A Black-owned music marketing platform — co-founded in part by two Chicago natives — aims to create a lane for independent artists.
Music Breakr, an app bridging the gap between DJs and creatives who aim to have their music heard, continues to foster collaborations with about 50,000 creators across 133 countries, the group said in a press release.
The quartet — Ameer Brown, Anthony Brown, and Chicagoans Dan Ware and Rotimi Omosheyin — met as students at Florida A&M University and became Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity brothers, founding Music Breakr in 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic as a pivot from party promotions.
“We started doing day parties, which was a multi-city tour, and we noticed that independent artists had trouble getting in touch with DJs to get their music played at the clubs,” said Rotimi Omosheyin, Music Breakr CMO. “If you’re ever in that environment, there’s always independent artists with a CD, or flash drive, and $50 in their pocket running up on a DJ like: ‘Yo, I’m trying to get my music played.’ Ameer, who ended up going to work at Adobe, came back to us and he’s like: ‘Yo, there’s definitely a way that we could put some technology in the middle and make this a seamless process for independent artists.'”
Music Breakr co-founder Rotimi Omosheyin.Music Breakr
While Music Breakr raised $4 million in seed money to fund their endeavors, they lined up an impressive group of investors including hip-hop artist Nas, DAZN chairman Kevin Mayer, and retired NBA All-Star Baron Davis, among others.
The group has partnered with concert series Rolling Loud Miami 2021, where the artist with the best song will have the chance to perform with headliners Travis Scott, Post Malone and A$AP Rocky.
“It was just networking, and people were putting us in contact with these different investors that were interested in the platform,” said Omosheyin, a Morgan Park High School alumnus. “I’ve become addicted to these ‘magical moments’ that happen on Breakr. And we’ve always felt for Breakr to really work, we have to break in artists. What’s the epitome of breaking the artist or providing a magical moment and being able to put them on stage? … That’s the Grammys for an independent artist.
“For us being able to come together with Rolling Loud builds the narrative that we’re here for indie artists; we’re here to provide these moments, and provide access for them.”
Maria Taylor has joined NBC less than a week after her contract with ESPN expired.
NBC is formally making the announcement during its primetime Olympic show Friday before a replay of the opening ceremony.
Taylor had been with ESPN since 2014 but her contract expired Tuesday. Her last assignment for the network was Tuesday night at the NBA Finals, where she was the pregame and postgame host for the network’s “NBA Countdown” show.
ESPN and Taylor announced Wednesday that they could not agree on a new contract. Her first assignment for NBC will be the Tokyo Olympics.
Taylor had hosted “NBA Countdown” since 2019 as well as being a reporter for “College GameDay” and ABC “Saturday Night Football” since 2017.
ESPN had been discussing a contract with Taylor for over a year but things reached a boiling point over the past month. Taylor rejected an extension last year and the two sides were far apart heading into the NBA Finals. Then came a New York Times report detailing comments her colleague Rachel Nichols made about Taylor last year during the NBA’s restart in Florida.
Nichols, who is white, was introduced in September 2019 as the NBA Finals host but the network later decided to promote Taylor, who is Black.
Nichols said in an accidentally recorded phone call obtained by the Times: “I wish Maria Taylor all the success in the world — she covers football, she covers basketball. If you need to give her more things to do because you are feeling pressure about your crappy longtime record on diversity — which, by the way, I know personally from the female side of it — like, go for it. Just find it somewhere else. You are not going to find it from me or taking my thing away.”
Nichols apologized on July 5 while hosting “The Jump.” She was slated to be the sideline reporter for the Finals, but was pulled off the assignment.
COVID-19 cases have almost quadrupled across Illinois over the past month, nearly a quarter of counties have hit a coronavirus warning level, and more patients are filling hospital wards.
Troubling figures released Friday by the Illinois Department of Public Health suggest the state’s latest coronavirus surge is showing no signs of letting up days before daily crowds of 100,000 and up descend on Grant Park for Lollapalooza.
City officials have insisted the massive festival will be safe — and Gov. J.B. Pritzker has said he’ll be there himself — but University of Chicago epidemiologist Dr. Emily Landon called it “a bad idea” to move forward with the jam-packed event, especially with the more infectious Delta variant looming.
“Lolla is too crowded. That’s the bottom line,” she said, acknowledging odds are slim Mayor Lori Lightfoot would pull the plug on the lucrative attraction.
“It’s about harm reduction. You have to make the decision for yourself. These cases that happen because of Lolla aren’t likely to be a huge drag on the health care system. But will we see a bump? Yes, and Delta will probably make it higher,” Landon said.
“A bunch of people are going to get COVID at Lolla, but a lot of people are getting it from other places now, too.”
