Print Issue of November 30, 2017 (Volume 47, Number 9) by Chicago Reader

C H I C A G O ’ S F R E E W E E K LY | K I C K I N G A S S S I N C E 1 9 7 1 | N O V E M B E R 3 0 , 2 0 1 7

Holiday gifts for music ﬁends: The year’s best box sets 27

Who loves Chicago’s most unlovable losers, the Bears? 16

The lost Harold Washington ﬁles By BEN JORAVSKY 10

Experience the magic Dec. 1 - Jan. 7 This holiday season, unwrap excitement at the Fifth Third Bank Winter WonderFest. With dozens of rides, games and activities like wall climbing, inflatable sledding hills and the Chicago Blackhawks indoor ice skating rink, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s holiday fun for the whole family. SAV E W HE N YOU BU Y T I C KE TS AT N AVY PI E R.ORG C E NTENNI AL W H E EL R I DE IN C LU D ED WI T H EAC H T I C KE T

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EDITOR JAKE MALOOLEY CREATIVE DIRECTOR VINCE CERASANI DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY JAMIE RAMSAY CULTURE EDITOR TAL ROSENBERG FILM EDITOR J.R. JONES MUSIC EDITOR PHILIP MONTORO ASSOCIATE EDITORS STEVE HEISLER, JAMIE LUDWIG, KATE SCHMIDT SENIOR WRITER MIKE SULA SENIOR THEATER CRITIC TONY ADLER STAFF WRITERS MAYA DUKMASOVA, LEOR GALIL, DEANNA ISAACS, BEN JORAVSKY, AIMEE LEVITT, PETER MARGASAK, JULIA THIEL SOCIAL MEDIA EDITOR RYAN SMITH GRAPHIC DESIGNER SUE KWONG MUSIC LISTINGS COORDINATOR LUCA CIMARUSTI FILM LISTINGS COORDINATOR PATRICK FRIEL CONTRIBUTING WRITERS NOAH BERLATSKY, ANNE FORD, ISA GIALLORENZO, JOHN GREENFIELD, ANDREA GRONVALL, JUSTIN HAYFORD, JACK HELBIG, IRENE HSIAO, DAN JAKES, BILL MEYER, MICHAEL MINER, J.R. NELSON, MARISSA OBERLANDER, LEAH PICKETT, BEN SACHS, DMITRY SAMAROV, OLIVER SAVA, KEVIN WARWICK, DAVID WHITEIS, ALBERT WILLIAMS ---------------------------------------------------------------ADVERTISING DIRECTOR CHRISTOPHER BEST SENIOR ACCOUNT MANAGER EVANGELINE MILLER MARKETING AND EVENTS MANAGER BRYAN BURDA DIRECTOR OF DIGITAL JOHN DUNLEVY ADVERTISING COORDINATOR HERMINIA BATTAGLIA ---------------------------------------------------------------DISTRIBUTION CONCERNS distributionissues@chicagoreader.com CHICAGO READER 30 N. RACINE, SUITE 300 CHICAGO, IL 60607 312-222-6920 CHICAGOREADER.COM

FEATURES

POLITICS

SPORTS

MUSIC & NIGHTLIFE

Thirty years after Harold Washington’s death, a newly unearthed trove of documents reveals the early stages of his transformation into the insurgent who’d become the ﬁrst (and still only) black man elected mayor of Chicago.

Perhaps no local fan base is more loyal than that of the Bears. But what has the so-called “pride and joy of Illinois” done in three decades to deserve such devotion? BY TED COX PHOTOS BY ALLISON GREEN 16

The year’s best box sets include 11 CDs from David Bowie’s Berlin period, 529 tracks of live vintage country from Louisiana Hayride, and the most complete portrait yet of Hüsker Dü’s early years. BY PETER MARGASAK 27

The lost Harold Washington files

BY BEN JORAVSKY 10

Who loves Chicago’s most unlovable losers?

Gifts that sing—are you listening?

---------------------------------------------------------------READER (ISSN 1096-6919) IS PUBLISHED WEEKLY BY STM READER, LLC 30 N. RACINE, SUITE 300 CHICAGO, IL 60607. COPYRIGHT © 2017 CHICAGO READER. PERIODICAL POSTAGE PAID AT CHICAGO, IL. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. CHICAGO READER, READER, AND REVERSED R: REGISTERED TRADEMARKS ®.

IN THIS ISSUE 4 Agenda It’s a Wonderful Life: Live in Chicago!, the stand-up showcase Faded by T. Murph, and more recommended goings-on about town

CITY LIFE

8 Street View There are no regrets in Claire Jade Wong’s world of style. 8 Sure Things A best bet for each day of the week

ON THE COVER: HAROLD WASHINGTON, SUN-TIMES ARCHIVE PHOTO

ARTS & CULTURE

20 Lit Iliza Shlesinger’s Girl Logic lacks girls and logic.

21 Lit Dave Kehr returns with another indispensable collection of ﬁlm criticism. 22 Dance Links Hall turns trading post for a ten-day festival of creative exchange. 23 Movies Newly acclaimed for Lady Bird, Greta Gerwig is a fresh new voice who’s been around a while. 26 Movies Watch The Disaster Artist and you’ll never enjoy The Room again.

MUSIC & NIGHTLIFE

32 Shows of note Vic Mensa, Queens of the Stone Age, Migos, and more of the week’s best

FOOD & DRINK

39 Restaurant review: Somerset Country clubs aren’t cool, but the food at Boka Restaurant Group’s latest is. 41 Supper club Tasting Collective aims to bring a “human connection” to restaurant dining in Chicago.

CLASSIFIEDS 42 Jobs

42 Apartments & Spaces 43 Marketplace

44 Straight Dope How did Minnesota diverge linguistically from “duck duck goose” to “duck duck gray duck”? 45 Savage Love No sparks, no sex— what’s a nice guy to do? 46 Early Warnings The Eagles, Farley Jackmaster Funk, and more shows you should know about in the weeks to come 46 Gossip Wolf Help keep Horace Mann Elementary’s Mustangs marching, and other music news.

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Altered Boy Arguably, the eighth rite of the Catholic church is to make art about parting ways with the Catholic church. Louisiana-born comedian Garrett Allain chronicles his religious upbringing and sexual coming of age in this autobiographical one-man show in the form of a string of loosely related comedic sketches. Allain combines video segments that reimagine his school play performances, heartfelt monologues, family impersonations, and The Lonely Island-style music numbers about “GAMs” (grown-ass men) and Tinder to provide an impressionistic look at his life. His lyrical prowess outweighs his vocal ability, and only a few sketches really land, but there’s some profound insight here into the uniquely complicated relationship closeted gay Christians had with their sexuality during the height of the Catholic church’s child sex abuse scandal. Jeff Bouthiette directs. —DAN JAKES Through 12/30: FriSat 7:30 PM, Sun 7 PM; also Thu 12/21 and 12/29, 7:30 PM, the Buena at Pride Arts Center, 4147 N. Broadway, 800-737-0984, pridefilmsandplays.com, $25. Bite Size Broadway This one-act packs eight original “micromusicals” written by musical legend Bobby Lloyd Webber, fictional estranged son of Sir Andrew, into an hour. In JonBenét: Tiny Sweetheart, Tiny Murder, the Ramsey family tries to cover up evidence of the crime—and of their tiny dress fetishes—as the police investigate. In Nancy Drew: The Musical, Nancy’s gang has a run-in with the Hardy Boys, trading battle-of-the-sexes barbs as they search for clues. It’s a fun premise with an extremely capable cast of six, including Evan Mills as a plaintive, crazy-eyed Cleopatra. The material as a whole sometimes seems less than the sum of its parts, though. Perhaps Bobby (an endearingly caustic Mark Walsh on the night I attended) can flesh out the standouts into a few “nearly micro” but more developed concepts. —MARISSA OBERLANDER Through 1/6: Sat 9 PM, Annoyance Theatre, 851 W. Belmont, 773-697-9693, theannoyance.com, $20, $15 students.

A Dickens Carol Ned Crowley’s R clever holiday play, receiving here its world premiere at the Oak

Park Festival Theatre, weaves moments from Charles Dickens’s life into the fabric of his most famous holiday story to create a wholly entertaining show that’s part parody, part po-mo romp, part ripping yarn. Directed and starring Kevin Theis, the production is packed with lots of special effects (music, lights, elaborate set pieces, and a great deal of stage haze), though these take a back seat to Crowley’s witty dialogue and strong storytelling as well as to Theis’s 13-member ensemble, who deliver topof-the-line performances. Theis himself kills as a larger-than-life Dickens who finds himself a Scrooge, hating the world, totally absorbed by his work, and unexpectedly forced to reflect on his life by a succession of visiting spirits. —JACK HELBIG Through 12/24: Thu-Sat 8 PM, Sun 3 PM; also Sat 12/23, 3 PM, Madison Street Theatre, 1010 W. Madison St., Oak Park, 708-524-1892, $30, $20 seniors, $15 students and children. Irving Berlin’s White Christmas The 1954 holiday film classic White Christmas was a paean to old-fashioned mores, telling the tale of two successful, sophisticated song-and-dance men—one a womanizer, the other a cynic—who surrender to true love and homely values while helping out the general they served under in World War II. This 2008 stage version doesn’t meddle with that formula. You want Christmas? You get it in the sentimental, Eisenhower-era style, where the holiday is universal, heterosexual marriage is a blissful ideal, and—in the Equity touring production running now at the Cadillac Palace Theatre—the presence of a lone black cast member only emphasizes the whiteness all around her. Director-choreographer Randy Skinner even works in that weird retro gesture where a male dancer has his female partner circle him at arm’s length like a prize filly. It’s all very well done and jolly, as long as you don’t worry about the creepy implications. —TONY ADLER Through 12/3: Wed 2 and 7:30 PM, Thu-Fri 7:30 PM, Sat 2 and 7:30 PM, Sun 2 PM, Tue 7:30 PM, Cadillac Palace Theatre, 151 W. Randolph, 312902-1400, $18-$100.

It’s Christmas, Goddamnit! These 100 minutes of Christmas sacrilege should give the Annoyance ample opportunity to display its uniquely charismatic insolence. Christmas Eve brings together the prototypically dysfunctional James family: the level-headed and recently widowed dad, the slacker son and his miserable wife, the nymphomaniac daughter and her condescending husband, the loner daughter, the loathsome uncle. Thrown into the mix are the doting next-door neighbor and her near catatonic son—the only one of six siblings who survived a horrifying bus crash—who may be a vicious murderer. But despite such a volatile mix, director Tiﬀani Swalley keeps everything on such a low simmer that very little explodes. Rather than outrageousness, we get mild-mannered foolishness, often hampered by such awkward timing that the jokes don’t land. —JUSTIN HAYFORD Through 12/22: Fri 8 PM, Annoyance Theatre, 851 W. Belmont, 773-697-9693, theannoyance.com, $20, $15 students. It’s a Wonderful Life: Live in R Chicago! Bedford Falls is an idyllic small town in this staged “radio play”

version of Frank Capra’s 1946 movie. Idyllic, at least, until George Bailey—middle-aged president of the local building and loan, faithful husband, and father of four—has a night of the soul so dark that angelic intervention is required to keep him from killing himself. American Blues Theater has made the 90-minute piece an annual holiday staple, complete with commercial jingles and candy cane prizes, without letting it dull out into ritual. I was especially aware this year of the intimate tones Gwendolyn Whiteside’s Mary uses toward George at crucial moments, suggesting in a way not even Donna Reed did in the original that the pair aren’t just teammates in marriage but lovers. (Whiteside will be replaced by Camille Robinson as of December 20.) Zach Kenney creates his own, entirely believable George, makes a weary villain of rich old Potter, and the easy command of music director Michael Mahler is quietly astonishing. —TONY ADLER Through 1/6: Wed-Fri 7:30 PM, Sat 4:30 and 7:30 PM, Sun 2:30 PM, Stage 773, 1225 W. Belmont, 773-327-5252, stage773.com, $19-$49.

Q Brothers Christmas Carol The Q Brothers rhyme, dance, scratch, and mug their way through Charles Dickens’s Yuletide warhorse at Chicago Shakespeare Theater. Here Ebenezer Scrooge goes from proclaiming the holiday “Christ-my-ass” to insisting his long-suffering employee Cratchett call him Neezie as he’s taught the meaning of the holiday. By turns buoyant and hackneyed, this production can’t be accused of ever falling into the maudlin mire this play is so often reduced to, but by trying so hard to connect to a younger audience through hip-hop, dancehall reggae, and the like, the brothers sometimes come off as desperately eager to please. That said, while A Christmas Carol isn’t likely to blow anyone’s mind at this point, the Q Brothers have done all they can to spread season’s greetings in their own way. —DMITRY SAMAROV Through 12/31: Wed-Fri 7:30 PM, Sat 6 and 8:30 PM, Sun 3 and 6 PM (3 PM only 12/24), Tue 7:30 PM, Chicago Shakespeare Theater, 800 E. Grand, 312-5955600, chicagoshakes.com, $30-$52. This Way Outta Santaland (and Other Xmas Miracles) For the past eight years, elfin actor Mitchell Fain has celebrated the winter holidays by starring in Theater Wit’s Christmas cash cow The Santaland Diaries, a stage version of David Sedaris’s comic memoir about playing one of Santa’s helpers at Macy’s. This year, Fain has hung up his elf tights (literally—the costume hangs on the wall of the set) to speak in his own voice. This 90-minute program of autobiographical storytelling is alternately campy and sentimental, blissful and bitchy as Fain recounts memories of growing up in a dysfunctional Jewish family in Rhode Island, then embarking on the path that eventually brought him to Chicago. Fain establishes an easy, engaging rapport with the audience as he salutes the women who have inspired him—a family friend, a beloved schoolteacher, Barbra Streisand—as well as the friends and lovers who’ve encouraged him to, as he puts it, “choose to be brave.” His reminiscences are punctuated by cabaret-style vocals from singer Meghan Murphy, who also functions as a sort of talk show-style sidekick. —ALBERT WILLIAMS Through 12/30: Thu-Sat 7:30 PM, Sun 3 PM; also

It’s a Wonderful Life: Live in Chicago! ò MICHAEL BROSILOW

Best bets, recommendations, and notable arts and culture events for the week of November 30

FROM THE CREATORS OF THE ACADEMY AWARD®-NOMINATED

THE SECRET OF KELLS & SONG OF THE SEA AND EXECUTIVE PRODUCER ANGELINA

JOLIE

INSPIRING! REMARKABLE!

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Nothing short of exceptional!” - Peter Debruge, VARIETY

Panoramical, by Fernando Ramallo and David Kanaga, part of “The Ears Have Walls” at VGA Gallery. Wed 12/20 and 12/27, 7:30 PM, Theater Wit, 1229 W. Belmont, 773-975-8150, theaterwit.org, $29-$34. Yippee Ki-Yay Merry Christmas: A Die Hard Christmas Musical We parody the things we love (to paraphrase Oscar Wilde). Which is why, I suspect, the folks at MCL Chicago decided to create this energetic, relentlessly silly musical sendup of the blockbuster 1988 action movie. Who else but a die-hard Die Hard fan would want to spend so much creative time crafting a show full of hyperfake ﬁght scenes and tongue-in cheek ballads, megaexplosions, and over-the-top dance numbers? The result is a little rough in places: Michael Shepherd Jordan’s script too often assumes the audience knows the original by heart, and Alan Metoskie’s Bruce Willis is unconvincing, though Gary Fields’s Alan Rickman is dead-on. —JACK HELBIG Through 1/13: Fri-Sat 8 PM, MCL Chicago, 3110 N. Sheﬃeld, mclchicago.com, $20-$25.

DANCE In the Presence of Chasms Dancer-choreographers Megan Rhyme and Tanniqua-Kay Buchanan explore chasms—between private behavior and public speech, between hope and dread, etc—in this evening of short works. Thu 11/30-Fri 12/1, 7:30 PM, Hamlin Park Fieldhouse Theater, 3035 N. Hoyne, 312-742-7785, facebook.com/ events/1496766437087059, $15, $10 students, seniors, and low income.

COMEDY Christmas in Chicago In this musical sketch revue, the Fine Print Theatre Company belts about how holiday family gatherings give everyone the blues. Through 12/10: Thu-Fri 8 PM, Sat 7 and 9 PM, Sun 3 PM, Stage 773, 1225 W. Belmont, 773-327-5252, stage773.com, $22.50 in advance, $25.00 at the door.

The Customer Is Always Right? Holiday Edition Given this 40-minute oﬀering’s semidutiful premise—a couple of people tell horror stories from their days working in customer service, then a team of six improvise around those stories—it’s gratifying to see just how far oﬀ the rails these Annoyance improvisers are willing to take things. A

tale of creepy solicitation at a Six Flags antique photograph emporium became a demented journey through Butterworld, a Wisconsin amusement park where Roald Dahl pitched a children’s book about a sex giant. A second saga of misguided telemarketing (trying to sell people a spare refrigerator full of meat) somehow turned into ﬁve salespeople trying to sell knife sets by pretending to be Jude Law simultaneously. Even with a few hesitant moments, the show zings along delightfully. —JUSTIN HAYFORD Through 12/29: Fri 7 PM, Annoyance Theatre, 851 W. Belmont, 773-697-9693, theannoyance.com, $8.

Pine The Festive Pines tree lot, next to Uncommon Ground, hosts a show about ﬁve workers at a Christmas lot who must pull together to make it through the cold. The show takes place outside; heaters and blankets are provided. 12/1-12/10: FriSun 6 PM, Uncommon Ground on Devon, 1401 W. Devon, 773-465-9801, uncommonground.com, $10 suggested donation or free with the purchase of a tree. A Very Shitty Bitchmas Kristin Phillips and Sierra Carter, the duo Shitty Bitches, bring Christmas cheer to their new sketch show about pivotal moments in their lives. 12/3-12/17: Sun 8 PM, iO Theater, the Mission Theater, 1501 N. Kingsbury, ioimprov.com/chicago, $14.

Aaron Weaver This comic’s onstage persona is that of the world’s smartest, friendliest bro. So hang out with him and get his absurd take on the cosmopolitan everyman at this album recording. Wed 12/6, 7 and 9:30 PM, Timothy O’Toole’s, 622 N. Fairbanks, 312-642-0700, timothyotooles.com, $5 in advance, $10 at the door.

LIT & LECTURES T. Murph, host of Faded Faded by T. Murph Some of R Chicago’s best yet least-known comics perform in this showcase, hosted

by T. Murph, a man whose energy and good nature are infectious. Sat 12/2, 10 PM, the Revival, 1160 E. 55th, 866-811-4111, the-revival.com, $20-$30. Grimoire The premise behind this 45-minute sketch show is kind of clever. As explained in an opening ballad, it concerns a pair of comics (Jon Matteson and James Harvey Freetly) who lose consciousness when the cruise ship they’re performing on strays into the Bermuda Triangle, then wake to find themselves in thrall to a nasty-minded, humanskin-bound talking book with showbiz ambitions. Now the book is forcing them to act out bits it wrote. Sure enough, some of those bits (potential rescuers argue semantics while a building burns, a marooned driver plays charades with his would-be murderer) feel like the sort of thing an evil tome might think up. But the conceit loses steam as Grimoire goes on, until it’s less an animating force than a clothesline on which to hang miscellaneous, mildly amusing gags. —TONY ADLER Through 12/17: Sun 8 PM, Annoyance Theatre, 851 W. Belmont, 773697-9693, theannoyance.com, $8. Hot Reads The show begins with a stack of scripts in the middle of the stage—none of which the actors have read. One by one, each participant grabs a script and performs a sketch for the first time; meanwhile the audience drinks whenever a moment or line is flubbed. 12/2-3/3/2018: Sat midnight, iO Theater, the Mission Theater, 1501 N. Kingsbury, ioimprov.com/chicago, $5.

Celebrating the Chicago ManR ual of Style Come celebrate the release of the Chicago Manual of Style’s

17th edition with a chat and some trivia ﬁt for proofreading royalty. Thu 11/30, 6-7:30 PM, Seminary Co-op Bookstore, 5751 S. Woodlawn, 773-752-4381, semcoop.com.

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WINNER

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ﬁrst chain reaction amazed scientists 75 years ago. 12/1-12/2: Fri 1:30-7 PM, Sat 2:30-8 PM, University of Chicago, Reynolds Club, 5706 S. University, 773702-8787, nuclearreactions.uchicago. edu/events/reactions-new-perspectives-on-our-nuclear-legacy. Sarah Perry Two days after Perry saw a partial eclipse, her mother was murdered in their Maine home. After the Eclipse, Perry’s latest book of prose, chronicles the following 12 years as the police pursued the killer. Thu 11/30, 7:30 PM, Women & Children First, 5233 N. Clark, 773-769-9299, womenandchildrenﬁrst.com.

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VISUAL ART The Ears Have Walls: A Survey of Sound Games Though games are largely a visual medium, their sound design should not go overlooked. The “sound games” in this exhibit demonstrate the power and range of aural experiences in games. Simultaneously running at Experimental Sound Studio (5925 N. Ravenswood). Opening reception Fri 12/1, 5-8 PM. Through 2/25/2018. Sun noon-5 PM and by appointment. VGA Gallery, 2418 W. Bloomingdale, videogameartgallery.com.

For Ahkeem Cai Guo-Qiang In conversation R with U. of C. art history professor Wu Hung, pyrotechnic artist Cai explains how he uses gunpowder as paint and mushroom clouds as inspiration for his mortar sculptures. Fri 12/1, noon, University of Chicago, Joseph Regenstein Library, 1100 E. 57th, 773702-8740.

