Many great DJs come through Chicago on a weekly basis, but there's only about four or five times a year when something as special as Friday's Wolf + Lamb vs. Soul Clap show at Smart Bar goes down. Tomorrow's show is one of the most anticipated DJ sets of the year, and all signs point toward some sort of riots taking place on the dance floor (the friendly kind). more ›

Dollar Disco is Sunday, Smart Bar, 3730 N Clark, 10 p.m., $2, 21+ more ›

Are you well rested? No, are you really well rested? Don't take offense - we're not trying to call you out or anything, it's just that it's one more day until the weekend and we don't like to see our readers trudging into it. Especially when Saturday promises ample opportunities to boogie. We've got Only Children spinning in Logan Square, Designer Drugs taking over Lincoln Hall, and, as always, our weekly go-to spots. What's got us brimming with excitement, however, is Sebastien Leger, who will bring his incalculable prowess of house and tech to Smart Bar. Of course, it is our Weekend Dance Party pick. more ›

As a label, DFA has achieved an aesthetic that has garnered not only fans, but fanboys. Its artists have re-conceptualized everything from punk to disco to house in a matter most infectious, so it's no question how all this came to be. What's more is that all of this has manifested in a quarterly residency at Smart Bar. What's better is that it starts tomorrow and it's our pick for Weekend Dance Party. more ›

It's been ages since Weekend Dance Party was a regular feature on Chicagoist, but sometimes you just know when it's time to resurrect an intellectual property. Spring is just around the corner, clubs are filling up their event calendars, and people need to know where to get down. Our first pick in this new year for Weekend Dance Party? Loose Squares, a night focused on the delicious sounds of juke, grime, ghetto, and garage. more ›

Intrepid video mixing, classic bmore, Chicago house and electro. These are a few of the centerpoints this Friday at House of Blues, an unlikely spot for a Weekend Dance Party pick. But nevertheless, we picked it; besides, when you book both Mike Relm and Tittsworth to headline, along with some solid local talent, the whole when and where dynamic begins to not matter. What it comes down to is that tomorrow night's show will be full of prime dance music, making House of Blues a sure-thing destination to put your footwork to the test. more ›

Yet again, another weekend full of solid choices to get your dance on. It's hard keeping up with you, Chicago. Sharam's spinning electro at Spy Bar on Friday, Toy Selectah is hitting Smart Bar with solid tech house on Saturday, plus we've got some other good choices scattered throughout the city. For this week, though, we're gonna keep it local with no frills and go with monthly dance party Life During Wartime at Hideout for this week's Weekend Dance Party. more ›

Smart Bar really killed it last weekend. All the reports we heard from their Sonar-affiliated "Club Nights" were extremely positive, perhaps more so than any night at the club in recent memory. There's no doubt that such a successful, raucous weekend will be hard to top, but give it to Smart Bar for trying their damndest to keep the quality at the highest level. This Saturday our favorite club will keep the energy going with a first-ever Chicago set from the UK's Mowgli, and it's our pick for Weekend Dance Party. more ›

After a two-week hiatus, we are happy to get back to bringing you Weekend Dance Party. This week's pick was a tough one, though. You'd be well-off going to a number of spots including Smart Bar (one of the several Sonar Fest destinations this weekend) and The Art Institute for another installment of After Dark. We decided, however, to side with bang-for-the-buck and most variety and chose Just Desserts #10 this Saturday at Lincoln Hall. Clayton Hauck's monthly party is always a safe bet, and this edition boasts local mashup duo Hood Internet, Kid Static, Oakland-based Wallpaper, DVAS and Kid Color. more ›

Hauck's Just Desserts has seen success at Lincoln Hall, and this ninth incarnation stands as one of the best bills to date. Willy Joy has all but solidified himself as the city's top DJ, particularly due to his ability to command a crowd of any walk of life. He's also got a knack for producing quality tunes, the most recent of which have been released on the indie label Trouble & Bass. He'll be spinning at the Mad Decent Block Party earlier that day, so you have two chances to see this guy work his magic. Along Willy Joy are Charlie Glitch, Kid Color, Gemini Club, Just Desserts and Action/Adventure, who will spin everything from ghetto house to disco to indie rock to hip-hop to electro. It's not often nights can afford this much variety and a lineup to back it up, so this is a pick we especially suggest you not miss. more ›

We're reeling a bit from the past few Weekend Dance Parties. Last week A-Trak, Peanut Butter Wolf, Mayer Hawthorne and Treasure Fingers brought their traveling Discotheque tour to Spy Bar and filled the night with an endless supply of boogie and funky disco. This week's pick for Weekend Dance Party continues with our current obsession of (nu-)disco (as well it should). In Flagranti, Matt Roan, Kid Color and Sparkletone complete one of the best disco lineups Chicago's summer has seen as they take over Smart Bar this Friday night. more ›

