Chicagoist

Pornography Thrills, Disorients

Joseph Erbentraut — 2009-11-07T15:00:00-06:00

With the 28th edition of Reeling, Chicago's very own Lesbian & Gay International Film Festival already gaying up movie screens all over the city, Chicagoist thought we'd take a closer look at a few of the titles being screened for you queer cinephiles out there.

First up: Pornography: A Thriller, a film directed by David Kittredge, playing tomorrow night (Sunday, Nov. 8) at 9:30 p.m. at the Landmark Theater. Its dichotomous title suggests a somewhat unlikely "2 for 1" deal, leading one to anticipate either a bloody sexfest or a cheeky satire in the vein of a zombie romantic comedy or a sci-fi puppet musical. But Pornography is (thankfully) neither of these things. The film dips deep into a number of dark themes, playing with our notions of intimacy and privacy through a lens that certainly channels names like Lynch and Hitchcock.

The film is told in three parts. We are first introduced to Mark Anton, a well-known gay porn star just on the brink of truly making it. When Anton suddenly disappears, the mystery goes unsolved until a young journalist stumbles on the story fifteen years later. His investigation of Anton's demise leads him down an equally disturbing path. In the final third, the timeline again jumps forward in time, as a contemporary porn actor looks to re-enact the Anton story for a new film.

In true Lynch fashion, the characters, timelines and plotlines blur together through these three separate worlds where reality and fantasy are also left hazily defined. Though this serves to disorient the viewer - two screenings through and I'm still not entirely sure what happened at the film's ending - the haziness feels intentional and works better than most filmmakers' attempts to use the technique. The film's messages, examining the cost of exposure, the value of sex and the meaning of intimacy, are furthered by the story's dreamlike quality and stick with you long after its conclusion.

Pornography is a work that feels challenging at the onset becomes fairly enchanting. While clearly not flawless - I found some of the characters to be somewhat interchangeable which, again, may have been intended - this is probably one of the better LGBT-themed films I've seen in some time. If you enjoy offbeat cinema featuring sexy men and mystery-laden, non-linear narrative, this is a film for you. If you'd prefer to have your gay-centric stories spelled out for you, stay at home and pop in a Will and Grace DVD.

Reeling continues through Nov. 15 with over 150 shorts, features and documentaries being screened throughout the festival. Be sure to visit the festival's full schedule and keep an eye out for more film reviews on the way next week.

Pornography: A Thriller, Sunday, November 8, 9:30 p.m. Landmark Theater, 2828 N. Clark. Tickets $10, 773.293-1447 or here.

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Last Second Plans: River North Chicago Dance Company

Julienne Bilker — 2009-11-07T13:10:00-06:00

photo by Erika Dufour

If you’re a fan of River North Dance (or even if you’re not) - you’re going to want to grab tickets to the company’s “20th Anniversary Fall Engagement” - the company won’t be in town again until February.

Tonight’s program features two world premieres: Forbidden Boundaries and Evolution of a Dream. Forbidden Boundaries is a 12-dancer piece choreographed by Artistic Director Frank Chaves, who describes it as an exploration of “those feelings of being your own worst enemy, and how our internal struggles can keep us from breaking through the boundaries we set for ourselves.” The full-company piece Evolution of a Dream is billed as “a re-envisioning of the Company’s classic signature work, Reality of a Dreamer.”

Other pieces include the critically acclaimed Uhuru, Sentir em Nos, Tuscan Rift (which features music by Andrew Bird and Rene Aubry - yes please!), Beat, and Habaneras, the Music of Cuba, the Company’s signature piece.

River North Chicago Dance Company, Saturday November 7, 8pm. Harris Theater for Music and Dance in Millennium Park, 205 E. Randolph Dr., Tickets $30-$65, 312.334.7777.

Jay-Z Announces 2010 Tour Dates. Chicago Not On List.

Veronica Murtagh — 2009-11-06T16:01:00-06:00

Original photo via Jay-Z's MySpace.

