Black Pols Stuck In The Democratic Machine S Spin Cycle Explain Themselves

Now that I’ve cleared my throat, let me explain: I was torn about spelling out in print all six letters of the hate-filled N-word. I don’t like saying it in mixed company. That means around white people, even at rap concerts. They stood behind Pritzker and offered forgiveness that suggests to a lot of people-white people, that is-that they too should get a pass for sneaky racism so long as they don’t speak in vicious racial slurs....

November 25, 2022 · 2 min · 265 words · Maria Doane

A Year Like No Other

Eviction Since March, the federal, state, and local versions of an eviction moratorium have kept thousands in their homes. While typically there are some 20,000 eviction cases filed every year, as of December 14, only about 6,600 eviction cases have been filed against Chicago residential and commercial tenants—and 65 percent of those cases were initiated before the governor issued his first moratorium. I’ve been dropping into seminars and discussions hosted by local landlord groups....

November 24, 2022 · 2 min · 425 words · Delbert Howe

Best Revival Of A Well Known Play

Rentat Theo Ubique 773-347-1109 theo-u.com/rent Runner-Up: The Hairy Ape at Oracle Theatre

November 24, 2022 · 1 min · 12 words · Clair Harris

Best Singer Songwriter

Ryan Powers ryanpowersmusic.com Runner-Up: Daniel Knox

November 24, 2022 · 1 min · 6 words · Tina Carey

Black Artistic Leaders Take Charge At Several Chicago Theaters

Author’s note: since the publication of this article, two new Black Chicago theater leaders have been brought to my attention—Arlicia McLain, the artistic director at Halcyon Theatre, and Myesha-Tiara McGarner with the newly-formed Perceptions Theatre Company. As she takes the helm, one of her biggest challenges is grappling with COVID and the safety of returning to live performance. Selemon says, “We are never going to jump the gun on something like that....

November 24, 2022 · 3 min · 522 words · Lilian Larson

Blu Exile Explore History Time And Influence On Miles From An Interlude Called Life

Since 2007, Los Angeles rapper Blu has dispensed more than a dozen albums indebted to hip-hop’s golden age, and on his releases with producer Exile, his garrulous style finds a firm footing. The duo’s third effort, the double disc Miles: From an Interlude Called Life (Dirty Science), spans the globe and the history of the African diaspora. The nine-minute epic “Roots of Blu” tells the story of humanity through the accomplishments of Black folks, name-checking the likes of Tutankhamun, W....

November 24, 2022 · 2 min · 300 words · Darlene Figueroa

Blues Guitarist Maxwell Street Jimmy Davis Learned His Raw Propulsive Style From John Lee Hooker

Since 2004 Plastic Crimewave (aka Steve Krakow) has used the Secret History of Chicago Music to shine a light on worthy artists with Chicago ties who’ve been forgotten, underrated, or never noticed in the first place. Older strips are archived here.

November 24, 2022 · 1 min · 41 words · Leo Mcmenamy

Boonie Foods Imagines Pinoy Food Past Present And Future

No, there is no vegan sausage on the menu at Boonie Foods, but I wasn’t the first person to imagine there was. Vigan longganisa is actually an exception to the general profile of Ilocano food, which Fontelera says, “in my experience is a lot more simply prepared compared to any other region in the Philippines. It’s very technique-driven versus being ingredient heavy.” “I wanted to put my best foot forward with this,” he says....

November 24, 2022 · 1 min · 157 words · Kim Layton

British Reedist Shabaka Hutchings Brings His Caribbean Flavored Jazz Quartet Sons Of Kemet To Chicago

Jazz-related music rarely gets any sort of mainstream hype these days, and it’s gratifying when one of the figures attracting wide attention outside of the jazz press actually deserves it. British reedist Shabaka Hutchings, a dynamo rooted in jazz, is an agile and curious musician who spreads his soulfully biting improvisation across wildly disparate projects. Last year he made his local debut at the Chicago Jazz Festival, playing in a band led by veteran South African drummer Louis Moholo-Moholo, where he extrapolated dancing solos sparked by free-jazz exploration and fueled by kwela melodies....

