Archive: October, 2010

ART PHAG: President Obama says "It gets better"

POSTED: Monday, October 25, 2010, 3:00 PM

Filed Under: LGBTQ Art Phag

Wow, this is huge. A few weeks ago I posted about Dan Savage's It Gets Better Project, where adults are asked to make videos relaying hopeful messages to young gay people who may be having a difficult time being out around their peers. Now 100,000 members strong, one of the newest video installments is from President Obama, who filmed his piece straight from the White House. That's pretty awesome, Mr. President. Thanks.

Posted by Josh Middleton @ 3:00 PM Permalink | Post a comment

WKND SNDTRK: Rusko's "Hold On"

POSTED: Friday, October 22, 2010, 9:45 PM

Filed Under: Critical Mass

Earlier today I introduced you to Diplo protege, Rusko. Now, here's a song sampling to take you into the weekend. Of all the riveting rhythms and wobbly bass lines on O.M.G.!, "Hold On" is the sweetest. And while Gucci Maine cuts a mean rap on the album, this proves Rusko has an ear for a pretty voice, too. Featured on vocals is Amber Coffman from the Brooklyn-based experimental rock group Dirty Projectors. Enjoy.ï»¿

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ICE CUBES: Muscling In

POSTED: Friday, October 22, 2010, 8:53 PM

Filed Under: Critical Mass | Ice Cubes | Movies Film Fest

Darren Finizio

You saw it here first, now here's the rest: In his time behind the mic, Darren Finizio has been a Marc Bolan-like starchild folksinger, a weight lifting Muscle Factory man, a host of his own YouTube show (Darren's Basement), and the Hoppy from Hoppy The Frog. He's been at the center of the porn-metal Ass Bandits/Sperminator axis, a Paraplegic, the Well-Hung Man, and the subject of Marc Brodzik's first documentary, My Name Is Darren. To this date, he has yet to have become a part of the Pepsi generation that fills the Piazza at Schmidts â until now, until 3 p.m. this Sat., Oct. 23. "I'm still singing folk songs and need to play for people flesh to flesh like the old days," says the ultimate outside artist before sending me his newest "perverse" YouTube enterprises. Along with talking about his eternally burning desire to become a rock star ("where's all the good stuff that Satan promised me?"), Finizio lays out Muscle Factory's plans for shock and awe at the Piazza — kinda. "Muscle Factory will only perform new material and there will be no musical content in the newer material. People may hate me for it. So be it. You have to evolve or you become another relic." No fly will ever land on Finizio, that's for sure. Darren — one of them — has upcoming November shows at the Troc's Balcony following this Piazza gig. But make sure you catch Muscle Factory outdoors to see and hear what the future of Finizio might be. WHOWHATWHENWHERE: Never before did Philadelphia natives/celebutantes Jamie Kennedy and M. Night Shyamalan figure they'd be sharing a stage. But there they were, one right after the other at the Prince Music Theater when the 19th Philadelphia Film Festival debuted the locally shot CafÃ© with a Q&A starring its producer J. Andrew Greenblatt (the PFF's boss too), director/writer Marc Earlbaum and star Kennedy — followed by the 10th anniversary celebration and screening of Unbreakable with M. Night. "No one ever thought to cast me as a drug dealer, so that was a first," says Kennedy of his diabolical role in the tragicomic CafÃ©. "Plus this was my first kosher movie." Lacheim. For Shyamalan's part, he hold me that he missed the innocence of his pre-Sixth Sense days. "I had been around for two films that nobody saw by the time of Sixth Sense so I definitely lost a lot of my initial innocence. That's something I'd actually love to get back, that feeling of filmmaking and writing when it wasn't so much of a job, without so many expectations."

Scott Weiner 2010

Andrew Greenblatt, M. Night Shyamalan, Bhavna Vaswani & Sharon Pinkenson

Scott Weiner 2010

Marc Earlbaum and Jamie Kennedy

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ART PHAG: Mini queer music fest

POSTED: Friday, October 22, 2010, 8:00 PM

Filed Under: Critical Mass

sweatheartsweats.com

This weekend at the Rotunda (4014 Walnut St., 215-573-3234), seven queer-identifying bands are taking part in a fundraiser that will benefit Giovanni's Room and that damn wall they've been trying to pay for for over a year now. It's not their fault, people just aren't buying enough books. Among the bands putting in performances will be Amanda Blank-fronted rock group Sweatheart, Philly fag rappers Sgt. Sass and musical poetress Geppetta. The show starts at 6 p.m. and there's a suggested $5 donation.

Posted by Josh Middleton @ 8:00 PM Permalink | Post a comment

WEEKEND OMNIBUS: Don't get cheated

POSTED: Friday, October 22, 2010, 5:34 PM

Filed Under: Weekend Omnibus

Mark Gavin

Jennifer Childs being a silly goose in Why I'm Scared of Dance

Friday: We at the Omnibus believe that everyone should listen to their instincts. Sure, it's not easy when it whispers something you don't want to hear, but child, it's usually right. For instance, if you have suspicions that the special someone in your life is doing you wrong, then you may want to take some time out for the Donna Andersen reading this evening. She'll be reading from her book Love Fraud: How Marriage to a Sociopath Fulfilled My Spiritual Plan, and leading a discussion about the warning signs you should look out for if you think you're being cheated. If you leave feeling like you have to dump him/her, you can lift your spirits with some retail therapy at the Mad Tea Party at Bus Stop Boutique. Saturday: And if new shoes can't put a smile on your face, then Spiral Q's Peoplehood Parade & Pageant should definitely do the trick. Nothing says lovin' like a street full of colorful, monster-sized, gangly puppets, right? Ok, maybe that could be a little scary, but at least it would get your mind off things. Come on, you can't have it as bad as Jennifer Childs, who's admittedly making an ass of herself in 1812's latest production, Why I'm Scared of Dance. Read Mark Cofta's review, then go see it in the attempt to let someone else's follies make you feel better. Sunday: First things first: start the day with a stiff-ass bloody mary. That should put you out for a few hours, then you can head to the Cheyenne Marie Mize show at the Manhattan Room. She's a good ol' Kentucky gal who sings pretty songs about friends and rest — two things you could probably use right about now.

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TONIGHT: OMG! Meet Rusko, Diplo's first out-of-town hire.

