Music Philadelphia Weekly

Shot x Shot

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 19:47:12 PST

Moments into any Shot x Shot song and it’s evident the quartet is heavily influenced by free jazz and the avant garde. Songs are abstract, ethereal, contemplative and riotous. Moaning saxophone meanders heavily amid sprawling drum beats and unpredictable bass lines. Songs are both methodical and pointed, but rely heavily on improvisation and feeling.

“For me, it’s emotional in a way that no other music is,” alto saxophonist Dan Scofield says. “It’s totally free, it’s the people that I really love and trust and it’s proven to be cathartic and fun, and also challenging.”

While Shot x Shot’s two LPs show that Scofield and bandmates Dan Capecchi (drums), Matt Engle (bass) and Bryan Rogers (tenor sax) are accomplished composers, the band is about to tackle someone else’s work. As part of Ars Nova Workshop’s Composer Portrait series, they will perform a number of compositions from Tim Berne’s Bloodcount at Johnny Brenda’s next week. 

Berne, a free jazz saxophonist and bandleader, formed Bloodcount in the early 1990s. For much of the decade the quartet was noticed for their surprising and unusual juxtaposition of genres ranging from funk to chamber music, and for their long compositions—up to 40 or 50 minutes in length. Propitiously, Bloodcount’s line-up is identical to Shot x Shot’s, with a drummer, bassist, alto and a tenor sax. 

“It’s quite fitting for us,” Engle says. “When we first got together, we were listing to Ornette Coleman a lot and bonding over his music. The next big thing we collectively got into was Tim Berne’s Bloodcount. We were all sharing recordings and were real enthusiastic about it. It’s great we got this opportunity to play and perform that same music.”

But Scofield adds, “It wouldn’t have been as fun to do it three years ago because it would have been too literal. We were all listening to it and obsessing over it. We got a little respite and here it is.” ■

Mon., Nov. 23, 9pm. $5. With Bird Fly Yellow. Johnny Brenda’s, 1201 N. Frankford Ave. 215.739.9684. johnnybrendas.com

Cold Cave

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 19:42:16 PST

A girl speaks against a dark, claustrophobic pulse of drum machines and synthesizers, her voice chilled and touched by only the faintest hint of emotion. “A synthetic world without end sheds a tear of plastic deception,” she intones. That’s Cold Cave, the Philadelphia-based synth experiment headed by Wes Eisold—the girl is Caralee McElroy from Xiu Xiu—updating the machine dreams of 90s new wave a la New Order and Fad Gadget.

It’s a surprising turnaround for Eisold who came up through the angst and aggression of hardcore, spitting and ranting and poeticizing over punk-noisy American Nightmare, Give Up the Ghost, Some Girls, XO Skeletons and Ye Olde Maids.

And then, recently, Eisold left hardcore behind. “I feel my past was largely driven by anger and insecurity with no solution, and I don’t feel that way anymore,” he says of the shift in his aesthetic. “I think naturally the music I’m making now is different than it was five or ten years ago, and I would be a bit unhappy with myself if there was no change.”

Eisold started making music on his own in 2007. “I spent a lot of that year feeling unaffected, lethargic and drunk in a loft here and Philadelphia,” he said. He named it Cold Cave, a name that he describes as “without outside reference that fit the music.” Because he was born with only one hand and wanted to work alone, guitars were problematic. He began experimenting with synthesizers.

“The appeal of synthesizers is that there is no end to the sound, and there is no limit to what you can do with them by yourself,” says Eisold. “It’s the only instrument I could make work for me.”

For one thing, synthesizers don’t talk back when you tell them how to play a line. “They want your manipulation in ways people would not stand for,” says Eisold. “I know this is obvious and not news to most people, but I was under the impression I would never make music myself. I stumbled on it, fed up and a bit anxious. Molding an instrument whose name is rooted in falsehood into personal truth has been fascinating for me.”

But more than just convenience, synthesizers offer a way to talk about (and possibly subvert) the central role that machines play in our lives. “I find the instrument really fitting as the majority of our communication is done through machines,” Eisold said. “Why fight the inevitable? They won’t even let you die in a hospital anymore. They will attach you to machines to play God and defy nature. All I can think to do now is to humanize the machines in our lives that dehumanize us. You have to caress them, on a stage, in front of other people. It’s humility we’re after.”  

Music is only one part of Eisold’s creative life. He is also a poet (just read his quotes!) and runs Heartworm Press, a Philadelphia imprint which has published works by Eric Paul (of Arab On Radar), Genesis P-Orridge, Jonathan Shaw, Chris Leo, and Max G. Morton. He also opened the Chinatown art space/book store Juanita and Juans last year, though it has since closed.  

About the difference between writing poetry and writing songs, Eisold is reflective. “When you are writing words to music, you get to work with a feel that’s already been created. You can kind of just talk, and words will come out that fit the sound of the song,” he explains. “A blank page comes with more staring and more concentration. For me anyway, music alters mood, but with other writing, you just start with whatever it is you’ve got.”  

Cold Cave began as a one-person project, releasing early singles, cassettes and one full-length through Eisold’s own Heartworm Press (which functions both as a music label and a publishing house), as well as underground labels including Hospital, What’s Your Rupture and Big Love. The band, which has since expanded to include McElroy, Dominick Fernow (from Prurient), and Sarah Lipstate (ex- of Parts and Labor), signed to Matador this summer. “I can’t say what the difference is,” says Eisold. “I was happy to do records with Hospital. I was happy to self-release, and I’m happy to work with Matador now.”

Cold Cave’s first Matador release, Love Comes Close , repackages the full-length that Eisold released on Heartworm earlier this year. It was released on November 3rd. Meanwhile, Eisold continues to work on his sound, this time with a full band. “We’re always recording, so some of it will turn into the next LP,” he says. “It’s always different sounding, just depending on where you are at a certain day at a certain time.” ■

The Calendar: November 18 - November 24

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 16:11:50 PST

Wednesday November 18

Guy Fieri Road Show
Headbanging and acid reflux disease collide as Guy Fieri brings his traveling Road Show to the Merriam Theater. The host of Food Network’s Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives combines his love for greasy spoon cuisine and juke box rock for a live performance that will leave your ears ringing and colon twisting for weeks. As an appetizer, Aussie bartender Hayden “Woody” Wood will demo some high octane cocktails. Then, with the help of local food icon Tony Luke Jr., Fieri will serve up signature cheesesteaks and a cover of Skip Denenberg’s “Cheesesteak Song.” More flame-boiled favorites from Fieri’s cookbooks and some raunchy road stories round out the set list. So, button up your favorite tribal pattern bowling shirt, pop a Zantac, assume the swagger of a 311 roadie, and head for the mosh pit. Extra hungry? Grab a premium stage seat and catch some sizzling scraps. P.F.M.
7:30pm. $37-$250. Merriam Theater, 250 S. Broad St. 215.893.1999. kimmelcenter.org

The Emotron
In his biggest YouTube hit, the Emotron, a.k.a. Jason Kyle Knight, ogles the naked porn girls of 2 Girls 1 Cup, eventually becoming so worked up that he spews Yoo-hoo soda all over the keyboard. (The Yoo-hoo upchuck is apparently a signature move, and figures in several of Emotron’s videos.) His live show—which may include costumes, nakedness, obscenity, sex acts and a variety of body fluids—is similarly bizarre and offputting, drawing as much from Atom & His Package’s synth-punk-comedy as from GG Allin’s shock and eew. Not for the squeamish. Jennifer Kelly
8pm. $5. With Mose Giganticus, the Tanks. Tenderhooks + Mancruel. Danger Danger Gallery. 5013 Baltimore Avenue. www.myspace.com/dangerdangergallery

Laura Viers
The natural world is often the star of Pacific Northwest singer-songwriter (and one-time geology major) Laura Veirs’ music—birds and eels and oceans and cliffs and caves and constellations tumble together in surreal lyrics that actually speak to love, loss, and life’s mysteries if you stop to consider them. Veirs’ imagery is as captivating as her husky, cloudy voice and her sophisticated arrangements, which sometimes get alt-folky with acoustic guitar, banjo, piano and violin, and other times go pop in a ’70s Laurel Canyon kinda way while making room for jazz-tinged grooves and dabs of electronics. Veirs and band come to town with a whole new batch of arresting melodies courtesy of her new album July Flame, due in January. Michael Alan Goldberg
7:30pm. $18-$25. With Blind Pilot. World Cafe Live, 3025 Walnut St. 215.222.1400. worldcafelive.com

Dance Movie Double Feature
Let the old debate be again revived: Fred Astaire or Gene Kelly? Graceful and charming or energetic and forthright? Airy talk-singing or husky sorta-singing? Obvious hairpiece or probably-no-hairpiece? Unless you’re David Thomson, who wrote Kelly off as “cold and aggressive,” the answer isn’t easy. Alas, even choosing the better film in I-House’s “Dance With Camera: Astaire or Kelly” isn’t much easier. Top Hat is debatably the finest Fred and Ginger (Rogers, natch) outing—a peerlessly light, Art Deco-infused extravaganza in which the famed “Cheek to Cheek” is only the second least-awesome number. (It’s all about “No Strings.”) Meanwhile, the second least-awesome bit in Singin’ in the Rain—recently outed as Betty Draper’s favorite film—is that iconic title song, which almost feels like an afterthought coming after the couch-hurdling “Good Morning.” Claws out, hoofing enthusiasts. Matt Prigge
7pm. $5-$8. International House, 3701 Chestnut St. 215.387.5125. ihousephilly.org

Thursday November 19

Langhorne Slim
Folksy, fedora-wearing Langhorne Slim puts a slight twist on the troubadour tradition, mostly sticking to gentle folk picking but occasionally breaking into a reedy, punk-infused shout. Whether that’s enough to set him apart from hoards of Dylan-Guthrie-Seeger wannabes is open to argument. His latest album, Be Set Free, set off a debate in Paste Magazine with one reviewer calling it a modern day Tea for the Tillerman and another “mediocre, and sometimes painfully inept.” This latter gibe, though, is how some people feel about Paste itself, so why not give Slim the benefit of the doubt? J.K.
9pm. $12. With Dawes. Johnny Brenda’s. 1201 N. Frankford. 215.739.9684. johnnybrendas.com

Friday November 20

The Watson Twins
Once flanking Jenny Lewis on her solo debut, the ever-fetching Watson Twins proved their knack for coy pop and breezy soul on 2006’s Southern Manners and last year’s Fire Songs. Signing to Vanguard should give a sense of their old-soul sound, and Chandra and Leigh will return in early February with Talking To You, Talking To Me, their third album since leaving Lewis’ wing. Really, it’s probably just a matter of time before they re-team with Lewis and a few other friends in a female version of Monsters of Folk. Then the two supergroups can tour together and clamber on stage as one big family-band-style revue. Doug Wallen
7pm. $16-$18. With Joshua Radin + the Kin. Trocadero, 1003 Arch St., 215.922.5483. thetroc.com.

