Crushing Krisis

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Things To Do In Philly, 9/8 Edition

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Last week’s things to do in Philly were pretty awesome – I should know, since I locomoted my ass out of the house to see more than half of them!

Here’s another week of personally endorsed activities around Philadelphia. Let me know if you’re headed out to one, and maybe I’ll come too! And, don’t forget about my two upcoming shows:

  • Saturday 9/11 @ Collingswood 2nd Saturday, 6pm-9pm, Free!
  • Thursday 9/16 @ Tin Angel w/Dante Bucci, 8pm, $10

    • Wednesday 9/8
    What: Askew indie rock
    Who: Dirty Projectors w/Owen Pallett
    Where: 7:30pm, Trocadero, $15 adv / $17 dos
    Why: I resisted Dirty Projectors when they appeared on best-of-year lists, but there is something undeniable about their lilting and sometimes atonal acoustic indie pop. This show is a steal, which you can definitely afford since you probably downloaded their CD from p2p.

    Friday 9/10
    What: Dozens of Philly songwriters in one room
    Who: Song Shuffle
    Where: 7:30pm, World Cafe Live, $27 / $5 for students & under 25
    Why: Want a crash course in Philly songwriters? See an almighty slew of them play one song each, which will likely yield some huge hits and unusual collaborations.

    Rocking my curly hair and an outfit from Sazz Vintage this January.

    Friday 9/10 – Monday 9/13
    What: Crazy-cheap vintage clothes
    Who: Sazz Vintage Warehouse weekend sale!
    Where: Fri 4-8pm, Sat-Mon 12-6pm, 2438 Coral St., 19125
    Why: Want to bulk up on your vintage 60s, 70s, and 80s clothing? This weekend Sazz will unlock their warehouse for a repeat of the sale that reinvigorated my blazer collection and helped me costume a period piece of theatre for under $200.

    Saturday 9/11
    What: A pair of standout Philly female songwriters
    Who: Adrien Reju, Suzie Brown, and Barnaby Bright
    Where: 8pm, Burlap & Bean in Newtown Square, $10 / $12 at door
    Why: If you insist on skipping our Collingswood gig, Adrien and Suzie are two of the most stunning songwriters Philly has to offer, not to mention adept performers and complete sweet-hearts. A bill with the both of them is not to be missed (unless you’re seeing us).

    Saturday 9/11 & Sunday 9/12
    What: Crash course in glass pulling
    Who: Hudson Beach Glass
    Where: 12-5pm by appointment, 26 South Strawberry St., 19106
    Why: Hudson is a pretty cool place to visit to begin with, but this weekend they’ll let you get hands on with the hot glass to pull your own glass flower (with the help of a trained glassblower).

    Sunday 9/12
    What: Freak folkers strut their songs
    Who: Bike Philly party w/Spinning Leaves & Ben Sollee
    Where: 9pm, Johnny Brenda’s, $12
    Why: Spinning Leaves are like some crazy bizarro ultra-folk version of Arcati Crisis (they actually resemble us, in reverse!), pairing freak-on lyrics with perfect-blend harmonies. Meanwhile, Ben Sollee is on tour with his cello on a bicycle!

    Monday 9/13
    What: Live storytelling
    Who: First Person StorySlam
    Where: 8:30pm, World Cafe Live, $10
    Why: Whether you’re there to watch or tell a tale, First Person StorySlam runs the gamut from hilarity.

    Wednesday 9/15
    What: James Brown’s reincarnated ghost from the future
    Who: Of Montreal w/Janelle Monae
    Where: 9pm, Electric Factory, $25 / $28 @ door
    Why: Forget perennial hipster darlings Of Montreal – every time Janelle Monae plays in Philly my entire social switchboard lights up like a Christmas tree about how freaking awesome she was. Observe:

    Did I catch the event you’re headed to or capture your favorite band? If not, leave a comment to let me know what I’m missing out on.

    Things To Do In Philly, 8/31 Edition

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    Here is my totally biased and personally endorsed calendar of things to check out this week in Philly.

    Let me know if you’re headed out to one, and maybe I’ll come too! And, don’t forget about my two upcoming shows:

  • Saturday 9/11 @ Collingswood 2nd Saturday, 6pm-9pm, Free!
  • Thursday 9/16 @ Tin Angel w/Dante Bucci, 8pm, $10

    • Cris Valkyria, as shot by me at the Northstar Bar, earlier this summer.


    Wednesday 9/1
    What: Amazing local indie rock!
    Who: Post Post
    Where: 7:00pm, Rittenhouse Square Park, Free!
    Why: Filmstar split a bill with Post Post earlier this summer, and Post Post blew me away. Like a cross between Built to Spill & Thao w/the Get Down Stay Down. They will NOT be playing free shows in Philly for long, so get on it now!

    Thursday 9/2
    What: 90s-esque girl rock!
    Who: Cris Valkyria & The Opponents
    Where: 8:30pm, The Tin Angel, $8
    Why: I was dumbstruck when I first heard the typically acoustic Cris with this fantastic backing band. Shades of Heather Nova, Bjork, Alanis, and Elvish Costello, among others.

    Friday 9/3 (I’ll Be There!)
    What: Gallery show opening & entrancing music
    Who: Jennifer Vessells & Dante Bucci
    Where: 5:30pm, Muse Gallery, 52 North 2nd Street, Free!
    Why: Jennifer is an amazing visual artist whose paintings I completely lose myself in; Dante is a hypnotic hang drum player who I’m splitting a show with later this month.

