Timothy Bieniosek, or relaxing on Flickr, posted some great photos of this weekend’s Tweed Ride on City Paper’s Photostream. I am in love with just about everyone in these. Click here to see more.

by holly otterbein for Critical Mass, 2009. | Permalink | Add the first comment | Add to del.icio.us
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Girls Rock Philly, the empowering rock ’n’ roll camp for young girls that makes me wish I were 12 again (until I recall what being 12 was actually like), is releasing its first album this Sat., Nov. 14 at Johnny Brenda’s (1201 N. Frankford Ave., 215-739-9684) at noon. (If you can’t make it, you can still purchase Who Rocks? Girls Rock!: Philly 2009 Camper Band Compilation for $10 on CDBaby.) Look above for a peek of the Girls Rock Philly DVD, which the little ladies say will be out wihin the next month or two.

by holly otterbein for Critical Mass, 2009. | Permalink | Add the first comment | Add to del.icio.us
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Don’t know what to do tonight? Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered.

— If you wouldn’t mind being persuaded to give up meat (noooooo! not my meat! not me!), take Lauren F. Friedman’s advice and see Jonathan Safran Foer talk about his book Eating Animals, which she likens to a more hardcore Omnivore’s Dilemma. He seems like a charming, good-dad type of guy in the Ellen clip above, and will be at the Central Branch of the Free Library (1901 Vine St., 215-567-4341) at 7:30 p.m. for free.

— Americans in France are doing their noisy, girly punk thing at the M Room (15 W. Girard Ave., 215-739-5577) at 8 p.m. for $8.

— Or there’s the gay/fashion option: Rebecca Wilkinson of brazen undies line Ginch Gonch will lecture about her experience marketing the company, and hopefully show off some models in the product … at the Bossone Auditorium (3128 Market St., 215-895-6993) at 6:30 p.m. for free.

Not satisfied? Check out today’s listings for more and more and more events.

by holly otterbein for Critical Mass, 2009. | Permalink | One comment | Add to del.icio.us
Categories: Fashion, Music, Night Moves, Reading
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The final presentation of the eighth annual First Person Festival was a screening of Still Bill by filmmakers Damani Baker and Alex Vlack. The film, which was shown to a packed house on Sunday night at the Painted Bride, is about soul great Bill Withers, who unexpectedly fled the music scene after penning a slew of R&B classics, including “Lean on Me” and “Ain’t No Sunshine.” I went expecting to see a movie that focused on the reasons why he left the business, but instead saw a bio-doc of a genuinely good-natured, deeply philosophical man who somehow managed to escape the sparkly, mainstream music world untainted. Molly Eichel gave a thorough review last week on Critical Mass, but I’m going to go out on a limb and say this is one of the best documentaries I’ve seen in a long time. It made me giggle, it made me sob and it inspired me to want to be better at what I do. What more could you ask for from a film? I loved it.

When it was over, Baker and Vlack came onstage for an impromptu Q&A session. They mostly talked about the process of making the film, which began with an e-mail to Withers nearly 10 years ago. When they finally got the go-ahead, Withers led them on a spontaneous filming spree across the country, including locations like his family cemetery in Slab Fork, W. Va., and a large tribute concert in New York. Though there was a slew of footage to weed through, Baker and Vlack pieced together a film that moved cohesively throughout. Their purpose, they said, was to live inside of Bill Withers so they could create a film that felt natural and true. One of the most interesting tidbits of information they shared was of a hard drive in Withers’ studio labeled “Unreleased Bill Withers Tracks.” Um, hello, could someone get around to releasing those please?(...)
Read the rest of FIRST PERSON FEST REVIEW: Still Bill (252 words)

by joshmiddleton for Critical Mass, 2009. | Permalink | 3 comments | Add to del.icio.us
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Every Tuesday, Critical Mass sifts through the art blog world so you don’t have to.

— One of the better things to come out of the Great Depression was the temporary public pursuit of what typically is part of the private sector: the arts. As part of Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal, the Works Progress Administration helped stimulate the weak economy by funding artists of all shapes and styles. In honor of this pretty damn wonderful idea, Phillyist reports that the National Constitution Center is hosting a WPA poster contest, open to all ages.

— Since the Phils lost last week, the cloud of Philly’s bruised pride has hung low over the city. Uwishunu is trying to ameliorate this precipitation by promoting a list of Philly firsts, which include the first fire department and stock exchange in the U.S. Take that NYC!

— To coincide with First Friday, Funnel Pages curated their own show … of Internet art. Pieces include a photographic storytelling of a whale hunt, a searchable, visual database of all of the nation’s business leaders, and an interactive color bar that changes along with your tweets. Now where’s the Internet wine and cheese?

— Something I’ve wanted for a really long time: a Fresh Prince and DJ Jazzy Jeff reunion. Unfortunately, according to Make Major Moves, Will Smith’s movie career keeps getting in the way. Maybe the two of them can find some time to sing the national anthem at Citizens Park during next year’s World Series.

— Leave it to Peter Dobrin, the Inky’s go-to music writer, to find a positive in the SEPTA strike. On his blog Arts Watch, Dobrin notes that there was one thing he really didn’t miss about the buses — the noise. But isn’t it a part of the city’s well-wrought orchestra? Almost like the low rumblings of timpani, if you will?

by kristenhumbert for Critical Mass, 2009. | Permalink | Add the first comment | Add to del.icio.us
Categories: First Friday, Music, The Curator, Visual Art
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A lot has been said about The Artblahg, a satirical take on The Artblog, including a predictable response from Philebrity and a not-so predictable one from Artblog proprietors Roberta Fallon and Libby Rosof. (They loved it! Um? Does that make them brave and cool or just foolish and naive?)