Back in September we lined up with hundreds of Chicagoans outside the House of Blues for a chance to see Jay-Z's Samsung-hosted elusive free show. And like many of the same people we queued in line with that evening, we went home unable to even make it as far as the venue doors.

We thought the announcement of Jay-Z's 2010 Blueprint 3 second leg tour dates would more than make up for missing the free show, but amongst the list of every major city from DC to Dallas to LA, Chicago is not mentioned. We're both surprised and disappointed, but area Jay-Z fans aren't without all hope of a performance from the NYC-based hip-hop artist who plays a few hour drive away in Champaign next Thursday night. Now who wants to give us a ride?

Jay-Z with N.E.R.D., Wale and J. Cole, Thursday, November 12, at the Assembly Hall, Champaign, IL, 8 p.m., $36-$76 via Ticketmaster

Chili Cook-Off Countdown

Marcus Gilmer — 2009-11-06T15:20:00-06:00

We're getting closer to tomorrow's Half Acre Brewery's Charitable Chili Cook-Off this Saturday benefiting The Arts of Life and if you haven't gotten your tickets yet, get a move on! They're still only $5 through 5 p.m. today; you'll pay $10 at the door tomorrow. And if you think your chili has what it takes to win it all, $20 will get your entry in (besides other prizes, we'll also be featuring the winner right here). Last we heard, there are almost 20 different chili entries so you'll be able to stuff your face with some quality food. There will also be six different raffle prizes handed out, there'll be Half Acre beer, and the folks from Nice Cream will have samples at the ready. So what are you waiting for? Grab some tickets and swing by. I'll be there as will Rob, who gets to taste all of the entries as one of the cook-off's judges, so be sure to come say hi if you can make it.

The Cook-Off is Saturday, November 7, 5PM at The Arts of Life Studio, 2010 W. Carroll, $5 advance, $10 at the door, $20 per chili entry

Friday Afternoon Diversion

Tankboy — 2009-11-06T15:00:00-06:00

The sun is shining! It's kind of warm! And this is how that all makes us feel!

Thanks to Bryan for the tip!

Last Second Plans: The Interview Show Returns To The Hideout

Amy Perry — 2009-11-06T14:40:00-06:00

The Interview Show is a humorous monthly Chicago-based talk show hosted by quick-witted syndicated columnist Mark Bazer the first Friday of every month. The show is a similar format to late night TV talk shows set in the intimate space of the Hideout. Past guests have included writer Jen Lancaster, chef Rick Bayless, interior designer Nate Berkus and filmmaker Steve Conrad.

Tonight's show features actress/writer/star of the one-woman-show/DVD "Letting Go of God" Julia Sweeney, award-winning fashion designer Maria Pinto, Leo Burnett chief creative officer Susan Credell, and performances by rockers Brighton, MA.

Videos of past shows can be found here.

Interview Show, Friday, November 6, 2009, 6:30-8 p.m., The Hideout, 1354 W. Wabansia, $5

Grates To Tear Up Schubas

Tankboy — 2009-11-06T14:20:00-06:00

The whirlwind that is The Grates hails from Australia and threatens to take down everything in its path. Singer Patience Hodgson dominates the proceedings with voice that flips from sweet trill to all encompassing roar into playground chant without missing a beat. Through it all she rides a pleasant melodicism that contrasts brightly with the churning three-chord punk guitars carrying most of the songs forward.

The songs surf on waves of childish abandon and connect on a very basic simple level. But like most things that plug directly into the pleasure center there's more going on than is immediately apparent. Yes, most of the songs follow simple punk structures, but then a plinking piano or brightly plucked string suddenly pops through an abbreviated silence indicating the great care that goes into the actual compositions. And, like all true professionals, The Grates make it all look effortless.

Their live shows have a reputation for being raucous, lively affairs filled with pandemonium and glee, so we recommend catching them at Schubas tomorrow night. Show up, let the boisterous teenager in you out, and let loose with The Grates.

