Philadelphia Weekly back issues from June 2007:
Getting Centered
Jun 06, 2007; ... To appreciate the importance of rec centers to Philadelphia kids, it's useful to look back to the '50s, '60s and '70s. There are good things to remember about those decades in Philadelphia. Were they the hazy, crazy halcyon days of yore? Hardly. Mostly things were ...
All Bets Are Off
Jun 06, 2007; ... GAMBLING Casino development in Philly is delayed amid contradictory legislation. The stakes will be high June 13 when City Council's Committee on Rules considers several contradictory pieces of legislation impacting development of gaming facilities along the Delaware River ...
CULTURAL REPORT CARD
Jun 06, 2007; ... GRADE A SUBJECT Joey Chestnut Two-time Wing Bowl champion returns the hot dog-eating record to the United States, besting Japan's Takeru Kobayashi by eating 59.5 hot dogs and buns in 12 minutes. Wins a $250 gift certificate to Arizona Mills Mall for his efforts. How can ...
THE ANGRY GRAMMARIAN
Jun 06, 2007; ... Cheetahs Always Win I was a little worried on first listen. Cheetah vs. Helicopter, the brand-new release from local band Grammar Debate!, seemed a classic case of false advertising. Grammar Debate!, with their ambitious moniker and playful exclamation point, is the only band ...
White Riot
Jun 06, 2007; ... The faded rockstar aesthetic finds new urban life. For many Philly high schoolers, the days before a Rockstar party are a rush to find the most colorful retro outfits-the freshest Nike Dunks or craziest Ice Cream sneakers, Members Only jackets, skinny-leg jeans, "dope ropes" (fat gold ...
Byrd Call
Jun 06, 2007; ... POLICE The Daily News' top-cop contest has sparked some serious controversy. Celeste Morello says she was a little surprised when she received a call from police commissioner Sylvester Johnson. "He said, ;I want you to write a letter supporting Kimberly Byrd for the ...
The Water Ice Storm
Jun 06, 2007; ... NEIGHBORHOODS Rita's imminent arrival piques NoLibs purists. Northern Liberties, long touted as the city's next great neighborhood, is getting a Starbucks coffee shop. And a Pottery Barn. Maybe even a Banana Republic, a Ben & Jerry's ice cream shop, a Restoration Hardware and ...
Moore Better Blues
Jun 06, 2007; ... A North Philly rec center; once slated for closure, now serves as a model for community renewal. "You ain't that cool, Khalil. You ain't that cool with those glasses and that gum-take those off," says Hellen McCollum to a gangly strutting 7-year-old w in dark sunglasses and a school ...
NewsBreaker Live
Jun 06, 2007; ... * CROWD CONTROL NewsBreaker Live Fri., June 8, call for times. $8-$11.75. Through June 24. Bridge, 40th and Walnut sts. 215.386.3300. www.newsbreakergame.com Never doubt capitalism's ability to generate new and ever creepier Orwellian experiences. Oh, I'm sorry-I ...
Urban Idol
Jun 06, 2007; ... * UN-RAPPED Urban Idol Thurs., June 7, 6pm. Free. Jardel Recreation Center, 1400 Cottman Ave. 215.683.3633. www.phila.gov Philly's Department of Recreation is hosting its second season of Urban Idol, an American Idol knockoff that's supposedly knocking out the ...
B-Boy BBQ
Jun 06, 2007; ... * LOAD OF RAP B-Boy BBQ Sat., June 9, noon-8pm. Free. Hawthorne Cultural Center, 1200 Carpenter St. 215.685.1848. www.myspace.com/bboybbq Four elements. Three promoters. Two turntables. One day. A beloved marker of summer, the eighth annual B-Boy BBO is an old-school, "V' ...
Brian Regan
Jun 06, 2007; ... * CLOWN PRINCE Brian Regan Sat., June 9, 8pm. $36.50-$40. Tower Theater, 69th and Ludlow sts., Upper Darby. 215.336.2000. www.livenation.com Brian Regan has problems. He wears black socks to the gym, eats Fig Newtons by the sleeve, has a wood chipper where his ...
Hog, Warts and All
Jun 06, 2007; ... ON THE RADAR Giant pigs declare war on kids with guns. There's only one topic on the latte foamflecked lips of America's caffeine-stoked gibbering classes this week: the war between pigs and children. It started when newspapers printed pictures of 11-year-old Alabamian ...