POSTED: Friday, October 22, 2010, 3:00 PM

Filed Under: Music

photo | Chris Paules

"I never set out to change dubstep, I just made what I liked and it happened to fit into that category. I push boundaries when I make music but I'm all about the rave. I make bass driven party music. I have fun and I think that translates." If dubstep had a breakout star — that is, if decade old genres are capable of breakouts — it'd be Rusko. He's got the wobbly bass-thrummed hits, like "Cockney Thug," the underground associations with fellow dubstepper Caspa, the aboveground connections to Santigold, Hot Chip and M.I.A. He's got the even-brighter future, upcoming productions for Britney Spears and Lady Gaga. He plays the Trocadero tonight. To quote "D'Angelo" in Sweet Smell of Success: "that's a lollipop that, boy. The kid is only great." Wes Pentz — the Philly DJ-producer-CEO better known as Diplo — thought so highly of the Brit's clipped sampling and cutting rhythms that he released Rusko's new CD, O.M.G.! on his Mad Decent label and made it his first out-of-town signing "When I met Rusko, I thought he was the sound of the end of the world," says Dip. "He reminds me of the kinda guy that all the bad guys you kill in Double Dragon, with leather jackets and mohawks, listen to. Or a rave with Tina Turner at the Thunderdome. Yes, two quarters apocalypse, one teaspoon of krunk and a pinch of reggae, washed over with a glaze of bass. He fits in perfectly with the Mad Decent family." Chris "Rusko" Mercer couldn't agree more. After moving from the UK to LA he met Switch of Major Lazer at a house party in 2008 then quickly climbed the Mad Decent ladder to Diplo himself. "It's been a really wicked ride," exclaims Rusko "They push the envelope and that's why we work well together. Mad Decent gave me the freedom to do what I wanted with my album." What that means is that O.M.G.! goes beyond dubstep's outward bound confines to include the rubbery rap of the Dirty South (courtesy Gucci Maine) as well as Rusko's own snappy vocalese. His version of the jutting rhythmic fuzak too is a whole helluva-lot more melodic than that of the genre's dark and minimalist forefathers Skream, Kode9 and Plastician. "I never set out to change dubstep, I just made what I liked and it happened to fit into that category. I push boundaries when I make music but I'm all about the rave. I make bass driven party music. I have fun and I think that translates." He plays the piano, saxophone, guitar and bass and was in ska and punk bands as a kid where he wrote most of the music and the lyrics. "I don't like simple music. ... Then again, maybe I'm just going through a particularly musical phase," laughs Rusko regarding O.M.G.!'s most sonorous qualities heard on the caramel-coated "You're On My Mind Baby," the disco-tinged "Feels So Real" and the jungle-booked "Kumon Kumon." "It's hard work, bruv," says Rusko when asked about the time he put in to craft such storied songs and hyped-reggae grooves, especially the ones where the Guch ("Diplo set that up. I love the South") took part and Dirty Projectors' Amber Coffman sang. While Rusko has gone beyond dubstep and the raunchiness of "Cockney Thug" ("I didn't mean to write a masterpiece") with this debut album of his, I couldn't help but dip back to the idea of manic dubstep balls. But I didn't care about the differences between London where he started and Los Angeles' rave scene where he dwells now. What about Philly where his label's home base is and where he's hung from time? "Ummm, you lot are just fuckin' rowdy. It's the home of Mad Decent so ya'll represent hard. I remember a day there during the Major Lazer tour — a whole bus load of geezers, plus Mimi who danced with them. We had been living in such a small space for so long that Switch and I decided to check ourselves into the nicest hotel in town." Sadly Rusko does not remember which quality lodging he had during that Phillly pit stop. "But we got these lush rooms and then sat down to a full 10 course meal with wine pairings. It was the craziest thing going from living on a hot smelly bus and eating fried chicken every day straight to feather pillows and foie gras. That was like a real rock star move" Fried chicken, fois gras, dubstep and dancing geezers — O.M.G.! Rusko plays Fri., Oct. 22, 9:30 p.m., $15-$19, with Dirty South Joe & Flufftronix, Trocadero, 1003 Arch St., 215-922-6888, thetroc.com.

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POETIC LICENSE: Horoscopes, Oct. 22-28

POSTED: Friday, October 22, 2010, 2:00 PM

Filed Under: Poetic License

Critical Mass welcomes devoted poet/avid concert-goer/nerd-grrrl extraordinaire Jane Cassady to the fold; her weekly horoscopes will run in this space every Friday morning.

Scorpio (Oct. 22-Nov. 22): Happy birthday-month! Here's what I appreciate about you: You appear in all my dreams about gambling. You appreciate lightning bugs' freedom. You have a tendency toward hats. Give yourself something glowing this week, something warm and a little retro.

Sagittarius (Nov. 23-Dec. 22): So called "free spirits" often seem (to this Virgo, at least) to be the most enslaved. Embrace your logistics. See how many things you can lavishly plan for. Light a candle for your perpetual calendar. Make a toast to every step you've purposefully taken. Capricorn (Dec. 23-Jan. 20): It's like in that movie All Summer in a Day. A little girl from Earth is living on Venus, where it does nothing but rain. One day, the sun comes out, and some mean Venus girls lock her in a room. A streak of sun falls across the floor and onto her hand. Except here, you know, it's sunny a lot more often. Aquarius (Jan. 21-Feb. 19): Lily Tomlin said "Forgiveness means giving up all hope for a better past." I'm trying to do this, but I keep getting snagged on little nails and splinters of love and regret. Love and luck to us both. Pisces (Feb. 20-March 20): My very, very wise friend Shanny Jean told me that whenever she feels impressed/enamored/ intimidated by someone, she resists the urge to run away and instead asks them to be her pen pal. This is some of the most useful advice I've ever gotten. Aries (March 21-April 18): One of my favorite grown-up poetry students sent me an acceptance letter that she got for some of her poems. I had the following two thoughts: 1. THAT IS AMAZING! I am so PROUD! and 2. That journal rejected me...Mostly number 1, though. Taurus (April 19-May 18): Andy Warhol said â"An artist is someone who produces things that people don't need to have but that he — for some reason — thinks it would be a good idea to give them." Apply this any way you want to, from murals to mix tapes to simply giving someone the what-for. Gemini (May 19-June 21): The Dandy Warhols said "A long time ago, we used to be friends/But I haven't thought of you lately at all/If ever again/ a greeting I send to you, short and sweet is all I intend." Lies! Lies, I tell you.

Cancer (June 22-July 23): ): In case you didn't get to watch the season finale of Mad Men, here are some anti-spoilers for you: Betty didn't have any breakthroughs, Don "Only likes the beginning of things," and Sally is getting closer and closer to her Valley of the Dolls-esque spinoff.

Leo (July 24-Aug. 23): The wife and I are obsessed with Veronica Mars. Originally, I was distrustful of Veronica because she is an intrepid So-Cal blondie who is not Buffy. But the adorableness of Kristen Bell won out, and here we are. Veronica's advice for you is: "Here's what you do ... you get tough."

Virgo (Aug. 24-Sept. 23): The Last Weatherman is a new poem by Derrick Brown. It's all about this weatherman who keeps flubbing his lines until he turns them into poetry. I like stories about how you fuck up until you find the work you're meant to have. Jeez, I hope they're true.

Libra (Sept. 24-Oct. 21): Luckily, you are not a Calvinist. Your fate is not predetermined. Decide for yourself whether or not you have been given grace, and then go out and do something fun.

Note: The awesome thing about made-up horoscopes is that the stars take requests. Comment with your sign and wishes, and I'll use them as inspiration in the coming weeks.

Posted by Jane Cassady @ 2:00 PM Permalink | Post a comment

Q&A with Tony Goldwyn: "Life is gray, and relationships are, too"

