Mellencamp’s Melodic Mélange in Sad Clowns and Hillbillies
Bloomington, Indiana’s most famous son shakes the snow globe of American music to mix up a melodic mélange of Motown, 12-bar blues, country and heartland rock in the soulful, riveting […]
Karin McKie is a Chicago freelance writer, cultural factotum and activism concierge. She jams econo.
Cheese and Cheesecake in Hell in a Handbag’s Golden Girls: The Lost Episodes
Fresh off receiving a Non-Equity Special Jeff Award for theatrical and charitable contributions, Hell in a Handbag co-founder and Artistic Director David Cerda presents Golden Girls: The Lost Episodes, his latest […]
Film Review: Brillo Box (3¢ Off) Follows a Warhol Classic in the Modern Art Market
Lisanne Skyler weaves memoir with pop art in the quirky, whimsical and affectionate documentary short, Brillo Box (3¢ Off). Skyler’s middle-class parents, Martin and Rita, collected pop art in New […]
Photo Shows on Poverty, Joan of Arc, and Commercialized Beauty Now on Display @ LUMA
The Loyola University Museum of Art (LUMA) offers a plethora of photographs on display this summer, featuring three exhibitions: Jeffrey Wolin’s Pigeon Hill: Then and Now; Michelle Murphy’s Responsive Beauty; and Susan Aurinko’s Searching for Jehanne, […]
Oeuf Oeuvre Scrambled in Something Rotten! at the Oriental Theatre
To get to the bottom of the boisterous mélange that is the multi-Tony-nominated Something Rotten!, audiences need an appreciation–and perhaps a thick lexicon–of all things musical (and probably also Elizabethan), […]
Meat Puppets and Mike Watt Jam Econo
I’ve been jumping into the musical Wayback Machine to disappear into my post-college groove and deflect this post-apocalyptic shit storm. Since the 11/9 election terrorism attack, I’ve already taken a […]
A Little Bit Not Normal Interprets Genetic Depression With Humor
Arlene Malinowski has written and performs in A Little Bit Not Normal, her solo show about struggles with depression, personified here, peppered with humor as well as sign language, since […]
Laurie Anderson Returns Home to Quell My Political PTSD in The Language of the Future
Photo by Ebru Yildiz Glen Ellyn native and iconoclast Laurie Anderson returns home for a lovely, lyrical and melancholy meditation on the current state of affairs in her ongoing exploration, “The […]
Prince Almost Resurrected by The Revolution at Metro
Dearly beloved We are gathered here today To get through this thing called “life” Electric word, life It means forever and that’s a mighty long time But I’m here to […]
Song by Song, Adrian Belew Saved My Sanity
Adrian Belew and his signature Parker Fly guitar (photo courtesy All About Jazz) Toiling in the Trumpocalypse trenches, I needed an infusion of hope. At Chicago’s Old Town School of […]
Hedwig and the Angry Inch Rocks
Transgendered individuals deserve extra attention during these dark days, so Chicago’s remount of Hedwig and the Angry Inch is a balm, a glorious, rock-star, kick-ass celebration of the ultimate joy […]
Roger, Wilco at Chicago Theatre; Tweedy Back in Chicago April 21/22
Chicago’s own Wilco is touring in support of their tenth studio album “Schmilco,” the 2016 follow up to “Star Wars,” performing shows and joining festivals in the US and Canada, […]