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Archive: September, 2011
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Who knew that this year’s Liberty Medal Award presentation to ex-Defense Secretary Robert Gates — not the flashiest of its winners, what with an illustrious list including Steven Spielberg, Bill Clinton and Bono — would be the one with all the drama?
Philly-born actress Kim Delaney — known for N.Y.P.D. Blue and Army Wives — was escorted off stage at the National Constitution Center on Thursday after her weirdly jumbled, often unintelligible speech, according to eyewitnesses. NBC Philly reports that one of her strangest lines came when she mentioning her role on Army Wives. “As I try to comfort wives, husbands, families, fathers, children ... loved ones, made good, what I’ve learned is the Constitution Center,” said Delaney.
Yes, she’s had troubles with substance abuse before — but who hasn’t? Check out the video on TMZ.
Ryan Carey on who and what's giving Philly the giggles ...
ComedySportz has been performing a live improv competition almost every Saturday for 19 years. If you've never been to check it out, the event is set up like a sporting match — with two teams competing in improv games against each other. A referee governs the action, times the games, calls the fouls and 
gets suggestions from the fans. A sound man called Mr. Voice gives scoring updates and comments on the action. The home team in blue is the Philadelphia Fighting Amish and the visiting NJ Turnpikes are in red (all part of the same troupe, of course).
Despite the Medieval Times/Harlem Globetrotters vibe, the competition is very real. The points are derived from the a mount of audience laughter in a number of rounds. And points are subtracted when a team fumbles (i.e. someone can't think of a line quickly enough). There are audience vote rounds as those judged by celebrities.
I asked the group's Don Montrey whether the audiences usually gravitate toward the hometown Fighting Amish. "We had a game just last Saturday where there was this group of kids who loved New Jersey and they were very vocal for it. We encourage that, we encourage the audience to support their team because it gets really, really fun."
This week is the Music Issue!
- Covergirl Nikki Jean. We called her the king of Popped! They booked her 11:25 on Saturday morning. Get there in time.
- Andrew Lipke made an end of-the-world album. He feels fine.
- Talking to the young and lovely Lady.
- What made garage band Lantern move from Montreal to Fishtown?
- Meg Baird made an awesome second album. Then we made her stand next to a horse skeleton.
- Plus the lowdown on Popped!, F/M Fest and Riot Fest East.
Every week, Diana Palmieri breaks down last night's episode of Jersey Shore.
In last week’s cliffhanger of Driving Miss Deena, Snooki and Deena rammed their Fiat into a parked police car. After an anti-climactic three-minute montage of Team Meatball exiting an Italian jail, we learn that Snooki gets her license taken away. “Eh, shit happens,” she says.
Devoted poet/avid concert-goer/nerd-grrrl extraordinaire Jane Cassady's weekly horoscopes run in this space every Friday morning.
Libra (Sept. 24-Oct. 21): If you can’t tell your support group that you’re sick of support groups, then who can you tell? Take some time away from bonding and delving and just paint, or dance, or run. This is always the way that things start to untangle.
Scorpio (Oct. 22-Nov. 22): Spend each morning writing to the divine whatever, to physics, to the clouds, to the river — whatever force might be able to propel you forward. Don’t be afraid to ask for everything.
Sagittarius (Nov. 23-Dec. 22): To the Sagittarius in Austin, soaking up sunbeams — are the pancakes warm? Are the readings full of humor and adorable accents? How is the book-writing going? The stars are always thinking of you and hoping it feels like home.
Capricorn (Dec. 23-Jan. 20): You’ve always known how to walk away at the right times and walk toward something wholly better — that’s why your life is so enchanted. Can you teach the stars this talent, Leaps of Faith for Beginners?
Aquarius (Jan. 21-Feb. 19): Aquarius is closed this week for renovations. The stars apologize for the inconvenience and welcome your requests.
F/M Fest and Village Green head man Joe Lekkas may have been busy with his booking gigs this month, but that didn’t stop him from playing a gig (he’s a fine guitarist and singer, you know) on his birthday at the Troc’s Balcony with an old pal, Three-4-Tens’ Jamie Mahon, who made his debut with his ferocious hard soul blues band St. James & the Apostles and its new eponymous CD. Find it. Buy it.
There’s still several days left to the mostly fashion-forward Philadelphia Collection’s show-of-shows. One of its highlights was the 18th annual Phashion Phest, hosted and produced by the ever-loving Sharon Phillips Waxman. I loved that it was held the under-used rotunda area of Liberty Place with a catwalk made up of two up-and-down escalators. Smart.
After several weeks of Facebook alerts about its house-d up bookings and décor, Rumor at 1500 Sansom — the Joe Grasso-owned, Mark Marek-run dance-and-VIP club on the basement level of ye old Roy’s spot — was to open privately tonight, Sept. 22. Until it didn’t. Now, the pre-opening and Rumor’s regular opening will happen Sept. 24 with its 1,500-square-foot bank vault for VIP seating, 45-foot-long bar featuring an illuminating stone bar top and floating oval-shaped orbs.
It’s no secret that POPPED! (Electric Factory-approved) and the Philly F/M Fest (Live Nation says hello with events like Deadmau5) take over Philly starting tonight, Sept 22. It’s all over our new Music Issue.
But while Joe Lekkas’ F/M enters its second year in place with events at the Legendary Dobbs, 2424, TLA and World Café Live, the all-outdoor POPPED! is taking its FDR Park-placed arrangement and moving it all indoors due to possibly inclement weather and flooding.
POPPED’s two-day love affair with the likes of Girl Talk, Yuck and cover girl Nikki Jean gets moved up to Temple's Liacouras Center for its two day stretch (1776 N. Broad St., Sept. 23-24). No word yet (and we’ve asked) on whether POPPED’s comedy and food components will get moved to the Temple University sports complex, too. Liacouras has its own concessions, so who’s to say? (Check poppedphiladelphia.com for further details.)
And remember, F/M has several outdoors shows (Cheers Elephant, Lady) as well as an outdoor/indoor BBQ with Birdie Busch, Viva Voce and Reading Rainbow, which, according to Lekkas, will go on no matter what the weather is. “All of our outdoor stuff is rain or shine,” says Lekkas. Let it snow, yo. (Details at phillyfmfest.com.)
Photo: The Cults play Saturday @ the Liacouras Center
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