Warmer weather is finally here to stay. You’re probably hoping to be everywhere all at once, but here are a few things you won’t want to miss, in the first iteration of our new column, The To-Do.
Marguerite
Fri 5/26, 8 PM, Color Club, 4146 N. Elston, sold out, 18+
Reveries
Sat 5/27, 8 PM, Color Club, 4146 N. Elston, $10, 18+
Right now, the Color Club (4146 N. Elston) is one of the hottest places to catch up-and-coming comedy and sketch theater in the city. While they’re closing out the month with plenty of great shows, some standouts include a May 26 installment of Maggie Winters’s autobiographical play Marguerite, which sold out its initial two-performance debut at Sleeping Village in March. Directed by her brothers, Melkbelly’s Bart and Liam Winters, Marguerite details the wry, true story of how Maggie learned to be funny growing up in Beverly. There’s also Reveries on May 27, which has comedy writers Anthony Oberbeck and Matt Barats arriving from New York to spin surrealist yarns against ambient music and abstract video montages. It’s the kind of 60s coffee-shop attitude paired with late capitalist commentary that’ll have you hitting your vape. To buy tickets or see the full lineup of events, check out colorclub.events/events. Must be 18 or older.
Dog, Blood Nymph, Pillbug Junction, Unmanned Ship
Wed 5/31, 8 PM, Cafe Mustache, 2313 N. Milwaukee, $10, 21+
May 31 is going to be a great night of loud weirdo music at Café Mustache (2313 N. Milwaukee)–at least, for those 21 and up. Dog from New York joins locals Blood Nymph, Pillbug Junction, and Unmanned Ship. Blood Nymph is a pleading, vengeful queer doom metal outfit while Pillbug Junction is the playful, spasming electronic project of Jill Lloyd Flanagan of Forced Into Femininity fame. Unmanned Ship is a trio that fuses elements of psych rock with field recordings to create music that vacillates between brooding and spritely. Combined with Dog’s punishing electronic chaos, you’ll be crashing, mashing, and thrashing all over the dance floor. The show kicks off at 8 PM, and it’s $10 at the door; go to cafemustache.com for more information.
Fetish Film Forum: Cronenberg Edition
Fri 6/2-Sun 6/4, Facets, 1517 W. Fullerton, $10-$40
From June 2-4, the Leather Archives is teaming up with Facets (1517 N. Fullerton) to present five of David Cronenberg’s films: Crimes of the Future, Crash, Videodrome, Rabid, and Shivers. Cronenberg is considered the godfather of onscreen body horror. His work is riddled with dark themes concerning power, pain, selfhood, technology, and transformation, making him a particular favorite of kinky and queer film enthusiasts. In a 2022 interview with Vulture, when asked whether he was consciously trying to engage with trans experiences through his work, Cronenberg said, “[The transgender movement is] saying, ‘Body is reality. I want to change my reality. That means I have to change my body.’ . . . I say, go ahead. This is an artist giving their all to their art.” Cronenberg is also an outspoken advocate of the movie theater as a communal experience similar to church, so this is a chance to really luxuriate in a master’s work as he intended it to be experienced. It’s $40 to catch all five, $15 for a double feature, $12 for a single, and $10 for Facets members. Tickets are available at facets.org.
“Patric McCoy: Take My Picture”
Through Sat 7/15: Thu 1-8 PM, Fri noon-7 PM, Sat 10 AM-5 PM; closed Sat 7/1; Wrightwood 659, 659 W. Wrightwood, general admission $15 (pre-purchase of timed tickets is required)
Men of a Certain Age panel
Sat 6/3, 4 PM, Wrightwood 659, 659 W. Wrightwood, $15 includes admission to exhibitions with arrival anytime before the program begins.
If you want an intimate look at Black gay life in 1980s Chicago, head to Wrightwood 659 (659 W. Wrightwood). Through July 15, the gallery presents “Patric McCoy: Take My Picture.” McCoy is a scientist by trade, art collector by passion, and photographer by request. Throughout the 80s, disco was a staple in McCoy’s life, and he’d bring his cameras to clubs like the now-defunct Rialto Tap, where he’d photograph anyone who asked for a snapshot. “Take My Picture” shows 50 of those images: evocative portraits spanning a decade that document not only disco’s cultural evolution into house but also how AIDS radically changed nightlife. To hear the stories behind the images, catch McCoy at 4 PM on June 3. He’ll be joined by Craig Scott, Jim Harvey, DaVon Anderson, Michael O’Connor, and John Robinson for a panel called “Men of a Certain Age,” where the six men will trade memories from the South Loop social scene that defined the era for them. Tickets are $15 and must be reserved in advance. To plan your visit, check out wrightwood659.org.
Pilsen Food Pantry
1850 S. Throop, pilsenfoodpantry.com
The Pilsen Food Pantry is looking for donations to help incoming migrants. Since August 2022, Texas has sent over 8,000 asylum seekers to the city with little to no advanced coordination, so our new neighbors need help getting settled. The Pantry is requesting items such as unopened cold medicine, children’s cough syrup, allergy medicines, menstrual pads, and travel-size unscented lotions. They’re also seeking books in Spanish, baby diapers and wipes, new undergarments for both children and adults, gently used clothing and blankets, and hygiene products (razors, deodorant, brushes, etc.). For the most up-to-date list of needs and drop-off locations, check out the Pantry’s Instagram. You can also donate money for supplies via their website: pilsenfoodpantry.com/donate.