Chicago has new record stores! What a nice development to happen in 2010, just when it seemed like everyone was predicting the demise of the record store. It seems to me that Chicago has enough music fans to support at least a niche market of these shops, and it’s nice to see some new ones on the scene.
Saki opened Memorial Day weekend at 3716 W. Fullerton in Logan Square, run by the same folks who own Carrot Top Distribution. Saki has received a good amount of press coverage, including a short report I did for the Crain’s Chicago Business blog, another piece in Crain’s, Miles Raymer’s column in the Chicago Reader and an interview with Alison Cuddy on WBEZ’s Eight Forty-Eight show, among other stuff.
I stopped by Saki Saturday and took a look around. It surprisingly lacked the usual record-store sense of clutter. (Maybe that will come later.) The choice of CDs and LPs seemed to be pretty good on first glance. It looks like they’re aiming to offer an interesting selection rather than attempt a comprehensive inventory. My one purchase for the day was a pretty cool find: A self-published book of sheet music by the Handsome Family, which looks like a hymnal.
Saki had an impressive schedule of live music and DJs over the weekend, and it could turn out to be a great space for that sort of event. Steve Krakow a.k.a. Plastic Crimewave Sound was DJ’ing when I walked in, and the store also happened to have a bunch of his art for sale. Then I caught a live set by Chicago rock duo Love of Everything, who were charming if a little ramshackle. Is the disconnected quality of the guitar and drums an affectation and style, or is the band still learning? In any case, it was fairly fun.
Saki’s events continue this coming weekend, with Astronomer playing at 6 p.m. Saturday, June 5, and Jonboy Langford playing at 4 p.m. Sunday, June 6.
And this Friday, another Logan Square record store is scheduled to open, as Miles Raymer reported: Bucket o’ Blood Books and Records, 2307 N. Milwaukee.