The Hideout's Grammy Connection

Neko Case's Middle Cyclone was one of my favorite albums of last year, and not just for the stunning album art, which is absolutely outstanding on its own. Kathleen Judge, long-time Hideout bartender and design artist, designed the cover and is being recognized with a Grammy nomination for Best Recording Package. It's also pretty well known that Case, who is up for Best Contemporary Folk Album as well, once upon a time tended the Hideout bar herself.

See more of the Hideout's Grammy connections on DeRo's Sun Times blog.

The 52nd Annual Grammy Awards air this Sunday at 7pm CT on CBS.

The SHOCKING Update!

When I’m commuting via public transit, I, as a lot of people do, like to listen to music. Occasionally I’ll read a book or magazine, but sometimes it is so crowded, reading is pretty much impossible—so is digging out a book when you’re so bundled up you can’t even turn your head (ah, Chicago winter…)

Silent stewing is no way to ride when you’re pressed between two people with an arm in your face, a bag in your side, and nothing to hold on to. So when dry winter temps hit and my earphones started shocking the insides of my ears, we had a problem. As I said before, I was using the stock iPhone earphones, so I tried some in-ear ear-buds, hoping that since the metal part wasn’t touching my ear, it would stop. Nope.

I then tried earphones with the foam pad on them, thinking that might absorb the shock. It seemed to be working, until after a couple of days, just as I was walking into the gym…zap! Now, I could go on the fact that the shock would only happen once in a while, but living in constant fear that you might get zapped in the ear at any moment is no way to live.

Tankboy had told me that I could try his over ear headphones that he uses to DJ, but when I first looked at the plug, it was too big to fit in a normal phones jack, so I thought I was out of luck there. But then he told me that he has to put on an adapter to fit in the jack on the mixers, took that off, and wallah, it fit.

Here’s the big news… IT’S WORKING! It’s been almost a week and I haven’t been shocked once! It’s got its downsides: I no longer have volume and play/pause control on the cord, the cord is suuuper long, and they’re kind of a pain to fit under my hood, but it’s all worth it if I can have my tunes and not be shocked. Plus, I look like somebody that’s proud to be a music lover—wear it big and proud!

Mah Favorite Band ...and Susan Sarandon?

Mah favorite band, of Montreal, recently played at NYC's Highline Ballroom and were joined by Miss Solange Knowles (who duets with K. Barnes on the cover "I Want You Back") and ...Susan Sarandon???

Yup, thats her. Spanking pig men.

And, is it just me or is Barnes looking like he buffed up a little? Or, is it just the beard he's sporting?

nyctaper has the full show available for mp3 download.

(Photo from nyctaper by Kate Ehle. See her full flickr set here.)

I still can't feel my toes.

Full on Winter Blues Anger has set in, and while it hasn’t been especially freezing for the last couple weeks (we were lucky to have a mid-Jan heat wave of upper 30’s there over the weekend…) the longevity does its job and here we sit every late Jan into Feb wondering why we still live here ( I’m speaking for the collective Chicagoian here). Today started off especially rough. I hate the mornings I have a bad commute because it sets the tone for the rest of the day: anger and rage.

Every morning I have a choice: take the bus to the train, which is a shorter walk from my house, but takes slightly longer to get to work, and I have to be outside to transfer to the train; or take two trains, which is a longer walk (ie, longer time spent outside) and is technically longer (I pass my actual destination to transfer in the loop to my second train), but is actually a few minutes quicker than the bus route, and my transfer point is underground. One downside of the train is that it is ALWAYS crowded—for those that don’t live in the city, I’m talking pressed up against strangers so close that you feel they should have bought you dinner, or at least a drink first. Sometimes on the bus route, I can get a seat, but I emphasize sometimes. Bus Tracker has been a blessing to our lives, but sometimes, it just isn’t accurate and, like today, I end up standing out in the cold much longer than anticipated, and know that since it has been so long since the last bus, I’m going to be pressed up against the windshield for most of my ride.

