- Issue of
- Feb 8-14, 2018
- Vol. 47, No. 18
Cover Story: The Ace of Fades. Nasee Yehuda, the proprietor of Madison Street Barbers, spoke about how he got immersed in the world of competitive barbering. Food: Tempesta Market is the house that nduja built. Mike Sula says get the Dante the nine-layer sandwich that will live on to eternity. Music: On the new Coma Noir, the Atlas Moth name our foe—and find a reason to fight. The Chicago metal monarchs imagine a cosmic criminal cabal that’s depressingly easy to recognize in the real world.
News & Politics
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- Savage Love
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‘How does one get into the gay BDSM bottoming scene?’
Amp from Watts the Safeword and two other experts advise. Plus: "I'm straight. Can I still be a bear?" and more
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- Transportation
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Can the CTA and Metra play nice?
Benefits of increased cooperation could include fare integration and an alternative to the costly Red Line expansion.
Music
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- Gossip Wolf
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Charlie Coffeen of Sidewalk Chalk gives Dilla’s Donuts the big-band treatment
Plus: John Walt’s arts mentorship foundation hosts a fund-raising dinner on the anniversary of the rapper’s death, and fashion crew Crystal Gravy throw a runway show at Punk Rock Prom.
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- In Rotation
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Publicist Heather West on the feral stank of the Wolfmanhattan Project
Plus: Music critic Jim Kopeny (aka Tankboy) on bar rock that raises the bar, the Reader’s Jamie Ludwig on Insect Ark’s mind-expanding doom, and more
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- Music Feature
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On the new Coma Noir, the Atlas Moth name our foe—and find a reason to fight
The Chicago metal monarchs imagine a cosmic criminal cabal that’s depressingly easy to recognize in the real world.
Food & Drink
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- Restaurant Review
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Tempesta Market is the house that nduja built
If you go: Get the Dante, the nine-layer sandwich that will live on to eternity.
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- Food & Drink Feature
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A tribute to Back of the Yards in coffee beans
At Back of the Yards Coffee Co., two entrepreneurs serve the neighborhood where they grew up.
Movies
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- Movie Review
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24 Frames, the final feature from Iranian master Abbas Kiarostami, may send you into a trance
Digitally altered scenes of animals, weather, and natural landscapes reveal the hidden complexity behind simple images.
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- Movie Review
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The Oscar-nominated live-action shorts offer a first look at up-and-coming talents
Reed Van Dyk leads the pack with his tense school-shooter drama DeKalb Elementary.
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- Movie Review
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The Oscar-nominated short animations are mainly kid stuff
Adult-oriented fare occasionally makes the cut, but not this year.
Arts & Culture
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- Art Feature
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Meet Alan Epstein, ‘the Bill Cunningham of breakfast’
His Instagram feed @whatwasbreakfast gets Chicagoans talking about bacon, eggs, and life.
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- Feature
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Aces of fades
At the Major League Barber Original Midwest SuperBarber & Stylist Tradeshow, all haircuts are a cut above.
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- Theater Review
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Reagan and Gorbachev meet cute atop a pile of nukes in Blind Date
Gaping conceptual hole aside, the Goodman Theatre staging is entertaining.
Reader
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- Digital Editions
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Print Issue of February 1, 2018
Volume 47, Number 17
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- Digital Editions
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Print Issue of February 8, 2018
Volume 47, Number 18
Blogs
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- Bleader
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A DryHop bartender takes the bitterness out of a hop-infused cocktail
Challenged to create a cocktail with hops, Sam Ruppert of DryHop Brewers wanted to showcase the ingredient's less bitter side.
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- Bleader
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This Week on Filmstruck: Films about Hard Times
Filmstruck presents a series of films dealing with Hard Times.
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- Bleader
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Colin Quinn at Thalia Hall and more of the best things to do in Chicago this weekend
Brodsky/Baryshnikov at Harris Theater and more goings-on February 2-4
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- Bleader
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Potential mayoral candidate Paul Vallas strikes out at Emanuel after Chicago State drama, and other news
Also, Tinley Park police release a new image of the Lane Bryant shooting suspect ten years after the tragedy.
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- Bleader
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Patricia Li Klayman's teddies were way smarter than the average bear
A profile of a Chicago punk singer-turned-artist whose creations delighted arctophiles worldwide.
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- Bleader
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Going deep into the ‘Tylenol murders’ and the mind of the extortionist who claimed responsibility
How a horrible crime went unsolved.
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- Bleader
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Akira Kurosawa's Dodes'ka-den is the most beautiful movie in town this week
The Japanese master's episodic 1970 feature about life in the Tokyo slums screens Sunday at Doc Films on 35-millimeter.
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- Bleader
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Sun-Times critic Hedy Weiss is out
Sun-Times critic Hedy Weiss has been dropped after 34 years on the job.
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- Bleader
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Swedish trumpeter Emil Strandberg brings lyrical grace to his austere free improvisation
Last year Emil Strandberg added British violinist Philipp Wachsmann to his working trio to make an impressively delicate and economical improvised album.
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- Bleader
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Brodsky/Baryshnikov is a meditation on mortality, with a little bit of dancing
The great dancer pays tribute to his poet friend.
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- Bleader
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Gubernatorial candidate Jeanne Ives’s ad offends both sides of the aisle, and other Chicago news
Also, attorney general candidate Scott Drury believes Madigan thought he was wearing a wire during a meeting.
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- Bleader
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Manic Mondays comedy showcase and more of the best things to do in Chicago this week
ClickHole Live at the Hideout and more goings-on February 5-8
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- Bleader
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Genre-blurring singer-songwriter Tasha offers comfort to young black women on ‘Lullaby’
With her newest single, Tasha Viets-VanLear proves herself a perfect match for Saturday's community-focused Winter Block Party at Metro.
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- Bleader
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John Mulaney's stand-up is getting angrier and faster-paced
Chicago-born stand-up John Mulaney shows an angrier side at last week's Chicago Theatre shows.
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- Bleader
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Arrests for marijuana in Chicago hit a historic low in 2017, and other Chicago news
Also, it's so cold that even the Navy Pier Ferris wheel closed.
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- Bleader
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Nobody likes a Nazi, but somehow Art Jones is now a congressional candidate
Grant Pick wrote a brilliant 1994 profile that's free of easy outrage.
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- Bleader
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John Mahoney, Frasier star and Steppenwolf ensemble member, has died
“He was absolutely impossible not to love, absolutely impossible not to respect,” says Steppenwolf artistic director Anna D. Shapiro.
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- Bleader
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In John Mahoney's last show at Steppenwolf, intimations of mortality
Playing the poet Homer in a dual role in last fall's The Rembrandt, the actor caught a glimpse of heaven.
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- Bleader
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Daniel Biss on Abu Ghraib, how to resist the urge to check out at the words ‘pension crisis,’ and what he's learned from Michael Madigan
The Illinois gubernatorial candidate talks about the arc of progressive politics and what's required to bring change to the state capitol.
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- Bleader
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The new horror film Winchester is a missed opportunity
The Spierig brothers' latest is a major disappointment after Predestination
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- Bleader
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The Lyric's I Puritani is all about the bel canto music
Which almost makes up for a stagnant libretto and a stodgy production.
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- Bleader
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A sharp-shootin’ Crock-Pot tosses its chili on the gig poster of the week
This week's featured gig poster was created by local artist Brad Rohloff of Bred Press.
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- Bleader
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J.B. Pritzker under fire for comments about African-American elected officials in newly released Blagojevich tape, and other Chicago news
Also, Jeanne Ives is "a little bit surprised at some of the hysteria" over controversial campaign ad.
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- Bleader
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Five must-see lo-o-o-ong films
Five very long film masterpieces.
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- Bleader
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For years the whereabouts of Allen Ross were a mystery—and then the mystery was solved
Jack Helbig told the whole strange story of the filmmaker's disappearance in two installments.
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- Bleader
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Two recent Tim Buckley releases from the vaults capture the singer’s improvisational genius
Taped during a 1969 Los Angeles engagement, Tim Buckley's Venice Mating Call and Greetings From West Hollywood showcase his gift for spontaneous experimentation.
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- Bleader
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Chicago footwork producers Boylan and Pranas drop a transcendent track to hype Boylan’s imminent birthday bash
Boylan and Pranas's "Pick It Up" samples the latest smash single from lightning-rod Chicago rapper Famous Dex.
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- Bleader
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Lupe Fiasco loves Harold’s Chicken, but does he know which Harold’s is best?
In 2006, Mike Sula went on an epic fried chicken tour to find out.
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![Ten women sign letter accusing Northwestern journalism professor Alec Klein of sexual harassment and assault [UPDATED]](https://media2.fdncms.com/chicago/imager/u/square/40634534/medill_large.jpg)
- Bleader
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Ten women sign letter accusing Northwestern journalism professor Alec Klein of sexual harassment and assault [UPDATED]
Former students and employees who worked with Klein on the Medill Justice Project come forward with allegations stretching back a decade
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![Lupe Fiasco’s ‘Harold’s’ builds on Chicago hip-hop’s historical connection to the fried-chicken chain [UPDATED]](https://media2.fdncms.com/chicago/imager/u/square/40639169/lupeataahhfest_teaser.jpg)
- Bleader
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Lupe Fiasco’s ‘Harold’s’ builds on Chicago hip-hop’s historical connection to the fried-chicken chain [UPDATED]
His mouth-watering lyrics will make you change your dinner plans.
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- Bleader
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Toni Preckwinkle endorses Democratic front-runner J.B. Pritzker for governor despite controversy, and other Chicago news
Also, a homeless couple is suing the city for removing their tents.
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- Bleader
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As the governor's race heats up, Dems better bring a posse
As we head toward the primary, the Democrats find their inner FDR.