Journalist, Author & Syndicated Columnist
Inspired by the Christmas productions at New York’s Radio City Music Hall, country superstar Martina McBride has decided to undertake her own holiday tour. McBride’s first annual “The Joy of Christmas” tour reaches the UIC Pavilion on Sunday.
It’s 8 o’clock on a Friday night. Chris’s Billiards on Chicago’s Northwest Side is full of some serious pool players. They glance at our table. If they’re thinking we’re uncoordinated players, they’re too polite to point that out. Instead, a kindly gentleman walks over and suggests we take a bit more time to focus before we hit the ball. “It just takes a little getting used to,” he says. “You’ll get used to it.” Though my friend and I have only played pool a combined total of five times–ever–we’re having a ball.
Tori Amos has one of those ethereal voices that can make even the mundane sound compelling. Whether she’s performing her breakthrough hit, “Silent All These Years,” or tackling Eminem’s misogynist ” ’97 Bonnie & Clyde” from the woman’s point of view, Amos conveys emotions that reach the listener’s soul.
There are plenty of unintentionally funny moments in “Extreme Ops.” When a terrorist mistakenly assumes the women are CIA operatives, he intimidates them with threats of death. Oh, and yes, he’d like to see the two women kiss each other. Accused of being a sick freak, he gleefully responds, “Sick freak … with a rifle.” Well, he’s got ya there.
Maybe it was jet lag that made him do it, but Tim McGraw actually said something Tuesday in Chicago that drew boos from diehard fans. During a break from his nine-song set at a private listening party at Isaac Hayes’ downtown club, McGraw friskily said, “I’m a Packers fan.”
The Goo Goo Dolls did the best they could Friday night at the Chicago Theatre. But they were playing to an audience that probably didn’t attend a lot of rock concerts. How else could you explain a bunch of grown men [and women-but let’s face it, most of them were guys] who would hurl fluorescent glow sticks at the stage and think the band would enjoy it.
Jakob Dylan doesn’t like to analyze his music. Truth be told, he doesn’t particularly like listening to it, either. “I don’t listen to any of our records because I don’t want that influence of what we’ve already done hanging over us,” says Dylan, 32. “If I’m critical of the past, then I become a critic just like everyone else.”
By Jae-Ha Kim Chicago Sun-Times November 22, 2002 At its prime in the 1990s, Primus was headlining at Lollapalooza and touring with U2. These days, Les Claypool, Primus’ frontman before the members went their separate […]
The beginning of the end for the late, great television show “Politically Incorrect” came shortly after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
Viggo Mortensen has 30 minutes left before he has to return to the set to reshoot a scene for “The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers,” which will be in theaters next month. Dressed in character as Aragorn, he is muddied, tired and looking forward to digging into the food he’s carrying on a tray. But first, he searches the make-shift cafeteria for his son Henry. As he walks past the cast and crew, bystanders aren’t sure whether to look away or bow to the oddly regal actor.
With “Justified,” Justin Timberlake has declared his independence. From ‘N Sync, the boy band that made him famous. From his female counterpart Britney Spears. And from critics who gleefully depicted him as a bubble-headed, curly-haired playboy.
Phoning from Canada, Wynonna Judd has her hands full. Sure, there are the back-to-back concerts she has to perform. But she’s also getting her
children’s lesson plans ready for the day. “I teach,” says Judd, 38. “I homeschool. When I’m in the studio recording, I have a nanny/tutor to teach my kids.”
You are Tommy Vercetti. Never mind that you look like the love child of Don Johnson and Steven Seagal and sound like Ray Liotta (who voices the character). Life seems like it’s going to improve 10-fold. You’ve just been released from the joint after having served a 15-year stint.
Donna McKechnie still is one singular sensation. The Tony Award-winning actress/singer/dancer made a name for herself as Cassie in the original Broadway cast of “A Chorus Line” in 1976. But it’s her storytelling ability that’s winning her kudos in her latest production, “An Evening With Donna McKechnie–My Musical Comedy Life!” The show is running through this weekend at the Metropolis Performing Arts Center in Arlington Heights.
So, all you have to look forward to this Halloween week is handing out crummy candy to the neighborhood rugrats. Where’s your treat? Fear not, we’ve ferreted out some of the best (and worst) video games to give you great big goosebumps.
When Shane Williams occasionally sang on the television series “Early Edition,” her performance was good enough that many viewers wondered who was dubbing her singing voice.
There are some folks who have their Halloween costumes planned out months in advance. For the rest of us, it’s all we can do to stock up on candy and not eat it all before doling it out to the kids. But regardless of your approach to the holiday, there’s nothing like a good creepy film to ensure a frightfully fun evening. Here are some of our favorite Halloween picks, including a couple that’ll keep your kids entertained.
Mark Lyman had a simple concept in mind when he founded the International Exposition of Sculpture Objects & Functional Art nine years ago: Make fine, functional art available to the public. While highbrow types might have wondered whether there was enough of an audience for such an ambitious project, Lyman was confident.
“How Sweet It Is” is Joan Osborne’s answer to the events of Sept. 11, 2001. The singer-songwriter was in Los Angeles working on an album when she heard about the attacks on the World Trade Center back home in New York City.
Savion Glover’s lean, nimble legs whip across the stage in a way that defies speed. But it’s when he slows down that the viewer is able to fully relish each syncopated, seemingly effortless step. With his trademark locks flying and amplified tap shoes pounding away, he creates music as much as dance. With “Bring in ‘Da Noise, Bring in ‘Da Funk,” the Broadway production that won the performer a Tony Award for choreography six years ago, Glover attempts to educate as he entertains. He tells the story of the African-American experience through a series of vignettes ranging from lynchings, to race riots, to everyday racism in the form of cabbies refusing to pick up black passengers.