The world is an amazing place - but also, sometimes, pretty lackluster. I had the opportunity to see Dredg at the House of Blues in Chicago last week, but this show was unlike any other show the band has played in Chicago. Since achieving a fair amount of success earlier in their career and being signed to a major record label (Interscope), the band was given little to no promotion and subsequently dropped from Interscope.

 

 

Several years ago, Circa Survive went on tour with Dredg as the opening act - but this time around, Dredg opened up for them. An interesting role reversal to say the least - after talking to quite a few people in the crowd, half of the people were huge fans of Dredg and the other half were only attending the concert to watch Circa Survive and had no idea who Dredg was.

 

The guys from Los Gatos, CA put on a great show - featuring material spanning their discography and introducing the crowd to a new song from their upcoming album. The sound at the House of Blues for Dredg was terrific, and rivaled any other group I've seen at the venue. It was great to see the fans of Circa Survive who had never heard of Dredg getting into their music and generally enjoying themselves. I wasn't originally sure if the genres of music the two bands play were particularly compatible, but I'm happy to have been proven wrong in this instance.

 

It's very infrequently that an opening band outshines the headliner, but this show belongs in that handful of discrepancies. I would encourage everyone to listen to Dredg, but above all else, you NEED to see a show. Having been a fan of live music since attending my first concert, Dredg is a band that exhudes more pure energy in their performances than any other I've seen. In my opinion Dredg is far overdue to become a household name like Incubus, The Red Hot Chili Peppers, etc and they have absolutely no business opening up for flavor-of-the-week bands like Circa Survive.. but hey, as long as Dredg is playing music I will go and see them - whatever the ticket may be.. and you should too.

http://www.dredg.com

When I was younger, I thought that plays were these boring events that boring adults went to when they felt like socializing with other boring adults.

As I’ve grown older (and wiser?) I have come to learn that sometimes this premise is not too far off from the truth.. but in the case of Killer Joe, “boring” could not possibly describe one second of this masterpiece written by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Tracy Letts.

The Smiths hire “Killer” Joe Cooper (Darrell W. Cox), a detective who moonlights as a hitman, in order to cash in on a scheme hatched by the troubled son, Chris (Kevin Bigley). Chris gets himself into a situation where he owes some money to a group of local thugs, and to get out of it he persuades his father Ansel (Howie Johnson) to hire Killer Joe Cooper for the murder his biological mother (whom Ansel has long since divorced). The insurance policy is set to go to Dottie (Claire Wellin), Chris’s mentally unbalanced sister. Sharla (Somer Benson), Ansel’s new wife, is also in on the deal – and the Smiths tentatively agree to split the money.



Of course, everything does not quite go according to plan – and this results in a lot of pain and suffering for everyone involved. The Royal George Theater is not admitting guests under 17 for this performance, and for good reason – nudity, graphic violence, and adult language abound in this production. But that’s not to say that they are without reason.. in fact, these scenes are absolutely necessary in order to believe that this family exists in a real space – because every moment of what happens on stage is incredibly real.

The best aspects of theater were in play here: broad swings of emotion, twists and turns, comedy, tragedy, staging, lighting, effects, etc. In fact, the players in this production were so talented that I find myself unable to pick out individual moments of the piece to talk about.

What I will say is that the use of the set and props in Killer Joe was head and shoulders above any other production I’ve seen in recent memory. The actors brewed real coffee, smoked real cigarettes, ate real chicken, and watched real television (this and other aspects of the direction were surely the work of the brilliant Rick Snyder). For me, this took the play an extra step towards reality.. and wow, reality can be a scary place.

This is a play about a family. Sure, it’s a dysfunctional family living in a dilapidated trailer and hiding quite a few skeletons and more than one bag of dirty laundry.. but a family nonetheless. Plenty of attention is paid to the character development here, and that really shines through. Anyone and everyone who appreciates good theater should find their way to the Royal George Theater and see Killer Joe.

From the Neo-Futurists website:

Do you have what it takes to lord over your employees or are you doomed to a life in the mailroom? Find out in the Neo-Futurists' new interactive live musical game show. CRISIS is modeled after classic game shows of the 70's, 80's and 90's, challenging players in areas of corporate ethics, percentages, creative potential, economics, and of course, pop culture. Players climb the corporate ladder and the top executive takes home up to a third of the door sales in cash! (With a sell-out house, that means over 500 bucks to a single winner!) Also, 3% of all ticket sales are donated to charities of the winners' choice.

From the moment you walk in to the Neo-Futurarium (5153 N. Ashland Ave. -- corner of Foster and Ashland Aves -- Chicago, IL 60640-2831 -- Show Hotline: 773-275-5255), you're aware that something memorable is about to happen. The floor twists and turns down a hallway lined with wonderfully bizarre pictures leading to "The Kitchen", where tickets are purchased and you are presented with the option of taking a scantron test to be a contestant on the show. In the next room, projectors shine the test questions on surfaces scattered about the room (walls, ceilings, etc) while members of the troupe entertain and amuse.

The questions on the test ranged from movie trivia about Back to the Future to political history to physics.. it certainly takes a well-rounded individual to achieve a great score and win the right to play the game that evening.

With the tests complete and the top contestants read off, everyone files into the theatre itself to begin the evening's festivities! I won't spoil the show, but it was easily the most entertaining couple of hours I've had in a long time. Players compete in a series of off-the-wall games and competitions almost designed to be unfair (but in a good way.. not sure what that means? I"m not really either!). There are a scattering of well-performed musical numbers, backed up by the very talented band (who also add to the performance in a variety of ways, including at one point in the show when there were some technical difficulties and they had to kill a little time with an improv jam that I would call "Technical Difficulties"), and all of the performers absolutely killed their respective parts.

What's not to like about the topics discussed in the show? Globalization? Socio-Economics? Why not learn a little bit while having a night out on the town.. And what other show gives you the possibility to make hundreds of dollars in cash as an end result? Gripping.

I liked this show more than I like Mint Chocolate Chip icecream.. and that's my favorite flavor. I'll be seeing more of the Neo-Futurists, and I have no doubt that they will continue to be successful in their endeavors.