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When word broke about Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s behind-the-scenes role pushing for the merger between American Airlines and U.S. Airways, I happened to be flying on an American flight to New York—my legs wedged against my chin, my rowmate’s elbow just about in my ear. But ProPublica’s revelations remind me that this “new” Rahm is just that—a relatively new political creature invented out of necessity during the fallout over the Laquan McDonald video....

When a generic Irish sports bar falls in this city, does it make a sound? The ubiquity of the tricolor-flying, flat-screen-blaring, jalapeño-popper-slinging, Gaelic-font-fronting, leprechaun-buggering, all-purpose faux-Irish public house is such that it renders most of them invisible to me. That’s why I’m sure I never even noticed West Town’s Division Ale House prior to hearing that it’d been shuttered by its owner only to rise up, completely reconcepted, as a Cajun-creole concern called Fifolet, bedecked with sparkly Mardi Gras masks and soundtracked by blaring brass bands for those unfamiliar with the most prominent cliches of the Crescent City....

Alarmist founder Gary Gulley gets into the Beer and Metal spirit. That hydrometer jar should really be the skull of a fallen enemy, but I don’t think he has any enemies. Two years ago, when I talked to John Laffler of Off Color and Jess Straka of Revolution Brewing (then of Metropolitan) as part of the Reader‘s Chicago Craft Beer Week coverage, the conversation turned to emerging brewers who had business plans robust enough to help them survive increasing competition for shelf space and tap handles....

Q: I’m a 27-year-old, feminist, conventionally attractive, straightish, GGG woman. Over time, my tastes have changed, and now I find myself more of a kinkster. A few years ago, my desire for kinkier sex and my willingness to take a chance came together in a mutually beneficial, exciting D/s relationship. I’ll be honest: I wasn’t as smart as I could have been. I met this guy on Tinder, and after verifying his identity, I told some friends where I’d be and I met up with him....

Hanukkah shows are hard to find, relatively speaking, but there are two running locally right now: Grace and the Hanukkah Miracle with brand-new Chicago Immersive, and the return of Strawdog’s Hershel and the Hanukkah Goblins, adapted by Michael Dailey from Eric A. Kimmel’s 1989 children’s book. Whereas Grace uses the story of Hanukkah and a missing menorah as an emblem of one family’s journey from pre-World War II Germany to America, Hershel draws upon traditional Jewish folklore—Hershel of Ostropol being a Jewish trickster who takes down the powerful with his wits....

A Reader staffer shares three musical obsessions, then asks someone (who asks someone else) to take a turn. Smash Mouth, “All Star” In January, I made a promise to myself to listen to this monolithic 1999 jam once a day, every day for the entirety of 2019, and so far I’m on track—you could even say I’m an all-star. Eckhart Tolle, A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life’s Purpose Though this book isn’t technically about music, Tolle often makes reference to creatives—and to the idea of making art for the love of creating, as opposed to creating as a means to an end....

One of the best things about 29Rooms—the yearly itinerant art exhibit promoted by lifestyle website Refinery29—is the stylish and diverse crowd it attracts. With installations such as Teen Bedroom by artist Uzumaki Cepeda and Dreaming of a Dream by local artist Yvette Mayorga, guests could find the perfect background for their Instagram photos while reflecting on issues of the day such as safe spaces and immigration. Many of the installations were made in collaboration with nonprofits such as the ACLU in addition to multiple commercial brands....

On Friday Kanye West‘s GOOD Music drops the self-titled debut by Hxlt, pronounced “Holt”—it’s the stage name of Treated Crew member Nigel Holt. Hxlt has been a known quantity around these parts for more than a decade, albeit as Hollywood Holt. In a 2015 interview with MTV, Holt explained the change: “When I rap I’m Hollywood Holt, and since I’m not rapping it’s just Holt.” Listening to Hxlt reminded me of that tour with Fall Out Boy....

Mary Poppins was an excellent nanny but a shitty philosopher. Her oft-quoted ditty about how a “spoonful of sugar makes the medicine go down” is the wrong way to approach everyday tasks people associate with drudgery: brewing coffee, mowing the lawn, taking a trip to the store. Instead of rose-colored self-deception, humans should embrace the underappreciated wonder of tedious chores and engage them through acts of deliberate and focused “play.” With the right perspective, every medicine has always tasted like sugar....

At Fulton Street Collective on Monday, October 26, a group of musicians—some who’d been strangers as recently as six months prior—gathered to play a livestreamed concert that would also be their first recording as a band. They had played together for most of the summer without a name, but by late September they’d chosen one: the Chicago Freedom Ensemble. During the Fulton Street Collective session, which doubled as a livestream, Tukes used a small silver megaphone to croon “You about to lose your job!...