Reactions: New Perspectives R on Our Nuclear Legacy Ludovico Centis, an Italian architect, headlines a series of talks about how nuclear technology has advanced since the

MOVIES More at chicagoreader.com/movies NEW REVIEWS For Ahkeem An African-American teenager attending a court-supervised high school in Saint Louis becomes pregnant and contemplates her future in this compelling but often frustrating documentary, a microcosm of the struggles faced by many disadvantaged young people of color today. Directors Jeremy S. µ

NOVEMBER 30, 2017 - CHICAGO READER 5

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B Levine and Landon Van Soest filmed their subject, Daje, for two years, a period that encompassed not only the birth of her son, Ahkeem, but also the fatal police shooting of 18-year-old Michael Brown Jr. in nearby Ferguson, Missouri. The filmmakers try to remain unobtrusive in intimate situations, even when Daje and her boyfriend make imprudent decisions, and the predictable consequences raise the question of whether documentary makers should intervene in their subjects’ lives. Yet the filmmakers seem more concerned with whether Daje will fulfill her promise to her son to forge a better life for them both, a question they leave dangling but on a hopeful note. —LEAH PICKETT 90 min. Fri 12/1Thu 12/7, Facets Cinematheque. Thirst Street A New York flight attendant (Lindsay Burdge), traumatized by her boyfriend’s suicide, ventures into a strip club with some coworkers during a layover in Paris and falls for a charming lothario who tends bar (Damien Bonnard). Convinced that she’s found true love, she moves to France, waits tables at the club, and tightens her grip on the man as he tries to wriggle away. Nathan Silver, directing a script he cowrote with C. Mason Wells, sets the stage for supernatural horror—a tarot-card reader predicts the lovers’ first meeting, and after they sleep together the heroine contracts the Frenchman’s conjunctivitis—but the tone shifts to psychodrama as the man’s girlfriend, a touring rock musician, returns home to claim him and the spurned American woman begins stalking the couple. Essentially this is Fatal Attraction with the gender perspective reversed, which may constitute some sort of progress but hardly obviates the castration anxiety at the root of the story. In English and subtitled French. —J.R. JONES 84 min. Fri 12/1Thu 12/7, Facets Cinematheque. NOW PLAYING Coco This engaging Pixar R animation plays magnificently with elements of Mexican

folklore and fine art. A ten-yearold boy who dreams of becoming a musician travels from his village to the Land of the Dead to find the spirit of the man he believes to be his estranged great-great grandfather, a celebrated singer who died in the 1940s. When the boy arrives, however, his other deceased relatives try to steer him away from music and return him to his family in the world of the living. Directors Lee Unkrich (Toy Story 3) and Adrian Molina mine sentiment from the conflict between individual desire and familial responsibility, but their grandest achievement is the intricately designed spirit world, full of allusions to folk art and modern painting. The voice talent includes Gael García Bernal

6 CHICAGO READER - NOVEMBER 30, 2017

Thirst Street and Benjamin Bratt. —BEN SACHS PG, 105 min. Cicero Showplace 14, Crown Village 18, Ford City, River East 21, Showplace ICON, 600 N. Michigan Roman J. Israel, Esq. R Denzel Washington, packing some gut and wearing a goofy

Afro, enjoys himself immensely as the title character, a crusading criminal defense attorney who’s spent years drafting briefs in the office while his partner argues their cases in court; when the partner dies, Roman winds up as a charity hire at a white-shoe law firm, where he struggles to reconcile his 70s idealism with his employers’ more mercantile outlook. Written and directed by Dan Gilroy (Nightcrawler), this affecting suspense film has been compared to the excellent Michael Clayton (by his brother, writer-director Tony Gilroy), though Roman is more eccentric. As usual, Washington plays to the balconies, which leaves a giant opening for Colin Farrell as Roman’s guilt-ridden, somewhat admiring patron at the firm; his conflicts are played much more quietly but hit harder in the end. With Carmen Ejogo and Amanda Warren. —J.R. JONES PG-13, 117 min. For listings visit chicagoreader.com/movies.

The Square “Do you want R to save a human life?” asks a woman distributing ﬂyers

outside a museum of modern art in Stockholm; the unvarying reply from people on the street is “No.” Welcome to the world of Swedish writer-director Ruben Östlund, who takes some wicked pot shots at the business of art but more broadly ponders the breakdown of the social contract among all people. The Square is an art installation outside the museum, a little zone in which “we all share equal rights and obligations,” and that concept informs much of the ﬁlm’s satire— most provocatively, an art lecture continually interrupted by a man with Tourette’s syndrome, who barks obscenities at the museum staﬀers even as they defend his right to

stay. Östlund’s breakout film, Force Majeure (2014), lampooned the privilege of wealth; this story turns more on cultural privilege, embodied by the museum’s handsome but fatuous curator (Claes Bang). With Elisabeth Moss and Dominic West. —J.R. JONES R, 142 min. Fri 12/1, 2, 5, and 8 PM; Sat 12/2-Sun 12/3, 5 and 8 PM; and Mon 12/4-Thu 12/7, 2, 5, and 8 PM, Music Box. SPECIAL EVENTS Phantom Limbs and Future Remains: Films by Jay Rosenblatt Short experimental films by Jay Rosenblatt, who uses clips from religious films, Nazi propaganda, educational films, and home movies to “capture the beauty of a broken world through intimate representations of personal memory and historical trauma.” Screening are The Smell of Burning Ants (1994), Human Remains (1998), Phantom Limb (2005), and his latest, The Kodachrome Elegies. 90 min. Rosenblatt attends the screening. Fri 12/1, 7 PM, Univ. of Chicago Logan Center for the Arts. F Sing-a-Long Sound of R Music Many critics trashed Robert Wise’s 1965 screen version

of The Sound of Music, but the musical’s emotional openness and unguarded optimism honestly express the worldview of songwriters Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein. In the words of theater historian Ethan Mordden, their last collaboration is a “youthful piece written by the elderly, because it is entirely about freedom, which youth always seeks and the aged feel the loss of.” The film’s sweeping aerial cinematography and Salzburg location footage and Julie Andrews’s smart, feisty performance enhance the story’s appeal, and this “sing-along” edition, outfitted with subtitles for the lyrics, affirms Rodgers and Hammerstein’s belief in the power of music to unlock the buoyancy of the human spirit. —ALBERT WILLIAMS G, 174 min. Sat 12/2-Sun 12/3, 11:30 AM, Music Box. v

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THERE ARE NO REGRETS in Claire Jade Wong’s world of style. The School of the Art Institute student doesn’t have cause to cringe at her sartorial past, for one because it’s not all that diﬀerent from her present; she has wardrobe staples that have been in circulation since high school, including the thrifted denim jacket and beanie. “My style is comfortable, practical, and interchangeable,” Wong says, adding that she’s inspired by the Japanese teen street style of Fruits magazine. “Sometimes I think I’m sloppy, but it’s OK—I just like feeling good in my clothes!” —ISA GIALLORENZO See more Chicago street style on Giallorenzo’s blog chicagolooks.blogspot.com.

THURSDAY 30

FRIDAY 1

SATURDAY 2

¾ Oh Hai, Chicago From the folks who brought us a Stranger Things-themed pop-up comes a concept that will tear you apart, Lisa. The bar transforms into the set of The Room—the most hilariously bad movie ever made. 5 PM-2 AM, Emporium Arcade Bar, 2363 N. Milwaukee, emporiumchicago.com.

« D ía de los Muertos: Af ter Dark This exhibit remains open for one last evening event, which includes cooking demonstrations and craft projects. 5-8 PM, National Museum of Mexican Art, 1852 W. 19th, nationalmuseumofmexicanart.org. F

ã Ch ristmas and Wi nter Beer Festi va l More than 100 beers from all around the world? You’ll certainly be warm after attending. Noon-5 PM, Delilah’s, 2771 N. Lincoln, delilahschicago.com, $20 for 20 samples.

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× Re negade Craf t Fair Support local artists and craftsmen by purchasing handmade goods at this annual fair—one of the biggest of its kind. 11 AM-6 PM, Bridgeport Art Center, 1200 W. 35th, renegadecraft.com. F

* Drea m Syndicate The Velvet Underground-inspired band have released their ﬁrst album in 30 years, entitled How Did I Find Myself Here? See them tonight during their reunion tour. 8 PM, Thalia Hall, 1807 S. Allport, thaliahallchicago.com, $20 in advance, $22-30 at the door.

J Talk Show Presents Paula Scaggs and Megan Stalter host this monthly show featuring performances by comedians, drag queens, musicians, and more, plus a “wild card” guest performer every month. 8 PM, Public House Theatre, 3914 N. Clark, pubhousetheatre. com, $10.

· Richard Rothstein The Color of Law, Rothstein’s book about our government’s history of segregation, speaks with WBEZ reporter Natalie Y. Moore, who wrote The South Side: A Portrait of Chicago and American Segregation. 5 PM, Chicago Teachers Union Foundation, 1901 W. Carroll, ctunet.com.

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Thirty years after his death, Harold Washington remains the city’s most recognizable symbol of black political empowerment. A newly unearthed trove of documents reveals the early stages of his transformation into the insurgent who’d ll become the ﬁrst (and sti d cte ele n only) black ma mayor of Chicago. By BEN JORAVSKY

10 CHICAGO READER - NOVEMBER 30, 2017

Harold Washington’s responses to a Har Sun-Times Sun editorial board questionnaire; Washington’s income tax return from Was 1972, released to the press as his failure 197 to ﬁle for four years became a campaign the 1977 campaign’s contact list issue; iss

Forty years ago, Steve Askin found himself with a front-row seat for Harold Washington’s quixotic first campaign for the mayoralty of Chicago. At the tender age of 23, Askin was Washington’s deputy press secretary during the all-but-forgotten Democratic primary of the special mayoral election of 1977, which was held to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Mayor Richard J. Daley. When the campaign ended with Washington’s disappointing third-place finish, Askin packed into boxes everything from speeches and press releases he’d written to position papers and newspaper clippings. In the decades that followed, he carried those boxes from one home to another as he made his way from Chicago to Washington, D.C., and, eventually, Los Angeles, where for the last 30 or so years he’s made his living as a researcher for the Service Employees International Union. Earlier this year, he decided to bring those papers home, so to speak, donating them to the Harold Washington Library.

“I’m a pack rat—I held on to pretty much everything,” Askin says. “It sat in my basement for a while, in my attic for a while. As I get older, I try to get rid of stuff. And then about six months ago, I was in Chicago and I visited the archives at the Harold Washington Library, and that’s when I discovered they had almost no documentation from the ’77 campaign. I realized that this stuff should not be sitting in my attic. It belongs to Chicago—it belongs to Chicago history.” The newly uncovered trove, now available for viewing in the library’s special collections division, offers a rare behind-the-scenes glimpse at the early stages of Washington’s transformation into the insurgent who emerged victorious in 1983 as the first and still only black man elected mayor of Chicago, overcoming the hysteria and fear of white voters to beat the formidable Democratic machine. “It’s a great contribution,” HWL special collections librarian Morag Walsh says, “an important look at an election that we don’t have a lot of information about.” Thirty years after Washington’s death at age 65—he suffered a fatal heart attack in his City Hall office on November 25, 1987—he remains the city’s most recognizable symbol of black political empowerment. But the man who emerges in Askin’s files is flawed, uncertain, a tad too disorganized as he tries to figure out how to reach out to white and Latino voters and break out of

the box that has conﬁned so many black politicians in this town. The documents are, in one sense, a portal to the past; most are written on old-school manual typewriters with edits scrawled by hand, either Askin’s or Washington’s. But they’re also, oddly, a blueprint for the future. For not all that much has changed J

NOVEMBER 30, 2017 - CHICAGO READER 11

Clockwise from far left: Askin (center) with Washington; press alert announcing the release of Washington’s “Red Squad” ﬁles; Washington’s bill of rights for city workers; Red Squad reports written by undercover police spies

continued from 11 in Chicago politics since that ’77 campaign. The city’s still mired in bigotry and autocracy and led by a mayor who’s predisposed to hand over public funds to rich people who don’t need them. But instead of focusing on the present, let me take you back to 1975. Askin, who was raised in New York City, was just ﬁnishing his second year at the University of Chicago. Looking for a summer journalism job, he sent his

12 CHICAGO READER - NOVEMBER 30, 2017

resumé to just about every newspaper, large and small, around town. “I got one call back,” he says. It was from Gus Savage, the publisher of the Citizen Newspapers, a chain of south-side community papers, who was looking for a cub reporter. “Gus said, ‘Are you the white boy at the University of Chicago?’” Askin recalls. “Then he asked, ‘Do you know you sent your resumé to a black newspaper?’” (In 1980, Savage would be elected congressman of the second con-

gressional district on the city’s far sout south side and begin a 12-year and outspo12 ear legislative career as a controversial controve ken advocate for leftist and black nationalist causes.) “Gus sent me out to write a story—like a test,” Askin says. “I can’t remember the story. Probably a high school sports event. He must have liked what I wrote, because he hired me.” Askin found himself covering south-side politicians, including Washington, then a 54-year-old state senator. “Harold was a mensch,” Askin says. “He reached into many different directions, listening to many different voices, many different people.” Washington’s south-side universe consisted of black nationalists, white Hyde Parkers, community activists,

union leaders, mainstream Democratic politicians, ordinary working-class people—and eventually a twentysomething kid from the University of Chicago. In spring 1976, Askin dropped out of school to work for Washington as a legislative aide. (He’d eventually return to the U. of C. to earn a bachelors degree in civilization studies.) Washington was then a virtual unknown on the north side and among white voters in general. But he was a growing force in south-side politics. The son of a Second Ward precinct captain, Washington graduated from DuSable High School and Roosevelt University and earned his law degree from Northwestern. His mentor was Third Ward alderman and eventual U.S. congressman Ralph Metcalfe, for whom he worked as an aide. Gradually, Washington worked his way up the ranks of Metcalfe’s organization before being slated to run for state representative in 1964. Then as now, Chicago was a one-party town. At that time it was controlled by Mayor Richard J. Daley, who was also the chairman of the Cook County Democratic Party. As a legislator, Washington earned a reputation as a maverick unafraid to champion bills, like one calling for civilian oversight boards. Mayor Daley made it clear he was displeased with Washington’s independence. But Metcalfe supported Washington, so politically he remained unbeatable. On December 20, 1976, Daley died of a heart attack. He’d been mayor for 21 years. The City Council named 11th Ward alderman Michael Bilandic as interim mayor. A special election was scheduled for April 19, 1977, to fill out the remaining two years of Daley’s term. From the start, black activists were determined to run an independent candidate. Metcalfe was the obvious choice, but he turned them down to remain in Congress. As the nextmost prominent independent black politician in Chicago, Washington was recruited. On February 19, 1977, he filed the signatures needed to launch his campaign, according to press clippings in the Askin files. “During the past ten days, a group of concerned black and white Chicagoans organized a movement to draft me for mayor,” Washington told reporters. “These facts, coupled with my own deep-seated desire to offer the voters of Chicago a positive alternative and new direction for the future today, lead me to accept humbly their draft.” Washington was running as an unabashed left-ofcenter populist. In his platform, he called for establishing “a fair rent commission” that “has the power to roll back unjust rent hikes,” giving Chicago Housing Authority tenants a “larger role in the management of public housing,” replacing “the head tax with a commuter tax,” providing “tax incentives for new industries in high unemployment sections of the city,” stopping “race and sex discrimination in city hiring,” and “decentralizing the public schools.” Washington also proposed creating “a citizen review board of police brutality complaints.” Before the campaign was over, Washington vowed to fire police superintendent James Rochford and appoint new school board members who were more representative of the city (including parents of public school children). In

many ways, Washington’s ambitious platform would be viable for any progressive running today. In Askin’s files is a copy of a speech Washington gave when he released his policy initiatives. “The fundamental issue in this campaign is the fact that ‘the city that works’ does not work for the overwhelming majority of its citizens,” Washington said. “What I will work for as mayor is not a city that works for the few, but a working city for all. Not a city that works for the Loop, but a working city with working neighborhoods, working schools, working labor, and working capital—all working together for all the people and all the sections of Chicago.” As office letterhead in Askin’s files reveal, Washington’s campaign featured a who’s who of black or independent politics in the 1970s. The precinct coordinator was Renault Robinson, a founder of what was then called the Afro-American Patrolmen’s League, who’d won a discrimination lawsuit against the Chicago Police Department. One of the precinct captains was Bobby Rush, who’s been the congressman from the first congressional district since 1992. Back then he was evolving from a member of the Black Panthers to a mainstream politician. Another precinct coordinator was political strategist Jackie Grimshaw, who went on to play a crucial advisory role in Washington’s 1983 election. Don Rose was the press secretary. He would go on to manage Jane Byrne’s successful mayoral campaign in 1979. (And for many years he wrote for the Reader.) Outreach to ministers was overseen by Sid Ordower, a white gospel concert impresario. Many of the speeches and position papers were drafted by Lu Palmer, a wellknown journalist, and Lerone Bennet Jr., a writer for Ebony and author of many books on black politics and social movements. The campaign manager was Savage, Askin’s old newspaper boss. “I was just a kid among these giants,” Askin says. “The two people who had the greatest impression on me were Lu Palmer and Sid Ordower. I got to know them well. Sid hosted the Jubilee Showcase gospel show [on ABC 7]. Back then he was more recognizable than Harold. If Sid and Harold were walking down the street on the south side, Sid was the guy people recognized.” Palmer had walked away from a reporting job with the Chicago Daily News in 1973 to protest the way white editors watered down his articles on racial issues. “Lu was this wonderful, committed gentleman,” Askin says. “I was this young, white kid. And Lu comes over to me and says, ‘What can I do to help you succeed?’ Here’s this guy who’s viewed as a firebrand black militant, basically viewed as anti-white. I didn’t see a trace of that. He wanted to win. And he wanted me to succeed in my job.” Despite the talent in Washington’s corner, the campaign had no chance. In a postelection memo that Askin wrote for Washington, he points out the campaign was woefully underfunded, with hardly any money to hire a staff to deal with the flood of calls and speaking requests. In the memo, Askin notes that phone messages got lost or went unanswered. J

“It’s a great contribution, an important look at an election that we don’t have a lot of information about.”

—Harold Washington Library special collections librarian Morag Walsh

NOVEMBER 30, 2017 - CHICAGO READER 13

Clockwise from left: letter from Sid Ordower, who handled outreach to ministers for Washington’s ’77 campaign; “Program for a Working City,” in which Washington noted, “We are face to face with the question of the meaning and destiny of Chicago”; the state senator’s newsletter to constituents

continued from 13

A few prominent white Hyde Park reformers—alders—alderman Leon Despres and state rep Robert Mann among them—endorsed Washington. But to most white voters he might as well have come from a distant planet. Meanwhile Mayor Bilandic had the support of the Democratic Party, civic and corporate Chicago, and the mainstream newspapers. Even the black community was divided. Washington had strong support on the south side, but few ties to the west side. And only one black elected official—24th Ward alderman David Rhodes—dared to break from Bilandic to support Washington. It didn’t help that Washington had income tax problems, which the Askin files also shed some light on. In 1970, prosecutors charged Washington with failing to file his tax returns for four years (1964, ’65, ’67, and ’69). The case was criminally prosecuted, and Washington wound up spending 40 days in Cook County Jail. He always maintained that what looked like tax evasion was actually an oversight, the by-product of a man consumed by politics as opposed to a crook trying to cheat the system. It does seem odd that prosecutors would file criminal charges for a relatively small matter—he owed about $500—that’s usually settled with a civil suit. Washington and many of his supporters believed

14 CHICAGO READER - NOVEMBER 30, 2017

he was being punished for having opposed Mayor Daley and President Nixon; Washington once walked out of a speech given by Vice President Spiro Agnew to the Illinois General Assembly. The tax issue also haunted the 1983 campaign, when Washington’s opponents distributed his mugshot in an obvious attempt to scare white voters into believing that a vote for Washington was a vote for lawlessness and street crime. Askin’s dossier contains a copy of remarks Washington made at a March 28 press conference about the income tax issue, as well as copies of his income tax returns for 1970 through 1975 that were released to reporters. The paperwork shows Washington was a man of modest means who never made more than about $24,000 a year in the years covered. “Judge me most of all on the positions I have taken on the issues in this campaign,” Washington said at the press conference. “Judge me on my commitment to the building of a better future for our city and on the coalition I have brought together [to make] Chicago a city that works for all the people.”

