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Thursday, April 4, 2013

INCOMING: Chi, IL Live Shows on Our Radar Thurs-Sunday 4/4-7 #originalphotos #originalbandinterview



March Fourth This Friday at Martyr's (21+) 
Portland's circus punk marching band


 



Spring means music in Chi-town and the excellent shows are pouring into town.   Here's a short list of our top picks.

 *We've been giving you the heads up about most of these over at our FB page and Twitter feed for weeks if not months in some cases.   If you still haven't gotten tickets, get outta the house and go already.  

 As always, check out ChiIL Live Shows like we vote in Chi, IL...early and often.   We have loads of original content band interviews, live show shots, tour news, and giveaways.

 Thursday 4/4
Mutts Object Permanance album release @ Hideout (21+)

 Paper Thick Walls open







Mutts CD Release Party!

Mutts

Paper Thick Walls

Thu, April 4, 2013

Doors: 8:00 pm / Show: 9:00 pm

The Hideout

Chicago, IL

$10.00


When Flying Feels Like Falling (all ages) These Chi-town punk kin have a string of upcoming gigs here.   They may still be in high school, but these alums of Girls Rock! Chicago already have some major fest cred & battle of the bands wins under their belts.
THU APR 4, 2013 - 7:00 PM

When Flying Feels Like Falling

Stop The Silence!
with Cellar Rats, Seraphina Mushroom Jello Nelson, Tocsin, The Hanging Garden, Flagass
Greenhouse Theater
2257 N. Lincoln Chicago (near the Fullerton Brownline stop)
Chicago, IL
Local bands include... 

Seraphina Mushroom Jello Nelson 
Tocsin-https://www.facebook.com/TocsinGirlBand 
The Hanging Garden 
Cellar Rats-https://www.facebook.com/cellarrats 
Flagass-https://www.facebook.com/Flagass 
When Flying Feels Like Falling-https://www.facebook.com/whenflyingfeelslikefalling 


Please bring donations, anything is appreciated, all of the money will be going to RVA. 

*Greenhouse Theater has a cash bar for this event: food, drinks, whatever.* 

All ages! 

According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics: 

-Every 2 minutes someone is sexually assaulted in the U.S. 
-54% of rapes/sexual assaults are not reported to the police 
-Out of every 100 rapes, 46 get reported to the police, 
12 lead to an arrest, 9 get prosecuted, 5 lead to a felony conviction, and only 3 rapists will ever spend a single day in jail. 
-97% of rapists walk free. 
http://www.rainn.org/statistics 
Speak up against Rape Culture! 

Friday 4/5
March Fourth Punk Rock Marching Band at Martyr's
Click the link to check out full details on the show along with ChiIL Live Shows' original content--March Fourth HD videos and live show shots.

Bright White at Reggies (support for Makeshift Prodigy)
Chicago post-punk group The Bright White (confirmed for Lollapalooza) will open for Makeshift Prodigy at Reggie's Rock Club, 2105 S. State St, on Friday, April 5. Show is 7PM, ages 17+ and $12-$15.  Click here for tickets.


 Anthrax at House of Blues

Also recommended Friday:
Bailiff at Subterranean
The Lauren Wolf Band at The Metro

 Saturday 4/6

 Wovenhand / Wrekmeister Harmonies / Bruce

 Lamont & Eric Chaleff
Empty Bottle

Todd Kessler and Alexis Marceaux, both alums of NBC's The Voice, will be playing a show together at Tonic Room on Saturday, April 6.  http://tonicroom.ticketfly.com/event/21729...w-folk-chicago/




Todd Kessler and his band the New Folk headline with Alexis Marceaux (also featured on HBO's Treme) and her band, Alexis & the Samurai, as direct support. Mike Mangione & the Union will open the show.

