A & E Nightlife

The Talent: "How you doin' tonight? Where you ladies from? You're a wonderful audience."

Michael T. Regan The Talent: "How you doin' tonight? Where you ladies from? You're a wonderful audience."

As one-fourth of Exhumed Films, Joseph Gervasi has helped to re-create the drive-in experience on local screens for a decade. But solo, he's recently been looking beyond schlock and gore to find bizarre obscurities and new cult-in-the-making films presented in imaginative settings. That includes the multimedia expansion of Lance Weiler's Head Trauma, which incorporated live music, characters and even cell-phone interaction. It's culminated in The Valerie Project, with an enveloping psych score by Espers' Greg Weeks for the surrealist 1970 Czech film Valerie and Her Week of Wonders, which has played dates at MOMA and opened for Jarvis Cocker in London. www.exhumedfilms.com. —SB

To the swirl of burlesque dancers and comics that is Peek-A-Boo Revue, Louis DeVaughn Nelson is DeVo — a peripheral nuts-and-bolts fill-in-the-blanks guy. He's also made clothes under the Va-Voom name and set up more than a few art shows. The art 'n'-fashion helped greatly when his pained, bittersweet Human Error appeared at the Adrienne during this year's Fringe. But its mix of violent thrashes and passionate embraces — to say nothing of its overall bitchiness — showed off what he does best. DeVo choreographs frenzied movement with gracefulness and cool precision. —ADA

When you've had enough of flash-in-the-pan blog-rock, sometimes you just want some people in T-shirts and jeans to play some loud fucking rock 'n' roll. And the Photon Band — back on the scene with a retooled lineup — is happy to oblige. Art Di Furia's catchy rock melodies have lost none of their spark, and the band's oft-delayed Back Down to Earth is set for a Jan. 8 release. (In the meantime, get their digital EP Get Down Here in the Stratosphere through www.empyreanrecords.com.) www.myspace.com/photonband. —MP

Carsie Blanton didn't make her CD, Ain't So Green, in our town and she didn't learn to swing here, but since leaving Oregon last year, she's taught blues dancing in West Philly and wooed coffee shop habitués and folk festival audiences with her quick wit and wordy, jazzy love songs. On her feet or perched on a stool while playing her guitar, she's a class act. —MJF

For most hip-hop heads in the 27-to-38 age range, Lady B served as a soundtrack to their adolescence. When her voice dropped off commercial radio in 2002, fans had the choice of following her to Sirius Satellite or hunting for a new queen of the airwaves. Now, after years of petitions and e-mails, Lady B is back on the dial, playing classic hip-hop and R&B on The Basement Party on WRNB. Radio's good again, if only for four hours a day. Mon.-Sat., 3-7 p.m., WRNB 107.9 FM, www.1079wrnb.com. —DD

The migration of upscale and tourist-type businesses into Old City is driving galleries, always urban pioneers, to Fishtown and beyond. Opened in 1999, Gallery Siano was memorable for its expansive spaces handsomely remodeled by advertising execs Jerry Siano and Joseph DiLeonardo, who had their offices elsewhere in the same 309 Arch St. building. Artists included Lynn Denton, David Foss, Michelle Marcuse and Vincent Romaniello. Gallery director Luella Tripp plans to open her own gallery soon. —RR

For the past decade, consumer-rights lawyer Jim Musselman's Appleseed Recordings has dedicated itself to keeping folk music alive while fighting "the good fight for social justice and positive change." The West Chester-based label's most recent bout came this fall when it released Give US Your Poor, a 17-track album that brought Jon Bon Jovi, Natalie Merchant, Bruce Springsteen and Michelle Shocked together with currently or formerly homeless artists to, yep, "help end homelessness." No, it won't end homelessness. But, it's an entertaining way to boost consciousness and, already, has been distributed to some 40 shelters and aid organizations to help raise funds. We just wish the Nov. 16 benefit concert were here rather than Boston. www.appleseedrec.com. —H

If you see something cool stuck to the back of a street sign, spray-painted on the sidewalk or glued to a railing, chances are damonabnormal, aka Damon Landry, has already seen it, snapped it and posted it to his flickr.com page. Whenever I see something cool out and about, without fail, Landry's already been there. It's uncanny. And frustrating. And amazing. www.flickr.com/people/damonabnormal. —BH

