Planning on hoping to walk up and get tickets to the Sox-Twins tilt after work? Don't bother. While we're sure the scalpers will be out in force, the White Sox report they have sold out the last few remaining standing room only tickets for tonight's playoff game.......

As the playoffs approach, postseason tickets for the Cubs and Sox have become the hot commodity around town. And if you're a fan wondering why it's so much harder to get playoff tickets this year than in previous years, there's a simple answer: the teams are releasing fewer seats than ever to the general public. Season ticket holders account for roughly 22,000 of Wrigley's 42,000 seats. Officials aren't saying how many seats were set aside......

It's hard to believe football is so close, but the first preseason games are just a few weeks away. And there's no time like the present to get pumped for the season as Bears individual game tickets go on sale tomorrow (Saturday, July 12) at high noon via Ticketmaster (including by phone). Tickets are a measly $68 to $350. (A personal note from me to the schedule makers for putting the Saints game in December......

The weather has been gorgeous all week and, if you're like us, you've been stuck inside, dreaming of a chance to get out and about. Lots of bands are announcing late summer/early fall tour dates for our fair city and lots of Lolla-related shows happening, so while you wait for the weekend, here are some shows you can utilize your Ticketmaster clicking finger on. Coldplay's just can't get enough of Chicago. Even though tickets are......

Because those Ticketmaster fees just aren't enough of a pain in the ass, the City of Chicago is suing websites eBay and StubHub, claiming that as "reseller agents," the sites are required to an amusement tax on sports and cultural events tickets sold on the sites under a Chicago ordinance. If the city succeeds, future purchases on these sites could see an additional tax of up to 8% tacked on to the price. The two......

Ugh, paper work is the worst. And we're all guilty of letting it pile up, from time to time. But we're pretty sure cops aren't supposed to do that. With parking tickets. Like, the ones they've issued. Maybe Sal Mungia didn't get the memo? Or maybe it got lost? Under the pile of nearly 300 tickets he wrote but didn't give to drivers? On top of a fireplace mantel, the deputies found several stacks of......

Chicago took another step towards fulfilling Mayor Daley’s vow that by 2016, we’ll have cameras on “almost every block.” It was announced yesterday that new red light cameras will be installed at 220 intersections, in addition to the 69 red light cameras that are currently in operation, and a ticket for burning a red light will cost you $100 (up from $90 last year). Along with the increased network of red light cameras, cameras will......

How many dance troupes in Chicago can claim that they dance off the ceiling as well as the floor? AMEBA can. Billing themselves as an acrobatic and aerial dance company, AMEBA’s choreography uses the trapeze, suspended scarves, bungee cords, rope ladders … and they climb all over each other, too. We randomly caught AMEBA’s spring show last year and we were blown away. First of all, mad props to those who can lift their entire......

The Chicago Rush will kick off their eighth season in the Arena Football League with a primetime Monday Night Football match-up with the San Jose Sabercats. The League picked a great match-up for the first Monday Night Football game of the year. The game features the last two Arena Bowl Champions as the Sabercats took the title in 2007 and the Rush earned the title in 2006. The AFL "pre-season power poll" ranks San Jose......

Filmmaker Taylor Greeson was twelve years old in 1993. That summer, three things occurred: he was ordained with the priesthood in the Mormon church, he lost his virginity to an older man and his older brother Charlie was murdered. Using montages of family photographs and pastoral footage of Montana, where he lived at the time, Greerson revisits that summer in Meadowlark. He uses a cool, seemingly-detached perspective that drains any traces of sensationalism from......

Often when we think of plays, rosy cheeks and jazz hands come to mind. While a great variety of plays exist, it seems the majority try to uplift and entertain, not scare the bejesus out of us. But the WildClaw Theatre wants us to expect the unexpected. This newly-formed company is dedicated exclusively to bringing true horror back to the stage, and wastes no time kicking off their mission with The Great God Pan -......

More fascinated by Kelis' milkshake than Daniel Plainview's? Is the only Oscar you'll watch living in a garbage can? Then this Sunday probably means nothing to you. You're burnt out on the "glitz" and "glamor" of the night, not to mention the drama surrounding that writers strike. Of course, it's never too early to make alternative plans! While all your friends and compulsive gamblers are setting up their Oscar pools and getting ready to check......

The Chicago Symphony Orchestra has just announced its 2008 / 2009 season. Tickets are already on sale, so here are a few Chicagoist recommendations to keep in mind: Peter and the Wolf May 3, 2008 This orchestrated children’s story, complete with narration, is perfectly suitable for adults as well. You may already be familiar with the music; the “wolf” musical theme with three French horns is also used for Scut Farkus in A Christmas Story.......

If you're like us, then you love to drink and you like to support great causes. Well, tonight's your chance to do both! The Greater Illinois Chapter of the Alzheimer's Association is throwing a party to raise some money, "to support programs and services for the more than half a million Illinois residents affected by Alzheimer’s disease. These programs and services include our 24-hour Helpline, support groups, educational opportunities for both public and professional audiences,......

Tickets for the Chicago matches of the Barclays Churchill Cup are on sale now. The tournament is North America's biggest international rugby tournament, and if you recall, the tournament will culminate in Chicago with the final day of competition being played at Toyota Park. Tickets start at $20 and include all three final matches between USA, Canada, England Saxons, Ireland A, Scotland A and Argentina. If you buy your tickets early, you can be entered......

