Archive: April, 2010

PROJECT RUNWAY: Finale, All growed up

POSTED: Friday, April 23, 2010, 8:22 PM

Filed Under: TV ProjRun

New York Magazine

L-R: Seth Aaron, Mila, Emilio

It's finally over! Viewers rejoice! Don't get me wrong, here, I love the great ProjRun just as much as the next reality TV lover/fashionista/person with eyes, but this season was more than a little boring. It may be the fact that this was the seventh season and there just isn't anything new or exciting left to do on this show. Like fashion itself, it all just keeps repeating. The episode began with Seth Aaron introducing his line, citing the '40s Russian and German military as his inspiration. There was so much black and white it could have been mistaken for something Mila dreamed up. That is, of course, until you took a second to look closer. First off, there was red. And one purple dress, too! His showcase piece — the red wool dress — was gorgeous with the perfectly constructed pleats on the shoulders and darts at the waist. There was black leather detail, belted at the model's center, and running vertically from waist to neck. Suddenly, Seth Aaron has grown up and moved away from the goth/punk/whatever fashion found in malls across America. In his months working at home, the man started designing like, well, a man, and no longer like a hobbyist. What he had been making before was for edgy young girls on, say, the streets of Williamsburg or LA. His new collection is for adults — still edgy and even more fashion forward. There's still black leather, bulky jewelry (or "hardware"), plaid and Beetlejuice tights. You could see Seth Aaron's signature look, but it wasn't redundant, it wasn't the same old thing we've been seeing. Emilio's collection was also unexpected. He went very sportswear-y and made a collection that, as the judges pointed out, proved that he was commercial and marketable. His "Color Me Bad" collection was rife with color, clearly. There was a wearable but dull red dress, a wonderfully-tailored azure blue jacket and the E. Sosa cammo fabric used in a few pieces. The final dress to come down the runway was obviously meant to be a showstopper. It was metallic gold and floor length, looking like liquid, only lighter. It was so beautiful it could make you weep. When Mila, moron to end all morons, went up to introduce her collection she said, "I was inspired by shadows." Right here I could insert some cranky comment about how asinine this woman is, or how ridiculous she is with her dark brooding nature, but I won't. She said she was inspired by shadows, and I think that that's insulting enough. Her collection was a huge shock: color everywhere. There were brilliant blues and shimmering turquoise and rich, deep blood oranges. No, I'm totally kidding. She was inspired by shadows, remember? There was no color, which is just what we saw last week from her. Oh, and every week for the past 14 weeks. There was black, there was grey, there was white. Ooohhh. Shadows. Spooky. During the judging Heidi brought up an astute point: What are we judging them on? Their commercial appeal? Willingness to learn? Are they being judged on simply the Fashion Week collection or the entire season? I don't think the answer was ever made clear. It was evident, though, that Mila's work just wasn't good enough, and the moment we've all been waiting for came upon us at last: Heidi said Auf Wiedersehen to the color blocking queen. Who cares how it actually ends, now? Mila's gone. I could have turned the TV off right then and there. But out of curiosity I decided to see who won the whole shebang. Who could it be? Sophisticated mall punk or the dude who names his collection "Color Me Bad." In the end, it was Seth Aaron jumping up and down and crying. Emilio, that salty little bitch, couldn't even pretend to be happy for his friend. He was a sad, mopey mess. Then he quoted dear Anthony and said, "You don't have to have the crown to be the king." Anthony said "queen," you ass. Emilio can't do anything right. Seth Aaron's dedication brought him to ProjRun, and his talent landed him at Bryant Park. But I believe it was wise old Tim Gunn on Seth Aaron's trampoline that — like rubbing the belly of the Buddha — brought him a world of good luck.

