Metro Pulse- Entertainment- Midwest
 
May 2nd - May 9th 2011

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With the number 1-800 CHICAGO, one would think that this toll free 800 number is a reference point for tourism or ticket availability information, or answers to inquiries about notable destinations and landmarks in our illustrious city, but NOT.

If you are to dial this number looking for facts and pertinent information, what you WILL get is a sultry voice offering you a "one on one talk with a NASTY GIRL " for $2.99 a minute, the by product of a Philadelphia company called PrimeTel Communications.

This company has quietly acquired in the past 13 years over 25 percent of the available 800 numbers available in the US (over 17 million) and Canada and redirects them ALL to a phone sex line known as National A1, and AP is reporting the company also owns 1- 800 Whirlpool, 1-800 Metallica, 1-800 Cadillac, 1-800 cameras and the best one yet, 1- 800 Worship.

Is the insinuation on your knees when you pray the idea here with this religious hotline 1-800 Worship? Or is it a NEW twist on passing the universal offering plate with benefits? God only knows.

Only in America eh?

And, to expound on the free form SEXUAL nature of Chicago's younger crowd, EDUHOOKUPS.com has sprouted up to address the wayward carnal desires of the college crowd, as well as promote casual hookups, and platonic as well as serious relationships.

The site was originally known as UCHICAGOHOOKUPS and promoted "no strings attached" hookups and with it's NEW moniker EDUHOOKUPS.com it requires an email with "EDU" in it to prove a university affiliation.

The site notes in a posting that it has expanded it's user base to include local institutions Brown University, Northwestern University and Columbia College. When will they have time to study? Sigh. Maybe they will only be responsible for "POP" quizzes. Heh Heh.

For those of you reading Metro Pulse from out of the Chicago area, Northwestern University in Evanston Illinois was recently embroiled in a scandal where a university instructor allowed a sex therapist to give a LIVE demonstration of a sex toy to educate the students on the nuances of female orgasm after a class, to much uproar and consternation and is probably one of the reasons the university was included in the EDUHOOKUPS.com expansion.

If you are loathe to be roped into paying $2.99 a minute for a "NASTY" girl's dirty talk or trolling online for anonymous sex, you can meander on over to the esteemed Steppenwolf Theatre in Chicago to the UPSTAIRS theatre and for a $63.00 admission you can have "Sex with a Stranger", a show which opened Jan 20th 2011 and closes on May 15th and has gotten RAVE reviews from the local press.

See how we ALWAYS migrate back to our tickets/ music/ theatre/entertainment roots no matter what tangent we travel?

The rumor mill is churning on the prospect that Pearl Jam, the iconic rock band which is celebrating it's 20 year anniversary this year and has previously announced a festival it will headline to highlight this notable achievement, will be playing this event at the LIVE NATION shed Alpine Valley Music Theatre in East Troy Wisconsin over Labor Day weekend, but at press time there is no definite word from anyone involved concerning this or on sale ticket information, stay tuned.

The Who are rumored to also come out later on this summer for a little jaunt, wonder if they will show up with Pearl Jam seeing as Pearl Jam lead vocalist Eddie Vedder ADORES and worships the Who and has played with them before, once here in Chicago at a House Of Blues charity event in 1998 that this reporter attended. Time will Tell.

In the meantime, if you are hankering for Pearl Jam visuals in a historic context of their career while waiting for some kind of announcement, famous director Martin Scorcese, who has covered the Rolling Stones in an awesome documentary called "Shine a Light", has a 20 year video time capsule DVD of Pearl Jam called "Water on the Road" coming out 5/31 and Pearl Jam vocalist Eddie Vedder releases the solo effort "Ukulele Songs" on the same date in advance of his solo summer tour , which comes to the Chicago Theatre on June 28 -29.

As we predicted , Britany Spears has priced the first 10 rows on the main floor to her upcoming show at the United Center on July 8th at the steep premium of $350.00 per, and the rest of the house in Chicago not including the upper deck is scaled at $175.00 BEFORE service charges. The bill includes Nicki Minaj, Nervo AND Jessie and the Toy Boys.

I have been preaching about exorbitant face prices and this is what I am referring to , it remains to be seen how well this show sells, coming off a mediocre CD and in competition with Katy Perry on the same night , who is playing the Allstate Arena at a much lower face price even though Perry has ALREADY sold her tickets months ago at a face price well under $100.00 per.

The weather in this month of April 2011 has been the rainest and cloudiest in the Chicagoland area since 1961, with ONLY one third of our potential sunlight peeking thru because of 17 days of measurable rainfall thru 4/27 as reported by the National Weather Service, but one guy who is associated with the sun has plans to come here in the dead of winter and celebrate Christmas with us and I bet he will be tan when he does.

