Items filtered by date: November 2007

Never having seen a Steppenwolf production, I didn't know what to expect walking through the Old Town theater's front doors. Upon settling myself in my seat and feeling the room go cooler with the blackening of the lights and the immediate silence that followed, I became aware of greatly liking the smaller, modern venue; the lights went up, the actors began speaking, and, to my great surprise, their voices came directly from their mouths instead of from a speaker; there were no mics. An intimate theatre experience. Perfect for the quick, blunt, three-man story told in American Buffalo.

Francis Guinan, Tracy Letts, and Patrick Andrews portray the three diverse characters of Don, Teach, and Bob, each of a different generation: Don is older and, literally, holds onto the past, as the entire play is set in his basement junk shop full of old items. Teach is younger than Don, jaded and experienced, a man of the world. And Bob is naive and trusting, still somewhat of a boy. The story revolves around an American Buffalo coin Don sold for a price significantly less than he believes it to be worth. He then asks Bob, and later Teach, for help in procuring revenge (however unwarrented) on the man who bought the coin from him.

By native Chicagoian playwright David Mamet, playwright also to Pulitzer Prize-winning play Glengarry Glen Ross, the language of American Buffalo is often fast, terse, and vulgar. "Fuck" is thrown around loosely as well as a smattering of other harsh words, and there comes much anger, yelling, and cursing from a frustrated Teach. The use of this type of language seems to be Mamet's way of infusing the characters with a vernacular of the lower or middle classes, and. as it is a play, giving them a chance to voice a kind of profane poetry. Some of the harsh, yet funny and admittedly somewhat true, philosophies spewed by Don and Teach throughout the play that stood out to me were phrases like, "Action talks, bullshit walks!" and "The only way to teach these people is to kill them!"

Also, it's always nice when a play is set in your city; the refereces to Lake Shore Drive and Masonic Hospital, and Chicago-related items strewn about the junk shop set make those of us in the audience -- or, at least, those of us in the audience who love Chicago -- feel a little closer to the characters, the struggles they endure, and the story they tell.

The classic 1960’s sitcom, “The Addams Family” has radiantly been brought to life in the form of a musical that has its share of laughs, catchy numbers and, of course, the macabre and bizarre. Making its world premier at the Ford Center/Oriental Theatre in Chicago, “The Addams Family: A New Musical” sports a power-packed cast of Tony nominees, including two-time Tony winners, Nathan Lane and Bebe Neuwirth as Gomez and Morticia Addams. While the entire cast is abundant in talent, the two veteran stage and film actors astound as the strange, famous couple, trading songs and punch lines with precision and an ease that allows the audience to sit back and really enjoy the show without effort. In short, Lane and Neuwirth, both dynamic as ever – and genuinely funny, could not have been more perfect for the part.

The story has daughter, Wednesday Addams, now 18 years old, finding love with a “normal” boy, Lucas Beineke, nicely played by Wesley Taylor. Naturally, this threatens Gomez as he fears his daughter is being “snatched away” from him. The fun really begins when the Addams have the Beineke’s over for dinner where peculiar occurrences and behaviors seem to astonish the guests as the two families try to acquaint themselves with one another. Dinner becomes an overnighter thanks to a contrived storm, in which the conservative Beineke’s are tested by the Addams and each other.

Krysta Rodriguez does an amazing job as the teenage Wednesday, showcasing her lively dancing and powerful voice, and ability to draw a laugh. Jackie Hoffman is terrific as Grandma and Kevin Chamberlain is hilarious as Uncle Fester, especially during the imaginatively comical number, “The Moon and Me”, which one really needs to see to appreciate. Playing Lucas’ parents, Mal and Alice Beineke, are Terrance Mann and Carolee Carmello, who takes advantage of the opportunity to display her great vocal range.   

