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Night Moves
Don't know what to do tonight? Don't worry, we've got you covered.
At first, I resented that a coworker called me a hippie for liking the West Philadelphia Orchestra. But, in a certain kind of way, the band is our city's Phish. The members tour around Philly like it's a vice, and their live show is far superior to their albums. (That doesn't mean I think Phish's albums are good just that they're worse than the band's performances.) But the analogy ends there the WPO are far from slow-jammers, and they'll never, ever put you to sleep. To the contrary they play old-timey Eastern European music, with a gaggle of trumpets, tenor horns, sousaphones, saxes, clarinets, violins, violas and drums. It 's nervously quick, almost manic and makes you want to dance.
Thu., March 12, 10 p.m., $5, Tritone, 1508 South St., 215-545-0475, tritonebar.com
Don't know what to do tonight? Don't worry, we've got you covered.
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| Ceiling Cat/God is watching you. |
| latimes.com |
Maybe you blame God for the crappy economy. Maybe you just watched Religulous and want to make like Bill Maher travel the world, simultaneously piss people off/make them laugh, and preach agnosticism. Or maybe you always thought that religion was a poor excuse for people to get together on the weekend. Whatever the case may be, you'll probably be interested in Gerisimos Simotas' dicussion tonight. A member of Veterans for Peace, Simotas will be pontificating on the trouble we get ourselves into when we attribute human characteristics to God. (For example, dude got so angry he flooded the earth and shipped the one worthy human off to sea? WTF? Also: these schmucks.) If we continue to do this, he says, the wars and violence will keep on a comin'. And what would that be good for?
Wed., March 11, 7 p.m., free, Essene Market & Cafe, 719 S. 4th St., 215-922-1146, essenemarket.com.
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| Random House, $30. |
In these egalitarian days, just about as many male and female writers make the bestseller lists. But, when you count up the short stories published in the New Yorker and the books covered in the New York Review of Books, dude authors outnumber lady ones 2 to 1.
So what? Well, some would argue that it suggests that women writers aren't getting enough respect. In A Jury of Her Peers: American Women Writers From Anne Bradstreet to Annie Proulx, Elaine Showalter tries to make up for this by chronicling all the Jane Austens of the world. That includes lesser known folk like Anzia Yezierska and Jessie Redmon Fauset, too.
As a scholar who's always advocated being less esoteric and more available to the general public, she'll be speaking about her book at the Free Library tonight. Don't expect a militant feminist, though: While she'd certainly call herself a fem, she's known for her lighthearted manner. Which is just what we need when addressing such heavy stuff.
Tue, March 10, 7:30pm, free, Free Library, Central Branch, 1901 Vine St., 215-686-5322.
Don't know what to do tonight? Don't worry, we've got you covered.
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| This guy could have a good idea. Doubt it was as great as the Bucklette, though. |
| flickr.com/photos/ideablob |
I always thought it was bullshit when people said that economic downturns were hotbeds for great entrepreneurial ideas. (When people get bored and lose their jobs, don't most of them drink not think more?) But, judging by this week's events, maybe there's something to it. As covered in the Agenda section, Studio 34 is putting on Philly Pecha Kucha this Saturday, in which people present their ideas (on anything from show cats to Clark Park) in 6 minutes and 40 seconds. Tonight, Rembrandt's is hosting a similarly themed event called Bloblive. Essentially a live version of the Web site ideablob.com, it allows people to present their business plans, pie-in-the-sky hopes and thoughts to a room full of thinkers. There was a Bloblive held in Philly this January, and if it's any indication of what tonight's event will be like, you should definitely start brainstorming. Ideas ranged from eco-friendly pipe dreams (a social e-commerce platform) to stuff that actually ended up happening (this month's Twestival) to the hilariously silly (the "Bucklette," a comination of a belt and a wallet.) Too bad the spork's already taken.
Thu., March 5, 6-9 p.m., Rembrandt's, 741 N. 23rd St., 215-763-2228, rembrandts.com.
Don't know what to do tonight? Don't worry, we've got you covered.
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| A damn good doodle. |
| sketchbookproject.blogspot.com |
I don't know about you, but I can't let go of my sketchbooks. I've got a few from elementary school and more recent years lying around, but my most prized one is that which I shared with a friend in eighth grade. Essentially an extended note passed to each other between classes, it contains cartoons of beloved and despised teachers, a "Most Overrated Things of All Time" list and other artifacts of teenage angst.
