We've been watching frozen yogurt spots pop up all around the city with reckless abandon this spring (Yoberri, Berry Chill, Starfruit, need we go on?), but the 'burbs just scored its first fro-yo chain, Red Mango, this week. The Naperville location opened Wednesday (with the Evanston one coming any day now) and we stopped in last night. The place was empty -- who else wanted to get frozen yogurt when the temps were tipping into the 40s? -- but fast-forward a few weeks from now, and there's no doubt that the location will be crazy. It's smack dab across from the Naperville Riverwalk, a perpetual hangout for skateboarding high schoolers, strolling after-dinner daters and everyone in between.

The last time I had frozen yogurt, I was probably 11 years old, standing in TCBY ordering a styrofoam cup of chocolate-peanut butter swirled yogurt topped with gummi bears. No doubt, Red Mango's version feels a ton more grown up, with just two flavors swirling out of the machines here: green tea and original (not vanilla, as the staffer behind the counter politely corrected me when I placed my order). Sugary cereal toppings like Cap'n Crunch and Fruity Pebbles keep things from getting too serious.

The original flavor was creamy, had the smooth tangy flavor of actual yogurt (as opposed to soft-serve ice cream with no actual yogurt in it) and was a perfect match for fresh, super-plump blackberries and raspberries. The green tea (we tried it with blueberries and mini-Ghirardelli dark chocolate chips) had a smoother, less yogurt-y tasting flavor, so if you're not particularly a fan of what actual yogurt tastes like, this should be your pick.
 
Red Mango is also looking pretty angelic when it comes to the health factor. There's the whole live active cultures deal -- it packs probiotics reportedly good for your digestion -- and a small (which isn't all that small) is less than 100 calories. That's a lot easier to justify than my stand-by frozen treat in downtown Naperville: ice cream topped with a scoop of cookie dough at Cookie Dough Creations. Not to say we won't be back there, too, angling for a spot in line along with what always seems like the entire senior class of Naperville North. Now we'll just have to alternate between the two.
 
 
 
 

Not surprisingly, tickets for Death Cab for Cutie's June 3 show at Millennium Park's Jay Pritzker Pavilion (click for deets)? sold out faster than you can say "Hey, who's that quirky indie fan over there in the black glasses and skinny jeans?"

If you missed out on tickets, we've got good news: A new block goes on sale at 5 p.m. Just don't plan on buying them for you and all your friends. There's a 2-ticket limit per purchase.

Will you be at the show? What do you think of the band's new record, "Narrow Stairs"?

With Stephanie back on top—or nearly so—all is right and well in the world again. So let’s cut right to the chase with a look at this week’s winner and losers.

First, the big winner: Dale. Great, just what his ego needed! But his dish did look tasty. And who knows, maybe this week’s win will placate him enough to keep him from yelling, swearing, grabbing himself and hitting things for a couple of weeks.

And the big loser: Andrew. Dear, crazy, Andrew … why did you have to go all home economics teacher on us? To paraphrase, well, just about everyone who’s ever been on the show: It’s “Top Chef,” not “Top Nutritionist.” Let it suffice to say that Andrew has lost his culinary boner.

And then there were six. Here they are, in the order in which we think they’ll go:

Lisa: Stop whining. Nobody “sabotaged” your rice. But if they had, it would’ve been because you say things like this: “There’s people here who don’t deserve to be here, and some of their personalities suck ass.” Hello, pot. Meet kettle. Also: Was Lisa wearing pajamas throughout the entire episode? We can only imagine what Padma was thinking.

Spike: His boy Andrew is gone, and that means now no one else even speaks the same language as him. We worry about his sanity. (More than we did before, we mean.) We doubt he packed enough hats for a full 16 episodes anyway.

Dale: Dale is to Asian food what season 3’s Brian was to fish. If that’s all he can do, he’ll eventually meet a challenge where he can’t shine. Next week’s Restaurant Wars challenge could be a problem for him too, given that he doesn’t play well with others.

Top three—in alphabetical order:

Antonia: Girl just keeps working it out. We like her style and we love her attitude. Wonder if she got any off-camera time with Sam Talbot?

Richard: This was a quiet episode for our favorite faux-hawked Southern gentleman, but that doesn’t mean he’s not busy dreaming up new ways to combine his secret stash of ras-al-hanout with smoking and sous-vide techniques, thus blowing us all away in the weeks to come.

