Styling with The Heath Dolls “Weekend Essensials”on March 9, 2020 at 8:44 pm

The Look Chicago

Styling with The Heath Dolls “Weekend Essensials”

Styling with The Heath Dolls “Weekend Essensials”on March 9, 2020 at 8:44 pm Read More »

Three restless musicians–Ken Vandermark, Nate Wooley, and Paul Lytton–push one another to new horizonson March 9, 2020 at 3:11 pm

Local clarinet and saxophone player Ken Vandermark, Brooklyn-based trumpeter Nate Wooley, and English percussionist Paul Lytton played their only handful of gigs as a trio in 2011, but their collective history stretches back more than 20 years. In 1999 Vandermark and Lytton initiated a partnership through which they’ve explored musical extremes–density and silence, propulsion and stasis–in intimate, totally improvised duos as well as in the larger, more mapped-out environment of Vandermark’s nine-piece Territory Band. Wooley and Lytton first recorded as a duo in 2007, and have purposefully kept their collaboration on unsteady ground: they add guest musicians in concert, and on disc they’ve shifted between whipping up dust devils of purely acoustic sound on The Nows (Clean Feed, 2012) and exploring alien electroacoustic atmospheres on the splendid studio recording Known/Unknown (Fundacja Sluchaj, 2020). And while Vandermark and Wooley are fearless free improvisers, they’ve used compositions (their own and those of underappreciated jazz duo Bobby Bradford and John Carter) to develop a duo language that stands well apart from what either man does in other contexts. The three duos are reconvening as a trio for a short tour of the midwest; whatever they do together, you can be sure that they’ll try their best not to repeat what they’ve already done. Also on the bill are Kuzu, the splendid trio of saxophonist Dave Rempis, guitarist Tashi Dorji, and drummer Tyler Damon, who are in the middle of a tour of their own to celebrate the release of Purple Dark Opal (Aerophonic, 2020). v

Three restless musicians–Ken Vandermark, Nate Wooley, and Paul Lytton–push one another to new horizonson March 9, 2020 at 3:11 pm Read More »

Heavy sounds to shake Garfield Park Conservatoryon March 9, 2020 at 4:21 pm

It’s only March, but this lineup will be hard for any other heavy rock show in 2020 to beat. Sleep bassist-vocalist Al Cisneros and drummer Chris Hakius founded deep stoner trance outfit Om in 2003, and in 2008 Emil Amos took over for Hakius (who retired from music entirely the following year). A decade later, having already invited several guest musicians into the fold (former Chicagoan Robert A.A. Lowe toured with the band and played on two of their albums), Om formally expanded into a trio with the addition of multi-instrumentalist Tyler Trotter. Though they’ve yet to make a full album as a three-piece, last year Drag City released a live performance recorded at BBC 1’s Maida Vale studio, which provides a solid four-song snapshot of Om’s current sound–it’s as sinuous and twisty as a gigantic winding snake, with dreamy, driven atmospheres influenced by ragas and Middle Eastern music. Denver-based Wovenhand are one of the best live bands the U.S. has to offer right now. The brainchild of David Eugene Edwards (also the force behind 16 Horsepower), Wovenhand bring his surrealistic gospel aesthetic to life with their tranced-out, ferocious, Western-gothic metallic rock ‘n’ roll–and he dishes out backwoods prophecy like Ronnie Van Zant with William Blake’s soul trapped in his body. Chicago Americana-metal band Huntsmen are the only group on the bill with a new record; their second full-length, Mandala of Fear (Prosthetic), comes out the day of this show. The follow-up to 2018’s spectacular American Scrap, it’s a cinematic concept album about a scarred and shell-shocked soldier journeying through a war-torn landscape. Singer Aimee Bueno, who turned in a haunting performance on Scrap’s “The Last President,” has joined the band full-time, and her vocals are especially mesmerizing on “God Will Stop Trying.” With its prog and folk influences, Mandala is a richly rewarding trip from start to finish, with highlights including the dense, slow pummelling of “The Swallow” and the drumbeats that open and anchor the monster-riffing instrumental “Pirates of the Waste.” Playing back-to-back in the beautiful surroundings of the Garfield Park Conservatory, these three bands all but guarantee a transcendent experience. v

Heavy sounds to shake Garfield Park Conservatoryon March 9, 2020 at 4:21 pm Read More »

Chicago Bears: Overrated free agents to stay away fromon March 9, 2020 at 11:00 am

Next1 of 5Prev post

Use your <- -> (arrows) to browse

Chicago Bears (Photo by Rey Del Rio/Getty Images)

Ryan Pace will likely make a splash move to catch folks off guard, but the Chicago Bears need to be careful in free agency.

The free agency frenzy is right around the corner. Can you feel it? Chicago Bears fandom has been ready for the madness for a while now, but this year is going to be a little different.

This year, the Bears have some glaring holes in the roster. Still, this roster could very well be a Super Bowl roster. But, they have holes to fill nonetheless, and it starts with the quarterback.

