
PAY DIRT The Japanese duo Eiko & Koma performs free twice this week on the
MCA’s plaza.
THE FIVE
Don’t-miss picks for Wed 08.17.11 through Tue 08.23.11:
1 |
dance Eiko & Koma |
2 |
theatre Abbie Hoffman Died for Our Sins |
3 |
classical Eighth Blackbird |
4 |
farrago Chicago Air & Water Show |
5 |
rock/pop John Hughes III |
WHAT I’M DOING THIS WEEKEND

Carlos Kalmar
Up next in our series of weekend plans from notable, in-the-know locals—a.k.a. people we like: Carlos Kalmar, principal conductor and artistic director of the Grant Park Music Festival, which wraps its 2011 season Saturday night with Verdi’s Requiem Mass.
“Friday is a day full of work. We have a stage rehearsal for the Verdi Requiem at 11, then the concert at 6:30 in the evening. It’s a tradition that, when you have soloists, you invite them out after the show, so afterward I’ll likely hang out with the soloists who are singing. Usually we go to a restaurant within walking distance of the Pritzker Pavilion.
“Saturday at 7:30, we have the same concert again, and then, since it’s the last day, we’ll have a big party backstage—a goodbye to everybody who worked on the festival: the chorus, the orchestra, the entire wonderful staff. We spend a lot of time together over an intensely insane ten weeks, and then it’s over, and everyone goes his own way, her own way. Of the orchestra, probably 45 or 50 percent leave Chicago after the festival is over. So this is our time to say goodbye.
“On Sunday, I’m flying out to Portland, Oregon, where one of my homes is. But Saturday I’m pretty much free during the day. I’m one of those people who are biking on the lakefront at 7:15 in the morning, and I am sure that at some point I will appear at Whole Foods. Although they don’t pay me for saying this, that’s where I shop. I live downtown, and I like to feed myself well.
“And I’ll probably go to the Magnificent Mile and Bucktown because right now I have my children here with me. Two daughters, 23 and 21. They’ve been to Chicago several times, and they love those two neighborhoods, especially Bucktown, for shopping. If we have a little time, we talked about going to the Green City Market. I was there with the kids last year and found it very attractive, very fun. But Saturday I do have to pack and get ready to go. Part of my agreement with the festival is that I move around, so you know those buildings slightly behind Randolph? I’ve stayed in each one of those.”
AND ONE EVENT WORTH PAYING FOR
rock/pop Candy Golde
A busman’s holiday for the local soul rocker Nick Tremulis, Cheap Trick’s Bun E. Carlos, Wilco’s John Stirratt, and Eleventh Dream Day’s Rick Rizzo, Candy Golde plays straight-up guitar rock with obvious relish and considerable talent.
GO: 8/19 at 9. $15–$18. FitzGerald’s, 6615 Roosevelt, Berwyn. fitzgeraldsnightclub.com
Photograph: (EIKO & KOMA) Varga Matyas