck bottles $3, Foster Big cans $5
Bombs $4, Malibu Cocktails $4, Jack Daniel’s Cocktails $5, Tanqueray Cocktails $4, Johnny Walker Black $5, Cabo Wabo $5, PBR Tallboy cans $2.75
50% off wine (glass & bottle) and salads
$1.50 Margaritas
$4 Hell or High Watermelon
$6 Firestone Walker Opal pints, $6 Finch Vanilla Stout 16 oz. cans $7 house wines $8 Few Spirits
Moosehead pints $3.75, Hamms cans $2.50, Special Export Bush Longneck bottles $3, Foster Big cans $5
Wine by the Glass $5, Jameson $5, Patron $7, Founders 12oz All Day IPA Cans $3.50, Mexican Buckets $20 (Corona, Victoria, Modelos)
$6 Jamison shots; $5 Green Line; 50% off chicken sandwich
$2.99 Margaritas de Sabores
$5 Stella, $3 mystery shots
$6 Firestone Walker Opal pints, $6 Finch Vanilla Stout 16 oz. cans $7 house wines $8 Few Spirits
Moosehead pints $3.75, Hamms cans $2.50, Special Export Bush Longneck bottles $3, Foster Big cans $5
Heineken Bottles $4, Bloodies feat. Absolut Peppar Vodka $5, Original Moonshine $5, Corzo $5, Sailor Jerry’s Rum $4, Deschutes Drafts $4, Capt. Morgan cocktails $5
Brunch 11am to 2pm, Bottomless Bloody Mary’s & Mimosas $15.00; 50% off nachos and $15 domestic/$20 craft beer pitchers
$3 Corona and $3 mystery shot
$4.75 Bloody Mary and Marias
$6 Firestone Walker Opal pints, $6 Finch Vanilla Stout 16 oz. cans $7 house wines $8 Few Spirits
Moosehead pints $3.75, Hamms cans $2.50, Special Export Bush Longneck bottles $3, Foster Big cans $5
Buckets of Miller & Bud Bottles (Mix & Match) $14, Guinness & Smithwicks Drafts $4, Bloodies feat, Absolut Peppar Vodka $5, Ketal One Cocktails $5
Brunch 11am to 2pm, Bottomless Bloody Mary’s & Mimosas $15.00; 50% off appetizers & $3 pints of Bud Light; Industry Night 10% off all items not discounted
$5 Rolling Rock $4 Benchmark, Evan Williams, or Ezra Brook
$4 Half Acre brews, FREE POOL, “Hoppy Hour” 5pm-8pm = 1/2 price IPAs + pale ales
$1 off all beers including craft
CLOSED
Moosehead pints $3.75, Hamms cans $2.50, Special Export Bush Longneck bottles $3, Foster Big cans $5
All Draft Beers Half Price, Makers Mark Cocktails $5, Crystal Head Vodka Cocktails $4
all beer 50% off; $5 burgers
$2.99 Coronas
$5 Oberon, $5 Moonshine
TUE
$2 and $3 select beers
$2 off all Whiskeys and Bourbons
$6 Firestone Walker Opal pints, $6 Finch Vanilla Stout 16 oz. cans $7 house wines $8 Few Spirits
Moosehead pints $3.75, Hamms cans $2.50, Special Export Bush Longneck bottles $3, Foster Big cans $5
Jim Beam Cocktails $4, Jameson Cocktails $5, Cabo Wabo $5, Malibu Cocktails $4, Corona Bottles $3.50, PBR Tall Boy Cans $2.75
all specialty drinks 50% off; $2 tacos
$1.99 Apple Martinis
$4 Founders All Day IPA
WED
1/2 price aliveOne signature cocktails, $4 Goose Island brews, “Hoppy Hour” 5pm-8pm = 1/2 price IPAs + pale ales
$6 Firestone Walker Opal pints, $6 Finch Vanilla Stout 16 oz. cans $7 house wines $8 Few Spirits $10 classic cocktails
Moosehead pints $3.75, Hamms cans $2.50, Special Export Bush Longneck bottles $3, Foster Big cans $5
Stoli/Absolut & Soco Cocktails $4, Long Island Iced Teas $5, Herradura Margaritas $5, Stella/ Hoegaarden/Deschutes Drafts $4, Goose Island 312 Bottles $3.50
50¢ wings (minimum 10), selection of 10 discounted whiskeys
$5 Martinis, Lemon Drop, Cinnamon Apple, Mai Tai, French, Cosmo, On the Rocks, Bourbon Swizzle, Pomegranate Margarita
OUR READERS LOVE GREAT DEALS! CONTACT A READER REPRESENTATIVE AT 312.222.6920 OR displayads@chicagoreader.com FOR DETAILS ON HOW TO LIST DRINK SPECIALS HERE.
38 CHICAGO READER - JUNE 30, 2016
$2 PBR, $5 wine
PHOTO: ALEXEY LYSENKO/GETTY IMAGES
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R CRUZ BLANCA
FOOD & DRINK
From left: Oaxacan peanuts, Smoke Alley ale, La Guardia Ambar beer, cucumber salad, and pork cecina tacos; Oaxacan peanuts ò DANIELLE A. SCRUGGS
904 W. Randolph 312-733-1975
BARS
What’s brewing at Empire Bayless’s Cruz Blanca By MIKE SULA
W
hile the dazzling array of Baja-inspired seafood dishes at Rick Bayless’s fantastic Leña Brava can be a bit overwhelming, next door at its sister cerveceria/taqueria things couldn’t be simpler. Just as Leña Brava is inspired by Baja, Cruz Blanca references the meatopia known as Smoke Alley in Oaxaca City’s Mercado 20 Noviembre. And while Cruz Blanca doesn’t quite mimic the stacks of flattened, glistening raw flesh and hanging ropes of bulbous, scarlet chorizo that adorn the vendors’ stalls, it does feature the signature tacos you’ll find there with all their requisite accompaniments. Queue up at the back of the room and place your order for portobello, roasted chicken breast, chorizo, pork cecina, or beef tasajo, choose red or green salsa, and retire to one of the communal tables, where shortly you’ll be presented with a tray heaped with meat, grilled chiles, green onions, and four
40 CHICAGO READER - JUNE 30, 2016
freshly made tortillas. Both the beef and the pork are quintessential preparations in the Oaxacan market, the former a cured and often air-dried flap of beef, sliced thin and grilled. Like many of the offerings at Cruz Blanca, it’s pretty salty, more the better to entice you to order another beer. The pork cecina is a bit less aggressive, pork loin marinated in red chile, again sliced thin and grilled. These are substantial platters, capable of yielding three or four tacos depending on your construction methods. Salt be damned, don’t neglect to order a boat of Oaxacan peanuts, roasted and salted Spanish legumes tossed with bits of chewy roasted garlic, or the nopales, grilled and topped with green onions and queso fresco. The whole idea is to quench your saltparched palate with the half-dozen beers brewed in the gleaming tanks lined up behind the bar. There are six guest brews on tap, but
it’s Goose Island vet Jacob Sembrano’s efforts that line up with the Bayless MO. Three are brewed in the French farmhouse bière de garde style, incorporating local honey, hominy, or piloncillo sugar. Among these midrange beers, La Guardia Ambar is the most distinctive, brewed with hominy and toasted malt, resulting in an amber, vaguely sour effort. The Smoke Alley is a dry-hopped smoked-wheat ale whose main characteristic is so sublimated it takes a few quaffs to even present. The Basica is just what it sounds, a basic hoppy India Pale Lager. Oddly, you can only order one of these beers when you order food. The rest have to be ordered separately at the bar, which is the only confounding aspect of this unusually straightforward and focused establishment in Empire Bayless. v
v @Mike Sula
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JOBS
ADMINISTRATIVE GRAND STAGE HAS a full time
Project Coordinator position to oversee drapery and rigging installations. More info at www.grandstage.com
SALES & MARKETING TELE-FUNDRAISING:
American Veterans Helping Veterans. Felons need not apply per Illinois Attorney General regulations. Start ASAP, Call 312-256-5035
food & drink THE PARK WEST is looking to
hire wait staff. Part time in the evening. No experience necessary. Must be 21 or over. Apply in person. Park West, 322 West Armitage, Chicago IL.
FINE DINING RESTAURANT in
Rosemont; Looking for exp’d Waitstaff, PT Dishwasher, Line Cook & Hostess Located near the Blue Line Call Mark at 847-518-0990 2-4pm
General IT APPLICATION DEVELOPER (Master’s or equiv. w/3 yrs exp. OR Bachelor’s or equiv. w/5 yrs. exp. or other suitable qualifications) Job entails & req. exp. to include design & develop applications & working with Oracle, SQL Server, .NET Framework, ASP. NET, ADO.NET, AJAX, WCF Web services, LINQ, Java script, HTML/CSS, MVC, Quality Center, TFS, C#, Web Services, Share point, VISIO, Visual Basic, IBM Message Queue, VSS, & TIVOLI.
IT Engineer (7 yrs. exp)- Install, configure & admin Symantec Endpoint Protection Suite, UNIX Servers (RHEL Linux & SUN Solaris), MS Exchange Server, VERITAS Volume Manager, SAN /NAS Storage devices, CISCO ASA Firewalls Routers & CISCO Switches. Configure RAID for
SAN storage file systems for network drives. Ensure backups through VERITAS NetBackup. Maintain DHCP & DNS Configure DFS for sharing folders & files over enterprise network allocating storage disk spaces on U nix/Windows & Exchange systems. Replace and refresh servers. Monitor & maintain Data Center. Manage security & service requests. Install & configure MS share point services with SQL for corporate internal documentation including contacts & meetings. Get hardware & S/W quotes. Work with admins & developers to meet infrastructure requirements. Ensure warranty support for hardware & S/W. Use following tools: Red Hat Enterprise Linux, SCO Open Server, CISCO IOS, IBM Net Finity Servers, eServer X Series Servers, ProLiant Servers, Ultra SPARC SUN Servers, SUN Storedge, SUN Fire, SUN Blade servers, WINS, & SNMP.
