Paste:Local Chicago's Best of 2008: Live Music
Paste:Local Chicago weighs in on this year's best live music in the Windy City.... read more
Paste:Local Chicago's Best of 2008: Albums & Songs
Paste:Local Chicago weighs in on this year's best music from the Windy City.... read more
Art Review & Interview: Joseph Grigely's St. Cecilia @ Museum of Contemporary Art through 2/22/09
“When words can’t be heard, language is translated to what is visual,” Joseph Grigely told Paste: Local about the opening of his new exhibition, St. Cecilia, now through February 22 at the Museum of Contemporary Art. Named after the patron saint of music, the fourth floor exhibit comprises work that parlays the acclaimed deaf artist’s memories of sound into video and sound installations, sculptures, and paper works focusing on the idiosyncrasies of communication.... read more
Local H's Scott Lucas shares Chicago's top holiday spots, plays Bottom Lounge on New Year's Eve
After 12 Angry Months, Chicago’s own alterna-rockers Local H are coming home for the holidays with a show sure to be both naughty and nice. December 31 marks the band’s annual New Year’s Eve event, held this year at the Bottom Lounge, where fans can feast on the best of the band’s six-disc catalogue before embarking on New Year resolutions. Before the clock strikes midnight, Local H frontman Scott Lucas counts down the top five ways Chicago rocks during the holidays for Paste:Local. ... read more
Allá explores the universal language, plays Empty Bottle Dec. 28
Over the past six months, Latin psych-pop group Allá’s debut, Es Tiempo, has received acclaim for its songs that mix styles such as tropicalia, psychedelia and hip-hop; the band is currently recording an EP of covers and will play Dec. 28 at the Empty Bottle. But if you, like Paste:Local’s Kent Green, have limited Spanish knowledge, is it possible to understand what Allá is trying to convey in its music? We tested Longfellow's aphorism of music being “the universal language” by interpreting Es Tiempo’s Spanish-spun tracks with the band's guitarist/producer, Jorge Ledezma.... read more
Check, Please! host Alpana Singh shares insider wine tips
As the youngest person to ever achieve the rank of Master Sommelier, Chicagoan Alpana Singh knows a thing or two about fine wine. Her unparalleled expertise has led to an impressive career with gigs including being Everest’s sommelier and the director of wine and spirits for the Lettuce Entertain You brand. Author of Alpana Pours: About Being a Woman, Loving Wine, and Having Great Relationships, she’s perhaps most known as the host of the popular WTTW program, Check Please!, which reviews various Chicago dining establishments via viewers' experiences. With the launch of her new wine blog, Singh offered Paste:Local her... read more
Theatre Review: Santaland Diaries @ The Theater Building through 1/3/09
“I’m not Christian so I don’t give a flying fruit loop about Christmas, but I am excited about that Mariah Carey holiday song on the radio,” prefaces actor Mitchell Fain, mixing a dry martini and toasting a sold-out crowd at the start of Santaland Diaries, the one-man show that shakes and stirs the happy snowglobe world of Christmas with the less-than-jolly adventures of Crumpet The Elf, running til January 3, 2009 at Theatre Building Chicago, Thursdays through Sundays.... read more
Chicago diners serve up comfort food at comfortable prices
There are ways to be creative at cutting corners during times of economic strife without resorting to Spam-levels of desperation. From all-day breakfast to stacked club sandwiches and meat-free options, these three Chicago diners take you to all corners of the city while offering a whole menu of ways to save a buck.... read more
Photos: National Museum of Mexican Art's La Vida Sin Fin exhibition
As Chicago marked the somber 40th anniversary of the 1968 Democratic National Convention protests, Pilsen's National Museum of Mexican Art opened its 22nd annual La Vida Sin Fin exhibition in honor of the Mexican Day of the Dead holiday, celebrated each Nov. 1 and 2. Running through Dec. 14th, the exhibit's paintings, etchings, photography and installations are dedicated to the victims of another historical coup, the Tlatelolco Massacre, which devastated Mexico City just months after the violence in our own town. Find Paste:Local Chicago's full review here.... read more
WXRT's Live Eclectic Company premieres tomorrow, features Eleventh Dream Day, Robbie Fulks, Ezra Furman & The Harpoons
Last month WXRT’s Eclectic Company held a live taping at Metro, hosted by noted Chicago musicians Jon Langford and Nicholas Tremulis. The first-ever Eclectic Company Live Concert Special featured special guests Eleventh Dream Day, Robbie Fulks, The M’s, Ezra Furman & The Harpoons, Cliff Johnson, the Nicholas Tremulis Orchestra and Metro owner Joe Shanahan spinning between sets. The taping broadcasts on 93.1 FM at 10 p.m. tomorrow, but for a visual expose of what you’ll be hearing, Paste:Local attended the live taping. Looking for an added sneak peak? Eleventh Dream Day premiered a couple songs from their forthcoming album, including... read more
Bid on memorabilia from Wilco, Andrew Bird and more at Rock For Kids auction
Want to kick around a soccer ball signed by Rod Stewart, jam out on a signed replica of B.B. King’s Lucille guitar, or win a spot as a character in an upcoming Midway Games release? Or maybe a Blackhawks jersey signed by The Cure, accompanied by tickets to a game and a Zamboni ride, is more your style? You've got a chance to win it all at tonight’s 20th Annual Rock For Kids Rock & Roll Charity, held at Park West. It should be a night of exciting bidding: Last year, a meet-and-greet with Hannah Montana raised $43,000.... read more
