All language subtitles for Anthony Bourdain Parts Unknown S07E02 Chicago (1080p x265 10bit Joy)

♪ ♪

Somebody asks you,
"Where are you from?"

And you answer,
"I'm from Chicago,"

nobody's gonna give you a
patronizing response like,

"Oh, Chicago's charming."

Hey, Chicago!

More likely, it'll
be, "Wow, Chicago,"

or "Oh, Chicago."

They'll be impressed.

Chicago's a town, a
city that doesn't ever

have to measure itself
against any other city.

Other places have to measure
themselves against it.

It's big, it's outgoing, it's
tough, it's opinionated,

and everybody's got a story.

♪ I took a walk ♪

♪ Through this beautiful world ♪

♪ Felt the cool rain
on my shoulder ♪

♪ Found something good ♪

♪ In this beautiful world ♪

♪ I felt the rain
getting colder ♪

♪ La, la ♪

♪ Sha la, la, la, la ♪

♪ Sha la, la, la, la ♪

♪ Sha la, la, la ♪

♪ Sha la, la, la, la ♪

♪ Sha la, la, la, la, la ♪

I have been coming
to the Ale House...

What can the Ale House
tell you about Chicago?

♪ ♪

As late afternoon
gives way to evening

in Chicago's Old Town,
it's time to drink.

Though, to be fair, almost
any time is time for a drink

at the Old Town Ale House.

Another favorite of mine is...
The difficult ones

are the people who...
The chorus assembles

to give their opinions
on matters of the day,

subjects of great import
to this city on the lake,

this city of broad shoulders,
this true metropolis.

But there's... there's no
shortage of characters in here.

You know, I've lost a
couple really great ones...

John Fox the comic
died a few years ago.

We just lost Ruben "Four Toes,"

this 400-pound Mexican guy.

We just called him Ruben,
and then when he had

his big toe cut off, then he
became Ruben "Nine Toes."

Then when he had his other
big toe cut off, he became

Ruben "Eight Toes,"

and then when he had his leg
cut off, it changed down

to Ruben "Four Toes."

He blames all his problems on
the fact his mother didn't

give him any titty milk.

I mean, these guys, there's
nobody coming through the door

to replace 'em.

The Old Town Ale House
opened in 1958...

and has been serving beer
and other intoxicating

beverages ever since, unless
you're on the "no shot" list,

in which case your drinking
options have been, for the good

of the community, limited.

There's a "no shot" list?

There is.

The only guy that ever got
off it is down there now,

and it was just 'cause
he's a peer, and yeah,

we have a fairly extensive
"no shot" list.

Fair... extensive, meaning
you can drink here,

but no shots for you.

No shots.

'Cause just... that
will lead to no good?

History has shown
us that these people

should not drink a shot.

Well, now, of course,
what they do is

they go to another
bar and drink shots,

and then they come over and
we get the remnants of...

Right.

Right.

Bruce Cameron Elliott and his
ex-wife are the proprietors

of the Old Town Ale House.

Bruce likes to brag that he's
never had an honest job,

but he's a writer, legendary
blogger, and artist.

♪ ♪

So who comes here?

I mean generally.

Who are your regulars?

I think the most interesting
thing about this bar...

On an average night, if
you look down this bar

at 10:00 or 11:00, I would
say the average age

is certainly over 40... - Right.

Which is very unusual.

It's really what's
missing in my life.

I need an old man bar.

Is there a common thread
to the... your regulars?

The common thread is...
Of our hard-core regulars?

Yeah.

They're basically alcoholics.

Well, I mean, I was
dancing around that.

I wouldn't... we
don't dance here.

There's no dancing.

The late John Fox, who was my
all-time favorite funny man,

he came up with the
Ale House handshake.

The secret Ale House handshake
was like... in the morning,

which was that.

Right, what do you have
to do to get barred here?

You know, punch somebody,
probably more than once.

More than once?

♪ ♪

The walls of the bar are
covered with his portraits

of Ale House regulars,
which he mostly paints

in the basement, next
to the beer cooler.

More notorious are his
paintings of well-known

political figures who have,
for one reason or another,

raised Bruce's ire.

They are inevitably depicted
in an unflattering, let's say

non-family-friendly light.

