Archive: September, 2010

IN MEMORIAM: Rich Cronin of LFO

POSTED: Thursday, September 9, 2010, 6:45 PM

Filed Under: In Memoriam

No one could rhyme New Kids on the Block with Chinese food better than Rich Cronin of one-hit-wonder-ish boy band LFO, who died yesterday after a battle with leukemia. He was 36 — but we all remember him best from that summer of 1999, when the then-25-year-old lamented that his favorite Abercrombie & Fitch-clad lady had bailed on him. When news broke yesterday of the late-'90s-kinda-cute lead singer's death, Twitter went mad, and even fellow boy bander Lance Bass was bummed: "Sad sad day that Rich Cronin died â was an amazing guy" (h/t Entertainment Weekly). And, speaking of EW, they've got a nice long piece today in tribute to the "fallen pop star," which is really more a tribute to high school. Take a minute to reminisce about LFO, summertime girls, the color purple and macaroni and cheese:

RIP RICH!!!!

Posted 2010-09-09 13:58:04

Rich was 35 he had just turned 35 2 weeks ago. He was an amazing guy!!!He will be missed!!!! Rich you will never be forgotten I am so glad I got to chill with you back in the day. Memories I will always have!!
 You are in a better place now no more pain!! xoxoxoxoxox

Posted by Carolyn Huckabay @ 6:45 PM Permalink | Post a comment

ON THE FRINGE: Win FOUR tickets to Marx in Soho

POSTED: Thursday, September 9, 2010, 5:48 PM

Sweet giveaway today, y'all: We've got four tickets to Iron Age's Marx in Soho — so enter quick, and then invite the whole fam. The best part? The Norristown-based theater company's hosting this Fringe show in the heart of Old City, so you won't need four wheels to get there.

Iron Age Theatre

Bob Weick in Marx in Soho

Mark Cofta previewed the show in last week's Fringe package:

Iron Age Theatre presents Marx in Soho, late muckraker Howard Zinn's one-man show about the father of communism. Karl Marx called religion "the opiate of the masses," a view he might revise if he could experience today's television and Internet. Bob Weick, who grew that iconic gray beard for the role, plays Marx defending his political, social and economic ideas with wit and gusto. Bring a Tea Partier whose head you want to explode.

To win a set of four tickets to the Saturday, Sept. 11, 2 p.m. show at Twelve Gates Art Gallery (305 Cherry St.), answer this trivia question:

What line of The Communist Manifesto is engraved on Karl Marx's tombstone?

E-mail me at carolyn.huckabay@citypaper.net to win! [UDPATE, 2 p.m.]: Congrats to CritMass reader Melissa, who correctly answered that Marx's grave reads, "Workers of all lands unite."

Posted by Carolyn Huckabay @ 5:48 PM Permalink | Post a comment

REVIEW: Pixies @ Tower Theatre, Sept. 7

POSTED: Wednesday, September 8, 2010, 6:30 PM

Filed Under: Music | Concert Review concert photos

photo | Julia West

Where is my mind? Seeing Pixies live is an experience recommended to anyone, so long as that person can hop in a time machine and set it for say, 20 years ago to watch them annihilate a set with their signature loud-quiet-loud sound. With so much time between their angsty youth and now, Pixies can hardly be scolded for their enjoyable yet mechanical show last night where they ran through a performance of Doolittle. So many of us have spent a great deal of time with that album: blaring it through the tape deck in our first car, or pumping it through headphones while studying in a dorm room, or we heard it — at least pieces of it — live at some point after its '89 release. There's a reason it's a certified gold record, and there's a reason they chose to play it in its entirety. Here's a hint: remember back in June when Molly Eichel called this tour out for being a cash grab? Yeah, she was pretty spot on with that one.

