Tag: Vol. 51 No. 22
Issue of August 4, 2022
Swimming in the atomic waters of the largest Godzilla convention on earth
On the reptilian superstar, family, and other monsters
by Katie Prout
Affordable housing in Bronzeville
Dancing at Bud Billiken parade
On the cover: Photo by Mark Capapas. For more of Capapas’s work, go to mark-capapas.com.
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Posted inMusic
Sumac headline a night of dynamic, heavy music
The title track of Sumac’s latest album, 2020’s May You Be Held (Thrill Jockey), is a tough-love affirmation built for trying times, when soothing sounds just don’t cut it anymore and you need self-care that’s more like the cathartic group therapy you might find in a Klingon gladiatorial arena. The postmetal power trio use punky, […]
Posted inArts & Culture
The three Ryans
An interview with a trio of teenage boys who shared a passion for Godzilla and for calling each other “brother,” though it had only been an hour since they’d met.
Posted inColumns & Opinion
A note on this week’s cover story
I wouldn’t remember this incident except for that it’s on film, one that my brothers have watched repeatedly, the punch growing stronger, more violent in their mind.
Posted inArts & Culture
Swimming in the atomic waters of the largest Godzilla convention on earth
On the reptilian superstar, family, and other monsters
Posted inMusic
Black Chicago dance culture shines at Art on the Mart
On the evening of Thursday, June 30, dozens of young Black dancers gathered on the Chicago Riverwalk across from the Merchandise Mart. At 9 PM that night, Art on the Mart, which bills itself as the world’s largest permanent art projection, would debut two new pieces, including Billiken, an homage to the biggest Black parade […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Fast times at North Shore Magnet High
Journalist, playwright, screenwriter, theater critic, arts editor, and novelist Adam Langer was born in Chicago, grew up in West Rogers Park, went to school in Evanston, and spent the early part of his career here writing and editing for various Chicago publications, including the Reader, Inside Chicago, Book Magazine, and the alternative music magazine Subnation. […]
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Conversation, creativity, and coping strategies
Chicago musician Mike Vinopal is the bandleader, songwriter, and guitarist of upbeat funk ensemble Local Motive, the lead guitarist of moody rock band Badcandy, and a pet dad. A former special education teacher, and mental health advocate and speaker, his lived experiences with mental health challenges have inspired his fierce dedication to bettering himself and […]
Posted inOn Culture
Walking with the dead
When Anne Ford interviewed Adam Selzer for the Reader in 2014, it was all about his job as a ghost tour leader. You didn’t have to read between the lines to sense that it wasn’t the perfect gig for a truth-seeking research glutton. “No matter how skeptical I tried to be, I felt like I […]
Posted inMusic
The LatiNxt festival serves up cutting-edge grooves with a generous side of roots
LatiNxt is the kind of festival I enjoy the most. This free, two-day fest on Navy Pier is geared toward the pulse of the current scene and allows concertgoers to make new musical discoveries. For its fifth year, LatiNxt features 17 performances on two stages per day, curated by local Latinx collective Future Rootz. They’ve […]
Posted inMusic
Mexico City transplant Fernando de Buen López leads Chicago band Así Así in their album debut
Singer and guitarist Fernando de Buen López moved to Chicago from Mexico City in 2012 with his band El Mañana, who released one more album of jangly, psychedelic indie rock in 2014 before dissolving. In 2018 de Buen López resurrected the group as Así Así, and in summer 2020 they dropped two singles whose subtler […]
Posted inMusic
Chicago guitarist Melody Angel sings blues-rock that celebrates life and demands justice
Chicago guitarist and vocalist Melody Angel combines fiery celebrations of life with equally fearless and uncompromising demands for social justice. Her style of blues-rock mixes genres and influences as freely and as pointedly as her lyrics assault the boundaries between the personal and the political. Angel counts Hendrix and Prince among her idols, and though […]
Posted inMusic
Jessica Risker, licensed counselor, singer-songwriter, and host of Music Therapy
Jessica Risker is an experimental singer-songwriter and a licensed clinical counselor. After the COVID-19 pandemic sent Chicago into lockdown in March 2020, Risker merged those pursuits for a podcast called Music Therapy, where she speaks to artists, industry professionals, and fellow therapists about their work, creativity, and mental health. She initially imagined the podcast as […]
Posted inMusic
Lifeguard grow into their next underground rock vision on Crowd Can Talk
A couple weeks before Lifeguard played Horsegirl’s record-release show at Thalia Hall in June, I ran into drummer Isaac Lowenstein and bassist Asher Case while walking through the Logan Square Farmers Market with my family. My parents asked what kind of music they make, and we all had a little trouble coming up with a […]
Posted inMusic
Back Alley Jazz renews a south-side tradition
In 2018, Back Alley Jazz, an offshoot of the Hyde Park Jazz Festival, thrummed the heartstrings of nostalgic south-siders when it resuscitated the popular neighborhood-alley jams that took place in the community from the mid-1960s into the ’70s. Since then, this riff on tradition has become a tradition itself, turning unassuming corridors and street corners […]