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| MUSIC: Jazz |
The Joey DeFrancesco Trio (Jimmy Smith Tribute)
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One of the most influential of the new breed of Hammond B3 organ players, Joey DeFrancesco has always acknowledged his debt to the legendary Jimmy Smith. DeFrancesco has cut two spirited tributes to Smith (as well as recording head-to-head with him) and in these live shows he pays homage to the late soul-jazz master who, with his seminal recordings of the '50s and '60s, paved the way for the organ to join the front ranks of jazz instrumentation. DeFrancesco plays with the same fervor and fire that inspired Smith to consider him his logical successor — these trio dates show why. (PDS)
Note: The Joey DeFrancesco Trio will be at Jazz Showcase Tue 5.17-Sun 5.22 (schedule)
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| MULTIMEDIA: Save the B-Boys |
Hip-Hop Preservation
| when: |
Tue 5.17 (9:30pm) |
| where: |
HotHouse (31 E Balbo Ave, 312.362.9707) map |
| price: |
$7 |
| links: |
Event Info | Psalm One |
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At a time when 50 Cent rules the charts and even country acts like Cowboy Troy drop slang along with their twang, the notion of a show dedicated to hip-hop preservation seems a bit premature. But skeptics take note: hip-hop is more than just music, and like any type of culture, it needs constant upkeep. Hosted by talented local rapper Psalm One, this event is dedicated to the many lesser-recognized but equally important aspects of urban culture. Dancing, live art displays, and fashion share the spotlight with music, demonstrating the true, broad definition of hip-hop. (PS)
 In 50 words or less, tell us which element of hip-hop culture most needs preservation, and why. Our two favorite responses each win a pair of tickets to this event.
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| FILM |
Lipstick & Dynamite: The First Ladies of Wrestling
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Viewing ex-pro-wrestler Chyna Doll through the (admittedly skewed) lens of the Surreal Life 4 — including impromptu ThighMaster sessions, days-long drinking binges, and provocative "costume malfunctions" — begs the question, "Were we really supposed to come this far, baby?" According to Lipstick & Dynamite, a documentary chronicling the lives of six pioneering lady wrestlers of the '40s and '50s, the answer is "yes." Combining archival footage and compelling interviews with two still-active dynamos of the squared circle, the Fabulous Moolah and Mae "The Great" Young (both in their 80s!), director Ruth Leitman constructs an alt-wrestling genealogy that's a smackdown to more conventional histories of women in sports. (AF)
Note: There is a director's workshop at 6pm.
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| READING |
David Rakoff: Don't Get Too Comfortable
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Whether describing a Steven Seagal-led Buddhist retreat or his own brief stint as Sigmund Freud in the Christmas window at Barney's, David Rakoff, in the words of his buddy and literary doppelgänger David Sedaris, "manages to successfully pass himself off as the wittiest and most perceptive man in the world." The self-effacing Rakoff, contributor to This American Life, Salon, and GQ, takes the opposite corner and proclaims, "I am the world's worst reporter." Make up your own mind tonight when Rakoff reads from his upcoming collection of essays, Don't Get Too Comfortable. (CB)
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| STAGED READING |
Reconstruction Room: Yikes Night
| when: |
Wed 5.18 (8pm) |
| where: |
Black Rock Bar (3614 N Damen Ave, 773.348.4044) map |
| price: |
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| links: |
Event Info |
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It's been a long time, but thoughts of that first date in junior high still make you recoil in humiliation. But don't curl up into the fetal position on your couch and watch John Hughes movies all night; better to join the Reconstruction Room regulars for an evening of sharing and soul-baring. Dredging up cringe-worthy correspondence, eviscerating events, and fearsome photos is certainly the "in" thing — the Los Angeles-based Mortified recently opened in New York and is currently developing a pilot for Comedy Central — and Yikes Night is poised to become the Second City's home for salvation through shame. (SB)
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| MUSIC: Italian Folk |
Franklin Delano w/ Diane Izzo
| when: |
Wed 5.18 (9:30pm) |
| where: |
The Hideout (1354 W Wabansia Ave, 773.227.4433) map |
| price: |
$5-10 suggested donation |
| links: |
Event Info | Franklin Delano |
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It's a crime that when most people think of Italian folk music, the Godfather theme usually springs to mind. Franklin Delano, a quartet from Bologna, Italy, that plays a twisted, countrified version of folk music, is quickly changing that misconception. The band signed to the local File 13 Records, which recently released the group's Like a Smoking Gun in Front of Me album. But it's the group's other Chicago connection — Tim Rutilli and Califone recorded a number of guest spots for the album — that has drawn the most attention. Diane Izzo, a local singer/songwriter with a powerful, coarse voice, also performs. (PS)
In what speech did president Franklin Delano Roosevelt utter the phrase "the only thing we have to fear is fear itself"? The sixth correct response wins a pair of tickets to this event.
