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Ice Cubes
Come on, Irene! You can shutter the Jersey Shore and batten down the hatches in Philly’s low lands. But stopping the outdoor component of Lee Jones’ Sundae for good this season?
DAMN YOU, WOMAN.
Here’s the sad and sorry official note from Jones:
Rain, Earthquakes & now Steve Jobs resigning, it's all a sign! (lol)
Effective immediately Sundae Philadelphia will end its daytime program at Table 31. The unprecedented rainfall has forced us to cancel the past two weeks & with Hurricane Irene hitting the Eastern Seaboard this weekend, we would have cancelled this week as well. This has been a great summer at Shampoo and Table 31, but for the first time in our eight year run, it has rained every Sundae except for one. Mother Nature has spoken and without any cover from the elements, I've decided to terminate the program until 2012.
Silk City will open each week at 10 p.m. This week's Sunset Festival, organized by Venus 7, will be rescheduled to a later date. I ask you to please pass this information onto your fellow music lovers and to join us this week at Silk City. Thank you for the past eight years.
This effects only the Philadelphia program and not the other Sundae parties.
Lee Jones & Francisco
View galleryOn Monday, West Philly's Ellen Powell Tiberino Memorial Gardens and Museum held a memorial mass for the late, great muralist for whom the family museum is named. “We’ve been doing this, blessing this house, the museum and the gardens, for twenty-five years with Reverend John Newns leading the charge,” says Joseph Tiberino, the family’s patriarch. Yet there was another reason for celebration that night: the erection of Mother of The Word, a nine-foot plaster (patina of marble) statue that was erected one week after the celebration of the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin. The statue finds the blessed Virgin Mary in her third trimester, a rarity as most statues/depictions of the Madonna show her in the first trimester. The only other major Mary sculpture that does this is the Our Lady of Guadalupe statue.
The sculptor Paul Matthew Whittle is a graduate of Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts with a BFA from The University of the Arts. His latest works include The Prodigal Son at Saint Norbert Church in Paoli, Pa. His works — much of it sacred, much of it Catholic-oriented — currently grace churches and public spaces throughout America. Another of his Mother of the Word statues resides at the St. Aloysius Church in Jackson N.J., where it has received criticism from parishioners for looking “non-traditional” and “too literal,” noted Whittle who also sculpted dragons on Chinatown’s golden arch. When I mentioned that Jackson N.J. controversy to Father Newns, he looked at me, nonplussed. “Oh yes, I think I heard of that. There’s been no trouble like that here.”
What did Lady B get on Sunday for her 30th anniversary of on-air support of hip-hop in Philly? She got rain. Lots of rain at The Dell's open-air theater space. But she also got 7,000+ fans with enough devotion to her love off all things old-school rap to stand wet while watching and listening to a fur-hooded Flava Flav, a racist-ranting MC Breeze and a gangsta-growling Schoolly D. She got Big Daddy Kane, Salt-N-Pepa and Bell Biv Devoe, too. But mostly she got her old Wynnefield neighbor Will Smith, who rapped up "Brand New Funk" and "Summertime," danced to Salt-N-Pepa’s sleek “Whatta Man” and rhymed with Doug E. Fresh. Take a look at four photos of proof above.
We might be seeing a lot more of Smith in the area soon. And not just because he's looking to film with his son and his locally connected director M. Night Shyamalan. The gossips in Us Weekly and InTouch claim that Will and his missus, Jada Pinkett Smith are separated after 13 years of marriage ...
A warm wind is going to blow across Fitzwater and Eighth on Sunday night and it has nothing to do with the prevailing hot pepper breezes coming from the Italian Market. That’s because the Sir Benjamin Quintet is playing Little Bar (736 S. Eighth St.), the spot once known as Vesuvio, at 9 p.m. We can’t tell you who Sir Benjamin is, though. It’s a secret. Probably because if he gave his real name he’d have to charge more than the five spot he’s asking (most of that’s going to rockabilly Rick Lustre’s Dixy Blood).
What we can say is that the organ-lounge-heavy master used to be a member of the The Sir Benjamin Combo, before relocating to Hollywood, where he achieved fame working for Earl Schieb’s auto paint house when he wasn’t busy buying up Ramblers and recording for famous television programs.
