17 Of Our Favorite Events In Chicago This Week
By Michelle Meywes Kopeny in Arts & Entertainment on Apr 10, 2017 3:45PM
From Japanese painting to dirty films, this week really has something for everyone.
MONDAY APRIL 10
COMEDY: Fans of the FX show Baskets should run to North Bar at 8 p.m. (Monday and Tuesday) for a stand up show from Martha Kelly. She portrays the laid-back Martha Brooks on the show, and has been featured on Late Night with Conan O'Brien, Comedy Central's The Half Hour and Premium Blend, NBC's Last Comic Standing, and The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson. Tickets are $15 in advance.
FEMINIST HAPPY HOUR: Join the ladies of SlutTalk for April’s “Chain of Fools” Feminist Happy Hour at The Whistler. The event will feature performances by Mona Aburmishan, McKenzie Chinn, M Shelly Conner and more. Entry is free, but donations can be made to A Long Walk Home, Inc in honor of Sexual Assault Awareness month.
WONFUN COLLABORATION DINNER: Imperial Lamain’s Executive Chef Andy Foo welcomes Executive Chef Ben Ruiz of WonFun Chinese for a special collaboration dinner at 6 p.m. They’ll prepare a five-course meal (two from each chef and then one collaborative course) that will begin with a welcome cocktail. Tickets are $50.
TUESDAY APRIL 11
Image via Revival Food Hall’s Facebook page.
TACO TUESDAY MASH UP: What do Antique Taco Chiquito, Smoque BBQ, Aloha Poke, and The Budlong have in common? They’ll all be serving up custom tacos at Revival Food Hall’s Taco Tuesday Mash Up from 6 to 7 p.m. Tickets are $35 and include a taco from each of the four vendors, chips & salsa and a margarita or Mexican beer.
THE MOTH STORY SLAM: The acclaimed storytelling series The Moth comes to the Promontory at 7 p.m. The monthly Chicago Story Slam features stories from guests right in the audience. This month’s theme is FRESH! Come prepared with a five-minute story or just come prepared to be moved by the evening’s storytellers. Tickets are $10.
WINE CLASS: Let BIN 36 take the mystery out of Greek wines in their “It’s All Greek to Me” class at 6:30 p.m. Try light, refreshing varieties of wine from different regions (Peloponnese, Crete, Florina and Santorini) with owner / beverage director Enoch Shully. Tickets are $35.
BLISSFUL TUNES: Kaoru Ishibashi, who performs as Kishi Bashi, lent his talents to a brief stint in of Montreal, but it was his sophomore solo effort Lighght that brought him to wider attention. Ishibashi's songs carry a joyful light grafted onto sunny hooks buoyed by his borderline angelic vocals and further benefit from his, I'm not being facetious, deft and playful stabs of violin playing. Last year's Sonderlust upped the ante by amping up the pop catchiness without sacrificing the songs' more delicate filigrees —let's just dub it delicate disco. Kishi Bashi plays Thalia Hall Tuesday night and tickets are still available.
WEDNESDAY APRIL 12
YOGA AT THE OPERA: There are so many unusual places to do yoga these days. Let your zen follow you to the Lyric Opera for a class with CorePower Yoga from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. The monthly event in the inspiring space is led by instructor Stacey Caron. BYO mat, towel and water. Tickets are $12.
W. Kamau Bell is one of the special guests at the 'NPR Pop Culture Happy Hour' taping in Chicago this week, photo by John Nowak courtesy Bell's website.
POP CULTURE HAPPY HOUR LIVE: NPR’s Pop Culture Happy Hour podcast is recording a live show with fans at Harris Theatre at 8 p.m. Watch as pop culture “experts” discuss what’s hip in books, movies, music, TV and more. Hosts Linda Holmes, panelists Stephen Thompson and Glen Weldon will all be in attendance with some special VIP guests, including NPR's Sam Sanders, and comedian W. Kamau Bell. Tickets are $45.
ALL THE FEELS: Low Roar's Once In A Long Long While... collects some of Ryan Karazija deepest and darkest personal musings, and attaches them to a tender atmospheric musical raft that feels akin to a troubled lover whispering sweetly into your ear. Karazija was born in the Bay Area, but has since relocated to Iceland, so the chilly and precise musical arrangements surrounding his raw lyrics makes more sense in that context. San Fermin headlines this show at Thalia Hall Wednesday night.
THURSDAY APRIL 13
ALL-IN MUSIC FEST: Discover Halsted's Music Mile during The All-In Music Fest. For one day only, the indoor music festival will highlight the street’s eclectic venues with special lineups and specials. All music venues between Diversey Parkway and Armitage Avenue will participate including aliveOne, Kingston Mines, B.L.U.E.S. on Halsted, and more. Visit their website for more info.
JAPANESE PAINTING WORKSHOP: Learn how to paint in the Japanese style at "Painting the Essence of Flowers: Sumi-e Workshop and Demo" at 6 p.m. Sumi-e artist Larkin Green, a specialist in painting birds and flowers, will lead the event at The Japanese Culture Center where participants will paint their own spring flowers and 2017 Roosters. Tickets are $15.
POP-PUNK SILLINESS: Me First & the Gimme Gimmes is a punk supergroup that covers their favorite songs from an incredibly wide range of genres. From Gloria Gaynor to Celine Dion to The Muppets to Bob Dylan, the group puts their punk stamp on pop hits that span the eras. The group is touring on their "greatest hits" collection, appropriately titled Rake It In: The Greatestest Hits. It's incredibly silly, but also incredibly fun. Opening is the, um, masked band Masked Intruder, a group specializing in their own special blend of power-pop/punk-rock ragers. Pears also opens. Catch the show at Concord Music Hall on Thursday night.
FRIDAY APRIL 14
2017 HUMP! Tour Teaser from HUMP! Film Festival on Vimeo.
HUMP FILM FEST: Everyone knows Dan Savage from his Savage Love column and “lovecast” podcast where he gives non judgemental sex advice. His HUMP! Film Festival comes to the Music Box Theatre Friday and Saturday nights only at 7:30 and 9 p.m. The carefully curated fest features short dirty movies from people who aren’t porn stars, but share the spirit of sex-positivity. There’s a little something for everybody at the fest with different body types, ages, sexualities and fetishes. Tickets are $25.
OLD TOWN SCHOOL OPEN HOUSE: The legendary Old Town School of Folk Music celebrates their 60th Anniversary with a free open house at 7 p.m. The party features a series of jam sessions, workshops and student performances showcasing the wide variety that the school and venue offers. Stick around for the Voice of the People singalong, featuring protest songs from spirituals to hip hop. Visit their website for more information and a full schedule.
CALLING IT QUITS: Chairlift became famous on the heels of an Apple commercial, but the band blew the precious indie pop that made their name apart with the twisted funk that ran through 2016's Moth. Unfortunately while that album was a big leap forward for the group, it will also serve as their swan song. The band was original scheduled to play Double Door—which would have made their final Chicago appearance even more bittersweet had that venue been able to run its natural course. However the show must go on, and Chairlift's final appearance here will now take place at Park West on Friday night.
BACK FROM THE ... DEAD?: Chicago hip-hop group The Cool Kids never really called it quits, they just sort of faded away. Luckily for us the group that injected the Chicago scene with a blast in national exposure with 2008's The Bake Sale has resurfaced and promises that there is more new music on the horizon. This is all the more unexpected since as recently as 2015 the band claimed they were never coming back. But back they are, and Sir Michael Rocks and Chuck Inglish play The Empty Bottle on Friday night as part of that venue's 25th anniversary celebration series of shows.