CUTTERS
Jun 06, 2007; ... Audrey Dwyer Frl., May 25, 3:30pm. Chop Shop, 513 South St. 215.923.5545 "I'm from the Northeast and have been at this shop two years. We have two shops-one on Temple's campus. I try to talk everyone into getting mohawks. Everyone can wear a mohawk-you just have to have the ...
OPENING RIFF
Jun 06, 2007; ... Fucking. This is why the Fucking Champs are the fucking champs: because they're the Fucking Champs. The Fucking facts: Four years after releasing V, the hallowed gods of instru-metal music (whose name will be altered for the rest of this Rifflest it become gratuitous) bring us ...
WHAT'S UP WITH ... DWIZZ
Jun 06, 2007; ... Young folks in Philly have embraced Baltimore club music as their own, but they've had very little to do with the production end of the genre's sound. Enter Dante "Dwizz" Winn, Philadelphia's first bona fide party music artist and club music pioneer. Dwizz's original tracks "Salt Pepper ...
L.A. Story
Jun 06, 2007; ... POWER OF SOUL Great new underground soul coming out of La-La Land. Ah, Los Angeles. Now-in addition to stargazing or getting your ass beat by cops-you can explore the city's buregeoning underground soul scene. If Cali-based radio shows are to be believed (Garth Trinidad's ...
UNWRAPPED
Jun 06, 2007; ... JUDGING TWO NEW CDS BY THEIR COVERS. Job for a Cowboy Genesis (Metal Blade) Described as: Much has been made of the fact JFAC was signed because of MySpace, but Genesis is a technical death metal album a step up from previous efforts. At a glance: "To: Artist ....
EVERYBODY'S SINGLE
Jun 06, 2007; ... So white men can't jump. And they certainly can't dance. But some of these crackers sure as hell can rap. Brother AIi "Whatcha Got" There are angry rappers and then there's Brother AIi. After suffering constant emotional abuse as an adolescent, All, a legally blind albino ...
LIVE | MUSIC
Jun 06, 2007; ... Lee "Scratch" Perry Sun., June 10, 8pm. $23-$35. With Dub Is a Weapon + Sarah the Selektor. World Cafe Live, 3025 Walnut St. 215.222.1400. www.worldcafelive.com ' "The Mighty Upsetter" is still upsetting us at age 71, and we're lucky he's stopping at World Cafe Live as part of a ...
Splendor in the Pendergrass
Jun 06, 2007; ... Splendor in the Pendergrass Philly's favorite soul man primes for a historic night. Teddy 25 Sun., June 10, 4pm. $35-$150. With Mo'Nique, Bill Cosby, Patti LaBeIIe + more. Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, Broad and Spruce sts. 215.893.1999. www.kimmel ...
Dementia Prekop
Jun 06, 2007; ... Dementia Prekop The Sea and Cake aren't quite the band you think they are. Sea and CaKe Fri., June 8, 8pm. $16-$18. With Zincs + Loney, Dear. Fillmore at the TLA, 334 South St. 215.922.1011. www. livenation.com "I'm getting tired of hearing 'breezy' all the time," ...
Trial and Terror
Jun 06, 2007; ... Trial and Terror Ed Hamell kicks against the pricks for a whole month. Hamell on Trial Every Wed., 8:30pm. $10. Through June 20. Tin Angel, 20 S. Second St. 215.928.0770. www.tinangel.com "Who does vote for these dishonest shitheads? Who among us can be happy and ...
BLACK LIKE ME
Jun 06, 2007; ... When I was young I wanted to murder my older brother. I had it all planned out. I was going to break open the brakelight on the back of his Suzuki Samurai and run the wires into the gas tank so that when he started his car, it : would explode-an idea I got from TV. The only problem with ...
Soft Carousel
Jun 06, 2007; ... Soft Carousel Go for the music, not the acting. If you go to Walnut Street Theatre's production of Rodgers and Hammerstein's CarouseJjust to hear gifted vocalists sing one of the finest scores in musical theater history, you'll leave the show entirely satisfied. But . if you're ...
footlights
Jun 06, 2007; ... footlights Buds Wiser Someday the promising playwright ltamar Moses is going to write a great play. The Four of Us isn't it, but Moses' intelligent comedy nevertheless provides a strong conclusion to another successful season from the ever reliable 1812 Productions. Four focuses ...