Stephanie: Meatball soup = brilliant. And, apparently, well seasoned. (How many times did the judges say that? Six? Seven?) Good to see her back near the top.

And now, we drink. There was a lot of finger-pointing this episode (ahem, Lisa) and we can’t just let it slide by.

This week’s rule: Chug for five seconds every time someone says “threw me under the bus” or some variation of the phrase. And because this is only likely to happen at the judges’ table or in the stew room, we’ll add another product-placement rule as a bonus: Drink every time there’s a tight shot of the GE Monogram logo. (This was inspired, of course, by this week’s Elimination Challenge requirement that the cops heat their dishes in a microwave … but not just any microwave!)

To recap:

Rule No. 1: Drink every time Lisa curses.

Rule No. 2: Drink every time a Glad product appears on screen. Chug for the first five seconds of any Glad commercial.

Rule No. 3: Drink every time Dale lashes out, directly or indirectly.

Rule No. 4: Chug for five seconds any time someone says “threw me under the bus” or similar.

Rule No. 5: Drink for every tight shot/zoom of a GE Monogram logo.

Next week: Restaurant Wars returns! Until then, get your “Top Chef” fix with more on this week's episode from The Stew.

 

Need something to brighten up the weekend forecast of clouds? Check out Chicagoans Head of Femur (click for show info), whose latest album, "Great Plains," is a sunny dose of horn-spiked pop just begging to be blasted out of your car this summer. The band's punchy sound comes with just the right amount of jangle, which you can see for yourself when the group plays Friday at Schubas.

As for a show to catch on Saturday, we don't need to tell you more about Butterfly Assassins. (We already masssively hyped them on their way to impressing Metromix readers and eventually playing our Rock 'n' Vote show at Double Door.) Just know that the epic indie rockers headline this weekend at Reggie's, and if you couldn't make it to Rock 'n' Vote, you won't want to miss another chance to hear the beautifully pounding, classically influenced theatrics that the young quintet delivers on record and on stage. Click here for show info

What shows are you planning on seeing this weekend? What other local bands have caught your ear lately?

Aldermen better watch their livers. The Chicago City Council has lifted the foie gras ban, according to the ChicagoTribune.com's Clout Street Blog. But duck-friendly Ald. Joe Moore (49th), the sponsor of the two-year old band, was very displeased indeed. "Tomorrow, it could happen to you," he warned his fellow lawmakers when Mayor Daley ignored his shouted pleas. What could happen to them? What did he mean? Was someone going to force feed them to death? We're confused.

There's no confusion at Cryano's Bistrot. Chef-owner Didier Durand, one of the ban's most outspoken critics, is ecstatic. "All the restaurants have been calling me," he told us. "They know how hard I have worked." Durand plans a press conference this afternoon where he says a live duck will be present. (We're not sure if he's joking.) "We're going to paint the town with foie gras!" We hope he's not speaking literally.

Last week we updated you on the well-intentioned but terribly misguided proposed ordinance that would, in effect, prevent a great deal of Chicago concerts--including our annual Rock 'n' Vote event--from happening. Now, we're only a day away from the City Council voting on the ordinance, so there's no time like the present to speak up and let the city's decisionmakers hear what a negative impact this ordinance would have on the local music scene--rather than simply achieving its intended effect, which is to keep audiences safe.

Sign a petition here at SaveChicagoCulture.org, and see here to find your Alderman and speak your mind directly to the city.

UPDATE: According to a statement by the Chicago Music Commission (found on Chicago Sun-Times music critic Jim DeRogatis' blog ), voting on the ordinance is being postponed until it can be fine-tuned, following the waves of public outcry inspired by the proposal.

Some choice quotes from the story:

Efrat Dallal Stein, spokeswoman for the Business Affairs & Licensing Department: "With any ordinance, there's going to be things that cannot accommodate every single person in a particular industry because the range is so large. It's a growing industry and it is in need of some sort of regulation, just like any other growing industry. I mean, you need a license to sell a T-shirt in the city of Chicago."

