For this week’s cover story, the Vixen takes us back to the Jeffery Pub, where in 2013 she gave her first professional performance in drag. The five-decade-old south-side bar—the city’s only black-owned LGBTQ+ spot—has much more to offer than drag performances, though, and I’ve collected some photos to demonstrate.
A distinct aroma reminiscent of hookah smoke hangs in the air at the Sixth. The cocktail bar doesn’t allow patrons to smoke—but the bartenders can and do. The smoke created by grinding up cedar wood, dried citrus peel, and shisha, and putting the mix into a handheld smoker is a key element of one of the most popular drinks: the mescal-based Spaceman Spiff, which is served atop a small, smoke-filled bowl....
That formed the base for a take on shrimp and grits: the amaranth cakes stood in for grits, and Dow made a sauce with prosciutto, shallots, celery, piquillo peppers, and shrimp stock in which to cook the shrimp. After plating the amaranth cakes she arranged the cooked shrimp on top, poured sauce over them, and garnished the dish with scallions and Fresno chiles.
Nature’s Care may be a medical and adult-use cannabis dispensary brand in Illinois, but its mission includes much more than selling cannabis. Nature’s Care believes in doing the right thing and using its resources to support under-served communities and citizens in Illinois. With its upcoming new cannabis dispensary slated to open in the West Loop on September 28, Nature’s Care is taking this time to show Chicago the reality of their mission and just what they’ve been up to for the past year....
Ryan Duggan Outer Minds drummer, Shame That Tune cohost, author, and occasional Reader contributor Brian Costello kicks off his Tuesday night residency at the Hideout tonight. The venue’s artist residencies tend to be musical in nature, but Costello plans to mess around with the format a little.
Y ou might not know it, but you’ve most likely laughed at one of Nell Scovell’s jokes. It’s just that President Obama, Conan O’Brien, and Kermit the Frog were delivering them. The veteran Hollywood comedy writer, producer, and director has worked behind the scenes of iconic television shows such as The Simpsons, The Muppets, and Late Night With David Letterman and was the creator of the cult favorite Sabrina the Teenage Witch....
“I wanted to do something that would be right at home in a Jewish household during Passover,” Phillip says. “I definitely made a kosher cocktail. I’m not sure of all the rules, but I think it’s kosher for Passover.” **Slivovitz infused with gefilte fish: Blend one ball of gefilte fish with one bottle of Maraska Slivovitz. Vacuum seal and cook sous vide at 250 degrees Fahrenheit for one hour. Chill in an ice bath, cut bag open, and fine strain through a coffee filter....
I held out hope. My denial and disbelief quickly turned to anger that night, and for the foreseeable future, that’s where I’ll stay. It’s also where tens of thousands of protesters across the country, including those here in Chicago, continue to dwell. And moments before Obama’s remarks, Hillary Clinton addressed the country too, wearing purple to symbolize the unification of red and blue (as well as the dignity and purpose of the suffragists)....
The Reader‘s archive is vast and varied, going back to 1971. Every day in Archive Dive, we’ll dig through and bring up some finds. Nardi spent a lot of time with Baltzley. Their interviews went deep into some very dark places, almost like therapy sessions. Over a long night in Pittsburgh, over many shots of bourbon, he tells her about his hard-luck Florida childhood and about his struggles with addiction. “Two hours from now,” Nardi wrote, “Baltzley will leave me sitting alone at a bar and return to tell me that he’s been doing coke and playing with guns....
A few weekends ago, I was tooling around the south side on a positively beautiful Saturday afternoon: sun, autumn chill, colorful leaves, and . . . hold it, are those gig posters wheat-pasted to that wall? Those of you who like to post walking selfies to Instagram and Facebook should be on notice: for every photo of the exhibit posted to social media with the hashtag #thefanclubchicago (whether you’re in it or not), Someoddpilot and Public Works will donate $1 to CIVL....
I’m a live-music addict, and it sometimes feels completely unreal that I haven’t been to a concert in almost a year. But one of the pandemic’s few silver linings is that some musicians are digging into their archives and issuing old live material that might otherwise have stayed on the shelf. Such is the case with reedist and composer Roscoe Mitchell and drummer Mike Reed. They’ve both contributed hugely to Chicago’s jazz scene, though Mitchell hasn’t lived here in many years (he’s now based in Fitchburg, Wisconsin), and I’ve seen both of them play many times....
