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ICE ILLUSTRATED: ?uesto, Riolama, Jimmy DePre, Low Cut Connie, Pauly D, et. al
Parting is sweet sorrow, no doubt. So we're particularly sorrowful now that the Pennsylvania Ballet's principal dancer Riolama Lorenzo has retired. The Cuban-born, one-time New York City Ballet dancer has been with the PaBa for 10 years, taking on famed roles such as Giselle with grace. Last weekend she did her final performances at the Merriam, took her emotional final bows on Sunday and danced through her choice of Matthew Neenan's Keep as her last performance. The entirety of the night's program Pushing Boundaries: Forsythe & Neenan was stirring but Lorenzo's last blast was something all-together different - joyful and sad all in one moment. Sigh. (For more, see Janet Anderson's review here.)
ICE ILLUSTRATED: ?uesto, Riolama, Jimmy DePre, Low Cut Connie, Pauly D, et. al
Parting is sweet sorrow, no doubt. So we’re particularly sorrowful now that the Pennsylvania Ballet’s principal dancer Riolama Lorenzo has retired. The Cuban-born, one-time New York City Ballet dancer has been with the PaBa for 10 years, taking on famed roles such as Giselle with grace. Last weekend she did her final performances at the Merriam, took her emotional final bows on Sunday and danced through her choice of Matthew Neenan’s Keep as her last performance. The entirety of the night’s program Pushing Boundaries: Forsythe & Neenan was stirring but Lorenzo’s last blast was something all-together different — joyful and sad all in one moment. Sigh. (For more, see Janet Anderson’s review here.)
It’s no secret that Il Portico on Walnut Street does the old world Tuscan dining thing — subtly spiced baby lamb chops, pillowy pastas, a radically tender veal Osso Bucco — to perfection. They’ve got towering crystal chandeliers and an elegant environment of deep mahoganies — very sexy. But on Valentine’s Day, executive chef/owner Al Delbello kicked off a musical program in Il Portico’s upstairs space, Club Adesso, with disco-phonic DJ Jimmy DePre (he learned under Jerry Blavat). Along with DePre, there will be live Latin and small jazz ensembles throughout the weeks to come. Fans of Rittenhouse Row know Adesso from its heated hip-hop weekend soirees. Be about it.
Alliteration and the art of cranky Philadelphia bands is what makes Feb. 22 at the Troc’s Balcony great: Sean Richie, Swedeland and Sara & the Streetwalkers keep the letter “S” in check. Next week, the “L”s.
The corner of 10th and Carpenter has been, within the 12 years I’ve lived in the Italian Market, an old guy social club, InFusion coffee house, Filter coffee house and the Mazag Café filled with fabulous Egyptian food fare (we still miss Koshary Wednesdays). As of last week, it is the Books n Beans, a tea-n-coffee nook with a used book component.
The Lost Children of Babylon (with Stretch the Mad Scientist), the WaxOnWaxOffMusikGroup and Mad World lead the groove parade that’ll stroll through Little Bar on Feb. 18, an early show starting at sundown.
Speaking of soul-city-walking, The Philadelphia Tribune’s Bobbi Booker pushed the agenda of a Soul Train Dance line in commemoration of the life, death and legacy of Don Cornelius and got some 2,100 plus peeps to help her snag a Guinness Book World Record for longest soul train line. Joining Booker in front of the Philadelphia Museum of Art was DJ E. Steven Collins, councilwoman Blondell Reynolds Brown, congressman Bob Brady and Mayor MC Nutter. Shouts and prayers were also raised for the late great Whitney Houston.
Daryl Hall is taking his Live from Daryl's House web program on the road with and his band, soul singer Sharon Jones and Philly-chef Tony Luke,. Luke has also appeared on the program, will be the host of a video cooking segment on how to prepare his cheesesteak. They'll be at Atlantic City's Music Box at the Borgata April 14. The last time Daryl did his House show live was last year with Upper Darby's Todd Rundgren.
Philly’s Lee Daniels may coax Oprah Winfrey (one of his producers on Precious) back to the world of acting, if the Hollywood Reporter is correct. For his next film Daniels is directing The Butler, the tale of a black man, Eugene Allen, who worked as butler in the White House, serving eight presidents from 1952 to 1986. Presently, John Cusack, Hugh Jackman and Mila Kunis have been named as potential co-stars with David Oyelowo (Red Tails, Daniels’ upcoming The Paperboy) to portray the butler.
Right after Le Castagne (1920 Chestnut) signs on for an evening of rich foods and wine pairings from Puglia, Italy with the Gelso Bianco Cooking School and visiting chef Laura Giordano (Feb. 23), we see (courtesy The Insider) that the Sena family (they own Castagne as well as La Famiglia) is opening Spiga at 13th and Locust in the space that used to house the old old Girosol. Brian Wilson, who is now at Le Castagne will slide over to the mod-Italiano Spiga in early spring.
Is it me or did Sharon Pinkenson’s Greater Philadelphia Film Office get a brand new dot org with all the slick banging bells and whistles it should have?
While DJ ?uestlove gears up for a night of spinning at the African American Museum in Philly (March 2, the Next Level party), his cohort in The Roots, Tariq Trotter/Black Thought hosts Let’s Move It Philly, a charity party for his GrassROOTS Community Foundation Feb. 18 at Sigma Sound on N. 12th. Trotter and ?uestlove will take to the stage along with poet/DJ Rich Medina, Power 99’s Diamond Kuts and one-time CP cover girl Nikki Jean. Tix?
Congrats to the Philly few who won some odd-ball Grammys. WMGK’s Debbi Calton and Cyndy Drue, Hooter Eric Bazilian, and the local likes of artists such as John Flynn, Skip Denenberg, Grover Silcox, Helen Bruner, Terry Jones and Grover Silcox won for their part of the Best Children’s Album All About Bullies Big and Small. The Christian McBride Big Band won for Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album. And Vince Giordano won a Grammy for Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media for HBO’s Boardwalk Empire.
If you haven’t had enough of the Boss this week what with the National Constitution Center’s immense Springsteen showcase (See Deni Kasrel’s write-up here.), you can catch Philly’s Adam Weiner and the rest of Low Cut Connie when they get interviewed by the great Dave Marsh on his show on E Street Radio on Sirius XM on Feb. 19, 10 a.m.-noon. “The band’s gonna be playing live on his show sometime in March, no date yet,” says Weiner who is also in discussions with Little Steven’s Garage Underground program and recording Low Cut Connie’s second album, Call Me Sylvia. “Think Jerry Lee Lewis Live at the Starclub if you want to know what the new one’ll sound like,“ says Adam.
WHOWHATWHERE: High-haired Jersey Shore participant Pauly D just got the gig as the new resident DJ at The Pool After Dark at Harrah’s Atlantic City starting March 31. Philly’s own Christina Perri — known for “Jar of Clay” and her contributions to the Twilight soundtrack series — stopped home between stops from her international tour and hit MIX 106.1 iHeart performance Theater in Bala Cynwyd. Chaske Spencer and Tinsel Korey from Twilight: Breaking Dawn made their shadowy selves apparent to the crew of Mix 106.1 FM and PHL17. Jarrod Spector, one of the ring-a-ding-iest of the Jersey Boys, performed at Loews Hotel last week for the start of its Live at Loews hotels, Thursdays once a month. Philly expats Tim & Eric (Heidecker and Wareheim) breezed through town on Valentine’s Day, hitting the Ritz at da Bourse live with a goofy Q&A from their rabid fans after the screening of Tim & Eric’s Billion Dollar Movie.
(a_amorosi@citypaper.net) (@ADAmorosi)
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