click to enlarge Southside with You
click to enlarge Nicholas Hunt/Getty
Chrissy Teigen and John Legend at the Southside With You premiere during the 2016 Sundance Film Festival.
click to enlarge Nicholas Hunt/Getty
From left to right: Parker Sawyers, Richard Tanne, Tika Sumpter, and John Legend at the Southside With You premiere during the 2016 Sundance Film Festival.
click to enlarge Southside With You
click to enlarge Southside With You
click to enlarge Southside With You
In the late summer of 1989, Barack Obama drove from Hyde Park to South Shore in his rickety yellow Datsun hatchback to pick up Michelle Robinson, his colleague and adviser at the Loop law firm Sidley Austin, for what would become a historic first date. The short drive is the setting of the opening-credits sequence of, an endearing dramatization of the First Couple's initial romantic outing that stretches, like, across an eventful day and night.Written and directed by Richard Tanne, the low-budget indie—filmed in and around Chicago last summer and opening today—counts musician John Legend as an executive producer and composer; his song, "Start," plays over the end credits. Actors Parker Sawyers and Tika Sumpter (who's also a producer on the film) portray 28-year-old Barack and 25-year-old Michelle, respectively.When I spoke to Legend and, shortly thereafter, Sawyers and Sumpter at the Park Hyatt Chicago last week, the mood was an emanation of the film itself, thoughtful and warm (physically, the room was cold; Sawyers kindly lent me his jacket). Love was the focal point. "It's a love story," Sumpter said of, a point with which Legend and Sawyers agreed. "It's life," she said. "It's moments."Legend, 37, has won ten Grammy Awards, one Golden Globe Award, and one Oscar, for Best Original Song (Legend cowrote "Glory" forwith Common and Che "Rhymefest" Smith, and performed the track with Common). "This is what I do," Legend said. "I'm all about love and I write about it a lot. And I think it's beautiful when you see a film that has that level of honesty and intimacy.""That's what I always try to do with my songs, too, because you want it to feel real, and you want it to feel like you could be in that position," he continued. "I think this film does a great job of making you feel like that. I think it makes you believe in love and the idea that you can find your match, and you can find someone who makes you better, and you make them better, too."I asked him if writing "Start" came from that place. "It came from me being in love," Legend said. In 2013, he married model Chrissy Teigen; their daughter, Luna, arrived in April. "But also appreciating the film," he said. "I love how simple it is, and how close you feel to them throughout the film.""They've lived these grand lives," Legend said of the Obamas. "But this film is close and small. And I wanted the song to feel like that too."Legend said he wrote the song directly after watching the film. "I was listening to the music as it was leading into where my song would come in," he said. "I literally based it on the key that was already playing, and the feeling that I was in as I was watching the end of it, and the song just flowed from me pretty quickly."For Sawyers, 33, and Sumpter, 36, playing a sitting president and first lady in a film—only a handful of other actors can say the same —was not as nerve-racking as one might expect. "It went from excitement to 'Now I gotta work,'" Sawyers said. "And that work was building a character, building a real person, and not just a caricature of the president we know. It took a lot of the pressure off, just getting down to do the work.""Yeah, it was just fun once we got here to Chicago," Sumpter said. "And the great thing is that we're playing them at such an age that the public hasn't really seen who they are, who they were at that time, other than a few videos online of their personal life. I think we stripped them down from 'the Obamas' of it all and went back to where they started."As executive producer, Legend read thescript early on and was impressed by Tanne's vision. "We're sure there's going to be a big biopic about Obama later," Legend said, "but just seeing the beginning of their relationship was pretty cool. And I think Richard did an awesome job of capturing the little intimate moments he imagined they had on that day."Legend also appreciated how the story emphasizes the personal rather than the political. "I don't feel like it's a propaganda piece," he said. "I feel it's truly about love, and truly an appreciation for a couple that has been just wonderful in office together."Juxtaposed with the "rancor and fear and darkness" of the 2016 presidential campaign, Legend said it's difficult not to have "a sense of appreciation for the class and the grace and the poise with which the Obamas have carried themselves" while in office, which also makes the timing of's release "perfect" and bittersweet."Because, especially in stark relief to what we're seeing with Trump," Legend said, "it's like, 'Wow, these guys really were refreshing and special, and we were fortunate to have them in the White House for eight years.'"I told Sawyers and Sumpter that, although they looked and sounded much like the Obamas onscreen, it didn't appear as if they were doing impersonations."The intention from the beginning was never to impersonate or make them like caricatures onor anything like that," Sumpter said, "because then the whole movie could just be a disaster. It could have been really bad."They both laughed. "It was surprisingly good," said Sawyers. "It could have been really bad.""Richard Tanne had, for me at least, an Obama meter"—Sawyers put his hand out, flat, and tilted his palm up and down—"That helped."Saywers described seeingfor the first time at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival in January, where the movie was warmly received, as something of a relief. "The music, the cinematography"—he credited Tanne and the film's director of photography, Patrick Scola—"I was so proud of it."When I asked how he had prepared for the role, Sawyers said he'd read President Obama's memoirs,and, long before he was offered the part. "But of course, I reread them," he said, "just to dig in to who this guy was by 28 years old, see what I could gather, and get inside his head." He said he wanted to get to the root of Obama's preternatural confidence, deduce the "why" of it: "So I could base his confidence not on, 'I'm just confident man, whatever,' but more because he'd moved around, because he'd been on his own, because he'd gotten himself into good schools."Sumpter took a slightly different approach. "For me, it was more about taking off the Michelle Obama who everybody loves and bringing it down to the girl from the south side," she said, "who's been told 'no' millions of times about things, what she could and couldn't do, what she couldn't achieve." She described Michelle as coming from a "humble and stable family," and noted the influence of Michelle's father, Fraser Robinson III, and his involvement in local politics. In addition, she said, "it was reading her brother [Craig Robinson]'s book,which informed me of who she was at that time, and also personal accounts of people who knew her then. That's how I got to her."I asked what it was like to film on location in Chicago. "It was perfect," Sawyers said (Sumpter agreed). "We filmed on Euclid Avenue,"—not on the same block where Michelle and her parents used to live, but "the block over" he said—"so you feel that driving down, like, 'He drove down this street,' and it just brought a whole level of realism that we could play off of.""And the city, the background, is beautiful," Sawyers continued. "The skyline. . . . After the community meeting, when we're walking . . . the skyline, ah. It's gorgeous."Legend has his own affinity for Chicago. "I come here as an outsider and a visitor," he said. "But with a lot of friends here." One of those friends is frequent collaborator Kanye West. "In fact, when I meet people from Chicago, they assume that I'm from here, just because I'm friends with Kanye, a lot of times," Legend said, laughing. "But this has always been one of the best cities for me to tour, the first city that played 'Ordinary People,' the first city that played 'Used to Love U.' People have always been supportive of me here in Chicago, so I have a special relationship with and a love for Chicago that most outsiders don't have.""It's a great music city," he added. "Great food city."I told Sawyers and Sumpter that the film could be a play, in that it was essentially a two-hander. "Yeah, we rehearsed it—we learned it like a play," Sawyers said. "I mean, we learned the entire script and . . . I don't think we read through the entire thing, but on Skype, with Richard, sometimes we'd read through entire sections, like the entire first act. So yeah, it was very much like a play. But it was fun that way, to really delve into it and know every nook and cranny of the script."Legend also relished the experience of diving into the material. "I enjoy the assignment aspect of it," he said, "because it's actually easier to write a song when you have an assignment as opposed to when you're just going to the studio and trying to write whatever comes to you, because then you're just saying 'Well, what am I thinking today? What am I feeling today?' And you're not really sure how to channel that into a song.""But when you're writing for a film," he said, "you have a specific target that you're aiming for. You're really trying to base it on the spirit of the film, and the character of the film, and it actually makes it more fun to write that way than it is to just write open-ended."When I asked Legend about his favorite film soundtracks, his face lit up. "Oh, man," he said. "Well, I grew up in the era when a lot of the films really cared about their soundtracks. Fromtowas really special to me back in that time period—I think I was in college at the time. First of all, it shone a light on this whole spoken-word scene that I think was cool, and it was the first film that embraced the neosoul music movement. I was figuring out who I was as a musician, and that music from the film really was important to me at that time."On matters of race, history, and politics—and the intersection of the three—Legend is equally passionate. His film and television production company, Get Lifted, is an extension of that passion. "A lot of the projects we take on have a kind of social relevance and political relevance, historical relevance, because that's what I'm interested in," Legend said. "These are the things that I've always read about, and that's what I majored in at school: English with a concentration in African-American history and culture."I told Legend that the Obamas' story inreminded me of an essay inby Roxane Gay ("I love Roxane!" Legend said) about the power of telling different kinds of black stories, especially positive black stories. "Yeah, it's great to show the range of humanity in black people," he said. "We don't want to always be, you know, a social problem and [tied to] historical evil, as in slavery. We don't always want to be the victim in films. That's part of what we want to do [at Get Lifted]. We show slavery; we have the show, which is doing really well"—the period drama series was recently renewed for a second season on WGN America—"but even in that show, we show black people as revolutionaries, as people fighting against the system. And I think black people, just like everybody else, want to see themselves as human, and we want to see that on the screen, too."Our conversation turned to the mass-media representation of Chicago being overwhelmingly negative , and howpresents a true and inspirational counternarrative."I think people have this sense of Chicago being a war zone right now," Legend said. "I think part of it is conservative fantasy, imagination, because they want—whenever black people get upset about police shooting an unarmed black person, they're first response is 'What about murders in Chicago?' It's the first thing they say.""Obviously, there are murders in Chicago, and it's something we need to be concerned about and looking at the root causes of and trying to do something to change," he continued. "But we know that Chicago's not a war zone. Chicago's a wonderful place. There are many sides to this city, and this film shows a really cool side of the city, I think."For Sawyers and Sumpter,is a universal love story that defies categorization. "Walking in somebody else's shoes is really important, and I think we're more alike than different," Sumpter said. "So, even if you're not too fond of these two people, it's a girl and a guy who are just figuring themselves out, together.""People walk out smiling," Sawyers said of audiences who have seen the film thus far. "So I hope people continue to do that: walk out smiling and talking to each other.""It's a great slice of life," he continued, "and a reminder of what we can all hope to do someday, maybe meet somebody who can—""—make us better," Sumpter said. Sawyers grinned. "You just finished my sentence," he said. Sumpter laughed: "I put a period on it."

John Legend, Tika Sumpter, and Parker Sawyers reflect on Southside With You


The romantic drama, which recreates Barack and Michelle Obama's first date in Chicago, opens nationwide.


click to enlarge Dani Deahl via @danideahl
Beauty Bar
click to enlarge Rich Hein/Sun-Times
Cook County chief financial officer Ivan Samstein says despite the fact that he disagrees with a hearing officer's interpretation of a county ordinance, the county has no desire to influence court proceedings.
Cook County's chief financial officer claims the government agency never sought to define what art or music is, nor has it tried to tax small venues accordingly.The comments from Cook County CFO Ivan Samstein come after a hearing officer appointed by the county's Department of Administrative Hearings claimed last week that DJ sets, rock, rap, and country performances music do not constitute "fine art" under the county's code and therefore small music venues would be hard-pressed to argue that they should be exempt from a 3 percent county amusement tax on ticket and cover charges for those types of shows.Samstein now says, however, that the county has never collected amusement taxes from venues on the basis of what type of performances they book. He disagrees with the hearing officer's interpretation that only those genres traditionally considered "fine art"—such as chamber orchestras, symphony orchestras, and opera—are exempt from paying the tax. "We have never applied the tax different for different genres of music," he says. "Fine arts is a relative discussion. I don't think anyone [in the county] is in the business of saying what is and what is not fine arts."Like the city of Chicago, Samstein says the county draws a distinction between DJ sets composed purely of prerecorded music and performances that include significant manipulation or modification of prerecorded music. The former would be subject to the amusement tax, while the latter would not, he says.For example, he says, no one in the county would dispute that a live set by famed Chicago DJ Frankie Knuckles constitutes a performance of original music, and the show would be exempt from the amusement tax so long as it occurred in a small venue.Several small Chicago music venues, including Beauty Bar and Evil Olive, are disputing claims made by the county that they owe approximately $200,000 each in back amusement taxes and penalties. Hearing officer Anita Richardson said during an August 22 administrative hearing between the county and attorneys for the venues that the businesses would need to successfully argue the live music they book constitutes "fine art" in order to prove they are exempt from the county's amusement tax.Venues with a capacity of 750 or fewer are not subject to the 3 percent tax as long as any cover charges or admission fees are for "in person, live theatrical, live musical or other live cultural performances," according to the county code. A separate section of the code defines live music and live cultural performances as "any of the disciplines which are commonly regarded as part of the fine arts, such as live theater, music, opera, drama, comedy, ballet, modern or traditional dance, and book or poetry readings."Richardson's comments angered many in the music community in Chicago and beyond. Her statements and the county's pursuit of the tax revenue also spurred fears that the venues would be forced to shutter due to the sudden financial burden. The issue has spawned online petitions , including one signed by Chance the Rapper.In the wake of the controversy, Cook County commissioner John Fritchey announced today that he would introduce an amendment to the county's amusement-tax ordinance at the board's next meeting on September 14. He says the amendment models the city's amusement-tax ordinance and was crafted in collaboration with industry representatives to "have a rational view of 'music' while still providing safeguards to prevent businesses from avoiding legitimately owed taxes."Samstein and Cook County Department of Revenue public information officer Ted Nelson declined to comment on the specifics of the Beauty Bar and Evil Olive cases.Asked why county officials have not corrected the hearing officer's interpretation of the code or withdrawn their case against the venues, Samstein says the county has no desire to influence court proceedings."Otherwise, if we start telling them what they can or cannot say . . . that effectively undermines a concept of an impartial system," he says. He adds that venues are welcome to pursue their cases in the circuit court system if the hearing officer hands down a ruling they disgree with.Bruce Finkelman and Victor David Giron of 16" on Center, the development company that owns Beauty Bar, have said that the process of challenging the taxes is still damaging to their business because it necessitates spending large amounts of money on lawyers versus a more worthy cause like artist development.Generally speaking, Samstein says, if businesses register as taxpayers with the county, file taxes, and respond to auditor requests in a timely manner, they won't find themselves in a dispute with the county over taxes owed. He claims the vast majority of county businesses are compliant with the agency's taxation policies.Pat Doerr, president of the Hospitality Business Association of Chicago, says about half a dozen venues his organization represents have also been asked to pay back taxes in the sum of six figures. (Most of those venues have declined to speak on the record about their cases.)But Samstein says that any notice from the county of back taxes owed should come as no surprise to these businesses. "You don't see any situations where a taxpayer suddenly finds themselves in an administrative hearing," he says. In most situations "auditors have been trying to solicit information for the better part of two years."In a letter to Cook County Board president Toni Preckwinkle, Fritchey asks the county's top official to direct the Department of Revenue not to seek back taxes on venues that are considered compliant with the city's amusement tax ordinance. He writes that the owners of the small venues he's spoken to believed in good faith that they were complying with all county taxes.Fritchey says he's confident he'll get the necessary support from his colleagues on the board to pass the amendment."It appears the statements of the hearing officer greatly exceeded the issues before her," he says. "But at the end of the day, it gives us an opportunity to clarify the county's regulations and allow venue operators to operate with a sense of certainty while at the same time recognizing the county should not be the arbiter of what does and doesn't constitute music."When asked whether he thinks Preckwinkle will honor the request and direct the county to stop its pursuit of back taxes on those venues considered compliant under city standards, Fritchey says he's "cautiously optimistic that this situation has put a spotlight on the fact that these businesses need to be treated fairly and consistently by both the city and the county."Samstein declined to respond to Fritchey's request."I spoke with the commissioner last week," he says. "I need to see an actual proposal to be able to react."