Posted by Julia West @ 8:22 PM Permalink | Post a comment

Damon Feldman sets up site for Sandra Bullock's homewrecker and porn star

POSTED: Friday, April 23, 2010, 7:30 PM

Filed Under: Critical Mass

Scott Weibnerg

L-R: Billy Reill, Damon Feldman, Ron Starr

Flyers fans had their Bud 'n' wings experience interrupted last night at the South Philadelphia Bar & Grille when recently besieged Celebrity Boxing Federation CEO Damon Feldman showed up to make a few announcements about that not-allowed-in-PA fight he had coming up in May. (We've got all the deets here.) Feldman announced that he's bringing is now a women's celebrity wrestling lightweight championship bout starring Michelle "Bombshell" McGee — the supposed Nazi sympathizer who slept with Sandra Bullock's husband — and porn babe Gina Lynn to Pennant East (Crescent Boulevard & Kings Highway) in Bellmawr, NJ on May 7. There will also be some dude-on-dude action. New wrestlers Shaunie Styles and Jesse James (not Sandy's hubs) will be pit against each other, in addition to the return of Jerz/South Phil fave pro-wrestler Billy Reil, who double as a writer for Wrestling-News.com. Reill is probably known for capturing a roller skating purse snatcher in the Italian Market in 2002 and chasing a bank robber after a Prudential Savings Bank heist in 2004. He'll fight off Ron Starr. At the South Philly Grille announcement, the two threw some punches at each other and knocked over more than a few plates of french fries. I was surprised that Attorney General Tom Corbett didn't show up and say that they didn't have a license to toss around those fries.

Posted by A.D. Amorosi @ 7:30 PM Permalink | Post a comment

THEATER REVIEW: Romeo and Juliet @ Annenberg Center, 4/21

POSTED: Friday, April 23, 2010, 6:30 PM

Filed Under: Arts Theater

"Did my heart love till now? Forswear it, sight! For I ne'er saw true beauty till this night."

Teenage love is anything but subtle. The story of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet is the quintessential love story, adapted and readapted year after year. Luckily, The Acting Company and The Guthrie Theater seem to have gotten it right. The two Tony award-winning acting companies are taking over the Annenberg Center's stage this week with a traveling production of Romeo and Juliet. The classic play, directed by Penny Metropulos, stays true to the Bard's words, but everything else has a subtly modern treatment. Fair Verona is cleverly staged in Edwardian-era Italy, with understated details that delight. Gone are the ruffled costumes, replaced by snappy suits and flat caps. The party scene in which the star-crossed kiddies first meet is peppered with contemporary details: Guests swing to music warbling from a phonograph, fireworks light up the night sky, ladies dance in glittering gowns. Shakespeare's poetry, often dense and difficult to understand for the casual audience, is punctuated by cheeky humor and delivered with confidence. Sonny Valicenti and Laura Esposito are well paired as Romeo and Juliet. In their hands, tender moments like the desperately sweet balcony scene are convincing and heartbreaking. The rest of the ensemble is strong, with spirited, innuendo-laden performances by Elizabeth Stahlmann as the Nurse, and William Studivant as Mercutio, who injected hormone-driven bravado in every scene. Watch out for Myxolydia Tyler as Perrin; she's got one hell of a scream. Esposito's voice easily swings from a dreamy girlish whisper, clutching at her chest when speaking of the moon and stars, to a petulant 13-year-old, when demanding news of her dearest loverboy. Equally, Valincenti's overdone swooning and inconsolable moaning reminds me of those crushing teenage years — now thankfully well in the past. Through Sat., April 24, $20-$55, Annenberg Center, 3680 Walnut St., annenbergcenter.org.

Posted by Alexandra Harcharek @ 6:30 PM Permalink | Post a comment

THE CRITICAL MASS WEEKEND OMNIBUS: Emerge from the Chrysalis Weekend

POSTED: Friday, April 23, 2010, 5:45 PM

Filed Under: Weekend Omnibus

Weiss, Coomes, Bolmes

Friday: Praise be to Our Lady of the Rhythm Section Janet Weiss, who joins ex-hub Sam Coomes and fellow-Jicks member Joanna Bolmes, will play Johnny Brenda's tonight with their band Quasi. Jan Jan's on the left; please take a gander at how jacked her arms are. Let's hear it for the ladies again when you go to the Sande Webster Gallery to check out the Women's Work exhibit. Saturday: Get those thumbs in shape as Strongbox hosts a Tecmo Super Bowl tournament, with pride and glory (and some other stuff) going to the victor. Then it's off to Flux Space to eat some of Tim Eads' hand churned butter. Art that is also delicious? Yes. Please. Speaking of delicious, Flavors of the Avenue takes over E. Passyunk. But save room... Sunday: ... because tonight is also the River & Glen Seafood dinner at Bar Ferdinand. But before that, you're not gonna want to miss the Circus Arts' School's first instructor showcase, Chrysalis.

