Spooky Parties of the Week! The Halloweenie edition.

Halloween is unfortunately upon us and it begins four days early on this wonderful Wednesday at Angels and Kings for the Rockstar costume and live band karaoke ball. Hosted by Ryan Manno and Cheeky Chicago, its a good excuse to get all yer ya yas out and shake your tail feathers drunkenly in front of fellow music lovers. Starts at 10 PM.

Tomorrow at Angels and Kings, the dress up continues as local DJs Heaven Malone, Members Only AV and La Dolce Vita are dressed up like several musical icons (See the above poster) in an effort to get the hipsters out of their current costumes and into something relatively clean. Unfortunately, we will be at another outing that evening....


The Perfect Circus is ressurected! Thursday marks the 3rd anniversary for Debonair Social Club and Chicago's finest supergroup The Perfect Circus (Alkaline Trio, Local H and Kill Hannah!) are gonna deliver another tour de force for the inebriated zombies revelling in the coolest "couple based costume contest" all week. Winners get free bottle service for the evening from Belvedere. Not bad! Party starts at 10 PM and goes til 2 AM. Guaranteed standing room only so get there as the moon begins to shine.

Friday Night Oct. 30th is a secret. If you're not on the list, then we won't see you. Sorry kids. Trick or Treat! Here's a clue though.Terrifying, no?!?

Saturday Oct. 31st is the night to get your bloody charity for the fourth fiscal quarter out of the way by supporting the Chicago Cultural Center Galaween with Co-Chairs Scott Cannon, Lally Daley and David Weinstein. You can order the $75 tix in advance HERE or pay $90 at the door. With costume prizes reaching $1000, this is the best bourgeouis party of the week with Chicago's young movers and shakers getting together for a great cause. The old folks home does the same gig on Friday, so be sure you know what day it is that you get your groove on. Our brother from another mother DJ Whiteshadow is the table scratcher and we'll drop by to take a few pics.


For the hippest place on Saturday night, Sonotheque rules with some our current favorite music showcased at the Spandexxx.010 UR Chicago jam. With Dragonette (Live) and DJ sets by Moneypenny, Kid Color, Heaven Malone and Midnight Conspiracy this is the coolest late night set unless you want to get R&B old schooled, in which case you come to....A Night at the Roxbury with Montell Jordan at Manor. Nothin' says Trick or Treat like a little smooth soul in a pumpkin candy container to close out the weekend. Montell will be bringing the hits live to the ghoulish greenspenders at River North's A-list hangout.

Spring Preview @ Bonnie & Clyde's: The "Rose Tint My World" Edition

A little mixer at Couture Botique Bonnie & Clyde the other night led my substitute camera to overexpose every photo taken that evening. Hence, I have adjust the night's catch to look as the world looks through my eyes after watching Rocky Horror Picture Show: Rose Tinted.

Thanks to Stephen, Sharon, Eric and Kenneth for making me feel fashionable and poor.

Something Wicked This Way Comes....

Only 9 Days til Halloween! Fuck man, grab the bags of blood and dead dog's eyes The Day of the Dead and Drunk Assholes in Costumes is upon us! There's something about Halloween that opens peoples messy brains to the notions of illicit behavior whilst wearing disguises that I both embrace and am cautious of. I was recalling a time when I travelled to Athens, Ohio for their annual car burning, riotous Halloween Weekend Extravaganza. It was so great and the hospital staff was so nice for not pressing charges that I went back the following year. Here's a highlight reel of what 3,000 people costumed drunkards are capable of in the the most important state for a Presidential Election. Welcome to Ohio.

Photographers live for this shit. Everyone gets into character and loses sight of their sanity for like 48 hours. Like all the guys that were swinging their swords last year that were dressed up as Spartans from "300". I saw a guy get dented in the head when one Spartan reared his sword and when the bleeding finally stopped, he looked that guy and said:"Don't worry. I'm Batman. I can handle it." A little Alcohol + Costumes = Amazing Photo Opportunities.

To be honest, Halloween already began for us with appearances from some gnarly ghouls last week in Chicago: Heidi "Fleiss" Montag and Spencer Pratt dropped in to support Bright Pink Cancer Awareness for an undisclosed sum and Brody Jenner was spotted inspecting many a boob, failing to ever find a mirror. Reality Stars are terrifying. Reality Stars with A-List appearance prices? Even more terrifying. Nonetheless, they were all very well behaved. As is protocol for these talentless husks. 

