Entries associated with the tag "Hideout":

The Hideout is apparently feeling pretty good about its showing in the Reader's first-ever Best of Chicago issue--Monica Kendrick named it Best Rock Venue and by popular vote it won Best Dance Party.

Saturday night they're going large with a dance party that features not just a solid lineup of DJs--including Hideout regulars Logan Bay, the Life During Wartime crew, and the East of Edens Soul Express--but also giveaways from other best-of winners like Intelligentsia Coffee, Bloodshot Records, Dusty Groove, and tattoo artist Dawn Grace Russell. What makes the deal even sweeter is that the whole thing's free, so if you shelled out too much cash for fried cheese curds at Pitchfork--a completely understandable situation, by the way--you can still enjoy the afterparty action. The festivities kick off at 9 PM and run into the wee hours.

Last week Andrew Bird and Dianogah played an Obama fund-raiser at the Hideout. Tickets started at $100, but in return for their donation concertgoers got to go home with one of 236 screenprinted show posters by local artist Kathleen Judge. The few that weren't given away are now up for auction (click on the "posters" link), and the proceeds will go straight to Barry's campaign. Because of the political-donation angle, there are limits on who can bid--foreigners, corporations, PACs, banks, and other organizations that want to show love for violin-based art-pop and Kennedy-esque politicians will have to look elsewhere.

The Hideout's schedule is heavy on the good-deeds-doing at the moment. Zebo, the Gutter Butter DJs, and a few other people are spinning a dance party on Thursday to benefit Iraq Veterans Against the War, and Saturday is the bar's annual send-off party for Chicago bands heading down to SXSW, with 12 hours of live music by and for acts bound for the festival--the artists will get some cash and supplies to help them on the trip down to Texas.

The Hideout's already pretty famous for treating their bands really well, but they're stepping things up a little further for some Chicago acts heading down to South by Southwest. On Saturday, March 10, they'll be hosting an all-day showcase of Austin-bound locals, and by "all day" they mean seriously the whole damn day. If you want, you could start off seeing Catfish Haven at noon and stick around all the way through to the 1900s' midnight set and the Life During Wartime dance party afterwards. The $10 cover will be split up among the bands, who will also be getting a bag of groceries and beverages for the trip down. Throwing what basically amounts to a benefit for a bunch of indie rockers so they can go to Texas and drink beers and play for record industry people might seem a little lame, but for smaller bands, the exposure can be crucial to their existence and the trip is expensive. Shows on the way down can be hard to come by, as like every band in the country tries to book tours to offset the trip to the festival. And if you've ever driven through Texas, you know that having some road snacks can help you deal with the mind-numbing ride. Seriously, go look at Texas on a map. That fucker's huge.

The showcase schedule runs like this:

12:00  Catfish Haven
12:45  The Narrator
1:30    Judson Claiborne (from Low Skies)

2:15    Tijuana Hercules

3:00    Josh Caterer (from the Smoking Popes)    

3:45    Redwalls
4:30    Prairie Cartel   
5:15    New Duncan Imperials     
6:00    The Race     
7:30    Maritime     
8:15    Velcro Lewis & his 100 Proof Band    
9:00    The Zincs    
9:45    The M's  
10:30   Office  
11:15   Sybris   
12:00   The 1900s    
12:30   Life During Wartime DJs Mother Hubbard and Bald Eagle  

Just announced: the twentysomething-piece circus-punk marching band Mucca Pazza (whose show at Schubas' Tomorrow Never Knows festival earlier this month was sold out by 10 PM) is playing a "secret show/open rehearsal" tomorrow night at the Hideout; it starts at 10 and the cover is $8. The Hideout PR machine promises brand-new material.

In case you can't get in, their next not-secret show is February 23 at the Double Door.