Posted by Molly Eichel @ 5:45 PM Permalink | Post a comment

Shepard Fairey wheat pastes Philly

POSTED: Friday, April 23, 2010, 5:00 PM

Filed Under: Arts | Arts Events Visual Art

Shepard Fairey, the artist who made the Obama 'Hope' posters, is hitting up Philly to give us our own Fairey-ized wheat paste murals. At around noon today, Fairey and Co. will be at Rocket Cat Cafe (2001 Frankford Ave.) today wheat pasting the side of the Fishtown coffeeshop. Then around 4 p.m., he'll head to Brewerytown to do it again at MM Partners (2621 W. Girard Ave.), working with the Mural Arts' Mural Corps., a student group made up of 14 to 21-year-olds.

City Paper has a nice little history with Fairey. We parodied the Hope poster for our Oct. 30, 2008 election issue:

But he also did our cover for the April 16, 1999 "The Revolution Will be Downloaded" music issue, which is, unfortunately, not digitized so I can't show you. But it's clearly Fairey's work. Think Obama poster, minus Barry, plus Beastie Boys.

Just Curious

Posted 2010-04-26 18:49:49

Were these two murals paid for, in part or in whole, with public monies (city/state/federal grants)?

Posted by Molly Eichel @ 5:00 PM Permalink | Post a comment

INTERVIEW: Owen Ashworth of Casiotone for the Painfully Alone

POSTED: Friday, April 23, 2010, 4:14 AM

Filed Under: Music

photo | Hannah Persson/cftpa.org

Yeah, I'm a different guy than I was when I first started writing songs. Lo-fi crooner Owen Ashworth is the man behind the keys of Casiotone for the Painfully Alone. His music is delightfully sad and bittersweet, but the guy's actually very much together. Just a regular dude who is into taxidermy, basement shows, chillin' in horn shops and searching for the most terrifying Baudelaire-inspired electronic compositions. I got a chance to interview the mild mannered gent a few weeks before he hit the road. Presently on tour with the Chicago based band Magical Beautiful, Ashworth wants to make one thing very clear: there will be horns. City Paper: So you're living in Chicago now? Owen Ashworth: Yeah, I've been living in Chicago for about four years. I lived in Portland, and Seattle, and San Francisco Bay at different points. But I grew up in California and also lived there in my early twenties and after I did more touring. I started bouncing around the west coast and recording music with people who lived in both Washington and Portland. Sometimes it's just easier to move to a place to get a record connection, you know? But yeah, I've been in Chicago for a little more than four years and I don't think I'll be moving anytime soon. I like Chicago a lot. CP: What do you like about it? OA: I think it's just a really good looking city with really interesting history. I like the buildings a lot, and the kind of architecture. I'm kind of fascinated by the history of Chicago, especially the criminal history. There's such a bizarre and sordid past to this city and I'm still kind of enamored with it. And being from the west coast, it's interesting to be in a place that has a slightly longer history as a city. CP: So then what's your involvement with Philly? It's mentioned in some of your songs, and you cover Springsteen's "Streets of Philadelphia." Did you ever live out here? OA: No, I've only been there on tour. And I covered "Streets of Philadelphia" and it kind of worked its way into another song, but I don't have any personal connection with Philadelphia. I like the city and visiting it, but I don't know very much about it to be honest. CP: Well there's plenty of history here, too, if you're ever looking for tours guided by Benjamin Franklin. OA: Absolutely, yeah. I haven't had a day off in Philadelphia. I really want to see the Panopticon at some point. And more of the traditional U.S. Government sight seeing. I won't have any time off for this tour, but maybe next time. CP: Fair enough. So I wanted to know about your covers, since you've done a few. [Bruce Springsteen's "Streets of Philadelphia," Paul Simon's "Graceland," Prince's "When You Were Mine"] What is it about covers that you like? OA: Well, they're all just songs I love and felt some kind of connection with, for whatever reason. It's a different instance in each case. It also comes from my own curiosity, and wanting to learn how to play them, and I really enjoy playing them. And I hope I have something new to bring to them to validate a new recording. A lot of the pieces are just songs that I've played live at a couple shows and then people would ask if I had recorded it. And I was like, "Oh, no, well maybe I should." And it usually would take me a little while to get around to it. It's a tricky relationship with covers. Because they're all songs that I love, and I love playing them, but I get kind of a guilt reflex because I feel like I should spend more time working on my songs, and why am I singing other people's songs? The people enjoy them, and I'll play them when people request them, but I don't think I'll be doing any new covers for a while. I want to at least get another album finished before finishing other people's songs... again.

