Perigee Trade, $19.95.

Don’t know what to do tonight? Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered.

— Everyone I know who runs regularly raaaaaves about its benefits (and yeah, I’ve tried it a few times, it’s pretty cool), so it’s great that the local nonprofit Back on My Feet gets the homeless doing it. Drink to raise money for the org at Brews for Philly, taking place at Triumph Brewing Co. (117-121 Chestnut St., 215-625-0855) at 7:30 p.m. Admission is free, but the more you drink, the more money you contribute to the good cause.

— Speaking of good causes: DJ Reenie Kane, a regular on the lez nightlife scene, suffered from a heart attack at last month’s LGBTQ Indigo Ball. The fundraiser tonight at 8 p.m. at the Voyuer Club (1221 St. James St., 215-735-5772) goes toward Kane’s medical bills, and costs $10. Who needs the public option when you have friends? (Very much JK.)

— Meal Ticket, Critical Mass’ sister blog, has been telling readers about The Naked Pint: An Unadulterated Guide to Craft Beer’s launch party since last week. Since there’s a book involved (A&E territory!), as well as beer and women who love such beer, we thought we’d remind you. It happens at 6:30 p.m. at Fork (308 Market St., 215-625-9425) for $55.

Not satisfied? Check out today’s listings for more and more and more events.

A concert a day keeps the doctor away.

Monday: Three girls from Japan singing (sometimes in English, sometimes in Japanese) about barbecues and glorious cities made of sweet, sweet ice cream? Yes, I think Shonen Knife is how every week should start. The super happy pop is borderline juvenile, but you can hear some real rock ‘n’ roll in there, too. 9 p.m., $12, with Jeff the Brotherhood (who you can read about in this week’s Kaleidoscope), Johnny Brenda’s, 1201 Frankford Ave., 215-739-9684.

Tuesday: The original members of the Cranberries will be at the Electric Factory as part of their first tour in seven years. Remember Y100? Remember hearing “Zombie” and “Linger” on there all the time? Yeah, those were the days. Opener Griffin House seems way excited to be playing with them at the Electric Factory. 8 p.m., $35, 421 N. 7th St., 215-627-1332.

Wednesday: Jesus Lizard singer David Yow’s voice will give you chills, and probably nightmares for weeks. Known for their impressive live performances and their ability to be terrifying in the best possible way. 8 p.m., $20, with Noveller, Starlight Ballroom, 460 N. 9th St., 215-769-1530.

Thursday: Sweet, but almost whiny, We All Have Hooks For Hands resists the emo train to nowhere and lets their sound keep a wispy, twangy edge. They’re not the most original, but they’re just catchy enough to keep you reeled in. With 15 Keys, Old Man Cactus, Kickin’ Bear & Astronaut Jones at The Fire, 412 W. Girard Ave., 267-671-9298, 9 p.m., $7.

Friday: Even if you haven’t yet heard the Philly-based The Swimmers, you’ve probably at least heard their name around since it’s been gathering decent local band buzz. There’s something about their cute poppy sound that’s alluring. The first few times you listen to one of their songs you start to notice little nuances you may have missed. With Goldspot & The Black Fortys, World Cafe Live, 3025 Walnut St., 9 p.m., $5-$9, 215-222-1400.

Saturday: The Kinks singer Ray Davies has put out various eccentric albums in 2009 alone. Two of them were insert-into-appropriate-movie-scene-Hollywood-esque instrumental albums, another was Davies attempt at Latin music, and the latest was choral versions of Kinks favorites. While I found the choral Kinks best-of the most intriguing (call me boring, that’s fine) I have to wonder what his performance at the Tower Theater will be like. A Latin chorus of Kinks songs used in movies? 8 p.m., $39.50-$49.50, Tower Theatre, 69th and Ludlow Sts., Upper Darby, 610-352-2887.

Sunday: As it was in the beginning, so shall it be in the end. Actually, even though you could end your week with more music from Japan, Melt Banana couldn’t be further from Monday’s Shonen Knife. The racing noise rock will make your brain ooze out of your ears. Sweat will pour and pulses will pound. Leave your epileptic friends at home for this one. Catch ‘em with Satanized at the First Unitarian Church, 7:30 p.m., $12, 2125 Chestnut St., 267-295-2710.

City Paper welcomes Jonathan Wallis, assistant professor of art history at Moore College of Art and Design, to our Critical Mass team. His column, “Perspective,” will run monthly in this space, bringing a critical eye to a visual art scene that continues to thrive in Philadelphia. Questions? E-mail Wallis at jswallis@gmail.com.

philamuseum.org

Water of the Flowery Mill, by Arshile Gorky, oil on canvas, 1944.

To Be or Not to Be …

A retrospective exhibition should be more than just the collection and display of work from the lifetime of an artist. It should also be necessary in some way, whether due to changes in critical approaches to art history, new scholarship on the artist’s life and work, hitherto unknown or unseen works that revise the existing inventory of the artist, or a new curatorial approach. “Arshile Gorky: A Retrospective,” at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, is an august example of a proper retrospective — almost 30 years has elapsed since the last large gathering of Gorky’s work, and it is clearly time for another look.

