Free Chicago

Free mp3s of Tom Waits.

Wed, 14 Oct 2009 11:58:13 -0500

While not really a Chicago thing, here at Free Chicago we love Tom Waits. We also love free legal music. Combine the two and we are really happy.

From tomwaits.com:

As a special thank you for visiting tomwaits.com, we’d like to offer a sneak preview of the new Tom Waits album, Glitter and Doom Live, arriving November 24th. Check out the first 8 songs for free, including a roaring version of “Get Behind the Mule” and a slinky reinvention of “Singapore,” and if you love the album as much as we think you will, you can pre-order it HERE. CD and LP include as a bonus the 35 minute disc/track “Tom Tales,” compiling between‐song banter from throughout the tour into a continuous monologue, and chronicling for the first time one of fans’ favorite parts of a Waits’ performance.

Click here for the free music.

urchicago: Free download + tix/12" giveaway from @sugarandgold! (They play @HideoutChicago this Saturday at Life During Wartime.) : http://bit.ly/TfRby

Mon, 12 Oct 2009 18:47:26 -0500

urchicago: Free download + tix/12" giveaway from @sugarandgold! (They play @HideoutChicago this Saturday at Life During Wartime.) : http://bit.ly/TfRby:

(via urchicago)

fuckkyeahchicago: 1/2 off Mondays at Verto Salon! (Division...

Mon, 12 Oct 2009 18:39:50 -0500

fuckkyeahchicago:

1/2 off Mondays at Verto Salon! (Division & Milwaukee)

Book your appointment on Mondays with Sweet D and receive 50% off your service

offer exp 12/1

Free beer (seriously.)

Fri, 02 Oct 2009 15:55:15 -0500

Tomorrow (Saturday October 3rd) the Midwest Microfest is going down.

The Plaza at Park Grill (at Millennium Park)
Saturday, October 3, 2009, 12-7 pm

Must be 21 years or older to attend. Rain or Shine.
Free to get in. Free beer to drink.

Featuring:
Dark Horse Brewery (Marshall, MI)
Lakefront Brewery (Milwaukee, WI)
Goose Island (Chicago, IL)
Metropolitan (Chicago, IL)
Two Brothers (Warrenville, IL)
Bell’s (Kalamazoo, MI)
Capital Brewery (Middleton, WI)
Three Floyds Brewery (Munster, IN)

Free tickets to see Capitalism: A Love Story.

Thu, 01 Oct 2009 09:39:41 -0500

HollywoodChicago is giving away 25 passes to see Michael Moore’s new movie, Capitalism: A Love Story. They can be used anytime as long as the movie is playing in Chicago. Go to the site to see how to get them.

See Zombieland for free tomorrow!

Wed, 30 Sep 2009 13:44:49 -0500

Hurry over to this page and they are giving away passes to see the movie Zombieland for FREE in Chicago. When they are gone, they’re gone!

Just wanted to put a little note out there that I’ve added more museums to the free list. If...

Tue, 29 Sep 2009 11:07:09 -0500

Just wanted to put a little note out there that I’ve added more museums to the free list. If you have any suggestions or something you want to see, please feel free to submit anything to me. Thanks!

See comedy in Chicago for free or as cheap as possible.

Tue, 29 Sep 2009 10:49:18 -0500

As many of you know, Chicago is one of the great hubs for comedic talent anywhere. While it might seem like improv rules supreme, there is way more than that here.

Improv/Sketch:

At iO (Improv Olympic), they have two theatres. In the Cabaret Theatre, every Wednesday, you can see a FREE improv performance at 8:00pm. All of the late night shows Sunday through Thursday are $5. In the Del Close Theatre, all Sunday shows, Tuesday & Wednesday shows at 10:30pm, and Friday and Saturday midnight shows are $5. Also, if you haven’t seen TJ and Dave on Wednesday night at 11pm, you really need to go immediately. It’s two amazing performers (TJ Jagodowski and David Pasquesi) for only $5. Also, ask the box office if they have any 2 for 1 coupons.
Every night, except Fridays, after the scripted show is over, you can go to Second City and see the cast perform improv for free (space permitting). Also, if you want to see up and coming performers, every Monday night at Second City’s Donny’s Skybox theatre, improv shows are only $5. Also, look for half-price tickets for the at Goldstar (here and here) and HotTix.
At the Annoyance Theatre, they have both scripted shows and improv. Tuesday nights they have two improv shows for $8 BUT if you come for the first show, they will let you stay for the late show for free. Also, Thursday nights is Messing with a Friend. Susan Messing is one of the best performers in Chicago (and elsewhere) and the show is only $5. Lastly, most of their shows are available for half-off at Goldstar and HotTix.
At The Playground Theater, Sunday night shows are free, Monday & Tuesday shows are $5, and the late night Thursday show is $5.

Stand-up:

Sign up for the newsletter for the Lakeshore Theater. The Lakeshore is almost exclusively standup and the week of performances they often give away tickets for some or all of the performances if you receive their newsletter.
Zanies’ in Old Town is a traditional stand-up venue. Take the time to comb through their schedule because suprising people pop up from time to time. Plus, when they have a Rising Star Showcase on Mondays, find out who is going up and often the performers have free tickets. Plus, check Goldstar for half priced tickets.
Chicago Underground Comedy at the Beat Kitchen has stand-ups every Tuesday including a regular stable of amazing performers and well-known comedians dropping in when they are in town. $5 every Tuesday night.
The Lincoln Lodge has some of the best line-ups in the city with many headliners being the best in alternative comedy. Always a great show (and awesome food and huge beer mugs.)
Any stand-up open mic in the city allows you to see up-and-coming comics and regional mainstays practice and hone their act, usually good specials, and they’re free. And, if you have the nerve, you can go up as well.

Half-off (and more) deals only for Chicago.

Sat, 26 Sep 2009 17:29:20 -0500

A number of websites have popped up that advertise specials or deals exclusively for Chicago. All of them are worth a look:

Groupon - A special deal everyday. The catch: a certain number of people have to buy it for the deal to take a effect. While this might cause worry, almost always the specials are extremely good and always kick in.

ChicagoHalfOff & Half-Price Chicago - The idea of these sites is all the products and services are half-off (natch.) Many are more than 50% off and they have a certain number of each of the deal. Once they sell out, they are gone.

Goldstar - More for tickets and performances, there a number of things on there besides tickets.

Chicago Symphony Orchestra (kinda) free this Monday.

Fri, 25 Sep 2009 14:42:04 -0500

This Monday at 8:30pm, CSO presents its Civic Orchestra of Chicago (with Cliff Colnot conducting) performing Beethoven’s Symphony No. 6 in F Major, Op. 68 and Hindemith’s Symphonic Metamorphosis on Themes of Carl Maria von Weber.

I’m not even going to pretend I know what any of what that means, but I do know this: I like listening to beautiful music and I like it when it’s cheap or free. I have a feeling you do to.

The performance is FREE (yeah!) but you have to have a physical ticket so there is a $1 ticket charge (boo!). But, $1 to see this kind of performance is still fantastic. Plus, any chance to go to the Symphony Space is a good thing.

Head here to get your tickets.

Hyde Park Jazz Festival, free this weekend.

Fri, 25 Sep 2009 14:30:00 -0500

Quoting their website:

The 3rd Hyde Park Jazz Festival on Saturday, September 26, 2009, will bring together world-class headliners and local emerging artists for 15 hours of FREE, non-stop jazz.

From 11am to 2am at these venues. Check the schedule to see who’s performing!

(via inhll)

Fri, 25 Sep 2009 13:11:34 -0500

(via inhll)

Fri, 25 Sep 2009 13:11:30 -0500

(via inhll)

See free or cheap movies in Chicago.

Fri, 25 Sep 2009 11:13:16 -0500

There are SO MANY ways to see free or really cheap movies all over Chicago including renting movies or streaming movies online. Here is everything that is available:

Free movies at the theatre:

The Chicago Park District shows free movies throughout the summer all over the city.
The Chicago Outdoor Film Festival happens every Tuesday in Grant Park after July 4th.
University of Chicago Film Studies shows films as part of their lecture series and are almost always free.
Eye & Ear Clinic is programmed by the grad students at the Art Institute with film and video from their archives and faculty/student works and screens for free.
Facets shows amazing movies at their theatre. Normally, it’s $9 a movie but it’s FREE if you become a Facets Patron Club member.
If you join Landmark Theatre’s Film Club, you will be informed when they have free screenings.
If you’re a member of Facebook sign up for CHICAGO FREE MOVIE SCREENINGS from gofobo.com and 43kix.com and Chicago Movie Screenings. Both will alert you when free movie screenings are happening and tickets are available. Also, sign up for gofobo.com. They will inform you of other screenings above and beyond what is listed in the Facebook group.
Sign-up to be a hollywoodchicago.com member. They’ll let you know when they have free screenings of wide release movies.
Film Metro lists free screenings in Chicago. While not always updated, it’s always good to check.
The ~~geekiest~~ mother of all movie gossip sites, Ain’t It Cool News has free screenings in Chicago on a regular basis and they are usually better movies. Click here for the Chicago screening information.
Wild About Movies is a little difficult to navigate and filled with too many ads. BUT, if you click on the movie posters on the left hand side of upcoming movies, they will let you know when free screenings are happening of the movies they have listed.
Other places to check:
- Slickdeals and Fat Wallet continuously posts free screenings on their forums.
- While clunky and not Chicago specific, Free Movie Codes lists free screenings in Chicago.

