This week the Joffrey veers away from its traditional root of ballet with an all-contemporary program they're calling Winter Fire, comprised of three pieces from choreographers that are shaping the future of dance. We had a chance to chat with Wayne McGregor, whose work is featured in the program. more ›

This evening marks bartender Paul McGee's last shift behind the stick at the Whistler. more ›

Yesterday we spoke with Nick Prueher of the Found Footage Festival about his chances in tonight's battle of found media. Today we turn to his opponent, who must be considered the home team, Davy Rothbart of FOUND magazine. more ›

Sooner or later, everyone grows up—even the merry pranksters in Mannequin Men. Before the band’s tour in support of Mannequin Men kicked off, frontman Kevin Richard gave us a ring to chat about the new record. more ›

For many Chicagoans, most of what they've seen of Dmitry Samarov is from the back seat of his Scion cab, or what they've gleaned from his observations of the city via his paintings and pencil drawings. Now that University of Chicago Press has released Samarov's first book, Hack: Stories From a Chicago Cab, the artist, writer and cab driver is showing up everywhere, from the pages of The Trib to Bob Edward's Talk of the Nation to an art show at Saki Records with musician Chris Brokaw (see the info for tonight's opening reception of "Music and Baseball" at the end of the interview). more ›

Battles is a band that mixes the math rock with the beats that make you want to dance. We remember seeing them at a totally stuffed, wall-to-wall people, show at Double Door a few years ago and were blown away at the effect they had on the crowd (and our feet). At that time they were a quartet with much of the visual focus falling on mulch-instrumentalist and vocalist Tyondai Braxton's gyrations behind his wall of gear while hisd bandmates Ian Williams, John Stanier and Dave Konopka whirled up an insane mixture of sound and rhythm that filled the room. Braxton left during the recording of the band's latest album, Gloss Drop, and the group continued on as a three piece with guest vocalists. The result sheds some of the proggier tendencies of their debut, Mirrored, but the band hasn't changed their focus on the gears inside their songs that make you want to move. Drummer John Stanier took a few minutes from the road to answer a few of our questions via email as the band made their way toward Chicago for their show tonight at The Vic. more ›

If you have yet to hear The Errant Charm by Vetiver, you are missing the perfect soundtrack to Summer 2011. more ›

We caught up with Yuck bassist Max Bloom and drummer Jonny Rogoff after their intense Sunday afternoon set at Pitchfork. more ›

Bela Fleck recently took time to exchange e-mails with Chicagoist about the re-addition of Howard Levy, Future Man's new Drumitar, and whether or not you should dance at a Flecktones concert. more ›

Veteran sound engineer Jeremy Lemos updates us on the progress of his eclectic, experimental group The High Confessions’ second album. Lemos plays in the band with Sonic Youth's Steve Shelley, Sanford Parker of Nachtmystium, and Revolting Cock Chris Connelly. more ›

A few weeks back, we got a chance to have a long chat with Ann Wright, Deputy Under Secretary of Agriculture for Marketing and Regulatory Programs. Wright was speaking at the Family Farmed Expo, promoting a new USDA initiative, "Know your Farmer, Know your Food" that works to promote local and regional innovations in American agriculture. Wright was an advocate for organic and sustainable agriculture and an agriculture advisor to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid before she was appointed to her current post, and has been at the USDA for almost two years. We talked with Wright about what the federal government can do to promote sustainable agriculture, the USDA's sometimes-troubled history with small farms and her belief that large-scale change in the way we farm and eat has already begun. more ›

Chef, writer and recent memoirist Gabrielle Hamilton visited Chicago this past weekend to support her memoir, Blood, Bones and Butter with a celebration at The Publican. Before Paul Kahan cooked up Sunday's feast (a recreation of a meal in the first chapter of Hamilton's book), we caught up with Hamilton, chef and owner of Prune in New York, to discuss how she strikes the chef-writer balance, her least favorite food trends and why she said "No thanks" to being the next Iron Chef. more ›

Deep bass. Driving synth. Analog warmth. Quintessential components to one of electronic music's unsung heroes, Simian Mobile Disco. Well, sure, plenty of people know and love the duo otherwise known as James Ford and Jas Shaw, but where is the real credit for producing some of the best dance music of the past few years? With their debut LP, Attack Decay Sustain Release, Simian Mobile Disco burst on the scene with infectious, bombastic beats, an indelible taste for analog synth, and a penchant for pop hooks. They followed that with 2009's Temporary Pleasures, an extension of ADSR that went even deeper, even more lush. Last year's Delicacies, a deep-techno ode to some of the world's oddest foods - and it was indeed impressive. All of that and more will take place tonight at The Mid, and the duo clues us in on why you should go. more ›

Matthew Inman, the creator of the Web comic The Oatmeal, has cultivated a massive following based on his unique ability to visually taser just about everyone from crappy Facebook users to horrible spellers (“If you put an ‘A’ in ‘definitely,’ then you’re definitely an A-hole”). 5 Very Good Reasons to Punch a Dolphin in the Mouth, released earlier this month, features 25 new comics as well as virtually every comic Inman has written and drawn since The Oatmeal site launched in the spring of 2009. During a break from his recently launched book tour, Chicagoist mixed it up with The Oatmeal and chatted about topics ranging from brain-farming to his unusual moniker. more ›

This week in our Why We Stay series, in which we talk to notable Chicagoans about why they stay here during the winter months, we catch up with Elaine Soloway, author of The Division Street Princess, a memoir about growing up Jewish in Chicago in the 1940s. more ›

We have a chat with the local creator of the online comic strip dedicated to skewering the Russian leader. more ›

