Slick Rick Does The Shrine

The Shrine is open and as rumored "national, well known acts" are coming. Old School rapper Slick Rick kicked off the "Eyes Wide Shut" series this past Thursday and performed classics such as La Di Da Di and Children's Story:

Of other interest for us Sloopers here are some observations about the place:

For those of you who moved to the South Loop because that condo was too good a deal to pass up, there's The Shrine, a new club for "culturally aware urbanites."

I like The Shrine's smaller, behind-the-bar stage because it gives the shows an intimate feel. More important, it might keep entourages off the stage and away from the mic. As much as I love hearing five nobodies yell into the mic, I prefer hearing the original artist sing the song alone.

A trendy, diverse crowd was on hand for the performance -- and by trendy, I mean it wasn't just dudes in dress shirts and jeans. I saw a few vests, fedoras and driver's caps.