Journalist, Author & Syndicated Columnist
Richard Ashcroft had his work cut out for him when the Verve kicked off their American tour in Chicago. Instead of performing at the 13,400-capacity Rosemont Horizon as originally planned, poor ticket sales forced the Englishmen to move the show to the Aragon Ballroom, a venue one-third the Horizon’s size. Then, too, the quintet performed minus lead guitarist Nick McCabe, who had announced earlier this month that he would not go on the road with his bandmates.
“It’s OK if people make fun of us because we’re young or whatever,” says 15-year-old Taylor, the keyboardist and lead vocalist. “Howard Stern makes fun of our music, but it’s cool because he makes fun of everyone. We enjoy making music and performing together, but we have a sense of humor about all of it, too. You can’t take it all too seriously.”
Dumping your friends is different from losing touch. The latter is passive action that happens because one of you moves away, or he gets married, or she has a baby and is too busy to listen to you harp about a Kate Spade handbag that you absolutely have to have. Eventually, you run into each other again, exchange new numbers and addresses and make an effort to renew your friendship.
Outside Wrigley Field, surrounded by thousands of other Cubs fans, David Boreanaz hit the ground and bowed. “I’m not worthy,” he said, half-jokingly. “I’m totally in awe. I’m mesmerized right now.” The same could be said for the gaggle of teenagers nudging each other, asking, “Hey, isn’t that Angel?”
Spanning two centuries, the latest IMAX three-dimensional film, “Mark Twain’s America,” celebrates the puckish author through his own words, 3-D stills and re-enactments of historic events.
Whatever happened to three-dimensional films? You know – the kind where you strapped on a pair of goofy glasses, sat in a dark movie theater and squealed as Vincent Price worked his magic in “House of Wax.”
The upcoming feature film “The Avengers” may be set in England, but the film’s soundtrack has a strong Chicago vibe, thanks to Veruca Salt’s Louise Post, Yum-Yum’s Chris Holmes and Brian Liesegang, a former member of Filter and Nine Inch Nails.
“Chink-a-Chink-a Chinaman sitting on a fence; Trying to make a dollar out of 59 cents.” My parents were mortified when their 5-year-old daughter came home from school singing this chant. My friends and I had learned to jump rope to this song from older kids who thought it would be fun to teach a bunch of kindergartners a thing or two. At the time, I had about as much concept of what a “Chink” was as I did the actual value of 59 cents. But I was too young to see past my parents’ forced smiles.
Singer-songwriter Steve Poltz had a strange reaction when he saw himself starring as the male lead in his buddy Jewel’s video. He shaved his head. “I was in a bar in Boston when the video came on and I thought, `God, Jewel looks great, but who’s this stupid guy?’ ” said Poltz, phoning from an airport in Montreal. “I just cringed. Then I went and cut all my hair off. It seemed like the right thing to do.”
Seven years ago, I decided to take the plunge and invest in a home. The greedy part of me wanted a house with a huge lawn, 2-car garage and a roomy basement. Then I thought about mowing the lawn eight months out of the year and, worse yet, shoveling snow for the remainder. Suddenly, a condo sounded like a better alternative. So I checked out various developments and eventually arranged to put down a deposit on a unit. When I got there at the appointed time, I learned the broker had sold the plot of land she had promised to me.
`Autumn Sun” is a rarity – a bittersweet love story where the main characters happen to be – at least according to society – well past their prime. All too often, older characters are treated as asexual caricatures. But here director Eduardo Mignogna treats them with respect and humor.
His name’s Kramer. Kenny Kramer. And like his “Seinfeld” doppelganger, Cosmo Kramer (played by Michael Richards), this Kramer is tall, thin and full of wacky ideas (the denim tuxedo idea he pitched to Calvin Klein didn’t fly).
After 12 hours of climbing, I had to force myself to concentrate,” says Jamling Norgay, a climbing leader in the latest Omnimax documentary “Everest.” “As the pain gets worse, I feel worse than I’ve ever felt . . . without passing over to the other side. But up here in the clouds, I touched my father’s soul.”
There is a nightly ritual to the “Tonight Show” at the Rosemont Theatre. Before the taping starts, the Freebie Guy arrives to pass out T-shirts and caps.
By Jae-Ha Kim Chicago Sun-Times May 3, 1998 Jason Gedrick’s career got a boost when he played a randy murder suspect on the critically acclaimed series “Murder One.” Then he played an unwilling mobster in […]
Last week, the “Late Show” flew 461 Chicagoans to New York to watch a taping of David Letterman’s CBS talk show. And next week, Jay Leno brings his “Tonight Show” to the Rosemont Theatre for a week. The trip is a repeat performance for Leno, who brought his act here in 1996. Letterman broadcast his show from the Chicago Theatre for a week in 1989 and did a one-night stand two years ago at the Steppenwolf Theatre.
Patti Kim shows the eloquent anguish of an abandoned child in her debut novel, A Cab Called Reliable (St. Martin’s, 156 pp., $18.95 . Her story is told through the eyes of 9-year-old Ahn Joo Cho, a Korean immigrant whose life changes forever when she sees her mother and little brother drive off in a cab. Without her. The last thing she remembers seeing is the word “reliable” on the car door.
There’s something to be said for delegating. Who knows whether “Waiting for the Man” would’ve been a better picture if John Covert – the film’s writer, producer, director and co-star – hadn’t tackled such a heady project himself. But it couldn’t have been much worse.
“Suicide Kings” doesn’t take the kamikaze approach of going in for the quick kill. Rather, the convoluted story aims for plot twists and revelations that never really materialize in this tale of a bungled kidnapping.
Subscribing to the theory that more is more, Eric Clapton kicked off the first of two sold-out concerts at Chicago’s United Center with a 20-piece orchestra, six-piece band and three backup singers. But in the end, the best moments of his uneven show occurred when Clapton and his band, who will perform May 27 at the Forum, cut loose on some blue-eyed soul.