photo | Hannah Persson/cftpa.org

CP: Can you tell me about Magical Beautiful, the band that you're playing with? Is this a band specifically for Casiotone? OA: Well no, my friend Tyson [Torstensen], it's his project that he's been doing for a good long time. Tyson's a guy I know from back in California, and he moved to Chicago a little before I did. He has gone on a couple tours playing in my band, and we were talking about doing it again. And he said, "Well I have an idea, what if Magical Beautiful comes?" We've been wanting to do the same routing anyway. And I get along with all the guys. Actually, the drummer from Magical Beautiful [Alance Ward] has also played some shows with me. It's the first time I've played with the other two guys in the band [Nick Broste and Charles Vinz] , but we've been rehearsing a lot and it's sounding pretty good. I'm excited about it. They'll be playing their own set, and then Magical Beautiful, plus me, plus my friend Nick — who lives in Oakland — will be flying out to play the drums. There will be a six piece band with horns, and bass and drums. It'll be really good. I'm actually practicing with them tonight, it's really coming along. CP: Why the departure from what we're used to with the live shows being very stripped down? OA: I think this is my fifth tour with a full band. I don't play with a band as often as I play solo. Just because it's a lot more complicated to organize and it's more expensive and all that. But I did two U.S. tours with this band called the Donkeys, some of the guys who played on Vs. Children. The last couple of records I've made have used more complicated arrangements, and more non-electronic instruments. There's a lot more drums and piano, and bass and guitar and things like that happening. So it's nice to occasionally be able to present the songs in their more recorded version as opposed to the electronic solo arrangements I would be playing otherwise. It exercises my brain in a different way and it's really fun to delegate tasks to other people, and we all play as a giant band. But I think the next time I do a tour it'll probably be solo because a lot of people still haven't heard solo versions of the new songs. But nobody has heard the full band versions live yet, either. CP: I saw you when you played with the Donkeys a few years ago in Philly, but it sound like what you're doing no is going to be even bigger, with the horn section and everything. OA: Well, yeah, we're going to have some horn parts in some songs, and I haven't done that live before. But with two of the Donkeys there are five of us, and this time there will be six. So it's nice to have the extra pair of hands, for sure. We'll be able to do more percussion parts. There are still songs that have more complicated keyboard arrangements, so we'll have three keyboards for a few things. And, yeah, we're learning horn charts and things like that. I'm actually going to the saxophone shop this morning to pick up my friend Alance's cornett... which we tried to get cleaned out, or something. I don't know very much about horns, but I've been hanging out in horn shops all of a sudden. It's been great, really exciting. I think that playing with these guys will probably inform a lot of arrangements and recordings for the next record, too. I'm looking forward to putting some horns on some new things. CP: Any desire to do any massive, 14 minute long ballads in contrast to the short songs? OA: No, the songs will all still be pretty short. They'll just be a little more fleshed out. A friend was joking that it's like the Saturday Night Live version of Casiotone. It kind of feels like it when people have a studio or sessions music where people come in and play. But these are all buddies of mine, and we're taking a lot of time to rehearse, so I think it's going to sound great. CP: Do you have any new work on the way as far as a new album? OA: Yeah, I've been recording stuff on my own. And I made some beats for a rapper in Chicago named Serengeti, and we've been doing a little bit of recording together. I'm going to do some things for his new album. But for this tour we're mostly playing older songs that have been rearranged. It's going to take me a little while to get the next record finished. I want the album to be a new experience