Club Creatures - Chicago

For those of you who don't know Zazoo and Satori and the Club Creatures site, it is a long-time fav of mine and has been listed on our club links for years now. Their party reports and links section is remarkable for scenes and cities all over the country.

Z and S, would love it if you give us a brief report on Chicago here in Elsewhere - especially clubs that might be of interest.

Yes, please! Updates on Chicago .... I know a couple of people there. What is the drag scene like there? Are there a lot of choices in terms of places to go? How late do things stay open?

Hey

Thanks for the support Chi-Chi

Chicago has a LIVE club scene. A lot of variety. Many of the most interesting clubs are outside of the "Boy's Town" Halsted area. Don't restrict your club nights to this area.

Circuit pretty much has the corner-on-the-market as far as drag goes. Spin has a dirty little shower contest every week...

We pretty much stick to the spots with hopping dance floors... Here are some of our favorite clubs. There are so many more that we'll go to, if there is a special event. Many clubs have fetish/fashion shows, special guest DJs etc. etc.

But, these are ALWAYS reliable:

-- Berlin Our very favorite Chicago club. DJ Greg Haus plays impeccable sets on Fridays and Saturdays. This is a smaller club with a very diverse, colorful, pansexual crowd. The bartenders and staff are great. Drinks are tasty and get you there quick. Very Queen/Freak friendly. An all around good time. Ladies who love ladies, definitely check out Wednesday nights. Open till 3:30-4:30

-- Exit From what we understand, nothing like Exit in NYC. This is the place to go for your Goth/Industrial fix. In the town that birthed WAXTRAX and most of the associated bands, dark edgy dance music is often still king. Hard-ass dance tracks on Satudays provided by Billy. This is mostly a Het club, although most of the boys/grrls will keep you guessing. Not uncommon to see ladies in stilettos pushing each other against the chain link fence that surrounds the dance floor. Drinks are HUGE, plan to get your Absolut Cranberry in a pint glass. The staff is hit or miss, I think some figure you want the abuse. Plan on passing reliable tranny hookers on your way out, good for those that long for the good ol days in the meat packing district.Open till 4:30

-- Crobar Locals have a love-hate relationship with Crobar. Chicago�s biggest and "hippest" club can at times be a blast, and can bore you to death on other nights. The crowd can often feel like they are going through the motions of having fun. Staff is REALLY inconsistent, sometimes you will be pulled out of line and comped if you�ve dressed, sometimes they look annoyed you�ve shown up. Bartenders are the same way. Box Boy Rich and the rest of the G.L.E.E. Club crowd do a great job of making Sunday nights fun. DJs Terri Bristol and Psychobitch keep the music bumpin�. Expect the crowd to be mostly shirtless guys 50% of whom will be friendly (if their rolls are good.) Also, a warning: Holiday weekends are MOBBED. and they up the price of drinks, cover and coat check. Open till 3:30

-- Red Dog Do not go to this club other than on Monday nights for "Boom Boom Room" This is one of the hottest nights in the city. Our good friends Jojo and Silky Jumbo are your hosts. Crowd is colorful, diverse and there for fun. Expect to run into artists, musicians and clubkids. Bangin� house beats with DJ Lego. Drinks are tasty and strong. Open till 3:00

Chicago also has large Fetish Balls twice a year. these are always worth going to if you are in town that weekend.

We can also post some reviews of our favorite shopping, galleries and eats if people are interested...

We have links to many of the clubs mentioned above in our "links" section of our page: http://w3.iac.net/~klutz


XXXOOO
Satori

hi sat and zaz...

i KNEW it would be mere hours before the names of such fierce rulers as jojo and silky hit the chicago board. they have blown me away time and time again with their INCREDIBLE costume creations. i instantly put you into their class when i saw your page.

i know them from faerieland - short mt., tennessee. they are legends.
tell them texxx said "hel-LO!"

would love to play dress up with you sometime. somehow, i think it will happen.

big, big love,
michael glamour goblin (a.k.a. texxxas sage)

Hi Michael

Faerieland - short mt., tennessee. - yes, we've seen some of the pictures

Mud, pearls and glamour! Jojo has asked us to go this year. Around May Day right? We think it sounds like too much fun!!! Maybe we'll see you there?

Jojo will have his own web page up soon http://jojochicago.com/ He and Silky are still doing their puppet shows and performances with the Radical Faeries, and Jojo is creating some of the most beautiful dolls he's ever done. He is in the process of making a 13' tall Silky Jumbo doll!!

He's got a couple studios on the 3rd floor of the Flat Iron building in Wicker Park.

We'll certainly tell him you send him greetings and salutations

XXXOOO
Satori

i won a copy of the "mud, pearls, and glamour" photo in a raffle. GORGEOUS!

you MUST come to the mountain. its truly Magickal. i'll be there for about a month starting april 10.

keep tellin' us about chicago...

kisses,
goblin (texxx)

JoJo is one of the most amazing creatures I've ever met. Used to see that genius all the time while working at Berlin, across the street from the salon JoJo works in. One of the first times I did drag, JoJo did my makeup and I've never looked nearly as good. The child is talent personified.

JoJo's dolls are the tuff of legend around Chicago; I can't wait to see the website.

MS

I so wanted to go to Berlin, when we (Debbie and Fishsticks) were performing there last month we passed by it in the limo....It looked so cute. But alas we ended up at Circut (not much to say) we were only there for the night so I didn't get to go...but mabey next time. If I knew Minerva had once worked there I would have made more of an effort after the show.

