Lollapalooza, Day 2: Childish Gambino Delivers Confusing, Underwhelming Set, While Janelle Monaé Proves Herself The True Q.U.E.E.N.

There are certainly points of a contention with Glover’s statements and politics – and I say that as someone of the far left – but this is not the space to engage with such thinking; rather, for the purposes of a Lollapalooza recap, it is very worth pointing out that none of the aforementioned political positions – none of the messianic zeal, none of the salvos against white supremacy – were present in any shape or form during Glover’s set, which not only prominently featured “This is America,” but is only the latest stop on Glover’s latest tour, which is called (wait for it) the “This is America Tour.”

Historical Inconsistencies Mar Writers Theatre’s Perfect ‘Parade’

Writers Theatre’s production of the Jason Robert Brown musical “Parade” is the kind of show that makes my heart sink – a technically perfect, ravishingly performed piece of theater that is nonetheless contaminated by its source material, in this case the troubling historical perspective of Brown and book writer Alfred Uhry.

I detail how the play's history – one that romanticizes the South and the Civil War's true cause – discount its message, and how theater audiences much engage more directly with historically inspired works.

‘Aladdin’ Brings Spectacle, Disney Charm to the Cadillac Palace

With spectacular staging and a reimagining of the Genie character that is Black, flamboyant, and altogether fabulous – in other words, a most delightful rebuke to the shaky cultural ground of the original film – 'Disney's Aladdin' lives up to the hype at Chicago's Cadillac Palace, even if
the show's latter moments cannot quite match the magic of its opening act.

Run the Jewels captures the essence of hip hop in blistering Aragon concert

In his acclaimed book Democracy Matters, professor and activist Cornel West offered a passionate defense of the democratic importance of hip hop, and how the art form was, from its beginning, a check on the political system. “Its originating impulse was a fierce disgust with the hypocrisies of adult culture – disgust with the selfishness, capitalist callousness, and xenophobia of the culture of adults,” West wrote. “The political giants of hip hop all expressed and continue to express … righteous indignation at the dogmas and nihilism of imperial America.”

In his analysis, West cited artists from hip hop’s Golden Age – KRS-ONE, Public Enemy, and most recently, Outkast – but the fundamentals he wrote about in 2005 were on urgent display Friday night at the Aragon, where Run the Jewels delivered a barn-burning concert that captured the very essence of hip hop.

Chicago Theater “Winterlude” reaffirms Wilco’s status as Chicago’s definitive rock band

It’s hardly controversial, at this point, to label Wilco Chicago’s definitive rock band. After 22 years, 10 studio albums, and countless tracks defining the discreet agonies and ecstasies of Midwest life, the band has become a Chicago institution, and its phenomenal concerts – including night one of its 2017 Winterlude at the Chicago Theater – are ground zero for its fans.