Chicago

How to Get the Press to Pay Attention to Your Band

Are you a musician? Is your group having issues? Ask Fan Landers! Critic Jessica Hopper has played in and managed bands, toured internationally, booked shows, produced records, worked as a publicist, and is the author of The Girls' Guide to Rocking, a how-to for teen ladies. She is here to help you ... More >>

Southwest Airlines Owes Passengers 5.8 Million Free Drinks

Two years ago, Southwest Airlines abruptly changed the rules of its Business Select program, which allows travelers to breeze through security, get to the front of the boarding line, earn extra reward points, and, most importantly, get free booze. Before August 1, 2010, could use their free drink v ... More >>

The Sea and Cake

Thursday, November 15, at Trees

Fingers Crossed, Dallas May Get a Bikini Basketball Franchise

The website for the Bikini Basketball League is a bare-bones affair, little more than a clock ticking down the seconds to...well, it doesn't really say exactly what is happening in a shade over 35 days, but one can make an educated guess, particularly with the help of the accompanying blurb. "The l ... More >>

22-Year-Old Dallas Woman Murdered in Chicago Hotel Room

Media outlets in Chicago are reporting this morning that Brianna Gardner, a 22-year-old from Dallas, was fatally shot in the head in an upscale Chicago hotel. Gardner's body was discovered in her seventh-floor room by the Whitehall Hotel housekeeping staff. One guest told the Chicago Tribune they h ... More >>

Green Grocer, an Independent Specialty Grocer, is Moving to Lower Greenville

Green Grocer, a Chicago-based specialty-grocer, announced today it's opening a second location (and first outside of Chicago) at 3614 Greenville Ave. The 4,000-square-foot retail space is five blocks south of Mockingbird Lane across from Café Izmir. Green Grocer is a one-stop specialty market for ... More >>

Top Ten EDM Albums for People Who Don't Know Shit About Dance Music

by Andy Hermann Electronic dance music (you know, EDM) is the hottest thing going right now. But to you, it still all sounds like "oontz, oontz, oontz" -- except Skrillex, who sounds like "wom, wom, wom." Right? Fear not. You don't have to be a kid yourself to know what the kids are into nowadays ... More >>

Why are Mexicans in Chicago so mean?

Look At This Poster For Disappears/Lotus Plaza/Nervous Curtains on Saturday

Disappears is a Chicago band that now counts Steve Shelley as their drummer. You know, he's the drummer for Sonic Youth, so basically I would say they're wonderful without even listening to them, but I did listen to Pre Language, their new album on Kranky. I'm not gonna lie: It sounds a lot like Son ... More >>

Preview: Beau Wanzer at Rubber Gloves Rehearsal Studio

Thursday, April 19, at Rubber Gloves

American Airlines Flight Sent Back to Gate After Flight Attendant Rants Over PA About Crashing

Update, 12:30 p.m.: The flight's on the ground, but it will need to restock its alcohol supply. Details after the original. Update, 11:23 a.m.: American has confirmed the incident, and says two flight attendants were injured. The airline's statement is after the original item. Original item: An Am ... More >>

Top Chef: Texas Starts November 2 With Two Austin Chefs, None From Dallas and ... Pee-Wee!

"Mecca lecca high mecca tiny bit more salt, please."​Finally time to see how your tax dollars were put to work by Bravo and its Magical Elves. As you'll recall, we reported back in July that Governor Rick Perry's office, that bastion of small government, spent $400,000 to promote the state's ... More >>

Primebar, the New Uptown Bar-Restaurant, Puts the Swank in Sporty

Lauren Drewes DanielsNot a bad way to watch a game. ​Primebar opened in Uptown last week, and I got to check it out briefly on Friday. I'll definitely put it on my places to go when I want to dabble in swank while a watching a playoff game and drinking a microbrew. There are several differe ... More >>

Comment of the Moment: Any Dallas Chefs Up For a Challenge?

