We know, we know … Looptopia’s back May 2. So plan ahead, with our help. Last year you were cold, you couldn’t get in for any of the events and when you headed for the Chicago Cultural Center at midnight, it was shut down. We were there. We feel your pain. When “Opera Idol” is at capacity a half-hour before the event starts, there’s some weirdness going on. “We didn’t know how many people were going to show up [last year],” says Ty Tabing, of the Chicago Loop Alliance, the party planners for this bash. “Awareness built in this kind of crescendo.” This year’s theme, to us, is more: security to keep things cool, toilets to keep alleyways dry, events after midnight to prevent a single place being mobbed. And wristbands. If you’re planning to attend an event after midnight, you will need to get a wristband from one of the Looptopia information booths. The objective is to prevent the clubs emptying out and the Loop filling up. Tabing says the goal this year is to be more about arts and culture. But what you’re thinking is “Hey, I just want to get in somewhere.” Gotcha. Here’s our hour-by-hour list of what you should do, with our top pick and an alternative (when possible), in case the main event is mobbed.
THE A-LIST
Jezebelly Tribal Belly Dance, 5-10 p.m., Macy’s, 175 N. State St., 7th Floor
Improvisational belly dance incorporating the colorful moves, music and costumes of the gypsy diaspora. Surely a no brainer for an all-nighter.
The Blue Ribbon Glee Club, 6:15-6:45 p.m., Seventeenth Church of Christ, Scientist, 55 E. Wacker Drive
The choir puts its quirky stamp on punk and indie-rock tunes, including “Bad Kids,” “Waiting Room” and “Words and Guitar.” Can we please get these kids together soon with the old folks from the documentary “Young @ Heart”? That would rock.
Blaze, 7:45-8:30 p.m., Chicago Riverwalk, Wacker Drive and the River.
It’s fire. And it’s dancing. That makes it a dare. It’s choreographed and interactive. And fire is cool.
Francesco Milioto, 8:30-9:30 p.m., Chicago riverfront
Francesco Milioto is one of the best young conductors working in the Chicago area. This is your chance to catch him and his pocket-size ensemble, New Millennium Orchestra, as they perform a “distributed” concert at various points along the Chicago River. Handel’s “Water Music,” anyone?
Bruce Lamont, 9:30 to 10 p.m., Reckless Records, 26 E. Madison St.
Lamont, who fronts local metal experimenters Yakuza, steps away from the group for this one. The sax player has a background in jazz and studied for two years with the great Ken Vandermark. In 2006 he made his debut solo performance, using a looper pedal and effects along with sax, guitar, harp and percussion. Sure to be interesting.
The Midnight Circus (with Liquid Soul), 10-11 p.m., Daley Plaza, 50 W. Washington St.
You’re kidding, right? All you need to know is that a past show included acrobats, a singer and a performing pit bull. Rock.
Broadway In Chicago Cabaret at 11, 11:45 p.m., 12:30 a.m. , Palmer House, 17 E. Monroe St.
Fresh off the big, downtown stages elsewhere in the Loop, performers from “Jersey Boys,” “Wicked,” “Sweeney Todd” and “Shout!” gather to sing their favorite show tunes from a mix of Broadway shows, cabaret style.
“Durango” by the Silk Road Theatre Project, 77 W. Washington St.
A midnight sneak-peek at the latest play by the hot, new theater kid in town. “Durango,” by Julia Cho in its Midwest premiere, is about a widowed Korean-American father and his sons on a road trip to Durango, Colo. And of course, you put a family in a car, they’re going to fight.
The Cupid Players, 1:40-2:30 a.m., The Auditorium Theatre
Cupid Players do love as fodder for musical sketch comedy. Expect cleverness and catchy songs about life, feelings, raunch and relationships. This troupe’s “Cupid Has A Heart On” is the longest-running show at i.O.
The Game Show Show and Stuff, 2:50-3:40 a.m., Auditorium Theatre, 50 E. Congress Pkwy.
You can win fabulous cash and prizes (but not really), in this game show spoof that is all comedy, all the time.
Midnight Film Festival, until 5 a.m., DePaul Center, State Street and Jackson Boulevard.
Why? Why?! Because the organizing group for this festival is Look At Rubbish, and its 2008 Cannes entrant is titled “Eyelids.” This collection of flicks will range from comedy to drama, they claim. Plus you can sit. Blessed stillness.
John Bannon’s Eye Candy. 5 p.m.-5 a.m., One South Dearborn, in the Sears windows.
The world isn’t exactly bursting with choices here. John E. Bannon’s giant piece of Eye Candy (8 feet x 15 feet x 8 feet) consists of flashing neon wrapped in layers of holographic film. It looks like something that flew out of Grandma’s candy dish after a steroid cocktail.
