Fashion Week is near — time to spruce up. If you're the type who thinks you can never have enough shoes, you're likely to believe that you can never have enough room to buy more shoes. That's why British-born Elena Brennan is moving her Bus Stop Boutique from 750 S. Fourth St. to the larger, glassier front of 727 S. Fourth St., a few months shy of the store's fifth anniversary. Look for the new Bus Stop to open around Valentine's Day.
Also making a move away from its original address is the sassy Sazz Vintage Clothing. Currently holed up at 38 N. Third St., owner Amanda Saslow is prepping an address nearer her high-end men's clothing shop, Briar Vintage (62 N. Third St.).
Lone Justice made one decent kinda-sweet '80s cow-punk album that Chris Malcarney (The Donuts) and friends in Slo-Mo, Beretta76, John Train and Nixon's Head recall fondly. How fondly? Enough that they formed cLone Justice and spent months rehearsing for one show (at MilkBoy Philly this Friday), at which they'll perform that album in its entirety. This might seem like inside baseball, but it's a good nine innings we're talking about.
After 18 years of representing Tony Luke Jr., GT Marketing — Tyler Ward and George Polgar's PR duo — have backed off the pork. It has nothing to do with Luke losing a hundred pounds or hanging out at Wing Bowl as captain of Team Kobayashi (both he and Takeru Kobayashi donated cash to Philabundance), they say; George, Tyler and Ray Rastelli (CEO/owner of Rastelli Foods, which controls Luke's brands) have been discussing the move for a year. "Working with Tony Jr. has been a blast," says Polgar. "Personally, Tony Jr. and I are brothers in spirit and always worked hard together. Like brothers, we were never concerned that open, sometimes heated differences of opinion would shake the rock-solid bonds between us." Ultimately, George and Tyler decided that following Luke into his diverse business and creative endeavors would leave them less time to devote to other clients (like Munish Narula's Tashan and Tiffin projects), their grandkids and their sailing trips. Don't mess with GT's boat, yo.
As if Chris Benedetto Madak had any more room to go further out, the man behind Philly's eerily experimental Bee Mask (to say nothing of his equally avant-garde Deception Island label) heads into the sonic abyss at the AUX space at Vox Populi Gallery Feb. 10.
I'm not going to guide you in making plans for Valentine's Day. Get in love. Stay in love. Eat. But Il Portico, the royal old-school Tuscan-Italian restaurant at 1519 Walnut St., is launching a dining/dancing program that happens to start on V-Day. There'll be DJs to start, with Latin jazz and live bands to follow. I heart that.
There's more to heart at Critical Mass.