What'll you uncover if you dig a hole to China? GANG's "Rat Poison" has the answer. But you've gotta think in metaphors. And listen closely. And understand Italian. That's a lot of work, and every time I get close to the answer, I'm too busy dancing my ass off to care. —MJF

Yes, there's a place in Manayunk where you won't come across nostalgic sorority girls and predatory young professionals frolicking under a stream of $8 Red Bull and vodkas while T-Pain and/or Rihanna blast loud enough to make 'em scream their cheesy one-liners. It's Castle Roxx on Shurs Lane, a two-story bar that actually kinda looks like a small castle. Most nights offer absurd drink specials ($1 Miller Lite Thursdays), and the music rarely elicits high-pitched, off-key sing-alongs. And if you're lucky, you might see the Spin Doctors playing there. Go ahead now. 105 Shurs Lane, Manayunk, 215-482-9000, www.castleroxx.com. —JT

WICKETT AWESOME: Space 1026 transformed the ICA with Locally Localized Gravity. (CLICK IMAGE FOR LARGER VERSION)

Given the mortality rate of radio stations, perhaps we should be thankful that there's even half a day of jazz on local radio. But Friday nights on WRTI are the only time when any hint of modernity peeks through the bop-focused veil that enshrouds Temple's station for the rest of the week. Longtime DJs Jeff Duperon and J. Michael Harrison strive to remind listeners that jazz doesn't have to become a museum piece, through both their programming and interviews with up-and-coming musicians. www.wrti.org. —SB

Before 2007, Joey Feldman was merely a spooked-out illustrator/Wolverine fanatic who worked with the Well Fed Artist Gallery, ran Joe Faux Painting and apparently was some sort of pro-wrestling manager. Comic enthusiasts knew his works. So did skaters. That was about it. Then he shows his most haunted paintings as part of Grace: Kingdom at the Live Arts Fest and Details calls him one of the art world's up-n-comers based on his detritus-filled works of woe as well as some of his friendlier fantasmagorias. It's something new to wrestle with. —ADA

No matter how bad the Kimmel, Merriam, Wilma and Academy back things up, the guys at the Broad and Pine garage next to Starbucks actually run to get your car. Plus they're fairly cheap. Of course the Suzanne Roberts Theater could be the tipping point. —JA

I'm, like, 99 percent certain that you're not supposed to grab on to the moving arm of Mark di Suvero's gigantic steel Iroquois statue, but it's hilarious watching impromptu daredevils hang on for dear life as this freaky trebuchet swings them 20 feet into the air. It's very eye-catching in its own right — you can tell by the way cars on Eakins Oval slow down as they pass — but some douchebag's gonna break his crazy leg and sue somebody. —PR

Unpromising on its surface — a bank of windows along one long wall illuminating a hardwood floor, two posts jutting up through the center — the Mascher Space Cooperative has been transformed time and again by the movement of the dancers who've taken advantage of it. Founded by Liza Clark and Rebecca Patek in 2005, the space has played host for dancer-choreographers like Zornitsa Stoyanova, Meg Foley, Nicole Bindler and Emily Sweeney and Bilwa's music/dance collective Perpetual Mvmt>Snd. The room's unfinished feel has become more like a blank canvas on which an array of intriguing work has been splashed. www.mascherdance.com. —SB

You wouldn't find it on any schedule, but my Fringe highlight was carried out by an army of reflector-tape robots known collectively as Stickman. They began appearing in the streets and crosswalks of Old City, West Philly and Northern Liberties right before the Live Arts/Fringe Festival, peaked during it and have all but stopped since. A recent sighting down the shore gives us hope that this mechanical army is simply taking a little R and R. Fingers crossed. —BH

If you want to build some kinda freaky, multi-colored re-creation of the Ewok Village you're gonna need some serious elbow room. Luckily the ICA has the overhead to put on something like the Locally Localized Gravity art/music/performance monsterpiece. (Second best reason for 1026 to go on the road? The ICA is a wee bit better at promoting. Dear 1026 kids, we love you but please stop doodling on your bathroom walls long enough to sell yourself once in a while.) www.space1026.com. —PR

For years, drummer George Manney's been trying to finish his epic documentary about bygone Philly music scenes, City of Brotherly Love. But by focusing on its most eccentric scenester — the late, great Rufus Harley, the jazz world's first bagpipe player — he found all the joy and weirdness the city can muster for his film Pipes of Peace. Besides, how many movies star Ed Rendell and Laurie Anderson? www.pipesofpeacemovie.com. —ADA