photo | Julia West

The show was not without its highlights, though. The theatrical entrance was made by showing the Luis BuÃ±uel and Salvador DalÃ silent short, "Un Chien Andalou," the surrealist piece that "Debaser," Doolittle's opening track, is written about. This was a true geek out moment for any Pixies fan fond of things coming full circle. But rather than take the stage and plow guitar first into "Debaser", the band decided to begin with a few B-sides. "Some so obscure we had to learn how to play them live," said Kim Deal after opening with "Dancing the Manta Ray" and "Weird at My School." When they got to the album's opener, though, with a simple screen behind them showing the Pixies logo, there was a rush of adrenaline from the crowd. For the most part Pixies played in an obligatory manner, barely taking time to interact with the audience or allow songs like "Mr. Grieves" and "Hey" the proper, quiet intro they require. Songs were rushed, and the band seemed bored. But how many times have they played those tracks over the last two decades? Pixies put on a solid rock show, clocking in at 90 minutes, which included two encores where they played an raucous version of "Vamos" and not surprisingly, "Where is My Mind?" We were all there because of Doolittle's importance as a musical standard and its intimate meaning to each fan. No one expected there would be new tricks pulled, no cards up their sleeves, simply an epic album in pure form.

ceegee

Posted 2010-09-08 17:07:46

Short show and even whore's pretend to orgasm when you pay them.  They seemed distracted and detached and truthfully it was a little disheartening.  Music was and will always be great and I realize this is a cash grab but would have been nice if they pretended to like it.  Might have made for a different aura.  They offered CD of the show afterward and sound quality was better than expected.

Sir Digby

Posted 2010-09-08 20:37:51

I didn't really expect Black Francis to interact with me, or give "Mr. Grieves" a "quiet" intro - whatever the hell that means. I just wanted to listen to some great rock music, and the band delivered. If the show was a cash grab, then the pulverizingly good set was a pretty good argument for it.

Hey

Posted 2010-09-08 22:57:53

Cash grab maybe but mechanical I don't think so. They put just put just as much energy and emotion into this show as any of their old ones. That coupled with an unplanned second encore made this concert spectacular.

Debased

Posted 2010-09-09 09:57:01

Mechanical yes but the music was great. The quiet intro btw Digby was he never sang "Hope everything is all right whats that floating in the water, etc."  Also Hey this is more or less the same set list as the last year so the 2nd encore was planned at all the other shows.  Would have been nice to maybe see them change "other songs" to some others they didn't do on last leg but it really rocked out.  Glad I got to see them again.

chubster

Posted 2010-09-09 13:25:13

I was slightly disappointed that Charles didn't engage more with us (or with the rest of the band, for that matter), but that disappointment was minimal...it in no way detracted from the awesomeness of the performance. 

What a thrill to see the legendary Pixies perform some of the greatest songs ever released. By the end, I wanted them to just start over from the beginning and tear through the set again. I had a blast. 

The F--- Buttons... them, I coulda done without. It was like being forced to hang out upstairs at Woody's on a Saturday night. All that was missing was dancing twinks and club drugs. Ugh.

Posted by Julia West @ 6:30 PM Permalink | Post a comment

REVIEW: Best Coast w/ Cults, Sultever @ The First Unitarian Church, Sept. 7

POSTED: Wednesday, September 8, 2010, 4:37 PM

Filed Under: Music | Concert Review | Philly Bands | Show concert photos

Photo | John Vettese

When I'm with you I have fun.

