|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Issue 289 |
|
|
| |
| |
Your event guide
Here's a snapshot of our favorite things to do in Chicago. |
|
|
| |
Chicago
Mar 30-Apr 5, 2010
|
|
|
| |
In two days, the lucky ones will just futilely pull at glued-down quarters and chuckle at Google's harmless annual shenanigans. More unfortunate souls will spend their time draining Nair from shampoo bottles or drying out their work clothes after a soaking from the taped-down handle on the flexible sink hose. (I knew I was too old and grumpy for roommates after that.) From Hedwig's Happy 25 and indie-hydra bills (Spoon/Deerhunter/Micachu) to the terminally cryptic (Ryan Gander) and the poetically decorated (Derek Walcott), this April 1st is loaded with fine selections to calm your pranked nerves. The rest of the week is no joke either. Enjoy it, fools!
- Stephen Gossett, Managing Editor
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
SPECIAL FEATURE
Top 10 acts from SXSW
|
|
|
With over 2,000 bands performing in Austin, Texas, for this year's SXSW music festival, separating the ones-to-watch from the ones-to-wash was a challenge even if you were there. While we couldn't catch every artist in attendance, now that the dust has settled, we've compiled the top 10 acts to watch out for in 2010. From quirky UK pop to retro soul and inspired global sounds, we've got you covered. »
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
PERFORMING ARTS: Comedy
Hannibal Buress
|
|
As sure as Hollywood and New York City will plunder great Chicago comedy talent, those poached comics usually find their way home to the audiences who put pay to their development (i.e. Tim Meadows at iO and the Second City's "50 Years of Funny" last year). Hannibal Buress has returned intermittently since decamping to NYC, but this five-night residency offers the first chance to fully reacquaint since he began writing for SNL. There's nothing revolutionary about Buress' deadpan observational style, but familiar bits about apple juice, pickle juice, and fire SUVs still slay; and there's quite a bit of acerbic commentary hiding beneath his laconic modesty. The extended stay offers ample space for new material mixed with those classic standbys.
- Stephen Gossett
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
MUSIC: Rock/Pop
The Ruby Suns w/ Toro Y Moi
| when: |
Wednesday Mar 31 (9pm)
|
| where: |
Schubas (3159 N Southport Ave, 773.525.2508)
map
|
| price: |
$10
|
|
|
The post-SXSW chill-wave debates that played out between the New York Times and Village Voice were arguably more interesting than the somnambulistic jamz under their critique; and while the Ruby Suns' Fight Softly does fit comfortably under chill-wave's lazy-summer daiquiri umbrella, mastermind Ryan McPhun kindly avoids the snooze button with a mess of synths, digital beats, and processed guitars. Hints of Sea Lion's Brian Wilsonian, Afropop-inflected ear candy occasionally shine through, but McPhun is after something slipperier these days: seemingly the busiest come-down music imaginable. With a bedrock of soulful coos and blissed-out synth washes, he sounds like an '80s sophisti-pop crooner for the post-AnCo crowd. Somehow, it works.
- Stephen Gossett
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
ART
Artist Talk: Ryan Gander
| when: |
Thursday Apr 1 (6pm)
|
| where: |
Price Auditorium (Art Institute of Chicago, 111 South Michigan Avenue)
map
|
| price: |
$20
|
|
|
The title of conceptual artist Ryan Gander's upcoming talk at the Art Institute, "The First Day I Met an Aurefilian," betrays his tendency toward abstruseness; Gander's work, enormously varied in output and process, has included an existential film study of actor David Lange and an installation of crystal balls etched with the image of a piece of falling paper. But he's also gifted at articulating and describing artistic practices, and his investment in the discourse surrounding art production results in both work that contains strong narrative elements as well as intriguing (if not always effortless) conversation.
- Monica Westin
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
MUSIC: Hip-Hop
Flying Lotus w/ Kode9 and Mymanhenri
| when: |
Friday Apr 2 (9pm)
|
| where: |
Double Door (1572 N Milwaukee Ave, 773.489.3160)
map
|
| price: |
$10 / $5 advance
|
|
|
Since the release of his acclaimed Los Angeles LP in 2008, Flying Lotus has been subtly vying for the role of leader of the West Coast future-hop revolution, amassing an army of like-minded experimental producers for his digital label Brainfeeder. He also released a hilariously badass video for "Parisian Goldfish," which features the utilitarian implementation of cartoon genitals — a fine way to kill time while waiting for Cosmogramma (May 2010, Warp). In case he doesn't unleash enough heavy bass for you tonight, fear not — he's joined by Londoner Kode9, whose downtempo, dready tunes pull even the most discerning listeners out from underneath their hoodies. Kode9 also runs a label, Hyperdub, which releases the freshest dubstep tracks from the likes of Burial, the Bug, and Zomby.
