Review: The Marías Hit a New High at Thalia Hall
After a canceled Lollapalooza aftershow set back in August; Los Angeles indie pop band, The Marías, return to Chicago for two dreamy (and sold out!) nights at Pilsen’s glorious Thalia […]
Interview: Pandemic Blues—Chicago Musician Karl Meyer Talks Punk, Blues, and Recording in a Lockdown
From his Cincinnati childhood to his Chicago adulthood, music remains a motivating force in Karl Meyer’s life. He looks back on a broad career as a hardcore punk and blues […]
Preview: Chicago International Film Festival Opens With a Block Party and Film Screening at the Music Box
The Chicago International Film Festival—the 58th edition of North America’s longest-running competitive international film festival—opens tomorrow night with The Compassionate Spy, a new documentary by renowned local filmmaker Steve James […]
Review: The Poly Studio P5 Webcam is Privacy Forward and a Good Alternative to Logitech
When I think of webcams, I can’t help but think of Logitech with their ubiquitous C920 and its distinctive rectangular shape. But since COVID, there has been a lot more […]
Review: Superorganism Celebrates World Wide Pop with Lincoln Hall and at Least Five Local Dads
Superorganism came all the way from London to Chicago to perform at Lincoln Hall on Friday, October 7 as their eighth of 28 shows across the United States and Canada. […]
Review: At Its Best, Lego Bricktales Is as Fun as Playing with Real Legos
Like many kids I spent countless hours playing with Legos—and then smashing them apart in various crash tests, or just to see them explode spectacularly. Despite there being a lot […]
Interview: Filmmaker and Star of Till on Telling a True Story, the Film’s Most Powerful Scene, and Mamie Till’s Legacy
Living most of my adult life in Chicago, the story and legacy of the 1955 murder of 14-year-old Chicago-native Emmett Till in Mississippi never really fades away. With so many […]
Review: The Vibrant Art of Arturo Reyes at Triple R Gallery
It’s natural for most critics as well as the general public to categorize various forms of art. Giving labels to artistic expression can be helpful when it gives context to […]
Review: Who Ya Gonna Call? Ghostbusters with the Chicago Philharmonic!
Ah the eighties. Shoulder pads, big hair, crossover music, and it seemed that every big movie was set in New York. Ghostbusters (1984) had 1980s New York written all over […]
With Just One Click, You Can Help 39 Chicago Indie Media Outlets
The second and last week of the Chicago Independent Media Alliance annual joint fundraiser begins today. Donors have already kicked in more than $50,000 to support 39 of Chicago’s most […]
Review: Laughing at the Race with No Rules, Woman Without Shame, by Sandra Cisneros
In her new book of poetry Woman without Shame, Sandra Cisneros looks aging in the face and laughs. She laughs at the frenetic lusts and couplings of youth—at broken hearts and […]
Review: The Notebook, a Sentimental Tale, Arrives Refurbished With Song and Dance at Chicago Shakespeare
The Notebook is a love story, told over three stages of the lifetime of its lovers, Allie and Noah. The beloved book by Nicholas Sparks was turned into a 2004 […]