Claychella 5

Here it is, the lineup for my final party ever! Hope you can make it. It's free for all before 10pm and affordable after that. Saturday, March 5th. Doors open at NOON and we'll have killer food & drink specials along with 2 floors of music and 22 DJs throughout the day. Lincoln Hall, 2424 N. Lincoln Ave, Chicago. (facebook event page)

THANKS EVERYONE FOR FIVE YEARS OF CHICAGO NIGHTLIFE FUN!!! I'll still be around town, just not throwing events of my own or shooting nightlife. If you have an interesting story you think needs documenting, don't hesitate to let me know! And keep your eyes on this space for a more photography-focused makeover in the coming months.

xo
Clayton

Scion A/V Free Party!

This Thursday, Feb 17, our pals over at Scion along with UR Chicago are teaming up to throw another kick ass monthly party. This month, they are bringing you a DJ set from uber buzz act AZARI & III, who every cool blog on the interwebs has been hyping (with good reason) for a few months now.  Runaway, Blu Jemz and local homeboy Kid Color are all on the bill as well. 

As with every Scion A/V show, it’s 100% FREE. You just need to RSVP HERE (be sure to click on the Chicago event). This one is 21+, so get those fake IDs ready kids! (just kidding?)

Check out Azari & III’s video for “Hungry For The Power” below…

On hiatus..

Hey guys,

Hope everyone had a good holiday season and a happy new year! Just wanted to thank everyone for 4 years of internet love here on everyoneisfamous.com. It's been a fun ride but things are changing in my life and that's causing this website to be severely neglected. Once I get more settled in and have some freetime, I'll get the ball rolling again (in a slightly different form). If you're still around at that point, great! If not, all the best and see you around.

In the meantime, you can keep up with me on my photo blog.

And be sure to mark Saturday, March 5th on your calendars! Claychella #5!!

xo
Clayton

Show Review: Tim Kasher at Schubas

Tim Kasher - Schubas (11/20/2010)
reviewed by John Ronzani

“We’ve only put out one album,” the notoriously drunken Tim Kasher soberly announced early in his November 20th set at Schuba’s Tavern in Chicago.  ”So we’re gonna be playing some older songs tonight.”  He and his four-piece band then followed with a rousing rendition of “You’re No Fool” from 2004’s excellent “Album of the Year” (that’s the title).  It was no surprise that Kasher scattered songs from his quieter and more introspective band, The Good Life, across his set list on this night.  What surprised and delighted the capacity crowd, however, were the two climactic end-of-set songs that he wrote for the band and the album that garnered him his greatest fame.  

Cursive’s “The Ugly Organ” is angsty.  It’s bitter.  It’s volatile.  Not qualities you’d expect from a singer-songwriter type show.  But with just an acoustic guitar, drums, bass, keys, and the occasional melodica, Kasher and band delivered memorable renditions of “The Recluse” and “Driftwood: A Fairy Tale”.  As the latter reached crescendo and the entire sold-out crowd screamed, “Liar, liar!” with Kasher, the energy in the room was palpable and left me with goose bumps.  As a concert-goer you live for those types of moments and don’t soon forget them.

While that was the most indelible moment of the night, the rest of the set was tight and energetic.  The band shined on new songs, “I’m Afraid I’m Gonna Die Here” and “Bad, Bad, Dreams”.  And when things became quieter on the stripped down “Strays” and “Prodigal Husband” the audience was attentive to each lyric - and, after all, that’s really what it’s all about.  

Some guys write love songs.  Kasher “thinks he should probably write a love song” within a love song. Some guys write about sex.  Kasher writes about a problem libido leaving him wanting to “lop the thing right off”. Some guys write about missing lost loves and wanting them back.  Kasher writes about wanting to fuck old girlfriends as conquest and drunkenly e-stalking acquaintances at all hours of the night.  It’s specificity, it’s self-awareness, it’s over-sharing, it’s nuance, and it’s honesty.  And when it all comes together live as flawlessly as it did at Schuba’s on this night, it makes for a great fucking show.

Pitchfork Scale: 9.5/10

8-bit Lunch

Jude Buffum created some awesome 8-bit art that is now available in limited adition poster form.

Film Review: South of the Border

It's impressive that Oliver Stone managed to make such an interesting topic so underwhelming. In his documentary South of the Border, Stone capital hops around South America, visiting with various leaders and discussing the recent wave of populist, socialist, indigenous and most importantly non-US backed leaders elected in the region over the past decade. He spends the first big chuck of the film "hanging out" with Venezuela's President Hugo Chávez, painting a strictly positive and one-sided picture of a man that is unfairly demonized by an oil-hungry United States. This is of course mostly accurate, but all the high-fiving and man hugging between Chávez and Stone make the piece feel more like an international infomercial than any kind of worthy documentary. When we finally leave Venezuela to visit with some of the continent's other leaders, the rife-with-potential one-on-one interviews generally fizzle out before they even begin. A few interesting moments are sprinkled throughout the hangout footage, including Argentina's Néstor Kirchner reminiscing of a meeting he had with US-President Bush, who proceeded to try and sell him on the fantastic benefits of entering your people into war and the wonders it can do to an economy. Perhaps the most fitting sound bite comes from Ecuador when President Rafael Correa explains how the unprecedented rise of leftist leaders in Latin America is a direct result of Bush and years of one-sided US policy. No kidding?

Stone paints the US media as failing to ask the tough questions, with a cameo from polarizing filmmaker Michael Moore ripped from CNN surprisingly providing one of the most memorable opinions in the film. Things go array, however, when Stone heads down to Bolivia to get some footage of Evo Morales chewing on Coca leaves and kicking around a soccer ball on the lawn -- The exact type of fluff questions he spends time complaining about earlier on. We're also given a peek into the sloppy production of the film when Evo himself points out that the coca leaves they brought in to have him chew on are not even fresh. I imagine Stone on a street outside the Presidential palace purchasing the leaves from a kid, on a whim, without any sort of research. He also failed to bring along a qualified camera person on the journey, as huge portions of the film are over-exposed, out of focus and drastically aesthetically unpleasing. Whether or not there was any sort of redeeming ending I am not sure. I fell asleep towards the end, which normally I would find as a reason not to review a film, but in this case I imagine sleep is exactly what George Bush, the fine folks at FOX News or any of the people Stone is arguing against in this film would do themselves upon viewing it. 2/5 stars. -Clayton Hauck

Photo Portfolio: Matt Eich

Matt is a favorite of mine. Top notch photojournalism and a member of Luceo, which is a photographer collective guilty of inspiring any inspiring or working photojournalist. You should definitely

Click here to check out Matt's portfolio...

New Drop the Lime video

This is fantastic. (youtube)

"Such is Life" Closing show

Hey guys, just wanted to pass on word about a little event tomorrow night. If you haven't had a chance to check out my photos on the walls at InnJoy, tomorrow is your chance! We're throwing a little gathering from 10pm-2am with hosted bar 10-11pm, cheap drinks all night and music from DJ Kid Color & Myself. It's totally free and we'll also be selling all remaining photos at reduced prices. Stop on by if you have a chance, it would mean a lot to me! InnJoy is located at 2051 W Division St.

Destruction Timelapse

This is a funtimelapse video shot with a tilt & shift lens of a bridge being destructed. (vimeo)