The listed events were chosen by the editors of Chicagoist and brought to you by the 2009 Toyota Corolla. Music Tonight's Gutter twins show at Metro tonight is easily our most anticipated concert so far this year. The paring of Mark Lanegan and Greg Dulli was electrifying when they Lanegan toured with The Twilight Singers last year, but the time the two shared on-stage was far too brief. The group's long-awaited first disc, Saturnalia,......

Funny Ha-Ha is a guaranteed good time. Tonight's edition at The Hideout features a host of writers, but seems to be "headlined" by Eric Zorn. We love Zorn, but find it kind of funny his credit is "Chicago Tribune Columnist & Blogger" while Claire Zulkey's is "Blogger & TV Critic for The Onion & Los Angeles Times." Yeah, yeah, yeah, Zulkey rose to fame due to her blog, but even so, once she scored the......

We're not sure than the 2008 White Sox will be any more tolerable to watch than last year's team, but they'll no doubt be easier to listen to -- at least on the radio. That's because Steve Stone will be replacing Chris Singleton alongside Ed Farmer, the team announced on Tuesday. Back in December, the Sox had announced that Stone would be joining the WSCR 670 radio booth for Friday home games -- a total......

The listed events were chosen by the editors of Chicagoist and brought to you by the 2009 Toyota Corolla. Theater Tonight is the premiere for Lincoln Square Theatre's production of Ray Bradbury's "Martian Chronicles." Adapted from Bradbury's seminal 1950 novel, the play tells of the tensions between native aboriginal Martians and new colonists fleeing a troubled Earth as an allegory for Old World colonialism. Bradbury was inspired to write his novel equally by Steinbeck's......

The listed events were chosen by the editors of Chicagoist and brought to you by the 2009 Toyota Corolla. Music Pat McCurdy is one of those people who have been around forever. Seriously. Literally forever. His everyman songs appeal to a wide swathe of the population, which would explain his loooong-running Monday night residency at Beat Kitchen. He's sort of like a cross between Robbie Fulks and Jimmy Buffet, if you can imagine that.......

So here we were, doing a little poking around some Chicago radio websites on a Saturday afternoon. One link leads to another, and all of a sudden we're on Chicago Tonight correspondent Rich Samuel's site, which we've discovered is a treasure trove of old Chicago media pictures, airchecks and video. And lo and behold, after all the chatter this week about Sam Zell selling just about everything relating to Wrigley Field, there's a Sam Zell......

The following events were chosen by the editors of Chicagoist and brought to you by the 2009 Toyota Corolla. Music Raul Midon has slowly developed a strong and dedicated fan base with constant touring behind his own hybrid form of soul songs steeped in pop sensibility, calling upon influences ranging from Stevie Wonder to Paul Simon to Bill Withers. His albums tend to be too slickly produced for our ears but in concert Midon......

The listed events were chosen by the editors of Chicagoist and brought to you by the 2009 Toyota Corolla. Music Spazz-poppers Hidden Mitten play Double Door tonight. The band specializes in turbo-charged melodies and, from what we can tell, super-short mini-skirts. How can that not rock? If you miss them tonight we also hear they're playing The Mutiny tomorrow, mini-pitchers in hand. 1572 N. Milwaukee, 9 p.m., $8, 21+ Wine We used to do......

The listed events were chosen by the editors of Chicagoist and brought to you by the 2009 Toyota Corolla. Music The Riverboat Gamblers fucking slay, there's no debate there. Lead singer Mike Wiebe channels Iggy Pop's figuratively red-headed step-child as he thrashes and throws himself across the stage belting out hook-filled punk rawk anthems. No song breaks the 3-minute mark because there's no point in pushing the riffs any further than they need to......

The listed events were chosen by the editors of Chicagoist and brought to you by the 2009 Toyota Corolla. Music The Chamber Strings have a turbulent history, but leader Kevin Junior -- having left many of his demons behind him -- is experiencing a joyous resurgence lately. The band's recorded output falls into the dreamy orch-pop category, but the songs really come alive and gain some grit on stage. Hideout, 1354 W Wabansia, 10......

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,......

The listed events were chosen by the editors of Chicagoist and brought to you by the 2009 Toyota Corolla. Music The Dirtbombs, the longest-running project of Detroit garage rock legend Mick Collins (The Gories) is arguably his best. Their line-up of two drummers, two bassists (one of them playing through a fuzzbox effect) and Collins on guitar plays classic groove-oriented, hip-shaking music. Their 2002 release Ultraglide in Black belongs on our desert island discs......

Even the cops can't get enough Wilco. While our Chicagoist photographer sat in line waiting to get into Friday night's show, a CPD cruiser drove by by with the intro to "I Am Trying To Break Your Heart" planking away on it's megaphone, eliciting a roar from the crowd. The band is playing a 5-night stand at The Riv that looks to span the group's collected works. Tonight's show is being broadcast live on......

The listed events were chosen by the editors of Chicagoist and brought to you by the 2009 Toyota Corolla. Aquarium: The Shedd Aquarium is offering free admission to its general exhibits, and reduced admission to the fancy-schmancy ones, all this week! We haven't been there in a while so this is an excellent opportunity for us to check in on all the fishies and the whales. 1200 S Lakeshore, weekdays 9 a.m. until 5......

The listed events were chosen by the editors of Chicagoist and brought to you by the 2009 Toyota Corolla. Food/Drink: Get an early start to Valentine's Day with a champagne dinner at Café Matou this evening. Chef Charlie Socher will prepare a five-course dinner featuring dishes from the Champagne region, paired with Champagne wines selected by Wine Director James Rahn. 1846 N. Milwaukee, 7 p.m. Cost is $95 (all inclusive); RSVP at 773.384.8911. Art:......