Reverend Peytons Big Damn Band with Jimbo Mathus and Alvin Youngblood Hart
Sat. 04/06 | 8:00PM @ Cubby Bear




 Sunday 4/7






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Chicago’s Hemmingbirds Release “Toxic Noise” Video




“Toxic Noise” appears on the group’s current album, The Vines of Age, and band leader Yoo Soo Kim explains the genesis of the clip:

Before shooting "Toxic Noise," we knew that there was a certain moving energy that the song has, but couldn't quite figure out a story or concept that best conveyed that energy. For a couple months, we were at a loss on what to film for the song, but at a show in Ames, IA, we stumbled on some music video that focused heavily on lights to contrast between different feelings of mellowness and bombast. In a similar way, the quiet verses and loud choruses of "Toxic Noise" paralleled that song. To this day, we honestly have no clue what video we saw, but we commend that forever mysterious video for leading us to our concept. We pitched the idea to Kevin Larson, a director we worked with for our last two videos, and, from there, rented and built different lights to achieve the effect. The setting itself was easier - our keyboardist Ben is the choir director at Maine West High School in Des Plaines, IL, and he was able to let us use the school's auditorium for a day; just enough time to squeeze a music video shoot in.
Check out the band's main site here
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INCOMING: March Fourth at Martyr's THIS Friday (21+) Highly Recommended!

ChiIL Live Shows on our radar this week.
They're baaaaack.  March Fourth is one of our all time favs, and not just because these kick ass Portland performers put on a rockin' birthday bash every year for my little sis who lives in Portland and was born on 3/4.  We're immersed in the circus arts world and love what March Fourth does.   
One of these days they'll play outdoors in Chi-town so they can break out their full blown fire show and we can bring underagers ((hint hint)).   My own 9 & 12 year olds who perform with CircEsteem LOVE March Fourth on line and I'm sure they'd be even more blown away live.
For now, we'll be there, but do note, their Martyr's gigs are 21+.   Come early.   Chicago's own Polkaholics who also rock are the openers!!

the What-Where-When on this show:
  • Artist: MarchFourth Marching Band
  • Date: Friday, April 5th 2013
  • Time: 9:00pm
  • City: Chicago, IL
  • Venue: Martyrs
  • Address: 3855 N Lincoln Ave
  • Country: US
  • Admission: $15
  • Age restrictions: No Minors
  • Notes: M4 plays at 10:45 pm.
HERE'S THE LASTEST FROM MARCH FOURTH
Happy Spring!
Yesterday as we were loading up the tour bus for another trip across the USA, the sun was shining in our hometown of Portland. Daffodils were blooming, the cherry blossoms were out, but I guess we've got a hankering for a bit more winter because we're heading east to the Rockies, then out to the Great Lakes and finishing up this trip on the east coast. This is the first tour of our new year (which starts on March 4th of course!) and we are so excited to present some new tunes, new routines and even a new band member or two! You'll never know quite what you're going to get since every show is different, but it's a guaranteed good time. Do us a favor and take a moment to spread the word to any friends and family about our shows, particularly in Madison, WI and Ames, IA and Lincoln, NE and Philadelphia, PA. It helps a lot, thanks!

Huge armfuls of gratitude to everyone for all the birthday wishes over the past few weeks. We've really been feeling the love from our fans all these years, and especially in March as we celebrate the 10th anniversary of our first show. Wow, ten years! It's been so fun to look back over the years and see where this project has been. It was especially great to have so many of the M4 alumni back on stage for an encore song at our birthday show! If you want to take a peek back, check out this fun slideshow of M4 pics through the years, as seen through the lense of one of our Seattle fans. Our very own Kevin Balmer of Diggable Monkey did this 10-year retrospective mini-short film for Portland Monthly's feature in March. 

Check out all our spring tour dates below and we'll see you on the road. Don't fret if you don't see your town on this route...we've got another 150 or so days on the road this year and there's a pretty good chance our paths will cross again soon! As always, you can check our online calendar for the latest info since our summer tour is starting to take shape!