Putin has been
behaving very poorly,

let me put it that way.

I mean, but he
also intrigues me.

Plus I also have the
extra satisfaction

of knowing he would not
like what I'm gonna do,

and that... that's... you
know, that gives you

a lot of pleasure.

♪ ♪

There is no shortage of
opinions at the Ale House bar,

and Bruce's opinions and the
scope of his work extends

far beyond Chicago's borders.

♪ ♪

I'm working on... my
latest painting is Putin.

Oh, say no more, I want to see.

I would like some advice,
because I was thinking

of the classic "Catherine the
Great hoists stallions,"

but let me show you... -
There's ponies involved?

I love ponies.

Well, let me show you
what I've come up with,

because... simply because
of the size constraints.

This is... of course, that's our
beer cooler and everything.

This is where the magic happens.

Well, this is where...
Yeah, this is where

Sarah Palin was painted.

Whoa!

And... Originally
I was thinking...

And I'd be very
interested in your input.

Originally what I thought
was Catherine the Great,

the horses, and he in
the receptive position.

But then on the other hand,
when I put him in a tutu,

I thought, "I think that
I've really uncovered"

the true Putin."

Ballet's very
important in Russia.

Right.

And if I painted him naked,
that would almost be macho.

Yeah, you don't
need the... I mean,

presumably tiny genitals.

Well, I don't think there's
any doubt about that.

Um, I mean, look, he's got
his shirt off, so already...

That's the important part.

He's universally identifiable,
because he really likes

to take his shirt off.

No, he does, and I
took his shirt off.

He loves... I think this
is an iconic image as is.

- I really do.
- I think it says it all.

I was waiting... I'm
glad you told me that,

because I think I can go
full-steam-ahead now.

I'm thinking pastel... I've
gotten pretty good with pastels,

but this might be...

All fans of... the people
who follow your blog

and know so much about...
You know, I know who fixes

your walk-in refrigerator, I
know who fixes the bathroom,

I know who comes in and
cleans the floors, and I know

the entire morning routine
between Fancypants and...

Street Jimmy.

And Jimmy, and I know so
much about all of these people

and just the little... the
day-to-day workings,

but do you think there's
something to be said

that, like, you know,
the trajectory

of your clientele is not...
No, it's-

- Does not tend to be...
- It's not ascending.

It's not... it's not ascending.

It's not in ascendance,
it's... yes, and I've lost

a couple really... I mean, we've
really lost some beauties.

I mean, it's the perils of
being a saloon keeper, you...

Here's my take on that,
bar people do not live

as long as vegan joggers.

However... however,
they have more fun.

♪ ♪

In a city of factions... of
neighborhoods... black, white,

North side, South, Cubs
or White Sox... everybody

at one point or another seems
to agree on this place,

Valois in Hyde Park.

Gotta grab your tray.

That's part of the rule here.

Um, I think meatloaf and
macaroni and cheese, please.

There you go.

Thank you.

I'll have the white fish, the
mashed potatoes, and corn.

I'm very happy about this.

Two of my guilty pleasures
on one plastic tray.

Wow, they sure gave
us a lot of fish.

So what is... where am I?

What is this neighborhood?

This is Hyde Park.

This is the heart and
soul of Hyde Park.

So, if you were
running for office,

why would you use this place
as your staging area?

What's the social
importance of it?

You will see every
politician, black and white,

running for city office will

come through here at some point.

Why?

It's just kind of a hangout.

You'd see Harold
Washington here a lot.

I mean, Barack... I used to see
Barack here all the time,

mostly for breakfast.

The machine that is Chicago
politics goes straight back

to emperor Richard Daley...
The father, then the son...

With a diverse cast of
scoundrels in between.

♪ ♪

How are things in Chicago?

I mean, on the arc of the trajectory...
The problem was

that we had this may...
The Daley dynasty.

We had the old man, and
then we had the kid...

The not-so-bright
kid replaced him.

And he threw a party for his
friends for over 20 years,

and when it came time
to pay the bill,

he snuck out the back door
of the... of city hall.

So it's a mess right
now, financially.

♪ ♪

The one thing about Chicago
is, you cannot get away

with being a fake or a phony.