That collaborative, notebook-loving vibe also seems to define The Sketchbook Project, a traveling exhibit that's stopping at Philly's Chris' Jazz Café for one night only. Thought up by the Art House Gallery in Atlanta, Ga., it invited artists from across the country to fill up their notebooks with doodles, thoughts and words. Some people opted to share their Moleskines with fellow artists (which is the route I would have taken), while others kept their drawings to themselves. Either way, many of the pieces are reminiscent of middle school in the best way possible and the dreamy, imaginative and bored way it makes you feel. My favorite part of the exhibit is the fact that you get to actually pick up the art with your hands and examine it up-close. You surely can't do that at the PMA.
Wed., March 4, 5-7 p.m., Chris' Jazz Café, 1421 Sansom St., 215-568-3131, arthousecoop.com/sketchbookproject.
Every once in a while, Philly gets all college-y on us and throws a kickin' Thursday night party and then leaves us high and dry on Friday night, forcing us to make hemp necklaces and play with our cats alone. This seems to be the case this week. There are at least four things you should be doing tonight. Choose wisely. Just don't choose the necklaces.
1) See comic Brian Posehn, the "giant, orange and gay" guy from The Sarah Silverman Program (Thu., Feb. 26, 8 p.m.; Fri.-Sat., Feb. 27-28, 8 and 10:30 p.m.; $20-$30, Helium Comedy Club, 2031 Sansom St., 215-496-9001, heliumcomedy.com):
Here's how Lauren Friedman describes his style, in the Agenda section:
Brian Posehn is getting older. While he's still a hardcore metalhead and an unapologetic nerd, Posehn — who's now married, with a baby on the way — admits that his life and, subsequently, his routine, are changing.
"I still talk about being a 15-year-old boy," he says. "But now I'm 30-12.
Later in the article, Poshen says that he's not as offensive as his lady co-star. After watching this clip, I don't know if that's true. But who doesn't love a little uncomfortable humor?
2) Check out Jeff Gordinier's at the Free Library (How X Saves the World: How Generation X Got the Shaft But Can Still Keep Everything From Sucking | Thu., Feb. 26, 6 p.m., free, 3601 Walnut St., 215-898-7595, jeffgordinier.com):
Sick of hearing about how great the Beatles, protests and LSD were? So is Jeff Gordinier. He thinks Gen X hasn't gotten nearly enough attention, compared to the baby boomers. As Dianca Potts puts it in this week's Agenda section:
Made up of green fiends, artists and political activists, Gen-Xers are anything but carbon copies of the past. By creating what Gordinier calls "new forms of philanthropy," his generation has contributed much to the greater good. "It wasn't a matter of shameless self-promotion," Gordinier says. "I saw Gen-Xers making an impact." Don't believe him? A few beloved Gen-Xers include President Barack Obama, comedian Stephen Colbert and author Douglas Coupland.
3) Listen to jazz artists performing the late Julius Hemphill's work (Thu., Feb. 26, 7:30 p.m., $12-$18, World Life Cafe, 3025 Walnut St., 215-222-1400, arsnovaworkshop.com):
As Shaun Brady puts it in this week's Music section:
Hemphill works his instrumentalist's lines into thick, intricate patterns as if making lace out of wrought iron. No stranger to thorny large-ensemble work, Bobby Zankel will turn his Warriors of the Wonderful Sound big band loose on this material with the addition of Hemphill collaborator and standard-bearer Marty Ehrlich and a pair of French horns for the second installment of Ars Nova Workshop's three-part Composer Portrait. Then Ehrlich and the Warriors' sax line will tackle several of Hemphill's sax sextet pieces.
4) Go to the Sideshow Adventure at Tower Gallery (Thu, Feb. 26, 8-10pm, free, Tower Gallery, 969 N. 2nd St, 215-253-9874):
This is my personal favorite, but that's cause I'm a sucker for freaks. The circus-themed event will feature burlesque, music and art performances by the Olde City Sideshow, the Peek-A-Boo Revue, Dr. Sketchy's Philadelphia and DJ Deejay. You have to register at Yelp.com for some strange reason (which probably involves them spamming you for years), but whatever, you'll get free food, booze and entertainment. Take a gander at the Peek-A-Boo Revue above.