When it's this cold and icy, the last thing we can imagine doing is sitting outside at a ball game. But spring will one day arrive, and we're sure some of you will want to spend time enjoying the nicer weather at Wrigley Field. Cubs individual game tickets go on sale on Friday at 10:00 a.m. CST, which means it's almost time for the annual tradition of calling in sick or hijacking unused computers throughout......

Who doesn't love dogs? Besides these two, we mean. Many of us here at Chicagoist have our own pups that we lavish with too much attention and expensive things to chew. There's nothing that warms our hearts after a long day at the office like the excited look and wagging tail of our canine companions. That said, we've been fascinated with the show dog obsessives since the time our high school girlfriend's mother yelled at......

Friday’s late night crowd at Gorilla Tango Theater is raucous and loud, with some patrons sloshed to the point of major distraction. But complaining about a drunken scene at sketch comedy revue Boozelegger’s Ball is like complaining about excessive violence in There Will Be Blood. The title alone should clue you in. Drawing the pub crawling crowd into an interactive show is risky. No one at last Friday’s performance passed out or attempted to “rewrite”......

The Spice Girls are in town tonight at the United Center for the Chicago stop of their reunion tour. Originally Chicago tour dates were scheduled for both the February 15 and the 16, but management moved Saturday’s show over to Detroit. Tickets are still available for tonight’s show. The tour schedule is already relentless, with the Spice Girls also hitting New Jersey, New York, Philadelphia and Washington D.C. this week. The demanding schedule and personal......

The listed events were chosen by the editors of Chicagoist and brought to you by the 2009 Toyota Corolla. Music: If you think we piss piss piss and moan moan moan about Mayor Daley on this site too much, then head to the Empty Bottle this evening. The bands Mayor Daley and piss piss piss moan moan moan - and their abrasive noise rock - open for the experimental noise music of Binges. 1035......

Looking for a mini-vacation from the Chicago winter? Head out to Allstate Arena on Friday night to take in some professional beach volleyball. The AVP Crocs Hot Winter Nights will be bringing some of their top-ranked professionals along with truckloads of sand for a night of volleyball action. The event combines the sport with a beach festival. April Ross, who competed in both the Minneapolis and Columbus stops of the AVP tour, commented, "The atmosphere......

Tickets are now on sale for the eighth annual Whisky Fest. The event, to be held April 4 at the Hyatt Regency downtown, is one of those big ticket events that sells out way in advance. We went last year and it's safe to say that, even though we practiced moderation in a room filled with over 300 brands of whiskey and buffets on either side, we had to step away from the main floor......

Next Wednesday the Instituto Cervantes presents a fascinating evening of Buster Keaton, including a screening of one of our all-time favorite movies Sherlock Jr. The sad-eyed Buster created a film that was post-modern before "modern" even existed: he plays a projectionist who eventually steps into the very movie he's showing, in the process solving a crime that's taken place in the onscreen world. It's a hilarious movie that's also unexpectedly poignant, and it's been......

Some events in the next seven days to consider saving your freshly shoveled parking space with a few chairs. The annual Grand Chefs Gala for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation kicks off this evening at the Fairmont Hotel. The black tie-preferred event runs from 6 p.m. - midnight and will feature a safari theme this year. Among the participating chefs will be sola's Carol Wollack, "Top Chef" alum Dale Levitski, Aigre Doux's Mohammad Islam, and Adam......

Saul Williams went the Radiohead route with his last Trent Reznor produced disc, The Inevitable Rise and Liberation of Niggy Tardust. The "pay what you want" model didn't move as many units as Radiohead did, though it probably raised Williams profile much higher that it's ever been before. The disc itself is pretty mesmerizing. Reznor creates jarring soundscapes for Williams to lay his own brand of street poetry over, and it's one of the best......

First things first: If you haven't read about it elsewhere, Anthony Bourdain taped an appearance on Sound Opinions when he was in town in November. The episode airs this evening at 8 p.m. The Artisan Cellar in the Merchandise Mart is hosting an appearance by Evert Nijzink, head winemaker of Paritua winery, makers of Stone Paddock wines. The meet-and-greet runs from 3-6 this afternoon. ChicaGourmets and the local chapter of Les Dames d'Escoffier is......

Do you crave comedy with a side of pancakes? If so, The Lincoln Lodge, located behind the Lincoln Restaurant in Northcenter, will get your carb-filled belly jiggling. In the mullet-like tradition of “business in the front, party in the back”, the forefront Lincoln Restaurant serves up some of the best diner food in town. But in the back room, the party rolls all weekend as The Lincoln Lodge showcases some of the most uproarious young......

If you didn't catch Jon Brion at Hideout earlier this year, and missed him last night at Millennium Park, here's another chance to catch Jon Brion in an intimate setting at Martyr's. If you want to truly have your mind blown, you won't want to miss this. Tickets are on sale now for only ten bucks. w00t!......

Restaurants aren’t the only ones offering festive, price-enhanced New Year’s Eve fun. Local theaters are throwing open their doors (or their box office) for soused shows and sober, happy celebrations. The Neo Futurists’ New Years Benefit returns, featuring Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind, 30 plays performed in the last 60 minutes of 2007. The non-alcoholic, Whole Foods-catered reception starts at 9:30. Tickets are $40 and proceeds help the company present hundreds of......

After a week of having holiday music stuck in our head, we need to laugh. Luckily, there are plenty of comedy shows this weekend... The Bicycle Men are back in Chicago, presenting a loving tribute to “le bicyclette” and a tribute of sorts to all things French. Dan Castellaneta joins the cast as American tourist Steve, lost in a sea of nutty Frenchmen performing dirty puppet shows and an “unauthorized” talent show, among other things.......