Jekyll and Hide
Jun 06, 2007; ... Jekyll and Hide As a family man with a secret dark side, Kevin Costner makes bad look good. It could be the best movie of the summer, or maybe the worst. Probably more like both at the same time. Honestly, the only thing I'm sure of right now is that Mr. Brooks, Kevin Costner's ...
EYE CANDY
Jun 06, 2007; ... THREE SWEET PICKS TO GET YOU THROUGH THE WEEK. The Boss of It All On Demand: IFC in Theaters What: Danish workplace comedy. Why: How seriously can you take Lars von Trier? He's made heavy melodramas like Breaking the Waves and Dancer in the Dark. But he's also a ...
THE SIX PACK
Jun 06, 2007; ... Six Great Out-of-Nowhere Movie Deaths (Spoiler Alert) Psycho (1960): An obvious pick, but it's easy to underestimate this one's twist primarily because it's so well known. Impossible though it may be, try to imagine seeing it fresh: Not only does the lead get diced about 45 minutes in, ...
TV
Jun 06, 2007; ... TV The Green B+ Tues., 9pm. Sundance So you thought you were a badass for biking everywhere and buying local food? Don't get too excited, because Robert Redford is raising the bar on recycling just like he did with independent filmmaking-and the result is ...
New Releases
Jun 06, 2007; ... New Releases Private Fears in Public Places Directed by Alain Resnais B Reviewed by Matt Prlgge Opens FrL, June 8 Fellini's dead. Bergman's semiretired. Antonioni's largely out of commission (and godawful when in). But the 85-year-old Alain ...
Ongoing
Jun 06, 2007; ... Away From Her Adapted from Alice Munro's short story "The Bear Came Over the Mountain," the sparse, plaintive Away From Her stars Julie Christie and Gordon Pinsent as Fiona and Grant Andersson, a retired couple living in an idyllic northern Ontario cottage. Fiona develops Alzheimer's ...
Repertory
Jun 06, 2007; ... Bryn Mawr Film Institute $4.50-$9.25, unless otherwise noted. 824 W. Lancaster Ave., Bryn Mawr. 610.527.9898. www.brynmawrfilm.org King Kong (1933) (Shown on film): Take a break from the overplotted blockbuster fare of this year-I'm looking your way, Spidey 3 and Pirates ...
Nicely Executed
Jun 06, 2007; ... FIELD GUIDE Nicely Executed Mary burned 283 heretics to death, and now she's a delicious cocktail. Allegedly named after Protestantburning monarch Mary I of England, the Bloody Mary is the undisputed queen of hangover cures. 'I Here's a roundup of six almost always ...
All You Can Cheat
Jun 06, 2007; ... FROM THE MARKET Duchamp your way through these deliciously easy summer eats. I've been thinking about Marcel Duchamp's readymades-Fountain, Bicycle Wheel, Bottle Rack (all on view at the Philadelphia Museum of Art). In his essay "Making Sense of Marcel Duchamp," Andrew Stafford ...
EAT BEAT
Jun 06, 2007; ... Win It! As the price of gasoline rises just in time for the summer travel season, so the price of beef is skyrocketing just in time for the summer grilling season. Conspiracy theorists, discuss. If you were planning on taking Dad out for a big steak dinner for Father's Day on June 17, ...
High and Outside
Jun 13, 2007; ... Five years out of school and her father was still imploring her to ditch Philadelphia and come home. "You know you miss it here," he said when she answered her cell. "New England summers are so peaceful." Her father hadn't become the No. 1 real estate broker in his region by ...
Dial "M" for Murder
Jun 13, 2007; ... Let's declare war on cell yellers. Riding the rails used to be my refuge. In the lull of the swaying train, I'd immerse myself in a novel, lean my head against the window for a short nap or simply enjoy the solitude. Now that peace has been shattered by the chattering ...
Age Marks the Spot
Jun 13, 2007; ... Gather ye rosebuds while ye may, yon twentysomethings. About a week ago I was looking at my knee and saw a brown fleck of cereal. I wasn't looking at my knee with purpose, but with that googlyeyed blankness that gets you into trouble when you realize your eyes have been focused for 10 ...
Scouts Honor
Jun 13, 2007; ... DEVELOPMENT One famous Logan Square building won't go condo-at least for now. Should the local assembly of Boy Scouts be evicted from its headquarters in the Art Museum area, the grand Beaux Arts building will remain "institutional in nature," Philadelphia City Councilman Darrell ...