It's a common problem that this town's musical elite like to leave us in the dust for the bright lights of the coasts, but Patrick Stump is a curiosity among Chicago-bred "rock stars" - he's seen the world and then some, but his heart and his home remain here. Since Fall Out Boy called it quits last year, former singer and songwriter Stump has been hard at work at Lakeview's I.V. Labs studio prepping his debut solo album and revisiting the influences that lead him to make music in the first place. Today we continue and conclude our fascinating chat with Stump. more ›

Earlier, we presented an interview with Brandon Baltzley, the former chef of Mado. We contacted David Richards, the owner, and asked about the situation - specifically about Baltzley's allegations about Richards' behavior and financial situation. Because this interview was not recorded, the interview is not presented as a transcript. However, all of the quotes are direct. more ›

As mentioned yesterday, I had a chance to partake in a pizza summit with legendary radio personality Steve Dahl, where we exchanged lists of 4-5 pizzerias each wanted the other to visit, and then discussed our findings with each other. Dahl gave me his rundown of the pizza joints I selected yesterday. Today, I return the favor. more ›

Last week, Chicago magazine spoke to both Brandon Baltzley, the former chef of Mado who left the restaurant last week and David Richards, the owner of the restaurant, about the circumstances surrounding all of the recent drama. We wanted more detail, and contacted both Baltzley and Richards for more details on the story. Below is an edited transcript of our recorded conversation with Chef Baltzley. Below is an edited transcript of our recorded conversation with Chef Baltzley. We'll present Richards's side of the story tomorrow. more ›

Perhaps no one is more hungry for redemption than Levitski, whose rise, fall, and second rise were famously chronicled in articles by the Trib and Time Out Chicago around this time last year. The Cliff Notes version: after the show, Levitski returned to Chicago, fell into a depression, suffered financial hardship, became addicted to daytime television, and started drinking. His mother was diagnosed with cancer and passed away, and his dream of opening his own restaurant, Town & Country, fell victim to the economic downturn. Eventually things turned around when Levitski took over Sprout restaurant, a French-American Bistro in Lincoln Park, with his friend (and fellow Top Chef contestant) Sara Nguyen. more ›

For almost two decades now indie-popsters The Dandy Warhols have been making genre-bending music for the masses. They've gone from a big music label [Capitol], over-produced music videos directed by slick and controversial directors like David LaChapelle and then back to their indie Portland roots releasing material on their own record label, Beat the World Records. In the process they've transformed from all-night partying, carousing with the celebrities, playing shows in the buff to mom's and dad's that have a mortgage to pay. In the process the Dandy's have become a staple of indie-pop-dom. We took some time to talk to their jack of all trades musician Zia McCabe about life during their rise to fame and what has led them to join the legions of the DIY music scene. more ›

This past summer, the Internet begat a new Chicago comedy website, dedicated to highlighting the extensive off-loop live comedy performances in the city. We asked Laughing Parrot Executive Editor Tina Smothers a few questions about this brand-new, slick website and resource guide, and her goings-on in the Chicago comedy scene. more ›

Briggs Status Uncertain: Lance BRigg's right ankle injury that sustained against Carolina kept him out of practice for a second straight game, leading to speculation as to if he'll play against the Seahawks Sunday. Head coach Lovie Smith said that Briggs usually heals late in the week, but didn't say if backup linebacker Brian Iwuh would start in place of Briggs. The linebacker play of Briggs, Urlacher and Pisa Tinaisamoa has been one of the main reasons the Bears have jumped to a 4-1 start. more ›

If I had to write a short list of bands that changed my life and worldview, Propagandhi would show up at the top of that list. For two decades, they have been pumping out incredible music with awesome lyrical content and meaning. The Canadian four piece evolved from a youthfully idealistic skate punk act to a hybrid of thrash metal and hardcore while keeping their punk roots. Equally as important, Propagandhi champions numerous activist causes and challenges their listeners with outspoken lyrics about human rights, sexism, racism, religion and more. more ›

Below is more from my interview last week with 32nd Ward Alderman Scott Waguespack in which we touch on schools, unions, and more on the budget. more ›

A few weeks ago, when I first scheduled an interview with Ald. Waguespack, the notion was to get a bit of background about one of the leading candidates who was likely to step up and challenge Mayor Daley in next year's Mayoral Elections. But, just a few days before we were due to sit down, Daley turned the local political world on its ear with the announcement of his retirement. Suddenly, there's an abundance of candidates, some serious, others less so. With somewhere in the neighborhood of 35 people considering running, the field is more crowded and this, certainly, will have an effect on Ald. Waguespack's decision to run. Someone who's been outspoken against Daley in his term as alderman, Waugespack talked with me about his initial victory over the Machine in 2007 to win his ward, what he's done for the ward, and some of the challenges facing the City of Chicago as it heads into new territory under new leadership next spring. And, yes, about his mayoral aspirations. more ›

History repeats itself--as we've always been told--and it repeats itself in just about every facet of our lives. Music is no exception. Trends wax and wane, and now at a rate so fast that we can hardly discover a trend before it's long gone. One of these trends is the re-emergence of disco, or nu-disco, and bands and DJ/producers all over the world are re-imagining the form into something exciting and fresh. DJ-turned-full-band Miami Horror, like a few of their Australian counterparts, are among these bands. Their debut album, Illumination, is a perfect example of that. more ›

As the challengers line up for the chance to take his place, Mayor Daley broke his silence, speaking for the first time since Tuesday's shocking announcement that he would not seek a seventh term as mayor next year. Daley sat down with WFLD Fox's Bob Sirott for a looooong chat. more ›

When Blago visited last, it was the highlight of last fall's Blago media blitz so we had high hopes for Jon Stewart sitting down with our convicted former governor on last night's show. It did not disappoint as Stewart calls Blago out regarding some claims he made last time around and Blago even gets a little flustered. Check out part one below with part two and a bonus video after the jump. more ›