Our globally warmed climate seems to be giving us winter in short bursts. Between the blizzards we have the sort of weather usually associated with late fall or early spring. This alteration of the seasons seems to be changing some well-established ecological patterns. Reports come in of short-eared owls apparently still flying south in January. […]
Tag: Vol. 28 No. 18
Issue of Feb. 4 – 10, 1999
Posted inFilm
The Cry of Jazz
The Cry of Jazz Ed Bland’s 35-minute essay, made in Chicago in 1959, argues that jazz is an essential expression of the African-American spirit. That idea may seem like a truism now, but this remains a fascinating and unique sociological document, not to mention one of the strangest films I’ve ever seen. It’s intensely serious […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Sheets
SHEETS, Bailiwick Repertory. David Gaard and M. Sanford Kaplan’s 45-minute “performance drama” is the type of incomprehensible, artsy twaddle that gives performance art a bad name. Sheets–which details the mounting tension during a world-renowned photographer’s final shoot–waffles incessantly between naturalistic confessional monologues and abrupt “dialogues” of non sequiturs. Furthermore, the script’s commentary seems hopelessly facile; […]
Posted inFilm
Park Row
Park Row This neglected feature is one of Samuel Fuller’s most energetic–his own personal favorite, in part because he financed it out of his own pocket and lost every penny (1952). It’s a giddy look at New York journalism in the 1880s that crams together a good many of Fuller’s favorite newspaper stories, legends, and […]
Posted inMusic
Beau Jocque & the Zydeco Hi-Rollers
BEAU JOCQUE & THE ZYDECO HI-ROLLERS On the new Check It Out, Lock It In, Crank It Up! (Rounder), the world’s best zydeco band adds “Tequila,” Archie Bell & the Drells’ “Tighten Up,” and even some goofy hip-hop touches to a repertoire that already includes songs by Bob Dylan and War. Jocque and his band […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Jesse and The Bandit Queen
JESSE AND THE BANDIT QUEEN, Azusa Productions. Outlaws Jesse James and Belle Starr (originally Myra Belle Shirley), born one year apart in the mid-19th century, were both Wild West legends before they were 30. But playwright David Freeman is less concerned with their infamous adventures than he is with demystifying their legends. His James is […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Jose Soto
JOSE SOTO It may be lucky for Jose Soto that the Gypsy Kings’ half-baked version of flamenco is the one most familiar to Americans–it’ll be that much easier for him to blow us away when he makes his U.S. debut this week. The singer and guitarist helped launch a new flamenco movement in his native […]
Posted inNews & Politics
Petty Crime
December 23, 1 PM, 2700 block of North Pine Grove. Theft. Woman was walking home from bank. Two men jumped her and took her purse, which contained $650. Woman got call later that day from man, who asked for $200 to return her purse. She offered $100. Man said that wasn’t enough but arranged meeting […]
Posted inMusic
Stolen Thunder
Creation Making Time Biff Bang Pow! (Retroactive) Pretty Things S.F. Sorrow (Snapper Music) By J.R. Jones Rock historian Pete Frame created a cottage industry for himself in the early 80s by drawing fanatically detailed rock ‘n’ roll “family trees,” most of which were collected into a book in 1993. Printed in his neat little hand, […]
Posted inNews & Politics
Just Their Luck
When juries rule the way we would have, they’re wise. When they don’t, they’re crazy. Last week one Chicago jury declared 15th Ward alderman Virgil Jones guilty of accepting $7,000 in bribes from a government mole, finding it unlikely that Jones would accept thousands of dollars in legitimate campaign contributions inside a rolled-up newspaper. Another […]
Posted inArts & Culture
In Print: Robert Stepto’s travels through time and place
Robert Stepto and his family used to spend summer vacations in Michigan at their pink-and-white cottage in the all-black resort town of Idlewild. Not that there were many choices for African-American families on holiday. “Today people wouldn’t think twice about taking the kids to Disney World or whatnot,” he says. “I grew up in an […]
Posted inColumns & Opinion
Savage Love
Hey, Faggot: I feel dirty. Not dirt that can be wiped away with a wet nap, but two-cans-of-Ajax kind of dirty. Alas, no matter how hard I scrub, I can’t get the memory of this man off of me. The urge to grab an S.O.S. pad and scrub my nether regions is almost irresistible. Long […]
Posted inArts & Culture
“Shall We go? Yes, Let’s Go.” Three Plays by Samuel Beckett
“Shall We Go? Yes, Let’s Go.” Three Plays by Samuel Beckett Samuel Beckett cheers me up. There’s something very therapeutic about his dark, relentless, clear-eyed vision. While other playwrights dance around the truth, he revels in the inevitable: we age, our minds go, the good times fade but regrets last a lifetime. And the older […]
Posted inNews & Politics
Playing Against the Clock
He’s invented a word game tto rival Scrabble, but Marshall Kaminsky’s future is far from secure.
Posted inMusic
Phil Woods Quintet
PHIL WOODS QUINTET Alto saxist Phil Woods is as remarkable for the longevity of his band as for the breadth of his talent: since the quintet’s formation in 1973, bassist Steve Gilmore and drummer Bill Goodwin have never left, and only three brass players and four pianists have passed through its rarely revolving door. Blistering […]