Christmas lights line the windows, handpainted records hang on the walls and records are organized by genre. Upon entering, you are hit will a wall of pure, driving rock, probably Led Zeppelin or something. It seems like the type of place the guy from High Fidelity would hang out, or where Henry DeTamble would look for the perfect punk record, or where suburban hipsters would flock to in search of the latest Animal Collective.
Not so much for the classical enthusiast. Sure, my inner indie kid was in heaven; I loved finding Belle and Sebastian's "The Boy with the Arab Strap" on vinyl and the store-made labels on most albums, for example, "Tallahassee is the tenth album by The Mountain Goats. Sufjan Stevens might have to battle it out with these guys for the Florida concept album, cuz it seems like these guys have got it nailed." I browsed through the Iron and Wine and Fleet Foxes for a while before returning to my original mission: get some classical.
I asked one of the skinny-jean-clad employees where they kept their classical records, and the result was rather dismal. The classical music was sort of tucked away under the main records, and their entire collection took up about half a box. As uncomfortable as it was to crouch under the shelf and search through records I could hardly reach, I did find some interesting ones. Howard Hanson conducting the Eastman-Rochester Orchestra, and Verdi's Otello (Toscanini and the NBC Symphony Orchestra). Their classical CD collection was somewhat redeeming, with some Shostakovich, Brahms and Tchaikovsky thrown into the mix. No Mahler, however.
As I was leaving, I was approached by a customer who proved to me that it isn't only conventional hipsters who hang out at this record store. He saw that I was carrying my viola, and immediately asked, "Are you going to see Rite of Spring this weekend?" I was a little taken aback by a guy who talked normally about the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in a predominately rock-oriented store, but it was refreshing to meet someone who lived in both worlds. We talked about Stravinsky for a while, and then I left for rehearsal, satisfied with the day's expedition.
In short, this store is for any die-hard music fan. The girl (or guy) who is in love with both Sam Beam and Shostakovich, the Andrew Bird followers and the metalheads, the punks and the geeks. This store is eclectic in the best sense of the word, and offers at least something for everyone.
*There are two other Chicago locations, on Belmont and Milwaukee.
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