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Blogs, Bleader Oct 27, 2016
The story of Cook County's pursuit of back taxes from small music venues descends into the surreal

Cook County amends its amusement-tax code to clarify that its officials aren't in the business of defining "fine art"—but several small venues are still stuck in administrative hearings arguing about exactly that.
- By Lee V. Gaines
- Tags: Music, News, Cook County, amusement tax, tax exemption, fine art, small venues, music, Beauty Bar, Evil Olive, John Fritchey, Bruce Finkelman, Anita Richardson, Zahra Ali, Metro, Smart Bar, Joe Shanahan, Ivan Samstein, Ted Nelson, Derrick Carter, Matt Ryan, 16" on Center, administrative hearings

Arts & Culture, Calendar Oct 24, 2016
More than three dozen of the best Halloween 2016 events

A ghoulish brunch, a costume parade, and more spooky things to do.
- Tags: Calendar, Halloween 2016, Another 90s Halloween Party, Beauty Bar, Bowie Night 2: Son of Bowie, Crown Liquors, Bric-a-Brac’s Halloween Brunch, Empty Bottle, Bye Bye Liver: Drink or Treat, Public House theatre, Carmine's Friday Fright Fest, Carmine's, Dia de los Muertos, Chicago Sinfonietta, Symphony Center, National Museum of Mexican Art, Day of the Dead, Death Toll, Cornservatory, The Fame Monster Mash, Berlin, Glitter Ghoul Halloween, Late Bar, East Room, Beat Kitchen, Rachal Duggan, Comfort Station, Untitled Supper Club, Hallowzine, Chicago Publishers Resource Center, Cafe Brauer, Haunted Hotel, Emporium Arcade Bar, Evanston History Center, Heltrap Nightmare, Hideout, Fabulous Ladies of Fitness, Cole's, Hog-lloween, Frontier, Howl-o-ween, Sit Social, La Casa de Santanas, Little Bash of Horrors, Bottom Lounge, Mama's Boy, A Memory Place of Fear, Silent Funny, Nightmares on Lincoln Ave., Northalsted Halloween Parade, Pay 2 Slay, Peek-A-Boo, Uptown Underground, Porn and Chicken, Halloween Banger, Evil Olive, Race of the Dead 5K, Scare You Very Much, Chicago Art Department, Spooky Zoo Spectacular, Lincoln Park Zoo, Too Much Fright Makes the Baby Go Blind, Whores of Horror

Blogs, Bleader Aug 30, 2016
Cook County not ‘in the business of saying what is and what is not fine arts,’ according to CFO

The county's chief financial officer says he disagrees with a hearing officer’s interpretation that only musical genres considered “fine art” are exempt from an amusement tax.
- By Lee V. Gaines
- Tags: Music, News, Music, venue, fine art, amusement tax, John Fritchey, Cook County, Toni Preckwinkle, Ivan Samstein, CFO, chief financial officer, Beauty Bar, Chance the Rapper, Anita Richardson, Evil Olive

Blogs, Bleader Aug 25, 2016
Cook County has become an 80s movie villain in its attempt to tax small music venues to death

Cook County's effort to bilk small music venues is like a plotline from Footloose.
- By Ryan Smith
- Tags: Music, Seriously?, Shots Fired, Cook County, Frankie Knuckles, David Bowie, Footloose, Kevin Bacon, The Goonies, Daft Punk, Beauty Bar, the Empty Bottle, Evil Olive, John Lithgow, Chance the Rapper, petition

Blogs, Bleader Aug 22, 2016
Cook County doubles down: Rap, rock, country, and DJ sets are not ‘fine arts,’ not exempt from amusement tax

