For two days Division Street in Wicker Park will be overcrowded with what I like to call festival people whose sole summertime enjoyment comes from attending every single one of these weekend events with their friends, their flip-flops and their strollers, but at least there are two days of what should be fine music performances. (Actually, it’s a rather impressive bill.) On Saturday we get the must-see orchestral insanity of the dozens-member Mucca Pazza and the enforced rock of Tight Phantomz, plus appearances by Lucero, Tally Hall and the Occidental Brothers Dance Band International. Sunday’s even better, with performances by Tully Monster, Bear Hands, the much-ballyhooed Frightened Rabbit, local popsters The 1900s, Gil Mantera’s Party Dream and, headlining, the real score for the fest, Touch and Go artists Ted Leo and the Pharmacists, one of the best live acts you’ll ever see. (Tom Lynch)
Do Division Street Festival takes place May 31 and June 1 at Damen and Division. $5.
Walking the Walk: Thirsty Ears Festival Reinvents Itself The reorganization of the concert is just half of the reimagination of the festival. There’s also an entirely separate component: an audio walking tour of the Ravenswood neighborhood.
Departing the Comfort Zone: Ear Taxi Festival’s Ambitious Return In “Up High” two artists confront a shared fear of heights by performing on pedestals on the ninth floor of the penthouse of the Logan Center. One can only imagine what the rehearsals were like.