Hamiet Bluiett & Kahil El’Zabar
When he gets going, baritone saxophonist Hamiet Bluiett could probably take down a house with his gutsy, barrel-chested sound. A cofounder of the World Saxophone Quartet and the St. Louis-based Black Artists Group, he’s played a major role in avant-garde jazz from the ’60s on, working with everyone from Mingus to Marvin Gaye and exploring African-American music in all its connectedness. Percussionist Kahil El’Zabar, a bit younger, chaired the influential Chicago-based Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians in the early ’70s. He continues to front the Ritual Trio, Ethnic Heritage Ensemble and Infinity Orchestra, and it’s his very adaptability that should make this duo parley with Bluiett come alive. David R. Adler
8pm. $12. Philadelphia Art Alliance, 251 S. 18th St. 215.545.4302. arsnovaworkshop.org

Saturday November 21

Giovanni’s Room Read-a-thon
Although tested by the evil triumvirate of Wal-Mart, the Kindle and the recession, Giovanni’s Room is still standing strong—but not quite as strong as it used to. The bookstore is among the oldest and biggest of its kind in America, and it’s starting to show: A weakening in the historic building’s front wall costs roughly $50,000 to fix. But the embattled bookseller is rising to the challenge with a slew of fundraising events, including the upcoming Read-A-Thon, half of whose proceeds also go to the Lambda Literary Foundation. Twenty authors, from comedian Bob Smith, to lesbian literature heavyweight Radclyffe, will give readings in different sections of the store. Ultimately, owner Ed Hermance expects that the community will be what saves Giovanni’s Room from the fate of peers like Robin’s Books. “Many have said that coming to this threshold was a turning point in their lives,” says Hermance. “Our customers just feel like this is home.” Gerald Johnson
7pm. Suggested donation: $20. Giovanni’s Room, 345 S. 12th St. 215.923.2960. giovannisroom.com.

Grant-Lee Phillips
Once the frontman of raucous ’90s roots-rock combo Grant Lee Buffalo, singer-guitarist Grant-Lee Phillips has quietly forged a solid and occasionally pretty thrilling solo career over the past decade in which he’s refined his love of Neil Young and classic country music into a more elegant and evocative folk-pop sound. Now in his mid-’40s and having recently become a father for the first time, Phillips has certainly mellowed, but fortunately he hasn’t gotten boring (like Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy, to whom Phillips is often compared). The strings-kissed ballads and brisker tunes on Phillips’ lush, upbeat new Little Moon range from tender (but not cloying) to urgent (but not desperate), and his smoky croon only gets better with age. M.A.G.
7:30pm. $22-$34. With Winterpills. World Cafe Live, 3025 Walnut St. 215.222.1400. worldcafelive.com

DJ Too Tuff Benefit
When word of incarcerated local gangsta rapper DJ Too Tuff’s battle with thyroid cancer hit the streets in September, the hip-hop community reached out to help. Beat Garden Entertainment’s Octavius “Big O” Mitchell hosts a benefit concert in his honor to help him with his rising legal and medical bills. Local acts show some love for Too Tuff and the Tuff Crew with performances from B. Kane, Clean Guns, L. Allen, Sick Six, Rockie Reyes, Triple Nickels, Poynt Blank and many more, as well as special appearances from H3O and Too Tuff’s childhood friend MC Mechanism. In the meantime, the troubled star is standing trial for aggravated assault charges. Hopefully, the judge will show some love too. Sherri Hospedales
10pm. $10. Tacony Billiards, 6201 Keystone St. 215.338.4733. beatgardensite.com

Sunday November 22

Melt-Banana
Melt-Banana have been known to cram as many as a dozen songs into a minute or two, their explosions of pick-blurring, chipmunk-singing punk frenzy measured in seconds and punctuated by polite “thank yous” at every break. One of Japan’s best noise punk outfits, Melt-Banana have been shrieking and spazzing since the early 1990s, layering abstract guitar sound over speed-freaked, subversively melodic punk choruses. If you’re not paying attention, you may not even recognize their crazy covers—a cartoon-voiced jitter over Toots & the Maytals “Monkey Man,” a super-fast romp through Queen’s “We Will Rock You”—but there’s no mistaking the electro-shock energy in this trio’s live set. J.K.
7:30pm. $12. With Satanized. First Unitarian Church, 2125 Chestnut St. 866.468.7169. r5productions.com

Precious Places
Philadelphia is littered with plaques commemorating important placeswhere revolutionaries once scratched their powdered brows. We call them landmarks and sell quill pens in the adjacent gift shops. But what about the storied places where Edgar Allen Poe didn’t brush his teeth? The shared corner gardens, the murals of jazz musicians, the playgrounds? The watering holes where we do much of our living and dying? These are the unprotected places that all too often disappear, replaced by pharmacies or apartment complexes. The Precious Places Community History Project provides regular Philadelphians with cameras and lighting kits and offers them a chance to document their neighborhood landmarks. The Scribe video center sponsors a free presentation of the films produced by nine local teams. Not every monument warrants a plaque, but their stories ought to be told. P.F.M.
2pm. Free. Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, 118 N. Broad St. 215.972.7600. pafa.org

Monday November 23

Heavy Trash
Having plundered the blues last decade (Blues Explosion, Boss Hog) and punk the one before that (Pussy Galore), Jon Spencer has since turned his attention to rockabilly and early garage. Heavy Trash is his duo with Matt Verta-Ray (Speedball Baby), but it’s no hackneyed guitar-drums affair. Both wield axes, and live there’s an upright bassist and drummer. That said, it’s a rollicking, barebones setup, as heard on three albums thus far. Spencer’s exaggerated vocals and bawdy allusions are of course the focus, but there’s an unmistakable reverence to tunes like the “Chapel Of Love”-inspired “Gee I Really Love You.” A novelty, maybe, but with grit and chops to spare. D.W.
8pm. $8. With Jukebox Zeros + Delco Nightingale. Kung Fu Necktie, 1248 N. Front St. 215.291.4919. kungfunecktie.com.

Tuesday November 24

Devendra Banhart
First things first: Devendra Banhart finally hacked off the giant beard, so he doesn’t look so much like a member of the Manson family anymore, and now he’ll have to find a more conventional place (like his pockets) to stash the drugs and crystals and Vegenaise and drawings of bizarre owl-men he almost certainly sketches while waiting for his appointment with the medicine man. Maybe the clean-shaven look coincides with Banhart’s leap to Warner Brothers for his new What Will We Be, though to my knowledge the label hasn’t instituted a Steinbrenner-like ban on facial hair. Dude’s tunes are a bit more groomed these days too, though he still kinda sounds like Cat Stevens on a psych-tropicalia head trip. M.A.G.
8pm. $25. With Luke Rathborne. Electric Factory, 421 N. Seventh St. 215.627.1332.livenation.com

Record Reviews: Norah Jones

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 17:03:15 PST

To viewer this charticle at a larger size, click here.

Jesus Lizard, Back At It

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 17:15:25 PST

Last month David Yow lost his pants playing in Berlin—not by choice this time.

The Jesus Lizard frontman, well known for naked antics back in the day, has been crowd-surfing like it’s 1989 on the band’s 10th-reunion-and-never-again tour.

Yow worked out beforehand “to get rid of my fat old belly.” And though he has the skill to perform balloon-animal-type tricks with his genitals, his initial plan was to remain clad. “Nobody wants to see an old naked man,” he says.

Berlin disagreed. “They ripped David’s pants off,” drummer Mac McNeilly says. “He was on top of the crowd, and there was a hole in the knee, and they ripped his pants right up to the crotch and down to the bottom. And he lost his shirt every single night [in Europe]. They tore it off. I had to lend him a couple shirts after a while.”

What incited this?

“We just did what we always did,” McNeilly says, pushing 50 and downplaying the power of a Jesus Lizard show.

“It’s fun as shit,” Yow says. “I mean, it’s fun just hanging out with these guys, but some of the shows, particularly the very first one, the [All Tomorrow’s Parties] festival in England, were mind-blowing. I was terrified before we played that show ... I really thought we couldn’t be any good. Afterward we were like, ‘What the holy shit.’ It was just really weird, and it was really magical. It was really satisfying.”

Guitarist Duane Denison agrees. “To play in front of big crowds everywhere, to fly in everywhere, stay in nice hotels everywhere and think, ‘This must be what it’s like all the time for, I don’t know, John Cougar Mellencamp,’” he says. “Or, ‘This must be what it’s like all the time for,’ let’s say someone young, ‘Avenged Sevenfold.’ Except it’s not like that: We have better songs!” 

In the past decade, Yow says, the band declined many gigs. “Because for one thing, we didn’t exist any more ... and as far as I recall Mac didn’t want to have anything to do with it. And I was not willing to play unless Mac was gonna do it.” 

When the ATP curators invited the band last year, they weren’t prepared but definitely intrigued. This year they agreed, and booked shows in North America and Europe from May to New Year’s Eve, ending at Chicago’s storied Metro. 

“To me, you can really only [reunite] once,” Denison says. “After that, people just aren’t going to believe you anymore. You’ve lost a certain amount of trustworthiness: ‘Reunion Tour 2, next summer!’ You can’t do that.” 

This eyewitness says it’s worth it. At Seattle’s Capitol Hill Block Party in July, Yow sweat, dove, howled and slithered atop the crowd. Denison reigns supreme as the underground’s guitar god; and McNeilly and bassist David Wm. Sims remain an astonishing rhythm section. 

Quick history lesson: From the ashes of their former band, Scratch Acid, Sims and Yow added Denison to form the Jesus Lizard in Austin, Texas, then moved shortly after to Chicago. They shared an apartment, recorded the EP Pure with a drum machine, then coaxed McNeilly up from the South: the band’s best decision, though McNeilly had to sleep on the couch.  

“Which was fine. I didn’t really have anything but a sack of clothes and my drums with me,” McNeilly says. 

“Those three years we weren’t there much anyway, because we drove and drove and drove and played and played and played,” Sims says.  

They recorded five albums with producer Steve Albini for Touch and Go (which reissued them last month). They toured relentlessly, signed with Capitol, played Lollapalooza. 

Then in 1997, McNeilly left.  

“It was too hard to keep going back and forth, and too hard to keep going back to my wife. ‘Here, honey, you take care of the kids’—the very young kids at the time—‘while I go off and do this rock thing,’” he says. “It was hard for the band as well, because they felt like they needed to keep going, strike while the iron is hot type thing, and I understood that. But it was really difficult, because it was always a part of me and I felt really close to those guys.” 

Jim Kimball (Mule, Denison/Kimball Trio) and others filled in, but the chemistry wasn’t there. The band fulfilled its contract with Capitol and disbanded in 1999.  

Since then, Denison, 50, has played nearly constantly, with Hank Williams III, th’ Legendary Shack Shakers, U.S.S.A, Tomahawk with Mike Patton and others.  

Yow, 49, moved to L.A., established a graphic design career, dabbles in acting and fronts a band called Qui. McNeilly, 49, became a Microsoft certified professional and has been raising a family in the Chicago area. Sims, 47, has been a certified public accountant in Manhattan for years: unwittingly incognito. 

“They were parallel universes: The good David and the evil David. Like that Star Trek episode,” Sims says. “I was always kind of surprised that somebody didn’t stumble across something on the Internet.”

When the band first rehearsed together last January at Denison’s in Nashville, “We just kind of snapped into place,” McNeilly says. “Even though we hadn’t seen each other in so long, it was back to old times. There’s a lot of really deep affection we have for each other.” 

And finally, a measurable level of comfort on tour: sleeping in hotels, not on random people’s floors. Rather than scoring free beer and water, they have a real backstage rider.  

What’s on it? 

“Whaddaya mean, like Geritol and diapers?” Yow asks.  

