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Like Blonde Redhead? You'll love Reckless Records.

Wednesday Jul 13, 2005.     By Jacob Knabb

Music Feed

You weren't even born when the Pixies broke up. The only Jack Johnson you've heard of was a surfer. And all these New Wave bands sure do have a catchy and original sound, right? Well, kid, you're a product of the Indie age. A time when every city in America seems to have a scene, a few labels and some record company money to make it all work. The internet is where you find music videos, and MTV just plain sucks. But, despite all the geezers wheeling out their 90s wares, Lollapalooza has got plenty to offer you as well, provided you can stop text messaging long enough to take it in, of course.

Saturday will deliver The Dead 60s, Blonde Redhead and The Black Keys. And Sunday offers up Ben Kweller, The Arcade Fire, The Killers and Death Cab For Cutie.

Your bar = Empty Bottle
Let's just put it to you this way, the Empty Bottle is Chicago's answer to CBGBs, Emos and Spaceland. The Bottle always books the best underground acts, and doesn't favor any particular genre. Monday nights are free, and with the Hard Country Friday and Sinful Sundays chock full of country music, as well as Tuesday night's Improv Jazz series, the weekly events deserve the regulars they attract. The crowds are typically large on weekends, and the line-ups each night are diverse, often intentionally offering a mixed line-up of genres in the hopes of turning the audiences on to new music.

The Web site is an infinitely linkable database of music knowledge. There's a pool table in the front room, and a long bar to sidle up to. The sound crew makes up for the bar's more cavernous tendencies, and with a slew of vintage light fixtures and cool silk-screened posters (check out the cows poster, for example), it's well stocked in ambiance. The Bottle is beer-drinker friendly, with a selection ranging from the $1 beer to hard to find microbrews (if only they still had Sleeman's). And the bartenders don't skimp on the liquor, serving stout mixed drinks and healthy shots. Plus, you'll never burn more than $15 to see the bands. In all honesty, at the end of the day, The Empty Bottle just might be the greatest music venue in the Midwest.

Your restaurant = Earwax Cafe
For those looking to avoid the bar route, with its heavy pub-grub entirely, Earwax is an amazing option, with mad indie-creds (even the cooks have sleeves on their arms). The servers are friendly and efficient, and the menu features a ton of tasty chow, with a solid vegan focus. But don't be mistaken, the kitchen is blissfully creative, and the food packs in plenty of taste, without hurting Babe.

While we recommend homemade granola or one of the soups, the blackbean burger is also a treat. Plus, the walls in the entrance are lined with flyers for shows and events, and Earwax has a nice rack of free weeklies, like The Onion, and cool 'zines like Lumpen, so you can formulate an evil plan for action while you chomp away. And for people looking to head back to home base and chill, the basement has an impressive selection of hard-to find independent films, in both DVD and VHS formats. Plus, if you want to save some cash for concert tees, the serving sizes on entrees are plentiful, and inexpensive, so go ahead and split one.

Your record store = Reckless Records
With two locations and a solidly anti-major label stance, Reckless Records is a vinyl geek's wet dream. The selection of CDs, LPs, 'zines DVDs, and other music detritus is so vast, you might suffer from sensory overload and immediately forget what bands you even like. Reckless has a generous supply of used merchandise as well. And, with a knowledgeable staff, listening booths and info packed uber-helpful note cards affixed to nearly every album, Reckless is also blatantly geared towards introducing the customer to new artists.

Dig through the free poster bin. Eyeball the 'zine rack for comp tickets to shows. Buy a button from the random button machine (my last exchange resulted in an Eazy-E button. That's right, Eazy Duz It!). But most importantly be sure to have a large block of time, because once you hit the shelves, you won't be going anywhere for a while. And, perhaps even more tellingly, despite Reckless' high profile locally, the store has solid credibility in the indie-community, as it is essentially stance free, and peopled almost entirely by folks with a true passion for music. Hell, word has it one of the staffers even runs Kranky.

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For Additional Info and Insider Tips: Check out the Unofficial Lollapalooza Guide on ChicagoFests.com