Hide and Seek, 5-7 a.m., Millennium Park, Randolph Street and Michigan Avenue.
Now, we know what you’re thinking — it’s a giant, grassy field. Where ya gonna hide, and how long do you have to hide? Can you get in your car and hide at your house, in your very own bed? That’s cheating. So knock it off. And who wants to play hide and seek at 6 a.m.? You do.
Sunrise Retrospective, 6-7 a.m., Millennium Park.
You’re just here for the free doughnuts — who are you fooling? It’s breakfast, courtesy of Dunkin’ Donuts. What else do you think is going to be served?
THE B-LIST
Olympic and Paralympic Demonstration, 5-10 p.m., Millennium Park, Randolph Street and Michigan Avenue
Pommel horse. No, not pummel horse. It’s too early in the evening to be cranky already. This is a demonstration of Olympic and Paralympic events, to get you in that 2016 mood.
Bethany Pickens, 6:35 p.m.-7:05 p.m., Daley Plaza, 50 W. Washington St.
Everyone knows that Willie Pickens stands among Chicago’s most accomplished jazz pianists, but daughter Bethany Pickens can hold her own, and then some. Expect to hear music from her engaging, self-titled CD (available at bethanypickens.com).
KOOZA Kite Action, until 10 p.m., all over the Chicago Loop
This is a promo for the upcoming Cirque du Soleil show that you will fork over large bucks for. It mixes kite flying, dancing and acrobatics. And it’s free. Wind not guaranteed.
pHamily the Musical!, 8-8:30 p.m., Chicago Cultural Center, 78 E. Washington St.
A fully improvised musical about family dynamics — or the lack thereof. An adaptation of the pH Productions show performed late-night Fridays at Stage Left Theatre in Lakeview. And best of all, a chance to put the messy train wreck of your own life on stage in the form of an audience suggestion.
Third Coast Percussion, 9:45-10:15 p.m., First United Methodist Church at the Chicago Temple , 77 W. Washington Blvd.
This is a unique, versatile and youthfully spirited quartet, formed in 2004 as a satellite of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago’s chamber music program. The group uses the medium of percussion to demolish the walls that separate classical and pop. Break away, dudes.
Around the Coyote, until 11 p.m., Fine Arts Building, Curtis Hall, 418 S. Michigan Ave.
Because you haven’t seen any art, that’s why, and one of Looptopia’s most noteworthy debutantes draws upon a passel of Chicago talent.
Trashcake Dance Theatre, 11-11:45 p.m., C laudia Cassidy Theater, Chicago Cultural Center
Despite the funky troupe name and work title, “Johnny Is Always Thirsty,” choreographer Paige Cunningham’s topic is serious: schizophrenia.
The Weird Sisters, 12:30-1:20 a.m., Auditorium Theatre, 50 E. Congress Pkwy.
We caught them last year, and the song stylings of the Weird Sisters, backed by the Strange Brothers, created an otherworldly (and slightly bawdy) musical bon-bon.
Storytelling, until 2 a.m., First United Methodist at Chicago Temple, 77 W. Washington St.
“Daddy, tell me a story.” Right. If you have your kids out this late, shame on you. But if you do and you want to put them down, having favorite stories read to them might help.
Til Death Do Us Part, until 5 a.m., DePaul Center, State Street and Jackson Boulevard
It’s 2 a.m., and you’re feeling pretty amorous. So write a love letter to Chicago at Brad Bischoff’s interactive installation.
Poetry Is…, until 5 a.m., DePaul Center.
It isn’t just poetry, it’s performance poetry … with DJs and poets yelling and stuff. Just the thing for your tired brain. Should wake you right up.
The Cool Table, 4-4:45 a.m., Auditorium Theatre, 50 E. Congress Pkwy.
Comedy is difficult. Improv/sketch comedy is even more difficult. At 4 a.m., it verges on the impossible. People are either hammered, so everything’s funny, or exhausted, so nothing is. The audience is part of the must-see here, folks.
Come together
Because the Looptopia people like togetherness, the hours of 5 and 6 a.m. feature single events. So we have no Plan B for you that doesn’t involve collapsing in a heap on the dewy Millennium Park lawn. Mmmmm….
7 a.m.
Go home.
Wherever you live. Go there and go to bed. You’ll have earned it. As the police would say, “Nothing to see here,” because Looptopia is officially over.
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IN THE WEB EDITION: For more Looptopia fun, including maps and photos that you can post yourself, visit chicagotribune.com/looptopia.
See also “LOOPTOPIA RETURNS / Overnight fest promises to be one ‘L’ of a time,” On the Town section, Page 1