when people hear it instead of there being rough versions up on YouTube or things like that. It really colors someone's experience of the record if they have preconceptions of how the songs are supposed to sound. I'd prefer if people just hear the album cold. So we're not going to play any of the new stuff on the tour. CP: You're keeping it a secret from us, then. You said it'll be a little while before the new album though? OA: Yeah. I'm not in any rush. Some people have started to email me wondering when there'll be new stuff. But I'm taking my time. I've had a few other projects for compilations. We're doing a little single just for the tour that's a really limited vinyl single. There'll be a couple other smaller projects that I'm doing between that and the new album. CP: As you get older, do you see your adult life affecting your music? OA: They're very different songs than when I was twenty, I think about different stuff, I have different concerns. And a lot of the songs are inspired by things that happened to my friends or to me, and things around me. So I think the characters in the songs have aged along with me. There are songs from my first couple of records that I still really like, but I don't know if I could write a song like that again. It just wouldn't occur to me. I just worry about different stuff now, or I think about different stuff these days. And I imagine I will continue to change the older I get. I think there's been a maturity I can see even in my records. And however much I've matured... I'm not sure how much that is. Yeah, I'm a different guy than I was when I first started writing songs. CP: Well I guess we all have to grow up eventually. But I saw that back in January you were trying to book some house shows in Florida. You still like playing in people's living rooms? OA: Yeah, I do. I spent about 10 days in Florida in January and it was great. I was traveling by myself, which got to be a little much by the end of it. I think about a week in a rental car by myself is about where I tap out. I was seeing a lot of movies. I never really had friends in Fort Meade. I know a few people in a few places. I would go several days without knowing anyone's name which is an interesting experience to have in your own country. But I spent a lot of time looking at animals. I went to some manatee spots and looked at manatees swimming around, which is something I've never done. And I had a really nice drive through the Everglades. Stayed at a lot of Super 8's, ate at a lot of diners. It was good. I played a really fun house show in Cape Coral, which is a town that doesn't get a lot of, I guess, indie shows. People seemed really excited and grateful that it was happening. CP: There was lots of positive reciprocation? People were excited that you were in their house, or their neighbor's house? OA: Yeah, but I've played some weird house shows before where it feels kind of uncomfortable. Like any show, sometimes it feels like people's energies are going in different directions, and sometimes it feels like people are all trying for the same thing. And it just feels really positive. It's a nice communication with strangers. [Cape Coral] was one of the best shows, where everyone just felt like they were on the same page, and really excited. It seemed like friendships were happening all over the place! It was real nice. I think that people who lived in the same town forever and didn't know that these other people lived there... it just felt like a really nice community experience I guess. CP: Going back to the manatees, you're a really big animal person? OA: I'm really fascinated by animals, yeah. I have a pet cat, but I think wild animals are just... I think it's just an extension of being interested in human nature and psychology in general. I'm fascinated by what motivates beings, and the way animals and people live. When there's a chance to go look at some animals I've never seen before and I'm in a different country, or a different part of the country, I really enjoy doing that. It's part of being a tourist, but I enjoy that kind of thing more so than museums generally. CP: What about the Museum of Natural History in New York, with all the taxidermy animals? That one's my favorite. OA: Oh yeah. Every time I'm in New York I