MP3: The Grates "Burn Bridges"

Saturday, November 7, Schubas, 3159 N. Southport, 10:30pm, $10, 21+

I Fight Dragon$

Tankboy — 2009-11-06T13:40:00-06:00

Who says music can't prosper in this economy? Local nerd power-pop-rockers I Fight Dragons just raised a cool $10,000 for their band in under 48 hours. They offered fans a chance to buy a lifetime subscription to the band's music -- including anything and everything they ever release -- for $100, and limited the number of available subscriptions to 100.

When we saw this offer we thought it was a plucky move by the group. Considering the problem other artists have had in their own fund-raising efforts (we're never going to see that book on '90 Chicago rock, are we?) we wrote it off as a neat idea that was more successful as a publicity move.

Obvious we underestimated the band's fan-base! For that we're quite happy. Granted, you can't just strut out there and offer this sort of thing without first giving fans a taste, but I Fight Dragons were already doing an exemplary job of offering fans and mailing list members a steady stream of free high-quality MP3s while leveraging social media to deepen their connections with their audience. We view this latest move as the payoff for all that community building and we hope that this provides an example for other groups to follow in the future.

Eccentric Soul Revue Returns To Chicago

Kevin Robinson — 2009-11-06T12:40:00-06:00

If you missed the Eccentric Soul Revue last spring, or if you went and had such a great time pretending you were rolling around 1970's Chicago in a blue soft-top Monte Carlo with bench seats and options air conditioning, fear not! The one-of-a-kind live-action reissue is back! Chicago's very own Numero Group is bringing the amazing show back to the stage tomorrow night at Lincoln Hall.

Numero and the rest of the Twinight recording artists will be kicking off their multi-state tour Saturday night at 9 p.m. Purchasing advance tickets now means that you'll be able to get in - the show sold out Park West last time around.

Save Chicago's Free Music

Staff — 2009-11-06T11:20:00-06:00

Remember all those cuts we talked about a few weeks back? Several of them involved some of the FREE music festivals and events we love about the city. Now, the Friends of Chicago Music are fighting back with a petition to help save those programs from being cut as the City Council tries to hash out Mayor Daley's 2010 budget plan. Swing by and sign it today. [via Pitchfork]

Put Down Your Nanowrimo And Leave The House

Lauri Apple — 2009-11-06T11:00:00-06:00

This month is National Novel Writing Month — Nanowrimo for short. A time for cranking (crunking?) out 50,000 words of elegant prose — or crap, depending. A time (30 days, to be precise) within a time (that lacks a foreseeable end, to be depressing) of widespread unemployment among writers, many of whom used to get paid to wordsmith. Damn, man. Those were the days.

But just because the jobs have gone away doesn't mean that the passion has followed them. Although we have no evidence that thousands of you writer-types out there are busy at work right now, refilling your Starbucks lattes and making Nanowrimos, we will throw it out there as a possibility. Typing. Imagining. Stone cold scone crumbin' all over your laptop. Developing complex characters who do things like fall in/out of love or become Alaska governor or win big in the stock market, only to lose it all when the market crashes, because life is the baker of tough cookies. Whether this is your current lot or not, you deserve a break this weekend — a chance to put down your dictionary and shine beyond the realm of the computer screen's glow.

The following events will not help you develop an original plot, but they will let you do that shining thing.

Tonight, Marwen hosts its Art Fair — one of its two annual fundraisers. The show features work by students as well as Marwen teaching artists — including Hilesh Patel, Kathryn Rodrigues, and Jeremy Bolen. Proceeds benefit Marwen’s programs for under-served Chicago youth and the participating artists.
Opening night Friday, Nov. 6. 6:30-10 p.m. (A suggested donation of $20 is requested at the door.) Show through Nov. 13. Marwen, River North gallery space, 833 N. Orleans St.