Halfway through Dear Companion (Drag City), the solo debut from Espers member Meg Baird, comes "The Waltze of the Tennis Players," originally recorded in the early '70s by Canadian folkies Fraser & DeBolt. With a melody that's rueful yet seductive, Baird simply makes time stop for three minutes. Her delivery of the chorus cinches it for us. "Your love for me is an overnight sensation/ My love for you is an overnight sensation, too." www.megbaird.com. —MP

More than one person has used the word "sublime" to describe Astrid Bowlby's recent show at Gallery Joe. Almost exclusively showing works on paper, owner Becky Kerlin favors work that looks fragile, arcane, chartlike and dense with microcosms of minutiae. Bowlby has trumped them all with her horror vacui ink drawings frothing with delicate organic forms. —RR

Xiang Yang, an artist we're going to hear a lot more from, is a member of Vox, where he's shown a number of astonishing works, all utilizing project-specific materials and techniques. Buddha Says, a piece of his currently at Snyderman Gallery, will blow you away. Details would spoil the experience, but don't settle for what you see in the window. 303 Cherry St., 215-238-9576, www.snyderman-works.com. —RR

It was hard enough to believe that Dustin Hurt could keep up with the pace he'd set with Bowerbird, presenting more than 120 shows and more than 400 sets in less than two years of existence. But with his assumption of the reins of Philly's venerable new-music ensemble Relâche this summer, he's virtually become the benevolent dictator of experimental sound in the city (excepting the slight overlap with Mark Christman's always vital, more-jazz-oriented Ars Nova Workshop). That is, until he collapses, exhausted, in the middle of a protracted Jack Wright solo down the road. www.bowerbird.org. —SB

Choreographer Christine Cox rarely gets the kind of attention her fellow BalletX co-director Matthew Neenan does, but her own work is just as interesting. The Philly native actually left Pennsylvania Ballet even earlier than Neenan to begin laying the administrative groundwork of the Xperimenters' independent company. Plus she's got a big booster in Dad, who unashamedly greets audience members, shaking hands and announcing how proud he is of his daughter. —JA

With its wood-panel walls and ad hoc seating arrangement, Doobie's exudes impromptu, improvised charm. Best of all is the jukebox, an old flip-panel model shoved in a corner by the door, with many album track listings scrawled onto note cards by hand. But check out that selection: Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison. Edith Piaf. Pixies CDs that aren't Doolittle. Bowie. A whole lot of Bowie, actually, including Hunky Dory, The Man Who Sold the World and Low. Like Doobie's as a whole, it doesn't wreak of forethought; its awesomeness comes naturally. 2201 Lombard St., 215-546-0316. —JV

There's no such thing as a free lunch, but XPN's Free at Noon series, held mostly at World Café Live, is still the best value meal in town. We're talking A-listers, too — folks like Richard Thompson, Sean Lennon and Rosanne Cash. You get a quick serving of great music, then it's back to work. Shows run about 45 minutes (including some interview chit-chat) and are broadcast live on WXPN and NPR.org. www.xpn.org. —NP

Philly's got a well-deserved reputation for under-appreciating its finest and letting them slip away to more welcoming climes. Our latest export is curator Alex Baker, most recently of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. The soon-to-be senior curator of contemporary art at the National Gallery of Victoria looks forward to exploring the interface between art of the Pacific Rim and Asia — and the great surfing in Melbourne. We can look forward to winter. —RR

HALF OFF DEPOT

Why live life at full price?

Next year will mark the centennial of Settlement Music School. It's hard to overestimate the significance of this vital musical pillar, which has become the largest community musical school in the country, with six branches serving more than 15,000 students. The breadth of programs is huge (students range in age from toddlers to senior citizens), and not only has Settlement turned out a large share of famous musicians over the years, but a decent crop of business leaders, scientists, actors and Frank Rizzo. www.smsmusic.org. —PB

If you're an abstractionist, you'd probably be happy to have Bridgette Mayer represent you. As she once said, "I was born to do this." Mayer exhibits a variety of work, mostly 2-D non-objective and abstracted landscape or figuration. From emerging to established, her prize-winning stable includes Charles Burwell, Tim McFarlane, Elyce Abrams, Ivan Stojakovic, Neil Anderson and Rebecca Rutstein, whose solo show opens Oct. 30. 709 Walnut St., first floor, 215-413-8893, www.mayerartconsultants.com. —RR

