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ISSUE . November 12th 2009

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Cover Story

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Cover Story:

Invasion of the Body Slammers

How South Philadelphia became the center of the alt-wrestling universe.

by Shaun Brady

These companies flip the focus back from operatics to athleticism, catering to those for whom the Monday Night Raws and SmackDowns and even the TNAs of the world have gotten too far removed from what they love about the sport, or the art, or however you care to refer to it. (Just don't call it "sports entertainment.") And the epicenter of this alt-wrestling scene is South Philadelphia.

Opinion

Editor's Letter:

Eerie in its Absence

Alas, WFC now requires an '08 tacked on the end, at least till next November.

by Brian Howard

The double whammy of a sobering World Series loss and the Transport Workers Union strike turned Philly into some sort of weird soundproof bubble.

Loose Canon:

Decorating in the Dark

I feel safer outside the bus shelters than inside them.

by Bruce Schimmel

Have I got an offer for you. How'd you like someone to redecorate your living room? New sofa, chairs, even new art. And all for

Feedback:

Letters to the Editor

What You Say

"Hate the band all you want, but try to put together a list that is unbiased."

News

Party's Over

Don't even think about having any fun near Councilman Darrell Clarke's house.

by Andrew Thompson

A block away, just west of Front Street on Jefferson, is Councilman Darrell Clarke's rowhome, and surrounding that rowhome are Clarke's constituents, who Clarke says complained about the nuisance of the Fishtown Collective — beer bottles, loud music, public urination. Gennaro says one resident approached him after the event with a long litany of complaints, including: "The councilman couldn't park his car."

The Bell Curve

City Paper's Quality-o-Life-o-Meter

When news breaks in Philadelphia, we make jokes.

Icepack

Amorosi on the news, nightlife, gossip and bitchiness beats.

by A.D. Amorosi

What are your friends in publicity doing this week? Just tons.

Man Overboard!:

Planet SEPTA

by Isaiah Thompson

SEPTA ... the good guy. If this seems like some sort of bizarro world, it is: Planet SEPTA. And on Planet SEPTA, the union isn't the only thing to be pissed about.

A Million Stories

by Jeffrey C. Billman and Scott Yorko

The FCC's proposed rules would interfere in that endeavor. And Brady — who, coincidentally, has raked in some $92,000 from Comcast and its lobbyists alone since 2007 — is standing with his benefactors (as he was in 2006, when he voted against making net neutrality federal law).

Sports:

No, You Shut Up

We have no idea what obstacles the 2010 Phils will face.

by E. James Beale

Last year, everyone thought they had the Phillies figured out. Coming off their first World Series victory in what seemed like thousands of years, the conventional wisdom had it that the Phillies were set. Their biggest spring training concern wasn't themselves, the CW went. It was the Mets. So stand pat, the experts said, and collect the chips.

Arts

Art:

Catch a Sketch

Aaron Krolikowski draws on a long-gone art form to capture modern moments.

by A.D. Amorosi

"Drawing fast has always been fun for me. I realized how boring it was to draw in a studio, trapped at a drafting board. I was much more interested in the world around me, documenting the action as it happened."

Arts Picks:

John Ortved

Tue., Nov. 17, 7 p.m., free (reservations required), Gershman Y, 401 S. Broad St., 215-545-4400, gershmany.org.

by Andrew Milner

In The Simpsons: An Uncensored, Unauthorized History John Ortved documents the legendary behind-the-scenes battles between co-creators Matt Groening, Sam Simon and James L. Brooks.

Theater Review:

Double Your Pleasure

CP Theater Reviews

by Mark Cofta

Together, Hunter Gatherers and boom make for an impromptu Nachtrieb festival that explores his big ideas about human nature in devilishly entertaining comedies, a result greater than the sum of its wonderful parts.

Snow White

CP Theater Reviews

If you believe Barrymore Awards mean anything — and in this case, you should — you've got to be impressed by People's Light & Theatre Co.'s four for last year. The same creative team reimagine Snow White in Hollywood this year.

Shelf Life:

Finding North

As publishers catch the Nordic wave, a skewed portrait of Scandinavia emerges.

by Justin Bauer

Jansson puts the artist and the pragmatist together in a house for the winter, and invites her readers to watch as they slowly taint and warp each other.

Kaleidoscope

Alison Brie | Jeff the Brotherhood | The Prisoner | Kathryn TeBordo

Arts Picks:

T&P Fine Art

Opening reception Fri., Nov. 13, 7-10 p.m., through Nov. 30, T&P Fine Art, 1143 S. Ninth St., 267-687-7662, tandpfineart.com.

by A.D. Amorosi

It was a noble experiment, and T&P made for nice neighbors who were at least as showy as that Mexican wrestling mask place.

Philadanco

Thu.-Sun., Nov. 12-15, $34-$46, Kimmel Center, 300 S. Broad St., 215-893-1999, kimmelcenter.org.

by Janet Anderson

"Jubilee" seems a fitting tag for the 40th season of a dance company so versed in versatility.

Fräulein Maria

Thu., Nov. 12, 7:30 p.m.; Fri., Nov. 13, 8 p.m.; Sat., Nov. 14, 2 and 8 p.m.; $24-$48, Annenberg Center, 3680 Walnut St., 218-898-3900, annenbergcenter.org.

by Deni Kasrel

"It's a loving tribute that gives you a lot of the warmth and feeling you got from the original but in a completely different way. ... It's funny and somehow dear."

Miro Open Studio

Thu., Nov. 12, 6:30 p.m., free, Girard College, 2101 S. College Ave., 215-962-4773, mirodancetheatre.org.

by Carolyn Huckabay

"I haven't even thought of dancing like this for many years, and yet there it was — like riding a bicycle."

Movies

Diamond in the Rough

Lee Daniels finds the right material for his extreme tendencies in Precious.

by Shaun Brady

Daniels’ sophomore effort behind the camera is a vast improvement, even though it doesn’t correct any of his worst tendencies. Instead, in “the novel Push by Sapphire,” Daniels has found a piece of source material whose own penchant for extremes gives his own a purpose.

Pirate Radio

City Paper Grade: C-

by Sam Adams

Do you like montages, but grow bored of the tedious plot bits in between? Then Pirate Radio is the movie for you.

Repertory Film

Your weekly guide to local film events, festivals and under-the-radar screenings.

Send repertory film listings to molly.eichel@citypaper.net.

Music

Reconsider Me:

Epic Phail

Phish's Rift and Joy

by M.J. Fine

After a five-year breather, the phan-phriendly jam band has returned for studio album No. 14 — that's No. 48 if you count live discs — inspired by no-doubt deep insights into how time flies when you're having fun and paying for it.

Music Picks:

Israeli Jazz Festival

Mon.-Thu., Nov. 16-19, 7:30 and 9:30 p.m., $15 per show, Chris' Jazz Cafe, 1421 Sansom St., 215-568-3131, chrisjazzcafe.com.

by Shaun Brady

The explosion of Israeli musicians onto the U.S. jazz scene has been told and retold countless times. But just because the story has become tired doesn't mean the music has.

Times New Viking/The Axemen

Sun., Nov. 15, 8 p.m., $10, with The Mad Scene and U.S. Girls, Kung Fu Necktie, 1250 N. Front St., 866-468-7619, kungfunecktie.com.

by Brian Howard

The reckless, shattered lo-fi art punk band formed in Dunedin in 1981 in protest of then-apartheid South Africa's Springboks rugby team tour of the islands, and has raged ever since.

Peter Apfelbaum and the New York Hieroglyphics

Sat., Nov. 14, 8 p.m., $25, Painted Bride Art Center, 230 Vine St., 215-925-9914, paintedbride.org.

by Shaun Brady

Wide-ranging on his own — he plays piano, sax and percussion in the group — Apfelbaum intended the band to explore a variety of music, marrying jazz with sounds from other cultures.

Breathing Rhythms Duo

Sat., Nov. 14, workshop 2 p.m., $45-$50; show 8 p.m., $20-$25; The Psalm Salon, 5841 Overbrook Ave., 215-477-7578, psalmsalon.com.

by Mary Armstrong

Drummers of Philadelphia, do you have the nerve to participate in an intimate frame-drum workshop with a multi-Grammy winner?

Bassnectar

Sat., Nov. 14, 9 p.m., $18-$21, with Nosaj Thing, TLA, 334 South St., 215-922-1011, livenation.com.

by K. Ross Hoffman

There's an uncharacteristically sedate cut on Bassnectar's hard-hitting new full-length, Cozza Frenzy, titled "I Wish I Was A Hipster." Trust me, it's not true.