Free movies at home:

Redbox is the way to go for free movies. Go to their site to find the closest one and then go Inside Redbox to find out the latest Redbox free movie codes. You can use the codes once per debit/credit card.
Facets has a Netflix-style membership that allows you to rent movies through the mail. While that cost money, it allows you to rent FREE at their store and see FREE movies at their theatre. For info here.
While it may seem obvious, Hulu, Joost, IMDB, and the Internet Archive all have free streaming movies.

Cheap movies at the theatre:

The Alliance Française de Chicago shows French language films for $5.
Bank of America Cinema shows classic movies with a short or cartoon at the beginning for $5 and free parking. (There is no official site for it, but you can get the current listing at Time Out Chicago.)
Block Cinema at Northwestern programs excellent movies and is $6 a movie, or cheaper if you’re a student or buy a membership.
Brew & View at the Vic Theatre is $5 for a double feature and they have beer specials.
Chicago Filmmakers has screenings that are only $8, $7 Student and Seniors (with I.D.) $4 Members. Plus, if you become a member for $25, you get 4 free admissions.
Music Box has a discount card for $33 for 5 movies.
The Nightigale regularly screens independent and experimental films for $5.
Siskel Film Center has cheap tickets if you are a student or become a member ($10 general admission, $7 students, $4 for students and faculty of the School of the Art Institute, and staff of the Art Institute, $5 Film Center members.)
University of Chicago Doc Films shows films every day U of C is in session, $5 movie or cheaper if you get a membership.
White Light Cinema regularly screens independent and experimental films around town with tickets starting at $7.

Free night of theatre.

Thu, 24 Sep 2009 23:30:34 -0500

I can’t believe I forgot this on the last post. This is going on in Chicago:

Theatre Communications Group’s FREE NIGHT OF THEATER program is celebrating its 5th anniversary and returns to theatres across the country on October 15, 2009.

This is going on in Chicago and there are some great shows on the line-up. Best of all, it’s 100% free. Most of the reservations will start September 29th, so get ready!

See free or cheap theatre in Chicago.

Thu, 24 Sep 2009 20:27:00 -0500

Chicago has an amazing theatre community with more theatres than any other city in the world. (Suck it, NYC.) Here are some ways to see some shows for free or cheap.

Free:

If you usher at Steppenwolf, you get to see the shows for free.
If you usher at Goodman, you get to see the shows for free.
All productions of the Shakespeare Project of Chicago are free.
The easiest (and shadiest) is befriend the actors and crew. Many are able to provide comp tickets. Seriously ask. They want you to bring people to the shows and they are willing to give a free ticket if they know you’re going to bring other paying customers.

For discounted tickets:

Check the League of Chicago Theatres’ HotTix program. Typically half off of all tickets listed on the site. Go to the actual outlet to avoid TicketMaster’s fees.
Speaking of Ticketmaster, if you go to their Deals page and use the code tmdeal, all the tickets listed there are typically half off.
Check the listings on Goldstar. Most of the tickets are half off as well for listed performances.
The Neo-Futurists’ (in)famous Too Much Light Makes The Baby Go Blind is always $9 + the roll of a single six-sided die ($10 - $15). Also, in celebrating their 20th anniversary, the first Sunday of each month, it costs the roll of the die ($1 - $6.)
The Chicago Dramatists have staged readings of plays-in-progress for $5 on Saturdays.
The Actors Gymnasium typically has performances involving circus performers. Always amazing and $10.
Theatre Oobleck’s current production, “An Apology for the Course & Outcome of Certain Events Delivered by Doctor John Faustus on This His Final Evening” is listed as $12, more if you’ve got it, free if you’re broke.
For $50 you can get the Rogers Park Flex Pass. It allows you to get one ticket at four Rogers Park Area theatres (Lifeline, Raven, the sideproject, and Theo Ubique) and receive discounts at Rogers Park restaurants.
At University of Chicago’s University Theatre, all performances are either $4 or $6.

For discounted student tickets:
(Note: All of the discounts for students listed here are included because they are a substantial discount. Almost all of the theatres have some sort of discount for students with ID or are just affordable to begin with. Check individual theatres if they are not listed here.)