    Britt Miller's "Pieces of My Heart"

    Friday 9/3 (I’ll Be There!)
    What: Gallery show, drinks, & mingling!
    Who: Britt Miller, my arty partner in FAME
    Where: 5-9pm, Drink Philly Office & Gallery, 239 Chestnut St., 2Flr. B
    Why: Britt and I keep each other on the path to fame, and this is one of the many gallery shows that are on her road this year. Plus, free food and drinks. Be there!

    Friday 9/3
    What: Chunky folk riffs!
    Who: Andra Taylor supports Charlie Phillips
    Where: 7:30pm, Burlap and Bean, Newton Square, PA
    Why: Andra is one of my favorite people to split a bill with – if you share my love of Ani DiFranco and Patty Griffin you’ll adore her.

    Friday 9/3 – Monday 9/6
    What: World premiere play!
    Who: Gina & Ocelot on a Leash Theater Company
    Where: 3/4 @ 8pm & 5/6 @2pm, The Rotunda, 4014 Walnut Street, $10
    Why: My musical other half Gina Martinelli costars in Prudence, a play by one of my former directors Mary Ellen Cosaboon. I got a sneak preview of this last fall, and it’s a legitimately funny – not some freaky unintelligible Fringe-fest-thing.

    Saturday, 9/4
    What: Local CD release!
    Who: Boy Wonder
    When: 7:00pm, World Cafe Live, $10
    Why: Boy Wonder is a crazy-amazing songwriter – every one of his tunes is immediately catchy with some wicked guitar interludes. Also, one of the nicest dudes I have met in the Philly music scene.

    Saturday, 9/4
    What: Chill acoustic tunes!
    Who: Bill McConney
    When: 9pm, Myra’s Place, 615 Macdade Blvd, Collingdale, PA
    Why: Bill’s folk riffs and legato baritone voice are sometimes a dead ringer for Nick Drake, but the songs are all his own.

    ’cause that’s how I flow

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    I’m just going to leave this here…

    Tracy Jordan: Lemme just say, I’m excited to be here. It’s an honor for you to meet me. I’ve got a lot of characters I’m ready to bust out. I got a character named “Biscuit”, write that out. I got another character named “Rolando”, who is a two-foot-tall Spanish hustler. [pointing to Frank] Glasses, I want you to write that one. I got another character named “Ching Chong” who loves to play ping pong. I just made that up right now, ’cause that’s how I flow. Now, I’m up for anything.

    That little slice of Tracy Jordan insanity from 30 Rock is similar to the mode I get into when I start filling up my editorial calendar during months like this, except I don’t have anyone to command, “write that out.” It’s just a lot of vague ideas I came up with and scheduled with just a title, leaving it to future me to figure out what the hell I meant and how to wrangle an entire post out of it.

    Monday Morning Remainders

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    I performed with Filmstar for the first time on Saturday, but you have to wait a day or two to hear about the results and if I’m still feeling conflicted about playing with the band.

    First, here are your Monday Morning Remainders – eight blogs I’ve enjoyed or tweets I’ve flagged.

    1. Philly (and the internet at large) got up in arms last week about a so-called “Philly Blogger Tax,” which was really just the city’s business privilege license being applied to Bloggers. My virtual friend JoeBeta sussed out a sensible explanation and critique of the policy, from Technically Philly co-founder Sean Blanda.

    It’s certainly a horrible waste of resources to pursue blogs with revenue in the hundreds when some companies and individuals owe the city millions in back taxes, forcing the city to do things like offer a tax amnesty to the dead beats.

    2. Rocking local blog Phrequency had a flash concert for TJ Kong on the freaking Broad Street Subway. I love TJ Kong and my old promo shots were from the Walnut Street station, so in my opinion this is approximately the best thing ever.

    Do not hold your breath waiting for me to do one on the El, though.

    3. A Vancouver realtor’s Facebok page gained over 4,000 fans in 12 days. Crazy pyramid scheme for iPads? Nope – good old fashioned content that people give a shit about. (via @morganb.)

    4. I’ll just repeat what Torrez said:

    Imagesoak is a fantastic application for finding things to read and look at based on the interesting photos and images that accompany them. Nevermind what I just said, just go there.

    5. Matthew Leone, bass player for the Chicago based band Madina Lake, sustained life-threatening injuries while trying to defend a stranger from brutal domestic abuse. Sweet Relief, a fund that supports musicians in times of illness, is raising funds to pay for his treatment and rehabilitation. Matthew’s band member and brother has been blogging through the ordeal.

    6. Leslie Hunt was one of my favorite recent American Idol Semi-Finalists – she had a real identity and real taste in music, but was quickly kicked to the curb for her quirk. Mpomy.com blogs a video from her new project, District 97

    7. Amanda Palmer’s life is so serendipitous. On break from her hectic schedule, she sees a random trio of teens whose photo she feels compelled to take. Almost after she’s gone, one realizes who she is, and catches her to tell her that he’s a big fan. One thing leads to another, and suddenly he’s playing a concert to thousands of internet viewers from her apartment.

    8. Amanda’s fiancé is super-famous comic, fiction, and film writer Neil Gaiman. Neil has been in a legal struggle with Todd McFarlane since 2002 regarding unpayed royalties on creator-owned characters he developed for McFarlane’s Spawn. Neil blogs part of the judge’s new decision, which contains delicious text like:

    Much as defendant tries to distinguish the two knight Hellspawn, he never explains why, of all the universe of possible Hellspawn incarnations, he introduced two knights from the same century. Not only does this break the Hellspawn “rule” that Malebolgia never returns a Hellspawns to Earth more than once every 400 years (or possibly every 100 years, as suggested in Spawn, No. 9, exh. #1, at 4)…

    I hope your Monday is going well. More news (and video) on my weekend as a Filmstar coming up!