GROUPON GUIDE TO CHICAGO

Chicago Agenda: Monday, January 20

BY: Tyler Clark | Jan 20, 2014

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“Kodachrome Telephone” The Whiskey Rebellion reimagines the story behind discarded vacation slides in this show at the Rhinoceros Theater Festival In the middle of a robust winter arts-festival season marked by several inaugural expos, it’s nice to see a familiar name on the calendar. Now in its 25th season, the Rhinoceros Theater Festival continues its mission to keep things weird as the city’s premier cold-weather fringe festival. Four shows populate the schedule tonight, but one stands out as the most intriguing. Inspired by 500 Kodachrome slides rescued from a now-defunct antique shop, Kodachrome Telephone represents the Whiskey Rebellion’s attempt to breathe life back into these contextless images. What begins as a dry father-daughter vacation travelogue turns intimate and immediate through the troupe’s engaging mix of shadow puppetry and live silhouette work. The slide projector also claims a starring role, filling the Prop Thtr (3502 N. Elston Ave.) with the ghostly whirrs and clicks of a bygone time. (7 p.m. $12+; buy tickets here) Robert Burns Supper Celebrate the legacy of Scotland’s most beloved poet at the annual supper bearing his name Each year, at the end of January, Scottish people around the world brave the dark and cold, gather near a warm hearth, and celebrate the accomplishments of a man who knew the value of a good party. The poet Robert Burns may have died in 1796, but his keen wit and insightful eye for the human condition earned his birthday a place on the world’s calendar for centuries to come. Like any good tradition, the Robert Burns Supper has its share of set pieces; there’s the toast to the lassies, the recitation of Burns’s poems, the singing of “Auld Lang Syne.” Oh, and bagpipes. Oh, the bagpipes. Head to Martyrs’ (3855 N. Lincoln Ave.) tonight for their take on the Burns Supper, which honors not only the poet but the memory of dearly departed fiddler Gwen Sale. One more tip: when they bring out the haggis, try it. Despite what So I Married An Axe Murderer would have you believe, it’s actually pretty tasty. (7 p.m. Admission is free; click here to learn more about Burns Supper traditions) Galactic Inmate Cult rock trio shakes the stage at the Empty Bottle with their twang-inflected metal riffs The men of Galactic Inmate don’t get together very often, but when they do, it’s usually loud, fast, and brutish. The veteran metal-punk-twang trio of guitarist Keith Herzik, drummer Brett Whitacre, and bassist Arman Mabry will call off their self-imposed semi-retirement to torch the stage at the Empty Bottle (1035 N. Western Ave.) as part of the bar’s weekly free Monday show. On an otherwise slow night on the city’s music calendar, the band’s brand of aggressive, teeth-rattling rock and roll might make you forget that we’ve still got 11 days of January left to contend with. Don’t believe me? Watch this shaky flip-cam footage of “Shipwrecked on Party Island” from the band’s 2011 appearance at the Bottle and tell me you don’t feel like raging (in a good way). (9 p.m. Admission is free.) Photo courtesy of the Whiskey Rebellion

BY: Tyler Clark

Guide Staff Writer

Tyler is a writer, storyteller, and musician from Chicago. His stories have appeared on stage at shows including Mortified, Story Club, and Lethal Poetry.