The show’s many sets are nothing short of amazing, many subtly changing mid-scene from one section/room of the Addams’ house to another along with long stairways that moved from side to side, sometimes joining in the middle. Set props also include various house monsters including a giant squid that lives beneath the stairs.

In all, “The Addams Family: A New Musical” contains all the components for a very fun show as substantiated by the audience with one of the quickest standing ovations I’ve ever witnessed at a play’s end. As the curtains closed, there was not a soul in the crowd that wasn’t snapping to the Addams Family theme.

“The Addams Family: A New Musical” is playing through January 10^th at the Ford Center/Oriental Theatre. For more information go to www.BroadwayInChicago.com.

Toronto instrumental rock group Do Make Say Think played at Lincoln Hall last Saturday, December 5^th, following a show at sister venue Schubas Tavern the night before.

Opening for the band were several songs from the Happiness Project, an experimental undertaking by Charles Spearin of DMST and contributing member of Canadian indie rock band Broken Social Scene. The songs in the Happiness Project begin with recordings of Spearin’s neighbors talking about happiness and what it means to them. The project focuses on the different inflections and rhythms that naturally sound when people speak.  Using strings, horns, vocals and the talent lent by members of DMST, Spearin turned each person’s narratives of happy memories into different live, experimental jazz songs. The project is interesting as both a musical and a social test, and should be checked out by anyone interested in human interactions and sounds.

Do Make Say Think began shortly after the Happiness Project ended. Four more people joined the musicians from the Happiness Project, said, “Now we’re Do Make Say Think”, and began to play.

A common complaint about experimental bands is that the songs all blend together and start to sound the same. The combination of this fear and the initial repetitive lullaby sounds from the stage immediately threatened to calm me to sleep after a long night, but the shrieking jazz collision in the next movement of the same song helped to snap me into consciousness for at least the next hour of melodies. Perhaps not full consciousness, but that’s part of the appeal of Do Make Say Think: it’s easy to get lost in a song, prompting you to think about what’s going on in your own head and heightening the feelings you’re already having, much in the way certain drugs are known to do. Listening in a half dreamlike state, the songs played out as a personal soundtrack to my mind’s events. The band’s layered sounds seemed to have the same effect on most of the audience members, who swayed slowly in front of the stage and watched quietly from the balcony. The songs did have the tendency to blend together at times, but that just made for one really long, fascinating song with several components to it.

One of the main differences between Do Make Say Think and other post rock and experimental bands I’ve seen live is how natural the band members of DMST seem on stage, and how organic and comfortably the sounds escape from their instruments. They have climactic parts to their songs, and they enjoy them and move with the music, but they don’t make a production out of it, and they’re comfortable without trying to be too grandiose. They let the music speak for itself however it will, without using their body language to portray to the audience how important the music is.

Shortly before the encore, one of the band members asked if we wanted to hear “more Canadian fucking space fucking rock,” which is an excellent way to describe the kind of music the band plays. They played three of the four songs off of their latest album, Other Truths, which has just a touch of a western twang to it, and they seemed to have an increased level of positive energy and enthusiasm for their newer work. The nine musicians in the band all played to and fed off of each other, supporting each person and sound on stage, and not competing for anything. It wasn’t until 1:30 in the morning, after more than an hour and a half of playing, that the band sang for the first time in the night. After two hours they closed the night, fittingly, with the final track from Other Truths, Think, and sent us home to do just that.

Apparently Rivers Cuomo just realized he’s a rock star. Last Tuesday night (December 1^st) Weezer rocked the Aragon with a 20-song set to please the die-hard fan as well as the new, oh I recognize that band from guitar hero, fan.

Since 1994, the year Weezer started, I’ve bleed Blue, Green, and Red, plus a little Pinkerton on bad days. I’ve gone to my fair share of shows, yet Tuesday’s show was something I’ve never seen before in all my years as a Weezer fan. Energy. Now don’t get me wrong, I’ve been to some rocking shows before but sing-a-longs? Costume changes? Guest drummers, trampolines, lasers, and top 40 covers? Was I at a Weezer concert or did I just transport to a 1986 Van Halen concert?

