Chicagoist: Another Angle on Looptopia

SexyChi

Tue, 15 May 2007 12:30:35 -0600

All I know is that I had a chance to see my two favorite acts under one bill ... JaGoFF and Paul Johnson. Funk me up. Enough said.

Sandra

Mon, 14 May 2007 17:36:31 -0600

I enjoyed the festival, but most of it was overbilled. (For example, the "collaborative mural" was dinky.) We couldn't get into the 7th floor of Macy's (we weren't interested in waiting in a line that long), by the time we got over to the overhyped "garden of eat'n" there was nothing there but a lame fruit display even though we got there three hours before it was to end, the Cultural Center was overcrowded and they were letting people in only as others went out-- but there were empty seats inside. We couldn't figure out where "Sullivan's Dock" was supposed to be from the printed out schedule, and the various schedules didn't agree and many of the things we went to were not on time. But it had potential, and I hope they do it again.

Jim

Mon, 14 May 2007 16:33:44 -0600

The problem with Looptopia was the name. It was TOO catchy... to big for its britches. If they called it The Loop Alliance Performance Art Festival or how about LAPAF.... I bet 20% of the people would've shown up.

Jim

Mon, 14 May 2007 16:32:30 -0600

thundercougarfalconbird

Mon, 14 May 2007 13:23:13 -0600

@geekgrrl: But cold means it might scare off a few more drunks... I guess. @Josh: I got nothing against Detroit, except from what I hear from other Detroiters. Or whatever they're called.

Josh

Mon, 14 May 2007 13:11:23 -0600

Can't Chicago find other ways to make itself feel better than by taking potshots at Detroit? I mean, really.

Jason Guthartz

Mon, 14 May 2007 12:25:51 -0600

misty wrote "The city had to back it, agree to staff it and be behind it. So it wasn't their original idea, they still got on board." The Loop Alliance may have had to get a permit of some sort from the City, but otherwise I don't know the extent of the City's involvement, other than allowing the Cultural Center to bear the burden (and cost?) of much of the overnight events. This was billed as an "all-night event", yet when you look at this schedule most of the events & activities were over before midnight: www.chicagoloopalliance.com/looptopia/JM_EventSchematic.htm So those who expected to have things going on all over the Loop all night long were suddenly faced with almost everything shut down. (You can't expect people to have seen the schedule and to have planned out their itinerary in detail -- if you bill it as an "all-night Loop festival", people will expect to be able to come and go from place to place in a spontaneous fashion.) Just poor planning. They should have shifted a couple of the overnight music & film events to eariler in the evening, and had a much less problematic 7-hour event, from 5pm to 12mid.

geekgrrl

Mon, 14 May 2007 12:25:15 -0600

TCFB: trying to scare off the weak is fine and all, but us purveyors of art still enjoy the warmth, too.. plus the cold weather would just be another excuse to bring a flask of glögg or irish hot chocolate. you can't win against the drunken hordes. therein lies the conundrum of true art on a massive scale: it's bound to be misunderstood by the very masses to which it tries to cater.

thundercougarfalconbird

Mon, 14 May 2007 11:40:02 -0600

@Mike: Art IS defined by whackjobs. Sorry they don't fall into any neat little category for you, but people like Vincent Van Gogh, Martha Graham, and Bertolt Brecht were nerds and psychos, for all intents and purposes. And that's what upset me so much about Looptopia, it was supposed to be a night for the drama club kids, the artists, the experimental musicians and such toiling away in relative obscurity in this city to get a chance to shine and show everyone what they could do. And instead, they get derided from people like you saying they're a bunch of "nerds" and how happy everyone was that they stayed in their respective clubs drinking. And screw the summer solctice, let's go with sometime in January, really scare off the weak of will who are just interested in turning it into another "Girls Gone Wild" feature and make it a winter arts fest like St. Petersberg has. @misty: Jason is right, the city had nothing to do with it and this is probably why it failed so much towards the end. And while Detroit's downtown is dead (from what I know), LA's downtown is now kind of a happening place to be lately, and the rents are semi-affordable. And provided you're not in the entertainment industry, you could actually get around LA ok without a car if you did live there.

misty

Mon, 14 May 2007 11:32:33 -0600

Sure, a business alliance put it together. But my point stands. The city had to back it, agree to staff it and be behind it. So it wasn't their original idea, they still got on board. Kudos to them for being open to something like this, and I hope you work it out and bring it back next year! Summer solstice could be a great choice, Mike...

Mike

Mon, 14 May 2007 10:35:13 -0600

I do think it's a good idea. Why don't they do it on or around the Summer Solstice? You're pretty much guaranteed a warmer night and the MCA used to do something similar. I guess summer solstice runs the risk of attracting even more whack-jobs

Jason Guthartz

Mon, 14 May 2007 10:17:27 -0600

misty: This event was not organized by the city, but by a group of private businesses; see chicagoloopalliance.com

misty

Mon, 14 May 2007 09:50:30 -0600

Okay, so City Chicago is still working out the kinks. It was a radical idea that wasn't thought all the way through. But can't we give the City credit for sticking its neck out there and trying something fun? For caring, at all?? It is a neat idea that I hope they do again next year, lessons learned in hand (the CTA is an excellent example of a great idea to adopt!) Maybe they can try it later in the summer - no doubt the Cultural Center got too crowded because it was too damn cold outside for all the great outdoor activities that were planned. But really, I feel like if the city doesn't get some support for trying, we're one step closer to becoming L.A. or Detroit with their downtown ghost towns.

Mike

Mon, 14 May 2007 08:21:36 -0600

I felt like the event was attended mostly by loud, obnoxious theater kids of all ages, being loud and obnoxious and wishing they were part of the weird outsider art, living sculptures, Franco-Russian ballet troops and adult-themed puppet shows.

thundercougarfalconbird

Sun, 13 May 2007 23:49:32 -0600

OK, That was harsh, but still...

thundercougarfalconbird

Sun, 13 May 2007 23:21:55 -0600

I never want to agree with anyone named "funboy" or "D.A.N.C.E.R." And Mike, you've been pissing and moaning about how "boring" and how "over" everything you are. Just fucking move to LA, Vegas, or Miami and get it over with, cunt.

Mike

Sun, 13 May 2007 23:04:18 -0600

I felt as though every nerd I ever went to school with was allowed out on this night. A safe, boring night of getting "crazy" and as a result - the crowd killed the atmosphere. Although it could be said that the lame events and poor planning of venues and lack of communication with the police also had a hand in killing it. But I'm mainly going to stick with the "Geeks and nerds killed the vibe" as the biggest reason it was a total bore.

D.A.N.C.E.R.

Sun, 13 May 2007 22:21:40 -0600

Sullivan dock was a blast. Some of the DJ's could have been better. But with enough alcohol everything is great. Crowd surfers were a bit much but still cool. I was surprised it wasn't busted for the obvious underage drinking. I agree with funboy, "not everything that has projections and dj has to be classified as a rave or nightclub" it was a dance party and I D.A.N.C.E.D!

funboy

Sun, 13 May 2007 17:31:21 -0600

i don't know about all the bitching, but we had a great time. we danced until we couldn't dance any more at the MF Chicago party at Sullivan's Dock (not everything that has projections and dj has to be classified as a rave or nightclub for crap sake). It was a dance party, and we danced, and danced and danced - then we drank, ate and crashed. i know everything is from the eyes of the beholder and in our experience - we had a blast. It's good to feel five years younger, it keeps you from getting pissy.