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Issue 250 |
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Your event guide
Here's a snapshot of our favorite things to do in Chicago. |
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Chicago
Jun 30-Jul 6, 2009
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The strains of "Billie Jean," "Beat It," and "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough" are still everywhere, wafting through open windows and blasting from car stereos, enveloping the city in a veneer of cross-generational cool and adding a bit of toe-tapping levity to the oppressively hot days. As we collectively mourn the passing of the King of Pop, we're left marveling at the ways culture colors our memories and enriches our lives. The moonwalk, the Thriller video, the sequined glove, the upper-register woo-hoos, those white socks — all part of the legacy of an entertainer whose magnetic star power and unquestionable talent made him a nonpareil global pop icon for the ages. Within hours of Michael Jackson's untimely death on Thursday, utility poles in the Loop were plastered in handmade RIP posters, and spontaneous tributes erupted on the North and South sides. It's in this way that culture — high-brow, low-brow, underground, mainstream, and everything in between — matters. It unites, engages, and dazzles the spirit. Much like the man himself.
- Suzanne Niemoth, Managing Editor
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From Russia with love
Stolichnaya is the classic Russian vodka for a reason. Distilled for more than a century in Russia's black-earth region, Stoli is produced from a careful blend of smooth winter wheat and spicy rye, then filtered through quartz, sand, activated charcoal, and cloth. Sounds like a lot of work for such a simple spirit, but give it a sip or two and you'll know it was worth it.
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SPECIAL FEATURE
Win and fly with Virgin America
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Virgin America has partnered with Le Tourment Vert to bring the Green Fairy on board, and the first taste could be yours. To win two tickets on the airline, just email us or tweet @Flavorpill your chosen city within the Virgin America network and tell us why you'd love to travel there in five words or less. (Tag your tweet #LTVabsinthe.) This contest is open to everyone, so spread the word. Entries close on July 31. »
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MORE FLAVOR: Discussion
Checking the Gauge: The Legacy and Future of Oil and Water Policy
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Tuesday June 30 (6pm)
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The Newberry Library (60 W Walton St, 312.255.3556)
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FREE w/ RSVP
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As sustainability becomes a pervasive, governing criteria in the eco-conscious mind, issues that were once considered strictly the realm of policy wonks are now central to everyday individuals. Checking the Gauge — part of the excellent ongoing All-Consuming: Conversations on Oil and Water series — inspects how local and national oil and water planning influences the daily lives of communities, and how we can better manage these resources — CMAP's comprehensive GO TO 2040 being a good jumping-off point. Last year's wide-ranging Great Lakes Compact gave area environmentalists reason to cheer; sign up (reservations are required), and see what's next.
- Stephen Gossett
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MUSIC: Experimental
Galactic Zoo Dossier Magazine Release Party feat. DRMWPN
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Wednesday July 1 (9pm)
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Chopin Theatre (1543 W Division St, 773.278.1500)
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$7
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For years, Steve Krakow has been a preternaturally committed fixture on the Chicago music scene, contributing rock comics to the Reader, masterminding Plastic Crimewave Sound, and acting as impresario of Million Tongues. Still, it's Galactic Zoo Dossier, his hand-written and illustrated psych/folk zine, that really gets our rock-geek mouths frothing. Celebrate the latest issue release (featuring a CD of rarities, as well as Guitar God and Astral Folk trading cards) with performances by local drone collective DRMWPN and Ultimate Vag, plus a rare screening of the Sandy Bull doc No Deposit No Return Blues.
- Stephen Gossett
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MUSIC: Rock/Pop
Explosions in the Sky w/ Jason Lytle
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Thursday July 2 (8pm)
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| where: |
Congress Theater (2135 N Milwaukee Ave, 312.458.9668)
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| price: |
$20 / $18 advance
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Explosions in the Sky create symphonies out of a drum kit and three guitars. The band (anchored by Rockford native Chris Hrasky on drums) weaves together complex harmonies that sound at once conflicted, hopeful, atmospheric, and — as the name suggests — grand. The ambient post-rockers responsible for the Friday Night Lights soundtrack perform tonight at the Congress Theater alongside former Grandaddy frontman Jason Lytle, whose recent Yours Truly, the Commuter is an album with a languid pace that reflects his California roots. Together, the two acts promise a dreamy, largely wordless show worthy of any orchestra hall.