I mean, maybe somewhere out
in one of the suburbs,

but people see through
it right away.

That's kind of Chicago.

What other characteristics
of a true Chicagoan would be

stereotypically true?

I think you've got to make

at least a little effort
to be... not be a pussy.

I think you gotta
be a little tough.

I don't think you can just...
Not-You can't be a pussy.

Or at least you're
making an effort.

Make a little effort.

Just not to just, you know, roll over and...
Right.

♪ ♪

Been coming to the Ale
House for over 20 years.

I have multiple sclerosis, and
I was leaving a rehearsal

from A Red Orchid Theatre,
which is my theater company,

which is around the
corner, and I came here.

I was really, really tired,
and I was talking to Mitt

who's Matt in the blog and maybe
three or four other people

at the end of bar, and
I-I just remember, like,

falling on the floor.

I heard somebody yell,
"She's not breathing,"

and they called an ambulance,
and that's kind of all

that I remember, and when I
came back a few days later,

like, I walked in the
door, everybody was like,

"Yay, you're better,"

and then a couple of the
regulars were like,

"That guy... that guy
said that thing,"

and I was like,
"What did he say?"

And they said, "When
you were on the floor"

foaming at the mouth, he
said"... he said, like...

They said it got really
quiet and he said,

"I'll have what she's having."

So, yeah.

So that was fun.

But I found out later what
was really interesting

about it was that right away
my mind goes to alcohol.

The American cheeseburger.

It's the sort of feeling
you get when you eat it

that you remember you're
sitting with a friend

and enjoying a memory that
takes you back to long ago

when you were young, and as
we follow Paul backstage,

watching him slowly
sip his coffee...

Hey, what's going on, Daniel?

You remember that comedy
isn't just about laughs.

It's also about... coffee...

And clothes and being yourself.

Do you guys want
to run this scene?

Which one?

Transcendence.

And after all, if we
can't laugh at ourselves,

who can we laugh at?

I gotta be honest... he
usually does it way better.

Oh, come on!

How is it that Chicago
has become the...

Sort of the fount of comedy?

You know, it's-it's a gusher.

I think it all started with
Second City, and then people

came here to study.

I'd say 90% of the people who
are doing comedy right now

came to Chicago to study.

Paul Jurewicz, a young
man at the beginning

of what will presumably
be a glorious career.

"First you push me in the
pool, "now you call me

'ketchup dick.'

"I try to be spontaneous one
time and this is what I get.

I feel like no one
respects me anymore."

Second City opened in
Chicago's Old Town in 1959,

and almost from the
beginning established

a probably unhealthy
symbiotic relationship

with the Ale House.

You know their names... John
Belushi, Gilda Radner,

Amy Poehler, Bill
Murray, Chris Farley.

If you're funny in America,
chances are you spent

some formative years here,
getting the shit hammered

out of you, learning, one
hopes, in the parlance

of the trade, to kill.

I tuck my undershirt
into the underwear.

So how many times
you do it a show?

Per show?

Probably seven times.

Gotta be a cannonball,
you know, not like a...

bowl of Jell-O out there.

You know, where are Second
City people coming from,

all over?

All over.

Right.

All walks of life too.

I mean, it is, you know,
lawyers, teachers with...

You know, servers.

It's all classes.

Well, look, servers...
That is a rich tradit...

I mean, one pres...
Anytime you find anyone

in the entertainment
business, one presumes

restaurant experience.

Mm-hmm.

I used to be a server.

I used to be a cook, I was
a sushi chef for a while.

I used to be a
Segway tour guide.

- I know too much about that.
- You were a Segway tour guide?

Yes.

Wow, you better have
a sense of humor.

Paul and I discussed
the perilous nature

of a life in comedy over
some drinks and food

at Longman & Eagle, where,
though the flannels

and neck beards are abundant,
the food is excellent.

Beef tartare.

I like that.

And who does not love
roasted bone marrow?

Tête de Cochon with bleu
cheese and celery relish.

The good Lord wants
you to eat this.

Really, he speaks
to me all the time.

Confit of beef tripe, and since
I'm all about vegetables,

slow roasted cauliflower
with caramelized onions

and lentils.

♪ ♪

So, does Second City travel?

