Chicago Reader print issue of August 7, 2025 (Vol. 54, No. 44)

F R E E A N D F R E A K Y S I N C E 1 9 7 1 | A U G U S T 7, 2 0 2 5

Pa

t te r n

recog

n o i nit

Katrin Schnabl weaves movement, fashion, and sculpture into a dynamic art practice.

By Isa Giallorenzo, p. 8

THIS WEEK

C H I C A G O R E A D E R | A U G U S T 7, 2 0 2 5 | V O L U M E 5 4 , N U M B E R 4 4

TO CONTACT ANY READER EMPLOYEE, EMAIL: (FIRST INITIAL)(LAST NAME) @CHICAGOREADER.COM

IN THIS ISSUE

CITY LIFE

04 Street View The only good outfit at Lollapalooza on Sunday

PUBLISHER AMBER NETTLES CHIEF OF STAFF ELLEN KAULIG ----------------------------------------------------------------

FOOD & DRINK

EDITOR IN CHIEF SALEM COLLO-JULIN ASSISTANT MANAGING EDITOR SAVANNAH RAY HUGUELEY PRODUCTION MANAGER AND STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER KIRK WILLIAMSON SENIOR GRAPHIC DESIGNER AMBER HUFF GRAPHIC DESIGNER AND PHOTO RESEARCHER SHIRA FRIEDMAN-PARKS THEATER AND DANCE EDITOR KERRY REID MUSIC EDITOR PHILIP MONTORO CULTURE EDITOR: FILM, MEDIA, FOOD AND DRINK TARYN MCFADDEN CULTURE EDITOR: ART, ARCHITECTURE, BOOKS KERRY CARDOZA NEWS EDITOR SHAWN MULCAHY PROJECTS EDITOR JAMIE LUDWIG DIGITAL EDITOR TYRA NICOLE TRICHE SENIOR WRITERS LEOR GALIL, DEANNA ISAACS, BEN JORAVSKY, MIKE SULA FEATURES WRITER KATIE PROUT SOCIAL JUSTICE REPORTER DEVYN-MARSHALL BROWN (DMB) STAFF WRITER MICCO CAPORALE MULTIMEDIA CONTENT PRODUCER SHAWNEE DAY SOCIAL MEDIA ENGAGEMENT ASSOCIATE CHARLI RENKEN

06 Reader Bites | Sula Bean pie ice cream (two ways) at Shawn Michelle’s

NEWS & POLITICS 07 Make It Make Sense | Mulcahy A county board budget bonanza

ARTS & CULTURE

08 Cover Story | Craft Work Katrin Schnabl’s garments double as artwork.

10 Books A new short story collection unearths spooky Chicago history.

THEATER

12 Rhinestone Digest | Renken The dos and don’ts of parody drag and burlesque 13 Plays of Note Holy, Holy, Holy with Abyssal Zone Collective looks at “end times fascism”; City Lit’s revival of Jesus Hopped the ‘A’ Train raises questions about justice and redemption. .

---------------------------------------------------------------VICE PRESIDENT OF PEOPLE AND CULTURE ALIA GRAHAM ---------------------------------------------------------------DEVELOPMENT MANAGER JOEY MANDEVILLE DATA ASSOCIATE TATIANA PEREZ ----------------------------------------------------------------

FILM

MARKETING ASSOCIATE MAJA STACHNIK MARKETING ASSOCIATE MICHAEL THOMPSON

14 The Moviegoer Illusion of control 15 Movies of Note Harvest reckons with nature, modernity, and change; The Naked Gun cannonballs into the absurdity of the original franchise.

---------------------------------------------------------------SALES REPRESENTATIVE WILL ROGERS SALES REPRESENTATIVE KELLY BRAUN SALES REPRESENTATIVE VANESSA FLEMING ADVERTISING ADS@CHICAGOREADER.COM, 312-392-2970 CREATE A CLASSIFIED AD LISTING AT CLASSIFIEDS.CHICAGOREADER.COM ----------------------------------------------------------------

MUSIC

16 The Secret History of Chicago Music Billy Hinton mastered soul and karate.

18 Shows of Note Previews of concerts including Eli Escobar, Poem Rocket, Options, and DoYeon Kim 21 Gossip Wolf | Galil Chicago hip-hop pioneer Taco Bops has left us too soon.

DISTRIBUTION CONCERNS DISTRIBUTIONISSUES@CHICAGOREADER.COM

P. 8 Reader contributor Irene Hsiao wears a costume by Katrin Schnabl at a 2023 Diwali performance for Mandala Arts.

BACK

22 Savage Love Sharing dirty photos

CLASSIFIEDS 23 Jobs 23 For Sale 23 Public Notice 23 Services

2 CHICAGO READER - AUGUST 7, 2025

EUGENE TANG

READER INSTITUTE FOR COMMUNITY JOURNALISM, INC. CHAIRPERSON EILEEN RHODES TREASURER TIMO MARTINEZ SECRETARY TORRENCE GARDNER DIRECTORS MONIQUE BRINKMAN-HILL, JULIETTE BUFORD, DANIEL DEVER, MATT DOUBLEDAY, JAKE MIKVA, ROBERT REITER, MARILYNN RUBIO, CHRISTINA CRAWFORD STEED ----------------------------------------------------------------

ON THE COVER Installation view of Katrin Schnabl’s exhibition, “Qualia,” Epiphany Center for the Arts, 2025. Photo by Eugene Tang. See the story by Isa Giallorenzo starting on p. 8 as well as katrinschnabl.com for more.

Cover design by Shira Friedman-Parks.

READER (ISSN 1096-6919) IS PUBLISHED WEEKLY BY THE READER INSTITUTE FOR COMMUNITY JOURNALISM 2930 S. MICHIGAN, SUITE 102 CHICAGO, IL 60616, 312-3922934, CHICAGOREADER.COM COPYRIGHT © 2025 CHICAGO READER ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. CHICAGO READER, READER, AND REVERSED R: REGISTERED TRADEMARKS ®

Reader Letters m Re: “Lollapalooza asks: Do you love music enough to deal with this crap?” written

by Leor Galil and published in our July 31 issue (volume 54, number 43) He’s right. Live Nation and Ticketmaster have sucked the soul out of this festival.

And seem hellbent on doing so with any other live music they touch. —Hal Conick, via Facebook The way the VIP section by those main stages has grown exponentially over the years is a perfect example of this greed. So now I just work it like the broke bitch I am.

—Kyla Shyla Waite, via Facebook I’m personally not a fan at all of the idea nor do I wanna ever be surrounded by that many people, but I also never wanna yuck other people’s yum. I hate that Grant Park gets taken over for so many of the warm

months and I hate the amount of trash people leave. —Marc Austin Miller, via Facebook It’s also always terrible to go to Riot Fest.

—Tracy Ito, via X Find us on socials: Facebook and Bluesky: chicagoreader X: Chicago_Reader Instagram and Threads: chicago_reader LinkedIn: chicago-reader

ria chef Danny Espinoza, but you don’t know about his day job,” written by Mike Sula and originally published in our July 31 issue (volume 54, number 43).

The story incorrectly identified John Carney, director of national sales for the food corporation ofi, as John Martin, ofi’s vice president of innovation. The Reader regrets the error. v

Find a Reader!

New dropoffs and boxes on the South and West sides!

The Chicago Reader accepts comments and letters to the editor of fewer than 400 words for publication consideration.

m letters@chicagoreader.com CORRECTION The Reader has updated the online version of the story “You know Santa Masa Tamale-

generating $874 million for the Illinois Common School Fund.

AUGUST 7, 2025 - CHICAGO READER 3

CITY LIFE

SEE MORE CHICAGO STYLE

chicagoreader.com/city-life

STREET VIEW

A festival-ready nurse In town for Lollapalooza, a former Chicagoan brings bold style to both the streets and the ICU.

By ISA GIALLORENZO

M

usic festival wear has a dress code of its own, and Rachel Pickrel, 32, nailed it last Sunday at this year’s Lollapalooza. Her outfit was fun, colorful, comfortable, breathable, and inspired by Remi Wolf, the main artist she came to see.

“Remi Wolf was the reason I bought tickets to Lollapalooza . . . and made the trip again for a third year,” Pickrel said. She was also excited to see the Marías, Yana, Magdalena Bay, Royel Otis, Doechii, Cage the Elephant, and Tyler, the Creator.

“My favorite part is when you see the artist onstage in real time, and have that ‘I made it!’ moment.” Pickrel also enjoyed spending time with friends from her years living in Chicago.

She’s now based in Lincoln, Nebraska.

Pickrel studied musical theater and is still an enthusiast, but now works as an ICU nurse specializing in neurotrauma for a Nebraska hospital. Never one to shy away from statement pieces, she finds ways to express her personal style—even in scrubs.

“Since I work in neurotrauma, I have a scrub cap that looks like a brain, and another with little dinosaurs eating flowers, and then a cow print one,” she said. Pickrel adds playful touches with compression socks and badge reels. “It’s all very subtle, so I don’t break any dress codes,” she said.

In her off-duty life, Pickrel lets her personality shine with pieces she describes as eclectic and “conversation starters.” She said, “It’s really important to me to have self-expression outside of work. If I’m wearing something boring, my friends would question if I’m feeling OK.” Her instinct for creative style began with her modest upbringing in a small town in Nebraska, where she thrifted out of necessity. “I had to thrift long before it was cool to thrift.

And also, I’m plus-size—always have been. I

4 CHICAGO READER - AUGUST 7, 2025

Rachel Pickrel wore a purple swimsuit and pink bike shorts under a crocheted multicolor maxi dress from Akira. ISA GIALLORENZO

had to get a little creative with what to wear,” she said. “In the early 2000s, there wasn’t a ton of color and excitement in the plus-size department. I feel like we’ve come a long way from the ‘Don’t look at me!’ colors of the past—now you have more variety.”

Pickrel still thrifts a lot and enjoys the thrill of the hunt. “I love that you can find things that you would never otherwise. Someone else won’t have the same thing as you. It forces you to gravitate towards things that you react to instead of what people in merchandising are telling you is acceptable to wear,” she said.

“And then you have to have a creative outlet to know how to style it.” Pickrel learned how to sew and make basic projects around the

same time as her previous employment with a theater shop.

About this outfit: “I think I’m going to just keep adding to the flowers on the front. I think I’m just going to keep adding little things around it, too. So it feels like it’s something that can evolve over time,” she said. The crocheted dress she was wearing was a lucky find at Akira. Pickrel spotted the dress at the store’s Block 37 mall location as she was strolling downtown before Lollapalooza opened.

“It was actually funny because I [made] a dress that looked similar to that, [inspired by photos] that I pinned on a few Pinterest boards. [The dress I made is] like a patchwork of doilies and granny squares, but it did not

hold up to festival wear. So I saw this dress and I was like, ‘Well, that’s serendipitous.’” Pickrel’s garments under the dress included pink biker shorts that she had brought to Chicago to sleep in and a purple swimsuit.

Pickrel attended Lollapalooza for multiple days. She said the theme of her other festival outfits was “comfortable, breezy, and colorful.”

“I wore a romper the first day, which I now regret because wearing rompers while going in and out of porta-potties is silly.” Here’s a precious tip for future festival audiences to take from Pickrel’s predicament: function first, then flair. v

m letters@chicagoreader.com

BIG WIRELESS COVERAGE, WITHOUT BIG WIRELESS COST. Plans start at just $20/month.

Switch & Save Today.

100% U.S. BASED CUSTOMER SERVICE. All of our support teams are just a call or click away.

877-312-7306 PREMIUM NATIONWIDE 5G COVERAGE.

Get the exact same nationwide coverage as the largest carriers, including 5G for up to half the cost.

© 2024 Consumer Cellular Inc. Terms and Conditions subject to change. Up to half the cost savings based on Consumer Cellular’s single-line, 1, 5 and 10GB data plans with unlimited talk and text compared to T-Mobile and Verizon’s lowest cost, single-line post-paid unlimited talk, text and data plans, January 2024. Plans shown above include $5 credit for AutoPay and E-billing. Taxes and other fees apply. Credit approval required for new service. Cellular service is not available in all areas and is subject to system limitations.

AUGUST 7, 2025 - CHICAGO READER 5

FOOD & DRINK result. It leaves a lingering trail of cinnamon and nutmeg down the throat, like a cold, creamy bridge between the waning days of summer and the oncoming autumn.

You can also buy whole Supreme bean pies at Shawn Michelle’s two locations or get them by the slice—but availability of Bean pie ice cream (two ways) the original Taste of Heaven ice cream and at Shawn Michelle’s the newer Sajdah Exquisite Sweet Custard Pie flavor often depends on the delivery t’s a mood. Sometimes you want it easy. schedule of the pies themselves.

Sometimes you want it rough. About a Muhammad seemed shocked when dozen years ago, I wrote about the cori nakamura lin | I asked if anyone ever ordered Nation of Islam’s iconic bean onibaba studio the two flavors together. “No pie, a custardy pastry made way,” he said. Choosing from white navy beans, a flavor all comes down as prescribed by the late to a specific mood. But Nation leader Elijah a slice of bean pie à Muhammad, and sold la mode, with either on street corners for a scoop of Exquisite decades along with Sweet Custard Pie copies of the Final Call. or Taste of Heaven The pies themselves are on top? That’s a mood terrific, a bit like pumpall its own. — MIKE SULA kin or sweet potato with a buttery crust and warming SHAWN MICHELLE’S HOMEMADE ICE fall spices—except wholesome and CREAM 46 E. 47th St., 773-675-4032, life-extending, according to Muhammad.* shawnmichelles.com But research led me down a side path. I began going through pints of the Taste of * “Sweet potatoes were never good for any Heaven ice cream from Shawn Michelle’s human to eat,” according to Elijah MuhamHomemade Ice Cream, churned with whole mad’s How to Eat to Live. “They are good chunks of broken crust and custard from for hogs, but not for you.” v the Nation’s Supreme Bean Pie bakery.