Furniture Repair and Refinishing Technician Reqts: Commercial and Residential Wood work -Repair chips and gouges
Systems Software Developer (Masters or equiv. w/6 months exp. or other suitable qualifications)- Job entails & req. exp. to include design & develop S/W systems; & working with Oracle, MYSQL, JAVA, C, C++, Weblogic, Web Services, IBM AIX S. IIS, IBM AIX P-series servers, Red hat Linux, VERITAS cluster server, Posse & Wycaps servers; C Adabas. UNIX, AIXlLinux, & Solaris Systems.
-Backgrnd and Drug test Qualified Persons Contact: J C Wood 918 S. Westwood Ave. Addison, IL 60101 (630) 626-5151 info@jcwood.com (resume required)
All positions are in Chicago, IL. Relocation & travel to unanticipated locations within USA possible. Send resumes to HR, Sunpower Consulting LLC., 3410 W. Van Buren St, Ste A, Chicago, IL 60624. SACIA ORCHARDS, INC, in
Galesville, WI is hiring 12 temporary farmworkers from 08/15/2016 10/15/2016: 40 hrs/week. Workers activities include pruning, picking, cleaning, grading, sorting, packing and loading apples. Must be able to lift 50 lbs. Workers will be expected to harvest a minimum of 80 bushels per day. Must have three months verifiable experience. A preemployment drug screen and crimi-
MARKETINGASSOCIATE MANAGER MARKETING We are looking for a self-motivated marketing manager with experience in digital and print media. This role will manage critical initiatives to support the growth of print, digital and experiential products. Essential Functions: - Develop communication materials and programs to support: marketing initiatives, promotional advertising, audience/subscription development, advertising sales presentations and partnerships - Create presentations for meetings either from scratch or using existing templates - Print/bind materials for the sales/advertising team - Manage trade process including contract review, submission for approval, communication between parties, and management of trade assets - Event support as needed (may require some evenings or weekends) - Manage relationship with media data services (SRDS, NDX, etc.) - Analyze and maintain information on team and individual performance to goal for Sun-Times Media products - Work cross departmentally to collect and analyze advertiser campaign data, prepare wrap-up reports for account executives to share with clients - Ensure quality and delivery of marketing initiatives, reporting, and budget management - Coordinate projects and events that may involve multiple departments (editorial, audience/circulation, sales, marketing, 3rd parties) - General support for all marketing team personnel including but not limited to: * Basic audience requests involving information requests in the Scarborough and Nielsen Claritas systems * Basic analytics reporting using the Google Analytics interface - Other duties and projects as assigned Qualifications: Education and Experience - College degree, preferably in marketing or related field - 2-3 years professional office experience Skills: - Proficient in Microsoft Powerpoint, Excel, and Word - InDesign, Scarborough, Google Analytics familiarity is a plus - Ability to handle multiple projects with strict deadlines - Excellent written and spoken communication skills for customer service, presentations, and coordination between internal and external stakeholders - Strong organizational skills - Analytical mindset with ability to deconstruct complex problems and conceptualize solutions Resumes can be mailed, emailed or faxed to the following address: The Chicago Sun Times Attn: Human Resources – Marketing Manager 350 N. Orleans, 10S Chicago, IL 60654 Fax: (312) 321-2288 Email address: hr@suntimes.com – Please note Marketing Manager in the subject line. The Chicago Sun Times is an Equal Opportunity Employer
-Custom match colors with all types of wood -Refinish, strip, sand, and revarnish -Repair and install all types hinges -Use machinery including table saws, routers, air sanders, and industrial sprayers -Use stripping solvent, thinner, lacquer, stain, ink, hardener, and retarder -Minimum 12 months experience -Spanish speaking required -Clean driving record -Able to travel to work sites
p y g nal background check will be required and paid for at the employers expense. $12.02/hr. (prevailing wage). Guarantee of 3/4 of the workdays. All work tools, supplies, and equipment furnished without cost to the worker. Free housing is provided to workers who cannot reasonably return to their permanent residence at the end of the workday. Transportation and subsistence expenses to the worksite will be provided or paid by the employer, with payment to be made no later than completion of 50% of the work contract. Send Resume or contact Illinois Department of Employment Security, Migrant/ Farm Workers Programs, 33 State Street, 8th Floor, Chicago, IL 60603, (312) 793-1284, (312) 793- 1778 FAX, or your nearest State Workforce Agency and reference job order 1896970.
PROJECT MANAGER Steamgard, LLC (Vernon Hills, IL) seeks Project Manager with bachelor’s degree in
engineering or equiv plus four yrs exp as engineer in industrial steam systems environ. Must have work experience with each of the following: 1) developing steam system solutions for food processing industry, pharmaceutical industry, hospitals, universities, and power plants; 2) conducting tests and observations to develop estimates of steam consumption, efficiency and thermal quality of steam; 3) designing and selecting products to obtain optimum system and process performance of steam utilization and condensate return systems; 4) measuring and verifying energy savings of steam trap retrofit systems; and 5) implementing steam conservation projects. Travel 25-50% (with up to 20% international travel). Send resume and cover letter to: employment@steamgard.com with “PM2016” in subject line.
VISUAL THERAPIST NEEDED
(with or without experience) Seeking a college educated individual for a permanent part-time employment in Evanston working with children and adults in a Behavioral Vision Training program with Dr. Jeff Getzell, O.D. Experience preferred but not required for the right individual. Dr. Getzell is willing to work with an individual at an entry level, should there be no previous medical experience. Requirements: -Exceptional problem solver -Bright -Curious -Open minded Work schedule: -Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays 2pm-6pm -Saturdays 8am-12pm Please note that the employment hours are not flexible. Resume submission options: -behavioraloptometry@gmail.com -Fax: 847-866-9822 No phone calls please.
Dental Tech. Fabricate full or partial dental devices using Myerson Flex and Power press. 40hrs/wk. Chgo, IL. Requ.: Dental Tech. dip loma/cert. Contact: Clark Dental Lab., 5921 W. Lawrence, Chicago, IL 60630
VISUAL THERAPIST NEEDED
(with or without experience) Seeking a college educated individual for a permanent part-time employment in Evanston working with children and adults in a Behavioral Vision Training program with Dr. Jeff Getzell, O.D. Experience preferred but not required for the right individual. Dr. Getzell is willing to work with an individual at an entry level, should there be no previous medical experience. Requirements: -Exceptional problem solver -Bright -Curious -Open minded Work schedule: -Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays 2pm-6pm -Saturdays 8am-12pm Please note that the employment hours are not flexible. Resume submission options: -behavioraloptometry@gmail.com -Fax: 847-866-9822 No phone calls please.
CHICAGO ELECTRICIAN: ELECTRICAL CONTRACTOR
is currently seeking Electrician for residential, commercial and new construction. OSHA-10 preferred. If you are interested in becoming part of a successful, fast paced company with competitive hourly wage, competitive benefits inclusive of holiday pay, vacation pay, pension plan, short term disability, long term disability, health benefits for employee and family, weekly paycheck! Please send your resume via email to resumes. electric01@gmail.com. Looking to hire ASAP. An Equal Opportunity Employer We are hoping to put something in this Sunday’s ad. Your prompt attention to this matter is greatly appreciated. If you should have any questions, please feel free to contact me via phone at 636-464-3939 or by email at brendat@bates-electric.com.
NAVIGANT CONSULTING ECONOMICS, LLC seeks Managing Consultants for Chicago, IL location to lead consulting projects in the manufacturing & CPG industries. Bachelor’s in Economics or Statistics +4 yrs exp req’d. Must have qualitative research & economic analysis exp/ proficiency in support of damage valuations & antitrust litigation projects for companies worth over $50B, incl for lost profits calculations & licensing of patent portfolios, organizing, analyzing, performing quality assurance/ audit reviews of data for inclusion in expert reports, exhibits & testimony, performing price elasticity studies & performing forecasting & backcasting using regressions (linear, multi-variable, timeseries, dummy variable), & w/ SAS, Factset, Bloomberg, Concordance, STATA. Apply online: http://careers.navigant. com/jobs_search/, Job ID# 6326 TRANSUNION, LLC SEEKS Sr.
Analysts, Insurance Analytics for Chicago, IL location to independently design & execute all aspects of statistical analytics projects for predictive modeling, business reporting and customer evaluations, in particular for the insurance industry. Master’s in Statistics or applied mathematics or related quantitative field plus 1yr exp. req’d. Must have exp. w/SAS, R, SAS macros, Emblem, SQL, Hadoop, Hive, Unix Command, Python, MS VBA, predictive modeling with linear regression, Survival Analysis, GLM, tree models, GBM, Clustering analysis, Principal component analysis & feature creation in the insurance context. Send resume to: D. Wasserman, REF: YF, 555 W. Adams St., Chicago, IL 60661
BUSINESS SYSTEMS ANALYST – Multiple Openings - Business process mapping, analyzing user requirements to meet business needs, procedures, and solve business problems. Utilize knowledge and experience in the field for designing, enhancing, integrating, creating, and implementing new applications and systems, as well as customizing packages utilizing VB.NET, C#. NET, ASP, VB script, JavaScript, HTML, XML, SQL Server 2011, MVC architecture and responsive design. Bachelors Comp Eng, CIS or related, 5 yrs prog exp. Travel or relocation as needed. Reply to IT Resonance Inc, 2948 Artesian Rd Ste 108 Naperville, IL 60564
TRANSUNION,
LLC
SEEKS
Lead Engineers, Information Technology -Web Hosting for Chicago, IL location to plan, research, evaluate, design & develop web hosting for credit reporting applications. Master’s in Comp. Sci. or Comp. Eng. or any Eng. field plus 2yrs exp. or Bachelor’s Comp. Sci. or Comp. Eng. or any Eng. field plus 5yrs exp. req’d. Must have technical exp. w/Layer7, SOA Gateway Architecture, SOAP/ REST API Implementation & Management, XML Integration, IIS Webservices, Websphere, SAML, Apache, eDirectory & Active Directory LDAP, Splunk, Shell scripting. Send resume to: D. Wasserman, REF: AM, 555 W. Adams St., Chicago, IL 60661
Pep Boys has new ownership. We are growing & hiring talented Automotive Managers, Assist Managers, Technicians, Mechanics and Parts Pros in our 36 locations throughout Chicago & surrounding suburbs. We offer competitive rates with (flat rates up to $38), new hire guarantees, training, leadership development, company paid ASE testing, & competitive benefits. On the spot job interviews & job offers scheduled locally for June 28, 29, & 30th. Contact us: Phone/Voice: (877) 454-2323 or e-mail: Topaut ocareers@outlook.com EOE/ AA. STATISTICS: TRADELINK LLC
(Chicago, IL) seeks Quantitative Analyst w/PhD in math, statistics, or comp sci and 1 yr of exp in quantitative software development or market data analysis. Work exp must include: (1) Advanced multithreaded programming experience with C++ and advanced statistical programming with TCL and R, (2) Performing advanced statistical analysis including multidimensional forecasting of terabyte+ time series data sets, and (3) Analysis of microstructure of financial market data across multiple global exchanges. Apply at www. tradelinkllc.com. No calls. EOE
Computer Programmer (Cook County). Duties incl. design & develop smart referral tool online counseling system as part of AssetPlatform financial service platform. Must have U.S. Masters degree in Software Eng. or Information Systems as well as 6 months relevant exp in computer programming. Send resume to Jay Weinberg, President, The Jay Group, Inc.,444 N Wells St. Ste. 304, Chicago, IL 60654. Write "Computer 2016" on bottom right corner of envelope. No calls or emails accepted.