Fans attend Day 2 of Lollapalooza in Grant Park in 2019.Santiago Covarrubias/For the Sun-Times
They’re getting it across the state, especially in downstate counties with lower vaccination rates. Cases started rising a few weeks after the state fully reopened June 11.
Nearly 8,000 Illinoisans tested positive over the past week alone, an average of 1,140 new cases every day. The state was logging just 294 cases per day at the start of the month, and 238 per day in mid-June.
Since then, the average statewide case positivity rate has increased fivefold, from a pandemic low of 0.6% up to 3.3% — the highest it’s been since the first week of May. Hospitals were treating 670 coronavirus patients Thursday night, the most they’ve seen since early June.
New COVID-19 cases by day
Graphic by Jesse Howe and Caroline Hurley | Sun-Times
State public health officials on Friday singled out 25 of the state’s 102 counties for being at a coronavirus warning level. DuPage is the first Chicago-area county to land on that list in several months, due to an increase in hospital visits for COVID-like symptoms.
Most of the other warning-level counties are in central and southern Illinois, where vaccination rates are sometimes less than half the statewide rate. About 72% of all Illinoisans have gotten a shot, with about 56% fully vaccinated.
Counties marked orange are considered at a COVID-19 warning level.Illinois Department of Public Health
Even though Lollapalooza takes place in the heart of Chicago, it could have a devastating impact on far-flung areas, said Landon, who urged attendees to “assume you’ve been exposed” and get tested afterward.
“It can amplify the spread in areas with low vaccination rates. The people who go home to some south suburbs, to central Illinois, to Missouri — they’re going to set off little wildfires,” she said.
But as far as personal risk, Lollapalooza “can be done safely,” according to Dr. Vishnu Chundi, chairman of the Chicago Medical Society’s COVID-19 Task Force.
“Outdoors is the safest place you can do it,” Chundi said. “If you’re vaccinated, you’re safe. If you’re vaccinated and masked, you’re really safe. If you’re not vaccinated and not masked, you’re not safe.”
Attendees at the four-day music festival, which opens Thursday, have to show proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test from within three days of entrance, according to Lollapalooza.
Anyone who is unvaccinated will be required to wear a mask while attending the event. And even those who got the shot are urged to consider masking up.
Chundi said the check-in process could actually result in more transmission than other parts of the fest.
“The bathrooms themselves are porta-potties, the vendors, they’re open-air — that all is basically OK. It’s getting huge crowds of people in and then getting them out of these choke points that causes concern,” he said.
Thousands of music fans arrive in Grant Park for the first day of Lollapalooza in 2019. Erin Brown/Sun-Times file
Still, Chundi said the likelihood of Lollapalooza turning into a super-spreader event “is very low.” He expects cases to keep rising in the short term no matter what.
“You’ve got 30,000 people going to Sox games, Cubs games and soon Bears games. In the U.S., we’ve decided the decision about getting vaccinated is your personal responsibility and your right. That’s getting us into some trouble,” Chundi said.
“If we could get everyone to just mandate vaccination, we could get out of this whole mess. But that needs to happen at a national level. … It’s not rocket science. Everyone knows how this works by now.”
CLEVELAND — While riding his bike over a bridge across the Cuyahoga River near Progressive Field, Indians owner Paul Dolan rarely paid much attention to the eight giant stone figures that seem to guard the city.
They have new meaning,
After more than 100 years, Cleveland’s Major League Baseball team is getting a new name — Guardians.
The Indians are going, going, soon to be gone.
The ballclub announced Friday that at the end of the 2021 season, the Indians will transition from the name they’ve been known as since 1915 and replace it with Guardians, one they hope inspires a new generation of fans.
The name change, which has its supporters and critics among Cleveland’s fan base, ends months of internal discussions triggered by a national reckoning for institutions and teams to drop logos and names considered racist.
“We do feel like we’re doing the right thing and that’s what’s driving this,” Dolan said following a news conference at the ballpark. “I know some people disagree, but if anything I’ve gotten more and more comfortable that we’re headed in the right direction.
“And actually, the selection of the name solidifies that feeling because of the values that the name represents.”
The organization spent most of the past year whittling down a list of potential names that was at nearly 1,200. It was a tedious process, which included 140 hours of interviews with fans, community leaders, front office personnel and a survey of 40,000 fans.
Dolan has said last summer’s social unrest, touched off by the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, spurred his intention to change the name — a move that came a few years after the Indians stopped wearing the Chief Wahoo logo on their game jerseys and caps.
Cleveland’s new name was inspired by the large landmark stone edifices — referred to as traffic guardians — that flank both ends of the Hope Memorial Bridge, which connects downtown to Ohio City.
As the team moved closer to making a final decision on the name, Dolan said he found himself looking closely at the huge art deco sculptures.
“Frankly, I hadn’t studied them that closely until we started talking about them and I should emphasize, we’re not named after the bridge, but there’s no question that it’s a strong nod to those and what they mean to the community,” he said.