​Yesterday we told you about a new restaurant concept, started by Grant Achatz, proprietor of Alinea in Chicago. The concept riffs on dinner theater, charging a fixed price for a ticket before the event instead of leaving a bill after. The menu also shifts four times a year to keep the show fr ... More >>

O'Hurley Razzle Dazzles at Bass

Get Sauced

Puck It

Stripping for History's Sake

It Takes More Than Icy Wings to Keep a Mexican Grounded.

It Was Curtains for the Starlet

Oh, Thank Heaven! 7-Eleven Gets
In on the Roasted Chicken Act

Not a 7-Eleven bird, but we can dream...some Observer staffers eat lunch there three times a week.​Move over, Boston Market. There's a new bird in town. 7-Eleven, home of the Slurpee, is adding roasted chicken, for the low, low price of $7.99, to its menu, according to a report in the Chicago ... More >>

Hey, Chicago! Dallas Will Drink Your Milk Convention. Drink It Up! Yeah, That's Right.

​From the sound of this piece out of Chicago, not to mention the comments posted along with it, residents of the Windy City are mighty unhappy with the Washington, D.C.-based International Dairy Foods Association, which has announced that, sorry, but it's bringing its 2010 International Dairy Show ... More >>

We Heart Video

How 'Bout Them Knockers: Chicago Rick's

There are other warnings they should issue, as well.​Each week in 'Knockers' we order from a different delivery restaurant, assessing their efficiency and keeping a running score.Chicago Rick's3628 Frankford972-307-4257Promised delivery time: 45 minutesActual delivery time: 43 minutesLevel of phon ... More >>

Razzle Dazzle

Saturday, In Nokia

At Least One Dallas Family Is Happy It Chose to Summer Vacation in Chicago

Flickr user: Pete ProdoehlOn Monday afternoon, a Chicago man named Dennis Sneyer found a bag filled with a camera and thousands of digitally stored photos lying in the middle of a busy intersection. After a little sleuthing -- which is to say, going through some pics and finding amongst the popular ... More >>

Yes, Mexico Has Professionals, and No, We Don’t Mean Wrestlers

Three Cigarettes in an Ashtray, Probably Not the Best Name for A.M. Random Notes

I swear ... this guy looks so familiar.Some random notes this a.m. -- so till Merten decides to get back in gear with his Virtual Coffee, how 'bout a First Smoke of the Day? Like this puff (piece) from New York magazine concerning New York City Opera's new director, some guy named George Steel ... s ... More >>

Today In Music News: Smashing Pumpkins Loses Drummer, Tool To Headline Lollapalooza, M.I.A. Is Two Years Older and Trick Daddy Has Lupus

Your daily dose of national music news for Tuesday, March 24, 2009...Drummer Jimmy Chamberlain has left the Smashing Pumpkins for unspecified reasons. Mr. Corgan I'm looking in your direction.Maynard James Keenan is taking some time off from wine-making to join Tool in headlining Lollapalooza along ... More >>

Update: Beer And Cheese Pairing Canceled

The Mozzarella Company's beer and cheese pairing mentioned in yesterday's Hash Over post and scheduled for this evening has been canceled in anticipation of tonight's Chicago-like weather forecast.

Common

Universal Mind Control(Geffen)

Marching Orders

The Modern hosts a night of musical fun

Ra Ra Riot, The Morning Benders, Walter Meego

Thursday, October 2, at The Loft

The Cool Kids, Flosstradamus, The Party

Thursday, August 21, at Granada Theater

Obama and Me

It was the year 2000, and I was a young, hungry reporter in Chicago with a young, hungry state legislator on my speed dial

Q&A: Andrew Langer of the Redwalls

Art On the El

Big Boys of B-Ball

Take the Music and Run

Shooting With the Stars

Chicago pops off in Fair Park

Rockers Without Borders

Big D music is on the road and in the movies

Ginned Up

BlackFinn takes the "Irish" out of Irish pub

Still at Work?

What's Wright About That?

Worst Concert Ever?

C'mon, it's Chicago and Huey Lewis

The Beatdown

DJ Iz: The house jock who took the long way home

Ted Leo/Pharmacists, Aloha

Tuesday, March 14, at the Gypsy Tea Room's "Tea Room"

The M's

Future Women (Polyvinyl)

The Impossible Bomb