icepack

by A.D. Amorosi

Nothing stops summer. Not cold fronts. Not the death of Marty Keenan, founder of Rock Lobster, which reopens May 6, ushering in the detritus of Del Ave. Summer’s inevitable arrival means asinine theme parties, creepy ethnic fairs, beer-ad-driven goofiness and Caucasian couples in ’70s sunglasses doing their drink-raised, back-dat-azz-up dance. YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE! Want signs of the oncoming Calypso-tinged apocalypse? For $49.95, it’s time for Booze Cruise II, May 8, with YoungProfessionalEvents.com’s crew. For another five dollars, I’ll throw a Youngin’ of your choice offa da boat. Then on May 10, St. Pauli Girl Berglind Icey will deliver a keg of draft to The Plough and the Stars. Speaking of Plough, while the Second Street bar has put up a sign welcoming The Real World’s cast and crew, The Khyber’s Stephen Simons would not sign Bunim/Murray’s blanket release for filming. Welcome to summer! Ö With one-time booker Jon Hampton off to Clear Channel as of last week, the Trocadero is going corporate -- sorta -- by bringing in House of Blues® to fill the joint with over 250 shows a year using its own talent buyers, Badger Cudahy and Michael Yerke. Unlike other Houses, 10th and Arch’s burlesque palace will not be all Blue. "It will absolutely still be the Troc," says Yerke of the arrangement. "Though we’ve been looking for a Philly venue for a while, Joanna Pang [of the Troc] and Kevin Morrow, our VP, only got together recently." So what’ll HoB bring that the Troc doesn’t have already? "They do a lot of great punk and alternative -- which we’ll keep. But we can bring more diverse and more mature acts to fill those other days of the week." John Mayall, here we come. Ö Bill Rancic was already hired by Donald Trump. But it sounds like The Apprentice star intends to keep working with Neiman Marcus Short Hills, the store that dressed him for the show’s finale in Armani Collezioni, Zegna and Gucci. "We’re working on collaborations for long-term promotion on both ends," says Maria Cucciniello, PR manager at Neiman’s. Speaking of reality shows, what was Wharton grad/restau-entrepreneur Jeffrey Chodorow doing at The Saloon? Looking for another Rocco DiSpirito? Ö WHOWHATWHERE: Along with filming their Factory show (seven cameras yet) for a live DVD, Yellowcard hit Pat’s Steaks with new Capitol rep Ed Pinka to eat some roasted pork and shoot some B-roll. Adam Kowalczyk from Live played the Philly Songwriters Project gig at Manayunk Music Exchange. David Cohen, Ed Snider and Brian Roberts hit the Prince Music Theater’s patron party at Bernie and Joan Spain’s Sixth and Locust home. Two-thirds of Sleater-Kinney watched This Radiant Boy and Bear Smith of V.I.P. at The Balcony. Along with gearing up for July’s The Tipping Point, their Okayplayer label’s first CD, True Notes Vol. 1 and a tour (hitting Drexel May 15), The Roots played "Don’t Say Nuthin’" on David Letterman. ?uestlove came dressed in a blue suit, French cuffs and faux-hawk Afro with braided sides. El Vez (the singer) will hit -- duh -- El Vez (the restaurant), May 8 at 3 p.m. Despite getting booed during A Perfect Circle’s opening set at the Tweeter (every other city gave them standing Os, their hometown boos ’em), Burning Brides guitarist Dimitri Coats not only kept jamming with APC, he brought them to Bar Noir after. APC also used Gyro boss Steve Grasse and the Bikini Bandits for their video "The Outsider," part of their new DVD package, Lost in the Bermuda Triangle. Triangle also features clips from soon-due Gyro films The Golden Rod and Bikini Bandits Save Christmas. And anyone who didn’t get my hint last week about Y100’s Feztival -- DOY! -- note that the Brides will join The Strokes, The Darkness, Cypress Hill, Hoobastank and The Beasties on June 18. Ö Kevin Karg joins his punk-dabbling bud Rich Kaufmann for a (sorta) Rolling Hayseeds reunion (first time in three years) at Tin Angel, May 6. On the same night, zigaboo gospel-punks Phil Moore Browne -- after last week’s revival-meeting experience at Black Lily -- take on The Five Spot, May 6. Ö John McInerney left his job as manager of marketing and communications at the ICA to become director of marketing and communications for the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance. Carmen Gonzales left Allied Advertising to join the South Jersey Tourism Corp. as director of communications. When not spinning first Saturdays at FiSo, DJ Imri Jonas is now senior designer at Scream Graphix/D&B Design Group. DL Media’s Brad Riesau is moving to L.A. to open a West Coast branch of the jazz promotion company. City Paper’s office manager, Amy Schuler, is outta here, in order to go back to school. Also outta here is singer Nancy Falkow, who has a last gig, May 8 at The Point. Ö Happy b-days to promoter Randy Alexander, to Dr. Octa-Pussy’s Shock Therapy party at Tribecca (turns 3 on May 7) and to mah main man, mustachioed photographer Scott Weiner.

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