So how do I deal? Loud, up-tempo music. I sometimes like to listen to a podcast, a sort of conversational story to distract me, but sometimes the train will be so loud I can’t hear parts of sentences, or I’m being leaned on in a way that I can’t even passively concentrate on what is being said (which is why it is so important to find a solution to my headphone shock problem—silence in these situations is much worse). So I turn to the music. Today I relied on shuffle; some songs that got me through were: Winter Gloves’ "Let Me Drive," The Ting Tings’ "Impacilla Carpisung," Housse De Rackett’s "Oh Yeah!," Prairie Cartel’s "Suitcase Pimp," and Jane’s Addiction’s "True Nature." By the time I got to the end of that list, my headphones were turned up as loud as they go…

How do you get through a crappy commute?

(Image from Pantagrapher via Chicagoist, 2007)

Team Conan.

I'm assuming you will all be watching the very last Conan O'Brien hosted episode of the Tonight Show tonight. Hopefully there will be more of this, and this, and maybe even this (seriously, watch through the end of the second video, you'll never look at Max Weinberg the same).

And next week we commence our NBC boycott. Suck it Zucker.

Inauguration Day '09: Revisited

Barack Obama's Inauguration Day was one year ago today, so I thought I'd revisit my trip to DC through my tweets.

It feels like so long ago, but in a way, it feels like it just happened. The days of "Hope" and "Change" do certainly feel far away; attitudes have certainly changed since that day one year ago, but on this day, we should be reminded of what one man said while we were waiting with a horde of people trying to get on the subway to get out of downtown DC (after all the central train stations had been shut down): "CHANGE TAKES TIME!"

We stayed with a friend, had to pick up the tickets from our congressman in DC (thanks to a snowstorm days before), almost didn't even get into the ticketed area (because of security threats, six entrance gates were reduced to one), then broke out of the ticketed section, my dad was even tracking our progress and sending us tips, we went to the Hideout's celebration concert @ Black Cat, drank a lot, I live tweeted the concert and the inauguration for Gapers Block, and we drove 1400 miles through the snow. It was a whirlwind, unforgettable trip.

(ps. times on these might not be accurate, I sent my tweets via text and sometimes they were delayed and out of order.)

January 17th, 2009

Off to Hertz to pick up the rental car. They close at 2, hopefully we make it in time! 2:34 PM

Damn. They're out of cars. Now we have to try the airport...

HAHAHA! We got the same car we had in ohio! That silly looking HHR! At least this one isn't red...4:19 PM

At home packing for the trip, and realizing that my mobile twitters take forever to post and aren't in order. hmpf. 7:19 PM

January 18th, 2009

Well, woke up later than planned. Wanted to be on the road by 7, but now it's 9:11. 9:11 AM

And we're off to DC for Obama's inauguration! 9:46 AM

Welcome to indiana! 10:02 AM

Hello ohio!12:11 PM

Reading up for my kings of leon article. Tankboy's still at the wheel. And its snowing! 2:09 PM

Lunchy lunch. Pizza Hut. For some reason i feel compelled to eat crap food when i am traveling. 2:44 PM

Yay PA! 3:47 PM

Just saw the Hideout busses at a random rest stop! I wonder if the Bird is here! 5:43 PM

Figuring out i can gmail and twitter from my phones browser. Good bye battery power... (Now i need to change my billing package too) 6:35 PM

We made it! We are in DC! 8:38 PM

Aaaand we're out at the bars. Wonderland now. 9:33 PM

Disco is always oppressive. 11:39 PM

Into the black cat. 11:45 PM

People keep taking pictures of the crowd in here. Is it that unusual? 11:57 PM

Velvet vest and/or leather hat = wrong 5:39 AM

Everyone here is undistinguishable. 5:54 AM

January 19th, 2009

Wakey wakey. (With a slight hangover) 8:31 AM

Oh noes! We are lost! 9:17 AM

Just remembered we took a limo home last night. HAHAHA 9:29 AM

On the metro to luis guiterez's office to get our inauguration tickets. 10:03 AM

I feel like the metro is a disney ride compared to the el. 10:04 AM

People are actually friendly and talk to each other here. Tankboy is scared. 10:04 AM

