Another Level

Back in the day I loved this store when it used to be in the south side by harlem and archer. They used to just focus on music and less clothes. I used to have a friend who worked here by the name of Alex wonder if he still does? Hmm bring back the good music! Pricey to pricey and the clothes eh. I use to get discount discount discount

I went in here because I saw a poster in the front that said «House, Hip Hop and Mash-​Up» Those are all on my top list of genre’s so I decided to give this place a try. The bulldog barking at me was kinda amusing. The jeans here they had were kinda enticing but nothing really popped for the price tag. The shirts they had were all rock style though, as someone said before, it looked like something Brett Michaels would wear.

I used to stop in here every other week, sometimes I would find maybe one thing on sale I liked. In the last year or so I quit going all together, this stuff reminds of what Brett Michaels would wear on the Rock of Love. The women’s clothing is covered in rhinestones. So unless you are pushing 50 are trying to look «hip» or you love plastic rocks stay away.

You have to appreciate this kind of style. It’s like hip hop trendy attire. I was more enticed to come in after seeing the french bulldog in the window wandering around. The women’s clothing has a certain provocative sex appeal here. I’m not familiar with the style of brand names, but they are kind of pricey. It might be fun if I were to appear in a music video, but since I’m not I can’t justify when I’d wear the clothing here. The store does have men’s and women’s clothing along with some other accessories — looking for some belly rings and such? The guy was helpful in telling me about the deals, but it wasn’t incentive enough for me to buy anything.

Where’s all the music?
Its all clubby chick clothes and one CD shelf of a few Cd’s.
Eh. not a bother to me, they usually have the concert tickets I’m looking for. I was able to pick up five tickets to the ATB concert and flirt with the cutie at the counter. I’m surprised that people would still come here for music?! the selection is too limited.
Street parking is a pain in the ass, go further south to find more.

Another Level.
Used to be a record store didn’t it. Most of the brands here you can find other stores in the general area. Sadly for most patrons that would go here, they would most likely end up going to Akira and Futurgarb. Perhaps if Anther Level concentrated on dance-​music like it once did with fashion, maybe it would be better. But alas, they have not and the only music is a small wall of mix CD’s.

It’s ashame that a store that had a futuristic look & vision (Softcore), ends up closing and the store to replace it is a shop that caters to those that are into commerical cheesey club fashion. It’s basically Britney Spears fashion with ATB playing in the background, that most unfashionable people love!

I had visited this place after it first opened in the former Softcore spot (I hearted Softcore – Sue always remembered how much I liked Kitchen Orange in black or gray) and it seemed decent, although the selection was a bit paltry for women (some of the brands I remember: Triple 5 Soul, Caffeine, Loop NYC, Puma). They had some calendars laying around that mentioned that they also promote a few club nights around town, which I thought was a cool thing to do, and an interesting crossover (although I can’t vouch for the quality of their nights).
So I was out dropping off fliers today along Milwaukee Ave in Wicker Park and stopped into Another Level. Right as I walked in the door I was greeted by a short-​ish Asian man with an eyebrow piercing who asked to see my fliers. I dutifully handed over the two sets of fliers I brought and told him a bit about the night, assuming he was interested in attending or at least curious about what it was. He scans it and then says something like «I can’t let you put these fliers here – Sonotheque didn’t accommodate me. I’m in the industry, they should have.»
Taken aback somewhat, I took back my fliers from him and then mentioned that there were other fliers from Sonotheque on the table. He then picked up all of them, handed them to me and asked me to leave (even though I wasn’t the one who put them there!). I told him I wasn’t from the club – I was just a promoter. And then he told me that it didn’t matter – I didn’t need to leave my fliers there. So on my way out I said, «Well, then I don’t need to shop here,» to which he replied «Yeah, you wouldn’t shop here anyway.»
What? In fact, if this guy hadn’t pulled the petty attitude card, I’d probably be back in the next few weeks to find some nice new shirts for spring (and fashion is probably the highest non-​essential thing I on which spend my disposable income). There’s absolutely no way that’ll ever happen now. Untitled on North and Belmont Army further down the street carry many of the same brands, with a better selection and less asshole-​ery. And that’s why those stores are getting my business from now on and not Another Level of Jerkitude.
I’ve never had any store owner confront me like this about leaving fliers (and they have a table by the door with fliers from many different promoters). I’m completely disappointed in this store. Promoting electronic music events and lifestyles in an rock-​centric town like Chicago is hard enough – it just makes it worse when a store employee acts immaturely and ruins it for everyone.