Pritzker Pavilion in Millennium Park is one of our favorite places in the entire city, but others seem to like it just as much, or at least, take full advantage of all the great free events that are available there each summer. As a result, free events at the pavilion can be crowded and a little bit hellish. Happily, this was not the case at last Friday’s performance of Don Giovanni, Chicago’s first-ever, live simulcast......

Man, are we ever tired expensive, indoor, un-simulcast opera. The Chicago Opera Theater has heard these complaints and responded with "the first outdoor, large screen, live simulcast presentation of an opera in the city's history." And it's free. New pants, please! On Friday, May 9, the COT's performance of Don Giovanni will be broadcast from the Harris Theater to Pritzker Pavilion. Similar projects have been staged in Houston, New York, Washington DC and San Fransisco.......

Considered to be one of the innovators of modern jazz dance, Gus Giordano died early Sunday at the age of 84. His theories on movement and dance technique led to the founding of his own Evanston-based dance company in 1962, eventually becoming what is now known as Giordano Jazz Dance Chicago. Currently run by Giordano’s daughter Nan, Giordano Jazz Dance Chicago performs all over the world and is recognized for constantly innovating and broadening the......

We were one of the few lucky enough to catch Jon Brion when he stopped by The Hideout earlier this year. His one-man band is truly an awesome spectacle top behold, and will seriously leave anyone withing earshot slack jawed. When we heard he was coming back to Chicago to play a New Year's Eve show at the Harris Theater in Millennium Park we immediately thought, "This is the show to beat." So far, no......

We first witnessed the cockamamie genius of Jon Brion at the second Intonation Festival. Pouring rain be damned, the guy captivated 15,000 people that day, many of whom knew him only as “the guy who worked on Kanye’s records.” Chicagoist left the festival grounds that day with that rare inspiration feeling that reminds you of just how powerful it is to witness true musical aptitude when it meets unbridled creativity. Fast forward to the winter......

Don't settle for another Wednesday of Pushing Daisies, Gossip Girl and Girl Scout cookies that have been in the freezer for months (not ... that ... we do that ...). There's a shitton of stuff going on tonight! PostSecret's Frank Warren will be at the UIC Barbara's Bookstore tonight at 7:30 p.m. for a reading/signing/Q&A about the newest PS book, A Lifetime of Secrets. Please, someone ask him how he feels about lolsecretz. The Cook......

Here’s what you missed while you were thinking about giant ketchup packets: August is supposed to be a slow month? The dance community didn't get that memo. Aside from the Jazz Dance World Festival, next month sees Dance for Life, a gala for AIDS-related charities; Mark Morris Dance Group presented by Ravinia at the Harris Theater; Chicago Dancing Festival at Millennium Park; and the conclusion of the Chicago Human Rhythm Project’s Summer Festival. The Berwyn......

Here’s what you missed while you were reading Harry Potter… and while Harry Potter got stinking rich: Grab your composition paper and get to work. The Chicago Chamber Musicians are searching for the next great chamber piece by a brilliant composer age 32 or younger. They’ll perform the winning entry at a CCM concert next June. Entries are due December 1, so check out the rules, then find your muse. Thirty years ago, the Sears......

Dance’s big guns prance around Chicago each spring, so we won’t have to. That’s for the best, since a few too many evenings on the couch and bar stool have robbed us of our best stage leaps. At least these folks haven’t lost a step: Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater returns to the Auditorium Theater this weekend, bringing new work and a few of their gorgeous, athletic favorites. Influences range from traditional Indian and West......

If you keep up with your "Free Tibet" news, you may be glad to hear that the Dalai Lama is going to visit Chicago. His visit, scheduled for May 6, will be the first since 1999. He'll be doing a public speech in Millennium Park and is expected to do a public teaching session at the Harris Theater. Aside from that, he will probably generate a lot of stories and interest in the "Free Tibet"......