Found Rayburn office building but there is a HUGE line. Trying the staff entrance. 10:26 AM

Tickets in hand! 10:51 AM

Just got to Arlington National Cemetery. 12:05 PM

Visited my Gramps's grave, made me cry :( He has a nice view of the Pentagon though :) 12:40 PM

Chinatown. 1:49 PM

There are TONS of people selling Obama schwag and yelling about it. 1:58 PM

DC is hilly. Chicago is not. 2:46 PM

Jim won't let me buy an Obama air freshener. Hmph. 3:20 PM

Going into a live taping of Slate's political gabfest podcast. 3:46 PM

Nerdfest. 4:03 PM

Back on the metro. The stations look like Star Wars! 5:51 PM

Dinnertime at The Looking Glass, then off to the Black Cat again. 7:45 PM

Headin to the Black Cat now. The boyfriend is on the list but no +1, so we'll see if i get in... 9:11 PM

And im in! 40 bucks to a guy whose wife couldn't make it. 9:31 PM

Venue is pretty cool. Big room. Cool little sitting area in back. And the big Obama poster is here! 9:36 PM

Tortoise is already playing. The thing started at 7:30, hope i didnt miss too much. 9:38 PM

Yo yo jeff parker! 9:39 PM

The Bird has arrived! Shut up, he's playing with tortoise! 9:41 PM

Just saw Tim Tuten, he's in hogheaven right now :) 9:44 PM

I heart AB. His voice is amazing. 10:04 PM

Tim is drunk. And yelling. 11:41 PM

You can tell the people that came on the Hideout bus bc they are the only ones dressed up for the "ball" 11:43 PM

Eleventh Dream Day! 11:47 PM

Hello Waco Brothers. Im not going to talk much about you. 11:42 PM

Can't stand this band. Going downstairs. 11:48 PM

Back upstairs. Really cleared out! 11:51 PM

Tim still wasted. And yelling but hell yeah. Obama will be president TODAY! 11:53 PM

I like this band. But i forgot the name! 11:53 PM

Tankbot doesn't exist. 12:03 AM

Wonderland! 12:13 AM

Inauguration Day!

Happy Inauguration Day! 6:42 AM

Trying to wake the boyfriend up. Difficult task. 8:13 AM

Live bloging for Gapers Block today. Hope the phones work down there. 9:03 AM

Wow it is crowded. And we havent even left the metro station yet. 9:34 AM

I dont think they're letting people in, even with tickets. 9:50 AM

Some guy just told me they let people stay there all night without tickets. 9:50 AM

Whoah. Police are seriously pushy. This could get ugly. 9:55 AM

Come on people, start rushing. You cant even get a chant together. Let us in! 10:03 AM

Oh shit. Just spotted a sniper! 10:07 AM

The chant started and then someone yelled please. Geez. 10:14 AM

We got in! Yes we did! But now we cant move. 10:19 AM

Found the real entrance. Now we are really inside! Tons of room and jumbotron! 10:20 AM

They're introducing th old presidents. People just booed Bush. The first one. 10:21 AM

This is kind of overwhelming, in a good way. 10:26 AM

Just introduced the Obama daughters. They so cute! 10:30 AM

Michelle! She has a pretty gold outfit on. 10:31 AM

Wow. Big time boos for the current Bush. Somebody said no flag waving for him. Geez. 10:37 AM

