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.