George Clinton is responsible for some of the most powerful monster dance grooves ever recorded–and when it comes to unadulterated hard funk R & B, his influence looms immense: second only to that of James Brown. The complete story is too complex to get into here; let’s just note that it was Clinton (along with […]
Tag: Vol. 18 No. 44
Issue of Aug. 17 – 23, 1989
Posted inArts & Culture
Decapitated Dancer
ISADORA DUNCAN SLEEPS WITH THE RUSSIAN NAVY Torso Theatre at the Victory Gardens Studio Theater Torso Theatre. Nice name. And so appropriate for the company performing Jeff Wanshel’s Isadora Duncan Sleeps With the Russian Navy. ‘Cause what’s a torso, after all? It’s that section of the body where you keep your heart, your lungs, your […]
Posted inNews & Politics
The Sports Section
There’s probably nothing much of any real value that can be added here to the Cubs’ recent exploits. The Cubs’ rise to first place has had to be experienced to be believed, and it seems almost everyone has followed the team in one way or another–if not by actually getting out to a game, then […]
Posted inNews & Politics
Big Sports
To the editors: What gives? In an article of July 14, 1989 (I believe it was “Neighborhood News” about the Wrigley beer ban failure), your writer stated that the Tribune Company has eliminated Ladies Day at Wrigley Field apparently for greedy reasons. Lo and behold, I just picked up a Cubs schedule and it lists […]
Posted inArts & Culture
The Woolgatherer
THE WOOLGATHERER Transient Theatre at Dreamerz Opposites attract–but in a good play they’d better do more than that, or you lack the conflict to fuel a plot. It’s the fact that opposites usually repel before they can connect that provides the kind of friction that a lot of mainly two-character plays–Marty, Birdbath, Danny and the […]
Posted inNews & Politics
Another Silly Mistake on Death Row
To the editors: The inherent inconsistencies of the death penalty, which all too often lead to wrongful executions, were intelligently and appropriately conveyed in the Reader’s July 28th article, “A Capital Blunder.” In this case, two men sat on death row in Illinois for four years. During their trial, a lack of evidence strongly suggested […]
Posted inNews & Politics
Service Organization
To the editors: When Craig Bradley [“A Surgeon’s Gift,” August 4] says, “Lots of other doctors are doing third-world work. Ophthalmologists were among the first, treating cataracts,” he’s probably referring to the seva foundation. Seva has performed tens of thousands of cataract operations in Nepal and India. At Himalayan altitudes, the ultraviolet can lead to […]
Posted inNews & Politics
Segregation city: Chicago flunks five demographic tests
In 1986, two scholars from Philadelphia set out to conduct an exhaustive racial analysis of cities and suburbs across the land. Three years later, their computers have revealed some dismal information: Chicago’s metropolitan area is the most segregated region in the country. Put it this way: according to their study, the likelihood of an inner-city […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Cabaret Rebob
CABARET REBOB at the Roxy Simple, unpretentious, mostly intelligent–Rob Riley’s cabaret show certainly doesn’t come wrapped in any profound theory of theater. Producer/director/emcee Riley doesn’t call his show revolutionary or neo-futurist or postmodern. He doesn’t try to palm off bad performances as art. Instead he delivers a fairly entertaining evening featuring many more talented singers, […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Art Facts: the east-west paintings of Shan-Shan Sheng
According to many Chinese myths, says painter Shan-Shan Sheng, the sun contains a yellow bird that flies up into the sky in the morning and back below the horizon at night. One of Sheng’s favorite folktales about the sun goes like this: One morning, for no apparent reason, ten suns came over the horizon instead […]
Posted inNews & Politics
Squatter
Alone at home on a rare, warm Saturday evening, ready to “bring the noise” to Pilsen, I’m interrupted on my way to the cuarto de los discos (room with phonograph records) by my dog’s loud barking. Duke, a German shepherd, is going nuts on the enclosed porch in back. His bark is usually commensurate with […]