the WHISTLER

All Night…

9pm: Mr. 666 (DJ set)
10pm: Mr. 666 (solo — Mike Perkins)
11pm: Mr. 666 (full band)
12pm: Mr. 666 (DJ set)

Mod, Boogaloo, Jazz, Garage, Punk, Freakbeat & Psychedelia

Blending dub, soul, pop, blues and rock with break beat, electronic, ambient and classical music, AUTOMATA seamlessly shifts through an endless spectrum of organic and mechanical textures. One is likely to find themselves meandering through a spaghetti western one moment, a Kingston dance hall the next. Truly an act to be seen as well as heard, Automata pairs their tracks with psychedelic video work for their live performances.

Friday night dance party throw-down featuring a rotating cast of DJs from the greatest radio station in Chicago, CHIRP (Chicago Independent Radio Project). Expect to hear a mix of everything from Soul to Hip Hop to Indie Rock bangers to Pop classics and beyond. It’s that Wooo Woooooooo!!! And we’re bringing it every time.

The Andy Wagner Band kicks things off with a set of live music, then Lawrence spins from his enormous collection of vintage country records, throwing down a mix of honky tonk, bluegrass, outlaw, string band, countrypolitan, rockabilly… Favorites plus obscure regional artists. This is the real deal; none of that Nashville pop! Roger Miller, Loretta Lynn, Jimmy Martin, George Jones, Ray Price, Tammy Wynette, Johnny Cash, Bill Monroe, Stonewall Jackson, Melba Montgomery, Stanley Brothers, Hank Williams Senior, and Junior, Wade Mainer, Johnny Paycheck, Warner Mack, Merle Haggard… Fresh goods on the 3rd Sunday of every month!

Soul and funk music is rooted in Chicago. The music and all its forms, from the R&B-tinged early 1960s through the stepper-friendly early-1980s, is central to the city’s music history. The artists were here, the business certainly was here, and the records are still here, meant to be played and shared on nights like these.

The Whistler’s monthly soul party is curated by Jay Wells and features new guest DJs for each installment, with a rotating cast of fans and collectors (amateurs and professionals), all friends via DJing funk and soul records. The Whistler Soul & Funk Party — 4th Friday of every month.

Movieoke (verb): To perform a classic movie scene for an audience, karaoke-style. Ex: “Did you see Karen movieoke? She totally acted the shit out of that Big Lebowski scene.” Movieoke is literally karaoke with movie scenes instead of music. Performers don costumes, take the mic and act out the movie scenes playing on the big screen behind them. Think there won’t be something that suits your liking??? Think again. There are over 200 scenes to choose from. So, put on a costume and Movieoke! Presented by the Vintage Theater Collective. Created and hosted by Katy Collins. Movieoke at the Whistler on the first Monday of every month.

Come get your dance on with Kate & Rachel’s Old Style Show

Friday Night Trimm… Everything from krunk to funk for your budunkadunk.

An annual no-budget homemade scary movie showcase screened ’round Halloweentime and organized by hyper-motivated art/music/film maniacs in Chicago.

Scary Movie Party began in a basement somewhere in Chicago’s Humboldt Park neighborhood masquerading as a Halloween party way back in 2004. With scenes replicated in hand-painted cardboard, complete with dry-ice fog, we projected Tim Burton’s The Nightmare before Christmas on a crappy old piece of muslin, ate food a la potluck and drank beers. Inspired by the excited party chatter from that night, we decided to take the movie-making into our own hands and thrust ourselves headlong into creating horror-comedy hybrid animals for our creepy attic screenings.