Cook County not ‘in the business of saying what is and what is not fine arts,’ according to CFO


The county's chief financial officer says he disagrees with a hearing officer’s interpretation that only musical genres considered “fine art” are exempt from an amusement tax.


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Learn to make a cocktail using shrubs, the trendy vinegar-based fruit syrups


Watch Jenn Fink of Pub Royale create a vinegar cocktail with a bite.


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A tag team of underground Chicago rappers has fun with Logan Square's Discount Megamall


Local MCs Rich Jones, Morimoto, Nnamdi Ogbonnaya, and JD make a backdrop of the Megamall's graffiti-covered walls in the video for the new track "They Don't Wanna Know."


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Bay Area guitarist Chuck Johnson plugs back in on Velvet Arc


Peripatetic sound explorer Chuck Johnson shares a bill with former Date Palms bandmate Marielle V Jakobsons at Cafe Mustache on Thursday.


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-All Films- Anthropoid Audience Choice Bad Moms Ben-Hur Ben-Hur 3D The Bride Café Society Don't Breathe Don't Think Twice Equity Finding Dory Florence Foster Jenkins Ghostbusters Hands of Stone Hell or High Water Ice Age: Collision Course Indignation Indignation The Insanity of God The Intervention Jason Bourne Kevin Smith's Yoga Hosers Premiere Party Q&A The Kind Words Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV Kubo and the Two Strings Kubo and the Two Strings 3D Kung Fu Hustle Lights Out Line Walker Lo and Behold, Reveries of the Connected World The Mechanic: Resurrection Men Go to Battle Mon roi Morris From America The Music of Strangers: Yo-Yo Ma & the Silk Road Ensemble Natural Selection Pete's Dragon Pete's Dragon 3D Sausage Party The Secret Life of Pets Southside With You Star Trek Beyond Star Trek Beyond 3D Suicide Squad Suicide Squad 3D Suicide Squad: The IMAX 2D Experience Sunshine Day A Tale of Love and Darkness Time Raiders Time Raiders 3D Tunnel The Untouchables War Dogs

Hamid Drake drums around the world, but he's not a star at home


Hamid Drake's fluid fusion of jazz, reggae, and world-music percussion styles has made him an invaluable part of countless groups.


Cutoff denim shorts for the cool urban girl


A great idea for a summer-fest look sported by Brooke of Wishful Thinkin Clothing.


click to enlarge Chandler West/For Sun-Times Media
Rhymefest in 2014
Welcome to the Reader's morning briefing for Tuesday, August 30, 2016.
Weather: Very humid with thunderstorms possible
Tuesday will be humid and sunny, with a high of 83 and a low of 71. It will be very warm and could feel as hot as 96 degrees. A thunderstorm is possible in the afternoon and early evening. [AccuWeather]
Cop in Rhymefest incident will be disciplined, rapper invites Trump to Chicago
The police officer who didn't act "appropriately" when rapper Rhymefest filed a police report about an armed robbery Saturday will be disciplined, according to Mayor Rahm Emanuel. The Grammy and Oscar-winning rapper, also known as Che Smith, has been in the news after posting a video of a Chicago police officer treating him "disgustingly" when he visited the police station. "Had that officer acted appropriately, we'd be dealing right now with who did the mugging, which is where we should be," the mayor said. Despite being robbed at gunpoint, Smith told CNN that Chicago isn't as dangerous as Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump claims. "I'm inviting Donald Trump to Chicago," he said in the interview with CNN. "I will walk you down a block, Mr. Trump, and I guarantee you won't get shot." [DNAinfo Chicago] [CNN]
August isn't over, but it's already the most violent month in 20 years
There is still another full day left of August, but it's already the most violent month in Chicago in 20 years. There have been 84 homicides so far, the most in one month since October 1996, according to the Tribune. The city could still surpass the 85 homicides that occurred in October 1996 and the 90 that happened in June 1996. [Tribune]
A "fitness tracker" will keep track of the city's vital measurements
Chicago is installing 500 modular sensor boxes around the city to measure temperatures, light, barometric pressure, carbon monoxide, foot traffic, and other vital statistics about the city. The first two boxes were installed last week, and 48 more will be operating by the end of the year. The data collected by the boxes will be available to the public on the city's website starting in October. [USA Today]
Hackers obtain information of about 200,000 Illinois voters
Hackers were able to access the personal information of about 200,000 Illinois voters during a "cyberattack of possible foreign origin that began in June and was halted a month later," according to the Tribune. Drivers' license numbers and the last four digits of social security numbers were some of the information that the hackers may have obtained, according to the Illinois State Board of Elections. No registered voters were deleted from the records, and no information was modified. [Tribune]
Hamilton creator Lin-Manuel Miranda to speak at the Chicago Humanities Festival
Before the highly anticipated opening of the Hamilton musical in Chicago, the man behind the phenomenon will appear at a Chicago Humanities Festival event. Lin-Manuel Miranda will be interviewed by Tribune theater critic Chris Jones at the Civic Opera House on September 23. [Sun-Times]

Rapper Rhymefest invites Trump to walk a Chicago block with him, and other news


Also, August is already the most violent month since 1996.