Before sunny California, Sir Benjamin was a native lad who loved lounge, schmaltz and garage rock. He worked as a producer for several rockabilly sensations and loved Alex Chilton so much that he teamed with him and recorded a tribute album to his mentor. Though he moved from here years ago, he can still be heard with frightening regularity. Jerry Blavat sings his praises at every turn and Sir Benjamin has a radio show that oldies fans are rapturous over. Hell, for five bucks does it matter who’s playing at Little Bar? Get some cheap tacos, love-on Dixy Blood and just wait and be surprised.
You know him by his steaks, fresh and frozen. You know him from his guest spots in films like the Mighty Macs, 10th & Wolf and Invincible. Better still you know him from starring roles in his own movie, The Nail and his whack television commercials filmed by Marc Brodzik. But this week, you will know Tony Luke Jr. from his number one spot on CDBaby’s R&B charts – blue eyed soul division - for the song he recorded with Whey Cooler (of Pretty Poison fame) “Right Here.” When I spoke to Luke Jr. before The Nail came out, he admitted to me that not only had he held a desire to be a soul singer, he had secretly finished work on reams of recordings at studios throughout the city. From the sounds of the new track, the secret’s out and people are loving it.
When I caught up with Luke he had just left MilkBoy Studios in Philly where he recorded a voice over for several commercials for the Hustler cable channel (“I’m the voice of the sleazy director”) and was already in New York City at 4th & Broadway’s Man Cave where he and Chase Utley were celebrating Philly with cheese steaks and Phillies paraphernalia (“It’s a kid’s playpen up here”).
Luke Jr. always wrote and recorded his own material. It was a must. “But having a hit record was elusive to me. It was the one thing in my life that I thought might not happen.”
“I'm going to go in one direction or the other ... I've got 2 roads before me,” said Brandy Hartley, the longtime promotional and production manager at Johnny Brenda’s, in an email to me on Tuesday afternoon. Her response wasn’t in reference to what she’d give BC Camplight in his rider or how the next Birdie Busch Hootenany would be handled. Hartley said as much in regard to the fact that she’ll be leaving JB’s of her own accord after five and a half years of service with a smile. She’ll be missed. Maybe. She hasn’t said whether or not what she’ll be doing next will take her out of Philly. She’ll know within two weeks, which means I’ll know within two weeks, which means you’ll know within two weeks. Either way, she sounds confident in the fact that she has accomplished all she origially set out to do (agreed) and that JB's future looks bright (agreed agreed). Stay tuned ...
Opa (1311 Sansom St.) is already a hot spot for a great, modern Greek meal (love the four-week marinated grilled octopus with chickpea fondue) and a cool cocktail (another Antho with cucumber vodka, lemon and fresh dill, please). But its Thursdays just got a little steamier with the start of Glendi. The party, DJ'd with love by our good friend Rahsaan of AfroTaino Productions and created by Opa’s owners Vasiliki Tsiouris and her brother, George Tsiouris, will always have a live arts and fashion lean with the occasional nod to body painting and photography.
On Thursday, June 9, Glendi started with a bang when longtime friend of Icepack, “Dr.” Noel Zayas debuted Noel Zayas Events with a flashy fashion show on Juniper Street. Along with emcee/scarf wearer Thom Cardwell, Hamels Foundation mouthpiece G-N Kang (the other emcee) and Antoine Johnson (the boss of House of Talent PA models), the show was a smash, with fashion faves from Priscilla Costa, Matthew Izzo’s clothing (he borrowed a few 611 tees and tank tops) and hot weather couture men's suits courtesy of Commonwealth Proper, the custom clothier I wrote about long ago. Snazzy.
For further Thursday events, visit opaphiladelphia.com.
