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Posted inNews & Politics

Heroic Dudes and Gals

What stinks in Chicago? You twerps at the Reader do. The attitude of most Reader writers is that they are radical, progressive, and at the cutting edge of truth. Yeah, the Reader is so radical that it can be picked up at any yuppie hangout or shopping center. The Reader is so progressive that it […]

Posted inMusic

Jerry Douglas & Peter Rowan

JERRY DOUGLAS & PETER ROWAN Nashville session players don’t get much respect outside country music’s inner circle. Jerry Douglas, master of the Weissenborn (a hollow-necked slide guitar) and dobro, for example, has lent his talents to over 1,000 recordings–odds are that if you have a handful of contemporary country records, he’s on at least one […]

Posted inNews & Politics

Reader to Reader

Attempting the time-honored tradition of buying bleacher tickets from a scalper, I find a seller, agree to a high price, and hand over the cash. Then I notice that one ticket is dated for the previous day’s game. The guy with my cash takes off running. “You fucker!” I shout, running after him down the […]

Posted inNews & Politics

Lowdown on Uptown

Dear editor, Congratulations to Ben Joravsky for his strong and informative investigative report on the historic (1925) Uptown Theater [“Swimming With Sharks,” August 2]. The story and the photographs were excellent reading and viewing–clearly depicting the history and glamour of one of Chicago’s finest architectural delights. However, the report totally missed one aspect of the […]

Posted inColumns & Opinion

Savage Love

Hey, Faggot: I want someone to spank me. The problem is, I’m a straight, happily married guy who doesn’t want sex on the side, just the punishment. My wife is aware of my desires, but chooses not to accommodate them. She doesn’t mind my getting outside help, but is concerned I may hook up with […]

Posted inArts & Culture

The Still Time

THE STILL TIME, Porchlight Theatre Ensemble, at the Neo-Futurarium. This play’s parts–and this production–are stronger than its whole. A stirring new work by Kathleen Cahill, The Still Time tries to connect three women, living and dead, in a bond of mutual healing. But their crises are more convincing than Cahill’s solution. Homeless and deserted, Pat […]

Posted inNews & Politics

Sports Section

For I the lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation. –Exodus 20:5 Delicta maiorum immeritus lues. (Undeservedly you will atone for the sins of your fathers.) –Horace, Odes The White Sox have been trying to hold off the Baltimore Orioles […]

Posted inMusic

Dave McKenna

DAVE MCKENNA Earlier this year, Koch Records reissued a 1958 recording of pianist Dave McKenna leading a trio, long the most common setting for jazz pianists. But hearing McKenna in this context was shocking–because for the last two decades he has performed and recorded almost exclusively unaccompanied. During that time he has earned plaudits, especially […]

Posted inNews & Politics

Style Counsel

Garcia’s critics appear to be more concerned with his style than with the substance of his accomplishments [“How to Win Enemies and Influence People,” by Jeffrey Felshman, August 30]. Even if we were to only credit Rick Garcia with a lesser number of accomplishments, it appears that he and his few talented associates have single-handedly […]

Posted inMusic

Old Man

Neil Young with Crazy Horse Broken Arrow (Reprise) By Jim DeRogatis I’d have a hard time declining the invitation if someone really wanted me to be there tonight when Neil Young and Crazy Horse play the New World Music Theatre. Like every other card-carrying rock critic, I’m a fan. I love each and every tune […]