THE FOR CARNATION It could be argued that the For Carnation sprouted from a single tune on Spiderland, the 1991 album by leader Brian McMahan’s old band Slint. “Washer,” on which a barely legal McMahan sounds more like a kid who’s lost his lollipop than a man expressing his most intimate emotions, was nonetheless his […]
Tag: Vol. 29 No. 40
Issue of Jul. 6 – 12, 2000
Posted inNews & Politics
No Style
Dear Reader music critics, I’m surprised and a little offended that you guys give Five Style no credit or exposure. They are undoubtedly Chicago’s most interesting and enjoyable Indie Rock Band right now. Some of their songs border on genius in the opinion of myself and others. I would think your paper would recognize this. […]
Posted inNews & Politics
City File
“Schools that wait for students to be at least a year behind [in reading] before even testing to see if they need extra help are dooming those kids to long-term failure,” writes Susan Hall in Chicago Parent (April). “A recent overview of reading and literacy initiatives published by the National Center for Learning Disabilities concluded […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Charlie & the Fiction Factory: Roald Dahl Unscripted
Charlie & the Fiction Factory: Roald Dahl Unscripted, Free Associates, at the Ivanhoe Theater. The best children’s authors–Shel Silverstein, Edward Gorey, Dr. Seuss–were often off their rockers. Not feverishly insane, mind you, but loopy enough to produce kids’ stories whose depth and charm also captivated adults. Roald Dahl first drew acclaim as a novelist, then […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Loser’s Alias
When Loser’s Alias premiered 11 years ago, the Curious Theatre Branch occupied a cramped North Avenue storefront, where it produced intricate, frenzied extravaganzas at a furious pace that left little time for revision. If a play didn’t work, if its ideas were dense and muddled, the company was too busy with the next show to […]
Posted inNews & Politics
The Straight Dope
Does environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) seriously threaten the general public’s health? The June 2 Straight Dope claimed this threat is “unproven at best.” To your credit, you did concede that this smoke is a “danger to vulnerable folk such as asthmatics, children, and the elderly” and is “harmful, broadly speaking.” You also found “impressive” the […]
Posted inArts & Culture
The Chinese Art of Placement
A little feng shui is a dangerous thing. That’s the message of Stanley Rutherford’s tragicomic one-character one-act, about a neurotic, socially inept middle-aged man who believes he’s found the answer to all his problems in this mystical art. Sparky Litman, played by Howard Shalwitz, stands alone onstage talking about his life while he arranges his […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Maraca
MARACA At the ripe old age of 33, Orlando “Maraca” Valle is a seasoned veteran of Cuban music. In 1988, after serving a short stint with great Cuban pianist Emiliano Salvador, the flute prodigy joined Irakere, the legendary Latin-jazz band led by pianist Chucho Valdes, and at 28 he decided he was ready for his […]
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Calendar
Friday 7/7 – Thursday 7/13 JULY By Cara Jepsen 7 FRIDAY When it comes to meditation, “Easterners can just sit down and close their eyes and go right to it. The Western mind requires getting rid of all the garbage first,” says former fashion impresario Paul B. (the man behind the Paul B. and Fiorucci […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Sweet Smells Success/Cops and Kids/All’s Well That Sells Well
Most new musicals never make it to opening night, but I Sent a Letter to My Love by Jeffrey Sweet adn Melissa Manchester may have what it takes.
Posted inArts & Culture
Cool and Collected: will Dean Milano’s model cars live through his wedding?
Dean Milano is getting married. With the big 5-0 breathing down his neck, the guy who collects everything is finally collecting a bride. They’ll celebrate with a bash at Brookfield Zoo, where musicians who’ve played with him in more bands than anyone can remember will get the place jumping and every table will sport its […]
Posted inNews & Politics
Show Me the Money
The Accidentally Conceived JOB PROGRAM in the article by Linda Lutton in the June 16 edition of the Reader should have more properly been entitled: FAST GIRLS OUT TO SCORE. Only the two white women interviewed (profiled) in the puffery piece, King Jean Butzen and Miss Pat Tucker of LAKEFRONT SRO, disguised as real journalism, […]
Posted inNews & Politics
Ladies’ Rooms
By Joy Bergmann Susan Leinwohl leapt at the chance to run away from her dour Denver women’s college with a dashing graduate student from Northwestern she’d met on the Colorado ski slopes. Whisked away to Chicago at 19, she looked forward to happy adventures in the big city. But three months into the courtship, her […]
Posted inArts & Culture
In Print: coming home to a nuclear disaster
Irene Zabytko grew up in Ukrainian Village in the 60s. But she and her neighbors didn’t call it that. “We called it a slum,” she says. “I lived across the street from a factory. There were gangs and there was a lot of violence.” Though her mother was from Ukraine, and she had a Ukrainian-American […]
Posted inNews & Politics
TRG Music listings
Music listings are compiled by LAURA KOPEN and RENALDO MIGALDI (classical, fairs and festivals) from information available Tuesday. We advise calling ahead for confirmation. Please send listings information, in-cluding a phone number for use by the public, to Reader Music Listings, 11 E. Illinois, Chicago 60611, or send a fax to 312-828-9926, or send E-mail […]