2013 remaining spring tour dates


Thu., April 4 Madison, WI Majestic Theater     

Fri., April 5 Chicago, IL Martyrs   

Sat., April 6 Minneapolis, MN Cabooze  

Sun. April 7 Ames, IA DG's Tap House

Tue., April 9 Cincinnati, OH Taft Theatre  

Wed., April 10 Harrisburg, PA Abbey Bar  

Thu-Fri., April 11-12 Brooklyn, NY Brooklyn Bowl   

Sat., April 13 Baltimore, MD Baltimore Soundstage 

Sun. April 14  Philadelphia, PA The Blockley   

media
CONNECT:
We've just started a new text message notification system. Get SMS updates when we're in your town by texting the name of your city to 503-925-NAME. 
Portland P's:
*If we lived just a little closer we'd be all over this!

JOY NOW:
Imagine your child playing alongside MarchFourth! Well, now they can!  The Joy Now Arts Project is a circus, music and performance program for youth 4-18 taught by members of MarchFourth. Registration is now open for our teen performance progam, summer camp and NEW circus classes for kids 4-12! Fnd out more at www.joynowproject.org.
http://video-embed.oregonlive.com/services/player/bcpid649768122001?bctid=2196234346001&bckey=AQ~~,AAAAPLpuSqE~,a1DdoZJH5WSvEcpNW3Kuw2e4b_HTUI38
Watch the Oregonian's recent video article on Joy Now
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ACT OUT: BUZZ22 CHICAGO’S SHE KILLS MONSTERS GETS ADDITIONAL PERFORMANCE


(left to right) Company member Sara Sawicki, Rinska Carrasco-Prestinary, Allie Long, Katherine Banks and Morgan Maher



BUZZ22 CHICAGO’S SHE KILLS MONSTERS GETS ADDITIONAL PERFORMANCE AS PART OF STEPPENWOLF THEATRE COMPANY’S FOURTH ANNUAL GARAGE REP 

Buzz22 Chicago’s hit production of She Kills Monsters as part of Steppenwolf’s Garage Rep is getting one additional performance on April 16 at 8pm. 


We haven't made it over to She Kills Monsters yet, but it's high on our must see list.


 (left to right) Company member Ellie Reed and Jessica London-Shields with (background, left to right) Allie Long and Katherine Banks 


By popular demand, Buzz22 Chicago’s critically acclaimed production of
She Kills Monsters by Qui Nguyen, directed by Scott Weinstein, gets an additional performance as part of Steppenwolf Theatre Company’s fourth annual Garage Rep. This “clever, funny, moving, lively and delightfully geeky” (Chicago Tribune) play now also performs on Tuesday, April 16 at 8pm; the ensemble cast of 11 remains intact. Garage Rep runs through April 21; tickets ($20) are on sale now through Audience Services (1650 N Halsted St), 312-335-1650 and steppenwolf.org.



   

 (left to right) Morgan Maher, Rinska Carrasco-Prestinary, Katherine Banks, Jessica London-Shields and company member Sara Sawicki 
                                           
Agnes's life is turned upside down when she stumbles upon her late sister’s Dungeons & Dragons notebook. As she embarks on an action-packed quest to save her sister's soul, Agnes comes face to face with homicidal fairies, raunchy ogres and blood thirsty cheerleaders, and discovers a side of herself she never knew existed. Qui Nguyen's touching comedy combines real life, fantasy and 90s pop culture in the search for the badass in us all.




(top to bottom) Rinska Carrasco-Prestinary and Allie Long 


 The cast of She Kills Monsters features Katherine Banks, Rinska Carrasco-Prestinary, Daeshawna Cook, Fred Geyer, Jessica London-Shields, Allie Long, Morgan Maher, Jose Nateras, Ellie Reed, Sara Sawicki and Richard Traub. The creative team includes William Boles (scenic design), Rachel Goldberg (costume design), Lee Keenan (lighting design), Daniel Carlyon (sound design), Matt Deitchman(composer), Chuck Coyl (fight director) and Lori Buchanan (dance choreography). Additional credits include Colleen Werle (puppetry design); Sarah Fornace, Drew Dir and Julia Miller of Manual Cinema (shadow puppet design); Alex Tey (gore design, assistant fight director); Jamie Karas (properties master); Mary Hungerford (production manager); and Christopher Leck (stage manager).


