This week’s top arts and entertainment picks around town, from the guy who’s paid to pick them:
Monday: In Will Allison’s debut novel,
What You Have Left, protagonist Wylie Greer drops off his five-year-old daughter with his in-laws after his wife dies . . . and doesn’t return for 30 years. The novel probes such gray issues as abandonment, hopelessness, and forgiveness. Things don’t always turn out the way they should, and much is made of the dichotomy between letting go and giving up. Allison signs his book at Nighttown at 3 this afternoon.
Tuesday: One of the coolest exhibits of the year – the Great Lakes Science Center’s
Baseball As America – just got a little cooler: Any kid who comes in wearing a baseball uniform gets in free. The display features tons of baseball artifacts and memorabilia from the past century. The free-admission deal runs through September 3, when the exhibit closes.
Wednesday: Stand-up comedian
Joe Starr says doctor’s visits are getting a little awkward. “It’s embarrassing explaining how I hurt myself,” says the 37-year-old comic. “It used to be something like a car accident or falling off a roof. Recently, I blew my shoulder out folding laundry. To be fair, it was a big towel.” He’s at the Improv through Sunday.
Thursday: Our old radio buddy, Dieter (who used to liven up our Friday mornings by trying to make us puke and berating our allegedly shitty tastes in movies), is hooking up with the American Red Cross. He’s ringleading the
Dieter Dares You to Bleed event. He’ll be at Dave & Buster’s handing out T-shirts, power cards, and prizes from 1 to 8 p.m.
Friday: All was going well for Chicago’s
Redwalls a couple years ago. The alt-rockers, just out of their teens, released their major-label debut, De Nova, and toured with Keane, the Dresden Dolls, and Oasis. Then their record company shut down. The quartet quickly regrouped from the setback, recorded some new songs, and independently released an EP, The Wall to Wall Sessions. They have a full-length CD due in September. In the meantime, fans can hear a bunch of new songs when the Redwalls play the Lime Spider. --
Michael Gallucci
