Old Town School of Folk Music
Since the unfortunate demise of Hothouse a few years ago, Chicago has been without a venue that programs world music at its core. And that’s a cultural shame as well as a market void if the massive crowds at the city’s World Music Festival this past September were any indication. Fortunately, a number of venues are producing world music shows on a consistent basis, from stalwarts like Martyrs’, Evanston Space and Jazz Showcase to relative newcomers like Mayne Stage, City Winery and The Shrine, to name a few. Arguably that diffusion of venues is a good thing, representing a maturity of the marketplace for world music here. In any case, Old Town School, with its comfortable auditorium, good acoustics and most consistent flow of world-music acts stands out from the pack. Especially noteworthy is the regular nature of its commitment, as Old Town School offers three regular showcases: World Music Wednesday, Global Dance Party Friday nights and the pan-Latino Pueblo Latino Chicago.

Old Town School of Folk Music, 4544-45 North Lincoln, (773)728-6000, oldtownschool.org

Audience choice: Old Town School of Folk Music, 4544 North Lincoln, (773728-6000, oldtownschool.org

Best of Chicago 2012

Instituto Cervantes
Foreign cultural centers are under-appreciated assets of a city like Chicago. Often established by the governments of various nations, they serve as a sort of home away from home for the various expats and émigrés who are now living in Chicago. But their offerings to the rest of us risk getting lost in the noise of the city’s larger cultural entities, and that’s unfortunate. In addition to offering classes in the native tongues of whatever nation they serve, they often produce and promote singular cultural activities, from cinema, to literary, to academic forums to visual arts and dance. Instituto Cervantes, which opened a beautiful new space in River North a few years back, has an art gallery that offers a regular rotation of high-quality exhibitions, along with a spacious auditorium in constant use. We’ve caught flamenco performances, classical music, a panel on Spanish graphic novelists and appearances by Granta’s Best of Young Spanish-Language Novelists in the space, for example, along with an appearance of Spain’s Crown Prince Felipe and Princess Letizia at the space’s inauguration in 2009. What’s especially compelling about Cervantes is that, though it is founded and funded by the government of Spain, its mission is the promotion of its language, which means it features the cultures of all Spanish-speaking peoples, including most of Latin America. In a country where the Latino minority is becoming a major part of its identity, Cervantes offers Americans an easy path to increased knowledge and appreciation.

Instituto Cervantes, 31 West Ohio, (312)335-1996, chicago.cervantes.es

Audience Choice: DANK-Haus, 4740 North Western, (773)561-9181, dankhaus.com

Best of Chicago 2012

Showplace ICON Extras
The newish movie theater complex just off Roosevelt Road boasts some of the priciest movies in town, with a VIP seating section that offers big plush seats and upscale food and bar privileges during the screening. But it also offers one of the best deals in town in the form of an affinity card that offers, among other things, a weekly slate of first-run films for six dollars a ticket. Though opening and second weekend films are excluded, most of the movies you want to see are included after a short spell in the theater. As long as you use the card, you can bring in multiple guests for that six-dollar price and there are no blackout dates, so it’s good even at peak times. There are some other perks too, but none compare to a nearly half-price discount at prime time. But make sure you keep an eye on the email newsletter for there is no mention anywhere in the theater as to which films are “on sale.”

Showplace ICON at Roosevelt Collection, 150 West Roosevelt at 1011 South Delano Court, (312)386-7440, showplaceicon.com

Best of Chicago 2012

Ñ
On the soccer field, Brazil and Argentina are fierce rivals but in Chicago the two countries have been teaming up to produce one of the most entertaining venues. Every Tuesday from 10pm, the Argentine bar Ñ—from the same folks who brought us Tango Sur and Folklore restaurants—is hosting Bossa Tres, a Brazilian group who knows how to throw a party. Led by the singer Dill Costa, the trio mixes classic bossa nova with vibrant Brazilian rhythms such as samba and pagode. Be prepared to join an energetic crowd that might drag you on the dance floor to teach you how to shake. You can then chill drinking mojitos, margaritas and pisco sours, or choosing typically Brazilian drinks like caipirinha and guarana. So enjoy the party, but do not start a soccer conversation.