The team did not reveal the names of any of the other finalists, but Brian Barren, Cleveland’s president of business operations, said trademarking issues eliminated several potential candidates.
In the end, the team felt Guardians was a perfect fit.
“We think Guardians is unique and authentic to Cleveland,” Barren said. “It’s less about the Guardians of Traffic and more about what the Guardians represent and that idea of protection. For us and our research, Cleveland folks are very protective of one another.
“They’re protective of our city, they’re protective of the land and everything about it. That’s one key component, the resiliency of people here in Cleveland and Northeast Ohio and the loyalty.”
Cleveland’s name change comes as the Washington Football Team continues to work toward a similar makeover. The franchise dropped its contentious Redskins name before the 2020 season and recently said it will reveal a new name and logo in 2022.
While dropping Indians, Cleveland will keep its red, white and navy team colors and the Guardians’ logos will incorporate some of the team’s lettering style on past uniforms as well as architectural features found on the bridge.
Numerous Native American groups have protested Cleveland’s use of the Wahoo logo and Indians name for years, so the latest development brought some comfort.
“It is a major step towards righting the wrongs committed against Native peoples, and is one step towards justice,” said Crystal Echo Hawk, executive director and founder of IllumiNative, a group dedicated to fighting misrepresentations of Native Americans.
The name change has sparked lively debate among the city’s passionate sports fans. Other names, including the Spiders, which is what the team was called before 1900, were pushed by supporters on social media platforms.
Dolan knows there’s a portion of Cleveland’s fan base that may never accept the change.
“I’m 63 years old, and they’ve been the Indians since I was aware of them, probably since I was 4 or 5 years old, so it will take a long time,” he said. “But we’re not asking anybody to give up their memories or the history of the franchise that will always be there. And for people my age and older, most our life is going to be living as an Indian and not as a Guardian.”
Manager Terry Francona’s ties to the ballclub run deep. His father, Tito, played for the Indians in the 1960s.
As a stirring video narrated by Oscar-winning actor — and die-hard Indians fan — Tom Hanks was shown to kick off the news conference, Francona moved his seat closer to get a better view.
Francona, who is in his ninth season as Cleveland’s on-field leader, planned to show the video to his players before Friday’s game. Francona has gotten some negative backlash about the change, but feels the team is doing it for the right reasons.
“What’s important is how people that are different — not less, just different — how they feel about this,” he said. “We’re trying to be respectful and trying to be unified. And change is not always easy, I get it, it doesn’t happen overnight.”
Guardians is the fifth name in franchise history joining the Blues (1901), Bronchos (1902), Naps (1903-1914) and Indians (1915-2021).
A month before teachers and students return to Chicago Public Schools buildings and amid a surge of the highly contagious COVID-19 Delta variant, district leaders are still finalizing who will be cleaning classrooms — and are making plans to rehire Aramark despite a history of problems with the janitorial behemoth.
With Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s support, CPS leaders announced last year that they would dump private facilities managers Aramark and SodexoMAGIC, which for years had near full autonomy in maintaining schools, including many that remained filthy. The plan was to return control and oversight of the cleaning and upkeep of hundreds of schools back to CPS employees while finding a new vendor to help run those operations.
But even with a new company in place, the move to a different model of facilities management has dragged on and left little time for a complicated transition. The compressed timeline led SodexoMAGIC to warn the schools system of “putting itself and potentially its vendor partners at high risk for failure” as the clock ticks on summer break.
Pressed for time a year after declaring its relationship with Aramark over, CPS reversed course and planned as of Friday to ask the Board of Education as soon as next week to authorize rehiring Aramark to clean all its school buildings, the Chicago Sun-Times has learned.
District officials are promising more oversight this time around.
Though masks, social distancing good ventilation have proven most effective to combat the airborne coronavirus, the stakes around clean schools are still as high as ever this fall. Families and health experts are concerned about COVID-19’s latest mutation, the worryingly transmissible Delta variant that’s behind a surge in cases in Chicago and around the world.
About two-thirds of CPS’ 340,000 students are under 12, still too young for shots. Just 36% of Chicago kids over 12 have been fully vaccinated.
Since Chicago reopened June 11, COVID-19 case rates have nearly doubled and in the past week jumped by 69% with a daily average of 115 new infections — well off last year’s peak but trending in the wrong direction. About 17 children a day have been diagnosed with the virus over the past week, city data shows.
He said some kids will eat breakfast and lunch in classrooms, not just in cafeterias, to keep children three feet apart when possible. That means more sources of food and garbage, more potential messes to clean up.
Most new janitors not on job yet
However, the vast majority of the 400 new custodians CPS vowed to bring on during the pandemic and keep for the upcoming school year haven’t been hired.
