In early 2011 the Reader launched a redesigned print edition that flipped the music section upside down—the B Side, as it was called, began with an inverted back cover and even had its own table of contents. Our Gig Poster of the Week feature began on that table of contents, as a way to showcase a different segment of the Chicago music community. It’s been online only for years, and I took it over when I started at the Reader in February 2019—though I’m pretty sure that all the silliest headlines have been the work of music editor Philip Montoro.
I like to seek out Chicago cultural histories, so my favorite posters tend to be the ones with more details about the show—knowing years and addresses, for instance, is helpful to us amateur librarians. But I also appreciate the cacophony of city life, which is often reflected in the blissful randomness of gig poster art. Warwick explained that the Reader began by publishing posters for shows its writers were covering, but at some point the series became “an easy opportunity to show off art that no one other than the venues themselves and a small—and very engaged—gig-poster community was really showing off.”
The Reader was subsequently blessed with some great fantasy posters from y’all. Artist Eric J. Garcia imagined Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz returning from the dead to lead a hardcore band at shuttered Pilsen venue Casa Aztlán. Artist Andrea Hill Fitzgerald drew Prince riding a bike around the south side before a gig at the Avalon Regal (sadly, neither actually happened). Artist Heather Anderson made a poster advertising a wished-for CocoRosie show at the Empty Bottle.
