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ISSUE . September 20th, 2007

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Shooting for the Stars

The Art Museum launches its new Perelman satellite with a retrospective Stieglitz exhibit.

by John Vettese

From the walls of the Julian Levy Gallery, the images seem to take on a life of their own. The vintage cityscapes, bathed in the deep tea-colored tone of gravure printing, give off an air of bustling antiquity, smoky street corners, a swelling metropolis. The Equivalents series, which depicts the movement of clouds across the skies at Lake George, is wispy and breezy.

Building Momentum

Re:Viewing A Passion for Perfection (and the Perelman itself).

by Robin Rice

Reviews of the renovation have been almost uniformly raves. A rare quibbler suggested the cathedral-like spaces tend to trivialize the sculpture on view. I'd say that most of the current sculpture is not quite cathedral caliber.

Music for Change

Singer-songwriter Birdie Busch saves her pennies to make something generationalless.

by M.J. Fine

Listen to Penny Arcade

The newswoman wants to know "what it's like to live here" and "what the top companies are." Busch politely tells them to scram, and somehow we manage to contain our laughter until they're out of earshot.

Come Together

For 10 years (or so), The Gathering has united more than hip-hop's four elements — it's united a scene.

by Shaun Brady

School night or not, there's inevitably a throng of largely under-21 bodies packed, sweat-drenched, into the Rotunda on the last Thursday of each month, surrounding the weightlessly gyrating b-boys and b-girls in the center of the room. DJs propel the momentum from the stage while novice MCs steel their nerves for the open mic, and notebook-clutching writers transfer their newest designs to the graffiti wall.

Visual Arts

The fall season's visual arts best bets.

by Robin Rice

Opera

The fall season's opera best bets.

by Peter Burwasser

Theater

The fall season's theater best bets.

by Mark Cofta

Dance

The fall season's dance best bets.

by Deni Kasrel

Classical

The fall season's classical best bets.

by Peter Burwasser

Rock/Pop

The fall season's rock/pop best bets.

by Michael Pelusi

Roots

The fall season's roots best bets.

by Mary Armstrong

Jazz

The fall season's jazz best bets.

by Shaun Brady

Opinion

Loose Canon:

Has Barnes' Vision Finally Been Realized?

The synergy of art and incarceration.

by Bruce Schimmel

My friend Albo Jeavons is a gentle soul who's cursed with savage visions. His satiric 2002 "Disney Hole" proposed building a Museum of Corporate Welfare — called MOCOW (www.disneyhole.org) — to fill an abandoned entertainment-complex site at Eighth and Market streets.

Slant:

On the Defensive

If we ban guns, only the criminals will be armed.

by Michael Washburn

Forgetting that for much of our history, America was both a heavily armed and a relatively peaceful society, the prosecutors blasted the availability of guns in Pennsylvania. We have heard similar arguments about the need to fight crime in Philadelphia by giving the city different laws from those that the "pro-gun rednecks" in other parts of the state take for granted.

That Stall, Folks

Larry Craig exposed himself, and his party, as hypocritical.

by Lewis Whittington

I'd love to have been a fly on the wall to hear the advice-and-consent huddles among the GOP brass as they decided to muscle Craig out on what amounts to a morals charge.

Feedback:

Letters to the Editor

What You Say

It's time to face the truth, not bend it. | You must understand "beef" is the subculture inside of the subculture. | Well, I guess that is two extra characters to type. | I have the feeling I will be seeing Wedgey in my nightmares, where he will play the part of accuser and accused. | I'm the Dan Roth mentioned in the story.

Naked City

Board Approval

An East Falls duo makes a longboard that's suitable for hanging.

by Brian Hickey

"I've been here for six years," Allison says. "But never, not when I was making the nicest pieces of furniture I've ever made, did as many people pop their heads in to see what I was up to like they did when they saw the surfboard."

Icepack

Amorosi on the news, nightlife, gossip and bitchiness beats.

by A.D. Amorosi

If you thought it was a matter of cute coupling that DJ John and Danielle Redden were CEOpening the Barbary in November, then what about Three 4 Ten-nant Jamie Mahon with Nicole Mahon buying 'n' opening Green Rock Tavern at 2546 E. Lehigh? That's not chopped liver. That's closer to ham 'n' cabbage.