Ald. Eugene Schulter (47th), chairman of the licensing committee: "Unfortunately, we've had incidents in the city where people have been murdered, people have been accosted [and] there have been fights. Our goal is not to hurt anybody, but to really help the promoter as well as the person in charge of the venue, because right now, the only person that really is responsible is the person that runs the venue."

Christian Picciolini, founder of the local punk-rock record label Sinister Music: "Passing an ordinance like this will virtually destroy the diversity and importance of an independent music scene."

Stay tuned for updates.

What do you think about the ordinance? Where do you see it going from here?

Hold on to your gullets! According to a report published on Chicago Tribune's Stew blog, the City of Chicago along with the Illinois Restaurant Association are planning to co-host another Taste of Chicago-like event. According to the Trib's restaurant critic, Phil Vettel, the event will be dubbed "Chicago Gourmet," and is to take place September 26-28 in Millennium Park. " [T]he mayor apparently wants a gourmet version of Taste, one that really will show off Chicago as a world-class culinary destination," Vettel reports. Stay tuned for details.

Update: The Chicago Gourmet Web Site has been discovered! The site provides additional details about the event: "Chicago Gourmet will host various food and wine tastings, cooking demonstrations, classes, lectures, special dining events and a retail shopping area." So, it looks like pickles on stick will probably remain the domain of Taste of Chicago.

Well, it's a publicity stunt, sure. But it's a publicity stunt we can get behind. Or, well, one that we would get behind if we had a car. A Prius, to be exact. Let me explain. Big Bowl, the pan-Asian chain, is on a mission to be greener. Last year, it began incorporating things like sustainable, heirloom pork. Servers began wearing uniforms made from organic cotton. It banned bottled water. And in an effort to treat drivers of hybrid cars like rock stars (or at least Leo DiCaprio)--and get them into their restaurants--it's giving them free valet parking by deducting the cost of the valet ($10 at its city locations) from the cost of the check. And with gas prices being what they are, every little bit helps.

When Warner Bros. spent more than $100 million on "Speed Racer," do you think they were hoping for a measly $20.2 million opening weekend?

Well, that's what they got, a paltry debut for a supposed summer blockbuster that just barely defeated the unfunny "What Happens in Vegas." (No. 3 with $20 million.) Besting them both was last week's champ, "Iron Man," which took in another $50.5 million to bring its 10-day total to $177.1 million. That's great news for Marvel, the comic book studio that recently approved an "Iron Man" sequel.

How pathetic is it that the big-budget "Speed Racer" almost lost to an Ashton Kutcher movie? Did anyone out there see "Speed Racer"? And will the "Iron Man" sequel be as good as the first?

 

We must say we're pretty uneasy about the widely reported news that the City Council will vote Wednesday about an ordinance that could put a big dent in the local music scene.

Drawing on the 2003 tragedy at the E2 nightclub, during which 21 people were killed in a stampede, the ordinance would require independent promoters to buy a license ($500-$2,000) to do business with city clubs as well as acquiring $300,000 in general liability insurance. (This would only apply to venues with less than 500 fixed seats.)

According to the Chicago Tribune's Greg Kot: "The ordinance in effect singles out some of the city’s most respected clubs and theaters, including Metro, Schubas, Park West, the Vic, Buddy Guy’s Legends, Martyrs, the Hideout, the Riviera, Uncommon Ground and dozens more establishments with a history of running safe, well-managed events."

We echo Kot's concern that the result will inevitably be that many concerts, simply, will no longer happen as a result of the new fees. Heck, we just staged our fifth-annual Rock 'n' Vote show at Double Door--a fully licensed venue--but we'd be lying if we said this ordinance wouldn't hinder our ability to host another one.

Naturally, people's lives are more important than music. But there must be a better way to demonstrate control over concerts and keep the public safe that doesn't prevent so many legitimate shows from happening at all.

What do you think, Chicago music fans?

No need to sip that wine at home alone in the wee hours. Now you can head to River North’s Swirl Wine Bar, which will now stay open until 4 a.m. Fridays and 5 a.m. Saturdays. What pairs well with a late-night glass of wine? Turntablists, natch. Soak up jazzy, funky beats from visiting DJs as you sip and swirl.

 

First, the good: The five gals of "Shout! The Mod Musical" all hold their own on stage, maintaining energy and spunk even as they're forced into vaguely conceived roles as a '60s era floozie, homebody, goofball, wallflower and self-centered beauty.