click to enlarge Ashlee Rezin/Chicago Sun-Times via AP
Family members and supporters hug Diann Aldridge during a vigil for her daughter Nykea Aldridge Sunday.
Welcome to the Reader's morning briefing for Monday, August 29, 2016.
Weather: Sunny and lovely
The week will start out with beautiful and sunny weather. Expect a high of 83 and a low of 71. [AccuWeather]
Trump tries to capitalize on shooting death of Dwyane Wade's cousin
Nykea Aldridge, a mother of four children and cousin to Chicago Bulls star Dwyane Wade, was shot dead on the south side Friday. Aldridge was not the intended target of the shooting, and two brothers were charged for the crime Sunday. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump caused controversy when he referred to the high-profile homicide to campaign on Twitter writing, "Dwayne Wade's cousin was just shot and killed walking her baby in Chicago. Just what I have been saying. African-Americans will VOTE TRUMP!" [Washington Post] [Sun-Times]
Chicago police apologize to rapper Rhymefest after tweet
Rapper and former aldermanic candidate Rhymefest posted a video on Twitter showing himself arguing with Chicago cops when he went to report an armed robbery Saturday. "You wonder we don't report crimes? The police treated me disgustingly," he wrote to his followers. The Chicago Police Department responded and apologized for the incident and said they will be addressing the issue. [CNN]
Rahm calls rumors that he'll be ambassador to Israel "ridiculous"
Mayor Rahm Emanuel has denied rumors that he might be the next U.S. ambassador to Israel if Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton wins in November. "One can't say they're not flattered," Emanuel said at a press conference Thursday. "I'm absolutely not interested." [Crain's Chicago Business] [NBC Chicago]
Museum of Contemporary Art plans major renovation, hopes to increase attendance
The Museum of Contemporary Art will be celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2017 and the museum is planning a major $15 million renovation and new exhibits in order to stay "relevant," according to Crain's Chicago Business. "We really are trying to build loyalty with the Chicago audience," the MCA's chief curator Michael Darling told the publication. [Crain's Chicago Business]
PAWS Chicago shelter rescues animals from Louisiana floods
Twenty-six cats and dogs were rescued from the Louisiana floods by no-kill shelter PAWS Chicago. Moving the pets to the shelter's Little Village medical facility will help the overwhelmed shelters in Louisiana and Chicago residents will be able to adopt them. "Everything down there was really chaotic. Some of the shelters are flooded and actually can't accept any animals, others shelters are trying to move out all of their strays to try to make room for displaced animals," Stacy Price, director of animal operations at PAWS Chicago, told the Tribune. [Tribune]

Trump stirs controversy with tweet about fatal shooting of Dwyane Wade's cousin, and other Chicago news


Also, Rahm shuts down rumors that he will be the next ambassador to Israel.


click to enlarge William Frederking
James Falzone
Last night at Elastic, clarinetist James Falzone played with Wayfaring, his duo with bassist Katie Ernst—his final gig as a Chicagoan. He and his family are moving to Seattle, Washington, where he'll become chair of the music department at Cornish College of the Arts. For nearly a decade and a half Falzone has been a crucial part of the local jazz and improvised-music scene, leading groups such as Allos Musica Ensemble Renga Ensemble , and Klang as well as working as a sideman in plenty of others, among them Vox Arcana and Frank Rosaly's Cicada Music. On the eve of his departure, I asked him about his time here and his decision to move on.Cornish is a place rich with experimental music history, including being where John Cage first developed his prepared-piano pieces in the early 1940s and where he first collaborated with Merce Cunningham. It is also a place that has had innovative jazz faculty for many years, including Art Lande, Julian Priester, and presently Tom Varner and Wayne Horvitz. Cornish is an undergraduate art college, offering degrees in visual and performing arts, and there is a vibrant sense of interdisciplinarity. I've known about the institution for many years and was a visiting artist there in 2015. When the post became open, I sensed it would bring together many of the skills and experiences I've developed over my career as an artist and educator. In addition to leading the department and supporting faculty, I will be assessing the current music program and curriculum, making sure it's meeting the needs of a 21st-century musician. The search process was extensive, and I'm honored to be joining them.Like so many musicians, I've balanced several different jobs, combining all of them to make a living. In addition to my life as a performer and composer, I've taught at the college level for 15 years, first at North Central College in Naperville, then at Columbia College in Chicago, and most recently at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Over the course of my teaching career, I've taught everything from music theory to world music to composition to jazz history, and I was very fortunate to be a fellow at the Center for Black Music Research at Columbia in 2014. I have also twice been a visiting professor at the remarkable Deep Springs College in the desert of California, a place that has shaped a great deal of my education philosophy. In addition to playing and teaching, I have also held the position of director of music at Grace Chicago Church since 2002, a wonderful post I will be stepping down from with my move to Seattle. As you can see, I've juggled a lot, and it will be good to consolidate my energies a bit in Seattle.I was born and raised on the northwest side of Chicago and studied for many years with the great Rich Corpolongo . I did not move away until my graduate-school studies at New England Conservatory in Boston in 1998. I was there at a fertile time, with classmates like Okkyung Lee and Matana Roberts . In 2002, with a young baby on our hands, my wife and I decided to return to Chicago to be closer to family. At first I was unsure of the decision, thinking I should have moved to New York like so many of my peers did after school. But it was not long after landing in Chicago that I realized I made the right decision. The musicians working here at that time, many whom I learned about through an article you wrote called "Meet the New Kids," quickly became my collaborators and inspired me with their playing and their unwavering commitment to developing as artists.This is the great lesson of Chicago: a singular, no-nonsense focus on artistry. It greatly affected me, and I can remember teaching most of the day, going home to spend time with my wife and daughter, and then getting to Elastic or the Empty Bottle or the Hungry Brain for a late-night gig, only to wake up the next day and repeat the cycle. It was a beautiful and inspiring time. The musicians I've developed a communal language with during my Chicago years—people like Dave Rempis, Tim Daisy, Jason Adasiewicz, Jason Stein, Frank Rosaly, Josh Berman, and Fred Lonberg-Holm, to name only a few—there is nothing quite like the bond I feel with these brothers.I'll be back in Chicago several times this fall. Katie Ernst and I will present our Wayfaring project at the Hyde Park Jazz Festival in September and will release an album in the new year. A score I created for a remarkable dance work involving disabled dancers will be presented over the first two weekends of November with the Momenta Dance Company, and I'll be back for that to perform with them. Josh Berman and I have already been talking about a new project, and my Allos Musica Ensemble has gigs back in the midwest in the spring, including a night at Constellation on April 1. Additionally, my wife and I have deep roots in Chicago and will be visiting with our family often, and I would anticipate connecting these with gigs in town. So I will not vanish, and many of the important projects I've developed will continue. But there will be a change, no doubt. I hope to become a part of the Seattle creative-music scene and am very interested in what it will mean for the chair of an important music school in a city to also be actively involved in the music community as a player and composer. My work as an artist has always informed my work as an educator, and I want it to do the same in this new leadership position. I really don't believe in another way.
Tuesday evening at the Whistler , local label Milk Factory Productions showcases two of its key projects: the 3.5.7 Ensemble (led by saxophonist Nick Anaya) and Restroy (led by bassist Chris Dammann). I wrote about the former in late 2014 , but Dammann's band doesn't play often—this is just its second Chicago gig since the release of last year's. Dammann jokingly told me, "The first concert was top secret due to my lack of promotion for it."The combo plays refined postbop arrangements of the leader's compositions, given depth by the plush-toned trumpet of James Davis, the full-bodied tenor saxophone of Anaya, and the bracing violin and cello of Catherine Monnes. Here and there guitarist Tim Stine and flutist Gina Sobel add extra front-line counterpoint, but the primary wrinkle in Restroy's music is rhythmic—the record features four percussionists. Daniel Richardson and Dylan Andrews alternate on drum kit, Loren Oppenheimer adds tabla and frame drum on four tracks, and Matt Wyatt contributes sample-based electronics and percussion to another three.As you can hear below on "Uma," the extra percussion gives the ensemble a nice jolt of propulsion and texture without smothering the horns. For Tuesday's gig Restroy will consist of Dammann, Monnes, and drummer John Niekrasz.Today's playlist:Justin Hines & the Dominoes,(Island, Japan)Eric Lanham,(Spectrum Spools)Harold Vick,(RCA)Bernd Alois Zimmermann,(Wergo)John Surman, Way Back When (Cuneiform)

An exit interview with departing clarinetist James Falzone and a rare set by Chris Dammann’s Restroy


Clarinetist James Falzone is moving to Seattle after landing a gig at Cornish College of the Arts.


