Nightlife and entertainment
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-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.
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