Achy Obejas

Summer may be winding down, what with season-ending festivals and the last free days before school already getting a countdown, but the city's busy with its usual melange of music...

You may have noticed the new awning on Newport, on the north side of the street. The formerly inauspicious door that belonged to Club Lower Links now has a more...

Take a quick peek at Paris Dance, the city's quintessential lesbian night club. There, on the dance floor, two creamy-skinned young Latinas -- both with tiny pearl earrings, a dab...

There's so much Latin music in Chicago these days, you'd think it was October--National Hispanic Heritage Month. Instead, it's another blistering summer, this one enjoying the confluence of magical musical...

There's something homey about Joy Blue, a three-room getaway at the corner of Southport and Irving Park. Maybe it's the expansive front bar, or the living room-like atmosphere in the...

At Carol's Pub, the longtime speakeasy at Leland and Clark, there's a huge mural-sized sign on the outside wall advising departing customers to please be considerate of the neighbors. It's...

There's a blond girl sitting to the right of Hal Roach in the little corner that serves as the piano bar at Eli's the Place for Steaks. She's sucking on...

Beau O'Reilly's feeling a bit contemplative these days. Three years ago, he and cohorts from his various artistic endeavors -- Curious Theater Branch, Maestro Subgum and the Whole, Jenny Magnus...

Jon Secada Secada (EMI) (star) (star) In Latin American terms, Jon Secada's easy to peg on this album: He's a bolerista, a balladeer of sorts, extremely emotional but allowed a...

On stage, Andrew Bird is deadpan, impassive. He introduces his songs, fits a violin under his chin or leans into the microphone to sing, and hardly looks up. But that's...