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Watch a Soho House Chicago bartender make a buttered popcorn-inspired cocktail


Challenged to create a drink with popcorn, Matthew Jannotta infused corn whiskey with butter for a buttered popcorn cocktail.


-All Event Categories- FALL ARTS FOOD & DRINK Drink Events Food Events New Year's Day Brunch New Year's Eve Dining Thanksgiving Valentine's Day GALLERIES & MUSEUMS Galleries Galleries: Openings & Receptions Museums Museums: Openings & Receptions Special Events HOLIDAY EVENTS LIT & LECTURES Chicago Humanities Festival Lectures Literary Events MUSIC Blues, Gospel, and R&B Classical Dance Experimental Fairs & Festivals Folk & Country Hip-Hop In-Stores International Jazz Miscellaneous Open Mikes and Jams Rock, Pop, Etc OTHER STUFF Green Events Halloween Holiday Shopping Inaugural Events New Year's Eve Parties & Events Parties Pride Weekend St. Patrick's Day Valentine's Day PERFORMING ARTS Dance Holiday Shows Improv/Sketch Spoken Word/Poetry Slams/Open Mikes Stand-Up Theater & Performance SPONSORED SUMMER GUIDE Beer Biking Dog-Friendly Fairs & Festivals Farmers Markets Illinois Indiana Lake & River Michigan Music Festivals Scavenger Hunts & Races Wisconsin
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-All Films- Airborne Anthropoid Bad Moms Ben-Hur Ben-Hur 3D The Bride Café Society Don't Breathe Don't Think Twice Drunken Master Equity Filmed by Bike Florence Foster Jenkins Ghostbusters Hands of Stone Hell or High Water How to Tell You're a Douchebag Ice Age: Collision Course Indignation Indignation The Intervention Jason Bourne The Kind Words Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV Kubo and the Two Strings Kubo and the Two Strings 3D Las Voces Level Up Lights Out Line Walker Lo and Behold, Reveries of the Connected World The Mechanic: Resurrection Men Go to Battle Mon roi Morris From America The Music of Strangers: Yo-Yo Ma & the Silk Road Ensemble Natural Selection The Neon Demon Pete's Dragon Pete's Dragon 3D Sausage Party The Secret Life of Pets Southside With You Star Trek Beyond Star Trek Beyond 3D Suicide Squad Suicide Squad 3D Suicide Squad: The IMAX 2D Experience Sunshine Day A Tale of Love and Darkness Time Raiders Time Raiders 3D The Tunnel War Dogs


Plenty of happenings make for a memorable last weekend of August in the city. Here's some of our recommendations:
Through 8/29: Joel Ewing, Ireon Roach, and Olivia Shine host Jackalope Theatre's Seventh Annual Living Newspaper Festival at the Frontier (1106 W. Thorndale). The performances feature six original ten-minute plays inspired by a story from a national news outlets. 7:30 PM
8/26-8/28: Halsted Street at Van Buren abounds with Hellenism this weekend for the West Loop’s annual cultural festival, Taste of Greektown. Delight in Greek food from area restaurants, dance to traditional music, or partake Saturday evening's Gyro Eating Contest where devoted fans of the Mediterranean meat will battle it out. Fri 4-11 PM, Sat & Sun noon-11 PM
click to enlarge getty
Taste of Greektown celebrates the food, dancing, and music of Greece this weekend in the West Loop.
Fri 8/26: Interdisciplinary artist Maria Gaspar explores the complex juxtaposition of what lies within and beyond the 25-foot wall surrounding the Cook County Jail in her exhibition, "On the Border of What is Formless & Monstrous." She presents video and audio documentation taken inside and about the detention facility at the opening reception at the Experimental Sound Studio’s Audible Gallery (5925 N. Ravenswood Ave.). 6-9 PM
Sat 8/27: Head to Aquanaut Brewing Company (5435 N. Wolcott) for Records and Beer, a night of brew-tasting, browsing, and more. RSVP to peruse goods from vinyl vendors and jive all night to live music from These Old Men They Play Records, Ryan Powers, other local DJs. 2-10 PM
Sat 8/27: The Little Village music festival, Villapalooza (26th and Central Park), returns for its sixth year this Saturday. The festival's three stages include live music from Los Crudos, Generacion Suicida, Thee Commons, and more. Noon-10 PM
Sat 8/27: Elastic Arts brings back its annual puppet slam for adults, Puppet Meltdown to its space at 3429 W. Diversey. Master puppeteers pull the strings for an entertaining showcase at this year's "Forbidden Puppet" event. 8 PM
Sun 8/28: Rachal Duggan, a local illustrator who has contributed to the Reader among other publications, participates in the Comfort Society series at the Comfort Station (2579 N. Milwaukee). Watch as she creates drawings by request, and hear her speak about her own career at 1 PM.
10 AM-2 PM
click to enlarge Rachal Duggan
Rachal Duggan creates custom drawings as part of the Comfort Society series on Sun 8/28.
Sun 8/28: The National Museum of Puerto Rican Arts and Culture's Sangria Festival sweeps into Humboldt Park (3015 W. Division) this Sunday. Savor a glass or two of the fruity wine to the tune of live salsa music as a perfect salute to the final days of summer. Noon-10 PM
click to enlarge courtesy city winery
Garfunkel and Oates perform on Sun 8/28.
Riki Lindhome and Kate Micucci, better known as Garfunkel and Oates , perform their comedy folk songs at City Winery (1200 W. Randolph).
For more stuff to do this week—and every day—check out our Agenda page.

The Living Newspaper Festival, Villapalooza, and more things to do in Chicago this weekend


Sangria Festival, Puppet Meltdown, and more happenings from August 26-28.


