It's officially the third warmest winter Chicago has ever seen, tornadoes continue to tear up the Midwest, and other news.
Extra Extra: It's The Third Warmest Winter On Record
Who Needs Snark When You Have Good Satire? Portlandia: The Tour
When Portlandia debuted exactly one year ago with its shoestring budget and home on a specialty cable channel, the show's quick rise to cult-status favorite was pretty predictable. The bigger surprise - evident during the sold out Chicago stop of "Portlandia: The Tour" Wednesday night - was how adeptly the show walks the sometimes-blurry line between satire and cynicism.
Armisen, Brownstein Bringing Portlandia to Hideout
The tour only makes seven stops, including a Jan. 18, 2012 stop at Hideout. Armisen and Brownstein will perform sketches, live music, offer a sneak peek at the second season of the series and explain the inspiration of characters like the Sanitation Twins.
"One for the Road:" Trenchmouth
Long before Damon Locks and Wayne Montana went on to form the Eternals and Fred Armisen moved to New York to create Ferecito and a bad Barack Obama impersonation, they and Chris DeZutter formed one of the more chaotic local bands around in Trenchmouth. They weren't punk, jazz, no-wave, funk or ska, but at the same time they were all that. Simply put, Trenchmouth was one of a kind.
Friday Afternoon Diversion Round Two: USA for Affluence
If you haven't been watching Beardo on Pitchfork.tv, you've been missing out. Chicagoan Fred Armisen makes an appearance in this latest episode of Tim Harrington's eccentric show, along with an all-star indie rock cast under the moniker USA for Affluence, singing an epic ode to consumerism.
Movies: Second Chance & Last Chance
"Fauxbama" Revealed on SNL
After weeks of speculation among dozens of people, last night's edition of Saturday Night Live revealed their choice to play Barack Obama for potentially the next four years -- Chicago's Fred Armisen. While the sketch was a somewhat amusing take on the press infatuation with Obama, if Illinois' favorite son locks up the nomination Armisen needs to work on his impersonation. It makes Will Forte's GWB look Will Farrell-esque in quality.
Breaking: Eleventh Dream Day Is "Special Guest" at Robbins Family Benefit
After speculation over who will be the "special guest" at the Robbins Family benefit we posted about last week, organizer Jessica Hopper announced today that local legends Eleventh Dream Day will headline the event at Empty Bottle on January 27 at 8:00 p.m. Also appearing that evening are Chin Up Chin Up, Bobby Conn, Life & Times, and Red-Eyed Legends. Plus, they'll be raffling off lots of goodies. Here's the list so far: * VIP...

