Nightlife

The Long Colorful History of the Rainbo Club

Every dive bar has a million stories, and most of them are probably the same few stories. But Ukrainian Village’s Rainbo Club is one whose stories are also the story of Chicago’s evolution over the last few decades— as it has gone from Algrenesque dive bar to artist/musician hangout to throwback in a gentrified neighborhood full of new condos and coffeeshops. At Eater, Patrick Sisson contributes an oral history of the place— the most famous participant being Liz Phair, whose album Exile in Guyville was largely inspired by the bar and the community around it (the cover was shot in the bar’s photo booth, too). It’s a great read that will ring true for a lot of people, we suspect, if not about the Rainbo Club, about another one-of-a-kind bar just like it. [Eater]

The Long Colorful History of the Rainbo Club