More like Bud and imported beer, sparkling and spring water, plus fruits, vegetables, protein and a bag of premium gummi bears. “That’s mine,” McNeilly says.  

“I think Duane has Red Bull on there,” Yow says. “We never had Red Bull before. He’s the eldest, but I don’t think he drinks ’em. He just put it on there in case some girls show up. Girls love Red Bull and vodka.” 

Are the groupies still showing up? 

“Um ... (laughs) ... still?” ■

Wed., Nov. 18, 8pm. $20. With Noveller.  Starlight Ballroom, 460 N. Ninth St. 866.468.7619. r5productions.com

Minas

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 17:20:32 PST

For 25 years the Brazilian ensemble Minas, led by husband-and-wife duo Orlando Haddad and Patricia King, have made their home in Philadelphia, settling here after bouncing between North Carolina and Brazil. They’ve released four albums (and recorded two that remain unreleased), played and taught around town and do community work to bring Brazilian music to area children.

With the upcoming release of their fifth proper album, Bossa Nova Day , they’re not abandoning their roots, but they are shifting gears slightly. “This project is different because it’s the first time we focus on the essence of song and songwriting,” King explains. For the first time, Minas is recording as a duo.

Previous albums, she says, would feature “a song or an instrumental piece with jazz improvisation, bass, drums, percussion, horns, and this time around the song is stated, the lyrics are very strong, everything is highlighted around the songwriting.”

The 10 tracks on Bossa Nova Day are refreshing interpretations on the sounds of modern and classical Brazil. The album’s title track leads things off with a coy and cool, ahem, bossa nova beat that lets hips sway and caipirinhas flow. The rest of Bossa Nova Day responds in kind, and the duo nature allows the album to seem intimate and soothing, from the upbeat dance tunes through the delicate, sorrowful ballads.

“On this CD, we blend North and South a lot more. Brazilian influences, American influences—the last track has a very bluesy piano against a samba beat,” Haddad points out. 

Reflecting on the band’s long history, Haddad says, “It seems like this album is more mature in many different ways, but the music itself, the vision of the music, is still the same. I have a song on this album I wrote when I was 17 years old. Those songs I still feel are some of my best.” ■

Mon., Nov. 16, 7:30pm. $25-$30. World Cafe Live, 3025 Walnut St. 215.222.1400. worldcafelive.com

The Calendar: November 11 - November 17

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 16:34:43 PST

Wednesday November 11

Naughty Bingo
Maybe ladies is pimps too but any single person can tell you that getting laid ain’t easy. And with the economic downturn, supplies for self-gratification don’t always make the short list. Desperate times call for desperate measures. Try your luck at Ladder 15’s Naughty Bingo, a night of orgasmic thrills outside the bedroom. Ten bucks buys you your first drink and 10 unorthodox bingo cards featuring sexual poses. (The center square is the Playboy bunny, natch.) Call out “bingo” and you just might be heading home with a new battery-operated toy. This is one event that promises to keep you coming. Passion Rutledge
7pm. $10. Ladder 15, 1528 Sansom St. 215.964.9755. naughtybingophilly.com

Hair Rocket
Despite the name, Lumberville’s Hair Rocket is not an ironic hair-metal band, though they have a gimmick more bizarre than spandex and over-the-shoulder guitar straps. Operating off the slogan “We cut, we light, and we release” and a desire to create a “Hair Rocket movement,” the group insists you cut off a lock of your hair, attach it to a rocket, and fire it into the air (and document it for YouTube). Why? We haven’t a clue. The tunes seem to take a back seat to this silliness, which is odd because Hair Rocket’s new (and aptly titled) Novelty is a solid dose of garage rock/power-pop with a Mod edge. But since you can’t very well launch a rocket inside a rock club without risking a Great White, the music alone will have to carry the evening. Michael Alan Goldberg
8pm. $8. With Acres of Diamonds + the States. Khyber, 56 S. Second St. 215.238.5888. thekhyber.com

Views of a Changing World
When 2004 took the lives of both Susan Sontag and Jacques Derrida, some bemoaned that the age of philosophy—or at least of the celebrity intellectual—had gone with them. That’s not even remotely true, claims Astra Taylor’s chatty, heady doc Examined Life, which rounds up an octet of our era’s great (English-speaking) thinkers to ramble—not in a stuffy room but while in semi-thrilling motion. Cornel West (pictured) compares philosophy to jazz, blues and break-dancing while zipping through Manhattan. Slavoj Zizek talks ecology and porn while picking through a garbage heap. Peter Singer raps about ethics while striding past Bergdorf Goodman. An active mind is an entertained mind, Taylor’s film tacitly argues—a message that sits with the other offerings in I-House’s annual doc round-up Views of a Changing World. Other not-so-obvious issues include punk icons (Who’s Afraid of Kathy Acker?, Thursday), consumerism (Malls R Us, Friday) and Native Americans (1961’s The Exiles, Saturday). Matt Prigge
7pm. $5-$8. International House, 3701 Chestnut St. 215.387.5125. ihousephilly.org

Thursday November 12

Birds of Prey
If you’ve grown bored of those tedious trips to the bodega for your nightly noodles, you might consider falconry. Go medieval with a domesticated owl or hawk, especially if you don’t mind trading pizza rolls for pigeon or squirrel. Turn up your nose at an entree of chipmunk, but this is the sport of kings. You’ll need a permit though, and you won’t be able to do it in Hawaii. It would also help to learn about these clever aerial assassins if you’re going to pass the written test. Luckily, the Academy of Natural Sciences offers a workshop to help you get acquainted with the world of raptors, from the tiny kestrel to the mighty eagle. Learn about bird rehabilitation and what you can do to help preserve these creatures at home and abroad. Know your buzzards from your vultures and even figure out where their ears are. Paul F. Montgomery
6:30pm. $15. Academy of Natural Sciences, 1900 Benjamin Franklin Pkwy. 215.299.1060. ansp.org

BOAT + Pants Yell!
Dispelling the notion that indie pop is wimpy to a fault, the Seattle trio BOAT is signed to a record label called Magic Marker yet manages to rock out nicely. In fact, bruising hooks, lurid keys, and cheeky vocals are all running features of the band’s ramshackle new Setting The Paces. Rest assured it’s bubbly, falling-down fun. As for New England’s Pants Yell!, there’s another example of pop with an emphasis on punchy moves and a stream of inquisitive and introspective lyrics. That band’s Received Pronunciation just came out on Slumberland, the revived indie label home to Philly’s own Brown Recluse, wholo and beholdare also on this bill. Doug Wallen
8pm. $TK. With Brown Recluse + Post Post. Pi Lam, 39124 Spruce St. myspace.com/thepilam

Dan Auerbach +Justin TownesEarle + Jessica Lea Mayfield
If you were overhauling your roots music team, this young trio would immediately revitalize your lineup. While Black Keys guitarist Dan Auerbach is the cleanup hitter, the supporting acts could potentially surpass him one day. On a break from his band, Auerbach’s solo debut, Keep It Hid, indulges quieter acoustic blues-folk moments, employing more restraint than the feral Keys, though Auerbach’s electric still occasionally wails. Justin Townes Earle’s a maverick like his dad, Steve, but his sound is more beholden to old-time Americana, delivered with crisp sonorous tenor and plucky bluegrass-inflected intelligence. Auerbach neighbor Jessica Lea Mayfield’s haunted country sway suggests Jolie Holland spooning in a graveyard at midnight. Chris Parker
9pm. $20-$23. Theater of Living Arts, 334 South St. 215.922.1011. livenation.com

Friday November 13

Jim Snidero
Alto saxophonist Jim Snidero is part of an elite straightahead jazz contingent in New York—stone beboppers and consummate pros who have never bowed to prevailing fashion and never will. A lithe and forceful soloist and a prized educator as well, he has a discography stretching back to 1984, featuring sidemen on the order of Mulgrew Miller and Tom Harrell. Such is the fund of authority that Snidero brings to every gig. His latest outings, Tippin’ and Crossfire, feature the tight, inventive guitar of Paul Bollenback. This week he’ll bring another guitarist, Peter Bernstein, whose complex, bluesy phrases sound like they’ve been aged underground in oak casks. David R. Adler
8pm and 10pm. $15. Chris’ Jazz Cafe, 1421 Sansom St. 215.568.3131. chrisjazzcafe.com

Friday the Firkenteenth
Those suffering from paraskevidekatriaphobia, or the irrational fear of Friday the 13th, may find it cathartic to force themselves out from under their beds to attend a special group therapy session hosted by the folks at the Grey Lodge Pub. The event, the timing of which is “totally at the mercy of the calendar” and admittedly “makes no sense whatsoever,” is a celebration of cask-conditioned ale (a process involving a second fermentation resulting in a naturally occurring carbonation and the freshest possible product). The self-medicating will begin with seven different beers that are replaced until upwards of 20 firkins have graced the bar top. Some local legends like Victory’s Yakima Twilight will be pouring next to North Carolina’s Duck Rabbit Brown Ale and Brooklyn’s Sixpoint Vienna Pale. Grey Lodge will supply the beer but it’s BYO rabbit’s foot. tim mcginnis
Noon. Pay as you go. Grey Lodge Pub, 6235 Frankford Ave. 215.825.5357

Broken Lizard Live
If you’ve ever been pulled over by an actual state trooper, you’ll know it isn’t all that funny. (Except for the mustaches.) Though, it might depend on why you’re being pulled over, in which case everything might be funny. Broken Lizard made a cult hit of it in 2001 with their first film, Super Troopers. They’ve gone on to lampoon seaside murder (Club Dread) and Smirnoff Ice (Beerfest). In December, they tackle the madcap world of waiting tables competitively in The Slammin’ Salmon featuring Michael Clarke Duncan. For a sneak preview of that as well as a smattering of standup, short films and sketches, check out one of their two live performances tonight at the Troc. Just make sure you’re over 18, or someone with a very silly mustache will haul you out and call your parents. P.F.M.
7:30pm and 10:45pm. $26.50-$29. Trocadero Theater, 1003 Arch St. 215.922.6888. thetroc.com

Saturday November 14

Salt & Light
Good cause alert! Even a casual Law and Order: SVU viewer knows the scary truth about sex trafficking in the U.S. Here’s a chance to prevent future Polanski-like attacks. History Starts Now, an awareness group fighting against sex trafficking of minors in America, has teamed up with Old City’s SALT Art Gallery to raise some moolah for their cause. (The org often partners with the RedLight Children Campaign which pressures governments for more effective legislation to “expose, fight, and end child sexploitation.”) Enjoy complimentary champagne, as well as cupcakes from New York’s Tawny Treats. Spend the evening browsing the rtwork by SALT Gallery owner and New Hope native Michael A. Veneziale, whose gorgeous oil paintings embrace scenes from both Philadelphia and New York (think Di Bruno Bros. and Bleecker Street) while listening to the sweet sounds of local musician Kevin Grandstaff. Emily Freisher
7pm. $15-$20. SALT Art Gallery, 212 Race St. 215.939.7426. historystartsnow.info