If there’s a bombshell in the Askin files, it’s the copies of reports filed by spies for the notorious “Red Squad,” a secret investigative outfit of the Chicago Police Department that infiltrated many of the leftist and black activist groups in the 1960s and ’70s. (Police spying goes on today; under Mayors Richard M. Daley and Rahm Emanuel, covert intelligence agents have collected information on everyone from anti-Olympic activists to Black Lives Matter organizers.) The files include reports written by undercover officers who were at the meetings where Washington spoke. For instance, there’s an account written by an investigator named “E. Hill” of a November 11, 1973, meeting at Reverend Jesse Jackson’s Operation PUSH organization. According to Hill, the meeting was “attended by approximately 1,800 persons. The racial makeup was seventeen hundred (1700) blacks and one hundred (100) whites.” Hill identified speakers by race and gender and summarized what they said. “Harold Washington told the audience that it took . . . five years to get [various] bills passed. He said that the signing of these bills into law represents pressure and when this pressure is used right, then you have power. Washington

said that the people expect a lot from their representatives, but the representative is only as strong as the people he represents.” How Washington got ahold of his Red Squad files remains a mystery to Askin. The ’77 election didn’t end well for Washington. With roughly 11 percent of the vote, he came in behind Bilandic and 41st Ward alderman Roman Pucinski. But Washington had sown the seeds for the run in ’83. The files include a speech he delivered to Hyde Parkers a few months after the race. “For the first time in the history of Chicago, leaders from black, liberal, white, poor white, and Latino communities came together around a program for political reform and social change which addressed itself to the needs of all people who are ignored or stepped on by the Democratic machine,” Washington said. “For the first time the leaders of the independent voters of Illinois who have often been viewed with suspicion in the black community indicated to people that they are willing to work for the election of a black political leader to a major citywide office.” In many ways he was telling his predominantly white audience that to achieve their progressive goals they’d have to learn to work in a coalition led in part by black people. “I want to remind you that only through a coalition can the independent voters of Illinois hope to achieve their very important goals for the future of Chicago: an end to political corruption and favoritism; a break from authoritarian, centralized control over people and their neighborhoods; the development of more human social policies to improve the lives of Chicagoans. And the only coalition which will be able to make those goals a reality is one which can also satisfy the aspirations of the city’s largest ethnic community—the black community—for a fair share of political power.” And so Washington inched closer to his goal of becoming Chicago’s mayor. In 1980, he was elected congressman of Illinois’s first district. In summer ’82, black activists radicalized by a series of controversial Byrne appointments at the Chicago Housing Authority and the Board of Education registered 50,000 new voters. Running on a platform that was almost identical to the one from his ’77 campaign, Washington won roughly 99 percent of the black vote, 75 percent of the Latino vote, and just enough whites to eke out a victory in a racially charged election over a Republican state rep named Bernie Epton. With Washington’s reelection in April 1987, he seemed to have put together an unbeatable coalition. But alas, he died just a few months into his second term. In 1989, there was a special election to fill out Washington’s term. Chicagoans, in their infinite wisdom, elected Richard M. Daley, a white, ill-tempered autocrat. And they’ve been basically reelecting that prototype ever since. Ironically, Askin wasn’t around for Washington’s historic election victory. Hired by Washington as a congressional aide in 1981, Askin was in D.C. for most of the campaign. The files include some speeches Washington made as a congressman, but no records of his four and a half years as mayor. (The era is already well documented at the library; Washington’s family donated his mayoral papers to the special collections division years ago.) Askin is now 64 years old—ten years older than Washington was when they met in 1976. “Being a young white guy working under powerful and tremendously competent black leadership—that was the best thing that happened to me,” Askin says. “I was lucky. I was really lucky.” The last time he saw Washington was in 1986. “We had a fairly serious conversation. He said his supporters liked him too much. He said that to stand up to the power structure in Chicago, he needed people in the streets angry at him because he was giving away too much. It was a weakness that people liked him instead of protesting his policies. He said he needed to be able to say to the economic powers of Chicago, ‘I’d like to work with you, but I can’t—look at these 10,000 people in the street.’ ” In other words, if ordinary citizens don’t demand change, it will never happen. It’s basically the same point Washington made at Operation PUSH more than four decades ago, when he said “a representative is only as strong as the people he represents.” And it’s yet another example of why Washington remains so relevant to Chicago today. v

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16 CHICAGO READER - NOVEMBER 30, 2017

he Bears’ 2017-2018 season isn’t a raging Dumpster fire so much as it’s a barrel designated “hot coals only” that someone has tossed paper napkins, plastic plates, and assorted food scraps into, so that the whole pile smolders and smells to high heaven. And I write from experience, having spent a Sunday morning on week 11 of the National Football League season trolling the parking lots south of Soldier Field for tailgating fans willing to talk about what brought them out in 30-degree weather to grill meat, drink beer, and mingle with like-minded nutcases a week after the Bears

had lost at home to their arch-rival Green Bay Packers—in spite of the Pack’s lack of star QB Aaron Rodgers, out with an injury, which made the defeat even more disgraceful. “I’ve been to 17 Bears games, and I’ve been to 17 Bears losses,” Brad Quellhorst of Canaryville said. For this admission, he was immediately shouted down by his tailgating pals. “I don’t want to hear that,” grumbled one about the negativity. “I’m really sorry,” Quellhorst said. “I jinxed today by showing up.” He ﬁgured he had it covered, however, as one of his friends was a fan of that Sunday’s opponent, the Detroit Lions, so somebody had to come out on top. And he had that right, the way it turned out, as the Bears stole defeat from the jaws of an impending tie as Connor Barth missed a last-second 46-yard ﬁeld goal to lose to the Lions, 27-24. After being crushed by the Eagles in week 12, the Bears are 3-8 this year and 12-31 overall under coach John Fox in his third season—the worst stretch since tubby Abe Gibron coached the team in the 1970s before the arrival of Walter Payton. Yet for most of the fans I talked with, the Bears’ record mattered hardly at all, a phenomenon best explained by a friend who recently told me it’s because “tailgating’s a blast, whether the team sucks or not.” Perhaps no local fan base is more loyal

than that of the Bears. But what has the so-called “pride and joy of Illinois” done in three decades to deserve such devotion? Seeking an answer, I began my journey into fan land by walking across the 18th Street pedestrian bridge to get to Soldier Field. A man who described himself as “Robert L., ticket doctor” was trying unsuccessfully to unload tickets he had for the game. He said they were going for under face value. Asked how

that compared with previous years, he gave me his best Charles Barkley: “Turrible,” he said, adding, “It’s a bad year.” After crossing the Metra tracks and passing under Lake Shore Drive, I arrived on what’s called the Waldron Deck, atop a multilevel parking garage immediately south of Soldier Field. There, I was immediately confronted by a large group of tailgaters blasting, appropriately enough, the Styx song “The Grand Illusion.” That might be an apt theme for Bear fans, but the racket only forced me to hurry on to the South Lot, a massive expanse of pavement between Soldier Field and McCormick Place able to accommodate 1,500 cars. These are the parking lots Mayor Rahm Emanuel disdained when he was pitching for the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, which would’ve been placed on the same ground if activists like Friends of the Parks hadn’t chased George Lucas’s vanity project back to the west coast. Ironically enough, the tailgating scene on the South Lot was like something out of a Star Wars movie, if not a Mad Max sequel. It was a rocking and roiling, smoke-hazed feeding frenzy, peppered with pockets of fans boozing and talking football and with occasional clearings for games of cornhole. After the ear-splitting Styx experience, I gladly glommed onto a group playing Kendrick Lamar. “We’ve been coming out here since the mid-80s,” said Ron Owens of River Forest. “We don’t miss a game. And we’ve got the biggest, best tailgate out here.” There might be some debate on that, but for Owens there was no debating whether the Bears were worthy of the loyalty displayed by the thousands of fans out cooking in the cold before the noon kickoff. J

NOVEMBER 30, 2017 - CHICAGO READER 17

continued from 17

“I don’t think they take the fans for granted,” he said. “I think they really want to win, and I think they put together a team they thought would compete better than they have.” Owens cited the injuries to linebackers Danny Trevathan and Jerrell Freeman as crippling to the defense, as well as games lost to injury by guard Kyle Long, anchor of the offensive line, and wide receiver Kevin White, who’s never managed to stay on the ﬁeld after the Bears drafted him seventh overall out of West Virginia in 2015. “It’s always better at the end of the day with a win,” Owens allowed. “But we still have a good time.” That was the reigning attitude among tailgaters. Strolling through the lot, I overheard northwest Indiana resident Randi Kass say with apparent resentment, “It’s 80 degrees right now in Arizona,” but it turned out she was among the strongest defenders of the Bears in general and of tailgating in particular.

18 CHICAGO READER - NOVEMBER 30, 2017

“I’m a big Bears fan,” said Kass, home for Thanksgiving from Arizona, where she attends college. “I could be out here until I die if I wanted to.” That’s a commonly held opinion, and many fans back it up with hard cash. In addition to the seat licenses and other fees Bears season-ticket holders can be forced to pay just for the privilege of attending eight home games (and, don’t forget, two must-purchase exhibition games before the start of the season), they can also enter a parking lottery to get into the South Lot. Those lucky enough to “win” the lottery get to spend $100 a game to park there in what amounts to ground zero for tailgating, which brings the total just for parking to $1,000 a season. “The South Lot has the best tailgate,” said Theresa Price of Lakeview, who’s had tickets going back to 1962 and has been in the South Lot with her group the last six years. She said it’s much to be preferred to the more remote tailgating lot at 31st Street, or even the Waldron Deck, which she said can be hard to get into. Other fans, however, find ways to economize, as with a couple I found hanging around an extensive tailgate party complete with an offset smoker. They said they parked in a remote lot, then ambled over to join their pals (reminding me of the old Robert Stone line that the only thing better than owning a sailboat is having a friend with a sailboat). The Waldron Deck has its defenders, though. Warming herself at a portable log-burning ﬁre pit, Andrea Darnhart of Nor-

wood Park said she and her husband had the tickets and, with little interest from anyone else, they brought their kids and got there early to park on the deck. “A family day,” she said. “Four kids, two parents—we’re good.” Darnhart too said the Bears’ record is unimportant. “Bear fans are Bear fans, just like Cub fans,” she said. “We’re all the same.” It wouldn’t take a Cubs fan or a Blackhawks fan or a Bulls fan or even a White Sox fan, however, to point out that all those major Chicago sports franchises have won a championship, if not multiple championships, since the Bears last did with the 1985 team, the reborn Monsters of the Midway coach Mike Ditka squandered with assorted missteps over ensuing seasons. While the Bears still have a season-ticket waiting list that

can take years to clear before a fan ﬁnally gets the right to buy seats—sort of like waiting for tickets to the old WGN TV Bozo Show—large-scale fan apathy is nonetheless reflected by noshows, or what the NFL calls “unused” tickets. Even for the relatively anticipated contest against the Packers at Soldier Field, the Bears reported that more than 5,600 tickets went unused, and after that loss the ﬁgure almost doubled to more than 10,000 no-shows for the home game against the Lions. No wonder “Rob-

ert L., ticket doctor,” called the scalpers’ market “turrible.” “The Bears expect the fans to put in before they do,” Price said, adding that she absolutely believes the Bears take their fans for granted. For all that, she said with a sort of resignation, “They’re our team,” and the one team Chicagoans can agree on over the tribal squabbles between the Cubs and Sox in summer and, to a lesser extent, the Bulls and Blackhawks in winter.

It’s a Bears town, no doubt about it. The team dominates newspaper sports sections and TV sportscasts from the moment training camp opens until the end of the season (whether it comes in December or in January or, not for a while now, in February). The question is whether the Bears can retain that hold with their rebuild yet to gain purchase (notwithstanding star second-year running back Jordan Howard and the great white hope of rookie quarterback Mitch Trubisky) and with the NFL’s deepening decline in popularity over the concussion issue and its effect on chronic brain damage. “I already paid for the tickets, so I have to show up,” said a fan who described himself only as Jay from Elgin as he whipped up a batch of chicken wings on a hand-welded wok seated atop a bed of white-hot coals. “Tailgating makes it,” he added. “It’s still good. It’s fun. I like to socialize.” Jay said he’s been going to Bears games going back to when they played in Wrigley Field (which ceased in 1970), and has been tailgating outside Soldier Field since the Bears moved there in 1971. “I guess we’re treated about the same way every other team treats their fans,” he said, adding that the fans’ allegiance to the team wasn’t in question now, but “if ticket prices go much higher it might go away.” The Bears utterly aside, Jay said there was one more reason that kept him coming out and tailgating even with the team in the dumps and the weather now in a parallel decline: “My wife won’t let me eat chicken wings at home.” v

v @tedcoxchicago NOVEMBER 30, 2017 - CHICAGO READER 19

ARTS & CULTURE LIT

Hurl logic

By ALICIA SWIZ

Iliza Shlesinger ò MAARTEN DE BOER

20 CHICAGO READER - NOVEMBER 30, 2017

READER RECOMMENDED

b ALL AGES

’m not going to lie—I judged Girl Logic: The Genius and the Absurdity, comedian and Last Comic Standing winner Iliza Shlesinger’s debut book, by its cover. For one, I was turned off by the sexist title, styled in faux-math font. Then I saw that the actress Mayim Bialik—who recently argued that you should sleep in the same bed as your children because bears do—contributed the foreword. A poor way to validate an allegedly pro-woman publication is to include a recommendation from someone who believes that modesty is what kept her from being assaulted by Harvey Weinstein as a teen. Oh, and Girl Logic is published by Weinstein Books. Shlesinger is something of a Weinstein in Steinem’s clothing, posing as a confident and empowered woman yet preaching the exact mind-set that cultivates female oppression. According to her, “girl logic,” or “GL,” is “a characteristically female way of thinking” that suggests women are solely responsible for the expectations society puts upon them. Any confusion and frustration that women experience as a result is normal, because they can’t help having dumb little-girl brains. “This book is a celebration of women,” Shlesinger boasts in the introduction. What women, I wondered? Girl Logic is filled with anecdotes in which Shlesinger is the hero, other women are the villain, and men are the audience. In truth the book is a celebration of one type of woman—those who perceive other women as their competition and their enemy—and an invitation to every other woman reading it to be like Shlesinger or fail at life. In the first chapter, the author cites her boobs as the reason she was “lucky enough to have body confidence as a teen.” She recalls a pool party thrown by her next-door neighbor where the boys asked the girls to participate in a bikini contest. “Though the other girls might have been able to wear braces and still look cute . . . I thought I had the swimsuit competition on lock,” she writes. “And yet, no sooner had we lined up, my grown-woman chest all pigeon puffed out, that Aaron declared Angela, my Sun-In blonde nemesis (who didn’t know she was my nemesis and honestly I would’ve been so excited if she’d wanted to hang out with me), the winner.” Thirteen-year-old Iliza is rightfully frustrated and angered by the sexist power dynamics of this interaction. But what about the adult author of this book? Does Shlesinger use her “more evolved Girl Logic” to reflect on this moment from 20 years ago and wonder why she was more angry at the girl who won rather than the boys who’d initiated

the bikini contest to begin with? She doesn’t. This is her moment of reflection: “I don’t know where Angela is now but I’m sure that early confirmation of her hotness has served her just fine in this life and that she’s grown up to be a wonderful nurse or receptionist.” A similar line of thinking informs the second chapter, titled “Case Clothed,” which offers 20 pages of mean-girl observations about how other women dress, including “My Handy List of Clothing Items That Are Simply Not OK.” Shlesinger attempts to validate her slutshaming, puritanical assessments when she states, “I love trashy clothes: cut off shorts, leg warmers, mesh tops, lycra miniskirts, thighhigh socks, full length mesh body stockings.” That describes the wardrobe of half of the most stylish women I know, myself included. Is she calling us trashy? Shlesinger’s compassion for other women is as nonexistent as her introspectiveness. In Girl Logic she never interrogates or acknowledges her own privilege—as a white woman, as a professional comedian, or as a published author. She reserves use of her power only for herself in a way that mirrors the dominance and sexism of patriarchy. Because, like many other women in this world, Shlesinger values the opinions of men more than her own—to her it’s complimentary when a man judges a woman for how she looks in a bikini. By chapter three (“Oh Boy, It’s Guys’ Girl”), I wasn’t so much reading as searching for a redeeming sentence. There’s a distinct lack of accountability in the thesis Shlesinger presents: “girl logic” is a natural by-product of being a woman rather than a response to generations of patriarchal domination that has convinced the members of an entire gender that they’re flawed. The truth is girl logic does exist. It’s a learned behavior, a survival mechanism developed by a group of people who are forced to modify everything about themselves in a male-dominated world. And it’s a world this book tacitly endorses. v GIRL LOGIC: THE GENIUS AND THE ABSURDITY By Iliza Shlesinger (Hachette). Shlesinger appears for a performance and book signing Fri 12/1, 8 PM, the Vic, 3145 N. Sheffield, 773-432-0449, victheatre.com. $55-$151.

v @aliciaswiz

ARTS & CULTURE

Chamber Opera Chicago Presents Two One-Act Family Holiday Operas! Gian Carlo Menotti’s

The 12th anniversary of this treasured Chicago holiday tradition, perfect for all ages!

LIT

Please Kehr, may I have some more? By BEN SACHS

f I’ve matured as a critic over the last many years, it’s in coming to realize that criticism isn’t about a relentless search for individual masterpieces but about seeing the connections between works,” writes Dave Kehr in the afterword to Movies That Mattered: More Reviews From a Transformative Decade, a new collection of critical essays he published in the Reader and Chicago magazine between 1975 and 1985. His claim is overly modest—the pieces in this book demonstrate that Kehr always approached criticism this way, whether he knew it or not. He almost always frames the ﬁlms he writes about within a larger context—sometimes it’s genre, sometimes it’s the career of the director, sometimes it’s a cultural phenomenon (postmodernism, feminism). Kehr advances a “big picture” perspective throughout the selections in the book, developing arguments about cinema as a whole across multiple essays about individual movies. Movies That Mattered ﬂows remark-

ably well: an appreciation of French director Jacques Rivette seems to grow directly out of the essay that precedes it, a think piece on Hollywood sequels (both consider how filmmakers create new narrative strategies out of familiar genre elements), while notions of tradition and personal integrity connect backto-back reviews of Robert Aldrich’s Twilight’s Last Gleaming (1976) and Stanley Donen’s Movie Movie (1978). The collection also includes meditations on the then-new medium of video, how it shapes visual storytelling as well as viewing habits, with a review of Michelangelo Antonioni’s shot-on-video The Mystery of Oberwald (1982), which introduces ideas that Kehr develops four years later in an essay simply titled “Home Video.” Kehr went on to write some of the best criticism of his career as the home-video critic for the New York Times (a position he held from 1999 to 2013), where he reappraised older films as they became available on DVD; in this work, Kehr consistently expressed delight as he broadened his understanding of film history. That spirit comes through in the selections in Movies That Mattered that consider western director Budd Boetticher, the British writing-directing team of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, and the 1981 restoration of Orson Welles’s Macbeth (1948). Movies That Mattered conveys a remarkably unified (and generally positive) image of cinema from the mid-70s to the mid-80s, suggesting that the interrelated phenomena of home video, formalist approaches, and movie franchises yielded more self-aware filmmaking that built on recognized tropes and tried to produce something new. This argument reaches its peak in a review of Clint Eastwood’s Pale Rider (1985), which examines the film in the intertwined contexts of the western, Eastwood’s career, and 1980s cinema. Kehr’s descriptive prose conjures a rich, multilayered experience—not unlike the one delivered through cinema. v R MOVIES THAT MATTERED: MORE REVIEWS FROM A TRANSFORMATIVE DECADE By Dave Kehr (University of Chicago)

Direction by Francis Menotti, son of Gian Carlo, and Kyle Dougan. Sung in English with Orchestra, featuring dancers from Ensemble Español Spanish Dance Theater.

Sunday, December 10 at 3:00pm • Sunday, December 17 at 3:00pm The Royal George Theatre, 1641 North Halsted Street, Chicago Opening with a new adaptation of Victoria Bond’s one-act children’s opera, The Miracle of Light!

“One of those truly rare family works that is immediately accessible on every level – by both children and opera novices – and yet is still meaningful to the most seasoned opera-goers.” (Dennis Polkow, Newcity Stage)

Tickets ($10-$20) at the Royal George Box Ofﬁce, 312.988.9000, or www.chamberoperachicago.org

v @1bsachs NOVEMBER 30, 2017 - CHICAGO READER 21

ARTS & CULTURE

J’Sun Howard and Brother(hood) Dance! ò COURTESY LINKS HALL

DANCE

Links Hall turns trading post for a festival of artistic exchange By OLIVER SAVA

iving artists a place to experiment and reﬁne their craft is at the core of Links Hall’s mission, and the organization likewise recognizes the value of dialogue between different artists and audiences. In the past, Links has annually spotlighted a noteworthy work from a local artist who chooses an out-

of-town creator for a shared presentation at Links Hall that then travels to the visitor’s homework. This tradition expands considerably with Trade Routes, which features five different pairings put together for a festival running from November 30 to December 9. “This way

the locals and out-of-towners would be able to see more of each other’s work and Chicago audiences could see work from all over the city and all over the country in one ten-day period,” says Links Hall director Roell Schmidt. Some of these pairings include dance maker and poet J’Sun Howard with New York City’s

Brother(hood) Dance! and Myra Su with Cincinnati’s Emily Schmidt, two multimedia puppet storytellers who met at last year’s National Puppet Slam in Atlanta. “Links is a launch pad and an incubator, and a lot of our audience are coming out to support artists they know,” says Schmidt. “What is your work communicating to a group of complete strangers in another city? What can you learn from them, and what can they learn from you? If we want to break down these huge divisions within our city, our state, our country, we need to get personal with each other. Happily, all the art that happens here is personal, so it’s just a matter of overcoming the geography.” v TRADE ROUTES: A FESTIVAL OF ARTISTIC EXCHANGE 11/30-12/9: Thu-Mon 7 PM; also Fri 12/8-Sat 12/9, 9 PM, Links Hall at Constellation, 3111 N. Western, 773-281-0824, linkshall. org, $12 online, $15 at the door, $10 students and seniors, $40 festival pass.

v @OliverSava

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22 CHICAGO READER - NOVEMBER 30, 2017

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ARTS & CULTURE Beanie Feldstein and Saoirse Ronan in Lady Bird ò NICOLA DOVE

