In May 2020, the Quimby’s Bookstore Instagram started going live with a New Stuff This Week video. Store manager Liz Mason sits next to a stack of zines, comics, and graphic novels. The colorful Quimby’s shelves spread behind her. As she holds new titles towards the camera, comments start rolling in: “Miss you,” and “Love Quimby’s,” and heart-eye emojis. Chicago Zine Fest usually takes place at Plumbers Union Hall, but this year the fest went digital on May 15 and 16....
Consumers often choose hemp as a natural alternative to pharmaceuticals. However, they may not realize that many hemp products are pharmaceutical-ish in nature but don’t follow the science. The market is dominated by mass producers who use environmentally destructive factory farming practices, industrial extraction methods, and heavy production—then market the final product as natural. Leading hemp researchers and practitioners who oppose this over-processed approach support “The Entourage Effect,” a notion that synergy occurs between the natural interaction of the over 400 identified compounds found in hemp, thereby making the whole plant more effective than any one component....
On a winter day in early 2014, I was browsing at Permanent Records when the music on the shop’s sound system caught my ear—terse Krautrock-inspired grooves topped with buoyant organ licks that reminded me of a late-60s Walter Wanderley bossa nova record. I’m sufficiently jaded that I rarely ask a record-store clerk what’s playing, but this time I couldn’t help myself. Bill Roe was behind the counter, and though I only knew him by name, I also knew he was well established in Chicago’s garage-rock scene—he and his wife, Lisa, played together in the band CoCoComa, and in 2009 they’d founded a small label called Trouble in Mind....
I first wrote about Tim Daisy for the Reader 16 years ago. The occasion was a record-release concert by Triage, a trio with saxophonist Dave Rempis and bassist Jason Ajemian. “Daisy is the rare drummer who makes me look forward to his solos,” I concluded. “With his elastic sense of time and imaginative use of bells and cymbals, he makes unexpected accents sound like inevitable, even crucial gestures.” At the time, Daisy was a ubiquitous accompanist; in addition to his role in Triage, he was a steady member of Dragons 1976 and the Vandermark 5....
UPDATE Thursday, March 12, 3 PM: Court Theatre canceled all performances of The Lady from the Sea, announcing that it would pay its artists through the scheduled run. Ticket holders are encouraged to either donate the price of their tickets or apply them to future ticket purchases. A Court production of An Iliad at the Oriental Institute has been postponed. Clapp said the League is monitoring developments and is “sharing safeguards and best practices,” while member theaters are increasing cleaning, supplying hand sanitizers, and “encouraging audience members who are sick to stay home....
Oliver Stone returns with a whistle-blower biopic for the 21st century September 16 Not to be confused with D.W. Griffith’s October 7 Any director might hesitate to adapt a novel as esteemed as Philip Roth’s American Pastoral. Well, until now Ewan McGregor has been an actor, which might explain why he had the stones to tackle John Romano’s script. —Tal Rosenberg Paul Verhoeven directs . . . Isabelle Huppert? November 11...
When major movements rock the course of American history, Black voices and perspectives are often left out—out of textbooks, out of major museums, and out of public record. “I think just even knowing and seeing that in that moment is understanding that our history has not always been documented, according to the dominant structures that did that type of documentation in this country,” says Williams, who is director of the Center for Digital Scholarship at the University of Chicago Library....
The Block Beat multimedia series is a collaboration with The TRiiBE that roots Chicago musicians in places and neighborhoods that matter to them. Written by Tiffany WaldenPhotography by Pat Nabong Video by Jiayan “Jenny” ShiShot at Ellis Park, 3520 S. Cottage Grove Unfortunately, not everybody saw the projects that way. That’s part of why Chicago started demolishing Ida B. Wells in 2002, tearing down the last building in 2011. “A lot of people try to judge me off my music,” Katie explains....
Whether you don’t want to dirty your kitchen, are avoiding holiday cheer, or just want a dark, quiet place to sit with your family, there are plenty of restaurants, films, parties, exhibits, and more to help you avoid holiday-induced cabin fever. Here’s what we recommend: CHRISTMAS EVE Dine out Get cultured • “Diana Thater: The Sympathetic Imagination” at the Museum of Contemporary Art • The Newberry Library’s “Creating Shakespeare”• The Field Museum’s “Tattoo”• “Making Mainbocher: The First American Couturier” at the Chicago History Museum See a show More!...