go, actually. I do a lot of drawings of animals, too, so I'll go to natural history museums. I'll either draw, or take pictures of the animals to draw later. And taxidermy, I'm kind of fascinated by it. It's such a kind of grotesque but really amazing art form. I go to natural history museums as often as I can. The Field Museum in Chicago is actually really great, there's a lot of birds. CP: Do you have any favorite new music that you're into right now? OA: The thing I've been listening to almost everyday lately is just a used LP I bought of Bill Withers live at Carnegie Hall. It's kind of been a real big inspiration of what I want the band for this tour to sound like. He just has such a great band. He only recorded with them I think on his second and third albums. Then the live album they made in between. But it's just a totally perfect band I think. I saw a documentary about Bill Withers a couple of months ago. He's been one of my favorites for a long time, but I've been extra obsessed with him lately. I bought a record by this hip hop producer named Oh No and it's called Ethiopium. It's got beats made out of Ethiopian jazz and soul music. And I really love Ethiopian music from the '70s. That's been really fun to listen to. I don't listen to a whole lot of new stuff, I listen to mostly older records. I listened to De La Soul this morning. There's this electronic composer named Ruth White who I really like and made an album called Flowers of Evil, which is a reading of a Baudelaire poem over electronic soundscapes. It's just one of the most truly evil sounding records I've ever heard. It's something I've been looking for, for 13 years. I heard it when someone was playing it in the video store in San Fransisco and I asked them about it. It took 13 years to find a copy of the record. So I just got that. CP: Has it been worth the wait? OA: Yeah, it sounds as good as it did in the video store. CP: Do you have a favorite Casiotone song, or can you not separate yourself from that to pick one? OA: I wouldn't say I have a favorite. It changes all the time. There are definitely songs that I prefer over other songs. Even while in the process of rehearsing with the band, there are songs that end up sounding better in rehearsal than I was expecting. Then there are songs that work better as recordings than as live pieces. So it changes all the time. It's usually whatever songs we're focusing on at the moment, that's the one I'm thinking about a lot and finding ways to present it differently and figure out different arrangements. Right now we've been rehearsing this song called "The Subway Home," which is a song I've recorded twice. And we're doing it with horns. It's a really quiet song, and it's been really fun to play. And the other guys are bringing some really interesting ideas. Some songs are clicking with them more than others I'm noticing. We started with a lot of songs and we're playing the ones that are really feeling the best for everybody. By popular vote we're deciding which songs are going to be in the set. CP: Any chance you're going to do "Destroy the Evidence"? OA: No, it's going to be mostly stuff from Vs. Children and Etiquette. And a couple other songs. But we're doing it with no electronics, so it's going to be a different kind of tour than usual. CP: As one last thing, have you heard any good jokes lately? OA: Oh man, good question. I really like jokes. Well, my wife made a really funny joke the other day. A friend of ours sent her a text message saying that he was at a bar and there was actually a painting of dogs playing poker in the bar. And he has never actually seen one of those in person. And my wife said, "Nothing beats a pair of spayeds," which I thought was really funny. CP: Is your wife pretty humorous? OA: She's pretty funny, yeah. We make a lot of really stupid jokes. I'll tell you a joke that I made up that isn't so great. It's actually another dog joke, coincidentally. What's the worst thing about prison for dogs? Soli-terrier confinement... yeah. CP: It's a good thing that your wife is funny. OA: It's a good thing she thinks I'm funny. Casiotone for the Painfully Alone plays Mon., April 26, 9 p.m., $10, with Magic Beautiful and Light pollution, Johnny Brenda's, 1201 N. Frankford Ave., 215-739-9684, r5productions.com.

