Chicago native Inda Craig-Galván takes theatergoers on a heart-to-heart journey in A Hit Dog Will Holler, a two-hander that underlines the trauma and resilience experienced by Black women—often called upon to be at the forefront of social movements—living in America. Directed by Myesha-Tiara, Artemisia Theatre’s production zooms in on the unlikely friendship between Gina (Alexandria […]
Tag: Vol. 52 No. 24
Issue of September 7, 2023
On the cover: “The Books Issue”
Photography and artwork by Kirk Williamson for Chicago Reader
Find a print copy of the Reader.
←Previous issue | Next issue→
Posted inTheater Review
Moon at the Bottom of the Ocean explores artistic jealousy and romantic need
It’s beginning to feel like we’re having a mini festival this year of plays about the romantic and professional conflicts facing artist (or academic) couples, between First Floor’s Hatefuck by Rehana Lew Mirza and Steppenwolf’s Another Marriage by Kate Arrington. Bryn Magnus’s latest comedy, Moon at the Bottom of the Ocean, perhaps completes the trifecta. […]
Posted inFood & Drink
Local food books you might have missed—and some you shouldn’t
Years ago, at the height of the craze, I bought an Instant Pot. Of course I had to have the largest size possible—the eight-quart. If I’d read any reviews, I might have learned that this hissing countertop monster had a few technical liabilities that the smaller ones didn’t. I was particularly annoyed that I couldn’t […]
Posted inMusic
DJ Deeon brought the Low End to the world
In the mid- and late 1980s, Deeon Boyd built a reputation as one of the best DJs in Chicago’s Low End. He lived in Stateway Gardens in Bronzeville, and he’d spin records in the projects. “He liked playing music for people,” says Tranz, a hip-hop producer from the Low End. “He would set up outside […]
Posted inGossip Wolf
Jazz pianist Pat Leary celebrates a sleek, bustling electric trio album
Pianist Pat Leary has played in so many local ensembles it’d be easy to lose count. These days he tickles the ivories in Latin R&B band Partywatcher and indie country outfit Thompson Springs, accompanies jazz singer Livia Gazzolo, and improvises in free-jazz quartet Heuristic with saxophonist and flutist Eric Novak, bassist Jeff Wheaton, and drummer […]
Posted inArts & Culture
A dramatic top ten for fall
Since opening in March 2023, Andersonville’s Understudy bookstore and cafe has stayed busy by offering a robust selection of theater-related titles, coffee, pastries, and public programming. With the fall theater season about to kick into high gear, we asked the staff what they’ve been reading lately. The UnderstudyMon-Thu 7 AM-6 PM, Fri-Sun 7 AM-7 PM, […]
Posted inArts & Culture
‘Because we are black, we are making black music’
Out of their place. Out of their depth. Out of their minds. Composer and researcher George Lewis has lost track of the times he’s heard those tropes lobbed, implicitly or explicitly, at Black composers of classical music. These artists, he argues, too often slip through the cracks in academic and cultural discourse: They’re shunted to […]
Posted inMusic
Rising Chicago songwriter Khaliyah X makes herself known on ‘What’s My Name’
Khaliyah X has had a big year. The local R&B singer-songwriter has performed at Navy Pier and a Chicago Sky game, earned a spot in the spring-summer “Chicago Artists to Watch” list compiled by local digital publication These Days, and made a cameo in a Wilson Basketball commercial. This weekend she’ll join scenemates such as […]
Posted inMusic
Two of the planet’s heaviest trios team up for the Twins of Evil tour
The Twins of Evil tour brings together two of the heaviest trios on the planet: Japanese shape-shifters Boris, whose nearly four dozen studio releases cover practically every heavy subgenre imaginable, and American sludge pioneers the Melvins, who are celebrating their 40th anniversary. Each group will play an iconic album from front to back. Boris will […]
Posted inMusic
Precocious Neophyte’s home-recorded dream pop sounds bigger than the sky
Update: Precocious Neophyte have canceled this September appearance. The band’s next scheduled show is Mon 10/2 at Cafe Mustache in support of Jyonson Tsu, current vocalist for Acid Mothers Temple & the Melting Paraiso UFO. By 2021, I knew every dusty corner of my two-bedroom apartment so well—and my world during that stage of the […]
Posted inFilm
Hello CUFF
The Chicago Underground Film Festival is back, and the longest-running fest devoted to the subculture of movies has quite a variety of attractions.
Posted inMusic
The Trenchies will make you believe in indie rock’s future
Chicago four-piece the Trenchies combine self-aware bookishness with carefully controlled energy, which work together to give their whimsical indie rock its irresistible momentum—their songs can make you feel like your day is filled with unforeseen possibilities. On their self-released debut EP, March’s You Are Listening To, the Trenchies juggle goofy funk (“Talk Show”), slacker pop […]
Posted inFilm
Review: Bottoms
Just gather your nonsqueamish WLW friends and go see Bottoms immediately.
Posted inMusic
Gróa share their high-octane punk spirit at a free Icelandic music showcase
In Norse mythology, Gróa is a seer and a goddess of knowledge, but when you listen to the Icelandic trio who share her name, you’ll wonder if she isn’t a little punk rock too. Two teenage sisters, guitarist and vocalist Karólina Einarsdóttir and drummer Hrafnhildur Einarsdóttir, formed Gróa six years ago with a childhood friend, […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Anne K. Yoder on the artist-centered approach of Meekling Press
Editor’s note: Coco Picard spoke with Chicago writer and publisher Anne K. Yoder about corunning Meekling Press and the importance of independent publishing. Edited text from the comic is transcribed here to ease readability. Anne K. Yoder worked as a part-time unionized pharmacist for years. The experience inspired The Enhancers (Meekling Press, 2022)—a hyperreal novel […]