Two years ago, Yahya Muhammad, who chef Reader Bitesseries, celebrates dishes, drinks, and The Reader’s weekly pop-up owns Shawn Michelle’snow with wife, Natatmospheres from the Chicagoland food athis Frank and Mary’s Tavern, 2905 aki, decided just one bean pie flavor wasn’t scene. Have you had a recent food or drink N. Elston, Avondale enough. Forgoing the crust, he simply experience that you can’t stop thinking mixed in the custardy pie filling, a about? Shareand it with us at fooddrink@ Follow theyielding chefs, @chicago_reader, @mikesula on Instagram for weekly chicagoreader.com. smooth, light caramel–colored, gelato-like

I

Our goal is simple: 1 in every 20

print readers becomes a member

menu drops, ordering info, updates, and the stories behind Chicago’s most exciting foodlums.

MONDAY NIGHT

FOODBALL

Join us at $8 a month

The Reader’s weekly chef pop-up series, now at Frank and Mary’s Tavern, 2905 N. Elston, Avondale Follow the chefs, @chicago_reader, and @mikesula on Instagram for weekly menu drops, ordering info, updates, and the stories behind Chicago’s most exciting foodlums.

Head to chicagoreader.com/foodball for weekly menus and ordering info!

6 CHICAGO READER - AUGUST 7, 2025

NEWS & POLITICS County Board budget bonanza Mayor Brandon Johnson and the City Council have begun making their pitches for what should—and shouldn’t—be included in the city’s 2026 budget. With a projected $1.1 billion deficit, will alderpeople agree to a property tax increase? Will Johnson push through a new tax on corporations? The drama is already grabbing headlines, and it’ll only heat up from here.

A similar process is playing out among the Cook County Board of Commissioners. From July 28 to 30, the board’s Finance Committee held annual midyear budget hearings. Over three days, the heads of each county agency— from the public defender’s office to the medical examiner’s office to the forest preserves— presented an update on their current year’s budget. These meetings are also a chance for officials to lobby for proposals they think should be included in the following year’s budget.

The stakes are perhaps less dire for county commissioners—Cook County is facing a much smaller, $211 million shortfall—but they frequently receive less media coverage than their city counterparts, and their work is no less significant.

With that in mind, we decided to switch up the format of this week’s column to bring you just a few takeaways from three of those hearings.

SAO makes pitch for forensics lab

A top priority for State’s Attorney Eileen O’Neill Burke headed into the 2026 budget season is securing funds to establish the county’s own forensics lab within her office, she told commissioners during her first midyear budget hearing in office.

Currently, most physical and digital evidence is processed by the Illinois State Police, she said, arguing that the prosecutors need their own facility to maintain and process the trove of evidence—from crime scene photos to phone location data—involved in modern criminal trials.

A centralized case management system is another top wish-list item for O’Neill Burke.

As it stands, prosecutors manually enter case information into spreadsheets, the state’s attorney’s office said.

Since taking office in December, O’Neill Burke has prioritized a return to rigorous enforcement of minor charges like unlicensed gun possession and theft. A blanket directive now requires prosecutors to seek jail pretrial for anyone arrested with a modified firearm.

From L: State’s Attorney Eileen O’Neill Burke, the Illinois State Police forensic lab COURTESY COOK COUNTY STATE’S ATTORNEY’S OFFICE, CLERK OF THE CIRCUIT COURT OF COOK COUNTY

In addition, O’Neill Burke launched a pilot that allows cops to file felony weapons charges without prosecutor review and ordered state’s attorneys to stop referring nonviolent gun charges to the county’s Restorative Justice Community Courts. (Chief Judge Timothy Evans later testified that stakeholders had reached an agreement to return gun crimes to the restorative justice courts, but the state’s attorney’s office disputes this. According to a spokesperson, “Discussions are ongoing, and no final decisions have been made at this time.”)

At the midyear budget hearing, O’Neill Burke hammered the danger of low-level weapons charges. She also warned of “the rise in juvenile violent crime,” though her office declined to provide evidence to support her claims. “I think we can all recognize, if a child is sticking a gun in someone’s face repeatedly to commit armed robbery or carjacking, that something is going on with them psychologically,” O’Neill Burke said.

people compared to August 2024. Dart told commissioners at his midyear budget hearing that the uptick is because more people are facing gun and domestic violence charges.

(Both are priorities of State’s Attorney O’Neill Burke; the total jail population has risen about 14 percent since she took office on December 2.)

Dart also previewed an ask for “wearable health tech” that his office said “would make it very difficult” for people to attempt suicide in the jail. The sheriff explained that his office is seeking funding for monitors that could notify authorities of “people who aren’t on anyone’s radar as a suicide risk.” It’s unclear whether everyone incarcerated at Cook County jail would be required to wear such a monitor, or what information the monitors would record. Commissioner Bridget Degnen (12th District), however, remarked that “it doesn’t seem like there’s a negative” to the proposal and suggested it “would save lives.”

Jail population ticks up

Chief judge builds out EM

The number of people incarcerated at the Cook County jail is back on the upswing, according to Sheriff Tom Dart.

Despite a significant drop in violent crime reported by police, roughly 6,000 people were behind bars at the county jail as of August 5, according to sheriff ’s office data—an increase of more than 940

In April, Judge Evans took over control of one of the largest electronic monitoring (EM) programs in the country from Sheriff Dart.

Since then, Evans told commissioners, he’s worked to build out the pretrial services division of his office that is expected to supervise some 3,000 people at full capacity.

The number of people ordered to EM has

grown faster than the chief judge’s office expected, Evans testified. His team anticipated in March that eight people would be added to the pretrial monitoring caseload each day, but, since taking over the program, Evans said judges have actually been ordering about 14 people to wear tracking devices each day.

To handle the influx of people referred to the Adult Probation Department—which had already run a separate EM program for people ordered to probation—the chief judge’s office plans to hire an additional 155 employees by 2027, about 75 of whom are on track to be onboarded by November, Evans said. The expanded team is expected to move from its current office space in the Leighton Criminal Courthouse to a newly renovated building in Maywood next month.

Almost all of this is made possible by a first-time grant of roughly $8 million from the Office of Statewide Pretrial Services, which oversees pretrial supervision in 82 of the state’s 102 counties. (The exact amount of the grant is still being worked out, Evans said, and should be finalized later this month.) That’s in addition to $6.3 million commissioners moved from Dart’s office to Evans’s in the 2025 budget. —SHAWN MULCAHY v Make It Make Sense is a weekly column about what’s happening and why it matters.

m smulcahy@chicagoreader.com AUGUST 7, 2025 - CHICAGO READER 7

ARTS & CULTURE

SCHNABL R KATRIN katrinschnabl.com

CRAFT WORK

Pattern recognition Katrin Schnabl weaves movement, fashion, and sculpture into a dynamic art practice.

By ISA GIALLORENZO

W

hen multidisciplinary artist Katrin Schnabl talks about her work, the conversation doesn’t stay neatly in one category. It dances—from sculpture to fashion, from performance to philosophy. Her practice, like her materials, is fluid. It shifts. It stretches. Working as she does in fashion design, installation, performance, and sculpture, among other mediums, it makes sense that her clothing is meant to exist as works of art when not on the body. “My work is so much about pattern,” she says. “That’s really the blueprint for everything.” Pattern and movement— those are some of the threads connecting Schnabl’s work.

A professor and former chair of fashion design at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC), Schnabl perfectly embodies its cross-disciplinary spirit, seamlessly gliding between art and fashion. Her wearable art series URAWOA (yoU aRe A Work Of Art) features light, colorful textiles that look as beautiful suspended in space as draped on the body. “My work invokes an impulse to ‘put it on,’ or ‘to step inside,’ as a way to process its information with the entire body,” Schnabl explains.

In her Lakeview studio, Schnabl handed me one of her pieces to try on, and I was amazed by its transformative power. Part of her latest series, titled EWNS (East West North South), the artwork could be worn in multiple ways. It featured her signature undulating mosaic of vivid hues, made with lightweight polyamide mesh. At first, I was skeptical the design could work over my common striped dress, but that thin layer of pattern and color seemed to miraculously upgrade my outfit instantly. I felt ready for whatever the occasion—and excited to be seen. “It will easily work over jeans and T-shirts. And if you wear different colors underneath, then you become the painter,”

8 CHICAGO READER - AUGUST 7, 2025

L: Katrin Schnabl in her Lakeview studio; R: Installation view, “Qualia,” Epiphany Center for the Arts, 2025 L-R: ISA GIALLORENZO; EUGENE TANG

Schnabl says, highlighting all the layering possibilities.

In her Portal series, Schnabl paints with fabric, stretching her favored polyamide mesh over rectangular cuboid metal frames.

The idea of membranes—and how they interact—is central to these sculptures, which offer viewers endless combinations of color and form depending on how they move around the work. The environment and other visitors can also be seen through the sheer geometrical construction, adding yet another layer of information to the experience. “It’s like a filter, because we do see things through a filter, and what is so amazing is that we can create our own,” Schnabl says.

Just before the pandemic hit, Schnabl chose to see a broken leg as an opportunity

to explore new possibilities in her studio— and that’s how Portal came about. It was a challenging time: She was mourning the loss of a loved one, as well as her own physical freedom. Yet that enforced stillness became a chance to quite literally reframe her work, encapsulating the vibrant energy found in the many dance costumes she’s designed over the years into static forms that still pulse with movement and energy. Movement has always been essential to Schnabl—even some of her art displays slide on ceiling-mounted tracks.

Given her body of work—and her body itself, as Schnabl moves with natural grace—it’s no surprise she comes from a dance background.

Growing up in a small town near Frankfurt, Germany, Schnabl was given the freedom to experiment with old clothing she discovered

in a trunk at home. “It was magical to go in there and just feel the cloth—how it creates wind around you, how it makes you move, how it makes you feel, and what you think you become when you wear it,” she remembers.

When she was around eight years old, she joined a children’s dance group formed with her older sisters and a friend—and soon became something of a local celebrity.

Years later, Schnabl joined a local dance studio and quickly became the owner’s right hand—teaching classes, attending workshops, and costuming performances. “I made costumes, masks—whatever was needed. I’d just say, ‘Yeah, I’ll do it. I’ll figure it out,’” she recalls. She eventually cofounded a modern dance company in Frankfurt, and in 1987, followed a long-held dream to move to New York.

ARTS & CULTURE

EWNS pieces ready to be shipped to the Larnaca Biennale in Cyprus. ISA GIALLORENZO

Not long after arriving, a dance company she joined lost its costume designer—so Schnabl stepped in. “I just said, ‘Oh, I can do it.’” This can-do ethos informs her whole practice, and it’s a mindset she’s cultivated since her early years.

In New York’s downtown dance world, Schnabl quickly became a go-to costume designer. She later enrolled at the Fashion Institute of Technology, where she threw herself into every class she could take. “I didn’t plan it. It just happened. Before I knew it, I graduated.” She went on to build a successful career, freelancing in various roles for designers like Carolina Herrera, Jil Sander, and Donna Karan, and eventually launched her own independent line, Miche.Kimsa, with her then partner Irvin Andrew. Over time, though, Schnabl began

to feel that the traditional fashion industry wasn’t where she truly belonged. An invitation to SAIC as a visiting artist in 2004 offered the perfect opportunity to expand her practice.

In Chicago, she found a community where her interdisciplinary vision could fully thrive.

“This has become my home now,” she says. “I love the creative scene. I really like my school, and I’m able to have this studio here—it’s allowed me to blossom. I love that it’s right in the middle of the country, next to a big lake. I think it’s a great place for creators in all fields: food, music, art.” As for local fashion, she envisions “something truly unique—not trying to be east or west coast, but grounded in what’s possible right here, with what already exists—recognizing its value and building on that.”

One of the values shaping local fashion is sustainability, and Schnabl’s practice reflects that. She mostly works with natural fibers, and makes an exception for polyamide mesh—a synthetic fabric she’s intentional about using.

Having strong allergies to certain synthetic dyes and materials, she can personally attest to the gentleness of polyamide mesh on the skin. Durability, too, supports that mindful making: “I have clients that wear my clothes for decades. They even pass them on to their kids,” she says.

Addressing the negative side of durability, Schnabl conceived the I Won’t Go Away series, hand-knitted from postconsumer plastic dry cleaner bags. On August 9 and 10 at 6018North gallery, Schnabl and artist Tria Smith will host an activation and open workshop for Persephone’s Gate—a set of portals they cocreated—bringing attention to the urgent problem of plastic use and disposal. The event is part of the ongoing collective exhibition “Myth of the Organic City,” curated by Tricia Van Eck, on view by appointment only, with the exception of the scheduled activations.

On September 12, Schnabl will show the

sculptural installation GYRE, created in collaboration with Annie Guitteau, at the launch of Forum 301—a new cultural forum and gallery conceived by Jerry B. Olsen. The work is part of a group exhibition curated around the theme of everyday objects. The massive piece mimics the gyroidal shape of a plastic molecule and gives the viewer the impression of being engulfed in plastic On October 12, Schnabl’s yoU aRe A Work Of Art designs will be featured in the Threaded Stories fashion show at the Woman’s Club of Evanston, hosted by Cloth + Home boutique as part of Chicago Fashion Week.

From November 20-22, Schnabl will be offering her signature art–garment hybrid pieces at a trunk show organized by We Are Material and Alma Gallery, where Schnabl’s designs are regularly available for purchase.

