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The British folk rock foursome swept into the Susquehanna Bank Center with high-energy songs and soaring harmonies that kept the audience on its feet and singing along for the whole show.
You can add “master of ceremonies” to Marsha Ambrosius’ already-impressive résumé. The soul singer-songwriter, perhaps best known for being the decidedly melodic half of 2000s duo Floetry, pulled out all stops on Monday night during a show that built beautiful crescendos out of the Philadelphia (by way of Liverpool and Atlanta) songstress’ candid narrations of love, sex and loss.
Philly club staple DJ Aktive kicked things off and got the crowd rocking to R&B and hip-hop classics from the past two decades — they even did “The Butt” (this reporter did not) before ceding the stage to Motown-signed quartet MPrynt. With the obvious echos of Boyz II Men in their sound, this group of Philly boys broke it down a cappella before a passionate, knees-on-floor and hearts-on-chiseled-arms-under-sleeves rendition of Adele’s “Someone Like You.” They get a lot of Twitter love from Ambrosius, and it’s easy to see why — few people can make someone else’s smash hit all their own the way they did.
I knew this was happening since last spring, that Fluid/Latest Dish owner Tony Schiro was putting his double decker positively Fourth Street nightclub and eatery on the market.
We were simply waiting for the dancing shoe to drop. But still, thanks to Questo, it got dropped early. Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson, an occasional DJ at Fluid, hit up his preferred mode of communication: Twitter, with the news. If you check Q’s responses, the information was a shock to Fluid fans and DJs alike such as that club’s occasional contributor Cosmo Baker.
A last big bash is being planned for Fluid’s finale — a Tastytreats bash starring Questlove, Mike Nyce, and Yameen Allworld on April 6. Then both spaces will shutter April 7.
That said, rumors have been swirling for months about who would take the off-South behemoth complete with top notch kitchen amenities and a dancefloor with a tile grotto next to it. Would they split up? Would the dreaded idea of “condos” come into play? Most recently, word has it that a single primary buyer is interested in taking the whole tamale and keeping it in the food and entertainment business. Stay tuned. And so long Fluid. We’ll miss you.
Every few weeks, Critical Mass will feature one Philly Love Note in its collaboration with blogger Emma Fried-Cassorla of phillylovenotes.com.
LOVE NOTE RECIPIENT: Logan Circle
I AM: Natanya DiBona (fourth from the right), the daughter of parents who both grew up in South Philadelphia — in a time when, as my mom said, you knew you would marry someone within a six block radius. I was raised in the suburbs, but valued my trips with my grandparents to the Italian Market and to Penn’s Landing to watch fireworks. Currently, I live in Chadds Ford and work in Philadelphia.
MY LOVE NOTE:
Dear Logan Circle:
Our love story began, as many great ones have, in secret. It developed over a period of months and sadly, as my love grew deep, I was unable to gush about you by name. I would cryptically say to friends how absolutely amazing “you” were and recount how the very sight of you one June afternoon had brought tears to my eyes, but I was forbidden to let your name cross my lips for months. That was, until Thursday, August 23, 2012.
It had all started rather innocently last April. My co-host and I had been charged with finding the perfect location for the first Dîner en Blanc in Philadelphia. The most pressing part of our mission was to find the one spot that, in this inaugural year, would scream “Philadelphia!” if only one picture were taken. You were on a list of six, having been casually added almost as an afterthought to a list of the many more obvious choices that had come to mind.
I first went to see you in the middle of the afternoon. To be honest, I wasn’t exactly sure where to find you. I knew the general vicinity, but were you on the Parkway? Should I go down 18th? Or was it 19th? Maybe I should just take a cab? When I finally arrived, I saw a magnificent space being prepared for an evening of tango dancing sponsored by the Fairmount Park Art Association. I returned later that evening to see the party in full swing.
What initially grabbed me was your history. You were originally known as “The Northwest Square” — one of William Penn’s original five planned squares designed to provide green space to be enjoyed by all. Over the years the space had been used as a burial ground, a spot of public hangings, and even as a pasture. In 1825 you were renamed for James Logan, a statesman who had served as secretary to William Penn. But it was in 1917 that you were transformed into a circle and your magnificent new life began.
In that year, the Fairmount Park Commission appointed Jacques Gréber, a French landscape architect, to update a 1907 design of the diagonal boulevard then known as Fairmount Parkway. Gréber’s vision saw the Parkway transformed into an American Champs-Élysées with you as the anchor, designed to replicate the stunning Place de la Concorde in Paris. Almost immediately you became the center of attention and “Parkway Dances” were held there regularly beginning in July of 1921.
For the centerpiece, a fountain designed by sculptor Alexander Stirling Calder and architect Wilson Eyre, Jr., was installed in 1924. Named to honor the founder of the Philadelphia Fountain Society, Dr. Wilson Cary Swann, the fountain’s three Native American statues depict the Delaware, Schuylkill, and Wissahickon rivers.