Apparently lead singer River Cuomo didn’t just break out of his shell, he exploded out of it, covered in goo made of David Lee Roth’s and Gene Simmons. With stage presence that felt more geared toward a 20,000+ arena, Rivers ran, sang, and trampolined for a nearly two hour set.

Openers, Motion City Soundtrack and Jack’s Mannequin both had decent sets that kept the attention of the crowd and started the occasional sing-a-long. But soon became merely a footnote to the crowd that started chanting and throwing up Weezer “W’s” at the first sign of a roadie with gear.

Once they got on stage, they showed how they got where they are with a ten song set up like a voyage through their past seven albums. Heavy hitters like “Hash Pipe,” “Undone- The Sweater Song,” and “Say it Ain’t so,” were performed with gusto, with Rivers acting out many of the lyrics as he ran around like a kid after Halloween night. One of the best elements from their first half of the show was the lighting effects. As they played a song from their catalogue, the background lights changed to accompany the album it’s from. “Troublemaker” had a nice red tinge, “Surf Wax America” was doused in blue, and even, “Why Bother?” featured a slightly yellowish-brown hue that represented the Pinkerton album.

Rivers and gang also featured two new components to their stage show. Stellar drummer Josh Freese (The Vandals, A Perfect Circle, Devo) kept time while current Weezer beat-maker, Patrick Wilson, shredded some of the crunchiest guitar I’ve ever seen (especially during a sublime cover of Pink Floyd’s “Time”). One thing was for sure as I stood in a crowd of nearly 4,500, this was not the same band I saw seven years ago. Hell, this wasn’t the same band I saw less than a year ago! Without a doubt this was the most energy-packed show Weezer has put on.

While the entire band gave solid, well-rounded performances, it was really Rivers that drove the show home. Frequently ducking behind stage and occasionally using props, Cuomo was in a World of his own. During the dance-party influenced “Can’t Stop Partying,” (from their new album Ratitude) Rivers grabs a bottle of high-quality tequila, and chugs from it like a frat dude during Rush Week. Later during “I’m Your Daddy,” (another Ratitude jam) he disappears from the stage only to reappear, like David Blaine, behind the audience.  During the first finale (yeah there were two) Rivers dons a full-on blonde wig as the band performs their, quiet excellent cover of MGMT’s “Kids” and Lady Gaga’s “Pokerface.”

Weezer fans have always landed in two schools of thought 1.) The Blue Album and Pinkerton album are the only records that should matter to anyone, and 2.) Weezer is awesome, despite whatever weird things they may try. Oh, your new CD is named “Raditude?” Cool! Lil’ Wayne’s doing guest vocals on a track?

Neat-o! And that is why Weezer is still relevant. Nerds need music. More specifically, nerds who like music as much as their dragon figurines and WoW accounts need music.

And that’s whom Weezer truly plays to at their shows. Fans that just let it all hang out and go for it. Fans who can deal with the fact that their favorite band has their own branded Snuggie. Can deal with the fact that some consider Weezer to just be a joke. Frankly, Weezer fans just don't care what they say about them anyway. I know, I don't care 'bout that.

Set List

Hash Pipe

Troublemaker

Undone-The Sweater Song

Surf Wax America

Let It All Hang Out

Perfect Situation

Why Bother?

Dope Nose

Say It Ain’t So

(If You’re Wondering if I Want You To) I Want You To

Can’t Stop Partying

Tired of Sex

Time (Pink Floyd cover)

I’m Your Daddy

My Name is Jonas

Beverly Hills

First encore

Pork and Beans

Kids/Poker Face (MGMT and Lady Gaga covers)

Second encore

Island in the Sun

Buddy Holly

Yours truly spent Thanksgiving Eve (yes, I am making up a new holiday) at the historic Oriental Theatre for a viewing of the much anticipated Addams Family musical. The show is previewing in Chicago until January 10th where it will make its move to Broadway. The following review may oust me from the world of musical theatre but I have to confess I thought the show was a disappointment.  