At Cook County's latest hearing on its small-venue amusement-tax exemption, the government dealt several businesses a blow that could eventually cost them hundreds of thousands of dollars apiece.
- By Lee V. Gaines
- Tags: Music, News, Cook County, amusement tax, exemption, small venues, Beauty Bar, Evil Olive, Toni Preckwinkle, John Fritchey, Anita Richardson, Bruce Finkelman, Sean Mulroney, 16" on Center, Matt Ryan, live music, DJs, electronic music, rock, country, rap

Best of Chicago, Music & Nightlife Jun 25, 2014
Readers' Poll
Best dance party

Porn and Chicken at Evil Olive
- Tags: Music & Nightlife, Best of Chicago 2014, Best dance party, Porn and Chicken, Slo ’Mo: Slow Jams for Homos (and Their Fans), Evil Olive, Readers' Poll

Blogs, Bleader Mar 17, 2014
Reader's Agenda Mon 3/17: Chicago Story Week, Indian, and Porn and Chicken

What's on the Reader's Agenda for Monday, March 17
- By Taylor Tolbert
- Tags: Do This, Arts, Columbia College, Chicago Story Week, Why The Short Story?, Stuart Dybek, Roxane Gay, Christine Sneed, Katey Schultz, Subterranean, Bloodiest, Anatomy of Habit, An Aesthetic Anaesthetic, Evil Olive, Porn and Chicken: Bang Me, I'm Irish, Orville Kline, Phives, The Sleepers, Rukus vs. Richie Augusta, Martin Stoy

Blogs, Bleader Aug 19, 2013
Reader's Agenda Mon 8/19: Richard Buckner, Porn and Chicken, and GoodFellas

What's on the Reader's Agenda for Monday, August 19
- By Tosten Burks
- Tags: Do This, Arts, Richard Buckner, Schuba's, Porn and Chicken, Evil Olive, Martin Scorsese, GoodFellas, Jonathan Rosenbaum

Best of Chicago, Music & Nightlife Jun 19, 2013
Readers' Poll
Best Dance Party

Porn and Chicken at Evil Olive
- Tags: Music & Nightlife, Best of Chicago 2013, Porn and Chicken, Evil Olive, Mayhem Fridays, The Mid, parties, dance parties, Readers' Poll

Arts & Culture, New Year's Eve Dec 21, 2012
New Year's Eve Guide 2012

Our picks for the best places to be when the ball drops
- Tags: New Year's Eve, Black Ensemble Theater, The Jackie Wilson Story, The Marvin Gaye Story, One Name Only, Bootlegger's Ball, Moonshine Brewing Company, Burlesque New Year's Eve Striptacular, Gorilla Tango's Geek Girls, Chemically Imbalanced Comedy, Chemically Imbalanced Theater, Kiss Kiss Cabaret New Year's Eve Hullabaloo, Greenhouse Theater Center, Nerd Year's Eve, Star Wars, Challengers Comics + Conversation, DANK Haus, Feuerzangenbowle, The Poseidon Adventure, Music Box, Morseland, Slo 'Mo, the Whistler, Time Travel Spectacular, Elastic, Messing and the Wisemen, Antony and the Tramps, Airborne Toxic Event, Metro, Charles Bradley and His Extraordinaires, Lincoln Hall, Eternals Espiritu Zombi Group, Hideout, Marked Men Bad Sports, Empty Bottle, Wanda Jackson, Double Door, Porter Robinson, Congress Theater, Beauty Bar, Hood Internet, Moon Boots, Only Children, The Castle, Paul Oakenfold, Evil Olive, Porn and Chicken, Funky Buddha Lounge, The Mid, The Shrine, DJ B-Man, Teedra Moses, Spy Bar, Kalendr, Inphinity, Gene Farris, Acadia, Big Jones, Blackbird, Hoppin' John, Blackbird, Chef David Posey, Chilam Balam, Natalie Oswald, Deleece, Due Lire Vino and Cucina, Fork, Tim Cottini, Grass Fed, Jerry's Andersonville, Longman and Eagle, Jared Wentworth, Mercadito, Ryan Poli, Mercat a la Planxa, Nana, Park Grill, People Tapas Lounge, The Publican, Brian Huston, Senza, Noah Sandoval, Sepia, Andrew Zimmerman, Slurping Turtle, Godzilla, Takashi Yagihashi, SmallBar Division, Storefront Company, Tesori, Trenchermen, Yusho, Matthias Merges, Zed 451, Zocalo