Over the course of those four months, I visited you often: under the cloak of darkness, in the middle of the afternoon, and in the morning, as people rushed past you with their coffee. I observed couples on blankets embraced in a kiss, I saw kids dance with glee in your fountain, and I even assisted a few tourists as they captured your beauty on camera. As I studied you and envisioned the swath of white tables and chairs that would hold our dinner, I marveled at how perfectly symmetrical and carefully planned you were.
But, most importantly, I was in awe of your 360-degree view of everything that is Philadelphia. The Franklin Institute, The Academy of Natural Sciences, The Free Library of Philadelphia, City Hall and the Philadelphia Museum of Art can all be spotted from your benches. This magnificent view reflects the commitment and dedication of so many Philadelphians who came before me—people who believed so passionately in arts and education and their central role in shaping a truly great society.
When that magical day in August finally came, I couldn’t wait to share my love with our 1,300 guests. And, as I looked at the thousands of pictures that were posted in the days following, you did your part to show your love back. There wasn’t a single bad picture taken that night — a glimpse of what Philadelphia has to offer in each frame.
Now, I can’t resist the sight of you. Coming from an event at the library one October night I take a picture — Do I have a picture of you from this side of the street? Or the evening I passed you on the way to see Open Air on the Parkway … I surely must not have a picture from this angle. I also can’t help filling with pride the time I see a film crew shooting right in front of the Franklin Institute, knowing that you have been there in all of your glory for this group of visitors to admire.
I am also happy to know that I’m not alone in my love. One of our participants recently posted on our Facebook page: “Every time I pass Swann Fountain my heart smiles.” I couldn’t have said it better myself!
Love,
Natanya DiBona
Have a favorite spot you'd like to write a love note to? Send it to the author at phillylovenotes@gmail.com or tweet her @phillylovenotes.
Permanent Wave Philly — West Philly's feminist arts/music/activism collective — continues the Create Chaos! multimedia art and performance series with a full evening of lady performers. I'm just getting into grungey drone-gazer Avataria, but you should do some clicking and see who you wanna see:
Featured performers:
Tonight, Fri., Feb. 15, 7:30 p.m., Eris Temple Arts, 
602 S. 52nd St., more info here.
K. Ross Hoffman had some long sentences to say about the band formerly known as Reading Rainbow in today's paper:
Two minutes into the gently epic opening cut of Yeah Right (Kanine) — album number three from the local fuzz-pop lovelies formerly known as Reading Rainbow — the drums kick in, the pace ratchets up a few notches and there’s a shift from warm organ-drone and sweetly harmonized boy-girl vocals to a growling, pummeling guitar-smear evoking a certain other noise-obsessed band with a blood-related (and seasonally appropriate) moniker who, hey hey, also happened to release their third album last week! That feels like the moment, symbolically, when the band becomes Bleeding Rainbow, transforming from a vaguely cuddly neighborhood duo named for a PBS show to a sharp, aspirational four-piece with an unmitigated allegiance to the turn-of-the-’90s shoegaze-to-grunge continuum. From there on out, it’s a hearty, good-natured assault playing both sides of the noise/pop dichotomy, with Sarah Everton’s charmingly plain-Jane vocals channeling indie everywomen from Bilinda Butcher to Georgia Hubley to Frankie Rose.
But to complete your mental picture, you really gotta watch the video and hear the song at the top of this post. "Waking Dream" is a damn fine rock song. Play it for someone you like.
Bleeding Rainbow plays tonight, Thu., Feb. 14, 9 p.m., $10, with Pet Milk and Ghost Light, Johnny Brenda’s, 1201 N. Frankford Ave., 215-739-9684, johnnybrendas.com.
Valentine’s Day is for lovers, I get that. Still, if you adore fashion and you dig doing good perhaps you can merge all that l’amour into one outing. You could do that tonight, Feb. 14, as fashion designer/Project Runway All Stars winner and AIDS advocate Mondo Guerra hits up 17th Street’s Hotel Palomar to benefit ActionAIDS’ Dining Out for Life program with a Fashion in Action event featuring t-shirts of his design and nibbles from Square 1682.
Guerra — who goes mostly by his first name, “Mondo” — has spent time in Philly before. He did the AIDS Walk here two years ago, loves the city’s sense of history and winding streets (“they’re so narrow,” he says) and appreciates the buzz he gets here after living in New York City for so long. Most crucially, he’s impressed by this city’s dedication to AIDS/HIV education and activism. “We are all activists. Philly’s big on that. Anyone can get involved from any community that you are a part of. I get asked that all the time. It’s easier than you think.”
Yesterday I posted a letter we got about City Paper's use/misuse of the word "punk." Among the allegations: That we don't know/cover West Philly rock 'n' roll trio Bucket Flush. Guilty as charged. So here's a really well-made documentary on the band uploaded to YouTube in December, 2011. Parts of this might gross some people out, but I have a feeling the Bucket Flush guys will charm you. (And please watch the whole thing before alleging that we're endangering their squatters' lifestyle by posting it.)
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