click to enlarge Steppenwolf Theatre Company
A still from the trailer of This Is Modern Art
Just wish I had also put something like this in my review: "When these kids are hauled into court will Steppenwolf set up a fund to pay their bail, hire a lawyer to see that charges are expunged from their permanent records (so they can get into a decent school or be hired for a good job), and finally reimburse their parents for missing days of work while they fix all this? A far better play might have helped kids think about how to engage their community and local politicians, and how to mount a campaign that might lead to getting more dedicated spaces for such work.
, a provocative play about graffiti artists, ran for a few weeks early last year as a Steppenwolf for Young Adults production. The play, by Idris Goodwin and Kevin Coval, was inspired by an action in 2010, when young graffiti artists working at night in a snowstorm spray-painted a 50-foot mural on the new modern wing of the Art Institute. (It was removed.)Both Chris Jones of theand Hedy Weiss of thehad harsh things to say about it. Jones at least calleda "romantic ode" before coming to his main point. "Graffiti comes at a price," he wrote . "It can be invasive, self-important and disrespectful of the property of others—and plenty of struggling folks have had to clean graffiti off something they own or love. Graffiti can be inartful, for goodness sake. More importantly yet, graffiti had the effect of making people feel unsafe in the city. It terrified people . . . You do not have to be conservative or somehow not down with youth to think it reprehensible that these issues do not have a place in a show for schools that is quite staggeringly one-sided."Weiss also believedwas making a one-sided case for vandalism. She called the play "wildly wrong-headed and potentially damaging." She wrote , "No amount of classroom discussion will scrub clean the irresponsible ideas promulgated in this play . . . Really, what could Steppenwolf have been thinking?"Now Haymarket Books of Chicago has just published This Is Modern Art , and Jones and Weiss agree no longer. On the back cover of the play (and on the Haymarket website ) are blurbs from Jones and Weiss (and others) culled by the publisher from reviews. (Jones and Weiss are identified by their papers, not their names, but in Chicago most everyone will know who wrote what.) And at least one blurb turned a critic into a cheerleader.Weiss is served up straight. Probably a smart move—the accusation that "irresponsible ideas" lurk inside won't discourage anybody from finding out what they are.But she's the contrarian. Every other blurb is admiring. This includes the one from the's Albert Williams, who called the play both "celebratory and cautionary—clearly sympathetic to the artists' point of view, but not blind to the impact their reckless act would have on their own lives."And, remarkably, it includes the blurb from Jones. Haymarket tells us he had this to say: "A romantic ode to the art of graffiti and the act of tagging, a piece that demystifies authorial signatures and charts the storied history of graffiti art in Chicago, shouting out its great artists and their canvases, from Kennedy underpasses to CTA train yards."When the reviews were originally written, Jones and Weiss both caught it from readers. They'd stirred up what American Theatre called a "veritable firestorm of debate and discussion in the Windy City, with accusations of racism and elitism being hurled" against the two of them."I don't reject the notion that I have a limited view," Jones told's Chloe Riley. "Obviously, I am who I am." However, "If you ask me what's personally difficult, it's to be called a racist, as I was, and to be called an idiot."The Haymarket Books blurb has the effect of telling Jones the name-calling is ancient history. The price Jones pays for this courtesy—if you want to call it a price—is to be quoted out of context. I wondered if he minded."Blurbs are promotional and I am at peace with that," Jones told me, in an e-mail shrugging off the question. "This always was a mixed review; not true of Hedy's very negative review, and she is entitled to her view. That said, in the ensuing reaction, it generally was argued we were one and the same. I doubt many people read my whole review. Ironic perhaps that it should be used in this way!"What then, was Weiss's reaction to finding herself once again playing Bad Hedy, contrarian to the world? "I am perfectly fine with it!" she answered. Her e-mail to me went on:As for Haymarket Books, I asked publicist Jim Plank why they'd used what they'd used from Jones, and he replied, "We think the quote is a good description of what the play is about." As for turning Jones's critique into a cheer, Plank told me, "We really don't see an issue here."The issue I'm certain of is misrepresentation. And it's not a big issue—as the alchemy of turning criticism into puffery is as old as the poster, the marquee, and the cynic. It's a low art, though, properly derided.

From book’s blurbs, you’d never know these critics slammed the play


Haymarket's published version of Steppenwolf's This is Modern Art selectively excerpts some of the play's reviews.


click to enlarge YouTube
The town preacher in the movie Footloose tried to ban rock music and dancing—sound familiar?
click to enlarge YouTube
Cook County has become the fascist principal who tells the slacker rebel to cut his hair and get a job.
Pop quiz: Who uttered the following line—a Cook County official commenting on the legalities of a tax on small music venues booking rock, rap, and DJ shows, or Reverend Shaw frompreaching about a ban on loud music and dancing?"Even if this was not a law—which it is, I'm afraid—I would have a lot of difficulty endorsing an enterprise which is as fraught with genuine peril as I believe this one to be."You had to think about it for a second, didn't you?In the past week or so, Cook County officials have essentially transformed into cartoonish, mustache-twirling villains from a snobs-versus-slobs 80s movie. They're the functional equivalent of John Lithgow's self-righteous Pentecostal preacher character from the 1984 film Footloose , outlawing dancing and rock 'n' roll out of fear of the spiritual corruption of the youth. (Ironically, Kevin Bacon's character is from Chicago and is shocked at the town's conservatism.) They're the fun-hating suits and stiffs who want to turn beloved clubhouses into parking lots; the fascist principal who tells the iconoclasts to cut their hair and get jobs; the priggish cultural elitist sneering at the music that "kids these days" love while huffily insisting something like Beethoven is "real art."At least that's what I gathered after reading the news the Reader broke about how the county is trying to strong-arm small music venues into ponying up hundreds of thousands of dollars in back taxes. Its spurious claim is that clubs with a capacity of 750 or less that book rock, country, rap, and DJ shows have been cheating the county out of funds from a 3 percent county amusement tax because they're taking advantage of an exemption set aside for "live theatrical, live musical or other live cultural performances."In the county's view, only opera, ballet, symphony orchestras, and other so-called "fine arts" deserve a tax break. And by "fine," the county seems to imply arts events where white people of a certain age and income level politely clap while holding programs, where socialites go to rub elbows clad in expensive Italian fabric and tinkle gold-rimmed glasses at cocktail receptions. Venues that spell theater as "theatre," that have trustees and boards and big donors.The county is seeking to make the burden of the amusement tax fall instead on blue-collar bars and clubs that book . . . [] dreadfully lowbrow forms of music, especially venues that regularly book DJs. Because this is real-life Chicago in 2016, not an 80s comedy, there's no Ernest around to save camp, no Goonies with fistfuls of pirate treasure—just venues like the Empty Bottle, Beauty Bar, and Evil Olive employing a handful of lawyers to protect them from getting suddenly bilked by the government.Here's possibly the most surreal aspect of the whole ordeal: those lawyers will appear at a hearing scheduled for October 17 to reportedly present evidence and testimony from musicologists and working DJs in an attempt to convince the county of the cultural value of, say, house music. In effect, the county has put EDM on trial.County officials shouldn't need experts to attest to the cultural value of electronic music. All they have to do is look around Chicago. The record collection of the late, legendary Chicago DJ Frankie Knuckles, the Godfather of House, is on permanent display at Theaster Gates's Stony Island Arts Bank. Knuckles has an honorary street dedicated to him, as does the seminal DJ squad the Hot Mix 5, whose individual members also have been recognized with honorary street designations. The Museum of Contemporary Art hosted a David Bowie exhibition in 2014 and '15 and regularly hosts DJ performances at its afterhours events, and . . . hell, why do I even need to explain this?The truth is that Cook County isn't really interested in some kind of philosophical discussion about the nature of high art. It's acting as a tax collector, of course, not a cultural gatekeeper. It could try to extract funds from the opera, symphony, or moneyed fine-arts patrons with say, a financial transaction tax , but instead it decided to play the bully and shake down the little guys—the PBR-stained bars and divey dance clubs—for their lunch money.The county's villainy is absurd enough that you're forgiven if a certain 80s Twisted Sister refrain worms its way into your brain: "We're not going to take it! / No! We ain't gonna take it!"As much as I'd like this legal proceeding to end like an 80s music video or movie—an unlikely group of music-loving misfits rebelling against the fascist authority figure or banding together to organize a fund-raising concert—those who are opposed to the county's controversial stance are probably going to have to do this the hard way: by signing this petition that Chance the Rapper tweeted out last night, by writing and calling county commissioners, contacting Cook County Board president Toni Preckwinkle, and showing up to the October 17 meeting to give 'em hell (and maybe a Daft Punk album).

