Chicago Moms Blog

Chicago, don't take away our music!

This Wednesday, the Chicago City Council will vote to approve an ordinance that will completely damage  Chicago’s thriving music scene.  This is UNACCEPTABLE.

I have lived in the Chicago area for the past 11 years and do you know what brought me here?  The MUSIC and ARTS scene.  Had it not been for places like The Fireside Bowl (referencing Wikipedia, where my husband's old band is actually listed), The Empty Bottle, The Double Door, Schubas (where we take our toddler to see family-friendly matinée shows with bands like The Terrible Twos), Metro and so on.  Oddly enough, I posted about the music and venues I love right around this time last year.  Honestly, I probably would not have met my husband it weren't for our love of music and the venues mentioned above.  I have spent countless nights congregating at these establishments and never once have I felt like I was in any danger.  The staff at these venues obviously care very much about the people in attendance and take every precaution to ensure everyone's safety.  I know this first-hand.

Nothing Like A Good Concert To Make You Feel Old

Last night I got out of the house! And it wasn't to the grocery store. I went to see A Fine Frenzy at Schuba's on a week night. If you can't tell, it's been a while since a) I've left the house and b) I've been to a concert. 10 years ago that's all I ever did.

Of course, my first concern was about what to wear. I played it safe with the standard jeans, black shirt, and heels attire and I ended up fitting right in. The fact that my amazing sandwich at the adjoining Harmony Grill was the highlight of the night was probably my first clue I was closer to a senior citizen than young college babe. I decided to let it slide that, even though this was a 21 and over show, I wasn't asked to show ID.

My friend Arianne was so kind to put up with my geriatric self and invite me along. The concert started at 9:15 (my usual bedtime lately). I had never heard the band before- even with the world of Myspace, YouTube, and iTunes- I wanted the first time I heard her to be live. And lead singer Alison Sudol, only 22, had me mesmerized with her deep, soulful, ethereal voice. I found myself amazed that at such a young age she is already so talented and successful. I had dreams of that many years ago, too.

I wanted to be Pat Benatar....I think she wants to be Natalie Maines

I'm a child of the '80s and thus grew up in the hey day of MTV. You know, when they actually showed music videos and the non-music shows were related to music (Remote Control 4EVER). So I logged more than my fair of time watching, acting out music videos and yes one of my favorites is "Love is a Battlefield."A few years ago I heard of a new summer camp for girls - Girls Rock! How freakin' kewl is that? One week learning the ins and outs of an instrument, writing music, and forming your own band?  Hell yes! Can I be 10 again?

So when I received an email about a Girls Rock! movie, I was so all over it. Watch it. I'll wait for ya...

Yeah, now you want to be 10 again too, eh?

I have to admit that I cried like a baby watching the trailer.

While I grew up post-Title IX, it was also pre-Girl Power. I hung out with the boys during recess because I liked playing sports, I liked getting dirty and honestly kicking their butt (seriously, no matter how many times I would tackle them, they still thought they could take me). I rejected all things pink, hated

"passive screen sucking"

That's the best line from an article published on Time.com regarding 'educational' DVDs.

The claim always seemed too good to be true: park your infant in front of a video and, in no time, he or she will be talking and getting smarter than the neighbor's kid. In the latest study on the effects of popular videos such as the "Baby Einstein" and "Brainy Baby" series, researchers find that these products may be doing more harm than good. And they may actually delay language development in toddlers.

Am I bit glib about this? Yes. Why? Because of four years I've had to deal with odd stares from other moms and others when I'd say, "No, I don't buy Baby Einstein DVDs." YET...I'm not one of those moms who bans all TV viewing at home. Oh, no...I just never bought into those DVDs. If I'm gonna pop in a DVD for Elizabeth to watch, it's gonna be a movie that we can both enjoy, Dixie Chicks videos (sometimes you do gotta dance!), or an episode of her favorite cartoon. And I'd like to blame my aversion to Baby Einstein to me totally missing "Little Einsteins" on Disney. Oh, well...she watches enough cartoons.

All that said, I don't think anyone who bought them are idiots. Like I said, Elizabeth watches cartoons like the kid she is. So, if you were a Baby Einstein fan, what do you think of this article? Do you think that your baby is smarter for it? Or did you use them to keep them happy while you tended to that pot of boiling noodles? You can say it, I think we all do it when push comes to shove.  Elizabeth gets most of her Noggin watching  on weekend mornings when  her daddy & I are trying to catch a few more minutes of sleep. All Hail Dora, Diego, & the Wonder Pets!

The Music and Venues We Love

The love of music is what brought my husband and I together.  While booking shows in my Pennsylvania hometown in my teens, I discovered his band from Chicago and booked them to play.  Long story short, we ended up having a long distance relationship for a while and then moved to the Chicago suburbs together.  Eric introduced me to a lot of great bands and several awesome venues in the city.  One venue that we frequented most often was an old, run-down bowling alley called The Fireside Bowl located on Fullerton.  The Fireside was a place for us to hang out and watch up and coming bands.  It was cheap and small and we loved it.  I can recall some very brisk evenings where we would have to stand outside waiting in line.  The Fireside closed down a while ago and the bowling alley has since been completely remodeled and people can bowl there once again.  Eric and I haven't been back since they stopped having shows.

Another favorite venue of ours is the Metro on Clark.  Just about a block or so north of Wrigley Field, this place has become top on my list for shows because it is smoke-free.  You can actually see the bands clearly now instead of watching them through a hazy cloud of smoke.  Some local acts that we've seen there include, The Smoking Popes, Alkaline Trio, Allister and Braid to name a few.  Other venues that we like a lot include The Empty Bottle on Western and Schubas Tavern on Southport.  I think we actually see more shows now that we're parents than we did before.  I suppose that could have something to do with the fact that the grandparents really, really like Hailey.  We're actually taking our little one and a half year old to her "first" show (outside of the womb) at the beginning of June.  We're taking her to see The Terrible Twos from Lawrence, KS.  This band plays "Indie rock kid's music".  They are playing a matinee show on a Sunday afternoon at Schubas.  We think it's great that there are bands like this around.  The sound is not far off from what we like to listen to, yet the lyrics are geared more toward youngsters.  There are plenty of other bands out there like The Terrible Twos.  I'd much rather throw on the "You Are My Flower" album by Elizabeth Mitchell rather than "I Love to Sing With Barney" by the annoying purple dinosaur.

There is definitely another world of music out there when you have kids.  We're hoping that the music we love will someday appeal to our child(ren).  Maybe if we take her to enough shows while she's little, it will spark the interest.  Thank goodness we have so many cool places to check out our favorite bands in our little land by the lake.