Now, the sad truth: The show, which made its debut Thursday at the Drury Lane Theater at Water Tower Place, is a stone cold dud, man, one without any thought put into its cultural name-checking or sense of nostalgia. It's as if the writers sat around brainstorming ideas, decided on making a musical about five types of women in the '60s and came to the simple conclusion that they'd have to reference marijuana and birth control and include songs like "Downtown" and "Son of a Preacher Man" and "These Boots Were Made For Walkin'." And that's where the imagination stopped.

Even if you love musicals and love the music of the '60s--admittedly, I'm not a huge fan of either--surely you're tired of jabs at the dental hygiene of the British or the perennial rivalry between the Brits and the French. (What's the only thing worse than being ugly, the play asks. The answer: "You could be French." Eat your heart out, Austin Powers.) There are also many, many jokes to reflect the insulting mentalities that pre-dated the women's rights movement, which basically boil down to an off-screen advice columnist telling the gals that there's no problem that can't be fixed with a manicure or new hairstyle. It's a charmingly redundant running gag that clashes badly during a brief scene in which the columnist responds to a woman asking for help with her abusive husband. It would be tough to think of the last time I saw a greater, more misguided tonal shift on stage, and you could hear the effect in the audience, as many viewers seemed primed to chuckle only to realize, wait, this time it's not a laughing matter. Oops.

Bottom line: Just because "Shout!" spends most of the time trying to be fluffy and cheesy and far-out, dude, doesn't mean it can't deliver superficial fun in a smart way. For what it's worth, the cast makes for pleasant company throughout the 90-minute show, even if the play doesn't live up to the people performing it.

Who needs lyrics? Not Chicago rockers Russian Circles, that's for sure. This week the instrumental group, which plays an album release show Saturday at Subterranean, released its latest album "Station," (click here for our full review) a thick stew of steadily rising aggression that knows when to turn it down and when to crank it up. Tracks like "Youngblood" creep in quietly before exploding into walls of sound as head-banging as they are techinically proficient, easily making you forget about any instinctive need to sing along. More laid-back grooves like "Campaign" and "Xavii" tone down the noise in favor of gentler and even pensive guitar flourishes that sound more like a calm walk than an angry run.

In other words, Saturday's show is the place to be for anyone who wants their weekend's socks officially rocked off. No need to thank us; Your ears will thank you later.

Will you be at the show? What other local acts are you into right now?

What?? No restaurant wars? When Padma dropped this bomb, we were ready to boycott the rest of the season. “Top Chef” without restaurant wars? Impossible. But, hmm … wedding wars … could be interesting, if only because someone always crashes and burns with that pesky wedding cake.

Appropriately, perhaps, the episode turned out to be all about the ladies. Notably:

>> Antonia observes that this is the first time four women have made it to the top eight. You go, girls! (OK, Nikki was gone by the end of the episode and we don't really think Lisa will be around much longer. But still, it’s a landmark.)

>> Inexplicably, Richard’s inner Southern gentleman chooses this moment to step out, and he convinces his team to cook for the bride. The bride seems cool enough (when you volunteer to have the so-called “happiest day of your life” sabotaged by a bunch of competitors on a reality TV show, you’re probably no Bridezilla), but c’mon … does any auxiliary party really want to be held responsible for a woman’s happiness on her wedding day?

>> Gale Gand, Chicago’s grande dame of pastry, is the guest judge. Enough said.

>> Though Richard wins the challenge, he turns around and gives his prize to our hometown gal, Stephanie. Very gallant of him, though it was probably well-deserved, given that Stephanie pulled off a 24-hour wedding cake that didn’t sink the team.

And now, we drink.

This week’s new drinking game rule should be obvious. It’s all about Dale—specifically, Dale’s anger management issues. Every time Dale punches something, yells or insults another chef, we drink. This includes passive direct insults, passive aggressive insults and under-the-breath mumblings, and insults repeated only to the camera after the fact.

To recap:

Rule No. 1: Drink every time Lisa curses (two this week; total curse count was 26.)

Rule No. 2: Drink every time a Glad product appears on screen (34 this week). Chug for the first five seconds of any Glad commercial (just one this week).

Rule No. 3: Drink every time Dale lashes out, directly or indirectly.