NETWORK OBJECTS, INC.
seeks Masters + 1yr. exp./Bachelors + 5 yrs. exp. as SAP SD Pricing Consultant (NSDP1): SAP SD, Pricing, Rebates, Order management, ABAP, Vistex, MM, FICO, Supply Chain, data mapping. Send resumes to HR, 2300 Barrington Rd., Hoffman Estates, IL 60169. Foreign equiv. accepted.
JAPANESE COOK, ON-SITE restaurant of sports complex is seeking Japanese Cook. Prepare Japanese foods. Order supplies. Plan menus.1 yr exp req’d. Job in Lyons, IL. Res to: Stellas Sports, Inc., 3903 Joliet Ave., Lyons, IL 60534
REAL ESTATE RENTALS
STUDIO $600-$699 ROGERS PARK! 7455 N . Greenview. Studios starting at $625 including heat. It’s a newly remodeled vintage elevator building with on-site laundry, wood floors, new kitchens and baths, some units have balconies, etc. Application fee $40. No security deposit! For a showing please contact Samir 773-627-4894 Hunter Properties 773-477-7070 www.hunterprop.com ROGERS PARK! 1357-67 W
Greenleaf. Studio starting at $695 including heat! Close to transportation, laundry on premises, beautiful courtyard building. One block to Loyola Beach! $40 application fee. No security Deposit. For a showing please contact Samir 773-627-4894 Hunter Properties 773-477-7070 www. hunterprop.com
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
ALBANY PARK! 3355 W. East-
wood. Studios starting at $675 including heat & gas. Laundry in the building. Application fee $40. Close to CTA brown line train, stores, restaurant, etc. NO SECURITY DEPOSIT. For a showing please contact Saida 773-407-6452 Hunter Properties 773-477-7070 www.hunterprop.com
LARGE STUDIO APARTMENT.
6824 N Wayne. Near Red Line. Heat included. Hardwood floors. Pets OK. Laundry in building. $675/ month. Available 8/1. 773-761-4318. www. lakefrontmgt.com
MARQUETTE PARK: 6315 S
California St, udios from $600. Free heat and appliances. Call 312-5931677
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 NICE ROOM w/stove, fridge & bath Near Aldi, Walgreens, Beach, Red Line & Buses. Elevator & Laundry. $130/wk & up. 773-275-4442 BIG ROOM with stove, fridge, bath & nice wood floors. Near Red Line & Buses. Elevator & Laundry, Shopping. $121/wk + up. 773-561-4970
1 BR UNDER $700 8324 S INGLESIDE, 1BR, newly remodl, lndry, hrdwd flrs, cable, Sec 8 welc. $660/mo.; 7000 S. Merrill, 2BR, hdwd flrs, lrg sunrm, new remod., cable ready, lndry, O’keefe Elem, $800/mo. Sec 8 welcome. 708-308-1509 , 773-493-
3500
JUST IN NEWLY REMODELED APARTMENTS. Throughout Chicagoland area. 1 BRs w/gas starting at $650/mo. 2BR & up starting at $850/mo. No Sec dep. No App fee with ad. Section 8 acce pted.773.870.1812 Wesley Realty
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
QUALITY
APARTMENTS,
Great Prices! Studios-4BR, from $450. Newly rehabbed. Appliances included. Low Move-in Fees. Hardwood floors. Pangea - Chicago’s South, Southwest & West Neighborhoods. 312-985-0556
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MIDWAY AREA/63RD KEDZIE Deluxe Studio 1 & 2 BRs. All
modern oak floors, appliances, Security system, on site maint. clean & quiet, Nr. transp. From $445. 773582-1985 (espanol)
MOVE RIGHT IN - Near 92nd &
Stony Island, Garden apartment, 1 bedroom, 1 bath, $600/mo + security deposit incl utils. Call Theresa 312806-0646
SUMMER 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
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 62ND & MAPLEWOOD, 4BR, 2BA, newly remodeled, large LR, DR, kitchen, utilities not incl, Sec 8 ok. No sec dep, $1200. 773-406-0604 79TH & WOODLAWN 1 B R $650-$700 2BR $775-$800; 76th & Phillips: 2BR $775-$800. Remod, appls avail. Free Heat. Sec 8 welc. 312-286-5678 Chicago, Beverly/Cal Park/Blue Island Studio $575 & up, 1BR $665 & up, 2BR $885 & up. Heat, Appls, Balcony, Carpet, Laundry, Prkg. 708-388-0170 2419 W. MARQUETTE RD 1BR, Appls, c-fans, intercom, tenant pays utils, lndry room avail, sec dep. $650/mo. 773-316-5871 CHICAGO - HYDE PARK 5401 S. Ellis. 1BR $535mo CALL 773-955-5106 WEST PULLMAN (INDIANA
Ave) Nice, lrg 1 & 2BR w/balcony. 1BR $550, 2BR $650. Move-In Fee $300. Sec 8 Welcome. 773-995-6950
û NO SEC DEP û 6829 S. Perry. & 1431 W. 78th St 1BR. $600/MO HEAT INCL 773-955-5106
ROOM & MEALS, SSI welcome
$450/mo. Nr 81st/Halsted. 312-9785537 or 773-449-8716
1 BR $700-$799 PORTAGE PARK! 5602-10 W.
Wellington. 1 Bedrooms starting at $795 Includes heat. Application fee $40. No security deposit! Laundry facility on premises. Sunny living rooms, wood floors throughout, kitchen contains large roomy cabinets, walking distance to shops, grocery stores, restaurants and more! For a showing please contact Jose 773-415-4911 Hunter Properties 773477-7070 www.hunterprop.com 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
BROADVIEW. 2BR Apt. Heat, appliances & parking incl. On site laundry. $875/mo + sec. Available now. Call 312-4044577 WEST HUMBOLDT PK 1 & 2BR
Apts, spacious, oak wood flrs, huge closets. heat incl, rehab, $775 up to $875. 847-866-7234
WOODLAWN 1525 E 67th Pl, spacious 2 BR, 3rd floor, formal DR, carpet, $800 w/heat, close to transportation appl. 773-375-3323
1 BR $800-$899 LAKESIDE TOWER, 910 W
LARGE ONE BEDROOM apart-
ment near Warren Park and Metra, 6802 N Wolcott. Hardwood floors, Cats OK. Heat included. Laundry in building. $825-$885/ month. Available 8/1. 773-761-4318, www. lakefrontmgt.com
BETWEEN KIMBALL AND Pu-
laski. Extra, extra large 4.5 sunny rooms, remodeled, hardwood floors, 1-2 bedrooms. Two blocks Brown Line, near shopping. $840 heat included. 773-710-3634.
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. Ask about our Special. Visit or call 773-324-0280, M-F: 9am5pm or apply online- www. hydepark west.com. Managed by Metroplex, Inc
Wrigleville 2BR, 1400sf, new kit/ deck, FDR, oak flrs, Cent Heat/ AC, prkg avail. $1550 + util, Pet friendly, 773-743-4141 www. urbanequities.com RAVENSWOOD 1BR: 850SF, great kit, DW, oak flrs, near Brown line, on-site lndy/stor., $1075/ heated 773-743-4141 www. urbanequities.com 3700 W DIVERSEY: Beaut 3BR, 2BA duplex, 1800sf, new kit, top flr, yard/prkg, storage, W/D, $1650+util. 773-743-4141 www.urbanequities. com
HOMEWOOD- SUNNY 900SF
1BR Great Kitc, New Appls, Oak Flrs, A/C, Lndry & Storage, $950/mo Incls heat & prkg. 773.743.4141
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
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
6930 S. SOUTH SHORE DRIVE Studios & 1BR, INCL. Heat, Elec, Cking gas & PARKING, $585-$925, Country Club Apts 773-752-2200
1BR, 1BA, heat & garage space incl in rent. laundry on premises, $790/mo. Avail Now 773-233-7673
QUIET BUILDING CHATHAM,
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 $1100 AND OVER LOGAN SQUARE BLVD Carriage
1 BR OTHER APTS. FOR RENT PARK MANAGEMENT & Investment Ltd. SUMMER IS HERE BUT IT WON’T LAST! OUR UNITS INCLUDE HEAT, HW & CG Patio & Mini Blinds Plenty of parking on a 37 acre site 1Bdr From $750.00 2Bdr From $925.00 3 Bdr/2 Full Bath From $1200 **1-(773)-476-6000** CALL FOR DETAILS APTS. FOR RENT PARK MANAGEMENT & Investment Ltd. SUMMER IS HERE BUT IT WILL SOON BE GONE!! Most Include HEAT & HOT WTR Studios From $475.00 1Bdr From $550.00 2Bdr From $765.00 3 Bdr/2 Full Bath From $1200 **1-(773)-476-6000** CALL FOR DETAILS LAWSON HOUSE FURNISHED Single Room Occupancy, Now Leasing SRO’s from $435 to $578. 00. *Inquire about special programs* Twin Size Bed, Micro-
11007 S. VERNON, 1BR, $725/ mo + $525 move in. 8037 S. Carpenter, 2BR, $875/mo + $650 move in. Spacious, attractive Apts. Carpet /heat incl. Sect 8 ok. 312.636.9340 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 CALUMET CITY 158TH & PAXTON SANDRIDGE APTS 1 & 2 BEDROOM UNITS MODELS OPEN M-F, 9AM-5:30PM *** 708-841-5450 *** WESTCHESTER 2BR, 1.5BA,
CHATHAM CHARM , Vintage,
newly rehab, 1 BR, h/w flrs, sec alarm, heat & hot water incl, laundry, Sec 8 & Seniors Welc. Call for appt (773)418-9908
SPACIOUS-SAFE 773-4235727. BRONZEVILLE, 3BR, heat included. Englewood, 1,2 & 3BR, heat incl. Dolton, 2BR, Gated Parking. 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 READY TO MOVE? REMODELED 1, 2 , 3 & 4 BR Apts.
