Your Curated Chicago Weekend: 4/28-5/1

The bad news: we don’t have any Blackhawks hockey to watch this weekend.

The good news: the Cubs and Sox are the two best teams in Major League Baseball.

I mean, everyone saw this coming for the Northsiders, but the White Sox have been on fire this month. You know the last time both Chicago teams were the first two squads to reach 15 wins? 1917. NINETEEN SEVENTEEN.

(Granted, that’s still more recent than the last Cubs world title.)

Anyway, here’s your goings-on for the coming weekend.

THURSDAY, APRIL 28TH

Bad Poetry Night @ The Book Cellar, 4736 N. Lincoln Ave., 7:00 PM

WHAT: Chicago Writers Conference presents its annual Bad Poetry Night. The theme for this year is “The Producers.” Producers and hosts of local doings will read horrible poetry and prose. (James Franco, hint hint.) Featuring Inés Bellina (XX Will Travel), Andrew Huff (Tuesday Funk), James Kennedy (Newbery Film Festival), Angel Simmons (Do Not Submit) and Mike Stephen (Outside the Loop Radio).
SO WHAT: Good literature is overrated. You can hear a story any night of the week in Chicago. Why not turn your smile to a groan with the cream of the crap? To make the bad poetry tolerable, help yourself to a libation from the Book Cellar Café. Or go buy a book with something better between the covers.
NOW WHAT: Just do it! It’s free.
FRIDAY, APRIL 29TH
Chicago Zine Fest @ Workshop Chicago, 935 W. Chestnut St., 6:30 PM

WHAT: Chicago’s annual Zine Fest will celebrate independent publishers while demonstrating the accessibility and creativity of zine-making through workshops.

SO WHAT: The first Chicago Zine Fest launched in 2010 and it has continued to grow. They will host a panel discussion called “Permission Not Granted: Women of Color and the Politics of Zines” this Friday as well as readings from the Zine Festival exhibitors. Saturday will feature the main attraction: an exhibition of about 250 zine publishers. They will also provide workshops on Saturday, including a “Cute Animal Drawing Workshop” for children and a live radio segment from Lumpen Radio.
 
NOW WHAT: The event is free! But bring some cash in case you want to take home a zine or if you would like to donate by picking up a snack or drink. Just swing by Workshop Chicago this Friday or Local 130 Plumbers Union Hall this Saturday (yep, this is a two-day event). The event is for all ages, it is wheelchair accessible, and it is open to the public. Click here for more information.
Into It. Over It. @ Lincoln Hall, 2424 N. Lincoln Ave., 7:30 PM

WHAT: Local emo revival hero Evan Thomas Weiss, AKA Into It. Over It., plays a show on his home turf.

SO WHAT: Given how large Weiss looms in the emo scene, it’s sort of shocking that there are still tickets available to this show. This is also a great opportunity to support local music! And if you need any extra incentive to arrive early…the first opener, Pinegrove, put out its debut album in January, and it’s one of the best-reviewed LPs of the year to date.

NOW WHAT: Tickets can be purchased here for $16.50 or for $20 at the door.

SATURDAY, APRIL 30TH

Chicago BaconFest @ UIC Forum, 725 W. Roosevelt Rd., 12:00 PM

WHAT: BACON.

SO WHAT: BACONNNNNNNNNNNN. And booze.

NOW WHAT: Okay, so this is pretty expensive: $100 for general admission for a three-hour session. But there are three total sessions spanning both Saturday and Sunday. And if you eat your weight in BACONNNNNNNNNNNNNNN and drink your weight in booze, it’s worth it.

Max Frost @ Schubas Tavern, 3159 N. Southport Ave., 7:30 PM

WHAT: Max Frost brings his one-man band act to one of Chicago’s most intimate venues.

SO WHAT: We saw Max Frost open up for Grizfolk in February and thought he was impressive in a limited sample size of songs. It’ll be fun to see what new quirks he brings to his show as a headlining act—and how many different loops he sets up on any given song.

NOW WHAT: Tickets can be purchased for $10 here.

SUNDAY, MAY 1ST

More BaconFest. Also, IT’S GONNA BE MAYYYYYYYYY.

#baconfest#into it over it#max frost#pinegrove#zine fest
Zach Blumenfeld

Zach graduated from Vanderbilt University in 2015 and, seeking to put off law school, began writing about music and pop culture. Now he's hooked on concert reviews and the Chicago music scene and thinks he could be doing this for a while. Follow his random thoughts on Twitter @zachblumy