There was a good article in the last issue of Lumpen, where Chicagoan-abroad Party Steve wrote about scene dynamics in the last five or six cities he's been through: Portland was too political for a lot of genre crossbreeding, New Orleans was too punk rock and not enough avant garde, and New York and Austin were both a bit choked on their own hype. Chicago's dilemma has been clear to me for a while, as it's been two years in the making. The weirdos are all becoming club kids.

The way he describes this, is that it's a defense mechanism, a natural reaction to what's been happening in the underground. Back in 2005, maybe a dozen spots shut down. With a smaller pool of spaces, musicians and party people alike have had to acquiesce to going to licensed bars and nightclubs to play their music and get their dance on.