Don’t know what to do tonight? Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered.
— What makes Mad Men, a sometimes grating show, good? What do Germans think of our war in Afghanistan? How did Ted Kennedy manage to move past his family name’s glamour and be one of the people? These are just a few of the topics George Packer has tackled lately on his Interesting Times blog, a place full of pithy essays on how weird and cool and awful it is to live today. Similarly, his book of the same name addresses the past 10 years and all their funkiness. He’ll be reading from it tonight at the Free Library, Central Branch (1901 Vine St.215-686-5322) at 7:30 p.m. for free.
— South Moon Under’s Shopping Spree is like a mini-Black Friday for all you BF freaks. There’s 20 percent off all merchandise, complimentary gift wrapping, and free drinks. Free drinks. Now that’s what the Friday after Thanksgiving needs. It goes down from 6:30 to 9 p.m. at South Moon (1731 Chestnut St., 215-568-2170).
Not satisfied? Check out today’s listings for more and more and more events.
Don’t know what to do tonight? Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered.
– Join Slow Food Philadelphia at Tiffin (710 W. Girard Ave., 215-922 -1297) for a $16 Indian food feast prepared by chef Hari Nayak. Tiffin typically specializes in take-out, offering a dinner and a movie special where you can rent a Bollywood film with your meal. So consider this event a chance to taste test before the next night you’re craving Chicken Hara Masala and a movie starring Salman Khan.
– Catch Amanda Palmer, one half of the Dresden Dolls, at 8 p.m. at the TLA (334 South St., 215-922-1011) tonight for $20. She’s touring with backup band Nervous Cabaret, complete with drums, guitar, bass, and to top it off — horns. Who doesn’t like horns?
– Chuckle your way over the weekday hump at Helium Comedy Club (2031 Sansom St., 215-496-9001). For $12, you can catch 10 up-and-coming comedy troupes at 8 p.m. as they fight to the funnybone for a chance to perform in December’s Philly Sketchfest.
Not satisfied? Check out today’s listings for more and more and more events.
Don’t know what to do tonight? Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered.
— Why do some bands — like Evangelicals — give themselves names that make it nearly impossible for them to be searched online? (Girls is the ultimate abuser of this.) Contrary to what the image to the right suggests, Evangelicals makes hazy, upbeat pop with a lot of ever-building climaxes (evangelicals climaxing, hardy har!) It also strikes me as good coat weather music. They’re at Kung Fu Necktie (1250 N. Front St., 215-291-4919) at 8 p.m. for $8.
— And then you’ve got a few other options, depending on where your allegiances lie: There’s the Erotic Literary Salon at L’Etage (Sixth and Bainbridge streets, 215-592-0656) at 8:30 p.m. for $8-$10 if you’re hot under the collar; a touching reading by Say You’re One of Them author Uwem Akpan at the Free Library Central Branch (1901 Vine St., 215-686-5322) at 7:30 p.m. for free; and something about Fishtown jazz at 700 (Second and Fairmount streets, 215-413-3181) for free at 9 p.m. Align with who you will.
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Don’t know what to do tonight? Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered.
— Just a friendly reminder: We told you about the nifty new Live Arts artist-in-residence program and concurrent second-Thursday series last week. Its inaugural event will be tonight at 6:30 p.m. for free at the Festival Studio (919 N. Fifth St., 215-413-9006). Featured performers include the homegrown Thaddeus Phillips, Kathryn Tebordo and Subcircle’s Jorge and Niki Cousineau. Like Carolyn Huckabay said in last week’s post, free admission and free beer? I’m there.
— The Fire (412 W. Girard Ave., 267-671-9298) is holding a Neil Young Tribute Night at 9 p.m. for $7, and though I usually don’t go for that sort of thing, I must say I’m excited to see what The Spinning Leaves does with it. (A dozen other bands will be there, too.) And please, everyone, let’s forget that Transever existed for tonight.
— The Philadelphia Museum of Art is holding the first day of its annual craft show at the Pennsylvania Convention Center (1101 Arch St., 215-684-7930) until 9 p.m. for an entry free of $5-$15. Yeah, yeah, you’re spending money to spend more money … but it’s for a good cause and there’s lots of cool, cool stuff, like Selma Karaca’s clothing (pictured above). Buy us this plz.
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Don’t know what to do tonight? Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered.
— An interesting proposal: The band Hair Rocket wants you to snip off a piece of your hair, fasten it to a rocket and let the stinking thing loose. These rapscallions are playing the Khyber (56 S. Second St., 215-238-5888) tonight at 8 p.m. for $8. We can’t guarantee that it’ll be a good show musically speaking (though, by all accounts, the garage-rock thing they’ve got going on is decent), but it’ll no doubt be entertaining. Attaching your hair to a rocket? That’s some Central, Pa., bored-in-the-suburbs shit, which is pathetic and sad and immature, sure, but it’s also funny. See the video above for an example.
— It’s Veterans Day. Go commemorate World War I soldiers at Wooden Shoe Books (704 South St., 215-413-0999), where members will examine the war that killed more than 16 million through literary, historical and poetic works at 7:30 p.m., for free.
Don’t know what to do tonight? Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered.
— If you wouldn’t mind being persuaded to give up meat (noooooo! not my meat! not me!), take Lauren F. Friedman’s advice and see Jonathan Safran Foer talk about his book Eating Animals, which she likens to a more hardcore Omnivore’s Dilemma. He seems like a charming, good-dad type of guy in the Ellen clip above, and will be at the Central Branch of the Free Library (1901 Vine St., 215-567-4341) at 7:30 p.m. for free.