Do you have a road company?

There are touring companies...
Three touring companies.

They're on cruise ships as
well, so I did ten months

on a cruise ship.

Ooh!

Which is ten months of looking
at the water and wondering,

you know, "At this trajectory",

would the boat pull me under?"

"If I've had this much to
drink, how long before the boat

is out of my sight line?"

- So that's like a prison ship.
- Yes.

I mean, 'cause you... you
can't... you can't say,

"Fuck this."

I mean, it's real fun
for the first two months,

you know, it's a lot of fun,
hanging out with the crews,

you know, there's a lot of,
you know, venereal diseases

going around... - Right.

And a lot of partying and
there's a bar every 2 feet.

And then after you
hit the two-month,

and you're like, "I want to go
home, Mom, please help me."

Talk about, you know,
battlefield conditions

to hone your craft, man.

I respect... that is...
Is that... I mean,

is that the idea behind it?

"We're gonna send you out"...
The thing that you

take away from it... -
You're... When you get back

from the gulag, you will
be stronger for it?

Oh, absolutely.

It's your first time getting
paid as a performer,

and it's also... the
largest amount of people

I've ever performed for
was on a cruise ship.

It's 950 people you're
performing to, you know,

four nights a week.

Right.

♪ ♪

Places, act one.

How are things?

- Oh, good.
- Do I put the game on?

The Patriots are
playing the Redskins.

Do we know where
the dry cleaning is?

There's no job that you
can liken to this job.

What are you trying to say,
Mike, that we're some sort

of time travelers?

My hemp business is
doing really well.

I think it's on... I only have,
like, four lines, right?

Is it a kind of supportive...
I mean, comedians

are not famous for... -
Standup, specifically,

is more cutthroat.

Why don't we all just
calm down here, all right?

I thought that would get a
pop, or at least a reaction.

It's too long.

Does anybody know
where my socks are?

In the improv community, I think

it's a lot more supportive,
because it's a group sport.

Did you say, "community"?

Yes.

Got your back.

Got your back.

Got your back.

- Got your back.
- Got your back.

Got your back.

Got your back.

Got your back.

- So what if someone sucks?
- Improvise.

What if they're
just... they suck?

Your job as an improviser
is to make that person

look amazing.

That's how you know if
you're a good improviser.

♪ ♪

This was a path of least
resistance for me.

It was something I fell
into that I loved,

that I just found out that
I was relatively good at,

and through a series of
mishaps, I found myself

in this position.

Like, if you'd asked me six
years ago if I would be

on the main stage at Second
City, there's no way.

I would have laughed at you.

So, if this is where it
ends for me, I'd be happy.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

Maybe the first
thing you think of

when you think about
Chicago is not

ass-burning Szechuan food, but
maybe... maybe it should be.

Well, I think a lot
of people come

and they think that Chicago is,

like, on the Magnificent Mile,
and you know, they're like,

"Oh, should we go
down to Navy Pier?"

Like, no.

Right.

Why?

So it's nice to go out
to the neighborhoods,

and there are so many different
ethnicities everywhere,

so going to places like
that is really awesome.

One of my favorite Chicagoans,
chef, restaurateur,

Stephanie Izard from
the Girl & The Goat,

and her colleague Peter
Wong enlighten me.

Look, I knew Chicago was a city

of very diverse neighborhoods...
Everybody says so...

But this I didn't know about.

Now I do.

So where... where... where
are we, and why are we...

Why are we here?

I'm... I have to say, I'm
really glad we're here,

but... but what... why?

We're at Sze Chuan Cuisine,
so after going to China...

We were just talking about that

Chengdu is my favorite
place, but Peter's never

actually been to Chengdu.

And so coming back
then, it was like,

"Let's go to Chinatown
and try to find places

to find those things we ate
for breakfast every day."

♪ ♪

Pork dumplings in chili oil.

Start the fire.

Oh, man, they're slippery.

- If you can get one.
- You got it? Here.

You know why the chopstick
is thin, it's thick and fat?

You can just... just do this.

I thought you're not
supposed to do that.

Peter, you're supposed
to help me knowing

what's faux pas.

Yeah, so happy.

One of my favorite dishes
in the world anywhere...