Posted by Julia West @ 4:14 AM Permalink | Post a comment

PRINTED MATTER: Arts + Entertainment, April 22

POSTED: Thursday, April 22, 2010, 8:05 PM

Filed Under: Printed Matter

Quasi plays Johnny Brenda's tomorrow night.

Here's what you'll miss if you don't pick up a City Paper this week: FEATURES!

Senior editor Patrick Rapa talks to Quasi frontman Sam Coomes about misery and happiness, and which one prevails in the indie band's music. The classic Quasi formula: "high energy, inventive arrangements and witty lyrics of doom and despair." There's your answer. Quasi plays Johnny Brenda's tomorrow night.
A.D. Amorosi jazzes it up with the members of Puzzlebox, who'll be at Chris' Jazz CafÃ© late Friday night. The take-away? Keith DeStefano's a little nuts, and that's perfect.

COLUMNS!

Robin Rice Re:Views "Women's Work" at Sande Webster Gallery, where the only unifying factor is the gender of its creators.
Rodney Anonymous chooses to thumbs-up Medieval France in this week's Aid or Invade, despite the fact that Robert Sadin's 14th-century cover album, Art of Love, includes a cameo by "aural kiss-of-death" Natalie Merchant. Burn.

REVIEWS!

Sam Adams gives The Girl on the Train a solid B in this week's Flick Pick. Though the story's based on a real-life incident, AndrÃ© TÃ©chinÃ© avoids satiric pitfalls, instead "focusing exclusively on personal ramifications."
David Anthony Fox wasn't crazy about InterAct Theatre's George W. Bush-whacking When We Go Upon the Sea, mostly because spending 85 minutes with W isn't his idea of a good time.
Mark Cofta calls Philadelphia Shakespeare Theatre's repertory productions of Macbeth and A Midsummer Night's Dream "inviting" to Bard novices, but points out that "purists will miss favorite lines and scenes."
Despite Matthew Prescott's surprise presence, Deni Kasrel felt that BalletX's spring show was uneven: "Certain pieces just didn't hit enough high notes."
Movie Shorts on The Back-Up Plan, Exit Through the Gift Shop, The Little Traitor, Oceans and The Square

AND THEN THERE'S ...

Kaleidoscope quick hits on The Tallest Man on Earth, Juelz Santana, Crumble (Lay Me Down Justin Timberlake) and Party Down
Music Picks on An Horse, Hot Chip, The Spinning Leaves and more
Agenda goodies, including interviews with David Milch and Janeane Garofalo, Icepack, tons of Picks, DJ Nights and Felicia D'Ambrosio's fashion column, Shopping Spree.

PREVIOUSLY >> PRINTED MATTER: Arts + Entertainment, April 15

Posted by Carolyn Huckabay @ 8:05 PM Permalink | Post a comment

IDOL HANDS: American Idol, Idol gives back ... guilt and shame

POSTED: Thursday, April 22, 2010, 7:35 PM

Filed Under: Critical Mass

We like American Idol. Too much. Two hours of dying, illiterateand malnourished children is about all I can take before I feel so guilty and ashamed that I make the ultimate donation and take my own privileged, well-fed life. And the addition of Queen Latifah and the Black Eyed Peas makes it that much worse. But luckily my DVR cut off so I'll live to be snarky another day. (Speaking of my DVR cutting off, why in God's name can't the producers of Idol fit two hours of programming into the fucking two hours it was slotted for? Seacrest already has a death grip on my Tuesday and Wednesday night for at least an hour a night. Instead, I frantically called people to find out the winner only to have my friends tell me to "Shut the fuck up, asshole" and remind me that I'm one of a small community on men in their mid-20s who actually cares about American Idol. Some friends, right? Anyway, the whole Idol Gives Back thing is a little overwhelming for me. And while I appreciate the cause and effort, most of the people performing for the event kind of suck. Case in point, BEP (but what else is new?), Joss "DON'T LOOK ME IN THE EYES!" Stone and even Alicia Keys. The whole thing was exhausting to the point that I was little relieved to see my DVR cutoff. Sooooo many desperate and needy children, how can we even start to make a difference?! Then once I found out it was Tim Urban who got the boot, a smile spread across my face and I thought that maybe there is a hero in each of us, with the ability to change to the world for good.

Posted by Tommy Button @ 7:35 PM Permalink | Post a comment

MAILBAG: Hey everyone, It Looks Like a C**k!

POSTED: Thursday, April 22, 2010, 5:00 PM

Filed Under: Mailbag Books

sigh.