MOVIES

In search of Greta Gerwig By J.R. JONES

ady Bird, which hit theaters earlier this month, has collected sterling reviews proclaiming its writerdirector, Greta Gerwig, an important new voice in American movies. Yet Gerwig isn’t really a new voice at all—in the past decade she’s racked up ten screenwriting credits, including collaborations with Chicago indie Joe Swanberg (Hannah Takes the Stairs and Nights and Weekends) and New York indie Noah Baumbach (Frances Ha and Mistress America). When I saw Lady Bird, her ﬁrst solo ﬂight, it struck me as something completely fresh, though I knew I’d already seen several movies she’d cowritten. Intrigued, I began revisiting some of these older features to see if I could extract the special sensibility of Lady Bird from the stories Gerwig had written with her mentors. Though autobiographical elements pop up in many of her scripts, the collaborations lack the sort of generosity and understanding she brings to her solo debut. One can isolate her voice, but often there seems to be someone else talking over her. Tall and blond, with enormous hazel eyes and a megawatt grin, Gerwig may have taken root in the popular culture as an indie actress embodying hip Brooklyn, but she was born and raised in Sacramento, California, where her mother, Christine, worked as a nurse, and her father, Gordon, as a loan officer for a credit union. Lady Bird presents a fictionalized version of Gerwig’s last year in high school, before her parents scraped together enough

money to send her to private Barnard College in New York City. Christine (Saoirse Ronan of Brooklyn) settles for Bs at her Catholic girls’ school but dreams of escaping to an east-coast college where she can bloom as an artist of some sort. She clashes with her demanding, overworked mother, Marion (Laurie Metcalf), and seeks comfort from her philosophical father, Larry (Tracy Letts). Hungry for identity, she insists on being called “Lady Bird” at home and at school; eager for status, she tries out a couple of boyfriends and drops her brilliant but stocky pal, Julie (Beanie Feldstein), to take up with a shallow but beautiful rich girl, Jenna (Odeya Rush). These are all familiar concerns in comingof-age movies; what sets Lady Bird apart is Gerwig’s tenderness toward her characters, particularly the adults. “Your mom’s hard on you,” observes Danny (Lucas Hedges), Christine’s first boyfriend. “Well, she loves me a lot,” Christine replies. Gerwig adores the father, giving him some of the best lines. (“I’m like Keith Richards,” he explains at one point. “I’m just happy to be anywhere.”) At school, Sister Sarah Joan (Lois Smith) scolds the girls for their short skirts, and at the homecoming dance she patrols the couples on the dance floor, separating them with the edict “Six inches for the Holy Spirit!” As a prank, some of the kids decorate the back of her car with a mock-wedding sign reading “Just Married to Jesus,” yet when Christine brings it up later, the nun admits she found it hilarious. Chris-

tine and Julie might lie on the carpet of the sacristy with their feet up on the wall, snacking on communion wafers and giggling about masturbation, but Lady Bird is a Christian act of forgiveness. Gerwig had graduated from Barnard by the time she appeared in Swanberg’s LOL (2006); he made her the center of his next feature, Hannah Takes the Stairs (2007), after which they cowrote, codirected, and costarred in the virtual two-hander Nights and Weekends (2008). Identifying Gerwig’s voice in these projects is easy because Swanberg generally relies on his actors to improvise their own dialogue, and she displays a lively imagination whenever she opens her mouth. Unfortunately for Gerwig, being at the center of Hannah Takes the Stairs doesn’t matter much because the center isn’t very large: as the title character, a young writer working on a TV project in Chicago, she’s the object of desire for a succession of men (played by Jay Duplass, Kent Osborne, and Andrew Bujalski) who are so eager to impress her that she can barely get a word in edgewise. Gerwig received a screenwriting credit, but when the movie was released, her writing ability drew less comment than her willingness to get naked onscreen. Nights and Weekends shows Gerwig to much better advantage. One of Swanberg’s best features, the movie unspools as a series of intimate conversations between young lovers James and Mattie, trying to maintain, and later restart, a long-distance romance

between Chicago and New York. Gerwig takes command of nearly every scene, imprinting the story with her offbeat sense of humor. After the lovers, enjoying themselves at an arcade, watch an injection-molding machine form and dispense a little plastic lion, Mattie cracks, “And that’s how babies are made!” As their relationship deteriorates, she offhandedly asks James, “Do you ever wonder what story you’re gonna be in someone else’s life?” Hannah may have established Gerwig’s screen persona as an indie “it” girl, but Nights and Weekends reﬁnes that image into one of stubborn independence: in one scene Mattie exults in the fact that she has no lab partner in her science class, and when James asks if he can be her lab partner, she replies, “Absolutely not!” Gerwig graduated to the mainstream when Baumbach, writer-director of such angst-ridden family dramas as The Squid and the Whale (2005) and Margot at the Wedding (2007), cast her opposite Ben Stiller in the critical hit Greenberg (2010). After Baumbach divorced his wife, actress Jennifer Jason Leigh, and took up with Gerwig, they began collaborating on the screenplay for Frances Ha (2012), whose title character, Frances Halladay (Gerwig), left Sacramento to attend college in New York. Unlike Baumbach’s earlier features, Frances Ha has a distinctly feminine focus: Frances and her roommate, Sophie (Mickey Sumner), share a friendship so intense it borders on platonic romance (or as Frances puts it, “We’re like a lesbian couple that don’t have sex anymore”). Unfortunately for Frances, a dancer going nowhere fast, Sophie leaps at the chance to rent a place in trendy TriBeCa with another woman, and Frances winds up on the living room couch of Benji (Michael Zegen) and Lev (Adam Driver), two wealthy hipsters in Chinatown. For all the emphasis on female camaraderie, Frances Ha often feels like a giddy valentine from the director to his star. The movie opens with a cutesy montage of Frances and Sophie running around town, reading book passages to each other, and frolicking in the park, all to a jaunty banjo tune on the soundtrack. J

NOVEMBER 30, 2017 - CHICAGO READER 23

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ARTS & CULTURE

“UNBEATABLE NBEATABLE 4-STAR FUN” “A WILDLY ENGAGING

continued from 23

–STAGE AND CINEMA

HIP-HOPP TAKE ON DICKENS’ CLASSIC CLAASSIC” “SAVVY AVVY & WITTY ITTY” –CHICAGO SUN-TIMES

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24 CHICAGO READER - NOVEMBER 30, 2017

A Chicago Shakespeare production presented by CST and Richard Jordan Productions

Another such montage follows when Frances returns to Sacramento to visit her parents (played by Christine and Gordon Gerwig) and celebrate Christmas with her wacky relatives. At the same time, there’s a sour note of family grievance one recognizes from Baumbach’s earlier movies—especially The Squid and the Whale, about his fraught relationship with his literary parents. “I caved and finally took a loan from my stepdad,” Benji confesses at one point. “Bastard!” He and Lev are wised-up, well educated, and never at a loss for words; against their backdrop of amused sarcasm, Frances seems like a pixie, dispensing such innocent sentiments as “I wish we had cookies; I wish we had Chessmen.” It’s enough to make you gag. Mistress America, which Gerwig and Baumbach cowrote and codirected, involves another violent girl crush, though the film’s tone is meaner and more aggressive. Tracy (Lola Kirke), a lonely freshman at Barnard College, reaches out to 27-year-old Brooke (Gerwig), whose father is about to marry Tracy’s divorced mother, and the two young women explore New York together. “Her beauty was that rare kind that made you want to look more like yourself, and not like her,” observes Tracy, an aspiring fiction writer, in one of the film’s numerous voice-overs. Brooke’s intellect is another matter; dropping the word autodidact, she explains to Tracy, “That word

ssss EXCELLENT

sss GOOD

is one of the things I self-taught myself.” The movie works better than Frances Ha because the Gerwig character, so to speak, has been handed off to a different actress; freed from it, the real Gerwig contributes a spirited comic performance as the self-deluded Brooke, who comes up with novel entrepreneurial ideas but lacks the initiative to set them in motion. Watching Mistress America directly after Lady Bird may sadden you, because the unspoiled 17-year-old who leaves Sacramento for New York at the end of the latter movie becomes a cooler, more calculating person as she learns to negotiate life in the big city. Eager to win admission to an exclusive literary club, Tracy uses Brooke as material for a highly unﬂattering story, and as their relationship progresses, her judgments of the older woman in the voice-over narration grow more severe. When Brooke gets her hands on a copy of Tracy’s story near the end of the movie, she feels used, exclaiming, “You stole my life!” The two women arrive at an affectionate equilibrium, but only after Tracy has humbled Brooke with her superior intelligence. Fortunately Gerwig ﬁnds a warmer part of herself when, unencumbered by any lab partner, she returns to her hometown with Lady Bird. One can only hope that, this time, she stays. v LADY BIRD ssss Directed by Greta Gerwig. R, 94 min. For listings visit chicagoreader.com/movies.

v @JR_Jones

ss AVERAGE

s POOR

•

WORTHLESS

Join us for special off-site screenings in December! Our theaters will be closed for renovations in December — but Gene Siskel Film Center ﬁlms continue. Please visit us On Location December 3 - 10 only! SUNDAY, DECEMBER 3, 2:00 PM

MONDAY, DECEMBER 4, 6:00 PM

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TIME TO DIE

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INSTITUTO CERVANTES, 31 W. OHIO ST.

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 7, 7:00 PM

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 10, 3:00 PM

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ARTS & CULTURE James Franco in The Disaster Artist

MOVIES

Master of disaster By STEVE HEISLER

umor can be dissected, as a frog can, but the thing dies in the process,” E.B. White once wrote. His words apply to The Room, an inept drama from writer-director-producer-star Tommy Wiseau that found instant cult status upon its release in 2003, earning the coveted word-of-mouth review “It’s so bad it’s good.” Ten years later, Wiseau’s costar, Greg Sestero, published a behind-the-scenes book called The Disaster Artist that chronicles his friendship with Wiseau and the clumsy production of The Room. Now James Franco has directed a film adaptation of the book in which he plays Wiseau and his brother Dave plays Sestero. Both the book and the movie try to explain what makes The Room such a phenomenon, but Franco loses patience and takes a scalpel to the story. The Room is less a film than a jumble of B-movie tropes. Ostensibly the story belongs to Lisa (Juliette Danielle), who is engaged to Johnny (Wiseau) and repeatedly cheats on him with his best friend, Mark (Sestero). But The Room routinely veers into situations that belong in an entirely different movie. One character is shaken down by his drug dealer, and another casually mentions that she has breast cancer, but these story ideas evaporate from the narrative almost as soon as they’re introduced. Wiseau flaunts the film’s garbage

26 CHICAGO READER - NOVEMBER 30, 2017

production values, reusing footage (mostly during sex scenes, the first of which is less than ten minutes into the movie). And yet people clamor to see The Room. Like The Rocky Horror Picture Show, it routinely sells out midnight screenings, where fans enact such rituals as tossing a football around while clad in tuxedos, just as Johnny, Mark, and a few other characters do in the movie as they wait for a wedding photographer. Plastic spoons are hurled at the screen whenever a framed photo of one (a stock image Wiseau never bothered to change) pops up onscreen. Fans yell along with Johnny as he cries out, “You are tearing me apart, Lisa!,” a line appropriated from his favorite actor, James Dean, in Rebel Without a Cause. To this day a sense of mystery surrounds The Room. Who the hell is Tommy Wiseau? He speaks with an eastern-European accent and looks like an action figure that’s been tossed in the microwave, yet he claims to be from New Orleans and subtracts decades when giving his age (he claims to be in his 20s but appears to be in his late 50s). For no apparent reason, he shot his film simultaneously on 35-millimeter film and high-definition video, using sets and green screens when he had easy access to real locations. The Disaster Artist opens in San Francisco, where Greg, attending an acting class, sees

Tommy play Stanley Kowalski’s famous meltdown scene from A Streetcar Named Desire by writhing on the ground. Impressed by Tommy’s psychotic commitment, Greg asks to be his scene partner, thus beginning an odd friendship, and on a whim the men move to Los Angeles in search of fame. Tommy faces nothing but rejection as startled casting directors watch this Dracula audition for leading-man roles. So he does what any red-blooded American would do: he writes his own movie. James Franco treats these prefilming moments with a light hand, letting Tommy speak for himself. Greg’s early encounters with Tommy are presented without judgment, which allows Greg’s admiration to drive the narrative. Tommy never does anything halfway: in one scene he prods Greg to stand up in a diner and perform a scene; later, after they watch Rebel Without a Cause at a local theater, Tommy insists that they take a threehour car trip to the roadside memorial where Dean died. Greg is unfazed when he learns that Tommy’s apartment in LA is only one bedroom. Tommy offers the bedroom to Greg, opting to cordon off part of the living room with thick black curtains for himself. Franco’s Tommy is a caricature. He expertly mimics Wiseau’s unplaceable accent, robotic snicker, and potato-sack appearance, but when Tommy goes through his career reckoning in

LA, Franco never earns our sympathy. Tommy’s epiphany, when he decides to make his own movie, is played as if he’s decided to order cheesecake after dinner. The Disaster Artist ends with a split-screen sequence in which scenes from The Room appear next to Franco’s perfect re-creations, yet he emphasizes accuracy over character, and he lowers the dramatic stakes by playing Tommy as even-keeled. It’s impossible to root for a mannequin. Franco’s directorial choices are most pronounced when The Room is being filmed, though even then they’re hardly noticeable. He apes his mentor Judd Apatow by letting Tommy’s crew (including such comedy favorites as Seth Rogen, Paul Scheer, Hannibal Buress, Jason Mantzoukas, and Charlyne Yi) riff on the scenes being played, peppering Tommy with questions in the key of why. Why does the mom have breast cancer? Why is the drug dealer named Chris-R and not just Chris? Why does Tommy, mounting Lisa in bed, look as if he’s having sex with her navel? As the shoot drags on, Greg becomes the Tommy whisperer: when Tommy blows take after take, the crew members grow so frustrated that they chant his dialogue in unison—it’s as if we’re watching the crew watch The Room—but Greg hands Tommy a water bottle to hurl in anger, which is all he needs to nail his lines on the next take. There’s one scene from the book that didn’t make it to the screen but explains a lot about Wiseau. Sestero recalls that when they went to movies together, Wiseau would often yell at the screen, but one film left him speechless: Anthony Minghella’s The Talented Mr. Ripley. Played by Matt Damon, the title character is a lower-class climber who lies, cheats, and finally commits murder in order to steal the identity of the wealthy, scholarly Dickie Greenleaf. Tommy may not go to quite such extremes in The Disaster Artist, but he wills himself to become a leading man in a motion picture. James Franco mocks him anyway, giggling as he expires on the dissecting table. v THE DISASTER ARTIST ss Directed by James Franco. R, 103 min. Century 12 and CineArts 6, Music Box, River East 21. The Room screens Fri 12/1-Sat 12/2, midnight, at Music Box.

v @steveheisler

Gifts that sing—are you listening? The year’s best box sets include 11 CDs from David Bowie’s Berlin period, 529 tracks of live vintage country from Louisiana Hayride, Roland Kayn’s 14-hour electronic masterwork, and the most complete portrait yet of Hüsker Dü’s early years. By PETER MARGASAK Photos by JAMIE RAMSAY

David Bowie

A New Career in a New Town (1977-1982) (Parlophone) $106.99, $206.82 for vinylv David Bowie’s personas were often inseparable from the records he made. You might even say that he had only one—a persona of constant artistic reinvention—and that his music changed along with it. He displayed this mastery of self-transformation most dramatically during his so-called Berlin period, which began in 1977. Collaborating with producer Brian Eno, he radically revamped his sound and methodology, adopting Eno’s approach to the studio as an instrument unto itself. This 11-CD/13-LP box includes the three albums they made together—Low, “Heroes”, and Lodger—as well as the brilliant 1982 LP Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps), recorded without Eno but cut from the same cloth. During this period Bowie’s most experimental impulses blossomed, with encouragement from Eno’s unconventional aesthetic—and from the famous deck of Oblique Strategies cards the producer had created with artist Peter Schmidt, which he and Bowie used to

inject Zen-like non sequiturs into the creative process. Bowie’s chart popularity took a hit—to this day none of the four studio albums that resulted has been certified gold in the U.S. The records are stunning in their detail and structural convolution, though, and they contain some of his most iconic songs: “Heroes,” “Sound and Vision,” “Fashion,” “Ashes to Ashes.” The passage of time has only made them sound more vibrant, and it’s clear now just how prescient Bowie was. He anticipated several trends in underground rock, sometimes by decades: manipulating ideas from Krautrock, dabbling with ambient noise, or layering abstract sounds atop punishing but danceable beats. A New Career in a New Town also includes a 2017 remix of Lodger by engineer Tony Visconti, who worked on all four albums—before Bowie’s death in January 2016, Visconti secured his blessing to revisit the record. The new version isn’t a radical improvement, but it does give the music a lighter, less muddy sound. Also part of the box set are two versions of the 1978 double live album Stage (where Bowie’s glam-era celebrity collides with his new experimental impulses), a disc

that compiles the single versions of album tracks alongside the 1982 EP In Bertolt Brecht’s Baal (four songs of Weimar cabaret by the famous lyricist, appearing for the ﬁrst time on CD), and an EP with four versions of “Heroes” sung in different languages. The set’s 128-page hardback book contains essays by Visconti on each studio album, scads of images, reviews from the time, and thorough discographical info. Committed fans will already have the studio albums, so whether the additional material makes this release essential depends on just how committed they are—in any case, assessing all of it together makes an excellent argument for the fertility of this five-year stretch of Bowie’s career.

Bob Dylan

Trouble No More: The Bootleg Series Vol. 13/1979-1981 (Columbia/Legacy) $120.19, vinyl $99.99 Of all the music Bob Dylan has recorded, little has been more routinely maligned than the three albums of original gospel he made during his brief born-again phase in the late

70s and early 80s. Those are the years covered by this new eight-CD set, volume 13 in the ongoing Bootleg Series, though the albums themselves aren’t part of it—it consists entirely of unreleased material, most of it recorded live during tours to support those gospel records. I bought the first, 1979’s Slow Train Coming, when it came out—I listened to it religiously even though, as a junior high student, I didn’t realize it was religious in nature. The other two, Saved and Shot of Love, address similar themes of worship and salvation, but somehow I didn’t hear them when they came out. And then I went three decades without playing Slow Train Coming beginning to end. Many of the previous entries in this wonderful series have been revelatory—especially volume 11, a dive into the 1967 sessions that produced The Basement Tapes, Dylan’s Americana album with the Band. But Trouble No More is the first volume to make me completely reconsider the body of work upon which it’s focused. As Ben Rollins writes in his liner-note essay, Dylan often worked quickly when he made a studio album, creating something like prototypes of the songs; he’d then subject them to repeated, radical transformations on the road. In another essay, Amanda Petrusich calls the records “documents to enable the tours” and the tours “opportunities for Dylan to serve the Lord by spreading His word.” On these tours Dylan initially refused to play any material from before his salvation, much to the displeasure of fans—their reactions sometimes echoed the ugliness of 1965, when he first plugged in his guitar. Eventually he relented, and in 1981 classics such as “Maggie’s Farm” and “It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue” began reappearing in his sets. He moved on, quietly retreating from Jesus and becoming the grizzled, world-weary cynic we all love. Certain songs from Dylan’s gospel period remain part of his repertoire, and “Gotta Serve Somebody” and “Slow Train Coming” still sound great. But what floors me about Trouble No More is that even material I’d been completely indifferent about in studio versions sounds fantastic played live. Six of the eight CDs open with “Slow Train,” in wildly varying forms—like most of Dylan’s huge repertoire, it changed from show to show, both in his phrasing and in the arrangement. His typically fantastic bands—which included great southern musicians such as keyboardist Spooner Oldham, guitarist Fred Tackett, drummer Jim Keltner, and backing singers Clydie King and Regina McCrary—helped him reshape the material. Just as I did with Slow Train Coming almost 40 years ago, when I listen to this set I end up focusing on the performances more than the messages. J

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continued from 27 Most of the material isn’t new, just occurring here in previously unissued live versions—but there are 14 songs that haven’t been officially released before. The box also comes with a hardbound photo book and a DVD, most of which is taken up by Trouble No More: A Musical Film, a mix of unreleased performance footage and readings by actor Michael Shannon of texts from Luc Sante. The four-LP vinyl version of the set includes signiﬁcantly less music.

Fairport Convention Come All Ye: The First Ten Years (UME) $58.49

I suppose I’m something of a fair-weather fan when it comes to British folk-rock institution Fairport Convention. When I ﬁrst got into the band, I decided to ignore the records they made after guitarist and songwriter Richard Thompson left in 1971—and in retrospect, that was unfair. This seven-CD set, which spans the group’s ﬁrst decade (1967-’77), contains plenty of strong music recorded without Thompson. But I will say that without him Fairport Convention lost some of their originality and bite, and a much greater share of their output turned into generic folk-rock piffle. British folk-rock authority Andrew Batt dug deep when he put together Come All Ye: The First Ten Years—the studio albums are augmented by 22 rarities and live tracks—but the Thompson version of the band lasts only till early on disc three. The bulk of the rest of the set features the members who have soldiered on (with the expected lineup changes) throughout the decades since, serving more as standard-bearers of folk-rock than as innovators. Batt’s history provides lots of information about the post-Thompson era that was new to me, but the notes don’t do much to explain what albums or sessions the material comes from—and the discs come in flimsy cardboard sleeves. The set seems aimed at Fairport Convention completists, but since most of the music is already available on other releases—the rarities are often just different versions of songs easily accessible elsewhere—I’m not sure even the fanatics will care that much.

Hüsker Dü Savage Young Dü (Numero Group) $40, $85 for vinyl

Hüsker Dü drummer and singer-songwriter Grant Hart died of liver cancer this past Sep-

tember, but even if he hadn’t, it looked like his old band Hüsker Dü were going to be rare holdouts in the rock nostalgia game, refusing to reunite for a big payday. Ever since Hüsker Dü split in 1988, after a decade of furious creativity that played out at deafening volume, their back catalog has gotten little respect—and the acrimony of their breakup had only just begun to thaw. So I was surprised to hear about the three-CD/four-LP set Savage Young Dü—an archival effort, assembled with the band’s cooperation, that documents the earliest days of these Twin Cities icons, from their inception in 1979 to the 1982 studio album Everything Falls Apart (and some live performances surrounding it). I was even more surprised by how much I liked the music. I’d never cared much for Hüsker Dü till their debut for SST, 1983’s Metal Circus, and I didn’t see them live till 1984, after the landmark double album Zen Arcade. My idea of the band’s early sound had been shaped by the breakneck proto-thrash on their 1981 debut, the live set Land Speed Record, and by ’83 they were moving rapidly away from that. I knew there were a few indelible melodies scattered throughout their previous work, but I figured most of it was just white-noise blurs. The new Savage Young Dü, a typically lavish release by Chicago’s Numero Group, knocked me on my ass with its first disc, a mix from the band’s earliest days of impressively nonshitty live tapes (by unofficial band archivist Terry Katzman) and makeshift studio recordings—I expected more of the high-velocity roar of Land Speed Record, but what I got was supercatchy punk. In the early 80s, most hardcore groups started out pretty inept, but these early Hüsker Dü songs are remarkably solid (albeit a bit derivative), with occasionally strong melodies and locked-in performances. It wasn’t till the band toured the U.S. and Canada in 1981 and ’82 that they switched to the blitzkrieg-fast salvos of Land Speed Record, which amped up the furious vocals of guitarist Bob Mould and the trio’s generally angry, confrontational tone. (Land Speed Record isn’t part of the set, but different live versions of all its songs do appear.) Savage Young Dü consists of 69 tracks, 47 of them previously unissued. It’s packaged in a 144-page hardbound book full of rare photos, gig flyers, and well-researched liner notes by Reader contributor Erin Osmon. This set would be a pretty poor introduction to Hüsker Dü—the pleasant surprise I got from the first disc notwithstanding, their best work definitely came later—but it’s fascinating and illuminating, and changed my perception of the band more than three decades after the fact.

Roland Kayn

A Little Electronic Milky Way of Sound (Frozen Reeds) $135 Named for the single 14-hour, 22-movement piece it contains, this 16-CD set has served as my somewhat overwhelming introduction to the music of German composer Roland Kayn. Though he finished this electronic epic in 2009, two years before his death, this is its first-ever release. The piece is a culmination of a project he began in the 70s, through which he hoped to fuse music with the once fashionable field of cybernetics—he explored the possibility of communication between the human nervous system and machines (or the control of machines by the brain) and experimented with complex networks of computers that interacted with one another. His process had some commonalities with early research into artificial intelligence, in that he’d set up intricate systems and let them run to see how they evolved and what they produced. In 1964, before immersing himself in this work, he’d cofounded brilliant Rome-based improvising ensemble Gruppo di Improvvisazione Nuova Consonanza, which introduced new streams in contemporary classical music into its vocabulary of techniques (and whose members included famous film composer Ennio Morricone). In 1970 he moved to the Netherlands and dedicated the remainder of his life to electroacoustic composition. I don’t know exactly what Kayn’s source material was for A Little Electronic Milky Way of Sound, but it’s an engrossing journey, with surprises around every bend—though the piece’s overall aesthetic is drifting, ambient drone, it’s energized by a rich sense of torsion and the hovering potential for explosion. Kayn abandoned conventional melody, harmony, and rhythm, and this music utterly lacks motific or narrative development. As a composer, he saw his job mainly as designing elaborate electronic networks (one of his key sound sources was modular synthesis) that would produce streams of permutated signals, which he could tweak or redirect by introducing his own input into the recording process. The scale of A Little Electronic Milky Way of Sound is admittedly daunting, and listening to it all in a single sitting requires a major commitment. Even approached one disc at a time, it requires rapt attention—at least if you want to absorb the minute, shifting detail beneath its cloudy atmosphere. But the time I’ve invested so far has all been worth it.