Mapo doufu.

Yes, a tofu dish, stippled
heavily with pork

in a burny, numbing, "9
1/2 Weeks" style exercise

in sadomasochism that will
start you thinking some deeply

disturbing thoughts.

Do you know, "Mapo doufu,"

is it because it looks
like spotted grandmother,

or did spotted, pockmarked
grandmother create the dish?

- Both.
- Both?

Yes.

Right?

My mouth's a little
on fire right now,

so I think the rice
came at the right time.

Yes.

Ooh.

Sounds like we are suffering...

But actually it's delicious.

Here, Anthony, try some of this.

This is my favorite.

This specialty of the
house... fish hotpot.

Nice.

All right, here goes.

I scooped off some peppers.

You're going for
the best piece, huh?

Yeah.

Oh, it burns so good.

I could pretty much
eat this every day.

♪ ♪

It would have to be 1963...
The summation was

that I moved to move him
away from another customer,

and he backed up and
clenched his fist,

and, boy, when somebody
clenches their fist, you know,

they're really capable
of doing something.

So I got in the first shot,
and then somebody grabbed me

by my arms and held me
by my arms, and he got

the second shot off, and
he re-deviated my septum,

which was a good thing.

But you know, he was
bleeding and I was bleeding,

and you know, it
was camaraderie.

We all... we hugged and
kissed afterwards,

and said, "Oh, I'm sorry."

I'm sorry I did that."

Well, he's dead now.

I don't want to speak
poorly about the dead.

♪ ♪

We always lived in the 'hood.

You would hear gunshots
in the distance,

you would get to know about
gangs, you would see

the graffiti.

The people who you were
growing up with playing with

wouldn't be there
anymore, and it's like,

"Oh, what happened
to such and such?"

And it's like, "Oh, he's dead."

He was in a gang or he
got killed in a drive-by

or he got shot and
such and such.

Hip-hop artist
extraordinaire Lupe Fiasco

grew up on the South and
West Sides of Chicago.

But inside, his home was
always an island of sanity,

a supportive,
creative environment.

Well, what was different
about your family?

My mother and my father
were very intelligent

and politically oriented and
active, so it... it... you know,

I got book smart and
street smart, you know?

Floyd Webb is an
old family friend.

This is Lupe's mom, Shirley.

As becomes quickly apparent,
she is, along with being

an extraordinarily good
cook, an extraordinary

and determined human being.

Man, this is so
outrageously delicious.

Wow.

The whole time we're
eating, by the way,

people are moving in and out
of Shirley's small apartment,

the place clearly a hub for
a tightly knit community

of friends and family.

So what age were you when
you came to Chicago?

I was, uh, 13.

The worst thing that my
family could have ever done

was left the South...
Was left Mississippi.

We should have stayed.

But this was the land of
opportun... here and Detroit and

the great cities of the North.

It was and they came
up, you know, then...

We were never hungry
down in Mississippi.

We got here, depending
on welfare, whatever,

and they became alcoholics,
abusive to the children

and wives, and the children
came out in the streets,

and just everybody lost
control, and now it's...

What was Chicago
like when you arrived?

Uh, it wasn't as violent.

You know, the neighborhoods
were communities.

No vacant lots, there
were families all over,

kids in the street.

You could go outside
and play and not worry

about your children.

And somewhere in the
late '70s, early '80s,

it started to change and
become more violent.

News announcer:

July 4th, two young
men gunned down

at a Chicago strip mall.

News announcer:

For more than 50%
surveyed... news announcer:

Nine people shot to death and
at least 60 others wounded.

However much you might love
Chicago, want to celebrate

its general awesomeness,
its character,

its architecture, its food,
there's no getting away

from the ugly fact that
Chicago's South Side

is also currently the
murder capitol of America.

Why do you think people
are killing each other

in such large numbers in
Chicago and not in New York?

Let's be clear, it's
only a few spots.

- It isn't the whole city.
- It isn't the whole city.

- It's not the whole city.
- It's not "Chi-Raq."

To be honest, "Chi-Raq"

is Englewood.

Right.

Look, it's a pretty
staggering body count.

The sad part is that it's
been like this, right,

and the only reason it's a story
now is 'cause white people

looking at it, and it's like,
"Aw, that's terrible."