The Sun-Times has documented serious problems with Aramark and SodexoMAGIC’s performance, long a source of complaints to the Board of Education from parents and school staffers.
Prior to 2014, school engineers and principals managed their own buildings. But under the outsourced system first introduced that year, the two companies ran all operations, including managing various other vendors that each specialized in services such as groundskeeping, snow removal, pest control and cleaning.
A few months into the pandemic lockdown, district leaders announced that supervision of cleaning and other services would return in-house by the 2021-22 school year, with CPS employees overseeing the private companies carrying out those services. Contracts with Aramark and SodexoMAGIC were to be phased out before July 1.
The new management model authorizes one vendor, working hand-in-hand with CPS staffers, to oversee different service contracts. A request for bids went out last September but the bidding was cancelled a day after responses were due because CPS wanted to “increase competition,” according to a letter to district officials from SodexoMAGIC complaining this summer about the process.
An almost identical second request followed a few days after the cancellation, garnering bids from Aramark and SodexoMAGIC, plus Jones Lang LaSalle Americas LLC, or JLL, which sat out the first round.
Chicago-based JLL prevailed, with Board of Education members authorizing a deal in June to spend up to $125.5 million per year for three years.
CPS won’t say whether its contract set to start on July 1 with JLL has been finalized. JLL typically manages commercial real estate and facilities and doesn’t show any work in K-12 schools on its website.
A JLL representative did not return messages seeking comment.
Chicagoland Janitorial, a local company consisting of seven firms owned by minorities and women, was informed months ago saying they didn’t make the cut, leaving ABM and Aramark in the running.
CPS spokeswoman Emily Bolton said at some point in the process the district accidentally told ABM it would be awarded the new janitorial contract but cleared up that mistake.
Then, for reasons it won’t explain, CPS chose Aramark, sources said. Bolton denied a decision has been made.
A teacher gets disinfecting wipes during a class at Jordan Community Elementary School in the Rogers Park neighborhood, Friday morning, Jan. 15, 2021.Pat Nabong/Sun-Times
Best of bad options
A source with knowledge of the process said there were issues with each of the bidders and, to some in the district, Aramark represented the best of bad options.
Asked about the deal, ABM spokesman Michael Valentino was unaware Aramark would be picked and said, “It is our understanding that the bid process remains open.”
CPS would not make any officials available for an interview ahead of Monday morning when the agenda is published for Wednesday’s school board meeting.
Bolton said in an email that the district was “not in a position to discuss the recommendation of a custodial services vendor at this time,” but stressed that under the new system, JLL would work with CPS to “reshape facilities support for schools.” The role of the custodial vendor, Bolton said, would in turn be less prominent with “significantly more oversight and transparency.”
Mayoral spokesman Cesar Rodriguez and Aramark spokeswoman Heather Dotchel declined to answer questions, directing them back to CPS.
SodexoMAGIC, partly owned by ex-NBA superstar Magic Johnson, only bid for the broader facilities contract, according to a spokesman.
But delays in installing a new company — a transition CPS told bidders would happen last February or March now slated for October 1 — led Sodexo leaders to warn CPS twice in writing that their new timelines were unfeasible, especially as CPS’ top three leaders were about to leave.
“If CPS proceeds, it could be putting itself in a ‘disaster waiting to happen’ scenario,” read an 8-page May 7 email to the district’s outgoing chief operating officer that was obtained by the Sun-Times.
A day before the Board unanimously approved the JLL deal last month, Sodexo also filed an 8-page bid protest with CPS, renewing its warnings about decisions that could allow the Chicago Teachers Union to “raise unsubstantiated claims and create political theater and negative media attention” — and questioning the legitimacy of the bidding process.
CTU negotiations continue with the district over health and safety measures for the fall.
All students will have to wear masks in schools this fall — except while eating in classrooms or the cafeteria.Ashlee Rezin Garcia/Sun-Times
Union predicts problems ahead
The timing of the re-bid, CPS answering questions from JLL after a deadline to do so had passed and “JLL’s decision to respond to the New Solicitation after declining to respond to a nearly identical RFP raises red flags regarding the process,” SodexoMAGIC’s letter read. “The award of a new contract to a vendor who lacks experience in the public school system at this point in time is ill advised and poses grave risks for the Board, the students and parents it services, and the principals, teachers and other staff at the Board’s 600-plus schools.”
Both times, SodexoMAGIC proposed extending its own multi-million contracts to buy CPS more time to settle into its new model.
CPS’ Bolton said the district has “ample time” for the transition. Asked about SodexoMAGIC’s letters, Bolton said existing vendors “continue to have the same resources and staffing, and are expected to fulfill their contractually obligated duties for the safe opening of schools on August 30 and a smooth transition to the new model on October 1.”
SEIU Local 73, the union that represents Board of Education-employed custodians, predicted problems would arise with the new facilities management model as they have with previous systems.
