Posts
Amplifying Sally Banes
This article has been updated with corrected information. There is no argument that Sally Banes was an eminent, groundbreaking scholar, and that her writings informed, inspired, and connected many dance artists. Her work will continue to be taught and explored. It has already been pushed against; Manning explains that Ramsay Burt’s 2006 book Judson Dance Theater: Performative Traces and the 2019 MoMA exhibit about Judson-era art, The Work Is Never Done, both revise Banes’s narrative of the postmodern dance era....
Are The Vinyard Indians The Rachel Dolezal Of Native Tribes
In a small clearing in the middle of the Shawnee National Forest, Barney Bush sprinkles a handful of glittery dust into a bonfire and pokes at the night sky with an eagle feather as if signing some kind of phantom letter. It’s the second evening of Reconnection Days, an annual festival held on the third weekend in September by the Vinyard Indian Settlement, a small nonprofit entity 345 miles south of Chicago that’s the literal stomping grounds of a tribe of self-identifying Native Americans led by Bush, a distinguished poet, author, activist, and educator....
Bad Hunter Is Mostly Meatless But Missing Nothing
Along with gun racks and truck nuts, in certain parts of the country there’s a bumper sticker prevalent on rusty pickups that states “ ’Vegetarian’ is an old Indian word for ‘bad hunter.’ ” It’s from this feeble scrap of woodsman’s humor that Heisler Hospitality, the burgeoning bar and restaurant empire behind Trenchermen and Pub Royale, has adopted the name for its latest. These are fine dishes, but it’s the rest of the menu that makes Bad Hunter an oasis for anyone who prefers to keep blood out of the mouth....
Best Day Care
Les Petits Amis Addus HomeCare
Best Film Festival
Chicago International Film Festival chicagofilmfestival.com Runner-Up: CIMM Fest
Best Of Chicago 2015 City Life
Best use of faux religious iconography Best new rails-to-trails conversion that isn’t the Bloomingdale Trail Best new tech development to make your mouth water Best AM caffeine substitute Best indicator that the CTA is as slow as you think Best sex-positive podcast Best online publication following the astounding things your alderman does Best signs that the lakefront liberal is dead Best evidence Anita Alvarez might have a sense of humor Best political flack Best rebel alliance against the Empire Best alternative use of Christmas lights Best youth delegation to the United Nations Best place to bone up on Chicago’s legal history Best show of architectural chutzpah Best soul-singing sensei Best new college sports program Best NCAA basketball tournament appearance streak Best retro sports facility Best affordable indoor tennis club Best Chicagoan to follow on Twitter Best street character Best alderman Best journalist Best local blog Best neighborhood Best view of the city Best athlete Best historic building Best charity Best bowling alley Best dog park Best activist Best LGBTQ organization
Best Theater Company
Steppenwolf Theatre steppenwolf.org Runner-Up: Goodman Theatre
Bill Clinton Revs Up Supporters In Evanston For Change Maker Hillary
In a raspy voice and with his folksy charm, Bill Clinton preached to the Democratic faithful in Evanston Tuesday morning, campaigning for Hillary Clinton here a week before the Illinois primary. And no one was more capable of that than Hillary, he said. He traced many of her campaign pledges: criminal justice reform, protection of gay rights, support for small businesses, and fighting for clean energy and a “more inclusive” economy....
Bric A Brac Co Owner Helps Breathe New Life Into Defunct Italian Garage Rock Record Label
Thing Italian-based SSLD Records operated from 1999 until 2007, cranking out more than 30 slabs of deranged garage punk, with releases by bands like Lost Sounds, the Dirtbombs, the Bassholes, and the Ponys. Label owner Federico “Mr. Z” Zanutto originally ceased operations to focus on fatherhood, but like any true punk, he wasn’t about to just let the dream die. At the urging of—and with major assistance from—Bric-a-Brac Records co-owner Nick Mayor, SSLD has been resurrected and is now operating out of Mayor’s shop....
Brilliant Michigan Grindcore Band Cloud Rat Stream New Album Play Chicago
Adam DeGross Cloud Rat Despite my fondness for loud, obnoxious music, I often have a hard time warming up to grindcore—usually because I can’t hear enough of what’s happening. Combine hyperactive distorted guitars with frenzied, pistoning drums, and in most cases the shape and direction of the riffs ends up lost. It’s like listening to a busy construction site—all you can make out is churning, percussive noise and shouting. Some bands make that work by expertly modulating the density and speed of the barrage—Wormrot come to mind—but I tend to prefer the ones that build in a little breathing room instead....
429 Too Many Requests
A Makeshift Tiki Hut In A Mayfair Attic Gives Lost Lake A Run For Its Money
Andrea Bauer To give the effect of a tiki hut, the attic’s sloped walls are covered in what looks like bamboo matting; upon closer inspection, it’s actually just fencing from Home Depot. Straw fringe hanging throughout the room is from a party store. “We fill in the holes any way we can,” Sheehan says. “The dollar store comes in handy.”
An Artist Turns His Canvases Into Garments
Street View is a fashion series in which Isa Giallorenzo spotlights some of the coolest styles seen in Chicago.
At The Chicago Marathon
Best Food Truck
The Fat Shallot DönerMen Finalists: Cheesie’s, Happy Lobster Truck
Best Hip Hop Artist
Chance the Rapper Saba Finalists: Glitter Moneyyy, Roy Kinsey
Best Kids Clothing
Peach Fuzz Cloud & Bunny Finalists: Little Threads, Monica & Andy
Best Living Vivian Maier
Art Shay Maybe you’ve heard of Vivian Maier? The “North Shore nanny” who exploded into posthumous fame after thousands of her photos were uncovered virtually by accident? Human empathy shines in Maier’s street photography, the best of which hones in sharply on the eccentric and downtrodden. She’d have had a kindred spirit in Chicago-based photojournalist Art Shay, now 93, whose portraits, like Maier’s, reflect a photographer who sees deep. Though he’s shot the likes of Mohammad Ali and Marlon Brando, it’s Shay’s wife of 67 years, Florence, who really draws out the love stuff in his photos....
Best Museum
Art Institute of Chicago Field Museum Finalists: National Museum of Mexican Art, Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago