Chicago Style: Mike Royko and Windy City Journalism – The Newberry – June 25, 2024

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I was an avid reader of Mike Royko, whose influence on me may be somewhat evident in my own irreverent style.

Though I don’t think we exchanged any pleasantries, I was present at his August 15, 1971 penny-pitching contest in the Chicago Daily News parking lot, the famous large photo of which adorns the exhibit. Unfortunately I’m not captured in the shot.

Royko won the 1972 Pulitzer Prize for Commentary. If I hope to follow in his footsteps, I may need to make some adjustments.

The exhibit includes four typed pages, with handwritten edits, from Royko’s book Boss. Perhaps I should start showing all my tracked changes in my blog, though doing so would break the illusion I hoped to create that my prose just comes gushing out of me fully-formed,

Then there was the matter of Royko’s “fictional neighborhood-guy everyman” Slats Grobnik. Do I need my own alter ego? (Then I wouldn’t have to write “I” so much.) What would he be like?

Finally, there’s all the good contacts he had (and I don’t). His rolodex (what’s that?) was on display, open to the card for Studs Terkel. I sat next to Terkel at a restaurant once, but no contact information was exchanged. I need to find my own names to drop, which means I might have to interact with people.

To that end, and further inspired by the display of some of Royko’s press passes, I have located the page on the United States Press Agency website with information regarding press passes for bloggers. Also, now that the Democratic National Convention Committee has announced that it will allow social media content creators to apply for credentials to cover the 2024 convention in Chicago (that’s going to be interesting), that could be my ticket to fame and fortune, and my own exhibit at The Newberry.

Georgia O’Keeffe: “My New Yorks” Member Reception – Chicago Art Institute – June 24, 2024

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Note to self – next time you go to an event at the Art Institute that features “light bites,” skip everything but the chocolate banana bread.

It stands to reason that trained experts know a lot more than I do about their chosen fields, but that doesn’t mean that all the opinions they serve are easily digested. So, when curator Annie Morse told us that she viewed Georgia O’Keeffe’s Black Cross as, in a way, a self portrait, I had to take it with more than a grain of salt to make it appealing to my uneducated palate. (No amount of salt could have helped the quiche.)

That said, Morse gave an interesting, educational presentation in a nice half-hour package that included, not only photographs of New York from her husband Alfred Stieglitz, but also some mention of and visuals from other artists who Morse saw as influenced by O’Keeffe, including Roger Brown and his famous Leaning Tower of Touhy, housed at the Art Institute.

As for the exhibit itself, it was crowded, so I’ll have to go back to spend more time with it. It’s probably good, so I’ll give it a provisional four brushes for now and salt it away for future reference.

The Enigmatist – Chicago Shakespeare Theater – June 23, 2024

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I have seen, in person, an actual enigma machine, at the terrific Spy Museum, in Washington D.C. This has absolutely nothing to do with The Enigmatist, though I suspect that Alan Turing and all the other codebreakers at Bletchley Park would have been fun people to have in the audience at this show.

Even without them, this was a nerd-filled group, which I say with great admiration and respect. I was in my element, but humbled, though I managed to have my two seconds in the limelight when I shouted out the correct answer to the first clue in a giant crossword puzzle.

David Kwong, the Enigmatist, is a Harvard graduate and veteran cruciverbalist, and a talented, charming entertainer, who bills his show as an immersive evening of puzzles, cryptology and illusions, during which he employs playing cards, dollar bills, a locked box, a cell phone, and a kiwi in a series of tricks that come together in unexpected ways.

Kwong demonstrated rapid processing skills, fueled by an impressive memory and an encyclopedic knowledge of words. But, even as he was throwing out definitions of words he was using in a Scrabble trick, it seemed like he was making them up. Not exactly everyday vocabulary.

I had a similar reaction to his crossword puzzle construction, which incorporated some rather esoteric answers. I prefer clever, but I’m just nitpicking about a fun show.

Make Music Chicago – Washington Square Park – June 21, 2024

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Less than 24 hours after the summer solstice and I’m already depressed, as the day seems so much shorter than yesterday. But I press ahead and make my annual footslog to the Make Music Chicago celebration.

This year, in conjunction with The Newberry’s A Night at Mr. Kelly’s exhibit, Washington Square Park presented, I think, the jazz group, the Marshall Vente Trio (Vente is a keyboard player, but Jeremy Kahn was tickling the plastics on the digital piano, and I wasn’t paying attention to all the introductions, so I don’t know), with Greta Pope, and the blues group Mississippi Heat, whom I saw at the same event two years ago and was prepared for this time, remembering to bring my ear plugs, which was not a reflection on their quality, but rather their volume.

As entertaining as the bands were, and as beautiful as the 80-degree day was, I couldn’t help but imagine the chill in the air from the autumn breeze that will be here in a day less than three months. Nevertheless, I was heartened by the fact that, despite the complaining I hear from my suburban friends, there wasn’t a cicada to be seen or heard.

007 Science: Inventing the World of James Bond – Museum of Science and Industry – June 18, 2024

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It’s never too late for a new career, so why not secret agent, although, with James Bond, there never was anything secret about who he was (even repeating his last name to make sure everyone knew) or who employed him. His idea of a disguise was putting on a pair of glasses in Her Majesty’s Secret Service.

Nevertheless, after gazing bleary-eyed at the massive amount of information about, and science behind, Bond’s gadgets, I tried the interactive, computerized, disguise station at the exhibit. I failed miserably, most notably in how well I would have blended into my environment (not at all).

Moving on, I killed myself multiple times attempting to recreate stunts from Goldeneye, The Man with the Golden Gun and Casino Royale (the remake).

What was left of the car from the CR stunt was present, looking exactly as battered as it appeared post stunt in the movie after rolling over seven times. Intact vehicles, however, abounded throughout the exhibit: cars, submarines, submarine cars, flying cars, motorcycles, boats, snowmobiles, jetpacks, etc.

My talents for a field assignment were further dashed by one look at Hang Time, which I skipped after reading the sign that said “ For your safety, do not use Hang Time if you have hand, knee, back, neck, or shoulder problems.” The only thing was missing was my picture.

I also wasn’t great at hiding listening and viewing devices, so a Q position is probably not in the offing.

Finally, I gave myself some hope with success at the decoding station. So perhaps a desk job with MI6, although I’m certainly not prepared for the British equivalent of a Three Days of the Condor adventure.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Grant Park Music Festival – Millennium Park – June 14, 2024

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I don’t bother writing about all my trips to the Grant Park Music Festival as it becomes boring to comment on one pleasurable evening after another and my grasp of the English language (even my native Mid-American version thereof) is such that I eventually run out of adjectives and/or the strength to defend my use of them.

But, I would be remiss if I didn’t relate my new experience this week, that is having something resembling a conversation with the festival’s chorus director, Christopher Bell, or, as he introduced himself to me prior to the June 14th concert, Chris, which, may I add, resulted in my new acquaintance taking my suggestion regarding the need for a jazzier pre-show 10-minute chime warning for those of us hanging out in the tent, usurping the chimes and mallet and playing a little ditty himself for the nearby patrons.

The interaction is noteworthy on two counts. First, that it happened at all, which can be solely attributed to Chris’s friendliness, his need to stand somewhere to eat his turkey pinwheel and there being such an available “where” right next to me.

Second, as he seemed like a nice guy, I restrained myself and didn’t mention that I hate choral performances (don’t tell him) and had no intention for staying past intermission to hear The Cloud Messenger (after thoroughly enjoying Christian Tetzlaff playing Elgar’s Violin Concerto in B Minor in the first half of the concert).

One final note. The mere title, The Cloud Messenger, is a turnoff for me. I’ve never seen a movie I liked with the word cloud in the title, including the critically-acclaimed, but not by me, Cloud Atlas.

I will admit, however, to liking Chicago’s Cloud Gate and the songs Get Off of My Cloud and Cloud Nine, though I’m still confused as to how one can look at clouds from both sides.

Jersey Boys – Mercury Theater – June 9, 2024

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I won’t start the review tritely with “Oh, what a night,” not because I didn’t like the show (I did), and certainly not out of any literary integrity, but rather because I went to a matinee.

I hadn’t seen the show in over 16 years, but surprisingly, since I have no idea what I had for breakfast, I remembered it very well, which is actually the bad news, as the backstory of The Four Seasons, as told in the show, held no surprises for me, as it had the first time.

That missing intrigue didn’t stop me from enjoying the strong singing, dancing and acting performances or the classic music and choreography, or from appreciating seeing the play in a more intimate theater than before, but it did keep me from being as over-the-top excited as those in the audience, perhaps seeing it for the first time, seemed to be, appropriately so.

Afterward I was interested in any updates on the lives of the “boys.” Most significantly, Frankie Valli, at age 90, is still performing out on the road, but I would bet someone else’s good money that he can’t hit the high notes anymore.

And, according to news reports, Valli got a restraining order against one of his sons about a month ago. Perhaps a sequel is in order.

Raviv – Around Town – June 8, 2024

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I wanted to see the trio Raviv, for my my first time seeing electric cello players (two brothers, one in college and the other in high school, which hasn’t stood in the way of them getting bar gigs), at the Old Town Art Fair, but wasn’t sure I could get there in time, so I decided I’d see them later in the day instead at the Wells Street Art Fair, which is less crowded and closer.

But there was the expectation of rain in the afternoon (appropriately Raviv translates as rain or raindrops), so, despite running late, I rushed to see some of their set at the OTAF.

Of course, the weather then started clearing up, so I decided to double up and see what I had missed of them at the WSAF, where my hand stamp from the OTAF would do me no good whatsoever in terms of entry. I went home first and changed shoes so they wouldn’t recognize me and think I was some kind of stalker.

There was no cowbell, but there was loud drumming, which, though good, I would have turned the volume down on to better highlight the cellos. I’ve heard drums before.

The brothers played the cellos like electric guitars, if those had only four strings, and were planted on the ground and played upright, with bows, in a way that put Jimmy Page’s bowing with The Yardbirds to shame.

Chicago Blues Festival – Millennium Park – June 7, 2024

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According to the Revolt website, there are 33 rappers whose alter egos start with “Lil”, none of whom, unsurprisingly, I’ve ever seen perform in person, whereas Wikipedia tells me that there have only been four blues musicians whose names started the same way (although 16 more have started with “Little”), so I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to see Lil’ Jimmy Reed, who, by the way, is not one of the four, at the Chicago Blues Festival.

There is a Jimmy Reed listed, but unless Lil’ Jimmy Reed died in 1976 and then crawled out of a coffin like Screamin’ Jay Hawkins to reinvent himself, it’s probably a different guy. Actually Lil’ Jimmy, born Leon Atkins, took the name after filling in for the original in a Baton Rouge club long ago. Is that what they now call identity theft?

Anyway, Reed, billed as the last of the original Louisiana bluesmen, sounded good, though I can’t really say I saw him, as I decided to linger in a shady spot outside the tent, where it was a lil’ cooler and not as loud, and refresh myself with a long, cool drink of microplastics.

Death Becomes Her – Cadillac Palace – May 28, 2024

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Not more then 10 seconds into the show the crowd began a deafening cheer spurred on by Destiny’s Child’s Michelle Williams rising from beneath the stage in a sparkling dress and exhibiting perfect posture.

Had she then immediately descended from whence she came, it undoubtedly would have been accompanied by raucous laughter, which, as it turned out, was the theme of the night.

First, the mundane stuff. One song after another was extremely clever and Williams, Megan Hilty and Jennifer Simard have got the powerful voices and impeccable style, to do them justice.

Enough of that. The show features one not-too-subtle double entendre after another, with great comedic timing by all, until it climaxes with Simard, suffering from a rather interesting gunshot injury, telling Hilty, not in the angry fashion that Charlton Heston once said “Take your stinking paws off me you damn dirty ape’”, but rather in a straight-faced comedic moment, to, and I paraphrase for the censors, keep her hands to herself.

If the Tonys give out an award for best-costumed dance ensemble, Death Becomes Her should dance off with it. But it was the choreography and performance of a solo moment that was a show stopper as Hilty’s stunt dance double executed a slow motion, gymnastic, grotesque fall that was the best use of a staircase since the Nicholas Brothers.

Not to be forgotten also is the strong performance of Christopher Sieber, highlighted by a song and dance in his lab that included a cast of characters that was a combination of kitchen items from Beauty and the Beast and Audrey II from Little Shop of Horrors.

The only thing that was missing in the show was Ponce de Leon lounging with a drink by a fountain at Viola Van Horn’s palace of a home.