My my what a week ahead of us we have!  With the ever broadening array of things to do both vintage, retro, and steampunk, how can one decide?  Well, we’re here to help you!

The Classic Remastered “A Trip To The Moon” at The Gene Siskel

For those few who are still unfamiliar with George Melies he is one of the first true film auteurs who took full advantage of the art of cinema to create worlds and effects that people are still trying to figure out today.  Also, he was played by Ben Kingsly in Hugo.  For those in the know do grab your less educated friends and try to make one of the last three screenings of Melies’s best known film “A Trip to the Moon” at The Gene Siskel Film Center in downtown Chicago.

For anyone who spent a single waking minute in the 1990s, you’ll likely recognize it as the blueprint for the music video “Tonight, Tonight” by The Smashing Pumpkins.

Tickets are about $13 on TicketMaster and the showings end this Thursday.  Do check it out now and don’t miss this momentous occasion to get in touch with your cinematic roots!

Dead Roots at Delilah’s with Mr. Vourteque (yes, that’s me).

I’m not that great at promoting some of my more subtle events, but should you be looking for a calmer event of whiskey and beer and hard punk blues and Gothic Americana country (and a bit of off kilter circus music), please stop by Delilah’s this Wednesday.  I’ll be DJing a wide array of music (and it often seems to overlap with Mr. Bodewell’s playlists) that centers on the dark, strange and over all country-esque.  And when I say “country” we’re not talking about that stuff Nashville produces, we’re talking a whiskey fueled BBQ in an post apocalyptic abandoned landscape (at least I like to think that’s what I’m talking about).

Did I mention that Delilah’s has one of the largest selections of whiskey in the world?

There is also $2 Old Crow Bourbon and $2 PBR, it’s free to get in, you just have to be 21+.  See Delilah’s for more information.

C2E2 is Back?!  Why, yes! It is.

Yup!  It’s that time again, time for C2E2!  And there are FAR too many guests and people of merit attending to mention (though to mention one, John Cusack will be there promoting his new, somewhat steampunkish movie, The Raven).  What we should mention is it launches this Friday and finishes this Sunday and should fulfill most any pop-culture geeks various misaligned fantasies (I say that with love).

What you’re probably asking is why a comicon is being promoted in a Steampunk blog? We at Steampunk Chicago are hosting a panel, entitled “Steampunk as a Culture” where we’ll be discussing exactly what the title of the panel says we will be.  It’s from 3pm to 4pm on Saturday, April 14th.

Tickets for C2E2 vary but can be purchased here.

Of course, once you’re finished geeking out on Saturday please catch the Reggie’s bus from McCormick place and join us for…

THE GEARBOX FANTASTIQUE II!

A year ago we brought you our huge spring spectacular with a variety of sideshow, burlesque and musical acts!  Now we bring it back, even bigger and better!

We first welcome the return of The Squidling Brothers with Jellyboy T. Clown himself as the Master of Ceremonies.  We’ll also be welcoming Hellblinki for another show, guaranteed to boggle your mind!  There will also be Pinkerton Xyloma and Titano the Strongman from The Dead Man’s Carnival as well as local rockers V is for Villains.  Thee Bluebeard will do a bit of comedy and ensure you dance a bit to DJ Shawn Gaston from The Begger’s Carnival as well as The Lords & Ladies DJs.

Tickets are $15 in advance or $20 at the door, you can also purchase the $40 VIP package sponsored by our friends at Tipton spirits.  There will also be outfit and costume contests, photographers, videographers, general madness as well as, of course, amazing fashion.  We can’t wait to see you there!

And once you’ve woken up on Sunday wondering what the hell happened to you last night, do join us for…

Watch Chains & Lace Returns to Pleasant Home

This Sunday, April 15th, we return to Pleasant Home with Watch Chains & Lace.  This is our summer-time afternoon monthly soiree featuring tea, small shows, lawn games, cocktailing, a bit of dancing and a ton of fun.

We do invite you to join us for tea from 4 to 5 and then continue on the evening relaxing on the veranda, watching our friends The Squidlings, do some decidedly toned down magic and shows, enjoy a cocktail or glass of wine, or a glass of lemonade and play a bit of croquet or lawn tennis.

It is a lovely time indeed and tickets are only $5 for those 13 and over.  This is an all ages event, so feel free to bring the family. Click on the image above to buy tickets to the tea at 4 p.m for $10, or to buy tickets for general admission for $5 in advance.

What more?  60% of all profits go to support Pleasant Home and future events there.

The tea is 4 – 5 with the soiree from 5 – 9 at Pleasant Home, 210 Home Avenue in Oak Park.  It’s a short three blocks from (the very safe) Harlem (it’s the last stop on the line) on the Green-line El or you can get off at the Harlem Ave stop on the UP-W Metra.

Phew!  What a week!  Hope to see your shining faces out and about, as we’ll certainly be there!

Best,

-The Lord Baron

Two years ago, in the blustery month of March, we started a little shindig called “Clockwork Vaudeville” at a little bar called Exit.  Within those two years Steampunk Chicago has proudly brought a large variety of acts to Chicago and the greater midwest, and so we felt it was time to bring back our flagship event series, Clockwork Vaudeville!

