Print Issue of September 6, 2018 (Volume 47, Number 48)

C H I C A G O ’ S F R E E W E E K LY S I N C E 1 9 7 1 | S E P T E M B E R 6 , 2 0 1 8

What to see at the 2018 World Music Festival 23-28

Cat videos are not a waste of time at all

21

DEREK ERDMAN IS HAVING A SHOW Back from eight years in Seattle, the artist/writer/prankster plans his formal reintroduction to Chicago.

BY ANNA WHITE 10

PAIDADVERTISEMENT

Why Haven’t Senior Homeowners Been Told These Facts?

Keep reading if you own a home in the U.S. and were born before 1955.

It’s a well-known fact that for many senior citizens in the U.S. their home is their single biggest asset, often accounting for more than 50% of their total net worth.

Yet, according to new statistics from the mortgage industry, senior homeowners in the U.S. are now sitting on more than 6.1 trillion dollars of unused home equity.1 With people now living longer than ever before and home prices back up again, ignoring this “hidden wealth” may prove to be short sighted.

All things considered, it’s not surprising that more than a million homeowners have already used a governmentinsured Home Equity Conversion Mortgage or “HECM” loan to turn their home equity into extra cash for retirement.

However, today, there are still millions of eligible homeowners who could benefit from this FHA-insured loan but may simply not be aware of this “retirement secret.”

Some homeowners think HECM loans sound “too good to be true.” After all, you get the cash you need out of your home but you have no more monthly mortgage payments.

NO MONTHLY MORTGAGE PAYMENTS?2 EXTRA CASH? It’s a fact: no monthly mortgage payments are required with a government-insured HECM loan;2 however the homeowners are still responsible for paying for the maintenance of their home, property taxes, homeowner’s insurance and, if required, their HOA fees.

Another fact many are not aware of is that HECM reverse mortgages first took hold when President Reagan

signed the FHA Reverse Mortgage Bill into law 29 years ago in order to help senior citizens remain in their homes.

Today, HECM loans are simply an effective way for homeowners 62 and older to get the extra cash they need to enjoy retirement.

Although today’s HECM loans have been improved to provide even greater financial protection for homeowners, there are still many misconceptions.

For example, a lot of people mistakenly believe the home must be paid off in full in order to qualify for a HECM loan, which is not the case. In fact, one key advantage of a HECM is that the proceeds will first be used to pay off any existing liens on the property, which frees up cash flow, a huge blessing for seniors living on a fixed income. Unfortunately, many senior homeowners who might be better off with HECM loan don’t even bother to get more information because of rumors they’ve heard.

That’s a shame because HECM loans are helping many senior homeowners live a better life.

In fact, a recent survey by American Advisors Group (AAG), the nation’s number one HECM lender, found that over 90% of their clients are satisfied with their loans.

While these special loans are not for everyone, they can be a real lifesaver for senior homeowners.

The cash from a HECM loan can be used for any purpose. Many people use the money to save on interest charges by paying off credit cards or other high-interest loans. Other common uses include making home

FACT: In 1988, President Reagan signed an FHA bill that

put HECM loans into law.

improvements, paying off medical bills or helping other family members. Some people simply need the extra cash for everyday expenses while others are now using it as a “safety net” for financial emergencies.

If you’re a homeowner age 62 or older, you owe it to yourself to learn more so that you can make an informed decision. Homeowners who are interested in learning more can request a free 2018 HECM loan Information Kit and free Educational DVD by calling American Advisors Group toll-free at 1-(800) 841-1739.

At no cost or obligation, the professionals at AAG can help you find out if you qualify and also answer common questions such as: 1. What’s the government’s role?

2. How much money might I get?

3. Who owns the home after I take out a HECM loan?

You may be pleasantly surprised by what you discover when you call AAG for more information today.

Source: http://reversemortgagedaily.com/2016/06/21/seniors-home-equity-grows-to-6-trillion-reverse-mortgage-opportunity. 2If you qualify and your loan is approved, a Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) must pay off any existing mortgage(s). With a HECM loan, no monthly mortgage payment is required. A HECM increases the principal mortgage loan amount and decreases home equity (it is a negative amortization loan).

AAG works with other lenders and !nancial institutions that offer HECMs. To process your request for a loan, AAG may forward your contact information to such lenders for your consideration of HECM programs that they offer. When the loan is due and payable, some or all of the equity in the property no longer belongs to borrowers, who may need to sell the home or otherwise repay the loan with interest from other proceeds.

AAG charges an origination fee, mortgage insurance premium, closing costs and servicing fees (added to the balance of the loan). The balance of the loan grows over time and AAG charges interest on the balance.

Interest is not tax-deductible until the loan is partially or fully repaid. Borrowers are responsible for paying property taxes and homeowner s insurance (which may be substantial). We do not establish an escrow account for disbursements of these payments. A set-aside account can be set up to pay taxes and insurance and may be required in some cases. Borrowers must occupy home as their primary residence and pay for ongoing maintenance; otherwise the loan becomes due and payable. The loan also becomes due and payable when the last borrower, or eligible non-borrowing surviving spouse, dies, sells the home, permanently moves out, defaults on taxes or insurance payments, or does not otherwise comply with the loan terms. American Advisors Group (AAG) is headquartered at 3800 W. Chapman Ave., 3rd & 7th Floors, Orange CA, 92868.

(MB_0911141), (Illinois Residential Mortgage Licensee; Illinois Commissioner of Banks can be reached at 100 West Randolph, 9th Floor, Chicago, Illinois 60601, (312) 814-4500). V2017.08.23_OR

1

These materials are not from HUD or FHA and were not approved by HUD or a government agency.

2 CHICAGO READER - SEPTEMBER 6, 2018

l

l

THIS WEEK

C H I C A G O R E A D E R | S E P T E M B E R 6 , 2 0 1 8 | V O L U M E 4 7, N U M B E R 4 8

IN THIS ISSUE

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

CITY LIFE

ARTS FEATURE ACTING DEPUTY EDITOR KATE SCHMIDT CREATIVE DIRECTOR VINCE CERASANI DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY JAMIE RAMSAY CULTURE EDITOR AIMEE LEVITT MUSIC EDITOR PHILIP MONTORO ASSOCIATE EDITORS STEVE HEISLER, JAMIE LUDWIG SENIOR WRITERS DEANNA ISAACS, BEN JORAVSKY, MIKE SULA SENIOR THEATER CRITIC TONY ADLER STAFF WRITERS MAYA DUKMASOVA, LEOR GALIL, PETER MARGASAK SOCIAL MEDIA EDITOR RYAN SMITH GRAPHIC DESIGNER SUE KWONG MUSIC LISTINGS COORDINATOR LUCA CIMARUSTI FILM LISTINGS COORDINATOR PATRICK FRIEL CONTRIBUTORS ISA GIALLORENZO, SHERRY FLANDERS, JOHN GREENFIELD, ANDREA GRONVALL, JUSTIN HAYFORD, JACK HELBIG, DAN JAKES, MONICA KENDRICK, BILL MEYER, J.R. NELSON, LEAH PICKETT, JAMES PORTER, BEN SACHS, DMITRY SAMAROV, OLIVER SAVA, KEVIN WARWICK, BRIANNA WELLEN, BRIANNA WELLEN, ALBERT WILLIAMS INTERNS TYRA NICOLE TRICHE, ANNA WHITE ---------------------------------------------------------------ADVERTISING DIRECTOR CHRISTOPHER BEST SENIOR ACCOUNT MANAGER EVANGELINE MILLER DIRECTOR OF DIGITAL JOHN DUNLEVY ADVERTISING COORDINATOR HERMINIA BATTAGLIA ---------------------------------------------------------------DISTRIBUTION CONCERNS distributionissues@chicagoreader.com

4 Joravsky | Politics Get-outthe-vote effort Blue Beginning hopes to trigger a blue wave in the midwest.

5 Greenfield | Transportation The 31st Street bus is back from the dead—again.

Chicago’s missed you, Derek Erdman

Now it’s Seattle’s turn to mourn the artist-cumprankster extraordinaire.

BY ANNA WHITE 10

CHICAGO HISTORY

Phil Ochs died here in 1968

Or so the lefty folk singer always insisted.

BY RYAN SMITH 15

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. CHICAGO READER, READER, AND REVERSED R: REGISTERED TRADEMARKS ®.

ON THE COVER: COURTESY DEREK ERDMAN. FOR MORE OF ERDMAN’S WORK, GO TO DEREKERDMAN.COM.

18 Theater Erasing the Distance’s DocFest puts mental illness center stage.

19 Theater A Shayna Maidel and more new stage shows, reviewed by our critics 20 Movies Nicolas Vanier’s School of Life follows a World War I orphan’s immersion into the French countryside.

21 Movies Laugh at silly kitties at the CatVideoFest’s Chicago stop.

22 Movies Operation Finale and more new releases, reviewed by our critics

MUSIC & NIGHTLIFE 30 Shows of note John Zorn, Let’s Eat Grandma, Big Heart Machine, and more of the week’s best

----------------------------------------------------------------

COPYRIGHT © 2018 CHICAGO READER. PERIODICAL POSTAGE PAID AT CHICAGO, IL.

7 Restaurant review Talented chef Danny Graves is playing with fire at Bucktown’s Etta.

9 One Bite Ace pastry chef Dana Salls Cree returns with Logan Square’s Pretty Cool Ice Cream.

ARTS & CULTURE

CHICAGO READER 30 N. RACINE, SUITE 300 CHICAGO, IL 60607 312-222-6920 CHICAGOREADER.COM READER (ISSN 1096-6919) IS PUBLISHED WEEKLY

BY STM READER, LLC 30 N. RACINE, SUITE 300 CHICAGO, IL 60607.

FOOD & DRINK

CLASSIFIEDS

35 Jobs 36 Apartments & Spaces 36 Marketplace

MUSIC FEATURE

What to see at the 2018 World Music Festival

Argentine singersongwriter Juana Molina, Cuban big band Orquesta Akokán, and Congolese groove machine Jupiter & Okwess are among the international talents showcased this year.

BY READER STAFF 23

37 Savage Love A Recon tryst ends up a waste of perfectly good bondage supplies, and more.

38 Early Warnings Lil Xan, John Oates, Snail Mail, and other shows to look for in the weeks to come 38 Gossip Wolf Hardcore bruisers Uglybones celebrate a new record, arts incubator AMFM throws a free festival to address food deserts, and more.

SEPTEMBER 6, 2018 - CHICAGO READER 3

CITY LIFE POLITICS

Blue Beginning to blue wave?

A Chicago-based get-out-the-vote campaign sends Democratic troops into the collar counties and neighboring swing states.

By BEN JORAVSKY

S

ome people in Chicago are dismissive toward folks in the outer burbs, writing them off as a bunch of squares in the boonies.

But from my perspective, people in the traditionally Republican collar counties of DuPage, McHenry, Kane, Lake, and Will are among the luckiest voters alive—’cause they get to take a meaningful stand against Trump in the coming November elections.

Oh, yes, Chicagoans may fume and fret and take to the street over the antics of the orange man in the White House. But folks outside of Cook County actually have the opportunity to be part of a “blue wave” that ousts enough congressional opportunists and rubber-stampers to take Congress back from the Republicans.

And let me tell you, the way Republican congressmen like Peter Roskam, Randy Hultgren, and (to a far lesser extent) Adam Kinzinger bow and scrape before Trump, man, it makes our mayor-worshiping aldermen look like profiles in courage.

I’m so fired up over these suburban races that I’d consider heading off to Kane County and renting a two-flat in Elburn (population 5,602) just for the chance to vote for 14th District Democrat Lauren Underwood, a nurse who’s running a spirited campaign against Hultgren, one of the biggest Trump brownnosers in the land.

Well, Chicagoans, good news—there’s no need to stand on the sidelines any longer.

Itching to take a meaningful stand against Trump? You can hook up with Blue Beginning, a Chicago-based division of the Indivisible movement.

Mike Lenehan, my old Reader editor, and Marj Halperin, a political strategist and former executive director of the League of Chicago Theatres, organized Blue Beginning soon after that depressing night in 2016 when

4 CHICAGO READER - SEPTEMBER 6, 2018

Trump seized power.

As Lenehan puts it, they wanted to “do more than complain.”

For the last year or so they’ve been meeting on a regular basis at the Hideout. And now they’re planning to dispatch dozens of volunteers to help get out the vote for congressional Democratic candidates in crucial suburban and downstate swing districts.

“Our goal is to have 1,000 people canvassing all over the state in October,” says Halperin.

Perhaps their best chance is with Sean Casten against Roskam in the Sixth, which snakes through parts of DuPage, Lake, and Cook County, including towns like Barrington, Algonquin, and Naperville.

Coming out of 2016, Roskam looked invincible. A six-term incumbent running in a district that was gerrymandered to benefit Republicans, he racked up 59 percent of the vote in his last election.

But the Sixth’s been changing demographically over the years, getting more and more Democratic. It went for Hillary Clinton over Trump in 2016.

For Casten the key is to register and turn out as many new Democrats as possible.

It’s the same strategy now being followed

by Underwood, Hultgren’s challenger in the 14th, and Sara Dady, who’s running against Kinzinger in the 16th.

For that matter, it’s the key to success for Betsy Dirksen Londrigan and Brendan Kelly, who are running against Republican incumbents in, respectively, the 13th and 12th congressional districts downstate.

And that’s where Blue Beginning comes in.

On Tuesday, September 26, at 5:30 PM, the group will hold a canvassing clinic at the Hideout, where Lenehan and others will give lessons on the dos and don’ts of going door-to-door.

Some basics: The point of most canvassing is to identify the so-called plus voters—that is, voters who intend to vote Democratic. Then, as gently and noncombatively as you can, you come back to make sure they vote.

As for the Republican voters? Don’t even waste your time. You probably won’t change their minds anyway.

“You should be brief and polite at the door,” says Lenehan. “You shouldn’t be there for more than three or four minutes.”

Allow me to offer some advice, as a guy who’s done his fair share of canvassing down through the years. (Someday, kiddies, I’ll have to tell you my stirring tales of canvassing for George McGovern in suburban Northbrook back in 72.)

Don’t make the mistakes I made. For instance, never, ever engage a voter in a sports conversation—as I did with one less-thanenlightened Packers fan when I was canvass-

ing for Barack Obama in Iowa City in 2008.

I may have lost his vote to John McCain when I told him the Packers sucked.

And whatever you do, don’t be like Frick & Frack, the two knuckleheads Mayor Emanuel’s reelection team sent to my door four years ago to try to talk me into voting for Rahm. Speaking of hopeless causes.

Obviously, they got their charming personalities from Rahm himself, because they committed one of the most definite don’ts of canvassing—telling me to fuck off.

Clearly, Rahm’s boys could have used a crash course on the etiquette of canvassing from Halperin and Lenehan.

Halperin says they’re also planning to dispatch canvassers to Indiana to go door-todoor for Senator Joe Donnelly, a Democrat in a heated reelection fight against Mike Braun.

And of course there’s the First congressional district in southern Wisconsin, where Democratic ironworker Randy Bryce, a Bernie Sanders supporter, is trying to win the seat of House Speaker Paul Ryan, who’s stepping down.

Tell you what, Cheeseheads—if you elect Bryce, I’ll buy an Aaron Rodgers jersey and root for the Packers. (For one season, anyway—I don’t think I could take much more than that.)

If you want more information about becoming a Blue Beginning canvasser, check out indivisiblechicago.com.

It’s your government, people—time to get out the vote and take it back. v

m @BennyJshow

Illinois’s Sixth Congressional District as of 2018

l

l

Paid Advertisement

CITY LIFE A #31 bus stops at Halsted Street in Bridgeport.

PROTECT YOUR BRAIN:

Once Marijuana Hijacks a Brain, it may not be reversible Marijuana is not safe. No genetic test to predict who will be harmed the most. Please consider these risk factors before using this powerful, hallucinogenic drug:

é JOHN GREENFIELD

BIPOLAR DISORDER: Marijuana use raises the risk 2.6 times. Cougle JR et al. (2015).

Quality of life and risk of psychiatric disorders among regular users of alcohol, nicotine and cannabis: An analysis of the National Epidemiological Survey on Tobacco and Related Conditions (Psychiatr Res, NESARC). J 66-67, 135-141 VIOLENCE: The 15% or so of marijuana users who experience psychotic symptoms from marijuana or go into permanent psychosis (schizophrenia) are 9x more likely to become violent than schizophrenics who never used drugs. Fazel S, Långström N, Hjern A, Grann M, Lichtenstein P. Schizophrenia, substance abuse, and violent crime. JAMA. 2009 May 20; 301(19): 2016-23 A disgruntled worker smoked marijuana before he started a fire at an air traffic control station in Aurora, 2014, shutting down air traffic in Chicago for nearly a week. https:// chicago. cbslocal.com/2014/09/30/brian-howard-was-high-before-setting-radarcenterfire-sources-say/ DEPRESSION and ANXIETY: Marijuana raises the risk 1.8 times: Fairman, B.J. & Anthony, J.C. (2012) Are early-onset cannabis smokers at an increased risk of depression spells?

Journal of Affective Disorders, 138(1-2), 54-62 MAKES OPIATE PROBLEM WORSE: Olfson, M., Wall, M. M., Liu, S., & Blanco, C. (2018).

Cannabis Use and Risk of Prescription Opioid Use Disorder in the United States. American Journal of Psychiatry, 175(1), 47-53. doi:10.1176/appi.ajp.2017.17040413 Campbell, G, Hall, WD et al, Effect of cannabis use in people with chronic non-cancer pain prescribed opioids: findings from a 4-year prospective cohort study. The Lancet Public Health: htps://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanpub/article/PIIS2468-2667(18)30110-5/fulltext PSYCHOSIS: Daily use of 12-18% THC marijuana use raises the risk 5 times DiForti M, et al. Proportion of patients in South London with first-episode psychosis attributable to use of high potency cannabis: a case-control study/ Lancet Psychiatry. 2015: 2(3): 233-8.

Cannabis use is not secondary to pre-existing psychosis. Arsenault L, Cannon M, Poulton R, Murray R, Caspi A, Moffitt TE, 2002 Cannabis use in adolescence and risk for adult psychosis: longitudinal prospective study. British Medical Journal, 2002 Nov 23: 325 (7373): 1212-3

TRANSPORTATION

A reprieve for the #31 bus

The CTA pilot program has new life after a rare about-face.

By JOHN GREENFIELD

W

ell, that was fast.

Just over ten days ago a CTA representative notified near-south-side transit advocates that the #31 bus route, which launched as a pilot two years ago after years of lobbying from community members, would be killed due to low ridership. In July, the 3.5-mile route—which runs from the Ash-

land Orange Line station to Lake Meadows Shopping Center—saw an average of only 298 trips taken per weekday, far short of the CTA’s target of 830. (On the other hand, ridership averaged 674 trips a day last November, when CPS and universities were in session.)

Boosters from the Bridgeport Alliance, the Coalition for a Better Chinese American Community, and the Active Transporta- J

SCHIZOPHRENIA: Marijuana was the drug most likely to convert to permanent psychotic disorder, schizophrenia, or bipolar disorder, nearly 1/2 half the time: Niemi-Pynttari JA, et al. (2013). Substance-induced psychoses converting into schizophrenia: a register-based study of 18,478 Finnish inpatient cases. J Clin Psychiatry, 74(1), e94-9. Starzer, MSK, Nordentoft M, Hjorthoj C (2018) Rates and predictors of Conversion to Schizophrenia or Bipolar Disorder Following Substance-Induced Psychosis.

Am j Psychiatry, 175(4), 343-350 CBD: a derivative of marijuana, is promoted as a miracle cure, but needs to be treated with skepticism. Much that is sold as CBD is not pure. Its interactions with other drugs are not well publicized. https://www.drugs.com/npp/marijuana.html CRASHES: The driver responsible for the death of Amando Chavez, a father of four, in Schaumburg August 15 was allegedly under the influence of marijuana. https://www. dailyherald.com/news/20180817/prosecutor-speeding-driver-in-fatal-schaumburg-crashspent-day-smoking-weed

Protect Your Brain SEPTEMBER 6, 2018 - CHICAGO READER 5

Never miss a show again.

THE

MEXICAN 1967

celebrating

51

!

YEARS Thanks to Ya’ll

!

just steps from the Dempster “L” stop

Tue - Sat 10 - 6 847-475-8665

801 Dempster Evanston

6 CHICAGO READER - SEPTEMBER 6, 2018

EARLY WARNINGS Find a concert, buy a ticket, and sign up to get advance notice of Chicago’s essential music shows at chicagoreader.com/early.

CITY LIFE continued from 5 tion Alliance were distraught. They’d argued that the pilot never really had a chance when it ran only on weekdays from 10 AM to 7 PM, making just two runs per hour in each direction. (Third Ward alderman Pat Dowell, however, was presumably pleased, since she’d written the CTA board asking it to end the test, insisting that the buses rather than the many single-occupant cars were to blame for traffic jams.)

Then last week I got a surprise notification from the CTA that the #31 had been given a new lease on life. Spokesman Brian Steele told me that the transit agency had changed its mind and that 31st Street bus service would continue—albeit with its current, anemic schedule—for the foreseeable future.

What happened to snatch the bus from the jaws of death?

“Over the last couple of days we’ve had some discussions in which we’ve identified some potential new avenues of support in the community, which could consist of financial support or something to help boost ridership,” Steele said. “So instead of just shutting it down, we felt the best thing to do was to continue service in the near future.” He declined to mention which entities are involved, but CTA president Dorval Carter recently mentioned IIT and Mercy Hospital as possible white knights.

Steele added that, depending on how the negotiations go, it’s possible that bus service could include more days, longer hours, more frequent runs, and/or a longer route, all of which could help boost ridership. There will be a meeting with one or more potential sponsors next week, and the CTA expects to provide an update in about two weeks.

He credited Bridgeport alderman Patrick Daley Thompson with pushing to save the #31.

“I think I was persuasive,” Daley Thompson told me. “I’m grateful to the CTA for giving this another chance, and optimistic that we can make this work. That being said, we need to control our destiny by growing riderships, finding a sponsor, or finding new funding.”

He added that while the City Council passed a new ride-hailing fee last year to fund CTA infrastructure, the most sustainable funding solution would be a grant from the state government, which cut Chicago-area transit funding as part of the 2017 budget deal.

Active Transportation’s Julia Gerasimenko said her group is heartened by the news, but argued that the #31 pilot should have been more robust in the first place “in order

“This fiasco highlights the bigger issue of a lack of coordinated transparent, communitybased, long-term planning by the city and its agencies, if you can say one thing one day and another the next.”

—Debbie Liu, Coalition for a Better Chinese American Community

to be set up for success and sustainably maintained as a permanent route.” But she echoed the alderman’s sentiments about funding: “We will continue to advocate for transportation funding to be prioritized on the state and city levels so that CTA will not have to pick and choose between equally important community mobility needs.”

Quade Gallagher of the Bridgeport Alliance was also critical of how the pilot was conducted. “Bridgeport Alliance does not find it acceptable to run a flawed pilot program and call that giving us a chance,” he said. “CTA, the city of Chicago, and the state of Illinois need to fund the bus so it can actually serve the community—and create budgets that put people and planet over profit.” Still, he conceded that seeking outside funding from Mercy Hospital and IIT as a way to expand the pilot “is better than nothing.”

Debbie Liu of the CBCAC said she was pleased that the 31st Street bus will be running for the start of the CPS school year, but she also had some harsh words about the quickly alternating bad and good news from the CTA that has made the bus service seem more like a roller-coaster ride.

Said Liu, “This fiasco highlights the bigger issue of a lack of coordinated transparent, community-based, long-term planning by the city and its agencies, if you can say one thing one day and another the next.” v

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

l

l

FOOD & DRINK

ETTA | $$$ R 1840 W. North 312-757-4444 ettarestaurant.com

RESTAURANT REVIEW

At Etta, chef Danny Grant plays with fire at a cooler price point

Left: the hearth; top: “Fire Pie,” with guanciale, giardiniera, chile de arbol, and Jimmy Nardello peppers é ANJALI PINTO

The talent behind Maple & Ash’s Gold Coast excess lands in Bucktown.

By MIKE SULA

I

was suffering from mental gout two and a half years ago when the Gold Coast’s Maple & Ash opened in the midst of a citywide steak-house glut.

After I proved unable to face another expense-account feedlot, Julia Thiel sol-

diered on in my place as I treated my symptoms with white rice and raw ginger.

She noticed, right off the bat, the $145 “I Don’t Give a F*ck” tasting menu, which seems to sum up everything you need to know about the kind of guest the new What If Syndicate

was gunning for.

Yes, Maple & Ash is priced out of the reach of most Chicagoans, but the group had tapped chef Danny Grant of the late, great Ria and Balsan, and he managed to establish the restaurant as a newcomer that distin-

guished itself from steak-house orthodoxy by being worth it for a special occasion—if you gave a f*ck.

And if you still do, it was compelling news that the group was opening Etta, in Bucktown, a less prohibitively priced outing that applies the steak house’s live-fire approach to a less meaty, more Mediterranean menu of pastas, pizzas, vegetables—and even a few alluring high-protein animals for the bloodmouths among us.

But are we now in the midst of an openhearth glut? Seems like over the last few years the restaurant scene has been swept by forest fires with the proliferation of the likes of Hyde Park’s the Promontory and the West Loop’s Roister, El Che, and Lena Brava, et al.

Is Etta just Pacific Standard Time northwest?

There a re sim ilarities. Grant’s tiled wood-burning pizza oven operates in full view of a dining room that sits in the footprint left by the long-gone Southern (founded by What If partner Jim Lasky). A twinkly rooftop opened in the waning days of summer, and on most nights Etta was booked a week out, thick with groves of stick-thin hipsters, stilettoed blond divorce parties, and the odd Wicker Park family unit try- J

SEPTEMBER 6, 2018 - CHICAGO READER 7

Search the Reader’s online database of thousands of Chicago-area restaurants—and add your own review—at chicagoreader.com/food.

FOOD & DRINK

Meatballs with pecorino; raspberry galette with Earl Grey ice cream é ANJALI PINTO

continued from 7

ing to get some pizza in Caitlyn and Tanner before bedtime.

But Etta’s appeal cuts across demographics. There’s a smoky ghost in the air, and Grant lays a char on much of the menu, which is alive with bright flashes of sweet, acidic, and glutamic f lavors. The omnipresent meatball starter features crusty-topped, blackened pork orbs flecked with chile and smothered in a thick tomato sauce with a lattice of browned pecorino atop. A crock of “bubbling” shrimp simmers in a crucible filled with tomato, mint, bread crumbs, and butter that almost takes on a cheeselike texture in the heat, though that treatment does no favors for the petite oysters obliterated by liquid tomato butter.

Dishes such as these are served with a thin, crackerlike “hearth-roasted bread” (um, pita?) that’s tasty but not terribly useful for sopping up the sauces left after a chewy charred octopus in a mint-and-vinegar-laced Viet take on panzanella, or a molten crock of buttery potato puree lashed with chicken drippings.

But the real achievement in terms of bread

8 CHICAGO READER - SEPTEMBER 6, 2018

Skate with lemon, butter, and capers é ANJALI PINTO

at Etta is the lovely pizzas with heat-stippled underskirts and soft, almost Neapolitan nuclei. Among them is one that may yet prove to be Chicago’s greatest contribution to the pizza arts, not deep-dish or tavern style, but

“Fire Pie,” topped simply with a judicious application of finely minced giardiniera alongside guanciale, chile de arbol, and sweet Jimmy Nardello peppers.

Pastas are rich and often dressed just to

the point of excess. Tightly coiled al dente cavatelli in a sauce too wet and tomatoey to accurately be called bolognese is nonetheless a greedy pleasure, and the same goes for soft squid-ink mafaldine wallowing in nduja butter and piled high with clams, crabmeat, and garlicky toasted focaccia crumbs.

Larger-format plates offer some hints of Maple & Ash-style excess in the “pig picnic” of pork belly and shoulder and the menu’s sole steak, a $68 rib-eye cap. But others offer simpler satisfactions: a whole roasted branzino, skin crisp as a chip, silky flesh at home with lemon, butter, and capers (and priced $16 cheaper than its counterpart at the steak house). Lush lamb practically drips from neck bones oozing fat and marrow, beautifully balanced with a yogurt-slashed arugula salad and some murkily delicious green, wax, and runner beans, providing soulful reassurance rarely offered on the Gold Coast.

Aya Fukai’s desserts for now are mostly as ephemeral as the summer, including in late August a shortcake that seemed like it had languished too long before serving but was perked up with blueberries and whipped cream. Tannic Earl Grey ice cream reins in the sugary attitude of a juicier raspberry galette.

The wine list hovers mostly in the $40 to $50 range, while even more affordable house reds, white, and rosés are available by the full and three-quarters liter. Cocktails are sometimes indistinguishable from each other, with thick brown-and-stirred drinks like the bourbon-based (ew) Banana Hammock not much separated from the rummy Have Mercy. Same goes for fruitier mixes like the rye-and-masala Golden Triangle and the just nominally herbaceous Green With Envy—gin, basil, and matcha subsumed by simple syrup.

They’re all sweet.

Wicker Park has been swallowing $12 cocktails since the Violet Hour opened 12 years ago, so I’m in no way arguing that Etta is some kind of oasis of in a food desert. But relative to the excess of Maple & Ash, it’s still a relatively good value—and a lower gateway to appreciating the work of one of the city’s more talented chefs. v

m @MikeSula

l

l

R

PRETTY COOL ICE CREAM | $

2353 N. California 773-697-4140 prettycoolicecream.com

FOOD & DRINK Clockwise from upper left: blackberrybuttermilk, lemon-buttermilk, grape party pop, Arnold Palmer truck pop, coffee-pretzel-toffee-custard bar, green-apple party pop é MIKE SULA

ONE BITE

The blissfully anti-Happy Place

Ace pastry chef Dana Salls Cree returns with Pretty Cool Ice Cream.

By MIKE SULA

A

fun thing I did this summer was don sackcloth and sit outside the Happy Place pop-up exhibition, offering to reveal the exact time and cause of death for each person that exited. I didn’t end up in many selfies, but I did my best to reset an appreciation for the malignant horror of the moment.

A more genuine Instagram trap opened in the waning days of summer that has me feeling more cheerful. Pretty Cool Ice Cream

is a twee Logan Square ice cream parlor from Dana Salls Cree, the ace pastry chef and author of last year’s cookbook Hello, My Name Is Ice Cream, whose talents could previously only be appreciated with reservations to posh spots like Noma, Alinea, Blackbird, Avec, and various other outposts in the One Off Hospitality empire. A few years ago Cree teased the masses with the potential of going retail with her flavored milks, yogurts, and frozen treats at the never-realized 1871 Dairy, but until now her work was a rare indulgence.

There’s no scooping at Pretty Cool, which traffics strictly in novelty pops that are at once inventive and nostalgic. The variety is dazzling: mustered like soldiers in the frozen display cases, the offerings include chocolatecovered custard bars (caramel-potato chip, coffee-pretzel-toffee); dairy-free “truck pops” unlikely to encourage “Turkey in the Straw” earworms (cherry-pineapple, pink lemonade); vegan “plant pops” (banana-horchata, matcha-mint); kid-size “pony pops” (cookie monster, bubble gum); fruity buttermilk-based bars (roasted nectarine, black raspberry); and lysergically colored party pops coated in vivid magic shell and sprinkles.

It’s an almost overwhelming selection that almost led to a panic attack during my first visit, which I staved off on a follow-up with a cooler that I packed with everything from a “MacArthur Park”-worthy green-apple party pop to the very adult Arnold Palmer to the peach-buttermilk bar with its keen fermented tang.

This is all set in a kid-friendly Wonkaesque environment with magnetized lettering on the walls and bamboo bleachers like the story room in a children’s library. The bubblegum-pink facade also looks in on the kitchen, where you can watch Cree and company in production and R&D modes, which has already led to disruptions like peanut butterbanana-hemp doggy pops and wild huckleberry bars made with Washington State fruit that are likely to keep this happy place’s Instagram tags populated all winter long. v

m @MikeSula SEPTEMBER 6, 2018 - CHICAGO READER 9

10 CHICAGO READER - SEPTEMBER 6, 2018

l

l

DEREK ERDMAN IS HAVING A SHOW Back from eight years in Seattle, the artist/writer/ prankster plans his formal reintroduction to Chicago.

By ANNA WHITE

I

f you look closely at the flyers stapled to your neighborhood telephone poles, you might spot a colorful counterpart to the city’s anti-rat posters. They’re nearly identical to the originals but instead of warning against the rodents, they urge Chicagoans to GIVE THE RATS A FREE MEAL & SAY HELLO. The culprit behind these copycat posters is artist Derek Erdman—best known for his candy-colored paintings of miscellaneous pop ephemera: burgers and Ouija boards and curling-cord telephones and nuns blowing bubble gum.

After eight years in Seattle, Erdman, who’s 44, returned to Chicago last October with his partner, photographer Ashley Armitage. Ten months later, he still has yet to have a formal art show—until now. “This show’s going to be sort of a coming-out show in Chicago,” says Erdman.

Though he and Armitage have hosted exhibitions in their home before, this one takes place in a less domestic “Living Room,” a realty office turned gallery shared with Girls Rock Chicago’s headquarters (where 10 percent of the show’s profits will go).

The show is called “A Young Person’s Guide to Hot & Sour,” a title borrowed from a tape Erdman made “a really long time ago” of microcassette recordings “transferred to a CD in an electric storm.” Though seemingly nonsensical, the title illuminates the theme of the show: duality.

“It’s about right and wrong and the moral compass,” says Erdman. “The majority of the paintings are about that, things that are bad, things that are good.” The show features Erdman’s newest works, large paintings that depict scenes rather than individual portraits.

J

SEPTEMBER 6, 2018 - CHICAGO READER 11

continued from 11 Part of why it’s taken this long for Erdman to put together his inaugural Chicago gallery show is that he waited for a gallery to reach out to him, rather than engaging in the self-promotion typical of artists. “I wouldn’t say I’m bad at hustling, but I’m a little shy,” he says. “It’s hard for me to pitch things.” This seems inconsistent with his work, which comes across as anything but shy—he was recently served a cease and desist order from Kylie Jenner’s attorney after selling T-shirts that read KILL AND EAT KYLIE JENNER and now includes a copy of the letter with every purchase.

I grew up in Seattle, so even before I learned his name I’d seen Erdman’s art around for years, hung on the walls

12 CHICAGO READER - SEPTEMBER 6, 2018

of the Capitol Hill hangout Little Oddfellows cafe or used as album art for an early release by Hardly Art favorites Tacocat. His work seemed synonymous with the selfaware playfulness of Seattle, where bedazzled femmepunk reigns on high and the calculated anti-cool of Sub Pop records pervades. Erdman’s move back to Chicago, where he’d lived in the 90s and aughts, took Seattle by surprise. Faced with a changing city that was rapidly becoming unrecognizable to him, Erdman felt it was time to go. The alt-weekly the Stranger (where Erdman worked as a writer and illustrator) referred to his departure as a “local tragedy,” and Death Cab for Cutie’s Ben Gibbard included an ode to Erdman on his newest album, Thank You for Today, in the form of the song “You Moved Away.”

l

l

Derek Erdman é ASHLEY ARMITAGE

“A YOUNG PERSONS GUIDE TO HOT & SOUR” 9/8-9/22, Living Room Realty, 1530 W. Superior, 312-226-3020, livingroomrealty.com.

Opening Sat 9/8, 7-11 PM. F.

Erdman sees the move back to Chicago as a welcome challenge, and a chance for his work to evolve. Though he forfeited his status as local celebrity in leaving the insular Seattle arts scene, he now has a chance to start over in a new environment. “This place has a style. The street art has a style. It’s a little defeatist, it’s a little negative,” Erdman says of Chicago. “I would say it pokes fun more at other people than itself, and Seattle pokes fun more at itself.”

Erdman hasn’t necessarily had a hard time adjusting, but he’s still processing the transition to moving back to a city with a rat problem, a city with a strange emptiness.

One way he’s been doing this is through poking fun at the flaws—printing out hundreds of the pro-rat posters and stapling them all over Chicago, and creating mock advertisements for another “eternally empty storefront” coming soon to Logan Square. “Creating those things was kind of my way of getting used to the city,” he says.

There can be a giddy anonymity in living in a big city, an ability to move under the radar that you’re not afforded when living somewhere more compact, and Erdman has been taking full advantage of this: “You can secretly make this city your own. You can get away with stuff, and nobody might notice it. And if it does get noticed, there’s a big chance it might not be attributed to you.” In the face of a police force with bigger problems to deal with than pranksters, Erdman has been testing the limits—messing with the street lights on his block, adopting a tag depicting a waving hand that reads HI! He laughs as he tells me about it. “I’ve never tagged before,” he says. “I’m a fucking fully grown adult, I should not be tagging.”

Though tagging is a new development, Erdman has long been a fan of pranks—a full section of his income tax form was once money earned from his “revenge raps,” a service where Erdman would record prank phone calls under the alter ego Rap Master Maurice. The calls were directed at those who had wronged clients to “get back at [the offender] but not in a shitty way.” The HI! tags and revenge

raps carry a similar ethos that I feel is central to Erdman’s personality—he’s playful to the point of irreverence but never malicious, always with a friendly edge.

Erdman’s works also serve a purely aesthetic purpose, intended to be able to stand alone without always conveying a pointed message: “I started painting for decoration

because I wanted to decorate my house, hence this house being full of my own paintings.” His Logan Square home is covered in his and Armitage’s works, wall-to-wall colorful prints accented by woolly rugs and potted plants with large, flat leaves. His home is both personal gallery and studio; Erdman paints in the basement using tubs of J

SEPTEMBER 6, 2018 - CHICAGO READER 13

continued from 13 house paint and a projector that looks like it came from a middle-school science classroom.

Erdman has an affinity for art’s relationship to the everyday, as evidenced through his use of art as decoration. His work has a characteristic visual boldness and artistic simplicity that come from the memorabilia he grew up loving.

“I think a lot of my influence came from record [albums],”

14 CHICAGO READER - SEPTEMBER 6, 2018

says Erdman, citing their square shape and direct imagery as inspiration: “This image will hit you on the head, put it in your living room.” Erdman’s love of records has further manifested itself in other aspects of his professional life, in side projects and day jobs: he worked as a receptionist at Seattle’s Sub Pop Records, and co-owned Hyde Park Records at 53rd and Dorchester for nearly four years.

Moving forward, Erdman wants to cut down on the side

projects and concentrate on one thing at a time. “There was a time in my life where I wanted to do everything, and now I just want to slow it down and make fewer, grander things.” “A Young Person’s Guide to Hot & Sour” is a move toward this. But of course it maintains his signature playful delinquency. v

m @annnaclaire

l

l

RIP Phil Ochs, who declared himself dead in 1968 Chicago Looking back at the radical folk singer who never pulled his punches

By RYAN SMITH

Phil Ochs during a 1967 Vietnam war protest outside the United Nations building in New York é MICHAEL OCHS

W

when Phil Ochs put an image of his own tombstone on the cover of his 1969 album Rehearsal for Retirement, it might have seemed like a dark joke.

The gravestone—which carries the inscription “Born El Paso, Texas; Died Chicago, IL, 1968” underneath a black-and-white photo of Ochs in front of an American flag, rifle slung over his shoulder—was an obvious reference to the folk singer’s role in the bloody protests outside the Democratic National Convention 50 years ago this August. Ochs was in Chicago to help plan and participate in the Yippies’

(i.e., the Youth International Party’s) Festival of Life protest in Lincoln Park. He was among a core group of organizers arrested as they tried to publicize their own candidate for president, a pig.

Ochs witnessed all of the violence and chaos in Chicago while the Democratic establishment, guarded by a small army of Mayor Richard J. Daley’s troops, chose pro-Vietnam-war candidate Hubert Humphrey. The singer saw it as the “final death of democracy in America.”

“It was the total, final takeover of the fascist military state—in one city, at least,” Ochs said in an interview in New

York shortly after the DNC. “Chicago was just a total, absolute police state. A police state from top to bottom. I mean, it was totally controlled and vicious.”

Certainly, Ochs didn’t perish. Nor was he one of the hundreds of anti-war protesters hurt in melees with police and the National Guard that week. What he and many of his peers in the New Left suffered instead was a kind of spiritual death.

“I’ve always tried to hang on to the idea of saving the country, but at this point, I could be persuaded to destroy it,” Ochs said at the time. “For the first time, I feel this way.”

