We will be staying at the Fairmont at the end of June w/ 17 yr. old son. Which shows besides Blue Man do you think that we would enjoy? Do we need to get tickets ahead of time? Are any of the comedy clubs open to minors or appropriate for them? Thanks.

My daughter loved Tony & Tina's Wedding, sort of an interactive stream-of-life satire of a bad Italian wedding. More fun if you get into the spirit, dance etc. Not sure if you need to book ahead. Try looking at metromeix.com to see what's going on on your dates.

What about Blues clubs or restaurants with live blues that would be open to a 17 yr old?

The blues clubs are all bars and you have to be 21. Buddy Guy and some other blues artists occasionally play at Ravinia, an outdoor theater in the Northern suburbs about an hour outside of downtown (you can take Metra train or car). www.ravinia.org

There is a tourist-trap restaurant that has jazz/blues acts in Navy Pier (forgot the name) that might work for you. Check the Navy Pier web site for details.

And if you are in town during the Taste of Chicago festival, you definitely can find some blues acts performing there. They'll have a schedule in the Fairmont or in any newspaper.

One of the comedy improv shows might be fun. I checked the website for ComedySportz and it says its appropriate for all ages except for Hot Karl. There's also Improv Olympics. I got Hot Tix for a Saturday show in the spring but now that it's summer you may need to reserve in advance.

I believe the "tourist trap" Lara refers to on Navy Pier is Joe's Be Bop Cafe & Jazz Emporium. We've eaten there a couple of times and the food was pretty good but the act we saw was a jazz band, not blues. Look at the write up on Metromix.com for more info.

Try this link for info on the Taste of Chicago under festivals. It runs from June 29-July 8.

http://www.ci.chi.il.us/Tourism/

And I've never been there so this isn't a recommmendation, just a suggestion, but you might check the House of Blues for blues that you can see with your 17 year old.