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| MUSIC: Indie Rock |
British Sea Power w/ Feist
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It's bridge-raising season in the Windy City — time to cede the way to British Sea Power. Boasting a name, font, and iconography that could have been lifted from a Wes Anderson film, the Brighton-based quartet has spent the past couple of years on tour with some mammoth headliners (the Flaming Lips, Pulp), delivering quick-witted lyrics and energetic, boozy rock anthems in full WWI regalia. While their debut effort, The Decline of British Sea Power, boasted gale force sturm und drang, their latest, Open Season, forgoes the pandemonium in favor of a wispier, windier pop sensibility. Breezy, soulful Broken Social Scene alum Feist opens, supporting her addictive new album, Let It Die. (RS)
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| ART |
Kyla Mallett: Gossip
| when: |
Fri 5.20 (6-9pm) |
| where: |
ThreeWalls (119 North Peoria St #2a, 312.432.3972) map |
| price: |
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| links: |
Event Info |
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Gossip, probably the oldest news medium, is an implicitly feminized phenomenon, carrying information of a personal nature by way of two women leaning over a backyard fence. Henry David Thoreau dismissed the practice in Walden, writing, "To a philosopher all news, as it is called, is gossip, and they who edit and read it are old women over their tea." However, gossip can also be a means of undermining existing power structures — gossip, of course, spawned the blog. Installation artist Kyla Mallett's Gossip delves deeper into the marginalized, "girl culture"-based social practice, exploring its potential power with an audio collage of anonymous scuttlebutt collected via voicemail. (SB)
Note: This exhibit runs through Sat 6.25 (Tue-Sat:
12-6pm).
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| DJ |
Africa Hi-Fi: The Funky, Fuzzy Sounds of West Africa Release Party
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Africa Hi-Fi, the brainchild of Sonia Hassan, was produced as an homage to the danceable, sultry sound of West Africa known as Afrobeat. The evening's touchstone artist is Nigerian Afrobeat star and political activist Fela Kuti, whose recordings play alongside various other international rarities dug from the deepest of crates. The emissary, DJ/producer Ron Trent (best known for his 1990 house classic Altered States on Warehouse Records) blends African polyrhythms with traces of hip-hop and house, creating a distinctly exotic, yet familiar sound. Tonight's festivities revolve around the recent release of Luaka Bop's World Psychedelic Classics: The Funky, Fuzzy Sounds of West Africa, a scintillating compilation of sun-drenched Afro-psych. (VG)
How many albums did Fela Kuti release in his lifetime? Third and fourth correct answers each win a pair of tickets to this show.
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| DISCUSSION |
Trash or Fertilizer: The Uses (or Not) of History in Type Design
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Johannes Gutenberg's Renaissance-era perfection of movable type helped Europe transition from an information gravel road to an information two-lane blacktop; in a world that zips down a superhighway, however, its usefulness is less clear-cut. For the American Printing History Association's 2004 Lieberman Lecture at the Newberry Library, present-day print prodigy John Downer discusses the influence of historical typography on contemporary design, and current trends in typeface revivalism. This morning's address is followed by a panel discussion regarding Downer's lecture, led by Paul Gehl, curator of printing history at the Newberry. (SB)
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| ART: Opening |
Paul Nudd
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Fresh from Art Chicago 2005, Paul Nudd cartoonishly depicts his bizarro theory of evolution tonight at BSD (formerly Dogmatic Gallery) at the Butcher Shop. The show includes nine new wall pieces, as well as one of Nudd's notorious time-lapse videos of primordial ooze. Depicting various methods by which microscopic gooey discharge can be spewed, the videos — vaguely reminiscent of the late Fred Stuhr's puppetry work in music videos for prog-heads Tool — possess a lurid-yet-numinous force, preventing the viewer from turning away. Chris Uphues, Geoffrey Smith, Brandon Heuser, and Dan Rule also have work on display. (SB)
Note: This exhibition runs through Sat 6.25.
