The Empty Bottle greets you with a sweet stench—stale beer, sweat, and long nights filled with questionable decisions—the kind only a rock sanctuary tucked beyond a hulking front door and a faded Old Style sign could produce. It’s a rock club of a different era. The kind propped up by smoke-stained walls and old band fliers, by mystery shots for three bucks and filthy, claustrophobic bathrooms that narrate nights from years past. Thousands of bands have rolled through these parts. Legendary ones: Wilco, the Flaming Lips, LCD Soundsystem, the White Stripes. But that’s not why you come. You come to Western and Cortez to drink, thrash, laugh, and find your way in the world. You come because it’s where you grew up and now because it’s where you feel young. You come because as everything in your life moves forward, nights at the Bottle stand still.

The Empty Bottle
Left: Diane von Furstenberg sequined top, $898, dvf.com. Rosie Assoulin cotton pants, $1,395, Neapolitan Collection. Stephen Webster diamond earrings (in hair), $7,500, gold and diamond cuff, $6,424, Stephen Webster 18-karat gold and diamond bracelet, $9,900, and Ponte Vecchio 18-karat gold and diamond bracelet, $3,130, Razny Jewelers. Middle: Mary Katrantzou satin dress, $2,265, Blake, 212 W. Chicago Ave. Rolex steel, 18-karat gold, and diamond watch, $14,350, Razny Jewelers. 18-karat gold ring, $3,440, Lester Lampert. Satin sandals, $995, Jimmy Choo. Right: Self Portrait lace dress, $435, Blake. 18-karat gold and diamond earrings, $5,600, Tiffany & Co., 730 N. Michigan Ave.Photos: T. Harrison Hillman; Styling: Jessica Moazami
The Empty Bottle
Dries Van Noten silk satin dress, $1,295, and Balenciaga metal and pearl necklace, $825, Blake, 212 W. Chicago Ave. Chrysoprase, onyx, and diamond pendant set in 18-karat gold necklace, $44,000, Van Cleef & Arpels, 933 N. Michigan Ave. Leather shoes, $895, Christian Louboutin, 58 E. Oak St.