- Ali Gitlow
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
MUSIC: Experimental
Xiu Xiu w/ tUnE-yArDs and Talk Normal
| when: |
Saturday Apr 3 (9pm)
|
| where: |
Lincoln Hall (2424 N Lincoln Ave, 773.525.2508 )
map
|
| price: |
$12
|
|
|
There will never be much room for irony in Xiu Xiu's almost embarrassingly confessional musical world; and Jamie Stewart's latest, Dear God, I Hate Myself, delivers the anguish its title promises. Only now, after seven records, Stewart's brutal self-doubt and shock lyrics serve almost as comfort food to his depressive legions. It helps, too, that Dear God is Xiu Xiu's most immediate record since Fabulous Muscles. With Angela Seo on full-time and longtime collaborator Caralee McElroy exited for Cold Cave, Stewart dabbles in chiptune and folk, all to a deceptively hooky ends. Not surprising from the man who imprinted lines such as, "Cremate me after you cum on my lips, honey boy," onto the pop consciousness of thousands.
- Stephen Gossett
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
MUSIC: Rock/Pop
Shearwater w/ Wye Oak and Hospital Ships
| when: |
Sunday Apr 4 (9pm)
|
| where: |
Lincoln Hall (2424 N Lincoln Ave, 773.525.2508 )
map
|
| price: |
$12
|
|
|
Hailing from Austin, Shearwater deliver stirring rock songs that are ominously beautiful, like watching dark clouds gather on the horizon. And sure enough, on the band's critically praised album Rook, a storm breaks out as delicate vocal lines swell into noisier tempests of guitar and various other instruments. Since co-founder Will Sheff left to focus on Okkervil River, Jonathan Meiburg has driven Shearwater's evolution and proven himself to be an assured songwriter. This is cinematic music, not in the simplistic sense of having an epic sound, but rather in the feeling that it describes a journey through an atmospheric landscape — imagine desolate mountains rising out of the sea. The band returns to Chicago tonight in support of the new Golden Archipeligo (Matador).
- Karsten Lund
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
ART
Lecture: Andrea Zittel: Studio as Testing Ground
| when: |
Monday Apr 5 (6pm)
|
| where: |
Museum of Contemporary Art (220 E Chicago Ave, 312.280.2660)
map
|
| price: |
$10
|
|
|
Chicago has seen an abundance of shows in the last few years about the artist's studio; and the MCA's current Production Site: The Artist's Studio Inside-Out contains some of the more fascinating explorations of the studio's many functions and relations to its artist. Andrea Zittel, a standout in the MCA show, discusses her own studio in the high desert of Joshua Tree, California, as a space for exploration and artistic production. What makes Zittel's angle particularly compelling is both the far-flung geography of her studio and the fact that her own work examines the aesthetics of day-to-day living, making her relationship to the studio especially complex and contradictory.
- Monica Westin
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
ART
Richard Hull
| when: |
Wednesday Mar 31 (11am–6pm)
More times»
|
| where: |
Western Exhibitions (119 N Peoria St, #2A, 312.480.8390)
map
|
| price: |
FREE
|
|
|
Richard Hull's current show at Western Exhibitions feels like looking at single frames from an animated film. In his new series of paintings, Hull tries on a more organic, fluid, and somewhat nonsensical form that repeats in variations throughout the exhibition. The high-color palette he has shared with Chicago Imagists (Roger Brown, Jim Nutt, Ed Paschke) complements the artist's abandonment of representative forms and the typically architectural paintings for which he's known. Stressing repetition, color, and almost cartoon-like composition, Hull's concerns are instead channeled though meticulous attention to surface detail, pattern, color, and movement. The result is a vibrant, obsessive visual playground — a kind of adventure in the hall of mirrors.
- Beatrice Smigasiewicz
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
About Us |
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
Cultural Partner
|
| |
Editors
PUBLISHERS
Sascha Lewis
Mark Mangan
MANAGING EDITOR
Stephen Gossett
DEPUTY EDITOR
Monica Westin
CONTRIBUTING EDITORS
Beatrice Smigasiewicz
Karsten Lund
SENIOR EDITORS
Doug Levy
Leah Taylor
|
|
Flavorpill Chicago
All events featured on Flavorpill CHI are pure editorial — we never accept paid promotions or advertisements. If you know about an upcoming event that you think should be covered in Flavorpill CHI, email us a press release at chi_events at least two weeks prior to the event and we'll consider it.
To learn more about our staff and policies, see the credits and about us pages. If you'd like to respond to our editors about a listing published here, or have a general inquiry, please email chi_feedback.
MORE PUBLICATIONS
Flavorpill publishes weekly event guides in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, and London; the Flavorpill Daily Dose, covering Art, Books, News, Music, and Film; and the Flavorwire, a blog featuring daily news and cultural commentary.
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
© 2009 Flavorpill. All rights reserved.
[-EMAILADDR-] is subscribed to Flavorpill Chicago. Sign in to change your email address. Click to automatically UNSUBSCRIBE this address. For more information, please read our ANTI-SPAM/Privacy Policy, or contact us at subscriptions@flavorpill.com (HQ: 594 Broadway, Ste 1212, NY, NY 10012).
|
|
|
|
