Update Wed 2/20: The lineup for the Chicago Votes/Babes Only concert has changed since publication. Queen Key has been added to the top of the bill, and DJ Chava has been replaced by DJ Mo Mami. According to new flyers for the event, mayoral candidates Amara Enyia and Toni Preckwinkle will also make appearances.
For nearly a decade, the duo of Jason Soliday and Jon Satrom have been spewing zonked noise as Xtal Fsck. Soliday calls their mix of chattering electronics and uncanny-valley video “Pre Post Dirty New Media,” and an old band bio explains, “Our audio, video, and new media work stems from a profound distrust of audio, video, and new media.” Gossip Wolf thinks it sounds like a mess of sentient video-game systems deleting the shit out of each other! For their show at the Owl on Sunday, February 24, Xtal Fsck are soliciting material from the public: at xtalfsck.com you can record a video of yourself trying to imitate a circuit-bent instrument with your mouth, and it might end up in the set! Also on the bill are Forest Management (aka Reserve Matinee label head John Daniel) and Temp. (aka Erica Mei Gamble), and the evening ends with a DJ set from Farplane (the duo of Hi-Vis and Smart Bar resident Sold).
Gossip Wolf can’t believe Sleeping Village has already been open a year! The Avondale venue and bar celebrates its birthday all day Friday, February 22, by giving away tickets to every show on its calendar—a pair will be attached to each tap handle, and the first person to order that beer wins them! A buck from every pour goes to the Chicago Independent Venue League, of which Sleeping Village is a member—the group has helped lead the fight against the Lincoln Yards TIF.
On Thursday, February 21, nonpartisan nonprofit Chicago Votes teams up with Babes Only, a group dedicated to empowering women, to throw a show at Chop Shop celebrating voting rights and looking forward to the mayoral election. Outre R&B vocalist and Fool’s Gold signee Leaf headlines, and a crowd of Chicagoans open: rapper J Bambii, R&B singers Roses Are Red and Loona Dae, and DJs Chava and Simmy. Writer and nightlife mover and/or shaker Lorena Cupcake hosts; it’s 18 and up, and tickets cost $12. v
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