Truthfully, Philly has enough art, culture, music and promotion-type companies, but not enough of them come correct. Enter Freshout Media, a company that purposely seeks out left-field venues and artists to create something new and innovative. From taking over the South Street Whole Foods rooftop to helping bring Pharoahe Monch to shows at World Café Live, Freshout has established itself as the optimistic future of the Philly party and arts scene. They work damn hard to represent. www.freshoutmedia.com. —DD

Ever notice that the Swimmers re-release their debut CD every so often. Fighting Trees is so excellent — one of the best of the year, seriously — that they're doing it in stages. There was the streaming audio, the "local" CD, the download, the 8-track, the a cappella 12" (for remixes), the beeswax cylinder and the experimental mouth marble. In spring, they'll drop the "national" CD on Mad Dragon Records and follow it up with a series of gold-plated cassingles. —PR

This easily could have turned out to be just another so-so dance outfit trying to turn heads with a catchy name, but the Pink Hair Affair proved to be a very talented group of young dancers (most from UArts, and some Chris Cox hatchlings) who not only know how to create dances, they can pace and stage a show, too. They accomplished this while doing tech work and making costume changes behind a fluttering curtain tacked across the back of Susan Hess' downtown studio space. It's not where you are, it's what you do. —JA

Listen, if Beanie Sigel is too busy to return a damn rental car, there's no fuckin way you're getting your Freaks & Geeks DVDs back. I heard his living room is stacked with old library books and tapes from West Coast Video. —PR

Philly punks Jena Berlin take their names from the two cities where Karl Marx studied. And their emotionally charged music is as earnest and impassioned as you'd expect from a bunch of socialists. Judging from the fire-in-the-belly conviction, screamy-melodic anthems and a long-ass tour that took them all over the country, we'll go out on a limb and guess they're going places. Which is a vague-ass answer to the posed-in-Latin question of the title of their latest release, Quo Vadimus (Where Are We Going?) (Jump Start). —BH

It's such a vile instrument, formed from wood hollowed by termites and best left to Aborigines and jam freaks who'd just as soon use it as a bong. But there're so many flavor combinations in Creeping Weeds' "I Wanted to Live (Die)" — a bouncy melody, aggressive and ascending guitars, clops and plinks and soft indie vocals — that Cara Sakoian's didgeridoo is merely another fresh ingredient in the stew. Just as long as it doesn't become a habit. —MJF

At first listen, Fern Knight's "Awake, Angel Snake" hinges on the confrontation between guitarist Greg Weeks' wise serpent and singer Margie Wienk's curious Eve. But the setting's just as crucial: Alec K. Redfearn's placid accordion unmistakably locates them in Eden. We've all seen snakes and we all know women, but paradise is elusive. —MJF

This one goes to Kate Watson-Wallace, who started choreographing domestic space with Living Room(s) at DanceBoom!, where a sofa provided inspiration. Then she took over the whole House for Live Arts '06. At this year's fest she moved into the Car, and next year she plans on going Shopping. Call me cynical, but it's sounds like she is dancing her way through the American dream. —JA

INTO YOUR ARMS: Mark di Suvero's Iroquois has been known to pick up a few hop-ons. (CLICK IMAGE FOR LARGER VERSION)

Most definitely the long-departed Tuff Crew. Old school never sounded so fresh. —PR

If the sound of a woman in heat ramps up the excitement, just think about what'd happen if you played Fursaxa's "Black Haw" in the appropriate setting. Tara Burke's watery moans and droning organ are a powerful suggestion for the largest and most intelligent among us. Surprisingly graceful, too. —MJF

Bright, saturated hues popped everywhere at Johnny Brenda's during the A-Sides' record release party in August, like someone spent a little too much time messing with the settings in Photoshop. Floral arrangements dangled from the mic stands and the drum kit while a glowing A backlit the scene from stage left. Multicolored balloons hung over the main floor, restrained by mesh and spanning the entire length of the curving balcony. And then it happened: The giddy show became completely joyous when the A-Sides released the balloons on us, their Brownian motion pasting big, goofy smiles across every face in the room. —MH

Hosting a recent in-the-round show, Devin Greenwood found the room eager to whistle his melodies. A couple hours later, he reprised the trick to warm up Johnette Napolitano's audience, and the strange crowd was just as enthusiastic and better at staying in tune. Greenwood was so tickled, he announced he'd make whistling a permanent part of his act, even once he makes it to Madison Square Garden. His moody, thoughtful songs would get lost in an arena, but nobody owns the Tin Angel like he does. —MJF

There really is no stopping dancer/activist Misia Denea, who's always turning the spotlight on issues such as Hurricane Katrina, wrongful imprisonment, domestic violence and war. Her dedication and determination have taken her around the world to teach, dance or participate in community workshops. If you've been to an urban grassroots fundraiser, rally or protest this year, Denea was probably right there alongside you with an open heart and/or dancing feet. —DD

Clark Park? Nah. Go farther west, young man, and discover the curiously triangular Cedar Park, a place where community volunteers have long organized performances by jazz ensembles and vocal groups. This summer, the park opened up to West Philly punk for the first time, offering a mid-July day show with Farcial Hoodwink, The Claw, Red Devil, Mischief Brew and a bunch of others. The bare-bones PA ran off a generator, punks relaxed in the shade with vegan wraps from the Satellite Café while neighborhood families watched from the playground. Here's hoping events like this become a regular thing at Cedar. 49th Street and Baltimore Avenue. —JV

For Peace Is Burning Like a River (High Two), Bitter Bitter Weeks' Brian McTear commissioned videos from musical peers including Espers' Greg Weeks, B.C. Camplight's Brian Christinzio, Mazarin's Quentin Stoltzfus and Dr. Dog's Scott McMicken. (Some bona fide visual artists got in on the action, too.) The clips, like the 10 songs on the album itself, touch on a number of moods but keep circling back to unease. Better than a remix album. —MJF

There's more for music fans in dirty Jerz than just Tunes or Princeton Record Exchange. Tucked onto an unassuming main drag in Haddonfield, right off the PATCO line, Mars Red Music is tidily organized and brightly decorated with posters heralding releases by big names (The Arcade Fire) as well as the more diminutive acts (I discovered the place during an in-store by the Pipettes over the summer, when all they had available Stateside was an EP). Mars' vinyl selection is impressive, used prices are reasonable, a cardboard kiosk showcases the latest titles in Continuum's 33 1/3 series, and the shop seems to be ground zero for a burgeoning South Jersey indie music scene, a phenomenon worth exploring in itself. 57A King's Highway E., 856-428-8255, www.mars-red.com. —JV

Splatter-painted and sealed with a sticker, the Bee Team's Hot Times USA (Our Neighborhood) comes in a white cardboard case with customized pink, blue, green or yellow accents. Bet they won't mind if you switch it up, though. What's a little genderfucking among friends? —MJF

It's no secret that Rarebirds frontwoman Carolynne McNeel is a crafty lady — after all, she also co-owns Mew Gallery. For each numbered copy of Buried at Sea, McNeel screened nautical images onto a single folded piece of cardboard. And unlike the metal snaps she used to secure Flight Patterns, the glued rubber disc on this one keeps the CD from slipping out without scratching it. —MJF

Between the Kimmel, the Annenberg and the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society, classical-music lovers in this town have the opportunity to hear a lot of world-famous performers. This is a wonderful situation, but don't let it lull you into taking for granted some of our world-class (if not world-famous) homegrown organizations. Two are especially venerable, having been on the scene for over a quarter-century; the Baroque original instrument ensemble Philomel, and 1807 & Friends, which presents chamber music both familiar and novel. www.philomel.org, astro.temple.edu/~rgreene/1807. —PB

Drag doyen and wry Monday Night Club hostess Needles Jones had just recovered from a stroke when some asshole beat the blood out of him and left him for dead. But Jones rose again, stitched up his chin, pulled down his wig, hiked up his stockings and got back to work at the Balcony. It's like he says: "When people say I almost died, I say 'almost doesn't count.'" www.myspace.com/needlesjones. —ADA

The jazz biz being what it is these days, it's nearly impossible for a working quartet to stick together and gig regularly. But altoist/bandleader Bobby Zankel has somehow managed to keep his 14-piece Warriors of the Wonderful Sound not only alive but thriving for more than six years. Their monthly first-Thursday slot at Tritone has honed the group into a finely tuned vehicle for Zankel's dense, immersive compositions — most recently a Coltrane-inspired suite that was unfortunately swallowed by the acoustics at North Philly's Church of the Advocate, but is sure to resurface in the band's book. www.bobbyzankel.com. —SB