Spotlight

Filling the SPACE

BY LIBBY BERRY

The only concert venue right in our backyard.

If you’re an NU student looking for dinner and a show but don’t want to drop $20 on an Uber all the way downtown, SPACE, a concert venue right here in Evanston, might be just the ticket.

SPACE, or the Society for the Preservation of Art and Culture in Evanston, opened its doors in spring 2008 with the intention to “do something a little bit different” according to current general manager Davis Inman. Affiliated with Union Pizzeria, SPACE mainly functions as a performance venue but also includes a recording studio often used by visiting artists.

“I think there was this kind of cross-disciplinary kind of idea behind the whole building and doing a couple of different creative things that were all connected but were each sort of standing on their own,” says Inman, suggesting that this relationship is what sets SPACE apart from other venues.

Although it boasts a strong connection to the folk and singer-songwriter community, SPACE also attracts a variety of talent, bringing in artists from the blues, jazz, Americana and emerging indie-folk veins. According to Inman, different types of shows pull vastly different crowds and for some more renowned artists, the venue even draws patrons from neighboring states. SPACE is also open to fans of all ages, including those under 21.

“We love being in the same neighborhood as Northwestern,” Inman says. “We’re always excited to see college students come out to our shows.”

Samantha Friske, a Communication freshman, started interning with SPACE during Winter Quarter.

“I kind of knew I really wanted to go into the music business in some way,” Friske says, and SPACE seemed like the perfect opportunity when she stumbled upon it while still attending high school in Wilmette. Although she couldn’t apply until college, it was worth the wait.

“Everybody there is so nice,” she says. “The musicians are incredibly talented.”

Friske has two roles at the venue: marketing and promotion, as well as working in the box office.

“They really want you to learn and grow,” she says. “If you are interested and if this is something you’re passionate about, they’ll be open.”

SPACE also looks to promote new musical talent from the area. For example, Ryley Walker, a young folk artist from Chicago, opened SPACE’s New Year’s Eve show.

“That felt special,” Inman says. “He’s touring all over the United States and Europe, and he’s one of the exciting younger artists of Chicago. He’s a really interesting person to present at SPACE.”

Always adding new shows to their schedule, SPACE has a full lineup for its spring season. Visiting artists include Sarah Neufeld of Arcade Fire and Chris Pureka, a singer-songwriter who has performed with acts like The Lumineers.

In addition to musical performances, Inman says SPACE is also trying to bring in more comedy shows in an effort to appeal to a college audience.

He hopes that students who haven’t been to SPACE consider stopping by.

“It’s like a community,” Friske says. “I feel like Northwestern students haven’t really found that yet.”

Let Me Buy You a Drank

The Deuce and beyond. BY JACKIE MONTALVO

The Deuce:

Duuuude!!! Mark II, baby! Do you love forfeiting your personal space, hard-earned cash and dignity to spend an evening of your sweet, sweet, short life swapping spit in a poorly lit, cramped dance room? Then this NU staple is for you! You can always count on seeing, among a sea of freshmen, a group of 25-year-old men hanging out at the bar.

Nevins:

Often described as “the Deuce for older people,” Nevins draws a slightly different crew of NU students. Here you’ll find more seating and lights so that you can actually see the person you are or are not about to make out with, and two bars so the wait for your Miller High Life and Fuzzy Navel is significantly cut down compared to other bars in the area.

Bangers and Lace:

Bangers and Lace is decorated with animal heads, so if you’re a hardcore animal lover, or if you have a secret “Night-at-the-Museum”- inspired fear that the heads will come to life at dusk, this may not be the place for you. With strict horizontal ID requirements, make sure you and your date remembered to change your IDs when you turned 21.

La Macchina:

Oh, you had lunch here the other day with your parents? Same. La Macchina doubles as a café in the morning, makeshift bar at night. We know it as the replacement for the Keg, your family calls it “that cute little lunch place.” The booth by the window where you’re enjoying your meal might just be the very same spot where you almost barfed.

TINDER SWAP

Two friends set each other up on blind Tinder dates in hopes of finding the perfect match.