It's like, man, it's been
like this for 30 years.

How come it wasn't
terrible 30 years ago

when you probably actually
could have did something

about it?

Does a hip-hop artist have
an ob... any obligation really

to speak about anything positive
or even smarter than cars,

girls, or "Where's my money"?

Um... I guess it depends
on where you come from,

and then do you feel a obligation
to where you came from?

A lot of people in the 'hood
won't take me serious.

You know, they don't take Chuck
D serious, because at least

you take somebody who's
rapping about crack

and rapping about dope,
that is a actual thing that

they can go get and sell
and make money that day

if they wanted to.

You can't preach to them Black
Panther Party or you know,

Marcus Garvey or this, 'cause
they can't go out and get it

and actually sell it
and monetize and make

some money off of it.

Right. Right.

Right.

Despite an appalling murder
rate, questionable leadership,

Chicagoans aren't going
anywhere anytime soon.

The Southern people, we
brought our spirit here,

so Chicago have, like, a
warm spirit and you know,

loving spirit.

It's a beautiful place, it's
a genuinely beautiful place

where you have to redefine
what beauty is to you.

You go to different neighborhoods
and it's really that.

But even in that, there's
still a beauty in the people.

And then just from
a cultural front.

You know, we got
everything here.

You know, we got... if you want
Capoeira, we got Capoeira.

You want avant-garde jazz,
we got avant-garde jazz.

You want House music,
we got that too.

You want... you want
just straight finance

and you want to just be
a stock market baron,

we got that too, you know.

You want some of the best
food that you'll ever find,

we got that too.

So we're a crossroads and we
picked up a lot of little DNA

and things from different
places on all fronts.

♪ ♪

Start to know people's names...

I've always, my whole life, had
very... a lot of difficulty

with these fireplug type
guys, and he started looking

like he was gonna start
punching Street Jimmy,

who's a guy that hangs
around on the street

and comes in here.

And I said something to him,
and he came... he made a move,

so I caught him a real nice
left-left, knocked him down.

And I never saw a guy
make this move before,

but on his stomach, he just
went... like, squished over,

hooked my leg, got on top of
me, and started whacking me.

And Hawkeye, our doorman,
just sat there watching me

being pummeled, and
Street Jimmy came over

and grabbed his arm...

♪ ♪

Making a living
hasn't really been

what it's been about
ever in Chicago.

Keeping the ball in the
air is what it's about,

just making sure that things
keep going, remain viable

and sustainable.

Nobody's too concerned
about making a killing

or becoming a star.

Everybody just wants
to keep doing it.

Is that a uniquely
Chicago attitude?

I flatter myself by thinking
that people in Chicago

care more about
what they're doing

than what they're
getting paid to do it.

One of the things people
have always loved

about Chicago, of
course, is the music,

and if one guy has defined
rock and roll and punk sounds

for the last three decades,
well, this guy, Steve Albini,

would have to be a
powerful candidate.

Member of the legendary
Chicago punk band Big Black

and one of the most
important producers

of underground rock,
Albini produced some

of the most influential music
of the last 25 years...

The Pixies, Slint, Nirvana,
PJ Harvey to name a few.

He takes me to one of his
favorite Chicago spots,

Ricobene's, to sample the
particularly unholy delights

of the breaded, fried
steak sandwich.

♪ ♪

This thing is... - This is a
half a sandwich, bear in mind.

That's like 4 pounds.

Yeah.

Wow.

We're gonna need a
boatload of napkins.

There's no delicate
way to eat this.

- You just hoist it and go.
- Yeah.

The time out of the
fryer is also critical.

These are still crispy
on the outside.

This is precisely the
way this sandwich

was meant to be eaten.

Yeah, that is a thing of beauty.

And tasty.

Hmm.

So, you have
remarkably... unusual for

the music industry... a
remarkably lenient...

views on music sharing.

Your pricing structure as
a producer is, you know,

somewhat against the grain
of the usual business model.

And you are not living in I.A.

or New York or living on a
mountaintop, peeing on the...

You know, peeing downwards
from a great height.

What are you, some
kind of a communist?

What's... what's the deal?

