14 Of Our Favorite Events In Chicago This Week
By Michelle Meywes Kopeny in Arts & Entertainment on Mar 13, 2017 5:00PM
Plenty of arts, food and fun (and an extra hour of sunlight!) make up the week in Chicago's best events.
MONDAY MARCH 13
MIX HAPPY HOUR: For a happy hour with more than just booze, hit up Harris Theater’s MIX at SIX at 6 p.m. The series features shorter performances from artists on the schedule with cocktails and food trucks waiting out front. Explore Indo-jazz fusion with the Indian American and Pakastani American musicians of Indo-Pak Coalition during this edition. Tickets are $10.
POP & R&B BLISS: MØ lives in that weird space between indie and mainstream acceptance. She's just weird enough for the P4K / AV Club crowd, but undeniably catchy enough that everyone else has to take notice too. She brings her infectious pop to Metro on Monday night. Opening is the upcoming talent Tei Shi, whose forthcoming slightly subversive take on R&B tropes Crawl Space is out at the end of this month.
FEMINIST HAPPY HOUR: Laugh and holler with some badass ladies at this month’s Feminist Happy Hour at The Whistler at 6 p.m. Becca Brown, Sarah Squirm, and Chloe Riley are among the speakers for the “Ladies First Edition.” The evening is hosted by Slut Talk’s Alicia Swiz and Lykanthea will also perform. $10 suggested donation.
TUESDAY MARCH 14
Image courtesy of The Music Box.
SHARKNADO SCIENCE: Cinema Science is a collaboration between The Music Box Theatre and the Field Museum where they explore the science behind popular films with an expert. This time around: Sharknado. Just how realistic are sharks flying through the sky? Find out with Kevin Feldheim, the A. Watson III Manager of the Pritzker Laboratory for Molecular Systematics and Evolution. Screenwriter Thunder Levin will also be at the screening beginning at 7 p.m. Tickets are $11.
DANGEROUS WOMAN TOUR: She's got sultry pipes and a sexy ponytail, and she's making a stop at the United Center on her Dangerous Woman Tour at 7:30 p.m. Ariana Grande has had plenty of chart topping hits from her two full length albums and collaborated with the likes of Future, The Weeknd and even Andrea Bocelli. Tickets start at $29.95.
SABOR DE AGAVE DINNER: Dove’s Luncheonette hosts a special mezcal dinner in partnership with El Jolgorio at 7 p.m. Chefs Dennis Bernard and Eric Weiss will prepare a five-course dinner paired with handcrafted cocktails from The Violet Hour's Eden Laurin. Tickets are $65. For reservations, email kimmy@doveschicago.com.
WEDNESDAY MARCH 15
LASERS + FAST + SHIT: If ever there was a band more aptly named... Laser And fast And Shit mix 2 minute punk rock tunes with disorienting light shows manned from a DIY rig onstage and the result is far more awesome than it has any right to be. ThEey play a Glittercreeps benefit for The Clinic Vest Project on Wednesday night at The Empty Bottle.
THURSDAY MARCH 16
Image courtesy of "Paint & Polish."
PAINT + POLISH BOOK RELEASE: “Paint & Polish: Cultural Economy and Visual Culture from the West Side" takes nail art to the next level. The monograph, oral history compilation and collection of essays brings to light a small community of pioneering African American and Hispanic-run nail salons on Chicago’s West Side. The book release event at Reunion Chicago will feature a social cocktail hour with some of the nail artists, and a discussion moderated by essayists Ryan Blocker and Roula Seikaly. 6 to 9 p.m. Free.
HUBBARD STREET SPRING SERIES: Chicago's premier contemporary dance company Hubbard Street Dance is back this weekend with their Spring Series featuring two works from Spanish-born artist Nacho Duato. Other works on the program include Solo Echo by Crystal Pite and Hubbard Street Rehearsal Director, Lucas Crandall’s 2016 full-company work Imprint. Tickets start at $30.
SUBURBAN SUPERSTARS: The Orwells' latest album Terrible Human Beings breaks no new ground for the band, but that's not a bad thing. Elmhurst's most unlikely party monsters / bad boys continue to craft garage pop that owes a huge debt to both late '60s paisley pop and early '70s Detroit rawk. The band celebrates the album release with a hometown show at The Metro on Thursday night. Their live sets can feel a little cartoonish at first but believe our jaded souls when we say that by the end of their shows even we want to be leaping around the stage with the band. It's super fun.
FRIDAY MARCH 17
Image via Garfield Park Conservatory's Flickr page.
FLEUROTICA: Floral fashion, a runway show, cocktails and hors d'oeuvres make for one fresh evening at Navy Pier. Fleurotica is presented by and benefits Garfield Park Conservatory as part of “Evening In Bloom” gala event. Guests will also get an exclusive first look at the 2017 Chicago Flower & Garden Show. 6 p.m. Tickets are $150.
JAZZ 100: Celebrate the birthdays of jazz legends Dizzy, Ella, Mongo and Monk with "Jazz 100" at Symphony Center at 8 p.m. The evening honors what would be the 100th birthdays of Ella Fitzgerald, trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie, percussionist Mongo Santamaria, and pianist Thelonious Monk, all born in 1917. The program will feature tributes as well as modern remixes of classic tunes from each artist. Tickets start at $28.
HISTORICAL ABORTION SERVICE FILM: It wasn't always easy to exercise woman's rights in this country. Learn about an illegal but safe abortion service right here in Chicago in the late 60s and early 70s. Jane: An Abortion Service takes a "fascinating political look at a little-known chapter in women's history." Tickets are free.
DRINK DATE LAUGH: Share your dating horror stories with host Paul Farahvar and an audience that (we hope is_ sympathetic to your pain for the chance to win a $100gift certificate to Old Town Social. Don't worry, a few other comedians will be on hand to hare their own horror stores as well, so you won't be alone. Feel the pain at The Laugh Factory on Friday night at 8 p.m.