Seeing Hanson, the Oklahoma-bred trio of brothers all grown up and promoting Shout It Out at the House of Blues Saturday night made us hip to a couple of things. The good: the band is evidence that not all child performers have to spectacularly flame out, enter rehab or systematically destroy the careers that made them famous. The bad: apparently, you can make a robust career out of conveying mostly one-note sentiments. more ›

[Ed. note: Lizz was our eyes and ears at this year's SXSW ... here's our last peek at what she saw.] more ›

Yesterday was the perfect day for a walk. So I took one -- with Hanson!!! OMG!! They were so hot!! Especially Taylor!!!! Took so many pictures of him -- I, like, heart him sooooo bad!! (Taylor, if you're reading this and you ever get divorced, just give me a call, k? We can go to Jamba Juice and get Orange Dream Machines, Strawberry Surf Riders, whatever. Luv ya, T!!!) more ›

Eric Hanson has been sentenced to death for killing his sister, parents and brother-in-law. His surviving sister testified against him during his recently concluded trial, and yesterday a jury took only 90 minutes to return its verdict in favor of execution. more ›

We love to read and write, and not just our own posts here on the World Wide Webs. We’ve been working on our first novel for years. It’s a love story involving time-traveling unicorns and so far we have about 850 pages of it written, but we don’t know when we’ll get it published (fingers crossed!). As such, we have a soft spot in our heart for local writers who have been a tad more successful. Luckily we live in a city that gives us a chance to here these talented scribes read! more ›

Perhaps crime will slow down tomorrow, when all that water lying around freezes and turns Chicago streets into one giant ice rink. But for now, let's see what's been going on this weekend in the world of criminal justice: more ›

What's coming up? Let's see. 2007 has been quite a year for the Cold War Kids, whose twangy indie rock has worked its way into the hearts of festival attendees across the world, playing everywhere from Lollapallooza to the Glastonbury Festival. If you’d rather see them up close and personal instead of surrounded by shirtless dudes holding plastic cups of beer, now’s your chance. Metro, Dec. 7, 6:30 p.m., $15, all ages. On sale at... more ›

While SFist cringed at the fatal dose of crime littering the Bay Area, it found solace in Hillary Clinton's San Francisco campaign headquarters opening, which featured loads of exposed mammary glands. In other news, SF Taxi Commission ruled that Satan's cab must keep its (in)famous medallion number, 666; and in an un-fashion-forward frenzy, San Francisco Fashion Week (chortle) bars bloggers from covering and getting smashed at their shows and parties, respectively. Also, they found a... more ›

The Ohm Curator Series presented by the Chicago Cultural Center, a department of the City of Chicago, features DJ's, videos, and live painting. On Tuesday, December 5, at 7:00 p.m. the series will bring you video artists and performers reinventing the Classical Sonata. The performers for the event include Laura Emelianoff, J.C. Loewe, Gregg Medley, Margaret Noble, Edyta Stepien, Jeffrey Weeter, and Video Janitor. We are pretty pumped about Gregg Medley presenting an electroacoustic performance... more ›

Some of the fondest memories of our youth involved Toots Drive Thru as the setting. As adults, whenever we found ourselves in Portage or Jefferson Park (back when the Silent Film Society of Chicago's summer festival was held at the Gateway Theater), we always made it a point to find our way to Toots for a hot dog, a malt, and maybe some mac-and-cheese bites. more ›

Karen Hanson, Author of Today's Chicago Blues more ›

If it’s the beginning of June, it’s time for the annual Chicago Blues Festival. Now in its 23rd year, the blues fest seems to be on its way to becoming an actual celebration of the city’s blues heritage, and not just a cheap and fast way to make money off of tourists. Each year, the city presents local and national blues acts that are hit or miss. Some deliver the type of transcendent performances you’d... more ›

The short-hand version: Eisley is primarily a group of talented siblings (a la Hanson) who will be appearing in Chicago to perform a free show at Double Door tonight. more ›

As you may have read, we took advantage of a preview of WIRED NextFest 2005 at Navy Pier this morning. While it seems that a more appropriate title would be "NowFest" (don't get us wrong, there are plenty of interesting exhibits, it just wasn't the mind-blowing glimpse into the future we'd thought it'd be), one particular exhibit had quite an effect on us. Together Hanson Robotics, the University of Memphis FedEx Institute of Technology and the Automation and Robotics Research Institute of University of Texas at Arlington have created a "robotic likeness" of sci-fi writer Philip K. Dick, and the robot makes its debut at NextFest. Those familiar with Dick's work will appreciate the appropriateness of PKD as the subject of the exhibit as most of his novels explore the effects of technology on human identity.
more ›

Last evening at The Vic, Wired kicked off Next Fest with a show curated by Jeff Tweedy featuring The Handsome Family and Joanna Newsom. The stage was stark with only a white backdrop and a chair holding a computer that pumped the sound of crickets throughout the room. Chris Anderson, Editor-In-Chief of Wired Magazine, started off the evening with a few words explaining Next Fest's history. Jeff Tweedy saunters on stage wearing the shirt... more ›