Chris Smither and the Motivators
Chris Smither doesn’t look like the kind of guy who would kick your ass. At 65, the New Orleans native still has a worn, gentle face and soft eyes ... but listen to his acoustic blues picking and his gravel-voiced rumble, and it’s clear he’s got sorrow, sadness and rage out to here. His latest Time Stands Still harkens back decades, with stripped-down angst and a rough, slurry baritone that betrays what Chris Smither sounds like, even if he doesn’t look like it: a mean ol’ bluesman just lookin’ to get his. Guess you better give it to him. Jeffrey Barg
7:30pm. $27-$40. With Paul Cebar. World Cafe Live, 3025 Walnut St. 215.222.1400. worldcafelive.com

New York Hieroglyphics
He’s nearing 50, but Berkeley-born saxophonist and composer Peter Apfelbaum doggedly retains the spark of youth. During his Bay Area years he led the Hieroglyphics Ensemble, landing a Grammy nomination and gigs opening for the Grateful Dead. He moved to Brooklyn in 1998 and soon put together the 10-piece New York Hieroglyphics, which debuted in 2005 with the knotty jazz-worldbeat affair It Is Written. Apfelbaum is also super-busy with bands led by trumpeter Steven Bernstein and Cuban drum whiz Dafnis Prieto (a Hieroglyphics member), so catch this troupe while you can. Abdoulaye Diabate, who sang on the Hieroglyphics’ recent premiere “Aural Histories—Nine Lives,” will be there as well. D.R.A.
8pm. $25. Painted Bride Art Center, 230 Vine St. 215.925.9914 paintedbride.org

Sunday November 15

Found Footage Festival
An ancient employee training video for McDonald’s custodians prompted Nick Prueher and Joe Pickett to raid old video stores and Salvation Army’s to compile a bizarre and oddly hysterical collection of “found footage.” Now on their fourth installment, the duo is taking the show on the road, presenting an hour and a half of the quirky videos at Connie’s Ric Rac. With relatively few rules (footage must be on VHS—no YouTube!—and certainly no Richard Simmons), the assortment spans an array of genres. From an ’80s dating reel to home videos of a heavy metal concert, the clips are funny, both blatantly and ironically. So if you haven’t rummaged through your parent’s attic recently for old home movies, perhaps you should take a peek E.F.
7pm. $10. Connie’s Ric Rac, 1132 S. Ninth St. foundfootagefest.com

Star Wars in Concert
The Star Wars movie saga possesses the epic sweep of opera from its Faustian antagonist to John Williams’ Wagnerian score, an aspect highlighted by this national concert tour. Employing a full symphony, sixty-person choir, narration by Anthony Daniels (C3PO), and an enormous movie screen, this audio-visual spectacle pares the iconic franchise’s story arc to two hours, reiterating the essential threads with admirable concision. It’s a peculiarly appropriate tribute given the centrality of the soundtrack to the film’s action—from continuing character and plot leitmotivs to the cantina band and scoring of the fight scenes. The bite-size format makes it ideal for series newbies, while the accompanying memorabilia showcase will thrill diehard fans. C.P.
6pm. $32-$72. Wachovia Center, 3601 S. Broad St. 800.298.4200. livenation.com

Monday November 16

Fundraiser for DJ Reenie Kane
Reenie Kane is, quite literally, one of Philly’s first ladies. Old school Philly partygoers know her from “Rap-a-Reenie” and late nights at the now-defunct R.A.R. Club in South Philly, where she started spinning in 1974—way before female DJs were hitting the turntables. A trailblazer, she was one of the first women spin at gay mens’ clubs and has been a huge contributor to the gay club scene in Philadelphia throughout the last three and a half decades, spinning new tracks well before other DJs and contributing to LGBT charities and awareness. Last month, Kane suffered a massive heart attack after her set at the annual Blue Indigo Ball. Help her (and her beloved partner Adele) pay for health care by dancing your ass off at this fundraiser, which features sets by local and national DJs as well as snacks and booze. (Open bar till 9 p.m.!) Philly’s lost a lot lately. This is a chance to get part of our history back. Erica Palan
8pm. $10. Voyeur, 1221 Saint James St. 215.735.5772. voyeurnightclub.com

Shonen Knife
This groundbreaking Japanese girl punk band has been crossing wide-eyed manga cuteness with ragged Ramones riffs since the early 1980s. Their US debut in 1990 attracted the attention of bands like Sonic Youth and Redd Kross, and at their mid-1990s height, the band opened for Nirvana, toured on the original Loolapalooza and signed to Capitol. For Super Group, the band’s latest album, two of three original members reconvene, with Naoko Yamano singing sticky sweet lyrics about the rock and roll lifestyle, and Atsuko Yamano back on drums (rejoining after Mana Nishiura died in a 2005 car crash). Jennifer Kelly
9pm. $12. With Jeff the Brotherhood. Johnny Brenda’s, 1201 N. Frankford. 215.739.9684. johnnybrendas.com

Tuesday November 17

J. Tillman
Seattle singer-songwriter J. Tillman (a.k.a. Josh Tillman) has been nothing less than prolific in his short career, releasing a half-dozen solo albums since 2005. For most of that time, he was operating in obscurity, but his new LP Year in the Kingdom received tons of advance attention this year. Why? It may have something to do with the fact that since early 2008, Tillman’s also been the drummer for Fleet Foxes. It may also have something to do with the fact that the album is fantastic. It’s stark and riveting indie-folk that aligns itself with the likes of Jason Molina and Damien Jurado, and will probably make you feel sad in all the right kinds of ways. M.A.G.
8pm. $12. With Pearly Gates Music. First Unitarian Church, 2125 Chestnut St. 866.468.7619. r5productions.com

Peaches

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 18:14:39 PST

Peaches has come a long way since performing in an overstuffed miniskirt and unsightly legwarmers to a boombox eight years ago at the first Siren Music Festival on Coney Island. With a beer gut and ass fat enough for mud flaps, her oversexed come-ons seemed more desperate than ironic. Time has smoothed her curves and polished her act, while retaining the cheap, tawdry aspect that’s become her calling card. Her stuttering minimalist dance beats are yoked to a “shocking” forthrightness and vulgarity which in reality is about as predictable (and intelligent) as “My Humps.” Indulging garish Fredericks-inspired garb and stale gender play, she’s a Big Lots! Madonna vacillating between cone boobs and gangster moll phases, and set to a hipster trucker cap level of annoying. Is the underground so impoverished that Missy Elliott’s mouthy sexuality transplanted into Ugly Betty can pass for sophisticated social commentary or will they dance to anything? (Chris Parker) ■  

  Fri., Nov. 13, 9pm. $20-$23. With Amanda Blank. Theater of the Living Arts, 334 South St. 215.922.1011. livenation.com

Record Reviews: Five for Fighting

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 16:34:42 PST

To see this charticle at a more readable size, click here.

Bloodbath on the Tracks

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 18:40:10 PST

Unplug the amps and break out the brass knuckles: It’s time to smash some acoustic guitars in people’s faces. It’s a super-sensitive battle royale of metaphors and precision harmonies: Welcome to Singer/Songwriter Supergroup Smackdown ’09—no noodling solos allowed! Folk ain’t been this freaky since John Phillips turned the Mamas and the Papas into the Papas and Their Daughters.

In one corner, we have Works Progress Administration, the L.A.-born supergroup that includes Glen Phillips (of Toad the Wet Sprocket fame, and no relation to the aforementioned incest folkie), Sean and Sara Watkins (of Nickel Creek), Luke Bulla (who’s played with Lyle Lovett and Ricky Skaggs), Benmont Tench (of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers) and more. The quintet version of the band (Phillips, Sean Watkins, Bulla, and rhythm section Sebastian Steinberg and Jerry Roe) plays World Cafe Live on Friday night.

In another corner is the bone-crushingly named Monsters of Folk: M. Ward, Jim James (of My Morning Jacket), and Conor Oberst and Mike Mogis (of Bright Eyes), playing the fight-night-appropriate Academy of Music on Monday.

That dueling-supergroup rumble would be more than enough for your money. But as Charlie Kelly would say: “Wild card, bitches!” Like a bat outta hell, the Thrilla in North Phila, no less a fighter than Robert Zimmerman himself (touring behind, um, a Christmas album) descends on the Liacouras Center the same night as the Monsters hold down Broad Street south of City Hall.

This is gonna get messy.

Works Progress Administration, named for the New Deal-era stimulus package that helped lift America out of the Great Depression, blend catchy harmonies, bluesy melodic turns and lyrical tearjerkers into one of the most beautiful, compelling albums of the year. Monsters of Folk, meanwhile, boast an indie rock royalty pedigree that, when mixed together, comes out a louder, rockier hodgepodge of country, blues, folk and rock, along with drum machines, acoustic arpeggios and more falsetto than you can shake a tuning fork at. And Dylan, well, he might be crooning “Hark the Herald Angels Sing” in that gravel voice of his, but it’s his bloodied opponents who’ll need to do the praying.

So who will prevail in this weekend-long battle of the folkies? 

“We have a lot of pent-up rage. Between Luke [Bulla] and I, the pent-up rage could end up smashing someone’s head against the pavement,” deadpans Phillips (the Wet Sprocket, not the daughter-diddler). “Then again, M. Ward is pretty badass. Mr. Oberst, I’m assuming, is more of a pacifist, but he could probably be scrappy if he needed to. They could probably beat us up.” 

Which is a more effective weapon: the acoustic or electric guitar? (Despite our conceit, both WPA and MOF play some electrics; and Dylan, well, we know where he stands on the matter.) So which would be a more powerful killing tool? 

“In our band, the acoustic guitar, the way Sean [Watkins] wields it,” says Phillips, referring to the bluegrass virtuoso’s six-string agility. 

Who has better haircuts? 

“They win that,” Phillips replies without missing a beat. 

Who’s more sensitive? 

“Nobody can be more sensitive than Bright Eyes.” 

Dylan and the Monsters were all the quiet-fighter types, declining to respond to interview requests. And leaving all the trash-talking to Phillips probably isn’t the wisest move, given that WPA sound like one of the most agreeable supergroups around.  

“We’re big fans of each other. With Toad, the guys in that band met when we were very young, and there’s a way of internalizing your insecurities and superimposing them on your view of how other people deal with you,” Phillips says in reference to the ’80s and ’90s group that made him famous in the first place with hits like “Walk on the Ocean,” “All I Want” and “Good Intentions” … while alternately picking chewed-up pieces of flesh and muscle tissue out of his teeth.  

But, he continues, things are different with this more grownup band. “When I’m feeling like I don’t add enough musically, they’re aware of that, and they go, ‘Hey, you’re doing great.’ If Luke’s insecure about his material, we’re there to back him up. No one lets anybody wallow in their insecurities for too long.” 

So despite that killer instinct (and impressive songwriting chops), trash-talk isn’t really Phillips’ forte.  

“I actually like all their various projects,” he says of the Monsters of Folk fellows. “I haven’t listened to Monsters of Folk, but probably just because I’m jealous they’re getting all the press.”  

Okay, so if we can’t get a crosstown rumble, then can we at least hope everyone will bunk down together for a hootenanny? ■

Hymn for Her

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 18:49:58 PST

For some people, being in a band with your spouse is difficult. Add a two-year-old child and a 10-year-old dog to the mix, and difficulties abound exponentially. Now all four are about to go on the road in a 1961 16-foot Airstream to record an album as they tour cross country.