After the pandemic eliminated gig and touring income, Chicago’s independent musicians sometimes had to ask for help—but at least as often, they proved willing to step up and support others. Sometimes that took the form of benefit compilations, including December’s Warm Violet: A Compilation for Chicago Community Jail Support. Chicago Community Jail Support is a mutual-­aid project launched in response to mass arrests during protests against police brutality following the killing of George Floyd....

Femdot @femdotdotcom This article was produced in collaboration with City Bureau. v

QI have been reading your column for years, Dan, and now I’m writing you for the first time to ask for a favor. I met this dude online in December and I felt like we had a good connection. He “dumped” me, though, because he was busy and was going through career shit and lived halfway across the country from me. I think a dude telling you he’s too busy for you is bullshit—because boobs—so I encouraged him to tell me the truth....

Don’t stress out about whether or not the groundhog sees its shadow on Tuesday; there’s probably going to be six more weeks of winter no matter what! Here’s some events we recommend while you pine for spring: Wed 2/3: The behind-the-scenes dance series Peep Show at Links Hall (3111 N. Western) looks at the creation of a new dance performance from Kristina Isabelle Dance, Ben Law, and Marcos Balter. 7 PM

Sacred Bones has been the label home for some of the most hallowed collaborations in heavy music, such as the Body and Uniform’s enduring alliance and the soul-stirring Marissa Nadler and Stephen Brodsky duo outing Droneflower. Baton Rouge upstarts Thou and singer-songwriter Emma Ruth Rundle become the latest artists in that tradition with the sludgy requiems of this month’s May Our Chambers Be Full. After joining forces for a powerful collaborative set (and a slew of Misfits covers) at the 2019 edition of influential Dutch festival Roadburn, the artists have taken their tumult to tape for a seven-track album that barely scrapes the 40-minute mark, packing every song with the utmost intensity....

A new bill introduced by state representatives Emanuel Chris Welch, Theresa Mah, and Juliana Stratton would automatically seal eviction records filed in county courts. In cases ultimately decided in favor of the landlord, records would be unsealed and made available to the public after 30 days. If the law went into effect it would also mandate that all eviction cases be sealed after five years. Mah, whose Second District encompasses Pilsen and parts of Chinatown, Bridgeport, McKinley Park, and Back of the Yards, says the proposed legislation would protect tenants from the stigma of an eviction filing without interfering with landlords’ ability to evict or evaluate applicants....

Just before 2 PM on a Sunday is either the best or worst time to arrive at Corridor Brewery & Provisions—a homey, rustic-looking brewpub on Southport—depending on how your luck is running. There was hardly any wait for a table, but that could’ve been because regulars knew what we didn’t (and the hostess didn’t mention): that the kitchen is closed between 2 and 2:30 PM. Still, if you get seated in time you can order from the brunch menu, then switch to the lunch menu when the kitchen reopens (brunch and lunch are different meals, after all, so this is a totally reasonable approach)....

The works of Ganavya Doraiswamy and Rajna Swaminathan offer a highly personal take on Carnatic music (South Indian classical music) that seamlessly blends ideas from different time periods and genres. On Doraiswamy’s debut album, 2018’s Aikyam: Onnu (Yāttirai), the vocalist and composer suffuses jazz standards such as George Gershwin’s “Summertime” and Hoagy Carmichael’s “Skylark” with a spirit all her own, singing in a mix of English and Tamil, using styles beholden to the tradition of vocal jazz as well as to Carnatic music, and interweaving the material with Tamil anticolonial songs and Indian spirituals....

POP’s attorneys are asking for a preliminary injunction to prevent roadwork, tree-clearing, and other “groundbreaking” activity scheduled to begin as soon as next month. “This is a whole new ballgame,” legal scholar, professor (NYU; University of Chicago emeritus), and POP attorney Richard A. Epstein says about the motion for injunction and a new federal lawsuit, filed in April. According to POP, the federal reviews had two fundamental flaws: first, they treated the OPC itself as a local matter, outside their purview (separating it from the roadwork it’ll necessitate); and then they failed in their duty to consider alternatives to the Jackson Park site that could be less harmful....

Welcome to the Reader‘s morning briefing for Wednesday, February 17, 2016. “Ask not what Rahm Emanuel can do for you, but what can you do for your city” “My Block, My Hood, My City” founder Jahmal Cole wants to give back to others, so he recruited volunteers to shovel snow for free on the south side Monday. The group cleared sidewalks on several blocks, including Michigan Avenue from 79th Street to 83rd....