October 28-November 3, 2004

cover story

Consider Us Entertained

SWING vote: Actors Sarah Sanford and Quinn Bauriedel, award winners for Sexiest Dueling Duo in Tennis Whites, horse around in character at the Hawthorne Cultural Center playground. Photo By: Michael T. Regan

The best in singing and spinning and acting and arting and dancing and filming.

Sexiest Dueling Duo in Tennis Whites

There's much to cheer for in Pig Iron Theatre Co.'s latest, Hell Meets Henry Halfway. There's the story, cleverly adapted from a 1939 Polish novel. Then there's James Suggs' lovable ballboy, and Emmanuelle Delpech-Ramey's cranky, horizontally challenged old prince, and the ominous, omnipresent drip-drip piano plunk. If something must be singled out, though, Quinn Bauriedel and Sarah Sanford's hilarious rapid-fire exchange of barbs — driven by an ever-increasing sexual tension between the bloated tennis pro and his stubborn student — was stellar. Advantage, as usual: Pig Iron. — Lori Hill

www.pigiron.org

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Sneakiest Rock Freakshow

This Radiant Boy sounds like a super-melodic power-pop band. The hooks are so smart. The beats are so sweet. Who knew the lyrics were so crazy? Only after repeat listens do you realize there's such sci-fi strangeness within "(I Once Felt) Broken Eyeballs" — not that we'll ever know exactly what they're talking about. We shoulda known something was up with these kids, what with them always dressing up like ninjas and pirates and whatnot. — Patrick Rapa

www.thisradiantboy.com

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Best Band That Waited 27 Years to Put Out Its Debut

In 1977, Philly's Notekillers (David First, Stephen Bilenky and Barry Halkin) — on the basis of a collective love of all things punk and Branca — recorded a buzzing instrumental, "The Zipper," and had 1,000 copies pressed. With zero acclaim, they busted up in 1981. Fast forward a couple decades: One of the single's buyers, Thurston Moore, professes so much love, the band not only digs up its tapes and has them released as a first-ever album (on Moore's Ecstatic Peace), but they actually reunite. — A.D. Amorosi

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Best Potential Cultural Development

Moving the Barnes Collection to the Parkway. Ever notice that none of the people who oppose the move are from Philly? They can go pound sand; bringing this mind- boggling art collection to the heart of the city brings it to the people. The effect on our cultural life, economy and somewhat battered collective psyche would be phenomenal. Thousands more would see the art, and, very importantly, it will be hung in the same, wonderfully strange way it is in Merion. Just do it! — Peter Burwasser

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Best Artist to Not Have Her Own Damn Album

With a voice that's powerful, raw and angelic, one has to wonder why Carol Riddick doesn't have a record deal. A South Philly native who's been singing since birth, she's guest-starred on numerous albums, including those by Larry Gold, Anthony Hamilton and Jeff Bradshaw. In addition, she's sung backup for leading ladies Jill Scott and Angie Stone. You can even download her latest collaboration with homeboy Musiq Soulchild as a ringtone. Time is way overdue for this soul sista to shine. — Deesha Dyer

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Best Classical Music Entertainment Bargain for the Nonacrophobic

The worst opera ticket in most cities goes for at least $25. But reserved nosebleed seats for Opera Company of Philadelphia productions at the Academy of Music cost less than a movie ticket. And you don't have to be a student or a senior or stand in line for an hour like you do to snag a classical music bargain down the street. (The Opera Company even waives the usual ticket fees for us cheapies!) OK, so it's not always easy to see the action on stage. You can hear fine, and for dramatics, nothing beats watching fellow musical mountain climbers of compromised agility try to navigate the incredibly pitched seats in a way that doesn't lead to very suddenly sharing a $90 orchestra seat. — Carolyn Wyman

$5 (restricted view)-$7.50 side amphitheatre seats, Academy of Music, Broad and Locust sts., 215-893-1999

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Best Copycat Event

POST (Philadelphia Open Studio Tours) was a great idea, so why not mimic it? North of the Border had its third annual open studios tour of Northern Liberties in April, and it was a fun, scavenger-hunt way to explore the little-seen studios of impressive local artists in a neighborhood that can no longer be called burgeoning. Personal favorite? Jane Irish's apartment. A document of daily creativity, down to the architectural details. — Lori Hill

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Best Gay Club

Formerly 2-4 Club, the building that now houses Pure has been the mecca for Philly's gay scene with a history that dates back beyond the 1970s disco era. The recently revamped 1,000-capacity venue is better than ever — doused with dazzling lighting, top-notch sound, velvet couches and chandeliers. Pure's main room, mezzanine and lounge each offer different styles of music ranging from club-storming progressive house to hip-hop. — Sean O'Neal

1221 St. James Place, 215-735-5772

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Best Lothario With a Guitar

Like Madonna and Liza, Zimbabwe-born, Sri Lankan singer-guitarist Iqram may soon be a single-named star. Sure, the African soul and rhythmic Latin-laced ballads he performs on his just-due CD, 10:00 Friday Night, helps. But it's his traveled romantic style and roaming from solo acoustic performances at Tabula Rasa, O Bar, Astral Plane and Tragos' Friday happy hour that have made him a hot property amongst lady fans. No pawing. — A.D. Amorosi

www.coffeeandcreammusic.com

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Most Curtain-called Swan Song

Many Pennsylvania Ballet dancers had big moments when PAB's glamorous Swan Lake premiered last spring. But it was 20-year veteran Dede Barfield, dancing Swan Queen in her final professional performance, who literally stopped the show. Brilliant and nuanced, Dede's swan soared. When Philly dancers gave out their Rockys for last year's best dance work, a modern dancer, someone normally not counting fouettes, gave Dede the award. Brava! — Janet Anderson

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Most Telling Philadelphia Documentary, Food Division

At this point, naming the best cheesesteak in town seems an exercise in futility, but RIT student Scott Vosbury presents some compelling — or comical, at any rate — arguments in The Great Cheesesteak Debate. The short documentary, which screened at Film Fest this spring with Super Size Me, covers both the favorable and unflattering aspects of the cheesesteak underworld. Cooks are shown throwing a giant 4-foot-square slab of meat on the grill for choppin'. Drunks nearly come to blows in the wee hours at Ninth and Passayunk over "Pat's or Geno's." The most diplomatic conclusion comes from a Tony Luke's customer: "The best steak in town isn't at any of these places, it's the one you buy at the corner store." — John Vettese

www.vosbury.com

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forged records: Artist Amy Morrissey's Record Collection series imagines fake albums by fake bands, playfully poking fun of indie-rock conventions.

Most Amusing Reminder That Albums Once Came On Vinyl

Whenever Brian McTear's Bitter, bitter weeks plays a show at South Philly's The Parlor, the walls are adorned with artwork both moving and whimsical. We have artist Amy Morrissey to thank for that. At the Bbw record-release show, Morrissey (McTear is her squeeze) unveiled her Record Collection series: pairs of 12-inch by 12-inch paintings depicting the fronts and backs of LP albums by bands that exist only in Morrissey's imagination. The paintings riff on the ridiculous genre-defining totems of indie rock album art. While the community that gets the jokes is limited (I know that at least I find The Piggy Backs, a fake twee-pop band with made-up songs including "Is This Your Gum?," hilarious), it's also extremely appreciative, judging by reactions at The Parlor. — Brian Howard

www.amymorrissey.com

 

 

 

 

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Best Place to See Sculpture Incorporating Glass

Wexler Gallery, known for studio furniture, has recently moved beyond the occasional tabletop Chihuly with several excellent glass shows. This month, Gregory Nangle chose work combining glass and metal including his own organic/geometric glass and bronze. From the unsettling baroque excesses of Walter Zimmerman to the outrageous Pop sensibility of Tim Blum's human-headed light bulbs to the pastel minimalism of Trin Nguyen, this glass is cutting-edge. — Robin Rice

201 N. Third St., 215-923-7030, www.wexlergallery.com

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Most Unappreciated Man With A Guitar

Nobody in Philly sounds like acoustic mastermind Denison Witmer, and that's probably why he never gets his props in Philly. But surely we can make room in our hard-rawk headphones for something a little more thoughtful. Start with Witmer's latest CD, Denison Witmer and The River Bends. Here, his lyrics of wonder and urban wandering receive the full-band treatment. The man loves this place. It's time for us to love him back. — Patrick Rapa

www.denisonwitmer.com

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Best Walking on Water

It sure looked like that was what Headlong Dance Theater was doing in Hotel Pool, their totally original Fringe contribution. Not to forget, standing on their heads on the water. Even poolside it was hard to figure out how they spent so much time on the water, short of a miracle. I was mad at myself for leaning over the pool, post-performance, to discover the secret. Then I admired them even more. — Janet Anderson

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Best New Folk Organization

XFS stands for Xtreme Folk Scene. Thirteen second- generation folkies founded XFS three years ago to create a regular outlet for folk-based music with edge and attitude. Success has included three full-day music festivals plus monthly house concerts, the latter included in the cost of annual membership dues. MA

www.xfsmusic.org, 215-242-6176

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Hardest-working Comedy Troupe

The Waitstaff went from a spinoff of The Dive sketch comedy program at the Brick Playhouse to resident jokesters at the Five Spot, and they have been selling out their shows the first Friday of every month since last October. Sketches range from political to musical to sexual, and all around, the quick-change artistry is top-notch. They lost one of their crew to Second City a while back, but they haven't lost their pluck. — Lori Hill

www.thewaitstaff.com

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Best Harnessing of the Arts for Civic Revitalization

Glasstown Arts District, Millville, N.J. Congratulations to the people of this rust-belt burg for recognizing the restorative power of the arts and backing it with $5,000 loans to lure in more "pioneer artists" who will continue the creative repurposing of former businesses. Third Fridays are when all these old spaces shine their brightest, with the dynamic Riverfront Renaissance Center for the Arts central in spirit, if not location. — Mary Armstrong

www.glasstownartsdistrict.com, 856-293-0556; www.riverfrontcenter.org 856-327-4500

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Most Creative Use of Orange Juice by a Local Artist

Hiro Sakaguchi, a young Philadelphia artist, has worked in a variety of media on airplanes, urban landscapes, imaginary scenes, trash and other subjects. His orange juice drawings are delicate and limpidly beautiful, inspiring for their straightforward examination of their subjects in this unexpected medium. You can see new paintings and drawings in other media in his upcoming exhibition at the Fleisher. — Susan Hagen

Challenge 2, Fleisher Art Memorial, 719 Catharine St., 215-922-3456, Oct. 15-Nov. 13

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Best Place to Hear a Sackbut

The Fairmount-based early music group Piffarro, The Renaissance Band, has been around since 1980, has a major recording contract and is celebrated around the world as the best in the business. So how come you haven't heard of them? There's nothing to be afraid of; Piffarro is lots of fun. They play some lovely Renaissance concert music, but are most entertaining when they let the sackbuts and the shawms blast away in rustic folk music of the 1500s, which was the punk rock of the day. — Peter Burwasser

215-235-8469

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Best Local Radio Personality That Actually Looks Out for Local Talent

Known to many as the traffic reporter on WUSL Power 99, Temple grad Tiffany Bacon provides outlets and opportunities for struggling local artists. Through her weekly radio show, Inner City, she highlights rising talent, giving them a chance to perform in the studio. Regardless of setbacks, she presses on: Recently, the powers that be cut her show from three hours to one. As if we needed any more proof that mainstream radio is full of bull! — Deesha Dyer

www.power99.com

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Best Use of Artificial Light

The city of Philadelphia has one of the best collections of public sculptures anywhere, and now we can enjoy it 24 hours a day. For the past few years the Fairmount Park Art Association has been working (in collaboration with the Streets Department, Fairmount Park Commission and Center City District) on illumination projects — bringing many of these sculptures into the lush chiaroscuro of the night landscape. Check out the Henry Moore sculpture at 17th Street and the Parkway, Joan of Arc near the Philadelphia Museum of Art and Remington's Cowboy on Kelly Drive, and many more in progress. — Susan Hagen

www.fpaa.org

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Worst Trend in Live Performance That Requires Eyelashes

Drag for no good reason. The legacy of drag is long and fabulous, and the artistes who creatively indulge in gender-bending deserve much credit. But once Hedwig went mainstream, misgiving occurred among would-be minions who wanted to appear more avant-garde. While there exist plenty of drag queens of note, like Carlotta Ttendant and Brittany Lynn, still others (Miss Martha Graham Cracker, pay close attention) are using spangles haphazardly. Take a cue, instead, from Alban in La Cage aux Folles, who warbled the praises of well-designed ambiguity. And hunny, when singing Sinatra, leave drag to the professionals, and stick to the tux. NHM

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Best Place for B-boys and B-girls to Chill and Pray

Ever see Jesus uprock? At the historic First Unitarian Church, you just might. The spacious basement — long a host to rock acts — has started welcoming independent hip-hop and quarterly B-boy/B-girl sessions as well. The bathrooms are always clean, and smoking and drinking are not tolerated. Though it's an unlikely place to embrace the culture, worshippers are always welcome in this holy hip-hop haven. DD

2125 Chestnut St.

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Best Recycling, Decaying Timber Division

Kalle Fauset and Thomas Hucker transformed oxidized white pine from the 1857 roof of the Academy of Music into gorgeous tables, mirrors, chests and cabinets for a show at the Wexler Gallery in January. Knots and all, the wood became luxurious pieces in the hands of these professional furniture-makers. Not a bad application of a bunch of beams rescued from a trip to the incinerator. LH

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Best Place to Play Connect Four While Groovin' to Hip-hop Beats

Each Sunday night at The Latest Dish is Candyland — a groovy, fun-filled way to end your weekend. The Squarebiz crew transforms the restaurant into a dimly lit playground stocked with old-school board games, food and candy. Meanwhile, Ill Vibe Collective's DJ Statik dishes out hip-hop, funk, soul and long-forgotten classics. Ah, good times. SO

Sundays, 10 p.m.-2 a.m., 613 S. Fourth St., 215-629-0565, www.squarebiz.org

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Most Successful Concerted Effort by Local Arts Organizations

The fight against Mayor Street's proposed $4.5 million cuts to cultural funding earlier this year, led primarily by the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance, galvanized many in the arts community who were shocked into action. From the Demonstrate Your Culture rally in May to the months button-passing and letter-writing, Philly's creative class fought City Hall — and (mostly) won. LH

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Best Place to Hear Great Classical Music in a Really Cool Space

Philadelphia Chamber Music Society concerts at Fleisher Art Memorial. This Bella Vista landmark, a Frank Furness mishmash of European-church styles, turns out to be a great venue for live acoustic music. The sound is excellent, and if your mind wanders, there is all of the creepy religious artwork to contemplate. Fortunately, the five-concert series, beginning next month, is replete with world-class musicians to rivet one's attention, playing chamber music from the heart of the repertoire over a two-century span. Cheap tix, too. PB

Philadelphia Chamber Music Society, 215-569-8080

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Best Down-home Music Festival

The annual Delaware Valley Bluegrass Festival makes Appel Farm look like a country club, but that's part of its charm: It's an utterly un-selfconscious fest that draws bluegrass fans of all ages. The vibe's amazingly relaxed: People sit around on their folding chairs (which others are invited to use if unoccupied), enjoy homemade foods, and groove to big name acts (like Alison Kraus and Ralph Stanley) and young hipmeisters (such as King Willkie and Open Road). From impromptu fiddlin' jams in the parking lot to funky crafts for sale, it's blissfully homey. NP

302-475-3454, www.brandywinefriends.org/dvbgf

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Best Reason for Inventing a Special Award for Roxy Theatre Owner Bernie Neary

He brought Brown Bunny here and let us decide whether the movie was crap or neorealist art. Neary, a lawyer who has owned the Roxy since 1997 and who will often bag your popcorn, offers mainstream cinema next to the kinds of films even the Ritz doesn't book anymore. It's the closest thing we've got to Film Forum. Where else in this city can you see Shall We Dance? on one screen and Anatomy of Hell on the other? AS

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Best Dancing Bookers

In theory, the people who book rock clubs enjoy music. So, like, where are they? Not on the dancefloor with the rest of us, I tell you what. When we think about it too much, it hurts our feelings. Are we just a bar tab and a cover charge to them? More bookers should take a cue from Sara Sherr and Maria Tessa Sciarrino of Plain Parade. Usually you can find them front and center — at their shows, at other bookers' shows — dancing. I challenge other bookers in town to face the music the way they do. PR

www.plainparade.org

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rose-colored glasses: Local musician/producer Brian McTear, winner of Best Reminder That Music Can Still Matter. Photo By: Michael T. Regan

Best Reminder That Music Can Still Matter

He's the unlikeliest of icons, but Brian McTear, producer to Philadelphia's indie rock stars and the guy in Bitter, bitter weeks, should be an inspiration to us all. He cares. He writes thoughtful letters to the editors of local papers; he rallies the local music community in support of each other; he pens songs about politics ("Revenge," from Bbw's most recent album, was first released on Thurston Moore's anti-war Web label, Protest Records). His spare, Web-only video for "Revenge" (directed by his brother Ryan) and unreleased demo of "Peace is Burning Like a River" are both simply chilling. BHo

www.bitterbitterweeks.com

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Most Creative Use of Adolescent Girls' Diaries

