Upfront Pressure

On Friday, October 2, The Flesh Hungry Dog Show @ Jackhammer presents vocalist, and star of the viral music video “End of the World”, Matt Alber, along with Aluminum Group and DJ Sky.  The show starts 9pm and tickets are $10 (available at the door or at www.fleshhungrydog.com)… Another live production to take note of is Annee Pocalypse! @ Hydrate (Fridays & Saturdays @ 9pm thru October 24; $10) This very adult parody of the Broadway show Annie is presented by Hubris Productions and is not to be missed..

For your partying pleasure on this night there a several options. At Spin it’s the weekly Friday Night Dance Party while over @ Hydrate it’s the monthly Lube Wrestling starting @ 11pm w/ DJ Phil DaBeatz supplying the groove… On a more mainstream note, Spy Bar hosts Shapeshifters (“Lola’s Theme”) while DJ Psycho-Bitch joins Frankie Bones over at Smart Bar.

Saturday, October 3 finds DJ Alyson Calagna serving beats @ Hydrate while the Trax Records 25th Anniversary Party takes place @ Circuit Night Club with scheduled appearances by Screamin Rachael, Gene Hunt, and the legendary Maurice Joshua…For a night of house music in its current day iteration, Smart Bar has Minneapolis’ Chuck Love and his soulful self in their booth on this Saturday night while Crobar presents the international tech house superstar Laidback Luke… Finishing out this first weekend of October, Madonna-rama returns to Berlin on Sunday, October 3.

Coming Attractions

On this year’s Columbus Day weekend (or Canadian Thanksgiving for those of you heading to Montreal for Black & Blue), trance superstar Armin van Buuren is in town for an 18+ show @ The Aragon (1106 W Lawrence Ave) on Friday, October 9… Back in Boystown, DJR is featured @ Hydrate while DJ Greg Haus guides his popular weekly Cosmix party @ Berlin.

The next Inferno party @ Hydrate is Saturday, October 10. It’s called Freak Show and features DJ Kimberly S. That same night, the Miss Foozie Variety Show takes place @ Circuit… Outside of Boystown, Vision brings in one of the biggest DJ names of all-time: John Digweed!

On Thursday, October 15, there’s another Dating for Gay Nerds @ Guthries Tavern (1300 W. Addison St.). The fun takes place 7pm-10pm. And costs $20 advance/$25 door (Registration: www.nerdsatheart.com | 312.265.6085)

Boy Central

At Roscoe’s, Frida Lay hosts Drag Race 2009 on Tuesdays (Special Guest Marilyn Black: October 6); while Miss Foozie takes charge of Male Call on Sundays. On Wednesday, October 7, they’ll host the Your Disco Needs You - The Unofficial Midwest Kylie Party; all Kylie Mingoue, all night long…The video bar Sidetrack packs them in nightly with a popular line-up that includes Showtunes on Mondays, U-Video Request night on Tuesdays, and Comedy on Thursdays… Other Boystown options include Halsted’s Bar & Grill (Team Trivia on Mondays), North End (TPAN’s poz-friendly Pulse on Thursdays), Bobby Loves (karaoke on Fridays), Charlie’s (country line dancing lessons w/ Steana on Fridays), Cell Block (leather/fetish/bears/jeans) and Kit Kat Lounge (half-price martinis on Sundays along as well as Viewing Parties for Top Chef and Project Runway). Buck’s and Little Jim’s are always friendly while live entertainment shines at both 3160 (Pop Goes The Gio on Fridays) and Cornelia’s (nightly cabaret).

Shake Your Groove Thangs

When it comes to dancing early in the night, Spin has DJ Chris Eterno on Wednesdays for WTF $1 Drink Night, and Foxy’s Sundays w/ DJ Heather Doble… Down @ Minibar, DJs such as Phil DaBeatz and Shawn Edwards take charge of their lord over the beautiful new dance floor while Roscoe’s dance floor gets worked by DJs Duane, Kevy, Ron G, and DigiDave… In Uptown the Wild Pug features DJ Oskar for the Dorian Gray party on Saturdays.

For after-hours dancing, the popular Berlin has Twisted Saturdays w/ DJs Larissa and Chester while Hydrate presents its Sunday Dance Party w/ DJ Greg Drescher along w/ DJ Laura B on Mondays; DJR on Tuesdays; and DJ Phil DaBeatz on Thursdays. DJ LuLu headlines the nightly afterhours dance party @ Charlie’s …Ultimate After Hours @ The Ram (Thursdays – Saturdays, 3am-7am) has DJs Ron G, Chris Eterno, David C, and Plez. Jackhammer is the far north side’s late night dance option Wednesdays – Sundays… There’s not a lot of dancing at Closet, but it is an under-rated after-hours hangout.