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| Fight the good fight, people. |
| web.illish.us |
Don't know what to do tonight? Don't worry, we've got you covered.
Now that the economy is vomiting up jobs — especially those mom-and-pop shops that make Philly lovable — Dejha Ti thinks net neutrality is more important than ever. "If a clothing company can't afford to keep a physical retail store open, it can at least open one up online. That's much cheaper to maintain," says Ti, president of realizePhiladelphia. "If Comcast got what they wanted and could pay to have their Web site load faster, those small companies wouldn't be able to afford to keep up."
Yes, Comcast acting as a gatekeeper to the Internet is a scary prospect indeed. Despite failing to make much headway in the fight against net neutrality, though, providers like Comcast continue to spend millions of dollars each year in hopes of getting their way. So lest you think that net neutrality was a right we established in the early 2000s, realizePhiladelphia and the Future of Music Coalition are holding a Webcast series to make you think otherwise. "Yes, we've achieved net neutrality," says Ti. "But now we have to go into preservation mode, otherwise someone will come in and take it away."
Tonight's event takes place at Silk City (435 Spring Garden St.), and addresses how creative culture is dependent upon a freewheeling, wide-open Internet. Neil Kleinman, dean of the College of Media & Communication at UArts, will be moderating the talk, with local bloggers, entrepreneurs and artists pontificating on the topic.
Can't make it? The series will be available tomorrow online, where you can also access the other web.illish.us series.
Wed., Feb. 18, 10 p.m., $8, Silk City, 435 Spring Garden St., 215-592-8838, web.illish.us.
Don't know what to do tonight? Don't worry, we've got you covered.
You may know the Canadian band Metric in one of the following ways: 1) You heard "Monster Hospital" on Grey's Anatomy. 2) You like Broken Social Scene and are aware that Metric is somehow connected to that strange family-tree of a band. 3) You've heard lead singer Emily Haines critique consumerism. 4) You've heard lead singer Emily Haines' voice on a TV commercial for Polaroid film, despite critiquing such things.
OK, so the band may be a little hypocritical. So what? They make super clean, '90s throwback pop, which sometimes sounds just like Euro dance music and other times sounds exactly like Stars. The slow songs, like "Ending Start," are so dreamy and ethereal that they may send you into a coma. Conversely, the faster-paced songs, like "Monster Hospital," may induce an anxiety attack. Check out their show tonight and revel in the paradox.
Tue., Feb. 17, 8pm, $23, Upstairs at World Live Café, 3025 Walnut St., 215-222-1400.
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| Goodbye, love. |
| siteforrent.com |
Don't know what to do tonight? Don't worry, we've got you covered.
Remember when Jonathan Larson's rock musical Rent was a youthful, fresh take on living with AIDS in New York City? And how innovative it was that Larson based it off of La Bohème, meshing the roughed-up city with Pucinni's flawless opera? Well, the production just turned 15, oldie. (And if that doesn't make you feel old, consider this quote from Larson: "[My dream is] to bring musical theater to the MTV generation." What would that mean today — a Hills musical?) Anyway, it's not on Broadway anymore. Thankfully, though, it's returning to the Academy of Music for five more nights, with three original cast members performing. Check it out before MTV — and Rent, for that matter — become relics of the past.
Tue, Feb. 3, 7:30 p.m., $25-$80, Academy of Music, Broad & Locust sts., 215-893-1930, kimmelcenter.org.
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A past Craftivity project, which is probably not appropriate for this month's V-Day theme. |
Don't know what to do tonight? Don't worry, we've got you covered.
In this week's Agenda section, A.D. told you about Malcolm Gladwell's reading of Outliers: The Story of Success at the Free Library tonight. I'm a big fan of Gladwell's ability to squeeze a complex, esoteric theory into a neatly-packaged idea for the masses, but I'm just not in the mood for pop psychology. If you're in the same boat as me, head to Germ Book's "Craftivity." This monthly craft group is very hands-on, and has indulged in "stencil-making silliness," wheat-pasting demos and puppet monologues in the past. This week's theme is V-Day gifts — for people who'd rather receive a UFO encounter than roses.
Mon. Feb. 2, 6:30 p.m., free, Germ Books, 2005 Frankford Ave., 215-423-5002, germbooks.com
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