Live Review: Kid Sister @ Metro 11/26/08
On several occasions last Wednesday night, Kid Sister reminded the Metro crowd that she had worked there as a cocktail waitress two years ago. She was let go from the job, but she wasn't bitter at all. “It was a blessing in disguise,” she said. “So I want y'all to give it up for the nigga who fired me!”... read more
Live Photos & Review: Poi Dog Pondering @ Metro, 11/28/08
Poi Dog Pondering's mix of eclectic covers with a Latin-infused disco sound brought a sold-out crowd to the Metro the day after Thanksgiving, with donations of winter clothing for Snug Hugs for Kids made at the door. The older-than-the-Metro-norm crowd was a lively bunch who got into the groove throughout the two-hour plus set, and frontman Frank Orrall met fans’ enthusiasm: He loomed, danced, twirled lights above his head, and jived his way through the set, pulling off a stage dive that ended in a crowd surf bringing him all the way to the back bar. Charlette Wortham's vocal parts... read more
Live Review & Photos: Cameron McGill @ Beat Kitchen 11/21/08
Cameron McGill & What Army added a dash of alt-country color to the Beat Kitchen two Fridays ago, as McGill crooned his way through the set with a refreshing level of energy, given his quiet songwriting style. Though often compared to Ryan Adams, McGill lacks his desperation, feeling more spirited and less on-edge. The music was introspective and sentimental, but the mood remained light thanks to his lively performance.... read more
Theatre Review: Artful puppetry of Ox-Herder's Tale lost in translation
“No one can say who heard it first, it just happened.” This is how The Ox-Herder's Tale begins, as five khaki-clad narrators, looking something like modern-day archaeologists, dig up the mythical tale of a down-on-his-luck magician who finds the path to enlightenment by trying to stage an unthinkable trick. Playing at the Museum of Contemporary Art through Nov. 30, the production is the culmination of two-and-a-half years of work by Chicago-based performance group Blair Thomas & Company, founded in 2002 to support the creative efforts of Thomas, local puppeteer and founder of Chicago's Redmoon Theatre.... read more
Live Review: Smashing Pumpkins @ Chicago Theatre, 11/19/08
There was something off about the Smashing Pumpkins’ second of two sold-out hometown shows on its so-called Twentieth Anniversary Tour-- in particular, the math. The lineup performing that night only had half the original members, and if you subtract the band's 2000-2006 hiatus, its time “together” totals a mere 14 years. Then there's the bizarre fact that it took Billy Corgan and company two years to return home for a show.... read more
Alkaline Trio shares favorite Chicago hangouts, plays Congress Theater on 11/20 & 11/21
Although all three members of Chicago-grown punk outfit Alkaline Trio have moved on geographically, bassist/vocalist Dan Andriano says the Second City will always be his number-one place to call home. As the band gears up for a homecoming at the Congress Theatre Nov. 20 and 21 to support its latest release, Agony & Irony. Paste:Local asked Andriano to keep the album's contrasting themes of darkness & light and life & death in mind when sharing his favorite hometown hotspots.... read more
Art Review: National Museum of Mexican Art celebrates La Vida Sin Fin
[Above: Untitled by Anonymous, yarn in wax on wood, part of the NMMA's La Vina Sin Fin exhibit.]As Chicago marked the somber 40th anniversary of the 1968 Democratic National Convention protests, PIlsen's National Museum of Mexican Art opened its 22nd annual La Vida Sin Fin exhibition in honor of the Mexican Day of the Dead holiday, celebrated each Nov. 1 and 2. Running through Dec. 14th, the exhibit's paintings, etchings, photography and installations are dedicated to the victims of another historical coup, the Tlatelolco Massacre, which devastated Mexico City just months after the violence in our own town.... read more
Anathallo's top 5 most serendipitous Canopy Glow moments
Life's best moments are often unplanned, as the seven members (and recent Chicago transplants) of indie pop collective Anathallo know. Several serendipitous finds shaped the band's forthcoming album, the delightful Canopy Glow, recorded in a church in the band's Northside neighborhood (out tomorrow on Anticon). Via email, Anathallo vocalist/guitarist/pianist and Paste contributing writer Matt Joynt shared with Paste:Local Chicago the top 5 moments that unexpectedly shaped the album.... read more
Win a spot at Paste:Local Chicago's 11/20 Knob Creek tasting
Let's face it, the weather around here has been ridiculously chilly, and while most of us are not quite ready to don our winter gear, we can all cozy up with one of the season's best warming liquids: sweet, sweet bourbon. Whether you're a novice to the Kentucky-bred whiskey, or a connoisseur, you're sure to learn about the varieties and complexities of small batch bourbon-- and have a whole lot of fun-- at Paste:Local Chicago's upcoming Knob Creek tasting event.... read more
Where Have All The Weird Girls Gone?…
Evil Dead to Rise Again to Theaters…
The 20 Best Books of the Decade…
Heather Greene - Moon Hangs Fire
Patrick Watson - Tracy’s Water
