Congrats to our good friends and protégés over at Scofflaw for being named Time Out’s Best New Bar! Check out the rest of the winners here.
—Billy
Hey friends,
Half of THIN HYMNS performs in Manual Cinema as the Baden Brothers for Lula Del Ray. If you didn’t get a chance to see us back in December at the Den Theater, come check out the show at Constellation on April 20th as part of CIMM Fest. We’re proud to be a part of such a killer lineup this year. Get your tickets here. Don’t forget to type in the special promo code SHADOW for the 2 for 1 deal!
Lula Del Ray was one of the coolest things I saw last year. Do yourself a favor and go see it. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
—Billy
We’re extremely excited to have our friends Dead Native back at the Whistler on April 22nd for their record release show. Their new album “Keep It Strange” is one hell of a fuzzed-out, psychedelic ride. Listen/purchase it here.
Mig Reyes is a designer at 37 Signals (he was previously at Threadless) who is known for making beautiful and handy things. When he’s not creating design that helps companies do business better he’s hanging out in the Logan and Noble Square neighborhoods, gettin’ rad.
How rad? Lets find out!
Mig picked three #SideCarCHI HOTSPOTS for you to try out - on us! When you choose one of these HOTSPOTS as your SideCar destination, we apply $10 to your account for you to use towards your donations.
How about them apples?Friday: Boiler Room2210 N California Ave, Chicago, IL 60647Listen, you’ve worked quite hard this week. You deserve a late night with friends, full of fresh-from-the-oven pizza, PBR tallboys by the dozens, and yes, endless Jameson shots. Bring your cash, and keep those PB&J specials coming. We’re giving you a ride to Logan Square.2421 N Milwaukee Ave, Chicago, IL 60647It’s Saturday, let’s fancy it up, yeah? We’re not done with Logan Square, just yet. Hop back in that SideCar and get ready to upgrade those PBR’s to a Bodega Buck. Or maybe a Standing Stone… or an Old Salt. Pick your poison, because The Whistler has many of them. Bring your dancing shoes, too, because DJ duo Brasstax will be spinning back to back all night long.Sunday: Flo1434 W Chicago Ave, Chicago, IL 60642If you make it through Saturday, chances are you’ll need to regroup with your friends and get some of the best brunch available in the city. Call up that SideCar one last time, we’re going to Flo in Noble Square. Bloody Mary’s, check. Mimosas, check. Endless amounts of egg options, check. Bring your “early morning” sunglasses, but leave the jacket at home. We’re having good eats in the mid 60ºs.Download the SideCar app here.
SideCar is a technology platform that connects riders with passengers that are happy to share their extra car seats. Read more here!
Thanks for the shout out Mig! We’ll see you and your SideCar pals on Saturday, just make sure you have a designated driver — these cocktails are strong.
—Billy
A Guide to Logan Square: Where to Eat, Shop, and Play
The bar that spawned the affordable cocktail trend back in 2008 still packs them in every weekend. 2421 N. Milwaukee Ave., 773-227-3530, whistlerchicago.com
Solid list. Here are some of my favorites that didn’t make the cut: Saki, Gaslight, Cafe Mustache, Longman & Eagle, Carniceria Jimenez, and Taqueria Moran.
—Billy
Part 2/3 of our video series Variegated Heart comes out today! Things are getting strange… Share with your pals.
via Time Out Chicago:
Implodes guitarist Ken Camden guides us through the local drone scene
Chicago’s drone music landscape has evolved over the past decade. During the late ’90s and early ’00s, genre standbys such as TV Pow and Kevin Drumm were preoccupied with laptop music technology. Simultaneously, there was an active electro-acoustic improvisation scene where Jim O’Rourke and other artists combined those new technologies with a classical avant-garde approach (e.g. prepared guitar). More recently there’s been a resurgence of analog synth artists searching for new perspectives using older equipment, but no matter what the technology, there always seems to be a devoted audience, as well as venues willing to support these endeavors, all of which make Chicago a creative hub for such artists.
Glad Cloud — Programmed by Benjamin Mjolsness, the Whistler’s monthly Glad Cloud series is another showcase that continues to promote ambient and experimental tendencies in a listener-friendly environment. Hometown musicians Fred Lonberg-Holm, Nick Broste, Tyson Torstensen, Dan Mohr and Implodes’ own Matt Jencik are among those who have helped carve out yet another small droney corner for you to crawl into once a month.
The next installment of the Glad Cloud Ambient Music Series is on April 15th and will feature Handsome Tyrants, Peter Maunu and Benjamin Mjolsness.
—Billy
Radius and Leo 123 are spinning jazz records with live beats/effects all night at The Whistler.
—Billy
Logan Square’s free outdoor concert series and BYOPicnic, Summer Sessions, is back for a 5th year. If you are interested in volunteering, come meet with us on Saturday, April 6th at 2pm at Elastic Arts (2830 N. Milwaukee, 2nd floor) to learn how you can get involved; or email trisha@summersessionthesquare.org. Hope to see you there.
—Billy
Tonight at The Whistler: The Relax Attack Jazz Series presents the Nick Broste Trio. This drummerless group — featuring Broste (trombone), Keefe Jackson (saxophone), and Anton Hatwich (bass) — is influenced by chamber music, 50’s west coast jazz, and ambient music all filtered through an emphasis on jazz improvisation. Showtime is 9:30pm. No cover.
—Billy
