“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.

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.

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.

[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.

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.

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.

Chicago takes its music and sports pretty seriously, and for good reason: The city has much to be proud of in both arenas. But while our love for both is apparent, the two rarely intersect. So how did Chicago Tribune music critic, Sound Opinions co-host and Wilco biographer Greg Kot come to pen a book about coaching youth basketball?

The Internet may have leveled the playing field for bands looking to hit the big time, but it might have happened at the expense of local music scenes. “The iPod generation isn't going to see live shows of bands they don't know anymore,” Kevin Schneider, bassist for local indie rock band Reverie, tells Paste:Local. Under that assumption, Schneider and his Reverie bandmates have joined forces with eight other bands to form the Chicago Noise Machine, a musical collective that handles its own promotion, booking, compilation album releases in lieu of a record label.