Running Numbers

A scholarly look at the digits that matter.

by Nick Norlen

1 Number of free admissions one will receive when buying three during the Mütter Museum Student Open House Sept. 21 from 5 to 9 p.m.

News

Health Plan B

Gov. Rendell wants everybody to be insured, but his isn't the only proposal.

by Tom Namako

It's a nice debate to have, especially considering that nearly 800,000 out of 12 million Pennsylvanians are uninsured. Ideally, the concepts should battle it out in the legislature with the best plan garnering the most votes.

The Bell Curve

City Paper's Quality-o-Life-o-Meter

When news breaks in Philadelphia, we make jokes.

Philly on the Potomac:

Craig's Missed?

While others shun him, an embattled "not-gay" senator has a friend in Arlen.

by Paul Fain

"Arlen Specter is now willing to come out in my defense, arguing that it appears by all that he knows that I've been railroaded and all of that," Craig said in a voicemail obtained by Roll Call, the Washington newspaper that originally broke news of Craig's bathroom arrest.

Philly Blunt:

Beating the Rap Beaters

Justice has yet to be served in the Pierson case, but accusations still fly.

by Brian Hickey

These missives purport to be from a "Tiffanie McCall," aka "Q's Big Sis," from 29th and Jefferson. Q, it would seem, is short for Quinzell McCall, the now-18-year-old North Philadelphia "man" who was found not guilty last month of murdering Fairmount teen Robert Pierson.

Political Notebook:

Smiling for Dollars

The fundraising endgame.

by Mary F. Patel

In the waning days before November's general election, campaign fundraising efforts for mayoral candidates Michael Nutter and Al Taubenberger have increased.

Arts

Art:

Never Felt Like This Before

A new exhibition at Slought remembers a video artist who liked to push buttons.

by Mary Wilson

After arriving at the airport for his first visit to America in 1974, Joseph Beuys was promptly wrapped head to toe in felt, strapped to a stretcher, loaded into an ambulance and, under his own direction, whisked away to the New York City gallery where he would spend the next three days locked in a room with a coyote.

Culture Shock:

Things That Matter To People Who Matter

Elvis Presley | Toys | Asparagus | Origami

We could certainly benefit from a little less conversation and a little more action. | My wife makes fun of me for re-collecting all of the toys I had when I was younger. | Only about 40 percent of us have the required genes to smell the byproduct that is released in our urine. Luckily, I am one of them. | I'm currently in the middle of working out a fold for a llama and a squirrel, but can't quite seem to get a couple of the key steps.

Theater Review:

A Wilder Ride

Through Oct. 7 People's Light & Theatre Co.,39 Conestoga Road, Malvern.

by Mark Cofta

Thornton Wilder never got around to adapting his last novel, Theophilus North (1973), for the stage, but it could've fooled me watching Matthew Burnett's affectionate adaptation.

Arts Picks:

The Search for Signs...

The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe, Sept. 21-Oct. 21, $12-$34, Walnut Street Theatre, Independence Studio 3, 825 Walnut St., 215-592-9560, www.1812productions.org.

by Deni Kasrel

"To talk while doing jumping jacks is a lot harder than you would think."

Found Magazine Live Presentation

Sun., Sept. 23, 7 p.m., $5, Board Room of the First Unitarian Church, 2125 Chestnut St., www.r5productions.com.

by John Vettese

You won't find much gimmickry in the discarded, uncouth photographs and embarrassing notes reprinted in the pages of Found. There's no flash, no labored analyses or paragraph-long dissective explanations.

Arts Agenda

Last Chance

Catch it or Regret It

by Holly Otterbein

Neo-Pink | Local Views: Painters in a Post-Digital Age | Dworanczyk and Moore

Arts Agenda Picks:

Just Do It

Dave Barry

by Luke Sirinides

Fell asleep during history class? No worries. Dave Barry's History of the Millennium (So Far) will bring you up to speed — sorta.

Just Do It

River of Gold: Precolumbian Treasures From Sitio Conte

by Ptah Gabrie

When the Rio Grande de Cocle River in central Panama shifted its course in the early 20th century, the land exposed a wealth of golden objects.