George Hamilton is set to star in the national touring production of the Tony Award-winning Broadway musical "La Cage aux Folles," which will be staged at the Bank of America Theatre from Dec. 20 through Jan. 1, 2012.

This is the play that spawned the hit movie "The Bird Cage' in 1996 starring Robin Williams and Nathan Lane in the lead roles and featured Calista Flockhart of "Ally McBeal" and "Brothers and Sisters" fame, she is also the paramour of actor Harrison Ford .

Hamilton plays Georges, the gay owner of a Saint-Tropez nightclub whose world is turned upside-down by the arrival of the ultra-conservative parents of his son's fiancee. Should be a twist to see Hamilton as a TAN gay person with an ETERNAL smile.

Visit broadwayinchicago.com. or call 312 977-1710 for group sales of parties of more than 15 which are NOW on sale for "La Cage aux Folles,", individual ticket sale information not available at press time.

A unique service that aims to connect unknown bands and eager music promoters announced a deal with Live Nation's House of Blues venues IN SELECT CITIES to provide showcase performances for these unknown artists using a new company called Sonicbids, based in Boston.

Dubbed the New Music Nights at House of Blues, Powered by Sonicbids, this service will initially launch in Los Angeles, San Diego and Las Vegas.

Aspiring bands in those cities can apply to play at a showcase at no cost. If the venture is successful, it will be rolled out to the other clubs around the country.

Sounds like a GREAT way to find the NEXT BIG THING to me, remember Ticketmaster/Live Nation owns the House of Blues chain nationwide.

The 20th anniversary of Lollapalooza has announced the roster for this year's 3 day extravaganza Aug 5-7.

The seventh annual festival here in Chicago will feature more than 130 performers on eight stages. The festival has only a small taste of hip-hop and world-music artists this year, though a smattering of Chilean bands - Chico Trujillo, Los Bunkers and Ana Tijoux - have been booked as part of a cultural exchange with Lollapalooza Chile, which had it's inaugural event April 2-3 in Santiago.

This year's fest will showcase electronic music, as verified by the headlining status of Deadmau5 (Toronto progressive-house star Joel Zimmerman) and a more prominent presence for the Perry's Lounge DJ stage, which will be constructed to accommodate more than 15,000 fans in its new location west of Columbus Avenue on Hutchinson Field.

Imagine 15.000 people dancing to disco in the sweltering heat or rain, yikes.

The stage's namesake, Lollapalooza cofounder Perry Farrell of Jane's Addiction, is among the artists, performing under the alias PerryEtty vs. Chris Cox.

Headliners for this year's fest: Eminem, Foo Fighters, Coldplay, Muse, My Morning Jacket, Deadmau5, A Perfect Circle, Cee Lo Green, Damian "Jr. Gong" Marley & Nas, the Cars, Ween.

Also (listed alphabetically): An Horse, Arctic Monkeys, Atmosphere, Beats Antique, Beirut, Best Coast, Big Audio Dynamite, Black Cards, Black Lips, Boy & Bear, Bright Eyes, Cage the Elephant, Chico Trujillo, Christina Perri, City and Colour, Cold War Kids, Crystal Castles, Cults, Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr., Death From Above 1979, Deftones, Delta Spirit, Disappears, DJ Mel, Dom.

Electric Touch, Ellie Goulding, Explosions in the Sky, Fences, Fitz & the Tantrums, Flogging Molly, Foster the People, Friendly Fires, Gold Motel, Grace Potter & the Nocturnals, Grouplove.

Imelda May, Iration, J. Roddy Walston and the Business, Julia Easterlin, Kerli, Kids These Days, Lia Ices, Lissie, Local Natives, Lord Huron, Los Bunkers, Lykke Li, Manchester Orchestra, Maps & Atlases, Mayer Hawthorne & the County, Noah & The Whale.

OK Go, Patrick Stump, Phantogram, Portugal the Man, Ratatat, Reptar, Rival Schools, Ruby Jane, Ryan Bingham & The Dead Horses, Ryan Leslie, Sam Adams, Skylar Grey, Sleigh Bells, Smith Westerns.

TAB the Band, Tennis, the Chain Gang of 1974, the Drums, the Joy Formidable, the Kills, the Kingston Springs, the Mountain Goats, the Naked and Famous, the Pains of Being Pure at Heart, the Pretty Reckless, the Vaccines, Tinie Tempah, Titus Andronicus, Two Door Cinema Club, Typhoon, White Lies, Wye Oak, Ximena Saritana, Young Man, Young the Giant.

