Hit it: Blues Bar pays tribute to Jake and Elwood
"The Blues Brothers," the hit 1980 film that turned "Saturday Night Live" characters Jake and Elwood into pop-culture icons, has now inspired the Blues Bar, a new suburban nightspot that opened recently at 2 W. Busse Ave., Mount Prospect.
The sleek and urban-looking bar houses two stories, hardwood floors, exposed brick walls, and a mural paying homage to blues legends including Ray Charles, Muddy Waters and others. There's also a beat-up 1974 Mount Prospect Police Department police car, similar to the one John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd drove in the film, suspended overhead in a place of honor near the door.
Live music begins about 5 p.m. Thursday through Saturday. See www.blues-bar.com or call (847) 788-9977 for details.
Modern music at MCA: Avant garde chanteuse and political activist Diamanda Galás, a singer with a four-octave range who is as comfortable with the bel canto repertoire as she is with jazz and blues, performs in Chicago for the first time in 15 years this weekend.
She performs at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at the Museum of Contemporary Art, 220 E. Chicago Ave., Chicago. The program, an examination of love and death titled "Guilty, Guilty, Guilty," includes songs made famous by Edith Piaf and Johnny Cash as well as her own compositions. Tickets range from $19 to $28. They're available at the MCA box office, www.boxoffice.mcachicago.org or (312) 397-4010.
Speaking of music … The second annual Umbrella Music Festival showcasing jazz and improvised music begins Thursday at Chicago clubs and performance spaces. Musicians scheduled to perform include: AACM members Nicole Mitchell, Harrison Bankhead, Avreeayl Ra and Mwata Bowden among others.
Performances continue through Nov. 5 at Elastic Arts, 2830 N. Milwaukee Ave.; The Velvet Lounge, 67 E. Cermak Road; The Hideout, 1354 W. Wabansia; the Chicago Cultural Center, 78 E. Washington St.; and The Hungry Brain, 2319 W. Belmont Ave. Admission ranges from free to $15. For the complete schedule, see www.umbrellamusic.org.
Zephyr premieres art-inspired piece: Donald Judd's minimalist sculptures, some of which make up the permanent collection at Chicago's Museum of Contemporary Art, inspired "Just Left of Remote," the latest work by Zephyr Dance artistic director Michelle Kranicke.
The all-female ensemble premieres the multimedia piece, which is accompanied by original music by Michael Caskey, this weekend at the Dance Center of Columbia College, 1306 S. Michigan Ave., Chicago.
Performances are at 8 p.m. today and 3 and 8 p.m. Saturday. Tickets cost $28 for the evening performances, $10 ($6 for children) for Saturday's matinee. They're available at the box office, (312) 344-6600 or www.colum.edu/dancecenter.