“Any private organization that takes over, we have a concern. Our experience hasn’t been positive,” union executive Science Meles said. “We went through all of those changes and every single time they said this time is going to work. And it has not worked.”
Chicago’s most important news of the day, delivered every weekday afternoon. Plus, a bonus issue on Saturdays that dives into the city’s storied history.
This afternoon will be partly sunny with isolated thunderstorms and a high near 88 degrees. Tonight will be partly cloudy with a low around 74. Tomorrow will be hot and humid with a chance of showers, a high around 90 and a heat index pushing toward 100. Sunday will be mostly sunny with a high near 91.
“We overcame major opposition from the [Chicago] FOP and the mayor to eventually pass this historic ordinance,” Jazmine Salas, co-chair of the Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, said during an online news conference.
The ordinance — seen by many as critical to restoring trust between residents and the police — passed the City Council on a 36-13 vote earlier this week.
“The mayor tried to pass her watered-down version of oversight and had a really minor advisory role. She was forced to negotiate with us after her bill failed to garner any excitement or any support,” Salas said.
Salas said the rest of America is watching Chicago.
“We created the most democratic police oversight system in the nation, and we must keep fighting until we finally put an end to police impunity,” she said.
The final language would empower a seven-member commission to take a vote of no-confidence in the Chicago police superintendent. The commission also could take no-confidence votes for the chief administrator of the Civilian Office of Police Accountability and any Police Board member. Such votes would need the support of at least five of the seven members to pass.
Federal prosecutors in Minnesota are asking a judge to punish a Galesburg man with nearly a decade in prison for burning down a Sprint store amid last year’s protests in Minneapolis before turning his sights on Chicago. His sentencing is set for Aug. 10.
The program known as “Fishing at the Jetty” has returned to the Riverwalk in downtown Chicago after pausing last year due to the pandemic.
Located on the west of “The Jetty: Floating Gardens” part of the Riverwalk between Wells and Franklin streets, the program allows visitors to learn the basics of fishing.
“Fishing at the Jetty” also educates people on the revival of the Chicago River.
“One camp is people who look it as water and see water,” said Matt Renfree, senior program specialist. “Second camp know fish are in water, but they think the Chicago River is [too polluted]. But every day we’re catching all kinds of fish. Nearly everybody catches fish. Most days, we are at 80 or 90 fish. [The first weekend] we had 484 people out.”
Hannah Zhang holds a bluegill caught at “Fishing at the Jetty” on the Chicago Riverwalk.Dale Bowman/Sun-Times
All species when first caught are logged. In 2019, when nearly 7,000 people participated, a high of 21 species came. American eel is the rarest fish so far.
In its first four years, “Fishing at the Jetty” basically ran the summer break of the Chicago Public Schools. This year it will continue through the end of September.
The program runs Thursdays and Fridays from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturdays and Sundays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
“Unless there is thunder and lightning, we are out rain or shine,” Renfree said.
With COVID-19 cases on the rise, how do you feel about the city hosting Lollapalooza next week?
Reply to this email (please include your first name and where you live) and we might feature your answer in the next Afternoon Edition.
Yesterday, we asked you: What isn’t an Olympic sport but should be? Here’s what some of you said…
“Chicago stepping and Chicago foot working. Dance is waaaay underrated.” — Lisa Morrison Butler
“Horseshoes — it would be summer’s curling.” — Matt Gaul
“Putting clothes on a toddler, exiting Soldier Field after a sold-out event and changing a tire on the side of a highway should all qualify as Olympic events, in my opinion.” — Lisa Morgan
“Running out of your garage before the door closes while avoiding the sensors.” — Antonio Rodriguez
“Spades.” – Myna Mack Shegog
“Opening the produce plastic bags in the grocery stores.” — Ronda Kroeschen
“Bowling.” — Vera DeFelice
“Hanging wallpaper with your significant other.” — Matt Barth
“Lacrosse or rugby.” – Jim Bissell
“Uno.” — Levora J.
“Successfully doing an 8-hour packaging equipment changeover in three hours with half the people and no outside support.” — Frederic Raymond Lefferts V
“Cheerleading!” – Claire Bear
“Tabletop football.” — Dominic Del Vecchio
“Roller Derby.” — Heather M.
Thanks for reading the Chicago Afternoon Edition. Got a story you think we missed? Email us here.
During the past year, comedians were forced, like so many others, to get creative.
For some, Zoom shows were a fate worse than hell–the prospect of being faced with silence while making jokes to a screen sounded soul-crushing at best. But for others, the digital space offered a unique opportunity to connect and support comics who they wouldn’t have otherwise met or performed with.