But we had plenty of the Real Thing to combat the Pepsi products of MTV. Wunderkind band Cobra Starship kidnapped Reeves for, like all of Wednesday and even stole his camera at one point. That, and they got some wild girl on girl, mutli-participant debauchery going on in the middle of RiNo.

Then Joel Madden came in and pointed at some red tongued fat guy with the exact finger he touches Nicole Richie with. 

And then Kill Hannah decided to set fire to their bus in the Swiss Alps on tour this week. While I'm glad they protested the whole "double decker" idea, methink they should have removed their belongings first. We are ever grateful that they're all fine, and even more appreciative of Mat Devine's brilliant narration in this video.

Kill Hannah Bus Fire Video

  Anyway,  I'd just wanted to remind people of what I, narcissist extraordinaire, wore last year because this year its gonna be the most annoying costume ever. That, and the army of Sarah Palin/ Tina Feys.  Just think of the bloodbath that will ensue when armies of dead Heath Ledgers take on the one chick in Alaska that didn't like "Brokeback Mountain." 

This Year, Reeves and I are following our childish hearts further down into the world of 8-Bit Bliss and no, were not gonna be Sark and Tron. But our costumes will rock you like a Decepticon.

Stay tuned...

Injured Reserve and the abridged Party Circuit

I have to apologize to our four readers for not updating in a week. I have a nasty day ahead tomorrow in which I will get a 10 gauge needle plummeted into my elbow in an effort to remedy my torn extender in my shooting arm. I would have understood this injury in my single days, but being married reduces your "alone time" considerably. The doc says it might be from a 15 lb. camera in my right hand 6 hours a day, but I don't believe him. I think its from hi-fiveing every drunk in town. I've been stuck in front of the computer hacking away at peoples hairlines as I prep the Chicago Suicide Club Fashion Triptych. You can see a sneak preview above. Kudos to our 30+ models, movers and shakers who made Oliver and I very happy that evening. Because God knows I'll never attempt a shoot in Crimson Lounge again for fear of lighting it. Be sure to check out the St. Pauli Girl boxes hanging over the paintings hiding our strobes. Just another "Strobist" solution to an otherwise impossible situation.

Reeves and I took a stroll into Wicker Park and shot plenty of Black Swan parties (Cheers to Clayton Hauck for pimping us all month). Be sure to ask Reeves about the He Say She Say and Holt events because I only shot the "Zipcar Anniversary". It was the first party I've seen where anyone could get a drink but the line for the buffet was 200 people long. When I went up to the "Top Chef" contestants who were preparing the food and told them their new codename was the "Lunch Ladies" I don't think they were so amused. Nothing like going from national cable TV to feverishly cutting baguettes for hungry car renters.

A few weeks earlier I had the displeasure of shooting Dave Navarro again. Something tells me that watching your father shoot your mother, battling heroin, and getting dumped by Carmen Electra for our friend Rob Patterson makes you a total douche. It drives me nuts to see this virtuoso turned low grade porn director because he was my hero in high school along with Perry Farrel (Who is always fucking awesome to hang around). Reeves and I took on the last night of "Outdanced" at Funky Buddha as well and had a fucking blast. I'm so unhip and was like a wide eyed school child upon seeing Pooper and Leslie and the Lys kill it on stage. "Ham Dance" rulez. Our friend Shaka 23 is back in town and always brings good mojo to the party.
Oh, and I shot the Michigan Avenue Launch party and stayed away from almost all the celebs since Jason Binn prefers to hire 4 people to shoot the same thing. It's just not my thing having to push and shove to get a shot. I enjoyed the night and took time to take care of their readers and clients instead of hounding Cindy Crawford, Verne Troyer, Terrance Howard and Michelle Williams. I heard it was a great party. I, however, had tunnel vision and couldn't wait to leave due to my elbo feeling like it was gonna burst.

I did however piss someone off by sneaking my way to the front of the stage while Mr. Binn and Mrs. Gerber did their version of "Who's on First" seen below....

Boys and Girls - A Chicago Suicide Club Creation

Kill Hannah dragged us all in to Vision Nightclub a few weeks ago to shoot their new video for the European release of the killer track "Boys and Girls." With hungover hipsters and a few photogs on site, look for familiar faces from darkroom demons everywhere. (If you look closely, you can spot me dressed like the Unabomber behind Johnny, complete with sunglasses) Here's to hoping the boys kill it on the next endless tour that begins tomorrow in the UK.