Perry's Lounge electronic/DJ stage: Girl Talk, Pretty Lights, Kid Cudi, the Bloody Beetroots Death Crew, Afrojack, Modeselektor, Skrillex, PerryEtty vs Chris Cox, Chuckie, the Glitch Mob, Busy P, Joachim Garraud, Super Mash Bros., Jay Electronica, 12th Planet, Daedulus, Feed Me, Jackmaster, Collie Buddz, Savoy.

Individual SINGLE DAY tickets are on sale June 7th for Lollapalooza, 3 day passes are $215.00 and are on sale now.

Now that Mayor Daley is ceding the office of Mayor to Rahm Emmanuel on May 16th, word comes down there is a NEW boss in Chicago in the guise of actor Kelsey Grammar, who recently began filming a new series for the cable network "Starz" called "Boss".

It details a character named Tom Kane who has dark secrets and runs the city with an iron hand, sound familiar? Go to www.showpatroltv.com for more info.

The Cubs are in ticket trouble and their attendance is reflecting it, BIG TIME.

Ticket News is reporting that the first 14 home games played at Wrigley Field in April suffered an average decline of 3,738 in attendance, from 38,539 to 34,801, representing the FIFTH biggest drop in Major League baseball attendance AT HOME this season. One of these games featured the smallest crowd in attendance at a Cubs game in NINE years.

To address this, the CUBS are instituting promotions and discounted tickets and food items that this reporter has NEVER seen in 30 plus years in the industry at Wrigley Field, traditionally recession proof in regards to ticket sales given it's small capacity compared to other ballparks at just over 38,000 and the historic feel of the park.

Granted, the weather has been atrocious in Chicago this April, but the CUBS have announced weekday promotions geared to jump start the flagging attendance of the recent past and they are doing this in the BLEACHER sections only, traditionally an always sold out and coveted seating area for fans.

Starting May 10th against archrival St Louis, which traditionally has been a hot ticket, beers are $3.00 and Wed May 11th , hot dogs are ONLY a dollar ($1.00) EACH for the game against Houston.

In addition, each MONDAY beginning on 5/30, each bleacher patron will get a FREE custom designed T-shirt, the first one designed by the players and honoring NUMBER 10 Ron Santo, a true collector's item.

This is coupled with the "Best Buy" 4 pack promotion being offered in conjunction with the electronics retailer. This deal offers 4 tix to ANY home game in May, subject to availability in selected sections OTHER than the bleachers, AND 4 Vienna hot dogs AND 4 Bud lights, ALL for $40.00.

Go to www.cubs.com/BestBuypack for availability and seating locations for games of interest and remember that the $40.00 all inclusive price does not include service charges.

Even though I am an unabashed White Sox fan due to my Chicago South Side heritage and am NOT A CUBS FAN, as a fair and impartial observer/.journalist I must state for the record the Sox aren't doing much better this April, LOSING the most games in the month of April in their HISTORY, 18, yes, EIGHTEEN games thru 4/30, certainly not a spark for their attendance.

Who says the Chicago Black Hawks don't have muscle even though they are OUT of the 2011 playoffs?

As the defending Stanley Cup Champions, the National Hockey League is poised to take advantage of the fact that the Hawks were the catalyst to the most watched Stanley Cup finals EVER last year.

In a shrewd move in moving to NBC from ESPN some years back that culminated in the Comcast purchase of NBC/Universal and the merging of the Comcast owned Versus network with broadcast partner NBC , The NHL and their affiliated networks now boast a combined 20 networks and 40 digital platforms.

The NHL has FINALLY reached a point where the 2 networks are paying real money for the broadcast rights to the NHL and our Hawks were most definitely the catalyst.

In a 10 year deal valued at $1.9 BILLION dollars, The NHL is seeing the benefits of young males who are flocking to the sport, and a recent New York Times article highlights the fact that the NATIONAL ratings for hockey have skyrocketed 84 percent in the last 4 years. Football better get it's act together because an extended lockout could seriously erode the fan base they have cultivated with the soaring popularity of hockey nipping at their heels.

The Wheaton based Theosophical Society has announced that it is sponsoring 2 lectures featuring one Tenzin Geyatso, better known as the Dalai Lama, on July 17th at the U. I. C Pavilion and July 18th at the Harris Theatre, both in Chicago, the Dalai Lama was last in the US in 2007.

Both lectures will focus on interfaith cooperation and are open to the public.

Go to Justforlaughschicago.com for a list of performers playing at both the Rosemont and Chicago theatres during June 14-19, featured performers include George Lopez and Martin Short with Steve Martin in a conversation that must be out of this world for $118.00 a ticket to see the two of them jaw at each other. This comedy series is sponsored by superstation TBS.