November 24, 2022 · 2 min · 345 words · Taryn Martin

Can You Stomach Ponce The Sausage Stuffed Pig Stomach

The whole stomach was also a bit of a departure from the traditional ponce: pig stomach isn’t particularly easy to find in Chicago, and the only ones the chefs could get had already been cut open. “They sort of quilted the stomach together,” Kim says, to try to re-create what a whole stomach would look like. “It looks like some Lord of the Rings-esque grandmother made it,” Kim says. “I don’t even know if it’s all from the same pig, honestly....

November 24, 2022 · 1 min · 87 words · Heather Kelso

Activists Disrupt Black Friday Shopping On Chicago S Mag Mile

What a difference a year makes. But in the wake of Donald Trump’s surprise victory over Hillary Clinton in the presidential election, there’s a renewed sense of urgency among activists to ensure city and federal officials follow through on improvements. In a statement associated with the Black Friday boycott, activists with CAARPR called COPA “another mayor-appointed layer of bureaucracy designed to justify police crimes.” Jeff Baker, leader of @NAARPR, teaching us why @VictoriasSecret is a target of #CPACBOYCOTT_NOV25 pic....

November 23, 2022 · 1 min · 112 words · James Wilson

Best Advocate For The Arts

Chicago Truborn 1741 W. Chicago 773-420-9764 chicagotruborn.com Runner-Up: David Weinberg

November 23, 2022 · 1 min · 10 words · Helen White

Best Country Band

The Hoyle Brothers Lawrence Peters Outfit Finalists: Blind Adam & the Federal League, Glad Rags

November 23, 2022 · 1 min · 15 words · Mary Benthall

Best Dj

Matt Roan djmattroan.com Runner-Up: Zebo

November 23, 2022 · 1 min · 5 words · Roseanne Ona

Best Pet Store

Jameson Loves Danger Urban Pooch Finalists: Wigglyville, Bentley’s Pet Stuff, Ruff Haus

November 23, 2022 · 1 min · 12 words · Nicki Bulat

Best Poetry Organization

Young Chicago Authors Poetry Foundation 

November 23, 2022 · 1 min · 5 words · Don Olofson

Best Sketch Improv Troupe

The Second City Runner-Up: Hitch*Cocktails

November 23, 2022 · 1 min · 5 words · Tasha Lewis

Blueswoman Mary Lane Is Still Looking For The Respect She Deserves At Age 82

Since 2004 Plastic Crimewave (aka Steve Krakow) has used the Secret History of Chicago Music to shine a light on worthy artists with Chicago ties who’ve been forgotten, underrated, or never noticed in the first place. Older strips are archived here.

November 23, 2022 · 1 min · 41 words · Catherine Brown

Austin S Temple Of Angels Match Postrock Aesthetics With Metallic Power

Austin quintet Temple of Angels have been flying low under the radar since they dropped their self-titled debut EP in 2017, but they’ve cut their way out of the undergrowth of a dark postpunk forest to build a following through touring and judicious festival bookings, including SXSW and Austin Terror Fest. Last year’s full-length Foiled (released on cassette and digitally) shows the young band finding their footing and developing an organic, jagged-but-ethereal sound....

November 22, 2022 · 1 min · 205 words · Linda Lenk

Beauty And The Beast The Complete Deaths And Four More New Theater Reviews

Beauty and the Beast Married performance artists Julie Atlas Muz and Mat Fraser, billing themselves as Oneofus, spend a none-too-subtle evening drawing parallels between the titular 18th-century fairy tale and their own romantic relationship. Muz, a burlesque performer and onetime Miss Coney Island, is the beauty, while Fraser, a self-described disability artist with thalidomide-induced phocomelia (he calls his arms “small and perfectly deformed”) is, discomfitingly, the beast. For 80 minutes they alternately enact the fairy tale, ably assisted by clever puppetry and cunning scenic design, and recount the course of their romance....

November 22, 2022 · 2 min · 264 words · Aaron Jared