Like a scaled-down Tonight Show sans writer’s strike trauma, The Interview Show brings humorous, interesting and idiosyncratic folks to The Hideout’s couch. Tonight at 6:30, host and Red-Eye columnist Mark Bazer welcomes “Funniest Person in Chicago” Hannibal Buress (there is no one funnier…), Looking for Alaska author John Green, Lifeway Foods President Julie Smolyansky, and Schadenfreuder and troublemaker Justin Kaufmann. If you can’t change your plans on less than four hour’s notice, take heart. Bazer......

Some say that all great works of art are inspired by something or someone: the ever elusive muse. For many, the muse is a real person, be it someone to impress or just someone to one up. Many times these people are the stories behind the story, which is why "For Whom" is the theme for tonight's reconstruction room reading. So saddle up to the bar and listen to stories by "lovers, fighters, funhousers and......

Here are some things to do this evening to consider bringing your voter receipt. Politics: The local chapter of Drinking Liberally is hosting a Super Fat Tuesday party at Sheffield's this evening starting at 7 p.m. Stop in, order a pint or two and watch the results roll in from throughout the country. Seriously, it's politics and alcohol. What could go wrong? Art: Chuck Walker's latest exhibit "Through a Glass Darkly" just opened a run......

Maybe we watch too much porn in our downtime to expand our professional achievements, but apparently Ron Jeremy doesn't. The adult film actor/reality show star/pianist/college lecturer/comedian has taken on a new slash: writer. His memoir, Ron Jeremy: The Hardest (Working) Man in Showbiz, chronicles the lengthy star's career, err, we mean the star's lengthy career, in which he's so far starred in more than 1,750 adult films and directed more than 135. So if you......

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......

Chicago has always been friendly to glacial ice-pop a la The Aluminum Group and The Sea And Cake. What can we say? We must have Bacharach encoded in our communal DNA. Tonight Los Angeles duo The Bird & The Bee float into Schubas to promote their latest EP Please Clap Your Hands. And, come to think of it, the EP's title is about as apt a description of the group's music as one would want.......

In what could quite possibly be the nail biter of the season, Hillary Clinton pulled it out last night, winning the New Hampshire Democratic primary by a two to three point lead over Iowa front-runner Barack Obama. While most of the media was writing Hillary's political obituary, she was winning New Hampshire. With the Nevada caucuses next, and the black vote potentially split between the Clintons and Barack Obama, South Carolina may be back in......

Tonight, as the Bears take the field against the Minnesota Vikings, we get to witness the beginning of the second reign of Kyle Orton as Bears starting quarterback. In 2005, Orton lead the Bears to a 10-5 record in his starts as a rookie. Much like a father handing over only the valet key when his teenage son wants to borrow the Porsche, the Bears turned over only a portion of the offensive playbook to......

Man is there a lot going on tonight. Are you sure it's only Wednesday? Because it sure feels like the party is already kicking into high Friday mode. The last few weeks have been a tad lackluster, music-wise, but December is taking this year out with a bang! Here are just a few of tonight's options. Evan Dando resurrects The Lemonheads tonight at Double Door. We caught him last time he came through town and......

Anything snarky that we come up with regarding the use of music in the Democratic Presidential campaigns just pales in comparison to the cold, hard facts: Hillary Clinton's theme was a Celine Dion song and has recently been replaced by a Big Head Todd and the Monsters tune, and Barack Obama's fundraising events feature performances by some of the most relevant and buzzworthy artists out there. Tonight's Change Rocks concert at the Riv brings......

Get ready for more fluffy white stuff. Our area's under a snow advisory until tomorrow, with precipitation expected this afternoon. Brace yourself for between three and six inches of snow today and tonight, plus more tomorrow. And it's time to bust out your for-real winter coat — the temperature will drop to 13 degrees tomorrow night. (Tonight should be a cozy 24. Get your cocoa/hot toddy/fancypants tea stuff ready.) Where's this weather system coming......

We’re dusting off our roller skates and sprinkling some glitter on them. We’re going to a place where nobody dared to go. The love. The echos of long ago. You need the world to know They are in Xanadu. Tonight, one night only, it’s Sing-along Xanadu at the Music Box Theatre for the midnight movie. Start warming up your vocal cords while practicing backwards, forward, and couples. Host Dick O’Day and members of Hell in......

Every last Friday of the month, the bartenders and servers at Kuma's Corner donate their night's tips to a worthy cause. Tonight, it's all going to Windy City Roller Tahira "Tequila Mockingbird" Johnson, who's still recovering from her injury over the summer. If you find yourself gorging on the "Hatebeak" or "Goblin Cock" this evening, please tip better than you usually do. Just in time for Hanukkah, local food writer Leah Zeldes will give a......

In the mood for a beer and debate about the war tonight? Considering some of our comment threads on politics, we thought so. Globally Occupied Attention (GOAt) presents a discussion titled Could a Draft Cool Talk of the War? at Schubas tonight. The army is running thin on volunteers, even with clever ad campaigns and more recruitment incentives. Is it time for a draft? And if the draft is reinstated and politicians' children are at......

pH Productions hit our radar when they started pHlooding the Hottix page with their uniquely titled late-night shows, like pHamily and pHrenzy pHucked. Then came their emails, replete with creative pHonetics: “Hi pHans… pHrenz-o-ween is coming!” The company was started by a handful of comedians who quickly established a niche for delivering slightly more affordable late night improv comedy at Lakeview’s Stage Left. Each audition attracted more aspiring comedians, and pH now has a 24-member......