People just started singing na na hey hey hey good bye. Ha ha. 10:39 AM

Theres the man. Looking quite regal. 10:40 AM

Even bigger boos for Cheney! Come on guys, the man is in a wheelchair. 10:41 AM

Aretha! 10:54 AM

Rick Warren speaking. 10:57 AM

New VP! Yay! 10:59 AM

Yo yo! [Ma] 11:00 AM

Kind of appropiate and beautiful to see these birds flying around the capital to this music. 11:05 AM

And then he brought the sunshine out. 11:11 AM

Cannons and cheering. Ladies and gentlemen, Barack Obama is the new President of the United States. 11:12 AM

My dad suggested i tell you i am in the silver section, the back ticketed area. 11:15 AM

Well, the man can speak, thats for sure. 11:18 AM

I think Biden is speaking, but we are in a big crowd trying to exit the ticketed area. 11:39 AM

This is poorly planned. There is one entry and exit point. People are starting to jump the fence. 11:50 AM

Omg! People ripped the fence open. Some are pushing. Snipers are looking down. 11:52 AM

People are working together to take the fence down! Teamwork! 12:03 PM

We just broke outl into the american indian museum. People scaled the wall! 12:05 PM

We are out and safe on independence ave! 12:07 PM

Its gridlocked people everywhere. They wont let anyone on the metro. 12:22 PM

We are going to be stuck downtown for a while. People are going in all different directions and there are arbitrary fences blocking streets. 12:43 PM

Literally trapped downtown. I want to walk home, but we cant get anywhere! 12:54 PM

Im sitting on the floor of the lobby of some federal building. With about a hundred other people. 12:56 PM

Making another go for a further subway station. 1:33 PM

I feel like im in a zombie movie, every time you think you've found salvation, all there is is disaster. 1:42 PM

Well, made it back to Columbia Heights. Subway side was interesting to say the least. 2:28 PM

On the road again. 4:09 PM

Making a little stop in Annapolis to see where jim grew up. 5:12 PM

Dinner at Chick and Ruth's Delly, with a y :) 5:40 PM

Destination: Chicago. 7:06 PM

Stopping for the night in idontknowwhere Pennsylvania. 10:31 PM

January 21st, 2009

Back on the road, back in the snow. 9:38 AM

Cracker Barrell. Haven't been to one of these in ages. 10:35 AM

Yeah im eating country fried steak at 11 in the morning. What? 10:44 AM

Indiana. Almost home! 3:54 PM

And we're back. There's the skyline, the el and the traffic. 6:04 PM

FINALLY home. Exhausted. 8:36 PM

@tankboy, still upset you wouldn't let me buy that Obama Air Freshener. 11:24 AM Jan 23rd, 2009

Empty Bottle presents an "inn" with more than just sleeping arrangements.

Just yesterday I got an email from the folks at Empty Bottle (as did all of their email subscribers) about a new "inn" a couple of the partners are opening in Logan Square (I was surprised that this was the first I was hearing about the endeavor, especially when the message opens "As some of you may know..."). The space is called Longman & Eagle and it opens tonight. What should I care about two music venue owners opening a hotel you ask? Well, Longman & Eagle appears to be much more than that, as evidenced by the mountain of information pouring in since I wrote the mini-announcement on Gapers Block yesterday. In fact, the "sleeping" portion of the inn isn't even ready yet. What is ready, is the first floor restaurant and bar. And the why-should-you-care part? Keep reading.

The idea is old school Chicago (I keep envisioning a saloon-atmosphere) with a focus on fine bourbons, boutique wines, and a menu full of comfort foods that changes daily. And of course, music. They have a vintage seven inch jukebox (none of that download-anything-you-want crap) featuring a wide range of genres, and Daily Candy also points out that there is a DJ booth (speculating that Black Lips may appear for a set after their Chicago show on April 1).

Bottom line: this place is the real deal, with owners as caretakers taking pride in their property, and a desire to share it with you. (Man, this place is sounding pretty good; you just might find me there tonight.)

Longman & Eagle
2657 N. Kedzie Ave.