Most of the women I know burned or trashed the embarrassing diaries we kept as adolescents, but a few of us kept them around as mementos of that particularly difficult time. For almost five years, local artist Judith Taylor (known for her haunting photographs of found objects such as mittens and birds nests) has been working on can I trust you?, a fascinating series of viewfinder photographs that bring out the hidden beauty in the pages of borrowed diaries. SH

Watch for an upcoming exhibition of the series at a local venue to be announced. For more info call Liz F. Spungen Fine Art, 610-651-0337

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Fringe Space We're Going to Miss the Most When It's Gone

With last year's Fringe Festival Cabaret turned into a pile of rubble, producing director Nick Stuccio and his colleagues had to find a new spot for this year's after-hours festival revelry. They wound up turning the 6,000-square-foot Ortlieb's Brewery warehouse into an incredibly chic bar/lounge with a massive stage and seating area that housed quirky acts like comedian Murray Hill and a five-night run of indie rock opera The Broken Hipsters. Of course, Live Arts/Fringe is now over, and the Cabaret is returning to its previous life as a beer-storage room. How about we spare the wrecking ball and bring it back next year, eh? JV

829-51 N. American St.

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Most Annoying Recent Theater Tradition

Somebody stands on stage and tells the audience to unwrap their candy before the show begins. Everybody laughs. Every time. TZ

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Perfectly talented: Playwrights Jilline Ringle and Albert Innaurato, winners of Perfect if Impossible South Philly Couple, on South Street. Photo By: Michael T. Regan

Perfect If Impossible South Philly Couple

Albert Innaurato (who wrote Gemini, a new musical at the Prince) and Jilline Ringle (who wrote the cooking cabaret, Mondo Mangia). Both are over 6 feet tall, and both obviously love to eat. Yo. TZ

 

 

 

 

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Scariest Staging This Side of Ancient Rome

James F. Pyne's giant bronze bust of the emperor for Julius Caesar at People's Light and Theater Co. , coupled with Lindsay Jones' thundering sound, made for a goosebump-inducing environment that kept the audience steeled for the political intrigue throughout. LH

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Most Committed Flashers

Dear Y100: When we latecomers arrived at the Yeah Yeah Yeahs' Penn's Landing show you sponsored this July, it was so packed we could only stand level with the stage, so while Karen O was out of sight, we got an unrivalled look at the audience. What we saw: Godsmack shirts being torn off; semi-naked chicks climbing the faux-flagpoles; the greedy masses daring them to crowd-surf, then ungratefully dousing them with beer. All this while the sun went down and a chilly breeze blew in from the river. So a) we just thought you ought to get an eyeful of your target audience, and b) tell us, what does this crowd do for fun in winter? JF

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Best Hip-hop Band Who Raps About Sucking Cocks For Drugs

My favorite things to hear walking by a VIP gig is other people saying, "You know they're gay?" As if being gay in hip-hop's impossible. As if Jay-Z hasn't sipped as much jizm as he has Cristal. Joking! Maybe VIP's talk about "sucking dicks for drugs" is a front. Yet, whether it's their trashy performances (always wind up spilling onto the streets) or their Mad Coke EP, VIP is so gay in so many ways. ADA

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Most Deserving Solo Show

Local artist and activist Sarah McEneaney has long toiled at her craft: a pleasing combination of intensely personal portraiture of herself and the people surrounding her, and pointed documentation of her community's highs and lows. The Institute of Contemporary Art, recognizing this important work, decided they should mount her first solo museum show. The multimedia exhibit — given a wonderful opening-night unveiling with a tour led by curator Ingrid Schaffner and McEneaney herself — was a fitting tribute to a Philly artist through and through. LH

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Most Valuable Player Ever

Like me, free saxophonist/flautist/poet Elliott Levin has been an icon — sonically, visually — of Philly Beat-ness for decades. You may know that along with playing with acts as wildly diverse as Cecil Taylor, Harold Melvin, Charles Cohen and the Philadelphia Orchestra (among others), he's been his own lone gun. But weekly he sends me e-mails of new, different projects he's with: Frank Messina's Octopoet, Skyboat, Byard Lancaster's new Quartet, anything Rick Iannacone ever does. Daunting. ADA

www.radical3over2.com/Elliott/Levin.html