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In many cases, pessimists’ glass-half-empty outlook is actually an attempt to reject false hopes, given how often our species’ progress is encumbered by our tendency to (at best) shoot ourselves in the foot. There’s joy to be found in lowered expectations: Would you rather be disappointed by leaders and institutions that fall short of their lofty promise, or pleasantly surprised when they clear a low bar? The Nightmare of Being is multidimensional, revealing more on repeat listenings, and proves that At the Gates still have plenty to say and explore after three decades....

Bernie Sanders believes the “political revolution” he called for as a presidential candidate in 2016 is well under way in Chicago. The proof? It was in the room with him at a rally in Little Village Thursday. Part of that “army” is a slate of young Latino candidates who say they want to take back the southwest side from Chicago machine politics. “I’m running against the political machine that has not worked for our community,” said Aaron Ortiz, a 26-year-old high school counselor running for First District state representative....

Galerie F Runner-Up: Gallery Provocateur

Hazel 1926 W. Montrose 773-904-7779 hazelchicago.com Runner-Up: The Silver Room

Hedra Rowan and Ari Korotkin started Chicago experimental imprint Bodymilk Tapes in summer 2017. Their motto? “No more synth bros / Bait the straights / Aspire to shred.” As Rowan says, “Genre labels aren’t as important to us as putting out absolute bangers by queers.” Bodymilk’s catalog has lots of bangers—the digital detritus on Rowan’s 19th Century Girl includes pained robot voices, scathing noise, and delightfully out-of-place Eurotrance samples. Bodymilk’s current focus is less on releasing music and more on booking a monthly DIY series in Pilsen and the annual Noise Prom....

One of the first times I saw Brett Naucke onstage was in in 2007, when he and his noisy power trio, Druids of Huge, played a Cleveland punk bar. During the first minutes of the set someone dumped an entire pint of beer on Naucke’s synthesizer, rendering it unusable. In response, Naucke cranked the dials on his amp to kick up feedback, then hoisted said amp above his head and menacingly waved it toward the crowd....

Welcome to the Reader‘s weekday news briefing. Have a great weekend! Judge: Police body-camera expansion violates Illinois labor laws A judge says that the Chicago Police Department broke Illinois labor laws when it failed to negotiate the expansion of its body-camera program with the local Fraternal Order of Police union, and has issued a recommendation order advising the city “to begin a dialogue, as required by state law, on safety and disciplinary matters surrounding the 2017 body camera expansion....

The start of Jesse Eisenberg’s first-ever day as a politico felt a bit like a scene from one of his movies. He admitted later that he’s not ready to be a full-time statesman or activist any time soon. He is a fan of Sanders (“I obviously support a lot of what Bernie Sanders supports,” he says) but hedged about also describing himself as a democratic socialist. “My wife and I were looking for things to do to live in her honor and do things that she would have done were she here,” says Eisenberg....

Ana Gabriel, nicknamed “La Diva de América,” has influenced generations of music fans since she launched her career in the 1970s. With her no-holds-barred approach to every tune and her signature vocal quality—a husky rasp that evokes long nights of crying and drinking—the Mexican singer-songwriter has mastered torch songs in a wide range of genres. Over the decades, Gabriel has had massive hits in Latin pop, rock, and most notably mariachi music....

Alamo Shoes Lori’s Shoes Finalists: Hanig’s, Click Shoes

FroSkate

River Park

Whether you’re feeling patriotic (or just relieved compared to recent years), or just looking for a break over the holiday weekend and beyond, here are some events to help you ease into July. Fri 7/2 and Sat 7/3, 9 PM: Composer, clarinetist, improviser, and Participatory Music Coalition cofounder Angel Bat Dawid settles in for an inspiring weekend residency, “Tha Playground,” at the Empty Bottle with collaborators. On Friday, she’s joined in a “swing set” by gospel and jazz singer Phillip Armstrong....

Chicago hip-hop producer and visual artist Robert Krums has been making music for nearly two decades, and for most of that time he went by the name Earmint. About five years ago, he reinvented himself as Spectacular Diagnostics. Fortunately, the reputation in the national underground he’d earned as Earmint helped him assemble a hit squad of guest MCs—Vic Spencer, Quelle Chris, Jeremiah Jae, Westside Gunn, Conway the Machine—for his first Spectacular Diagnostics album, 2015’s Raw Game....

HBO Amanda Peet, Melanie Lynskey, Mark Duplass, and Steve Zissis are always together in Togetherness. The Duplass brothers have been in the independent film game for years, creating low-budget films that intimately and effectively explore the nature of family and personal relationships. The two have made names for themselves as writers, directors, and as actors (Mark Duplass stars in The League and Jay Duplass is in Transparent), and their new show on HBO, Togetherness, allows them to do what they do best, just in a shinier package....

Vicki Quade had a new show opening at the Royal George Theatre the weekend of March 15, 2020. Quade, coauthor and producer of the long-running comedy show Late Nite Catechism, was appearing herself in some performances of this new spin-off, Easter Bunny Bingo, as former nun Mrs. Mary Margaret O’Brien. The show played for just two performances before it was shut down by COVID. Otherwise, like almost the entire Chicago theater community, the nuns have been sidelined—interrupting a nearly 28-year Chicago run for the original show....

Q: Are you incapable of concision? Your answers are too long! You blather on, often rehashing the problem (unnecessary!) before giving four words (at most!) of (rarely!) useful advice. I’ve heard you say you have to edit letters down for space. Try this instead: Edit yourself! I want more of the letters—more from the people asking questions—and less of YOU. —Keep It Short, Savage, Expressed Sincerely A: You’re doing nothing wrong, SLASH....