Carranza Books First All-Ages Show At Portage Theater

By Chuck Sudo in Arts & Entertainment on Jun 12, 2013 2:30PM

WBEZ's Jim DeRogatis writes that tickets will go on sale Wednesday for the first show Eddie Carranza is programming at the Portage Theater. The good news (if you can call it that) is that the Portage will soon be open again. The bad news is that the programming is what one would expect at the Congress Theater.

Los Angeles-based rapper and Chris Brown lookalike Kid Ink will play the Portage July 13 in an all ages show. Tickets will go on sale at ticketfly.com. The news comes three weeks after Carranza shuttered the Portage because of opposition over his obtaining a liquor license for the Six Corners venue, and came a day after the city revoked Carranza's liquor license for the Congress Theater.

Carranza's attorney Harlan Powell told DeRogatis last month the Portage wouldn't stay dark forever. “Eddie’s plan for the Portage is to work with the Alderman’s office and all relevant City agencies, bring the building up to code, and to create a first-class concert venue,” Powell said. But Carranza may have been moved to re-open the Portage sooner than expected thanks to ongoing building code violations at the Congress.

DNAInfo Chicago reports more shows have been canceled at the Congress and others rescheduled as Carranza works to remedy outstanding building code violations. A backup generator wasn't ready for testing during a May 29 inspection, and construction work on the first floor resulted in a "tripping hazard," while other work was being completed without a permit.

Carranza tried to deflect the connections between the cancellations and building code violations by claiming a couple were too small to reschedule and concertgoers want to be outside during the summer months, anyway.

Sorry, Eddie. The cat's already out of the bag.