Gapers Block has ceased publication.
Gapers Block published from April 22, 2003 to Jan. 1, 2016. The site will remain up in archive form. Please visit Third Coast Review, a new site by several GB alumni.
✶ Thank you for your readership and contributions. ✶
TODAY
Sunday, May 19
Slowdown
BY DAY
Monday, August 26 2013
Bare Mutants (Record Release), Verma @ Empty Bottle
Hitting the Bottle to mark the release of their new LP, The Affliction, local mainstays Bare Mutants return for a triumphant night of tightly wound garage pop, fronted by the ever-dashing Jered Gummere. Yeah, they've spent the better part of the last year or so opening for some of the best garage rockers around (Thee Oh Sees, Ty Segall, et. al.), but tonight they're the ones topping the bill. Verma and VLLLAGE open. Show starts at 9:30pm, tickets are $10 in advance and are available here.
Disappears (Record Release), Weekend, Outside World @ Empty Bottle
Disappears need little introduction for anyone with at least half a lobe tuned to Chicago's music scene (to speak nothing of Sonic Youth-drummer fanboys), and tonight they release their excellent, kraut-caterwaul of a fourth LP, Era. We won't be missing this one, and you shouldn't either. Weekend and local janglersOutside World open. Show starts at 9:30pm, 21+. Tickets are $12 in advance and are available here.
Do Not Submit @ Powell's North
No frills. No judgment. No pressure. This is the city's rawest open mic dedicated solely to the art of storytelling. Do Not Submit meets at Powell's Book Store, 2850 N. Lincoln Ave., the last Monday of every month from 8pm to 11pm (signup begins at 7:30pm). Bring that piece you are absolutely sure doesn't work, that rough draft that has no ending yet, or that anecdote you are hoping to flesh out. If you have been wanting to dip a toe into storytelling without facing a sold-out Moth Slam audience, this is the place to experiment. If you are an experienced writer/performer looking to hone your live lit skills, this is the place to put the work in. Not interested in telling? Come experience the process, and see how the polished stories on stage tomorrow are being shaped, tested and reworked today. Please -- no poetry or prose fiction. Hosted by Shannon Cason and Scott Whitehair.
That's Weird, Grandma
Barrel of Monkeys is an ensemble of actors/educators who hold creative writing workshops with Chicago Public School students and perform their pupils' imaginative stories. The result is That's Weird, Grandma, their weekly show presented every Monday at the Neofuturarium in Andersonville. The show is wackily witty, fast-paced, laugh-a-minute, and truly a thrill for all ages, and has been hailed by chicagotheater.com as "part pep rally, part musical theater extravaganza - and one of the most real, uplifting and engaging theatrical experiences in town." $10 for adults, $5 for children, tickets available at the box office or on the BOM website.
Quickies @ The Hideout
Mary Hamilton, Lindsay Hunter, and company revive the Quickies ultra-short-story series for one night only at The Hideout, 1354 W. Wabansia, tonight at 8pm. $5.
Infinity Cyc, Clearance @ The Whistler
Infinity Cyc, the new project from Henry Joseph (Record Low), will be appearing with local slack-pop upstarts Clearance for a free show at The Whistler, 2421 N Milwaukee. Bring your swizzle sticks and taped-up tambourines... this one should be a jammer. Show starts at 10pm. No cover. 21+