Last week you tried to get tickets to High School Musical for your pre-teen, teen, or tween child. And of course you failed, along with thousands of other parents. Craigslist hints at only a fraction of the carnage. Next to that game in Miami, the HSM one-night stand is the most sought after ticket in Chicago. But even if you sold your soul or ransacked your nest egg for the chance to see glossy American......

Chicagoist doesn’t know if it’s the holiday season that has us thinking about universal human truths, or all the conflict that is happening around the world. Sometimes we get overwhelmed with how much it takes to change the world. Then a couple of people get together and prove that it doesn't have to be that hard. Back in the '90s, two musicians came together to forge an unlikely friendship, one from each side of an......

We don’t know what the world’s highest blogging honor is (getting a real job?), but we know we’ve got a long way to go before we’re at the top of our field. Now, jazz pianist Ramsey Lewis? He’s tops. And he’s got the title to prove it. Plus, 25 grand to wave in everybody’s faces like he’s Bad Bad Leroy Brown. Lewis, one of Chicago’s great musical treasures, was recently named a Jazz Master by......

We hope you used our Decent Days and Nights as a guide to what fun things are going on in music this week. Empty Out Your Wallet is for those of us who obsessively plan ahead and like charging things on our credit cards. Here are some of the shows going on sale this weekend that could help fill out those upcoming Decent Days and Nights. Bob Dylan Kings of Leon Oct. 27 & 28,......

Field’s, er, uh, Macy’s is at the crux of Chicago’s plan to become a fashion mecca. Earlier this year, Mayor Daley announced his support of promoting the fashion and design industry in Chicago. Today, the Sun-Times reports on the upcoming events that underscore this initiative. This year’s Fashion Focus Chicago kicks off Sept. 20 and runs through Oct 1. The 12-day fest includes runway shows, neighborhood shopping events and educational seminars. Millennium Park will host......

Tap dance is so hot right now. Any moment now we’re expecting a press release from the Department of Cultural Affairs announcing Chicago Tap Dance Month. When two tap shows are concurrently grabbing headlines and selling briskly, it’s the next logical, uh, step. At the Harris Theater, Imagine Tap!, incorporates jazz, hip hop, latin beats, spritual music, breakdancing, turntablism, and of course lots and lots of tap dancing led by a group of supremely accomplished......

Hubbard Street Dance Chicago shares our midwestern stubbornness, treating this day forward as spring, windy snowy forecast be damned. So it is with their 2006 Spring Season, a celebration of past and present Hubbard Street artists and choreographers which opens tonight at the Harris Theater. Touring extensively to win friends across the modern dance world, limiting their Chicago engagements to build the hometown hype, HSDC’s contemporary work is provocative enough for the die hard fans......

Over the weekend Chicagoist had a couple hours to kill and were stuck downtown so we decided to go on the audio tour of Millennium Park that we've been hearing about everywhere. We downloaded the files, transferred them to our iPod (any portable mp3 player will do, but we're Apple dorks), and were off! In the introductory mp3 it tells you to get a map (PDF) and play the mp3s in a particular order.........

While we’ll miss the full Cloud Gate experience this summer, we can still look forward to spending nights inside the nearby Pritzker Pavilion cage. The Pritzker provides that upscale picnic feel without the commute to Ravinia. And once again, it will be the home of the Grant Park Music Festival, the country’s only remaining free classical music fest. This is its second year in Millennium Park, which seems confusing until you remember that such concerns......

The Chicago Architecture Foundation honored its Patrons of the Year yesterday in the commercial, institutional and governmental categories. This is the first year for the awards, and they're meant to encourage and recognize architectural innovation. Listen up, Block 37. CMK, a realty/development firm, took commercial honors for its Contemporaine, a 15-floor condo at 516 North Wells. Units are still available if you have a ton of cash handy and are dying to live someplace with......

Millennium Park is finally opening, late and over budget as all good things are. Now that we�re a few years into this millennium, we�re probably better able to enjoy its futuristic features. But we don�t want to be grouchy: we�re actually really excited not only for this weekend�s events but for the park in general. Today kicks off the three-day opening celebration with music, dancing, and a lantern installation. From 5-7:30, check out the �polka......