[This message was edited by glamnerd on 03-15-02 at 10:54 AM.]

Hi Minerva

Jojo does have a small page here: http://www.geniusinsanity.com/talent/jojo/jojo.htm

You can see several of his dolls there. His full page should be up in the next month or so.

He does sell them out of his studio. They are fully articulate, and can stand on their own. He was the only student of the late great Greer Lankton... He does window displays for Berlin from time to time, mostly around the holidays.

His make-up skills really are outstanding. I have to agree, the time he did my make-up was the best I've ever looked

XXXOOO
Satori

Chicago Shopping

Downtown Area does not offer much more than you can find in your local mall. We do always hit FAO Schwartz and Virgin while we are in town.

Halsted Area There is some good shopping on Clarke and on Halsted near the Belmont intersection. certainly check out Medusa�s Circle for trashy rock looks and excellent accessories. 99th Floor, Beatniks, and Flashy Trash are also worth checking out. Beatniks in particular is a must for Diva Drag Queens. They have wig room and a large selection of Glamazon sized dresses. If you've got an itch to be a Vegas showgirl� they have your feathers. Directly across from Berlin on Belmont is Belmont Army Navy Surplus, the name is misleading because they do have a wide array of clothes and shoes. If you want a cute little skater look, they�ve got it, but they do also have that silver heat resistant spacesuit that you�ve been looking for. The whole area is a bit like a mini (very mini) East Village

Wicker Park rather quickly becoming too expensive for many of the great shops, restaurants and galleries that call it home. The current Real World loft was shot here, so that is a contributing factor. However, wandering up and down Western, Damien and North streets will still yield great treasures. The Flat Iron Building is right at the main intersection. This is an artist community. On the first Friday of every month, all the studios are open. Very much worth a visit. Eats are great in this area... more on that later. When we finally land jobs in Chi-town, this is the place we plan on calling home.

If you are into rubber, you simply MUST set up a time to visit our friend Geoffrey Mac's studio/shop. His site is here: http://www.geoffreymac.com/ his designs are amazing. One of his fabric pieces just appeared in April's Paper Magazine, on Michael Musto.

XXXOOO
Satori

As a former Chicago slumdweller and Playboy centerfold shopper's assistant, I am so glad to see this topic unfold. If only we had had it when we went to do DCI in 2000, could have had heaps more fun!

Did go to an incredible all-Latin tranny night upstairs from a Chinese restaurant. It was Sunday night and the MC was named "Miss Kitty" or something like that that. The girls were AMAZING. Does this sound familiar?

A thorough report indeed! Must check it out, I haven't been to Chicago since I was a teen so it's time I BLEW through town again, in one of the warmer months natch.

Every city has a "Kitty" and a "Coco". It is an absolute rule.

But not every city has a Miss Understood

I guess a Miss Kitty CoCo Williams would cover off on all bases. (seems like every queen around Cincinnati has the last name "Williams")

Chicago's Miss Kitty is known for her very well planned shows. It seems she is currently unable to do them for personal reasons.

XXXOOO
Satori

Miss U's post above reminded me of a hilarious moment I had in Chicago in 2000. I had arrived a few days early to do casting for the runway show of our Downtown Costume Institute there. Quentin (our fun-loving sponsor/chaperone) explained that the owner of the club (which I think was in Old Town) was "Chicago's Chi Chi Valenti."

I was very eager to meet my doppleganger, who certainly was blonde, warm and hostessly. I can't remember her name, but I do remember that she had worked for Peter Gatien when he first brought Limelight there.
She didn't really remind me that much of myself, but I got a kick out of the whole idea.

Hey:)

All those interested in Chi-town... Our next trip up will be April 19th-21st (unless we get interviews up there even before then)

Friday the 19th there is a chance that we'll be hosting at Berlin. (still in the works)

Saturday the 20th is a bit up in the air... a couple of options.

We've got tickets to see Siouxsie and the Banshees at the Vic Sunday the 21st. Has anybody heard about this tour? Can't seem to find any information anywhere on how it came-to-be.

Anyhow, if anybody is in Chicago that weekend we'd love to see you out.

XXXOOO
Satori

Hello,

Got wind of a Susanne Bartsch party slated at "Le Passage" (diner/drinks/dancing) in Chicago on April 5th. Heard there are many from NYC attending.

Anybody else hear about this, or attending?

XXXOOO
Satori

[This message was edited by *Zazoo and Satori* on 03-28-02 at 10:15 AM.]

hey club creatures-

Enjoyed your Chicago tips VERY much and other Midwest city information is also welcome as I sometimes hit Cleveland and even Cincinnati on business. Your site is faboo too.

To answer your question, although ten years ago you might have found NYers travelling to go to a Susanne Barch party, I doubt whether anyone from here would be going to something of hers now.

For quite a few years her events here have become fewer and much more corporate, mainstream and chelsea queen. She did a party recently in NY and it was barely mentioned on the boards, which i thought was insteresting. .. . ..perhaps her crowd isn't online? Hard to believe, especially with a computer iscreenshot on her invite.


[This message was edited by pretty on 04-16-02 at 02:25 PM.]

Thanks for the feedback and the info Pretty.

It seems few events are as loud and proud as they used to be

We've found out a bit more information about this event on the 5th, and will be attending. So if anybody else is going, drop us a line.

At the same venue on the 14th, will be a party showcasing images captured by George St. George Chicago scene photographer for "Boi" magazine (among others) This could be of interest to anyone there that weekend.

You can see some of George's work here: http://www.snapsaint.com/

XXXOOO
Satori