There was some shit talking yesterday, and then there was shit talking in response. But Best Coast's appearance at the First Unitarian didn't go negative. Singer-guitarist Bethany Cosentino addressed the blog headline news - Awesome Guitarist and Apparent Cranky Old Lady Marnie Stern Thinks She's Vapid, or whatever - in a tasteful, tidy manner. If you knew what she was talking about, you got it. If you didn't, fine. "What the fuck ever happend to girl power? That's what I want to know." And then she soldiered onward with the blissed-out pop. Tonight was about fun. The best thing about Best Coast's hour-long set, during which they ripped through almost the entirety of this year's buzzy fuzzy Crazy For You, is how punchy it sounded. The wash of 'verb on their album was toned down and at points turned off, letting the practically sold out Church generate the noise. Cosentino mostly only used effects on her vocals, allowing hilarity to ensue when she forgot to switch it off during banter breaks. ("I sound like The Fly!") But this cleaner, drier Best Coast was anything by dry. "The End" was rough and rumbly, "Summer Mood" had a glorious upper register singalong, and "Bratty B," despite containing the album's most egregious lyric ("Pick up the phone / I wanna talk / about my day / it really sucked"), was a bubbly good time. The delightful two parter "I Want To" slipped from slow to doubletime, got the sweaty throngs up front slamdancing along, and prompted Cosentino to cool off by dumping bottled water all over herself and her gear. Dangerous, that. But she danced and sang anyway, confident and delighted. Sure, she needs to move beyond the "lazy / crazy" rhyme scheme. Yes, her songs are silly and simplistic. But that's the point. They're an absolute blast.

Photo | John Vettese

Best Coast, bright

Photo | John Vettese

Cults can't dance

Less impressive was NYC hype band Cults, who spent as much onstage time negotiating the monitor mix with the sound engineer as they did actually playing. Other signs pointed to green-ness in the performance realm - singer Madeline Follin tries to be an energetic dancer, but barely steps out of a three-foot square comfort zone. Then again, Sarah Cracknell was still dancing in a box ten years into her career, so there's hope. Speaking of Saint Etienne, Cults' sound follows their revisionist new wave / dance pop lead, with perhaps a bit of a harder, driving edge (dirty basslines etc.). It's pleasing enough in the studio realm, but needs an abundance of work onstage.

Photo | John Vettese

Slutever screams

Conversely, Philly noisepop duo Slutever was self-consciously sloppy, and it totally worked for them. Rachel Gagliardi and Nicole Snyder traded off on drums and guitars, hollered and screamed about adolescent animosity ("Seventh Grade") and suburban dysfunction ("Teen Mom") getting it totally right on all counts. Plus they vamped up Blink 182's "Dammit" garage pop style, driving home the "Guess this is growing up" point of the song more than the bubblegum original ever did. Well done.

Photo | John Vettese

kate b

Posted 2010-09-09 13:41:36

Ha!  nice point about Cults -- they really did take forever to set up and get the levels set, didn't they? I suppose it was First-Night-of-Tour jitters. Slutever were so cute! I didn't notice the Blink 182 cover --good call! I hope they get more gigs as a result.

Anyway, nice review, and great show!  I just wish it wasn't always so damn hot in the Church.

Posted by john vettese @ 4:37 PM Permalink | Post a comment

ON THE FRINGE: Win tickets to Iron

POSTED: Wednesday, September 8, 2010, 3:18 PM

Participating in the Fringe Festival for the first time in five years, Theatre Exile's dropping Iron, a play about two women who must tear down the figurative walls of their relationship years after a horrible event that had torn them apart.

Theatre Exile

Here's a clip from Mark Cofta's preview of the show:

Theatre Exile launches both its 13th season and its new South Philly home, Studio X, with the Philadelphia premiÃ¨re of Scottish playwright Rona Munro's prison drama, Iron. Barrymore Award-winners Catharine Slusar and Kim Carson play mother and daughter, trying to reconnect 15 years after a brutal murder. Deborah Block, a co-founder of the Live Arts and Fringe festivals, directs this taut mystery.

To win a pair of tickets to the Friday, September 10, 9 p.m. performance at South Philly's Studio X, answer the following trivia question:

In what year did Deborah Block co-found the Live Arts and Fringe festivals?

E-mail your answers to carolyn.huckabay@citypaper.net for a chance to win! [UPDATE, Sept. 9, 2 p.m.]: Congratulations to Brendan, who was the first to answer the correct year of the Live Arts fest's arrival: 1997.

