Chicago- Nightlife

I'd highly recommend a visit to cloud gate (the bean) and the faces installation in Millenium park at night. The faces installation glows bright red with the water misting around it, and in the bean, you see reflected the night skyline of Chicago.

We also took in a bar with a live band. Green Mill is a very well known bar/venue a little farther north of the downtown, a short walk from the Lawrence stop on the red line. We arrived a bit late to the set, but we stuck it out and eventually migrated, table to table, closer to the stage as people left as the night wore on.

The performers were really amazing- it was Alphonso Ponticelli and Swing Gitan, a gypsy jazz band in the vein of Django Reinhardt. The main players were two violinists, the lead guitar (Alphonso), a backup guitar, and a double bass. They were occasionally joined by a woman vocalist who sang in French, and a pianist. They were really good. Especially the guitarist and the two violinists. The speed at which they played was phenomenal and a show in itself, fingers, arms, and hands flying in a blur, especially after a bottle or two of Schlitz beer.

The venue was great- it was built something like a hundred years ago, the bar was really fun and it retained a feeling from the roaring 20s of Chicago. Definitely an older crowd though, so watch out for that, although it worked to our advantage as the band played until 1, and couples started leaving. Lot of fun.