Duke Shin

Wicker Park. By the Jewel. Or, Jewels.

"I hate people who say ‘Jewels,’" complains a bubbly party-seeker discussing the variations of the grocery store’s name. "I don’t even understand why it’s The Jewel. It’s just fucking Jewel!" she exclaims to her arm-in-arm girlfriend as they click-clack down the frigid sidewalk. "I’m not sure if I can go in," muses another party-seeker outside, motioning to his lit cigarette. "You can totally go in—I was smoking up there, no problem!" announces an overenthusiastic eavesdropping cell-phone guy.

A relatively nondescript building with a red ornamental door gives way to a stairwell leading to a walk-up loft. And the building is moving. Literally. The wooden floor in the front room alternates between the gentle reverberations of the bass, and the alarming bounce of dancing feet. It’s only a paltry 12:30am, but the party—celebrating local DJ Lee Foss’ departure to Los Angeles—already resembles an urban menagerie. A pair of barely legal club hotties dances at the front of the room—their backs to the window-enclosed DJ booth, blonde "Girls Gone Wild" ponytails whipping with each gyration. Seeming lost without a slutbox to dance on, they lack the ingenuity of the bearded jam-band super-fan who jumps up on a desk, football jersey pulled over his face, both hands in the air, plastic beer cup spilling.

Elsewhere, the faux-hawked mingle with the J. Crewed. Squeezing through the birth canal hallway that is also the sole access-point of the bathroom, coat check and bar; a back room opens up. However smoky the front room might be, this back room is positively fuming. Partiers too cool to dance have found refuge back by the keg. A raven-haired Betty Page-wearing Amy Winehouse attracts the attention of a pair of 20-year-old oglers. A gene-spliced aberration of the Butabi Brothers and Lenny & Squiggy, the drunken duo lurch forward. "You’re hot," stammers lapelled loser #1. "Well, I like girls," she states matter-of-factly. "It’s OK, I’m gay. I looooove dick."

Lapelled loser #2 howls in laughter, which might be due to the fact that he can no longer speak coherently—he’s practically drooling. Amidst the hijinks, Foss coolly surveys the crowd and shakes hands, making small talk with a few. It’s hard to tell if it’s fondness for home or eagerness for a new locale that seemingly distracts his gaze. Or perhaps it’s the fact that it’s only 2:30am, and there’s miles to go before he sleeps.

(2008-01-29)

Also by Duke Shin

Tip of the Week
Friday nights at Smart Bar have taken on a bit of an identity crisis of late, irking some members of the techno community used to seeing weekly Friday offerings for unadulterated techno bliss. While we like seeing new talent and different formats get a fair shake in the increasingly narrow world of weekend Chicago club offerings, tonight’s lineup marks the return of weekend techno to Smart Bar in the form of a Detroit originator, a Chicago-by-way-of-France label head, one of Chicago’s more abstract techno DJs and a live performance from an up-and-comer
(2008-01-08)

Tip of the Week
So you wanna ring in the New Year at Smart Bar? Ah…historic. In its twenty-five years (and counting), God only knows how many beads of sweat have hit the floor, how many signature bendy straws have been curled over a drink with a clutching hand desperate to imbibe while dancing or how many crumbled up bar bills were hastily smoothed out and jammed into the photo-booth
(2007-12-26)

May the Schwarz Be With You
It’s not surprising that Alexander "Ali" Schwarz has fond memories of Chicago. As the elder half of fraternal electro-house duo Tiefschwarz (along with brother Sebastian "Basti" Schwarz), Ali’s first love as a DJ was the American deep house coming out of New York and Chicago
(2007-12-04)

Tip of the Week
Besides being a prolific producer and remixer, British techno/house stalwart Ewan Pearson also co-authored 1999’s "Discographies: Dance Music Culture and the Politics of Sound," which contained strong deconstructions of the significance (perceived or actual) of the burgeoning electronica/club scene at the turn of the century
(2007-11-27)

The Outer Limits
(2007-09-18)

In Our House
(2007-08-07)

Q and Not U
(2007-07-10)

Tip of the Week
(2007-07-10)

Spin Control
(2007-06-05)

Tip of the Week
(2007-05-29)

Spin Control
(2007-05-15)

Sweet Sweet Swedes
(2007-05-14)

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