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| MUSIC: Acoustic |
Queer Is Folk Festival
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Jill Sobule, of the breakaway lesbian-themed hit "I Kissed a Girl," headlines Scott Free's fifth annual Queer Is Folk festival, but other queer-friendly performers poised for the spotlight include Nedra Johnson, who belts the blues and rocks the tuba (her father is noted tubaist Howard Johnson), transgendered singer/songwriter and "Boy in a Dress" Namoli Brennet, and Old Town teacher Shelley Miller. The underlying message of acceptance engendered by the ethos of the folk music tradition allows all participants, onstage and off, to be themselves in a supportive and folk-rollicking environment. (PDS)
Note: This event is a fundraiser for TYRA, a resource for young people who are questioning their gender identity.
What is the full name of Hal Sparks' character on Showtime's Queer as Folk? The eighth correct answer wins a pair of tickets to this event
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| MUSIC: Noise |
Boredoms w/ Soft Circle
| when: |
Sat 5.21 (10:30pm) |
| where: |
Logan Square Auditorium (2539 N Kedzie Ave, 773.252.6179) map |
| price: |
$20 |
| links: |
Event Info | Boredoms |
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Legendary Japanese noise-tronauts Boredoms arrive stateside once again after six years of side projects, hibernation, and hijinks. During their 20-year-career, their largest blip on the pop cultural radar was a rather surreal Lollapalooza appearance in 1995, after which the band nosedived into radio silence. Boredoms' hyper-spastic tonal attack has evolved since then, with their new album Seadrum/House of Sun downplaying the sonic ADD in favor of extended psychedelic jams. Even though vocal yelps and guitar distortion have been traded for tribal chants and sitars, they can still dish out the aural endurance tests like nobody's business. Soft Circle, featuring members of Black Dice, begin the evening's mayhem. (QH)
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| DESIGN |
The Paper Skyline: Plans That Never Got Off the Drawing Board
| when: |
Sun 5.22 (9:45-11:15am) |
| where: |
Chicago Cultural Center, Michigan Ave Galleries (78 E Washington St, 312.744.6630) map |
| price: |
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| links: |
Event Info |
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The City of Big Shoulders gets much of its bluster and brawn from its irreplaceable skyline, a set of architectural marvels including work from Daniel Burnham and others. It's one of Chicago's most significant accomplishments and a huge tourist draw — each day, dozens of architecture cruises navigate the Chicago River. But not every idea for a towering building makes it past the drawing board. Today's event, hosted by former Daley aide and former Sun-Times architecture critic Lee Bay, showcases two-dozen buildings that could have altered the city's signature silhouette. (PS)
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| FUNDRAISER |
Velvet Lounge Fundraiser
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The Chicago jazz community has been giving the legendary Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians a lot of love over the last few weeks — it is, after all, the homegrown organization's 40th anniversary. But true local jazz fans might want to turn their ears toward the Velvet Lounge. The small South Side club, run by local bandleader and tenor titan Fred Anderson, has been a haven for the avant-garde, but now needs the resources to relocate. Attending this fundraiser — which features performances from Jim Baker, Nicole Mitchell's Black Earth Ensemble, David Boykin Expanse, and others — is the best way to support this sound cause. (PS)
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| MUSIC: Indie Pop |
Mary Timony
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In each album released since her time fronting the butt-whump Boston noise-pop outfit Helium, Mary Timony has grown increasingly twee. A startling (but no less pleasing) departure from Helium's skronk und drone, Timony's The Golden Dove (2002) saw the guitar goddess at her ethereal, mystic peak, weaving acoustic and electric moods with surprisingly light fingers — a gentle kiss-off to her cacophonous youth. Apparently, though, the feedback queen of The Dirt of Luck was only napping: her newest, Ex Hex, sees Timony's elliptical pop tumbling from a ragged guitar-and-drums duo. Long live the queen. (TG)
What folky singer/songwriter did Timony replace in an early incarnation of Helium? The fourth and ninth correct responses each win a pair of tickets to this event.