Best of Chicago, Music & Nightlife Jun 23, 2011
Best dance club

Smart Bar voted best dance club
- Tags: Music & Nightlife, Best dance club, Readers' poll, Smart Bar, Berlin, Evil Olive

Best of Chicago, Music & Nightlife Jun 23, 2011
Readers' Poll
Best dance party

Porn 'n' Chicken voted best dance party
- Tags: Music & Nightlife, Best dance party, Readers' poll, Porn 'n' Chicken, Evil Olive, Chances Dances, Hideout, Readers' Poll

Best of Chicago, Music & Nightlife Jun 23, 2011
Readers' Poll
Best nongay gay bar

Berlin and Town Hall Pub voted best nongay gay bars
- Tags: Music & Nightlife, Best nongay gay bar, Readers' poll, Berlin, Town Hall Pub, Beauty Bar, Evil Olive, T's Bar Restaurant, the Whistler, Wrigley Field, Readers' Poll

Best of Chicago, Music & Nightlife Jun 23, 2011
Best anything-goes club

Berlin voted best anything-goes club
- Tags: Music & Nightlife, Best anything-goes club, Readers' poll, Berlin, Evil Olive, Exit

Music, Music Feature Aug 5, 2010
Video
"Pizza Hut Taco Bell" Made This Happen

Das Racist on joke rap, Internet fame, "authenticity," and Kings of Leon's haircuts
- By Miles Raymer
- Tags: Music Feature, Das Racist, Himanshu Kumar Suri, Victor Vazquez, Combination Pizza Hut and Taco Bell, Shut Up, Dude, Sasha Frere-Jones, Evil Olive, Bin Laden Blowin' Up, BBU, Soundscape, No Pictures, Debonair, Illekt, CMJ, Kings of Leon, The Source, Diplo, Sit Down, Man, You Oughta Know, Billy Joel, Video

Blogs, Bleader Dec 16, 2009
Morning Art: Ken Carrano

Part of Atomic Sketch at Evil Olive
- By Julia Thiel
- Tags: Chicagoland, Visual Art, Ken Carrano, Atomic Sketch, Evil Olive

Blogs, Bleader Aug 6, 2009
Morning Art: John Airo
- By Whet Moser
- Tags: Chicagoland, Visual Art, Morning Art, John Airo, Evil Olive, Atomic Sketch

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Cook County amends its amusement-tax code to clarify that its officials aren't in the business of defining "fine art"—but several small venues are still stuck in administrative hearings arguing about exactly that.

A ghoulish brunch, a costume parade, and more spooky things to do.

The county's chief financial officer says he disagrees with a hearing officer’s interpretation that only musical genres considered “fine art” are exempt from an amusement tax.

Cook County's effort to bilk small music venues is like a plotline from Footloose.

At Cook County's latest hearing on its small-venue amusement-tax exemption, the government dealt several businesses a blow that could eventually cost them hundreds of thousands of dollars apiece.

Porn and Chicken at Evil Olive

What's on the Reader's Agenda for Monday, March 17

What's on the Reader's Agenda for Monday, August 19

Porn and Chicken at Evil Olive

Reader's Agenda, Christmas Eve, 2012

Our picks for the best places to be when the ball drops

Smart Bar voted best dance club

Porn 'n' Chicken voted best dance party

Berlin and Town Hall Pub voted best nongay gay bars

Berlin voted best anything-goes club

Das Racist on joke rap, Internet fame, "authenticity," and Kings of Leon's haircuts

Part of Atomic Sketch at Evil Olive

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