J

SEPTEMBER 6, 2018 - CHICAGO READER 15

continued from 15

IF THE MUSIC OF PHIL OCHS doesn’t ring a bell, you’re not alone. History has a way of sanitizing, obscuring, or just plain omitting much of the protest music of the past. Woody Guthrie’s “This Land Is Your Land,” for instance, wasn’t a paean to our republic but a defiant Marxist response to Irving Berlin’s “God Bless America.” The radical pro-labor and anti-war tunes contained in the Industrial Workers of the World’s Little Red Songbook are all but unknown today.

Same goes for Ochs. He wrote eight albums of fierce and fiery folk songs before he died by his own hand in 1976, but his legacy has been papered over when we think of the protest music of the tumultuous 60s. When Lady Gaga asked, “Anybody know who Phil Ochs is?” before covering his 1967 ballad “The War Is Over” at a free concert during the 2016 Democratic National Convention, it got a lackluster response.

It’s no wonder: Ochs pulled no punches. When the student newspaper at Ohio State University refused to publish some of his pieces, he started his own underground magazine called the Word. During his early musical career—as part of a duo called the Singing Socialists and then as a solo artist— Ochs’s songs often sounded like left-wing columns on current events set to music. Bob Dylan once famously kicked him out of his car during an argument saying, “You’re not a folk singer, you’re a journalist.” Ochs never denied it—his first album for Elektra in 1964 was titled All the News That’s Fit to Sing, a play on the New York Times’s tagline, and the songs were written about topics he allegedly pulled from the pages of Newsweek magazine.

Many of his lyrics, as one might expect, take direct aim at reactionary conservatives and the architects of the Vietnam war: “We’ve got too much money we’re looking for toys. / And guns will be guns and boys will be boys. / But we’ll gladly pay for all we destroy. / ’Cause we’re the Cops of the World, boys,” he sang on “Cops of the World.”

Other tracks hold up a mirror to moderate liberals and implicate them in the excesses of American empire and systems of inequality and institutional racism. Ochs’s scathing 1966 song “Love Me, I’m a Liberal” mocks hypocritical Democrats he describes as “ten degrees to the left of center in good times, ten degrees to the right of center if it affects them personally.”

Sung from the perspective of a liberal, he croons the lyrics: “I love Puerto Ricans and Negroes, as long as they don’t move next door. / So love me, love me, love me, I’m a liberal.”

Mass-market success eluded Ochs his entire career. His most popular LP, a 1966 live album, peaked at 150 on the Billboard charts. But he was an influential presence at folk festivals and political rallies at college campuses all over the country. It was while visiting UC Berkeley to perform at a teach-in during the Free Speech Movement protests in 1965 that Ochs met and befriended Jerry Rubin, one of the founders of the Yippies.

It was Rubin who convinced Ochs to play music at the Festival of Life, the Yippies’ theatrical spoof of the DNC in Chicago. “[The festival] was to show the public, the media, that the convention was not to be taken seriously because it wasn’t fair, and wasn’t going to be honest, and wasn’t going to be a Democratic convention,” Ochs later testified in court.

To show their contempt for the American political system, the Yippies vowed to nominate their own Democratic candidate—one of the swine kind. Abe Peck of the underground

16 CHICAGO READER - SEPTEMBER 6, 2018

The cover of Phil Ochs’s 1969 album Rehearsals for Retirement

paper the Chicago Seed told the New York Times that after the nomination, they were “going to roast [the pig] and eat him.

For years, the Democrats have been nominating a pig and then letting the pig devour them. We plan to reverse the process.”

Ochs and several other Yippies traveled to various farms in the Chicago area before the convention to pick out what Judy Gumbo, in her 2008 memoir Yippie Girl, called “the largest, smelliest, most repulsive hog we could find.” The black-andwhite, 145-pound pig, dubbed Pigasus, was taken to the Chicago Civic Center for a press conference on August 23. Five Yippies—including Rubin and Ochs—were arrested as they were taking Pigasus out of the truck, and the presidential hog hopeful was taken to the Chicago Humane Society. All humans were released after posting a $25 bond each.

The crowds at the five-day Festival of Life averaged between 8,000 and 10,000, nowhere near the 15,000 that organizers expected. Many were scared off by Daley’s saber rattling. A week before the convention, the city of Chicago turned downtown into a combat zone, with a special 300-strong CPD task force armed with riot gear. “No one is going to take over the streets,” said Daley. After the Yippies were denied a permit by the city, the Chicago Seed advised activists not to come: “Don’t come to Chicago if you expect a five-day festival of life, music, and love.

The word is out. Chicago may host a festival of blood.”

“Daley’s preconvention terror tactics were a success in keeping out large numbers of people. For instance, his threats to set up large-scale concentration camps,” Ochs said later.

“Daley issued many statements like that, very threatening statements, and these succeeded in keeping a lot of people

away. But the people who did show up were the toughest, really, and the most dedicated.”

Few countercultural artists and musicians came either.

Ochs invited Pete Seeger, Judy Collins, Paul Simon, and others to perform, but he was the only folk singer to show. As he sang “I Ain’t Marching Anymore,” hundreds of protesters burned their draft cards.

The only rock band to appear at the Festival of Life was the MC5, a radical leftist group managed by John Sinclair, a Yippie who’d formed the White Panthers—an organization of white allies to the Black Panthers.

Ochs came to believe that his peers didn’t see the DNC protests as a “worthwhile project”: “There really hasn’t been that much involvement of folk people and rock people in the movement since the Civil Rights period except that one period where the anti-war action became in vogue and safe, you know, large numbers of people and all that publicity, and then they showed up,” Ochs said.

“I’m sure everybody was afraid. I was afraid.”

As it turns out, there was plenty to fear. Especially on Wednesday, August 28, the day that most people think about when they recall the 1968 convention. Early that morning protesters agitated along the east side of Michigan Avenue across from the Conrad Hilton Hotel, where the Democratic delegates were staying. That included Ochs, who wore a flag pin on his suit jacket.

“Phil was born in El Paso, Texas, and really loves America,” Gumbo later said. “Even when he’s being gassed along with the rest of us.”

l

l

Ochs also tried to engage with the young National Guardsmen pointing their bayoneted rifles toward the sky, Gumbo later recalled: “As we walk, Phil introduces himself to the impressed guardsmen and asks if they’ve ever heard his songs. Like ‘I Ain’t Marching Anymore.’ Many nod. “‘I once spent $10 to go to one of your concerts,’ one complains. ‘I’ll never do that again.’

“In 1968, $10 was a lot of money. Phil stops and talks directly to the guy, explaining why he is opposed to the war. The Guardsman starts to smile, and even lowers his rifle a little bit, very appreciative that a celebrity like Phil is speaking to him like a real person.”

But the smiles soon disappeared as about 3,000 protesters tried to march and the police didn’t let them and some of them started throwing rocks, sticks, and sometimes feces. What ensued was a 17-minute melee in front of the hotel between the marchers and a force that included some 12,000 Chicago police in addition to the 6,000 army troops and 5,000 National Guardsmen that had been called to protect Chicago on the orders of Mayor Daley. Officers beat activists bloody in the streets of Chicago with nightsticks—live on national TV. It was called the Battle of Michigan Avenue, a nickname used to describe a one-sided affair that a government commission later declared to be a “police riot.” In all, 100 protesters and 119 cops were treated for injuries and about 600 protesters were arrested.

A public poll taken two months later found that more people thought the police had used too little rather than too much force, 25 to 19 percent. Many Chicagoans were on Daley’s side, which disturbed Ochs: “The Chicagoans were unable to recognize that this was a national convention. They literally, psychologically couldn’t.

They kept thinking, ‘This is our city, our convention.’ When it’s a national election they’re talking about,” he said. “I’m really

beginning to question the basic sanity of the American public. . . . I think more and more politicians are really becoming pathological liars, and I think many members of the public are.

I think the Daily News, Tribune poisoning that comes out is literally creating—and television—all the media are creating a really mentally ill, unbalanced public.”

But Ochs also left Chicago feeling unbalanced and disillusioned with the idea that the system could be repaired or reformed.

“Maybe America is the final end of the biblical prophecy: We’re all going to end up in fire this time. America represents the absolute rule of money, just absolute money controlling everything to the total detriment of humanity and morals. It’s not so much the rule of America as it is the rule of money. And the money happens to be in America. And that combination is eating away at everybody. It destroys the souls of everybody that it touches, beginning with the people in power,” he said.

This sense of despondency was reflected in his music. Many of Ochs’s anthems were critical of American society while nonetheless anchored in a kind of can-do optimism. But in mid-1969, the man who once sang “Can’t add my name into the fight while I’m gone / So I guess I’ll have to do it while I’m here” released Rehearsal for Retirement, an entire album of what he called “despair music.”

In the funereal track “William Butler Yeats Visits Lincoln Park,” Ochs sang about the bleak scene in Chicago at the Democratic National Convention: “They spread their sheets upon the ground just like a wandering tribe. / And the wise men walked in their Robespierre robes. / When the fog rolled in and the gas rolled out. / In Lincoln Park the dark was burning.”

Ochs wouldn’t return to Chicago until almost a year after the Festival of Life, to testify in the trial of the so-called Chicago Eight. They were the main organizers of the protests— including Rubin and Yippies cofounder Abbie Hoffman, and

members of the Students for a Democratic Society, the National Mobilization Committee, and Bobby Seale of the Black Panthers—charged with conspiracy to cross state lines with intent to incite a riot.

The trial was a circuslike spectacle, and Ochs’s testimony was no different. Defense lawyer William Kunstler asked him discursive questions about Pigasus (“Mr. Ochs, can you describe the pig which was finally bought?”), had Ochs deny that he’d made plans for public sex acts in Lincoln Park, and until the defense objected tried to get him to play his song “I Ain’t Marching Anymore” in front of the judge and jury. The trial dragged on for months, and Ochs returned to Chicago in December 1969 to play the so-called Conspiracy Stomp, a benefit for the Chicago Eight at the Aragon.

The criminal and contempt charges against the Chicago Eight were eventually overturned or dropped, but the FBI escalated its attempt to build a case against Ochs. “I’m a folk singer for the FBI,” he told an audience during one show.

Special agents monitored his travels in person and received updates from foreign authorities when, for example, he flew to Chile to meet with supporters of Salvador Allende, a socialist elected in 1970. (After Ochs’s death in 1976, the FBI declassified the 420-plus-page file they kept on him, with information including the claim that a lyric about assassinating the president from Rehearsal for Retirement’s “Pretty Smart on My Part” was a threat against President Nixon.)

Ironically, the FBI had increasingly less justification to do so. Ochs considered leaving the country at the end of 1968, but instead moved to Los Angeles and drastically changed his act.

The tactics of the Yippies, he came to believe, were ineffective at effecting change. Instead, believe it or not, he turned to Elvis Presley.

In Gunfight at Carnegie Hall, a concert album recorded at Carnegie Hall in New York on March 27, 1970, Ochs dressed in an Elvis-style flashy gold-lamé suit and sang medleys of covers of the King and Buddy Holly. He laid out his new philosophy in a monologue to the audience: “As you know, I died in Chicago. I lost my life and I went to heaven because I was very good and sang very lyrical songs.

And I got to talk to God and he said, ‘Well, what do you want to do? You can go back and be anyone you want.’ So I thought, Who do I want to be? And I thought I wanted to be the guy who was the king of pop, the king of show business, Elvis Presley.

“If there’s any hope for America, it lies in a revolution. If there’s any hope for a revolution in America, it lies in getting Elvis Presley into becoming Che Guevera. If you don’t do that, you’re just beating your head against the wall—or the cop down the street will beat your head against the wall. We have to discover where he is, he’s the ultimate American artist.”

But Ochs’s Elvis-impersonator act bombed even as the singer begged the crowd to be more open-minded, pleading, “Don’t be narrow-minded like Spiro Agnew.”

Over the course of the 70s, the singer fell into mental illness, depression, and alcoholism. He killed himself on April 9, 1976, at the age of 35. Ochs’s real passing came almost exactly seven years after he’d announced his death on vinyl in early May 1969.

The tombstone wasn’t meant as a prophecy. It was a lament for the past. v

m @RyanSmithWriter SEPTEMBER 6, 2018 - CHICAGO READER 17

ARTS & CULTURE

THEATER

How does that make you feel?

Erasing the Distance’s DocFest puts mental health center stage.

SMOKEYBEAR.COM

18 CHICAGO READER - SEPTEMBER 6, 2018

ION OF STA IAT TE OC

TERS RES FO

Only YOU Can Prevent Wildfires.

NATIONAL A SS

Wannapa Pimtong-Eubanks é CORY DEWALD

FO

U N D E D 192

0

IN EARLY SEPTEMBER, the documentary theater company Erasing the Distance will open its doors to the public for a series of events aimed at promoting discussions about mental health and well-being.

“We know, statistically speaking, that mental health issues are more prevalent than cancer and heart disease combined,” says artistic director Heather Bodie. “Oftentimes there isn’t a single person in the audience who hasn’t either experienced something themselves, or is related to someone, or knows of someone one degree away.”

Like the shows Erasing the Distance tailors for private audiences in schools, community organizations, and places of worship, the second annual DocFest will feature two full-length productions based on transcripts of people telling frank stories about the way trauma reverberates in the classroom setting (Learning 101) and the way the body’s menstrual cycle factors into mental health (Over the Moon). Each performance will be preceded by a monologue; the series explores a wide range of issues, including PTSD, depression, and eating disorders.

“Our goal is to be the jumping-off point to get the conversation started,” says Bodie.

And with an experienced clinician licensed in the relevant topic on-site, audiences will have an opportunity to engage with the material after each performance through a Q&A in a safe, supportive environment. “The talkback can almost function like act two . . . The sharing that happens is often really candid,” says Bodie.

DOCFEST

Through 9/16: Thu-Sun, various times; see website, Strawdog Theatre Company, 1802 W. Berenice, 872-5291383, erasingthedistance. org, $15 in advance, $20 at the door, $13 students, $45 festival pass.

Additionally, audiences will have the option to attend up to three free interactive 90-minute workshops about the physiology of trauma (Beto Chavez, 9/8), the effect of different foods on our brains (Sheila Petersen, 9/9), and the use of movements inspired by Japanese butoh as an aid in storytelling (Wannapa Pimtong-Eubanks, 9/16). —DAN JAKES

l

l

R READER RECOMMENDED

b ALL AGES

F

ARTS & CULTURE Black Boy Joy é TEEN CUDI

THEATER

A mother’s Big Giant Love

Her teenager comes out as trans, and all she can say is “What about me?”

Maureen Muldoon is a captivating storyteller. From the opening moments of her one-woman show, the inaugural production in Madison Street Theatre’s Power of One solo series, she captures our attention and keeps it with an hour’s worth of rambling autobiographical musings, mixed in with bits of song and some performance poetry. Muldoon, a contemporary suburban mom, broods on how to respond to her daughter’s announcement, via a sign on the bedroom door, that she identifies as pansexual and transgender and prefers the pronouns “he,” “him,” and “his.” Entertaining as the monologue is, one leaves it feeling dissatisfied, as if there’s more she could—or should—have included in her stories.

Muldoon spends much of the show reflecting on her own life: growing up Catholic in New Jersey, coping as a teen with her mother’s early death from cancer, trying (and failing) as an adolescent to reconcile the church’s puritanical teachings on sex and sexuality with her own awakening desires. What we don’t hear much about is the child whose own spiritual and sexual journey has led him to identify as trans. Muldoon provides a few glimpses into his life, including a sentimentalized recollection of his childhood and a charming albeit brief more recent conversation in which he announces, wittily, that he wants to be like pizza, able to be enjoyed by all. Ultimately, the child remains a cipher, however, and his search for sexual identity—of which we hear almost nothing—only serves to remind his mother of her own life and crises.

—JACK HELBIG BIG GIANT LOVE Through 9/23:

Fri-Sat 8 PM, Sun 3 PM (no performance Sun 9/16), Madison Street Theatre, 1010 Madison St., Oak Park, 708-628-7003, mstoakpark.com, $15.

R

The world could use some more Black Boy Joy

Comics Devin Middleton and Jordan Stafford send up race without pulling punches.

The Annoyance Theatre is a low-key haunt where improvisers and other comedians incubate new, unexpected material. Sharing DNA with Antoinette Nwandu’s critically acclaimed drama Pass Over, the comedic sketch show Teen Cudi Presents Black Boy Joy showcases young black men as lighthearted, silly, and carefree—a rare and refreshing take to see onstage or -screen.

Written and performed by up-and-coming comedians Devin Middleton and Jordan Stafford and directed

by Atra Asdou, this show strikes the perfect balance, sending up race with levity without pulling punches.

Stafford has a hilarious deadpan delivery and real acting chops, while Middleton possesses a mellower version of the ebullient earnestness that served Chris Farley and Robin Williams so well.

Though the overall pacing could stand to be tightened up, the show picks up after the first third to successfully deliver an above-average number of laughs.

Many sketches tap-dance on the line between sincerity and comedy, sneaking up on the audience like a slowly heating pot of water that boils over into guffaws of recognition.

The sketches are linked by a cappella musical bits, a body-swap sketch with bros that delivers an unexpected take on a classic trope, and a delightfully clean take

on toilet humor. Smart energy buoys a funny exhaustion joke about a rapper, a scene about Hollister is a wrenchingly funny lampoon of retail, and an extremely well-played moment of vulnerability that comes out of left field lands the biggest laugh of the show. —SHERI FLANDERS BLACK BOY JOY Through 9/27: Thu 8 PM,

the Annoyance Theatre, 851 W. Belmont, 773-6979693, theannoyance.com, $10.

Are we the new Romans?

Fires of Nero explores this question without much subtlety.

Brand-new Phoenix Rising Productions flaps its wings with the world premiere of company writer-lyricist Aaron Woodstein’s episodic musical cum parable about one of history’s most terrible enfant terribles.

After Agrippa has her husband, Claudius, killed, clearing the way for her son Nero to ascend to emperor of Rome, a series of assassinations follows, related sometimes in song, other times through vigorous action sequences, and culminating in the Great Fire of Rome.

All the action plays out on a bare black-box stage, with only weapons, the odd chair, and a box on wheels— standing in for a funeral bier that’s used again and again as the body count climbs—for props. This leaves it to Woodstein’s text and the actors’ efforts to carry the entirety of the production, and neither are equal to the task. The script keeps moving from jokey banter to overserious philosophizing, never able to settle on a consistently effective tone to retell the ancient history that Woodstein obviously thinks is relevant to current events. Likewise, the toga- and garland-wearing cast never look like anything but children playing dress-up.

During the performance I attended, the audience guffawed at several scenes that were undoubtedly meant to be poignant or harrowing.

Telling the story of a man-child who acts only in his own narrow self-interest, damn the consequences, has become a cottage industry in the local theater scene the last couple years for obvious reasons, but simply invoking the monsters of the past doesn’t necessary illuminate much about our fraught and perilous present.

We don’t need any more song-and-dance revues to remind us that Rome is burning. Seth Wilson directed.

—DMITRY SAMAROV FIRES OF NERO: THE RISE OF

A DICTATOR Through 9/9: Thu-Fri 8 PM, Sat 2 and

8 PM, Sun 8 PM, Stage 773, 1225 W. Belmont, 773327-5252, phoenixrisingproductionsinc.com, $20, $15 students and seniors.

Family reunion

The Holocaust drama A Shayna Maidel takes the redemptive route.

Sometime around 1926, a middle-aged Jew named Mordechai Weiss flees Poland for the United States, taking

his four-year-old daughter Rose with him. Rose’s older sister, Lusia, has scarlet fever and can’t travel, so she stays back with Mama.

In theory, Lusia and Mama will join Rose and Mordechai later, but the years go by and for one reason and another—Mordechai is too tight to borrow the fare money, Mama doesn’t really want to travel, Lusia marries Duvid and has a baby—they don’t. Meanwhile, Rose grows into a “100 percent American” girl. And you know what happens to Mama, Lusia, Duvid, and the baby. When Lusia and Rose are finally reunited in 1946, Lusia is alone and has a death-camp number tattooed on her forearm.

A Shayna Maidel is almost necessarily compelling, given the awful antinomy at its core: this sister raised in plenty, that sister caught up in apocalypse. And playwright Barbara Lebow has ways of making the contrast especially painful. In one extraordinary scene, Mordechai and Lusia methodically compare notes—literal entries in pocket journals they keep—on the many dead and missing among their relatives and friends.

But Lebow also wants to make the pain go away.

So much so that she gives her 1985 drama an unearned happy ending that depends, first, on a miraculous homecoming and, second, on a lightning-fast change of heart.

Vanessa Stalling’s often satisfying staging for TimeLine Theatre doesn’t square this circle—and probably can’t.

There are two kinds of Holocaust narrative, after all: the kind, like Shoah, that sticks to the monstrous facts (“If you could lick my heart, it would poison you”), and the kind, like Schindler’s List, that’s committed to redemption. A Shayna Maidel is out for redemption. —TONY ADLER A SHAYNA MAIDEL Through 11/4: Wed-Thu

7:30 PM, Fri 8 PM, Sat 4 and 8 PM, Sun 2 PM, TimeLine Theatre, 615 W. Wellington, 773-281-8463, timelinetheatre.com, $40-$54. v

A Shayna Maidel é LARA GOETSCH

SEPTEMBER 6, 2018 - CHICAGO READER 19

SCHOOL OF LIFE (L’ÉCOLE BUISSONNIÈRE) sss Directed by Nicolas Vanier. In French with subtitles. 116 min. Fri 9/7-Thu 9/13, Gene Siskel Film Center, 164 N. State, 312-846-2800, siskelfilmcenter.org, $11.

ARTS & CULTURE

School of Life

MOVIES

Nature boy

The visually splendid School of Life follows an orphan’s immersion into the 1920s French countryside.

By ANDREA GRONVALL

S

chool of Life is a good if not exact translation of L’École Buissonnière, the original name of Nicolas Vanier’s latest family drama about embracing nature; the French title is an idiomatic expression that means playing truant or skipping school (or work) to revel outdoors.

A novelist, environmentalist, and educator widely known overseas for travel books and documentaries about his expeditions to Siberia, Alaska, and the Yukon, Vanier returns to Sologne, the rural region of north-central France where he grew up. Though set in the late 1920s, well before the 56-year-old filmmaker was born, the movie is a semiautobiographical celebration of the land and its flora and fauna and evokes the moral obligation to respect and protect it.

In 1927 Paris, when the French government was actively trying to find new homes for the great many children dislocated by World War I, scrappy 12-year-old orphan Paul (Jean Scandel) is fostered by Celestine (Valérie Karsenti), a servant in a 17th-century chateau, who transports him to the grand estate of the Count de la Fresnaye in the Loire Valley.

The youngster, suspicious of any kindness or affection, slowly lets his guard down as he finds an outlet for his intelligence and energy in the company of Celestine’s gruff husband, the count’s gamekeeper, Borel (Éric Elmosni-

ssss EXCELLENT

sss GOOD

no), and later in secret excursions with Borel’s nemesis, the even crustier poacher Totoche (François Cluzet). Like the kid, Totoche is something of a loner: he lives on a ramshackle houseboat, and his contact with humans is about as furtive as his livelihood. He has a nonchalant view of the law, explaining that the animals and fish he catches aren’t confined to any one property—one day they’re here, the next day they’ve traveled elsewhere. The count (François Berléand) takes a laissez-faire attitude toward Totoche’s activities, knowing that the man, however deceitful, is basically a good soul.

Paul gradually wears down Totoche’s defenses as the elder warms to his precocious new pupil’s eagerness to learn about nature and respond to its beauty. If this scenario sounds familiar, that’s because it’s a staple of international cinema, the most recent example being Taika Waititi’s 2016 comic adventure Hunt for the Wilderpeople, about a grumpy old widowed farmer and his journey across the New Zealand landscape with his irrepressible foster son. Vanier’s previous movie, Belle & Sebastian (2013), follows a grandfatherly codger in the French Alps, circa 1943, who teaches a seven-year-old orphan the skills and ethics of mountaineering so well that the urchin helps lead Jewish refugees across perilous snowbound ranges to safety in Switzerland.

ss AVERAGE

20 CHICAGO READER - SEPTEMBER 6, 2018

s POOR

•

But perhaps the film that School of Life most recalls is the 1967 hit The Two of Us, Claude Berri’s first narrative feature, about how the French countryside literally becomes a lifesaver for an eight-year-old Jewish boy dispatched incognito from Nazi-occupied Paris. Berri based the movie on his own childhood wartime experiences, and Michel Simon enjoyed a late-career comeback as the portly grizzled farmer with openly Petainist views who dotes on his little visitor without suspecting his true identity. In Vanier’s film, Totoche is another in the tradition of hearty French paysans (but minus the anti-Semitism). Secrets also surround young Paul’s background, though from the moment the youngster sets foot in Sologne his safety is never in doubt.

Vanier’s work is just as personal as Berri’s, but the difference is that School of Life doesn’t traffic in nostalgia. Although he presents several characters fondly, Vanier emphasizes seriousness of purpose over playfulness. Paul, already wise beyond his years because of his previously hard life, is coming of age, and his wonder at his surroundings fuels his deliberations about order and balance in the relations not just between man and nature but between man and man. You can spot the potential beginnings of a future in conservation in Paul’s gaze, which the camera follows, tilting upward and dizzily panning in search of birds

in the treetops, or tracking deer, boar, and the elusive, majestic 18-point stag the locals have enshrined in myth (Vanier holds postgraduate degrees in agriculture).

Cinematographer Éric Guichard, who shot Belle & Sebastian as well as the stunning Himalaya (directed by Eric Valli and Michel Debats), from 1999, and Seasons (directed by Jacques Perrin and Jacques Cluzaud), from 2015, has established himself as a director of nature photography par excellence. The visual splendors in School of Life underscore its message: that stewardship is a responsibility inextricable from a commitment to sustainability.

Both Borel and Totoche coach Paul in what is right to hunt and what is not and why. The sole villain is Bertrand (Thomas Durand), the count’s spoiled, bored, arrogant son and heir apparent, who takes his bourgeois buddies on shooting excursions to bag herons. He plans to fence off the domain once he controls it, thus curtailing the access of wildlife to habitats of their own choosing.

Publicizing the film a year ago around the time of its French premiere, Vanier created a flap when he claimed in an interview with L’Express that Sologne was being killed off by Parisians who had bought between 50,000 to 100,000 acres in the region, and who, by surrounding their new real estate with grillages (wire fencing), were effectively turning the magnificent forests into private zoos.

As did Claude Berri, Vanier has in his works come back again and again to deeply personal themes. In a 1987 interview with film critic and scholar David Sterritt, Berri stated, “Like Truffaut, I don’t think about what is more important, life or movies? I am making only one movie, and that movie is my life.” In L’École Buissonnière, Vanier once more returns to his career-long preoccupations with land and family. As he said in that 2017 L’Express article, “With this film, my challenge is showing this region as it is. She is all of my life. I have learned everything from nature.” v

WORTHLESS

l

l

CATVIDEOFEST

Sun 9/9, noon and 2:30 PM, Music Box Theatre, 3733 N. Southport, 773-871-6604, musicboxtheatre.com, $12, $9 seniors and children 12 and under.

ARTS & CULTURE

(!.* #!,+' ("*& !)#% '& ## *+

-$*' )&' /$"% &!-+' ("*& ##)#$ '& #%,$% *+

FESTIVAL

Cat videos are not a waste of time at all

Laugh at silly felines at the CatVideoFest while supporting their less fortunate fellow creatures.

By BRIANNA WELLEN

W

ill Braden knows how to say “cat,” “funny cat,” “cat fall,” and “cat fail” in more than 20 different languages. It’s a skill he acquired while plumbing the depths of YouTube to create reels for CatVideoFest, a touring event to celebrate cat videos and raise money for local animal shelters.

“It is a bit nebulous to use ‘cat videos’ as a term,” Braden says. “It’s a bit like defining every movie that takes place in Chicago as the same genre. I mean, yeah, they all have something in common, but they’re not all the same thing.” At the CatVideoFest, Braden highlights more artful and obscure cat videos alongside the traditional funny clips.

It took Braden a while to understand the appeal of cat videos—even the fan base that exploded around his own Henri, le Chat Noir, the webseries, about an existential tuxedo

cat, that he created in 2012. But once he saw crowds coming together to enjoy them firsthand at the first Internet Cat Video Festival back in 2012 (Henri, le Chat Noir won the Golden Kitty award), he ended up dedicating his life to running a new iteration of the festival: he took over as president in 2015 and has been working on it full-time ever since. Each year he sorts through tens of thousands of videos— some submitted by fans, some he’s discovered on his own—to provide even the most dedicated fans of cat videos with something they’ve never seen before.

The family-friendly festival, currently in the middle of a 14-city tour, comes to the Music Box Theatre this Sunday, September 9, for two screenings. A portion of ticket sales will go to Harmony House for Cats and Grassroots Animal Rescue. Staff from the shelters will

also be at the event to collect donations, sign up volunteers, and show off cats who are up for adoption. In years past a few furry friends looking for homes have made an appearance at the theater—and last year two cats went home with CatVideoFest viewers that same day.

Braden attributes the popularity and profitability of the festival to its charitable aspect.

Cat people, he says, are inherently very generous and will come out to any event that supports a worthy cause. But that doesn’t mean the screenings are just for cat people. The festival is designed to be enjoyable for almost everyone, especially in these divisive times.

“One of the real benefits to CatVideoFest is it’s G-rated, it’s politically neutral, it’s politically correct, it doesn’t offend anybody, and yet it still really appeals to a lot of demographics,” Braden says. “There will be crazy cat ladies, and then there will be lots of families and kids and lots of hipsters in ugly cat sweaters watching it all under a layer of irony, [and] that’s fine, too.”

As for those who are too cool to admit that they’ve chuckled while watching footage of a cat falling into a bathtub, the CatVideoFest just might be the place to embrace the joy.

“Once you get around hundreds of people who are enjoying something as much as you,” Braden says, “it’s literally impossible to feel embarrassed anymore.” v

R

RSM

#2/ .%2(+$4'. 03) 0)*03,' +$,"'+.1 *$.$+ +%'!2&03+%'0+/'-,24

www.BrewView.com 3145 N. Sheffield at Belmont

Movie Theater & Full Bar 0 $5.0 ion s admisthe for ies Mov

18 to enter 21 to drink Photo ID required

Friday, September 7 @ 6:30pm Wed, September 12@ 6:30pm

Ant-Man and the Wasp

Friday, September 7 @ 8:45pm Wed, September 12@ 8:45pm

The Spy Who Dumped Me

m @BriannaWellen SEPTEMBER 6, 2018 - CHICAGO READER 21

ABBVIE CLINICAL PHARMACOLOGY RESEARCH UNIT

Get showtimes at chicagoreader.com/movies.

ARTS & CULTURE

480 S. US Highway 45 Grayslake, IL 60030 www.abbviephase1.com Looking for Healthy Men and Women Who do not smoke or take any medications Average weight for height to participate in a clinical research trial Age 18 to 55 1 period: 18 days/17 nights

No Date, No Signature

$4500.00

MOVIES

Limited screening appointments at: University of Illinois Chicago Campus and University of Illinois Rockford Campus

The Apparition

For more information or to make a screening appointment call: 1-800-827-2778

164 North State Street

Between Lake & Randolph MOVIE HOTLINE: 312.846.2800 NEW FROM KARTEMQUIN FILMS

SCHOOL OF LIFE

MINDING THE GAP

“Gorgeous woodland scenery and spectacular wildlife photography cast a magical spell.” — Hollywood Reporter

«««« “One of the strongest achievements of the movie year.”

— Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune

Sept 7 - 13

Fri., 9/7 at 2 & 6 pm; Sat., 9/8 at 3 pm; Sun., 9/9 at 5 pm; Mon., 9/10 at 8 pm; Tue., 9/11 at 6 pm; Wed., 9/12 at 8 pm; Thu., 9/13 at 6 pm

FINAL WEEK!

Sept 7 - 13

Fri., 9/7 at 2 & 8:15 pm; Sat., 9/8 at 8 pm; Sun., 9/9 at 5 pm; Mon., 9/10 at 6 pm; Tue., 9/11 at 8:15 pm; Wed., 9/12 at 6 pm; Thu., 9/13 at 8:15 pm

SEPT 7, 8, 12 • HIGH & OUTSIDE: A BASEBALL NOIR BUY TICKETS NOW

at

22 CHICAGO READER - SEPTEMBER 6, 2018

Actor Phil Donlon in person!

www.siskelfilmcenter.org

In this hazy French drama about the dueling natures of truth and faith, a hardened war-zone journalist (Vincent Lindon) answers the Vatican’s call to investigate a young woman who claims to have seen the Virgin Mary on a hilltop in southern France. Believers worldwide flock to the site, while the reporter, a skeptic, digs into the girl’s troubled past and clashes with local clergymen who appear to profit from the alleged event. Though the narrative begins with intrigue and cinematographer Eric Gautier (Into the Wild) provides some visual thrills, the film is overlong and unconvincing in the end. Most notably, the connection writer-director Xavier Giannoli attempts to draw between the journalist and the visionary is flimsy at best. In French and Italian with subtitles.

—LEAH PICKETT 144 min. Fri 9/7-Wed 9/12, 2, 5, and 8 PM; Thu 9/13, 5 and 8 PM. Music Box Theatre

High & Outside: A Baseball Noir

A washed-up baseball wannabe (Phil Donlon) refuses to let go of his dream of following in the footsteps of his father (Geoffrey Lewis) and winds up crashing against the bitter reality of his own limitations. (In one telling scene he begs the wife he’s separated from to come back while his stripper girlfriend is asleep inside the house.) Director Evald Johnson, the son of a former MLB player and coach, has a great feel for the athletic milieu.

In fact, much of his movie has the feel of one of those dramatic documentary series that are so popular on streaming services—with lots of slow-motion, time-lapse, and slick drone cinematography. He overplays the son’s comeuppance at the end, but there are some memorable vignettes throughout. It’s a pleasure to watch David Yow (front man of noise-rock band the Jesus Lizard) underplay the role of the father’s caretaker, and watching the great character actor Lewis in his last role might be worth the price of admission. —DMITRY SAMAROV 98 min. Fri 9/7, 8:15 PM; Sat 9/8, 5:15 PM; and Wed 9/12, 8 PM. Gene Siskel Film Center

No Date, No Signature

In spite of some subtle performances and intriguing moral propositions, this Iranian drama is ultimately sunk by a flat visual style and an overly contrived plot. It begins when a Tehran doctor accidentally hits a family on a motorcycle with his car. The doctor doesn’t have auto insurance and settles the matter by paying off the family; but later, when the young son dies mysteriously, the doctor, convinced the boy perished from a delayed response to the accident, becomes overwhelmed with guilt. (In an overwritten twist, the boy dies in the very hospital ward where the doctor works.) How he acts on that guilt will strike different viewers in different ways—some may see his behavior as noble, while others may see it as excessively anguished or even crazy—since Vahid Jalilvand, directing a script he wrote with Ali Zarnegar, maintains such an open-ended tone. In Farsi with subtitles. —BEN SACHS 104 min. Sat 9/8, 7:45 PM; Sun 9/9, 3 PM; and Thu 9/13, 8:15 PM. Gene Siskel Film Center

Operation Finale

Well-intentioned, handsome, and lifeless, this historical drama recounts how a group of Mossad agents captured Adolf Eichmann in Argentina in the early 1960s. Oscar Isaac stars as the head of the group, bringing charisma (but not much else) to a severely underwritten part; playing Eichmann, Ben Kingsley delivers more nuanced work, though he too seems limited by the straightforwardness of Matthew Orton’s script. The filmmakers miss a golden opportunity to delve into the dynamics of a professional team—the Mossad agents are defined by a trait or two apiece, and their plans coalesce all too smoothly. Moreover, the conversations about bringing a monster like Eichmann to justice fail to spark any serious moral deliberation. For a richer, more provocative look at similar subject matter, check out the Argentine drama The German Doctor (2013), which considers the final years of Josef Mengele. Chris Weitz directed; with Mélanie Laurent and Nick Kroll. —BEN SACHS PG-13, 109 min. ArcLight Chicago, Block 37, Century Centre, Navy Pier IMAX, River East 21, Showplace ICON, Webster Place 11 v

l

l

T

WHAT TO SEE AT THE 2018 WORLD MUSIC FESTIVAL

he notion of “world music” has attracted its share of criticism. Looked at cynically, it’s just a way for bougie white people to feel like culturally enlightened global citizens without actually learning anything. But I’ve had some of the best concert experiences of my life at Chicago’s World Music Festival—and I go to a lot of concerts.

The joy and vitality of the Boban Marković Orkestar at Martyrs’ in 2002, or of Mahmoud Ahmed at Pritzker Pavilion in 2015, would’ve swept up those crowds no matter how the music was marketed.

The World Music Festival has been my favorite Chicago fest since its debut in 1999, with few exceptions.

Founder Michael Orlove and his staff were laid off by the city in December 2011 (the wonderful Millennium Park series Music Without Borders went with them), and as a consequence the best thing that can be said about the 2012 WMF is that it made all the festival’s shows free for the first time. The event has since recovered in quality, but for years it’s been dwindling in size. Though it’s as long as ever this year—17 days from start to finish, skipping Mondays and Tuesdays—it consists of just 21 concerts at 17 venues, down from 36 shows in 2014 and 52 in 2011.

Many overseas performers have learned that they can do better touring Europe, where there’s more state support for the arts and gigs are closer together, than they can working with stateside presenters. Thankfully, quite a few brilliant musicians have nonetheless chosen to visit Chicago for the 2018 World Music Festival. Reader staffers and freelancers have chosen 11 of their favorites to highlight here, and I can find several to recommend even among the artists who didn’t make the cut—including all-star Chicago student group Mariachi Herencia de México, Sardinian polyphonic singers Actores Alidos, seven-generation-old Chinese ritual ensemble the Zhou Family Band, and the National Arab Orchestra premiering a live score for silent films by pioneering Egyptian director Mohamed Bayoumi. (Riveting and inventive Ethiopian folkloric group Fendika also plays in town during the WMF, at the Ethiopia Fest in Ravenswood.) The festival begins on Friday, September 7, with a 14-hour celebration of Indian classical music called Ragamala, and ends on Sunday, September 23, with a daylong concert on Navy Pier in conjunction with the World Dumpling Fest.

Every concert is still free.

Enjoying music from other cultures and places won’t make you a global citizen all by itself, of course.

But I’m not about to dismiss “world music” because it can’t work that kind of magic—not when the president has so thoroughly debased the national conversation surrounding immigration that it’s a political act to assert that nonwhite foreigners are fully human. It’s a lousy time to foreclose on any conceivable avenue for empathy, connection, and fellow feeling among people of different colors and countries. When we talk about a “universal language,” we almost always mean music or love. If you need to be reminded why, the World Music Festival can help. —PHILIP MONTORO

It’s enlisted a crowd of international talents for its 21 free concerts—among them hallucinatory Argentine singersongwriter Juana Molina, generationspanning Cuban big band Orquesta Akokán, and omnivorous Congolese groove machine Jupiter & Okwess.

WORLD MUSIC FESTIVAL

Full schedule at worldmusicfestivalchicago.com.

Friday, September 7, through Sunday, September 23, various times and locations, all concerts free, many concerts all-ages

Debashish Bhattacharya FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 7 Part of Ragamala: A Celebration of Indian Classical Music, which runs from Fri 9/7 at 6 PM till Sat 9/8 at 8 AM. Bhattacharya performs at 7:45 PM (with Anandi Bhattacharya and Subhasis Bhattacharya) and at 3 AM (with Swapan Chaudhuri). Preston Bradley Hall, Chicago Cultural Center, 78 E. Washington, free, all-ages

The word “raga” denotes a musical framework common to both major traditions of Indian classical music, the Hindustani (northern) and the Carnatic (southern). Each raga contains a set of required notes, which the musicians can improvise upon within a formal structure. Though ragas are intended to evoke specific emotions or moods and often associated with a particular time of day, it’s rare for them to be played at the appropriate hours in the West. Ragamala, the World Music Festival’s annual all-night sequence of raga performances, aims to get it right. Slide guitarist Debashish Bhattacharya, born in 1963, is a seventh-generation Hindustani musician. He first learned music from J

SEPTEMBER 6, 2018 - CHICAGO READER 23

continued from 23 his parents, who were singers, but soon a childhood infatuation with a Hawaiian lap steel guitar that was sitting around the house evolved into lifelong devotion. First Bhattacharya mastered the art of playing ragas on the lap steel, combining sure control with blinding speed. Then he devised three guitars of his own, the chaturangui, gandharvi, and anandi, with different body sizes and different complements of strings, sometimes including drone strings or sympathetic strings—the instruments combine sonic and design elements of the sitar, sarod, and rudra veena. Bhattacharya is unabashedly eclectic: he’s collaborated successfully with jazz-fusion polymath John McLaughlin and adventuorous folkie Martin Simpson, and he adapts easily to the repetitive pop and folk styles on Joys Abound (Riverboat), the recent debut CD by his daughter Anandi Bhattacharya. He’s also a repeat performer at Ragamala, though, so there’s every reason to expect he’ll dig deep into raga forms during his two sets. For the first he’ll play with Anandi and his brother, tabla player Subhasis Bhattacharya; for the second he’s joined by tabla player Swapan Chaudhuri. —BILL MEYER

Juana Molina SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 8 Andreas Kapsalis opens. 7 PM, the Promontory, 5311 S. Lake Park, free, 21+

For more than two decades, Argentine singer-songwriter Juana Molina has been manipulating layered loops of electronics, acoustic instruments, and vocals to devise new wrinkles in her ominous, often unnerving sound—and the spirit she’s

Sona Jobarteh

brought to this pursuit has been nothing short of miraculous. Though there’s no shortage of experimental and ambient artists with the know-how to string together effects pedals (and endlessly diddle away at them to summon fascinating sonic textures), Molina isn’t so much trying to discover something as she is infatuated with the act of exploration itself. Every one of her albums feels like a metamorphosis from its predecessor, but she never abandons the premise of her experiment—instead she’s understanding it from different (and always enlightening) vantage points.

Her seventh and most recent full-length, last year’s Halo, is a heady dive with lots of electronics, its subdued, minimalist attack seething and creeping in tandem with Molina’s fluttering, often sinister vocals (layered and looped as usual). Its predecessor, 2013’s Wed 21, uses a broader selection of instruments to achieve a dynamic that sometimes feels like a full band, albeit one that sounds the way a Kandinsky painting looks. Even further back in Molina’s discography, the 2006 album Son foregrounds acoustic guitar, while ambient electronics ebb and flow in the recesses of the tracks and musical tangents abound. What remains consistent, keeping the tracks from floating out of comprehension, is Molina’s whispery singing. Beautiful, mysterious, and sometimes prophetic, her voice guides you forward even as you marvel at everything swirling in the periphery. —KEVIN WARWICK

Sona Jobarteh WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 12 Actores Alidos open. 7 PM, Sleeping VIllage, 3734 W. Belmont, free, 21+

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 13 Juana Molina

24 CHICAGO READER - SEPTEMBER 6, 2018

The Chinese Mongolia Band opens. 6 PM, Preston Bradley Hall, Chicago Cultural Center, 78 E. Washington, free, all-ages

Singer, composer, and multi-instrumentalist Sona Jobarteh was born in London to a griot family from the small West African country of the Gambia, which is mostly surrounded by Senegal. Griots (called “jali” in Mandé, the most widely spoken group of indigenous languages in the Gambia) are a traditional caste of storytellers and musicians, and Jobarteh was raised in that lineage to become a master of her instrument, the kora—the playing of which was long considered the exclusive province of men. This 21-string instrument, plucked with both hands, produces tones that sound to Western ears like a harp, a guitar, or even a piano.

Jobarteh also plays guitar, cello, flute, and percussion, and before she released her debut album, Fasiya, in 2011, her music appeared on several compilations and collaborative recordings, including the soundtracks to two documentaries on Africa and the African diaspora, Owen ’Alik Shahadah’s 500 Years Later (2005) and Motherland (2010). On Fasiya Jobarteh strives to preserve and expound upon traditional music using elements of jazz, blues, and contemporary and historical Afropop, and the sound she’s developed to do it is shimmering, liquid, and inviting.

This is her first North American tour, and she’s traveling with a four-piece band: a kit drummer, djembe player, bassist, and guitarist. —MONICA KENDRICK

l

l

out their material in improvised sessions.

The electricity of those sessions—and the easy synchronicity they’ve helped the band develop—comes through in the intimate-sounding details on Chéjere’s fourth album, 2016’s self-released Nubes de Sal. The tender, ornate “Nubes” also demonstrates the enduring draw of the folk traditions Chéjere aims to honor and sustain—with its grainy, melancholy violin, gracefully plucked requinto jarocho, and barely brushed percussion, it invites you into a cozy but unconfined space and makes you wish you could play along. After all, what good is folk music if it doesn’t make room for the folks who want to keep building on it? —LEOR GALIL

Orquesta Akokán SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 15 Altan é GEARÓID MOONEY

Altan THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 13 7 PM, Irish American Heritage Center, 4626 N. Knox, free, all-ages

Formed 31 years ago, Ireland’s Altan are one of the most venerable and celebrated bands in traditional Irish music. In 1994 they became the first traditional act signed to a major label, but for a while now they’ve been back on labels that specialize in Irish, Celtic, and other forms of roots music—this year’s The Gap of Dreams is on Compass Records, an indie based in Nashville. Whoever puts out their albums, though, and wherever they play, Altan don’t much vary the formula that has worked for them for three decades. Cofounder, singer, and fiddler Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh is a native speaker of the Irish language and has the Platonic Irish voice—high, pure, soaked in tremolo, and pitched to sound in the wind over the green hills. The settings of her songs tend to hover on the edge of new age, poised to pick up a crossover audience without alienating purists. Mhaonaigh’s fiddle isn’t as fiery as that of virtuosos such as Chicago’s own Liz Carroll, but the rest of the band (Ciarán Curran on bouzouki, Martin Tourish on accordion, and Dáithí Sproule and Mark Kelly on guitars) are as tight and polished as you’d expect such seasoned

performers to be. Altan’s live shows are reliably inspired, and the musicians never fail to work up a righteous sweat on the instrumental numbers. If anyone embodies the spirit of Irish traditional music in the 2010s, it’s Mhaonaigh. —NOAH BERLATSKY

Chéjere FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 14 3 PM (workshop) and 7 PM, National Museum of Mexican Art, 1852 W. 19th, free, all-ages

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 15 A celebration of El Grito, a holiday commemorating the call to arms that began the Mexican war of independence in 1810. Mariachi Herencia de Méx-

ico headlines; Chéjere, Ceci Bastida, and Quique Escamilla open. 3 PM, Pritzker Pavilion, Millennium Park, Michigan and Randolph, free, all-ages

Mexico City five-piece Chéjere gently tweaks son jarocho by adding bits of outside traditions compatible with its DNA—Afro-Peruvian music, Andalusian flamenco, Brazilian samba. The group’s elegant acoustic sound weaves these threads together so expertly you’d be hard-pressed to tease them apart. Guitarist Alonso Borja, who cofounded the band in 1996, has expounded upon the importance of improvisation in traditional folk music, and though the finished songs on Chéjere’s recordings confine improvising to flourishes and solos, during the writing process the players flesh

Chéjere

Orquesta Akokán

é RODRIGO VAZQUEZ

é ADRIEN H. TILLMAN

Rio Mira opens. 9 PM, Martyrs’, 3855 N. Lincoln, free, 21+

With each bright, blasting chorus, Orquesta Akokán illuminates centuries of musical intermingling. The band, which includes veterans of venerable Cuban ensembles Irakere and Los Van Van, revels in the history of Afro-Cuban rhythms, mambo, and big-band jazz. New Jersey-based Cuban expat José “Pepito” Gómez founded Orquesta Akokán on a trip to Havana in late 2016 with help from two New Yorkers, pianist and arranger Michael Eckroth and producer and tres player Jacob Plasse; they’d wanted to set up a session for Gómez and couldn’t find suitable players in New York.

They recorded the group’s self-titled debut, released earlier this year by Daptone, at Havana’s Estudios Areito, which has hosted sessions by singer Beny Moré, bandleader Pérez Prado, and the Buena Vista Social Club—and the album mines many of J

SEPTEMBER 6, 2018 - CHICAGO READER 25

continued from 25 the same international tropes as those well-loved predecessors. In his role as front man, Gómez leads the band through compositions such as the slinky, smoldering “Un Tabaco Para Elegua,” exhorting everyone to dance; meanwhile the rhythm players churn, percolate, and sashay, drawing on conceits that can be traced back to before mambo’s peak in the 1940s and ’50s.

The sweeping horn section has a plush, burly sonority (up to ten players punch out the charts), and it moves nimbly from supporting the melody to functioning as yet another rhythmic mechanism. This is rich, jubilant, deeply rooted music that ties together all sorts of influences—cultural, social, religious—but it’s something more than that too. Even as it brings crowds together on the dance floor, Orquesta Akokán celebrates the history of cultural exchange.

—DAVE CANTOR

Innov Gnawa SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 16 Part of the Global Peace Picnic. Rico Mira headlines; Innov Gnawa and Combo Chimbita (see below) open. 2 PM, Humboldt Park Boathouse, 1301 N. Sacramento, free, all-ages

The six members of Innov Gnawa started the group in New York City in 2014, but they were born in Morocco and follow a tradition from their homeland. Developed centuries ago by migrants from the Sahel who settled in North Africa (many of them the descendants of soldiers or slaves), Gnawa music has roots in ancient animistic rituals, but because the Gnawa people have since adopted Islam it also bears the stamp of Arabic culture. Historically this hypnotizing music has driven all-night communal ceremonies called “lilas,” which use dance, prayer, costumes, and incense to bring celebrants into contact with the abstract entities of the spirit world—the leader of the ceremony, known as a maalem, plays a resonant three-string bass lute variously called a sintir or guimbri, and the cyclical, hovering songs also rely heavily on call-and-response vocals and dense, interlocking percussion, often including many sets of metal castanet-like qarqabas. Over the past century, Gnawa music has gained a wider audience outside its native communities (it’s widely thought to be one of the ancestral wellsprings of the blues), and Western musicians from 1930s jazz players to 2010s electronic producers have sought it out. Innov Gnawa are part of that crosscultural narrative: last year they

26 CHICAGO READER - SEPTEMBER 6, 2018

Combo Chimbita é ITZEL ALEJANDRA

appeared on a single by British producer Bonobo, and they enlisted Dave Harrington of short-lived New York electronic duo Darkside to produce their most recent release, the March EP Aicha (Pique-nique).

Aside from brief flashes of synth, the EP sounds ancient and timeless—it sticks to the inexhaustible, ecstatic minimalism that makes Gnawa music so distinctively cathartic and transcendent. —LEOR GALIL

Combo Chimbita SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 16 Part of the Global Peace Picnic. Rico Mira headlines; Innov Gnawa (see above) and Combo Chimbita open. 2 PM, Humboldt Park Boathouse, 1301 N. Sacramento, free, all-ages

The four Colombian expats who formed Combo Chimbita in New York City didn’t necessarily grow up immersed in the traditional music they play around with in their self-described “tropical futurist” group: according to a 2017 profile for Remezcla, while in college front woman Carolina Oliveros studied opera and sang for a metal band. As Combo Chimbita, these musicians draw mostly on sounds from South America, the Caribbean, and Africa (accordion-heavy funaná from Cape

Innov Gnawa

Verde, traditional folkloric cumbia from Colombia, jazzy post-merengue compas from Haiti), hybridizing them with jazz, reggae, prog, and funk. On their debut album, last year’s Abya Yala (Figure & Ground), synth streaks, time-warping dub echoes, and the funky rhythmic scraping of a Colombian hand-percussion instrument called a guacharaca burble and jostle together—demonstrating that musical styles almost two centuries old can coexist comfortably with even the most contemporary aesthetics. I wish more musicians could pull off this sort of thing with Combo

Chimbita’s suave precision and energy— and soon enough they will, if Oliveros and her bandmates get the kind of future they want. —LEOR GALIL

Cheick Hamala Diabaté THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 20 La Dame Blanche headlines. 8 PM, Martyrs’, 3855 N. Lincoln, free, 21+

A lot of the roots in American roots music stem from Africa, as Malian-born D.C. J

l

l

5216 W. LLAA WRENCE AVE. A VE. AT A T THE KENNEDY EXPY

GET TICKETS AT TICKETFLY.COM • COPERNICUSTICKETS.COM COPERNICUSCENTER.ORG OR BY PHONE: 877-4.FLY.TIX (35.9849)

McKenzie Fisk

PRESENTED BY

CO- SPONSORS

PA R T I C I PAT I N G S P O N S O R S

SEPTEMBER 6, 2018 - CHICAGO READER 27

Cheick Hamala Diabaté

continued from 26 musician Cheick Hamala Diabaté demonstrates whenever he goes onstage. Diabaté plays the banjo and the instrument’s African ancestor, the ngoni, and performs with a sprawling group of musicians, the Griot Street Band, who play horns, guitar, mandolin, and a dizzying array of percussion. The performances don’t so much join African and American sounds as they remind you that their musical traditions have been fused and re-fused for so long that for some artists, they might as well be one. In songs such as “Diamonds and Gold,” off his most recent album, 2013’s Anka Ben Mali Denou (Stepback Music), Diabaté embraces straightforward blues, hard-driving harmonica and all.

“Boudofo,” on the other hand, sounds like it comes straight off a Baaba Maal album. For concert favorite “Mali De Nou,” guitarist Rob Coltun lays some stinging, fuzzed-out Muddy Waters-style lead lines on top of a boiling groove; Diabaté himself responds with a banjo solo that sounds like it’s inspired by Jimmy Page (who has also been known to play the banjo on occasion). The horn arrangements draw from such varying sources as Herbie Hancock and Fela Kuti. The diaspora is everywhere, and Diabaté’s music is at home wherever he happens to be. —NOAH BERLATSKY

its clear, complex, haunting sound. Now you’ll find the instrument in all sorts of folk-influenced music, including metal (Danish one-woman band Myrkur uses one), classical, and pop. Nyckelharpist Emilia Amper, born in a small town in western Sweden, is the only folk artist on classical label BIS Records, and performs with orchestras and chamber ensembles as often as with fellow folk musicians.

Her solo albums, 2012’s Trollfågeln and 2016’s Lux, are accessible, accomplished, and enchanting. Unfortunately, northern European folk culture has been politicized in horrible ways for ages—the literal Nazis had a field day with it. (Speaking of Myrkur, you might want to look into her comments about Muslim immigrants.)

These days, the rapid rise of völkisch xenophobic nationalism can make it hard to enjoy perfectly lovely Swedish traditional music without researching first to make sure you’re not supporting a racist.

Never fear, though: in a Swedish newspa-

Emilia Amper

per, Amper recently took a public stand against the far-right, anti-immigrant Sweden Democrats. —MONICA KENDRICK

Jupiter & Okwess SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 22 Delgres and Quantic open. 9 PM, Concord Music Hall, 2047 N. Milwaukee, free, 21+

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 23 Delgres, the Zhou Family Band, and East Meets Middle East open. 1 PM, Navy Pier, 600 E. Grand, free, all-ages

Born in Kinshasa in 1965, just a few years after the Democratic Republic of the Congo gained its independence from Belgium, Jean-Pierre “Jupiter” Bokondji learned traditional music as a child from his grandmother, a renowned healer. But his father was a diplomat, and in the 1970s the family relocated to East Germany, where Bokondji

fell in love with funk, R&B, and rock ’n’ roll.

He began combining Western and African styles in his songwriting, and when he returned to Kinshasa in the 1980s, he turned away from the white-collar career path his family had opened for him and instead pursued music, though it meant he was sometimes homeless. Unequivocal in his cultural pride and convinced of the universality of humankind, Bokondji set out to reinvent the sounds produced across the African diaspora (all music has African roots, as he sees it, because all people do), combining those international styles with Congolese music to give it a larger platform. Calling himself the Rebel General, he’s spent decades inspiring his countrymen to embrace their heritage and transform their society. Whether he’s encouraging women to stand up to men or prodding young folks to question their elders, he couldn’t have picked a better vehicle to amplify his message than Okwess, a guitar-driven band full of ace Kinshasa players. Their most recent album, last year’s Kin Sonic (Glitterbeat), features unstoppable ragers, slyly evocative ballads, and charming, percolating midtempo strolls—not to mention appearances by Warren Ellis of Nick Cave’s Bad Seeds, Damon Albarn of Blur, and Robert Del Naja of Massive Attack. If the churning rhythms of Jupiter & Okwess don’t quicken your pulse at least a little, you’re probably literally dead—so put on those dancing shoes and fall in, because the Rebel General has arrived. —JAMIE LUDWIG v

Emilia Amper FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 21 Lo Cor de la Plana headlines. 7 PM, the Promontory, 5311 S. Lake Park, free, all-ages

The traditional Swedish nyckelharpa is an intimidating-looking device: something like the love child of a viol and a hurdygurdy, with strings bowed on one end and controlled by a bristling row of keys on the other. It’s taken many forms over the centuries, and in its current one it gained renewed popularity in the 1960s, when Sweden enjoyed a folk revival (along with many other countries) that embraced

28 CHICAGO READER - SEPTEMBER 6, 2018

Jupiter & Okwess é MICKY CLEMENT

l

l

Never miss a show again.

®

THE NADAS

EARLY WARNINGS chicagoreader.com/early

DAN

SPECIAL GUESTS:

NAKED GIANTS

THIS FRIDAY! SEPTEMBER 7 RIVIERA THEATRE

NAVARRO THIS FRIDAY! SEPTEMBER 7 MARTYRS’

THIS SATURDAY! SEPTEMBER 8 VIC THEATRE

SPECIAL GUESTS

THIS TUESDAY! SEPTEMBER 11 VIC THEATRE

Find hundreds of Readerrecommended restaurants, exclusive video features, and sign up for weekly news at chicagoreader.com/ food.

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 13 PARK WEST

SPECIAL GUESTS

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 29 RIVIERA THEATRE

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 29 VIC THEATRE

SEPTEMBER 26 RIVIERA THEATRE

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 9 PARK WEST JUST ANNOUNCED-ON SALE NOW!

BUY TICKETS AT SEPTEMBER 6, 2018 - CHICAGO READER 29

MUSIC

Recommended and notable shows and critics’ insights for the week of September 6 b

ALL AGES

F

PICK OF THE WEEK

John Zorn presents a dazzling 12-performance, 12-gallery musical showcase at the Art Institute

é SCOTT IRVINE

JOHN ZORN

Sun 9/9, 11 AM, Art Institute of Chicago, 111 S. Michigan, free with museum admission. b

THURSDAY6

Let’s Eat Grandma, Odetta Hartman Let’s Eat Grandma headlines; Odetta Hartman and Boniface open. 8:30 PM, Empty Bottle, 1035 N. Western, sold out. 21+

The pop-song chorus is one of the most direct forms of communication humankind has ever produced. Slam a simply worded message into a hook, make it catchy, and it can become part of the cultural consciousness with the familiarity of a common prayer. Queue up the right song on TouchTunes and instantly turn any bar into an impromptu choir. It stands to reason, then, that in a world where people are brought messily close together through social media, pop music would at times mirror some of its less savory attributes, such as branded tweets, targeted harassment, and catfishing. It’s in that swirling (cyber)space that childhood friends and

30 CHICAGO READER - SEPTEMBER 6, 2018

teenage digital natives Jenny Hollingsworth and Rosa Walton, who make music together as Let’s Eat Grandma, thrive. The newest album from the British duo, I’m All Ears, takes the carnivalesque chaos of their 2016 debut full-length, I, Gemini, and sharpens it into sprawling but cohesive avant-pop. The band isn’t the first to use pop-music tropes to address the changes brought by on technology (EMA and Molly Nilsson are two recent examples), but their youth— both members are under 20—provides a deeper interpretation of technological advances than most, and one free of value judgments. “Hot Pink,” the lead single on I’m All Ears, moodily waltzes in before mechanical drums and shattering glass accelerate the song into a chanted chorus of “Hot pink / Is it mine? / Is it?” The effect is a menacing evisceration of imprisoning gender roles that evokes the specter of both capitalism’s commodification and mobs of male trolls howling across the Internet. On “It’s Not Just Me,” they deftly communicate both the distance and closeness that can color online inter-

IN RECENT YEARS the sprawling variety and prolificacy of works by musician, composer, and community force John Zorn have been showcased in appropriately ambitious, multiconcert marathon events presented all around the world with enormous casts of musicians. Last month I experienced one of the largest such efforts when Jazz em Agosto, in Lisbon, Portugal, turned over its entire ten-day lineup to Zorn’s music and artists from deep within his circle such as Ikue Mori and Robert Dick. But I have to say I think the modest iteration of that format happening this Sunday at the Art Institute of Chicago seems more illustrative of his compositional heft—and it also seems like a more manageable and logical program. A superb cast of musicians will perform in a dozen pieces by Zorn that tilt toward rigorous notation.

Each of the 12 will be played by a different ensemble in relation to specific works of art located in across 12 areas of museum at 30-minute intervals. “Freud,” a jagged 2016 work that features violinist Chris Otto and cellists Jay Campbell and Michael Nicolas shaping a landscape of visceral pizzicato, stinging bowing, and brooding melodies, will be heard amid works by surrealist Salvador Dalí, while an hour later the high-velocity, relentlessly driving “Naked Lunch”—a spacious jazz-inflected suite of prog-rock intensity—will be performed by vibist Sae Hashimoto, bassist Shanir Blumenkranz, and drummer Kenny Wollesen in the presence of artwork by Andy Warhol. Guitarists Gyan Riley and Julian Lage will play selections from last year’s luminous Midsummer Moons (Tzadik), a gorgeously melodic set of pieces inspired by lunar imagery, in response to works by Pablo Picasso, and Zorn himself will improvise on alto saxophone with Wollesen in response to works by Jackson Pollock.

Other participating musicians include guitarist Bill Frisell, the JACK Quartet, the American Brass Quintet, and a superb quintet of female singers tackling Zorn’s 2005 composition “Frammenti del Sapho.” —PETER MARGASAK

Let’s Eat Grandma é CHARLOTTE PATMORE

l

l

MUSIC FESTIVALS

Food, football, fund-raising, and Freddie Gibbs at this weekend’s music fests Beer & Bands for Comfort Station This fund-raiser for Logan Square arts hub Comfort Station features a diverse bill of live music (Dos Santos, Phoelix, Dim, and Campdogzz) plus beer from Goose Island, cider from Virtue, and hard seltzer from White Claw. See Gossip Wolf on page 38 for more. Sat 9/8, 4 PM, Illinois Centennial Monument, 2595 N. Milwaukee, comfortstationlogansquare.org, free, beer-garden wristband $25 ($20 in advance), all-ages.

Odetta Hartman é KATE WARREN actions, using lyrics that express equal parts doubt and reassurance. “You know I’ll never be too far if you’re looking for somebody,” they sing, recognizing that friendship can be a DM away, regardless of geographic location. The show tonight is part of the group’s first full U.S. tour. —ED BLAIR In our posteverything world it’s hard to envision the current model of a New York-style artistic vagabond—a creative who had a bohemian childhood and found ways to connect the detritus of the past with a forward-looking present. Singer Odetta Hartman offers one such version on her recently released second album, Old Rockhounds Never Die (Northern Spy), a ragged amalgam of folk, singer-songwriter confessionals, electronic beats, jazz phrasing, and more. On “Cowboy Song” she inhabits the hobo lifestyle, humorously singing about a cast of characters she’s met riding the rails (“I met a monk / His name was Mark / It had been three months since he last talked”) over a charming ramshackle groove layered with banjo, fiddle, and sudden low-end bass tones. The title track pushes into ridiculous low-fi terrain, with Hartman’s brittle strumming just as washed out as her postBillie Holiday warble. But on the gorgeous “Widow’s Peak” she disabuses any notion that she can only do cute with a breathy but firm vocal turn on a crushing breakup ballad that clops along over sparse beats, banjo arpeggios, and bittersweet string swells.

Produced by DJ and radio producer Jack Inslee, the album is littered with field recordings, often as interstitial passages between tunes, but as homemade as the record sounds, there’s a clear logic to how it all fits together. Hartman still seems a little green at times—too pleased with her own cleverness and a bit too reliant on smeared vocal phrasing— but there’s way more in her music that keeps calling me back rather than pushing me away. —PETER MARGASAK

FRIDAY7 Big Heart Machine 8:30 PM, Constellation, 3111 N. Western, $10. 18+ It’s no secret that in today’s world running a big band is a daunting prospect. It’s difficult enough to wrangle 18 musicians together to perform, let alone rehearse complex, harrowing scores, not to mention finding venues with stages large enough to fit the entire ensemble. But saxophonist and composer Brian Krock, a 29-year-old Arlington Heights native, had his sights set on putting together such a group when he first moved to New York nearly a decade ago. At age 20, he’d noticed Darcy James Argue, leader of the richly orchestrated, rhythmically nimble big band Secret Society, on a New York subway and approached him to express his admiration. That interaction planted the seeds of a mentoring relationship that has continued to endure. A couple weeks ago Krock dropped the Argue-produced self-titled debut of his big band, Big Heart Machine, on the Outside in Music label.

Krock’s sumptuous arrangements—vividly brought to life by conductor Miho Hazami—apply the sound, timbre, and improvisational ethos of a big band to tricky, multipartite compositions that breathlessly wend their way through shifting landscapes that are sometimes ethereal, sometimes muscular, but always rigorously plotted. Krock grew up listening to prog-rock bands such as Rush, Yes, and Porcupine Tree, and there’s no missing that influence in his ensemble. It’s especially clear in the extroverted, rock-driven playing of Finnish guitarist Olli Hirvonen—whose solo on “Steep Ravine,” in the second movement of the suite Tamalpais, screams and soars more than it swings. But the brilliance of the contrapuntal horn charts tempers that excess with its lockstep navigation and shifting densities. Tonight J

1800 W. DIVISION

Est.1954 Est. 1954 Celebrating over Celebrating over 61 service 65 years of service to Chicago!

Chicago!

(773) 486-9862 Come enjoy one of Chicago’s finest beer gardens!

JANUARY 11..................

SHOW 8PM SEPTEMBER 8-9 ARTS & HOFFMAN CRAFTS FESTIVAL FEBRUARY 23....RENEGADE .....MIKEFLABBY FELTEN SEPTEMBER 8 .......SMILIN’ BOBBY AND THE CLEMTONES 5PM JANUARY 12..................

AMERICAN DRAFT

JIMIJON AMERICA FEBRUARY 24 .....DARK MEN JANUARY 13..................

DJROOM SKID3PM LICIOUS NUCLEAR JAZZ QUARKTET 1PM WHITEWOLFSONICPRINCESS JANUARY 14..................

TONYUNCERTAINTY DO ROSARIO GROUP SEPTEMBER 9 .......HEISENBERG PLAYERS 6PM MOJOJAMIE JANUARY 17..................

WAGNER WAGNER & 49 MORSE 4PM & FRIENDS MIKE FELTEN JANUARY 18..................

MIKE3PM FELTON

FEBRUARY 25 .....WHOLESOMERADIO ANDREW SITUATION D. HUBER 2PM JANUARY 19..................

DAVID DJ NIGHT

SEPTEMBER 10 .....RC BIG BAND 7PM MAXLIELLIAM ANNA FEBRUARY 26 .....RC BIG BAND9:30PM 7PM JON RARICK NONET JANUARY 20..................

FIRST WARD PROBLEMS SEPTEMBER 11 .....FLABBY HOFFMAN SHOW 8PM JANUARY 21..................

DO LITTLE ROSARIO GROUP8PM FEBRUARY 28.....ELIZABETH’S .....PETERTONY CASANOVA QUARTET SEPTEMBER 12 CRAZY THING JANUARY 22..................

RCFIONA BIG BAND 7PM9PM FEATURING MCMAHON MARCH 1............SMILIN’ BOBBY AND THE CLEMTONES JANUARY 24..................

PETER CASONOVA SEPTEMBER 13 .....FLABBY HOFFMAN SHOW 8PM QUARTET SEPTEMBER 15 .....FIRST WARD JANUARY2............ICE 25..................

THEPROBLEMS WICK BIG HOUSE MARCH BOX AND SEPTEMBER 16 .....TONY DO THE ROSARIO GROUP 9PM JANUARY 26..................

HEPKATS SEPTEMBER 17 .....PROSPECTSKIPPIN’ FOUR 9PM ROCK MARCH 3............CHIDITAROD SEPTEMBER 19 .....WAGNER & MORSE AND TARRINGTON 10PM JANUARY 27..................

THE STRAY BOLTS KING RABBIT MARCH 7............JAMIE WAGNER & FRIENDS JANUARY 28..................

WHOLESOMERADIO DJ NIGHT SEPTEMBER 20 .....DAVID QUINN

EVERY TUESDAY TUESDAY (EXCEPT EVERY (EXCEPT 2ND) 2ND) AT AT8PM 8PM OPEN MIC HOSTED BY JIMIJON AMERICA

The Breaks Vol. II What better way to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) than with a hip-hop festival headlined by the Wu-Tang Clan? The top-shelf bill also includes Freddie Gibbs, Vic Mensa, Yasiin Bey, Talib Kweli, and Hurt Everybody. Sat 9/8, noon, Toyota Park, 7000 Harlem Ave., Bridgeview, thebreakschicago.com, $65, all-ages.

Chicago Bears Block Party This party for fans of football and domestic beer is soundtracked by sets from Atlas Genius, Ember Oceans, Bifunkal, Esso, and others. Sat 9/18, noon, Milwaukee between Kedzie and Spaulding, chicagobears.com, free, all-ages.

Feast Arts incubator AMFM presents this festival of food, art, and music to raise awareness about grassroots solutions to food deserts. For more details, see Gossip Wolf on page 38. Performers include rappers Matt Muse and Solo Sam, indie rockers Avantist, and funk group Tamarie T. & the Elektra Kumpany. Sat 9/8, 1 PM, Douglas Park, Ogden and California, free, all-ages.

Freddie Gibbs performs at the Breaks Vol. II on Saturday at Toyota Park. é SUN-TIMES MEDIA

SEPTEMBER 6, 2018 - CHICAGO READER 31

4544 N LINCOLN AVENUE, CHICAGO IL OLDTOWNSCHOOL.ORG • 773.728.6000

JUST ADDED • ON SALE THIS FRIDAY! 10/11

Rob Ickes & Trey Hensley / Frank Solivan & Dirty Kitchen 11/17 Joy Williams (of The Civil Wars) with special guest Anthony da Costa 11/30 Bob Schneider 12/12-12/16 Songs of Good Cheer with Mary Schmich and Eric Zorn

FOR TICKETS, VISIT OLDTOWNSCHOOL.ORG SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 8 8PM

Wrekmeister Harmonies with special guest Bill MacKay • In Szold Hall

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 13 8PM

Michael Nesmith & The First National Band SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 15 8PM

The Hot Sardines SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 16 7PM

Harold LópezNussa Trio In Szold Hall

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 28 8PM

Holly Near FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 28 8PM

Bruce Molsky's Mountain Drifters In Szold Hall

MUSIC continued from 31

Krock returns home to present the music with an all-Chicago lineup including heavy hitters such as reedists Rajiv Halim and Dustin Laurenzi, trumpeter Tito Carrillo, and pianist Rob Clearfield. —PETER MARGASAK

Punch Brothers Madison Cunningham opens. 8:30 PM, Symphony Center, 220 S. Michigan, $35-$75. all-ages I’d hoped to make it through my life without hearing a host of A Prairie Home Companion break out in a rap, but with the new Punch Brothers album, All Ashore (Nonesuch), that desire has been shattered.

Toward the end of the second song, “The Angel of Doubt,” mandolinist, singer, and inheritor of Garrison Keillor’s maligned throne Chris Thile switches from a sweet falsetto to a wooden, hopelessly ofay rap cadence. Despite that delivery, it makes sense that bit of hip-hop make its way into the music of the quintet, which has long used the instrumentation of bluegrass to tackle a sui generis blend of folk, jazz, contemporary classical, and rock. And that cloying misstep aside, the self-produced album is as tuneful as anything else in the band’s catalog. It tamps down some of the turbid excess of their previous efforts with pleasingly gauzy arrangements that demand remarkable technique and touch. The title track, for example, is a constantly shape-shifting gem on which Thile’s conversational melody lines slowly creep on the listener until they become inescapable. But though it lurches, grooves, and hovers, the motion feels utterly natural. The Punch Brothers’ previous album, 2015’s Phosphorescent Blues, meditated on the increasing ubiquity of technology in our lives—particularly in communication, and on All Ashore, the quintet examines behavior in the era of Trump: “Jumbo,” which recalls Paul McCartney in his whimsical music-hall mode, delivers an unmistakable and stinging parody of the president with lines

Find more music listings at chicagoreader.com/soundboard.

such as “Whoa! Here comes Jumbo with a knife and a tan / And an elephant’s tail for his Instagram.” On “Just Look at This Mess” rampant selfishness is on display, and on “The Gardener” the band explores a sort of detached privilege. Though the group is refining its sound on this album rather than breaking new ground, considering how high the combo has previously set its vision, the decision seems sound to me. —PETER MARGASAK

SATURDAY8 Childish Gambino Rae Sremmurd opens.

7:30 PM, United Center, 1901 W. Madison, sold out. b Donald Glover has emerged as one of the most talented forces in entertainment this century, but by and large the music he’s created under the name Childish Gambino has landed awkwardly. As an actor, writer, director, and comedian, Glover has proved that he can express poignant, hard-to-define emotions through several works of art, including his role as earnest ex-quarterback Troy Barnes on the NBC collegiate comedy Community, and especially as the creator and de facto leader of the peerless FX rap dramedy Atlanta. But his music, mostly rap tracks, always seemed to be missing something; listening to it felt like communicating with a close friend over FaceTime when he or she is just around the corner. At their worst, his raps were sexist and derogatory—the kind of low-grade crap that gives fearmongers ammunition in the culture wars (take “Backpackers,” when he raps “I got a girl on my arm, dude, show respect / Something crazy and Asian, Virginia Tech”). But Glover’s music began to play catchup with the rest of his work when he took a detour into soul and funk on 2016’s Awaken, My Love! (Glassnote), which survived some awkward moments of P-Funk LARPing thanks to the inescap-

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 30 3PM

David Wilcox In Szold Hall

Fall Out Boy é PAMELA LITTKY

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 5 8PM

Shawn Mullins ACROSS THE STREET IN SZOLD HALL 4545 N LINCOLN AVENUE, CHICAGO IL

9/14 Global Dance Party: Bomba Dance Party featuring La Escuelita Bombera de Corazón 9/30 Global Dance Party: The Revelers 10/12 Global Dance Party: Nessa 10/13 Melanie 10/17 Henry Kapono Welcome 2 My Paradise Tour

WORLD MUSIC WEDNESDAY SERIES FREE WEEKLY CONCERTS, LINCOLN SQUARE

9/12 Mexican Indigenous Music Festival

OLDTOWNSCHOOL.ORG 32 CHICAGO READER - SEPTEMBER 6, 2018

l

l

MUSIC

Nothing é BEN RAYNER

able, enchanting single “Redbone.” Then in May he dropped the collage-pop single “This Is America,” and its video, which squeezes a history of racism and violence punctured by shards of joy into four unforgettable minutes. In just a few dance moves synced up with the fragmented sounds of popular rappers (Young Thug, Quavo, 21 Savage), Glover manages to capture both the positive complexities of American black life and the suffocating weight

of systemic racism; he communicates more in those moments than a book-length PhD dissertation ever could. But “This Is America” still shows what makes Glover’s music frustrating; listened to by itself the song feels incomplete without the video. That’s not to mention the featherweight pop of July’s Summer Pack EP (mcDJ/RCA), which sounds like an enfeebled candidate for “the song of summer.” Glover’s music is a lot of things, but up until Summer Pack it never sounded anonymous. —LEOR GALIL

Fall out Boy Rise Against and Machine Gun Kelly open. 7 PM, Wrigley Field, 1060 W. Addison, $24.75-$90.50. b

Childish Gambino é COURTESY THE ARTIST

In December 2017, months before BTS became the first K-Pop band to hit number one on the Billboard 200, BTS member RM collaborated with Fall Out Boy on a remix of their single “Champion” for the seventh album by the suburban Chicago natives, January’s Mania (Island/DCD2). For FoB, the track was the latest in their long history of reaching across cultural gaps to collaborate with artists who would otherwise never work with a once-scrappy pop-punk group weaned on shows at the Fireside Bowl. Following a hiatus from 2010 till 2012, the band put out a trio of albums (2013’s Save Rock and Roll and 2015’s American Beauty/American Psycho precede Mania) that sometimes feel like a flex from one of the last bands of their era still standing— they’re certainly the only one in their scene currently big enough to headline Wrigley Field, which they’ll do tonight. Hell, the world didn’t need an album-length remix of American Beauty featuring Migos, Asap Ferg, Juicy J, and Azealia Banks, but in October 2015 it got one anyway in the form of Make America Psycho Again—the fact that the album exists at all is a totem of FoB’s power. There’s not much of a road map for what popular pop-punk bands can do at the stage in their career FoB J

SEPTEMBER 6, 2018 - CHICAGO READER 33

MUSIC

Find more music listings at chicagoreader.com/soundboard.

continued from 33

find themselves at now besides go classic rock (Green Day) or Vegas (Blink-182), but to be fair, the bulk of the band’s posthiatus music doesn’t register as pop-punk in the slightest anyway. So we get the ambitious mess of Mania: “Wilson (Expensive Mistakes)” riffs on M.I.A.’s greatest hit, “Young and Menace” references Britney Spears, and “The Last of the Real Ones” rolls poppy neosoul into massive EDM breaks. FoB could play it safe—and do with the brand-new EP Lake Effect Kid (Island/DCD2), a cheap emotional ploy for locals’ hearts. But as uniquely offensive as Mania can get, it sounds like nothing else out there, and I can’t blame FoB for swinging for the fences. —LEOR GALIL

SUNDAY9 John Zorn See Pick of the Week, page 31.

11 AM, Art Institute of Chicago, 111 S. Michigan, free with museum admission. b

WEDNESDAY12 Andrew Bernstein Timeghost & John Bender open. 9 PM, Hideout, 1354 W. Wabansia, $10. 21+

®

Culture Abuse é ALICE BAXLEY

Saxophonist Andrew Bernstein is a major contributor to the churning intensity of noisy Baltimore art-rock band Horse Lords, and while the music on his forthcoming second solo album, An Exploded View of Time (Hausu Mountain), isn’t nearly as loud or propulsive, its concentrated sound and cycling patterns are hardly chill. With the exception of the piece “Deux Ex Machina”—which deploys custom resonance software that seems to elongate and smooth his slaloming, vibrato-heavy phrases while adding a ghostly sonic backdrop—everything is played live, without effects. Bernstein’s major weapon is circular breathing, an extended technique often used in free improvisation where a horn player takes in air through the nose and breathes out through his or her instrument to produce an uninterrupted stream of sound. The mechanics of the technique produce mesmerizing rhythm patterns, and when harmonic tricks are deployed, it often seems as though more than one musician is playing. Bernstein is less interested in the sort of sonic constellations spontaneously formed by circular-breathing master Evan Parker than he is in using the technique to form modular structures that he manipulates at will. He deploys his grainy saxophone tone in thrilling ways, such as on the mind-warping “Boogie Woogie Phase,” where a steady phantom note keeps time and a cascading line—intermittently marbled by a sudden upper-register interjection—has the effect of pulling the listener into a lulling void by sheer force of movement. There are numerous pieces on the album where Bernstein’s unrelenting focus has that hypnotic effect—each time I’ve played it, there’s been some point where I’ve felt like I’ve been put in a trance. —PETER MARGASAK

BUY TICKETS AT

34 CHICAGO READER - SEPTEMBER 6, 2018

Nothing, Culture abuse Nothing headlines; Culture Abuse and Smut open. 9 PM, Lincoln Hall, 2424 N. Lincoln, $18, $16 in advance. 18+ In 2016, Philadelphia neo-shoegaze band Nothing released their second studio album, Tired of Tomor-

row—a triumph of modern rock. Blending the wallof-sound influence of massive-sounding 90s bands like Slowdive, Smashing Pumpkins, and My Bloody Valentine with crushingly personal lyricism and a gorgeous, melancholy sense of melody, Nothing took the musical elements they had been working with since they formed in 2010 and soared above and beyond it all. But the perfection of Tired of Tomorrow’s makes the band’s follow-up, the brandnew Dance on the Blacktop (Relapse), feel a disappointment by comparison. All the hallmarks of Nothing are there—the layers of blissed-out guitar, the hushed vocal harmonies, the sense of doom hiding in the hooks—but the over-the-top magic of their previous album seems to be missing. Dance on the Blacktop is by no means bad—the majority of new and old Nothing-heads will undoubtedly love it—but the record has some very big shoes to fill. Unfortunately its “back-to-basics” production sounds weak and thin, and its overall lack of freshness make the album feel like a huge step backward for a band with an otherwise flawless catalog. —LUCA CIMARUSTI In 2014 defunct music blog Stuff You Will Hate predicted young musicians would begin a new wave of music called “soft grunge by breeding Puget Sound rock with midwestern emo.” Though some bands unintentionally took the idea to heart in their own blends of sounds, soft grunge has become more of a parallel Web-based fashion trend than a musical movement that could put pop in a vise grip. That said, I imagine San Francisco band Culture Abuse could change things. They built the sweet, frictionless songs on their second album, June’s Bay Dream (Epitaph), with the kind of hooks that waste no time affixing themselves to the brain. Propulsive, tender, and occasionally silly (quite nakedly so in the case of the dad joke titled “Bee Kind to the Bugs”), Bay Dream showcases the sounds of a band that’s having fun. If there’s any lesson impressionable young musicians learn from this album, I hope it’s about joy. —LEOR GALIL v

l

l

APPLICATION DEVELOPMENT MANAGER (MULTIPLE POSITIONS)

JOBS

General A.J. Antunes & Co. is seeking a Java & AWS Sr Software Engineer in Carol Stream, IL w/the following requirements: BS degree in Comp Sci or related field or foreign equivalent degree. 5 yrs of related experience. Required skills: Design, code and test software applications using Java, J2EE, RESTful APIs and Microservices in Spring framework (5 yrs); Build custom n-tier web based applications with relational databases, as backend and efficient use of SQL (5 yrs); Design and build highly available applications in Amazon Web Services by using load balancing, auto scaling, fault tolerance, audit trail and disaster recovery functionalities (1 yr); Design and build highly available Cassandra databases with replication, cluster, & optimized query performance based on business use cases (1 yr). Apply at www.ajantunes.com, Careers, search for job #180032.

(Accenture LLP; Chicago, IL): Develop, design, and maintain software products or systems to enable client strategies. Must have willingness and ability to travel domestically approximately 80% of the time to meet client needs.

For complete job description, list of requirements, and to apply, go to: www.accenture.com/us-en/careers (Job# 00621902).

APPLICATION DEVELOPMENT MANAGER

(Multiple Positions) (Accenture LLP; Chicago, IL): Develop, design, and maintain software products or systems to enable client strategies. Must have willingness and ability to travel domestically approximately 80% of the time to meet client needs.

For complete job description, list of requirements, and to apply, go to: www.accenture.com/us-en/careers (Job# 00621902).

N&C IMPACT CARE Solutions APPLICATION DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATE MANAGER (MULTIPLE POSITIONS)

(Accenture LLP; Chicago, IL): Develop, design, and maintain software products or systems to enable client strategies. Must have willingness and ability to travel domestically approximately 80% of the time to meet client needs.

For complete job description, list of requirements, and to apply, go to: www.accenture.com/us-en/careers (Job# 00611105).

APPLICATION DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATE MANAGER

(Oakbrook, IL) seeks Healthcare Administrator to plan/ direct/coordinate/manage personnel /finances, & facility operations, as well as handle patient admission & discharge. Must be willing to occasionally work outside of regular business hours. Submit resumes at ugorji chy@yahoo.com, Reference Job ID: Healthcare Admin in subject line.

IMC AMERICAS, INC. (Chicago,

IL), a proprietary trading company, seeks an experienced professional to fill an opening in its Chicago office for a Hardware R&D Lead. To apply, submit resume and cover letter to talent@imc-chicago.com with position title in subject line. No calls.

EOE.

IMC AMERICAS, INC. (Chicago, IL), a proprietary trading company, seeks an experienced professional to fill an opening in its Chicago office for a Trader. To apply, submit resume and cover letter to talent@ imc-chicago.com with “Trader 102” in subject line. No calls. EOE.

Forest Park: 1BR new tile, energy efficient windows, lndry facilitities, a/c, incls heat - natural gas, $895/ mo Luis 708-366-5602 lv msg 917 E. MARQUETTE 2Bd $900

1 Month Free & No Security, Section 8 Welcome. Niki 773-808-2043

IMC AMERICAS, INC. (Chicago, IL), a proprietary trading company, seeks an experienced professional to fill an opening in its Chicago office for a Trader. To apply, submit resume and cover letter to talent@ imc-chicago.com with “Trader 103” in subject line. No calls. EOE.

REAL ESTATE RENTALS

STUDIO $500-$599 CHICAGO, CAL PARK & Blue Island: Studio $625 & up; 1BR $700 & up; 2BR $885 & up. Heat, Appls, Balcony, Carpet, Laundry, Parking.

Call 708-388-0170

1 BR $700-$799 HUGE RAVENSWOOD STUDIO! Landlord pays heat and cook-

EXTRA LARGE 2 1/2 RM RAVEN-

SWOOD STUDIO! LANDLORD PAYS HEAT AND COOKING GAS!!

Living Room, Dinette with built- in china cabinets, newly remodeled Kitchen: granite counters/ stainless appliances! On-site lndry/storage. 2 blocks to Metra/Mariano’s Grocery.

Close to Damen “EL”!

4914 N. Wolcott. $1,100.00. Sept. 1.

(773) 381-0150. www.theschirmfirm.com

IMC AMERICAS, INC. (Chicago,

IL), a proprietary trading company, seeks an experienced professional to fill an opening in its Chicago office for a Trader. To apply, submit resume and cover letter to talent@ imc-chicago.com with “Trader 104” in subject line. No calls. EOE.

ing gas!!

1 block to Metra and 2 blocks to Damen “EL”!

Loads of windows and closets! Builtin china cabinets! Lovely hdwd flrs.

On-site lndry/storage. $1,055.00.

4832 N. Wolcott. Sept. 1 (773) 381-0150. www.theschirmfirm.com

1 BR UNDER $700 NEWLY REMODELED UNITS

STUDIO $600-$699 Chicago, Hyde Park Arms Hotel, 5316 S. Harper, elevator bldg, phon e/cable, switchboard, fridge, priv bath, lndry, $165/wk, $350/bi-wk or $650/mo. Call 773-493-3500

STUDIO $700-$899

STUDIO OTHER LARGE SUNNY ROOM w/fridge & microwave. Near Oak Park, Green Line & Buses. 24 hr Desk, Parking Lot $101/week & Up. (773)378-8888

LARGE ONE BEDROOM for

sublease through 1/31/19. 6822 N. Wayne. Hardwood floors. Pets OK. $845/month (heat included). Available 10/15. (773) 761-4318

LARGE ONE BEDROOM near

red line. 6822 N. Wayne. Hardwood floors. Pets OK. $975/month. Heat included. Available 10/1. (773) 761-4318

61st & King Dr. 3 Bd/2Ba, Washer/ Dry Hook-up, Alarm, 61st & Racine - 1Bd/1Ba, 1 year Free Heat.

Chicago Heights 4 Bed, 2 Full baths, SFH. Other locations available. Approved credit receive 1 month free rent.

For More Info Call 773.412.1153

QUALITY APARTMENTS, GREAT Prices! Studios-4BR, from

CROSSROADS HOTEL SRO SINGLE RMS Private bath, PHONE,

$545. Newly rehabbed. Appliances included. Low Move-in Fees. Hardwood floors. Pangea - Chicago’s South, Southwest & West Neighborhoods. 312-985-0556

Ashland Hotel nice clean rms.

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

Low rates daily/weekly/monthly.

South Side. Call 773-376-5200

7022 S. SHORE DRIVE Impecca-

{ {

(Accenture LLP; Chicago, IL): Develop, design, and maintain software products or systems to enable client strategies. Must have willingness and ability to travel domestically approximately 80% of the time to meet client needs.

For complete job description, list of requirements, and to apply, go to: www.accenture.com/us-en/careers (Job# 00623782).

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

STUDIO $900 AND OVER

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

R U O Y AD E R HE

REACH OVER 1 MILLION PEOPLE MONTHLY IN PRINT & DIGITAL.

WEST HUMBOLDT PK, 1 & 2BR Apts, spacious, oak wood flrs, huge closets. heat incl, rehab, $825 & $935. Call 847-866-7234

9147 S. Ashland. 1BR $780, clean & secure, hdwd flrs, dinein Kit, appls, laundry. U Pay gas & elec. No Pets. 312-914-8967.

1 BR $800-$899 ONE BEDROOM GARDEN apartment near Warren Park and Metra.

6802 N. Wolcott. Hardwood floors.

Cats OK. $850/month (heat included) Available 10/1. 773-761-4318.

1 BR $900-$1099 ONE BEDROOM APARTMENT. 1st floor. 5815 Fullerton, be-

tween Central & Austin. Available immediately. $900/mo includes heat, water and parking. Laundry inside building. 773-889-8491.

ONE BEDROOM APARTMENT near Loyola Park. 1337 1/2 W. Estes.

Hardwood floors. Cats OK. $950975/month (heat included). Available 10/1. 773-761-4318.

1 BR $1100 AND OVER

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

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

CHICAGO 65TH & Wood 1+ or 2+ BR w/large kitc., newly decorated, on quiet block. Avail. now. $630 & $750/mo. Call 847STUNNING EXTRA LARGE 274-6936 1 BDRM in beautiful English Tudor buidling!

2 blocks to Irving Park “EL”. Lovely 76TH & SAGINAW, 1-2 bedhdwd flrs, formal Dining Room, builtroom apartments with beautiful in china cabinet, built-in bookshelves. hardwood floors. Heat & appliances Loads of windows! On-site lndry/ included. $615-$770/mo. 773-445storage.

0329 4233 N. Hermitage. $1,580.00 ht incl.

Oct. 1 (773) 381-0150. www.theschirmfirm.

CHATHAM com 7105 S. CHAMPLAIN, 1BR. $6 40.

2BR. $775. Sec 8 OK. Heat & appl.

Call Office: 773-966-5275 or

312-480-0436

Winnemac Park and Damen “EL”!

Pretty Hdwd flrs, formal Dining Room, on-site lndry/storage.

5002 N. Winchester. Oct. 1. $1,300 heat incl.

(773) 381-0150 www.theschirmfirm. com

1 BR OTHER FELLOWSHIP MANOR Affordable Housing For The Elderly. Applications are being accepted at Fel-

lowship Manor, 5041 South Princeton Avenue, Chicago IL, 60609 for one bedroom apartments.

Applicants must be at least 62 years of age, and must meet screening criteria. Contact the onsite management office by phone at (773) 9245980, or Via postal mail. This institution is an equal opportunity provider.

APTS. FOR RENT PARK MGMT & INV. LTD. SUMMER IS HERE!!!

MONST UNITS INCLUDE..

HEAT & HOT WATER STUDIOS FROM $495.00 1BDR FROM $545.00 2BDR FROM $745.00 3 BDR/2 FULL BATH FROM $1200 **1-(773)-476-6000**

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 ∫

6748 CRANDON & 7727 COLFAX Most Beautiful Apartments!

1 & 2BR, $625 & Up. Off street parking.

773-947-8572 / 773-288-4444 CHICAGO - BEVERLY, 1 & 2BR Apts. Carpet, Hdwd Flrs, A/C, laundry, near transportation, $795-$1040/mo. Call 773-2334939 SUNNY & LARGE 2 & 3BR, hd wd/ceramic flrs, appls, heat incl’d, Sect 8 OK. $900 plus.

70th & Sangamon/Peoria. 773456-6900

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

773-637-5957

SUBURBS, RENT TO OW N! Buy with No closing costs and get help with your credit. Call 708868-2422 or visit www.nhba.com

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

CHICAGO, RENT TO OWN! Buy with no closing costs and get help with your credit. Call 708868-2422 or visit www.nhba.com

7425 S. COLES - 1 BR $620, 2

NO SECURITY DEPOSIT NO MOVE IN FEE 1, 2, 3 BEDROOM APTS (773) 874-1122

BR $735, Includes Free heat & appliances & cooking gas. (708) 424-4216 Kalabich Mgmt

NICE ROOM w/stove, fridge & bath Near Aldi, Walgreens, Beach, Red Line & Buses. Elevator & Laundry. $133/wk & up. 773-275-4442

TERRIFIC SUNNY RAVENSWOOD 1 bdrm near fabulous

APTS. FOR RENT PARK MGMT & INV. LTD. SUMMER IS HERE!!!

HEAT, HW & CG PLENTY OF PARKING 1BDR FROM $785.00 2BDR FROM $1025.00 3 BDR/2 FULL BATH FROM $1200 **1-(773)-476-6000***

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

NEWLY REMOD Studios, 1 & 2BR starting at $580. No sec dep, move in fee or app fee. Free heat/hot water.

1155 W. 83rd St. 773-619-0204

CONTACT US TODAY! | 312-222-6920

ALSIP: Updated 2BR apt, 1.

5BA. $925-$950/mo & 1BR apt, 1BA, $770/mo.

New appls, laundry, parking & storage. 708268-3762

TERRIFIC SUNNY RAVENSWOOD 1 bdrm near fabulous

Winnemac Park and Damen “EL”!

Pretty Hdwd flrs, formal Dining Room, on-site lndry/storage.

5002 N. Winchester. Oct. 1. $1,300 heat incl.

(773) 381-0150 www.theschirmfirm. com

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

2 BR UNDER $900 Chicago, 9121 S. Cottage Grove, 2BR apt. $1050/mo Newly remod, appls, mini blinds, ceiling fans, pkng Sec 8 OK. Free Heat 312-915-0100

SEPTEMBER 6, 2018 | CHICAGO READER 35

90TH/LANGLEY 2BR Apts w/ appls, recent updated, near trans & shops, tenant pays heat. $625/mo + 1 mo sec dep. Brown Rlty.

773-239-9467

94-3739 S. BISHOP. 1st and 2nd flrs, 5 rms, 2BR, stove, fridge, parking, storage, near trans/shops.

No pets. $950 + sec. Heat Incl 708-335-0786

10501 S. CORLISS AVE . 2BR,

1BA, 1st floor, $750/mo + utils & 1 mo sec. Appls incl, Sec 8 OK, near school & trans. Call 847-922-7939

9116 S. South Chicago Ave. Nice 2BR, 1BA Apt, appls incl. $695/mo. 312-683-5174

2 BR $900-$1099

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

WEST SIDE - 2BR in quiet 2 flat brick building, newly remodeled, hdwd flrs throughout. Section 8 welcome. 773406-1676 CHATHAM, 720 E. 81st St. Newly remodeled 1BR, 1BA, hardwood floors,

appliances & heat included. Call 847-533-5463.

3 BR OR MORE UNDER $1200

CHATHAM AREA, Gorgeous, 2BR, 1st flr, updated kit & bath. $850/mo + 1 mo sec.

Clean & Quiet. No Pets. 773930-6045

BRONZEVILLE: SECTION 8 WELCOME. No Security Deposit.

4841 S Michigan. 4BR $1300/mo.

Appliances included. 708-2884510

SECTION 8 WELCOME - 1430 W. 77th St. 2BR. Ceiling fans, Heat incl. 1056 W. 81st St. 2BR, ceiling fans, heat not incl. 312-608-7622

ADULT SERVICES

Great Neighborhood. Tier 1 School, Section 8 ok. Call 312-501-0509

SECTION 8 WELCOME, Newly updated 2 & 3BR nr 80th & Hermitage, heat & appls included.

Ceiling fans, pergo floors.

773-490-4677

roommates FURNISHED

SECTION 8 WELCOME. No Security Deposit. 7721 S Peoria, 3BR apt, appls incl. $1050/mo.

708-288-4510

FREE WEEK! 96TH & Halsted &

3 BR OR MORE $1200-$1499 S. SUBURBS Newly Renovated. 3BR, 1BA, fin bsmt, 2 car gar, Seniors Welcome. $1250 /mo + 1.5 mo sec. No pets.

708-752-2665 Apt in 2 flat, 2nd flr, near L, heat & appls incl, sec 8 ok, No Pets. $1475/ mo Call Marie 773-343-9111

2, 3 & 4BR Houses & Condos.

Matteson & Sauk Village.

Sec 8 OK. Call 708-625-7355

ADULT SERVICES

36 CHICAGO READER | SEPTEMBER 6, 2018

you burgeoning business? A character designed for comics or web pages, or the design for that dream tattoo? Whatever your illustrative needs let the creative genius of ALLEN INK custom design visuals to fit your desire.

Call now for Distinctive, Professional Visuals that suit YOUR needs!

708-669-8131

ROOMS

MESSAGES LOVING COUPLE LOOKING

FOR SALE

115TH & MORGAN, 1st flr, 4BR

incl. stove & fridge, no pets, bkgrnd check. You pay utils. $975/mo. No Sec Dep. 773-405-3472

NEED AN ILLUSTRATION for

SECTION 8 WELCOME

13356 S Brandon 4/1 W/D incl $1300. 7134 S. Normal. 4/2. $1300 225 W. 108th Pl. 2/1 w/ht. $1000. appls inc. No Dep 312-683-5174

RIVERDALE: Great Value! 3BR, newly decor. Carpet, nr metra, no pets. $950mo + sec. Avail Now 708-829-1454 or 708-754-5599

7043 S. MICHIGAN. Deluxe 3BR

2 BR OTHER

3-4 BEDROOM TOWNHOME,

1-4 Bdrms

3 bdr. 60th Ada, new rehab.

Hrdwd/crpt fls, nr trans/schl. Sec. 8 wel. move in ready. Contact (773)272-5084.

LARGE BRIGHT LINCOLN PK

OTHER

6117 S. CAMPBELL, newly decorated 4BR Bsmt Apt. Heat incl.

Stove & refrigerator. $1000/mo + $1000 sec dep. Sect 8 welc. 312719-0524

Stainless steel appliances, hardwood flrs, granite countertops, laundry on site. No sec deposit $500 lease signing bonus Section 8 welcome 312-778-1262

2 BR $1300-$1499

2Bd, 1Bth, In Unit W/D, Roof Deck, Back Porch, HVAC, Fireplace, DW, Hardwood Flrs, Available Immediately. $2000-$2900 Call: 773-472 5944

SERVICES

3 BR OR MORE

6721 S. CHAPPEL . 4 bdrm

FR, 1.5BA, LR, DR, Eat in Kitc., 3 flat, tenant heated, $950/mo. No rent increases for 4 years. 773-375-8068

2 BR $1500 AND OVER

10/1. Parking space available for $75/ month. (773)761-4318.

6150 S. VERNON Ave. 3 Bdrm 6159 S. KING DR. 3 Bdrm 7649 S. PHILLIPS. 1-4 Bdrms 6943 S. WOODLAWN.

75 S.E. YATES -Renovated 2BR,

room unit ; Heart of Andersonville!

Steps from CTA; 1 block from “Clark Street strip”. First floor unit in 6 unit building; coin laundry; 2015 updated construction and new appliances in all units. Professionally managed. Building maintenance staff ; “on call” for emergencies. Pets accepted on applicant approval basis- 773-718-6035 pjoly@cmsschicago.org

LARGE 3 BEDROOM, one bath room apartment, 4423 N. Paulina.

Hardwood floors. Cats OK. $1790/ month. Heat included. Available

GENERAL

GLENWOOD, Updated large 2BR Condo, $990/mo. HF HS, balcony, C/A, appls, heat/water incl. 2 pkng, laundry. Call 708.268.3762

CHARMING, SUNNY TWO bed-

ENGLISH BULLDOG PUPPIES, GCHB CH Sired Show Dog, Excellent Pedigree/show potential, 618-335-2586 for pics & info

3 BR OR MORE $1500-$1799

$400;

Utilities included. Near good transportation. $200 clean up fee required. Fixed income invited. Call 312-758-6931 other locations. Large Rooms, shared kitchen & bath. $100/week and up.

Call 773-673-2045

MARKETPLACE

for a young women for egg donation.

Must be between the ages of 18-25, Caucasian, brown or black hair, and green, hazel or brown eyes. College educated or attending college, healthy, smoke and drug free, and a healthy BMI. You must be willing to travel to Naperville and Plainfield on multiple occasions. Please include a photographic with your application.

