For years I have been seeing posters for, and hearing word of mouth about The Paper Machete. It seemed to be on the tip of everyone’s tongue. I was never sure exactly what it was but I was confident that it was a positive…thingsperience.
When my cousin came into town a few months ago I was looking for something for us to do on a rainy Saturday afternoon. During my internet perusing I came across, once again, The Paper Machete. Also the words “FREE” and “3p.m.” made this show all the more appealing to me. It also did not hurt that it was a mile away from my home. We went, we watched, we witnessed wonderment.
I would describe the show for you but I think a more succinct description can be found in someone else’s finger-tongues.
Created and hosted by writer Christopher Piatt (pronounced like hot apple PIE-it) The Paper Machete is a free, weekly “live magazine” covering pop culture, current events and American manners. Part spoken-word show, part vaudeville revue, The Paper Machete features comedians, journalists, storytellers and musical guests performing in the back room of north side bar. It’s a salon in a saloon.
I was hooked from Christopher Piatt’s opening monologue on through the rest of the show which included puppets, ridiculously good live music, and at once thought-provoking and hilarious live “articles”. At the end of the show I introduced myself to Christopher through the human extension of the aforementioned puppet and basically said, “Can I pway too?” Fortunately he replied, “Sure thing, little boy.”
A few weeks later we tried to schedule Reset List’s first appearance at the Paper Machete. Unfortunately, we had conflicts galore. Fortunately, Christopher did not give up on us and continued to email me until we found a playdate that worked for everyone.
We played on Saturday, August 11 and appeared alongside a host of other awesome acts such as Samantha Abernethy, Chad the Bird, Dana Norris, Dr. Bill Savage, Christopher Shea, The Field Auxiliary, and one of my favorite Chicago standup comedians Adam Burke. Articles were performed on space exploration, Juggalos, capital punishment, the Air and Water show and more. The lead singer of The Field Auxiliary and I were wearing very similar t-shirts so I felt like a real rock star. Though thinking about it now, maybe he saw our nearly matching t-shirts and felt more like a fake rock star…fuck.
We squeezed three songs into a six-minute set (which may have lasted more than six minutes), which featured an interstellar love song and a non-cover of “Drugs are Bad” by the Insane Clown Posse. I even managed to bleed onstage like a person who really knows how to rock. Unfortunately I procured my blood-letting injury while locking a bathroom door right before our set during my pre-show pizzle/pep-talk. I really wanted that door locked.
Thanks again to Christopher Piatt for having us. We look forward to being a part of the Paper Machete again in the future either as performers or audience members. It’s just that good.
Reset List 