Also, tickets for the band's December Civic Opera shows will go on sale Saturday morning at 10 a.m. more ›

After seeing their viewer numbers plummet over the last few weeks, the major networks forced their late night talent back on the air last night. David Letterman took the high road, working out a deal with his writers so they could return with him, but keep in mind that he owns the production company that puts out his program. We suspect neither Conan O'Brien or Jay Leno are too jazzed to return without their writers, but since their shows are owned by the networks, they don't have the same kind of leverage. more ›

Police officially identified the body of Eric Kaminski today, announcing that the remains they uncovered in a Pilsen basement on Saturday belong the Oak Park Lawn man who had been missing since 2004. A tip led police to 2248 W. Coulter St, where cadaver dogs helped locate the body under six feet of concrete and limestone. The cause of death was multiple gunshot wounds, and police already have a suspect in custody (he was being held on unrelated charges), but motive is still not clear. [Trib, CBS 2, S-T] more ›

Well, it's finally happened: the Writer's Guild of America declared a strike early this morning after midnight negotiations stalled. Naturally there's been plenty of finger-pointing, with writers claiming that the producers broke off talks while producers say that the writers were the ones who walked out. Regardless, the strike will have some very immediate effects, which the Trib has handily put in chart form. Daily shows will suffer the most at first, with programs like... more ›

They didn't coerce anyone out of this one -- Chicago mob kingpins guilty in decades of crime. And a relative of a mob murder victim wasted no time applauding the guilty verdicts in the Family Secrets case. Signed, sealed, can't be delivered --Heavy rain forced Stevie Wonder to cancel his concert Monday at the Charter One Pavilion on Northerly Island. It was rescheduled for tonight. David Letterman and Oprah are BFF now. Screw The... more ›

It’s true that everyone has a story; some people’s are just more interesting than others. Such is the case with Pete Jordan. “Dishwasher Pete,” as he became known, had a mission. A mission to wash dishes in every one of the fifty states. His aptly named book, Dishwasher, details over a decade of dishwashing and hitchhiking from state to state, quitting a diner 45 minutes after he’d taken the job and walking into a town and dishing within hours. Dishwasher Pete was at Quimby’s last night to read from the book and distribute the final issue, 16, of his zine. more ›

Andrew Bird has been garnering praise with his latest release Armchair Apocrypha, and there is no better way to target the mainstream music audience than on late-night television. It’s amazing how quickly albums fly off the shelves at discount retailers after an appearance on Letterman. more ›

If you're hiking, consider charging up your iPod, as Seattlest finds out that a man lost during a hike was found by the glow of his iPod. That cleverness seems to be devoid in cops who were using police cruiser instant messaging clients - although we imagine IMs "so are you nakie" to be included in cop shows, just for realism. If only the cops were busting the Hummer-driving jerk who made a poor... more ›

In the spirit of last night’s Oscars, we present this montage of thoughts: * Forget pimps: it was hard out there for Jon Stewart. Stewart is and was frequently hilarious, but what works on the Daily Show doesn't work for the Oscars. Like most unconventional hosts (Letterman, Chris Rock), Stewart was done in because he was expected to bring his sharp, cutting wit to a venue that doesn't appreciate it. An organization that rolls three... more ›

Say what you will about Oprah but the woman is a media genius. more ›

This Saturday night, Chicagoist Editor Rachelle Bowden (a.k.a. Chicagoist Prime) and Gapers Block editor and co-founder Andrew Huff are the featured guests on ImprovOlympic’s answer to Leno and Letterman—The Late Night Late Show. Hosts Mark Luge and Amit Mahtaney, channeling Craig Kilbourn and Ali G, respectively, stay up late every Saturday night to chat with Chicago celebrities and personalities. L.N.L.S. is mostly a straight-up talk show sprinkled with liberal doses of improv. Come out... more ›

The well-worn cliché about British rock and pop audiences is that they are ready and willing to embrace a band that breaks the mold and presents something new—much more so than music fans over here. Just two years ago, music execs were in a panic over the lack of British artists on the Billboard charts. While Robbie Williams still remains a hard sell here, whatever plan was devised back in 2002 is clearly working. And... more ›

When Chicagoist was growing up, we begged our parents to buy us a pair of parachute pants because we thought they were so cool. Nevermind that they looked ridiculous on us and didn’t fit quite right; we proudly wore them to school and were mocked openly by our classmates. We were reminded of that traumatic childhood moment this week when Oscar producer Gil Cates was forced to respond to comments Chris Rock made in Entertainment Weekly about the Oscars being “idiotic” and “a fashion show.” Cates assured the masses that Rock’s comments were just “humorous digs.” You know, the Academy got uptight when Letterman did that whole Uma/Oprah thing a few years back. So we’re wondering what the reaction will be if Rock calls Jack Nicholson “Ol’ Dirty Cracker.” But hey it’s all part of keeping it “hip-hop loose.” Yeah, that always works real well. more ›