And starting October 15, her East West North South series steps onto the global stage at the Larnaca Biennale in Cyprus. Crossing all kinds of boundaries, Schnabl’s work refuses to be contained. v

m letters@chicagoreader.com AUGUST 7, 2025 - CHICAGO READER 9

RED LINE: CHICAGO HORROR STORIES edited by Michael W. Phillips Jr. From Beyond Press, paperback, 246 pp., $13.99, frombeyondpress.com/product/ R red-line-chicago-horror-stories

ARTS & CULTURE BOOKS

Explore spooky Chicago history Red Line: Chicago Horror Stories creates a thrilling mosaic of the city, in all its complex, terrifying beauty.

By EMILY MCCLANATHAN

F

or most of my life, I’ve been the kind of reader who skims the back of a horror novel, thinks its premise sounds fascinating, but ultimately chickens out before cracking it open. Growing up as a sensitive kid with a vivid imagination and a severe case of evangelical rapture anxiety, I wasn’t exactly a prime candidate to become a horror convert in adulthood. But after hearing enough bookish people rave about horror’s ability to explore real-life fears from the safe distance of fiction, I’ve recently been dipping my toes into the genre.

Whether you’re a horror-curious reader like

me or a seasoned fan, the new collection Red Line: Chicago Horror Stories serves up a smorgasbord of styles, themes, and perspectives that will satisfy a range of tastes. Edited by Michael W. Phillips Jr., these stories delve into spooky Chicago history and painful aspects of modern urban life, employing a range of supernatural and speculative elements while maintaining a strong sense of place.

The anthology features 19 Chicago-area writers of diverse ages, genders, and ethnicities, from established authors such as Cynthia Pelayo, the first Latina to win a Bram Stoker Award, to newer voices like R.L. Gehringer,

ATTENTION

ATTENTION: PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD FOR CHA’S

If you listed LawndaleFY2026 Complex HCV or theADMINISTRATIVE Lawndale Community Area on AMENDED your Housing Choice Survey as a place you would like to permanently PLAN FOR JULY - AUGUST 26, 2025 live, pleaseSCHEDULED read the information listed 28 below.

The Chicago Housing Authority (CHA) is releasing its Amended FY2026 Admin Plan for public comment from July

The Draft Tenant Selection Plan (TSP) and Lease for Ogden Commons, a mixed-income 28th through August 26th, 2025. The proposed Amendment is to allow CHA to support eligible families residing community is available for review. The Chicago Housing Authority (CHA) has worked with its in units assisted by any special purpose including emergency housing voucher participants. The Amended development partner to develop a Draft TSP and Lease for use at the private development Admin Plan and summary documents will be available for review July 28, on CHA’s website at www.thecha.org. known as Ogden Commons (previous site of the Lawndale Complex). The units within this development will be used as replacement public housing units for Lawndale Complex and CHALawndale welcomes Community questions andarea. comments residents, program participants and theCommunity general public, but the If youfrom listed Lawndale Complex/Lawndale area participation in the Choice public comment notarequired and will notto impact your housing options on your Housing Surveyisas place you want live or maintain a rightattoCHA. return to new CHA replacement housing per the Relocation Rights Contract (RRC), you can comment You canDraft submit Chicago Housing on the TSP and Lease during the Authority 30-day public comment period. comments on the

60 E. Van Buren St, 12th Floor

The 30-day public period will be held for CHA to receive written comments proposed plan by comment Chicago, IL 60605 starting April 7 throughAttn: MayProposed 7, 2021.FY2026 The Tenant Selection email, fax or mail: MTW Annual PlanPlans (TSP) will be available on CHA’s website beginningEmail: Aprilcommentontheplan@thecha.org 7, 2021. | Fax: 312-913-7837 Due to COVID-19, CHA has suspended all in person public meetings and instead, CHA will livestream one public comment hearing. The date and time of the public comment livestream CHA will also host • Livestream: August 4, at 11:00 am hearing is as follows: Links to the livestreams will be available at www.thecha.org and a

one livestream sign interpreter will be present. Comments can be submitted in the and one in-person Tue, April 20, 10:00am: https://youtu.be/QBGG47BHXMg livestream chat and recordings of the livestream sessions will be public comment available on CHA’s website following the meetings. meeting: We ask that comments pertaining to the TSP & Lease be submitted electronically to • In-person:at Wednesday, August 13,to 2025, 6:00 pm, FIC 4859 SComments Wabash commentontheplan@thecha.org least 48-hours prior the at comment hearing. will be read live during the time outlinedSign above.

Comments received afterwill thebehearing added language and Spanish interpreters present,will andbe comments to the comment grid. can be submitted in person.

If you require translation services, please read the attached notice services, or check withwith your property If you require additional translation check your property manager for more details. Do not mail comments CHA. manager for moreto details.

E-mail or Fax comments to: commentontheplan@thecha.org Fax 312. 913.7837

All comments must be received by August 26, 2025.

If you have a question about this notice, please call the CHA at 312.913-7300.

To request a reasonable accommodation, please call 312.913.7062.

If you have a question about this notice, please call 312-913-7300.

To request a reasonable accommodation, please call 312-913-7062. TTY 866-331-3603 TTY 866.331.3603

10 CHICAGO READER - AUGUST 7, 2025

a septuagenarian and former cab driver who took up writing in retirement. Under the umbrella of horror, the collection’s eclectic subgenres include science fiction (“The River’s Revenge” by Jen Mierisch), ghost stories (“The Last Graveyard Shift at the Englewood Branch” by Tara Betts), and cosmic battles (“Li’l Flubber” by Theodore C. Van Alst Jr.).

Pelayo opens the book with “Saint Maker,” an atmospheric tour of Chicago’s graveyards that introduces many of the ghosts, saints, sinners, and devils who “haunt our bloodlines.” “Chicago is heaven and hell. We are above and we are below. . . . There’s a thread of viciousness that runs through our parts, yet there’s a glimmer of holiness to it too,” Pelayo writes.

This deep sense of local history continues through several other early selections, including Sandra J a c k s o n - O p o k u ’s “Lucky Charms,” a time-travel tale featuring the young daughter of Jean Baptiste Point du Sable, the Black man known as the first non-Native settler and founder of Chicago, and his Potawatomi wife, Kitihawa. In the epistolary “Notes from the Dunning Asylum,” Aleco Julius imagines a sinister case of mistaken identity set in a notorious mental institution, evoking the psychological fascination of gothic classics such as Bram Stoker’s Dracula and Wilkie Collins’s The Woman COURTESY FROM BEYOND PRESS in White.

In addition to its enticing offerings for history buffs, this collection excels in its treatment of contemporary terrors, especially those faced by vulnerable populations. Nick Medina’s “A Good Kid” captures the dreadful sense of inevitability surrounding gun violence for many of the city’s youth, taking a moving, personal approach to an issue that is often

sensationalized in news coverage. In “Just Another Friday Night in Bucktown,” Lauren Emily Whalen spins a gritty revenge tale about femme, nonbinary, and queer burlesque performers taking back their agency after years of harassment and exploitation. Child sexual abuse, suicide, police brutality, and elder abuse feature in other stories, as noted in the content warnings at the end of the book.

Collectively, Red Line’s contributors create a thrilling mosaic of Chicago—past, present, and future—in all its complex, terrifying beau-

ty. From golden hour on an el platform to the labyrinthine depths of Wacker Drive, familiar settings become unforgettably uncanny in these writers’ hands. And for the record: this scaredy-cat’s to-be-read list now includes several novels by authors that I first read here. v

m letters@chicagoreader.com

Better Shelves. Custom Solutions.

Say goodbye to clutter and frustration–wherever it lives. From kitchens and pantries to bathrooms and laundry rooms, ShelfGenie® custom pull-out shelves bring smart, accessible storage to every space in your home.

FREE EXPERT DESIGN CONSULTATION

A

250 VALUE

$

• Personalized 3D design • Custom-built to fit existing spaces • Fast, Professional installation • Lifetime Warranty* for peace of mind

Schedule Now by Calling 877-573-1474

AS SEEN IN

© 2025 ShelfGenie SPC LLC. All rights reserved. Locally owned and operated franchise. Offer valid at participating locations only. Limit one offer per household. *Applies to Classic and Designer line. EXP 10/31/2025.

AUGUST 7, 2025 - CHICAGO READER 11

THEATER COLUMN

The dos and don’ts of parody drag and burlesque How to pay homage to your pop culture influences without getting a cease and desist order

By CHARLI RENKEN

M

uch of last year, while working on my producing debut, Helluva Cabaret, which parodied the Amazon Prime shows Hazbin Hotel and Helluva Boss, I had a small but persistent fear that I might get a cease and desist order that could shut the whole thing down. I was pretty sure we were safe under parody law, but if that didn’t save us, I also knew much of the cast and crew of both animated shows had been to similar variety shows based on their work, which I took as approval to riff. Thankfully, I never received a scary email in my inbox. But I wasn’t the first to be a little nervous about pulling off a parody.

Most of what I do in drag and burlesque is pop cultural referential work, and I’m not alone in that. There are a ton of nerds who do drag and burlesque. Just this past weekend, I saw Pegatron do a SEGA video game number as Shadow the Hedgehog in a black-and-red version of Sabrina Carpenter’s Short & Sweet tour look. Local king Annx frequently does anime-inspired numbers, such as his Naruto homage in which he plays both the titular character and Sasuke. The annual drag and burlesque show Our Drag Means Slay has brought Our Flag Means Death fans together for a night of gay pirate debauchery for the past three years.

There’s a right way and a wrong way to do it, though. The right way gets you lots of tips from appreciative fans; the wrong way could land you a nasty letter from a licensing agency.

I spoke to two producers who know a thing or two about producing works based on other IPs (intellectual properties) about the dos and don’ts of parody in drag and burlesque.

Raks Geek and Raks Inferno producer Dawn Xiana Moon says she’s always been a nerd.

Known for her belly dancing Wookie routine, Moon started Raks Geek in 2012 after seeing one too many amateur cosplay belly dancers at convention talent shows. The company now performs regularly at the Newport Theater, blending burlesque, dance, and circus arts

12 CHICAGO READER - AUGUST 7, 2025

Shows of note

See venue website for complete information.

BE OUR GUEST: DINNER AND DISNEY MUSICAL BINGO HOSTED BY KIMBERLY SUMMER

Every Wed 7 PM, Roscoe’s Tavern, free

with pop culture. They’ve never received a threatening email for any work they’ve riffed on.

“There’s a lot that allows us to do what we do without issue. One is that all the companies that own these IPs have been tolerant of fanrun things. There’s a community built around things like cosplay and a long tradition of doing cosplay performances and making fan media,” Moon says.

Dawn Xiana Moon of Raks Geek BARTEK KARAS

Since there has been media, fans have been creating their own content based on and inspired by it. From Star Trek fanzines to fan art on Tumblr, enthusiasts have always created art based on art. Hell, one could argue that Michelangelo’s work was Bible fan art.

At this point, many companies see fan art as a kind of free advertisement for their properties. You still have to be careful, though; just because most companies don’t care doesn’t

mean you’re not taking a risk when creating transformative works. There are a few things to avoid in order not to get a cease and desist order.

Creating parody performances that don’t get flagged often boils down to how you promote. Companies don’t want performances to compete with their IPs and potentially steal customers away. When designing a poster or other promotional material, drag performer and Casting Call producer Scruffy D recommends avoiding any designs that look too much like the referential material or use elements of it, like fonts or character designs.

“A lot of licensing agencies use AI now to scrub the Internet for material that looks too similar to their copyright,” they say, referencing their own experience making transformative works of Broadway plays. Their scrapped parody of the musical Chicago ran into this exact issue because the red-and-black color scheme of their poster was too similar to the original works. With some graphics reworking and a completely new concept, Casting Call pivoted to a new parody, Skokie: The Musical, which was a roaring success. (IYKYK.) Moon also suggests just avoiding some IPs altogether—like Disney’s princesses or Mickey Mouse, which the media conglomerate is particularly protective of. According to the artists I spoke with, Disney seems to be less worried about fan homage for properties like Star Wars and the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It can be helpful to look up what other artists are and aren’t doing to get a sense for what works.

One of the reasons I figured I could make my silly little demon show without issue was that I’d already seen similar shows in other cities made by fellow fans. I’ve since talked to other producers in the Hellaverse fandom who want to collaborate with me on their next shows.

You also have to consider how you’re referencing the original material. Are you just doing an exact re-creation, or are you adding something new or commenting on something no one else has? One thing Raks Geek does is

THE UNCANNY ATTIC: CHAPTERS E-H

Thu–Sat 8/7-8/9 and 8/14-8/16 7 PM, Newport Theater, from $28.52-$38.85 (There’s a birthday celebration of producer Bazuka Joe after 8/7’s show.)

BLIND BOX SHOW

Sat 8/9 9 PM, the High Hall in Humboldt Park, $20 or limited pay what you can

THE COOKOUT: AN ALL BLACK SHOWCASE WITH FOOD MADE BY THE HOST

Sat 8/16 4-6 PM with free food at 4 PM on first come, first serve basis, Charlie’s Chicago, free

CASTING CALL TRIPLE THREAT: THE FINALE

Sat 8/23 9 PM, My Buddy’s, from $17

TASSELS AND TUNES BURLESQUE SHOW

Mon 8/25 9 PM, the Owl, free

MY CHEMICAL CABARET: A DRAG AND BURLESQUE TRIBUTE TO MCR

Thu 8/28 7 PM, Newport Theater, from $28

MASC ERA: A DRAG KING REVUE

Fri 8/29 9 PM, My Buddy’s, from $10

DIM SUM AND DRAG: RETURN TO BLASIA

Sat 8/30 noon, Furama, from $44

SLAYAWAY CAMP: WORKSHOPS, NETWORKING, SHOWCASES & MORE

Sat 8/30 9:30 AM-11:30 PM and Sun 8/31 9:30 AM-8 PM, Newport Theater, workshops from $39 with some free events

cast someone of a different race or gender than the original, sometimes to comment on its shortfalls; Moon uses the example of casting an Asian American performer as Doctor Strange to point out how the Marvel character borrows a lot from South Asian culture yet is played by Benedict Cumberbatch.

