This is the most complex video project I’ve done to date, and my ego can’t watch it enough. I actually laughed out loud when I later saw “Midnight in Paris” and marveled at how well Mark was able to reproduce the Hollywood soft focus and romantic comedy montage. Also, the entire cast and crew nearly died while filming on a the Chicago lakefront on a bitter, biting winter day.

All the cast members pitched in on the script. This is another Colomb Brothers joint.

The Heir (Too Hot for Vidiocy) from Mark Colomb on Vimeo.

If you just can’t get enough of Susie Gutowski and I walking around in soft focus you can watch a special cut of “The Date.”

The Date from Mark Colomb on Vimeo.

Fro Yo from Mark Colomb on Vimeo.

Improvised Jane Austen and Zombies from Mark Colomb on Vimeo.

Directed by Mark Colomb. Sound by Jonathan Colomb. (They’re brothers.)

I’ve done Bonnaroo, Lollapalooza (current version and mid-90s tour circuit), SummerFest and more. But these 3-days always feel better: More block party than manufactured spectacle.

It’s a must see for music fans. If you’re headed down this year, here’s what you need to know. As an added bonus, I’ve included my 6 favorite Pitchfork moments form the last 5 years.

Pitchfork Music Festival Grounds

Pitchfork Tip-Off:

What to wear: Mustaches, old NBA jerseys (bonus points for Charlotte Hornets, Detlef Scrempf), loafers, Ray Ban Wayfarers, anything neon, tight slacks cut into shorts, see-through tank tops, fedoras.

What to drink: its probably Goose Island 312, but really, anything besides that nuclear orange combination of caffeine and alcohol. I think it’s called NOS

What to eat: Chicken andoule sauage from Wishbone, a vegetarian dish from that one place, I think it has noodles, isn’t there an ice cream place?

After the show: I’m really hoping this is the year that the burgeoning Chicago food truck scene descends on the after-festival spill out. If it doesn’t, you can always cram into Cobra Lounge (hosting Sailor Jerry after parties every night), or go a little further an duck into Darkroom (hosting Dickfork with my personal favorites The Hood Internet). Otherwise, you can turn the walk home (because you ain’t getting on the train, that bus or in a cab) into a sampling of cuisine from local Food & Liquor stores.

My Picks for 2011:

Top Headliners:

Fleet Foxes – They cast a spell with their lush vocals last time out. Now, taking stage just as night takes the city, they should make for a sublime Saturday.

TV On the Radio – Which side of the multi-faceted group appears to close out the festival? They can do big, ambitious, funky rock with moments of quiet of intimacy. I hope they bring it all.

Non-Headlinig Must See:

Neko Case – Easy on the ears and the eyes, she’s an absolute gem. Chicagoan Kelly Hogan, worthy of her own slot on the bill, will join her too. Together, they’ll melt your heart.

Cut Copy – A perfect fit for Sunday night. Bring out your neon and your dancing Chuck Taylors. Plane troubles kept them off stage for their last scheduled Pitchfork engagement, but their back on the bill with a new set of soaring keyboards to get you moving.

Guided By Voices – I’ve seen them in dive bars and big stages, and Robert Pollard’s one-leg stage hop isn’t to be missed, regardless of which line-up is backing him.

Destroyer – Here’s a guess that 80s smooth sax will be a salve for a hot Saturday afternoon.

Superchunk – Veterans with big guitars do well (see Steady, The Hold), and bands lowr on the bill should take notes during this set.

Sounds Like a Band That Would Play Pitchfork:

Woods – Wooly guitars from Brooklyn!

Twin Sister – This is the second sentence of their Wikipedia entry: “Their music has been described as Chillwave, Indie pop, Dream Pop and Disco, and they have been compared to Cocteau Twins and Portishead.”

Twin Shadow – Lives in Brooklyn, hangs out with Grizzly Bear, has “Twin” in his name, and keyboards in his songs.

Yuck – Fuzzy guitars that sound Southern, but are really British.

Roll of the Dice (Because not everyone is good every year, right MF DOOM?):

Ofwgkta – Lots of hype, lots of controversy, little stage experience. This could be a train wreck.

Animal Collective – They were great their last time at Union Park, miserable the following year at Lollapalooza. Who shows up for their Jekyll/Hyde live show?

DJ Shadow – I’m not sure what kind of show we’ll get out of Shadow. It could be epic, but he’ll need more than a table and a laptop.

Six Great Pitchfork Moments

Or Why This Festival is Worth Making an Annual Tradition.

