10 Ways To Celebrate Prince In Chicago This Week
By Emma G. Gallegos in Arts & Entertainment on Apr 22, 2016 7:53PM
Prince during the 'Pepsi Halftime Show' at Super Bowl XLI between the Indianapolis Colts and the Chicago Bears in 2007. (Photo by Nick Laham/Getty Images)
You might want to stay and home and mourn for a world without the late, great Prince, but you just know he wouldn't have wanted it that way. Prince would absolutely want you to pay tribute to him by getting freaky to his jams. So in that spirit, we've rounded up plenty of events to help you make it through the next week, whether you need a dance floor, shots, cupcakes or purple booze to get you through.
FRIDAY
BEAUTY BAR: Beauty Bar will be celebrating The Purple One all weekend long. On Friday, DJ Marco Morales will be spinning tunes by Prince from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. while Purple Rain plays on the screen. Even if it's not a joyous occasion, happy hour prices will be in effect. You can get your nails done with Prince decals.
Beauty Bar is located at 1444 W Chicago Ave. No cover, 21+
ARCADIA THEATER: If you don't mind a trip out to the burbs tonight, you can enjoy a tribute show performed by a member of Prince's band in St. Charles: Matt "Doctor" Fink, who was a member of Prince's backing band The Revolution for 13 years, starting in the Dirty Mind era. (His persona was reportedly born on a stage in Uptown!) He now performs in the tribute band The Purple Xperience. Their performance at the Arcada Theater was planned well in advance, but it's taken on a new weight in light of Prince's death. Fink promised a cathartic experience, telling CBS, "We are going to do a real heartfelt tribute. We are going to treat it with the most respect possible and give the fans what the need to have, which is the music."
The Purple Xperience plays at Arcada Theater at 8 p.m. tonight. Tickets are $10.
EASY BAR: The cocktail bar tells us that their DJ will be playing a very "Prince-heavy" mix tonight.
Easy Bar is located at 1944 W. Division Street
SATURDAY
PUNCH HOUSE: A DJ will be playing the hits, the deep cuts, the b-sides and all of the music circling in the orbit of Prince, like Sheila E., The Time, Vanity 6, The Family, etc. The jams start at 10 p.m.
Punch House is located 1227 W 18th St.
BEAUTY BAR: The weekend celebration continues by "extremely popular demand." DJ Matt Roan will be spinning Prince Jams from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. while Graffiti Bridge screens. Happy hour prices will be in effect. There will be Prince nail decals.
Beauty Bar is located at 1444 W Chicago Ave. No cover, 21+
J. PARKERr: DJ Kareem will be spinning a set tonight, starting at 9 p.m., that honors the "genius, spirit, mystery and music that is Prince." They promise shots of Purple Rain, too.
The J. Parker is located at 1816 N Clark St, Fl 13th.
NEXT WEEK
SUPERNATURAL BEINGS: Next Thursday Emporium Arcade is hosting an event dedicated to Prince as well as two other great artists who have passed: Michael Jackson or James Brown. Sounds like a party! Supernatural Beings is playing, and Spread will kick off the night at 9 p.m.
Emporium Arcade is located at 1366 N Milwaukee Ave. Tickets for the April 28 event start at $18. 21+
CHIC-A-GO-GO: The upcoming TV show on April 30 at 1st Ward at Chop Shop will be transformed into a Prince tribute dance party. It's never too early to introduce kids to Prince, right?
Chic-A-Go-Go will be taping its show April 30 at 1 p.m. at 1st Ward Events at Chop Shop at 2033 W North Ave. Tickets are $5. All ages welcome.
FOOD DEALS
Would you like to imbibe the spirit of Prince? Piggyback will be serving purple drinks all weekend:
And you can special-order Prince cupcakes, if that's your style: