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Clowning around at the CoreStates Center (L); U2 hits Penn's campus (R)
go!
Clowning Around In a day and age where Marilyn Manson can make millions from gaudy fashion, heavy makeup and general freakdom, why shouldn't you too be paid for your eccentricity? Forget mere alterna-worshipping, you may as well go all the way - to the circus! What better escape from the perils of teen angst than an elopement with a bunch of ball(nose)-out freaks! If you have a penchant for enormous shoes or skimpy outfits and you're not allergic to sequins, screaming children, or pachyderm plops, this may be the career for you! Can't you just picture your bejeweled crotch crowning Dumbo the elephant's head? So, if you're 17 (girls must be 18 and high school graduates), able to travel, and are an aspiring funster who's serious about clowning around, the Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus can use you in the center ring. Girls are advised to show up in a leotard to have their, uh, talent assessed, and requirements are listed in the following order: "personality," appearance, weight, and ability to learn routines. Auditions held Friday, June 6, 4 p.m., CoreStates Center, 3601 S. Broad St. Info: (800) 880-3047. - Geeta Dalal
If the Y-100 lineup wasn't hip enough for you, catch New Jersey Transit (or Amtrak for you big spenders) to New York for the two-day Tibetan Freedom Concert. The June 7 show includes A Tribe Called Quest, Beastie Boys, Björk, De La Soul, Foo Fighters, Jon Spencer Blues Explosion and Ben Harper. The June 8 gig includes Pavement, acoustic Porno for Pyros, Radiohead, Rancid, Patty Smith, Sonic Youth, Michael Stipe and Mike Mills, and Taj Mahal. Big surprise guests. The New York Times says it's gonna be U2 - some surprise. The concert benefits the Milarepa Fund which supports various educational projects regarding Tibet and nonviolence. Very cool. Saturday & Sunday, June 7 & 8, Randall's Island, New York City. Tix: $40 per day. Info: (212) 307-7171.
What's got a golden arch 100 feet high, a 35-foot mirrorballed lemon that opens wide, one 12 feet wide internally illuminated Stuffed Olive (on a 100 feet tall toothpick), 5000 feet of disco rope lighting, one Saturday Night Fever-style Plexiglas dance floor, chaps, feathers, sunglasses and hard hats, 100 strobe lights, the world's largest television and more hype than 10 Aaron Spelling miniseries with or without daughter Tori? No it's not the McDonald's-sponsored Village People tour. It's U2's PopMart Tour '97. Sure, this whole Pop schmear is a bit much to handle, what with the album falling from the charts and the ABC-TV special drawing one of the worst ratings for a network program ever. But don't let the anti-hype keep you from what is a gorgeously produced techno-circus of Pop-sound guaranteed to set your senses reeling. Sunday, June 8, University of Penn's Franklin Field, 336-2000.
Emceed by the notorious Henri David, grandmarshalled by the ultimate gay icon Harvey Fierstein (of Torch Song Trilogy fame), and showcasing a plethora of glamorous female impersonators (including Lypsinka, Lady Bunny, and localite Marissa DeVine), the Diversity of Pride parade could be nothing less than sensational, dahhhling! The highlight of the festivities will be the Safeguards, doing a safe sex demonstration (note: Philly's the only city that will allow a live, outdoor performance of this). They won't be doing the horizontal watusi, but it should be stimulating entertainment nonetheless. Also, Carlease Burke, the African-American lesbian actress/comedienne (of the Young and the Restless, The Bold and the Beautiful, and movies like Get Shorty and It's Pat), will charm the crowd with her comedy. And the hearing-impaired gay community will be represented as well by dancer Marvin Primeaux . So be sure to don your most lavish outfits, because in addition to performances by local opera singer Shelton West, and many other entertainers, HBO will be filming for their documentary Drag In America. Sunday, June 8. Parade starts at 13th and Locust at noon; entertainment from 1-6:30 p.m. at Penn's Landing. Info: 922-6500. - G.D.
Legends of Western Swing Festival, Texas Bob Wills is the hero of Western swing fans. He may not have dreamed up this hybrid of hillbilly jazz alone, but undoubtedly his band, the Texas Playboys, spread its popularity further than any other through daily radio broadcasts and appearances in cowboy flicks. World War II scattered Wills' big band to the wind, with many of his musicians failing to return after they'd been mustered out. Thus the postwar years brought a second generation Texas Playboys, many of whom are still quite active today. Relative youngsters like fiddler Johnny Gimble, steel guitarist Herb Remington and vocalist Leon Rausch all worked with Wills after the war. Gimble and Remington now lead their own reunion band, Playboys II. Rausch heads up the Time Warp Top Hands. Both bands will appear at the 10th edition of the Western Swing Festival along with host band Ted Scanlon and the Desperados. Ray Price and the Cherokee Cowboys will be there, returning to the style of Price's pre-crooner days for the event. Expect four days of genuine Western swing from many third-generation bands, including one of my favorites, Jody Nix. There are even some fourth-generation (or can they be fifth?) players represented by the very precocious Fiddlers Two. June 18- 21 in Snyder, Texas. Info: (405) 376-4939, or write Western Swing Promotions, 14201 SW 65th, Mustang, OK 73064. |