BY MARTINA BARRERA-HERNANDEZ AND TREVOR BOHATCH

DATE #1: THE BODY BUILDER

Well whatever I thought my type was, this guy was pretty much the exact opposite. He is a bodybuilder—he even showed me competition shots of him all oiled up posing in a speedo. What more could a girl ask for on a first date? We had zero chemistry and the conversation was like pulling teeth—just when I thought I couldn’t hang out with him for another minute, I remembered that I had just finished recruitment and had been trained to hold awkward conversations with strangers and get into the ~deep zone~: “Tell me about your family,” I asked. “What do you love about bodybuilding?” To make matters worse, we met up at Sherbucks (seriously, Trevor, why?) and every other person who walked in knew me. One of my PA kids came over to give me a hug and immediately noticed the bulk of muscle sitting to my right. Swipe left, sorry dude.

DATE #2: THE CUTIE

The idea of having to go on another date sent me into an oblivion of existential angst Who am I? What is Martina? What is the meaning of life? I begrudgingly threw on a flannel and dragged myself to Peet’s and was met by a green-eyed cutie. He originally wanted to be a high school history teacher, but is now training to become a police officer because he has two younger sisters and wants women to feel safe. OKAY TAKE ME NOW SWIPE RIGHT SWIPE RIGHT. While I don’t think I would’ve picked him out for myself or met up with him if not for the sake of #journalism, I’m really glad I did. We even went out a second time. Who knows? Maybe by the time you’re reading this we’ll be honeymooning in Paris.

DATE #3: THE TRAVELER

I was a little nervous for this one because I knew he was a 10/10 from the pictures Trevor sent me from his profile before the date. We met up at Peet’s (his pick too, points for being a Peet’s guy) and ended up talking for two hours about our travel experiences and his upcoming year abroad. He was incredibly well-dressed, listened to my rant about loving the dentist, and Jewish (this one’s for you, grandma), but he definitely clued into the fact that the person he was sitting with was not the same person who messaged him to grab coffee. Trevor and I are polar opposites over messaging, and my date called me out on it. Apparently that didn’t phase him at all, because we also went out a second time (look at that 2 points for Trevor). Catch me on the next season of The Bachelorette. Date #3, will you accept this rose?

THE RULES:

1. Only meet in public places. 2. No oldies or NU students. 3. Stay off your own account. 4. Send picture and conversation with date one hour before.

DATE #1: THE BESTIE

“Don’t set me up with some boring, senile guy,” I told Martina and one of her best friends at a birthday party the night before my first date. Little did I know her best friend (yes, the one that was standing with us) was my date. We met at Patisserie Coralie the next morning and I proceeded to apologize profusely, caught redhanded on the first date. But he was really cool about it. We talked for almost an hour and a half at random and never really ran out of things to say, which was refreshing. This was a good start. As he runs in the same circles as me on campus, I definitely wouldn’t have pulled the trigger on this one (that’s one of my rules), but I’m really glad Martina did!

DATE #2: THE HIGH SCHOOLER

It was a cold, windy Friday night 12-year-olds were sitting next to me taking duckface selfies with their Andy’s custards while a dad announced to the entire store that it was his daughter’s birthday and that everyone should sing along. That’s when I knew this was about to be the worst. Having pulled an all nighter the night before the date, I was truly not in the mood to make small talk or pretend I was interested in anything except returning to the luxury that is a Bobb double especially when he was 45 minutes late, but I decided to try and persevere. There was just no chemistry. We talked about high school for the majority of the date, which made me want to take the dull spoon out of his concrete and push it into my eyeball.

DATE #3: THE HOT HUNGARIAN

“Is this your first time meeting up with someone from Tinder?” he asked in a beautiful Hungarian accent. “Yes,” I replied and stared off into space like the liar I am. If we get married, our entire relationship will be based off deceit. He was so nervous, but that kind of made him even more endearing. He was perfect—looks and brains! He is studying at a local college and planning to become a physician. We talked pretty casually about travel and what brought him to America. He also took an hour long train to come see me, which was really sweet, then missed the one back home and had to Uber. We saw each other for dinner a second time and have plans for a third. Moral of the story: I should stop dating Americans.