As the duo Hymn for Her, Maggi Jane and Pierce Ternay write “very folky songs,” Jane says. Jane and Ternay had been playing for more than a decade with a friend as the MPE Band, but started Hymn for Her as a side project after a Maine retreat to write a novel together turned into a musical revelation. When Hymn for Her released its first album in 2008 it was “sort of an exercise in minimalism,” Jane says. “With MPE Band, we always had lots of instruments. We all played. We layered all sorts of instruments. We just threw everything in there.”

As an exercise in minimalism, their 2008 album Year of the Golden Pig is compelling. They have a strong folk, country and Americana vibe with enchanting harmonies and untempered angst and energy. Jane’s chanteuse-like vocals are both beautiful and dark, while Ternay’s soulful tenor provides a solid foundation for the duo’s stripped-down yet evocative tunes. 

But as the two work on new material—songs that will eventually be part of the Airstream recordings—Jane says they are venturing into new territory. They’ve begun by incorporating electric and non-acoustic instruments for a “more rocking” sound. Stompgrass, Jane says, is how she and Ternay describe it. And all will be documented while traveling in a luxury recreational vehicle. 

“We’re probably the only band that can fit into a 16-foot Airstream and record,” Jane says with a laugh. ■ 

 Wed., Nov. 4, 9pm. $7. With Spirit and Dust + Lion Versus. The Fire, 412 W. Girard Ave. 267.671.9298. iourecords.com/thefire

The Calendar: November 4 - November 11

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 16:58:01 PST

Wednesday November 4

Girls + Real Estate
As wish lists go, Girls’ “Lust For Life” is a corker. The single and opener of the Bay Area band’s gangly Album rattles off a slew of dreamy requirements, including wine, pizza, a suntan, a father, a boyfriend and a beach house. Christopher Owens’ lazily pleading vocals seal the deal there and on the rest of the record, which pays repeated homage to summer and, yes, girls. By turns barebones and shoegaze-y, it’s a splintered version of the beach-blanket odes of yesterday. Catching a similar wave are New Jersey’s Real Estate, who sing about Atlantic City and beach combing. Time to embrace your inner summer, autumn be damned. Doug Wallen
8pm. $10. Kung Fu Necktie, 1248 N. Front St. 215.291.4919. r5productions.com

Endgame
Samuel Beckett. The name sends a shiver down the spine of even the most veteran theatergoer. Obscure, inscrutable and depressing, such are the perceptions of audience members unlucky enough to have suffered through a dull production of the playwright’s work. Dull, however, isn’t a word often associated with the work of EgoPo Productions, which continues their season of Beckett’s plays with artistic director Lane Savadove’s staging of Endgame. An unqualified masterpiece from one of the 20th century’s most pioneering playwrights, Endgame is set in a post-apocalyptic world. EgoPo (which regularly re-imagines classic plays) moves Endgame into a 1970s suburban American home that has seen better days. Highlighting the play’s offbeat sense of humor, the four absurdly depressed characters are marooned in a world of tattered shag carpets, scarred vinyl couches and a hideous wood-paneled den where family dysfunction is taken to new heights. Think of it as Beckett meets The Brady Bunch. J. Cooper Robb
Wed., Nov. 4, 8pm. $30. St. Stephens Theater, 10th and Ludlow sts. 800.595.4849. egopo.org

Thursday November 5

Dar Williams
The folkie scene sometimes seems like a gated community where artists find stultifying acceptance dulling their creative edge until they’re unsuitable for anyone else. Clever stories and turns of phrase won’t rescue bland accompaniment—this isn’t a poetry slam. Dar Williams has avoided this pitfall during her 17-year career, plying a sweet cooing croon and smart writing in arrangements mixing rock and pop with strong folk undercurrents. The last three albums have been particularly engaging, showcasing the breadth of Williams talent from chamber warmth to jangly rave-ups. Brad Wood keenly produced the excellent stripped-down rock/pop of last year’s Promised Land, highlighted by the shrewd take on Milgram’s obedience experiment, “Buzzer.” Chris Parker
8pm. $33-$35. With Patrick Fitzsimmons. Sellersville Theater, Main and Temple sts., Sellersville. 215.257.5808. st94.com

Thao Nguyen and the Get Down Stay Down
“Sad people dance, too,” says Thao Nguyen, on the closing track of her latest Know Better Learn Faster. That’s “Easy,” the bass-driven break-out from Know Better, which may just be the year’s most raucous break-up albums. It’s brutally honest, laceratingly self-revealing, earthily sexual and, surprisingly, kind of a good time. Nguyen, on a roll since her 2006 We Brave Bee Stings and All, has honed a vibrant, eccentric sound through constant touring—equal parts pop, country blues and confessional songwriting. Portland Cello Project, whose own repertoire ranges from classical to Justin Timberlake, usually joins her on stage for a couple of songs, too. Jennifer Kelly
8pm. $12. With the Portland Cello Project + David Schultz. First Unitarian Church, 2125 Chestnut St. 866.468.7619. r5productions.com

Kevin Smith
Attention geeks who fall squarely across the populist cinema and comic book axis: director Kevin “Silent Bob” Smith is stopping in Philadelphia on a rare six-city tour to discuss,presumably, the type of stuff he writes about his (unfortunately hyphenated) blog “My Boring Ass Life.” Comic books! Movies! Guaranteed curse words! Perhaps a gratuitous anecdote about how he used to be able
to touch the tip of his cock with his tongue? We can only hope. There must be other people out there who still harbor a soft spot for Smith. After all, he provided my first brushes with greatness by hiring my old babysitter to cameo in Mallrats (Yo Dawn!) and imbued my hometown, a little place I like to call Stripmall, with can-do artsy flair by hanging out in Red Bank parking lots late at night blasting the Star Wars theme as we all stumbled out of the Dublin House. Also, he taught us all what snowballing was even before Catholic school health texts did. For that, I forgive the rain scene in Chasing Amy. Tara Murtha
8pm. $39-$66.50. Merriam Theater, 250 S. Broad St. 215.732.5446. merriam-theater.com.

Friday November 6

Boom
Unofficially the most popular play in America, boom opens the season at Flashpoint Theatre Company. Ranked first in American Theatre’s annual list of the nation’s most produced plays this season, playwright Peter Sinn Nachtrieb’s script focuses on an awkward marine biologist named Jules (Derick Loafmann). Certain that all life is on the verge of extinction—based on a study he conducted on fish—Jules places an online ad in search of a mate to help him repopulate the world. Anxious to do her part to resuscitate humanity, a young journalism student named Jo (Melissa Lynch) replies and the pair meet in a subterranean lab. A mind-bending look at our need for myths, Flashpoint’s production features the reliable Susan Giddings as a mysterious woman who wields a strange power over the mismatched pair. JCR
8pm. $18. Second Stage at The Adrienne, 2030 Sansom St. 215.563.4330. flashpointtheatre.org

Submissive or Slave
First things first: Let’s get it straight. Just because a person is into bondage and discipline or S&M, doesn’t mean they’re raunchy pervs. There are classy ways to express your sexual appetite. Amour Partage is an upscale style of domination and submission which originated in Europe in the 1950s. Generally spread only by word of mouth, Amour Partage is a very private sexual journey shared only among small groups. Get the deets from Trinity, a master trainer for 16 years and involved in the D/s lifestyle for more than two decades. Nicole Finkbiner
7pm. $20-$30. Aphrodite Gallery at Passional Toys, 704 S. Fifth St. 215.923.1398. passionaltoys.com

Steven Bernstein’s Millennial Territory Orchestra
The term is archaic, but “territory bands” used to tour circumscribed areas of the U.S., covering popular hits and riling up dance crowds. Trumpeter Steven Bernstein (of Sex Mob fame) nods to that storied past with his Millennial Territory Orchestra while adding a heavy whiff of the modern, jumbling together vintage jazz, Prince and the Dead in a spirit of avant-garde delinquency. Stacked with such unorthodox pros as Curtis Fowlkes, Charlie Burnham and Matt Munisteri, the MTO is just the ensemble to revisit “Relativity Suite,” a 1973 opus by the late Don Cherry, who’s being remembered by Ars Nova Workshop with a Composer Portrait series that runs well into 2010. David R. Adler
8pm. $12. With DJ hi-res. Johnny Brenda’s, 1201 N. Frankford Ave. 215.739.9684. arsnovaworkshop.org

Swimmers
Philadelphia quartet the Swimmers celebrate the release of their tremendous new album People Are Soft—the band’s second on Drexel’s MAD Dragon Records—which you’ll get for free if you picked up advance tickets for this gig. Pretty sweet deal, because People Are Soft is an irresistible indie-pop/nü-wave platter, with synthesizers both buzzy and billowy joining up with sturdy beats, the occasional bite of guitar, and charismatic guy-girl vocals in a manner that occasionally feels like Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark for a new generation of romantic misfits that like to dance once in a while. Michael Alan Goldberg
7pm, $10. With the Capitol Years. Kung Fu Necktie, 1248 N. Front St. 215.291.4919. kungfunecktie.com

Armen Donelian
Born in Queens in 1950, pianist Armen Donelian is one of today’s unassuming jazz masters, boasting early sideman credits with the likes of Mongo Santamaria, Sonny Rollins and Billy Harper. His latest output includes Grand Ideas, a three-volume solo-piano series; All or Nothing at All, a tightly focused duo album with Dutch saxophonist Marc Mommaas; Quartet Language, unearthed from 1992, with the late altoist Thomas Chapin; and Oasis, featuring bassist David Clark and drummer George Schuller, the longtime trio cohorts who join him this week at the Museum. Donelian’s got a pensive, lyrical streak a mile wide, but don’t underestimate his ability to swing hard and throw punches. D.R.A.
5pm. $12-$16. Philadelphia Museum of Art, 26th St. and the Benjamin Franklin Pkwy. 215.763.8100 philamuseum.org

Dead of the Living Night
Artists Jonathan Cammisa and Jonah Birns journeyed under the racecar-shaped beds of their youth, took aim at the things that went bump in the night, then hauled back the pelts. The result is Dead of the Living Night, a furry, flickering celebration of childhood wonder and paranoia. The exhibit begins with the claustrophobic recreation of an ’80s video shop replete with forgotten zombie flicks and vintage posters. Turn a corner and take a ride on a cousin of Falkor from Neverending Story, a big burly beast who’ll take you to the stars and back with the help of a video installation. The gallery includes sculpture, collage and multiple volumes of an ongoing collaborative scrapbook, in which Cammisa and Birns wax horrific on the late night frights that left them sneaking down to the TV and pissing in their Underoos. Paul F. Montgomery
Fri., Nov. 6, 7pm. Free. Space 1026, 1026 Arch St., second fl. 215.574.7630. space1026.com

Saturday November 7

Philadelphia Sketch Club 150th Anniversary
Set the Way-Back Machine to a time before Tweeting, before Facebook—even pre-Friendster!—when there were things called “clubs”: places where people of similar interests would hang out and talk. The Philadelphia Sketch Club is the nation’s oldest artist society, still going strong after 150 years. This is the common denominator connecting Thomas Eakins to A.B. Frost (of Br’er Rabbit fame) to the granddaddy of all things Wyeth, N.C. Wyeth. Next year 15 prominent museums and galleries in Philadelphia and New York will put up exhibits to celebrate the club’s sesquicentennial (from the James Michener Museum up in Doylestown, the Philadelphia Museum of Art on the Parkway, down to the Brandywine Museum in Chadd’s Ford) but it all kicks off this Saturday with a gala affair on Camac Street, where the clubhouse will exhibit 120 works from its collection. And it ain’t over yet—after the party the room will be cleared to be ready for live models to come in at least four times a week, every week, so the new wave of artists can hone their skills. Peter Crimmins
7pm. $50-$125. Philadelphia Sketch Club, 235 S. Camac St. 215.545.9298

