Because getting arrested is the biggest buzzkill.
Tag: Vol. 49 No. 13
Issue of Dec. 26, 2019 – Jan. 8, 2020
Posted inMusic
Part of a complete bloody breakfast on the gig poster of the week
This week’s featured gig poster is a collaboration between local artists Kaitlyn Beiriger and Frank Okay.
Posted inArts & Culture
How Jim Shiflett built the church of off-Loop theater
The founder of Body Politic died in December, but the seeds he planted 50 years ago played an immeasurable role in the growth of Chicago’s small theater scene.
Posted inArts & Culture
It’s not easy being Mean Girls
The touring musical version of Tina Fey’s 2004 film about queen bees lacks sting.
Posted inFilm
Chicago Cab, a film for all the bleaker Christmases
An all-star cast of cameos is a balm for forced cheer.
Posted inNews & Politics
Up in the air
What federal law means for some Chicago residents who want to smoke pot
Posted inNews & Politics
Weedman’s day
Illinois’s cannabis legalization aims to put dealers out of business, but they’re about more than just selling weed.
Posted inMusic
Rest in peace to Chloe the punk-scene pug
Chloe the punk-scene pug crosses the rainbow bridge, online ecology publication Mid Magazine launches with an Ariel Zetina mix, and more.
Posted inMusic
Cellist Lia Kohl on a joyful live series that randomly collides improvisers
Current musical obsessions of drummer Tim Daisy, cellist Lia Kohl, and Reader music editor Philip Montoro
Posted inMusic
Chicago soul dynamo Renaldo Domino breaks out his sugary sweet pipes on “Never Thought”
Correction: This item has been updated to include details about Renaldo Domino’s new Colemine Records single “No Laggin’ and Draggin’,” whose upcoming release the show celebrates. In a just and perfect world, Renaldo Domino would be as widely revered as legendary Chicago soul greats Curtis Mayfield, Jerry Butler, and Gene Chandler. In my opinion, the […]
Posted inMusic
Ian’s Party starts the year off right with three days of local bands
Since debuting in 2008, Ian’s Party has evolved from its humble suburban punk origins into an annual Wicker Park-based mini fest showcasing underground Chicago artists (though there are always a few acts from the greater midwest thrown in for good measure). Over the years it’s grown in ambition and in its commitment to inclusivity and […]
Posted inMusic
Chicago’s Blake Saint David knows how to navigate our genreless future
Brockhampton, Billie Eilish, Khalid, and scores of other musicians who’ve emerged in the past few years have taken a wrecking ball to genre divides and gotten hugely popular in the process. The genreless state of pop has also produced a lot of gray, emotionally static music, of course, just like happens within any genre, but […]
Posted inMusic
Kinobe juxtaposes East and West Africa in delicate, polished grooves
For the better part of two decades, virtuosic multi-instrumentalist Herbert Kinobe has composed exquisite Pan-African music from a Ugandan perspective. Born in 1983 in a small village outside Kampala near Lake Victoria, Kinobe (he performs under his last name) grew up hearing the music at the nearby Kanyange Nnamasole Tombs, a historic Buganda cultural site […]
Posted inMusic
Avery Sunshine brings in the new year with her bright neosoul
Some neosoul artists focus on torch songs and heartbreak, but as her name suggests, pianist and singer Avery Sunshine (aka Denise Nicole White) sticks to the brighter side of the genre. Working with guitarist and arranger Dana Johnson (who’s also her husband), Sunshine mixes old-school R&B grooves, gentle funk, and jazzy gospel vocals on flirtatiously […]
Posted inMusic
Local indie rockers Doleful Lions have long been overlooked, but they’ve never lost their spark
Chicagoan Jonathan Scott founded his indie-rock band Doleful Lions in 1996, and though they’ve been active ever since (albeit with a revolving-door lineup), they’ve mostly gone overlooked. That could be in part because Scott has avoided aggressively promoting his group, but I still wonder why more people haven’t found and fallen for Doleful Lions. Their […]