As Far As I Can Tell

Everything in Chicago this weekend worked out perfectly. It turned out that even though they added a second show for Bonnie Prince Billy the original one wasn’t sold out, so Ivo was able to come with me.

Saturday was the start of the two week long Version 4 event, so we stopped by Buddy for the ZROX show on our way. The gallery showcased Xeroxed flyers, some from exhibit invitees and others put up by gallery goers. There was a copy machine so you could take your favorites with you. The outside roof was open for a viewing of a political video projected on a giant blowup TV. It was my first time on the Buddy/Heaven roof and while I’d seen it from the train I didn’t realize what a nice space it was. It’s great to be so close to the blue line with no real barrier in-between.

From there we headed up to Logan Square, bought Ivo a ticket, and ate a delicious meal at Lula before heading upstairs to the auditorium. I’ve wanted to see Will Oldham play for years now, and I wasn’t disappointed. He started off by himself and slowly added accompanying musicians every couple of songs. The build up to the full band nicely mirrored the range of accompaniment found in his recordings. During the set he played nearly every song I wanted to hear, including a 4 song encore entirely from Ease on Down the Road. I even succeeded in staying calm when hecklers started yelling requests for him to “rock out” and shouting various obscure requests to show how cool they were.

The following day was my most successful clothes shopping trip in recent memory. After a Leo’s breakfast with Ivo, Andrea, and Tim we headed downtown. The weather was warm enough for just a sweater and reminded me how much I love walking around the city in the spring.

I had forgotten about a Version 4 printmaking show I wanted to check out until I was already heading out of town. I made a detour by the In These Times offices for the Paper Politics exhibit. Outside was the Quimby’s zinemobile, giving away free zines to pedestrians. The modified bicycle has a fold-up curtain with pockets for zines to fit in. This is one of the street projects in the festival along with The Human Television Network. The show had prints of various mediums but all dealing with social change. The work was mixed, but there were a few pieces, especially the wood block prints, that I really liked.

So everything went swimmingly, though I wish I would have eaten some elotes. I’ll have to hunt for them next time.