Oh, we’re going there.

Mitchell Trubisky is in the midst of a prove-it year, or he’ll be out of Chicago one year from now. There is no beating around the bush. Trubisky regressed in 2019, and I don’t care what anyone has to say about that.

Speaking of holes, offensive line and tight end are certainly issues needing to be addressed. But, those who want to attribute Trubisky’s struggles to those around him are simply misled. Offensive line needs an upgrade. Tight end needs an upgrade.

And, yes, quarterback needs an upgrade.

Whether or not general manager Ryan Pace is going to bring in someone to push Trubisky, or someone who could absolutely take his place, is the burning question everyone is dying to know the answer to.

Free agency can be a dangerous place, especially for quarterbacks. Anyone care to take a short trip back to the Mike Glennon signing?

Pace has had his share of blips when trying to outsmart the rest of the league, but he’s also made some phenomenal moves. This year, over any other year, is one he cannot afford to outsmart himself. If he wants to move forward, and not back, he has to avoid the following free agents.

Next: Player No. 1

Next1 of 5Prev post

Use your <- -> (arrows) to browse

Load Comments

Chicago Bears: Overrated free agents to stay away fromon March 9, 2020 at 11:00 am Read More »

St. Louis Blues sweep Chicago Blackhawks for first time everon March 9, 2020 at 12:00 pm

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS – MARCH 08: Ryan O’Reilly #90 of the St. Louis Blues clears the puck between Dominik Kubalik #8 and Jonathan Toews #19 of the Chicago Blackhawks on a Blackhawks power play at the United Center on March 08, 2020 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)

The Chicago Blackhawks didn’t put their best effort out against the St. Louis Blues in what could have been a must-win game.

The St. Louis Blues have never swept the Chicago Blackhawks in the long history of their franchise. Well, after 53 years, it finally happened. The Blues 2-0 defeat of the Blackhawks last night gave the Blues the season sweep of the Hawks. As the defending Stanley Cup Champions, it is fair to assume that they are the better team but to be swept by your top rival is a bit embarrassing. It also really put a dent in their chances, especially after losing to the Detroit Red Wings a few days prior.

The power play has been horrible for Chicago this season. They are now on a streak of 14 straight power plays without a goal. Their power play, on the season, has clicked at 14.5 percent. That ranks 30th out of 31 as only the Anaheim Ducks are worse. They were given four chances on the man-advantage in this game against the Blues and they failed all four times.

It is very hard to swing momentum when you are that bad on the power play. That is something that needs to be fixed over the offseason. You can’t be a playoff team if your special teams are not good. It is one thing if they are average, but this Chicago power play is straight-up bad. On those four power-play chances, a total of eight minutes, they had one single shot on goal. That is simply not going to get it done.

Not scoring a single goal on the Blues is not very good. It is worse when you remember that they only scored once on the Detroit Red Wings two nights prior. The two opponents are very different but the Hawks rely on their scoring to win so when they don’t score, they are toast. Jake Allen was in the net which makes it worse. No disrespect to Allen, but Jordan Binnington is their number one but somehow the Hawks let Allen shut them out twice. Both of those shutouts came at the United Center and are his only two shutouts of the season.

The one positive that came out of this game was the broadcast. It was the first time that a United States broadcast of the NHL had an all-female crew. Kate Scott did the play by play while AJ Mleczko was the color commentator. Kendal Coyne Schofield was at ice level “inside the glass” which made it even better. It was a great day to celebrate International Women’s Day. The women’s game is incredible and it is good to see everyone putting their best foot forward as far as growing this great game. Hockey is for everyone.

The Blackhawks are now in a six-point rut. Their next attempt to start to climb out of it comes on Wednesday night. The San Jose Sharks are coming to town to try and play spoiler. They are not going to the playoffs either so it is a matchup of two former Western Conference powers having off years.

Load Comments

St. Louis Blues sweep Chicago Blackhawks for first time everon March 9, 2020 at 12:00 pm Read More »

2 firefighters hurt after rescuing person, cat from Evanston house fireon March 9, 2020 at 12:15 pm

Two firefighters were injured while rescuing a resident and a cat from a house fire Sunday in north suburban Evanston.

Crews were called at 9:09 p.m. for the fire at the single-family home in the 2200 block of Sherman Avenue, according to a statement from the Evanston Fire Department.

Firefighters arrived to find the south side of the house engulfed in flame with heavy smoke throughout, officials said. They removed a “confused resident” from the front doorway and rescued the family cat from inside the home.

The fire was extinguished within an hour of the initial call, the fire department said. The resident, whose age and gender were not released, was taken to a hospital in good condition.

Two firefighters were also taken to hospitals with “minor soft tissue injuries,” according to fire officials.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

2 firefighters hurt after rescuing person, cat from Evanston house fireon March 9, 2020 at 12:15 pm Read More »