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Miller, Hannibal Buress and Kumail Nanjiani all performed there. What it was: Before it was the Globe Pub, and before North Center was stroller-pushing central, there was this dive bar that hosted live music and one of the best open-mic comedy nights in the city in its back room-T.J. A strong candidate to replace the homey vibe of Katerina's is the recently opened Promontory in Hyde Park which has booked legends like Maceo Parker and Stanley Clarke right out the gate.
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Run by local musician Mike Reed, the space hosts everything from local improvisers to national touring acts. What's taken its place: Those with a taste for more experimental jazz will find a multifaceted lineup of shows at Constellation. When the venue closed earlier this summer, former employee Michael Polino announced plans to open a music venue and restaurant in the space. Katerina Carson's intimate venue regularly hosted rising artists and local legends, attracting attentive audiences with eclectic booking, tasty Greek food and a solid cocktail list. What it was: For 15 years, Katerina's was a Chicago jazz-scene institution, serving as a stepping stone for performers who weren't quite ready for larger rooms like the Green Mill or Jazz Showcase. What’s taken its place: Also in North Center, serving German beer in boots and featuring an adorable beer garden, Resi’s Bierstube carries on the Teutonic mantle since the Palace closed in 2002. You’d think that such a bro magnet of a gimmick like the “Viking Raid” (yes, that’s what it was called) would attract an obnoxious crowed but, while there was certainly some of that, the North Center location-in the ‘90s, that was the hinterland-and the fantastic selection of German beers kept the Keystone Light–seekers away.
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What it was: Like rolling out the red carpet for alcohol poisoning, the Great Beer Palace rewarded the consumption of six half-pints of beer in one sitting with a free plastic Viking helmet and your Polaroid on the wall. What’s taken its place: There was only one Joe Danno, and therefore only one Bucket O’Suds. Musicians like Urge Overkill, Chrissie Hynde and Elvis Costello visited the bar at Belmont and Cicero, perhaps for the liqueurs Danno made but most likely because of charming Danno himself. What it was: Run by a hooch-making, jazz-loving, idiosyncratic second-generation bartender named Joe Danno, the Bucket was the coolest dive in the city for 32 years until it closed in 1996. What’s taken its place: John Barleycorn after 10 tequila shots. (Hardly safe given the plethora of videos like this, but hey, this was the '80s and we were all incredibly stupid.) Utopia for any bro within a 10-mile radius, The Big Nasty was a miasma of recently graduated sorority girls and leering frat boys, all drunk and gyrating and horny. What it was: Mention the Big Nasty to any Chicagoan who went there and they'll undoubtedly respond with two words: "Silly String." Yes, the air of this bachelorette/frat-party-run-amok was filled with the scent of Paco Rabanne, Right Said Fred at eardrum-obliterating levels and miles of Silly String. What's taken its place: The Simpsons' Moe's Tavern, if Molly Hatchet were on the bill. But Biddy's did have an admirable history in the'70s/'80s-Koko Taylor played there many times, and Smashing Pumpkins rocked it in 1989. Much like the oft-promised renaissance of Howard Street, a new, revitalized Biddy's was always just around the corner.
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The club opened and closed a comical number of times, at one point re-opening for a whopping four months before shuttering again. What it was: Biddy Mulligan's was a seedy rock club on the northern reaches of Sheridan Road, just south of the cemetery that keeps leafy Evanston at bay. What’s taken its place: Slippery Slope is no dive, but it’s one of the few places you can dance in the city without paying the crazy covers at a nightclub. Despite efforts to save the turn-of-the-century building, the Dodger closed in 2005 after more than 20 years to make way for condos. Many of the sugary drinks contained glow sticks. What it was: Divey and dodgey in all the best ways, this Bucktown corner bar in a residential area featured a small dance floor in the back where ill-advised moves were busted to ‘80s favorites. Will there ever be anything like them? In most cases, we think we've found somewhat comparable spots to quench your thirst. There may be a little of that going on with these now-closed spots, but for the most part they live on in our hazy, booze-addled brains exactly as they were: Places that were exceptional at something, be it cocktails or, in the case of many dive bars, being endearingly, hopelessly dingy. The lore surrounding some erstwhile Chicago bars and clubs is more compelling than the place itself ever was.