Society hasn’t yet adequately grasped the rolling mental-health crisis facing children and young adults whose education and social lives imploded practically overnight at the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic, but preliminary studies indicate that the kids are not, in fact, all right. When the lockdowns struck, singer-songwriter and former U.S. youth poet laureate Kara Jackson […]
Tag: Vol. 52 No. 13
Issue of April 6, 2023
On the cover: ‘BEST of Chicago: See voting results’
Over 300 categories presented and 400,000 votes casted
Photograph by Nick Murway.
Find a print copy of the Reader.
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Posted inMusic
Death-metal progenitors Carcass embrace their classic-rock era while keeping their scalpels sharp
During Carcass’s initial decade together, the Liverpool outfit staked a claim as one of the most influential extreme metal bands of all time. In the late 1980s, their first two albums defined the sound of goregrind—a subgenre still so closely associated with them that it’s often referred to as “Carcass worship.” Next, they created one […]
Posted inBuy Local
Best place to start your own fashion line from scratch
Fashion entrepreneurs of Chicago, behold! The Apparel Industry Board, Inc. (AIBI) has much of the equipment and instruction you need. In AIBI’s Fashion Lab, designers have access to 14 industrial sewing machines, multiple specialized machines, and three cutting tables. They also offer a Gerber pattern-making system—which includes a large format plotter to print patterns and […]
Posted inBuy Local
Best place to reminisce about childhood
I found the tiniest naked Troll doll here. It was lying on its stomach, with its feet kicked up, holding its little face in its hands. As a kid, I really hated Troll dolls; their miniature grotesque faces scared me. But now, as an adult, I find them sweet and endearing—their inordinately long tufts of […]
Posted inMusic
Tei Shi is in the right place at the right time on Bad Premonition
Tei Shi’s smooth electro-pop, influenced by 90s R&B, conjures the thrill you’d get as a kid from riding in the backseat of your older sister’s car. She’s effortlessly cool and seductive, and her Spanish and English vocals and bass-heavy beats invite giddy listeners to come along for the journey. Last month, the Los Angeles-based Colombian […]
Posted inMusic
Jesse Ray & the Carolina Catfish electrify vintage rock ’n’ roll in their gritty blues and rockabilly
Jesse Ray & the Carolina Catfish emerged about a decade ago with a sound that harks back to the days when many considered rock ’n’ roll to be “the devil’s music.” Their home base is Grand Rapids, so the “Carolina” part is a misnomer, but their name isn’t the important thing—their gritty rockabilly and blues […]
Posted inFood & Drink
Best coffee shop patio for the COVID cautious and/or those who just like their space
Anyone who’s ever spent much time with me could tell you that I love iced coffee, and—somewhat ironically for a person who’s spent half their life in small music venues—I hate tightly packed indoor spaces (the pandemic just made me hate them more). So, naturally, I’ve been raving about Hexe Coffee Co.’s gigantic patio since […]
Posted inBuy Local
Best woman-owned bra shop where every bra-wearer is welcome
The right bra can improve your posture, relieve back pain, help clothes fit better, and sometimes make you feel a little sexier (or a lot), but let’s face it: shopping for bras can be a major pain in the boob. Many top-selling brands prioritize fashion over quality (as if we can’t have both), and center […]
Posted inSports & Recreation
Best development in Chicago pro wrestling
Hearing that wrestling promoter Lolo McGrath was moving to Chicago was one of the more quietly exciting moments of the past few years. With their former copromoter Billy Dixon, McGrath put on shows that avoided the “Pride section at Target” vibes that plague so many queer-focused wrestling shows (which are usually bankrolled by straight promoters […]
Posted inSports & Recreation
Best neighborhood wrestling show
From 20th-century wrestling promoter Fred Kohler to former WWE Champion CM “Chick Magnet” Punk, Chicago is a town steeped in professional wrestling history. We’ve got it all. Chicago boasts a historically strong wrestling scene (including groundbreaking independent women’s professional wrestling promotion SHIMMER), we’re a constant tour spot for larger companies, and there’s a strong lucha […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Best art show on the southeast side’s ecology
It can be hard to wrap your head around the complex ecological makeup of the areas surrounding the Calumet and Little Calumet rivers. Formerly heavily concentrated sites of industry, parts of these southeast neighborhoods are now in the slow process of getting cleaned up, via the green development of places like the Marian R. Byrnes […]
Posted inMusic
Chicago rapper Roy Kinsey embraces life’s complexities on Volume 2: Soft Life
In this economy, embracing a soft life can be complicated—much like living as a queer Black man anywhere on Earth. Nobody understands this better than Chicago rapper Roy Kinsey. Kinsey’s musical approach is tactical and autobiographical: he works a day job as librarian at a west-side public school, and examination informs his art, resulting in […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Best local stage director ready for next big steps
A few years ago, I wrote a story for American Theatre on Chicago as a great town for stage directors. One name that wasn’t totally on my radar then has since become a top favorite. Georgette Verdin, who has been managing artistic director for Interrobang Theatre Project since 2015, has a special gift for bringing […]
Posted inCity Life
Best place to receive overdose prevention and response training
I learned how to administer naloxone, the opioid overdose-reversal medication, through the Chicago Recovery Alliance. In 2019, a family member had recently relapsed: though his drug wasn’t dope, that experience made me want to learn more about this miracle med I’d heard of. Most of the attendees were medical workers, but some were just ordinary […]
Posted inBuy Local
Best local alternative to the Gap
Clearly, Robert McMillan is not trying to make a quick buck. After leaving a more lucrative (yet less personally fulfilling) job in trading, he established Dearborn Denim in 2016. “It was exciting to build an apparel manufacturer from the ground up. I had a bunch of old, beat-up sewing machines in an abandoned laundry and […]