Cook County has become an 80s movie villain in its attempt to tax small music venues to death


Cook County's effort to bilk small music venues is like a plotline from Footloose.


click to enlarge Eugenio Savio/AP
Hope Solo
A journalist scolds an athlete at the risk of sounding like a schoolmarm. Or do I mean an idiot?That said, do I feel any sympathy for Hope Solo, the U.S. women's soccer team goalkeeper recently criticized for calling the Swedish team a "bunch of cowards"?Well no, not exactly—but a case can be made that she served her teammates well after the favored Americans lost on penalty kicks to Sweden in the recent Olympics. It's only fair to Solo that someone make this case, and as everybody else has been tied up with calling Solo a disgrace to her American uniform, I'll take a try.Pundits jumped on Solo and defended Sweden; I particularly enjoyed the nun-with-yardstick reaction of Nancy Armour of. "This was a win-or-go-home game in the Olympics," Armour reminded Solo, and all of us. "You do what you need to survive and you don't owe any apologies."Armour lowered the boom. "Hope Solo is a distraction U.S. Soccer can no longer afford. . ." her lecture began. "Solo has embarrassed her team and the country she represents one time too many." Armour didn't explain who Solo was distracting, or what she was distracting them from, or why this was a horrible thing to do, but whatever. It's always safe to call someone who annoys you a distraction.In her indignation, Armour sometimes lost her grip on her argument. With the U.S. on the brink of defeat, but one last penalty kick to stop, "Solo decided to open up her bag of tricks," Armour wrote . Putting it that way cast Solo in a lurid light—America's stand-up representatives don't resort to trick bags. "With Lisa Dahlkvist standing at the spot, Solo motioned for new gloves and made a show of taking her old ones off and putting the new ones on." But it didn't work. Dahlkvist "buried her shot."So here was Armour praising the Swedes for doing what they needed to do to survive, and putting Solo in her place for doing the same thing. Armour gave Solo a piece of her mind. "Rather than griping and whining about [the Swedish strategy], take it like a compliment and find a way to break it down," Armour lectured. "But graciousness and decorum have never been Solo’s strong suit."We might have to unpack this a little to appreciate how fast and loose Armour was playing with the time-space continuum. The griping and whining by Solo came after the game. Finding a way to break down the Swedish defense would have involved Solo's coach and teammates once the game began. And graciousness and decorum had nothing to do with the game whatsoever.And it's worth stressing the point that solving the Swedish defense was the responsibility of coach Jill Ellis and everyone else on the American teamSolo. They failed. Yet when the game was lost, nobody paid attention to any of them. No one was held responsible for anything but Solo for her loose tongue, and on Wednesday she was suspended from the national team for six months.Yes, Solo was a distraction—but perhaps a distraction helpful to her team, not a burden on it. The U.S. lost and she took the heat. But ambiguities rarely get in the way of a seasoned finger-wagger.

Did soccer player Hope Solo deserve all the criticism she got?


Pundits jumped on the goalkeeper after she called the Swedish team that bested hers "a bunch of cowards."


click to enlarge Daniel Boczarski/Getty
Costars Gillian Anderson and David Duchovny joke at The X-Files reunion panel at Wizard World Chicago on Saturday.
click to enlarge Daniel Boczarski/Getty
Michael J. Fox, Lea Thompson, and Christopher Lloyd at the Back to the Future reunion at Wizard World.
reunion during Wizard World Chicago last Saturday opened on a cringe-inducing note. Moments after the quartet of cast members, including stars David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson, strolled onto the stage and sat down for a 45-minute Q&A session, a young spiky-haired panel moderator kicked things off with an utterly vacuous question: "So . . . what's your favorite pizza?"A wave of delight rippled through the thousands offans packed into the expansive ballroom in suburban Rosemont—but the actors' dumbfounded silence seemed to say, "Seriously, you paid us all this money and then you ask us about pizza?" Finally Duchovny—slouching in the middle of a couch and wearing his trademark expression of I-don't-give-a-shit bemusement—shrugged and sarcastically muttered "Chicago?"Spending a weekend speaking at panels and signing autographs at a comic con like Wizard World has become old hat for working actors. Once novel, a convention appearance is now just another cog in the PR machine of movie or TV show promotion. It's Hollywood's equivalent of a rally for a presidential candidate: a tool used to whip up passion and excitement among an entertainment property's most ardent enthusiasts.But as last Saturday afternoon's marquee appearances proved, the symbiotic relationship between celebrities, fans, and the entertainment industry can be a tenuous one in the wilds of Big Con, where there's no script and often no savvy host to insulate a star from stupid questions and awkward fans. Nothing at Wizard World qualified as a disaster, certainly nothing as bad as when Jesse Eisenberg got flak last summer when he described his experience dealing with hordes of screaming people at San Diego Comic-Con as like "some kind of genocide. I can't think of anything that's equivalent." (He later apologized with the excuse that he was playing up his role as Lex Luthor in.) Instead Wizard World Chicago offered a mixed bag of absurd, funny, soulful, and mildly contentious moments.One model of success at comic conventions is B-movie idol Bruce Campbell, who wears the events like a second skin. The star of the cult-favoriteand other low-budget horror films exudes a hammy vaudevillian swagger that feels like an extension of his onscreen persona. At a session promoting his Starz seriesand as host of a Wizard World horror-movie festival he programmed, Campbell strutted around in a gaudy purple suit and riffed with the crowd while handing out fake-blood-splattered chainsaws as awards. "You guys are great!" Campbell bellowed at a screening. The audience roared.Few other Hollywood types can harness Campbell's fan-friendly brand of canny method acting at cons. But then again, for theandcrews, there's much less at stake.producer and cowriter Bob Gale announced as much at the beginning of the reunion panel that featured stars Michael J. Fox, Lea Thompson, and Christopher Lloyd. According to Gale, a new entry to the beloved trilogy or a reboot with younger actors are both out of the question."The answer is no," he said. "We should leave well enough alone." Gale's stance came across as sacrilege in the worlds of Hollywood and rabid fandom—both seemingly ever ready for the next iteration of a known franchise.That didn't stop adevotee from asking about a sequel a few minutes later. "Sorry, we're not going to answer that," said Michael Klastorin, the panel's moderator and author of a pair of-related books. Klastorin similarly shot down an audience member who posited a question about a continuity error in. "The answer is on the Internet," Klastorin replied. "Go google it."Klastorin's brusqueness was a sharp contrast to Fox's genuine joy at his reunion with costars Thompson and Lloyd. It was hard to watch the still-boyish looking Fox, who displays the symptoms of Parkinson's disease, and not feel deep affection for him as he praised his castmates and recalled, with a smile, anecdotes about the pleasures of working on the film series. "It was an amazing whirlwind," he said. "One moment I'm reading the script and all of a sudden I'm in a parking lot with flames coming through my legs."Such enthusiasm was muted at thepanel, thanks in part to some uninspired questions the host and fans posed to Duchovny, Anderson, Mitch Pileggi (Agent Skinner), and William B. Davis ("the Smoking Man"). The follow-up to the aforementioned pizza inquiry was a question about why the 90s sci-fi series has endured in the pop-culture imagination after more than two decades. Duchovny initially sleepwalked through a boilerplate answer, something about how uniquewas for its time. Then he stopped suddenly and gave a more honest response: "You know, I appreciate your questions, but we're, like, the last people qualified to answer some of these things," he said. "The fans sitting out there, they're the ones that could tell you why it's popular."Gillian Anderson looked exhausted when floated a question about first impressions of hercostars. "I don’t know. That was a long fucking time ago, you guys," she said with a sigh. She also couldn't muster a response to a question about her favorite moment from the show. "You really should prepare for these things," Duchovny said wryly after an overlong pause from Anderson.Sometimes the off-the-cuff moments worked in the panel's favor: Duchovny and Anderson's banter was heavy with flirty double entendres that felt like a pleasant reminder of the duo's natural chemistry as Mulder and Scully on the show.A young classical musician askedcast for insight about landing a job in a creative field. Pileggi offered a standard "never give up" reply, but then Duchovny waxed philosophical: "Everything always feels transitional," he mused. "Learn to find comfort in that anxiety." Anderson's answer was downright confessional: "I'm always afraid. But you just fucking do it."A few minutes later Anderson backed off her own advice when a superfan walked up to a microphone and showed off a large colorful portrait of Duchovny as Mulder tattooed on her right arm. She said she planned to add the rest of thecast to her body. "Don't," said Anderson looking alarmed. "Stop."