Heat & Appls incl. South Side locations only. Call 773-593-4357
incl Living Room, Dining Room, wood flrs, storage, parking. $1300/ mo + tenant pays utils. 708-6200164
NO MOVE-IN FEE! No Dep! Sec 8
SECTION 8 WELCOME SOUTHSIDE, Recently renovated, 1BR Apts.
Condo, newly decorated, off st. parking, gated community. $750 + sec. Call Mr. Jackson 708-846-9734
$800-$950/mo. Call Sean, 773-410-7084
LARGE SUNNY ROOM w/fridge & microwave. Near Oak Park, Green Line & Buses. 24 hr Desk, Parking Lot $101/week & Up. (773)378-8888 CHATHAM- 720 E. 81st St. Newly remodeled 2BR, 1 BA, Dining room, Living room, carpeted flrs, appliances. & heat included. Call 847-5335463
ok. 1, 2 & 3 Bdrms. Elev bldg, laundry, pkg. 6531 S. Lowe. Call Marcy 773-874-0100
RIVERDALE, IL 1 Bedroom
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
WASHINGTON PARK -
5636 King Dr. Single Rooms for rent from $390, $450, to $510 a month. For more info call 773-359-7744
4913 W Rice St, 2BR, 1BA $675 plus utilities, Section 8 Welcome, newly remodeled, Contact Mark after 5pm 773-425-4572
71ST/HERMITAGE. 3BR. 69th/ Dante, 3BR. 71st/Bennett. 2 & 3BR. 77th/Essex. 3BR. New renov. Sec 8 ok. 708-503-1366 CHICAGO - BEVERLY, large 2 room Studio, 1 & 2BR Apts. Carpet, A/C, laundry, near transportation, $650-$975/mo. Call 773-233-4939 CHICAGO, RENT TO OWN! Buy with no closing costs and get help with your credit. Call 708868-2422 or visit www.nhba.com
Ashland Hotel nice clean rms. 24 hr desk/maid/TV/laundry/air. Low rates daily/weekly/monthly. South Side. Call 773-376-5200
SOUTHSIDE - 8535 S. Green, well maintained 2BR apts, hdwd flrs, starting at $750/ mo, security deposit required Call 773-874-8451 7444 S. VERNON. 2BR, remod hdwd flrs, Sect 8 OK, heat and appls incl, laundry on site. $800 & up. Call Z, 773-406-4841 DOLTON:
2 BR UNDER $900 NEAR MIDWAY AIRPORT 2BR $875+ SEC DEP.
Sect 8 ok, newly decor, carpeted, refrigerator, FREE Heat, laundry room, cable ready, free credit check, no application fee. 1-773-550-9426 or 1-312-802-7301
REMOD
MUST SEE, LOW COST, CLEAN Calumet City, Quiet. XL 2 &3BR, 2ba, laundry, pkng, owner pays heat. $830 & $895. 312-3393517
MOVE IN SPECIAL B4 the N of this MO. & MOVE IN 4 $99.00 (773) 874-3400 ACACIA SRO HOTEL Men Preferred! Rooms for Rent. Weekly & Monthly Rates. 312-421-4597
NEWLY
2BR, Heat, water & appls incl. Off street parking. $850/mo + 1 mo sec. Sect 8 ok. Avail Immed. 708-8463424
Chicago, Nice 2nd floor 2BR Apt on Southside, $690/mo + security deposit. Tenant pays own utilities. Call 773-354-1154 for more information. 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 SOUTHSIDE BRAND new 2, 3 & 4BR apts. Excel-
lent neighborhood, nr trans & schools, Sect 8 Welc., Call 708-7742473
wave & Mini-Refrigerator Incl. Heat, Hot Water, & Electricity! Hot meal ea. month & On-Site Laundry Community Room & Computer Lab, 30 W. Chicago Avenue, Chicago, IL 60654, 312-506-2674. Holsten Management Corporation Equal Housing Opportunity. Handicap Accessible
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 ∫
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www.megamates.com 18+
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900 N/4100 W: 2BR+, LR, DR, kitchen, enclosed back porch, back yard, $950/mo + util. Gar. opt. Storage in bsmt. Marie 773-921-3000 CHICAGO
7600 S Essex 2BR
$599, 3BR $699, 4BR $799 w/apprvd credit, no sec dep. Sect 8 Ok! 773287-9999 /312-446-3333
110TH & VERNON. Large 1BR &
2BRs. Quiet bldg. w/ many long term tenants. Heat & appliances. Laundry room. Sec. 8 welcome. 312-388-3845
NEAR 111TH & Eberhart.: Clean 2nd floor 2BR, $650/mo. Near bus stop. Call Vernon, RPC 773785-1400 CHATHAM - CLEAN, XL, very nice, 2BR, 3rd FL, Penthouse, quiet bldg, H/W flrs, appls & heat incl. $839. 312-857-8480. Avail Now. AUSTIN NEW DECOR 2 & 3BR Avail Immed. Loc nr Augusta & Cicero. No Pets, tenant pays utils. $850 & $900 + sec. 630-816-9957
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
2 BR $900-$1099 CHATHAM, 2BR, 1BA, HARDWOOD FLOORS, HEAT & WATER INCL. TENANT PAYS ELEC. $925/MO. AVAILABLE SEPTEMBER 1ST. 312-8357623.
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 UNITED WINTHROP TOWER
Co-op 4848 N Winthrop Ave Project-Based Section 8 waiting list for 2 & 3 BR Units Pre-application available: Wed 6/29/16 (2pm - 6pm) Thurs 6/30/16 (10am - 2pm) Fri 7/1/16 (2pm - 6pm) Limited Number of Applications Available
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
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
MONTICELLO & OHIO Beautiful
2BR apt, freshly painted, appl incl. tenant pays all util. No pets. Sect. 8 welcome. $950/mo + sec. dep. 773533-0140
CHATHAM, 736 E. 81ST (Evans), 2BR, 5 rms, 2nd flr $ 825/mo. 400 E. 81st St. (King Dr), 1st flr 1 BR, $700/mo. Call Mr. Joe at 708-870-4801
AUSTIN AREA, 2BR Apartment, carpet, small newer building, $900/month + utilities. Section 8 Welcome. Call 773-457-2284
MATTESON, 2BR, $990$1050; 3BR, $1250-$1400. Move In Special is 1 Month’s Rent & $99 Sec Dep. Sect 8 Welc. 708-748-4169
5 ROOM, 1BR New floor, Kitchens, bath, Huge, clean, quiet. Section 8 Ready, 773-405-9361, $900 + Sep. Heat,6 49 W 80 St 87TH AND THROOP. Totally Renovated 2BR Townhome. $1000/mo. Sec 8 Weclome, no pets.773-239-3053 CHICAGO, 5935 S Calumet St, 2 bd, 1 ba, $975/mo + deposit. Very clean, no pets, section 8 welc. Please call 219-359-6602 DOLTON - 14526 COTTAGE Grove.2 BR, heat, fridge, & stove incl. $925/mo + sec. Section 8 Ok. 773-568-1218 or 708-846-5342 CHICAGO, 5015-25 W. Iowa Ave. Augusta & Cicero. Newly Rehab, 2 & 3BR, $1100+/mo. Section 8 OK. David, 773-663-9488
2 BR $1100-$1299 EAST ROGERS PARK, steps to the beach at 1240 West Jarvis, five rooms, two bedrooms, two baths, dishwasher, ac, heat and gas included. Carpeted, cable, laundry facility, elevator building, parking available, and no pets. Non-smoking. Price is $1200/mo. Call 773-764-9824. 100TH & FOREST, 2BR, finished basement, hardwood floors, A/C, fireplace, appliances, utilities not included, $1200/mo. Call 312-771-0683 EVANSTON 2BR, 1100SF, great kit, new appls, DR, oak flrs, lndry, $1175/ mo incls heat. 773743-4141 www.urbanequities.co Elmhurst: Sunny 1/BR, new appl, carpet, AC, Patio, $895/incl heat, parking. Call 773-743-4141 www.urbanequities.com
2 BR $1300-$1499 LOGAN SQUARE SPACIOUS 2 bedroom 1 bath,
open kitchen-dining room, large living room with decorative fireplace, hardwood floors throughout. plenty of closet space plus locked storage in basement. huge pantry and sun room. heat and hot water included in rent. gated parking available. 1 year lease available july 15. call 773/972-7866
SOUTHSIDE LOVELY 5 room apt: living rm, dining rm, Kitchen, BA, 2BRs. heated, hdwd flrs 773-264-6711
SECTION 8 WELCOME 7334 S. Jeffery & 7620 S. Colfax New remodel, 1 & 2 Bedrooms, heat/appl incl. 312-493-5544
3 BR OR MORE UNDER $1200 5638 S. EMERALD, 3BR, 2nd floor, spacious, fireplace, newly remod, Sect. 8 welc, $885/mo + move in fee, ten pays heat. 773457-7963 CHICAGO: 6517-19 S. MINERVA, 3BR, 1BA + Den. LR & DR. Carpet & laminate floors. $950/mo + sec + utils. Call 773-450-3046 EOH CALUMET CITY, 3BR, 2 car garage, fully rehab w/ gorgeous finishes & hdwd flrs. Beautiful backyard. Sect 8 ok. $1175/mo. 510735-7171 NR 87TH & STONY ISLAND, 3BR Apt, $1000 + heat, 2 mo sec + 1 mo rent, rec renov ba & kit, gar space avail. Not Sec 8 reg 773771-0785
5714 S. DAMEN St. - Newly remodeled, 3BR, Heat incl, $800/mo + 1 month security. Call 312-863-9921 or 773-732-1911
3 BR OR MORE OTHER
70TH & ARTESIAN, Huge 3BR, eat in kitch, large pantry + bonus room. Laundry room on premises, sep heat. $950/mo. 312-613-3806
BUY A WATERFRONT vacation home for $99,500 and go tubing or kayaking on the Tippecanoe River near Winamac, Indiana. 3+bedrooms, 1.5 bath. 1905sq ft. More info at www.8030s475w.info
CHICAGO 4BR APARTMENTS 8457 S Brandon & 5BR apartment 2707 E 93rd St. 1st flr, Sec 8 ok, 3-4BR voucher ok; 847-926-0625
non-residential
Rehabbed 3 Bed, 1 Bath Home! Section 8 Wel-come! Quiet Neighborhood, Hard-wood, Large. 312 989 9943.
