Been There/Done That: April 5

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Been There/Done That: April 5

POSTED: Monday, April 5, 2010, 4:32 PM

Filed Under: Been There, Done That

What we watched

When we're not editing and writing and proofing and stressing, we A&E editors keep busy getting our culture on. Since we (that'd be Patrick Rapa, music editor; Carolyn Huckabay, arts editor; Molly Eichel, movies/agenda editor; and occasionally Holly Otterbein, staff writer/arts patron) know Philly's teeming with artsy happenings, we'll give you a weekly roundup of where we've been and what we've seen. But we can't see it all. We're taking a cue from Team Meal Ticket — who diligently report on how they've spent their foodie weekends — and opening the floor to you: Leave a comment and let us know what you've been up to since Friday at 5.

CH: Carolyn Huckabay HO: Holly Otterbein ME: Molly Eichel

Where We Went: — Joined the First Friday masses (beautiful evening + NCECA Conference in town = no room on the sidewalk) to visit The Clay Studio's exhibit "Of This Century"; they had all four floors of the space open for perusal, including resident artists' studio spaces. Lots and lots of clay everywhere; very long bathroom lines. —CH — Checked out the opening of the Twin Peaks-themed art show at Piranha Betty's. Totally dug the space, clearly obsessed with the theme and loved the pie-tasting but was disappointed in the overall quantity of TP art. Give me more Special Agent Dale Cooper please! —ME What We Listened To: — En route to Easter dinner in Bethlehem, turned on This American Life's "Scenes from a Recession" episode, in which a Chicago couple deals with some pretty harrowing condo-maintenance woes after their developer jumps ship. —CH — After seeing West Phil banjo plucker Joshua Marcus sing elegantly, somehow, about mountaintop removal and other complex environmental issues at Studio 34 last week, I listened to his album Reverse the Charges. Just as elegant, but not quite as lyrically complex. Which is not a bad thing at all. —HO — Goddamn, if "Dog Days are Over" by Florence and Machine (who play the TLA tonight!) isn't one of the best driving-with-the-windows-down song of spring, then I don't know what is.

— Attempting to actually watch all 10 Best Picture Oscar contenders (albeit a bit late) this year; Friday night's selection was An Education. Newbie Carey Mulligan is pretty charming with those doe eyes, but I'll always hate Peter Sarsgaard for no good reason. Also, was disappointed by the (spoiler alert!) happy ending. —CH — Watched a flick I've been meaning to see for a while: The Great Happiness Space: Tale of an Osaka Love Thief, a doc about an upscale "host club" in Osaka, Japan. "Host club" basically means a strip club catered to females, except there's tickling and flirting instead of stripping, and then sometimes there's sex. I won't ruin it for you, but finding out what most of the female customers do for a living really shines a light on the sex industry in general. —HO — Some friends rigged up a projector on the roof and we screened Mitchell — starring the one, the only Joe Don Baker — Mystery Science Theater-style. Never a huge MST3K fan, but I have a soft spot for JDB, not to mention Dynasty's Linda Evans as a hooker who can't get enough of our Schlitz-drinking Main Man M (even though he insists on arresting her every time they bang). —ME What We Read: — Caught up with the week's celeb gossip via Entertainment Weekly's Bull's Eye. Anyone know what's going on with Megan Mullaly and Patton Oswalt? I didn't get the joke. —CH — NYT's "Can Animals Be Gay?" asks a big, old, gay question, and accordingly gives a few big, old, gay answers. One of them is a lesson that, no matter how many times you hear it, is hard to swallow — we shouldn't anthropomorphize, because animals are much more than little humans with fur. Thank God for that, right? —HO — Started Stieg Larsson's Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (the Swedish movie adaptation is in theaters now), which is engaging right from the prologue about a mysterious flower shipment. Me thinks I will start eschewing social obligation so I can finish this book. Anyone read it? Does it live up to the hype? —ME So, what'd you do this weekend? Leave your comments below!

Phil Rizzuto

Posted 2010-04-05 15:26:54

I watched Point Break!!!

Marc Steel

Posted 2010-04-05 15:30:05

Had friends in from out of town so media and arts were limited... Watched Jesus Christ Superstar (as per my Holy Week tradition) with a friend who had never seen it (they loved it). Listened to some old classic rock on my Fisher Price record player (you read that correctly), including Who's Next and Led Zeppelin IV. Watched one of the DVDs from Phish's Clifford Ball set and last night watched the fourth installment of The Pacific, which is getting increasingly horrifying.

Felicia D'Ambrosio

Posted 2010-04-05 15:45:15

Nice seeing you for ten seconds at the Twin Peaks art show.  Definitely returning to Pirahna Betty's to examine the peeky-boxes and dead Lauras in closer detail without all those Agent Dale Cooper fangirls breathing down my neck.  Ahem.

Went sans culture until Sunday evening, when Dad commandeered the remote to watch The Pacific.  Well-made stuff about the ugly reality of war; I wonder how soldiered survived then and now.

Posted 2010-04-05 15:56:43

Friday: before first Fridaying at the Clay Studio, i hit AKA and picked up the 12-inch vinyl of the She & Him Volume 2 and the 7-inch Apples in Stereo picture disc (yes, I'm a sucker) of Robert Schneider's song "Stephen, Stephen" as performed on the Colbert Report. Then watched An Education while babysitting for my nephew (who'd already gone to sleep) and thought it was just okay.

Saturday: Spent most of the day gardening while listening to the aforementioned She & Him album and the latest Ted Leo & the Pharmacists record (The Brutalist Bricks).

Sunday: While driving to Bethlehem for Easter dinner, listened to part of a Radio New Zealand show about Chris Knox and the Stroke compilation benefiting his recovery. Also listened to Seabear's We Built a Fire for the 100th time.

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Featuring everything from event roundups to concert reviews and sex talk, City Paper's Critical Mass is a space for off-the-wall coverage of Philly's A&E scene.

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