“You want it to be more of a collaboration between you and the original work; you want to transform the work enough that it’s its own thing,” Scruffy D says. Not only is that crucial for covering yourself legally, but it’s also important to your integrity as an artist. Flat-out stealing someone else’s work isn’t cool. You have to make it your own in some way. v

m crenken@chicagoreader.com

THEATER OPENING

Overstated whimsy

The stage musical of Amélie overwhelms the delicacy of the original.

Amélie, the 2001 Jean-Pierre Jeunet film, portrays the quiet life of an imaginative waitress whose world changes when she discovers a treasure hidden years ago in her Montmartre apartment. Tinted like an old photograph, the film operates like a poem; much is unspoken, especially by the titular character, whose interiority is revealed by vivid vignettes of neighbors and workfellows that reflect her qualities through association, within a meandering love story mediated by everyday objects. Like the recurrent image of a Renoir painting, the result is impressionistic, with a luminous soundtrack by Yann Tiersen.

Translating this introverted film into theater’s most extroverted form seems ill-conceived in theory and is preposterous in practice. Amélie the musical (first produced at Berkeley Repertory Theatre in 2015), with book by Craig Lucas, music by Daniel Messé, lyrics by Messé and Nathan Tysen, directed and choreographed for Kokandy Productions by Derek Van Barham, is melodramatic, overamplified, and overburdened with exposition delivered in faux French accents that articulate every emotion past the point of nuance. It’s difficult to access the purported delicacy and whimsy of its heroine when it’s all proclaimed so emphatically by everyone onstage. At its worst when quoting directly from the film’s subtitles, the musical works best when it departs from the original—arias about a grocer’s fig, a gnome’s adventures, an Elton John-esque extravaganza—light bits that don’t endeavor romance.

The Kokandy ensemble shines despite the flawed vehicle. Multi-instrumentalists and true of voice, they all commit to the bit with heroic determination to the happy poppy score. Aurora Penepacker makes a valiant Amélie; Sam Hook is charming as grocer’s assistant Lucien. —IRENE HSIAO AMÉLIE Through 9/28: Thu–Sat 7

PM, Sun 5 PM; Chopin Theatre, 1543 W. Division, kokandyproductions.com, $45 general admission ($55 reserved seating, students/seniors $35, limited number of $15 artist tickets each performance)

Academic arguments

A professor’s personal and professional crises collide in Buddha’s Birthday.

Pamela teaches the history of Western civilization at an unnamed college and is up for tenure, while also planning the 80th birthday party of her irascible mother, Roberta. Her husband, Lawrence, teaches philosophy and is ready to go to war in the student paper with a campus group demanding that the canon be revisited in the interest of diversity and contemporary relevance.

The arrival of their niece, Jennifer, sets off a series of events and epiphanies that upend what both Pamela and Lawrence have assumed about themselves and their relationship. Oh, and there’s this damn raccoon that keeps coming into the house.

That’s the story behind local playwright Amy Crider’s Buddha’s Birthday, now in a world premiere directed

by Iris Sowlat for Crider’s Lucid Theater. At heart, it’s about one woman’s midlife crisis involving her faith (Pamela has recently taken up Buddhist meditation practice) and her family; long-simmering resentments about her sister (Jennifer’s mother) drive her own self-doubt

and color her tense relationship with Roberta. In the larger scheme, it’s about the conflict between rational certainty (or the appearance of it), as represented

by Lawrence and Pamela’s increasing embrace of the unknown, sparked by Jennifer’s arrival.

The fact that Jennifer (Ada Grey) isn’t interested in pursuing college at all (a source of great consternation to Kathleen Ruhl’s Roberta) puts the value of academia under a direct spotlight, but it’s implied throughout the story. The play starts with parallel lectures by Pamela (Kristie Berger) and Lawrence (Christopher Hainsworth): Pamela’s lecture includes an unexpected slide of Buddha, while Lawrence’s shows a sweaty duo of wrestling men. (No, this doesn’t foreshadow what you might think it does about him.) To put it simply: He feels like he has the answers (logic above all) in the battle of ideas, and she’s awash in questions and doubts.

Lawrence thinks that the main solution for their personal problems is for Pamela to take anti-anxiety meds, which she’s resisting. His increasing insistence on the primacy of his own beliefs makes him increasingly insufferable.

Crider, who wrote last year’s well-received Wells and Welles for Lucid, seems to favor a Socratic approach to drama here, as characters interrogate each other’s motives and beliefs. Sometimes it works, but at least in its current incarnation, Buddha’s Birthday tends to telegraph its plot developments (it’s not a spoiler that Roberta’s birthday party doesn’t go off as planned).

The staging itself also suffers from overlong transitions between scenes that tend to flatten the dramatic momentum. Still, it’s a smart script that could use some tightening. The blossoming connection of Pamela and Jennifer centers the intergenerational growth between two women who are both looking for something bigger than themselves in the world. —KERRY REID BUDDHA’S

BIRTHDAY Through 8/17: Thu–Sat 7:30 PM, Sun 3 PM; Edge Theater, 5451 N. Broadway, lucidtheater. com, $38

R Weaponized faith

Abyssal Zone Collective’s Holy, Holy, Holy looks at “end times fascism.”

In a recent essay for the Guardian, Naomi Klein and Astra Taylor describe a tendency called “end times fascism,” wherein Christian fundamentalist Rapture narratives and the tortures of late-stage capitalism fuse to create an “ideology of . . . monstrous supremacist survivalism.” Nonhierarchical theater group Abyssal Zone Collective’s second devised piece, Holy, Holy, Holy, stages these dangerous tendencies, planting a flag in the sand for a new company on the Chicago theater scene. Ingeniously staged in a side room at Edgewater Presbyterian Church, Holy, Holy, Holy depicts rituals to hasten the coming of Christ and the end of us all, performed by five isolated young women, led by the charismatic Prophet Micah.

A true ensemble piece, the play takes an Altmanesque look into the lives of these women, most of whom have forsworn the outside world, as they prepare the room for their ritual with the nonchalance of setting up a church potluck. Yet there is a significant sense of foreboding, and the play slowly doles out information, allowing the audience to piece together the terrible things to come. The theology is questionable, as it seems that the only lesson the ritualists have taken from Christ was the prominence of pain. Yet the play manages to critique strains of Christianity without denigrating the power of faith in its characters’ lives. Holy, Holy, Holy, collectively written and directed, teems with visceral, committed performances, particularly from Lizzy Mosher and Katy

Holy, Holy, Holy LESLIE OLIVERAS Campbell. A potent theatrical reckoning with power’s tendency to weaponize faith, Holy, Holy, Holy’s power is undeniable. —ROB SILVERMAN ASCHER HOLY, HOLY,

HOLY Through 8/17: Wed–Sun 7 PM; no shows Wed–

Sat 8/13-8/16; Edgewater Presbyterian Church, 1020 W. Bryn Mawr, abyssalzonecollective.com, free, but reservations suggested

R Jailhouse debates

Jesus Hopped the ‘A’ Train wrestles with faith and justice.

How do we decide what actually entails justice in the meat market of humanity? That’s the very broad question posed by Stephen Adly Guirgis’s 2000 play, Jesus Hopped the ‘A’ Train, in which two inmates at Rikers Island interrogate themselves, each other, and their different attitudes toward faith and redemption during exercise sessions in the yard. (The fact that they are tethered within cages during these sessions underscores the limitations of the human quest for understanding those big questions, as well as the inherent cruelty of the “corrections” system.)

Guirgis’s play comes around every so often—I think City Lit’s current production is the third time I’ve seen it, and it also is the most successful interpretation I’ve encountered. I suspect part of that is because director Esteban Andres Cruz (an ensemble member of A Red Orchid Theatre who just starred in their production of Six Men Dressed Like Joseph Stalin) has worked extensively with Guirgis, including in the 2019 New York world premiere of Halfway Bitches Go Straight to Heaven. They also won a Non-Equity Jeff Award in 2009 for portraying Angel Cruz, the younger of the two inmates in Jesus Hopped the ‘A’ Train, at Raven Theatre (a production I missed).

What struck me as self-conscious dialogue in earlier incarnations plays here with a beguiling sense of both urgency and off-the-cuff vernacular observational humor. Angel (Lenin Izquierdo), who is awaiting trial for shooting a presumed cult leader in the ass (the man’s subsequent death during surgery leads to murder charges), and Lucius Jenkins (Bradford

Stevens), the serial killer dubbed “the Black Plague” by the media, have nothing but time to kill in their daily hour of exercise. But paradoxically, they’re both also running out of time—especially Lucius, who is awaiting extradition to Florida, where he will face the death penalty. Lucius, who claims to have had a jailhouse conversion to Jesus, gets under the skin of Angel, who shot Reverend Kim when, in his view, the latter stole a childhood friend away from him to his religious community.

Cruz’s production for City Lit makes direct connections between these two men and the way animals are treated at factory farms through Andres Fiz’s projections of penned cattle and meat grinders, shown on the torn canvas sheets of Tianxuan Chen’s set. The decision to avoid more on-the-nose representations of prison cells onstage proves wise, as it creates a world where the literally flimsy walls suggest that none of us is as far removed from the cruelty of prison life as we think—a point also driven home by an image of abused prisoners at El Salvador’s infamous CECOT. The walls and membranes between innocence and guilt, whether actual or officially prescribed by imperfect court systems, are indeed a patchwork of torn cloth.

The interludes between Angel and Lucius are broken up by monologues from Angel’s ambitious defense attorney, Mary Jane Hanrahan (Maria Stephens, whose character at times comes into the audience and turns us into the jury), and prison guard Valdez (Manny Tamayo), who enjoys taunting the men from the theater’s tech booth. Valdez replaces the more amenable D’Amico (Michael Dailey), who forms an odd friendship with Lucius and delivers a particularly memorable coda.

But Cruz’s sure-handed and imaginative production gives all the actors in the ensemble a chance to shine, and it’s a particular triumph for Izquierdo and Stevens, who make every moment of their jailhouse encounters count. —KERRY REID JESUS HOPPED THE ‘A’ TRAIN

Through 9/7: Fri–Sat 7:30 PM, Sun 3 PM; also Mon 8/25 7:30 PM; City Lit Theater, Edgewater Presbyterian Church, 1020 W. Bryn Mawr, 773-2933682, citylit.org, $38 ($33 seniors, $15 students and military) v

AUGUST 7, 2025 - CHICAGO READER 13

FILM

5

A still from Sanjuro (1962) COURTESY MUSIC BOX THEATRE

I

MUSICTHEATERWORKS.com 14 CHICAGO READER - AUGUST 7, 2025

9501 Skokie Blvd, Skokie

n cinema, a director’s control can show up in oppositional ways.

For some, it’s exactly what you’d expect: a clear, hands-on influence over every part of a film, visible in the final result. For others, it’s a kind of intentional absence that still leaves its mark.

The former is epitomized in the work of Akira Kurosawa, whose films are the subject of a partial retrospective at the Music Box Theatre.

This weekend I saw two of them: The Hidden Fortress (1958), a major influence on the original Star Wars (1977), and Sanjuro (1962), a sequel to Kurosawa’s Yojimbo (1961). I should be embarrassed that I hadn’t seen either film, but as I’ve discussed in past columns, it’s nice to have blind spots so as to preserve the sensation of seeing something great for the first time.

I was struck by the precision of every frame of these films, especially during Sanjuro, in which the rōnin played by Toshiro Mifune is helping nine young samurai in their struggle amid a corruption scandal in their clan. The young samurai are like the dwarves to Mifune’s Snow White; each scene featuring all the men is carefully composed, the singularity of the rōnin balanced by the nine others within the frame. The attenuated symmetry is just so satisfying. It scratches an itch, as one might say.

The same can also be said of Robert Altman’s artful insouciance. Where the Music Box’s Kurosawa retrospective spans a week, the Gene Siskel Film Center’s Robert Altman Centennial series has been going on for a few months. I’ve seen all of them before but made it out specifically for Altman’s underrated 1982 film Come Back to the 5 & Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean on

Wednesday, with a special introduction by Chicago International Film Festival founder Michael Kutza. (The film had its U.S. premiere at the festival on September 30, 1982, which, coincidentally, was the 27th anniversary of James Dean’s death.)

Adapted from a play that Altman directed on Broadway, both the present and the past to which it often flashes back take place on the same small set. Still, it doesn’t feel constrained or even all that theatrical, which wouldn’t necessarily be a bad thing but is sometimes a quality of stage-to-film adaptations that makes them less cinematic. Ironically, because many of Altman’s most iconic films are sprawling in both setting and plot, this nevertheless still feels like its own expansive presence. The cast of the original stage play—Sandy Dennis, Cher, Karen Black, and Kathy Bates, among others less recognizable—reprise their roles and are absolute powerhouses; as in the most iconic Altman joints, each actor, and thereby each character, inhabits their own part of the fictional world.

All this is to say nothing of a core plot point which involves Black playing a trans woman, which is all the more transgressive (no pun intended) for its time because the film is not about that. That one of the characters is trans is just one complexity among many, over which Altman has unobsequious authority.

Until next time, moviegoers. —KAT SACHS v

The Moviegoer is the diary of a local film buff, collecting the best of what Chicago’s independent and underground film scene has to offer.

