Vocalist Buddy Ace hails from Texas, and he’s got the suave sophistication one might expect from a Lone Star State bluesman who cites Bobby “Blue” Bland as one of his primary influences. But he’s capable of steamy funk as well as mellow balladeering, and his Old Testament prophet appearance–white suit, flowing mane, regal beard–adds to […]
Tag: Vol. 23 No. 40
Issue of Jul. 14 – 20, 1994
Posted inArts & Culture
Music Scenes: hip hop at the Bop Shop
It’s Tuesday and the night is crazy muggy and a crowd is gathering in front of the Bop Shop on West Division. B-boys and girls in their late teens and early 20s are standing in slouchy jeans and backward-turned caps talkin’ and trippin’. The mad bass of A Tribe Called Quest is rippling out from […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Issues of Trust
LOCUS SOLO DANCE Jeff Friedman at Link’s Hall, July 8 and 9 Trust begins with self-trust. Some people may think they trust themselves, but they really trust the thinking mind–stored information, theories and ideas of other people–not their intuitive wisdom. True self-trust has to include physical, emotional, mental and spiritual levels. –Dan Millman, The Life […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Palace Brothers
The essence of Louisville’s Palace Brothers is the quavering, forlorn, achingly beautiful voice of Will Oldham–a vulnerable warble somewhere between Neil Young and Meat Puppets II-era Curt Kirkwood. On last year’s breathtaking There Is No-One What Will Take Care of You (Drag City), Oldham was surrounded by a shifting cast of musicians, including several former […]
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Drunken Master II
In 1978 Jackie Chan launched his career as Asia’s most durable action star with Drunken Master, a martial arts comedy in which he portrayed turn-of-the-century Chinese folk hero Wong Fei-hung as a comically endearing upstart who overcomes villainy with a unique fighting style. But until now Chan’s never revived the Wong character. Reportedly he decided […]
Posted inNews & Politics
Scarification: Does the city’s repaving machine hurt trees,or just scare tree lovers?
The city is scorching trees all over Chicago, and no one in a position to stop it is doing a damn thing. That’s what Madeline Kanner and other environmentalists believe, as they spread the word about a new machine that may be seriously wounding trees as it repaves the streets. “It takes a generation to […]
Posted inMusic
Arena Gig
PLACIDO DOMINGO, KALLEN ESPERIAN, AND THE CHICAGO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA at Ravinia, July 8 Musical crossovers come in all varieties, and one borrowing from the pop side has proved remunerative for a very select group of opera singers: the arena concert. In a classical arena concert, as in a pop or rock concert, the aim is […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Art Farmer Quartet with Geoff Keezer
If you’ve ever heard flumpeter Art Farmer, you probably don’t need encouragement to go hear him again: he still concocts ballad improvisations that seem to have arrived airmail from heaven, and he once again strolls the bebop boulevards at the brisk tempos of his youth. (The “flumpet,” by the way, is an unfortunately named hybrid […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Calendar Photo Caption
Kids from the hood get behind the camera in “Celebrate Pilsen!,” an exhibit of photographs by students from Jose Clemente Orozco Community Academy, a public elementary school. Photography teacher Jennifer Filarski-Jensen curated the show using the work of her students, who range from 10 to 15 years old. The show is on view at the […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Razor Spirits
RAZOR SPIRITS Pavlovisation at Cafe Voltaire Now that every comedy troupe in the city–from Sheila to Second City–is “experimenting” with long-form improvisations, it’s time for a new improv holy grail. Which brings us to serious improv, or, as a snide actor friend of mine calls it, improvisational tragedy. The idea of using improvisation to create […]
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Gallery Tripping: cheeky artists emitting hot air
Before entering the “Fragonard Mood Swing Faux Pas Fart Show,” I am required to attach a piece of cloth, cut to resemble toilet paper, to my shoe. This, I am told, will free my inhibitions and allow me to enjoy the exhibit without prejudice. First, I visit the Fart Hall of Fame, where the artist, […]
Posted inNews & Politics
Reader to Reader
Overheard heading east on Belmont, 11 PM. Two women, one man. One woman speaks, the other only giggles. Woman: Well, I don’t think he did it, I can’t believe it. Because I just, like, love him. Man: Well, I don’t see how he could have not done it. Twenty-two stab wounds on the guy. Had […]
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Four Clowns & a Bench and Pill
FOUR CLOWNS & A BENCH and PILL Hope and Nonthings Productions at Heartland Studio Theatre It’s difficult to know where to place Ian Pierce in the current crop of young playwrights. Too linguistically playful to be classified with straightforward storytellers but putting function ahead of form too often to be counted with the word jugglers, […]