Go-go boost

What do you get when you cross a rat puppet, live electronica, one of the city’s hippest photographers, a bunch of kids and aging hipsters, all on a downtown rooftop? We’re about to find out.

Mia Park (a.k.a. Miss Mia), vivacious cohost of cable-access Channel 19’s popular all-ages dance party, Chic-a-Go-Go, celebrating its tenth season, will oversee a special taping of the show July 6 at 7pm on the roof of the Gallery 37 Center for the Arts (66 E Randolph St between Wabash Ave and State St). The event is also part of the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs’ monthly Ohm series, which blends electronic music, performance and visual artists.

“I’ve curated and emceed shows for the Cultural Center for years, and our ohm event is the most dynamic program by far,” says Park, who since the late ’90s has organized programs that included an Asian-American women’s film series, a tribute to Chicago artist Quincy Wong and a recent concert for the city’s ongoing Silk Road program.

Ohm series creator and manager Brian Keigher is confident the two events will fuse beautifully. “[Chic-a-Go-Go] is sort of a modern-day cult-classic type of show—like a local, all-ages, wacky American Bandstand vs. Soul Train with costumes and even puppets,” he says. “We knew they were creative enough to come up with something cool and different for the ohm series.” As to what exactly that might entail, Keigher wasn’t sure. “We never really know what we are going to get from our curators until the day of the show,” he says. “Sometimes we know the goals and plans, but we never really know how it will come off live.”

Miss Mia’s cohost, Ratso, a smart-alecky rat puppet, will also be, um, on hand, but the dedicated dancing groupies who regularly show up for the program’s twice-weekly tapings (open to the public on Tuesday nights and Wednesday afternoons) will find few other similarities.

In the studio, the show’s kitsch-meets-cool boilerplate format includes a crowd of kids, adults, art-school types and assorted oddballs dancing in no particular style to lip-synching local bands, though past guests have also included imported acts such as Japanese popsters Shonen Knife.

This time around, Park and Chic-a-Go-Go creator and producer Jake Austen will feature a live performance by DJ Bradelectro, a former Chicagoan now based in San Francisco. He returns to spin his eclectic blend of dance music that draws on influences from Chicago house to dub reggae and U.K. garage.

While Bradelectro mans the decks, local portrait photographer Jim Newberry will weave through the crowd and rooftops art installations snapping candid shots that will be projected on a giant screen moments later. Newberry, a regular contributor to national magazines and record labels, has photographed artists from Paul McCartney to Weasel Walter, so dancers are well advised to look sharp and keep their fingers out of their noses.

“The idea behind asking Jim Newberry to shoot still photos of the dancers in motion, and then showing them their frozen image, was to create an interesting moment [shaped] by present and past, stillness and motion, image and reality,” Park says. “But mostly, the goal is to have fun.”

Austen—who is also editor of the rock zine Roctober, author of TV-a-Go-Go: Rock on TV from American Bandstand to American Idol and an occasional TOC freelance writer—adds, “We were looking to do some interesting events to celebrate the anniversary, but Mia has outdone herself. The photo-projection element is the icing on the cake. Usually, I have to take my shirt off at a Bears game in January to get on the Jumbotron.”

It’s unlikely the show’s cult following will be disappointed. “I love it because of the crazy mix of people who all put on their costumes just to get sweaty and shake a tail feather listening to some new music,” says Bari Singh, who’s been going to the show since the late ’90s. “Actually, the music is secondary to the people you run into. It’s like a little microcosm of the city, and everyone is fun and nice and cool and you really make new friends—not only with the six-year-old jamming out next to you, but also the grandmother who lives down the way from the cable-access studio.”

Chic-a-Go-Go hits the floor at ohm series July 6.