I get a lot of crappy books. Mostly they're of the trashy-romance-novel variety, which I understand serve their purpose in this world. But It Looks Like a Cock! — written by some British (I think) dudes named Ben and Jack, who "enjoy nothing better than to spend their time together searching for the things that they both like, and which are absolutely okay to look for" — is just annoying. Its flimsy 100 pages are filled with pictures of things that look like penises (a cactus, a gourd, another cactus, a lump of snow, various clouds), plus a pro/con list (of a cock-reminiscent snail: "It looks quite bendy. Is that good? / It's got little legs, some weird rocky thing where its pubes should be and it moves so slowly it's gonna be around for ages. And why is it so wet ... ?") and a sort of "cock-o-meter" graphic to accompany each photo. FYI, the "Marauding Sky Donger" ranked highest, at 94 percent cock. Most frustratingly, this book has been endorsed by none other than Shaun of the Dead/Hot Fuzz's Simon Pegg, who calls it "quite possibly the funniest book I've ever read." On the other hand, in the U.K. edition, Pegg's quoted thusly: "Please don't attach my name to this s**t." That's better. I guess my question is, who would pay $9.99 for this book? I have a few family members who I'm sure would think it's hilarious. But what do you think? Is this just further proof that anyone can write a book (even if they shouldn't), or are you on your way to Barnes & Noble right now?

Posted by Carolyn Huckabay @ 5:00 PM Permalink | Post a comment

TONIGHT: Daniel Blacksberg's Big Klezmer Throwdown

POSTED: Thursday, April 22, 2010, 3:00 PM

Filed Under: Music

A klezmer workshop at Crossroads will turn into a free-for-all. Last Sunday, Michael Winograd's Klezmer Trio alternated between dance tunes, contemplative songs — new settings of old Yiddish poems — and experimental music, all within sets that Winograd prefers to term suites. The concept was refreshing, the playing virtuosic, the applause enthusiastic. Philly's master of subtle overtone trombone, Dan Blacksberg, joined his fellow New England Conservatory alum for the entire evening. Now he is offering a free introduction to klezmer for instrumentalists this Thursday evening (as in tonight, full info at the end of the piece). Blacksberg says any one who "can get around on their instrument" is welcome. Dream instruments for a man plays an already rare-to-klezmer horn? "I think a harp would be incredible — a lady in Chicago does it quite well. Typical klezmer instruments are drums, clarinet, trumpet, violin. What would be totally wild would be if a tasteful person showed up with a drum machine, as long as they can play it like an instrument." Blacksberg is no sissy. He wants to intro the basics of klezmer, just a couple of tunes and the style of ornamentation in the first half, take a break then jam on those tunes for the rest of the evening. You don't have to read music, but that skill won't hurt either. Blacksberg grew up in Queen Village. His dad was a clarinetist, and he recalls there was a Klezmatics record in the house, "but after the first track I just didn't get it." During his time at Masterman High he considered himself a serious jazz and classical trombonist. The summer Blacksberg turned 18 he started reconsidering klezmer. Trying to sight read the elaborately transcribed dance tunes with his dad convinced him that nothing replaces hearing the tunes to make all those ornaments jump off the page for you. Off to the New England Conservatory of Music where Blacksberg met Winograd who already had a klezmer band. "He told me to go to KlezKamp [a week of intense study in the Catskills right before New Years] and KlezCanada. It was fun. It felt really natural." Add to that the Jewish Ensemble at school and small wonder that all the stars of today's Klezmer revival have used young Blacksberg at one time or another. So, why return to the scenes of his youth? "I knew I didn't want to stay in Boston and moving to New York probably meant taking a day job. Plus experimental music, Bowerbird was starting off. I'm a lucky guy. I barely play anything that doesn't excite me." And he gets to live within walking distance of the workshop at Calvary. Tonight, Thursday, April 22, 7-10 p.m., Crossroads Music, Calvary Church, 48th and Baltimore, crossroadsconcerts.org. The promoters request that you email info@crossroadsconcerts.org if you plan to attend to they can have the room appropriately prepared.

Posted by mary armstrong @ 3:00 PM Permalink | Post a comment

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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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