Arts & Events: February 2010 Archives

Little known fact: Tankboy can do an excellent Beaker impression. more ›

SWF ISO a man into the great outdoors. You like the feel of grass, snow, mud and pavement under your feet and aren't afraid to make the world your restroom, when nature calls. You don't own a car, because let's face it, that's just silly. You enjoy the company of others, but sometimes you just need your space (and a 6-hour daytime nap on the couch). You're outdoorsy, but the finer things in life excite you equally; a well-worn fur coat, the taste of designer shoes, a steak you didn't order, but dined on anyways. You're a good-looking, silver-haired fellow with a beard who lives a life of leisure and is ready for his playmate and partner. All you need to know about me is that I'm tall and thin with curly-blond hair, a great smile and totally down with doggie style. Let's make this Valentine's Day one to remember. more ›

We stopped by Post in Pilsen Saturday night to see Tiny Concepts, a solo minimalist experimental act who just happens to be a delicate little French girl from Brittany. But we were delightfully surprised to find that local outfit, YAWN, was headlining this discreet gallery show. Their performance was truly the highlight of the night and they proved that, despite their youthful appearance and demeanor, they’re actually serious, experienced musicians. more ›

Hideout, 1354 W Wabansia Ave, 6:30 p.m., $5 donation more ›

We were big fans of the debut album from New Jersey boys Titus Andronicus with its swirling vats of blood spattered and screeching arena punk. Their new album, The Monitor, is set to come out in early March and it's a slightly more focused affair in that it's production is a little more polished, but that hasn't rubbed the rough edged delivery away. In fact, sonically, the new disc bears a resemblance to Conor Oberst's Desaparecidos* had that group gained a penchant for penning 6+ minute epics churning with fury and the fearlessness to throw whatever works, including boozy brass sections, into the mix. Call it what you will -- we're going with prog-punk -- we think you'll agree it's pretty arresting. Here's an advance treat of the new disc for you to swim around in. more ›

Five years ago, a woman smashed through the glass ceiling of comedy with her debut stand-up performance. She drunkenly slurred her words. She appeared to have peed her pants on stage. She was told never to pursue comedy again. more ›

Rahm, kicking ass through Andy Samberg. more ›

The New York Songwriters Circle has been featuring some of the best up-and-coming talent for almost 20 years, giving a stage to musicians that may not otherwise have a foot in the door. Some of the biggest success stories have included Norah Jones, Jesse Harris, Lisa Loeb, and Vanessa Carlton. And the Circle continues to grow. Now they're on the road and bringing their show to Chicago to give you a chance at hearing the next big thing. Tonight's show hits Schubas and features Dave Cavalier, Shelley Miller, Josh Kim, Gia Margaret (in the running for Deli Magazine's Chicago Artist of The Month), Nick Deutsch, and apparently a "surprise guest band." Such a show would be worthy of attendance but for $10, it's definitely worth the time. more ›

Couldn't get enough of Kitty Half-time on Animal Planet's Puppy Bowl yesterday? (Neither could we.) You're in luck. Embrace your inner cat lady this Saturday (trust us, we're in no position to judge--we have a fluffy white cat in our lap as we type) and head down to Gorilla Tango Theatre for a special "Cupid Cats" performance of the Circus Cats of Chicago. Samantha Martin, inspired by a white odd-eyed beauty named Tuna, has trained a handful of precocious felines to jump through hoops, walk on large rubber balls, and even rock out in a three-piece band called (naturally) The RockCats. more ›

Sitting outside the café replicated from Edward Hopper’s famous "Nighthawks" at the beginning of the second act, a wife asks her husband about the people inside the café. “Don’t you ever wonder about people here?” she asks, gesturing towards a visibly upset woman being consoled by her husband/boyfriend, “Maybe she’s dying.” Her husband, busy eating his green beans, doesn’t care to pry. “It’s creepy,” he says. It's a particularly urban voyeurism that is prevalent in many of Hopper’s paintings. more ›

The International Children's Heart Foundation seeks to care for and cure congenital heart conditions in children from developing nations. Friday night at Old Oak Tap (2109 W. Chicago Ave., 773-772-0406) a fundraiser for ICHF will be held, featuring tastings from NAHA's Carrie Nahabedian, Custom House Tavern's Aaron Deal, and Branch 27's John Manion. Manion fans will remember that, during his time walking the earth like a cheffing ninja between leaving Mas and landing at Branch 27, he helped revamp Old Oak Tap's menu to the point where it got Tankboy's attention. So he'll be on familiar ground. more ›

This year, for the first time since 1944, there are ten Best Picture nominees. And that means the return of the "preferential voting" system, also known as Instant Runoff Voting (IRV). more ›