CHICAGO, 337 W. 108TH ST., newly refurbished, 5BR, 1. 5BA, on quiet street, semi-fin bsmt, $1300/mo + sec. Mr. Williams, 773-752-8328
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.
NEWLY REHAB 5BR, $1500 118th & Princeton, 3BR, $1200, 85th & Wallace, 3BR, $1200, 81st & Kenwood, Sec 8 welc 312-8043638
CHICAGO, 3BR APARTMENT, newly remodeled, heat included, $ 900/mo. Also, Storefront, $800/ mo. Call 773-297-4784
9143 S. ASHLAND. storefront, Beverly.1200sf Heavy Traffic, A /C, Open Layout, Clean, Secure, Bath, Trans. $1050/mo. 312-523-8914
3 BR OR MORE $1200-$1499 GARFIELD
PARK
NEWLY
MATTESON, SAUK VILLAGE &
1&3 BR ON Austin Blvd. Tenant
pays utilities appliances included, $675 & $1355 Near Green line & North Ave. Ready July 1st. 773-889-6913
SEC 8 WELCOME Newly Updated 3BR House, 1BA, 11734 S. Prairie. Appls incl. $1375/mo. Ten pays own utils. Nr public trans 708408-7075
HARVEY Sec 8 Welcome $0 Security for Section 8. $500 cash back. 3BR, $1300/mo. Fine condition. ADT Alarm. 708-715-0034
UNIVERSITY PARK. 4, 3 & 2BR, House/Condo, Section 8 ok. For information: 708-625-7355
SECTION 8 WELCOME 3-5BR, 2BA, all appliances included, fenced yard, wood floors 6714 S Eberhart 312-804-0209 MARKHAM, 4BR HOME, Section 8 welcome. Immediate Occupancy. Call 708-296-6222 72ND AND ABERDEEN, Newly rehab 5BR, 1.5BA, new kitchen, cabinets, granite, carpet & windows. Sect 8 OK. 773-407-0005
COUNTRY CLUB HILLS: 176th & Springfield, 4BR, 2BA, $1400/ mo. avail. now. Tenant pays heat. Sec 8 Welc. Call 773-851-4576
AUBURN GRESHAM 5BR, 2BA House. Newly Remod. Appliances Included. 2 Levels, unfin bsmt. Pets OK. Section 8 OK. 312-371-4001
HUGE 4 BR, 2BA ($1300),
LUXURY NEWER HOUSE. 1308
carpeted and 1br, 1 ba hardwood, ($800), close trans, schools, sec 8 welcome, 773-443-3200.
3 BR OR MORE $1500-$1799 LINCOLN SQUARE 3BR, $1500.
4914 N Rockwell. Available August 1. Heat included. 2nd floor, no pets, close to Rockwell Brown Line. Call Lourdes 773-506-7251
NEW DECOR 5BR, nr Harrison &
Pulaski, laundry hkup, gated yard, $1575. Tenant pays utils & lawn care. No pets 847.720. 9010
3 BR OR MORE $1800-$2499 LARGE 3 BEDROOM 2 bath
apartment in Wrigleyville, 3820 N Fremont. Hardwood floors. Cats OK. Laundry in building. $2100/ month. Parking available. $150/ month for single parking space. $200/ month for tandem parking space. Available 8/1. 773-761-4318, www.lakefrontmgt .com
W. 52nd St. 4BR, 1.5BA, 3 lvls, heat, A /C, 2 car garage. Sec 8 ok. $1400/mo. 773-895-2867
RECENT REHAB 2-5BR SF Homes. S. Holland, Dolton, Harvey, Markham. Sec8 Ok. $1000 Sec & Bkgrnd Chk. 630-247-5146 AUSTIN 3BR, QUIET neighbor-
hood, near school & trans, Heated, appls & C/A, tenant pays elec. 708735-3545
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
SELF-STORAGE
CENTERS.
COLOMA, MI. RESID. l o t 240x200, $125,000 between 2 lakes, water sports, low taxes, build now or later. 269-487-7185 or 7189 1400 SQFT, Near 67th & Cottage Grove. Good Condition ideally for florist or resale shop.$600/mo. Call 773-955-6699
roommates CHICAGO - 71ST SANGAMON ($400) Quiet, Furnished Rooms, Share Kitchen & Bath. Call 773-895-5454 CHICAGO, 10635 S. STATE. Male Preferred. Use of kitchen and bath. $350/month. No Security. Call 773-791-1443 1 WEEK FREE. 96th & Halsted & other locations. Large Rooms, shared kitchen & bath. $100/week and up. Call 773-848-4020 CHICAGO - 4928 West Gladys. Room for rent. Basement, $400, furnished, free internet/cable, util incl. No dep. 773-287-1270 AVAILABLE NOW! Spacious Rooms for rent. $400/mo. Utilities and bed included Seniors Welcome. 773-747-2486 SOUTHSIDE, FURNISHED ROOM Incl: utils, near good trans. $400/mo + $200 clean up fee. 312-758-6931
AVAILABLE NOW. ROOMS for rent. Utilities incl’d. Seniors Welcome. $400/mo. Call 773-431-1251
CHICAGO, SINGLE ROOM in 4BR home, 6541 S. Hermitage, lrg living & dining rm, full bsmt. Call 708-333-9490
MARKETPLACE
FOR SALE
MASSAGE TABLES, NEW and
4 BEDROOM COMPLETELY
re-furbished home on 76 acres of recreational land NE of Antigo, Wi $299,900.00 Call (715) 623-6375
GOODS
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.
AUSTRALIAN SHEPHERD PUPS, REG., health guarantee, $750. Call 608-3620427/608-289-6881. www. australianshep herd p up p ies. org KILL BEDBUGS AND their eggs!
Buy Harris Bed Bug Killers/ KIT Complete Treatment System. Hardware stores, the Home Depot, homedepot. com
GERMAN SHEPHERD PUPPIES - AKC, wormed & vaccinated, sire has OFA cert., maternal sire is ex police dog. $800. Call 260-593-0160 x 3
SERVICES LEGAL SERVICES- Need A Lawyer? For as low as $19.95 CONSULTATIONS: Credit Repair, Bankruptcy, Divorce, Foreclosure, Evictions, Contract Review, Traffic Tickets/DUI, E xpungement, Criminal Defense & more. Call Theresa 312-806-0646
HEALTH & WELLNESS FOR A HEALTHY mind and body.
European trained and certified therapists specializing in deep tissue, Swedish, and relaxation massage. Incalls. 773-552-7525. Lic. #227008861.
UKRAINIAN MASSAGE. CALLS in/ out. Chicago and sub-
urbs. Hotels. 1234 S Michigan Avenue. Appointments. 773-616-6969.
ADULT SERVICES DANIELLE’S
LIP
SERVICE.
773-935-4995. Adult Phone Sex and Web Cam Provider. Ebony Beauty. All Credit/Debit Cards Accepted. Must Be 21+.
