Friday | February 4
Bass player Maurizio Rolli and the Chicago Jazz Orchestra will make an appearance at I-House this Friday for a big band tribute to Jaco Pastorius. Pastorius, who passed away in 1988 at the age of 35, left behind a vast repertoire including the eponymous album Jaco Pastorius, which many critics consider the finest bass album ever recorded. (International House, 7:30 p.m., $8)
Saturday | February 5
For those unable to catch Louder Than a Bomb on the Oprah Winfrey Network, the Gene Siskel Film center will be screening the film until February 10. The documentary tells the story of Chicago’s annual teen poetry slam, Louder Than a Bomb, in which six hundred teenagers from over sixty schools participate in the world’s largest youth poetry slam. (164 North State Street, 7:45 p.m., $7)
Sunday | February 6
Since the break up of Cap’n Jazz, Tim Kinsella has been changing the face of his band. Its current incarnation, Joan of Arc, will perform as the Lightbox Orchestra this Sunday for a special performance at the Hideout. Jazz cellist Fred Lonberg-Holm conducts the improvising ensemble Lightbox Orchestra through non-idiomatic improvisations via a lightbox and by holding up various handwritten instructions. (1354 West Wabansia Avenue, 9 p.m., $10)
Monday | February 7
Learn all about the contact sport roller derby this Monday before the Windy City Rollers’ next bout at the screening of Brutal Beauty: Tales of the Rose City Rollers. The documentary provides a behind-the-scenes look at the Portland roller derby league, from team bouts and practices to the private lives of the players. (2424 North Lincoln Avenue, 8 p.m., free)
Tuesday | February 8
Because the West Coast really is the best coast, Bethany Cosentino of the surf-pop band Best Coast lists the band’s key influences as boys, California, weed, and her cat. Wavves will also be performing with Best Coast as part of the mtvU Freshmen 5 series featuring up-and-coming artists. (2424 North Lincoln Avenue, 9 p.m., $15)
English Ph.D. candidate Paul Durica interviews rail riders and hobo organizers in “Hobo 101: The Return of the Hobo College” in a special Homeroom program. Durica will be lecturing with artist and writer Tony Fitzpatrick on a variety of hobo-related topics, such as “Panhandling vs. Mooching,” “The American Tramp, Then and Now,” and “Riding the Rails: Over, Under, or In,” among others. (2319 West Belmont Avenue, 9 p.m., free)
Wednesday | February 9
Catch Goodfellas, the second-most quintessential gangster film (after The Godfather), at Doc Films. The 1990 film, directed by Martin Scorsese and based on the non-fiction book Wiseguy by Nicholas Pileggi, follows the rise and fall of three gangsters over three decades. (Max Palevsky Cinema, 9:45 p.m., $5)
Thursday | February 10
Those who like their news in weekly increments can catch “Chicago Live!” every Thursday. The stage and radio show produced by the Chicago Tribune and featuring Second City gives a condensed version of Chicago news as well as various comedy sketches about life in the Windy City. (175 North State Street, 6:30 p.m., $10)
For the opening reception of the Smart Museum’s latest exhibition The Tragic Muse: Art and Emotion, 1700-1900, curator Anne Leonard will be giving a lecture titled “What They Saw, What We Feel: High Emotion in Old Master Art.” The exhibition explores how art’s cathartic power changes from generation to generation. (Smart Museum, 5:30 p.m., free)