For four years, The Roots have turned the Festival Pier’s stages at Penn’s Landing into a picnic/concert worthy of attending, lineup unseen. That’s something. You hear that The Roots are bringing their guests to the side stage or the main stage and you don’t have to consider whether or not it’s Nas, Public Enemy, Wu Tang Clan, Esperanza Spalding, TV on the Radio, whoever. You just go. But one thing that few (if any) report is the what-what regarding the inner sanctum of the Picnic’s backstage, a city unto itself where celebs like Zoe Kravitz and Bam Margera dodge basketballs (yes, I got hit in the head with one) and MCs from the smaller tent talk up their set and do interviews with Toure (all sorts of Flip camera crews were in the house). If you weren’t running into Philly music fellaheen King Britt, Aaron Levinson, Beanie Sigel and Freeway (the latter two attached at the hip) or bumping head first into Wiz Khalifa (get off my foot, Wiz) you were finding out some primo info about comings and goings within (and without) the Roots camp. Like the fact that David Grasso’s Beach and Cumberland Street House of Blues blueprint plans are nearly ready and the look of the mega-live-music club is akin to “Johnny Brenda’s and World Café Live only bigger and suited for 3,000-plus people” according to one Live Nation rep. Then there’s the flyer-ready info on the remainder of The Roots’ Fourth of July Jam 2011 plans where starting July 3, participating venues such as Legendary Dobbs, Johnny Brenda’s, TLA and Voyeur will host Roots-related DJ events with Work Dogs, Firm Tactics, Kuf Knotz and, at Voyeur, the DJ combo of Jazzy Jeff and ?uestlove along with Diplo and Spinna. The backstage is a ritual I’ve loved reliving year after year. In 2012, though, I’m wearing a helmet. Those basketballs smart when they land.
I can clearly recall when The Roots used to play at the triangular intersection of South Street across from Fat Tuesday. The Book Trader was still there. I bet King Britt still worked at Tower. Now, The Legendary Roots Crew is heading back to the street where hippies meet on June 3, one day shy of their 4th annual Roots Picnic at Penn’s Landing, so to pre-jam at The Legendary Dobbs for the first time. While Wiz Khalifa, Nas (backed by The Roots), Esperanza Spalding (backed by The Roots), Ariel Pink, Man Man and Little Dragon take to the big stage on that Saturday, the Friday night arrangement promises the Crew with special appearances from ?uestlove and Black Thought along with their old pal MCs Dice Raw and Chin Chin plus the threat of good additional guests perhaps from the Picnic’s playbill. Tickets are $10. They’ll go fast. And you can’t wear Tims. Times have changed.
More info at dobbsphilly.com.
Thursday night’s show at Tower Theatre with Elvis Costello was a gas. The newly slimmed down Costello leapt down memory lane by reviving the Spectacular Spinning Songbook that he first used at the Tower in 1985. Costello and his Imposters did raging versions of classics from his own back pages ("I Hope You're Happy Now," "Brilliant Mistake" dedicated to Glenn Beck, "Mystery Dance," "Radio, Radio," "Heart of the City”) and those from a few of his faves like McCartney (“Let Me Roll It”) and Townshend (“Substitute”). Costello and his Imposters relived the previous Spectacular Spinning Songbook’s staging with a TV that showed only static ("We always keep it tuned to Fox News," Costello joked) and a caged go-go dancer “Katerina Valentina” (in reality, Philly’s own Kate WaWa Watson Wallace). But Costello’s true nod to the past is when he mentioned playing at The Hot Club, the Philly venue where he played in December of 1977 for two dates. Little did Elvis know that I brought him a surprise (and vice versa) when Hot Club owner David Carroll became my special guest for the evening. Carroll was the first guy to bring Costello to Philly, maybe America if I remember my tour dates correctly. Carroll was opening his new venue, Rogue’s Gallery, the next night so getting him away from his 21st street saloon was a hard sell. But when he accepted to be my guest the first thing he did was find one of a few remaining “Hot Club” buttons (he had one hundred made after Costello played his venue), out it in an envelope with the hope he’d get it to EC. “The first thing I remember was that it was snowing when Elvis played,” laughs Carroll. “The second thing is that we actually paid him – like $800 or a thousand dollars.” I didn’t tell Carroll that I was trying to set up a meeting between the two titans until we got to the Waterford around the corner. I mean, you can never know if these things are going to work out. Thankfully Live Nation’s Jim Sutcliffe made it happen for Carroll and I to get backstage where EC and DC met for the first time in over 30 years. Costello remembered the snow on the night of the show but kept mentioning something about running to South Philly between sets. Nobody was quite certain what that meant. Carroll told him that he never left the venue and told Costello that he would place the poster that Elvis signed that December night upon the wall of his new Rogue’s Gallery. Everyone smiled.
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