Girl Talk, 2007. This show broke festival gates, and broke GirlTalk into the mainstream. While Yoko Ono wailed and bleated on the mainstage, an DJ with a quickly growing reputation was tucked away on the much smaller side stage. Ahead-of-the-curve dance kids, curious music snobs and anyone fleeing Yoko’s audio slaughter poured onto a side street. By the time Grizzly Bear’s Ed Droste took the stage to sing his part of a remix the chainlink fences surrounding the festival were already waving the white flag under the assault of a record crowd. They would collapse moments later, and the set was cut short. GirlTalk’s audio acrobatics and his stage full of dancers had already left their mark. This would be the last show played on the stage in that location, as the overcrowding led the festival to alter its stage placement.

LCD Soundsystem, 2010. A band at the peak of its powers and influence. The anticipation and build-up for their finale, “This is Happening,” and the blazing success of “Sound of Silver” set the bar unrealistically high. But on the album and this masterful show that same summer James Murphy and the boys delivered. The only complaint were the Chicago noise laws that made the band stop playing. They could have gone all night, and we would have let them.

Clipse, 2007. “Hell Hath No Fury” was finally released the previous fall, and Clipse came out in the summer to fully flex. The Virginia Beach duo prowled the stage, dripping with sweat and drug-game tales, instructing Chicago to “put on ya white gloves” and ski masks.

Robyn, 2010. On a blazing day, the diminutive Swede burned hotter than a dwarf star. She would not be out-worked in a mission to bring throbbing pop music to the masses. Letting her body talk through dance moves designed for a cool nightclub, she left everyone unabashed pop fans.

King Khan and his Shrines, 2008. Gold sequins. Male briefs. Cheerleaders. A wild show of howling blues, Khan implored the crowd to shake $1 bills as he shook his bare legs and belly on stage, on top of the speakers, and on top of his fans.

Hold Steady, 2008. In 2008, Vampire Weekend was the hot young thing, surging from Schubas to Pitchfork’s mainstage in less than a year. But their set seemed like the JV game as The Hold Steady took the stage immediately following their set. The contrast couldn’t have been starker. Their bold guitar hooks were like a brick through the J. Crew storefront window that was Vampire Weekend’s set. It was just what the crowd needed: Pure rock music forged in the fires of experience.

I read the papers. And while I don’t often have critics at my shows, when they show up I read their words. Lately, they’ve been particularly kind about The Davenports, an improvised soap opera.

The show is Chicago Reader Recommended: “It’s a silly, absurd, dizzying show–but, unlike actual soap operas, you can follow it without help from your Aunt Tammy.”

It was also a theater pick for Time Out Chicago, who liked our “bitch-slapstick soap-opera exploits.” That’s a compliment, right? Right.

If you need further reason to come out, here’s a video that features us all looking very intense:

The Davenports Intro

Poor Choices is a weekly discussion with some of the best improvisers and comedians in Chicago. Hosted by Mark Colomb and Matt Owens, both performers themselves around town, the show is a cousin to Mark Maron’s WTF Podcast. Most shows give you plenty of inside baseball: influential training, discussion of comedic perspectives and bits, lots and lots of bits.

My episode is no different. Tune in to hear us discuss:

• Our respective improv up bringing
• The influence of Cook County Social Club training and their emphasis on reaction and relationship
• Our ridiculous names
• Germany
• Dirty jokes about our wives
• The Davenports
• Manu Chao
• Plenty of other nonesense

I’ve often said I have a voice for print, and I still cringe listening to myself. That said, you might enjoy listening to me more than I enjoy listening to me.

I certainly had a blast recording the one-take session. Mark and Matt are great hosts, and I’d recommend their entire catalog to anyone wanting a crash course in Chicago improv.

Listen to the Poor Choices Podcast.

Downtown Nashville from Ernest Tubb Record Shop

One of my favorite city calls me back this weekend for the wedding of Brad D. Few cities can match Nashville’s functional history. There are no ghost towns or ruins here: The places that made this city famous are all alive and kicking. Whether you’re wearing a Nudie Suit or tight jeans, the city’s blend of old South and modern media welcome anyone – as long as you’re wearing boots.

Must see: The Ryman Auditorium. The city’s gem, regardless of who’s on the bill. Best known as the home of the Grand Ole Opry for 30 years, the Ryman features arguably the best acoustics in the world. It’s been immortalized in movies, TV shows and countless live albums, but it still books a full slate of classic and modern musicians playing country, rock, bluegrass and anything else you might fancy.

Eat: Jack’s BBQ. Wake up and get here before a music video crew takes over. It’s on Broadway, so plenty of tourists can find it, but the locals will point you here, too, and for good reason. Smoky meat chopped in front of you, plenty of sides and chess pie.

Drink: The Patterson House. A Southern take on meticulously crafted cocktails from the braintrust behind Chicago’s excellent Violet Hour cocktail bar. The drinks here are as haunting and rich as Hank’s wail. If you prefer a cold beer, try the Dos Perros from the locally made Yazoo Brewing Company.