Well, I mean, I have
a healthy suspicion

of capitalism as a method.

I feel like, you know,
left unchecked,

capitalism is a kind of
cultural sociopathy.

Like, for a business to be
successful in capitalist terms,

it has to do the best possible
job of exploiting everyone

that it does interaction with.

Mm-hmm.

The endgame of capitalism
is that everything

is crappier and
crappier and people are

more and more
exploited, and I have

a healthy suspicion of that.

So I feel like the social model
that I'm comfortable with,

it suits my business practices,
which is that we're all

in the same game.

We're all trying to
do the same thing.

We just want to make sure
that things get better

for everybody.

Is that a Chicago
attitude, you think?

Mm, well, in my
circles it is, yeah.

In the punk rock scene and the
people who are influenced

by the punk rock scene,
that's a very common notion,

is that you're not trying
to extract the maximum,

you're trying to make sure
that everything goes...

Everything carries on.

Is there less "douchery"

in Chicago?

You can find jagoffs... that's
a uniquely Chicago word,

by the way.

Jagoff, oh, I love it.

It's been so long
since I've heard it.

If you look for 'em,
you can find jagoffs

of all type in Chicago.

But the people who are, you know...
Thank you so much.

You're welcome.

Productive and content
and part of an enterprise

that is, you know, righteous,
for lack of a better term...

Right.

They tend to not just give
lip service to the notion

of egalitarianism or fairness,
but they tend to embody it.

What about the musicians?

I mean, how much money does a
guitar hero deserve to make?

Well, all of it, obviously,
because that's what

people are listening to.

People are listening to
somebody's creative expression.

♪ ♪

Look down the bar, right,
and it's... Some characters

you can't write about,
and some people...

Around here, nicknames
have a sick habit

of sticking to you like glue.

You just... you don't just dodge
'em, you just live with it.

When I used to bartend
the morning shift here,

him and this other guy used
to come in, a bit crazy

before it was even, like,
8:30 in the morning.

And this one poor guy was
here, and they were, like,

on both sides of him,
just going nuts,

and I'm like, you know,
"That's it, you know,

you guys gotta go."

But he says, "You know, man,
you're a real buzzkill,"

and it stuck to me ever since.

I mean, it's carved
in stone pretty much.

♪ ♪

Chicago is famously
a sports town.

The Bulls, the Bears, the
Cubs, the White Sox...

to you and me, those
are just names,

but to many Chicagoans, a cause,

a defining lifestyle choice.

The rivalry between Cubs and
White Sox fans, for instance,

is particularly vicious.

Difference between a Cub
fan and a Sox fan is

a Cub fan goes to the park,
they enjoy themselves,

they have fun.

If the team wins, that's
okay, if they lose,

it's no big deal.

Sox fan will turn on their
team in a... on-on a dime

if they don't... if
they're not good,

if they don't play well,
if they don't hustle.

That is true.

But a perfect day for a
Sox fan is the Sox to win,

the Cubs to lose, and then
the Cubs' plane crashes.

So to what do you attribute
this quality of deep, deep,

bordering on murderous hatred?

The hatred is basically
from the South Side.

Of course it is.

I mean, they hate us
like... you have no idea.

We don't have that
vicious intent to them.

Why... where... why the
viciousness and hatred?

All right, to be around
Cub fans is to hate them.

Let's go, Cubbies.

Yeah, baby!

♪ ♪

I just... I can never bring
myself to understand

their hatred of us.

Yeah, Cubbies!

Whoo!

Number one.

Yo! Go, Cubs, go! Yeah!

Whoo!

So they're cursed.

Their historic destiny
is to be losers.

Yes, and like they say,
any team... any team can have

a bad century.

The Cubs are working on
having two bad centuries.

Right.

Topo Gigio is a massive
Italian-American joint

in the Old Town that serves up
much-better-than-you'd-think

old school stuff like
scallops in pesto

cream sauce for Bruce here, and
squid ink pasta with shrimp

for Buzzkill.

My veal saltimbocca
is most excellent,

and the long, festering
dispute across from me

only makes my food taste better.

Is Bruce's attitude
atypical or typical?

It's extremely... - Or is
he a relative moderate?

It's the... It's
extremely typical.