We are not an agency. We are working with a reputable doctor, Dr. Randy Morris. Your health and confidentially will be respected. If you are willing to help us, please go to Dr. Morris donor website at www. ivf1match.com to complete the application and use reference code (fall2019). This is an anonymous donor program so please only contact the office of Dr. Morris. Donor compensation is $5,000 and will be given to the donor when the egg retrieval has been completed.

GOODS

CLASSICS WANTED ANY CLASSIC CARS IN ANY CONDITION. ’20S, ’30S, ’40S, ’50S, ’60S & ’70S. HOTRODS & EXOTICS! TOP DOLLAR PAID! COLLECTOR. CALL JAMES, 630-201-8122

MAY THE SACRED Heart of Jesus

ADULT SERVICES

ADULT SERVICES

be adored, glorified, loved and preserved throughout the world now and forever. Sacred heart of Jesus, pray for us. St. Jude worker of miracles, pray for us. St Jude help of the hopeless, pray for us.

Say nine times/day for nine days.

Publication must be promised.

Find hundreds of Readerrecommended restaurants, exclusive video features, and sign up for weekly news chicagoreader.com/ food. l

l

SAVAGE LOVE

By Dan Savage

Of human bondage A lover spurned after a $40 investment in bondage supplies, and more Q : I’m a 54-year-old gay guy

living in New York City. I’m into bondage, and I have a profile on Recon with plenty of pictures showing what I’m into. A guy visiting from San Francisco cruised me.

He asked me to send a face pic, and I did. He invited me to his hotel. He didn’t have any gear with him, so I stopped at a hardware store and picked up $40 worth of rope and duct tape on my way to meet him. But after 30 seconds of small talk, he said he just wasn’t feeling it.

I said OK, that happens, and I left. I’m totally confused.

I’m a decent-looking guy, and the photo I sent is recent.

I was freshly showered, so no hygiene or BO issues.

Obviously, you can’t force yourself to be into someone, but could he have handled it better? Should he have followed up with a message apologizing? Should I reach out and ask him what happened, or is that just pathetic? —BONDAGE OFFER NOT DELIVERED AFTER GETTING EVICTED

A : Typically when this

happens—photos exchanged, hookup arranged, mind changed—it’s because the photos were out of date or were not representative.

Since we aren’t always the best judge of our own photos, BONDAGE, you should ask a friend who won’t bullshit you to look at your photos and give it to you straight.

If your no-bullshit friend clears your photos, then reach out to Mr. San Francisco. He had to make a snap decision when you arrived with that bag of rope and duct tape: Did he feel comfortable letting this stranger render him helpless? In a vanilla hookup, he could give it a little time and back out after some foreplay—it’s a

lot harder to back out when the foreplay involves rope and duct tape. So send him a message via Recon. Open by telling him you aren’t buttsore or angry, and he had every right to change his mind, even at the last minute—which means he has nothing to apologize for, so you aren’t owed an apology and you shouldn’t message him if you’re seeking one.

Then ask if you said or did something that made him feel unsafe. If you did, BONDAGE, accept his feedback graciously—don’t argue with him or attempt to litigate what went down. Just listen.

It may not have been your intention to freak him out by making, say, a few serial-killer jokes, but his impression is what matters, not your intention. And who knows? A sincere effort to get a little constructive feedback may leave him feeling better about you and up for playing the next time he’s in town.

Q : My wife has a fantasy where she’s blindfolded and restrained on our bed.

She hears the front door open, followed by footsteps coming up the stairs, and then she’s ravished by . . . who? She won’t know, presumably, until it’s over.

My question: In fulfilling this fantasy for her, where anonymity and surprise are part of the appeal, what do I tell her in advance? Do I discuss the entire scenario with her so she knows exactly what’s going to happen, minus the identity of the very special guest star?

(That, by the way, would be a semi-regular we’ve played with before, but she wouldn’t necessarily know that at first.) Discussing it seems to eliminate the surprise element of the fantasy. Is it enough to tell her, without mentioning the specific

scenario, that I’d like to make one of her fantasies come true, and ask her to trust me? —ETHICAL THINKING IN QUITE UNUSUAL, ELABORATE TIED TIGHT ENACTMENT

&$!#%&" !! #$!%#"! !!

A : Presumably? There’s no

room for “presumablies” when you’re arranging to fulfill a varsity-level fantasy.

I’m guessing she’d rather not know who’s ravishing her before or during the big event, ETIQUETTE, and she may not want to know after.

But you need to ask her what she wants—no presumptions— before you start making arrangements.

She might want to know everything in advance, or she might want you to decide everything. But you need to check in with her first: “Honey, I want to help you realize that fantasy—you’re tied to the bed, a stranger arrives, you’re ravished by said stranger—but I need to know how involved you want to be in the planning. Clear everything with you, or just make it happen?”

You may find that she wants to be surprised by who but not by when, ETIQUETTE, or by when but not by who—or by who but not by when, how, or where. Or she may want the whole thing to be a surprise. But you have to find out exactly what she wants before you make any plans.

And here’s a pro tip: Don’t reveal the identity of your VSGS immediately afterward.

Because if it goes well, and your wife wants a repeat, you may be able to get a few more encounters out of your first VSGS. v Send letters to mail@ savagelove.net. Download the Savage Lovecast every Tuesday at savagelovcast.com. m @fakedansavage

$2"- # 1,#+!/(!

.,#0 7,1 (. !+ 1 +&15*+3"-).1 477%2 $76/6'' ' 0 %)' *! &3 '. !/'!+

lve o evo upporting t e m s i It’s t thods for eterans. e v our m impaired spine

# BACKVETSUP VISIT ORTHOINFO.ORG/BACKVETSUP

spine.foundation

orthoinfo.org

SEPTEMBER 6, 2018 - CHICAGO READER 37

Avery Sunshine é MARIA MATIAS

NEW

Peter Asher & Jeremy Clyde 11/6, 8 PM, City Winery, on sale Thu 9/6, noon b Ataris 10/21, 8 PM, Bottom Lounge, 17+ Brockhampton 10/28, 7:30 PM, Aragon Ballroom, on sale Sat 9/8, 10 AM b Mike Cooley 12/1, 9 PM, FitzGerald’s, Berwyn, on sale Fri 9/7, 10 AM Vanessa Davis Band 11/16, 8 PM, FitzGerald’s, Berwyn, on sale Fri 9/7, 11 AM Howie Day 11/24, 8 PM, SPACE, Evanston, on sale Fri 9/7, 10 AM b Kurt Elling & Marquis Hill 12/19-20, 8 PM, City Winery, on sale Thu 9/6, noon b Guggenz 11/24, 7 PM, Schubas, on sale Fri 9/7, 10 AM, 18+ Ha Ha Tonka 11/15, 8:30 PM, Empty Bottle Haerts 12/10, 8 PM, Schubas, on sale Fri 9/7, 10 AM, 18+ Rob Ickes & Trey Hensley 10/11, 7:30 PM, Szold Hall, Old Town School of Folk Music, on sale Fri 9/7, 8 AM b Jackopierce 11/11, 8 PM, House of Blues, on sale Fri 9/7, 10 AM, 17+ Glenn Jones 10/4, 8:30 PM, Constellation, 18+ Just Juice 11/29, 7 PM, Schubas, on sale Thu 9/6, 10 AM b Stacey Kent 12/6, 7 and 9:30 PM, SPACE, Evanston, on sale Fri 9/7, 10 AM b Lil Xan 10/2, 6:30 PM, House of Blues, on sale Fri 9/7, 10 AM b Little Steven & the Disciples of Soul 11/5, 8 PM, Copernicus Center Nick Lowe 12/29-30, 8 PM, SPACE, Evanston, on sale Fri 9/7, 10 AM b

Nick Lowe with Los Straitjackets 12/31, 10 PM, SPACE, Evanston, on sale Fri 9/7, 10 AM b New Orleans Suspects 10/26, 10 PM, SPACE, Evanston, on sale Fri 9/7, 10 AM b John Oates 1/13, 7 PM, SPACE, Evanston, on sale Fri 9/7, 10 AM b John Parr 4/10, 8 PM, City Winery, on sale Thu 9/6, noon b Rehasher, Pilfers 10/3, 7 PM, Reggie’s Music Joint Jessie Reyez 11/13, 7 PM, Lincoln Hall, on sale Fri 9/7, 10 AM b Draco Rosa 12/4, 8 PM, Thalia Hall, on sale Fri 9/7, 10 AM, 17+ Bob Schneider 11/30, 8 PM, Maurer Hall, Old Town School of Folk Music, on sale Fri 9/7, 9 AM b Secret Sisters 11/10, 7 PM, SPACE, Evanston, on sale Fri 9/7, 10 AM b Snail Mail 1/17, 9 PM, Metro, on sale Fri 9/7, 10 AM, 18+ Avery Sunshine 12/30, 8 PM; 12/31, 7:30 and 11 PM; and 1/1, 5 PM, City Winery, on sale Thu 9/6, noon b Trauma 9/26, 7 PM, Reggie’s Music Joint Valley Maker 12/14, 9 PM, Hideout Weepies 12/9, 7 PM, Park West b Max Weinberg’s Jukebox 10/20, 10 PM, SPACE, Evanston, on sale Fri 9/7, 10 AM b Joy Williams 11/17, 8 PM, Maurer Hall, Old Town School of Folk Music, on sale Fri 9/7, 9 AM b

UPDATED Cave 10/20-21, 9 PM, Hideout, second show added

38 CHICAGO READER - SEPTEMBER 6, 2018

UPCOMING Acid Dad 11/2, 9 PM, Empty Bottle Acid King 9/22, 8 PM, Reggie’s Rock Club, 17+ Christina Aguilera 10/16-17, 8 PM, Chicago Theatre AJJ, Kimya Dawson 10/9, 7 PM, Thalia Hall, 17+ Alcest, Cloakroom 10/31, 8 PM, Reggie’s Rock Club, 17+ Behemoth, At the Gates, Wolves in the Throne Room 11/9, 7:30 PM, House of Blues, 17+ Belly 10/6, 8 PM, The Vic, 18+ Black Lillies 10/20, 9 PM, FitzGerald’s, Berwyn Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, Ying Yang Twins 9/20, 8 PM, Patio Theater Terry Bozzio 9/18, 8 PM, Reggie’s Rock Club, 17+ Brand X 12/8, 7 PM, Reggie’s Rock Club, 17+ Cloud Nothings, Courtneys 12/14, 8:30 PM, Thalia Hall, 17+ Cold Waves VII with Meat Beat Manifesto, OHGR, Frontline Assembly, C-Tec, Lead Into Gold, and more 9/21-23, 6:30 PM, Metro, 18+ A Collaboration Between Uniform and the Body 11/13, 8:30 PM, Empty Bottle Phil Collins 10/22, 8 PM, United Center Destroyer 10/17, 8 PM, SPACE, Evanston b Devildriver 11/11, 6:30 PM, Bottom Lounge, 17+ Diiv 11/8, 9 PM, Sleeping Village Drug Church, Gouge Away 11/18, 1 PM, Cobra Lounge Lauren Duski 9/16, 7 PM, Schubas b Exploded View 11/1, 8:30 PM, Empty Bottle Eyehategod, Obsessed 9/23, 8 PM, Cobra Lounge, 17+

b Brian Fallon, Craig Finn 10/11, 7:30 PM, Park West, 18+ Fleetwood Mac 10/6, 8 PM, United Center Frigs 9/22, 8:30 PM, Empty Bottle Get Up Kids, Remember Sports 11/10, 9 PM, Bottom Lounge, 17+ Gordon Lightfoot 9/16, 8 PM, Copernicus Center b Gorilla Biscuits, Modern Life Is War 9/29, 1 PM, Metro b Growlers 10/4, 8 PM, Riviera Theatre, 18+ Hands Like Houses 11/16, 6 PM, Bottom Lounge b David Liebe Hart 9/30, 7 PM, Reggie’s Music Joint Helio Sequence 11/28, 8:30 PM, Empty Bottle Hollow Coves 10/10, 8 PM, Beat Kitchen, 18+ Horse Feathers 10/24, 8 PM, SPACE, Evanston Idles 9/14, 10 PM, Lincoln Hall, 18+ Booker T. Jones 11/11, 6 and 8:30 PM, SPACE, Evanston b Joy Formidable, Tancred 11/3, 8 PM, Lincoln Hall, 18+ Junglepussy 10/13, 8 PM, Chop Shop, 18+ Kikagaku Moyo 9/28, 9 PM, Thalia Hall, 18+ King Khan & the Shrines 9/30, 8:30 PM, Empty Bottle King’s X 12/9, 7 PM, Reggie’s Rock Club, 17+ Lala Lala 9/28, 9 PM, Empty Bottle SG Lewis 10/6, 8 PM, Lincoln Hall, 18+ The Life and Times 10/17, 8:30 PM, Empty Bottle Lone Bellow 12/8-9, 7 PM, Maurer Hall, Old Town School of Folk Music b Madball 9/30, 7 PM, Cobra Lounge, 17+ Taj Mahal Trio 9/24, 8 PM, City Winery b Jon McLaughlin & Matt Wertz 11/18, 4 and 8 PM, City Winery b Jim Messina 10/21, 8 PM, City Winery b Mod Sun 10/3, 6 PM, Bottom Lounge, $22.50 b Moe. 10/18-20, 8 PM, Thalia Hall, 17+ Bruce Molsky’s Mountain Drifters 9/28, 8 PM, Szold Hall, Old Town School of Folk Music b Jane Monheit 10/3, 8 PM, City Winery b Monster Magnet, Electric Citizen 10/2, 7:30 PM, Bottom Lounge, 17+ Whitey Morgan 10/13, 9 PM, Thalia Hall, 17+ Aaron Neville 10/11-12, 8 PM, SPACE, Evanston b Night Birds 9/29, 8 PM, Cobra Lounge, 17+ Molly Nilsson 10/27, 8:30 PM, Empty Bottle Owl City 10/13, 8 PM, House of Blues b

ALL AGES

WOLF BY KEITH HERZIK

EARLY WARNINGS

CHICAGO SHOWS YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT IN THE WEEKS TO COME

F

Never miss a show again.

Sign up for the newsletter at chicagoreader. com/early

Parquet Courts 12/3, 7:30 PM, the Vic, 18+ Peach Kelli Pop 10/21, 9 PM, Beat Kitchen, 17+ Peach Pit 10/17, 8 PM, Schubas, 18+ Pile, Spirit of the Beehive 10/6, 8 PM, Subterranean, 17+ Rooney 9/16, 9 PM, Lincoln Hall, 18+ Sango, Naji, Sahar Habibi 10/25, 9 PM, Concord Music Hall, 18+ Ty Segall, William Tyler 11/2, 7:30 PM, Thalia Hall b Slaughter Beach, Dog 9/22, 8 PM, Beat Kitchen, 17+ Soccer Mommy 10/4, 7:30 PM, Lincoln Hall b Stray Birds 9/20, 9 PM, Hideout Terror, Harm’s Way 10/10, 7 PM, Subterranean, 17+ Trapped Under Ice 10/7, 7 PM, Cobra Lounge b Twenty One Pilots 10/17, 7 PM, United Center Rufus Wainwright 11/20, 8 PM, the Vic White Panda 11/29, 8 PM, Concord Music Hall, 18+ Pete Yorn 10/23, 7:30 PM, Park West, 18+ Dweezil Zappa Choice Cuts 11/16, 8 PM, the Vic

SOLD OUT Bonnie “Prince” Billy 10/7, 7:30 PM, Fullerton Hall, Art Institute of Chicago Cavetown 12/8, 6:30 PM, Bottom Lounge b Denzel Curry 10/4, 7 PM, Bottom Lounge b Chelsea Cutler 10/2, 8 PM, Chop Shop, 17+ Billie Eilish 10/28, 7 PM, Metro b Laura Jane Grace & the Devouring Mothers 11/8, 8 PM, Hideout Hozier 9/21, 8 PM, Riviera Theatre b Jim James, Alynda Segarra 11/9, 7:30 PM, the Vic b Tom Morello 10/8, 8 PM, Lincoln Hall, 18+ Claudio Simonetti’s Goblin 11/18, 8 PM, Reggie’s Rock Club, 17+ Tenacious D 11/13-14, 7:30 PM, Riviera Theatre, 18+ The The 9/22, 8 PM, Riviera Theatre, 18+ Lucinda Williams 11/17, 8 PM, FitzGerald’s, Berwyn Thom Yorke 12/4, 8 PM, Chicago Theatre v

GOSSIP WOLF A furry ear to the ground of the local music scene EVEN AFTER SPENDING decades moshing in dank VFW halls and DIY basements, Gossip Wolf never tires of well-crafted old-school hardcore punk—and Chicago crew Uglybones always deliver a mighty wallop! Last month they dropped their sophomore LP, Sunshine, on local label Don’t Panic, and it packs a truckload of righteous fury into barely 17 minutes. “Bottom Feeder” and “Animal” deliver enough chugging breakdowns, blistering riffs, and obnoxious vocals to satisfy any meathead punk. You can pick up a copy on Saturday, September 8, when Uglybones play Cobra Lounge with UK legends Subhumans and Baltimore punks War on Women.

Chicago arts incubator AMFM closed its Pilsen gallery last week, but founder Ciera Mckissick is keeping busy while looking for a new spot. On Saturday, September 8, AMFM presents Feast, a free festival in Douglas Park that’s part of the Chicago Park District’s Night Out in the Parks. It hopes to spur grassroots fixes to food deserts, and people in need can get one of 100 vouchers good for a free meal from the fest’s food vendors. Local visual artist Jane Georges will also construct an interactive installation using nonperishables. Feast features arts booths, a fashion show, and music: the 15-act bill includes Chicago hip-hop duo Mother Nature, rising rapper Solo Sam, teaching artist and MC Matt Muse, and experimental-rock group Avantist. It starts at 1 PM. On Saturday, September 8, the Empty Bottle presents Beer & Bands for Comfort Station, an annual fund-raiser for the titular Logan Square arts hub. Beginning at 4 PM, the Illinois Centennial Monument hosts sets from shoegazers Dim, hip-hop polymath Phoelix, indie-folk band Campdogzz, and cumbia fusion group Dos Santos. The show is free, but $25 ($20 in advance) gets you into the beer garden, with unlimited beer from Goose Island, cider from Virtue, and hard seltzer from White Claw. Proceeds benefit Comfort Station. —J.R. NELSON AND LEOR GALIL Got a tip? Tweet @Gossip_Wolf or e-mail gossipwolf@chicagoreader.com.

l

l

SEPTEMBER 6, 2018 - CHICAGO READER 39

WEST LOOP’S FIRST URBAN WINERY, INTIMATE MUSIC VENUE, RESTAURANT, AND PRIVATE EVENT SPACE

1200 W RANDOLPH ST CHICAGO, IL 60607 312.733.WINE | CITYWINERY.COM

- COMING SOON -

9.8

9.9

ON SALE AT NOON THURSDAY 9.6 ON SALE TO VINOFILE MEMBERS TUESDAY 9.4

JC Brooks Band 9.10

Paul Brady

with John Condron

WildClaw Theatre - A Taste of Deathscribe 11.6 Peter Asher & Jeremy Clyde 11.10-11 An Acoustic Evening with John Hiatt 12.19-20 Kurt Elling 12.30-1.1 Avery*Sunshine - NYE SHOWS 4.10 John Parr

Davina & the Vagabonds with The Claudettes

Grateful Dead Music & Wine Pairing

9.21

Lera Lynn

presents the Hendrix Experience

10.2

9.16

Dar Williams with Lucy WainWright Roche

(of The Youngbloods)

9.18

John Popper (of Blues Traveler)

9.19

John Pizzarelli Trio 9.28

9.23

Matthew Perryman Jones

WILLY PORTER BAND Dog Eared

Dream Anniversary Show

with Molly Parden

with Reuben Bidez

9.11

Great Moments in Vinyl

Jesse Colin Young

9.17

Terrapin Flyer

with The Mighty Pines

9.13

9.12

Matt Andersen

The Way Down Wanderers

10.22

10.3

10.1

Jane Monheit

Jump, Little Children

The Songbook Sessions: Ella Fitzgerald

with Michael Flynn

OFFICIAL AIRLINE PARTNER

l