Both the Chicago SketchFest and Ex Fest run all weekend, and there are plenty of other events as well. Here’s some of what we recommend: Fri 1/12: St. Vincent aka Annie Clark plays from her new album Masseducation at the Chicago Theatre (175 N. State). It’s a goodie: The Reader‘s Luca Cimarusti wrote, “The comparative simplicity of the music sets a perfect backdrop for [Clark’s] beautiful voice and off-kilter melodies.” 8 PM, sold out...
Italian reedist Alberto Pinton, who built his career in Stockholm after studying in Boston and New York, has long been a crucial figure in Sweden’s jazz and improvised-music scene, but he remains largely unknown in the U.S. He’s a workhorse: though he’s produced only nine albums as a leader or coleader since 2001, he’s appeared as a sideman on more than five dozen more. He contributes not only written charts but also a strong musical personality, most notably on great efforts by bassist Torbjörn Zetterberg and fellow reedist Fredrik Nordström....
If you want to understand another way in which George Floyd’s murder has upended our world, consider that the loudest, boldest voice in Chicago sports once belonged to Mike Ditka, former coach of the Bears. Over the years, I watched in amazement—not knowing whether to laugh or cry—as Ditka maintained his commercial endorsements, radio show, and TV talking head gigs, all while freely mouthing whatever boneheaded notion popped into his brain....
The Reader‘s archive is vast and varied, going back to 1971. Every day in Archive Dive, we’ll dig through and bring up some finds. Bogira tells the story of Laverne Williams’s life in almost novelistic detail, from her birth to her death, what it was like to be a girl in West Garfield Park in the 70s and 80s, growing up without a father, moving from apartment to apartment, sleeping cuddled up with your siblings to keep warm, ditching school to hang out with the boys by the viaduct, trying to figure out how to develop a marketable skill to get a job, hoping your own kids will be boys so you won’t have to raise your grandchildren....
My youngest sister moved to Chicago two years ago to study painting at Columbia College. As she develops her aesthetic, she’s been looking to both art history and contemporary pieces for inspiration. She’s only 20 years old, and she’s already discouraged: In her classes, she tells me, the students mostly read about male artists—it’s only in discussions about feminist art that women are mentioned. During her critiques, she says, anything she creates relevant to her feminine identity is scrutinized by her professors in a way that none of her male peers experience....
Q: In a frank exchange early in our courtship, I told my girlfriend that I have no kinks. As a faithful reader of Savage Love, I’m obviously not opposed to kinks—but I’ve never had any inclinations in that direction and am probably a typical hetero vanilla. As a result, I’m damn near clueless in that area. Last night, my girlfriend placed my hands around her neck and asked me to choke her....
The gulags in Meghan Brown’s world-premiere dystopian fable, The Tasters, resemble plenty of real-world hellholes that confine political prisoners, save for their spectacular dining options. Chained to metal desks, three captives (Daniella Pereira, Paula Ramirez, Shariba Rivers) sample extravagant meals prepared for the upper echelon of a loathed authoritarian regime, who’ve become popular targets for poisonings by famine-ravaged dissidents. When a captured revolutionary figurehead initiates a hunger strike, Brown takes her metaphorically-rich premise to some unexpected heights that speak to the current global political climate, and more provocatively, gender dynamics at large....
In honor of Mother’s Day, here’s a roundup of the cutest furry, feathered, and finned mothers and their babies in the Chicago area, courtesy of Instagram.
Time to plan the weekend. Here’s some of what we recommend: Sat 1/23: Chicago Public Media and Young Chicago Authors host the Winter Block Party at Metro (3730 N. Clark), which focuses this time around on hip-hop and social justice. The event includes b-boy/b-girl dance battles, a live taping of Vocalo’s Morning Amp, a spoken-word open mike, and $10 fade haircuts. The free daytime event is followed by a release party for a new Louder Than a Bomb mixtape, featuring Jamila Woods, Kweku Collins, and others (7-10 PM, $10)....
