June 2- 8, 2005

music

icepack

by A.D. Amorosi

More hopped up than Tom Cruise trying to prove he's hetero by licking Katie Holmes; more determined than Bob Geldof to convince good acts (not just the Hooters) to relive their Live Aid moment July 2 on Ben Franklin Parkway: It's License Beverage Association of the Entertainment District honchos Joe Dougherty of Emerald City and Gregg DiPipi of Glam. Why? Because this week they must hand out thousands of anti-smoking ban calling cards so to Stop The Nutter. Get on www.phila.gov/citycouncil and freak out your council person now, smokey. …Two treasured doyennes — Eileen Plato, owner of Judy's Cafe, and Koko Williamson of Crimson Moon — are sadly outta here. Plato left my fave Bainbridge Street eatery willingly after 30 years, selling to Pif's David Ansill. But Williamson and the Moon only left due to a ridiculous rent increase. Dag. To paraphrase Eddie Murphy: "Kill that landlord." But no one could stop writer/director Madi Distefano (fuck Grease licenser Samuel French for trying) from finishing up her nasty, hastily scripted all-female Grease and Desist's heroic run at the Marian Anderson Recreation Center. A round of clean urine to all my friends. … Some girls wrap up. Others are just getting started. Club Nostradamus' Robin Parry (and me, your humble host) take on the modern variety show milieu with Viva! June 4 at World Café Live with ladies Birdie Busch, Erika, Bela Shehu and Needles Jones (and guys like Carmen Martella III and Jealous Type, too). Later that night finds Philly expat Roxy "OxyCotten" Summers bringing her NYC-bash to WCL for an after-party with Low Budget and Hollertronix MC pal, Spankrock. Then there's ex-WXPN DJ Kim Alexander who has started a dirty retro country band, Hank's Cadillac, that'll debut at Silk City June 2. … Rumor tells me Retail Planning & Construction is refiguring the Talbots and Borders Books spots at 18th and Walnut for an Ann Taylor Loft and another H&M clothier. The Bensalem company may re-do the 10,000 square feet of H&M 16th & Chestnut while adding condos atop. … WHOWHATWHERE: Wearing more rose gold bling than Kimora Lee, Cedric the Entertainer entertained me at the Four Seasons, and right when Amber Tamblyn was leaving her Traveling Pants junket at the hotel. Here to talk press for The Honeymooners (as well as visit Zanzibar Blue), Cedric joked about the possibilities of a non-all-black cast ("Hey, Alice is still white"), what he didn't want his Kramden to be ("Ralph in da hoood") and the everyman quality that got him in trouble at Philly's airport: "I got stopped by a security agent who gave me a hard time. Said we used to be crossing guards together. "You act like you don't know me,' she kept saying. I told her I was never a crossing guard. But you musta been, baby, since I can't get past you," said Cedric. Adam Sandler has been rocking a Bruce Reinfeld-designed High Fidelity jacket on his Longest Yard TV stops. Mr. Renée Zellweger, Kenny Chesney, got a surprise visit from Uncle Kracker and Kid Rock at the Wachovia Center. Hip-hop holy man Common was at Armand's Records, chatting up his Be CD. He may have been chatting with G-13 Sound DJ Rahsaan about guesting (along with Slim Thug) on their currently recording forthcoming CD, dirty dirty bling bling. G-13 will take on a reggaeton weekly in June at Posh, a venue changing its stripes courtesy Paperstreet, Diabolic and Brendan O, with its upstairs Brasil's taking on live Latin music. ... Aren't you releasing a CD? If you're Rick Henderson's The Wayward Wind, you're dropping Wait for Green June 3 at Indre Studios. If you're ex-Mama Volume-ites Billy Taz and John Graf, you're splurging on expansive metal for Angus Khan's eponymous debut June 4 at North Star. If you're the incendiary King God, you're releasing God-knows-what during your party up North (Star) June 3 with Blood Feathers, which includes guys from Mazarin. … Staying up North Star-way, isn't Serge Bielanko of Marah (at the club June 2) worried, what with icky Nick Hornby writing a character based on the former in his new book, A Long Way Down — following him around, reading at the library June 8? Is Hornby a needy queeny pest, or is it just me? … Is an outsider FRIDGE Festival gonna run concurrent with September's Live Arts/Fringe in Old City? … Happy b-day to Sun Ra Arkestrator Marshall Allen, who celebrated 81 with Need New Body at Vox Populi. To Bar Noir's Monday Night Club, celebrating one year with Soulamite-rs Ben Edwards and Heather Henderson June 6. To DJ Carl Michaels, who'll work during his at Pure, June 3. And to DJ/Kids Corner-er Robert Drake who, after being feted by his alma mater, John Hancock School in the Northeast, will usher in his b-day with a 30 Days of Drake card (filled with all manner of freebies) available through www.djrobertdrake.com.