Stack Waddy

So Who the Hell Is Stack Waddy? The Complete Works 1970-1972 (Cherry Red) $26.99

The title of this blaring three-CD set asks the obvious question—one that’s floated through my brain on and off for years, thanks to repeated mentions of Stack Waddy by the likes of engineer Steve Albini and writer Byron Coley (usually in the same sentence as fellow British pub-rockers the Count Bishops and Dr. Feelgood). Stack Waddy predate those bands, and they were far more rude. The Manchester four-piece were out of step with the UK rock scene of the early 70s—they were too old-school for hard-rock and prog fans and too unkempt and loud for traditionalists and blues-rock purists. In Stack Waddy’s loose, ferocious sound you can hear echoes of Black Sabbath’s proto-metal and foreshadowings of punk rock. The band often bring to mind the Stooges or the MC5—though singer John Knail could sound like Captain Beefheart, at shows he sometimes threw empty beer bottles into the crowd. The set augments the two studio albums Stack Waddy made for John Peel’s Dandelion label—their self-titled 1971 debut and 1972’s aptly titled Bugger Off!—with a third disc of rarities, outtakes, and live tracks that might test your patience if you try to listen to it front to back. Much of the group’s repertoire consisted of covers of familiar rock and blues songs (Bo Diddley’s “Bring It to Jerome,” the Kinks’ “You Really Got Me,” Dale Hawkins’s “Susie Q”), but it misses the point to call them merely “covers”—they’re more like the musical equivalents of furious fistfights. Stack Waddy’s stubborn one-take primitivism can be stultifying, but it’s also what makes them so great—their immediacy and badass attitude get right to the essence of rock ’n’ roll.

Various artists

American Epic: The Collection (Legacy) $44.69

This terrific 100-song, five-CD set accompanies the three-part PBS documentary American Epic, which originally aired this past May. Both the set and the documentary address the early days of American recorded music—specifically the point at which the burgeoning industry began courting audiences outside the white mainstream, resulting in the advent of so-called race records and a flood of J

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continued from 29 releases in regional styles. Many were created in makeshift studios around the country, where open calls attracted hundreds of amateurs eager to cut a record. Sold alongside the box is a book by the documentary’s director, Bernard MacMahon, written with producers Allison McGourty and Duke Erikson and music critic Elijah Wald; it goes into detail about this phenomenon. The set limits its scope to rural styles developed in America, but otherwise it’s agnostic about genre, as beﬁts the wonderfully bastardized development of vernacular music in the U.S. during the 1920s and ’30s. The discs are organized according to the region where the recordings were made, rather than where the artists originated, which leads to a lot of pleasantly startling track-to-track segues between styles—country, blues, gospel, Cajun, and Hawaiian music, among others. The curators generally allow just one song per artist, no matter how great or inﬂuential, which lets them cover more of the breadth of the era—though they also make plenty of canonical selections, including tunes by the likes of Leadbelly, Robert Johnson, Dock Boggs, and Jimmie Rodgers. Many box sets have covered similar territory already, among them Harry Smith’s 1952 touchstone Anthology of American Folk Music and Legacy’s sublimely eclectic but long-out-of-print 1992 collection Roots n’ Blues: The Retrospective 1925-1950. So while American Epic doesn’t get points for originality, it also wasn’t trying to radically transform listeners’ perspective. Its book includes lyrics for most of the songs, basic discographical information, and a brief essay explaining some relevant music-business history—in short, race records and specialty releases became a phenomenon largely because the new popularity of radio hurt record companies’ sales and drove them to seek a broader customer base. The book also details the peculiar process that sound engineer Nick Bergh used to “restore” the old 78 RPM disc sources, which involved reverse-engineering a re-creation of a 1920s Western Electric recording system using original parts. The resulting 78 transfers are as clean, rich, and deep as any I’ve ever heard. This set might not impress folks who are already dedicated fans of early American music, but it’s as good an introduction as anything on the market—and if you don’t feel like spending more than $40 on an introduction, you can opt for the single-disc 15-track sampler called American Epic: The Soundtrack.

Various artists

At the Louisiana Hayride Tonight . . . (Bear Family) $249.99 Bear Family has long set the bar when it comes to documenting American roots music, and this 20-CD box meets the German label’s usual high standard for extravagance, authority, and depth. It contains recordings of 167 different country artists who performed live on a popular weekly radio program called Louisiana Hayride, which ran from 1948 till 1960; it often attracted an enthusiastic audience of several thousand to its onstage studio at the Shreveport Municipal Auditorium, and its broadcast on local station KWKH reached hundreds of miles into neighboring states. The two-anda-half-hour show featured a shifting cast of regulars performing their latest songs interspersed with comedy bits. It joined a country radio tradition that already included Nashville’s Grand Ole Opry and Chicago’s own WLS National Barn Dance, during a time when a 50,000-watt “clear channel” AM station could cover much of the continental United States. Louisiana Hayride often worked in the shadows of those other programs—especially that of the Opry, which poached many rising stars who’d developed their voices in Shreveport. Colin Escott’s detailed liner notes tell the story of the Hayride’s earliest success, with an artist the producers brought on in 1948 despite serious reservations: Hank Williams already had a reputation as an unreliable performer with a drinking problem. He soon became a superstar, though, when early songs such as “Move It on Over” and “Lovesick Blues” rocketed up the charts, thanks in part to Louisiana Hayride’s increasing listenership—and the show benefited as much from Williams as he did from it. The set includes a 224-page hardback book packed with charts, photos, and concert posters, as well as writing about every act represented. The sound quality varies, but the ﬁdelity is generally pretty high for radio transcriptions of the era—and the silly banter by the hosts (as well as the aforementioned comedy bits) provide a glimpse of the oldfashioned cornpone humor that country audiences seemed to love. It’s the music that justiﬁes the existence of this 529-track behemoth, of course: its astonishing offerings include hardcore honky-tonk, bluegrass, rockabilly, and even some western swing, and much of it hasn’t been heard since the day of its original broadcast. Because the artists were promoting their records, the song selection favors familiar

tunes, but that hardly diminishes the energy and excitement of the performances. You could assemble a who’s who of country from the roster here—George Jones, Ernest Tubb, Kitty Wells, Faron Young, Roy Acuff, Johnny Cash, Rose Maddox, Webb Pierce, June Carter—but just as satisfying in their own way are the also-rans who may have only waxed one killer tune. The set also includes recordings by Elvis Presley, including a 1956 appearance where emcee Horace “Hoss” Logan had to calm down ecstatic fans who were hoping for an encore, and thus inadvertently coined the catchphrase “Elvis has left the building.”

Various artists

Atlantic Rock & Roll Series (Stateside/Atlantic) $21.99 Without rhythm and blues there would’ve been no rock ’n’ roll, and Atlantic Records played a major role in popularizing the former. In an act of brazen opportunism made possible by the rise of rock, in 1956 and ’57 the label hawked its impressive stable of R&B stars to a younger, whiter audience with six single-artist compilation albums it called its Rock & Roll Series. This modest six-disc set collects those compilations, which spotlight Ray Charles, Big Joe Turner, Ruth Brown, Clyde McPhatter, LaVern Baker, and Ivory Joe Hunter, all of whom were well established with black R&B audiences before the albums came out. Some of their material had already scored with white fans as well, when white artists recorded much tamer versions of it (such as Bill Haley’s cover of “Shake, Rattle and Roll,” originally recorded by Turner). On some of these records, you can hear evidence of Atlantic’s producers pushing the artists to court that younger, whiter crowd: the McPhatter album neuters the soulful rasp of the former Drifters lead singer with strings and syrupy backing vocals, and Hunter, who was 43 at the time, was given goofy material (such as the 1954 novelty “I Got to Learn to Do the Mambo”) in an attempt to appeal to teenagers. Despite how poorly those silly marketing decisions have aged, the actual music generally sounds great six decades later. Some of the albums make embarrassing trend-chasing choices here and there, but the collections by Brown, Charles, Baker, and Turner clearly succeeded at their crossover attempts because of their broad inherent appeal, not because they’d been cynically engineered to sell.

Teddy Wilson

Classic Brunswick and Columbia Teddy Wilson Sessions 1934-1942 (Mosaic) $119 (only via mosaicrecords.com)

Pianist and bandleader Teddy Wilson was a musician of deep erudition and elegant decorum, and from the 1930s through the ’60s he was one of the most subtle and versatile figures in jazz. He worked alongside many of the music’s most important figures, including Louis Armstrong, Jimmie Noone, and Benny Carter, and he cemented his fame early in his career through extensive work with clarinetist Benny Goodman. Wilson was black and Goodman was white, and their association was instrumental in the rise to prominence of mixed-race jazz groups in the mid-30s. The trios Goodman led with Wilson and vibraphonist Lionel Hampton (and their quartet with drummer Gene Krupa) were wildly popular and innovative, introducing a chamber-music approach to jazz—and Wilson’s delicate touch and sensitive ears were key to its development. At the same time he was launching his own career as a bandleader, though he never enjoyed the success of Hampton or Krupa. This seven-CD set from Mosaic, a longtime blue-chip source for comprehensive jazz reissues, contains 169 fantastic Wilson tracks (22 previously unreleased), some solo and some cut with small- to medium-size swing groups. Loren Schoenberg’s typically authoritative notes offer detailed insight into Wilson’s output for Brunswick and Columbia over a fruitful eight-year stretch, beginning with a 1934 solo session (unissued till decades later) that reveals a rarely heard extroversion from the pianist. A year later, when he recorded his next solo session, he’d reined in that flash. Wilson was a craftsman, and his sharp, efficient arrangements gave his consistently strong sidemen a simpatico canvas for their soloing. Some of the finest jazz musicians of any race appear under Wilson’s leadership on this set: Goodman, Hampton, Johnny Hodges, Cootie Williams, Harry Carney, and Ben Webster, among others. During these years Wilson also worked with some of the greatest singers in jazz history, though this set dispenses with his widely available recordings with Billie Holiday and instead features performances by Ella Fitzgerald and Lena Horne. In typical Mosaic fashion, these discs include loads of alternate and incomplete takes, which prove especially fascinating on the solo material—we get to hear Wilson’s inquisitive mind exploring different solutions from performance to performance. v

v @pmarg NOVEMBER 30, 2017 - CHICAGO READER 31

presents

WINT

Shop L E R ocal! 2 ·0·1·7

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A curated event spotlighting unique local giftable craft, art, jewelry, apparel, housewares, and food and drink.

Sunday · December 3, 2017 · 11am-5pm · Chicago Plumbers Hall · 1340 W Washington FREE TO THE PUBLIC | FREE PARKING AVAIL ABLE | #MADEINCHIC AGO For more information, visit ChicagoReader.com/MadeInChicago Vendors: for information, please contact Bburda@ChicagoReader.com

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Recommended and notable shows and critics’ insights for the week of November 30

MUSIC

b ALL AGES F

PICK OF THE WEEK

Chicago’s Vic Mensa joins rap king Jay-Z on tour behind their self-reflective records

Jay-Z, Vic Mensa Tue 12/5, 8 PM, United Center, 1901 W. Madison, $115-$225. b

THURSDAY30 Bitchin Bajas Also Fri 12/1. 8:30 PM, Hungry Brain, 2319 W. Belmont, $10. 21+ On Bajas Fresh (Drag City), Chicago’s Bitchin Bajas’ ﬁrst noncollaborative album in three years, the band members offer a trenchant summary of their interests and strengths that feels more profound and mature than anything else they’ve accomplished. Recent partnerships with Bonnie “Prince” Billy and Natural Information Society have conveyed the collective versatility of bandmates Cooper Crain, Rob Frye, and Dan Quinlivan, but the new album articulates the group’s weed-powered vision in Technicolor splendor. Synth-driven opener “Jammu” performs a sort of post-Terry Riley hypnosis, and the undulating, spaced-out drone of “2303” is enriched by Nick Broste’s subtle trombone and Ben Lamar Gay’s cornet. The group have richly blossomed from

Vic Mensa ò DAVE KOTINSKY

their Kosmiche beginnings into something far more expansive—cycling arpeggios a la Tangerine Dream might still ripple through a piece such as “Circles on Circles,” but their tones are sharper and fuller than on previous recordings. I’m thrilled by their mesmerizing reimagining of Sun Ra’s “Angels and Demons at Play” and the layers of spaced-out synthesizers on “Yonaguni,” which features guest appearances from Ghost’s Masaki Batoh, who lends postprog guitar explorations, and free-jazz drumming from former Chicagoan No r i Ta n a k a . O n t h e g o r g e o u s l y s e re n e “Chokayo,” like “Yonaguni” recorded in Japan, Frye’s ﬂuent ﬂute and bass clarinet add a stunning richness to the swirling synthesizer lines; together, they cumulatively unfurl with the type of patience and warmth that distinguish Bitchin Bajas from the growing ranks of facile indie spell casters. The album concludes magnificently, Frye’s billowing, electronically tweaked saxophone improvisations unspooling over a rich hymnlike tapestry of organ tones on “Be Going.” —PETER MARGASAK

AFTER SHAWN CARTER grew from rapper Jay-Z into all-powerful rap mogul Jay Z, the money he made as one of the most gifted lyricists in music became a key ingredient in his songs—resulting in the sagging nadir that is 2013’s Magna Carta Holy Grail. But a switch flipped with his 13th album, June’s concise 4:44 (Roc Nation/UMG). Call it a response to Beyoncé’s Lemonade (in which she confronts infidelity, a subject her husband addresses here); call it a response to ongoing injustices and the now very public deaths of black citizens at the hands of police officers. Whatever lies behind Jay’s shift of gears, the result is great. 4:44 is, um, a blueprint for navigating hip-hop in middle age. Though the genre’s known for being unkind to artists when their youth fades away, Jay shows it’s all about perspective. He looks back on his life and place in the world with a searing, self-critical eye, which gives the album an energizing force and makes the material his most relatable in years. The album was executive produced by Chicago hip-hop legend No I.D., who held the same role for the studio debut from insurgent local rapper Vic Mensa, July’s The Autobiography (Roc Nation/Capitol). Like 4:44, Mensa’s album is deeply self-reflective, though he’s faced different challenges than Jay-Z en route to its completion. In his case, he explores his continued desire to live up to the prophecies that deposited him at the top of Chicago’s contemporary hip-hop scene, and his need to prove himself to anyone who still considers him a novice, if they consider him at all (this is, after all, a debut). At its worst, The Autobiography feels a little too fussed over; high-profile guest contributions from Weezer and Pharrell are more distraction than boon. At its core is Mensa—who traverses his faults and personal history the way most people follow Google maps—providing its strength. While he’s transparent about his self-doubt over his path in life, his untroubled, sweet performance on the Darondosampling “Say I Didn’t” shows he’s right where he needs to be. —LEOR GALIL

Migos ò DAVID RAMS

J NOVEMBER 30, 2017 - CHICAGO READER 33

MUSIC Jon Langford JUAN PEREZ-FAJARDO

continued from 33 Migos Lil Yachty, Ro Ransom, and Shaboozey open. 8 PM, Riviera Theatre, 4746 N. Racine, sold out. 18+ The chief innovation Atlanta trio Migos have brought to rap music is using words as punctuation. (Period). Quavo, his cousin Offset, and his nephew Takeoff don’t merely rap or sing or rap-sing, they pepper their bars with stray words or onomatopoetic sounds that aren’t just stylistic quirks or sound effects (boom), but integral components of their vocals. (Critical). Sometimes the device works like the connective tissue of em dashes (continue), ellipses (dot dot dot), or rhetorical questions (what). Aesthetics aside, what’s brilliant about this technique is twofold (double time): How Migos make the words fit within the beat, and how that approach contributes to the sonic world they inhabit (it’s Atlanta). Take the chorus of “Slippery,” one of the best tracks on Migos’s recent masterpiece, Culture (Atlantic): “Pop a perky just to start it (pop it, pop it) / Pop two cups of purple just to warm up (two cups) (drank) / I heard your bitch she got that water / Splash (drip, drip), woo (splash).” (Ergo) Migos revel in the musicality of the English language -30-. —TAL ROSENBERG

Remembrance of Lost Species Day featuring Phil Angotti, Robin Bienemann, Steve Dawson, Sarah Eide, Rebecca Jasso, Jon Langford, and Ami Saraiya. 7:30 PM, Constellation, 3111 N. Western, $15. 18+ The passenger pigeon was once the most common bird in North America, numbering in the billions. When in flight, their immense flocks darkened the sun for hours. Humans—acting at our absolute worst—killed every single one of them. The last passenger pigeon, a 29-year-old bird named Martha, died alone at the Cincinnati Zoo in 1914. In honor of Remembrance of Lost Species Day on November 30, singer-songwriters Rebecca Jasso and Sarah Eide have organized an intimate evening featuring a small but potent cast of musicians including Steve Dawson, Robin Bienemann, Jon Langford, Ami Saraiya, and Alisa Rosenthal (who will double as emcee).

34 CHICAGO READER - NOVEMBER 30, 2017

For the occasion, each songwriter has written an original song about a lost or nearly lost creature. Langford is taking on the adorable axolotl (if that truly becomes extinct I will cry); Jasso will sing for the Honshu wolf, a Japanese subspecies of the gray wolf that was wiped out after the rabies was introduced to this country in the 1700s; Sairaya’s song is for the tragic and mysterious thylacine (aka the Tasmanian tiger), and that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Proceeds go to benefit the Wildlife Rehabilitation Center of Minnesota. —MONICA KENDRICK

FRIDAY1 Bitchin Bajas See Thu 11/30. 8:30 PM, Hungry Brain, 2319 W. Belmont, $10. 21+ Brad Mehldau Trio 7:30 PM, Logan Center for the Arts, University of Chicago, 915 E. 60th, sold out. b Last year pianist Brad Mehldau dropped Blues and Ballads (Nonesuch), the first new album in four years from his long-running trio featuring bassist Larry Grenadier and drummer Jeff Ballard. In recent years his admirable artistic reach has resulted in electronically driven jazz-funk with drummer Mark Giuliani and thoughtful duets with expansive bluegrass mandolinist Chris Thile, on which he even sang a little (something I don’t need to hear again). For me, this trio remains his best vehicle, where his introspection and melodic grandeur achieve their most sublime platform. Like its predecessor, 2012’s Where Do You Start, Blues and Ballads features a mix of recent pop songs including Mehldau’s sometime collaborator Jon Brion’s “Little Person” and Paul McCartney’s “My Valentine” (from his 2012 album Kisses on the Bottom), classics such as the more predictable McCartney tune “And I Love Her,” and standards. One of Mehldau’s greatest skills is erasing things about a song that tie it to a particular era, which makes his treatments of contemporary songs seem timeless rather than gimmicky. The real pleasure of this recording is what he does with material written decades ago, adding a subtle bossa nova

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feel to “I Concentrate on You” and caressing the earthy blues of the Buddy Johnson opener “Since I Fell for You” with an elegance reminiscent of Ray Charles (the trio’s cadenza on “My Valentine” nicely bookends the track with the album’s opener). The band’s rapport is special: an album of ballads can become a sleepy aﬀair, and Mehldau’s romanticism quickly grows overripe if left unchecked, but these performances are models of concision, muscle rippling through the prettiness and reﬁned communication keeping each composition masterful. —PETER MARGASAK

Iron Chic Off With Their Heads, Mobina Galore, and Canadian Rifle open. 8 PM, Subterranean, 2011 W. North, sold out. 17+ Long Island punk band Iron Chic trudges through the mud for all of us on You Can’t Stay Here. Iron Chic’s songs move with the exhausted triumph of an Olympic athlete who’s completed the 100m butterfly race with cement blocks attached to her arms and legs. Weight is imprinted in the music; the guitars heave skyward, the rhythm section perilously pushes forward, and front man Jason Lubrano’s burly vocals muscle their way through charged instrumentals. The band’s third album, the recent You Can’t Stay Here (SideOneDummy), is anchored by loss. As Lubrano told Uproxx in September, the album reflects, among other things, the end of a long-term relationship and the 2016 death of former Iron Chic guitarist Rob McAllister. Despite these personal themes, the darkened bruises of You Can’t Stay Here feel apt for our time; we’re confronting an unusual (even for our country) rash of mass murders at the hands of white terrorists, the quiet dissolution of the EPA and seemingly any Obama-era policies, and a president who’s managed to continue to hold his position in the Oval Office despite what appears to be his complete incompetence, among the many other issues that riddle whatever it is that rests between his ears. It’s hard not to relate to the opening lines of “My Best Friend (Is a Nihilist)”: “It’s hard to be a human being / How can we?” As Iron Chic shows, part of being human is learning how to deal with the worst parts of ourselves and our lives. —LEOR GALIL

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SATURDAY2 Irreversible Entanglements Makaya McCraven headlines. Irreversible Entanglements and Dos Santos open. 8:30 PM, Thalia Hall, 1807 S. Allport, $20, $15 in advance. 17+ Few spoken-word artists working the posthip-hop landscape can match the intensity, precision, and metaphoric power of Philadephia’s Moor Mother (aka Camae Ayewa); I’ve seen her twice this year, and both times she had total control of the audience by the end of the set. She’s involved with several collaborative projects, and one of the most exciting, Irreversible Entanglements, recently dropped its self-titled debut album, a joint release of Chicago’s International Anthem and New Jersey’s Don Giovanni. The quintet began as a partnership between Ayewa, Philadelphia saxophonist Keir Neuringer, and D.C. bassist Luke Stewart, and now includes New York drummer Tcheser Holmes and trumpeter Aquiles Navarro as well. The acoustic and largely improvised music provides a new context for Ayewa’s voice: at the start of the opening piece, “Chicago to Texas,” she sounds downright measured, the quartet mirroring her reserve, but the performance grows more heated and cutting as it progresses. Ayewa avoids familiar hiphop rhythms and the cliched sing-song cadences of poetry slams, instead summoning a fury to match her message; her voice rises and falls, accelerates and decelerates, interacting with the band with incredible subtlety. When Ayewa performs as Moor Mother, her electronic backing generally rhymes with the intensity of her voice, but with Irreversible Entanglements, the musicians engage in classic improvisatory give-and-take. The album’s four tracks follow a single thread through a harrowing narrative journey, and though the thrilling dialogue between band and vocalist evokes Amiri Baraka’s powerful 1960s work with Sunny Murray or the New York Art Quartet, the musicians also draw upon contemporary extended techniques, such as unpitched air columns on the horns or frictive noise on percussion. —PETER MARGASAK J