At Steppenwolf, if you come an hour before curtain, all unsold tickets are $15 with a student ID.
At Goodman, starting at 10am online or 12noon at the box office, any unsold mezzanine seats are $10 with a student ID.
At the Lyric Opera of Chicago, if you register as a “NExT Student” on their website, the Lyric Opera will inform you by email when they have tickets available for upcoming shows. All tickets are $20 and sign-up is free.
At the Auditorium Theatre at Roosevelt University, one hour before curtain on any production, student rush tickets are typically available. It depends on the production and you must have a student ID. Go to the website to find out how to sign up for their newsletter that will tell you what productions will have student rush tickets.
Blue Man Group has half off ($32) tickets one hour before show start with a student ID.
At the Chicago Children’s Theatre, all Saturday matinee shows are half off for students.
At the Court Theatre at the University of Chicago, UC students are able to purchase $10 tickets to any performance. All other students, of any age, are able to purchase tickets at a 25% discount to any performance, except Saturday evenings and Sunday matinees.
At the Lifeline Theatre, all tickets are half off ($15) for students with ID for all performances.
At the Next Theatre Company, all tickets are half off for students with ID or anyone under 26 years old.
At Northwestern University, all theatre performances are $10 for full-time students with ID.
At Remy Bumppo Theatre, student rush tickets are available for $10 the day of the performance with ID. Contact the theatre to make sure tickets are still available.
The Viaduct Theatre, depending on the performance, has different student prices typically all low.

Take free walking tours of Chicago.

Thu, 24 Sep 2009 18:39:00 -0500

Have you ever wondered about a neighborhood in Chicago? Have ever just wanted to be a tourist even if you live in the city? The Chicago Greeter program is one of the nicest programs out there. All tours are 2 to 4 hours either on foot or using public transportation for parties no larger than 6. All tours must be reserved 7 to 10 business days in advance. They have 25 neighborhood tours and 40 special interest tours. All the tour guides are volunteers.

Now the tours are “designed for visitors, visiting friends and family of Chicago residents, and new residents.” Essentially, if you already live here, you’re not supposed to use the service. With that said, I’ve done it three times, enjoyed myself, and I dragged someone with me and they magically became “the tourist.”

Also, they have the InstaGreeter program. If you’re unable to pre-register, you can get a 60 minute walking tour of downtown just by stopping at the Chicago Visitor Center at 77 East Randolph on a first come, first served basis Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Go to the website to reserve a tour or go directly to their brochure.

Go to Chicago museums for free.

Thu, 24 Sep 2009 17:44:00 -0500

First, there are an incredible number of great museums in Chicago. Second, many are free or have free days. This is a list of the free museums or those who have special free days.

Museums with free admission:

Museums with free days:

The Alder Planetarium - Click on the link to look for the select free days
The Art Institute of Chicago - Thursdays, 5 - 8pm
Charnley-Persky House Museum - Wednesdays, limited to 15 people.
Chicago’s Children Museum - Thursdays, 5 - 8pm and the first Sunday of each month for chicldren 15 & under
Chicago History Museum - All day Mondays
Clarke House Museum - All day Wednesdays
DuSable Museum of African American History - All day Sunday
Field Museum of Natural History - Every second Monday
Glessner House Museum - All day Wednesdays
International Museum of Surgical Science - All day Tuesdays
Loyola University Museum of Art - All day Tuesdays
Museum of Contemporary Art - All day Tuesdays
Museum of Science and Industry - Click on the link to look for the select free days
National Vietnam Veterans Art Museum - Free for active or retired military
Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum - Thursdays are “suggested donation days.” Admission is normally $9.
Shedd Aquarium - On Mondays and Tuesdays, click on the link to look for the select free days
Spertus Museum and Spertus Institute of Jewish Studies - every Wednesday, 10am - 12noon and every Thursday, 2 - 6pm

The Free Things List.

Thu, 24 Sep 2009 16:51:32 -0500

Obviously, I’m not the first person to think of having a list of free things in Chicago. Here’s the first places to check:

Chicago Reader’s ‘Free Shit’ listings
Time Out Chicago’s free events of the week
Time Out Chicago’s ‘Freebie of the Week’

Hello there!

Thu, 24 Sep 2009 16:46:23 -0500

I live in Chicago and I love this city. But, like a lot of people, I don’t always have a lot of cash to enjoy it. So, through my casual perusals and deep dives looking for ways I can enjoy myself as inexpensively as possible, I’ve accumulated a bit of a list. Other places I’ve found that list it out tend to be weird and cluttered, so I though I would throw up a site here to keep it neat, clean, and organized. While I’ve got a lot places and ideas to share, I’m always on the hunt for new things to tell people about. Click the ‘submit’ button up at the top if you know about any free or cheap deals in the Chicago. So are you ready? I’m ready!