Sunday November 8

Snuggie Pub Crawl
Whether you love it or hate it, the Snuggie has warmed its way into the cultural vernacular of 2009. After successful events in cities such as New York, Chicago, Pittsburgh and Scranton, the pub crawl inspired by the “blanket with sleeves” is coming to Philadelphia. Organizers Megan Bruce and Jennifer Shipman created a five-pub fest with stops at Paddy Whack’s Pub, Fadó, Field House, Tir na nÓg and Public House. Participating bars will donate a portion of their earnings to Project H.O.M.E, a local nonprofit dedicated to fighting homelessness and poverty in the city. Sherri Hospedales
2pm. Starts at Paddy Whack’s Pub, 150 South St. 215.464.7544. phillysnuggiecrawl.com

Bottom Feeders
Who doesn’t love a contra-alto clarinet? Saxophonist Dan Peterson breaks out the giant horn to play with his Bottom Feeders, and the floor-rattling low notes are all the more disquieting when combined with baritone sax (Elliott Levin) and trombone (Larry Toft). They shouldn’t need a bassist, but Peterson often adds one anyway. This week, however, it’ll be guitarist Travis Woodson, with drummer Tony Catastrophe locking down rhythm. Peterson, who recently gave us the evocative suite Five Simple Worlds ... And Ways of Getting There, looks to the BF’s to channel something wilder in his psyche. After this gig they play Tritone on the 18th, then hope to hit the studio. D.R.A.
6pm. $12. J.C. Dobbs, 304 South St. 215.925.4053

Sweet Tea
Light years away from the clubs, cafes and queens of Philly’s Gayborhood, a love that dares not speak its name flourishes alongside chitlins, cornfields and conservative religious values. Many vilify the South’s red state repression, while others celebrate its old-fashioned charm. Virtually no one, however, writes about its queer black culture. Except Northwestern University scholar E. Patrick Johnson. “I interviewed gay black men in every state of the Confederacy,” Johnson says of the research he did for his book Sweet Tea, which records the accounts of men who juggle their blackness, Southernness and homosexuality. In his performance at the First Person Arts Festival, he restages select interviews. When pressed to pick a favorite, Johnson is at a loss, but he fondly remembers his oldest interviewee, the fabulous Countess Vivian, who came of age in 1930s New Orleans. “We lost touch after Katrina,” Johnson says. “But I had a reunion with him last month. Not only did he survive, but he never left. He‘ll be 98 years old.” Gerald Johnson
6pm. $12-$20. Painted Bride Art Center, 230 Vine St. 267.402.2055. firstpersonarts.org.

Monday November 9

Fashion Faux Paws
Let’s face it, Project Runway has gone downhill since moving to L.A. What ever happened to the good-old days when a group of emotionally unstable designers had to make outfits out of garbage, plants and edible food? The young MacGyvers of fashion at Moore College are giving the current contestants a run for their money. For this year’s Jumpstart Fashion Show, 55 junior and senior students created faux fur garments using such miscellaneous household items as cotton balls, toothpicks, nails, mops and Brillo pads. The most innovative creations will be on display including garments made entirely of bobby pins, spray painted rubber bands and pieces of bath mat and fake silk flowers. N.F.
Through Dec. 12. Free. Wilson Gallery at Moore College, 20th St. and the Benjamin Franklin Pkwy. 215.965.4027. thegalleriesatmoore.org

Tuesday November 10

The Bacon Show
Local boy Mike Geno’s been playing with his food for a long time. The Tyler grad and professor at Moore College of Art & Design has gained cult-like Philly fame for his still life paintings of disposable comestibles ranging from rump roasts and lamb legs to French baguettes and jelly donuts. Peep his latest this month at Mew Gallery when he joins Highwire Gallery’s Ken B. Miller, fellow Meat Artists’ member John Wolfer and others in celebrating the trendiest of breakfast meats. Featuring photography, fine art painting and quirky crafts, “The Bacon Show” officially opened on Halloween and true cured protein lovers can meet the meat makers at this Saturday’s reception. However, we recommend making a morning of it and hitting up Sabrina’s for weekday (read: no wait!) brunch, ordering up a side of bacon with your French toast and then wandering in for some one-on-one drooling. Erica Palan
Through Dec. 17. Free. Mew Gallery, 906 Christian St. 215.625.2424. mewgallery.org

Record Reviews: Mountain Goats

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 16:09:43 PST

For a larger version of this charticle, click here.

Train

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 19:09:08 PST

As the artist Larry Poons recently put it, “We live in an age of music for people who don’t like music.” Perhaps you’ve encountered some of these people—the ones who fork over good money for the blandest music available because they’re supposed to like something. Inevitably, such people latch onto Train. The metaphorically (OK, possibly literally) lobotomized San Francisco band has managed to make a killing by removing all that is soulful, interesting, clever or engaging about music, offering generic “modern-rock” melodies and lyrics like, “I’ll open up and be your parachute/ And I’ll never let you down” that ultimately require zero emotional investment. Tonight, the room will be filled with people who don’t really like music listening to a band that doesn’t really like music, either. What a sad, weird place to be.

Thurs., Nov. 5, 9pm. $37-40. With Uncle Kracker. TLA, 334 South St. 215.922.1011. livenation.com

Pearl Jam Brings Closure

Sun, 01 Nov 2009 19:15:09 PST

At the Spectrum’s swan song on Saturday night, Pearl Jam accomplished the impossible.

No, they didn’t play every song in their catalog, as they promised they’d do at the start of their four-show run. No, they didn’t gather Neil Young, Bruce Springsteen, Billy Joel, Dave Matthews, Jon Bon Jovi, the Hooters, AC/DC, Kiss and your mom onstage all at the same time, as blogs and radio were hyperventilating might happen in the days and hours leading up to the show.

The unbelievable feat they managed to pull off? Playing a three-and-a-half-hour show … and not making it all about themselves. As Eddie Vedder made clear from his entrance to “Gonna Fly Now” (its proper name, while the rest of the world simply knows it as the Rocky theme) while sporting bright red boxing gloves, this night would be all about the Spectrum. The wrecking ball’s on its way; time to send it off into the dark, wet South Philly night, and to do it right.

“This is it!” he hollered before plunging headfirst into the punky anthem “Why Go,” from the band’s debut Ten, an album so old now it’s reached the age of consent. “The history of this building, I can’t tell you how much it means to us,” he said a few songs later. “We have a big job to do.”

On the one hand, it’s tough to tell if the band’s fawning over the Spectrum and its history is based on actual affection, or if it’s knowledge of how seriously this city takes its historic stadiums, and what that meant for the solemn task that lay ahead of them.

But by all appearances, they’re going to miss the Spectrum just as much as we will. Besides name-checking classic Sixers players and comparing us favorably to comparable arenas around the country, the band worked hard to emphasize the musical history and quality of the building—something it was never designed for in the first place. After tripping over the intro to the brand-new insta-classic “Got Some,” Vedder admonished himself and his bandmates: “We gotta keep our shit together. This is the fucking Spectrum we’re closing!” And despite a stated goal of playing every song they know over four nights, he couldn’t resist a good number of repeats, including the perennial crowd-sing-along “Better Man”: “We played this the other night,” he said, “but I wanted to hear it one more time in this building.”

Not that it was all somber. The band played things looser and more fun than usual, trading mom jokes, excavating rarely (if ever) played deep tracks, and even coming out for the second encore dressed in full Devo garb for a surprisingly faithful cover of “Whip It.” This was, after all, Halloween—plenty in the audience were dressed as Stick Men, Bee Girls, Elderly Women Behind the Counter in a Small Town, and so on. Although the most prevalent costume—amid a crowd in which the guys largely looked like Seth Rogen, and some of the gals did too—was that of Phillies fan. (Early in the night, the girl parading across the stage with game updates, à la a boxing-ring girl, was a big hit; understandably, she stopped coming by after the third inning or so.)

The game updates were important, but it seemed that to close out the building, the musical history had in some ways eclipsed the sports that took place there. “There’s a reason why bands like to play this room,” Vedder said at the band’s first show on Tuesday. “It sounds really fucking good in here. It’s an honor that this band takes really seriously, playing the last shows in this room.”

That, combined with the relative intimacy of this arena venue, is what brought Springsteen, the Grateful Dead and so many others back again and again. Many were eager to carry a piece of that history with them, but, well, the cops stopped those carting chairs out at the exits.

In the finale “Yellow Ledbetter,” Vedder, guitarist Stone Gossard, bassist Jeff Ament, drummer Matt Cameron and keyboardist Boom Gaspar all walked offstage, letting lead guitarist Mike McCready soak up the Spectrum’s ending guitar solo—which he did in fine form, with a full rendition of “The Star-Spangled Banner.” As the distorted guitar feedback finally stopped and everyone exited, the thought that the room would finally go dark for the last time suddenly seemed the greatest impossibility of all.

Setlist:

Eddie Vedder with Bad Religion: Watch it Die

Pearl Jam’s set:

Why Go

Last Exit

Corduroy

Severed Hand

The Fixer

Elderly Woman Behind the Counter in a Small Town

You Are

Amongst the Waves

Evenflow

Pilate

Unthought Known

Daughter/It’s Okay/Another Brick in the Wall, Part II

Johnny Guitar

Rats

I’m Open

I Got Id

Glorified G

Out of My Mind

Black

Insignificance

Life Wasted

Encore 1:

Just Breathe

The End

Low Light

Speed of Sound

Jeremy

Inside Job

Bugs

Spin the Black Circle

Porch

Encore 2:

Whip It

Got Some

Crown of Thorns

Satan’s Bed

Sweet Lew

Do the Evolution

Betterman

Smile

Alive

Rockin in the Free World

Yellow Ledbetter/The Star-Spangled Banner

The Calendar: October 28 - November 3

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 17:56:57 PDT

Wednesday October 28

Love’s Labour Lost
Shakespeare’s original home, the Globe Theatre, gives Philadelphians a dose of frolicsome Elizabethan fun with its staging of the Bard’s comedy Love’s Labour’s Lost. One of Shakespeare’s early efforts, Lost concerns a king and his band of merry men who pledge
to shun women and instead channel their energies in more academic pursuits. However, their vow to avoid romantic entanglements is tested when the princess of France and a trio of lady attendants arrive to interrupt the men’s studies. More laudable for its linguistic dexterity (which is truly impressive) than its simplistic story, Shakespeare employs every comic device in his arsenal including puns, outrageous parody, plays-within-a-play, eccentric syntax and a host of ridiculous impersonations. For the U.S. tour Dominic Dromgoole (who helms the production) hopes to recreate the full Globe experience (outdoor productions that adhere to Shakespeare’s original staging) by leaving the house lights on and having the characters speak directly to the audience. J. Cooper Robb
7:30pm. $20-$45. Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts, 3680 Walnut St. 215.898.3900. annenbergcenter.org

Thursday October 29

East Hundred
Yes, emerging Philly indie-rock quintet East Hundred has a compelling, Fleetwood Mac-esque backstory: Guitarist Brooke Blair and singer Beril Guceri started the band five years ago as boyfriend-girlfriend, broke off their relationship in 2007, but kept the group together for the music. It’s that music that deserves most of the attention, but it’s fair to note the heartache and difficulty of the former lovers being around one another in a creative situation has certainly fed the band’s excellent tunes, adding layers of emotional tension and complexity, and darkening the otherwise sweet vocals, engaging melodies, and lush, guitar-propelled dream-pop. Michael Alan Goldberg
7:30pm. $12. With the Dear Hunter, Annuals + Stephen Brodsky. First Unitarian Church, 2125 Chestnut St. 866.468.7619. r5productions.com

Dish it Up
When PW ran a cover story last April that highlighted how severely under-serviced Philadelphia is to deal with domestic violence and how the one—yes, one—shelter was facing budget cuts threatening its ability to thrive, readers came out of the woodwork to ask how to help. Now there’s a sweet way to make a difference and get a smashing evening out of it. Enter the first-ever Dish It Up, a benefit evening where 10 prominent local female chefs—everyone from Top Chef contestant Jennifer Carroll at 10 Arts to the ever-soulful chef Delilah Winder of Delilah’s Southern Cuisine—cook and compete for best dish, an honor chosen by NBC anchor Kristen Welker and awarded by Mayor Michael Nutter. Guests will taste dishes, sip complimentary cocktails and beer, nibble desserts and hit the dance floor to shake moneymakers for Women Against Abuse, the largest anti-domestic violence program in the country that sadly, still just isn’t large enough to handle needs of local families shattered by violence. Sixty bucks is the new go-out minimum anyway; drop it where it can count. Tara Murtha
6pm. $60. Moore College of Art & Design, 20th St. and the Benjamin Franklin Pkwy. womenagainstabuse.org

Project H.O.M.E.: A 20th Anniversary Celebration
Whether you can tell the difference between Monet or Manet, we can all appreciate the work that Project H.O.M.E. has done for the city. The organization helps the homeless by encouraging artistic expression as a means for psychological and emotional development. They’re celebrating 20 years of philanthropy by catching up with former artists and redisplaying some of the work created through the program. All the artists featured have previously or currently live in one of Project H.O.M.E.’s residences and have moved into permanent housing. “The formerly homeless artists involved in this exhibit have overcome many challenges, and art has played a significant role in their recovery,” says Amanda S. Aronoff, Vice President of Development for Project H.O.M.E. “The art that will be on display is worthy of appreciation and recognition in its own right, but it is also inspiring as an expression of hope and potential.” Anastasia Barbalios
5pm. Free. Through April 14. Philadelphia Foundation, 1234 Market St. 215.563.6417. philafound.org

Michael and Michael Have Issues Live
Longtime frenemies Michael Ian Black and Michael Showalter do a lot of sharing. Sometimes this makes them feel a little insecure. They share a first name and have similar IMDB pages, both turning up in The State and Wet Hot American Summer. They also share a popular Comedy Central sketch show called Michael & Michael Have Issues. In it, they play two sketch comics also named Michael, constantly vying for the lion’s share of the laughs. People do laugh, though there’s no way of knowing how to divvy it all up. Now Michael and Michael share a van and a toilet as they tour the country with a live production based on their series. Tonight, they take the stage at the Troc and share their wide-eyed, deadpan comedy with you. Isn’t that friendly? Paul F. Montgomery
Thurs., Oct. 29, 8pm. $24. Trocadero Theater, 1003 Arch St. 215.922.5483. thetroc.com

Friday October 30

Saul Williams
Don’t be surprised if Saul Williams’ performance Friday ends with dude asking for a hug. That’s been the word coming out of shows the spoken-word artist-cum-Afro-punk/industrial hip-hop hellraiser has been performing during his current North American tour. But it turns out these shows have been running the full emotional gamut, from Williams and his band igniting the crowd in a good ol’ fashioned, mosh-pit frenzy (especially when they perform tracks from Williams’ Trent Reznor-produced, 2007 album The Inevitable Rise and Liberation of Niggy Tardust!) to Williams intellectually stirring up said audience’s emotions by spitting some poetic verses and Williams jumping off stage and engaging in a post-show, mass embrace. Since a Saul Williams show has been getting a rep for draining a lot out of you, wouldn’t you want somebody to hold afterward? And wouldn’t you want it to be the performer in question? Just go to the show and hug it out, bitch! Craig D. Lindsey
9pm. $18-$21. With Black Landlord, West Vienna + American Fangs. Theater of the Living Arts, 334 South St. 215.922.1011. livenation.com

A Fine Frenzy
A Fine Frenzy is the elegant pop ensemble led by 24-year-old, flame-haired singer-pianist (and sometimes model and actress) Allison Sudol. AFF’s 2007 debut, One Cell in the Sea, had a dreamy, whimsical, romantic quality about it—it pulled off the neat trick of being charming without being dainty or cloying—and Sudol’s clarion voice and clever lyrics spoke to love and loss in simple but wise ways. On the group’s new Bomb in a Birdcage, Sudol and company expand their palette, adding a tad more complexity and texture and, gasp, even a bit more aggression to the mix. But they rarely stray from their essential strengths, making the album—and very likely, this show—an absolute winner. M.A.G.
7:30pm. $20.50-$30.50. With Landon Pigg. World Cafe Live, 3025 Walnut St. 215.222.1400. worldcafelive.com

George Burton Quartet
If you stopped into Tritone last year for one of Matt Davis’ enchanting gigs with Aerial Photograph, you may have seen George Burton playing viola and playing it well. But Burton is in fact a hot contender on piano, and he’s managed to score something very crucial to a young musician: high-profile gigs with seasoned, much older musicians like saxophonist Odean Pope, trumpeter Charles Tolliver and unsung Philly drummer Donald Bailey, Jr. As he imbibes jazz history from the source, Burton is able to bring a sense of wisdom to his own bandleading. These days his group includes fellow burners Jaleel Shaw on alto and Wayne Smith on drums. David R. Adler
8pm. $10. Ortlieb’s Jazzhaus, 847 N. Third St. 215.922.1035. ortliebsjazzhaus.com

Martha Graham Cracker Day Before Halloween Freak Out
Don’t bother asking Dito van Reigersberg who he’s going to be for Halloween this year. The Barrymore award-winning actor debuted his alter ego Miss Martha Graham Cracker in 2005 and more than four years later, his drag act is still going strong. Every second Thursday of the month, you can find the queen on stage at L’Etage serenading the crowd for the Miss Martha Graham Cracker Cabaret. But just in time to kick off your Halloween weekend festivities, the man dubbed the “drag queen king” by the Inquirer makes a special appearance at the Tritone that’s sure to “freak you out.” Join her and her equally-freaky band for a night complete with tricks and treats. If her hairy-cleavage hugging outfit doesn’t get you all hot and bothered in a good way, maybe the fact that she stands at nearly 7 feet tall in heels will. Sherri Hospedales
Fri., Oct. 30, 9:30pm. $10. Tritone,1508 South St. 215.545.0475. tritonebar.com

Saturday October 31

Queer Zombie Apocalypse Party
SPOILER ALERT: The new Zombieland ends with Jesse Eisenberg (aka Annoying Michael Cera) and Woody Harrelson getting it on in living-dead queer ecstasy. Okay, that’s not quite true (or even a little true), but wouldn’t it be great? And it just might happen at the Queer Zombie Apocalypse on Halloween. Put on by the worldbeat dance party Baile Crunk, the Apocalypse will feature music by Precolumbian DJ, who’ll spin baile funk, reggaeton, dancehall, soca, crunk cumbias and kuduro, a kind of propulsive, percussive beat from Angola. DJ Shoogacane, who reps for the queer ladies, will add Miami Bass and n.o. bounce (both booty-centric). This is the last Baile Funk ever, and it’ll be memorable. Costumes not required but encouraged, so come on, guys–play off pop culture and gay Woody up. Not like he needs it. Liz Spikol
10pm-2am. $5. Elena’s Soul, 4912 Baltimore Ave. 215.714.2043. elenassoul.com

Crew Love II: Boo Love
For those of you who can’t simply decide on one particular type of techno-beat to rock out to this Halloween, let the Crew Love II party at Pi Lam solve your problems. The multi-level club will be dividing the space between two DJ crews: Metropolis, a blend of house-disco sounds, and Subdivision, who produce heavy bass and dubstep beats. The crews have never performed together, so celebrate their merger with “two floors of ecstasy to tantalize the flesh” as the flier so eloquently states. The night may involve continually running up and down flights of stairs, but don’t let it exhaust you—leave that to the dance floor. Emily Freisher
10pm. $8. Pi Lam, 3914 Spruce St. myspace.com/thepilam

Sunday November 1

King Khan & BBQ
Two of the most explosive performers in retro rock, Arish Khan and Mark Sultan, came up as teenagers through Montreal’s raging garage punk scene. Space Shits, their first band, split up in 1995, but the pair reconnected in 2002 and rekindled the chemistry. Together, they mix a volatile cocktail of theater and stomp. Khan is one of garage’s most flamboyant performers, while turbaned, semi-dragged-out BBQ flails and pounds and sings with unmitigated abandon. The music hits on pretty much all the pre-digital genres—doo-wop, psychedelia, R&B, blues, punk and garage—in a campy overload that is, nonetheless, weirdly sincere and heartfelt. Jennifer Kelly
7:30pm. $12. With Dum Dum Girls + Teenage Whore Moans. First Unitarian Church, 2125 Chestnut St. 866.468.7619. r5productions.com

The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity
On the surface, pro wrestling—part sport, part soap opera—is the teenage boys’ cheesy equivalent to the indulgences of bored Bucks County housewives. (Think Erica Kane on steroids and in Spandex, if you’re freaky like that.) But Minneapolis-based Latino playwright Kristoffer Diaz knows the business behind the suplexes and shit-talking is fertile ground for excavation. “Wrestling is racist, sexist and homophobic,” he says. “I like it, but, like a lot of things in pop culture, it’s complicated and messed up. Which is exactly why I wanted to explore it.” Shortly before arriving in Philly, Diaz’s politically-charged play world-premiered in Chicago, drop-kicking even anti-wrestling viewers’ expectations with a compelling argument that all the pro wrestling world is a stage, on which the forces of capitalism, race and politics discreetly play out. If there is a God—and if he likes his social commentary wrapped in clever writing, crowd-pleasing athleticism and classic hip-hop—the post-Philly stage for this production will be under the bright lights of Broadway. Gerald Johnson
2pm. $29. InterAct Theatre, 2111 Sansom St. 215.568.8079. interacttheater.org

Mastodon + High on Fire
Generally speaking, having one’s face melted off seems most unpleasant. That Nazi dude at the end of Raiders of the Lost Ark didn’t appear all that into it, nor did Bob Geldof in The Wall. But somehow I don’t think you’ll mind when the gargantuan guitars and crushing rhythms of the bands featured on the Metalocalypse tour make the flesh drip off your skull. Those responsible for the inevitable carnage? Conceptual metal gods Mastodon, whose recent Crack the Skye imagines a quadriplegic discovering astral travel; High on Fire (pictured), who scale mountains of brilliance with their doomy ancient-warrior metal; metalcore/mathcore pioneers Converge; and Adult Swim’s animated-turned-very-real-and-loud death metal maestros Dethklok. M.A.G.
Sun., Nov. 1, 6:30pm. $34.50-$37. With Dethklok + Converge. Electric Factory, 421 N. Seventh St. livenation.com