Ravinia .org is the exclusive destination for purchasing tickets for their stellar 2011 season.

Acts on sale NOW include Steely Dan Aug 12,13, Peter Frampton July 5th, Deep Purple June 18th and many more, check the site for more info and ticket availability.

Sin City becomes Neverland. If what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, then Neverland is a good moniker. Cirque De Soleil, the Montreal based entertainment conglomerate that currently has numerous shows playing in Vegas ,which include the Beatles and Elvis, is working with the Michael Jackson estate to bring the iconic singer's "Neverland Ranch" to Las Vegas.

The Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino is the site for the envisioned sprawling complex which is slated to include a 21st century interactive memorabilia museum, a Michael Jackson themed lounge (Bad or Dangerous or Off the Wall, maybe a Thriller Lounge?) and a theater patterned after the actual ranch's more secluded features.

The complex is scheduled to open in 2013 and is designed to be there FOREVER because they are spending megabucks on reconfiguring the space where "The Lion King' is currently playing, and that engagement ends in December of this year.

Cirque du Soleil's Jackson venture kicks off in October 2011, with the costliest show in the French company's history.

The $57 million dollar Michael Jackson, The Immortal World Tour will open in the company's hometown of Montreal and hit 30 cities including New York, Miami, Philadelphia, Los Angeles and Las Vegas.

The tour's Las Vegas stop at Mandalay Bay will feature a fan convention in December 2011 as a prelude to the permanent Jackson development/complex.

Stage props for the touring show's set include a massive tree symbolic of a favorite oak that was outside Jackson's Neverland bedroom. The singer nicknamed it the Giving Tree and had a platform built atop it where he composed tunes and at times crashed out afterwards in seclusion.

The groundbreaking videos and dance routines that so defined the singer's post Jackson 5 career will also be prominently featured in this stage production.

For those of you lamenting the amount of debt you owe and how long it will take to repay it all depending on your situation, the following should give you solace and some degree of comfort.

Reuters is reporting as stated in the American Legion magazine that Germany has made the last payment due on it's debt from WORLD WAR 1, which ended on 11/11/1918 at 11 AM, of $94 million on Oct 3rd 2010, a debt that originally was created in 1921 (originally $10.4 BILLION at the time) as a consequence of the Treaty of Versaille, the document that planted the seeds for WWII and the place where Hitler demanded the French surrender in June 1940 was in the SAME RAILCAR that was the site of the German surrender of 1918 which culminated in the signing of this Treaty of Versaille. Hitler later ordered the railcar destroyed.

This transaction was verified by the German government and closes out the final financial responsibility that was due by the Germans for the Great War, almost a HUNDRED YEARS LATER. Don't you feel better now that your repayment shouldn't take that long because your estate would be handling it otherwise.

Till the next time MD

Michael E. Dehn
metropulseinc@hotmail.com
© 2011 Metro Pulse Inc all rights reserved.

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Editor's note 1

I need to correct a misunderstanding/mistake regarding a statement I made in the April 25 - May 2 Metro Pulse where I erroneously stated that Illinois has the highest gas tax in the US, that dubious distinction goes to THE STATE of California, which taxes each gallon of gas at 48 cents per, Illinois taxes each gallon at 43 cents a gallon. The reference source for these statistics is The Tax Foundation. Individual COUNTY taxes are added to that, then local sales taxes .

I am sorry for reporting the wrong information and wish to apologize to Governor Quinn and the Illinois State Legislature and the Cook County authorities for this perceived slight on my part in discouraging and scaring off migration to our honorable state due to onerous gas taxes.

No comment on the recently increased state personal income tax, 23 cents a gallon beer tax, online internet purchase sales tax for OUT of STATE purchases, or 98 cents a pack cigarette tax if you are stupid enough to smoke.

Editor's note 2-

In our last week's Metro Pulse I talked about the sorry choices offered our youth in regards to special summertime sugary drinks by the fast food industry, we are pleased to report that Illinois is considering a ban on trans fats, not addressing the sugar issue, but a good move in the right direction nonetheless as these fats are ANOTHER form of poison in our foods.

A sorry statistic that I was NOT aware of when I wrote last week's article is the fact that of the 50 states in our union, Illinois ranks FOURTH in childhood obesity, as noted in an article by the Associated Press on May 1st, 2011 as reprinted on MSN.com. This is a major reason to demand eliminating sugary drinks of ALL TYPES for our youth, PERIOD. Drink water or unsweetened Ice tea and move to reprogram those ingrained sweet cravings. Your life may very well depend on it.

Take it from someone who knows FIRST HAND.