I mean, he is sitting at the
same table with a Cubs fan.

Well, yes.

No, no, I drink with Cub fans.

I've even had sex with Cub fans.

I mean, no, I... -
Well, truth be told,

the last time the
Sox won it in '05...

Not that long ago, really.

- I-I-I...
- Not that long ago.

- For chrissakes, you won one.
- It was this century.

- I've been on this planet...
- How about this century

we've already won one?

You know, I've been on
this planet for 55 years,

you've won one.

You know what?

You guys are worse
than Notre Dame fans.

I wouldn't mind
winning every 25 years.

I swear to Christ,
you cling onto that.

I mean, look,
Chicago's a great city.

Yes, it is.

It deserves to win, right?

I mean... - Thing is about
Chicago sports fans,

we got to see the greatest
basketball player

that ever lived.

We were winners in our prime.

Best athlete that ever lived.

In our prime we got to see this.

Right.

So now we... We're now
holding things up to

a higher standard of excellence.

Right.

Now, here's where the Cub
fans and Sox fans join forces,

- to watch the Bear game.
- Right.

That's something
we can all agree on.

You both hate the Bears?

- No, no, we love them...
- No, we love the Bears.

We just want Virginia to
just cash in her chips

and just go away.

So let's say... let's
say the planets all...

The stars align perfectly
for Chicago, in your view.

What does the sports
picture look like?

Who wins, who loses,
what happens?

Well, first of all there'd
have to be some funerals.

- There'd have to be funerals.
- Several.

Who would have to die?

I would say the owner
of the Bears, and then...

And do you agree with this?

- Yeah, and if...
- More or less.

We hate owners.

Yeah, we all are united
in hatred of the owners.

Well, I... wish you both luck.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

And I had to do in the
morning, so I'd just get up,

and Roger... he was
a very fat guy,

always been a very fat guy
until, of course, he became ill,

but he was an
indefatigable walker.

He loved to walk.

And the reason we ended
up here was because

in the drinking society
that we were involved in

at the time, there
were not many walkers,

but Roger was a walker,
I was a walker.

Legendary film
critic Roger Ebert

was a man of mythic
proportions in Chicago.

A close friend of Bruce, half
of the Siskel and Ebert duo,

and a regular at the
Old Town Ale House,

Roger passed away in 2013 after
a long battle with cancer.

I been sort of conducting
an informal poll

over the course of the
week, asking people

who Chicago should honor.

If you had to put up a statue,

you know, of the... sort of
the... an iconic Chicagoan

who everybody agrees
is a good person,

and very popular
answer... Roger Ebert.

I would say that I'm a little
prejudiced, but definitely

Roger Ebert deserves all the
accolades he's been getting,

justifiably so.

Roger's the guy that got
me to write the blog,

and he's the guy that
gave me the tips.

He was an amazing guy,
and I think, of course,

had he not become ill and
really handled his illness

in a way that I could...
I can't even conceive

of myself handling, I
think that that really

kind of set him apart
from kind of the other

iconic Chicago people.

The guy... and correct
me if I'm wrong...

This was an enthusiast,
I mean, this was a guy

who actually liked
going to the movies.

Now, this is not always
the case with critics.

They don't necessarily
love the people

or the subject matter
they're reviewing.

Roger loved movies
and he loved actors.

If you went over to his
house, he would want

to watch movies.

Siskel and Ebert, classic,
you know... it's like, that is

an iconic relationship.

They didn't seem to
like each other.

They hated each other.

- They hated each other?
- Yes.

I mean, they understood
what they had,

but a lot of people think
Siskel was the alpha.

Mm-hmm.

He was not.

Roger had two
things over Siskel.

He was a much better writer
and he was much better read.

So, Roger lived
principally in Chicago?

Oh, yes, and he had...
Believe me, he had plenty

of opportunities to leave.

I mean, he was offered some
serious dough to go to New York

and go to I.A.

Why didn't he go?

In Chicago, favors are worth
more than money and loyalty.

In Chicago, this is
very important stuff.

Roger is one of the
most loyal people.

He was loyal to his
friends, to his family.

Right.

And I just... I don't have
any problem understanding

why he decided to stay here.

♪ ♪