As a fan of both the show and films, I was very excited to see how this beloved Goth family would translate in a musical. In order to avoid the trap of creating a continuous narrative, the producers decided to base the musical around the cartoon created by Charles Addams. This decision morphed the characters enough to distance them from the family portrayed onscreen thus creating a disconnect with part of the audience. All of the characters were watered down which caused them to lose some of their kookiness.

The curtain opens to reveal the family singing and dancing in their cemetery. Wednesday, played by Krysta Rodriguez, is a woman now and must participate in the traditional Addams family right of passage.  Although she loves her family, she is plagued by the new found feelings of love she has for a "normal" boy from school. The stage is set for the two families to meet for dinner and predictably mayhem ensues.

 The show is a staggering two and half hours long featuring a bevy of forgettable love songs and an equally weak plot. I get musicals rarely have an amazingly profound storyline but at the very least the music should be good. The Addams Family musical failed on both fronts. Thankfully they had the cast snap along to the theme song from the show which was one of the few standout moments of this production.

Nathan Lane is the equivalent of Broadway gold. However, his flamboyance did not translate well to the character of Gomez. It was over-the-top and there were a lot of unnecessary pauses for audience laughter. In my humble opinion, no one played the role better than Raul Julia. As for the visually stunning Bebe Neuwirth, she seemed like the perfect choice to play Morticia. Sadly, she can't carry a tune which doesn't fair well for a musical. Granted she is a classically trained dancer but given her flat, monotone voice sitting through her numbers became quite dreadful.    

 The standouts, as far as I'm concerned, were Grandmamma and Fester (Jackie Hoffman and Kevin Chamberlin respectively). Both characters served as the comic relief. Fester's character, however, was written into an intangible story line that thankfully led to the most memorable song and dance number of the show. For the most part, the supporting actors outshined the stars which added to the disappointment.

This, my friends, was no Spamalot. I have to confess that I was disappointed and after much review can say the sets were my favorite part of the show (they were pretty amazing).The production wasn't terrible but lacked a fair amount of standout moments. Until they work out the kinks, I'd skip the show for now and maybe check it out during its second run. It wouldn't kill them to incorporate MC Hammer's theme song either.  

If you’ve ever made a fatal relationship faux pas, a mistake so obvious, so innocent, yet so irreversibly damaging to your fledgling romance, that you kicked yourself for years and swore you’d never commit this mistake again - until it happened again, then you’ve already experienced a dose of what  “Relationship Deja Vu” is all about.

There are a few common mistakes that will end even a promising new romance on an early date that we all recognize but sometimes still fall into. For example, saying I love you too soon...or too late, or talking about old relationships too much, or even dealing out TMI - too much information - about oneself too soon - even if they invite you to do so! Don’t fall for that one, babies! The gory details of your knee surgery or the time you wet your pants in third grade art class are best saved for a later, shall we say... more intimate time.  These are all easy to avoid with just a few humbling years of dating trial and error. But there is a whole different class of mistakes, lurking just below your conscious threshold, kind of like an alien lodged in your chest cavity - unique and personal to each and every one of us, which is not so easy to avoid. I call this series of ‘miss-takes’ the Romantic Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, wherein you take all of the biggest mistakes of your, now defunct, previous relationships and lovingly project them onto your new love interest!

Romantic PTSD is harder to catch because it is so obviously right in front of your face! You did this exact same thing last time or he/she did and although you swore up and down that it would NEVER happen again, here.... it.... is - happening all over again!! It’s kind of like walking your new prospect through a 3D, animated, haunted house filled with reenactments of your old relationship traumas– Bwahahahah! And I must point out, about as much fun.

