Hideout Block Party Line Up

Sagezilla 2008, Photo credit ChiILMama.com

We can't wait for yet another Hideout Block Party--celebrating 15 years to be exact.   The Hinchsliff brothers know how to throw a party!   Here's ChiIL Mama's photo filled coverage from: 

2009 Bloodshot BBQ, 

2008 with Neko Case, zombie thriller, Mucca Pazza, and Chalk 4 Peace. (2008 was our 3rd year of volunteering at Hideout's Block Parties).    

There are always plenty of activities for the kids.  Under 10 year olds are admitted free with paying adults.   Proceeds from ticket sales benefit Rock for Kids and Literacy Works Chicago.

Tickets are $25 in advance or $35 day of show.   Click here to purchase tickets.

More info here.

Hideout Block Party Schedule 

Doors @ 12pm

Guitarkestra @ 12:15

White Mystery @ 1:00

Kids These Days @ 1:45--We saw them twice at Lollapalooza and they blew us away!   ChiIL Mama will have a photo filled feature up soon.   Highly recommended.

The Eternals @ 2:30

Booker T. Jones @ 3:30

Jon Langford & the Burlington Welsh Male Chorus @ 4:45  Doesn't everyone love Jon Langford?!    What more can we say.

Mavis Staples @ 6:00   So much amazing music going on.......    Not to be missed.

Dosh @ 7:25

Andrew Bird @ 8:00

Chances Dances @ 9:30

Opera-Matic all day long!

General Rules & Regulations:

All ages – 10 and under no ticket needed. – Rain or shine. – No refunds or exchanges. – All patrons subject to search. – Photo ID required for all will call or guest list ticket pick-ups. – Line up and set times subject to change.

Please do not bring: Instruments – Knives / Weapons Etc. – Chains – Blankets – Outside Food & Beverage – Camelbacks Bota Bags – Tents – Flags – Chairs – Video Cameras – Audio Recording Devices – Pets – Drugs & Drug Paraphernalia Fireworks.

Happy Official First Day of Fall and Play Locally...Weekend Events Round Up Including Hideout Block Party, Jane's Addiction, Broadway in Chicago, Collaboraction and More...

It's happened again.   The Autumnal Equinox is here!    The light and dark side are equally balanced today, with 12 hours of dark and 12 hours of light.   Summer's flown by all too fast.   The kids picked up two bright red leaves from the ground yesterday and officially declared, "Fall's here."


As much as we live for summer, we're welcoming the cooler temps, riot of color, ongoing great music and theatre, and bountiful harvest at local farmer's markets!    So enjoy the changing seasons, break out your cozy fleece, and check in with ChiIL Mama like we vote in Chi, IL...early and often.    Chi-Town is nowhere near ready to hibernate and we've got a zillion great events, shows, and fun ideas for your weekend ahead.  

Our top picks are Hideout Block Party (all ages-kids welcome)

and Jane's Addiction at Metro (18+)!    

The Jane's shows sold out in minutes, but we'll be there covering Hideout Saturday and Jane's Addiction Sunday.   We also have a feature on Perry Farrell coming soon.    He's reinvented himself yet again and is laying down some sweet new music, with a new CD set for release October 18th.    We'll be exploring his house music experiments with his wife and collaborator, under the PerryEtty title.    And we'll have a photo filled feature of Perry with his 2 young sons, at Kidzapalooza with Sagezilla and Du-Jay.

ChiIL Mama's shots of Shams Band LIVE at Do Division

There are an unbelievable number of great Saturday night shows to chose from.    Shams Band are playing Martyrs (21+).   Check out ChiIL Mama's live show video of Shams Band covering Maggie's Farm at Whistler. http://www.chiilmama.com/2011/03/video-shams-band-live-at-whistler.html

Sat, Sep 24 - 9pm - $10

Head for the Hills

The Shams

Barehand Jug Band

Pinto and The Bean have a CD release house party with free food-beer-giveaways (21+).

