Review: Protomartyr Reach a New Peak at Thalia Hall
Celebrating the release of their sixth album Formal Growth In The Desert, Detroit greats Protomartyr capped off an extensive North American tour at Thalia Hall on Thursday night. The band […]
Review: Haven’s The Art of Bowing Challenges Us to Think About the Survival of Theater
“Theater is dead. Long live theater.” That may be the theme of Nathan Alan Davis’ imaginative and puzzling new play, The Art of Bowing, which you can now see in its […]
Review: Revelatory New Documentary The League Chronicles Baseball’s Negro League and Its Deep Impact on the Sport, the Country and Chicago
One of the most insightful and talented documentary filmmakers producing works on the Black experience in America, Sam Pollard (Citizen Ashe, MLK/FBI), brings us The League, an in-depth journey through […]
Review: Japanese Breakfast Returns to Chicago with One More Celebration of Jubilee
This is now the third year in a row that indie-pop band Japanese Breakfast graces Chicago with their invigorating live sets, and this past Sunday’s show was more than special. […]
Review: Jenny Lewis Brings a Whole Lot of Joy’All to the Salt Shed
Coming off the heels of her latest album Joy’All and a set at Summerfest, Jenny Lewis was more than prepared to impress at the Salt Shed. Despite that aforementioned festival […]
Review: A Harrowing Novel of Resilience in the Face of Racism, Last Summer on State Street, by Toya Wolfe
Toya Wolfe’s debut novel Last Summer on State Street is a harrowing, poignant, and visceral evocation of life and death in the Robert Taylor public housing development in its final […]
Review: Ronit Bezalel’s Portrait Photography Captures the Essence of Human Nature
One of the most popular genres throughout the history of photography is portraiture. Even though it has been popular since the mid 1800s, it’s safe to say that in the […]
Review: The Lesson Offers a Few Surprises in a Sharp Noir Thriller
Class warfare and family drama are at the heart of first-time feature director Alice Troughton’s The Lesson, which centers on young, aspiring writer Liam (Daryl McCormack, Good Luck to You, […]
Review: Les Claypool’s Fearless Flying Frog Brigade Soars into the Salt Shed
When Les Claypool comes around, you need to head the call. The bassist extraordinaire is a must see show. I’ve experienced a few iterations of Claypool’s bands throughout the years […]
Review: Chicago- (and Food-) Centric Series The Bear Improves in Every Way with a Miraculous Second Season
Perhaps the hardest part of making a good show is having a second season that can, at the very least, live up to the first. (Unless your show is on […]
Review: Stewart Goodyear and Valentina Peleggi Team Up Wonderfully at Grant Park
While driving in central Wisconsin one winter night several years ago, I tuned in to Symphony Hall, the classical radio station on Sirrius/XM. I was greeted by an incredible performance […]
Review: Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny Brings Back the Fedora, the Whip and (Most of) the Adventure of Cinema’s Favorite Archeologist
In case you hadn’t been keeping score, this fifth installment in the Indiana Jones franchise is the first to be made since Lucasfilm was purchased by Disney in 2012. While […]