Producers Karmen Naidoo and Sonal Aggarwal, respectively based in New York and Chicago, turned to Zoom to start their own show after what Aggarwal called a “very romantic” but brief in-person meeting between them pre-pandemic. Gimme the Light highlights underrepresented, LGBTQIA+, and BIPOC comedians (with the rare white token performer), and in recent months has transitioned into a live show. But without the new focus on remote performance, who knows when they might have been able to work together in this capacity, let alone create a community among people who may not have otherwise met.
“Jeff [Rice, an audience member], would come on the Zoom show every week, and he’s like, ‘I’m so grateful for this because I can tell you how funny you were, and I can write to you in the comments,’ and they don’t feel like they can do that at a live show,” Aggarwal says. “There were times when I literally left the Zoom call and it would just be like our audience just hanging out.”
Dave Helem, producer and host of the Dope Comedy Summer Series, had a wrench thrown into a major career milestone and had to quickly adjust–instead of filming a traditional stand-up special as planned, his first hour-long special, DJ The Chicago Kid, was filmed at a drive-in outside the Rose Bowl in Pasadena.
“It was a very interesting thing, because they had only so many of the cars miked up. You could hear them laughing, but you could also hear them eating nachos,” Helem says. “Maybe right now, people don’t want to be reminded of the pandemic. But they’re going back into doing regular specials now with live audiences, which is cool, but I think I think mine is kind of like a time stamp. This was recorded in the goddamn pandemic.”
click to enlarge
For comedians Clare Austen-Smith and AJ Marroquin, now the producers and hosts of Yard Party, the past year and a half provided a much-need break to rest, reset, and refocus.
“Comics love to post the hustle and grind culture, and to each their own,” Austen-Smith says. “But I realized for me that when the pandemic started, I was incredibly close to burning out, I was doing way too much. And I was doing stuff that wasn’t necessarily what I felt like was the best representation of me and my comedy on stage.”
In the past few months as the world around us has gotten a little bit safer, a slow trickle of live comedy has returned, in both indoor and outdoor spaces, reminding audiences and comics alike that we made it through this together and it’s OK to laugh again. Maybe it’s that rediscovered sense of togetherness that is causing many of these shows to feel like so much more than a comedy performance.
A Dope Comedy Summer Series
Fri 7/23-Sat 7/24, 9 PM; Sun 7/25, 8 PM, North Bar, 1637 W. North, liveatnorthbar.com, $30 for weekend pass, $15 per show.
For more information about upcoming shows in Chicago and New York check out @gimmethelightcomedy on Instagram.
Helem, now based in LA, is returning to Chicago for a three-day festival of his monthly Dope Comedy Show at North Bar. From July 23-25 he’s not only featuring some of his favorite local comics but local musicians and surprise drop-in guests as well, encouraging folks to stay and hang with him all night. Yard Party, now every Wednesday at 9 PM on the patio at the Hideout, also includes a musical element with a rotation of DJs providing pre-show tunes and the soundtrack for an after party at the bar. And Gimme the Light has included music, a small market of local vendors, even a brisket slow-cooked by Thomas’s dad for all who came to enjoy the show. It’s not just about jokes anymore–it’s about connecting on as many levels as possible and appreciating every tiny moment.
“Doing comedy you’re watching people’s faces all the time and to see certain people I hadn’t been in front of in like a year and a half at the show, slapping their knee or having a good time or lighting a cigarette, I was like, ‘This is so romantic, I’m writing a little poems about all of you guys in my mind,'” Marroquin says. “I want it to be more than just 45 minutes of comedy. I want to be like a three-hour, four-hour hang at a place you really like with people that you really like.”
click to enlarge
That being said, the jokes are still important, especially coming off of a universally terrible year. Aggarwal laughs, “My mantra is: be funny, not scary. I was like, ‘Max, do you have any notes for us?’ And he was like, ‘You know, a lot of your jokes, I feel like you’re kind of saying a lot and like just get to the joke.’ I’m like, ‘Oh, you mean like, do stand-up?'” And the audience needs to step up and be on board as well. “To all the scream laughers out there who feel like you’re maybe a little embarrassed, your time has come,” Austen-Smith says. “We need you.”
A fear when returning to these shows as an audience member is an onslaught of pandemic jokes, already cliched punchlines about baking bread or working from home. Worse yet, a fear that some things would have stayed exactly the same, with certain comics still telling sexist, racist, homophobic, fatphobic jokes as if nothing had happened. What has come to fruition instead is insightful sets about the nuances of being stuck inside and a newfound support of jokes tackling important issues.
“With everything that happened last year with the pandemic, Black Lives Matter movement, Asian hate, we wanted to create a space which was for everyone, so everyone that’s the other was able to feel comfortable to express themselves artistically,” Naidoo says. “Before last year, people would be like, ‘Oh, you always talk about race and colonizers’ and white people are watching your show and being polite, but they’re not really laughing. Now I bring up some of my oldest stuff that I’m like, I guess this works now because people are talking about this. Now everyone’s laughing.”