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Find more music listings at chicagoreader.com/soundboard. Weather Station ò COURTESY THE ARTIST

continued from 35 Queens of the Stone age Run the Jewels and Biﬀy Clyro open. 7 PM, Aragon Ballroom, 1106 W. Lawrence, sold out. b Back in the late 90s, Queens of the Stone Age edged themselves out of the ooze of the desert-fried stoner-rock underground and turned themselves into the most interesting band in mainstream rock. Taking the massively heavy shredding of sole constant member Josh Homme’s groundbreaking previous project, Kyuss, and adding an impossibly smooth sheen, Queens of the Stone Age made a name for themselves with crunchy, otherworldly stoner pop. It’s been a solid 15 years since the band blew up with their 2002 Dave Grohlanchored Songs for the Deaf, and on this summer’s Villains (Matador) they’ve settled into a more simpliﬁed, streamlined groove. Gone are the howls of former bassist Nick Oliveri, the mountain of marijuana-smoke-stained Marshall amps, and their characteristic druggy throb; they’ve been replaced by hyperslick melodies, upbeat boogies, and Mark Ronson production. But Queens of the Stone Age have by no means turned safe on Villains—even with their slightly less bombastic take on rock’n’roll, they’re still the most exciting band you’ll hear on the radio today. —LUCA CIMIRUSTI

Weather Station James Elkington opens. 9 PM, Hideout, 1354 W. Wabansia, $12 at the door or $10 in advance. 21+ Canadian singer-songwriter Tamara Lindeman took matters into her own hands and produced the self-titled fourth album by her project the Weather Station (Paradise of Bachelors) herself. A listen to the record proves it was a smart move. There’s a sense of mission and a layer of passion that I didn’t hear on its lovely 2015 predecessor, Loyalty. This time around Lindeman’s voice sounds more cutting, the arrangements are richer and more exciting, and the lyrics hit harder as they trace various strains of romantic disappointment with sharp observational detail. “You and I (On the Other Side of the World),” for example, a song that seems to celebrate an

eﬀortless love, quietly reveals a sense of boredom. Lindeman impressively transforms diaristic writing into fleeting melodies inspired by the elusive phrasing of Joni Mitchell. On the page bracing lines such as “I asked for your hand like it was too intimate to ask for your mind” might not sound particularly musical, but her urgent, generous delivery allows them to mysteriously blossom and wedge themselves into the listener’s memory. Her core band performs with brisk energy while crafting lean grooves that give the intuitive spontaneity of her singing plenty of room to move. Even the tunes that are gorgeously gilded by string arrangements never feel superfluous or goopy. It’s a record that feels simultaneously light in its attack and heavy with ideas, and I’m eager to spend more time grappling with its complexities. —PETER MARGASAK

SUNDAY3 Marina Rosenfeld Part of SSSS! Second Sexing Sound Symposium. Neo Hülcker headlines. 8:30 PM, Constellation, 3111 N. Western, $5. 18+ Sometimes Marina Rosenfeld is a turntablist who layers the sounds of specially made, heavily used acetates into gritty sonic expanses. Other times she is a conceptual composer. Her performers’ histories, interests, and personalities become material influences on a composition; for example, her desire to work with people of a generation that had grown up having personal relationships with their electronics led to Teenage Lontano, which she devised for the 2008 Whitney Biennale. The piece reimagined Györgi Ligeti’s orchestrations as a work for prerecorded electronics and teenaged singers (and American Idol fans) whose contemporary R&Bstyled vocals were cued by shared iPods. Rosenfeld explores another kind of mashup on her latest LP, P.A. / Hard Love (Room40), by inviting dancehall reggae singer Annette Henry (AKA Warrior Queen) and improvising cellist Okkyung Lee to sing and play over her mixes of resonant electronics and ﬁeld recordings sourced from an armory and a parking structure. For this appearance, part of the four-day-long Second Sexing Sound Sympo- J

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Tommaso Moretti ò DAVIDE CARDEA

continued from 36

sium (SSSS!), Rosenfeld will present the Sheer Frost Orchestra: 17 female performers, many of whom may never have confronted a guitar before this weekend, will follow a graphic score that instructs them to agitate electric guitars with bottles of nail polish. —BILL MEYER

MONDAY4 Dream Syndicate Elephant Stone opens. 8 PM, Thalia Hall, 1807 S. Allport, $22-$30, $20 in advance. 17+

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My natural skepticism rose when I heard about How Did I Find Myself Here? (Anti), the ﬁrst new Dream Syndicate album in 30 years. While the band’s 1982 Velvets-infused debut The Days of Wine and Roses remains one of my all-time favorites, the albums made in its wake, as original members Kendra Smith and Karl Precoda left, delivered diminishing returns until the group disbanded in the late 80s. Leader Steve Wynn went on to pursue a solid if unspectacular solo career, and Smith formed Opal with guitarist David Roback and released a couple of sublime solo albums in the early 90s before stepping away from music. It was a relief to discover that How Did I Find Myself Here?—made with original drummer Dennis Duck, bassist Mark Walton (who replaced Smith), and second guitarist Jason Victor, who’s long provided a steady foil for Wynn in his solo eﬀorts— doesn’t chase nostalgia. Even better, the music is worth listening to on its own terms. The record was coproduced by keyboardist Chris Cacavas, an old Paisley Underground cohort once in Green on Red, who also plays on a few songs. The album opens with a few tracks of middle-of-the-road hard rock, but as the record unfolds the guitar interplay between Wynn and Victor sparks some real heat, especially on the burner “Out of My Head,” where the singer expresses a desperate inability to cope with his surroundings and salves himself with either noise or drugs. A similar yearning for escape surfaces on “80 West,” a classic road song where Wynn describes losing it behind the wheel. The album concludes with “Kendra’s Dream,” which features the darkened vocals of unexpected guest Smith, who also cowrote the warm, woozy meditation with Wynn. —PETER MARGASAK

TUESDAY5 Jay-Z, Vic Mensa See Pick of the Week. 8 PM, United Center, 1901 W. Madison, $115-$225. b

WEDNESDAY6 Tommaso Moretti SemoComeSemo Quartet Jake Wark opens. 8:30 PM, Constellation, 3111 N. Western, $10. 18+ I t a l i a n d r u m m e r a n d co m p os e r To m m a s o Moretti settled settled here in 2013 after playing with Chicagoans such as Ernest Dawkins in his homeland, but he didn’t come across my radar until last year, when he appeared on the eponymous debut album of Bottle Tree—a smart, progressive R&B trio with multi-instrumentalist Ben Lamar Gay and singer A.M. Frison. He shows a diﬀerent but equally satisfying side of his musicianship with his new album SemoComeSemo (Amalgam Music), a dynamic jazz-quartet recording of original compositions that deftly infuse sleek postbop with Italian folk traditions. Moretti’s music alternates between brisk hurtling movement and buoyant swing. Pianist Matt Piet underlines that sense of propulsion, adding hints of Monkish tartness and soul-jazz ﬂavor and conveying melodic ebullience in tandem with the sounds of Gay’s joyful, bright-toned cornet in one of the strongest instances of pure jazz playing from both of them that I’ve experienced. Bassist Devin Foster deftly holds down the bottom, letting the drummer accelerate into giddy wildness on the spirited “Appocundade.” Many of the pieces, including the one tune the leader didn’t write—the bossa novakissed “Ma La Vita Continua” by film composer Nino Rota—add dollops of avuncular humor a la Italian Instabile Orchestra (which made an art of braiding Italian music with vanguard jazz). “The Cowboy Twist” pushes more explicitly toward pop music, using English lyrics and a puckish bridge. Given the combination of elements, one might think it would resemble a theme to a spaghetti western, but instead it evokes Sonny Rollins playing Johnny Mercer’s “I’m an Old Cowhand.” —PETER MARGASAK v

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Smoked beet tartare studded with crunchy bits of broken sunﬂower seed and topped with a snowcap of sharp goat Gouda and dollops of cumin-spiked yogurt ò JAMIE RAMSAY

RESTAURANT REVIEW

Lee Wolen opens the season at Somerset

Country clubs aren’t cool, but the food at Boka Restaurant Group’s latest is. By MIKE SULA

hat’s the most deeply uncool place you could be forced to hang out in in these wild times? Is it a private elephant ranch operated by the NRA? Nope. Is it a serial masturbators’ support group? You’re wrong. Is it a white supremacist drum circle? Close. It’s Mar-a-Lago, Donald Trump’s private golf club in Palm Beach, Florida. Given the inordinate amount of time President Circus Peanut has spent there and at other golf clubs during his term to date, country clubs carry such a stigma that I wouldn’t bank on them if I were a restaurateur looking to open a fresh concept in a big blue city—and that’s even before you ponder the long history of private clubs that practiced exclusivity based not just on socioecomic disparity but on race and religion too. Country clubs are square like saltines. It’s very rare that the Boka Restaurant Group does something uncool. And yet “Country club culture” is the phrase BRG has chosen to describe the vibe of Somerset, its 14th step toward industry-wide domination. Those three words might seem lame in any other neighborhood, but this is the Gold Coast—the one place they’d probably ﬂy. Located behind the facade of the Cedar Hotel at the base of the rippled, gleaming new Viceroy Chicago and towering over the Viagra Triangle, the restaurant is in fact gorgeous. Gold Coasters will dig its luminosity: brass ﬁxtures shimmer over blue banquettes and warm woods, bathed in golden light from atrium windows towering

above the second-ﬂoor dining room, which is outﬁtted with a restroom foyer devoted to the gentlemanly sport of elephant polo. Because colonialism, bro. They should also feel at home among servers dressed in khaki and pale blue blazers, children of the less fortunate, forced to work for a living. And they might feel aspirational gazing at the list of “members,” regulars and investors in Boka Group restaurants

whose names have been embossed on brass tags and hung on the wall. But under this masquerade Somerset has a lot going for it, namely Lee Wolen, executive chef at the group’s flagship namesake, and before that the celebrated chef of the Lobby at the Peninsula Hotel. The chef has described breakfast, lunch, and dinner at these new digs, unpoetically, as “food

people like to eat.” While that leaves a lot to the imagination, you’ll see that it amounts to the usual broad array of dishes appealing to a wide range of eaters and typically found at hotel restaurants: the flatbread, the salmon, the goddamn cheeseburger. Still, the menu does manage to reflect a number of trends habitual Chicago restaurantgoers have gotten used to seeing lately: the crudite plate, the charred vegetables, the squid-ink pasta with seafood. Most importantly, the ﬂavors on the plate manifest themselves with the same engaging and intuitive grace as they do at Boka. Of course, there’s beef tartare, lush with dry-aged minerality, into which is folded an equally meaty shiitake mushroom jam and mayonnaise whipped with the beef’s rendered fat, all that richness cut with pickled mustard seeds and sweet apple batons. It’s a memorable interpretation of this standby, but not as unforgettable as the smoked beet tartare, the purple root rendered down into a kind of cool, sweet hash studded with crunchy bits of broken sunflower seed and topped with a snowcap of sharp goat Gouda and dollops of cumin-spiked yogurt. Pillowy thumbshaped corn-and-salt-cod fritters with tangy malt-vinegar aioli are the bar snack of the year, while fat chunks of grilled octopus garnished with celery leaves and radish coins top an understory of dill-ﬂecked tahini alongside crunchy sesame seeds and charred cucumber. Among four salads, sweet delicata squash and honeycrisp apples joust with bitter radicchio, escarole, and walnuts, with shaved goat cheese and a brown-butter vinaigrette that makes this plate amount to a worthy descendant of the Waldorf salad (though not intentionally, Wolen tells me). There’s a trio of pastas distinguished by the aforementioned squid-ink chitarra, unusually thick and ropy strands of pasta tangling with calamari and prawns in a lobster-cherry tomato sauce. It’s a solid version of this increasingly ever-present pasta. Tagliolini sets itself apart still further as a one-plate mental support system, the pasta raveled amid an umamic mushroom bolognese top-loaded with pecorino and toasty fried garlic. Actual full entrees appear on this menu— proteins, no less, at the center of the plate for a refreshing change, supported by sauces and vegetables. Following the season, mush- J

NOVEMBER 30, 2017 - CHICAGO READER 39

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Roasted chicken with a side of polenta and charred delicata squash rounds ò JAMIE RAMSAY

continued from 39 rooms are big: tiny shimeji caps litter a silky sea bass fillet blanketed in a buttery sauce made from their fermented stems, and a similarly luscious length of beef short rib is hidden under a forest floor of bitter Chinese broccoli and lengths of chewy maitake, all deepened with the tangy fermented depth of black garlic beef jus. Meanwhile, ruby-red slices of venison tenderloin, clean as beef, are arrayed with shaved pear amid pools of nutty sunchoke puree and huckleberry-sweetened jus. A large-format family-style entree marks a return, in a way, to the dish Wolen made his name on. It’s not exactly the dramatic whole roasted chicken from his Lobby days, but it’s close enough: a whole bronzed disarticulated bird, its crispy skin jacketing a layer of stuffing with roasted garlic and chicken sausage that in turn protects the tender, juicy meat below. Served with a side of polenta and charred delicata squash rounds, this fowl returns the chef to the ranks of the best chicken slingers in town. A trio of sides reflects seasonal woodsiness and the prevailing trend of chefs painting their vegetables with carbon. Charred broccoli dances with shards of crackly chicken skin, almonds, and cool yogurt. Similarly, caramelized brussels spouts are lightened with crumbled feta and sweet dates with crispy nduja bits and an aioli whipped with the rendered meat butter. And finally, more fungi: chopped grilled maitakes tossed with sunflower seeds and watercress, with glutamate-boosting miso aioli. Ace Boka pastry chef Meg Galus weighs in

with some hits and misses. A texturally absorbing parfait of Concord ice cream, crunchy bits of meringue, and creamy fromage blanc has been sadly retired for the season. Some version of a gussied-up candy bar seems to end up on every menu these days, but Galus’s is distinctively deconstructed: bites of dense, chewy brownie are obscured by ropes of nutty caramel and a scoop of lightly tannic milk chocolate-chai ice cream. On the other hand a concentric blob of butterscotch pudding sided with coffee-Kahlua ice cream in a pool of bitter caramel sauce bears an unfortunate resemblance to something you might encounter at the dog park, while a caramelized apple tart topped with graham-cracker streusel disintegrates into a smear of vanilla creme at the touch of a fork. Perhaps the most surprising thing about Somerset is its wine list, loaded with interesting and affordable bottles that buck the standard of the neighborhood. Take the fruity red Beaujolais Julien Sunier for $54, or the limitededition Portuguese Tiago Teles Maria da Graça, a smooth red with a lingering earthiness ($49). Somerset isn’t cheap, but playful, affordable wines like that, along with Wolen’s fresh interpretations of classic American seasonal food, go a long way to undercut the weird Angloestablishment concept this restaurant embraces. You can almost forget that Carl Spackler could be out back blowing up gophers under the green of Bushwood Country Club. v

v @MikeSula

TASTING COLLECTIVE tastingcollective.com

argentine atmosphere while you dine

During Tasting Collective meals, the host chefs talk about their background, inﬂuences, and the dishes they’re serving. ò COURTESY TASTING COLLECTIVE

SUPPER CLUB

Tasting Collective aims to bring a ‘human connection’ to restaurant dining By JULIA THIEL

at Gelb grew up in a house off a dirt road in a tiny town in upstate New York. “Really off the grid,” he says. His family never went to restaurants; his parents cooked all their food. When he moved to New York City, he says, “I was blown away by all the amazing restaurants, but I missed being able to form a human connection to the people who were making the food I was eating.” Gelb solved the problem by getting groups of his friends together in private, reserved dining rooms at restaurants. “I’d ask the chef to put together a menu that tells their story, come out and talk to us,” he says. Interest grew to the point that the group was able to ﬁll up an entire restaurant. Gelb realized that the idea had business potential, and about a year and a half ago he officially launched Tasting Collective in New York. He’s now expanding the concept: in mid-November the Chicago chapter of the organization began accepting members, and on December 6 the ﬁrst Chicago dinner will take place at Split Rail. (Eventually, Gelb plans to expand to San Francisco and LA as well.) The business model is fairly straightforward: members pay an annual fee of $165 for access to the events, which are all the same price. Dinners are eight to ten courses and cost $50, plus tax and tip; brunches are about the same number of courses and cost $35.

Only members are allowed to buy tickets, but they can bring guests (who pay $20 more per meal). Tasting Collective makes money from the membership fees, while all the money from the events goes to the restaurants. His goal, Gelb says, was to “create a different sort of restaurant experience that would foster a meaningful connection and dialogue between the people who eat and the people who make food.” Tasting Collective focuses on holding events at small, independent restaurants that often prepare experimental food with a story behind it. When he was ﬁrst starting out, Gelb says, he met with some reluctance from the restaurants he approached, which would typically expect to make $100 or more per head for private chef-led dinners. However, because Tasting Collective comes in on nights that tend to be slow or when the restaurant would usually be closed, the hosts make at least as much money as they would in a typical night, according to Gelb. He also guarantees that Tasting Collective will sell out every event. “There was this initial resistance at the price point, but all our restaurant partners have us back again and again,” he says. Another incentive, he says, is that chefs are able to connect more with the diners than they normally would. “Restaurants really want to tell their story, but they don’t get to in the typ-

ical day to day. The industry is built on turning as many covers as you can in a night.” With these meals, the chefs come out several times to talk about their background, influences, and the dishes they’re serving. “It’s much more like going to a show than eating a meal,” Gelb says. Seating is communal, and many of the dishes are served family-style, with big platters being passed around the table. “It’s not a white-tablecloth tasting-menu experience,” he says. “It’s a big, lively dinner party.” Zoe Schor, owner and executive chef at Split Rail, says that the atmosphere of the Tasting Collective dinners is one reason she wanted to participate. “We’re already a family-style restaurant. Me and Michelle, my general manager and partner—we’re in this for the people. The idea of sitting down as part of a group and getting to know new people and sharing food together appeals to me. It jives with everything we’re doing.” Gelb says he’s seen friendships form and romances sprout at the hundred-odd events he’s organized. At first there was no membership fee and anyone could attend. But the membership component, he says, is what helped the concept take off. “It creates this sense of community that’s not there when you’re just going to an event. Everybody feels like they’ve bought into this concept.” Tasting Collective currently has just under a thousand members in New York and holds at least one event a week; Gelb says they usually sell out in a day or two. In Chicago they’ll start with one dinner every other week and build from there (and the membership price for the first 150 members will be an introductory rate of $99). The second event will be held at HaiSous the week of December 17, and Gelb has been talking to the chefs at Clever Rabbit, Daisies, and Quiote about the possibility of doing dinners at those restaurants. Schor says that as a chef she gets lots of requests to do events, but Gelb impressed her with his passion and enthusiasm. “He could probably be doing anything,” she says. “I love when interesting, intelligent people lend that intelligence to the food service industry. There are easier ways to make money than doing anything with restaurants, to be sure.” v

v @juliathiel

restaurant & bar 210 0 we st division st . 7 7 3 . 2 9 2 .1 6 0 0

presents

COME SEE THESE VENDORS AND MORE! Sunday · December 3, 2017 · 11am-5pm Chicago Plumbers Hall · 1340 W Washington

For more information, visit ChicagoReader.com/MICM NOVEMBER 30, 2017 - CHICAGO READER 41

Stonebridge Consulting Group has multiple openings to work in Warrenville, IL and/or various client sites throughout the U.S. Must be willing to travel and/or relocate. Sr. Guidewire Developer: design solutions in Guidewire Policy Center and/or Claim Center. Provide tech & domain guidance to configuration team. Design, test software. Resolve production issues working in Guidewire & Java. Guidewire IT Analyst: develop business reqs, assist in prioritization of requirements, evaluate risks, implement corrective measures; integrate user stories for Guidewire PolicyCenter or Guidewire ClaimCenter implementation. Perform doc analysis using Visio; troubleshoot production issues; perform smoke, regression testing. Send resume & cover letter to Stonebridge Consulting Group, 27475 Ferry Rd, Warrenville, IL 60555

JOBS SALES & MARKETING MARKETING ANALYST Research market conditions of sale of window/doors and installations. Collect data from competitors. Req’s a Bach in BA, Business, Marketing + 1yr exp as Mar Analyst. Job in Chicago. Resume to: Koh Exterior, Inc., 3230 W. Fullerton Ave., Chicago, IL 60647. TELEMARKETING/ FUNDRAISING: CHRISTMAS CASH! Albany Park area. Start Today! 847-863-2275

food & drink

TECHNOLOGY ADVISORY MANAGER, APPLICATION TECHNOLOGY (MULT. POS.), PricewaterhouseCoopers Advisory Services LLC, Chicago, IL. Help clnts determine the best apps for their bus. needs & integrate new & existing apps into their business including Mobility integration. Req. Bach’s deg or foreign equiv. in Comp Sci, IT or rel. + 5 yrs of post-bach’s progressive rel. work exp.; OR a Master’s deg or foreign equiv. in Comp Sci, IT or rel. + 3 yrs of rel. work exp. Travel up to 80% req. Apply by mail, referencing Job Code IL1495, Attn: HR SSC/ Talent Management, 4040 W. Boy Scout Blvd, Tampa, FL 33607.

REAL ESTATE RENTALS

THE NORTHERN TRUST COMPANY is seeking a Sr Consul-

EXPERIENCED DELI HELP Wanted: Night Shift 11pm-7am. Also, Part-time weekdays & weekends. New York Bagel & Bialy, Email: rawwar5449@yahoo.com, Subject Line: applying for Deli Job.

tant, Applications in Chicago, IL w/ the following reqts: BS degree in Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or related field or foreign academic equivalent. 6 yrs of related experience. Required skills: Use Microsoft Visio, Data Studio and Microsoft Word to create System flows and documents (6 yrs); Use COBOL, IMS, JCL, DB2, Stored Procedures technologies to design systems (6 yrs); Design internal audit/reporting applications for Business groups using FOCUS, WEBFOCUS, XACT, and DB2 technologies (6 yrs); Use tech stack, such as Cobol, PL1, IMS, DB2, VSAM, SQL, CICS, Stored Procedure, FOCUS, WEBFOCUS, XACT, Xpeditor, to decide on applications architecture (6 yrs). Please apply online at www.northerntrustcareers. com and search for Req. # 17139

General Manager, Business Support Services. Skybridge Resource Center, Naperville, IL. Work with company officers & clients to coordinate effective delivery of corporate business, legal & compliance support services. Build strong networks & relations with clients, outside business associates & colleagues while recognizing & overcoming international cultural and language barriers. Must have Bachelor’s in bus. admin. or legal studies & 1 year of training or experience in resolving int’l cultural & language barriers in business setting, interacting with state secretary of state offices concerning business formations, name changes, annual reports, related company filings, corporate report requirements monitoring & coordination of mandatory filings, regular communication & liaison work between clients & lawyers, accountants & other professionals. Please apply to Jim Wilkes at jim @src.us.com.

BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE ANALYST - Produce financial & market intelligence by querying data repositories/generating periodic reports. Analyze competitive mkt stgy (analysis of related product, market, or share trends). Req’s a Bach in econ., stats &operations research or rel fd. Job in Chicago. Res. to: Palm USA, Inc., 5050 W. Lawrence Ave., Chicago, IL 60630.

STUDIO $500-$599 CHICAGO, BEVERLY/CAL Par k/Blue Island: Studio $625 & up; 1BR $700 & up; 2BR $885 & up. Heat, Appls, Balcony, Carpet, Laundry, Parking. Call 708-3880170 76TH & HERMITAGE, Newly Remod Large Studio. $550.Heat & appliances incl. $350 Move-In Fee. 773-507-8534

1BR, 7910 S. Ridgeland,

$600$850. Section 8 welcome. 2BR, 1633 E. 83rd St., $800. 312-493-2344

STUDIO $600-$699 CHICAGO, HYDE PARK Arms Hotel, 5316 S. Harper, maid, phone /cable, switchboard, fridge, priv bath, lndry, $165/wk, $350/bi-wk or $650/mo. Call 773-493-3500

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

û NO SEC DEP û 6829 S. Perry. Studio. $465/mo HEAT INCL 773-955-5106 CROSSROADS HOTEL SRO SINGLE RMS Private bath, PHONE, CABLE & MAIDS. 1 Block to Orange Line 5300 S. Pulaski 773-581-1188

Ashland Hotel nice clean rms. 24 hr desk/maid/TV/laundry/air. Low rates daily/weekly/monthly. South Side. Call 773-376-5200 CHICAGO Hyde Park 5401 S. Ellis. Studio. $475/mo.Call 773-955-5106

1 BR UNDER $700 FALL

SAVINGS!

NEWLY

Remod. 1 BR Apts $650 w/gas incl. 2-5BR start at $650 & up. Sec 8 Welc. Rental Assistance Prog. for Qualified Applicants offer up to $200 /month for 1 yr. (773)412-1153 Wesley Realty

7022 S. SHORE DRIVE Impeccably Clean Highrise STUDIOS, 1 & 2 BEDROOMS Facing Lake & Park. Laundry & Security on Premises. Parking & Apts. Are Subject to Availability. TOWNHOUSE APARTMENTS 773-288-1030 FALL SPECIAL: Studios starting at $499 incls utilities, 1BR $550, 2BR $599, 2BR $699, With approved credit. No Security Deposit for Sec 8 Tenants. South Shore & Southside. 312-656-5066 or 773-287-9999

MIDWAY AREA/63RD KEDZIE Deluxe Studio 1 & 2 BRs. All modern oak floors, appliances, Security system, on site maint. clean & quiet, Nr. transp. From $445. 773582-1985 (espanol)

FALL SPECIAL - Chicago South Side Beautiful Studios, 1,2,3 & 4 BR’s, Sec 8 ok. $500 gift cert. for Sec 8 tenants. Also Homes for rent available. 773-287-9999. Westside Locations 773-287-4500

FALL SPECIAL $500 Toward Rent Beautiful Studios 1, 2, 3 & 4 BR Sect. 8 Welc. Westside Loc, Must qualify. Also Homes for Rent available . 773-287-4500 www.wjmngmt.com

Retail

232 E 121ST Pl.

BACK TO SCHOOL SPECIAL - $300 Move in Fee - Nice lrg 1BR $565; 2BR $650 & 1 3BR $800, balcony. Sec 8 Welc. 773-995-6950

CHICAGO 5 ROOM APARTMENT. 2BR, 2nd flr. 7545 S. Union. QUIET, 4 FLAT BUILDING. NO SEC DEP. CALL FOR INFO. 773-6552388

quette, Good location, 2BR, 3rd floor, quiet bldg, Nice! Heat included, $700 w/1 mo rent & 1 mo sec. 773-505-1853

7520 S. COLES - 1 BR $520, 2 BR $645, Includes appliances & AC, Near transp., No utilities included (708) 424-4216 Kalabich Mgmt CLEAN ROOM W/FRIDGE & micro, Near Oak Park, Food -4Less, Walmart, Walgreens, Buses & Metra, Laundry. $115/wk & up. 773-637-5957

MAYWOOD, 2 & 3BR Apartments, new Stainless Steel appliancess, Section 8 Welcome, Available Now. Call 708-790-2354. 6 LARGE ROOMS; 3BR, formal DR, 5200 S Peoria, 2nd flr, $995/ mo + 1 mo. security dep. Heat incl. Call 773-637-7288 for appt. 7425 S. COLES - 1 BR $620, 2 BR $735, Includes Free heat & appliances & cooking gas. (708) 424-4216 Kalabich Mgmt 6930 S. SOUTH SHORE DRIVE Studios & 1BR, INCL. Heat, Elec, Cking gas & PARKING, $585-$925, Country Club Apts 773-752-2200

Newly updated, clean furnished rooms in Joliet, near buses & Metra, elevator. Utilities included, $91/wk. $395/mo. 815-722-1212

We are seeking energetic, customer-oriented individuals to perform a variety of store functions. Qualified persons must be over 21 years of age, able to lift 40-50 lbs. and available to work flexible hours. Previous retail experience a plus, with cashier or stock experience preferred. Candidates must be able to work nights & weekends. In return for your skills, we offer growth opportunities and attractive compensation.

Please apply online at

binnys.com/careers

E ROGERS PARK: 1800 SF. 3BR / 2BA + den, new kitchen, SS appliances, FDR, $1900/heated, walk to Red Line & Beach 773-743-4141 www.urbanequities.com

ances & electic incl. $535/mo + sec. 773-221-4547 for more info.

Binny’s Beverage Depot is the Midwest’s largest upscale retailer of ﬁne wines, spirits, beers and cigars, and due to our continued growth, we are now looking for dedicated individuals to join our team at the following locations:

SEASONAL AND PARTTIME STORE ASSOCIATES

ONE BEDROOM APARTMENT near Warren Park. 1902 W. Pratt. Hardwood floors. Cats OK. Heat included. Laundry in building. Available 1/1. $900/month. 773-761-4318.

NO. SOUTHPORT 1500SF 2BR: new kit w/deck, SS appl, oak flrs, cent heat/AC, lndry $1595+util pkg avail 773-743-4141 NEWLY REMOD 1BR & Studios starting at $580. No sec dep, move www.urbanequities.com in fee or app fee. Free heat/hot water. 1155 W. 83rd St., 773-619-0204 EDGEWATER 900SFT 1BR, new kit, sunny FDR, vintage builtins, oak flrs, Red Line, $1095/mo 8053 S. SHORE Drive, 1BR, 3.5 heated www.urbanequities.com room Basement Apartment. Appli773-743-4141

1 MONTH FREE South Shore Studios $600-$750 Free Heat, Fitness Ctr, Lndry rm. Niki 773.808. 2043 www.livenovo.com

Grand Avenue Lakeview Lincoln Park South Loop

HOMEWOOD- 1BR new kitchen, new appls, oak flrs, ac, lndry/ stor., $950/mo incls ht/prkg, near Metra. 773.743.4141 Urban Equit ies.com

CHICAGO 92ND AND M a r -

BINNY’S IS HIRING! Skokie Elmwood Park River Grove Lincolnwood

ONE BEDROOM APARTMENT near Loyola Park, 1329 W. Estes. Hardwood floors. Cats OK. Heat included. Laundry in building. $925$950/month. Available 1/1. 773-7614318.

NICE ROOM w/stove, fridge & bath Near Aldi, Walgreens, Beach, Red Line & Buses. Elevator & Laundry. $133/wk & up. 773-275-4442 BIG ROOM with stove, fridge, bath & nice wood floors. Near Red Line & Buses. Elevator & Laundry, Shopping. $121/wk + up. 773-561-4970

SECTION 8 WELCOME 7620 S Colfax, 1 & 2BR, New remodeled heat/appl incl. Dan 312-493-5544

1 BR $700-$799 CHATHAM 708 East 81st(langley), 4 room, 1 bedroom, 1st fl $700+security. Please call Mr. Joe at 708-870-4801 for more info

1 BR $800-$899 2 MONTHS FREE 6600 S. Ingleside, 1 & 2 Bedrooms, $850-$1000 Free heat and Laundry Room, Sec 8 OK. Niki 773.808-2043. www.livenovo.com

SECTION 8 WELCOME! South side, Recently renovated, 1, 2 & 3BR Apts. FREE HEAT! $800$1250/mo. Call Sean, 773-410-7084

EOE

42 CHICAGO READER | NOVEMBER 30, 2017

CHICAGO - BEVERLY, large studio, 1 & 2BR Apts. Carpet, A/ C, laundry, near transportation, $680-$1020/mo. Call 773-2334939 MOST BEAUTIFUL APARTMENTS! 6748 Crandon, 2BR, off street pkng 7527 Essex, 2BR, $850/mo and up. 773-947-8572 / 312-613-4424 SUBURBS, RENT TO OWN! Buy with No closing costs and get help with your credit. Call 708868-2422 or visit www.nhba.com CHICAGO, RENT TO OWN! Buy with no closing costs and get help with your credit. Call 708868-2422 or visit www.nhba.com

NO SECURITY DEPOSIT NO MOVE IN FEE 1, 2, 3 BEDROOM APTS (773) 874-1122 ACACIA SRO HOTEL Men Preferred! Rooms for Rent. Weekly & Monthly Rates. 312-421-4597

2 BR UNDER $900 1 BR $1100 AND OVER HEART OF RAVENSWOOD 4883 N Paulina, Large 1BR 650SF completely remodeled apartment, brand-new kitchen/bath, new appliances, separate dining-room, ample closet space, floors sanded, painted throughout, mint condition, heat/ cooking gas included. Cable, storage locker, on-site laundry. Near transportation. Must be seen. Available immediately. $1150/mo. First Month Free! No security deposit. Call/text 773-230-3116 or call 773-477-9251, email: herbmalkind@comcast.net

EDGEWATER 1000SF 1BR: new kit, SS appls, quartz ctrs, built-ins, oak flrs, lndry, $1050/ heated 773-743-4141 www. urbanequities.com

EDGEWATER 2 1/2 RM STUDIO: Full Kit, new appl, dinette, oak flrs, walk-n closets, $850/mo incls ht/gas. Call 773-743-4141 or visit www.urbanequities.com

1 BR OTHER APTS. FOR RENT PARK MGMT & INV. Ltd. Hot Summer Is Here Cool Off In The Pool OUR UNITS INCLUDE HEAT, HW & CG Plenty of parking 1Bdr From $795.00 2Bdr From $925.00 3 Bdr/2 Full Bath From $1200 **1-(773)-476-6000**

APTS. FOR RENT PARK MGMT & INV. Ltd. SUMMER IS HERE!! Most units Include.. HEAT & HOT WTR Studios From $475.00 1Bdr From $550.00 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 ∫

1 BR $900-$1099 E ROGERS PARK: Deluxe 1BR + den, new kitc., FDR, oak flrs close to beach. $950-1050/heated, 773743-4141 ww.urbanequities.com

F PALOS HILLS -REALLY NICE! E 1 bedroom, Heat/water included. Laundry facility. Close to 294 & Rt. 83. Call 708-9744493

LOOKING TO MOVE ASAP? Remodeled 1, 2, 3 & 4 BR Apts. Heat & Appls incl. Sec 8 OK. Southside Only. 773-593-4357

BRIDGEPORT STUDIO , heated floors, utilities included. Floor to ceiling windows. Pool, appliances, 24 hour maintenance & security. $895/ mo. No deposit. Heated parking available. 773-924-7368, video@ bestrents.net

LAWNDALE: NEWLY DECORATED 2BR, enclosed back porch, living room, dining room, hardwood floors, heat included. $850/mo + 1 mo. security. 773259-6728

80TH/ASHLAND, Beaut. newly remod, 2BR w /ofc. Nr schls & trnsp. $800 /mo, ten pays all utils. $500 move in fee. Available now. 773-7754458 CHICAGO 7600 S Essex FALL SPECIAL 2BR $599, 3BR $699, 4BR $799 w/apprvd credit, no sec dep. Sect 8 Ok! Also Homes for rent available. Call 773-287-9999 Westside Locations 773-287-4500 CHICAGO, NEWLY large 2BR Apt. Heat & incl. Washer/Dryer on new carpet. $750/mo + 773-261-2200

REMOD, hot water premises, 1 mo sec.

8324 S INGLESIDE 2BR $780/ mo & Studio $625/mo, newly remodeled, laundry, hrdwd flrs, cable, Sec 8 welc. 708-308-1509 or 773-493-3500 83RD & COMMERCIAL, 2 B R , 1BA, kitchen, LR close to schools & trans, $750/mo + $500 Move In Fee. Ten pays utils. 773-775-4458

CHICAGO WESTSIDE nice 2 1BR apts, Austin Area, quiet bldg, $650-$750/mo + sec, Ldry rm , parking, Background ck req’d 773-575-9283 CHICAGO 94-3739 S. Bishop. 2BR, 5 Rms, 2nd flr, appls, parking, storage & closet space, near shops/ trans. $900 + sec. 708-335-0786 S. CHICAGO HEIGHTS, 2BR 1BA, clean, quiet, newly decorated, $825/mo + 1 month security. Heat included. Call 708-203-8455 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

East Chicago, IN 2BR $675 heat incl; tenant pays utils. 1 mo. free rent w/lease. Call Malcolm 773577-9361

WOODLAWN COMMUNITY (close to U of C campus) 3 BR,

APART-

ELMHURST: Dlx 2BR, n e w appls & carpet, a/c, balcony, $1195 /mo. incl heat, prkg. OS lndry, 773743-4141 www.urbanequities.com

MENT. 2nd floor. Fullerton between Central & Austin. Available immediately. $1000/mo includes heat and parking. Laundry inside building. 773-889-8491.

WEST ROGERS PARK: 2BR, new kit. FDR, new windows, $1295 /heated, 773-743-4141 www.urbanequities.com

ROBBINS 3 lrg bdrm, 2nd flr Apt for rent. Very quiet area, laundry rm, Senior Discount. $850 + utils. Section 8 accepted. 708-299-0055

2 BR $900-$1099 TWO

BEDROOM

CHICAGO, 74TH & Emerald, 2nd floor, 2BR Apt, dining room, stove & fridge, enclosed porch w/ closet space. $850/mo. , heat included. 773-848-1858

BRONZEVILLE- 42ND & Indiana. 1st flr. Gut rehab 2BR, hdwd flrs, maple kitc cabinets & windows, Sec 8 Welc. $980. 773-4472122.

DLX 1ST FLR, 2.5BR, hdwd flrs, ceiling fans, lg LR/DR & ktchen, 3 car gar. 83rd & Maryland. $900, Free heat & appl incl. Sec 8 welc. 773-412-0541

7011-13 S. Union, 2BR, $875/mo, tenant pays utilities. Lg LR, DR, hdwd flrs, Sec 8 OK, no pets, $425 move-in fee. 708-921-6354

SECT 8 WELC, 71st & Wentworth, newly decorated, 2BR & $3BR, $850/mo, heat incl, lndry on site. Contact Frank, 708-205-4311

2BR nr 83rd/Jeffrey, heat incl, decor FP, hdwd flrs, lots of storage, formal DR, intercom, newly remod kit/ba. $1000. Missy 773-241-9139

2 BR $1100-$1299 2BR apt, Sec 8 Welcome, 3400 W Block of Fulton Blvd. $1116/ mo, heat incl, ceiling fans, mini blinds, hdwd flrs every room 773-4301435

BEAUTIFUL REMODELED 1, 2 & 3BR Apts, hdwd flrs, custom cabinets, avail now. $1000-$1200 /mo + sec. 773-905-8487. Section 8 Ok

EVANSTON 2BR, BEAUT. new kit, SS appl, granite, oak flrs, spac. BRs, OS lndry/storage $1295/incl heat 773-743-4141 urbanequities. com

MILWAUKEE/BELMONT 1BR, 4 Rooms Newly remod, hdwd flrs, heat, cooking gas & hot water incl. Sec 8 OK. $1200. Call 773-758-0309

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

1 BA, includes heat, Sec. 8 OK. $1,100/mo. 773-802-0422

3 BR OR MORE $1200-$1499 DOLTON/RIVERDALE - 4BR, 1.5BA, 2 car garage, unfinished basement, Section 8 OK. $ 1200/mo + security. 847-9091538

ALB PK 1600SF 3BR + den, new kit, SS appl, granite, oak flrs, onsite lndy, $1495/+ util. 773-7434141 www.urbanequities.com

MAYFAIR 1600 SF 3BR, new kit, SS appl, granite, oak flrs, onsite lndy, prkg, $1495/+ util. 773743-4141 www.urbanequities.com

3 BR OR MORE $1800-$2499 LARGE 3 BEDROOM apartment near Wrigley Field. 3820 N. Fremont. Two bathrooms. Hardwood Floors. Cats OK. $2175/month. Special! Sign a lease starting by January 1, get January rent free! Available 1/1. 773-761-4318.

FOR SALE SECTION 8 WELCOME $400 Cash Move-In Bonus, No Dep. 225 W 108th Pl, 2BR/1BA . 7134 S. Normal, 4BR/2BA. ceiling fans, Ht & appls incl 312-683-5174

CHATHAM 88TH/DAUPHIN. Bright, spacious 2BR. Great trans, laundry on site, security camera. 312-341-1950

HOMEWOOD. 2BR, 1.5BA, Living Room, Dining Room, Kitchen, Finished Basement, 1 Car Garage. Call 708-602-0389

CHICAGO - 72ND & TALMAN,

3 BR OR MORE $1500-$1799

spacious LR, 1.5 baths plus, many closets, first floor, near transportation. $1600 includes heat. Available now. Marty, 773-784-0763.