R READER RECOMMENDED

FILM

Get showtimes and see reviews of everything playing this week at chicagoreader.com/movies.

The Naked Gun PARAMOUNT PICTURES

NOW PLAYING

R Harvest

Harvest builds a pastoral world so visually and sonically stunning that at first it may feel like a respite.

It’s feral in an almost fantastical way, but that soon turns into something more familiar. Over seven hallucinatory days that remain socially relevant despite being set in an undefined time and place, director Athina Rachel Tsangari immerses viewers in a modest village on the precipice of significant and seemingly inevitable change.

When a building goes up in flames, it’s the first crack of many, and the mood shifts from serene to severe.

Three unknown drifters are blamed and punished for the misdeed. This outcome, which lacks any proof, does not sit well with villager Walter Thirsk (Caleb Landry Jones); he’s somewhat of a misfit among men, given his disinterest in control and his preference for living in harmony with nature. When yet another group of unknowns arrives in the village, any hope Thirsk or viewers may have for a return to peace yields to the threat of modernity they come bearing. Harvest is a sprawling, atmospheric film that asks, “How many times are we going to do this?” While the answer, of course, is “forever,” the existence of the film is proof that just as the force of man can continually work to destroy, the culmination of human effort is also capable of creating something worthwhile over and over again. —BECCA JAMES 133 min. Mubi

R The Naked Gun

Near the start of The Naked Gun, Liam Neeson’s Frank Drebin Jr. kneels before a wall-mounted photo of his late father: Leslie Nielsen, legendary doofus cop. One by one, other detectives—including Paul Walter Hauser’s Captain Ed Hocken Jr.—line up to tearfully address their own framed dads. Frank Jr. waxes poetic about his father, “I want to be just like you, but at the same time completely different and original.” There’s the reboot in a nutshell.

Akiva Schaffer’s The Naked Gun cannonballs into the absurdity of the original franchise. It’s packed with

absolutely shameless fun: pratfalls, pun-heavy wordplay, deadpan chaos, and our bumbling, cocksure protagonist. The gags don’t let up. Frank gets handed a coffee at the most absurd intervals, over and over, and everyone throws themselves into the havoc with zeal seldom seen in theaters lately. It’s a lighthearted comedy, and the audience can relish in its foolishness.

What makes it work is Neeson, whose straight-faced intensity has been flirting with self-parody ever since the Taken franchise swallowed up the Oscar-nominated actor’s legacy. Now, he’s in on the joke, and there’s truly no one better to inherit Nielsen’s badge. Neeson commits to the bit so hard that it feels like a public service for comedy. Hands down, it’s his most affirming role in god knows how long.

The story unfolds like one might expect a Naked Gun film to play out. A series of increasingly preposterous “situations” befall our ham-fisted hero, including an action sequence where Frank emerges from a schoolgirl disguise and a cliffside car crash that’s cleaned up by a giant toy claw machine. The dead guy in the car leads Frank on a wild goose chase, where all fingers point to tech billionaire Richard Cane (Danny Huston).

The investigation heats up when the dead guy’s sister, Beth, solicits Frank for help. As Beth, Pamela Anderson delivers a performance that matches (if not outpaces) Neeson’s commitment. The chemistry alone—in banter and romance (the latter has turned out to be authentic)—gives this spoof a heart.

These days, we often encounter the most jokes in high-stress dark comedies or in between action sequences, but the humor hit rate here is through the roof and simply worth experiencing. The Naked Gun engulfs us in a bounty of jokes, overlaid in dialogue and bouncing from scene to scene, for a crisp 85 minutes.

Hollywood has an insatiable thirst for remaking the classics, but spoofs are perhaps the only genre of films that can reclaim their former charms; The Naked Gun does so by inviting its audience on a whimsical joy ride with no strings attached—just a simple request to laugh a little. —MAXWELL RABB PG-13, 85 min. Wide release

AUG 23RD - SEPT 21ST 2025

STUDEBAKER THEATER EAT A ER AT Fine Arts Building 410 S Michigan Avenue, Chicago, IL

Tickets from $44

on sale now at

CONTACT THE STUDEBAKER THEATER BOX OFFICE:

312-753-3210

in theaters v

AUGUST 7, 2025 - CHICAGO READER 15

MUSIC THE SECRET HISTORY OF CHICAGO MUSIC

Billy Hinton mastered soul and karate He’s better known as a seventh-degree black belt and sensei, but he also released a string of obscure but highly sought-after records in the 70s and 80s.

By STEVE KRAKOW

Since 2005 Plastic Crimewave (aka Steve Krakow) has used the Secret History of Chicago Music to shine a light on worthy artists with Chicago ties who’ve been forgotten, underrated, or never noticed in the first place.

I

n April, the Numero Group released Soul Music of Illinois, a 732-page, two-volume book by soul and funk authority Dante Carfagna. The first volume contains lists of Illinois labels and artists and their discographies, with a huge gallery of record covers.

The second is full of photos and other ephemera—flyers, business cards, newspaper ads, letters. My copy is already paying for itself as a research resource: For instance, it includes the cover of the 1984 Billy Hinton album Hard and Soft. One look, and I knew they’d broken the mold when they made this larger-than-life soul-music superhero. Hinton looks seriously into the camera with his arms folded, wearing a karate gi. He’s surrounded by the faces of half a dozen glamorous women, all gazing enraptured at him. Tell me you could see that and not immediately want to learn more about this guy!

William Hinton was born in Chicago on January 28, 1950, and grew up attending Fellowship Missionary Baptist Church at 4543 S. Princeton. The church broadcast its services on the radio via WWCA in Gary, Indiana, increasing the reach of the congregation’s most beloved songs—including “What a Fellowship,” “I’m Blessed,” and “It Is No Secret (What God Can Do).” Hinton attended Francis W. Parker School in Lincoln Park, and upon graduation in 1968, he enlisted in the navy. He served during the Vietnam war, first aboard the dock landing ship USS Fort Mandan (where he became a third-class electrician in 1969) and later on the submarine USS Barbel.

16 CHICAGO READER - AUGUST 7, 2025

He’d developed an interest in martial arts while still in high school, and he received formal training while in the military. He was honorably discharged in 1971.

Once back home, Hinton earned a bachelor’s degree in sociology from Northeastern Illinois University and then two master’s degrees from the University of Chicago, one in East Asian languages and civilizations and the other in urban economics.

Hinton got certified as a journeyman plumber, dabbled in carpentry, and tried his hand as an amateur mechanic. He also started his career as an adventurous soul singer—and his even longer career as a martial artist.

Hinton would practice karate for more than four decades, reaching the level of Shichidan—a Japanese term often translated as “seventh-degree black belt.” He competed regionally and nationally from 1972 until 1980, mostly through the United States Karate Association, and then expanded to international competition with the Amateur Athletic Union and the USA Karate Federation.

In the mid-70s, Hinton launched the Loretta Records label. The earliest Loretta release I can find is from 1975—the first of four singles on the label by Cold T, a group about which very little is known. Hinton wrote and produced several of those songs, as did his siblings Curtis and Beverly. He’s credited with writing the final Cold T single, 1979’s “You Ain’t Never Seen a Roach,” which was remade

STEVE KRAKOW FOR CHICAGO READER

as “Never Seen a Roach” on the subsequent debut LP by Hinton’s funky soul group Beige.

That connection has led some fans to speculate that Hinton is also performing uncredited on the Cold T singles, which are now quite rare and can sell for hundreds of dollars.

Some sources say Beige were a going concern as early as 1973, but that debut LP, Dawn of Beige, didn’t arrive till 1981, also on Loretta.

Hinton wrote and produced the whole album (with help from Curtis and Beverly on a couple tracks), and he delivers a tough but silky rap on “If It Doesn’t Thrill Ya,” his voice bathed in effects. The 80s Sly Stone vibes of “Everybody’s a Freak” make it my fave, and the whole record benefits from the arrangements of Frank Derrick Jr. The band made it at the legendary Hedden West Studios in Schaumburg and at Sky Hero Productions at 2335 S. Cottage Grove.

I don’t know a ton about Derrick, but the notes on the back of the Frank Derrick Total Experience’s jazzy 1974 live LP You Betcha!

He fought with four U.S. National Karate teams during the 80s.

say he worked with luminaries such as Donny Hathaway, the Four Tops, and Quincy Jones.

Those notes are credited to bassist Eldee Young, who played in Ramsey Lewis’s band and Young-Holt Unlimited, so I’m inclined to accept their bold claims.

In 1982, Beige released a second, more sophisticated LP on Loretta, the groovin’ Lightning Strikes Twice, also arranged by Derrick.

Original copies are scarce these days, and I’ve seen one go for more than $400. Hinton sings dreamy Curtis Mayfield–esque ballads such as “What You Thought (Dissatisfaction & Reflection)” and “Don’t You Know Heart” alongside rowdy steppin’ anthems such as “To the Meat” and “Sinister.” The band cut the album at Sky Hero and Paragon Recording Studios and mastered it with Iain Burgess, who’d later become famous for his contributions to the 80s midwest punk scene (he worked with the likes of Naked Raygun, Big Black, and Poster Children). It has a fuller sound than Dawn of Beige, with more creamy guitar, bangin’ keys and synths, and several vocalists—including Beverly Hinton, Nanette Frank, Robin Robinson, Shawn Oglesby, and Maxine Gardiner.

MUSIC Gardiner would prove crucial to Hinton’s next release.

That release was the 1983 Loretta single “A Challenge” b/w “Give Her Up,” credited to Beige featuring Maxine Gardiner. These days it’s acknowledged as a “modern soul” classic, with slappin’ disco bass, a soaring chorus, and arrangements by cowriter Keith Henderson, who also worked with the Emotions, the Dells, and the Chi-Lites.

(In 1980 he’d played guitar on Casper’s Groovy Ghost Show, a proto-hip-hop LP by Chicago DJ Casper.) No copies of this single have sold on Discogs since 2017.

In 1984, Hinton released Hard and Soft, which I’m pretty sure is his first LP under his own name. The album contains “A Challenge” (in vocal and instrumental versions) as well as several remakes of Beige tracks, including “To the Meat ‘Rap 84.’” Produced by Hinton and recorded and mixed at five studios (Paragon, Chicago Trax, Prism, Paul Serrano’s P.S. Studios, and Studiomedia in Evanston), it has a sound at least as dense as Lightning Strikes Twice.

Derrick and Henderson arranged the material, and the ensemble features Henderson and Abdul Hakeem on guitar, Donzell Davis on drums, Charles Hosch on bass, Frankie Hill on sax, Benny Brown on organ, and Ralph Evans and Matt Rose on synth (with Evans on piano).

Vocalists include Gardiner, Frank, Robinson, Shawn Christopher, and Diane Madison.

During the remainder of the 80s, Hinton dropped only two more records, both on Loretta. The 1984 single “Holiday” is a slow, gorgeously minimal R&B jam, in contrast to the 1987 12-inch “Dog Dog Dog Dogged It Out,” a jacked-up number adjacent to the house and boogie genres. Otherwise, though, Hinton didn’t slow down at all. He fought with four U.S. National Karate teams during the 80s and also became a referee and a teacher (or sensei).

Hinton taught martial arts classes at the University of Chicago from 1989 till ’96 (and at Stanford University from ’97 till ’06). He also wrote or cowrote four martial arts books: 1984’s No Secrets, 1989’s A Dragon’s Heart (which also birthed a local cable TV special),

1994’s Men of Steel Discipline: The Official Oral History of Black American Pioneers in the Martial Arts, and 2004’s The Universal Mind.

Hinton got back to recording in the 2000s.

He released the smooth Off-Center in 2003, which shows off his mature voice, still high and lovely. He followed it with Waiting for Zorro, the double album The California Years, and Posting 9. His last release was Extending, which came out in 2007 or ’08, depending on who you ask. In April 2009, while living in Atlanta and teaching martial arts at the nearby Decatur Recreation Center, Hinton died of cancer.

T h a n k f u l l y, H i n to n ’s music lives on. In 2010, “A Challenge” appeared on The Real Sound of Chicago: Underground Disco From the Windy City, compiled

by Mark Grusane and Mike Cole of south-side shop Mr. Peabody Records for UK label BBE. Hinton had ten siblings, many of whom appear alongside him on the 2011 compilation The Hinton’s—The Music Producers, whose tracks date from the 1970s through the 2010s. One of his brothers, Geno, has a self-titled album from 2006 where he covers the Beige tune “What You Thought (Dissatisfaction & Reflection).” Both were released on the Steppin Muzak label, which appears to be a Hinton family operation.

I think Hinton inadvertently composed his own perfect epitaph on the back of the first Beige LP. “We reach for things that appear out of reach. Yet, when sincerely reached for, we find them within our grasp,” he wrote. “We should not become or stay stagnated because of what is thought or said to be out of reach.

Reaching is done with the will, which controls our action and non-action.” In other words, where there’s a will, there’s a way—and Hinton proved it. v

Let’s Play!

Make time to learn something new with music and dance classes at Old Town School! We offer flexible schedules for all skill levels both in-person and online.

Hinton got certified as a journeyman plumber, dabbled in carpentry, and tried his hand as an amateur mechanic.

He also started his career as an adventurous soul singer—and his even longer career as a martial artist.

The radio version of the Secret History of Chicago Music airs on Outside the Loop on WGN Radio 720 AM, Saturdays at 5 AM with host Mike Stephen. Past shows are archived at outsidetheloopradio.com/tag/secrethistory-of-chicago-music.

Sign up for classes today at

oldtownschool.org MUSIC CLASSES FOR ADULTS & KIDS LINCOLN SQUARE LINCOLN PARK SOUTH LOOP & ONLINE OTS_1_2V_ClassAd_072921.indd 1

7/23/21 2:21 PM AUGUST 7, 2025 - CHICAGO READER 17

Recommended and notable shows with critics’ insights for the week of August 7

MUSIC

b ALL AGES F

PICK OF THE WEEK

THURSDAY7

New York nightlife staple Eli Escobar brings his versatile and imaginative DJ skills to Smart Bar

Imperfections, Poem Rocket Imperfections headline; Poem Rocket, Reaper on Red, and Snowcuffs open. 8 PM, Burlington Bar, 3425 W. Fullerton, $11.33. 21+

COURTESY THE ARTIST

ELI ESCOBAR, HARRY CROSS, SORRBET

Sat 8/9, 10 PM, Smart Bar, 3730 N. Clark, $31, $25 in advance. 21+

IF THERE’S ONE DJ TO KNOW out of all the talent that emerged from New York’s early-2000s nightlife culture, it’s Eli Escobar. (“Eli” is pronounced “EL-ee.”) The veteran producer and song-selector extraordinaire is a sought-after remixer for artists such as M.I.A. and Lana del Rey, and he’s as famous for his encyclopedic knowledge of 80s and 90s pop as for his humble demeanor.

Born and raised in Manhattan, Escobar still lives in the Big Apple, where he helps run Gabriela, an intimate Brooklyn nightclub he opened in 2023 with childhood pal Rafael Ohayon. The venue’s name honors the late Gabriela Mejia, a fellow New York DJ and nightlife staple—she was also Escobar’s friend, and in 2019 she was the first person to whom he confessed his dream of opening his own club. In its short tenure, Gabriela has been heralded by New York press as part of a dance-party renaissance—an accolade Escobar treats with nonchalance.

Escobar cut his teeth in early-90s punk bands, but even then he had a collector’s appetite for hip-hop and other groove-laden music.

His earliest DJ gigs were college parties at SUNY Purchase, where his

18 CHICAGO READER - AUGUST 7, 2025

taste was shaped by fans’ strong demand for rap, reggae, and house music. In 1997, he leveraged the connections he’d made through those events into professional DJ opportunities, where he quickly learned to cater to Top 40 audiences as expertly as he could play to club kids with their ears to the underground scene.

In 2017, Escobar told 5 Magazine that he thinks his versatility has been key to his career longevity. But while he’s able to adapt to any crowd, his sets are full of stylistic signatures. He’s often described as a house-adjacent DJ—someone who appreciates the swishy, casual vibe of house but doesn’t maintain strict fidelity to the sound or its history. Escobar likes fluid 80s and 90s jams with shimmering, plastic qualities, and he seldom ventures into the harsher, stricter territory of techno. He always has a few tricks up his sleeve: He can take something unexpected, such as a Radiohead classic or a cut from an obscure Japanese import, and place it effortlessly within his mix. It’s an aesthetic guided by a specificity and imagination that rewards crate diggers while being accessible enough for casual clubgoers. That’s why Escobar is club culture’s modest king. —MICCO CAPORALE

South-side Latino postpunk and darkwave trio Imperfections have released a handful of compelling singles in the past few years. The eerie, yearning “Tu Cuerpo” goes deep into the Cure’s dark romantic forest, while “Jenny” could fill up a goth-club dance floor with its throbbing bass line and sweeping synth. Imperfections’ latest single, “Cursed Reflections,” which came out at the end of May, rages in a mannerly way against the dying of the light. They’re certainly a band worth catching early in their career—preferably in your best bat gear. I’ll definitely be keeping on eye on whatever they do next.

Joining Imperfections at this Burlington show are Poem Rocket, a veteran New York postpunk outfit inspired by beat poetry and avant-garde rock. Formed in 1992, they haven’t put out a new record since the 2007 double album Invasions, but they’ve recently unearthed the long-lost EP LendLease, which they made in 1999 but didn’t release at the time. Despite its vintage, it sounds fresh and immediate—as though you’ve cracked open a time capsule full of fierce winged creatures furious to have been awakened from their deep hibernation. In just 26 minutes, Lend-Lease cements itself in your soul, scratching an itch you might not have realized you had. The spooky sea chantey “Black Freighter Contraband” has a simmering folk-blues tone that threatens to boil over in a spacey buildup. “A.R.P. (Air Raid Protection)” resonates with the hardships and cruelties of the current U.S. political moment; its chiming, abrasive guitars and grinding bass remind us that we’ve only ever had the illusion of safety, not the actual thing. And if you want to spend some time with the band’s wild and heady philosophies about ways of seeing, consciousness, transcendence through art, and reckoning with political realities, check out the 24-page manifesto in the vinyl edition of the EP. Vocalist and guitarist Michael Peters (one of two core members from the beginning, with bassist and vocalist Sandra Gardner) has provided a rousing and trippy read. Also on the bill are dark psych duo Reaper on Red and edgy dream-pop group Snowcuffs. —MONICA KENDRICK

FRIDAY8 Bloodletter Without Waves and Crossfire open. 9 PM, Sleeping Village, 3734 W. Belmont, $15.45. 21+ Over the past 12 years or so, Chicago thrash band Bloodletter have evolved their sound to incorporate Swedish death metal, black metal, and hardcore—and the four-piece elevate their aggression with triumphal melodicism worthy of Iron Maiden.

While making their brand-new fourth full-length, Leave the Light Behind (recorded by front man Pete Carparelli), Bloodletter challenged themselves to level up their songwriting and stylistic cross-pollination. The album’s 35 minutes fly by

MUSIC

Find more music listings at chicagoreader.com/musicreviews.

3730 N CLARK ST METROCHICAGO.COM @METROCHICAGO

TUE NOV 25

WED NOV 05

SONGWRITER:

EMPIRE PRODUCTIONS WELCOMES

Kaveh Akbar + Jamila Woods

Sanguisabogg WITH

Despised Icon / Defeated Sanity / Corpse Pile

WED OCT 1

THU SEP 25

RIOT FEST PRESENTS LETHAL NORTH AMERICA

RIOT FEST WELCOMES THE BUCKWILD TOUR

WITH

WITH

Rico Nasty

Anamanguchi

SadBoi

Full Body 2

F RI AUG 08 / 10:30PM / 21+ JOE FIORE PRESENTS

FURBALL: MARKET DAYS FT. DJs Leo Blanco / Tim Arnold

with such unstoppable momentum that on my first listen I didn’t realize it was over till the first song started playing again. Megalithic opener “A World Unmade” bursts from Herculean thrash into sleek, harrowing melodeath and evokes the image of a doomsday clock ticking down. Bloodletter maintain its unshakable energy and dramatic rollercoaster shifts in mood throughout the record, and the songs’ sticky hooks make Leave the Light Behind feel imaginative and fun despite its apocalyptic moods and dire, horror-steeped lyrics. At this record-release show, Bloodletter will be joined by local heavyweights Without Waves and Indianapolis hardcore bruisers Crossfire. —JAMIE LUDWIG

DoYeon Kim COURTESY THE ARTIST

SATURDAY9 Eli Escobar See Pick of the Week at left.

Harry Cross and Sorrbet open. 10 PM, Smart Bar, 3730 N. Clark, $31, $25 in advance. 21+

DoYeon Kim Followed by a talk between Kim and Andrew Clinkman. 3 PM, Experimental Sound Studio, 5925 N. Ravenswood. F b DoYeon Kim plays gayageum, a Korean plucked zither that resembles the Chinese g ǔ zhēng, Japanese koto, and Vietnamese đàn tranh. It figures prominently in traditional Korean music, which Kim learned growing up in Korea.

Since moving to the U.S., Kim has branched out into jazz and improvised music. She’s a graduate of the New England Conservatory of Music’s contemporary improvisation department, where she encountered guitarist Joe Morris.

Their duets on 2018’s Macrocosm (Glacial Erratic) bypass conventional forms in favor of bristling whorls of quick-decaying string snaps, but Kim can also operate persuasively within genres. She worked operatic Korean-language singing into her pugilistic exchanges with drummer Tomas Fujiwara at last year’s Chicago Jazz String Summit, and on her new recording with bassist Brandon Lopez, Syzygy Vol. 1 (577 Records), Kim yanks earthy blues and striated sweeps

WISP

WITH Dream Ivory / Aldn

BROOKS NIELSEN

BLACK MOTH SUPER RAINBOW

(Of The Growlers)

WITH Beau Wanzer (Live) / clubdrugs

THU AUG 21 / 7PM / 21+ A BENEFIT FOR THE LIN BREHMER SCHOLARS FUND

HOMETOWN CELEBRATION FT. The Linburgers (Matt Spiegel &

SUNDAY10

WE D SEP 10 / 7: 30 PM / ALL AG E S

TH U SE P 11 / 8 PM / ALL AG E S

SAT AUG 09 / 8PM / 18+

Poem Rocket COURTESY THE ARTIST

A Live Recording of the SongWriter Podcast

F RI SE P 12 / 7: 30 PM / ALL AG ES

MIRADOR

SAT SE P 13 / 8 PM / 18 + CURTAIN CALL: THE FINAL TOUR

LITTLE BROTHER

Curt Morrison of Tributosaurus) and more!

SAT AUG 23 / 10PM / 18+ AMERICAN GOTHIC PRODUCTIONS PRESENTS

NOCTURNA

FT. DJ Scary Lady Sarah / Special Guest DJ from

England /Martin Oldgoth and more!

SEP 14 SEP 15 SEP 16 SEP 18 SEP 22

GEORDIE GREEP SE SO NEON KULA SHAKER SPACEY JANE THE BRIAN JONESTOWN MASSACRE

SMARTBARCHICAGO.COM 3730 N CLARK ST | 21+

FRI AUG 08

LAUREN FLAX SHARLESE DAN B HOOD SAT AUG 09

ELI ESCOBAR HARRY CROSS SORRBET FRI AUG 15

Smartbar Does Acid ft.

DJ PIERRE BLACKCLUB HOTPRETTY FRI AUG 15

Drama Club ft.

DRAMA (DJ SET) BLANK SENSE ARIEL ZETINA

Laid Back | Cold Beer | Live Music

21+

@GMANTAVERN GMANTAVERN.COM 3740 N CLARK ST

AUGUST 7, 2025 - CHICAGO READER 19

MUSIC continued from p. 19

of noise from her instrument’s silk strings. At this solo concert, part of Experimental Sound Studio’s Option Series, Kim will perform “Silk Echoes Beneath the Light,” a program that explores the connections between traditional Korean forms, contemporary composition, and improvisation. The music will be followed by a conversation between Kim and Option curator Andrew Clinkman. —BILL MEYER

TUESDAY12 Options Soft Surface and Jaff Graffner open. 9 PM, Empty Bottle, 1035 N. Western, $20.39. 21+ Ever since local indie-rock project Options debuted with 2014’s What Seth Engel of Options JOE OLSON You Want, main man Seth Engel has continued to release short-and-sweet songs sounds. Options’ 2021 mixtape, On the Draw, is dapthat are equal parts hooky and glum. By now, Engel pled with electronics (keys, percussion, even a bit of can pretty reliably pull your heartstrings while bass), and Engel heads further in that direction on tempting you to break out your air guitar, but after last month’s self-released Beast Mode. Most noticeseven albums, he also started dabbling in other ably, he fools around with vocal effects, sometimes

Bloodletter COSMO SUTTON processing his low-key singing so that he sounds like a toy robot. This slight shift casts Options’ instrumentals in a new light, bringing a gusty chilliness to Engel’s sharp, whittled-down riffs that makes them hit like ocean spray on an autumn day. The

metronomic guitars on “Slow Burn” thrum with the caged energy of 1980s UK postpunk, but they never release it in a great crescendo—instead they create sustained tension with the feeling that something big is due at any moment. —LEOR GALIL v

TOP 12

Wines You Need to Try plus Bonus Bottles & Glasses JUST $219 99 $69 99

Chicago Reader’s new biweekly column from Chicago historian

SAV E

Shermann “Dilla” Thomas

$150 Our Top 12 wines feature nothing but award winners and 5-star favorites. Enjoy them all plus two bonus California Cabs and a pair of Dartington Crystal stemless glasses—for only $69.99 (plus $19.99 shipping & tax) as your special introduction to the WSJ Wine Discovery Club.

GO TO

Buywsjwine.com/Cork33

OR CALL 1-877-279-9340 and mention code AGRJ001 Monday-Friday 9 AM-9 PM and Saturday 9 AM-6 PM ET WSJ Wine is operated independently of The Wall Street Journal and Dow Jones & Company, Inc. Full terms and conditions online. Void where prohibited by law.

20 CHICAGO READER - AUGUST 7, 2025

Dilla’s Chicago is sponsored by Clayco, a full-service real estate development, master planning, architecture, engineering, and construction firm. Clayco specializes in the “art and science of building,” providing fast track, efficient solutions for industrial, commercial, institutional and residential-related building projects.

GOSSIP WOLF

UPCOMING CONCERTS AT

A furry ear to the ground of the local music scene 4544 N LINCOLN AVENUE, CHICAGO IL OLDTOWNSCHOOL.ORG • 773.728.6000

NEW SHOWS ANNOUNCED • ON SALE NOW!

9/13 Roy Book Binder / Todd Albright 9/18 Dan Rodriguez / Heather Maloney 10/3 Jimmy Webb 10/17 Mason Jennings FRIDAY, AUGUST 8 8PM

Dave Alvin & Jimmie Dale Gilmore Almost Acoustic Duo In Maurer Hall

FRETBOARD SUMMIT 2025

CHICAGO HIP-HOP LOST a foundational Posse, a crew that included FIO. “We were and Pugh brought in his figure last month: Tshoma Pugh, better known B-boys,” McCurry says. “We did graffiti, we own records for the show as Taco Bops, died at age 54 on Saturday, July hung out, but we had a little bit more than to play on the air.

