It was an hour or two after I learned that Karen Lewis had died. Alas, it was a different Karen. One I also love. Just not the legendary Karen Jennings Lewis, who I’ve been mourning. Randy was right. When she met me, she said—you’re the guy writing all those TIF articles! On top of it all, she could sniff out bullshit from a mile away. Man, the powers that be hated her....
There’s been an unfortunate recent outbreak of Second City syndrome—the nagging inferiority complex that causes Chicagoans to reflexively overreact to every dig and perceived slight directed at the city, even if it’s much ado about nothing. Coming from the mouth of Silicon Valley’s supervillain, that’s a comment Chicago should’ve just smirked at and let go. But the level of venom in tweets and YouTube comments directed at the couple was disproportionate, so much so that a New York magazine headline reads: “The Dramatic Saga of a YouTube Couple’s Escape From Chicago Has Turned the Entire City Against Them....
Reader photographers on the ground in Union Park are capturing portraits of the audience during day three of the Pitchfork Music Festival, and we’ll be updating this post with more photos as Sunday progresses. Keep up to date in real time with our reporters and photographers on Twitter and Instagram.
In this time of isolation and general slow-down, many of us are spending an unprecedented amount of time at home, among the inanimate objects and living beings that add texture, sound, and color to our daily existence. Perhaps we’ve started cleaning more out of boredom, or rearranging our books, or trying new recipes. We may be cuddling with pets or kids like never before. And we may be looking at our houseplants and feeling the urge for more....
Food-focused folk over at LTHForum this week are mourning the passing of Steve Zaransky, one of its earliest, most knowledgeable, and most prolific posters—and an all-around mensch. I was among many fortunate to share lots of unforgettable food with stevez (his handle), some of which he cooked himself. An egg roll enthusiast, so enslaved to the pleasures of waterfowl that he was known as “Duck’s Bitch,” he was a sweet and multitalented guy (whose photos occasionally appeared in the Reader)....
While nearly 60 people spoke at a public meeting on civilian oversight of the Chicago Police Department, none of them came out in favor of the reform proposals pitched by the head of the City Council’s public safety committee who’s been hosting a series of meetings on police reform. But the CPAC plan has been repeatedly written off by city officials. Reboyras, a staunch ally of Mayor Rahm Emanuel, has said giving elected civilians the power to hire and fire the police superintendent is “out of the question....
I feel the modern media has a big focus on personalities,” Edward Snowden tells journalist Glenn Greenwald in Laura Poitras’s Oscar-winning documentary Citizenfour. “I’m a little concerned the more we focus on that, the more they’re gonna use that as a distraction.” Snowden, a computer contractor with the National Security Agency, was meeting with Greenwald and Poitras in a Hong Kong hotel room in June 2013 as they prepared to publish a series of news stories revealing that the U....
In one scene of the new HBO comedy Insecure, Issa Rae, its star and cocreator, tries on multiple shades of bold lipstick in the mirror, taking on a different persona with each color, before settling on a layer of Carmex. The situation reflects what the series focuses on: Rae feels like she needs to explore all her options, when often the simplest decision is the best one. The story of finding yourself as a young adult isn’t by any means a new one, but with Insecure Rae manages to zero in on her personal experience as a young black woman in a way that’s rarely explored on television....
Cassette Store Day is a slightly ridiculous concept (ever been to a cassette store?), but its list of U.S. releases includes a substantial Chicago contingent—reflecting the healthy interest that local labels and fans have in the format. This year it falls on Saturday, October 8, and several Chicago imprints that regularly issue tapes—Girlsville, Dumpster Tapes, Grabbing Clouds Records & Tapes—have put together special releases. Among them is long-running reggae, ska, and rocksteady label Jump Up Records, which is releasing a handful of full-lengths—including a compilation from defunct local ska group Rude Guest, Lost Chicago Ska 1982-1993....
This weekend events include a march through downtown, a recreation of a terrible film, and plenty of other goings-on. Here’s some of what we recommend: Sat 1/20: Heeeeeere’s party! DJ Heaven Malone—who has produced pop-ups themed after Twin Peaks, Stranger Things, and The Room—transforms the Rookery (2109 W. Chicago) into the set of The Shining at Room 237. The evening features Stephen King trivia, actors portraying characters from the film, and cocktails like the Redrum....
N ow that I’ve seen my first Michael Allen Harris play, I’m adding him to the short list of Chicago playwrights who understand the difference between drama and diorama. While so many of his contemporaries seem content to schematize Big Ideas by populating narrow, transparent stage worlds with one-dimensional characters, Harris trades in compelling, aggravating ambiguity. Like the prodigious Ike Holter, Harris takes messy human impulses and makes them poignantly messier, in the process illuminating the societal forces that can turn human shortcomings into iconic tragedies....
Rory Ferreira, the rapper-producer better known Milo, who also records and performs as Scallops Hotel, is an artist who pushes himself endlessly. As a lyricist he packs scathing wit, emotive historical references, and magnetic pathos into easy-flowing lines. As a performer he’s in his element, further perfecting the way he rounds his syllables while retaining a natural amiableness even at his most ferocious; when he rips into the ugliest aspects of contemporary society it’s with a spirit that encourages his listeners to seek out something greater....
Au Hasard Balthazar Among the great slate of programs currently running at the University of Chicago’s Doc Films is one titled “Prison Break!,” featuring films about convicts escaping from prison. As Anton Yu explains in his introduction to the series, “Due to the sheer number of them, prison escape dramas have almost become a genre unto themselves—and for good reason. At their heart, prison break films are tense, exciting, inspirational, and, often, just plain fun....
Evan F. Moore is a culture/entertainment writer with the Chicago Sun-Times. Evan attended Donald Trump’s Chicago rally and lived to tell about it. Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, I’m running out of excuses. Like the rest of us, she’s trying to make sense of the new reality. “That was fun,” my daughter blurted out. Unfortunately, we’ve had to cut our visits short due to social distancing guidelines, my parents’ susceptibility to COVID-19, and the fact that they live blocks away from Symphony South Shore, the nursing home/rehabilitation center where 70 percent of the residents tested positive for COVID-19....
Drummer Quin Kirchner has quietly made himself an indispensable presence in Chicago’s music scene since Hurricane Katrina drove the Oak Park native to return from New Orleans in 2005. He’s now a consistent member of the pop band Wild Belle, but the lion’s share of his activity has been his work in a countless number of jazz and improvised-music groups, including bands led by saxophonists Nate Lepine and Dave McDonnell, pianist Paul Giallorenzo, and guitarist Tim Stine, among others....
This morning Ravinia announced the schedule for its 2019 summer festival, and the talent buyers clearly hope to appeal to an audience broader than classical music lovers, oldies fans, and Billy Corgan (he’s a great cheerleader for Highland Park, but he’s just one guy). Among the notable bookings this year are rappers T.I. (July 2) and Queen Latifah (August 31), who’s making her Ravinia debut. (Her opener, Common, first headlined Ravinia in 2017....
[content-10] Riot Fest runs Friday, September 14, through Sunday, September 16, in Douglas Park. These are all the acts that its organizers announced today, linked to previous Reader coverage where relevant. Three-day tickets are on sale already.