Beautiful, comp rehab 2BR Apts, laundry on site. Sec 8 Welc. 312-375-6585 or 773-934-8796

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77th/Ridgeland. 3BR. $875. 74th/East End. 2BR. $775. 773-874-9637 or 773-493-5359

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ALSIP: LARGE 3 BEDROOM APARTMENT, 1.5BA, $1100/ month. Appliances, laundry, parking & storage. Call 708268-3762

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OTHER HOUSE FOR RENT - 3000 sf 6 Bedrooms 2.5 Bath, new painted, full basement - $900 per month with one month security deposit. 219.201.5023 CHICAGO HOUSES FOR rent. Section 8 Ok, w/app credit $500 gift certificate 3, 4 & 5 BR houses avail. Call 708-752-3812 for Westside locations 773-287-4500

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2402 E. 77TH St. (77th & Yates) VILLAGE, SILVER LEED CERTIFIED, WITH OVER $10,000.00 IN UPGRADES; CUSTOM WINDOW COVERINGS THROUGHOUT W/LIVING ROOM ELECTRONIC SHADES, CUSTOM WINDOW COVERINGS – CLOSETS & EMBEDDED CEILING AUDIO SYSTEM. SPACIOUS 3 BED, 2 BATH IN INTIMATE 9 UNIT ELEVATOR BUILDING. HUGE WINDOWS ENCOMPASS OPEN LIVING/ DINING ROOM. WITH ELECTRONIC SHADES AND HOME EMBEDDED STERO SYSTEM. CHEF’S KITCHEN W/ STUNNING CUSTOM ITALIAN CABINETRY, STAINLESS STEEL APPLIANCES, TILED BACK SPLASH AND QUARTZ COUNTER TOPS OFF PRIVATE BALCONY FOR GRILLING. EN-SUITE MASTER WITH BEAUTIFUL SPA BATH & HEATED FLOORS AND UPGRADED PROFESSIONALLY CUSTOMIZED CLOSETS. ELEGANT PANELING AND DOORS THROUGHOUT WITH FULL SIZE WASHER/DRYER. COMPLETE SMART HOME AUTOMATION WITH INTEGRATED ENERGY SAVING TECHNOLOGY. UNIT HAS PRIVATE ROOF RIGHTS WITH SKYLINE VIEWS. ATTACHED HEATED GARAGE PARKING. WALK TO SMITH PARK, METRA, EASY ACCESS TO 290/ KENNEDY/ DOWNTOWN CHICAGO, SHOPS/ RESTAURANTS AND THE 606. PET FRIENDLY. 312.805.7074 >>> OPEN HOUSE DECEMBER 3RD. 2017 <<< www.smartfloorplan. com/p/t/shell5.php?id=v391596

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legal notices NOTICE IS HEREBY given, pursuant to “An Act in relation to the use of an Assumed Business Name in the conduct or transaction of Business in the State,” as amended, that a certification was registered by the undersigned with the County Clerk of Cook County. Registration Number: D17152638 on November 8, 2017 Under the Assumed Business Name of WAY BACK WHEN JEWELRYwith the business located at: 40 E 9TH STREET APT 813, CHICAGO, IL 60605. The true and real full name(s) and residence address of the owner(s)/partner(s) is: JOHN JOSEPH MURRAY, JR 40 E 9TH STREET APT 813, CHICAGO, IL 60605, USA

roommates Chicago, 10635 S. State , Male Preferred. Use of kitchen and bath. $350/month. No Security. Call 773-791-1443 CHICAGO, SINGLE ROOM IN 4BR home, 6541 S. Hermitage, large living & dining room, full basement. Call 708-333-9490

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NOTICE IS HEREBY given, pursuant to “An Act in relation to the use of an Assumed Business Name in the conduct or transaction of Business in the State,” as amended, that a certification was registered by the undersigned with the County Clerk of Cook County. Registration Number: D17152647 on November 8, 2017 Under the Assumed Business Name of REDDISH BRAND with the business located at: 3072 ST IVES LN, RICHTON PARK, IL 60471. The true and real full name(s) and residence address of the owner(s)/ partner(s) is: ALISHA LASHAWN APPLEWHITE, 3072 ST IVES LN, RICHTON PARK, IL 60471, USA

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NOTICE IS HEREBY given, pursuant to “An Act in relation to the use of an Assumed Business Name in the conduct or transaction of Business in the State,” as amended, that a certification was registered by the undersigned with the County Clerk of Cook County. Registration Number: D17152798 on November 24, 2017 Under the Assumed Business Name of THE WOODLAWN with the business located at: 1200 EAST 79TH STREET, CHICAGO, IL 60619. The true and real full name(s) and residence address of the owner(s)/ partner(s) is: DONNELL DIGBY 6922 SOUTH PAXTON, CHICAGO, IL 60649, USA

NOTICE IS HEREBY given, pursuant to “An Act in relation to the use of an Assumed Business Name in the conduct or transaction of Business in the State,” as amended, that a certification was registered by the undersigned with the County Clerk of Cook County. Registration Number: D17152642 on November 8, 2017 Under the Assumed Business Name of FULLERTON FLOWERS with the business located at: 3442 FULLERTON AVE, CHICAGO, IL 60647. The true and real full name(s) and residence address of the owner(s)/ partner(s) is: JESSICA LYNN HALL 6952 30TH PLACE, BERWYN, IL 60402, USA

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NOVEMBER 30, 2017 | CHICAGO READER 43

STRAIGHT DOPE By Cecil Adams Q: How did Minnesota diverge

SLUG SIGNORINO

linguistically from “duck duck goose” to “duck duck gray duck”? This mystiﬁes me. My wife, a native Minnesotan, told me about this years ago, much to my puzzlement. —SLACKERINC, VIA THE STRAIGHT DOPE MESSAGE BOARD

A: As great mysteries go, SlackerInc, it’s not

quite up there with the lost colony of Roanoke, I’ve gotta say. As you no doubt know, a bunch of Scandinavian settlers put down stakes in Minnesota over the years. Well, they and their progeny called the familiar kids’ game duck-duck-gray-duck because that’s what people called it back in the old country— in Swedish, it’s anka-anka-grå-anka. There is, it happens, a Swedish variant exactly equivalent to the standard American name, called anka-anka-gås. But the gray duck’s the one that made it across the ocean. And in departing from duck-duck orthodoxy, the Swedes are hardly alone. Worldwide, this game and its close relatives enjoy a diverse roster of appellations. In the Indian rumaal chor, for instance, one player, the “thief,” runs around a seated circle of fellow participants, who extend their arms behind them; when the thief drops a handkerchief somewhere along the way, whoever grabs it becomes the thief’s pursuer. The South African game of vroteier (“rotten egg”) is similar. When we talk about duck-duck-goose, really we’re talking about a glorified version of tag—a word from the Middle English tek, meaning “touch” or “tap,” having perhaps made its way to modern usage via the Scottish tig. In some parts of the British Isles the game is still called “tig,” in others “tag,” though it’s “tip” in North Wales, “tuggy” in Newcastle, and “dobby” in Nottingham. See where I’m going? It’s not that upper midwesterners have their own occult version of a popular American game; it’s that children everywhere use different names for some variation on the very same thing, an activity entailing one person—“it”—pursuing some other or others. Kids have been doing this since antiquity, and over the centuries they’ve found ways to put their own whimsical little spins on it, as the Encyclopaedia Britannica notes: “In some variants the children pretend that the touch carries some form of contagion—e.g., plague (Italy), leprosy (Madagascar), fleas (Spain), or ‘lurgy fever’ (Great Britain).” (That last ailment’s fictitious, at least, but still, a grim kind of game.)

44 CHICAGO READER - NOVEMBER 30, 2017

I suspect it’d make sense, though, to the German philosopher Karl Groos, who back around the turn of the 20th century wondered what it was that made young mammals, including young human mammals, engage in play. Play considered in itself doesn’t quite make sense from an evolutionary perspective—you’re expending energy that’s not going toward some big-ticket goal like finding food, defending your young, or procreating. Groos’s explanation was that play is a form of practice for behaviors that will be important throughout an animal’s life. Escaping someone in a game of tag? That’ll get you into shape to outrun some future real-life predator who wants to have you for a meal. In a significantly more recent article, the evolutionary psychologist Peter Gray tries to make the case that all formal team sports are variations of tag. Gray thinks that where an animal sits on the food chain may influence whether it has more fun chasing or being chased: for monkeys or squirrels, he writes, “the animal being chased shows the greatest pleasure in the game,” whereas dogs like to chase cars because they’re more evolutionarily inclined to be the predators. (You’ll be forgiven for thinking it’s because they’re idiots.) Researchers are only beginning to recognize how widespread play is in the animal kingdom. It was once thought that only certain mammals and birds wanna have fun, but we’ve more recently observed playlike behavior in fish, reptiles, and even invertebrates like wasps and octopuses. Accordingly, we’re diversifying our understanding of why animals play. Simple survival instinct may be the beginning, but it may also be, for instance, that animals play in order to learn boundaries in their communities—how hard they can bite, for instance, without pissing their pals off. Certainly one might argue there’s a lot of male humans out there who could stand to play another million rounds of Simon Says. v Send questions to Cecil via straightdope.com or write him c/o Chicago Reader, 30 N. Racine, suite 300, Chicago 60607.

SAVAGE LOVE

By Dan Savage

The rules of the game, post Weinstein

No sparks, no sex—what’s a nice guy to do? Plus: a lie detector test Q : I’m a straight man in a

live-in relationship with a beautiful woman. There are no sparks in bed, and it’s been more than a year since we’ve had sex. She says, “I’m sorry, but I’m just not interested.” Sometimes she asks me if I’m disappointed, and I say something like “I miss sex.” And she says: “Maybe someday. But the important thing is we love each other, right?” Before my last birthday, she asked me what I wanted as a gift. I replied, “A soapy hand job.” That would’ve been the most action I’d had all year. But when my birthday rolled around, all I got was a speech about how she loved me but was not in love with me. My question: In the year 2017, how does a straight man make it clear to the woman he’s with that sex is important to him without coming across as threatening? If I told her I’d leave her unless our sex life improved—and I have certainly thought about this—she’d probably “put out” to save our relationship. She has abandonment issues, and I fear she would be devastated if I left her. I only want to have sex with someone who wants to have sex with me, not someone I’ve coerced. What do I do? I love her, but a sexless relationship isn’t what I want or signed up for. —SEXLESS OVER A PERPLEXING YEAR

A : There’s being sensitive to

coming across as threatening and wanting to avoid even unintentional coercion, SOAPY, and then there’s being a fucking doormat. She isn’t in love with you— she told you so herself—and she’s never gonna fuck you or soap you up to get you oﬀ. If you don’t want her “putting out” to keep you—if you don’t want her to fuck you under

duress—then don’t give her the option. That means ending the relationship, SOAPY, not entering into negotiations about the terms for remaining in the relationship. There’s nothing unreasonable about wanting a romantic relationship that’s both loving and fully sexual, SOAPY, and a man can put his wants on the table without pounding said table with his dick. Your gonads/self-respect/preservation instinct are in that apartment somewhere. Get ’em and go.

Q : I am a straight woman who just started fucking a hot, younger male coworker. The sexual tension between us was out of control until we stayed late one night and screwed on my desk. Since that night, we’ve hooked up a few more times. We grope each other in the oﬃce daily, as the “fear” of getting caught is a real turn-on for me. The problem is that he has a live-in girlfriend. He told me they are in an open relationship, so being with me isn’t cheating. As per their arrangement, he won’t tell her about me, but if she ﬁnds out, he won’t lie. How do I know if he’s telling me the truth or if he’s saying these things so I’ll keep sleeping with him? She comes to work events with him, and I feel guilty because she is sweet and obviously adores him. Also, being coworkers adds another layer of issues. I am a well-liked employee who people consider very professional. He is new to the company and is a bit of a scatterbrain. The sex is amazing in part because he’s too immature for me to consider romantically. I’d love to keep seeing him for sex, but I don’t want to help him hurt someone else. Can

REAL PEOPLE REAL DESIRE REAL FUN.

I fuck him guilt free? —NOT A HEARTBREAK HELPER

PS: I’ve already caught him in some minor lies. For instance, he said one of the rules of the open relationship is no sex in their apartment. Guess where we last fucked?

A : If the genders were

reversed here—if you were an older, more powerful man fucking a “hot, younger” female coworker—I’d have to ﬁnd you and set you on ﬁre or something. But I’m going to let those who object to coworkers fucking debate that issue in the comments thread while I address the issue you asked me to address: Can you know for sure whether he’s practicing ENM, aka “ethical non-monogamy”? Short answer: Nope, you can’t—and the signs don’t look good, considering he’s already lied to you about something. While some couples have “don’t ask, don’t tell” agreements, the DADT thing makes it hard to verify that the relationship is actually open and you aren’t a party to cheating. So you have to trust the person you’re fucking—and if they’ve given you reason not to trust them (like lying about other stuff) and/or demonstrated that they aren’t honoring the other rules of their supposedly open relationship (like fucking in the apartment they share), well, then they’ve demonstrated their fundamental untrustworthiness. Basically, NAHH, if he’s lying to her, he’s probably lying to you too. So you can fuck him—but not without guilt. v Send letters to mail@ savagelove.net. Download the Savage Lovecast every Tuesday at savagelovecast. com. v @fakedansavage

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Olafur Arnalds 6/23, 8:30 PM, Thalia Hall, on sale Fri 12/1, 9 AM, 17+ Calexico 4/25, 8 PM, Thalia Hall, on sale Fri 12/1, 10 AM, 17+ Joseph Chilliams 1/11, 8 PM, Lincoln Hall Gus Dapperton 1/11, 7 PM, Schubas, on sale Fri 12/1, 10 AM b A Day to Remember, Papa Roach, Falling in Reverse, The Devil Wears Prada 2/24, 6:30 PM, UIC Pavilion, on sale Fri 12/1, 10 AM Eagles 3/14, 8 PM, United Center, on sale Sat 12/2, 10 AM Billie Eilish 3/31, 8:30 PM, Lincoln Hall, on sale Fri 12/1, 10 AM b Farley Jackmaster Funk 12/31, 9 PM, Metro Fetty Wap 1/25, 7 PM, House of Blues, on sale Fri 12/1, 10 AM b Haley Fohr 1/11, 6 PM, Art Institute of Chicago Fb G. Love & Special Sauce 1/13, 8 PM, Thalia Hall, 17+ Stu Hamm 3/1, 7:30 PM, Reggie’s Music Joint Jack Harlow 1/18, 6 PM, Reggie’s Rock Club b Iced Earth, Sanctuary, Kill Ritual 3/29, 7:30 PM, Bottom Lounge, 17+ Jorma Kaukonen 2/13, 8 PM, SPACE, Evanston, on sale Fri 12/1, 10 AM b Mat Kearney 3/9, 7:30 PM, Riviera Theatre, on sale Fri 12/1, 10 AM b Davy Knowles 2/23, 7 PM, Schubas, on sale Fri 12/1, 10 AM Albert Lee 2/8, 8 PM, SPACE, Evanston, on sale Fri 12/1, 10 AM b

Less Than Jake, Four Year Strong 2/22, 6:30 PM, Concord Music Hall, on sale Fri 12/1, 10 AM, 17+ Mako 1/27, 7 PM, Bottom Lounge, on sale Fri 12/1, 10 AM b Miguel 3/5, 8 PM, Riviera Theatre, on sale Mon 12/4, 10 AM, 18+ Jake Miller 5/6, 7:30 PM, Durty Nellie’s, Palatine, and 5/7, 6 PM, Beat Kitchen, on sale Fri 12/1 on sale Fri 12/1, 10 AM b Motherfolk 1/16, 8 PM, Subterranean, on sale Thu 11/30, noon Of Mice & Men, Blessthefall, Fire From the Gods, Cane Hill 2/11, 5 PM, House of Blues b Frank Orrall 1/20, 8 PM, SPACE, Evanston, on sale Fri 12/1, 10 AM b Brad Paisley 2/24, 7 PM, Allstate Arena, Rosemont, on sale Fri 12/1, noon Palm, Spirit of the Beehive 2/20, 9 PM, Empty Bottle, on sale Fri 12/1, 10 AM Partner 1/26, 9 PM, Emtpy Bottle Passion Pit 1/17, 8 PM, United Center, on sale Fri 12/1, 10 AM, 18+ Petit Biscuit, Electric Mantis 12/12, 6 PM, Concord Music Hall b Lido Pimienta 1/16, 8 PM, Schubas, 18+ Ross the Boss 3/23, 7 PM, Reggie’s Rock Club, 17+ Saymyname 1/13, 8:30 PM, Bottom Lounge, on sale Fri 12/1, 10 AM, 17+ Shallou 3/3, 8 PM, Subterranean, on sale Fri 12/1, 10 AM, 17+ Shiba San 12/9, 10 PM, the Mid Soft Moon 3/31, 9 PM, Empty Bottle, on sale Fri 12/1, 10 AM

46 CHICAGO READER - NOVEMBER 30, 2017

Sun Ra Arkestra with Marshall Allen 12/30-31, 8:30 and 10:30 PM, Constellation, 18+ Joanne Shaw Taylor 3/6, 8 PM, City Winery, on sale Thu 11/30, noon b This Must Be the Band 12/22, 8:30 PM, the Vic, on sale Fri 12/1, 10 AM, 18+ Too Many Zooz 2/3, 10 PM, Bottom Lounge, 18+ Butch Walker 12/20, 8 PM, House of Blues, on sale Fri 12/1, 10 AM, 17+ Watain, Destroyer 666 3/2, 7 PM, Metro, on sale Fri 12/1, 10 AM, 18+ Susan Werner & Ann Hampton Callaway 5/12, 8 PM, SPACE, Evanston, on sale Fri 12/1, 10 AM b Betty Who 3/8, 9 PM, Metro, on sale Fri 12/1, 10 AM, 18+ Yo La Tengo 3/29-30, 8 PM, Thalia Hall, on sale Fri 12/1, 10 AM, 17+

UPDATED Cynthia & Johnny O 12/31, 8 PM, Concord Music Hall, canceled U2 5/22-23, 8 PM, United Center, second show added, on sale Mon 12/4, 10 AM

UPCOMING Alvvays 3/23, 7:30 PM, Metro b Anti-Flag, Stray From the Path 1/17, 7 PM, Bottom Lounge, 17+ Jessica Aszodi 12/10, 8:30 PM, Constellation, 18+ Dan Auerbach & the Easy Eye Sound Revue, Shannon & the Clams 4/2, 8 PM, Riviera Theatre, 18+ Amy Black 1/17, 7 PM, City Winery b

b Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Night Beats 2/10, 8 PM, the Vic, 18+ Candlebox 4/15-16, 8 PM, City Winery b Clean Bandit 4/11, 7:30 PM, the Vic b Coin 2/7, 8 PM, House of Blues b Darlingside 4/19, 8 PM, SPACE, Evanston b Craig David 1/13, 8 PM, 1st Ward, 18+ Deep Dark Woods 1/13, 9 PM, Schubas Lana Del Rey, Jhene Aiko 1/11, 8 PM, United Center Echosmith 4/14, 8:30 PM, Metro b Enslaved, Wolves in the Throne Room 2/23, 7 PM, Metro, 18+ Brian Fallon & the Howling Weather 4/19, 8 PM, House of Blues, 17+ Flogging Molly 12/30-31, 6:30 PM, House of Blues, 17+ Flor, Handsome Ghost 2/10, 6:30 PM, Subterranean b Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds 2/24, 8 PM, Chicago Theatre Mary Gauthier 3/8, 8 PM, Szold Hall, Old Town School of Folk Music b Ggoolldd 12/16, 9 PM, Empty Bottle Glen Hansard 3/18, 8 PM, Riviera Theatre, 18+ Icon for Hire 3/8, 7:30 PM, Subterranean b Igorrr 2/6, 7 PM, Reggie’s Rock Club, 17+ Inquisition, Nader Sadek 12/9, 8 PM, Cobra Lounge, 17+ Thomas Jack 12/30, 10 PM, the Mid Tom Jones 5/12-13, 8 PM, House of Blues K.Flay 2/2, 6 PM, Concord Music Hall b Knocked Loose, Terror 3/24, 5:30 PM, Bottom Lounge b Lane 8 2/1, 8 PM, Concord Music Hall, 18+ Lorde 3/27, 7 PM, Allstate Arena, Rosemont Jeﬀ Lynne’s ELO 8/15, 8 PM, Allstate Arena, Rosemont Marilyn Manson 2/6, 8 PM, Riviera Theatre, 18+ Marked Men 12/8, 9 PM, Empty Bottle Matisyahu, Common Kings 12/9, 8 PM, Concord Music Hall Dan Navarro 2/9, 7 PM, Schubas Needtobreathe 12/9, 8 PM, Thalia Hall b Nightmares on Wax 3/3, 8 PM, Bottom Lounge, 17+ No Age 1/20, 9 PM, Schubas, 18+ Nude Party 1/16, 9 PM, Empty Bottle Angel Olsen 12/9, 8 PM, Riviera Theatre, 18+ Our Last Night 3/16, 5:30 PM, Bottom Lounge b

ALL AGES

WOLF BY KEITH HERZIK

EARLY WARNINGS

CHICAGO SHOWS YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT IN THE WEEKS TO COME

Never miss a show again. Sign up for the newsletter at chicagoreader. com/early

Polica 2/22, 7 PM, Thalia Hall b Portugal. The Man 2/16, 7:30 PM, Aragon Ballroom b Radio Dept. 2/1, 8:30 PM, Thalia Hall, 17+ Todd Rundgren 12/16-17, 8 PM, Park West, 18+ Screaming Females 3/10, 9 PM, Lincoln Hall, 18+ Spoon, Real Estate 12/10, 7:30 PM, Chicago Theatre St. Vincent 1/12, 8 PM, Chicago Theatre b Mavis Staples 2/3, 8 PM, the Vic, 18+ Suicide Machines, Bad Cop/ Bad Cop 12/31, 8 PM, Reggie’s Rock Club, 18+ They Might Be Giants 3/17, 7:30 PM, the Vic, 14+ Thrice, Circa Survive 12/7, 6:30 PM, Aragon Ballroom, 17+ Shania Twain 5/19, 7:30 PM, United Center U.S. Bombs 1/27, 8 PM, Reggie’s Music Joint Vesperteen 12/16, 8 PM, Schubas b Walk the Moon 1/26, 7:30 PM, Aragon Ballroom b Wedding Present 3/26, 7:30 PM, Lincoln Hall Weezer, Pixies, Wombats 7/7, 7:30 PM, Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre, Tinley Park Andrew W.K. 5/12, 8 PM, the Vic, 18+ Yung Lean & Sad Boys 1/31, 6 PM, Concord Music Hall b

SOLD OUT Brendan Bayliss & Jake Cinninger 12/15, 8 PM, Park West, 18+ Andrew Bird 12/11-14, 8 PM, Fourth Presbyterian Church b Borns 1/27, 8 PM, Riviera Theatre b Guided by Voices 12/30-31, 9 PM, Empty Bottle Jesus Lizard 12/9, 9 PM, Metro, 18+ Lawrence Arms 12/14, 7:30 PM, Cobra Lounge, 17+ The National 12/12-13, 7:30 PM, Lyric Opera House b Robert Plant & the Sensational Space Shifters 2/20, 8 PM, Riviera Theatre, 18+ Quinn XCII 3/9, 6 PM, Concord Music Hall b Joe Russo’s Almost Dead 2/17, 9 PM, Riviera Theatre, 18+ Suicideboys 12/14, 8 PM, Metro b Brett Young 2/2, 8:30 PM, Joe’s Bar v

GOSSIP WOLF A furry ear to the ground of the local music scene GIVEN HOW EXCITED the folks in Mucca Pazza always seem to be about their own deranged marching band, Gossip Wolf is hardly shocked that they’d have a soft spot for kids who need help to play in a school band! Founding member and cheerleader Sharon Lanza reached out about the Horace Mann Marching Mustangs, who she calls “an amazingly spirited and disciplined south-side elementary school band” (they collaborated with Mucca Pazza in September). Sadly, many of the students can’t aﬀord to buy or rent instruments, so music teacher Tristan Brown is raising money via public-school crowdfunding charity DonorsChoose.org. It’s the gift-giving season! Sean Heaney of the Chicago Park District describes its Inferno series as “dedicated to sonic art and music, collaborative media experimentation, and civic dialogue.” All good things! In Heaney’s words, Inferno’s Sound Re:Creation events “connect local sound artists with park users in order to collaboratively play with, understand, record, and creatively manipulate the sounds of Chicago’s park spaces.” From 1 till 3 PM on Saturday, December 2, at the Douglas Park Field House, SAIC lecturer Daniel Tovar (aka artist-musician Aisthemata) leads a free workshop in composing with field recordings using graphic scores. RSVP at the Inferno site. Gossip Wolf noticed Chicago’s Worry Records in April, when the cassette label dropped its third tape, Lil’ Bo’ & the Trash Burners’ Lil’ Bo’. This week the label releases the “Finally” b/w “Blackout” cassingle by Rust Ring, a newish underground rock trio whose members’ pedigrees piqued this wolf’s interest: drummer William Covert is in Droughts and Space Blood, bassist-vocalist Kyle Geib is in Lifted Bells and Dog & Wolf, and guitaristvocalist Joram Zbichorski is in Snort. The single merges posthardcore muscle with pop-punk melody—and it’s getting a digital edition too, so you don’t even need a tape deck. —J.R. NELSON AND LEOR GALIL Got a tip? Tweet @Gossip_Wolf or e-mail gossipwolf@chicagoreader.com.

NOVEMBER 30, 2017 - CHICAGO READER 47

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