POSTED: Thursday, October 21, 2010, 5:30 PM

Filed Under: Interview | Movies Film Fest

Tony Goldwyn may be most recognizable to audiences as an actor who appeared in films like Ghost and From the Earth to the Moon, or as the voice of Tarzan in the 1999 film. But Goldwyn, the grandson of famed producer Samuel Goldwyn, has slowly been making his mark behind the camera. His directorial debut, A Walk on the Moon, written by Pamela Gray, was a terrific romance. Between features, he has directed episodes of Justified, Damages and Dexter for TV. Now he's has helmed his most ambitious project yet — the true story of Betty Anne Waters (Hillary Swank), a single mother of two who puts herself through law school to exonerate her brother Kenny (Sam Rockwell) for a crime he didn't commit. In this Q&A, Goldwyn talks about his career and his new film, Conviction. City Paper: Why did you shift your career from acting to directing? Tony Goldwyn: I never had any desire to direct at all, but 10 years into my career I felt limited, and so I started planning ahead and looking to be more proactive and take control of my career. I looked into producing, and thought I could develop projects. I got [Pamela] Grey's script, A Walk on the Moon, and I couldn't act in it, but I had a strong point of view about how it should be done, and [making it] I realized I loved directing. CP: Do you want to keep taking roles in front of or just behind the camera? TG: Acting is a good way to earn a living, but directing has become my primary focus. Directing feature films is the most challenging and interesting, and the fullest use of my skills as an artist. GK: Do you feel being in a famous film family destined you for a career in film? TG: The pressure I felt was that I better be successful if I was going to get into this, since the bar was set high. As I kid, I wanted nothing to do with it, but I started acting in high school and the bug bit me. In my 20s it was tough — a big name to live up to — but once I got the ball rolling, I feel lucky to be a part of the legacy and make a small contribution to it. CP: You've directed a dozen shows for TV, but only a few feature films. What stamps Conviction a Tony Goldwyn film? Is there a hallmark to your work? TG: I've made four films in 10 years, and directing for TV is fast — so film is a bigger undertaking. I think that [my work] is about exploring relationships — I'm interested in that theme — in Conviction between a brother and a sister or in Moon, a husband and wife with a marriage in crisis, or Last Kiss, turning 30 and facing a lifetime of commitment — so I'm relationship based. In taking on a story, I try to look at things as honestly as I can — showing all sides of an issue, not bad/good guys. Life is gray, and relationships are, too. I try to find the light in the dark, and not find anything too idealized or glossy. CP: Where did you first learn about Betty Anne's story and why did appeal to you? TG: I found Betty Anne and secured the rights nine years ago. My wife saw a piece on 60 Minutes about it, and I said I was too busy to watch. But I agreed that it's a natural story for a movie. What got my interest was the brother/sister story — there aren't a lot of them to be told. She spent 18 years of her life on her brother. What if she was wrong or unsuccessful? Would that have validated her faith? In this context, her struggle was gripping. CP: Because you are an actor, you know how to work with actors. What guidelines did you give the cast — Hillary has a great moment when she drops to her knees outside her house after a huge setback, and Juliette Lewis chews the scenery with relish in her two scenes. TG: I spend a lot of time talking to the actors. I cast very carefully, and make sure that they have the essence of what I need for the character. Casting is more than half of it. I communicate to them what I need, and we get clear on what we are trying to achieve. I give them freedom to explore the material and make them feel they can do anything they want — even if I guide them in a different direction. I try not to limit them as actors, or have them fight for their point of view. As a director, I'm only as good as the actors I work with, even if I don't agree with them. They can express themselves and surprise me, and things are usually better when they do that. CP: Conviction reunites you with Pamela Grey, who wrote A Walk on the Moon. Why are you both drawn to telling strong female-centric stories? TG: I'm very self-destructive! I don't really know the answer to that. Women fascinate me. I was close to my mother; she was an interesting, complicated woman. Women mystify me. Kenny, the man in this story, is a fascinating story. I'm impressed by women. I like strong women in my life. I'm drawn to them — the ones I'm friends with, and fall in love with ... my two daughters. I want them to be strong. They face adversity, which is good food for drama. CP: Can you describe how you approached the material — e.g., braiding the story as three interwoven strands around a single theme? TG: There was 40 years of story. The hazard of the story was the Movie of the Week version — we wanted to avoid that and find a compelling, original, organic way of telling it. We came up with the idea of the three time periods to tell it: her law school, 1995-2001; the moment of the crime 1980; and then the flashbacks to the characters as children. I thought it would be elegant and go back/forth in time from Betty Anne's point of view. I didn't want flashback devices to tell us where we were in time, or use film stock to indicate transition, but there was emotional logic to the transitions, but that audiences would have to work to know where we were. A lot was conceived in script, but we changed in the cutting room. We found that by chopping those [scenes] up and making them more impressionistic and using them as triggers and touchstones they were very effective. CP: One of the perils of telling a true story like this is that the outcome may be known in advance. How did you keep the story interesting so audiences are getting goosebumps, or welling up in tears? TG: It really is about creating a sense of doubt. People are pretty sure how it's going to turn out, or that she might be wrong, and then what? That does two things for me, it creates great dramatic tension — maybe you don't know where it's going — but the bigger issue is that when people do extraordinary heroic things in life, they don't seem heroic, but insane, or that people think she's illogical or unreasonable. She was a woman obsessed. I want the audience to doubt her, or feel that opposition and confusion and chaos and doubt her, so that when someone who made this kind of commitment and this act of faith that it's emotionally impactful and [you] experience viscerally what she believes in, when all logic and reason says the opposite. You try to tell the truth. That's what life is like. To do otherwise is not honest. I hate when things are glossed over or softened up. I don't like things gratuitously grim or gritty. We could have made it relentlessly grim or dark. But Betty Anne is a passionate, positive person. To watch her suffer would not be accurate to her character. CP: As Betty Anne asks her kids — would you go that far for your brother? TG: Well, I don't know. You never know until you're in that situation. I have five siblings and I'm close and devoted to all of them. When I was a little kid, I felt that the one person I couldn't live without was my brother, and that used to cause me anxiety. I don't know if I have what Betty Anne does, but I hope I do. In my life now, I ask, "How am I actively loving the people in my life who I say I love?" I hope people come away from this film asking that question. We have become self-focused and take a lot for granted.