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| ART |
Chris Ware: The Acme Novelty Library Original Cartoon Strips
| when: |
Now through Sat 5.21 (Tue-Fri: 11am-6pm / Sat: 11am-5pm) |
| where: |
Carl Hammer Gallery (740 N Wells St, 312.266.8512) map |
| price: |
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| links: |
Event Info | Chris Ware |
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Call them "comix," "sequential art," or "graphic novels" — anything please, except "funnies" — because the trade plied by award-winning illustrator/writer Chris Ware is deadpan serious. As the author of the highly inventive book Jimmy Corrigan: The Smartest Kid on Earth, Ware's illustrative style may hearken back to the roaring '20s with its ye-olden-days line quality and delicate colors, but his radical severing of traditional comic storytelling convention is pure postmodernism. Seeing Ware's work in various free weeklies since the early '90s may have spoiled Chicagoans, but this exhibition affords a rare glimpse of ten years' worth of original drawings, straight from the master's hand. (AF)
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| ARCHITECTURE |
Design Innovations in Manufactured Housing
| when: |
Now through Mon 1.16.06 (Daily: 9am-5pm) |
| where: |
The Field Museum (1400 S Lake Shore Dr, 312.922.9410) map |
| price: |
$12 |
| links: |
Event Info |
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Somewhere in the last decade, manufactured housing lost its white trash sheen and became the height of modernist chic — at least in avant-garde architectural circles. Innovative shelter mags like Dwell helped build this prefab Cinderella story, but it was mainly upstart firms like LOT-EK and Sean Godsell Architects who wrested affordable housing away from tradition-addled developers, reversing mainstream opinion about manufactured abodes. In this diminutive yet effective exhibition, eight cutting edge architects and industrial designers, including Parallel Design and Garofalo Architects, use up-to-the-minute technology and out-of-the-double-wide-box thinking to create hip mobile homes that are simply prefab-ulous. (AF)
Which New York museum held an exhibit of LOT-EK's work last year? First two correct answers win a pair of tickets to this exhibit.
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| THEATRE: Site-Specific Performance |
Psycho-So-Matic
| when: |
Now through Sat 6.4 (Fri & Sat: 9:30pm) |
| where: |
Speed Wash Laundromat (4721 N Damen, 312.458.0566) map |
| price: |
$15 suggested donation |
| links: |
Event Info |
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If Shakespeare was right about all the world being a stage, then the folks at Walkabout Theater Company seem intent on giving the Bard his props one production at a time. Still buzzing from their acclaimed dark comedy on corporate downsizing staged in various public restrooms across the city, Walkabout's latest production, a serio-comic exploration of man vs machine, is produced in a North Side laundromat. Expect some smart multimedia touches, crafty use of a quirky neighborhood space, and energetic performances. A kitchen sink drama this won't be, although there's no ruling out a rinse cycle. (TL)
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| COMEDY |
The Lincoln Lodge: Dwight Nights
| when: |
Wed 5.18-Fri 5.20 (9pm) |
| where: |
The Lincoln Restaurant (4008 N Lincoln Ave, 773.296.4029) map |
| price: |
$7 |
| links: |
Event Info |
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Few would consider a retro pancake house on the North Side to be the obvious venue for an alternative standup comedy and variety act showcase (or maybe they would), let alone one that previously featured Neil Hamburger and SNL's Fred Armisen. To celebrate the close of its fifth season, this unlikely mecca for underground comedy lovers ratchets up the fez-festooned wackiness even a bit more with Dwight Nights, a trio of fan appreciation events spotlighting not only the season's most requested performers but also sweet door prizes (T-shirts, trucker caps, and Jesus clocks) for the first 60 attendees of each show. (TL)
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| FESTIVAL |
Tenth Annual Lakeview Mayfest
| when: |
Fri 5.20-Sun 5.22 (Fri: 4-10pm / Sat-Sun: 12-10pm) |
| where: |
Parking Lot (3100 N Ashland Ave, 773.665.4682) map |
| price: |
$5 donation |
| links: |
Event Info |
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Kick off your loafers and don your flip-flops, Chicago's summer street festival season officially begins this weekend with the Tenth Annual Lakeview Mayfest. Some of the area's best tribute bands, including Elevation (U2), Evenflow (Pearl Jam), Hairbanger's Ball (miscellaneous hair metal), and Mr. Blotto (not a tribute band, though they might as well be), provide the Mayfest soundtrack as festival-goers sample cuisine from local restaurants, purchase arts and crafts from local merchants, and partake in that great Chicago pastime, summer street drinking. Saturday night features the Miss Mayfest Competition, and animal lovers will enjoy Sunday's Pet Parade, which includes a Stupid Pet Tricks performance. (SB)
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MODERN LIFE IS INSPIRING: We Make Money Not Art |
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OK, prepare yourself for the best information blog on the Interweb: Régine Debatty's lovingly assembled cache of daily briefings from the worlds of science, technology, design, and other unbelievably fascinating sources. Where else are you going to find breaking news about butterfly-shaped razorwire, Sony patenting TVs to beam info straight into your brain, a house powered by spinach, Talmud iPods, art in space, electrified wood, and solar-powered wallpaper? The only thing that would make this site more amazing would be the revelation that it was an elaborately constructed ruse. But no: modern life on our planet is stranger than fiction. Now get ready for remote-controlled flies and talking post-it notes. (SR)
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CD REVIEW: Fannypack, See You Next Tuesday |
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Tommy Boy
Released May 2005
$14.99 (Amazon)
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With their sophomore album, Brooklyn's favorite wholesalers of ironic booty beats prove that they're no mere novelty act. See You Next Tuesday finds Fannypack's now post-high school MCs Belinda, Cat, and Jessibel dropping amazingly tight rhymes, while the group's two DJ/producer nerds construct the fully consistent but eclectic party record that eluded them on their debut, So Stylistic. The two-step ragtime skank of "Seven One Eight" big-ups their hometown borough with a recycled blues vocal, "Fire Fire" does dancehall Orientalia one better, and electro-jock jams "Pump That" and "Keep It Up" gleefully sample whistles, crowd roars, and even the squeak of a sneaker pivoting on a gym floor. But for every touch of pep rally sass, the album throws down twice as many bassbin workouts and raunchy double-dutch rhymes as its predecessor. (TW)
 What news and culture publication did Cat intern for while in college? The third correct answer wins a copy of See You Next Tuesday.