THE ANGRY GRAMMARIAN
Jun 13, 2007; ... Following the 'Script I had a birthday party last week, and one of my guests asked me, "So, are you a prescriptive or a descriptivist?" (These are the kinds of people who show up at my birthday gatherings.) The question is inherently obnoxious, as it requires a level of erudite ...
Smart Money
Jun 13, 2007; ... NEIGHBORHOODS Cedar Park's community association tries to make college a little more affordable for its residents. For most people $600 is a drop in the bucket when it comes to paying for college. But not to Cedar Park native Simon Haileab. The Penn State senior political science ...
WHY I FIGHT
Jun 13, 2007; ... Mixed martial arts has hit the mainstream. Steve Volk gets his ass kicked investigating the sport's burgeoning popularity. My first class at the Body Arts Gym, I don't walk in the door as much as shamble. I'm 5 foot 9 and 214 pounds. When I make faltering attempts to exercise, my ...
Alash
Jun 13, 2007; ... WHOLE GLOTTAL LOVE Mon., June 18, 7pm. Free. Rotunda, 4014 Walnut St. 215.573.3234. www.therotunda.org Throat-singing ensemble Alash are named after a river in their native Tuva. You know, Tuva. It's a Russian republic in Siberia, just north of Mongolia. The musicians hail from ...
"The Dirtiest Sketch in Philadelphia"
Jun 13, 2007; ... GRIME WAVE Mon., June 18, 8pm. $5. Khyber, 56 S. Second St. 215.238.5888. www.thekhyber.com Ray Nagin was right. Philadelphia is filthy. Just look at the tumbleweeds of trash rolling through the streets, or the ubiquitous blunt fillings scattered on the floors of our urine-soaked ...
Once Upon a Tassel: A Burlesque Tribute to Grimm's Fairy Tales
Jun 13, 2007; ... MY PRINCE WILL COME Sat., June 16, 8pm. $12-$15. Trocadero, 1011 Arch St. 215.922.5483. www.thetroc.com Is there a better way to top off a comics/sci-fi convention than an evening gawking at witches and fairy princesses wearing little more than sequined pasties? The voluptuous ...
Independence Squares
Jun 13, 2007; ... GRAB YOUR LIFE PARTNER Tues., June 19, 7pm. $5. Lutheran Church of the Holy Communion, 2111 Sansom St. 215.567.3668. www.independencesquares.org Sick of sweaty, drunken dryhumping on dance floors crowded with sloppy hetero-pigs? Thanks to the Independence Squares- Philly's own ...
Joe Bummer
Jun 13, 2007; ... 0N THE RADAR Sir Paul McCartney should be knife-fighting Sting naked in Starbucks. Next time I go into Starbucks I want to see Sir Paul McCartney knife-fighting Sting naked. With only one knife. The upside is only one of the fly-blown, motheaten, walking-dead English wankers ...
CUTTERS
Jun 13, 2007; ... Mark Lightf oot Fri., June 8, 1pm. Philadelphia Hair Company, 5805 Germantown Ave. 215.842.0550 "I was born and raised in Philadelphia, and I started cutting in my grandpa's basement in Germantown as a kid. I was like 12, 13. 1 worked at King's Barber Shop, a three-chair barber ...
Hoops Spring Eternal
Jun 13, 2007; ... A Philly-based sneaker firm helps spread the peace. Remember the good old days when kids were killing each other over sneakers and Starter jackets instead of drug deals gone bad? Don't you yearn for the return of that golden era of urban youth? The folks at Philly-based Undrcrwn ...
OPENING RIFF
Jun 13, 2007; ... Shortly before offing himself, Kurt Cobain mused, "I wish there'd been a music business 101 course I could've taken." Although it came along a little too late for Mr. Courtney Love, Drexel University's music industry program offers students real-world experience in every aspect of the ...
WHAT'S UP WITH THE COMMISSION
Jun 13, 2007; ... According to Chappell "Fatcat" Morrell, there are "12 DJs for every square mile" in this city. So in 2002 he began to assemble the Commission, a 30-member roster of the city's finest wax spinners, including radio stars like Touch Tone and Diamond Kuts. Standing tall beside Fatcat ...
The Butler Did It
Jun 13, 2007; ... For a shot of ice in your veins, check out these reissues. The legend goes that at the initial meeting between producers Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff and singer Jerry Butler, the collaborative union was as instant as Sanka. Sometime in the late '60s all three men got together at long-gone ...