Chicago has been really into cutting things lately. CTA service. Fireworks. Recycling. So we were pleasantly surprised to hear about a new program the Chicago Office of Tourism is bringing to Pritzker Pavilion and the McCormick Tribune Ice Rink every weekend this month. It's called Chicago Winter Dance, and it's free. We think it sounds swell. more ›

Lincoln Hall will play host Saturday night to a new and exciting monthly dance party, Delorean Nites. The event, created and hosted by Members Only AV (a.k.a. Midnight Conspiracy), has an impressive bill for fans of indie dance and electro, with Designer Drugs headlining and local faves Midnight Conspiracy, Skyler (of Rehab), Broken Disco 1980 and Punky Fresh offering support sets. For an event in which its lineup could be the liner notes for an 80s sci-fi soundtrack, one begins to understand why the party is named what it is. If tomorrow's festivities are any indication of where Delorean Nites will go, well, Rehab may have a run for its money. more ›

Tankboy here. I am a huge David Bowie fan, and I've had a longstanding beef with Vanilla Ice ever since seeing him on MTV denying that "Ice Ice Baby" used the same bass line as "Under Pressure." So my head just about exploded when I discovered X Factor protegees Jedward were mashing the two songs together. My blood boiled. My head exploded. And then I found I couldn't stop watching and listening over and over and over again. more ›

Known for local indie rock and experimental jazz acts, the Empty Bottle will mix things up next Tuesday with a night of chamber music by Accessible Contemporary Music’s Palomar Quartet. The two may seem to contradict each other, but the Bottle is actually a fitting venue for Palomar, whose goal is to broaden and diversify the contemporary music audience. And besides, Chamber music is meant for intimate spaces like this modest-sized, dungeon-like venue; as the term suggests, chamber music was traditionally performed in cozy quarters such as palace chambers. more ›

We've had a love / wince relationship with I Fight Dragons from the get-go.The band writes really enjoyably punchy pop-rock tunes straight out of the Rivers Cuomo school of music. But they diluted it with cheesy onstage superhero theatrics (that they claim to have since dropped). We really respect their grassroots marketing and excellent grasp of social media -- in no small thanks to consulting services from Natiiv Arts & Media -- and do not begrudge them the success they've received. more ›

The Pichtfork Music Festival has gotten in the habit of releasing its festival acts in fits and spurts that constantly one-up each other, ostensibly to keep fans excited for the impending summer weekend it inhabits, but after today's initial line-up announcement we're curious how they're going to keep the momentum going to top this. more ›

When we think Eugene O'Neill, we think "long." When we think Samuel Beckett, we think "odd." Their respective one-act plays Hughie and Krapp's Last Tape, currently sharing the mainstage bill at Goodman, prove us wrong on both accounts. Though these two surprisingly accessible short pieces take two entirely different approaches in their exploration of loneliness and the inconsequential nature of life, the similarities are profound. Parallel conclusions are reinforced by contrasting, rich portrayals of the two main characters by one great actor, Brian Dennehy. more ›

So many albums and so many music careers are marked by "the great buildup." Artists are expected with each new release to top their subsequent and if they should choose to explore new territory, fans expect a logical progression. Much effort goes into the layout of an album's tracklisting, ensuring just right placements to hold attention and provide a crescendo of enthusiasm that peaks at the album's close, enticing you to hit play from the beginning and recreate that rush again and again. It's a rare treat then when you find an artist who goes against this grain and realizes that more powerful than the buildup is the breakdown. more ›

Maybe you don't like the world's greatest sport or consuming delicious food and drink. Or maybe you just aren't a Saints fan, a Colts fan, or a fan of hypocritical corporate decisions. more ›

Soft Speaker can veer into folksy territory bordering on alt-country and that's pleasant enough. But when they turn up the volume until it creeps on the edges of distortion and urges the rhythms towards a gallop the band blossoms. Their earlier track "Mercury Park" was not only one of our favorite local songs f the last year, it made it onto our best songs of 2009 list with its Dinosaur Jr guitars being kept under control by a rich, honeyed tenor vocal delivery. more ›

It's on! The Pitchfork Music Festival will take up residence in Union Park this summer from July 16 to 18. Tickets go on sale THIS Friday, February 5, through their website with single-day tickets selling for $40 and three-day passes selling for $90. Who's playing? You'll have to wait until Friday to find THAT out since they're holding off the announcent of the first round of bands until then. more ›

Oh Snap!! has updated their hilarious paean to hipsters "Funk Dat" -- itself a re-up of Sagat's hit from the early '90s -- for the new year. more ›