The fourth annual Garage Rep also features See What I Wanna See, words and music by Michael John LaChiusa, directed by Lili-Anne Brown, music direction by James Morehead, presented by Bailiwick Chicago; and BlackTop Sky by Christina Anderson, directed by Cassy Sanders, presented by Theatre Seven of Chicago. Tickets to all three Garage Rep productions ($20) are currently on sale through Audience Services (1650 N Halsted St), 312-335-1650 and steppenwolf.org.




 Credit for all production photos:   Michael Brosilow

Katherine Banks (front) with (background, left to right) company Member Sara Sawicki, Jessica London-Shields and Rinska Carrasco-Prestinary in Buzz22 Chicago’s Midwest-premiere production of She Kills Monsters by Qui Nguyen, directed by company member Scott Weinstein, presented as part of Steppenwolf Theatre Company’s Garage Rep 2013. Performance through April 21, 2013.


Support for Garage Rep is provided by the “Leading for the Future Initiative,” a program of the Nonprofit Finance Fund, funded by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation. OptionsHouse is the Garage Series Sponsor.

Buzz22 Chicago (Scott Weinstein and Sara Sawicki, Co-Artistic Directors; Philip de Guzman, Managing Director) was founded by seven Northwestern University graduates in 2010. Since then, Buzz22 has staged four productions, including the Midwest premiere of Residue by Joel Sinensky and Quake by Melanie Marnich, performed in repertory at Royal George Theatre. The company seeks to provide a home for up-and-coming artists in the Chicago area. Buzz22 stages stories to explore the constant coming of age: the ever-occurring moments that challenge who we are and who we want to be. buzz22chicago.com


Steppenwolf Theatre Company is America’s longest standing, most distinguished ensemble theater, producing nearly 700 performances and events annually in its three Chicago theater spaces—the 515-seatDownstairs Theatre, the 299-seat Upstairs Theatre and the 80-seat Garage Theatre. Formed in 1976 by a collective of actors, Steppenwolf has grown into an ensemble of 43 actors, writers and directors. Artistic programming at Steppenwolf includes a five-play Subscription Season, a two-play Steppenwolf for Young Adults season and three repertory series: First Look Repertory of New Work, Garage Rep and Next Up. While firmly grounded in the Chicago community, nearly 40 original Steppenwolf productions have enjoyed success both nationally and internationally, including Off-Broadway, Broadway, London, Sydney and Dublin. Steppenwolf has the distinction of being the only theater to receive the National Medal of Arts, in addition to numerous other prestigious honors including an Illinois Arts Legend Award and nine Tony Awards. Martha Lavey is the Artistic Director and David Hawkanson is the Executive Director. Nora Daley is Chair of Steppenwolf’s Board of Trustees. For additional information, visit steppenwolf.org,facebook.com/steppenwolftheatre and twitter.com/steppenwolfthtr.
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Wednesday, April 3, 2013

ACT OUT ENDING: There Is A Happiness That Morning Is #review


Catch it while you can.  Happiness is fleeting and Theatre Oobleck's remount is ending this weekend after an extension through April 7th.   The show's upstairs at The Biograph Theatre-Victory Gardens.   

We'll be back at The Biograph for the press opening of The Whale on the 15th--not to be confused with The Elephant and The Whale (at CST-Chicago Children's Theatre).   We're covering their opening Friday the 12th and have some sweet video interviews and a 4 ticket giveaway in the works!

We sat in on an early rehearsal of The Whale, just 3 days in and had an excellent talk back with the actors.   I love to see a piece evolve.   This show has a Mormon (who has friends who went to serve in Africa... like a certain hit Broadway musical), a snarky teenage girl, school papers by an estranged child (like Dream of the Burning Boy), and a gay, obese protagonist who is already a challenge to play in an authentic, truthful way that won't evoke ire.   I'm so intrigued to see where they go with this show!