Michael R. Taylor, the curator of the exhibition, never chooses his exhibitions lightly — he is a curator and an art historian when he tackles his projects (this one was five years in the making). For Taylor, it’s not just about looking at art; it’s about asking questions that a retrospective can hopefully answer. With three new biographies about Gorky, as well as revisions to the study and understanding of the development of modern American abstraction and surrealism in recent decades, Taylor recognized that it was time to revisit the artist’s life and work, and the show delivers grandly. It is a visual spectacle — a feast for the eyes, and also a provocative reconsideration of one of the most talented and self-driven painters in American modern art.

It’s hard to go wrong with an artist like Gorky. His long periods of self-imposed apprenticeships with artists such as CĂ©zanne and Picasso clearly paid off; his ability to absorb the modern languages of pictorial structure and the handling of paint and color stands out among his contemporaries. It’s not that he is better — he is different. I don’t know of any other modern artist who enacted apprenticeships with recent and current “masters” and stayed closely dedicated to them for such long and intensive periods of study. Gorky works like an academic within a modern vocabulary, and Taylor’s curatorial decisions expose his artistic process during the course of the exhibition. The drawings and paintings in the “Nighttime, Enigma, and Nostalgia” series from 1931-34, for example, guide viewers from an inspirational source by Giorgio de Chirico to a final painted solution unleashed almost entirely from where the artist began (observing this creative track should push aside any accusations by his detractors of a lack of individuality or originality in Gorky’s “apprenticeships”). It’s obvious that Gorky’s craft is a labor of love at all times. His work invites viewers to relish in the details — the way he turns and molds colors together, builds edges, and gracefully drags a liner brush across the canvas with linear elegance. Gorky knows how to paint, and as a disciplined “student” his time was well spent. Click For More »

In this week’s Kaleidoscope, I wrote about the classic, cult-y ’60s TV show The Prisoner:

I can’t speak for the remake premièring on Nov. 15 (AMC, 8 p.m.), but there are few shows like the cult ’60s British TV show The Prisoner , now available on DVD. Created by and starring Patrick McGoohan, The Prisoner follows a defected secret agent who is taken to an ostensibly idyllic island called The Village, where his name is replaced by a number and he’s not allowed to leave. Exploring themes of identity and free will, The Prisoner is a milestone; television has rarely been so deep or engrossing.

As I said above, I couldn’t vouch for AMC’s remake, starring ultimate badass Ian McKellan and Jesus/Jim Caviezel. The six-day miniseries premiered yesterday with the first two episodes. It was awful. Like, laughably so. There are similarities in style and structure to the original McGoohan series but adds fast cuts and editing tricks that make it look like film school project. McKellan can’t be taking this thing seriously, camping it up as the mysterious and powerful 2 (unlike the series, McKellan’s 2 stays the same). But his arch line delivery also doubles as the show’s few highlights, especially in the face of ridiculous and unnecessary character development (yo, what’s up with 1112, McKellan’s son? If his sole purpose within the series is to pout his lips and have fabulous cheekbones, he’s doing a stellar job).

That being said, I will most likely watch tonight’s installment because I’m a glutton for punishment/find the entire thing hilarious. Any of you guys watch it? What did you think?

AMC is certainly no villain in this situation, if only because they are awesome enough to post the entirety of the original series online. Seriously, watch this. First episode below:

Josh Middleton

There were a lot of tits and ass at the Peaches show. But what else would you expect from the illustrious queen of raunch? Yeah, at 43 she may be sporting a bit of a belly pooch but that didn’t keep her from gyrating, humping and stroking anything in sight during her nearly two-hour show. It only made it better.

Josh Middleton

Opening was Philly artist Amanda Blank, who A.D. Amorosi gave the cover treatment to back in July, who was on fire in a tiny, one-piece bathing suit with holes in all the right places. She performed her hit “Might Like You Better,” but her most explosive performance was a rad mash-up of L.L. Cool J’s “I Need Love” and Santogold’s “I’m A Lady.”

Peaches hit the stage hypnotizing the audience with her “pussy light” (her words), which was situated snuggly in her crotch-al region. She sang most of her best songs, including “Set it Off,” “Shake Your Dix” and “Tombstone.” The stand-out moment, though, was a futuristic laser light instrument, which shot up from the ground like green, luminescent harp strings. She and her band created sound by strumming their hands through the beams. It was crazy cool.

Josh Middleton

Contrary to shallower, ageist previews of Peaches’ this week in another local weekly, she was in true form and pumped all night long. She only stopped long enough to take a swig from a bottle of champagne, which she then spewed all over the audience.

Josh Middleton

When it came time for an encore she did not one, but two. The only complaint I have is that she didn’t play to the entire audience. There’s no sense in hatin’ on a lady because she’s had a few more birthdays than the rest of us. If you got it, you got it and Friday night Peaches proved she has all that and a little more. Do your thang, sister.