UNWRAPPED
Jun 13, 2007; ... JUDGING TWO NEW CDS BY THEIR COVERS. Marilyn Manson Eat Me, Drink Me (lnterscope) Described as: Manson's latest. At a glance: Marilyn may be the hottest chick on the alt-goth-pop-freak scene today, but she doesn't know about weather stripping. A quick tip for all ...
EVERYBODY'S SINGLE
Jun 13, 2007; ... R. Kelly's made a career of weaving outlandish sex innuendo into his songs. In the past he's likened the act to driving a car, smoking cheeba and cooking. He's even fancied his penis a TV remote. On his new album Double Up the "He said what?" moments keep coming. R. Kelly "Leave ...
Mary Timony Band
Jun 13, 2007; ... Sat., June 16, 9pm. $10. With Bitter, Bitter Weeks; Geòrgie James + Welcome. Johnny Brenda's, 1201 Frankford Ave. 215.739.9684. www.johnnybrendas.com Since her days fronting '90s noise-poppers Helium, Mary Timony has been one busy prog rocker with three stark, spiraling solo albums under ...
Bilal
Jun 13, 2007; ... Sat., June 16, 8pm. $25-$35. World Cafe Live, 3025 Walnut St. 215.222.1400. www.worldcafelive.com Bilal's 2001 breakthrough 1st Born Second was a defining example of the Soulquarian sound. His seductive blend of hip-hop and jazzinflected neo-soul put him in the orbit of fellow ...
Pig Destroyer
Jun 13, 2007; ... Thurs., June 14, 7:30pm. $12. With Car Bomb, Genghis Tron + Child Abuse. First Unitarian Church, 2125 Chestnut St. 866.468.7619. www.r5productions.com Guitarist Scott Hull is shooting three-for-three for being in bands with really nasty names that accurately describe their ...
Chick Corea + Béla Fleck
Jun 13, 2007; ... Fri., June 15, 8pm. $48.50. Keswick Theatre, 291 Keswick Ave., Glenside. 215.572.7650. www.keswicktheatre.com Scientologist jazz piano genius Chick Corea and mathematical banjo master Béla Fleck are a match made in super-player's heaven. Corea's done it all, from expandable ...
Future Clouds & Radar
Jun 13, 2007; ... Thurs., June 14, 9pm. $8. With Rio Vouga, TAB + On Mono. North Star, 27th and Poplar sts. 215.787.0488. www.northstarrocks.com Cotton Mather was one of Texas' better-kept secrets in the '90s, and it's a shame, because Robert Harrison's consistent musicianship and solid pop sensibility is ...
Heartless Bastards
Jun 13, 2007; ... Fri., June 15, 9pm. $10. With East Hundred + Viva La Foxx. North Star, 27th and Poplar sts. 215.787.0488. www.northstarrocks.com One of the few big rock voices of the decade belongs to Erika Wennerstrom, pint-sized frontwoman of the Heartless Bastards. Meet her at the bar and she's ...
Prowler
Jun 13, 2007; ... Fri., June 15, 9pm. $8. With Gentlemen Christ, Metroplex + Mcclept. Khyber, 56 S. Second St. 215.238.5888. www.thekhyber.com Out of nowhere come Prowler, heaping steaming portions of basement-booty electro onto shards of candyglass funk. The Philly five-piece shiver and shudder for all ...
Let It Blow
Jun 13, 2007; ... The original dirty rapper still finds himself in rare form. Whether singing patented song parodies like "Shittin' on the Dock of the Bay" or telling a black homosexual Republican that he's "got his dick on backward," in his politically charged original Fahrenheit 69, Blowfly, 62, has ...
File Under: Comedy
Jun 13, 2007; ... Of all the music artists working today, the one you might suspect retains Blowfly's utmost respect is R. Kelly, who's taken the dirty torch and run with it. Not so. Blowfly hates the man. "He's a scumbag who fucks little 12-year-old girls," Blowfly says dismissively. "Someone ...
ART OF DARKNESS
Jun 13, 2007; ... Kimbo "King of the Web Brawlers" Slice is una artista brillante. For those unfamiliar with his name, he's a 6-foot-2-inch, 280-pound beast of a bare-knuckle-fighting phenomenon known for systematically beating the mierda absoluta out of hulking wannabe jefes who try to go toe-to-toe with ...