Who's Foolin' Who?

By Scott Smith in News on Mar 31, 2006 6:12PM

Tomorrow is April Fool’s Day. We’re a bit sad that it falls on a weekend this year as we’ll be unable to play childish pranks on the people in the Chicagoist offices. Guess the doodie-shaped-brownies-in-the-elevator trick will have to wait until 2008.

Still, most pranksters give no quarter to the whims of the Gregorian calendar. So be on your guard tomorrow. In fact, you’d better start paying attention now because some people are already sowing the seeds of deception.

We’re talking about WXRT, of course. They’re saying that tomorrow will be the last edition of Saturday Morning Flashback, a staple of their programming for over 20 years. At first, we raised a big stink over this news and got on our soap box over the corporate dumbing-down of radio and vowed to storm the Bastil…er, station in protest. Then we calmed the hell down and realized it’s probably an April Fool’s joke since Feder hasn't mentioned it. Their website lists the rest of the April schedule as TBA, but we think they’re just being crafty.

Unfortunately, one April Fool’s event is no joke: the Velvet Lounge closes tomorrow night at its current location. We were chatting a couple weeks ago with Josh Abrams, a member of jazz-rock band Town and Country who makes frequent appearances at the Velvet, and he lamented how unappreciated the place is here. Though people as far away as Europe and Japan consider it a jazz mecca, owner Fred Anderson has had more than his share of difficulty in relocating to new digs at 67 E. Cermak. You can donate to the cause at the Velvet Lounge’s website or click here to find out how you can purchase some VL memorabilia. If you volunteer to help them move on Sunday, maybe you can talk them into a discount.

Finally, Daylight Savings Time kicks in this weekend. Don’t forget to set your clock ahead one hour at 2 a.m. as Saturday night turns into Sunday morning when you stumble home from the bars.