Tonight, even though the falling snow has turned into freezing rain, small clumps of people still huddle outside to gawk at the arena-quality light spectacular. Others are observing it from the warmth of their cars, their radio dials tuned to 98.1 FM, which is broadcasting the musical program on a loop. Another thing that sets the Gruseckis’ show apart is a charitable element. The couple has installed a donation box outside, encouraging visitors to give to two organizations: Salute Inc, which delivers short-term financial assistance to military service members, veterans, and their families; and Misericordia, which serves children and adults with developmental and physical disabilities....
Welcome to the Reader‘s morning briefing for Tuesday, November 21, 2017.
It’s just your typical night for Allie (Gabrielle Lott-Rogers). She’s invited some college friends over for dinner. Things are going fine; people like the soup. Suddenly, a rift opens in space time. Evil physicist roommate Eamon (Greg Wenz) starts stalking Allie across eternity, even tampering with past traumas to harass her retroactively. Meanwhile, putrefied zombie copies of her pals (their “echoes”) claw at the front entrance with half their faces blown off....
Welcome to the Reader‘s morning briefing for Wednesday, November 15, 2017. Lori Lightfoot endorses Chris Kennedy for governor The heated Illinois gubernatorial race is showing no signs of slowing down before the holiday season as Democratic candidate Chris Kennedy released his first TV ad. Lori Lightfoot, the head of the city’s Police Accountability Task Force, also endorsed Kennedy Tuesday. “It’s just not enough to say to people this is what we are against,” she said....
Singer and songwriter Whitney Rose may have been born and raised on Prince Edward Island in Canada, but her ebullient music suggests she’s easily settled into the rich scene of her adopted home of Austin, Texas. Last year’s Rule 62 (Six Shooter/Thirty Tigers) reflects the ongoing influence of Mavericks front man Raul Malo on her work, a fizzy mix of honky-tonk, Tex-Mex, and a variety of 60s pop sounds including French ye-ye and classic girl groups....
W e can all agree that on a national level, 2017 was a Dumpster fire of a year. But one silver lining is the flood of protest art that has arisen, and that’s at the root of Ma’at Production Association of Afrikan Centered Theatre’s (MPAACT) new project 100 Acts of Resistance, a series of performances that explores how different artists define resistance. “We do these types of projects to start conversations, so that people can not only speak but listen,” Stillwell says....
A Reader staffer shares three musical obsessions, then asks someone (who asks someone else) to take a turn. Tal is curious what’s in the rotation of . . . Rita J, MC Oddisee, The Good Fight MC and producer Oddisee is that dude, raising the bar with every release and consistently satisfying the more sophisticated hip-hop heads. This veteran from Washington, D.C., draws inspiration from his travels, culture, and aesthetic to achieve what most musicians strive for: a sustainable living and a name for himself....
It feels like just yesterday that Steve Mizek, founder of defunct electronic-music site Little White Earbuds, launched his Argot label. In fact it’s been more than five years—Argot grew out of Mizek’s small-run imprint, Stolen Kisses, in spring 2012. On Friday, October 27, Smart Bar hosts Argot’s belated fifth birthday party, with sets from Mizek and three producers who’ve released new material through the label this year: experimental Champaign producer Hippie Priest (who dropped the full-length cassette See It Through in July), Detroit drum ‘n’ bass fanatic Todd Osborn (who dropped the Elastic 68 12-inch in May), and underground Brooklyn house artist Octo Octa (who dropped the New Paths 12-inch in April)....
Jim Prisching/AP Photo Ernie Banks had a brief brush with Chicago politics. To read the outpouring of heart-felt grief over the passing of the great Ernie Banks, you might be surprised to learn that, when given a chance, voters in the Eighth Ward wouldn’t elect him alderman. The Eighth Ward was centered in and around the Chatham neighborhood—Banks lived at 8159 S. Rhodes—which was then starting to change from white to black....
Jamie Ludwig Associate editor S. Nicole Lane That’s a relief. A video surfaced of them yelling homophobic slurs. Plus they just suck. Salem Collo-Julin The Flaming Lips? This reads to me like when people who are ten years younger than me get excited about Full House. Gwar Sat 9/14, 2:45-3:30 PM, Riot Stage Andrew W.K. Sat 9/14, 7:30-8:30 PM The Village People Sun 9/15, 2:35-3:20 PM, Radicals Stage Taking Back Sunday Sun 9/15, 8:15-9:45 PM, Rise Stage...