Finally this week, with less than half of the original contestants left, it’s time for us to start ranking chefs. Here they are, in the order we think they’ll go:

Lisa: Her cake might have tasted fine, but it looked like an aircraft carrier.

Spike: Something tells us he has a limited number of tricks up his sleeve (or maybe they’re under that hat?) and he’s about to run out.

Andrew: Eventually, he’ll spontaneously combust.

Dale: He spent most of tonight’s episode moaning about how awful his teammates were and yakking about how much better he is than everyone else. His fundamentals will carry him to the top four, but they won’t be able to overcome his attitude. Of course, we said this about Hung last season before he went on to win it all …

Finale (in alphabetical order): Antonia, Richard and Stephanie

Next week: Sabotage! Mind games! Intrigue!

Until then, don't forget to check out what our friends at The Stew have to say about this week's episode.

Hey, news is news, even when it's a new version of old news.

That's because the AP is reporting that Amy Winehouse was arrested yet again, this time stemming from a January video in which she's allegedly shown doing drugs at a party at her London house. This follows last month's incident in which police cautioned Winehouse for assault after she slapped a man during a night out. That, of course, followed all the other highly publicized rehab stints, legal troubles, yadda yadda yadda. We like "Back to Black," but we gotta admit that this ever-rising pile of personal issues/PR nightmares isn't exactly helping to further endear the already controversial singer to us.

When will the bad news for Winehouse come to an end? Will it be before or after she makes another album? Is it us, or does it feel like we've asked all of these questions several times before?

Attention, Project Runway fans! If you're not stopping in the AIDS Foundation of Chicago's Design for the Cure fashion show hosted by Steven Rosengard on Thursday, here's a chance to spy another former contestant this week. Season 2 winner Chloe Dao will be in town from Houston for the relaunch of the newly made-over Verizon store on Michigan Avenue. Known for her feminine frocks, she'll be there pimping her new "couture" cell phone cases (pictured here, $24.99 a pop) from noon until 2 p.m. on Friday. We're not all that wowed by the designs, but they are admittedly cuter than your basic black vinyl deal. If you're fan enough, go ahead and join the legions of PR devotees slipping out on their lunch break for an autograph.

 

The MTV Movie Awards, which normally gives top honors to stuff like "Transformers" and "Pirates of the Caribbean," is actually giving a great movie a chance to shine this year.

That's because "Superbad" led the pack with five nominations Tuesday for categories including "Best Comedic Performance" and "Best Movie." (That being said, the other "Best Movie" noms are "I Am Legend," "Juno," "National Treasure: Book of Secrets" and, yes, "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End" and "Transformers.")The awards, broadcast live June 1, will also debut a new category, "Best Summer Movie So Far," which just includes all the big May releases ("Iron Man," "Indiana Jones," "Sex and the City," "Speed Racer" and "The Chronicles of Narnia").

That's not terribly exciting, but we do like the concept of a user-generated category, "Best Movie Spoof," for which users can submit online movies parodying flicks from the past year. Not only is that a fun way to engage the audience, but it prevents full-length spoofs like "Meet the Spartans" or "Superhero Movie" from ever being called the "Best" at anything.

Does "Superbad" deserve to be called "Best Movie"?

 

Today's cover story "Sweat Home, Chicago" gives you a peek at some of our favorite alfresco events. Here's another head's up: The Chicagoland Bicycle Federation's Veggie Bike and Dine (click for details) doesn't roll until Sept. 13, but this hugely popular event will sell out, so mark your calendar for early registration, opening at 10 a.m. June 13. The neighborhood ride tours Near West Side community gardens (exact route is TBA) and includes vegan fare at each stop. Tickets cost $50 (CBF members) and $55 (non-members).

 

Man's best friend needs some more men!

Walking a cuddly pup down the street is a surefire way to score some digits, right guys? So we’ve gotta ask: What are you waiting for, boys?

The ladies are lining up to be a part of our summer dog-friendly Reader Review crew, but we need more applications from guys who can’t resist a friendly face and a wagging tail. Just imagine what could happen when you spend a summer afternoon chilling with your pal Spot on a sidewalk patio …

Submit your Pups on the Patio application now, then upload a photo of you and your pooch to our reader-submitted doggie photo gallery. It’s bound to be a summer of, uh, heavy petting.