One of the most common causes of Romantic PTSD in the adult male or female is being “Stood Up” or the dreaded phone version of the “Stand Up” – the “I’ll Call You... But Not Really” Syndrome.

No one who has ever been stood up can fully forget the burning sense of growing humiliation as the appointed hour comes and ... goes. Or worse still, the hours and days after the “Stand Up” of rationalizing that you were, in fact, not “Stood Up”. One reasons to oneself that this person has unfortunately been maimed in a tragic car accident and lies unconscious and therefore is unable to contact you. Now men and women are both vulnerable to these romance related injuries, but since about 90 percent of all dates involve the woman being picked up and transported to the date by the guy, it stands to reason that 90 percent of those being “Stood Up” are women. But let’s not underestimate the effect of waiting for the even more commonplace phone “Stand Up” either - for both sexes. And straight from out of the ‘Katz Meow’ diaries - I’ve got my own romance-related PTSD doozy, which haunts me still.

I had been a friend, platonically, with a musician who lived several thousand miles away for five long years. I say long because, although we were enormously attracted to each other, and enriched each others lives in many other spiritual ways, it seemed we could never get the timing exactly right for both of us to take it beyond the friend level. Finally he was scheduled to perform in Chicago – twice - at the beginning of summer and at the end. He finally said, “Let’s do this! When I come back - let’s spend the night together.”

I was very happy…and very worried. What if after all this time and all that fantasizing it turned out we had no real chemistry between the sheets? So we began to have a kind of long distance sexy phone talk, pre-dating, so to speak, every few weeks or so. One Friday, after a very sexy conversation, he excitedly said, “I’ll call you Monday!” like he just couldn’t wait any longer to talk to me again. Lovely! I was very excited and looked forward all weekend to Monday’s call/date...and then waited all day Monday and...all night...and all week... until he finally called - you guessed it - the following Monday.

I waited five years to talk to him this way - surely I could have patiently waited one more week! But... my Romantic PTSD kicked in and prehistoric traumas dating back from high school suddenly showed up at our party: that and maybe a wee, tiny, little amount of very unfortunately timed PMS, which is kind of like saying a wee, tiny, little amount of dynamite.

Anyway, I did try to refrain. My friends and family, even total strangers advised me... Not to make a big deal about it. Believe me, I rehearsed the coming conversation in advance, wherein I did not go on and on about the weeklong lateness of the call, but, what can I say – I was irritated. Still, not wanting to weird things out, I told myself aloud, even as I picked up the ringing phone - “Kimberly, do us all a favor - all of the voices in your head - and do NOT badger him about it!” But suddenly – as unexpected as a rainstorm on a sunny day - I just had to bring it up… the fact that he said, “I’ll call you Monday, not next Monday or some Monday...this Monday – and, as if in a bad dream, I turned from warm, sassy ‘Super Jew’ into cold, insecure ‘Super Shrew’ in nothing flat.

After a few awkward minutes of this, it started to seem a silly thing to argue about and we made a sort of uneasy truce and resumed the sexy talk but something had ever so subtly shifted –like one of the faces just crumbling and falling off Mount Rushmore - subtle like that. And then when my cell phone died mid-“sexy speak” and he did not call right back, I knew it was the beginning of the end. Long story short, the whole affair went from sizzling hot friendship to ice cold power struggle in five minutes. I ended up canceling the rendezvous I had dreamt about for five years. Now I know this Romantic PTSD isn’t really a pure example of an “Ill Call You” or a “Stand Up” but I think it illustrates how a little toxic memory mix of both can lead to more of both. My PTSD issues about calling etiquette wrestled with his PTSD issues about being in control of the calling... and we both lost.

