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Ice Cubes
When Q102’s Jingle Ball 2011 unfurled at Wells Fargo Center last week, it was surprising how un-holiday-ish it was. Not a tree or menorah in sight. No seasonal songs save for Kelly Clarkson’s slow country-ish take on “I’ll Be Home for Christmas.” The only balls to be hung were the ones sticking out of LMFAO’s trunks when its dance crew stripped to its skivvies. Oh well. The Jersey Shore crew’s Sammi Sweetheart and Deana, and Jo-Jo and Nick Jonas showed up to introduce sets. And Joe Jonas, who appeared as one of the Jingle Ball acts, stopped at the Wells Fargo’s Lexus Club to present a check for $15,000-plus dollars on behalf of the Ryan Seacrest Foundation to the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia Voice Program. A buck from each ticket to the Jingle Ball contributed to that donation (for those who don’t recall, Seacrest’s Foundation is a non-profit dedicated to using interactive multimedia platforms — like in-hospital radio shows — to enhance the quality of life for seriously ill and injured children).
(a_amorosi@citypaper.net) (@ADAmorosi)
Photos by Scott Weiner
When the Trocadero’s Ned Gaudette departed his post after 15 years this month for destinations north 
(NYC), a question stuck out where the Chinatown venue was concerned: Who the hell would book the films for the burlesque theater’s screen, Movie Mondays? The ones with a free snack and beer for $3 admission so that you could watch '80s flicks with several buzzes going at once?
Philadelphia Film Society to the rescue. While Die Hard and The Hangover II play out on Mondays through December (PFM doesn’t take over Movie Mondays until Jan 2, 2012), Tuesdays at the Troc will be a Christmas Bloody Christmas of sorts throughout the month of December, with Human Centipede 2 (Dec. 6), Hobo with a Shotgun (Dec. 13) and a series of oddball holiday shorts (Dec. 20). And Santa quakes in fear.
The Trocadero, 1003 Arch St., 215-922-8666, thetroc.com.
To celebrate the 40th anniversary of Queen — glam faves, epic hit makers — Hollywood Records not only 
released three box sets filled with re-masters of the quartet’s entire catalog, but held auditions for what remaining band members Roger Taylor and Brian May are calling The Queen Extravaganza Tour. Fans/musicians auditioned for the 2012 event, which promises to feature performances of Queen's biggest hits. The contestants performed Queen’s "Killer Queen," "Somebody To Love," "Bohemian Rhapsody" and "Another One Bites The Dust." Now, 21 finalists (6 vocalists, 6 guitarists, 3 drummers, 3 bassists and 3 keyboard players) have been chosen to fly to Los Angeles to meet Taylor and perform their final audition live on Dec. 5 at Foo Fighters’ Studio 606 West. As for the Philly/Jersey area, two local musicians are champions: drummer Billy Orrico of Denville, N.J. and Philly bassist Brian Weaver. Bi- cycle. BI-CYCLE. Let’s hope these two get in and get to wear silver on tour.
You love the eagle and I love the eagle but you’ll never be able to call its perching spot by its current name 
without thinking Wanamaker’s, no matter how long Macy’s name has been in place. So get over it and get in the spirit of The Wanamaker Building’s 100th Anniversary. Though the actual date of its is birth is Dec. 30, more than a few events will continue throughout the month to celebrate the first department store in Philadelphia — its eagle gifted to us straight from the St. Louis World's Fair and its designation a National Historic landmark since 1978. While there's a private event in the Crystal Tea Room with Mayor Michael Nutter and Paul Levy, president of the Center City District, tonight, you can celebrate downstairs at the Holiday Pageant of Lights and The Dickens Village while you look for your bratty kids and yearn to hear John Facenda’s voice during the Christmas show.
Expect a rash of gossipy snarking locals to bother A.J. Daulerio, the one time Philadelphia magazine staff writer and ex-editor-in-chief of Deadspin who just got placed atop the Gawker mountain throne as its new boss. The Amber, PA-raised writer and editor whose handle was once found at Oddjack and the Black Table (where I wrote with him for a hot minute at the beginning of the 21st Century) was just moved from Deadspin with Tommy Craggs taking over A.J.’s slot at Deadspin. Media Bistro just posted that Daulerio was brought in to help grow site and — according to an internal company memo from its CEO, Nick Denton: “We need to release the full potential of the site’s excellent roster of writers — and fill out the team with new hires,” wrote Denton in an internal memo. “A.J. has proven himself as both developer and recruiter of editorial talent. That’s what the site needs right now. Hence the switch.”
Got into my first — and last, since the director, actors and crew pretty much wrapped up shooting over the weekend — bit of trouble during a Friday night stroll by The Silver Linings Playbook set. As I was walking across Chestnut at Eighth across from the Ben Franklin Hotel (they were camped in the parking lot on Eighth for days), a pair of signs had been erected for a “Pairs Open Freestyle Dance Competition,” a set piece upon which Bradley Cooper would later film with Jennifer Lawrence in the wee early hours of Saturday morning.
