With heads swaddled in white cloth and strong, tattooed arms exposed, two men carried a pair of xylophone-like instruments onto Johnny Brenda’s stage on Monday night. An uncommon sight, these metallophones belong to the ancient Javanese music tradition of gamelan…

$20  |  45.6 miles/1 hour away  |  New Egypt Speedway, 720 County Rd. 539, New Egypt, N.J., 609-758-1900, newegyptspeedway.net. Every Saturday in the summer, deep in the Pine Barrens, the gates of hell open. Or at least, that’s what it sounds like as you approach…

Mark Stehle FMLY VALUES: Members of the local record label Magic Death Sounds are hosting a bike ride around North Philly with pit stops for short concerts. On a mild day last September, about 50 cyclists met in Hawthorne Park…

Mark Stehle PAPER CUTS: Philly Feminist Zine Fest organizer Sarah Sawyers-Lovett assembles one of her booklets. Local writer Sarah Sawyers-Lovett likes to carry a heavy-duty bookbinding stapler around, just in case she finds a spare moment to assemble one of…

Neal Santos CRADLE TO THE GRAVE: The back of a tombstone belonging to Edith Gelman, who died when she was less than 2 years old. At the corner of Orianna and Poplar streets, next to a bustling dog park and…

Neal Santos LOW OVERHEAD: David Commins lays out an issue of his free publication in his West Philly house. Last April, stacks of a sky-blue publication began appearing in cafes and bars around the city. On the surface, The Secret…

Die-hard Conor Oberst fans who have followed the singer-songwriter from his days as an emo idol through his folk-rock transition were not disappointed by his comprehensive setlist at Union Transfer last night. The show naturally began with a few songs…

via Wikipedia For all the talk of Keiji Haino’s guitar prowess it was at least 20 minutes before the 62-year-old experimental musician picked up the instrument. Hidden behind waist-length white hair and sunglasses, Haino rolled a metal ball in a…

Michele Melcher Local illustrator Michele Melcher is hoping to elevate your dull profile pic to something more sophisticated with her Kickstarter, The Unselfie Project. Or, in her words: The Unselfie Project was created to bring back the art of the…