As a kid growing up in Glenwood, the South Suburban village that nine out of 10 people living in Chicago have never heard of, my little buddies and I would spend vast amounts of time combing places like Sweet Woods in search of beer cans for our awesome collection. The obsession lasted a few summers, and I'm really glad I outgrew it (to this day I have no idea what 007 James Bond Special Blend beer actually tastes like). But some people plan to carry their beer can obsession to their graves. People like Glenwood Village administrator Bill Bramanti, for instance. According to this Associated Press story, the 67-year-old Bramanti has made plans to be buried in a casket custom-built with the shades of a PBR can. PBR? Are you kidding? It's been a long time since I went beer can collecting, but I'd pass right over blah PBR cans. Besides, wouldn't it be cheaper to be cremated and have your ashes stuffed into a life-sized can? In any case, since Bramanti doesn't plan to kick the --- um, can-- any time soon, he filled the casket with ice and beer then threw a party, which apparently is enough for the AP to move a story. I just hope they bury Bramanti very deep, I'd hate for some poor beer can- collecting kid of the future to discover his remains.

I want to love Looptopia, the all-night eating, drinking, mulit-venue party held in the Loop for the second time this weekend. Sadly, I can’t, and it’s not just because of this weekend's weather. This year’s enthusiastic showers trumped the freezing wind of last year, adding cancellation confusion to the mix. Here’s how my adventure went down Friday night:

6:20 p.m.: I'm in the Loop. I scan the streets for spectacle. My first sighting: An MCA artist is stacking red books in a Macy's window on State Street. The books are stacked pretty high. I wonder what she'll do when the window is full: restack? A guy shuffles past and shakes his head. “Lame…” he pronounces.

6:30 p.m.: Heading to Daley Plaza. On State Street, a woman dressed in white and covered in clear plastic is plucking petals off a white flower while dismembered plastic babies writhe on the floor of her platform. Neat. I hope she's part of the show.

6:45 p.m.: I arrive in Daley Plaza where a small crowd is watching the Bethany Pickers Trio. I wait for friends to arrive. I study my official map and realize that I've already missed several artists I wanted to see. The Cirque du Soleil-trained “Kooza” kids breeze in with kites. A few are on stilts. Now it’s my turn to shake my head: Lame.

7:15 p.m.: I trot over to the Seventeenth Church of Christ Scientist (55 E. Wacker Drive) to see the Brickheadz perform at 7:30 p.m., but the breakdancing crew has cancelled due to rain. I’m soaked. An ominous, amplified voice announces that tornadoes are expected in 30 minutes and the venue is closing. I grit my teeth and head back to Daley Plaza.

7:40 p.m.: Back at Daley Plaza. Nothing is going on, save for spectators dodging raindrops. I'm frustrated and my shoes are squishy. I’m about to leave when my friends finally arrive. We decide to eat at Emerald Loop. Alcohol should lift my sprits.

7:50 p.m.: Is Chicago on fire? No, it's performance group Blaze, juggling, eating and dancing with flames along the Riverwalk. This is the first spectacular act I’ve seen all night.

8:20 p.m.: Emerald Loop is full, so we grab a table outside and eat. The weather is finally cooperating.

10 p.m.: Midnight Circus is performing in Daley Plaza. At least, I think they are. The stage is just short enough that the performers are mostly invisible. We crane our necks for longer than we should. I study the backs of people's heads.

11 p.m.: Palmer House Hilton. Broadway in Chicago is hosting cabaret performances. We marvel at the packed, decadent space and duck into the hotel's new lounge Potter's. My friend cringes while singers from "SHOUT! The Mod Musical” entertain the crowds. I didn’t know he hates cabaret.

11:20 p.m.: We hop into a cab and head to Greektown bar Dugan's where we spend the next two hours not discussing Looptopia.

>>> DID YOU GO TO LOOPTOPIA? WHAT DID YOU THINK?

Now that's how you start the summer off right. The smart, satisfying comic book flick "Iron Man" destroyed its competition over the weekend, earning $101 million (and an extra $3 million Thursday night) to top the box office and make some history in the process. The whopping total was the 10th-best three-day opening of all time and the No. 2 debut for a non-sequel. (Behind "Spider-Man," which debuted with $114.8 million.)