Admit it, you want more from this week’s Movies Section.

Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire — B+

Shaun Brady gives you the full scoop on Precious: Based on the novel Push by Sapphire from Philly-native Lee Daniels (verdict: Daniels is up to the same melodramatic tricks but they work this time around due to strong performances) but, as loyal CP readers will know, we had A.D. Amorosi interview Daniels when he took Sundance by storm:

Unlike Woodsman and Shadowboxer, Daniels shot Push in Manhattan. He hated it. It wasn’t fun. “I wasn’t home,” says Daniels referring to Philly. Yes, he lives in New York City now. “But shooting there? There’re so many other famous directors doing likewise. You’re just one more. They don’t treat you well. Yawn.” So he shut down production and called in his Philly crew to take over. Lee Daniels is unstoppable no matter what Manhattan film crews or persnickety critics think. “Do people in the film biz think I’m crazy?” he asks, rephrasing a more delicately put question about his image. He laughs. “I don’t care what anyone thinks except my mother, my kids and my God. If I cared what people thought I’d be in Hollywood.”

Click For More »

mtv.com

DJ AM

DJ AM was the Imelda Marcos of the turntable set. So when the Philly native OD’d in August, fans were saddened then greatly concerned. According to the Las Vegas Sun,

His death in August rendered his music his legacy and both the plane crash and his social life relatively irrelevant. Beyond the obvious questions of “Why?” the other question left unanswered in the eyes of fans was what would happen to his massive shoe collection.

I actually think “How?” would probably be next, considering a coroner’s report didn’t come out until September, but sure, let’s latch onto this shoe thing.

AM’s massive sneaks collection, totaling over 800 pairs, will go up for sale on EBay this Sunday, November 15 at 4:30 p.m. and continue through Monday, December 14 at ebay.com/djamshoes. According to the piece, “Up for sale are both worn and unworn items from Goldstein’s collection, including one of 200 pairs of Nike PlayStation Air Force 1s and one of 50 pairs of Eminem Air Jordan 4s, along with Supreme Dunks; Supa Dunks; Hyperstrikes; Air Jordan PEs; and other rare, retro and limited-edition shoes.”

What weirds me out the most — other than the fact that I can’t stop making terrible walking in another man’s shoes/dead man walking puns in my head — is this line from the Sun article, “The auction will help solidify Goldstein’s shoes as part of the DJ’s legacy.” Is that what he really wants to be remembered for? Sweet kicks? I guess if your collection is that defining, it makes sense. …And it’s way better than having your legacy be defined by your involvement in Crazy Town.

h/t philadelphia will do

It seems like we’ve been teasing about putting up a new Critical Mass banner since the Mesozoic era, and here it finally is — courtesy of our art intern Esen Pence and designer Carrie South. In honor of this great day, we’re also launching our new banner policy. Let me explain:

We’re big fans of local artists here at Critical Mass. We love the art stars like Zoe Strauss; we love the up-and-comers; and we love the little guys who haven’t made it into a gallery yet. So, in hopes of promoting all of these artist types while also sprucing up our Web page, we’re inviting everyone and anyone to submit a piece of work that could become our new Critical Mass banner. There are only two requirements: It needs to say “Critical Mass” somewhere, and it needs to fit into our dimensions (612 x 242 pixels, 72 dpi). Other than that, you’re free as a bird. It can be a photograph, a painting, a collage, a pen-and-ink piece, a graphic illustration … whatever, so long as it’s visual. And it doesn’t have to depict the arts in any way at all — for example, it can be as tangential as our Halloween banner. We’ll put the winners up for one month long each, with the first one going up Dec. 1.

You can submit as many works as you’d like, whenever you’d like, to criticalmass@citypaper.net. We will not use the pieces for any other purpose than as our Critical Mass banner, and along with each new banner, we’ll do a post on the artist who created it.

Please tell, e-mail, tweet and RT this post to all of your artist friends and contacts — and hit us up with any questions in the comments! Good luck!

Joe Boruchow

We missed the Nov. 11 opening of “Public Service” at Bean CafĂ© (615 South St., 215-629-2250), and shame on us — Joe Boruchow’s cut-paper works display Philly, in all its funkiness and despicableness, with a kind of loving understanding that any local can respect. Any follower of Boruchow’s is used to seeing his pieces nailed to telephone poles and other makeshift outdoor galleries, but we’re happy to say they work just as well in a proper cafĂ©. The exhibit will be up through Dec. 8.

With its script-ish feuds and jabs that only look like they’re hitting, hip-hop is starting to feel like the old-school WWF. Remember when Hulk Hogan was a “bad guy” for a second there? Check this press release:

Everybody wanted to know what would come out of the diss record that Beanie Sigel recorded about Jay-Z two weeks ago. After that record dropped, 50 Cent got a chance to talk to Beans about possible jumping to G-Unit, and this is the product of those talks. So lets see if that will actually come about.

Thanks, Mean Gene!

Anyway, here’s the song.