- Karlie Baker
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FILM: Documentary
Herb and Dorothy
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Friday July 3 (6pm)
More times»
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| where: |
Gene Siskel Film Center (164 N State St, 312.846.2600)
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| price: |
$9
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You would need a heart of stone to not be charmed by Herb and Dorothy Vogel; Megumi Sasaki's sweet, low-key documentary doesn't really have to do much, given the Vogels' remarkable story. Starting in the early '60s, Herb, then a postal worker, and his new bride Dorothy, a librarian, started collecting what, in Dorothy's words, "we liked, what we could afford, and what would fit in our one-bedroom apartment." What they amassed is now regarded as one of the most important collections of minimal and conceptual art. As attested to by the numerous artists interviewed, the Vogels' passion is remarkable not only for its enthusiasm, but also for its purity (they've never sold a piece). Collecting is the Vogels' calling, and spending 90 minutes in their company might make you a convert too.
- Matt Sussman
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MORE FLAVOR: Spectacle
Independent's Day: The Re-Birth of a Nation feat. Tomorrow Kings
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Saturday July 4 (4pm)
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Schubas (3159 N Southport Ave, 773.525.2508)
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$5 suggested donation
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This Fourth of July, skip the backyard BBQs and anxiety-inducing downtown firework crowds and reconnect with the true spirit of Independence Day. Schubas' Independent's Day: The Re-Birth of a Nation fête toasts America's birthday by highlighting social-justice issues and celebrating the independent voices in Chicago art, culture, and politics. Take in performances by politically minded hip-hop outfit Tomorrow Kings, sets by DJ Itch, live art by graffiti/design collective Novem, and even a youth poetry slam or two. Speakers from progressive book publisher Haymarket Books are on hand to preach power to the people, while a mini-marketplace of ideas offers information on how to get involved in various activist campaigns. Proceeds benefit local nonprofit Young Chicago Authors.
- Suzanne Niemoth
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FILM: Documentary
Dengue Fever: Sleepwalking Through the Mekong
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Sunday July 5 (2pm)
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Chicago Cultural Center (78 E Washington St, 312.744.6630)
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In the transfixing Sleepwalking Through the Mekong, LA-based Dengue Fever bring their modern take on '60s-era Cambodian rock 'n roll to the country that inspired their unique sound. The all-too-brief film follows the cross-cultural critical darlings as they travel across the Southeast Asian nation, performing their vintage Khmer songs to adoring crowds and jamming with local musicians. But gushing rockumentary it's not: director John Pirozzi intersperses the film with scenes of modern-day Cambodian life and archival footage that highlight the country's vibrant, pre-Pol Pot music scene. The end result works to ground the six-member troupe's retro surf-psych hybrid in a specific time and place that seems both far away and right around the corner.
- Suzanne Niemoth
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MUSIC: Experimental
Edible Audible Picnic: Experimental Sound Studio
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Monday July 6 (noon)
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Great Lawn (Millennium Park, 312.742.6050)
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Today's lunchtime listening session at Millennium Park comes with a decidedly different menu, as sonic artists from Chicago and abroad fill the air with their audio explorations — all specially remixed for the Pritzker Pavilion's cutting-edge surround-sound system. The program is organized by the Experimental Sound Studio, a Ravenswood-based nonprofit that's been running the Outer Ear sound festival for almost ten years, while providing affordable recording facilities and production services for artists. Co-founder Lou Mallozzi has described the Pritzker set-up as the best outdoor PA he's ever heard, so we're psyched to hear exactly how everyone makes use of it.
- Karsten Lund
Note:
Flavorpill is a proud media sponsor of Millennium Park's Mondays in the Park music events.
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ART
Clare E. Rojas: Believe Me
| when: |
Tuesday June 30 (10am–6pm)
More times»
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| where: |
Kavi Gupta Gallery (835 W Washington Blvd, 312.432.0708)
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For her second exhibition at Kavi Gupta Gallery, Clare Rojas returns with a carefully conceived installation of her distinctive gouache paintings, merging a rustic folk-art style with the self-assured polish of a savvy illustrator. Her works have the feeling of fairy tales, with birds, animals, and shifty-eyed humans appearing as players in obscure but fateful undertakings. And, in classic fairy-tale form, there's also a darker side to the plucky proceedings, hovering like an ominous shadow. Ranging in scale from intimate to mural-sized, Rojas' paintings are presented here within a larger hand-crafted environment; smaller works hang from a row of pegs against a blue-painted wall, decorated with wooden moldings, while a nearby bookshelf sports a rogue's gallery of head-and-shoulder portraits.
- Karsten Lund
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About Us |
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Cultural Partner
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Editors
MANAGING EDITOR
Suzanne Niemoth
DEPUTY EDITOR
Stephen Gossett
CONTRIBUTING EDITORS
Andrew Phillips
Karsten Lund
PUBLISHERS
Sascha Lewis
Mark Mangan
SENIOR EDITORS
Doug Levy
Jake Lancaster
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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.
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