No sooner had I raised my camera to snap the banners than a crew member shouted me down. No worries. I got a decent shot. Yet I wanted Icepack’s usual photographer, Scott Weiner, to get some snaps. He did just that last night, along with a few photos along Sansom Street’s Jewelers’ Row, where it’s Christmas every day. (Geez, could the crew not have bothered to take the banners and the lights down? Lazy bastards.)
Anyway, the cast and the crew did a wrap party at Stephen Starr’s un-used Tangerine space on Market Street, and all is right with the world.
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Broomall's Damon Feldman — the Jewish Bomber, the faux-boxing promoter fond of giant cushion-y gloves and D-list celebrities, the guy no longer permitted to promote fights in Pennsylvania after pleading to charges of promoting without a license — found his biggest success not in Philly or Jersey but in Hollywood on Saturday when some of the most illustrious nobodies in showbiz kicked the shit out of each other at the Avalon.
One of them wasn't Lenny Dykstra, the ex-Phillies outfielder who was supposedly contracted by Feldman is currently in a legal mess of his own. No matter. There were tons more goofs ready and willing to punch up against each other in ham-y, theatrical — but sold out — fashion. Fire swallowers, confetti guns and other event-accouterments accompanied the star(?)-studded rock-em-sock-em-robot affair. Coolio got beaten badly by one-time Baywatch gent Jeremy Jackson. Baller Jose Canseco picked on White House-crasher Tareq Salahi (The Real Housewives of D.C.), who left after the first round. Joey Buttafuoco lost handily to Lou Bellera, the husband of Amy Fisher, who, in turn, lost to Nadya "Octomom" Suleman. Sandra Bulllock's nemesis Michelle "Bombshell" McGee beat up Violet Kowal (I have NO Idea who that is) and Tila Tequila got defeated by Cami Parker, from HBO's Cathouse. It was a million laughs and our friend/photog Scott Weiner was there to capture it all.
Photos by Scott Weiner
I haven’t witnessed so many smiling nuns and pink-faced Catholics since my confirmation. I’m talking about the gathering of the masses (or the mass for the gathered?) of holy folk, lady basketballers, sports addicts, movie brass, investors, Style mag makers and Immaculata College alumni for last Friday night’s world première of The Mighty Macs, local director/writer/produer Tim Chambers’ film based on hard-charging coach Cathy Rush and the true story of the 1971-72 Immaculata team that started small but became a great big Cinderella story of girl b-balling victory.
The Kimmel Center event also doubled as a benefit of Immaculata University and Coaches vs. Cancer, so everybody was hopped up on charity as well as the glitz of hanging with red carpet-ready stars such as the real Rush and the actress who plays her, Carla Gugino; weatherman Dave Roberts’ kid David Boreanaz, who plays NBA referee/husband Ed Rush; the cutest nun since Sally Field, Marley Shelton (who played “Sister Sunday”); and pirate-loving producer Pat Croce, the ex-president of the 76ers.
After a few blessings from Archbishop Charles Chaput and an appearance by Michael Smerconish in what appeared to be a Robert Hall men’s suit jacket, the assembled moved noisily into the main hall (this was EASILY the noisiest crowd at the Kimmel since that French thing a few months back) wherein several Immaculata reps, producers and Chambers chatted up the film they held so dear to their hearts since its wrap in 2009. While I’m not here to review the flick, I can screw you guys up and tell you the film’s big ending (spoiler alert!): The Mighty Macs win.
After a particularly steamy summer and a rainy autumn growing things without a hassle from the elements almost seems like a moot point at present. That is until the folk of Data Garden — the plant-based record label from area musicians Joe Patitucci and Alex Tyson, and web designer Ian Cross — took sprout in my brain with their crafty concoction: a hand-printed downloadable music card on seed paper with water-based ink. You can recycle the card by planting it in your garden after which time a blue-ish flower will come up. But not until you’ve downloaded Data Garden's musical offerings from the likes of chip tune locals Cheap Dinosaurs, Cosmic Morning and DJ Ryan Todd. To that end Sunday’s afternoon in the park of Bartram’s Garden in SW Philly for Design Philadelphia’s “Switched-on Garden” event was all about what the kids at DG call a “convergence of music, nature, and sculpture.” Having grown up around the corner from Bartram’s as I did made coming home to see beardos and the ladies who love them listening to noise-generators in ponds and amplified apples a sight far beyond the usual lush greenery. Plus I had to giggle every time a kid knocked over a toy synth or cried at the whirrrrrrrrrrrrzzzzzzzzz of Charles Cohen's Buchla. My wife and my garden may have seemed tame all season due to the weird psychotic weather. Imagine how creepy it will be with Cheap Dinosaurs popping up fresh.
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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.
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