Also tonight, 360SEE hosts Iron Pastorals: new paintings by Curtis Frillmann, with functional art pieces by Jesse Hooker. Frillman describes his work as "paintings of rural and natural scenes on discards objects of industry and culture."
Friday, Nov. 6. Show through Dec. 15. 6-9 p.m. 1924 N. Damen.

moniquemeloche presents Sign of the Times, a group exhibition exploring the current global economic crisis (speaking of tough cookies). Features work by Kim Beck, Máximo González, Kenneth Tin-Kin Hung, Michael Patterson-Carver and Carrie Schneider.
Opening reception Saturday, Nov. 7 from 4-7 p.m. Through Jan. 9. 2154 W. Division.

Also on Saturday, Golden Age in Pilsen — where many residents say "los Nanowrimos" — hosts the release party for The Incredible Journey That Is Consciousness, a new publication by locals Alex Fuller and Gabe Usadel. The book is not a 50,000-word novel — no, it has colorful triangles and other shapes inside.
Saturday, Nov. 7. 7-11 p.m. 1744 W. 18th St.

threewalls is closing for renovations, but they'll put away their Nanowrimo (about an art gallery owner whose life changes forever when he discovers that applying spackle to walls has awakened his true self ... perhaps?) to host two events this Sunday. In the afternoon, they'll join Green Lantern Press for the book release of The Artists Run Chicago Digest, which archives the activities of Chicago's artist-run spaces between 1999-2009. And in the evening, they'll have Time Out Chicago Associate Features Editor David Tamarkin over for "Wine and Time," a lecture and tasting.
Book release Sunday, Nov. 8. 2-5 p.m. at Hyde Park Art Center, 5020 S. Cornell Ave. Wine tasting Sunday, Nov. 8. 7 p.m. (Suggested donation of $5; no one turned away.) 119 N. Peoria, #2D.

Recession 2009: Photo by Carrie Schneider

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Stroger Makes Hollywood Play

Marcus Gilmer — 2009-11-06T10:40:00-06:00

Given the success of recent summer blockbusters like The Dark Knight and Public Enemies that were filmed in the city, Cook County Board President Todd Stroger wants to ensure studios keep coming back even with the current recession. Stroger has proposed a Cook County Film and Entertainment Commission and Office to work with the current Chicago and Illinois Film Offices to that end.

Funny Ha Ha Returns To Celebrate Geek Love

Marcus Gilmer — 2009-11-05T16:20:00-06:00

Writer Claire Zulkey is bringing the funny back to the Hideout for another round of her excellent Funny Ha Ha series. Funny Ha-Ha rounds up Zulkey’s funny friends for a reading of pieces they’re particularly proud of and a few performance pieces. Low-key literature plus a dash of multimedia from Zulkey’s husband, Steve Delahoyde, equals big laughs at the Hideout next Wednesday.

This time around, titled "Geek Love," Zulkey's bringing in the Trib's TV critic Maureen Ryan, Cast of Shadows author Kevin Guilfoile, Bruised Orange Theater Company's "I Saw You," an members of The AV Club, fresh off the release of their awesome new book, Inventory, to which Zulkey contributed.

Proceeds benefit the Neighborhood Writing Alliance, which will assuage your guilt of the impending hangover as you down High Life after High Life between laughs.

Funny Ha-Ha: Geek Love, Wednesday, November 11, 2009, 6:30-8 p.m., The Hideout, 1354 W. Wabansia, $5 suggested donation at door

Thursday Afternoon Diversion: Where The Wild Things Really Are

Tankboy — 2009-11-05T15:00:00-06:00

Had Jonze and Eggers been honest in just what audience their adaptation of a beloved and twisted children's book truly was, the end result would've looked like this.

Thanks to @bembang_us for the tip!

Oprah's Leaving Chicago?

Tankboy — 2009-11-05T13:30:00-06:00

AP Photo/Kiichiro Sato

Nikki Finke is reporting Oprah Winfrey is moving her show to the Oprah Winfrey Network by 2011, and will be moving production from Chicago to L.A.

Wow. Was it the Olympic loss? Is that what drove her away?

Also, keep in mind that it's Nikki Finke reporting this news, and she doesn't name her source, but if it's true this is a doozy of a scoop. Zap2It reached a Harpo rep who said, "She has not made a decision yet. As she has previously stated, she'll make an announcement before the end of the year."