— Americans in France are doing their noisy, girly punk thing at the M Room (15 W. Girard Ave., 215-739-5577) at 8 p.m. for $8.
— Or there’s the gay/fashion option: Rebecca Wilkinson of brazen undies line Ginch Gonch will lecture about her experience marketing the company, and hopefully show off some models in the product … at the Bossone Auditorium (3128 Market St., 215-895-6993) at 6:30 p.m. for free.
Not satisfied? Check out today’s listings for more and more and more events.
Don’t know what to do tonight? Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered.
— There’ve been more supergroups since the ’60s and ’70s than you may think (Broken Social Scene, The Dead Weather, Oysterhead), but none seem to embody the Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young archetype like Monsters of Folk do. Jim James and M. Ward have always been vocal and lyrical powerhouses, and Conor Oberst has never sounded better. (Artistically or personally. He’s way less whiney these days.) They play the Academy of Music (1420 Locust St., 215-893-1935) at 7 p.m. for $40.50-$50.50.
— Meanwhile, the real Monster of Folk, Bob Dylan, is down the street … in a lesser venue. Dylan’s maintained a position in my Top 5 Best Humans of All Time list since I was 13, but I’ve only seen him once. I’m glad I did, but I don’t need to again. Get your fill if you haven’t yet at the Liacouras Center (1776 N. Broad St., 800-298-4200) at 7:30 p.m. for $34.50-$49.50.
— And, yes, we told you about the Science on Tap series last week … but this week’s is too geeky cool not to mention. Colin Purrington, an evolutionary biologist at Swarthmore College, will discuss Charles Darwin’s legacy. Over drinks. And attendees get free “Charles Darwin Has a Posse” stickers. It goes down at National Mechanics (22 S. Third St., 215-701-4883) at 6 p.m. for free.
Not satisfied? Check out today’s listings for more and more and more events.
Don’t know what to do tonight? Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered.
— I will always be indebted to Mallrats for teaching me what the Stink Palm is. Kevin Smith, the genius director behind that scene (as well as those in Chasing Amy and Clerks) will be performing tonight at the Merriam Theater (250 S. Broad St., 215-732-5446) at 8 p.m., for $39-$66.
— Think we don’t live in a post-sexist society just yet? (Think we do? You must not have been around for this.) Well, neither does fem Barbara J. Berg, who will read from her book Sexism in America: Alive, Well and Ruining Our Future at Wooden Shoe Books (704 South St., 215-413-0999) at 7 p.m. for free. Fans of Tucker Max not allowed.
— Speaking of people I’m indebted to … regardless of what Obama’s presidency is or will become, thank you, David Plouffe, for getting John McCain not elected. Prez Barack Obama’s chief campaign officer will be reading his new book, The Audacity to Win, at the Free Library (1901 Vine St., 215-686-5322) at 7:30 p.m., for $7-$14.
Don’t know what to do tonight? Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered.
In which I pretend that y’all aren’t watching the Phillies game …
— Yesterday marked the kickoff of the First Person Festival, that glorious storytelling event that’s been running off at the mouth for eight years now. There’s a vague shitty-economy-yields-greater-creativity theme to the whole fest, with tonight’s Songs for Any Depression event encapsulating it best. Woodie Guthrie’s granddaughter, Sarah Lee Guthrie, along with fellow musicians Johnny Irion and Kim and Reggie Harris, will perform several of Woodie’s songs that helped people get through Depression 1.0. Also, author Morris Dickstein will do a multimedia presentation about documentary culture in the ’30s. It’s going down from 8-10 p.m. at the Painted Bride Art Center (230 Vine St., 215-925-9914) for $20. (SPOILER ALERT: Check back later today, when the new issue goes live, for City Paper’s extensive coverage of the rest of the First Person Fest.)
— All I really want is GIRLS. This sloppy, sexy, hedonistic band belongs somewhere in the ’90s, but I’m glad they’re here with us now. They’re playing Kung Fu Necktie (1250 N. Front St., 215-291-4919)at 8 p.m. for $10.
Don’t know what to do tonight? Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered.
— Dance from the Paleface show at the M Room (15 W. Girard Ave., 215-739-5577) at 8 p.m. to The Very Best show at Johnny Brenda’s (1201 N. Frankford Ave., 215-739-9684) at 9 p.m. The total cost will put you out about $18, but jigging from Paleface’s scruffy-voiced bluegrass to The Very Best’s groovy African pop will put you in that unstoppable dance-party high for hours.
— Eddie Sarfaty, a gay writer and comedian who just released the book Mental: Funny in the Head, has been called the next David Sedaris. Which is kinda like being called the next gay God. He’s performing tonight at L’Etage (624 S. 6th St., 215-592-0656) at 8 p.m. for $20.
— It’s no mistake that that David Swanson published Daybreak: Undoing the Imperial Presidency and Forming a More Perfect Union, a book that criminalizes the Bush administration, in September of this year. He argues that Bush & Co. did such damage to our Constitutional rights that there’s still a whole lot of work to be done to get them back, even with President Obama in the house. He’ll be reading from his book tonight at Villanova University (800 Lancaster Ave., 610-519-6000) at 7:30 p.m. for free.
Staff Blog
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