NOTICES SPIRITUAL LILA SPIRITUAL Psychic helps solve all problems of life. She will not ask you your problems she will tell you. She has helped many people with problems
such as business, love, marriage, dark aura, removes obstacles, health and just plain bad luck. Call 630-4084789
KINGDOM KARE SEEKING di-
rector for church daycare. Must have 2 year certification in early childhood devel-opment. Contact: newbirthking -dom@aol.com
legal notices STATE OF ILLINOIS County of Cook In The Circuit Court For Cook County, Illinois In The Matter of the
Petition of Lord Daniel William A. H. Windsor & Lady Sonja Grace O. Windsor Case# 16M2002446 For Change of Name. Notice of Publication Public Notice is hereby given that on August 24, 2016 at 9:00 AM being one of the return days in the Circuit Court of the County of Cook, I will file my petition in said court
praying for the change of my name from Lord Daniel William A. H. Windsor & Lady Sonja Grace O. Windsor to that of Lord Wiliam Henry A. G. Windsor & Lady Sonja Wilhelmina Grace O. Windsor, pursuant to the statute in such case made and provided. Dated at Chicago, Ilinois, June 20, 2016. Signature of Petitioner: W. Windsor & Sonja Windsor
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: D16147035 on June 6, 2016 Under the Assumed Business Name of FABB WEAR with the business located at: 10240 W. ROOSEVELT RD SUITE A, WESTCHESTER, IL 60154. The true and real full name(s) and residence address of the owner (s)/partner(s) is: SAKI SADE BUTLER, 1330 ARTHUR AVE, BERKELEY, IL 60163, 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: D16147028 on June 3, 2016 Under the Assumed Business Name of BIG EYED PUG with the business located at: 723 W. BLACKHAWK STREET, CHICAGO, IL 60610. The true and real full name(s) and residence address of the owner (s)/partner(s) is: RACHEL EPLEY, 723 W. BLACKHAWK STREET, CHICAGO, IL 60610, 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: D16147161 on June 16, 2016 Under the Assumed Business Name of CHICAGO SPACEWALKERS with the business located at: 3744 N. BERNARD, CHICAGO, IL 60618. The true and real full name(s) and residence address of the owner (s)/partner(s) is: TODD MICHAEL MORRIS, SR, 3744 N. BERNARD, CHICAGO, IL 60618, 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: D16147109 on June 10, 2016 Under the Assumed Business Name of EL CONTINUING EDUCATION with the business located at: 3112 N. DAMEN AVENUE APT 2, CHICAGO, IL 60618. The true and real full name(s) and residence address of the owner (s)/ partner(s) is: LEAH A ARGENTO, 3112 N. DAMEN AVENUE APT 2, CHCAGO, IL 60618, 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: D16147155 on June 15, 2016 Under the Assumed Business Name of POLESTRONG BODYWORKS with the business located at: 2752 W LEMOYNE ST APT 3C, CHICAGO, IL 60622. The true and real full name(s) and residence address of the owner (s)/partner(s) is: SALLY SACHS 2752 W LEMOYNE ST APT 3C, CHICAGO, IL 60622, USA
STATE OF ILLINOIS County of Cook In The Circuit Court For Cook County, Illinois In The Matter of the Petition of Arsema Weldu Case#
2016CONC000620 For Change of Name. Notice of Publication Public Notice is hereby given that on August 8, 2016 at 9:30 AM being one of the return days in the Circuit Court of the County of Cook, I will file my petition in said court praying for the change of my name from Arsema Weldu to that of Arsema Samuel, pursuant to the statute in such case made and provided. Dated at Chicago, Ilinois,
June 13, 2016. Signature of Petitioner: Arsema Weldu
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: D16147105 on June 10, 2016 Under the Assumed Business Name of GVN PERFORMANCE with the business located at: 820 N. ORLEANS, CHICAGO, IL 60610, 1018 N. LARRABEE ST, CHICAGO, IL 60610. The true and real full name(s) and residence address of the owner (s)/partner(s) is: BRIAN GALIVAN, 1927 N. 77TH AVE, ELMWOOD PARK, IL 60707, 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: D16147203 on June 20, 2016, under the Assumed Business Name of Closer Photography with the business located at 444 N Wabash Avenue #500, Chicago, IL 60611. The true and real full name(s) and residence address of the owner(s)/ partner(s) is: Adam R. Shuboy, 1401 S State Street #1709, Chicago, IL 60605, USA.
69TH/SANGAMON & 124TH/ NORMAL 3 Lrg BR, Hdwd flrs. $975/mo 70th /Wabash. 2BR. $925/mo. Nr trans & good schls 773-568-0053
CHICAGO S - NEWLY renov, Large 3-4BR Apts, In unit laundry, hrdwd floors, very clean, No Dep! Avail Now! 708-655-1397
SECTION 8 WELCOME. No Security Deposit. 7721 S Peoria, 3BR apt, appls incl. $1050/mo. 708-288-4510 PARK MANOR LOCATION, near 75th & St. Lawrence, 6 room Apt., 3BR, 2nd floor, 1 month’s sec dep. $875/mo. Call 312-259-7790
55TH off Garfield Blvd, 3BR, Hdwd flrs, 2nd flr, safe block, no appls. $900/mo negotiable + 1 month dep. 773-221-6385 NEWLY DECORATED ,3BR, 2nd floor 7610 S Maryland well maintained, $750/mo+ utilities 773487-0008
CHICAGO Near 57th & Halsted, 4br. Section 8 welcome $950/mo tenant pays utilities. 773-818-6499
COLLEGE GIRL BODY RUBS $40 w/AD 24/7
224-223-7787
JUNE 30, 2016 | CHICAGO READER 43
STRAIGHT DOPE By Cecil Adams Q : I’m curious why tabloids haven’t been
A : There are good reasons celebrities
encounter difficulty getting a libel case against the press to stick, but let’s note at the outset that currently the real action is in privacy violation. You probably saw the news that the media organization Gawker declared bankruptcy after fighting a series of lawsuits secretly funded by Peter Thiel, a Silicon Valley tech gazillionaire with a grudge, his goal no less than to put Gawker out of business. After the knockout punch, a privacy suit over a Hulk Hogan sex tape resulting in a $140 million judgment, observers fretted that Thiel had single-handedly opened up a new front against the free press: If you’ve got enough money, you don’t need to prove libel or privacy violation in your own case (Thiel objected to being quasi-outed as gay in a 2007 Gawker piece). You just have to spend eight or nine years burying your nemesis in other people’s cases until you find one with enough merit to put ’em out of their misery. OK, so this might be a little breathless. Who knows? Maybe all the public opprobrium will shame these billionaires into behaving. (Ha ha.) But Thiel’s covert tactics reflect the robust good health of press-protection laws in the United States. Thiel might not have won a privacy case, since his orientation was already an open secret, and he couldn’t have won a libel case because Gawker would’ve argued the piece they published was true. But even if it hadn’t been, that hardly would’ve mattered. Thiel’s a “public figure”—part of a special, less-protected class as far as libel law is concerned. Put plainly, if you’re the editor of the National Enquirer, you can print significantly nastier stuff about somebody famous than you can about, say, the schoolteacher next door. Public figures are still at an advantage relative to “public officials”—i.e., elected representatives—but not as likely to succeed in a libel case as “limited-purpose public figures,” folks who’ve been thrust temporarily into the public eye, witnesses to a high-profile murder, for instance. In order to win a libel suit against a news organization, public figures have to demonstrate that the offending party acted with
44 CHICAGO READER - JUNE 30, 2016
SLUG SIGNORINO
sued out of existence. I do recall Carol Burnett getting a bit of remuneration for the heartache they caused her some years back, but surely there can’t be so much apathy that celebrities will permit almost anything to be said about their lives. Maybe it’s a subtle form of blackmail: “At least if they say I’m in rehab, they aren’t exposing my extramarital affairs.” —BALDUR BEAR
“actual malice,” which is not a Tom Clancy novel but rather a standard set by the Supreme Court’s 1964 decision in New York Times v. Sullivan: they must show that the defendant knew for sure that the offending information was false, and published it anyway. Mind-reading being notoriously difficult, this sets a pretty high bar. Not that there haven’t been conspicuous celebrity wins. As you mention, in 1976 Carol Burnett went after the Enquirer for implying she’d been obstreperously drunk in public, despite sources’ reports to the contrary. Drawing upon her considerable resolve and resources, Burnett prevailed in court and finally settled. These days house counsel now put their eyes on everything at the major tabs; one former Enquirer staffer has said that two attorneys there look at each piece—and if they say kill it, it gets killed. These aren’t stripmall sleazebags, either. For instance, it was David Kendall, one of Bill Clinton’s lawyers during various 90s scandals, who had earlier green-lighted an Enquirer story headlined “Liberace’s Secret Battle with AIDS.” If an article that makes it to print does ruffle any serious feathers, the tabs’ significant legal manpower gives them the option of dragging a case out forever; and by suing, celebrities expose themselves to the discovery process, during which—as you correctly suggest—they might be required to cough up personal information they’d really rather not. Altogether, such factors make it both tedious and legally difficult for celebrities to win a media libel case. The Sullivan standard, by the way, means the U.S. is pretty much sui generis when it comes to libel law, at least until President Trump takes office. “I’m going to open up our libel laws so when they write purposely negative and horrible and false articles, we can sue them and win lots of money,” promised the Donald. The short-finger jokes must really be starting to get to him. v Send questions to Cecil via straightdope.com or write him c/o Chicago Reader, 350 N. Orleans, Chicago 60654.
l
l
SAVAGE LOVE
By Dan Savage
Is it douchey to fob off a creep by claiming to be a lesbian?
Or is it offensive? Plus: marital DADT, further identity conundrums, and more
Q : Is it a douchey move to pretend to be a lesbian to avoid unwanted male attention? I’m a straight single woman in my mid30s and a very plausible lesbian in terms of sartorial stereotypes. Occasionally a guy will hit on me in an awkward or creepy way and I’ll trot out a line about “not being into men.” Is this a harmless white lie, or a major cop-out that would offend actual lesbians? Can you suggest some better strategies? —LADY’S ENTIRELY
ZANY IDENTITY ENQUIRY
A : “I’m not offended by
this,” said someone I thought was an actual lesbian, with whom I shared your question because I wasn’t offended by it either but wanted to check just to be safe. Turns out my friend doesn’t identify as a lesbian, but as a womanwho-loves-women-but-doesnot-identify-as-a-lesbianbecause-she-sometimesfinds-the-odd-dude-hot. So for the record: my friend is speaking for the WWLWBDNIAALBSSFTODH community here—which often intersects/sexts with the lesbian community—and not the lesbian community. “But even though I’m not offended by it, I have to say I’ve found the ‘I’m into women’ line to be totally ineffective,” said my not-a-lesbian friend. “The only success I’ve had with warding off creeps is by actually yelling at them. You kind of have to treat these people like bears at a campsite,” said my not-a-lesbian friend—who turns out to identify as bisexual. “You have to make yourself big and loud and scary so they don’t get closer. Because otherwise they will get closer.”
