From its earliest frontier days,
Chicago has had some of the best nightlife in the US. "Sweet Home
Chicago", birthplace of Muddy Waters' urban blues, as well as R&B's
Chess Records, is still going strong, inspiring the energetic dance beat
of 1980s house music as well as the groundbreaking jazz of the Art
Ensemble of Chicago. Nightclubs aplenty are all over town, especially
along Halsted Street, Lincoln Avenue and Clark Street on the North Side.
Uptown, at the intersection of North Broadway and Lawrence, is a bit
down-at-the-heel, but has half a dozen good
venues. The best gay clubs congregate in the Lincoln Park area. Highbrow
pursuits are also well provided for: Chicago's classical music, dance
and theater are world-class.
For what's-on information,
Chicagoans pick up the excellent free newspaper The Reader
(copies comes out Thursday afternoon and are usually all gone by
Saturday). The weekly New City and the gay and lesbian Windy
City Times are good sources as well. Full listings also appear in
the Friday issues of the Chicago Sun-Times and the Chicago
Tribune, and Chicago magazine has useful arts and restaurant
listings. The Gramaphone Ltd record store at 2663 N Clark St (tel
773/472-3683) is the best place for details of one-shot dance nights.
Clubs By Type
Blues
B.L.U.E.S. 2519 N Halsted St tel 773/528-1012. Opened in the 1970s, it's
still going strong, though a little over-touristed. The tiny stage has
been graced by all the greats.
Blue Chicago 536 N Clark St tel 312/661-0100. The...
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Jazz
Andy's 11 E Hubbard St tel 312/642-6805. Very popular with the
after-work crowd; informal with moderate prices.
The Cotton Club 1710 S Michigan Ave tel 312/341-9787. A sophisticated,
live-music venue and disco, it attracts a...
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Rock clubs
Cubby Bear 1059 W Addison St tel 773/327-1662. A sports bar during the
day - right next to Wrigley Field - this place transforms itself after
dark into one of the city's most boisterous and eclectic live venues,
popular with aging dinosaurs more...
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Folk, country and world music clubs
Fitzgerald's 6615 W Roosevelt, Berwyn tel 708/788-2118....
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Dance
Circus 901 W Weed St tel 312/266-1200. This celebrity hangout features
cartoonish, technicolor decor and a live trapeze act.
Crobar 1543 N Kingsbury St tel 312/413-7000. The exclusive, hyper-trendy
warehouse club near the river...
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Theater and comedy
While it was once every Chicago actor's and playwright's ambition to end
up in New York, many are now quite content to remain here. The city now
supports numerous theater companies, many of them - notably Steppenwolf,
John Malkovich's former...
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Classical music, opera and dance
Under Daniel Barenboim, who is committed to including more contemporary
music in its repertoire, the profile of the world-renowned Chicago
Symphony Orchestra - based at the Orchestra Hall, 220 S Michigan Ave (tel
312/435-8122 or 312/435-8172,...
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Sports
Staunchly blue-collar Chicago must be among the best US cities for
watching sports, as Chicagoans are, for better or worse, loyally
supportive of their teams. The city's most successful outfit in recent
memory was the Michael Jordan-led ...
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Drinking
If not quite as wild as in the bootlegging days of speakeasies and
Prohibition, Chicago remains a consummate boozer's town and is one of
the best US cities for bars, catering to just about every group and
interest and many open to 3 or 4am,...
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