ChiIL Mama's also sponsoring two all ages shows for the littles this weekend--Poochamungas FREE at Building Blocks Toy Stores 15th Anniversary Party and Dreamtree Shakers at Beat Kitchen.    We'll be posting new live show footage from both bands that ChiIL Mama shot at Beat Kitchen and Schubas.    Come on out and get your own free ChiIL Mama button--hot off the Busy Beaver presses!


On the theatre front, we'll be reviewing great adult shows at Collaboraction and Broadway in Chicago.   Be A Good Little Widow (free pizza tonight and money back guarantee, this weekend only) & Love, Loss and What I Wore. (an amusing and moving girls' night out or date night).


In kids'/family theatre news, Li'l Buds has a Fall Family Funraiser goin' on.

This Saturday, September 24th 10am - 3pm!  

Join Li'l Buds for family fun at their annual fall event!  There will be acting games, a scavenger hunt, face painting, dancing, food and did we mention FUN!!!

$15 adults, $10 children

Help Li'l Buds grow!   They do amazing work encouraging creativity, teaching, and mentoring Chicago school kids, so show 'em some love. Here's a message from the troupe:

Greetings! We have the opportunity to receive a grant from the Chicago Sun-Times Charity Trust.  This year, the Trust has set up the Sun Shine Project for the greater Chicago community to Shine A Light on worthy charities and select organizations and projects that deserve a grant. Please act now by voting for our project!  Click on the link below, sign up/login for the project (wait for an email confirmation to set up a password) and then search for Li'l Buds Theatre (we are in the Arts and Culture Section, or you can just enter our name in the search box) and vote by clicking on the 'thumbs up" sign!  You can also leave testimonials of support in the comments box - and please do as they consider the comments when awarding the grant! VOTING ENDS OCTOBER 9th! With input from the community, the Trust will fund $500,000 in grants toward non-profit projects that benefit youth in the Chicago region - and we could be one of them! CLICK THIS LINK TO VOTE

So take a deep breath of fall's earthy scent........enjoy the balance, and get out and play!

Remember September (2008 recap)

Ah, September. Back when a wind chill of 45 below, frozen locks and a hacking cough weren't a frequent reality. Our favorite thing about September is the annual Hideout Block Party, the last great music festival hurrah, before Chi IL is plunged into the deep freeze for another season.

This year included acts from The World Music Festival Chicago, like Little Cow who rocked!












Kids of all ages love those crazy freaks, Mucca Pazza marching band.

And local rockers Wee Hairy Beasties are quality musicians adored by kids and adults alike. It's so refreshing when children's songs aren't annoying to those over 5.



We even witnessed a zombie reenactment of Michael Jackson's Thriller video, and nightly headliner Neko Case who used to bar tend for The Hideout.


This was our third year volunteering for the block party. I believe it's never too early to get the kids doing something philanthropic. The kids are veteran volunteers in the box office of Facets Multimedia.

And they were thrilled to come back and work in the kids area at The Hideout. We're always doubly happy to kick in our time because every year proceeds from the Hideout Block Party go to help Literacy Works, Tuesdays Child and local public schools including ours.

Du and Sagezilla both loved seeing their energy in action as they pedaled a real bike to power a tiny bike on a world wide road trip.And they were exposed to hours and hours of diverse, world class music while creating art, free playing with friends and running amok. As always, there is no charge for kids activities. The play area is always fantastic and this year was no exception. The kids silkscreened their own unbleached cotton bags,




made sensory bottles, and played in the Tuesday's Child staffed Legos, dress up, face painting, temp tattoos and sand dig.









The Puppet bike is always a huge hit with it's oddball art and ratty, threadbare characters who dance and mug to tinny music. The choreography is minimalist and compelling, and in the audience, mesmerized kids could not be pulled away.

We even ran into an old highschool friend of Dug's who also brings his kids to music fests. We'd seen him earlier in the summer at Old Town School's Folk Music Fest. He's a fellow writer and music fan who custom silkscreens shirts with the lineup from each music fest for his immediate family.







This year, Hideout was also a site for Chalk 4 Peace, a worldwide art happening. Many more of my chalk related Hideout pixs are available on their site. Just double click the link below the photo of our friend, Sedona, with her chalk eye.