Q : A dear young friend
has recently started being a stripper for work. I won’t
lie: it tears me up. All I feel is sadness and worry—such a nice soul for what I feel is a not-so-nice environment. Is there any way in which this can be OK? I guess my question is: How well can anyone handle this? —MY ENDANGERED LADY
A : I suspect she’s handling
it better than you are, MEL. And I would recommend minding your own business, backing the fuck off, and googling “white knight syndrome.” But if your conscience requires you to say something, try something like, “Stripping isn’t something I would feel comfortable doing myself. But I’m your friend, and if you need to talk with someone about your new job—if you need to decompress or vent—I’m here for you.”
Q : I’ve been with my
husband for 12 years, and we’ve been married for five of those. I should have known in the beginning that we weren’t sexually compatible, but he was my best friend, and I chose to ignore it. I’ve been suffering ever since. Luckily, I listen to your advice on a regular basis. About a year ago, my husband and I decided to open our relationship, agreeing to a “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy. Then, about a month ago, I met someone in an open relationship and had sex with them. It was amazing— everything about it. But I still feel the need to tell my husband, even though I know he doesn’t want to hear it. I feel like this is saving our marriage, but society probably just looks at me like a cheating whore. —FEELINGS
ARE INSANELY, TERRIBLY HARD FOR UNSURE LOVERS
A : You have your husband’s approval to do what you
did, but his approval was contingent upon your DADT agreement, FAITHFUL. Honor it by keeping your mouth shut. You’ll doubtless have conversations in the future about your relationship, and you can ask him if he wants to stick with DADT. If he says yes, continue to keep your mouth shut.
Q : I’m a (mostly) straight
guy in his mid-20s. For as long as I can remember, I’ve loved wearing women’s lingerie. It turns me on, but it also makes me feel comfortable. I’ve never worn women’s clothing in public, but I’ve recently been wearing it more and more around my house. It just feels right! Side note: I’ve also recently been obsessed with being pegged by my female partner, and I love the reversal of roles. Would I be considered genderqueer, genderfluid, or what? And would I be considered part of the LGBT community? —FREQUENTLY EXCITED MISS
A : Genderqueer and
genderfluid aren’t kinks, FEM, they’re identities. And I don’t know what you mean by that parenthetical “mostly” you dropped in there before “straight.” If it means you’re attracted to dudes—regardless of whether you’ve ever acted on that attraction—you would indeed be considered part of the LGBT community, under the “B” designation. But if all you meant was “My cock gets hard when I wear panties and think about getting my ass pegged by my girlfriend,” then you’re just another kinky straight guy. v Send letters to mail@ savagelove.net. Download the Savage Lovecast every Tuesday at thestranger.com. v @fakedansavage
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EARLY WARNINGS
Cymbals Eat Guitars ò ERIC WHITE
NEW Album Leaf 9/21, 8 PM, Lincoln Hall, 18+ Born Ruffians 10/13, 9 PM, Empty Bottle Annika Chambers 8/12, 9 PM, FitzGerald’s, Berwyn, on sale Fri 7/1, 11 AM Circus Maximus 9/2, 7 PM, Reggie’s Rock Club, 17+ Clams Casino 7/15, 10 PM, Smart Bar Cymbals Eat Guitars 10/11, 9 PM, Empty Bottle Dear Hunter 9/21, 7:30 PM, Metro, 18+ Dej Loaf 8/13, 7 PM, Portage Theater Delta Saints 8/25, 9 PM, Beat Kitchen The Devil Makes Three 1/21, 9 PM, Riviera Theatre, 18+ DuPont Brothers 8/21, 8 PM, Schubas, on sale Fri 7/1, noon El DeBarge 8/2, 7 and 9:30 PM, City Winery, on sale Thu 6/30, noon b Epica, Fleshgod Apocalypse 11/8, 6:30 PM, Concord Music Hall, 17+ Futuristic 10/14, 7 PM, Reggie’s Rock Club b Haken 8/30, 7 PM, Reggie’s Rock Club, 17+ David Ryan Harris, Gabe Dixon 9/6, 8 PM, City Winery, on sale Thu 6/30, noon b Scott Henderson Band 8/24, 7 PM, Reggie’s Rock Club Jah Wobble 9/24, 9 PM, Empty Bottle K Theory 11/25, 9 PM, Lincoln Hall, 18+ Lany 11/3, 7:30 PM, Metro, on sale Fri 7/1, 10 AM b Sleepy LeBeef 7/23, 9 PM, FitzGerald’s, Berwyn, on sale Fri 7/1, 11 AM Magic Sword 10/5, 9 PM, Subterranean, 17+ JD McPherson 7/14, 8 PM, SPACE, Evanston b
Molotov 9/15, 7 PM, Portage Theater, 17+ Brian Newman 8/15, 8 PM, City Winery, on sale Thu 6/30, noon b NF 10/12, 7:30 PM, Bottom Lounge Of Montreal 9/19, 7 PM, Metro b Anders Osborne 9/30-10/1, 8 PM, SPACE, Evanston b Otep, Shaman’s Harvest 7/14, 8 PM, Concord Music Hall, 17+ Progtoberfest with Carl Palmer, Brand X, Security Project, Mano, Inow Trio, Wave Mechanics Union, and more 10/21-23, 7 PM, Reggie’s Record Company 10/7, 9 PM, Lincoln Hall Jessie Reyez 8/16, 9 PM, Lincoln Hall, on sale Fri 7/1, noon, 18+ Riff Raff 7/22, 9 PM, Concord Music Hall, 18+ Rotten Sound 8/22, 6 PM, Reggie’s Rock Club, 17+ Schoolboy Q 7/11, 9 PM, Concord Music Hall, 18+ Martin Sexton 9/29, 8 PM, City Winery, on sale Thu 6/30, noon b Andy Shauf 11/29, 8 PM, Schubas, on sale Fri 7/1, noon Skatalites 9/15, 7 PM, Reggie’s Rock Club, on sale Fri 7/1, 11 AM, 17+ Slambovian Circus of Dreams 8/24, 7:30 PM, SPACE, Evanston b Tacocat 9/25, 8:30 PM, Thalia Hall, on sale Fri 7/1, 10 AM, 17+ Tourist 9/14, 7 PM, Bottom Lounge, 17+ Twiztid 10/29, 7 PM, Portage Theater, 17+ Ulcerate 11/27, 7 PM, Reggie’s Rock Club, 17+ Wet 10/26, 8 PM, Lincoln Hall, 18+ Yellowcard 11/3, 5:30 PM, House of Blues b
UPDATED Leon Russell 10/30-31, 8 PM, City Winery, 10/31 added, on sale Thu 6/30, noon b
46 CHICAGO READER - JUNE 30, 2016
UPCOMING Sammy Adams 9/16, 7:30 PM, House of Blues b All Them Witches 7/21, 9 PM, Empty Bottle Marc Anthony 12/4, 7 PM, Allstate Arena, Rosemont Anthrax 9/21, 8 PM, Concord Music Hall, 17+ Bad Boy Family Reunion with Puff Daddy, Lil’ Kim, Mase, Faith Evans, Mario Winans, and more 8/27, 8 PM, United Center Band of Horses 11/16, 7:30 PM, Aragon Ballroom b Beyond Creation, Rivers of Nihil 7/21, 7 PM, Reggie’s Rock Club, 17+ Andrew Bird 9/7, 7 PM, Pritzker Pavilion, Millennium Park b Black Sabbath 9/4, 7:30 PM, Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre, Tinley Park b Boris, Earth 8/14, 9 PM, Metro, 18+ Califone 9/23, 10 PM, Schubas Cannibal Corpse, Nile, After the Burial 8/3, 2 PM, Concord Music Hall, 17+ Car Seat Headrest 7/16, 9 PM, Empty Bottle Chairlift, Ela Minus 7/30, 10 PM, Empty Bottle Cloud Nothings 7/9, 9 PM, Empty Bottle David Crosby 8/31, 7:30 PM, Thalia Hall, 17+ Andra Day 11/18, 9 PM, House of Blues, 17+ Dead & Company 7/9-10, 7:30 PM, Alpine Valley Music Theatre, East Troy Die Antwoord 10/11, 8 PM, Aragon Ballroom Dinosaur Jr. 10/8, 9 PM, Metro, 18+ DJ Shadow 10/7, 8 PM, Metro, 18+ Donkeys 8/7, 9 PM, Empty Bottle Lila Downs, Mariachi Los Camperos 10/28, 8 PM, Auditorium Theatre Justin Townes Earle 8/2, 8 PM, SPACE, Evanston b
CHICAGO SHOWS YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT IN THE WEEKS TO COME