Ñ, 2977 North Elston,  (773) 866-9898 , folklorechicago.com/n/barran1.html, bossatres.com

Best of Chicago 2012

David Leggett
Turn on any of Chicago’s hip-hop stations and there’s an entire weird galaxy of content out there mimicking American life and society, yet not touched by the art world. David Leggett is one of the few artists to productively venture into this territory bringing us back strange visions of Lil’ Wayne tripping out with Grimace and money-consumed Rick Ross with no shortage of acerbic racial, sexual, and art-world politics, as we saw in his solo exhibition at Hyde Park Art Center over the summer. Frequently the self-referential art world seems to have little to do with a larger world, but not so in Leggett’s art.

davidleggettart.com

Best of Chicago 2012

Chicago International Film Festival
The forty-eighth annual Chicago International Film Festival brought out the Hollywood heavyweights this year: Guests included Al Pacino, Christopher Walken and even Jon Bon Jovi. Those lucky enough to possess a pass not only felt star power on the silver screen; they were rubbing elbows with it!

Audience choice: Gibson’s, 1028 North Rush, (312)266-8999, gibsonssteakhouse.com

Best of Chicago 2012

Joe’s Bar
This venue might as well be the country capital of the city. Graced by the likes of Brad Paisley, Miranda Lambert, Dierks Bentley, Chris Cagle, Corey Smith and Chris Young, Joe’s Bar on Weed Street is the place to see country acts perform, not to mention the likes of Snoop Dogg from time to time. What’s more American than country music? Football. The 20,000 square foot space has more than 110 plasma TVs and high-definition projector screens synced to fourteen satellites to show every game at the same time. But if your ideal Friday night is anything like the one Zac Brown Band has in mind, then Joe’s Bar is the place to wear a pair of jeans that fit just right and grab a cold beer with your friends.

Joe’s Bar, 940 West Weed, (312)337-3486, joesbar.com

Best of Chicago 2012

Gary Saul Morson’s Introduction to Russian Literature class on Tolstoy and Dostoyevsky at Northwestern University
His annual class attracts 500-600 undergrads, and is famous throughout the country. Professor Morson is not only a distinguished scholar; he is a performer and one-man theater, who manages to talk about “War and Peace” in a way that thoroughly captivates the minds of the American youth. The students’ general attitude toward Morson could be described in brief by a quotation from Ratemyprofessors.com: “Morson is a God.”

Northwestern University, Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures , 633 Clark, Evanston, (312)503-8649, northwestern.edu

Best of Chicago 2012

The Seldoms
In dance, “best” can mean a lot of things; it can mean technical excellence and versatility, it can mean critical and/or national acclaim, it can mean popularity with audiences and community engagement, it can mean stylistic innovation or masterful preservation, pristine formalism or courageous vulnerability. Chicago is home to growing ranks of companies that fit all these descriptions; we are a city of “bests” in dance, making the selection of just one company exceedingly tough. The 2012 choice is based both on timeliness of subject and singularity of vision. This year, The Seldoms presented “Exit Disclaimer,” third in a series of intelligent, engaging dance theater pieces around the most pressing subjects of our age: consumption, economic recession and climate change. In these meticulously researched and thoughtfully crafted pieces, Artistic Director Carrie Hanson does not hold forth a political agenda, but looks instead at how these towering issues reflect back upon our humanity. Touches of humor—physical and verbal—leaven weighty subject matters, as does deeply felt, beautifully crafted dancing that draws heavily from the familiar periphery of the psyche. The Seldoms have brought us touching and thought-provoking reflections on we human creatures, capable of great destruction, great foolishness and great beauty.

The Seldoms, theseldoms.org

Audience choice: Joffrey Ballet, joffrey.com

Best of Chicago 2012

L210
Only open for a few months and not open to the public, Nike’s invite-only, ultra-exclusive hang suite in the West Loop was a non-ground level, exposed brick sanctuary that was the city’s best-kept secret that kept the sporting events, videogames competitions, global music and drinks going non-stop. Well, while it was open.

Audience Choice: Scofflaw, 3201 West Armitage, (773)252-9700, scofflawchicago.com

Best of Chicago 2012