Chicago's queer community gets out the vote

Plus: Vince Staples at Riviera Theatre. [View this email in your browser]( | [chicagoreader.com]( by Maja Stachnik|October 25, 2024 Happy Friday! I didn’t get my schedule together in time to grab tickets to the Halloween showings of Rocky Horror at the Music Box beginning this weekend. I’ve made the midnight screening a holiday tradition for years, but I’ll have to be quicker to catch it next year before it inevitably sells out. Today, we’re talking about kinkster voter registration drives, Vince Staples at Riviera Theatre, and community organizer Dixon Romeo on a new episode of The Sit Down hosted by Shawnee Dez. [blue line CTA station off the highway]( Members of Chicago‘s chapter of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence pose outside the Leather Museum and Archives at a voter drive on October 6, 2024. [Credit: Adam Rhodes] [Kinky canvassing]( From leather daddies to drag nuns, Chicago’s kinksters remind us that to exist is political: Sexual liberation is only possible with access to health care, body autonomy, and reproductive freedom. Reigning Mr. Chicago Leather, Vince Jay, organized a voter registration drive as part of his voter outreach series, held in partnership with the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, an international order of activist drag nuns. Adam Rhodes writes that under the shadow of yet another consequential election, Jay and his leatherfolk-in-arms hope voters realize that their voices matter, even in a Democratic stronghold like Illinois. [READ MORE](  CITY LIFE - The first thing Charli Renkin did when they moved to Chicago—an energetically charged place, both historically and environmentally—was find a local metaphysical store. As the center spread in last week’s Occult Issue, Renkin worked with Reader senior graphic designer Amber Huff to put together [a map of metaphysical shops in the city](. With the disclaimer that some shops are bound to carry questionable goods or “have practitioners who don’t stay in their cultural lane,” they also highlighted Sideshow Gallery on Western Avenue and Malliway Bros. Magic and Witchcraft in Rogers Park.  ARTS & CULTURE - Critic Pia Singh suggests we view the season’s artistic offerings through an erotic lens, turning to Susan Sontag and Audre Lorde as a source of innner knowledge and power in exceedingly patriarchal and racist environments. With the election in mind, [Singh takes a look at a few exhibitions]( including Barbara DeGenevieve’s In Your Face at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago galleries and Tromarama’s Auto Ally at Document (which closes today).  MUSIC & NIGHTLIFE - Originally formed in Georgia, guitarist-singer Daniel Brady and drummer-singer Rachael Boswell make up postpunk group the Lipschitz, now a trio with the addition of bassist Antonio Holguin III (previously of hardcore bands Raw Nerve and Big Zit). Having mellowed slightly since their earlier releases, their new album Plinth rips like a good punk record should, with a whiff of romance and atmospheric drowsiness. Along with Villagerr, [they open for Being Dead tonight]( at the Empty Bottle. - Cristalle Bowen previews her fellow Cancer [Vince Staples’s Sunday show at Riviera Theatre]( who shares the bill with D.C. hip-hop and soul singer Baby Rose (whose most recent release landed on many end-of-year best-of lists). Staples has a knack for delivering heavy-hitting lyrics with an easygoing demeanor, offering a balanced, yet prickly perspective. He’s matured into an assured and polished style on his latest album, May’s Dark Times. You may have also seen him act in last year’s White Men Can’t Jump remake, as well as taking on the role of Maurice in Abbott Elementary. (Season four of which is now airing, BTW. [Thank you for saving sitcoms]( Quinta Brunson.) [Help us nominate the Best of Chicago! Fill out your ballot in over 300 categories.]( 🌟 Plus, other shows happening this weekend: - [Emily How makes alternative rock feel new again]( (Fri 10/25 at Subterranean) - [William Elliott Whitmore confronts death by making the most of life on Silently, the Mind Breaks]( (Sat 10/26 at FitzGerald’s) [a man with a beard and a beige turtleneck smiles at the camera]( [Credit: Photo by Yijun Pan]  PODCASTS [The newest episode of The Sit Down hosted by Shawnee Dez is out now!]( Guest Dixon Romeo is executive director of Not Me We, a community organization focusing on housing, organization education, and mutual aid Injustice. [Featured in the Reader’s People Issue last year]( Romeo has continued his work as part of the Obama CBA Coalition organizing to help residents facing displacement and gentrification as Obama Center construction continues. A referendum asking some residents of the seventh and eighth wards if they want to support a community benefits agreements appears on the ballot.  BEHIND-THE-SCENES We’re capturing the magic of the classfieds section with a new digital platform! The spiffy new interface features easier ad creation and management tools, enhanced visibility, and additional upgrades to help your ads stand out. [Post and find jobs, housing, auditions (these notices are always free), and more!]( 📰 LATEST ISSUE: VOTE VOTE VOTE 📰 [READ ONLINE]( | [COVER]( | [DOWNLOAD PDF]( [Facebook icon]( [Instagram icon]( [X icon]( [LinkedIn icon]( [Threads icon]( [YouTube icon]( [logo] You received this email because you signed up for newsletters from the Chicago Reader. Want fewer emails from us? [Click here to choose what you want us to send you](. Or, [unsubscribe from all Reader emails](. We’ll miss you! [Sign up for emails from the Chicago Reader]( | [Forward this e-mail to a friend]( © 2024 Chicago Reader. All rights reserved. Chicago Reader, 2930 S. Michigan Ave., Suite 102, Chicago, IL 60616