Eater Chicago reached out to Bill Kim after hearing reports that someone was crank calling restaurants as the Urban Belly/Belly Shack owner, then getting straight-up "ooophh, nasty- you kiss your mother with that mouth" with the folks at the other end of the phone. more ›

White Sox GM Kenny Williams wants to know if you've seen his Colon. Bartolo, that is. It may seem unlikely to lose sight of the rotund pitcher, but that's exactly what's happened. Scheduled to make a rehab start with their Triple-A team in Charlotte on Thursday after a stint in Arizona, the White Sox have been unable to get in touch with Colon. Said Williams, "Efforts to contact his agent have been successful. Their efforts to contact their client have not been so successful." more ›

The unnamed man who’s shoulder Oprah smeared her mascara all over on Tuesday night has been revealed: He’s Sam Perry of Menlo Park, California. Reportedly, a friend of Perry’s outed him to Oprah’s people by sending an e-mail, and Oprah invited him to Friday’s show. more ›

Imagine our surprise when gearing up to see tonight's performance by The Mystery Jets, a band whose live show we've greatly anticipated seeing, only to be stymied. So yesterday we checked the website of the club they were scheduled to play to confirm the set-time, only to discover the show had been moved to Schubas! Which, oddly enough, is where we were supposed to see them the first time they didn't come around when their... more ›

White Rabbits are doing something right, because the Brooklyn sextet has gone from a band we checked out at SXSW because they are friends with a friend of ours to one of the buzziest bands in the blogosphere. No surprise, really – these kids can bring the good times rocknroll, and an 8.1 album rating from Pitchfork didn’t hurt either. more ›

Has it really been two years since we were first introduced to The Mystery Jets? It feels like a lot longer. Now, that may be because the young band is particularly adept at kicking out a certain kind of timeless pop, but we’re willing to bet that the main reason is because we’ve been waiting forever for them to hit Chicago so we could finally experience their much buzzed about live show. A few weeks... more ›

Filmmaker Brian Jun more ›

Some time before Chicagoist was a Chicagoan, we were a resident of the great American Southwest. We grew up in the wonderful state of New Mexico, and we absorbed much of the local culture: cowboys, chilis, and lowriders. more ›

We’ve heard of East Coast vs. West Coast hip-hop feuds, but how does the Second City figure in? Apparently, the latest feud involves Chicago’s Nice Peter, who combine improv with rock, versus 50 Cent. Now, we’re not giving a huge amount of credence to this “feud” because we don’t really believe that 50 Cent has actually heard the song that’s causing the ruckus — “50 Cent is a Pussy” off the latest Nice Peter live... more ›

Seventeen years ago there was a Bush in the White House, demonstrations for democracy in Tiananmen Square, an oil liner spewing its contents around Alaska’s waters, and the album of the year was George Michael’s Faith. Under these auspicious circumstances a band came into the world. That band was the New Duncan Imperials. more ›

A good movie may gross the big bucks and win the awards, but the Neo-Futurists recognize that a truly bad movie will stay with you for a long, long time. Tomorrow night they open the fifth annual festival of wonderfully awful films, skewered on stage for your entertainment, known as It Came From the Neo-Futurarium. Rachel Claff and Jay Torrence will recreate, as best they can on the cozy Neo stage, Bridget Fonda and Jennifer... more ›

What do gum-smacking teenagers, mothers on the brink of a nervous breakdown, creepy old men and human excrement have in common? Why, the CTA, of course. more ›

Since all eyes in the entertainment world were focused on the Oscars this weekend, a piece by Tribune freelancer Allison Stewart on the quasi-autobiography from Tori Amos might have been unjustly ignored. In a fairly short span of time, mentioning Amos’s stint with Y Kant Tori Read has gone from the mark of the wise to rock writer cliché and Stewart smartly chooses not to dwell on it. Instead, she acquits herself as a true fan (of music, if not Amos herself) in being able to spot the good (the freeform conversational style with New York Times critic Ann Powers) and the bad (no backstory on “Me And A Gun”) before dovetailing into a quickie review of Tori’s latest album. more ›

Lots of news at The Field Museum these days! From the selling of Indian art, to the preservation of Iraqi artifacts, to a new Incas exhibit, to a party: we've got it all summarized here. more ›

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There�s just too much good stuff going on this weekend to sit inside and enjoy the air-conditioning. And most of this good stuff is happening at two places: the Metro and the Music Box. So Chicagoist suggests you just camp out on the North Side for the next few days. Tonight, Metro has the MC5 reunion tour (with Lemonhead Evan Dando thrown in for good measure) and hyped young bands Franz Ferdinand tomorrow (in a sold-out show, sorry procrastinating hipsters) and the Secret Machines on Sunday. Meanwhile, the Music Box � as part of their great Weekend Matinee series � will show Jim Jarmusch�s wonderful Canterbury Tales-inspired Mystery Train on Saturday and Sunday, and play Wes Anderson�s droll, under-appreciated Bottle Rocket tonight and tomorrow at midnight. Trust us, with so much hip music and deadpan comedy, you�ll feel cool enough without your beloved A.C.
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