26. As a teenager in the 1980s, Pugh took up that—we really were friends.”

WGCI also gave Pugh extragraffiti writing, dancing, beatboxing, DJing, As Pugh got deeper into DJing, he joined a ordinary access to new music. His close friend and MCing. Toward the end of that decade, record pool, which greatly expanded his hip- Derrick Sales, aka Dee Jay Sound, rememhe achieved national exposure as hip-house hop knowledge. Howard Bailey, then a door- bers giving Pugh a ride to prom in 1989. “He surged in popularity—he toured with Fast man at Medusa’s in Lakeview, describes Pugh came up with the new Public Enemy joint, put Eddie and rapped in the Hip House Syndi- as “a hip-hop soldier.” “I was getting heavy into it on tape, and we was listening to it all the cate, a group put together by Farley “Jack- house music because of working at Medusa’s. way from downtown,” Sales says. “We just master” Funk. In 1988, Pugh helped found He always kept me abreast of hip-hop,” Bailey kept blasting it—that song hadn’t even came WGCI radio’s first hip-hop program, The Rap says. “He’d come to my house, like, ‘Check out out on the radio yet, yet here we are listening Down. “I think that’s one of the lasting ele- this new Ed O.G.’ He always fed me music.” to it. He had a lot of connections.” ments of his legacy, and one of the most Among those connections was house icon Pugh’s drive to evangelize for the latest unsung,” says longtime collaborator Ian Blake, and greatest hip-hop extended to every- Farley “Jackmaster” Funk, who recruited Pugh who raps under the name Chicago Threez. body in Chicago. He made a habit of calling to rap in the Hip House Syndicate. In a 2020 Blake and Pugh grew up interview, Pugh said that the video for the on the same block in East 1990 single “Free James Brown” had aired on Garfield Park, where they MTV and BET. “Hip-hop and house—that was met as children. They found one of the things that Tshoma, he believed their separate ways into in,” McCurry says. “He was very involved in it.” hip-hop in the late 70s and Pugh frequently performed with hip-house early 80s. Blake got into it architect Fast Eddie—first as a dancer, then as via the first big hip-hop hits a DJ, then as a hype man. Fast Eddie brought and through breaking—a Pugh on tour to Puerto Rico, where he met bowling alley on Madison another hip-house star, Tyree Cooper. “We called Cascade hosted vibed from there,” Cooper says. “We tried to breaker battles on Saturdo demos at my house. He brought me into day nights. Around 1983, consciousness.” Cooper says Pugh also gave Blake reconnected with him pointers on developing his rap skills.

Pugh. “He’s beatboxing “He was hip-hop, he was house—he epitnow,” Blake says. “He’s not omized hip-house,” Cooper says of Pugh. rhyming, but he knows cats When Cooper made a video for his that can rhyme. We come 1988 breakout single, “Turn Up the together like that. Now we Bass,” he invited Pugh to dance in walkin’ around, battling it—and Pugh recruited the cameraeveryone in the neighborshy Bailey. (“Only Taco could get me hood.” Blake named himto do something like that,” Bailey self M.C. SnakeRoc, and says.)

Pugh became Taco-T. They Pugh continued working on music called their group Cold in the ensuing decades, often with Chillin’ Crew. (New York friends. He produced many of Blake’s label Cold Chillin’ didn’t recordings as Chicago Threez, someexist yet.) times acting as hype man or appearThe group evolved over ing in videos. the years (or became sevIn November 2019, Pugh suffered eral different groups), but Tshoma Pugh, aka Taco Bops (in glasses), pictured in the late 80s and early 90s a stroke. He was also fighting diaPugh and Blake remained with Masta Ace (top), KRS-One (lower left), and MC Lyte. RAYMOND BOYD betes, and he eventually lost vision at the core of whatever was in one eye, became paralyzed on his happening. Pugh picked up DJing at age 14, Doug Banks’s WGCI show, encouraging the right side, and had parts of both legs ampuin 1985, and started going by Taco Bopskee, station to play rap. Eventually Banks’s pro- tated. He spent his final years in a nursing right around the time his crew changed their ducer, Ramon “Ramonski Luv” Wade, took facility, though he kept up with his hip-hop name to FIO. “FIO was ‘Figure It Out,’” Blake a shine to Pugh. Wade hooked up Pugh with community. says. “We became a hip-hop crew and a graffi- his WGCI gig, which began in 1988 under “KRS-One was here last year, and [Taco] ti crew.” Their tags drew in other graffiti writ- Wade’s tutelage. Because Wade often went was like, ‘I gotta get down and see him,’” Baiers such as Todd “Toddsonic” McCurry, who by “Ramonski” (which rhymed with “Taco ley says. “He broke out of the rehabilitation met Pugh and Blake walking down Walnut Bopskee”), Pugh shortened his stage name center. . . . Well, he didn’t break out, but he Street. to Taco Bops. He also came up with a back- was supposed to sign out, and he didn’t know “On Lake Street, all you used to see was ronym: “The Admired Cool One, Beyond about it. He was like, ‘I’m going. I’m going.’”

‘Taco Bops’ spray-painted on the walls, and Ordinary Poetic Skills.”

Pugh’s family has launched a GoFundMe to ‘SnakeRoc,’” McCurry says. “These guys had Pugh pitched WGCI on an all–hip-hop cover the cost of his funeral. —LEOR GALIL tags and piece books. I recognized them and show, and at the time, no commercial station called them out on their names.” McCur- in the city had one. When WGCI launched Got a tip? Email your Chicago music news to ry would eventually join Unlimited Potential The Rap Down in 1988, Wade helped host— gossipwolf@chicagoreader.com.

THURSDAY, AUGUST 21 8PM

Cesar Rosas & The Chi-Town Playboys Charlie Hunter & Ella Feingold FRIDAY, AUGUST 22 8PM

Dave Hill

SATURDAY, AUGUST 23 8PM

Lyle Lovett

with special guest John Smith THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 4 8PM

AJ Lee & Blue Summit In Szold Hall

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 5 8PM

Shemekia Copeland In Maurer Hall

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 7 7PM

Socks in the Frying Pan In Szold Hall

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 13 8PM

Roy Book Binder/ Todd Albright In Szold Hall SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 14 7PM

Joe Henry & Mike Reid In Szold Hall

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 18 8PM

Dan Rodriguez/ Heather Maloney In Szold Hall SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 20 8PM

Mipso In Maurer Hall SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 20 8PM

Grant-Lee Phillips In Szold Hall THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 25 8PM

Ron Sexsmith In Szold Hall FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 26 8PM

Múm In Maurer Hall

with special guest Mr. Silla

OLDTOWNSCHOOL.ORG AUGUST 7, 2025 - CHICAGO READER 21

SAVAGE LOVE SEX AND RELATIONSHIPS

Sharing while caring Posting naughtier photos, “settling” for vanilla, and more

By DAN SAVAGE

afterward. Nothing we do together makes him feel the way a “play” session with a dominant man makes him feel. He says he enjoys vanilla sex with me, and I shouldn’t think he’s lying about that because

it wouldn’t work with me doing it to him anyway. Tell me why you don’t think he’s lying to me and how I can relax and enjoy this relationship. Tell me it will work out.

And please don’t beat up on me, Dan, as I’m not the one who’s into that. —VERY ANXIOUS NERD IN LOVE LACKING ASSURANCES

Q: I recently signed up

for a free fetish website and discovered I LOVE sharing photos of my body and getting anonymous comments and likes.

However, I’m keeping things pretty PG-13 for fear of my identity somehow being exposed.

I literally worry about an ex recognizing my butt freckles or a roommate seeing our shower tiles. And I’m worried about the consequences I imagine: how it might impact my job, my family, my reputation in the community, etc. I’d be turned on by posting more NC-17 or even R-rated content but have been quelled by my fears.

Any advice? Should I go for it with the naughty stuff or stay modest? —POSTING ONLINE SMUT ENTAILS RISK

a: Millions of people are

going to share dirty pics online today, POSER, and most will face no negative consequences. But your fears are not unfounded: people have lost jobs, friends, and spouses—and gotten in trouble with their roommates—after making their homemade smut public.

You can protect your identity by using a fake name and burner email, scrubbing metadata from your photos (don’t ask me how, I have to ask my husband’s boyfriend to turn on the TV), cropping your face out of photos, and blurring out uniquely identifying features, e.g. tattoos, freckles, shower tiles, framed family photos on your nightstand, etc.

He told me that he’s sure he wants a vanilla life partner. KETUT SUBIYANTO/PEXELS

And remember: Even if you delete an image seconds after posting it, someone may have already saved it and/or some bot may have already scraped it—and an image you posted to one website (or shared privately) can end up on a million other websites. (A friend posted a photo online 15 years ago that became iconic in gay kink circles and wound up on coffee cups.)

Among the billions of dirty photos already in circulation and the millions that will be added today—to say nothing of the advent of AI porn and the penumbra of plausible deniability it has created (“Sure, that’s my face, but that’s not me, that’s AI!”)— your dirty pics will most

22 CHICAGO READER - AUGUST 7, 2025

likely get lost in the pile. And with almost everyone having shared a few dirty pics online these days, dirty pics have less power to destroy a person’s life than they once did.

P.S. No risk, no reward.

P.P.S. Not giving a fuck who sees your photos is also an option.

Q: I’ve been seeing this boy

I really like for six months.

I’m writing to you and not some other advice columnist because I don’t want my hang-ups to screw up the best relationship I’ve ever had.

He’s into latex (he owns SO much latex clothing) and loves BDSM. When he has kinky sex with someone, he’s absolutely euphoric

he initiates all the time. But he only watches kink porn, never vanilla porn, and it’s hard not to get in my head about it.

We’re both gay and in our twenties. He’s a little younger than I am, but he’s way more sexually experienced.

He tells me that he’s never met someone in the kink scene he wanted to date (although some kinky men have wanted to date him), and he’s sure he wants a vanilla life partner.

How do I know that’s not a lie? How can I be sure he won’t catch feelings for some kinky guy he plays with? I could never do the things he needs because I can’t bear to hurt him (or anyone!), and he says

a: I won’t beat you up— you’re not into that—but I’m not going to lie to you.

This relationship might not work out. Most relationships don’t. And your boyfriend could be bullshitting you about what he wants. In his kinky heart of hearts, your boyfriend might want a life partner who shares every single one of his kinks. But then he met you, VANILLA, and he really liked you . . . and he really enjoyed having vanilla sex with you . . . and right now, he’s thinking about settling for you.

That sounds awful, I realize, but being “settled for” isn’t a bad thing. No one gets everything they want in a relationship, VANILLA, which means there’s been some compromising—there’s been some settling—on both sides of every successful longterm relationship. There’s no settling down without settling for. So, if giving up on finding a kinky life partner is the price of admission he’s willing to pay to be with you, VANILLA, you can let him pay that price. And sucking up your insecurities—willing yourself to take his “yes” for an answer—will be the price of admission you pay to be with him.

Now for the good news: It’s entirely possible your boyfriend is telling you the truth. Some kinksters don’t like to mix romance and kink.

Someone like your boyfriend may need his kinky play partners to be fantasy figures, VANILLA, and while life partners can make good or even great sex partners (and it sounds like you guys have

good sex), life partners are not fantasy figures. They’re reality figures. And the fact that your boyfriend is young and experienced argues in favor of him telling you the truth. If he’s played with and dated kinky guys, he’s speaking from experience when he tells you that mixing kink and love doesn’t work for him.

So, it’s entirely possible your boyfriend isn’t settling for you at all—well, at least not where his kinks are concerned. And so long as you don’t make the mistake of asking him to choose between your insecurities and his kinks, this could work.

It actually sounds like this relationship is already working, VANILLA, and will keep working—and may even work out—if you don’t let your insecurities screw it up.

Q: You often advise readers

to move on all fronts: go places and meet people while also getting on the apps. It’s just that I have a terrible fear holding me back from the apps, and I think it’s something only gay men have to worry about.

To this day, I’m one of those faceless torsos that won’t share my mugshot (or nudes) because I’m petrified of it being screenshot and posted online. It puts a pit in my stomach to see the way gay guys gossip about each other on forums like MaleGeneral, LPSG, and Telegram. I’ve seen so many friends wind up on there for simply being horny.

I can’t think of anything more dehumanizing, demoralizing, and degrading than having strangers comment on you and your body. Gay men can be so vicious to each other. I do all right in person but never really meet someone who’s my type.

Is my apprehension justified? If not, what precautions can I take to avoid winding up on those awful online forums? —POSTING INTIMATE COCK SHOTS

a: It’s not just gay men who

have to worry about timewasting pic collectors and malicious assholes reposting screenshots. Straight women have to worry about that shit too, PICS, and some teenage boys have been tricked into sharing pics and then driven to suicide by blackmailers.

But let’s not overstate the risk: Millions of gay men swap pics online every day— torsos, faces, dicks—and the overwhelming majority don’t wind up being dissected on the sites you mentioned.

And even if your pics wound up on one of those shitty forums, PICS, it doesn’t mean everyone you know is going to see them. And even if someone does recognize you? Most people won’t care.

I recently had Colby Jaxxx on the Savage Lovecast. Colby is a professional

gooner who just so happens to live in a small town in the midwest, where he works a pretty normie day job. His boss and coworkers know about his side hustle, and it hasn’t been a problem because Jaxxx keeps his gooner life and his professional life in separate online silos. And that, increasingly, is the cultural consensus: So long as you don’t cross the streams—so long as you don’t post thirst-orworst pics on your regular accounts—no one will see them except the people who go looking for them. And if someone is going out of their way to look for your smut, that’s their problem, not yours. (This offer does not yet apply to people in teaching professions.)

