On Saturday, October 21, more than a hundred people packed a white-walled warehouse in Hermosa to get sweaty to Filipino dance music. It was the launch party for the newest imprint of Feeltrip Records, Balikbayan Worldwide, which focuses on sounds from the southeast Asian diaspora. To many of the partiers, the event was just an […]
Author Archives: Micco Caporale
Posted inFeature
The Reader’s 2023 Holiday Gift Guide
1 Chicago stepping lessons from award-winning south sider Shaun Ballentine of Effortless Stepping. —Salem Collo-Julin Open group lessons Wednesdays at 7 PM, Effortless Stepping Studio, 1850 E. 79th. $20 per person, 21+ only. For private lesson rates or information about having Ballentine do a stepping class at your event, message through Instagram or Facebook. 2 […]
Posted inFilm
Review: The Nomi Song
This movie should be seen by anyone who’s interested in club history, AIDS history, East Village New York nightlife, goth shit, industrial music, David Bowie, aliens, disco, opera, or the triumphs and loneliness of being a beautifully singular weirdo.
Posted inMusic
Mandy, Indiana conjure the punk-rock city we’d be thrilled to live in
The art-rock of Mandy, Indiana conjures the spirit of May 1968, when French students and workers spent seven weeks in an orgiastic, decentralized uprising against capitalism and state violence. That’s partly because vocalist Valentine Caulfield uses French lyrics to deliver brutal indictments of patriarchy, imperialism, and white supremacy. But it also comes from the unmistakable […]
Posted inMusic
Multidisciplinary artist Eartheater explores rebirth and transformation on Powders
When Eartheater sings, her voice carries like pollen and decaying floral tendrils adrift in a rush of hot wind. The New York-based multidisciplinary artist debuted in 2015 with two releases (Metalepsis and RIP Chrysalis) on local avant-garde electronic label Hausu Mountain. She’s gone on to become one of the biggest names in art-pop, and in […]
Posted inThe To-Do
The Jewish Deli, FORTS!, and more
Chicago has always been a midwestern hub for reflection and innovation aimed at making the world a more just, hospitable place. Perhaps it’s both my personal and institutional stake in the idea that a better world is possible, but the need for change feels especially pressing right now. As I continue witnessing the economic, social, […]
Posted inMusic
Pauli the PSM brings tenderness and pleasure to Lincoln Hall
Pauli the PSM is saucy—and he knows it. He’s an influential figure in the British music industry and a professional hottie who’s consciously taken his sweet time building a solo career. He entered the field as Pauli Lovejoy after winning the UK’s Young Drummer of the Year award in 2005. He’s gone on to be […]
Posted inThe To-Do
Mixtape Trilogy, queer spaces, Brazilian Film Festival, and more
Mostra XIV: Brazilian Film Festival opening nightSat 11/4: reception and silent auction begin at 5 PM with music by Dil Costa and refreshments, followed by remarks at 6 PM. Paloma screening begins at 6:15 PM, followed by a Q&A with producer Ernesto Souto. Instituto Cervantes, 31 W. Ohio, $55.85, tickets through Eventbrite. Full festival schedule […]
Posted inMusic
Industrial pioneers Skinny Puppy bid farewell with a final tour
Update Wed 11/8: New tickets have been released for all three shows. If you’re a Nine Inch Nails fan who has yet to heed the siren bark of Skinny Puppy, it’s not too late to fix your life. NIN came up in the scene opening for these Canadian industrial pioneers, and in a mid-90s interview with […]
Posted inArts & Culture
La Casa de Satanas wants you to get hysterical
I spent Valentine’s Day on my back at Co-Prosperity getting waterboarded by a sassy little Cupid with a glittering beard and sumptuous breasts. There was a wet pillowcase over my head and a specimen cup in my mouth in a room that smelled of hot piss (my group and I had poured our urine into […]
Posted inThe To-Do
Pumpkins, Sanctum, and lowriders
It’s scary how much fun stuff is happening right now! Spooky season never misses. It Takes a Village (ITAV) Pumpkin PatchSat 10/21, includes a petting zoo, a bounce house, face painting, food, games, and a train, 4020 W. Division, free to attend, all-ages. Reservations required events.eventnoire.com/e/itav-pumpkin-patch-2023 For a classic autumn adventure appropriate for the whole […]
Posted inMusic
Geneva Jacuzzi is a vibrant goth weirdo
Geneva Jacuzzi is like if Nina Hagen grew up in a doomsday cult. (And Jacuzzi did, in fact, grow up in a doomsday cult.) In a 2020 interview with Genius List, the Los Angeles-based artist explained her love of jacuzzis, describing them as “these tiny, weird, warm whirlpools of bacteria, chemicals, pleasure, and relaxation.” She […]
Posted inChicagoans of Note
Josh Piotrowski, DIY haunted-house builder and noise musician
Josh Piotrowski was born to make you scream. The 41-year-old Chicago native grew up in Albany Park as part of a family full of haunt enthusiasts, including a younger sister who worked on a haunted trail for the Park District. In his late teens and early 20s, he worked in costume shops and party-planning stores, […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Jimmy DeSana’s luscious suburban wastelands
If you want to experience the body as an object of disruption amidst suburban wastelands, look to the images of Jimmy DeSana. The Detroit-born photographer was a fixture of the East Village art scene in 1980s New York, and his work demonstrates a studied awareness of gay image makers and forefathers like Andy Warhol and […]
Posted inThe To-Do
Boptober, Rocktober, Frocktober?
Uhhh . . . how is it October already? I swear it was just July. Starting the month with 80-degree days has me thinking, “Wow, what can’t this month do.” Viva Acid10/5-10/9, workshops and events at Q Studios, 2328 N. Milwaukee, third floor. Performances include in-store DJ sets by Geto Mark and D. Strange at […]