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MULTIMEDIA: BBC Collective |
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Rightfully described by the Guardian as "the best-kept secret on the whole BBC planet," the BBC Collective is a forum for up-to-the-minute music and literature reviews, live footage, and exclusive in-session recordings. This week, check an in-depth interview with the Fall's Mark E. Smith, complete with full, streaming tracks. Fresh from releasing their excellent Triple P on Ubiquity, the Platinum Pied Pipers discuss their hometown of Detroit, as well as their motivations for the project. Finally, sift through some new music videos that may not be in heavy stateside rotation yet, notably LCD Soundsystem's "Daft Punk Is Playing at My House." (CJN)
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Mark E. Smith: Exclusive interview
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Platinum Pied Pipers: Exclusive interview
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LCD Soundsystem: "Daft Punk Is Playing at My House" video
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| Header Design: |
| Ezra the Pounder | Ezra Claytan Daniels |
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| Editors: |
| Kid Chino | Joe Colly | | Anarchia | Shana Nys Dambrot | | Chynna Doll | Annette Ferrara | | Mount Fiji | Jocelyn K. Glei | | Skinny McDon'thurtmeplease | Todd Goldstein | | The Criticizer | Jake Lancaster | | Paulverizer | Paul Laster | | George 'The Animal' Steel | Sascha Lewis | | Fu Man Jew | Gerry Mak | | Big Jim Slade | Mark Mangan | | The Silent Killer | Colin J. Nagy | | The Mathemagician | Lauren Ragland | | Brick Goldfarb | Jonathan Schultz | | Captain Underpants | Philip H. Sherburne | | The Chupacabra | Peter D. Stepek |
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| ABOUT US |
| flavorpill CHICAGO is a free weekly mailer covering music, arts, and cultural events in Chicago. All listings are pure editorial, never paid advertisements. No money is accepted from venues, artists, or promoters. Read more about us, and spread it... |
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| FEEDBACK |
| Please let us know what's on your mind, any and all feedback — comments, questions, ideas, or rants. |
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| EVENT SUBMISSIONS |
| To let us know about an upcoming event that you think belongs here, please email us at events. |
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| Contributors: |
| Luchadorable | Conor Barnes | | Pillsbury ThrowBoy | Sean Biehle | | The Boulder, CO | Victor Ganic | | The Flying Hipster-Bird | Mia Horberg | | Chef Boy-R-Squeeze | Quanah Humphreys | | Pants LaRoo | Mac Jenkins | | Jorge Guapo | Thomas Lawler | | The Conquistador | Ken Meier | | Mayhem Mayhaps | Shiraz Randeria | | The Iron Sheik | Richard Sharp | | The Web Surfer | Patrick Sisson | | Running Man | Craig Tiede | | The Beirut Tangler | Toby Warner |
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Production: |
| The Businessman | Anjuli Ayer | | Bear Down | Christopher Carson | | Glass Joe | Sander-Martijn Milks | | Creature Eater | David Morrow | | The Fat Man | Jamend Riley | | The Masked Avenger | Sameer Shah | | Herman the Horrible | RJ Valeo |
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A twice-monthly email magazine high- lighting the latest in electronic music — including news, reviews, and original features
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A monthly review focusing on smart, readable works of fiction and nonfiction, from current titles to past gems
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