In a truly odd turn of fan-fiction, someone has actually imagined what Wait Wait Don't Tell Me would sound like in the midst of a zombie apocalypse. It's actually so spot on, we had to read it twice to make sure it wasn't just a parody from a previous episode! more ›

It’s a quirky fact of history that for all the times artists are portrayed as loners or hermits, they end up in intimate working groups so often. What’s your favorite localized group of artists, anyway? The Blue Rider? The Factory? The Vienna Secession? The New York School? more ›

The Chicago International Movies and Music Festival is back for its second year, damn near bursting at the seams with visual/aural goodies. Unfurling March 4 - 7 at venues ranging from Schubas and Lincoln Hall to the ethereal interior of St. Paul's Cultural Center, there's something for everyone. more ›

Just when we thought that we had heard the last of Black Eyed Peas' chart-topping jam "Boom Boom Pow", some inconsiderate soul comes out of nowhere and throws it right back on the table, like a dish of left over meat loaf that had been hugging some corner of our refrigerator for a few weeks. Not that we didn't dig the raucous tune when it first debuted -- it's a perfectly fine pop song that is hard to hate -- but fast forward a year or so and we are glad to officially have it on the back-burner of musical trends. Even so, local musician Phoenix Phenom wants to remind us that "Boom Boom Pow" is still relevant and may even be older than we think, in some form or another, and she's suing all parties responsible. more ›

With admission prices creeping toward $20, we understand if you've put off checking out the Art Institute's Modern Wing. But no more excuses: for the entire month of February, the Art Institute is free. more ›

As regular browsers of sites like Apartment Therapy and Design*Sponge, we're big fans of the modern meets vintage aesthetic when it comes to interior design and decor. There's plenty of room to add your own personal touches and sites like Etsy and Supermarket are great sources for affordable accents. But when it comes to the big ticket items, say that perfect mid-century modern sideboard or industrial stool, online shipping becomes cost prohibitive and those of us who live car-less are left with a hope and a prayer on Craigslist, or relegated to shopping locally. Local shops like Scout and Post 27 and salvage outposts like Salvage One have plenty of amazing offerings, but are generally accompanied by price tags far outside our budgets. more ›

Electro-pop duo, YACHT, will be traveling North America for the New Moody Mystery Tour and will be making a stop at the Empty Bottle later this month. But the band is presenting themselves as “YACHT and the Straight Gaze,” which means the duo will be accompanied by a three-man back-up ensemble composed of Jeff Brodsky (of Inside Voices), D. Reuben Snyder (of Rob Walmart) and one of Yacht’s opening acts, Bobby Birdman. more ›

The Bad Plus returns to Chicago for the first time since last April's concert at the Old Town School of Folk Music, bringing their uniquely varied repertoire and top-notch musicianship to the University of Chicago Presents concert series this Friday. more ›

Harold Washington Library Center, 400 S State, 6 p.m., free more ›

In the first scene of Steep Theatre's Harper Regan, which takes place in England, the title character asks her boss for time off to go visit her dying father. He says no, and proceeds to wax philosophical / nonsensical about irrelevant things, occasionally pausing to ask Harper a question. Though she has little to say in these opening moments, apart from, “I don’t know,” she exudes an incredibly palpable heartbreak. We were transfixed by her, even while her boss spewed a canon of amusing non sequiturs, such as, “Humans are the only animal that runs for pleasure. Humans are the only animal that invented the internet.” When a show is this captivating right off the bat, you know you’re in for something good. more ›

One of our city's most vital but perennially overlooked movie events, the Chicago Underground Film Festival deserves more attention. Including from us. Yes, we're guilty of neglect too. It's all too easy for us to focus on the European Union Film Festival and, of course, CIFF. more ›

Sandra Bernhard, comedian, actress, and provocateur may be 30 years into her career, but the Flint, Michigan native continues to push boundaries with her pointed observations, her comedy and her music. “Whatever It Takes,” her new album—which is her first in 15 years devoted entirely to music and not comedy—fuses rock ‘n’ roll with intense blends of African Soukous (Congolese rumba), Raï (Algerian “rebel” folk music), Rwandan dance and hymns, and Brazilian samba—all topped off with lush string arrangements. And, oh yes, Chrissie Hynde of the Pretenders lends her vocals to one the tracks. Pushing boundaries? Actually, it’s more like Bernhard gathers them up and tosses them into a blender. And we wouldn’t have it any other way. more ›

The Windy City Rollers kicked off the 2010 season with a packed house (reported attendance was around 3,900) at the UIC Pavilion with a pair of bouts, one a blow-out and the other a close, hard-hitting match-up for the defending champs. more ›