Monday November 2

Taylor Ho Bynum + John Hebert + Gerald Cleaver
These three are pacesetters in modern improvisation, so the very idea of their convergence as a trio is rich with promise. Cornetist Taylor Ho Bynum has worked alongside Cecil Taylor, Anthony Braxton and other giants; his own bands include SpiderMonkey Strings and Positive Catastrophe. Bassist John Hebert played with the great Andrew Hill until the pianist’s death in 2007; he’s currently with Fred Hersch and leading his own Byzantine Monkey. Drummer Gerald Cleaver can wail with free-jazz icons like Roscoe Mitchell and Matthew Shipp, then turn around and offer swinging, melodic treasures with his own group Violet Hour. Together, they’ve got six wide-open ears and infinite musical options. D.R.A.
8pm. Free. The Rotunda, 4014 Walnut St. 215.573.3234. arsnovaworkshop.org

Illinois
“Look at that girl/ Now look at me/ She’s so blonde/ And I’m so ugly,” Chris Archibald comically bemoans on the pounding “She’s So Blonde,” a song from Illinois’ latest, The Adventures of Kid Catastrophe. The inventively rockin’ Bucks County quartet runs the gamut of moods from dejected to jovial and instrumentation from banjo melodies to electronic dance beats. On the 20-track album, it is near impossible to notice much continuity from song to song. Warmly received at this year’s EXPoNential Music Festival, Illinois’ live show is fun for that reason and the band keeps crowds on their toes. In between the toe-tapping, at least. Kevin Brosky
7:30pm. $13-$20. With the Heavy. World Cafe Live, 3025 Walnut St. 215.222.1400. worldcafelive.com

Tuesday November 3

Meme Homebrew Competition
Everyone has a buddy who’s big into home brew. Whenever you reach into the fridge at his place, it’s a crapshoot: You never know what you’re going to get from that unlabeled bottle of beer. The concept is nice, but wouldn’t it be ideal if someone did a little quality assurance, so that you’re not stuck with something from a bad batch? At Meme’s fall home brew contest, owner/chef David Katz and his staff are providing a little help. They’re selecting 10 top beers (samples can be entered at the restaurant Wednesday-Saturday afternoon between 1 p.m. and 4 p.m.) and bringing in a panel of experts to judge. Joey Chimko, chef of the new Resurrection Ale House, will be whipping up a bunch of beer-friendly snacks, too, included with price of admission. And even with the “experts” there, you’ve got a vote too. At last, give your friend an honest opinion. Dan Packel
6:30pm. $25. Meme Restaurant, 2201 Spruce St. 215.735.4900. memerestaurant.com

Record Reviews: Grand Archives

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 17:23:54 PDT

To see this charticle at a larger size, click here.

Fuck Buttons

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 19:56:37 PDT

There’s nothing more exciting than watching two hipster dudes in hoodies bop and groove like deranged pigeons to their own self-gratifying noise while shyly peaking out behind unkempt bangs. Because, really, who needs perfectly played pop? Or head-bobbing hip-hop. What we need now is louder-than-necessary noise derived from too-cool kids tweaking knobs and turning dials in a box full of pedals. Fuck Buttons fit the bill. Their post-postness and scratchy, screechy assault of synths and percussion hypnotize. They do away with all the old rules, and have made their own. Like this one: Songs should be 10 to 12 minutes long, and they should be unlistenable. That’s why Pitchfork, NME , Mojo , Uncut and more have given them solid hand jobs. If you don’t get it, you’re a moron. A moron with taste.  

Tues., Nov. 3rd, 8pm. $10. With Growing. Kung Fu Necktie, 1248 N. Front St. 215.291.4919.  kungfunecktie.com

Once Was 

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 20:01:17 PDT

Since the Once Was vocalist and guitarist Frank Cervantes was in eighth grade, he’s been writing and recording songs. But three years ago, the Moorestown, N.J., native found himself playing with three other Moorestown kids—drummer Troy Clark, bassist Josh Dowiak and guitarist and pianist Jason Luber—and the four officially formed their band. 

“I’ve been writing songs and playing out forever, and I feel like bringing together these four guys was the fruition of everything I’ve worked for since I was a kid,” Cervantes says. “Now, it’s all coming together in this happy end-of-a-movie kind of way, where everyone cries because I get to play on a big stage with my friends.” 

The Once Was is set to headline the World Cafe Live to celebrate the release of their new EP Rugged City , just as they did earlier this year when they celebrated the release of their first LP in April. “That was something we worked on our whole life, just to get there, downstairs, to headline, and this will be our third time this year. Every show’s been getting bigger,” Cervantes says, not without a tinge of awe. 

The five tracks on Rugged City capture the band’s grandiose, full sound. Drawing heavily on classic and modern rock influences, including the Beatles, Bruce Springsteen and even the Cure, the songs are a bit dark and atmospheric, but with a strong pop sensibility and solid song structure and lyrics. 

“The last record was really mellow, really laid back, but this one is a ‘let’s dance’ kind of thing,” Cervantes explains. “That’s what we set out for, to pick this tune up, get people dancing, make ourselves dance. I think we’ve always been committed to making music we would want to listen to ourselves.” ■ 

Fri., Oct. 29, 7:30pm. $15. With Human People + Blue  Hippopotamus. World Cafe Live, 3025 Walnut St. 215.222.1400.  worldcafelive.com

Spectrum Music Memories

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 20:08:34 PDT

And so it ends. On Halloween night, Pearl Jam will play the final-ever show at the Spectrum. Soon after that, the ol’ brown building—once dubbed “America’s Showplace”—will be reduced to rubble, leaving only memories of four-plus decades of legendary concerts, Sixers and Flyers championships and more.

This week we caught up with five Philadelphia musicians who’ve played the Spectrum during their career to reminisce a bit about their experiences in the venue, both as fans and performers.

Tommy Conwell

Early Spectrum memory : “I got robbed in the bathroom one time trying to re-sell some acid at a Santana concert. I was just like, ‘Anybody wanna buy this?’ And some big dude just came up to me and said, ‘Can I see it?’ and just took it from me and walked away. That shows how street smart I was. I said, ‘Hey, gimme that back!’ and he said ‘Back off,’ and that was the end of it. It was like taking candy from a baby.”

On playing the Spectrum for the first time : “The first time we played there as a legitimate opening act, we opened for Bryan Adams. I’ll never forget: We went on the stage and the lights went down and we just start our first song, and you could see all the people rushing in from the exits and you could see the silhouettes—it was like an ant farm or something—all moving down to their seats because the show had started and it was us. That was really like a wow moment.”  

Favorite Spectrum story : “We were playing with George Thorogood and I had just bought some amps from Medley Music in Bryn Mawr. I’d been going to Medley Music my whole life and they never once said hello, you know what I mean? Jerkiest music store ever. They just went out of business. Anyway, so I bought these two amps and they called me that day and said, ‘Hey, they’re in, we’ll deliver them. What’s your address?’ I said, ‘Well, tell you what, I got a gig tonight ... just bring ’em to the Spectrum!’”  

DJ Jazzy Jeff 

Early Spectrum memories : “I wasn’t at a lot of shows—my whole thing was the Sixers. The first time I went there, it was the biggest place that I’d ever been in, and just looking in and seeing the court and seeing the Sixers logo on the floor ... and Dr. J came out and George McGinnis came out and it was like, wow, this is my team and this is my city. It was amazing.”  

On playing the Spectrum for the first time : “I think it might have been one of the worst shows me and Will ever did. When you perform in your hometown, and especially at a venue like that, you’re too excited. You’re so excited to be in front of your home fans that you just lose all focus. Even going down there for rehearsal, I’m standing there on the stage and I’m looking up and I’m seeing the scoreboard and the banners up in the ceiling and you’re like, ‘Whoa’ ... And then when we were doing the show, you’re rushing and you’re forgetting stuff, and you’re thinking, like, ‘My mom’s here!’”  

Favorite Spectrum story : “That was the place where we received our very first gold record—right on the Spectrum stage. It was during the Run-D.M.C. Raising Hell tour. The Philly gig came up and [ He’s the DJ, I’m the Rapper ] just went gold. So they wanted to present us with those records on the Spectrum stage because it was our hometown, and it was amazing.” 

Reggie Wu (Heaven’s Edge) 

Early Spectrum memories : “That was like the place growin’ up. I went to a ton of shows. I remember seeing Ozzy with Van Halen warming up, and Van Halen just completely smoked him. I saw Ted Nugent and Blue Oyster Cult probably a couple times. That was the place to go, the fog-filled Spectrum—everybody getting’ high, smokin’ up.” 

On playing the Spectrum for the first time : “We played with Dio and Yngwie Malmsteen, and I remember I had like three Marshall stacks, which at the time was huge for me. And Yngwie had 27 Marshall stacks set up at the back of the stage. So my stuff probably looked like a little pignose amp compared to what he had. And Dio had, like, a castle up there, so between his castle and Yngwie’s Marshalls, there wasn’t much room for us. But it didn’t matter. I guess by that point we kinda knew we were on our way out, but that night was truly, truly a dream come true.”  

Favorite Spectrum story : “Somebody said to us as we were walking down the corridor, ‘Just imagine—the Zeppelins, the Van Halens of the world all walked the same road here,’ and he was like, ‘Welcome, boys, to the other side of the barrier,’ and we were like, ‘Wow, that is awesome! This is too cool!’ 

Eric Bazilian (The Hooters) 

Early Spectrum memories : “I think the first show I went to was Cream. I saw Hendrix there, and I was there for the Stones in November of ’69. I saw some shit there.”  

On playing the Spectrum for the first time : “Our arena experience up to that point had been opening tours with Loverboy and Bryan Adams, so headlining there it was like kids in a candy store having the run of the big stage. When I was up there I was thinking, ‘God, I hope we’re filling the room,’ and when I watched it back on MTV I was reassured that, yes, we had filled the room.’ 

Favorite Spectrum story : “I used to take photos there and it was a lot easier to get around, you didn’t need photo passes. I remember at the Stones concert there was a bit of security, and I had to struggle to get close to the front, but I remember [famed Philadelphia concert promoter] Herbie Spivak saying to me, ‘Hey kid, do you wanna get up to the stage to take some pictures?’ It was pretty great.” 

John Oates (Hall & Oates) 

Early Spectrum memories : “I went there a lot in the late ’60s and early ’70s. I remember seeing Jimi Hendrix. One show that really stands out in my mind is the Band. They had just put out Life is a Carnival and Daryl and I went to see them and we were really impressed.” 

On playing the Spectrum for the first time : “I have to say, we felt like we had arrived. When you play a big arena like the Spectrum, it’s kind of a mark in your career as an entertainer. It’s like you’ve reached the pinnacle, at least in that city, because it’s the largest venue. So if you go into the largest venue, and especially if you sell it out or do really well there, it’s a notch on the handle.” 

Favorite Spectrum story : “It’s hard to say. You know, when you’re in the middle of a big giant tour, it just becomes this huge blur of cities and busses and airplanes and faces, especially in the ’80s when things were so crazy for us. You get to the venue and you get to the dressing room and then somebody puts you in a golf cart and takes you through the concrete hallways and then you’re on the stage. You could almost be anywhere. But at the same time, it’s Philly, it’s the Spectrum, so just playing there was always special.” ■