Posted by Carolyn Huckabay @ 3:18 PM Permalink | Post a comment

WEEZER POLL: Which is Worse?

POSTED: Wednesday, September 8, 2010, 2:00 PM

Filed Under: Music

Which of these scenarios is worse? Weezer named their new album after a character from Lost.

Weezer named their new album as a tie-in with a jeans company's back to school sale?

Luckily, it seems, you don't have to choose.

John V.

Posted 2010-09-08 12:06:33

The worst scenario of all is Weezer continues to make music. Which, oh, goddamnit.

Jane Cassady

Posted 2010-09-10 10:53:08

1. Do we all agree that Weezer hasn't made a good album since Pinkerton?
2. I miss Lost.

wes

Posted 2010-09-10 13:22:17

I'm crossing my fingers that Weezer has become some big statement on corporate rock, and they are just slowly upping the ante on how stupid and awful they can become... in five years they'll make a big announcement that it was just a drunken dare that got out of hand

Posted by Patrick Rapa @ 2:00 PM Permalink | Post a comment

ON THE FRINGE: Wawapalooza 4 ticket giveaway!

POSTED: Tuesday, September 7, 2010, 7:46 PM

Since 2007, IdRatherBeHere's Wawapalooza comedy series has been a Fringe hit. This year, the streak continues:

Had it up to here with self-righteous, enviro-vegans? What about loutish Philly sports fans? Suburban snobs? Loser guys who make inane lists of what they can't stand in a girlfriend? Well then, hi-de-ho to Wawapalooza 4, a sketch comedy gig where you can get a kick out of all of the aforementioned and more. Yeah, the characters are over-the-top. But also surprisingly spot-on. Smart inspired bits of funny business. —Deni Kasrel

So. Would you like to go to there? To win a pair of tickets to the Thursday, Sept. 9, 8 p.m. showing at Society Hill Playhouse, answer the following (easy) trivia question: What is WaWa's 10-inch hoagie called? E-mail your answers to pat@citypaper.net for a chance to win, and be sure to check back for more giveaways. [UPDATE, Sept. 9, 2 p.m.]: Big ups to Michael, who guessed that a 10-inch WaWa hoagie is called The Classic.

Posted by Patrick Rapa @ 7:46 PM Permalink | Post a comment

ON THE FRINGE: Win two tickets to The Madwoman of Chaillot

POSTED: Tuesday, September 7, 2010, 3:08 PM

The Idiopathic Ridiculopathy Consortium (say that five times fast) is known for its Ã¼ber-absurdist bent; expect no different from The Madwoman of Chaillot, a French fable described as a "luscious, witty tea party in the twilight zone." Sign us up! Here's what Mark Cofta had to say about the show in last week's Fest Bets roundup:

The Idiopathic Ridiculopathy Consortium's artistic director, Tina Brock, calls Jean Giraudoux's 1943 absurdist comedy about a Paris oil-well-drilling scheme "less fantastic and absurd than this morning's headlines." Today, Giradoux's forward-thinking vision of lapsing etiquette, marauding pimps and environmental disregard feels as realistic as BP's well-cam. "And then," Brock asserts, "there's the old 'who's nuts and who ain't' issue — people not conforming and how this sets the stage for anarchy. In an age of 'whatever' as a reasonable response, when people pursue a passion with vigor, there is some question as to why they are so committed." The Madwoman, now more than ever, provides shocking answers.

To win a pair of tickets to the Sunday, Sept. 12, 2:30 p.m. showing at Walnut Street Theatre's Studio 5, answer the following trivia question:

In what French film is Jean Giraudoux's name graffitied on a wall in Paris?

E-mail your answers to carolyn.huckabay@citypaper.net for a chance to win, and be sure to check back this afternoon for a Wawapalooza giveaway and much more.

The Madwoman of Chaillot, Sept. 7-12 and 14-18, $20, Walnut Street Theatre Studio 5, 825 Walnut St.

