Robot Roll Call

Pitchfork 2009 seemingly was the same experience for me as the previous three summers, mediocre. Perhaps I am more interested in seeing music in a small loud room. With that said I still had a good enough time to merit returning next year. This years line up had strong rock leanings with only a sprinkle of hip-hop and a touch of electronic beats, i missed a more straight upelecto -pop act. A few of my favorites via photo imagery, i was enjoying The Pains of Being Pure At Heart and did not take any photos sorry.

MF Doom

The Mae Shi

M83

Chicago based theater company Dog and Pony have opened a new play titled “God’s Ear”, at the Viaduct Theater on 3111 Western Ave. This play written by Jenny Schwartz is a unique combination of traditional storytelling, avant-guard language with a musical twist. The piece centers around a family who has lost their young son to an unfortunate accident. Information does not flow freely from this production, the fragmented and circular conversations had me at a loss initially. However, once I got comfortable and realized that this is how the characters speak in their world, I began to unravel this dark yet comical tale. The family’s remaining child a young girl has some of the best lines in the play while the mother is simultaneously a rock and a mess and the father is absent at best. This is a exceptionally sad topic, the lost of a young child must be heart wrenching and yet the play does not over reach to express these poignant details while at the same time it is full of hardy laughs, which seem to fall out of the characters so unexpectedly. The set is a minimal white rectangle where the audience sits on either side of this block, the actors must turn to their back to one side to address the other. This give the audience a sense of disconnect which the characters have emotionally and spatially as they tend to spend much of their stage time at opposite ends of this blank rectangle while speaking to one another. The musical numbers are a site, not to mentions a aura treat, the actors pull off some amazing feats making these songs seem meaningful and necessary while on paper they would seem pasted in. Perhaps with such a dark topic one needs a singing transvestite to ease the mood. While the play does have these “off the wall” attributes they are not what defines the piece, these events are an ornament to the deeper issues these characters have developed as a result of their loss. This play is not for everyone but I believe everyone could take something from the exceptionally strong piece of theater. One must have patience to allow this bizarre and sad tale of a family falling apart at the loss of it youngest member however if you give it a chance your patience will be rewarded.

God’s Ear

Thursdays, Fridays & Saturdays 8pm

Sunday 5pm

$15 -$20

Pay what you can on Thursdays & Sundays

Ends April 26^th

For more information

http://www.viaducttheater.com

The Renegade Holiday show occurred this past weekend, and with the size of the crowds it seemed many were waiting for the show. The previous Renegade outdoor event had the misfortune of meeting a most unruly rain storm the likes of which Chicago had not seen in 20 years. The Holiday Show was another amalgamation of art and craft, here is a sample of a few of my favorites.

Folded Pig Table Sets feature noir juxtapositions

Squid manger scene, what more can I say?

A gem among so much of the same kind of t-shirt design - shirt by corky mansfield

I found great joy in these little knitted puppets, i think i may need to make a video featuring nothing but finger puppets. Perhaps some kind of Animal Farm revival.

The girl who makes these little critters (Kinderfluff) had the booth right next to ours, they seem to call to every passerby requesting a soft touch. She had this amazing owl which i should have taken a picture of but alas. However, i did catch a kinderfluff family in it’s native environment.

I saved the best for last, this wood cut is elegant yet still extrudes a prickly nature. The highlight is the copper leaf extending across the entire piece to a lone frog man battling a couple of unicorn whale what-nots. Tugboat press had a great set up of several different artists work spanning from visual jokes to impressive prints of various wood land creatures.

Greetings!

Robot Roll Call is a cultural blog, we will cover music, art, events and anything which catches our fancy. Expect weekly video reviews, MP3’s, editorials and much more, but we have only just met so lets take it slow. We may not be the only show in town but we may have what you are seeking.