John Butcher

Fri., Nov. 13, 8 p.m., $12, Powel House, 244 S. Third St., bowerbird.org.

by Shaun Brady

The highlight of the evening is undoubtedly the rare appearance of British axe man John Butcher, an improvisational intellectual whose intense minimalism works with sound on the subatomic level he studied as a physics Ph.D.

Philadelphia Classical Symphony

Fri., Nov. 13, 8 p.m., $15-$25, Arch Street Presbyterian Church, 1724 Arch St., 215-228-2224,classicalsymphony.org.

by Peter Burwasser

Mega concerts were around a long time before the rock bacchanals of the '60s. The 19th-century longhairs reveled in such events, replete with dandified performers and swooning audiences.

Food

Big Whiskey

Chef Jose Garces' latest could not be more un-Garces-like.

by Trey Popp

With Village Whiskey, Jose Garces leaves the Spanish-speaking world behind for a bourbon-spiked amalgam of Swing Era ambience and Southern comfort food.

Tap'd Out

Tazia

by David Snyder

They seem to want to cook something for everyone, perhaps motivated by the diverse clientele milling about the nearby Convention Center, but this blanket approach stifles Tazia’s identity.

What's Cooking

Get Out!

by Erin Mae Szrankowski

Empty Bowl Dinner at Chestnut Hill College | The Naked Pint Beer Dinner at Fork | World Series Gravy Competition | Winter Beer Festival

Feeding Frenzy

Restaurants opening, closing and pending

by Drew Lazor

Con Murphy's | Joey's Stone Fired Pizza | Percy Street Barbecue | Tiffin | OK Bakery & Snack

Agenda

Agenda Lead:

Tongue Tide

The troopers in Broken Lizard have frat-house humor licked.

by A.D. Amorosi

The five members of New York-based comedy troupe Broken Lizard are much like the writers and actors for Reno 911! The only difference is, Broken Lizard is actually funny — a feat achieved by going beyond the typical dick and fart jokes, albeit only slightly.

Agenda Picks:

Found Footage Festival

Sun., Nov. 15, 7 and 9 p.m., $10, Connie's Ric Rac, 1132 S. Ninth St., 215-279-7587, foundfootagefest.com.

by Nicole Saylor

Childhood friends/filmmakers Nick Prueher and Joe Pickett thumb their noses at Blu-ray discs, streaming video and other fancy-pants movie technologies. They prefer a simpler, purer form of entertainment — old, unwanted VHS tapes.

Shopping Spree

Fashion > Forward

by Felicia D'Ambrosio

As part of a sophomore industrial design class at the University of the Arts, Jaclyn Starker, Sebastian Brauer, Jin Hong and Ji-In Sun were tasked with creating "wearable shelters" that would protect people from the elements in end times.

Agenda Picks:

Bridesmaids' Ball

Sat., Nov. 14, 9 p.m., $75, Independence Visitors Center, Sixth and Market streets, 610-238-0360, epa.bridesmaid.llsevent.org.

by Julia West

The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society is hosting its 17th annual fundraiser in honor of chartreuse taffeta.

Queer Literary Festival

Sat., Nov. 14, 11 a.m.-3 p.m., free, Big Blue Marble Bookstore, 551 Carpenter Lane, 215-844-1870, bigbluemarblebooks.com.

by Josh Middleton

Big Blue Marble Bookstore sells literature of all types, but its owners have a particular fondness for the queer selection — an area of the store that's expanded in conjunction with Mount Airy's growing gay population.

Puppetry of the Penis

Sat., Nov. 14, 7 and 9:30 p.m., $37.50-$47.50, Keswick Theatre, 291 N. Keswick Ave., Glenside, 215-572-7650, keswicktheatre.com.

by Scott Yorko

Chris Cannon and Rich Binning play with themselves in public, and people love it.

Declaration of Derby

Fri., Nov. 13, 2-10:15 p.m.; Sat., Nov. 14, 9 a.m.-9:15 p.m.; Sun., Nov. 15, noon-6 p.m.; $35-$45, Pennsylvania Convention Center, 1101 Arch St., 215-418-4700, declarationofderby.com.

by Nicole Saylor

The Fightin' Phils may have lost to the Yankees, but there's still hope yet for a Philadelphia victory over New York City.

From Fanny Brice to Woody Allen to You: A Short History of Jewish Humor

Thu., Nov. 12, noon, $20-$25, Gershman Y, 401 S. Broad St., 215-545-4400, gershmany.org.

by Kristen Humbert

The Jewish community sure does have one biting, distinct funny bone — but why?

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