We have a confession to make: we've never been to Pitchfork before. Considering the festival's only been going on officially for two years, it's not all that surprising. Still, being music lovers, we wanted to shed the "Pitchfork virgin" connotation and take the plunge. The only other big music fest we've been party to was the Touch & Go 25th anniversary at Hideout last year, along with the occasional street fest. We picked Saturday for... more ›

Lots of our friends are jealous that we're going to see Klaxons play a sold-out show at Schuba's next Monday. We feel badly that our friends feel that way, but, dude, they should have bought tickets beforehand since it was pretty obvious that shit was going to sell out right quick! more ›

If you’re nostalgic for the caravan of moving trucks tooling around the city in late September—and really, who isn’t?—John Song and Ries Productions have an event for you. “Mobile Exhibitions” is a Humboldt Park art show on wheels, a commentary on urban evolution, and an excuse to play with balloons and piñatas. The one true sign of neighborhood gentrification is constantly debated. The new Starbucks on the corner? The Urban Outfitters next to American Apparel?... more ›

Chicagoist absolutely loves animals, and we make sure to let you know it on a regular basis. But we are usually a little repulsed by pet stores, as stories of puppy mills and baby animals being separated from their mothers at a too-young age have deterred us from wanting to patronize such establishments. We've found ourselves, for one reason or another, frequenting the Clark and Fullerton area -- the epicenter of the Trixie/Chad phenomena -- and have passed by a store that makes our skin crawl every time we see it. No, we're not talking about Urban Outfitters. This store is called Pocket Puppies. This store has been getting some press for the past few months, but we had to see it to really believe it. more ›

Everybody's favorite rock stars Bucktown and Wicker Park are selling out. It used to be about the art man, but now they're releasing sugary pop songs written by Swedes and advertisements disguised as pop-art. We knew the day would come, ">rumors have been circulating, and it's enough to make us cry little struggling-artist tears. Won't somebody please think of the hipsters! Crain's reports (subscription may be required) today that the following chain-stores are infiltrating the... more ›

The reader favorite was National Geographic, which is, um, a good magazine. Right? That seems like a pretty good if safe choice�respected, old-school, brainy, etc. High five, Trib readers. Clocking in at 2 (not clear how they're ranked) was ESPN the Magazine, which Chicagoist�s own Benjy suggested the first time around. Nicely done, B-Lip. Rounding out the top five are The Week, Budget Travel, and The Nation. List highlights: Christian Century, O, Bark, and ReadyMade. We actually really like ReadyMade (we're crafty), even if it's expensive and owned by Urban Outfitters, but we just can't get behind one Trib reader's use of "very unique." Yick. more ›