We almost feel bad for our fellow statesmen, and we're sure you're tired of us fawning over the merits of Canadian DJs. But, hey, these things happen. For the third week in a row, Weekend Dance Party boasts none other than a Candian DJ. But, rest assured, this is as close to a default pick as we'll have. We at Chicagoist have a short list of must-see DJs, and when one of these DJs comes through Chicago, it's all but automatic that we pick said DJ. Canadian-born A-Trak is man-of-the-weekend this go around, and while his personal accomplishments are reason enough to head over to Spy Bar this Friday, with him comes a slew of quality talent looking to shred the floor. more ›

Canadians are doing it big. Real big. We could rattle off a list of 10-15 Canuck acts currently doling out some of music's finest tunes (Arcade Fire, Chromeo, etc.). Some of you saw evidence of this last weekend when our northern friends Azari & III tore up Smart Bar with their deep disco-soul. The trend continues this weekend with Jokers of the Scene, a techno/house duo known for making some of the darkest, most danceable tunes in the scene. They'll be headlining One Night Stand's official Lollapalooza kick-off party at Metro and it's our pick for Weekend Dance Party. more ›

For all intents and purposes, this upcoming weekend is a lull in Chicago's otherwise packed summer season. Pitchfork Music Festival has come and gone, and there are still some days/weeks before Wicker Park Fest and Lollapalooza. Your first inclination may be to pack it up and stay in for the next few days. Maybe enjoy a couple flicks with the significant other. But then again, we know you better than that, don't we Chicago? It's summer, and there are way too many cold days the rest of the year to not take advantage of short sleeves and good dance music. For the second week in a row, Smart Bar is your dance destination of choice, as they host the duo Azari & III, this week's pick for Weekend Dance Party. more ›

It may be a bit overzealous to suggest another show considering this week's onslaught of musical happenings. Regardless, we know y'all love to dance, so even Armageddon isn't enough to stop us from bringing you Weekend Dance Party. This week's pick is an old-ish fave of ours that actually came into town about a year ago and absolutely destroyed Smart Bar. That fave is none other than nu-disco/house duo Classixx. more ›

After a bit of a hiatus, Delorean Nites is returning to Lincoln Hall this Saturday. While the wait's been longer than expected for the second installment of this serial party, it's back in full force with a headlining DJ set from Steve Slingeneyer, a.k.a. One Man Party, known best as the drummer of Soulwax. Throw in additional sets from Midnight Conspiracy, True Villain and Broken Disco 1980, and we have ourselves this week's pick for Weekend Dance Party. more ›

Most of our picks for Weekend Dance Party are relatively small, low-cost affairs. Good DJs play Chicago every weekend, at clubs of about 100-200 people, and no one thinks anything of it. But then someone like Deadmau5 rolls through town and changes the whole concept of what a dance party is. Akin to renowned DJs/producers Tiesto, Armin Van Buuren and Paul Van Dyk, Deadmau5 fills not only clubs but full-on venues and--in some cases--even stadiums. Joel Zimmerman and that freakish mouse head of his will do just that this Friday at Soldier Field's Stadium Green--and it's our clear-cut pick for this week's Weekend Dance Party. more ›

Chicago's been on as of late in the club scene. Seriously, just on it. All sorts of DJs have been coming out of the woodwork and hitting clubs all over the city. Flosstradamus, Nick Catchdubs, Ghetto Division, Willy Joy, Kid Color, the list goes on. However, tomorrow, Chicago's about to step it up and officially kick off summer clubbing with Dead Fame at Bottom Lounge, this week's pick for Weekend Dance Party. more ›

Business as usual with this week's pick for Weekend Dance Party, as the one-and-only Smart Bar will host Canadian electronic-pop outfit Junior Boys, along with suppot sets from Major Taylor and Popstatic. Jeremy Greenspan and Matthew Didemus, the men behind Junior Boys, have a magic touch when it comes to their special brand of summery electronic music, constructing infectious hooks and choruses atop punchy synth and extremely tight percussion. While it is a DJ set rather than a live show, we're hoping they'll mix in their own work, right alongside the great electro, house and techno they're known for spinning. Their support, locals Major Taylor and Popstatic, aren't to be missed either, so get there early and stay till the lights come on. more ›

We assume, what with all the sporting events, parades, festivals and the like, that your plate this weekend is full - a near smorgasbord. We'd sympathize, but being the busy-bodies that we are, we’re going to add a little hearty gravy to that plate (made with seitan for you non-meat-eaters) - and, just like Mother, we aren't letting you leave the table till it's all gone. So open wide, your weekend just got that much more cumbersome with Life During Wartime at The Hideout, this week’s pick for Weekend Dance Party. more ›

