Chicago 6 Corners

Signage of the Times

By James Sandrolini, April 29, 2009 

One needn’t peruse the shrinking daily paper, watch cable news or log into their favorite website to receive the gut-punch that is today’s stark, economic end-times. Possibly the best way to experience our deeply sobering financial zeitgeist is simply to drive around the ever haunted streets of American cities and towns. On this side of the street, signs informing dead-eyed consumers that Everything Must Go!, Prices Slashed! or simply For Lease in place of For Sale. Over there, an optimistic Coming Soon! sign for a business that, like Godot, never arrives. All around us, we know the Big Party of the Reagan/Bush, Sr./Clinton era has crashed to a halt; the hangover is excruciating and the massive bill has come due.        

Only a year or so ago, it seemed like pretty much everything was for sale in the Land of the Free. Super-sized retail chains, giant, monolith condos and thrusting, Freudian skyscrapers pierced U.S. town and city skylines. Gordon Gekko-style, Wall Street uber-capitalism was unquenchable and unstoppable. That was then. These days, with 12 million Americans unemployed, house foreclosures up 81% since early '08 and 1 in 10 Americans on food stamps, few are buying much of anything. Even fewer seem to be buying the hopeful promise of the government economic stimulus package put forth by the hundred-day-old Obama Administration. Meanwhile, the paleolithic Republican Party has no real plan or ideas to counter Team Obama … but that certainly hasn’t stopped the right-wing online juggernaut from barreling full steam ahead like the careening bulls of Pamplona to Obama's dazed toreador.

Local Hero, Intelligentsia Savant Michael Phillips Places Third Best in Coffee Universe (Okay, World)

By David Shuey, April 20, 2009 

VIA TEXT TO ME @ 4:27 p.m. April 17, 2009: Yeah, She's a cutie. Her teammates are also hotties. I go on around noon! [Saturday]

Good to know a hard-working man, isn't completely losing his libido. In between texting his friends about attractive Russian baristas, Michael, ahem, Mike Phillips was on his way to winning 3rd – THIRD! – in the World Barista Championship competition. That's like saying your friend down the street is, oh, I don't know, the Michael Phelps of the coffee world. We just won't print the naughty pictures. (Which ones were you thinking?) Just the inappropriate texts, which, I admit, I baited him on the Russian, as that's the only round I saw Friday before gearing up for his Saturday sensational showdown of espresso-pulling skill and finesse.

The all-male final round of six only had two hotties, and Mike was clearly one of them. Certainly, his hometown crowd at Intelligentsia on Broadway, and his friends in Ukrainian Village were thinking so (and saying so). Mike was only 5 points shy from beating the winner from the UK, who had 623 points. I'm not sure how the points are extracted and totaled – and don't ask how the 4 espresso, 4 cappuccinos, and 4 "signature" drinks are judged in the 15-minute performance of shots, hip music, and articulate explanations of Rwandan beans – but I do know 618 to 623 is flipping close. Considering there were 52 contestants, representing 52 countries, this is nothing short of the immaculate reception for this Chicago coffee Renaissance Man.

Joe Pug to Play Midnight Show in a Living Room Near You* – THIS Friday, April 17, 2009 (BYOB)

By Emily Grider, April 14th, 2009

Joe Pug is a force of nature. Don’t believe me? Pick a track at random from his EP Nation of Heat and give it a listen. Go ahead. I’ll wait… Finished? Awesome, right? You’re welcome! Here's some more while I'm at it.
 
A rare and raw musical talent, Joe possesses a wordsmith's gift for crafting compelling and powerful lyrics. Seeing him perform in an intimate setting is an opportunity not to be missed. 
 
If you would like to hear Joe play, please come out to Lincoln Square this Friday. The show will start promptly at midnight, so we suggest that you arrive by 11:45 p.m. to ensure everyone is situated before the music begins. Also, there will be a couple of cats in attendance (they're huge fans), so pop some Benadryl beforehand if you're allergic.
 
Joe will have his EP and tickets for his May 1 and 2 gigs at Schuba's Tavern available for sale. PLUS, he'll be giving away complimentary two-song sampler CDs, while supplies last. This is your chance to see Joe play up close and personal before he releases his full length album and starts selling out amphitheaters – or, at the very least, goes on tour!
 
What: Joe Pug Acoustic Living Room Show (BYOB!)
When: Midnight, Friday, April 17, 2009 (Joe goes on AT midnight, so get there early to secure a good spot)

Where: Scarlett's House, 2649 W. Leland Avenue, Top Floor, Chicago, Illinois (just around the corner from the Brown Line Rockwell stop)
Why: You should already know the answer to this question

* Provided that you live in or near Lincoln Square