Galleries

Galleries are usually open Tuesdays through Saturdays; please call the gallery for exact days and hours. Receptions are denoted with Reception 201 GALLERY , 1400

Museums/Exhibits

Museums and exhibits have varying schedules; please callfor exact days, hours and prices. A-SPACE , 4722 Baltimore Ave., 215-727-0882. THE OTHER SEPTEMBER 11TH, Features work

Performing Arts

Please call the phone number listed with the venue for specific dates, times and ticket information. dance FLAMENCO DEL ENCUENTRO This traditional flamenco cuadro is

Readings/Book Signings

BOB SMITH The comedian and author reads from his new novel "Selfish and Perverse," which begins with Nelson Kunker trapped in his job as the

Movies

Northern Exposure

A brief glimpse into the Toronto International Film Festival's treasure chest.

by Sam Adams

As the coming-out party for the fall film season, the Toronto International Film Festival inevitably has its share of dazzling debuts and catastrophic face plants.

On the Wrong Track

The Hunting Party has less luck finding the right tone than its heroes have locating their quarry.

by Shaun Brady

Journalists abandoning all pretense to professional ethics and running off to hunt for a fugitive war criminal may seem a far-fetched premise, but Scott K. Anderson's 2000 Esquire article "What I Did on My Summer Vacation" relates just such a real-life tale.

Battle Scars

In solving the mystery of his son's death, a Vietnam veteran gets reacquainted with the horrors of war.

by Cindy Fuchs

The solving process is complicated and made moving by Jones' singular intensity; a close-up of his deeply creased face does more emotional work than pages of dialogue.

Repertory Film

Send repertory film listings to tami.fertig@citypaper.net. ACADEMY OF NATURAL SCIENCES 19th Street and Ben Franklin Parkway, 610-649-5220, www.geographicalsociety.org. Bhutan: The Cloud Kingdom (U.S., 120 min.)

Music

Like a Demon

Mike Quinn works overtime with No Quarter Records.

by Andrew Parks

Don't cry for him, Philadelphia. Quinn's used to a rigorous routine of running his record label from home and funding the whole endeavor with up to 90 hours of work a week at temp jobs including his most steady, maddening gig: driving a shuttle on Penn's campus.

But Why?

Introducing another blog

by Patrick Rapa

There's a certain sense of, you know, pointlessness to it. Getting out to shows, watching bands try or not try, judging their art through poor sound systems and my own prejudices, pushing the big rock up the hill.

Aid or Invade:

Fit to be Kilt

Scotland

by Rodney Anonymous

This CD is even too boring to continue to write about, so let's talk about the legend of "Sawney" Bean instead. As the story goes, "Sawney" Bean was a 16th-century cannibal who lived in a cave with his large, incestuous family near Scotland's border with England.

Reconsider Me:

You Who?

Imperial Teen

by M.J. Fine

Imperial Teen's like that flaky friend who breezes into town every couple of years and expects you to drop everything. So you hang out and it's so much fun, but at the end of the night, when you both promise you won't let so much time pass between visits, you know better than to believe.

Soundadvice

Get Out!

AnaÃ¯s Mitchell | Kim Richey | Lafayette Gilchrist | From Between Trio | Ingrid Michaelson

Music Picks:

New Motels

Thu., Sept. 20, 8 p.m., the Khyber, 56 S. Second St., and Thu., Sept. 27, 9 p.m., Mill Creek Tavern, 4200 Chester Ave.

by A.D. Amorosi

So, Jenkintown ain't a dusty hill out West. And singers Josh Levandowski and Adam Vinson aren't Cali-Canyon-eers. But if the cinnamon-dipped twang of "A Thousand Isles" and the disdainful lyrical look at the "Drama of the Hollywood Scene" doesn't make them honorary Topangians, I'll eat my "Rust Never Sleeps" tour T-shirt.

Lucinda Williams

Wed., Sept. 26, 7:30 p.m., $49.50, with Charlie Louvin, Keswick Theatre, 291 N. Keswick Ave., Glenside, 215-572-7650, www.keswicktheatre.com.

by M.J. Fine

What do you do when the one you want looks into your eyes and tells you he wants to be with you, and then abruptly changes his mind and vanishes?