X-Files and Back to the Future stars survived some awkward moments at Wizard World


The celebrity appearances at the comic convention offered surreal, stupid, and genuinely human moments.


Chance the Rapper talks Rahm Emanuel, Kanye West, Chicago ‘poverty porn,’ and drug use in a new GQ profile


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Zach Baron’s profile on Chicago MC Chance the Rapper includes details that will surprise even longtime local fans.


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Los Crudos offer their entire discography digitally for £5-and headline Villapalooza on Saturday


Pilsen punk heroes Los Crudos return from Europe to play a street festival in Little Village on Saturday.


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MINNEAPOLIS—Twins manager Paul Molitor hopes to get Joe Mauer, who has a sore quadriceps, back in the lineup for Friday's game in Toronto, where the all-dirt infield should lessen some of the traditional strain on the first baseman's back and legs.
But the Twins won't rush things after Mauer aggravated his condition scoring from first on a double last week in Atlanta.
"It's lingering a bit," Molitor said. "I think it was actually maybe a little more problematic than he was leading on in terms of trying to find a way to play through something."
Mauer has mentioned multiple times in recent weeks that using his legs more at the plate has led to soreness, but the issue goes beyond that, Molitor said.
"I think hitting is part of it, but it's running and first-step quickness defensively and some of those things," Molitor said. "I'm thinking about playing him (Friday) but it's not set in stone yet. We'll see how he feels when he gets up there and gets himself ready and we'll try and make a decision."
Sano's elbow
Miguel Sano's throwing elbow is still giving him pause.
"I don't get the impression that he's overly confident in having to make throws right now," Molitor said. "I do feel he could play there. We've run him out there once in the last couple weeks, which has been a fairly long period of time, but I'm not getting a signal that he feels great about how his elbow is doing."
After feeling pain in his surgically repaired right elbow three weeks ago at Tampa Bay, Sano was sent for tests that showed no structural issues. He has made one start at third base since initially reporting the elbow pain on Aug. 6.
"I'd like to get him out there," Molitor said. "I have enough options to where I just haven't had to force it."
Even if Sano primarily serves as a DH the rest of the season, Molitor said it wouldn't be a "huge difference-maker" in terms of him playing third base full time next season.
"It just would be nice to see him out there, continuing to gain experience," Molitor said. "He's just having a little bit of difficulty getting his arm back to where he feels it needs to be."
Sano snapped an 0-for-24 hitting skid with an eighth-inning single Wednesday.
Santiago's thumb
Twins left-hander Hector Santiago won't throw again until Sunday as he tries to remedy a bruised welt on the back of his pitching thumb.
The tentative plan is for him to make his next start Wednesday at Cleveland, which would give him 10 days of rest between outings, but that could be moved up to Monday after the demotion of Tyler Duffey and Jose Berrios after Thursday's game.
"It definitely has a big effect on offspeed (pitches)," Santiago said. "I think that's why offspeed has been missing so much. I've been having to depend on the fastball solely because of it, and that's put me in a situation where hitters are giving up on offspeed and just looking for a fastball."
Santiago, 0-4 with a 10.89 earned-run average in four starts for the Twins, said his thumb issue has been there to some extent the past three or four seasons. It has been in the past 6-8 weeks, however, that it really began to inhibit him.
"It's been getting really sore and achy, more so of late," he said. "I don't think it's anything too serious. More of a deep bruise kind of thing."
Briefly
Byung Ho Park had surgery Thursday to repair a damaged tendon in his right middle finger. He will spend the first month of his rehab in the Twin Cities. ... Billy Bean, inclusion ambassador for Major League Baseball, threw out the first pitch before Thursday's game as part of Twins-sponsored diversity week. Bean was in town to given the keynote speech at a diversity-related dinner later Thursday. ... Lefty reliever Buddy Boshers, on the DL with elbow inflammation, threw his first of two bullpen sessions Thursday in advance of a scheduled rehab assignment early next week. Boshers threw 20 pitches, including breaking balls, with no issues.

Molitor proceeding with caution on Mauer return


OSLO, Norway -- A freak lightning storm has killed 323 reindeer in a remote mountainous area of Norway, officials said on Monday.
Dead animals were found lying on top of each other, many with their antlers entangled, after the thunderstorm on the Hardanger plateau in southern Norway on Friday.
"We've never had anything like this with lightning," Kjartan Knutsen of Norway's nature surveillance agency said, adding there were sometimes isolated cases of sheep or reindeer struck down.
Reindeer tend to group together when in danger. It was unclear whether the herd had been killed by a single lightning bolt or several.
Hardanger was extremely wet on Friday, helping conduct lightning.
"The high moisture in both the ground and the air was probably an explanation for why so many animals died," Olav Strand, a senior researcher at the Norwegian Institute for Nature Research, wrote in a statement.
Experts flew in by helicopter to take samples of the dead reindeer, amid a rising stench of decay, as part of a project to monitor elk and deer for diseases. Five of the 323 animals were found alive but badly injured and were shot by wildlife officials.
It was unclear what would happen to the bodies. One option is to leave them to decay.
"It's part of the natural ecology, this is far from where people live," Knutsen said. Hardanger has about 12,000 reindeer and hunters are allowed to shoot 2,000 a year for their meat.

Freak lightening storm kills 323 reindeer in Norway


WINNIPEG, Man.—For the second time in less than a year, two men from the same remote Canadian community have discovered they were switched at birth, prompting outrage and new questions about substandard healthcare for Canada's indigenous people.
David Tait and Leon Swanson were swapped in the government-run Norway House Hospital in 1975 in the western Canadian province of Manitoba, DNA testing confirmed.
"I want answers so bad," Tait said, choking back tears at a press conference in Winnipeg on Friday. He added that he felt "distraught, confused (and) angry."
Tait's biological mother ended up raising Swanson instead, and Swanson's birth mother raised Tait, the Canadian Broadcasting Corp reported.
Norway House is made up of two northern Manitoba communities and has a population of about 5,000 predominantly indigenous Cree Nation people. It is accessible by airplane and a long indirect road linking it with Winnipeg, about 500 miles to the south.
In November, the Manitoba government said two other men who were close friends were also switched at birth in 1975, at the same Norway House Hospital. As they grew up, people noticed how they resembled each other's family more than their own.
Eric Robinson, a former Manitoba cabinet minister who is helping the men in the latest case, said there were always suspicions in the community about their parentage. He suspects there are more undiscovered cases.
"The federal government owes these people," he told reporters. "What happened to them is criminal."
Canada's health department operates the Norway House hospital.
Canadian Health Minister Jane Philpott said the second case "deeply troubled" her. She said the health department would hire an independent party to investigate hospital records and look into whether there are other such cases.
"Cases like this are an unfortunate reminder to Canadians of how urgent the need is to provide all Indigenous people with high-quality health care," Philpott said in a statement.
Canada's 1.4 million indigenous people often live in dire social and economic conditions with subpar health and education services.
Practices to ensure the identities of newborns have improved since the 1970s, and Norway House Hospital now fits infants with identification bands, the health department said in a statement.

Second case of switched babies shakes Canadian community