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The makeup, the pyrotechnics, the guitars that shoot fireworks, the blood spitting, the levitating band members, the fire breathing, the glitz, the glamour, the rock ’n’ rolling every night and the partying every day . . . after 46 years, it’s all coming to an end, apparently, as Kiss—one of the most ridiculous rock spectacles ever to exist—embark on their farewell tour. This won’t be the first time Kiss have claimed to be hanging up their seven-inch platform-heel boots—they originally said their 2000 reunion tour would be their last....

Ute Brunzel, © MHK Thou-less by Doris Salcedo When in the presence of Doris Salcedo’s artwork, it should be understood that though the pieces were created and overseen by Salcedo, the work isn’t exclusively hers. The stainless-steel fused chairs of Thou-less or the encased shoes within the gallery walls of Atrabiliarios don’t really belong to her—they belong to the countless individuals she’s interviewed, as well as the thousands who have suffered from a war-torn country....

After years of controversy—including the recent trial and expulsion of some dissenting members—the Columbia College Chicago Faculty Union (CFAC) is about to get a referendum on its leadership. But this setup, the DOL concluded, is a violation of federal labor law: union members must elect officers into specific positions. And the vote needs to be taken by secret ballot. To ensure security, it needs to be a paper ballot submitted through the U....

This is part two of a two-part series. Read part one here. It’s impossible to faithfully reconstruct what happened during Hernandez’s eviction court proceedings, because there was no court reporter present to make transcripts. This is the norm in Cook County. The absence of systematic record keeping for eviction trials means that both plaintiffs and defendants lose any meaningful opportunity to appeal judges’ decisions. If judges behave inappropriately or misinterpret the law, there’s no way to hold them accountable....

Chicago rapper Goody first caught my ear two years ago with a couple Soundcloud tracks that demonstrated his natural gift for setting a mood. On the single “All I Know” he sounds headstrong but touched by tragedy, and his lyrics combine triumph and regret: “I took stress and pain and whipped it to cocaine and cut it up, and now I’m giving you my lifeline.” The song’s invigorating instrumental plasters together slow-motion synths and blurred vocal samples, underlining the fact that not everything he raps about can be connected to a clearly defined emotion....

Our culture generally doesn’t consider 22nd anniversaries especially momentous, but I’ll take any excuse to see some of the most important figures in footwork, juke, and ghetto-house history—and that’s exactly who DJ Clent has brought together for this year’s Litnic, a daylong picnic that celebrates the 22nd anniversary of his label and collective, Beatdown House. In the mid- to late 90s, Clent took ghetto house’s grimy, salacious sound in nervy new directions, helping shape its rhythmically complex offshoots juke and footwork....

With the recent Full Upon Her Burning Lips, the three-decade career of Seattle drone band Earth seems to have come full circle: the record’s minimalist style is reminiscent of their 1991 debut EP, Extra-Capsular Extraction. Founded by guitarist Dylan Carlson in 1989, Earth helped pioneer droning, ambient forms of metal, often incorporating loads of distortion and feedback in their musical experiments. They released three full-lengths, including the landmark 1993 LP Earth 2, before experiencing a lull in output in the late 90s....

In a recent interview with the Yale Center for Faith & Culture’s podcast For the Life of the World, pianist Julian Reid described the way mourning informed the thematic underpinnings of The Eternal Boombox, a new self-released EP by his Chicago-based band, the JuJu Exchange. The members of this jazz combo also draw upon their experiences outside jazz: Reid is assistant music director for Kelley Chapel United Methodist Church in Decatur, Georgia; his drummer brother, Everett, studied jazz and performing arts technology at the University of Michigan; and producer and trumpeter Nico Segal is a crucial member of Chance the Rapper’s band, the Social Experiment....

Founded as a four-piece in New York City in 2002, quirky electronic math-rock band Battles soon established itself as a force in its genre thanks to its multilayered melodies, cavorting grooves, and danceable beats. Founding keyboardist and vocalist Tyondai Braxton—who also played guitar, along with Ian Williams and Dave Konopka—departed after the band’s successful first LP, 2007’s Mirrored (Warp), leaving a trio of Williams (formerly of Don Caballero and Storm & Stress), Konopka, and drummer John Stanier (formerly of Helmet and still in Tomahawk)....

In the context of black metal, the term “cosmic” has been diluted into worthlessness. When I applied it to Oranssi Pazuzu in 2013, I still thought it referred to an identifiable flavor of evil psychedelia, but now it just means “the guitarist has the correct effects pedals”—the same way “jazzy” means “a saxophone is involved” and “operatic” means “somebody took voice lessons.” So I propose calling the music of these Finnish xenonauts something more specific: wormhole black metal....

I’ve been whinging about the balkanization of Chicago’s Koreatown for years. Most of the good old mom-and-pop places have closed shop or moved out to burbs like Niles and Mount Prospect. And yet next-generation restaurants, while not centralized, are doing their own thing in the city, and doing it reasonably well. Taking into account the groundbreaking work of places like Parachute, Bill Kim’s mini empire, and Mott St, to say nothing of BopNGrill, Crisp, and other fast-casual options, it’s safe to say that hallyu, or “the Korean Wave,” has pretty thoroughly drenched us, culinarily speaking....

Yesterday the Jazz Institute of Chicago announced that Heather Ireland Robinson, director of the Beverly Arts Center from 2014 till 2017, will take the helm of the venerable jazz-advocacy organization on Thursday, March 1. She replaces outgoing JIC executive director Lauren Deutsch, who’s held the position since 1996. Tomeka Reid: She later gave me an opportunity to intern at the Jazz Institute when I had just finished college. There wasn’t a formal internship program, but she worked with me to create a position in the education department of JIC to work under Diane Chandler-Marshall....

Big news. Dramatic news. Michael Ferro, majority owner of the Sun-Times and the Reader, now owns more of Tribune Publishing than anyone else. He’s bought 5.2 million shares for $44.4 million. His new title is nonexecutive chairman of the Tribune Publishing board. But he’s now a silent partner in Wrapports, the holding company that bought the Sun-Times and Reader. The new chairman is investor John Canning, while Bruce Sagan becomes chairman of a new entity, Sun-Times Holdings....

Last night’s Democratic gubernatorial debate brought me face-to-face with the horrifying realization that Illinois Dems spent the better part of the last decade behaving like Republicans. The message was reinforced even after the debate when I discovered several e-mails from the campaigns essentially carrying on the same attacks. Meaning—they don’t mind paying for the public schools their kids attend, but don’t like paying taxes for the other kids. And it came just a few weeks after Mayor Rahm arm-twisted the city council into unanimously voting to close mental health clinics in some of our poorest, most high-crime communities....

At this stage in our nearly year-long exile from cinemas, the text emblazoned on the stairs of the Gene Siskel Film Center now reads like a prophetic asservation: “Just a few more steps to great movies.” We spoke via Zoom after Fons had completed a long day at her current—and soon-to-be concurrent—job as director of programming at FilmScene in Iowa City, where she attended the University of Iowa as an undergraduate; she’ll continue to work at FilmScene until she becomes full-time at the Film Center....

Salsa macha, you might know, is the nutty, crunchy, toasty Mexican chili oil that has mysterious transformative powers, able to turn an average plate of food into something extraordinary, and an average cook into one to be reckoned with. If there’s one thing the pandemic hasn’t slowed down it’s my chronic Condiment Acquisition Disorder (CAD). Right now my dangerously overcrowded fridge is home to several kinds of hometown salsas macha, like La Lupita Salsa Diabla, from venerable Archer Heights masa makers La Guadalupana (available at your friendly neighborhood Cermak Produce)....

Serpentwithfeet’s recently released debut album, Soil (Secretly Canadian), is essentially one long, ecstatic warble. The R&B singer-songwriter genius also known as Josiah Wise sings with the most pronounced vibrato this side of Tracy Chapman; when he multitracks his high tenor and falsetto vocals such as on “Wrong Tree,” the result is an ocean of shimmering, yearning ululation. Set against electronic soundscapes reminiscent of Björk or FKA Twigs, his singing is both sensual and unearthly, floating and shaking beyond the usual limits of male and female voices to sketch out new, extravagant life forms (as you’d expect from an artist who calls himself Serpentwithfeet....

In the last week’s Hunger Games-style competition for survival, it was developers one, kids with special needs nothing. I call it Rezko Field cause it was once owned by Tony Rezko, the notorious wheeler-dealer who wound up doing prison time on corruption charges. In the case of Rezko and Ricketts fields, the city or developers have neglected to say how much public subsidies will be required. Be warned, Chicago, both projects are in tax increment financing districts, so it’s just a matter of time before you get stuck with a bill....

If you’re wondering how to make the most of your post-Thanksgiving weekend, here’s some of what we recommend: Fri 11/24: G Herbo, one of Chicago’s brightest hip-hop stars, plays the Portage Theater (4050 N. Milwaukee). The Reader‘s Leor Galil writes of Herbo’s latest album, Humble Beast: “For all the bloodstains splattered across cracked-cement corners and the lack of opportunity that weighs heavily on the people in his songs, Herbo always finds a way to inject a little bit of light into his narratives and instrumentals, no matter how dire or vitriolic....

In a year filled with turmoil and bad news, Chicago hip-hop made waves internationally with songs of affirmation in the face of adversity. Chance the Rapper spoke to God in public as gun violence continued to claim the lives of his neighbors; Vic Mensa encouraged young people to mobilize and challenge authority, even as he grieved with them for Laquan McDonald and the citizens of Flint; Noname fought to find a space to live and hope for happiness in a society that seems intent on crushing women of color; Saba repped his west-side home, in proud defiance of the Chicagoans who forget it exists until another shooting thrusts it into the headlines; and Mick Jenkins preached love in a hateful world....