Yes, we can all agree, girls and boys - that the full on “Stand Up” or “I’ll Call You - But Not Really.” are cowardly, passive aggressive, mean spirited ways to simply say goodbye to someone. It is much more hurtful to disappear than to speak out and set that other soul free. The not knowing what went wrong makes people crazy. Have a heart people! We’re all in this together, aren’t we? We all want to find that great love before the ride is over! Don’t even add a valise (Italian for small piece of hand luggage) to someone else’s already giant, heavy, “wide load”, rolling cart of Romantic PTSD baggage! If it’s too awkward to tell them the truth, that she has ‘man hands’ or that he kisses like a dead fish, just make it a mercy call and make up a believable excuse; a sick relative, an old flame, 24 hour flesh eating virus or rapidly approaching asteroid and deliver it with some gusto for God’s sake! It’s a lot better than nothing to the one waiting by the phone! After all, my next Great Love might be your Recent Reject, so be considerate. 

At the same time, those of us Romantically PTSD challenged, who have sweated out too many of the long, lonely nights staring at the phone that does not ring - we need to remind ourselves, that this is not last year’s stand up! And this is absolutely not last year’s relationship! So make that effort to give this one a chance.

Try this, when your own unique cocktail of Romantic PTSD bubbles up and you find yourself walking down those haunted halls, with an alien sticking out of your ribcage that mentioned marriage on the first date... eyes wide with horror and a surprised “What the f---?” dazed look on your face, that IT is... happening... again...  Slap yourself! Just like Cher slapped Nicholas Cage in “Moonstruck”, and say “Snap out of it, baby!”

The Casualties rocked the Metro on the 24th to two stories of skinny jean wearing, eyeliner drenched, spiky haired Chicago youths. From the beginning of their hour long set to their final number, the band seamlessly transitioned from song to song, giving an eardrum shattering, head banging performance.

During their final number, lead singer Jorge Herrera took off his sweat covered shirt revealing a Che Guevara cutoff and holding a scarf above his head. Herrera launched the scarf into the mosh-pit where hundreds of fans wrestled for ten minutes after the band had left the stage, battling screaming girlfriends, rowdy entourages, and even muscled bouncers, for one young man to hold the frayed and tattered trophy above his head and scream out “Yea! Casualties!” Talk about a loyal following.

The Casualties' music is a mix of angry anthems, hardcore punk rock, with just a touch of “I-hate-my-parents”; just the type of music 16-year-old, pre-pubescent, angry, disenchanted youths could relate to. While it's generally not the genre I would plug into my IPod, I have to give the band credit for their nonstop energy, powerful vocals, and incredible stage presence. With ‘Meggers’(Mark Eggers) on the drums, Rick and Jake on bass and guitar (respectfully), and Jorge at the mic, these four men played with an intensity and a wildness  that even an argyle-sweater wearing concert goer such as myself could appreciate.

The Swellers opened at the Metro, energizing the restless crowd, and Less Than Jake rocked as the headliner, but as the stage crew set up for The Casualties, it was clear who the audience wanted to see. The Casualties immediately began playing as soon as they took the stage, and didn’t come up for air, or to rest their hands, until their final number. This band definitely eats their Wheaties.  

As one fan with spiked orange hair (one of Jorge’s old looks as I am told) informed me, “The Casualties are old school, hardcore punk.” Hardcore? Yes. Old School? Beats me. What I can say is that amidst the extraordinarily fast drum beats, finger-crippling guitar chords, speaker-breaking bass, and vein popping vocals, this band screams (literally and figuratively) that they are a force to be reckoned with on the hardcore punk scene. They have an incredibly loyal Chicago-based following, so expect the next time they roll into Chicago to be just as rocking as this time around.

Fans of punk will appreciate this band’s style and power. For the rest of us, if you’re having a really bad day and need one song to verbalize what you are feeling, check out The Causalities’ new CD “We are All We Have” available in stores now. Songs like “Carry on the Flag,” and “Depression-Unemployment Lines,” will definitely help you get all your aggression out. For more information on this band and to upcoming tour dates check out www.myspace.com/thecasualties.