As far as the dance music scene goes, we find ourselves venturing to the same locations week after week. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but every now and then a change of scenery can do a mind-and-body good. Cue Happy Daze at Green Dolphin, this week's pick for Weekend Dance Party. more ›

Giddy up, kids, it's Friday, the weather's beautiful, and we have a big Blackhawks game ahead of us. It can't get much better for Chicagoans--unless, well, you make your way to Subterranean tonight for the monthly Trick Disco, this week's pick for Weekend Dance Party. more ›

Smart Bar is killing it per usual on the dance scene as tonight they host techno-house producer/DJ Harvard Bass, this week's pick for Weekend Dance Party. Harvard Bass hails from California and brings a wealth of influences to the table, everything from 80s to hip-hop to deep trance. All this has translated into a bevy of high-quality remixes and original tracks that pay homage to the old and push forward the new. Tonight Smart Bar will be a hotbed of glowsticks, sweaty bodies, spilled drinks, illicit substances and, of course, heart-pounding dance music. more ›

Smart Bar lands yet another pick for Weekend Dance Party, this time thanks to NYC-based Drop the Lime. The producer / DJ has been a key player in the electro scene for over a half decade, running his own label, Trouble & Bass, along with, of course, spinning plenty of mind-blowing sets. Drop the Lime will bring his jungle-inspired, bass-laden house jams tonight to Smart Bar, and we couldn't be more excited. more ›

After a three-week hiatus, we are excited to bring back Weekend Dance Party, especially since this week's pick is of such high quality. more ›

Sup, Chicago venues? Want to get up on this DJ game, or what? Of the seven Weekend Dance Party posts we've run, three have been held at Smart Bar, which may make our readers question the time and effort we go to to determine what the best option is to shake it, week in, week out. But the fact of the matter is, we go to considerable lengths to get you the preferred destination, so we really have to give credit to Metro (the essential big brother of Smart Bar) for landing our fourth Weekend Dance Party. On Saturday they will be hosting a UR Chicago event featuring VHS Or Beta Deejays, Bald E., Team Bayside High, BBU, Perfect Kiss, Midnight Conspiracy and Action/Adventure, which for us makes for an obvious refuge to cut some rug. more ›

When weather like this finally hits, something comes over us. Vital signs spike, moods grow chipper, and our outlook on life becomes that much better. We suggest everyone rides this high while they can, because with the impending bad weather this weekend, you have to appreciate this gem of a day. So take a walk, hit the park, maybe grab a drink or two on the patio with old friends. And just as temperatures begin to dip tonight, warm up with friends at Smart Bar and 5 Dollar Disco, this week's pick for Weekend Dance Party. more ›

Ahem. Well, this is a bit of a landslide pick, now isn't it? Nothing, and we mean nothing competes with Claychella for our pick for this week's Weekend Dance Party. In fact, there really was no point of finding a worthy competitor -- Lincoln Hall will be housing just about every notable Chicago-area DJ for this year's fest, which will be a 14-hour aural bender of all sonic wavelengths. Founded and hosted by Clayton Hauck (known for his party photography at everyoneisfamous.com), this year's Claychella will be the best yet, featuring the likes of Flosstradamus, The Hood Internet, Million $ Mano, Nick Catchdubs, WIlly Joy, Kid Color, Team Bayside High, and our very own Arts & Events Editor, Tankboy! more ›

It's the return of our young Weekend Dance Party, and this week's spot is Saturday at Smart Bar where Felix Cartal will play with local deejay outfit Dark Wave Disco. Felix Cartal is currently on his Popular Music Tour and has been hitting clubs all over North America, showing off his heavily distorted, pounding dance music to adoring, unhinged crowds. Cartal resides on DIM MAK, and like most everything associated with the label, his music is hard-hitting and relentless, almost heavy metal in some ways. His sound points to the major shift electro music has experienced the past couple years, highlighted by the appointed hipster Kings of Dance, Justice. While we are teetering on the very point where this type of sound is overdone (at least in the context of electronic dance music), when it's in practice it still incites a significant amount of uninhibited footwork. There are times where we just don't care if it isn't hip anymore, we just want to have a good time. more ›

Subterranean's monthly Trick Disco stakes claim to this week's edition of Weekend Dance Party. We first considered giving the nod to LA Riots, Members Only AV and Team Bayside High at Abbey Pub on Saturday, but the show's steep $15 price tag soured us a bit. Besides, tonight's Trick Disco is equally good, and at a cool $5, we see no reason not to make it our dance destination. more ›