Voter turnout in Chicago

Plus: Local music releases to get on your radar. [View this email in your browser]( | [chicagoreader.com]( by Maja Stachnik|November 6, 2024 Good morning. Despite long lines at some polling places, [over 63 percent of the city’s nearly 1.5 million registered voters cast a ballot]( in the November 5 election, with some mail-in ballots still to come. Chalkbeat reports that [unofficial results for Chicago’s first elected school board]( showed four teachers union-backed candidates, three pro-school choice candidates, and three independent candidates either winning or holding leads. Read on for non-election news, including October’s edition of Chicago Record Report, feautring new releases from Desert Liminal, Gigan, the Chris Greene Quartet, Man-Eaters, and more. [An arrangement of six album covers for the October 2024 installment of Chicago Record Report, consisting of releases by the Chris Greene Quartet, Desert Liminal, Gigan, Luv Moore, Man-Eaters, and Mukqs; all six covers are tiled above an image of the surface of a black vinyl LP]( An arrangement of six album covers, consisting of releases by the Chris Greene Quartet, Desert Liminal, Gigan, Luv Moore, Man-Eaters, and Mukqs. [Chicago Record Report: October 2024]( Chicago Record Report is a monthly series highlighting some of the new local music that has caught the ear of Reader staff, written by Jamie Ludwig. She highlights dream-pop trio Desert Liminal’s Black Ocean, born out of grief and love and the connections they’ve found in the Chicago underground music scene. Man-Eaters are back with their third full-length, Quatro Muchachos, whose “garagey combination of primitive punk and hard rock feels as timeless as the universal smell of every grimy dive bar.” This month’s record report features over 30 local releases, ready to add to your playlists. [READ MORE](  THEATER - Anthony Spaulding’s [To Cut a Barber’s Hands tells his real-life journey to obtain a barber’s license]( after finishing a 27-year sentence in prison. The play recounts the informal trial the Illinois licensing board conducted to determine Spaulding’s eligibility, seeing him being formerly incarcerated as an insurmountable barrier—despite having fulfilled each requirement. You can see it at Lifeline Theatre presented as part of the 28th annual Fillet of Solo Festival on Saturday, November 9, and Sunday, November 17. - Judith Thompson’s [Perfect Pie suffers from too many ingredients]( in nostalgia, the intention of the show feels lost in extra details, scene changes, clumsy transitions, and a script 30 minutes longer than the film version. Sydney Feldman stands out as Marie, truly exemplifying a young girl’s journey from a spindly kid to an awkward teenager. The play runs through November 23 at Greenhouse Theater Center.  FILM & TV - The 2024 film adaptation of [papal drama Conclave]( succeeds as an unrelenting pressure-chamber thriller you can’t turn away from, featuring what critic Maxwell Rabb calls Ralph Fienne’s best role in recent memory. Following one of the world’s greatest transitions of power and the scheming factions it entails, the film is enjoying a wide release in theaters. - [We Live in Time]( follows in the grand tradition of The Fault in Our Stars (2014), A Walk to Remember (2002), and Five Feet Apart (2009), its terminal illness subplot made fresh by an unconventional storytelling structure. Florence Pugh and Andrew Garfield (the film’s subject matter personal to the actor [who lost his mother Lynn to pancreatic cancer in 2019]( portray a tumultuous relationship marked by contrasting priorities of career and family. - Screened at the Chicago International Film Festival, [Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s Cloud]( expertly explores online crime and real-world punishment. The modern techno-horror parable violently subverts the safety people feel when enacting cruelty from behind the screen. Kurosawa gives online scalper Yushii a relatable origin driven by thrill-seeking rather than profit-making, building a palpable dread by teasing the horrors that may lie outside the camera frame. His vice is born out of a mundanity and desire to simply feel something; idle hands may be the devil’s work, but it’s work nonetheless. [Zachary Lee] [a logo for the ben joravsky show with a graphic of a man wearing a cap](  CONTESTS & GIVEAWAYS The Reader November giveaway is available now—[enter for a chance to win]( a free twelve-issue print subscription and a tote bag perfect for carrying around print issues. Entries accepted until November 30. Plus, you can still win tickets to see A Christmas Carol and the Magic Parlour, [both at Goodman Theatre](.  BEHIND-THE-SCENES The Reader Institute for Community Journalism (RICJ), which operates the Chicago Reader, is proud to announce [the promotion of Amber Nettles to publisher]( effective January 1, 2025. Current CEO and publisher Solomon Lieberman will retain his role as CEO of RICJ. “Her wealth of knowledge and passion for impactful journalism and how we aim to intentionally connect with our audiences will be key assets as she moves into the publisher role,” says Lieberman. RICJ is also excited to announce [four recent staff hires]( in addition to the [recent expansion of its leadership team]( welcoming a new chief development officer, chief revenue officer, chief of staff, and chief product officer. 📰 LATEST ISSUE: OCTOBER 31, 2024 📰 [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! 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