AVANT/CHICAGO

Holiday Art Fair

Lillstreet Art Center Holiday show and sale starts this Sat.  Representing over 50 artists from around the country,you can tour the second and third floor Studios to find that special holiday gift. Also be sure to visit First Slice Pie Cafe run by a local food program.

Tweeking Rock And Roll

He's doing music for the kids, but why should they listen to him? Why should they take his canon seriously? Rarely does anyone put himself out so baldly, especially couched in such immodest salvation rhetoric -saving indie kids from the Killers, as it were.

Lunchtime Eats On The Cheap

A break from the workday and for the wallet. CenterStage drops some of the bestest spots to eat on a nickel.

RadioFree Chicago Best Of - Part 2

Taking a detailed look at what they think is the tops. # 2 is The National. It started with Wolf Parade.

Vids Deserving More

Cliktrax provides screen time for the most interesting and creative music videos that aren't receiving love from the major video networks. The show also features documentary-style footage of bands on their first tours of the US. Check out Franz Ferdinand and LCD Soundsystem. (via)

Fly-day Parley

VENUS & PUNK PLANET PARTY at Empty Bottle. Featuring Psalm One, Eight Inch Betsy, DJ Kate Simko, and DJ Shoogyboom. $10 door includes a free copy of the winter issue of Venus.  Mighty, mighty excity.

Yes, Chicks Rule

From improv to dance to standup comedy, the 6th Annual Women's Performance Art Festival hosts a wealth of performance art written, directed and performed by women. Held at Links Hall, beginning Dec. 2. (via)

Jazz And Technology - A New Age

The most influential new instrument in jazz doesn't have a mouthpiece or a reed, a set of strings or a pair of sticks.  And while jazz is by no means the first musical genre to embrace the Laptop, it may be the most surprising.

STALKING FOR BEGINNERS - How to Ruin Someone's Life.

Ok you want to get really close to someone but don't know how.  Vice offers a funny look at the art of the stalk.  Now pick a star and get to work.

Money, The Web And Protest

The day after Thanksgiving, the busiest shopping day of the year, is fast becoming known as a day of getting nothing. BND is now celebrated in more than 65 countries by millions of people and Wired talks with the founder about the future of the Net.