Welcome To May: What's happening in Chicago this month
We can all finally go Coco.
Well, May is almost here, and it’s hard not to notice that our parks are filling up with cut-off shorts and ant-ridden family picnics. And that means the summer festivals are quickly approaching—pretty soon we’ll all be sweating abundantly, tightly clutching a hastily consumed bottle of water, and thinking, “Why can’t I enjoy this show in an air-conditioned bubble, like The Flaming Lips?” So before the summer heat arrives, let’s enjoy May's temperate vibes, plus this month’s best shows inside climate-controlled venues.
The most anticipated show of the month
At first, the highly buzzed-about Nickelback show at Allstate Arena on May 18 was all set to take “most anticipated” honors. (We had our rocks locked and loaded.) Then that whole Tonight Show debacle tampered with the fabric of late-night comedy and consequently sent Conan O’Brien on the “Legally Prohibited From Being Funny On Television” tour, which finally comes to Chicago Theatre on May 19-20. (Both shows sold out in about 14 seconds last month.) The tour thus far has featured a few impromptu cameos, from musical guests (Spoon, Chris Isaak), to familiar friends (Triumph The Insult Comic Dog), to movie stars singing Five For Fighting hits (a costumed Jim Carrey performing “Superman (It’s Not Easy)”). Last time Conan’s show came here, we enjoyed five nights of George Wendt performing whatever random stunt the “Wheel Of Wendt" landed on—expect skits that are just as unexpected.
The wha? shows this month
The Crash Test Dummies are playing Martyrs' on May 22, which means, aside from “Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm,” they'll be playing... well, something else, we're sure. No offense to the Canadian band, but that 1993 single was the last time the U.S. has really heard from the Dummies (not including the "Weird Al" parody), so it’s consoling that they still land gigs. And nobody foresaw the re-emergence of ’80s glam-metal mainstays Ratt, who come to Cubby Bear on May 13 in support of a new album, Infestation. (Get it?) This only bolsters the argument to bring back Vince Neil’s Motley Cruise for 2010.
Hey, haven’t I seen you on TV or something?
In addition to Conan’s tour, May is the month for TV personalities to skedaddle from the studio confines and present their shows for a paying audience. The month opens with 30 Rock’s Scott Adsit (in town this weekend, coincidentally, separate from fellow cast member Tracy Morgan tonight) joining SNL’s Tim Kazurinsky, director Harold Ramis, and others for Celebrity Autobiography: In Their Own Words to sarcastically read from celebrity memoirs. May 2 brings the surrealist Adult Swim staple Aqua Teen Hunger Force Live at Park West and the improv silliness of Whose Live Anyway? at Skokie’s North Shore Center for the Performing Arts, featuring Whose Line Is It Anyway? regulars Ryan Stiles and Greg Proops. Scottish talk show host/puppet master Craig Ferguson of The Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson shows up May 1 at the Chicago Theatre. Then May 8, slick quipster Joel McHale from NBC’s Community and the long-running reality-show-bashing E! series The Soup also has two shows at Chicago Theatre (joined by co-star Donald Glover), giving Hale an opportunity to lambast something other than RuPaul’s Drag Race.
One last go-around
May 21 at Lincoln Hall isn't Voxtrot's final show, but the Austin band will be calling it quits after this tour. Same deal for Norwegian new-wave veterans A-Ha, who’ve been at it since 1982 but plan to hang it up with a trio of farewell shows December in Oslo. See them May 13 at the Riviera, hopefully to a crowd that won’t expect them to only play “Take On Me” over and over again. And loyal metal disciples should show their respects at Reggie’s Rock Club on May 1 for the Metal Haven farewell show, as six bands (including The Chasm, High Spirits, and Kommandant) shred in honor of the closing Ravenswood record store.
For more shows happening this month, check out our handy calendar.