Back to There is a Happiness, it was an interesting segue to go from Completeness at The Wit on Friday to this show on Saturday.   It was a nerd love fest of a weekend.   This show's a bit more intellectual and esoteric, so less accessible unless you're a true disciple of William Blake's works.   The scenario is a hoot and the characters' responses provide an interesting dynamic, and lend fresh eyes to staid literary staples.  It's certainly worth a look.



Of course Dillinger didn't experience much happiness after seeing a show at The Biograph with The Woman in Red (Ana Sage)  that infamous day in 1934, so my husband and I left our daughter, Sage Ani, at home and had a great time with another woman in red, our long time friend, Cath.




No theatre goers were harmed in the making of this feature.








 



More Happiness!
There Is a Happiness That Morning Is

  "a not-to-be-missed remount" - "soul shaking" - "Killer."
Yes, that one, has been extended until April 7th!
Tickets available here
More info here

There Is a Happiness That Morning Is

by Mickle Maher

“. . . richer, funnier, and more heartbreaking than ever… If the American theater harbors a precedent for Mickle Maher’s astonishing 2011 play There Is a Happiness That Morning Is, I’ve never found it . . .”


“The most remarkable mix of poetry and drama you are ever likely to see.”


“MAHER’S MOST POWERFUL PLAY TO DATE… SOUL SHAKING”


“an enjoyably lunatic endeavor”


“Goosed by precise, masterful performances, Maher’s text is almost endlessly engaging and frequently hilarious.”


“FUNNY, WITTY, LITERATE, and PROFOUND… It’s the actors who make it a slam-dunk”


JANUARY 31-MARCH 10, 2013
EXTENDED THROUGH APRIL 7
Thursday-Saturday at 8pm
Sunday at 3pm
(no shows Thursdays March 28 & April 4)
INDUSTRY NIGHT: MONDAY APRIL 1st at 8pm
VICTORY GARDENS BIOGRAPH THEATER
2433 North Lincoln Avenue, Chicago
773.871.3000
$15 suggested donation*
More if you got it,
free if you’re broke.

Theater Oobleck revives Mickle Maher’s comedy in rhymed verse told via two lectures on the poetry of William Blake: one given in the morning by Bernard, a middle-aged, barely published poet of scant scholarship, on the Songs of Innocence, and the other in the afternoon by his lover, Ellen, a reputable Ph.D., on the Songs of Experience.

Having engaged the evening before in a highly inappropriate display of public affection on the main lawn of their rural New England campus, the two undergraduate lecturers must now, in class, either apologize for their behavior or effectively justify it if they want to keep their jobs.
Featuring Diana Slickman, Colm O’Reilly, and Kirk Anderson.

The script of There Is A Happiness That Morning Is is also available as part of the book of Oobleck plays More If You’ve Got It. Purchase it directly from us.

*Quick ticket explanation: You can get your “more if you’ve got it, free if you’re broke” tickets (as per Theater Oobleck tradition) by calling the box office 773-871-3000. For on-line tickets, click on the link above, then click on the day you want. Then in the next screen you indicate how many tickets you want. Then in the NEXT screen you are given the option of a “Regular Price” (that would be $15), a $10, or a $1 ticket.


Check out this audio link to an interview with Mickle Maher about how he wrote the play.   Then go already.   This weekend is your last shot at Happiness!   
Happiness playwright Mickle Maher talks about the power of public sex, the actor’s prerogative, and why the play was almost about mummies in this half-hour podcast from Talk Theatre in Chicago. Includes bonus stale bread metaphors!
How does a play get written? In particular, how does a verse play about two college English teachers lecturing on the poetry of William Blake to save their jobs after having public sex on the campus green get written? Mickle Maher joins Anne Nicholson Weber to talk about the genesis of his play, There Is A Happiness That Morning Is, which is currently being remounted by Theater Oobleck at Victory Gardens; and about drafts and redrafts, writing in verse, and finding one's voice as a writer.
Listen: (MP3) Time: 31:53



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