There are plenty of shows, films, and concerts happening this week. Here’s some of what we recommend:
Mon 5/14-Thu 5/17: Critic Rüdiger Suchsland follows From Caligari to Hitler (2014), his documentary history of German cinema between the world wars, with Hitler’s Hollywood, a sequel on the moviemaking of the Third Reich, as controlled by propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels. Mon 5/14, 8:15 PM; Tue 5/15, 6 PM; Wed 5/16, 8:15 PM; and Thu 5/17, 6 and 8 PM. Gene Siskel Film Center, 164 N. State, $11
Mon 5/14: Exploratory guitarist Yonatan Gat finds inspiration across the world on his new album, Universalists. 9 PM, Hideout, 1354 W. Wabansia, $12
Mon 5/14: Spacey metal trio Mutoid Man shreds a little less and leans into pop in its latest music. 8 PM, Beat Kitchen, 2100 W. Belmont, $18, 17+
Tue 5/15: “An extraordinary translation of life into art, Chloé Zhao’s drama The Rider fictionalizes the experiences of Brady Jandreau, a Lakota cowboy on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota, whose rodeo career ended in April 2016 after a bucking bronco threw him and stepped on his skull.” —J.R. Jones Various times, various locations
Wed 5/16: As Rival Consoles, London electronic producer Ryan Lee West explores subtlety. 8:30 PM, Empty Bottle, 1035 N. Western, $15
Wed 5/16: Chicago MC HeffyRaps finesses his sound at just the right moment on the EP Dead by V-Day. 9 PM, Subterranean, 2011 W. North, $10, 17+
Thu 5/17: Drummer Brian Blade funnels his disparate interests into his Fellowship Band. 7:30 PM, Logan Center for the Arts, University of Chicago, 915 E. 60th, $38, $30 faculty and staff, $20 under 35, $10 students, all-ages
Thu 5/17: The play Columbinus looks back on April 20, 1999. “It’s impossible to ignore the fact that the young ensemble have grown up in a new century of seemingly endless escalating gun violence in America,” writes theater critic Albert Williams. 8 PM, Steppenwolf Theatre, 1700 Theatre, 1700 N. Halsted, 312-335-1650, steppenwolf.org, $25