Posted by Gary M. Kramer @ 5:30 PM Permalink | Post a comment

FASHION: An homage to farting

POSTED: Thursday, October 21, 2010, 4:22 PM

Filed Under: Shopping | Philly Artists Fashion

This week, Store 1026 is celebrating Andrew Jeffrey Wright Fashion Week 2010 by unveiling four new, locally produced t-shirts. Some of them are hilarious, some of them are funky and they all cost $16. My favorite is the homage to the crop duster in all of us, Walkin' and Fartin'. The models are pretty great, too. Work it!

Posted by Josh Middleton @ 4:22 PM Permalink | Post a comment

Remembering Ari Up of The Slits

POSTED: Thursday, October 21, 2010, 3:00 PM

Filed Under: In Memoriam | Music

Ari Up, lead singer of The Slits — a '70s/'80s-era British punk band that always turns up on my favorite rock ladies' list of influences — has passed away, according to the web site of John Lydon (aka Johnny Rotten, aka Up's stepfather). The post cites a "serious illness" as the cause. I only saw Up perform once at a Sugar Town show at the Balcony in February of 2002. Beforehand, Sam Adams interviewed Up for City Paper:

"It was OK for the Pistols, for The Clash, for the boys to be bad," Up recalls by phone from her Brooklyn pad, her voice a unique amalgam of her native German, British and a dash of patois from her long years living in Jamaica. "Or at least it was barely acceptable. With us, I mean, it was just unthinkable. They were spitting on me when I walked down the street. One guy stabbed me on the street. I just walked on the street and this guy tried to kill me! I was lucky it was winter and I had a really thick coat on. He was a disco type of guy, very slick looking — exactly one of those harmless-looking people that never got a bad reputation as being violent, unlike the punks. He stabbed me from top to bottom, but then it only caught my coat and then my butt. I still have the scar."

The show was really just insane, with Up — flanked by a few unnamed MCs — sing-talk-chanting her way through a loooong set full of reggae-punk and hip-hop. Then she refused to leave the stage when her time was up. Eventually somebody shut off the power, but Up was still up there doing some a cappella stuff before a befuddled and thinning crowd. I remember her cursing some people out, too, not sure why. The show was... not fun or good, but it was utterly unique and, considering one of the main tenets of punk is to not give a fuck, it was a fairly authentic experience. The Slits, who regrouped a few years ago, were actually fun and good — and also defiant, groundbreaking and influential — and I regret not making it out to see Up doing the kind of stuff she did best. But I don't regret seeing her then; it was unforgettable. (h/t Amy Phillips, Pitchfork)

Gabby

Posted 2010-10-21 10:13:49

shocking news. thank you for this video.

Posted by Patrick Rapa @ 3:00 PM Permalink | Post a comment

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10

PHILLY LOVE NOTES: An ode to Spruce Street
Q&A with SHARI SOLANIS: "The goal isn't pornography"
ICE CUBE: In Memoriam: Joe Tartaglia
CONCERT REVIEW & PHOTOS: James Blake @ TLA 5/11
What we're trying to do this weekend
SEXY TIME Q&A: I've never had an orgasm during sex with a man — and I'm 30!
Coming soon to Philly: Two cockamamie movie promotion schemes
Q&A with Tony Goldwyn: "Life is gray, and relationships are, too"
CONCERT REVIEW: Primus (3D & quadraphonic sound) @ The Tower 10/17
ICEPACK ILLUSTRATED: The Archbishop meets the Geator, the Mayor goes suit shopping, Le Bec Fin fin.

About this blog

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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