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All the laughs you can stomach…for a buck.

Thursday Mar 03, 2005.     By Jacob Knabb

Arts + Words Feed

Basic stats: Located at 1354 W. Wabansia, the Hideout usurped many of the regulars at Jeff Tweedy's wife's now defunct venture, Lounge Ax. This glorious joint, tucked away off of North Avenue (right around the corner from the city's sanitation facility), has become the mainstay for actual musicians, artists and writers who could care less about the hype and pose of Chicago's "scene."

Incorporated: Nov. 17, 2004.

Web sites: Dollarstore.shootthemessinger.com or Hideoutchicago.com

Fringe benefits: The performers are legitimately funny, the whole affair costs one dollar and afterwards you can guzzle $2 PBRs and $3 cans of Tecate, served up by the best bartenders in the city.

When: First Friday of each month at 7 p.m.

Up next: March 4 features Amber Drea (Banana King editor), Susan Messing (Annoyance Theater) and Diana Slickman (Neo-Futurists).

Replete with plenty of interesting light fixtures, real wood paneling, a ceiling full of stars (OK, so they're white Christmas lights) and amazing silkscreened posters, the Hideout hosts some of the best live music in the city. And alongside weekly performances by house bands Devil In A Woodpile and Kelly Hogan & The Wooden Leg, the Hideout has recently ventured a stake in the world of words as well. The Dollar Store features a gaggle of performers who compose a piece centered around an actual item purchased by hosts Jonathan Messinger and Sean Gardner in one of the city's fine junk store establishments. (Past items have included a velvet cowboy painting entitled "Wild Horses," a Reach-O-Matic hand, a netted piggy bank and a ballerina statuette.)

With a burgeoning literary scene replete with open mics, The Dollar Store joins The Windy City's claim for literary viability. After all, Chicago hosted the annual literary behemoth, The AWPs, last year, and is home to rising magazines "Bridge" and "Venus," as well as journals like "Rhino" and "Another Chicago Magazine," proving it's no slouch. And in the birthplace of the poetry slam, there is also a vibrant community of writers that are connecting at the ever-growing list of readings around the city. So, given the proliferation of literary happenings, why exactly did Jonathan Messinger feel compelled to start a series at the Hideout?

Jonathon Messinger: Is there a preponderance of these things? It doesn't seem that way to me. Sure there are a couple open mics and a good chunk of poetry readings, but there really aren't that many literary events. And I say there aren't enough. The more writers put on their best pair of spectacles and penny loafers and shuffle out of the hovels to meet people, the better. It makes things fun. Also, you don't hear bands saying, "Well, there are enough shows in town, let's just play guitar to each other."

But to the point of the Dollar Store in general, I felt that I was meeting a growing number of smart and creative people who were good storytellers, be they fiction writers, playwrights, comedians or improvisers. And so I thought it would be great to have them all in one place, doing their respective things.

Centerstage: Why the Hideout?

JM: It's my favorite bar. And it's got those big double doors to block the sound of folks who don't want to see the show. And I wanted to have it at a place where people would normally go to see a show, so we can get some accidental converts.

CS: It's only been going a few months, but have there been any moments at Dollar Store so far where you thought, "Yeah, this is what I wanted to happen"?

JM: Pretty much every show has been like that. But when Pat O'Brien came up to me after the last show and said, "I was really nervous because so often I perform in front of other improvisers, but here was a whole new crowd. It was so much fun." To me, that's sort of the whole point: having fun being exposed to new things.

CS: Who have you got lined up for the new year? And just who is the mystery guest (word on the street's it might just be a reporter from TV's bastion of belly laughs, Fox News).

JM: Walter has asked, and we'll see. I think he needs some more stage time before we put him up there. Joe Meno's on for March, as is Annoyance Theater high priestess of hilarity Susan Messing. But these things fluctuate. Check the site before future readings to see the final line-up.

CS: What exactly is "the Dollar Store aesthetic?" Or in other words, what can we get for one dollar?

JM: With the show you mean? You get an hour of entertainment that ranges from low to middle-high brow that'll make you laugh at times.

CS: Who are the kings (& queens) of comedy?

JM: Well, like I said, I think Susan Messing is a goddamned genius. I'm comfortable saying that. My co-host, Sean Gardner, is hilarious. I really like Pat's work (and his team the Reckoning) at Improv Olympic. Globally, I think everyone knows who the funniest people are. But really, Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant have created a whole new category of comedy with "The Office" that makes me love and fear them.

CS: How would you describe your sense of humor?

JM: I think there are two things that make me laugh: awkward moments and painful truths. Actually, I guess awkward moments are painfully true, so there's only one thing that makes me laugh.

CS: What did you think of Vince Neil's make-over concert? And what the hell's up with his wife's eyebrows?

JM: I'm still thinking about all of this, but will be sure to present my conclusions to you as they come together.

CS: If the hosts of the Danny's poetry series went toe-to-toe with The Dollar Store's crew, who'd walk away with the most teeth intact?

JM: Those Danny's guys have been at it a lot longer than I have, so they have far more back than I do. And I mean that in both the gangster and Sir Mix A Lot senses of the term. So them.

CS: Where do you find yourself when it's 2 a.m. and you're lookin for laughs?

JM: My apartment. My ladyfriend Molly Hale (Improv Olympic, ComedySportz, etc.) is the funniest person I know.