Lots of Naughty Bits

Steamworks, the full-service all-male club, has a Lights Out party every Thursday w/ DJ Scotty Dick and After-hours Fridays - Sundays (11pm-5am) with him and Greg Ellsworth. The weekly Sunday Spin Cycle (3pm-8pm) features DJ Jim B… Up @ Man’s Country, nothing is left to the imagination every Friday and Saturday @ Midnight with a dancer line-up that includes popular attractions named AJ, Lex, Camron, Cezar & Sean Taylor.

Lucky Horseshoe in Boystown has strippers nightly while @mosphere has them strutting all weekend long: Hot Mess Thursday / Club Manhunt w/ DJ Chris Eterno followed by DJs Eric Hall and Timmy Loop on Fridays and Saturdays, respectively… Jackhammer has the Chicago Beef dancers on Fridays and Saturdays… Out in the suburbs: the Men of Sarabia appear @ Club Krave on Fridays; Chicago Beef visits Hideaway on Thursdays and Saturdays; and Hunters Hunks liven up Hunters on Thursdays w/ DJ Laura B on the decks.

Diversity Diversions

The weekly Latino nights @ Circuit include Noche Latina, w/ hostess Veronica Zaid and DJs Ink & Alex Perez on Sundays, and La Noche Loca on Thursdays, featuring Miss Ketty’s Latina Review… Other weekly Latino hangouts include Sundays @ Jackhammer as well as Mondays @ Lucky Horseshoe.

Presenting an urban music vibe, Krush gets busy every Friday night while Reunion @ Shadow Bar rocks each Saturday night w/ DJs Stoney, Anton, and Kenae… Club Escape takes care of south siders nightly while Ms. Ruffy gets everyone’s week off to a good start with $1 Drink Mondays @ Republic (1520 N. Fremont).

Girl Central

As for Chicago lesbians, they congregate at Closet when hanging in Boystown and at several places in Andersonville, including T’s, Star Gaze, and Joi De Vine. The new monthly Circuit Girl party is back @ Circuit on Friday, October 2 while the urbanish Lipstick & Lace takes place at the same venue on Friday, October 9.

House Is A Feeling!

The home for house music in Boystown is Cocktail, featuring The Speakeasy on Wednesdays w/ DJ Greg Haus and $6 martinis. Go-Go Boys are there five nights a week and the DJ line-up includes Timmy Loop (Tuesdays), Michael Serafini (Thursdays), Freddie Bain (Fridays), Diva DJs (Saturdays) and the troika of Chris Eterno, Dealer, and Pete Augusta (Super Saver Sundays).

Outside of Lakeview, DJ Plez serves up house music during Attic-tion Saturdays @ Mary’s Attic while DJ Dana Powell delivers on Fridays @ Jeffrey’s Pub… Every Monday the Boom Boom Room @ Green Dolphin Street continues its success w/ resident DJs Michael Serafini, Diz, JustJoey & Uncle Milty.

Beyond Boystown

Up in Andersonville you’ll find the popular neighborhood outpost SoFo, the newish country bar Cattle Call, and the martini bar Marty’s… Mary’s Attic features Rogue DJ for Feel Good Fridays and karaoke on Sundays and Wednesdays… The fetish community finds a home @ Touché with Hardcore Leather Cruisin’ Night on Tuesdays and Handballer Night every Thursday… Further north in Rogers Park is the very friendly The Glenwood.

The Uptown/Edgewater neighborhood is home to Granville Anvil (with Loyola students added to the mix); Big Chicks (with its super fun $1 Burger Mondays and Free BBQ Buffet on Sundays) and the sports bar Crew (karaoke on Tuesdays)… Scot’s is a friendly watering hole in Ravenswood while Manhandler sits in the heart of Lincoln Park… Downtown, Second Story Bar is the only gay bar left in the area while Davenport’s piano bar entertains over in Wicker Park. Also in Wicker Park, Plan B hosts the weekly Boys Room on Sundays. 

You’ll Need A Car

Outside the Windy City limits, Hunters Nightclub features DJ Ron G on Friday nights while Club Krave has DJ Saul on Thursdays. Velvet Rope in Oak Park (728 Lake St | 708.358.8840) has karaoke on Fridays and DJs and dancing on Saturdays. In Lake Station, Indiana, Encompass hosts Karaoke on Tuesdays and Fridays and the Rush St. Revue Show on Sundays. A little further east in Sawyer, Michigan, Fitzgerald’s (5875 Sawyer Rd; (Exit 12, I-94) | 269.426.3489) hosts the weekly Swank dance party on Saturdays.