Envy on the Coast 8/27, 7:30 PM, Bottom Lounge Eternals Espiritu Zombi Group 8/13, 9 PM, Hideout Explosions in the Sky 9/10, 8 PM, Aragon Ballroom, 17+ Failure 10/21, 9 PM, Double Door, 17+ Felice Brothers 9/13, 8 PM, Schubas Ace Frehley 8/26, 8 PM, House of Blues, 17+ Glass Animals 10/6, 8 PM, Riviera Theatre, 18+ Goggs 7/19-20, 9 PM, Empty Bottle, 7/20 added Guitar Wolf 9/3, 9 PM, Beat Kitchen Hail the Sun 7/19, 7 PM, Wire, Berwyn, 18+ Beth Hart 9/21-22, 8 PM, Park West, 18+ Sean Hayes 8/6, 8 PM, SPACE, Evanston b The Head & the Heart, Declan McKenna 10/14, 8 PM, Aragon Ballroom b Heart, Joan Jett & the Blackhearts, Cheap Trick 7/19, 6:30 PM, FirstMerit Bank Pavilion Heffron Drive 8/6, 2 PM, Reggie’s Rock Club b Erwin Helfer 9/10, 8 PM, Szold Hall, Old Town School of Folk Music b Helmet 7/15, 9 PM, Double Door, 17+ Honeydogs, Dusty Heart 8/18, 7:30 PM, SPACE, Evanston b Honne 8/8, 7:30 PM, Lincoln Hall b Kaleo 10/15, 7:30 PM, House of Blues, 17+ Kansas 11/4, 7 PM, Copernicus Center b Toby Keith, Eric Paslay 8/12, 7 PM, Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre, Tinley Park Kero Kero Bonito 10/26, 6:30 PM, Subterranean b Kidz Bop Kids 8/7, 3 PM, FirstMerit Bank Pavilion King 10/11, 7 and 9:30 PM, SPACE, Evanston b Bettye Lavette 8/3, 8 PM, City Winery b Amos Lee 10/28, 8 PM, Chicago Theatre b Lemon Twigs 7/9, 9 PM, Hideout Johnny Mathis 8/13, 7:30 PM, Rosemont Theater, Rosemont Iain Matthews & Plainsong 9/17, 8 PM, Szold Hall, Old Town School of Folk Music b John Mayall 9/30, 8 PM, City Winery b Mac Miller 7/29, 10 PM, Concord Music Hall, 18+ Miracle Legion 7/22, 9 PM, Lincoln Hall Mitski 7/20, 7 PM, Lincoln Hall b Mo, Alle Farben 7/28, 11 PM, Lincoln Hall, 18+ Modern Baseball, Sports 7/29, 10 PM, Empty Bottle Moe. 9/23-24, 8 PM, Concord Music Hall, 17+ Whitey Morgan, Cody Jinks 9/29, 8:30 PM, Thalia Hall, 17+ Movits! 9/22, 8 PM, Bottom Lounge, 17+
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Mr. Gnome 10/1, 9 PM, Beat Kitchen Muffs 8/28, 9 PM, Empty Bottle Puddles Pity Party 10/7, 7:30 PM, Park West, 18+ Purity Ring 10/29, 8:30 PM, Riviera Theatre b Queensryche 12/9, 8 PM, Concord Music Hall, 17+ Corinne Bailey Rae 8/4, 8 PM, Metro, 18+ Raging Fyah 7/18, 7 PM, Reggie’s Rock Club, 17+ Ben Rector 10/21, 8 PM, Chicago Theatre Riot 7/8, 8 PM, Reggie’s Rock Club, 17+ Rites of Thy Degringolade 10/14, 8 PM, Reggie’s Rock Club, 17+ Rival Choir 7/7, 6 PM, Wire, Berwyn b Hot Rize 8/21, 7:30 PM, City Winery b Alex Skolnick Trio 9/11, 7 PM, Reggie’s Music Joint Oleg Skrypka & Lynne Jordan 7/17, 7:30 PM, City Winery b Slightly Stoopid 8/26, 6:30 PM, FirstMerit Bank Pavilion Steel Wheels 8/14, 8 PM, City Winery b Steeldrivers 10/14, 8 PM, City Winery b Gwen Stefani, Eve 8/6, 7 PM, Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre, Tinley Park Step Rockets 7/15, 8:30 PM, Beat Kitchen Colin Stetson & Sarah Neufeld 8/9, 8:30 PM, Constellation, 18+ Al Stewart 7/19, 8 PM, City Winery b Sticky Fingers 10/18, 8 PM, Lincoln Hall, 18+ Sting, Peter Gabriel 7/9, 8 PM, United Center Straight No Chaser 12/17, 3 and 8 PM, Civic Opera House b Stray Birds 8/30, 7:30 PM, SPACE, Evanston b Barbra Streisand 8/9, 8 PM, United Center Sublime With Rome, Dirty Heads 7/17, 6:30 PM, FirstMerit Bank Pavilion Suffers 10/7, 10 PM, Schubas Sumac 8/9, 8 PM, Township, 17+ Sun Ra Arkestra 7/16, 8 PM, Constellation, 18+ Avery Sunshine 10/12, 8 PM, Thalia Hall b Swans, Okkyung Lee 7/15-16, 11 PM, Lincoln Hall Tribulation 9/3, 9 PM, Subterranean, 17+ TTNG 8/13, 8:30 PM, Subterranean, 17+ KT Tunstall 7/7, 9 PM, Beat Kitchen Frank Turner & the Sleeping Souls 7/28, 11 PM, Double Door, 17+ Twenty One Pilots 1/28, 7 PM, United Center
b ALL AGES F Steven Tyler 8/13, 8 PM, Chicago Theatre Cale Tyson 8/4, 9 PM, Empty Bottle Uncle Acid & the Deadbeats 9/13, 8 PM, Metro, 18+ Keith Urban, Brett Eldredge 10/28, 7:30 PM, Allstate Arena, Rosemont Valley Maker 8/23, 9 PM, Hideout Angel Vivaldi 9/24, 7:30 PM, Wire, Berwyn, 18+ VNV Nation 10/23, 8 PM, Metro, 18+ Butch Walker, Suzanne Santo 9/10, 8 PM, House of Blues, 17+ Ryley Walker 8/25, 9 PM, Empty Bottle Warpaint 9/30, 8:30 PM, Thalia Hall, 17+ Yellow Claw 7/31, 10 PM, The Mid Young the Giant, Ra Ra Riot 11/4, 7:30 PM, Aragon Ballroom ZZ Top, Gov’t Mule 9/17, 7 PM, Rosemont Theater, Rosemont
SOLD OUT Alabama Shakes 7/19, 7:30 PM, Civic Opera House and 7/20, 7:30 PM, Aragon Ballroom b Bastille 7/27, 9 PM, the Vic, 18+ Borns 7/21-22, 7:30 PM, Metro b John Carpenter 7/16, 9 PM, Thalia Hall, 17+ Echo & the Bunnymen 9/17, 8 PM, Metro, 18+ Foals, Lewis Del Mar 7/28, 11 PM, House of Blues, 17+ Ghost, Macabre 7/30, 11 PM, Thalia Hall, 17+ Lukas Graham 1/17, 7 PM, House of Blues b Jane’s Addiction, Nothing 7/27-28, 9 PM, Metro, 18+ Last Shadow Puppets 7/27, 9 PM, House of Blues, 17+ Lollapalooza 7/28-31, Grant Park Lush 9/18, 8 PM, the Vic, 18+ M83, Sofi Tukker 7/28, 11 PM, the Vic, 18+ Morgan Heritage 8/24, 6 PM, Double Door b Mountain Goats 7/22, 10 PM, Subterranean The 1975 7/29, 10 PM, House of Blues, 17+ Old Crow Medicine Show 7/18, 7:30 PM, Thalia Hall b Pearl Jam 8/20 and 8/22, 7:30 PM, Wrigley Field Phantogram 7/31, 11 PM, House of Blues, 17+ Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats, Con Brio 7/29, 11 PM, Thalia Hall, 17+ Rocket From the Crypt 7/23, 10 PM, Subterranean Vince Staples 7/30, 10 PM, Reggie’s Rock Club, 18+ The Struts, Arkells 7/28, 11 PM, Bottom Lounge, 17+ Third Eye Blind, Dreamers 7/30, 11 PM, Park West, 18+ Two Door Cinema Club, Jaryyd James 7/29, 11 PM, the Vic, 18+ Violent Femmes 7/12, 8:30 PM, Concord Music Hall, 17+ Wombats 7/13, 7:30 PM, Metro b X Ambassadors 7/29, 11 PM, Bottom Lounge, 17+ v
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bottom lounge ONSALE WED 06.29
A UTH E NTI C PH I LLY C H E E S E STE A K S !
ONSALE NOW
FREELANCE WRESTLING PRESENTS
07.08 COMBAT ZONE VS FREELANCE WRESTLING 07.09 PITY SEX PWR BTTM / PETAL
07.10 THE PLOT IN YOU
ERRA / SYLAR / INVENT, ANIMATE
1833 PRESENTS
07.14 XXYYXX
LUMINATE / EDAMAME
UPSTAIRS AT BOTTOM LOUNGE
07.14 TEMPERANCE MOVEMENT THE STONE FOXES
07.15 YOKO AND THE OH NO’S THE NOISE FM / SMOKER / MASSES
07.16 NETHERFRIENDS
TREE / BRIAN FRESCO / JON JAMES / FEMDOT / A.M. EARLY MORNING / DJ DAMNAGE UPSTAIRS AT BOTTOM LOUNGE
007.16 7.16 THE DYES
DJ KILLER DILLER RICO / DJ GENTLEMAN JOHN BATTLES
OVER 50 CRAFT BEERS + CIDERS
OFFICIAL PITCHFORK AFTERPARTY
07.17 KAMASI WASHINGTON THE NOISE PRESENTS
07.20 I PREVAIL
THE WHITE NOISE / MY ENEMIES & I
07.22 SAVE THE CLOCKTOWER
— DAILY DRINK SPECIALS —
OH MY LOVE / SUNJACKET
BOTTOM LOUNGE, SILVER WRAPPER & C3 PRESENT AN OFFICIAL LOLLAPALOOZA AFTERSHOW
07.30 LETTUCE 08.13 THE FALL OF TROY ‘68 / ILLUSTRATIONS
08.27 ENVY ON THE COAST 09.09 THE SHEEPDOGS QUAKER CITY NIGHT HAWKS
SILVER WRAPPER PRESENTS
09.14 TOURIST 09.22 MOVITS!
SIDEWALK CHALK
09.25 ANTHONY GREEN
MAT KEREKES / SECRET SPACE
09.28 TITUS ANDRONICUS ONES TO WATCH
10.01 FINISH TICKET
As seen on Food Network, Chicago’s Best and Hungry Hound!
RUN RIVER NORTH
10.08 THE AMITY AFFLICTION
BEING AS AN OCEAN / HUNDREDTH / TROPHY EYES / DEADSHIPS
1833 PRESENTS
10.11 PANTHA DU PRINCE LIVE 10.18 TESSERACT
I LOVE M O NTI S .CO M FB/ILOVEMONTIS
AN EVENING WITH
11.11 SLOAN
www.bottomlounge.com 1375 w lake st 312.666.6775
4757
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TA LM A N
@ILOVEMONTIS
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773.942.6012 JUNE 30, 2016 - CHICAGO READER 47