So, take reasonable precautions. Blur your face pics, use messaging apps

that only allow one view of a photo, don’t send out dick pics with your face in them or face pics with your dick in them, weed out guys who seem too good to be true (reverse image search is your friend), and be quick to block guys who make you feel uncomfortable—but don’t let the guys talking shit on online forums keep you from living your best life and/or getting the best dick.

P.S. You won’t know what’s going on in those forums if you don’t look at them.

You can find Colby Jaxxx at colbyjaxxx.com. v Got problems? Yes, you do. Email your questions for the column, record an audio message for Savage Lovecast, and more at the URL savage.love. m mailbox@savage.love

CLASSIFIEDS

SAVAGE LOVE

JOBS FOR SALE PUBLIC NOTICE

Lead Software Development Engineer The Discovery Partners Institute, located in Chicago, a large metro area, is seeking a Lead Software Development Engineer to assist the department with the following responsibilities: Under direction and supervision, utilize knowledge of software development and computer science to create frontend and back-end scalable technology-based platforms and build technology-based R&D products and services. Collaborate with external software development firms, lead a team of software engineers, drive R&D technology development, and improve functionality of technology solutions.

Implement data and analytics platforms, deliver quality software code, and maintain knowledge of effective software tooling to facilitate technology-based R&D products and services. Act as a resource for internal and external stakeholders by providing guidance on the integration of technology-based solutions. Other duties as assigned. This is a full time academic professional position. The budgeted salary range for this position is $160,000 to $165,000. Salary is competitive and commensurate with qualifications and experience, while also considering internal equity. This position minimally requires a Bachelor’s degree or its foreign equivalent in Computer Science or a related field and, 8 years of related work experience in software development. For fullest consideration, please submit CV, cover letter, and 3 professional references by August 20, 2025 to Ranjan Karri, University of IL System, 200 S. Wacker Drive, 20th Floor, Chicago, IL 60606 or via email to https://apptrkr.com/6388265.

Benefits eligible positions include a comprehensive benefits package which offers: Health, Dental, Vision, Life, Disability & AD&D insurance; a defined benefit pension plan; paid leaves such as Vacation, Holiday and Sick; tuition waivers for employees and dependents. To see a complete list of benefits and to view required employment notices and posters go to www.hr.uillinois.edu.

The University of Illinois System is an equal opportunity employer, including but not limited to disability and/or veteran status, and complies with all applicable state and federal employment mandates. Please visit Required Employment Notices and Posters to view our non-discrimination statement and find additional information about required background checks, sexual harassment/misconduct disclosures, and employment eligibility review through E-Verify.

Applicants with disabilities are encouraged to apply and may request a reasonable accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act (2008) to complete the application and/or interview process. Requests may be submitted by contacting the System Human Resource Services at 217-333-2600, or by emailing ADAaccessibility@uillinois.edu.

SERVICES

JOBS Bridge Inspector (Lisle, IL), Responsible for providing structural tech support as Bridge Inspector in 8 member team to perform inspections of bridges, retaining walls, noise walls, sign structures of IL Tollway. $80K-&125K/ Yr. Med, Dntl, Vision, PTO & more. Send resume to: The HOH Group, Inc., 623 Cooper Court, Schaumburg, IL 60173, Attn: David M. Torelli CEC Employee Group seeks Sr Mngr, Financial Planning & Analysis in Schaumburg, IL (Various Unanticipated Worksites) to lead the prcss of analysis & interpretation of financ reports. Reqs. Bchlr’s deg. or foreign equiv in Finance, Accounting, or rel. field & 2 yrs of exp. in finance & accounting. Exp. must incl. Tally Solutions; handling company Accnts Payable & Accnts Recvble activities; internal auditing of financ stmnts & bank reports. Pos. will be HQ’d in Schaumburg, IL but is a telecommuting pos, allowing for remote employment throughout the USA. Benefits found at: https://www. perdoceoed.com/Jobsat-Perdoceo-Education/ Benefits Salary fr. $152k to $175k/yr. Email resume: Nicole Peracke NPer acke@perdoceoed.com Health Care Service Corporation seeks Sr Application Architect (Chicago, IL) to ensure alignment of project specific dsgns w app archtctr roadmap. Support project or product teams on functional & technical design activities. REQS: Bach + 5 yrs exp. Flex role (3 dys office/ 2 dys remote). Benefits: h t t p s : / / c a re e r s . h c s c . com/totalrewards. Pay: $126,755 - $198,600/yr.

Email resume to hrciapp@ bcbsil.com, ref R0043749 Health Care Service Corporation seeks Principal Corporate Strategy Consultant (Chicago, IL) to support strategic/planning/ implmnttn projects to assist sr ldrshp & Board of Directors priorities.

Conduct quantitative & qualitative analysis & synthesize information, generating insights & strategic implications.

REQS: Bach + 3 yrs exp.

Flex role (3 days in office / 2 days remote). Pay: $95,306 - $198,600/yr.

Benefits: https://careers. hcsc.com/totalrewards.

Email resume to hrciapp@bcbsil. c o m , re f R 0 0 4 3 6 4 3 Junior Industrial Engineer: Multiple Positions Avail.

Various unanticipated w o r k s i t e t h ro u g h o u t the U.S. Play a role in engineering projects, optimizing workflows, &

involving tech operations to improve efficiency, reduce costs, & enhance quality. $88k/yr. Med Insurance, PTO. Send resume to: Servotech Inc., 329 W 18th St., Ste. 301, Chicago, IL 60616, Attn: Charlie Cetin Licensed Practical Nurse sought by Global Heritage Home Healthcare in Chicago, IL to assess and care for patients. Reqs LPN license. Benefits: Simple IRA & 5 days PTO. $72,240/yr. Mst hv perm auth to wrk in US. Snd rsm & cvr lttr to 5875 N Lincoln Ave, Ste 226, Chicago, IL 60659.

Medline Industries, LP in Northfield, IL is seek’g a Sr. Java Developer to be responsible for designing & implementing sol’ns for various bus initiatives.

No trvl req. WFH benefits avail. Slry: $153,317/y.

Apply at: https:// tinyurl.com/2ycy9f83 National Council of State Boards of Nursing seeks Sr Developer I, IT in Chicago, IL to independently provide complex & multi levels tech support & tech expertise in design functions w/min supervision. Reqs: BS or foreign equiv. in Comp Sci or rltd tech field & 5 yrs exp in job offered, Software D e v e l o p e r, S o f t w a re Engineer or rltd. Must have exp w/.NET Framework; .NET Core; C#/Visual Basic .NET; Web Services, RESTful APIs, XML, JSON; ASP.NET Web Forms, ASP.NET MVC, ASP.NET Core; HTML5, CSS3, JavaScript, jQuery; SQL Server, T-SQL; Unit Testing; Strong understanding of n-tier architect & cloud computing concepts; re p o r t - w r i t i n g t o o l s ; windows desktop & server ops systems, incl IIS; & Team Foundation Server (Azure DevOps Server). Must live within commutable distance.

Hybrid Role (on-site approximately one day/month). Salary: $148,949 to $153,000/ yr. Apply at ncsbn.org Ubiety Technologies, Inc. d/b/a HomeAware seeks Senior Devops Engineer to work in Chicago, IL. Will create deployment strategies & keep critical infrastructure up and running, perform infrastructure migrations including database migrations, infrastructure/ account cut-overs, DNS/ networking configuration changes, etc. Must have Masters in Comp Science, Elec or Comp Eng, or rltd & 2 yrs of exp in job offd, Cloud Arch, Backend Engr or rltd. Must have (1) Multi-cloud AWS & GCP; (2) CI/CD, Cloud/ Visualization & expertise in messaging systems; (3) Agile methodologies; (4) CI/ CD pipelines to integrate security measures; (5)

Construct CI/CD pipelines using scripting; (6) RUST, Golang, Python for cloud apps to design & develop cloud apps; (7) Git, GitLab, GitHub for version control; (8) Ability to integrate terraform or any IaC tools for configuration mgmt.

Must have a PERC. Telecommuting/remote working allowed. Salary Range: $127,754.00 to $132,000.00. Apply online at: https:// u b i e t y. i o / c a r e e r s # / apply_job/64802 Valkyrie Trading, LLC seeks Junior Quantitative Researcher in Chicago, IL to support our trading desks by driving innovation to improve our strategies, technology, and tools. $140,000 $160,000 per year. Apply @ www.jobpostingtoday. com/ Ref #28085.

FOR SALE Estate Sale, clothes, f u r n i t u re , c h i l d re n ’s toys, books, musical instruments, Art 8/ 2-3, 10 am -3 pm Marvin Shafer 1056 W. Welllington Chicago, IL 60657 773-499-4236

PUBLIC NOTICE NOTICE OF PUBLIC SALE: The following selfstorage units contents containing household and other goods will be sold for cards by Chicago Northside Storage Lakeview at 2946 N Western Ave, Chicago, IL 60618 to satisfy a lien on August 18th, 2025, at 2:00 pm at www. storagetreasures.com J08 Keiffa Speed N23 Noah Snyder Chicago Northside Storage

SERVICES CHESTNUT ORGANIZING AND CLEANING SERVICES: especially for people who need an organizing service because of depression, elderly, physical or mental challenges or other causes for your home’s clutter, disorganization, dysfunction, etc. We can organize for the downsizing of your current possessions to more easily move into a smaller home. With your help, we can help to organize your move. We can organize and clean for the deceased in lieu of having the bereaved needing to do the preparation to sell or rent the deceased’s home. We are absolutely not judgmental; we’ve seen and done “worse” than your job assignment. With your help, can we please help you? Chestnut Cleaning Service: 312-332-5575. www.ChestnutCleaning. c o m w w w .

ChestnutCleaning.com

WANT TO ADD A LISTING TO OUR CLASSIFIEDS? Go to classifieds.chicagoreader.com

AUGUST 7, 2025 - CHICAGO READER 23

COMING SOON TO THALIA HALL

08.08 08.09 08.10

CLUB 1BD CHICAGO

SINCE 1892

BRONCHO

THE ROCK & ROLL PLAYHOUSE

PLAGUE OF CARCOSA DEAD FEATHERS IN THE ROUND + SHRINEBURNER

MOLLY TUTTLE

THE HIGHWAY KNOWS TOUR + TOWN MOUNTAIN, CECILIA CASTLEMAN

09.11

NIGHT MOVES

09.12

THE BUDOS BAND

09.13

FRANKIE COSMOS

+ RACHEL BOBBITT

+ DANIEL VILLARREAL

+ FANTASY OF A BROKEN HEART, MOONTYPE

09.28

THE CALIFORNIA HONEYDROPS

REDWOOD HIGHWAY TOUR

09.29

SKINSHAPE

09.30

MARUJA

10.01

MAKAYA MCCRAVEN

10.02

DESTROYER

+ SONS OF SEVILLA

+ TOM SKINNER

DAN’S BOOGIE TOUR + JENNIFER CASTLE

09.14

HAMZA NAMIRA

+ TOMMY GOODROAD, SPARKLE CARCASS

09.16

THE WATERBOYS

BLACK REBEL MOTORCYCLE CLUB

LOW TIX

+ ANNA TIVEL

10.03 10.04

08.23

THALIA HALL FREE FOR ALL

09.17

FOXWARREN

10.05

SWERVEDRIVER

08.24

ALEXANDER NATE

09.18

THE BASEBALL PROJECT FT. MEMBERS

10.07 10.09

08.13

08.27

08.28

SILVERADA

TNSITM DELUXE LIVE IN TECHNICOLOR + TANNER DANE

OF R.E.M. AND THE DREAM SYNDICATE + THE MINUS 5

PILE

IN THE ROUND + NNAMDÏ

THE 2ER + ALLEGRA KRIEGER

09.19

HANUMANKIND

OTW TOUR N.A. 2025

COLONY HOUSE THE 77 TOUR + HAPPY LANDING

FINN WOLFHARD

09.20

AN EVENING WITH PETE YORN YOU & ME SOLO ACOUSTIC

09.04

THE STEELDRIVERS

09.23

BANDALOS CHINOS

09.05

TWRP

09.24

NATION OF LANGUAGE

IN THE ROUND

THE LONGEST WEEKEND 2025 + LOS ANGELES POWER DISCO

09.07

BNXN

09.09

WHAT WE SAID

CAPTAIN N.A.TOUR 2025

LIVE

+ HUMANIST

+ FRANKIE ROSE, SPECIAL GUESTS

GRANDADDY

THE SOPHTWARE SLUMP 25TH ANNIVERSARY + GREG FREEMAN

10.10

SASHA COLBY

10.12

QUADECA

STRIPPED II

LOW TIX

09.03

LOW TIX

1807 S ALLPORT ST CHICAGO 60608

09.10

NATURAL PLEASURE TOUR

PLAYS GRATEFUL DEAD & JERRY GARCIA + MORE FOR KIDS

08.12

2025

LOW TIX

09.25

PANDA BEAR

09.26

RUSSIAN CIRCLES

09.27

FLESHWATER

+ YOUNG WIDOWS

SIGN UP FOR OUR NEWSLETTER AT THALIAHALLCHICAGO.COM

10.14

TOPS

10.15 10.16

GEESE

BURY THE KEY TOUR + STARCLEANER REUNION

LOW TIX

THE GETTING KILLED TOUR + RACING MOUNT PLEASANT

10.17

G FLIP

10.19 10.20

INDIGO DE SOUZA

THE DREAM RIDE TOUR + BETH MCCARTHY

+ MOTHÉ