Some of the biggest changes, of course, come with the logistics. Many performances require attendees and performers to show vaccination cards. Awkward conversations are being had about who should be allowed to attend a show based on their careless pandemic activities or refusal to get the jab. Some go-to venues aren’t yet hosting performances or worse yet, no longer exist.
Helem knew he wanted A Dope Summer Series to be at North Bar to support the small venue after a hell of a year for venues, especially because in the past the bar’s manager, Jim Weber, had financially helped him out. “He had my back when when my back was kind of fucked up,” Helem says. “I know that he’s had a rough time with COVID and stuff like that so anytime that I could put money in his pocket, because he’s definitely put money in my pocket, I want to do that.”
As priorities shift in our new world, there are two major points on which all comics agreed: all performers should be paid and everyone should be much more intentional with their time. The weeks of hitting every open mike or every showcase every night just to make sure you’re showing your face are over–as are, for many, the nights of being the only woman or person of color or queer person on a lineup just to check someone’s box. Instead performers are focused on creating the spaces they want to see and spending time in rooms with those who share their values, performers and audience members alike.
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“I think that it’s just so powerful, that when people come to our shows, if you’re an Indian American person, you’re able to come and not only see a Black person tell jokes, but you’re also able to come and vibe with them and be reminded of damn, we share so much together instead of being of course in this segregated city, being in your segregated pocket, and judging from the outside, but you’re able to come together,party, laugh and eat together,” Thomas says. “That right there is grassroots organizing.”
And this reset is only the beginning.
“One thing I really hope happens is people who have been sitting on ideas for shows, or have been dwelling on possible things that they want to pursue goal-wise, I hope that they just go and fucking make it happen and do it,” Marroquin says. “I don’t want people to lose that tenacity and lose that zeal for being creative or making an event happen, because right now there’s so much possibility out there beyond the venues that people are used to. And I appreciate the trickle of shows but I hope eventually it’s back to a flood of things to choose from.” v
Minnesota Vikings offensive line coach/run game coordinator Rick Dennison is out of a job after refusing the COVID-19 vaccine, ESPN’s Courtney Cronin reported Friday.
The team will promote assistant offensive coach Phil Rauscher to replace Dennison. Minnesota also hired Auburn special teams analyst Ben Steele as an assistant to fill out its coaching staff.
Dennison has been with the Vikings for the past two seasons and would be the first NFL assistant coach to lose his job for refusal to take the vaccine.
The NFL mandates that all Tier 1 staff get vaccinated. For those Tier 1 staff not vaccinated, they must get proof through medical or religious reasons to not get the vaccine.
Tier 1 staff are those in constant contact with players.
Dennison’s dismissal comes days after the NFL sent a memo to all 32 teams saying the league would institute forfeits if a COVID-19 outbreak among unvaccinated players forced a game to be canceled during the regular season.
Chicago definitely tops the list at having some of the best restaurants. But for those that live in the suburbs and maybe can’t make it out to the city, there are a lot of great restaurant options, especially if you live in Arlington Heights. I myself have been to a few of these and I can say that they are by far some of the best restaurants around that area. Arlington Heights offers a multitude of cuisines and as you’ll be able to tell, they have something for everyone. So check out 10 of the best restaurants in Arlington Heights below!
1912 North Arlington Heights Road, Arlington Heights, IL 60004
Palm Court consists of three dining rooms, a full bar, and a cocktail lounge featuring live entertainment Monday through Saturday. The cuisine at this restaurant is a contemporary mix with favorites such as Oysters Rockefeller and Veal Oscar. Located near downtown Arlington Heights IL, and just minutes from the Metra station, Palm Court brings a timeless classic ambiance alongside a tantalizing menu that combines American cuisine with European influences. A highlight of the restaurant is the piano lounge, a comfortable place to unwind, relax, meet up with friends as you listen to the live piano music that swathes the dinner crowd Monday through Saturday.
208 S Arlington Heights Rd, Arlington Heights, IL 60005
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Pizza, pasta & other Italian staples are the draw at this upscale restaurant in Arlington Heights, IL with a relaxed vibe. Francesca’s Tavola is part of the Francesca’s Restaurant Group which includes restaurants like Fat Rosie’s, Disotto, Joes Imports, Vasili’s, and Davanti Enoteca. Francesca’s Restaurants is a neighborhood Trattoria offering classic Italian favorites in an ambiance of sophisticated comfort.
Peggy Kinnane’s Irish Restaurant & Pub is a wood-&-stone-trimmed taproom featuring Irish small plates & comfort-food classics plus live music. The spectacular layout features several bars, dining areas, and even private party rooms. Warm weather allows for tables outside around the beautiful perimeter. Look for Irish food on the menu, Irish people serving and being served, and plenty of warm, friendly conversation with a few songs thrown in as the night goes on.