Its downsides are various — it’s poorly done (as one commenter said, it’s more cheesy MAD magazine than smarty-pants The Daily Show); it’s needlessly mean (Fallon and Rosof work damn hard, and they’d be missed in the community); the founder has yet to come out of the closet (could it be the editor of New Asshole?); and it makes some pretty stupid jokes (Smellebrity? Come on, dudes.) But, in the teeny tiny art world that is Philly, where everyone knows everyone and people’s egos are crushed by the smallest critiques, it’s a breath of fresh air (even if they do call us Philadelphia Shity — sp? — Paper). It’s about time we all toughened up. Plus, they make some pretty funny dumb jokes … spACED 10-666, anyone?

So, we cringe while thinking of look forward to the satire ahead. And we promise that the first post about Shitical Mass will get a mention here. Work out if you’re loving or hating it in the comments.

by holly otterbein for Critical Mass, 2009. | Permalink | 2 comments | Add to del.icio.us
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Don’t know what to do tonight? Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered.

— There’ve been more supergroups since the ’60s and ’70s than you may think (Broken Social Scene, The Dead Weather, Oysterhead), but none seem to embody the Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young archetype like Monsters of Folk do. Jim James and M. Ward have always been vocal and lyrical powerhouses, and Conor Oberst has never sounded better. (Artistically or personally. He’s way less whiney these days.) They play the Academy of Music (1420 Locust St., 215-893-1935) at 7 p.m. for $40.50-$50.50.

— Meanwhile, the real Monster of Folk, Bob Dylan, is down the street … in a lesser venue. Dylan’s maintained a position in my Top 5 Best Humans of All Time list since I was 13, but I’ve only seen him once. I’m glad I did, but I don’t need to again. Get your fill if you haven’t yet at the Liacouras Center (1776 N. Broad St., 800-298-4200) at 7:30 p.m. for $34.50-$49.50.

— And, yes, we told you about the Science on Tap series last week … but this week’s is too geeky cool not to mention. Colin Purrington, an evolutionary biologist at Swarthmore College, will discuss Charles Darwin’s legacy. Over drinks. And attendees get free “Charles Darwin Has a Posse” stickers. It goes down at National Mechanics (22 S. Third St., 215-701-4883) at 6 p.m. for free.

Not satisfied? Check out today’s listings for more and more and more events.

by holly otterbein for Critical Mass, 2009. | Permalink | One comment | Add to del.icio.us
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Like most children with access to a TV, I was all about the Street. Some 21 years after I initially saw it, I still often find myself singing this:

To mark the occasion, take a gander at an excerpt from Michael Davis’ Street Gang, about the landmark show’s long run.

So I showed you mine, now show me yours. Any Sesame Street skits that stood out to you? I’m also a huge fan of the B52’s Kate Pierson (in Muppet form!) and REM singing “Furry Happy Monsters” (want more music? Hecklerspray has a fun list of his top 10 musical performances. It skews recent but is still great). And pretty much anything the Count was involved with (1 ah ha ha ha, 2 ah ha ha ha ha — gets me every time!). I could go on … Share your favorite Sesame-flavored moments in the comments.

by Molly Eichel for Critical Mass, 2009. | Permalink | Add the first comment | Add to del.icio.us
Categories: TV, Watch
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On Friday night I went to see Brian Rafferty’s “Karaoke Obsessed,” part of the eighth annual First Person Festival at the Painted Bride. Now, before you see the word “karaoke,” roll your eyes and decide to scroll to the next post, you may want to give it a second thought. As Rafferty explained in his hourlong discussion, karaoke may be more than the country’s cheesiest pastime, but a hobby that could alter your life for the better.

Rafferty’s presentation began with an explanation about his childhood as a starry-eyed tot who dreamed of becoming a famous singer. It wasn’t until he was in his early 20s in a dingy karaoke bar in the Village that he finally found his voice and therefore an obsession that would change the tune of his life forever. He immediately dropped some extra weight, developed a swagger on the streets and became an instant hit in K-Boxes (individual karaoke rooms) around Manhattan. Next he explained how his fascination with karaoke eventually led him on a worldwide excursion to document its history and influence around the world. (As much as I enjoyed his talk, I have to admit the history section grew a little stale.) It was interesting to learn the meaning of the word karaoke, which is “empty orchestra” in Japanese, but I was entertained most when he shared his personal experiences, which were enhanced by a couple of embarrassing videos and snapshots from his early days on the karaoke circuit.(...)
Read the rest of FIRST PERSON FEST REVIEW: Karaoke Obsessed (250 words)

by joshmiddleton for Critical Mass, 2009. | Permalink | Add the first comment | Add to del.icio.us
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The Yes Men Fix the World opens with its protagonists frolicking in green, sun-dappled waters, dressed head to toe in business suits. Before the end of the documentary, they’ve manufactured candles ostensibly made from human remains, distributed a version of The New York Times with entirely good news and roamed lonely landscapes dressed in “Survivo-balls,” inflatable, “disaster-proof” suits they marketed to a frighteningly receptive audience of Halliburton product scouts.

In their more, erm, legitimate lives, the Yes Men, Mike Bonanno and Andy Bichlbaum, are professors of media arts and design, respectively. The Yes Men Fix the World, which was screened at Painted Bride on Nov. 5 as part of the First Person Festival, documents how they apply those disciplines and their Monty-Pythonesque spirit to a special brand of political activism they call “identity correction.” Briefly, this entails impersonating corporate figures to perform acts that are remarkably socially responsible, environmentally conscious or simply absurd, to get at larger truths about the corporation.(...)
Read the rest of FIRST PERSON FEST REVIEW: The Yes Men (434 words)

by Julia Harte for Critical Mass, 2009. | Permalink | Add the first comment | Add to del.icio.us
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