Great numbers for a good movie, neither of which can be said for the terrible romantic comedy "Made of Honor," which landed at No. 2 with a perfectly respectable, if not surprising, $15.5 million. It shows that the chick flick was effective counter-programming to "Iron Man," even if audiences didn't exactly turn out equally for both. (Now that would have been shocking.)

Can next week's "Speed Racer" take down "Iron Man"? Will "What Happens in Vegas" top "Made of Honor"?

 

 

 

 

Hey, who pays for music these days anyway? That's why you can forget the last Nine Inch Nails' record, the instrumental double-disc "Ghosts I-IV," which was released via the Internet with a variety of pricing options (ranging from a partial version for free to a limited edition package for $300). NIN's new album, "The Slip," is available now at nin.com as a free download. And like "Ghosts" and the band's previous record "Year Zero," "The Slip" allows listeners to create their own remixes/reinterpretations of the files, which can then be shared with other NIN fans without any restrictions or threat of copyright infringement.

At a time when some in the record industry are so worried about falling sales, it certainly feels good to have musicians giving back to the fans and not worrying about the bottom line. (Singer Trent Reznor remarks in a press release, "Thank you for your continued and loyal support over the years. This one's on me.") Of course, that's easier to do when you've been around for more than a decade and don't need radio-friendly hits to maintain your audience.

What do you think of bands releasing music for free on the Internet? Does it help the industry or hurt already-declining CD sales? Will "The Slip" make you even more excited to see NIN at Lollapalooza?

Have you heard the one about Sen Dog -- the Cypress Hill rapper who isn't B-Real -- rockin' a cover of House of Pain's "Jump Around" with Breckin Meyer ("Road Trip") on drums, Rage Against the Machine's Tom Morello on guitar, Chicago vet Mars Williams on sax and Perry Farrell awkwardly singing backup? How about the one about rapper "Boots" Riley of The Coup laying down a verse during Woody Guthrie's "This Land is Your Land" while Ben Harper, Shooter Jennings and Wayne Kramer of MC5 all sing along?

No joke. That's just a snippet of the scene Thursday night at a sold-out Park West, when Morello (as his solo artist alter-ego, The Nightwatchman) hosted the last night of his Justice Tour, a combination of rotating artists you would never, ever imagine playing together, appearing for cheap (tickets were only $10) and donating all the proceeds to benefit various charitable and activist organizations.

The show was very much an example of preaching to the choir, as Morello offered not-so-fresh statements about the Iraq war and the administration's mixed-up motives and other viewpoints of which the audience clearly didn't need much convincing. But aside from a political rally of questionable effectiveness, the non-stop, nearly four-hour event was also a heck of a party, ranging from solo rap-poetry from Riley to thick blues-funk from Harper and the Innocent Criminals, from harmonica-and-guitar boogies from Chicago's Ike Reilly to Farrell busting out inevitable renditions of Porno for Pyros' "Tahitian Moon" and Jane's Addiction's "Jane Says." When nearly everyone involved banded together for the final few songs to cover stuff like "Fortunate Son" and "Rockin' in the Free World," the choices were predictable but the execution was solid, if not a little amusing at the incongruity of the people on stage. (Note: Breckin Meyer, not a bad drummer. Really.)

Essentially, before the Justice Tour there would have been no reason to think that all of these people would be in the same place, other than in your dreams. (And, if that, the kind of dream from which you wake up and just go, "Huh?"). Call it surreal, call it absurd, or call it a once in a lifetime experience. If nothing else, the next time I'm standing around at a concert, bored with an indie buzz band that fails to connect on stage, I'll wonder why all shows can't be so messy, hilarious and excitingly bizarre.

The Chicago Tibune is reporting that Loop nightclub Wet just got soaked in a lawsuit: Mystery shoppers from Red Bull ordered their popular energy drink mixed with vodka, only to be served another brand that was passed off as the Bull. (Undercover RedBull employees have been gathering evidence from repeat visits to Wet since 2004.) A judge recently ordered Wet to pay more than $500,000 in fines.

So next time you order a vodka-RedBull, how do you know what kind of energy drink you're really getting? Here’s a tip: According to the Tribune story, Red Bull only comes in cans—so if your energy drink comes from a soda gun, don’t be fooled into thinking it’s Red Bull.