We launch this Saturday (February 18th) and couldn’t be more excited for the acts we have.  Hailing from the rolling hills of Kentucky, land of bourbon and bluegrass, comes The Ford Theatre Reunion.  If you’ve not heard their circus-inspired blend of punk, vaudeville, and Americana then check it out below.

Also joining us are Detroit’s own Lubberly Brothers, a duo that hearkens back to the era of The Marx Brothers. They guarantee laughs or your money back, unfortunately they don’t have any money, so you’ll just have to trust them on it!  In the meantime check out one of their films below.

Not only that but we’ll be having Highwind Steamworks vending, tarot readings from The Lady No Lucky and drinks specials from Tipton Spirits all night and a VIP open bar for those who buy patron passes!

Lastly, check out this spot Windy City Live did earlier today, thanks for the plug guys!

So don your best (or just a shirt and pants, we don’t judge) and join us this Saturday as we bring back Chicago’s original  steampunk event, The Clockwork Vaudeville!

Chances are that we will see a renewed interest in Chicago history with the 2013 cinematic release of Erik Larson’s The Devil in the White City with Leonardo DiCaprio as the murderous H.H. Holmes. After all, it should combine the grandeur of the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition with the grand guignol of Holmes.

If you have not read the book (which we advise) or don’t have the time for it in the next year, try the Devil & the White City Tour guided by Weird Chicago. My recent trip featured stops at the Congress Hotel where Holmes fished for victims, the Union Stockyards and the corner where once stood the infamous pharmacy and “murder castle.”

Weird Chicago can lead you down the twisted path of Chicago murderers, gangsters, ghosts and even the tawdry red light districts. Tours tend to run on Fridays and Saturdays. They are $30 per person ($20 for 12 and under, although the sexy tour is $40 and only for the 18+).

Reservations and availability can be found at www.weirdchicago.com.

Teslacon II continues to explore  the fantastic world of Lord Bobbins versus Dr. Proctocus  this weekend in Madison, Wisconsin. We, the RLGEMS and hundreds of other steampunks will be travelling 20,000 leagues under the aether in the fantastic submarine/airship the HMS Trident! Exotic ports of call, mummie unwrappings, murder, mystery and magic are sure to please the senses.  The RLGEMS had the fortune of being actors in the inaugural con last November. This year, extended members from Chicago will be presenting several panels, events and more! Some of our friends from Michigan and Ohio will be joining us for discussions and merriment.

PLEASE NOTE  our new event listing and calendar! Our panels and events for this weekend have been listed.

FRIDAY NIGHT we will be hosting a Midnight Gala, sampling the finest in fashion, drinks, and music. Please note this event is limited to those of age, so please leave the children with the auto-sitter. Join us at 9:30 in the Leviathan room, 21+.

SILENT FILM with Mr. Perkins, a distant relative of RLGEMS founder Captain Flint will be showing. Join Mr. Perkins in the silent pirate film starring Thee Bluebeard at 8:30 Friday night in the Nemo room. Please view the preview below!

The adventures this weekend have broken the bounds of time and scene, as the AV Club Madison ran a fantastic interview with sci-fi scholar Austin Sirkin and our friend the “Steampunk Chef”, Aaron Egan. Teslacon has posted the entire schedule!

We’ll be bringing our newest fashions, devices, gadgets and music. Please leave us a note below if we will see you there!

It goes without saying that steampunk has a unique relationship with history, both re-imagining it,  appreciating it and disseminating it.  Thusly, it should come as no surprise that those who play a part in keeping various aspects of history alive also find themselves attracted to the steampunk movement.

Thus it was that Pleasant Home found us.  You may already know about our summer series we’ve been holding at this fine estate, what you may not know is some of the further details.

Pleasant Home is a landmark, early Prairie Style mansion that was designed by architect George Maher, a man who designed well over 40 buildings throughout Chicagoland, many of which are now registered as historic.  But it was millionaire banker, John W. Farson, who built it.  The original estate boasted gardens, coach houses and a fountain.  The house itself also had a ballroom, game rooms and even an outdoor stage… on the roof.

It was quite the party place, but, unfortunately, Mr. Farson died in 1910, heralding an end to the local revelries.

What’s funny about this, is that was when it got interesting.  in 1911 Herbert Mills, of Mill’s Novelty Company, purchased the mansion and spread throughout it his whimsical and marvelous inventions, most of which were coin operated amusement machines that, for a nickel or a dime, would play music (on real instruments) or offer any number of games.  To add an additional bit of “steampunkery” to it all, it was shortly after the Worlds’ Columbian Exposition of 1893 that young Mills built the first coin-operated automatic slot machine that would eventually lead to Mills’s penny arcades becoming institutions of turn of the century America.

 In 1939, ten years after Herbert’s death, the family sold the house to the Oak Park Park District, who still owns and operates it today.  Today you can attend a variety of events and shows here as well as get tours of the home.  Not only that but you can also join us for Watch Chains & Lace, our monthly summer event, which just happens to be happening this Sunday, August 28th.

For more information check out Pleasant Home’s webpage, and while you’re there, feel free to donate, and support.