Bern Nix/Charles Ellerbee

Thu., Sept. 20, 8 p.m., The Rotunda, 4014 Walnut St.

by Shaun Brady

They'll each be leading separate groups, but guitarists Bern Nix (pictured) and Charles Ellerbee are forever linked as two halves of a whole in jazz history.

Food

Beauty and the Bistro

Cary Neff's Coquette spearheads Philly's French food renaissance.

by Elisa Ludwig

Tagliatelle may have Philly's dining scene in a stranglehold, but there's good reason to believe that French food is having a comeback moment.

Coffee and Dumplings

Cold-brewed iced coffee?

by Trey Popp

Sant Gardez Pan de Vida isn't much to look at. But it does have one thing I've been casually seeking all summer: iced coffee. Let me explain.

Gluten, Beware

Celiacs can call on Philly for support.

by Lydia Navatsyk

Alice Bast carries her own soy sauce wherever she goes. But she's not just another overzealous foodie — she has the autoimmune digestive disorder called celiac disease.

Feeding Frenzy

Restaurants opening, closing and pending

by Drew Lazor

>> WAITING LIST Cochon 801 E. Passyunk Ave. | Venuto's Old World Pizza 515-519 South St. | Vango Lounge and Skybar 116 S. 18th St.

What's Cooking:

The Week In Eats

Get Out!

by Felicia D'Ambrosio

Center City Restaurant Week | Sly Fox Fresh Firkin | Thai Taste Explosions | Sippin' by the River | Lunch at Alma de Cuba

Top 5:

Burritos

Under Wraps

by Gary M. Kramer

1 La Lupe | 2 Mugshots Coffeehouse and Café | 3 Pico de Gallo | 4 Santa Fe Burrito Company | 5 Machismo Burrito Bar

Small Bites

Little Vittles

Bambu White Rum | Holiday Peeps | Sur La Table Toast Rack | Cutie Pie Cookies

You Ask We Answer

Culinary Mysteries Solved

Q: I'm a college student from out of state and my parents are coming to visit. What are some affordable Philly restaurants that are also parent-friendly?

Agenda

Agenda Lead:

Donuts To That

Jon Houlon lays down the law.

by A.D. Amorosi

By day, Jon Houlon is a government lawyer representing Philly's overworked and underappreciated DHS social workers. By night, he's the obsessive, imagistic, lit-witty singer-songwriter behind pub-rockers The Donuts and the damnably poetic John Train.

Agenda Picks:

Just Do It

Inliquid Silent Auction Party

by Lydia Navatsyk

Thu., Sept. 27, 5:30 p.m., $30-$40, Ice Box Project Space, Crane Arts Building, 1400 N. American St., 215-235-3405, www.inliquid.com Inliquid knows how to throw a

Just Opened

Sugarcube

by Monica Weymouth

124 N. Third St., 215-238-0825, www.sugarcube.us Sugarcube has packed up its beloved collection of vintage shoes and moved on out — but thankfully not far.

What We Heart

Couch Design Pillows

by Monica Weymouth

$35-$40, available at Mew Gallery, 906 Christian St., 215-625-2424, couchdesign.etsy.com Nicole Mercurio had a knack for interior design and a fetish for fabrics.

Just Do It

Five Day Documentary Competition

by Aly Semigran

Fri.-Wed., Sept. 28-Oct. 3, (application due Fri., Sept. 21), 267-402-2056, www.firstpersonarts.org The fight against global warming, our disaster of a health-care system and some really

In The Event That...

You've got an MMMBop

by Monica Weymouth

HansonWed., Sept. 26, 8 p.m., $30, Electric Factory, 421 N. Seventh St., 215-336-2000, www.hanson.net Even though it's been a solid 10 years since Hanson emerged

On The DL

Whitehall Skate Park Jam

by Ptah Gabrie

Sat., Sept. 22, 2-6 p.m., free, donations accepted, Whitehall Skate Park, 5000 Tulip St., 215-425-2450, www.exitphiladelphia.com When Steve Miller began building ramps at Whitehall Skate

Just Do It

Jimmy Pardo

by Ben Kharakh

Wed.-Thu., Sept. 26-27, 8 p.m., Fri.-Sat., Sept. 28-29, 8 and 10:30 p.m., $15-$29, Helium Comedy Club, 2031 Sansom St., 215-496-9001, www.heliumcomedy.com Jimmy Pardo's quick wit