Shop: Hatch Show Print. One of the most active members of the National Historic Register, Hatch Show Print still churns out new letterpress and woodblock prints for current tours. You can also browse and buy from their collection of new presses from classic cuts, some dating as far back as the Civil War. You’ll be hard pressed to find a more affordable or stylish piece of history.

My letterpress poster collection started here with two classic prints. One is the “Fabulous Johnny Cash Show” featuring The Tennessee Three, Mother Maybelle and the Carter Family and others. The other is an early-stardom Elvis Presley print from a Florida show.

Outdoors: There’s a beautiful park around Nashville’s Parthenon and hallowed academic grounds surrounding Vanderbilt. But if you’ve got a free day and need some fresh air head South down I-24 to the isolated Savage Gulf State Park. There’s an easy hike to Big Door, or strenuous trip down the Fiery Gizzard. You can catch waterfalls and overlooks of the Cumberland Plateau.

Side trips: Outside of the United States nothing says Tennessee quite like Jack Daniels. The world’s top selling whiskey is made entirely in the otherwise dry county Moore County, located a few hours South. You can take a free tour of the facilities in Lynchburg, capped off with a glass of lemonade on the porch.

Soundtrack: You can’t do much better than an iPod full of Johnny Cash. Born in Arkansas and discovered in Memphis, Cash made his home in Nashville with wife June Carter. The royal pair routinely welcomed musicians of all genres to his home for legendary jam sessions. Disc four of “The Legend” box set highlights some of these famous collaborations, but all four discs make a worthy backbeat to a weekend here.

Other recommendations include:

“Nashville Skyline,” Bob Dylan. Johnny Cash makes several appearances here, naturally, as do some of Nashville’s finest players. Although not Dylan’s most groundbreaking album, it’s still one of his best.

“Charlie Louvin,” Charlie Louvin. A member of the Grand Ole Opry since 1955, Louvin still performed daily at his museum/diner in Nashville up until his death this year. This self titled album, his first in 25 years, introduced him to a new generation with some help from friends old (George Jones, Bobby Bare, Sr.) and new (Jeff Tweedy, Kurt Wagner).

“Youth and Manhood,” Kings of Leon. Before they took over stadiums and top 40 radio, the Kings of Leon made their legend with bearded backwoods boogey.

“Jolene,” Jack White. No song sums up Nashville better than this cover, A heartbreaking classic from Dolly Parton covered by new resident, rocker and record label owner White.

The Davenports - An Improvised Soap Opera

People love soap operas. Fact. Supporting evidence:

• Guiding Light was on the air from 1937-2009. One show. Seventy-two years.
• There are entire magazines devoted to these programs. A magazine about fictional TV shows. Think about it.
• Soap operas have their own award show.
• During senior year of high school when I had early dismissal I would sometimes go over to my girlfriend’s house. All those teenage hormones and guess what we did? We watched “Passions.”
• What’s that modern teenageer? You’re too cool for soap operas? Guess what, you’re watching “Gossip Girl.”

All the fun of love triangles, bitch slaps and drinks thrown in faces are rolled up into a new show that premieres this Friday.

The Davenports is an improvised soap opera following the Davenport family, the billionaire dance magnets of Lincoln, Nebraska.

I play Trevor Leotard, the family lawyer and confidant to the patriarch Dan Davenport.

This show is no guilt and all pleasure. Come join us at midnight on Fridays in April at The Playground Theater. It’s $5, byob.

The stage at iO Theater in Chicago

LA has the fame and New York has the names, but Chicago is the heart of American comedy.

In terms of content, creation and community, no city can measure up to Chicago’s broad shoulders. As a minor but regular performer here I’m biased, but I’m not the only one who feels this way (See Fey, Tina).

Every night in this city there is world class comedy and theater work being done by a deep and talented pool of performers. They’re not household names yet, but history tells us many of them will be one day.

I’m fortunate to spend a lot of time with these folks: During rehearsal, backstage, for just one drink after shows even though I’ve got wake up in the morning and oh why not I’ve got time for one more.

I don’t normally bring along a camera during these moments – it’s tough to babysit and do bits. But after shooting a promo image for some friends I stuck around for the late show at iO Theater, one of Chicago’s best known breeding grounds for performers.

The Late 90s didn’t perform iO’s signature piece, the Harold, but they did put on a show full of confidence and control that patiently built to the big laugh.

Beyond that, I can’t begin to describe the wonderful crazy in these photos. All I can say is I’m glad to be even a tiny part of such creation.

The Late 90s jump around at iO Theater

Blythe Haaga during a performance at iO Theater in Chicago

The Late 90s storm across the stage

Also, for the post I had to create a professional bio. I’ve had a few theater bios, but this was my first professional one. It’s ridiculous. It’s so bizarre the Total Attorney’s CEO called me into his office after reading it and gave me a beer. Enjoy: SEO For Lawyers: Get Yourself Connected

Total Attorneys Blog