[UPDATE, 1:25 p.m.]: Congrats to CritMass reader Lauren, who figured out the movie we were looking for: FranÃ§ois Truffaut's The 400 Blows.

Posted by Carolyn Huckabay @ 3:08 PM Permalink | Post a comment

HAIKU CONTEST WINNERS: Sarah Palin-themed poetry!

POSTED: Monday, September 6, 2010, 9:00 PM

Filed Under: Comedy

Sorry to make you look at Jay Leno. Anyway, As you may recall, last week — inspired by Louis CK's drunktweets about Sarah Palin — we decided to host a Sarah Palin Haiku Contest. Top poets get tickets to this Wednesday's screening of Hilarious, the Louis CK movie. We weren't into the ones just calling Palin a slut or a whore, because settle the hell down. Also, ones that completely disregarded the syllabic constraints of the form (5-7-5) were frowned upon (though we did let one guy call Palin a moron while using the wrong your/you're, because how funny is that?). And now, your winners:

Abstinence only?

Your knocked up kid is single

Some Sex Ed. plan, huh?

by Gary Lime

Sad, silly Sarah

You are the worst example

of us four eyed girls

by Sandra

When you winked at us

It made my vagina hurt.

Less sense than an egg.

by Al

You are a moron.

You're accent is annoying.

I would still hit it.

by Crane Kick

I'm from Wasilla,

in middle America!

It's right near Russia.

by Ben

Hilarious starring Louis CK screens Wednesday, Sept. 8, 7:30 p.m. at Prince Music Theater, 1412 Chestnut St., 215-569-9700, princemusictheater.org.

Posted by Patrick Rapa @ 9:00 PM Permalink | Post a comment

ONE THE FRINGE: Precipice

POSTED: Monday, September 6, 2010, 7:09 PM

Filed Under: Critical Mass

Every night, we're hitting the Live Arts/Fringe fest like a pack of culture-hungry wolves. Every morning, we're howling about it at citypaper.net/fringe. Every afternoon on Critical Mass, we're rounding up the previous night's reviews.

brightlighttheatre.org

Can you see the Bright Light Theatre Company tonight? How's Wednesday?

WE SAW IT YESTERDAY >> Precipice

GO SEE THIS. Bright Light Theater Co.'s Precipice is rare find: Experimental theater that is actually riveting. The cast are a wonderful collection of young talented actors who excel in their very physically demanding roles. The site (which is a little tricky to find, so Google the address, so that you can GO SEE THIS) is perfectly suited to the substance of the play, which tells the story of five survivors of a massive catastrophe. This is the sort of work that reaffirms one's faith in the Fringe to deliver something different that is also something great. Now GO SEE THIS! —Rodney Anonymous

SEE ALSO >> The Real Housewives of South Philly >> The Initiative plus excerpts from Nightmare Returns >> Dog Sees God: Confessions of a Teenage Blockhead >> Drunk Enough to Say I Love You? >> Hear Again Radio Project >> Cankerblossom So far we have reviewed 29 Live Arts/Fringe shows! Think our critics are so right? Or so totally wrong? Visit citypaper.net/fringe to leave a comment. But don't forget that we are wolves.

Posted by Admin @ 7:09 PM Permalink | Post a comment

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

Q&A with SHARI SOLANIS: "The goal isn't pornography"
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!
NOW SEE THIS: Transit cop arrests marijuana activist for alleged disorderly conduct.
CONCERT REVIEW: Primus (3D & quadraphonic sound) @ The Tower 10/17
Q&A with Tony Goldwyn: "Life is gray, and relationships are, too"
ICEPACK ILLUSTRATED: The Archbishop meets the Geator, the Mayor goes suit shopping, Le Bec Fin fin.
ICEPACK ILLUSTRATED: Indian fare rules, Dunder Mifflin lives on, Tom Jones is a god
Q&A with Goon’s Seann William Scott
SWIMMING HOLES: Some of our favorite places to get wet

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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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