Lolla at five
Three-day bash hits Grant Park this weekend
08/05/2009
Chicago's run of summer music shows culminates this weekend with the grandfather of all contemporary American rock ‘n’ roll festivals. That’s right, folks: Lollapalooza is stomping back into town. Read More...
Weak material sinks great acting
Blood-soaked "El Grito del Bronx" doesn’t work
07/29/2009
Theater
The program of “El Grito del Bronx” describes the play’s setting as a
“poetic dreamscape,” but it inhabits far earthier territory. A partnership between Collaboraction Theatre and Teatro Vista, “Bronx”
is nominally the tale of a woman trying to outrun the shadow of her
violent family history. But more specifically it’s a blood-soaked
exercise in histrionics and emotional heavy lifting. Read More...
Simple and elegant, and yet ...
Nightwood's seasonal offerings were a mixed bag
07/22/2009
Dining
A windowed box on an evolving stretch of South Halsted, Nightwood feels
appealingly out of the way, though it’s gotten a lot more ink - digital
and print - than most recent restaurant openings. Read More...
Print culture from 1889 to the present
07/22/2009
Art Department
Print culture in Chicago is rich and diverse. In 1860, the city boasted
11 daily newspapers, several in the European languages spoken by
immigrants of the time. And while that culture is changing due to the
broader economy and the evolution of Web publishing, two exhibitions
currently on display demonstrate how Chicagoans in the past and today
circulated their ideas, critiques and opinions on paper. Read More...
Hits and misses
Grocery Bistro has some tasty items, but the price isn’t quite right
07/15/2009
Dining
Grocery Bistro opened in the West Loop last March amidst buzz and rave
reviews - yet another hip restaurant crafting local foods into
mouth-watering fare, communal table and all. Read More...
Here comes Pitchfork
Annual show in Union Park remains a rock mecca
07/08/2009
Since the summer of 2006, the trapezoid-shaped Union Park on the Near West Side has hosted what has become one of the most important indie rock events in all the land: the annual Pitchfork Music Festival. Read More...
The noble truths of suffering
07/01/2009
Book review
Most of the stories in Aleksandar Hemon’s new collection, Love and
Obstacles, take place in Chicago and Bosnia, but they’re less dependent
on the specifics of place than most immigrant fiction. The real terrain
Hemon pursues is that of shared memory and the few remaining corners of
a well-examined life. Read More...
Urban loft-living offers lots of space
06/24/2009
Produced by the Advertising Department
The former Beatrice Cold Storage Building located at 1530 S. State is
known throughout the South Loop as one of the premier addresses for
warehouse conversion lofts. The homes offer soaring ceilings, thick
concrete walls and floors for great sound insulation, and charming
exposed ductwork. An in-building exercise room and large entertainment
room with sizeable outdoor deck, as well as friendly door staff, make
the amenities top-notch. Read more...
At the Modern Wing
06/24/2009
Art Department
Seen from the Nichols Bridgeway, the pedestrian bridge that connects
Millennium Park to the Art Institute’s new Modern Wing, the hard lines
of Loop skyscrapers and the organic shapes of the park unite as if they
had always been together. The view - the facades of Michigan Avenue’s
older buildings, kids running around, the lake to the east — is
incredible. Read More...