Ttowa Korean Bistro is a modern bistro with simple, stylish decor serving Korean cuisine. Ttowa’s new menu delivers “mandoo” – Korean dumplings – complemented by homemade dipping sauces. TTOWA serves traditional-style mandoos with pork, beef, and assorted vegetables. For vegetarians, they prepare mandoos stuffed with shiitake mushrooms, tofu, and an assortment of other vegetables. The family-style restaurant also offers traditional rice dishes, soup, and noodles. Main entrées feature chicken, pork, and beef, such as marinated short ribs with traditional vegetable rice porridge.
Salsa 17 is a modern, upscale restaurant for Mexican dining & diverse margaritas in a colorful, art-filled hacienda. Established in 2005, this destination in Arlington Heights, IL unites an enjoyable atmosphere, gourmet dishes, delicious drinks, and a knowledgeable staff to provide a delightfully satisfying authentic Mexican dining experience. Fun fact! Salsa 17 was reviewed and loved by Par Bruno, Phil Vettel, Sherman Kaplan, and the Daily Herald.
Naomi Sushi is a laid-back eatery with classic & unique sushi rolls & Japanese entrees, plus happy hour specials. The menu includes appetizers like edamame, tempura, seaweed salad, ceviche, and gyoza. They also offer Maki, Handrolls, special rolls, rice bowls, and more! So if you’re a sushi lover, this is the place to be.
Osteria Trulli is an authentic Pugliese kitchen located in Arlington Heights, IL. Focusing on “La Cucina Povera” (cooking of the poor), Executive Chef, long-time restauranteur, and Puglia native Giovanni DeNigris celebrates his passion for the humble coastal cuisine that defines one of Southern Italy’s most brilliant regions. A tribute to the deep-rooted traditions of Puglia’s culinary identity, the menu offers unrivaled presentations of fresh seafood, house-made pasta, wood-fired brick oven pizza, creamy risotto, succulent roasted meats, and more. Open since 2016, Osteria Trulli was named a “Best New Restaurant” by Chicago Magazine and is lauded throughout the Chicagoland area as a pilgrimage-worthy Italian dining destination.
we are introducing our very new kitchen appetizer called “spring roll”. If you like gyoza and tired of it then, try our similar appetizer.
60 S Arlington Heights Rd, Arlington Heights, IL 60005
Wildfish is a modern, fresh take on sushi in the heart of Downtown Arlington Heights. If you are looking for the best restaurants in the area, Wildfish delivers contemporary Japanese dining by fusing traditional and urban cultures. And whether you are new to Japanese food or a sushi aficionado, there’s something for everyone. You can start off with house favorites such as beef asparagus rolls and edamame or you can try over fifty different specialty rolls such as the Scary Spider and Golden Dragon. If you don’t see something on the menu, ask the head chef and he will create one on the spot for you! If raw fish doesn’t suit you, you can try the delicious sea bass or filet mignon bento.
Burger Baron is a long-standing counter-serve providing burgers, gyro sandwiches & subs. Their menu features a host of mouth-watering dishes and scratch-made specials. You can order anything from subs to seafood dinners, to pizza and even tacos! There’s something here for every American cuisine lover.
876 W Dundee Rd, Arlington Heights, IL 60004
Rokbonki offers the best in Japanese teppanyaki and sushi since 1989. They pride themselves in using only quality and fresh ingredients to maximize taste with all of their homemade teriyaki sauce, salad dressing, horseradish, spicy garlic, and Tokyo batters. The menu features, small plates, combination plates, and even sauces that you can take to-go.
What’s better than a fresh margarita on National Tequila Day? A margarita that gives back.
That’s why this Saturday, July 24th, every restaurant listed below will be donating $1 for every margarita sold at the location to Embarc Chicago—a community-driven, experienced-based learning center for low-income high school students — providing a place to prepare them for college & career success.
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Embarc’s list of corporate partners includes the likes of Northern Trust, Groupon, Xfinity, and Allstate as well.
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The ‘Why’ section of Embarc’s website provides some pretty powerful insight into the core values of the program. “There are some powerful systems in place that prevent students from succeeding – violence, segregation, institutionalized racism, poverty, and underfunded schools and programs. These not only create real and visible barriers to success, but they work to impede the growth of youth psychologically as well.”
Embarc combats these systems by providing students with a myriad of positive modes of success, journeying out of their neighborhoods to directly engage with cultural and commercial worlds in Chicago. Embarc lays out the practical steps necessary for students to move towards their dreams.
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The bars stepping up to support this great organization include:
These are some of your favorite person’s favorite bars scattered throughout the north sidete of the city all banding together to support this cause. From Old Town to West Loop all the way up to Wrigley, check out 11 bars for your National Tequila Day activities and have some libations for a cause.
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The bars stepping up to support this great organization include: