NP: Kate Bush, Aerial

For whatever reason, I've been geeking out lately on Chicago-that-was, the stuff that was around ten and fifteen years ago that isn't around anymore, to the point where it's almost been erased from the city's collective memory. This week's Onion Events Newsletter for Chicago (subscribe here if you're interested) scratched that particular itch:

History Lesson:

In April of 1987, a nightclub called Union opened at 3101 N. Sheffield Ave. It closed for numerous (and interesting) reasons in May of 1990. From the spring of 1991 until the summer of 1995, 3101 N. Sheffield Ave. housed the following establishments (in chronological order):

Houndstooth
The Underground
Hunk Papa
Limerick
The Chicago Draft House

The Chicago Draft House was purchased on July 11, 1995, and operated under that name until November 3, 1995. At this time, we changed the name to Matilda.

In short, Matilda?s 10-year anniversary is this week.

Please stop in soon and say ?hi.?

Matilda
3101 N. Sheffield Ave.
773-883-4400

This is relevant because Step Zero, who may have still been called Suckerpunch at the time, played at Union within a couple of weeks of it closing down fifteen years ago. I probably still have the ticket for the show in a box somewhere at home. Since then, I've been continually amused at the string of new names and new themes the space has taken on, although I don't even remember a couple of them. Contrary to the narrative they provide, it couldn't have been Chicago Draft House for more than ten minutes, tops.