Icepack

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

by A.D. Amorosi

You gotta wonder how Comcast SportsNet could suspend sports giant Bill Conlin (until June 22) for a Daily News Live comment dissing blueberry harvesters yet WIP's Angelo Cataldi roams free to make sport of Hindu symbolism and impersonate "Arab dudes" on air. (See News.) Do blueberry farmers have a leg up on Arab Americans? 

► After its arrival two months ago and a recent shout-out from Bon Appétit mag, Michael Solomonov's Zahav will open the doors to its back room, The Quarter, June 26. Open Thursdays only (for now), it will serve trad and modern, meat or vegetarian fare, plus $100 wine pairings.

► Casey Grabowski runs Delaware: He hosts those Tric Town parties and books the trickiest bands and perf-art stuff at Mojo 13 (Wilmington's darkest club). He CEOs a nifty mag detailing that scene called Triczine. He has a snippy Philly blog, philthy.us, where everybody has nice bangs. Now Casey's crossing the river to play Monday Night Club at the Balcony June 23 as a laptop robot, Passable Plastic, and a guitarist for new dirtball band, Closer to None. Sweet. They'll be joined by Philly's glam-electro TV Sound, who'll open the all-ages J.C. Dobbs June 25 with the Lustkillers.

► Rumor-mongering has Avram Hornik selling off Lucy's Hat Shop in the OC — or at least she and her chapeau'll go on the market. Sumpin' like that. Another fun rumor: I kept hearing that the Italian Market area (Alder Street, off 10th) had two teensy warehouses for sale. That is, until they recently got purchased. While my dreams of warehousing my death mask collection were dashed, neighbors began talking/bitching about an aged, lovely walnut tree getting chopped down nearby and that their inhabitant would store his motorcycles; maybe open a tiny food spot or a clubhouse thing in the other. Who's rumored to have got 'em? Jimmy Binns, lawyer and Philly boxing boss extraordinaire?!

► Fire Museum Records is hosting a Summer Solstice Reverie at Zagar's Magic Gardens at 10th and South, a space I never realized had legerdemaine of any sort, June 21 with Charles Duquesne, Toshi Makihara, Lisa Spero, Eric Carbonara, George Korein, Gemini Wolf and the Buchla synth god Charles Cohen's new Color is Luxury project. Boing.

► Not only is Matthew Izzo buyer/DJ Michael Anderer (Vango Wednesdays, Fashion Victim last Fridays at O.N.E.) starting Third Fridays at the Bohemian Absinthe Lounge atop Time June 20. I hear he's also trying to develop a Philadelphia Fashion Week next spring with his pal Socialite Scott and Mayor Nutter's office for an outside courtyard area catwalk at City Hall. Which you so know Ms. Nutter will work.

► Spooky slimy prog-punky The Red Masque have a name for their due-July-disc (Fossil Eyes), a new label (RER) and a debut at NEARfest in Bethlehem, June 20-22.

► The Nick Millevoi chronicles, continued: June 23 at Black Lodge with Altamira. "That's the thrash jazz noise band I'm in with Ricardo Lagomasino," says the Circles frontman. Plus he'll start his occasional noise bookings at Green Line Café on 45th, June 24, with Lagomasino playing.

► You know, I used to read Playboy for the articles. Why shouldn't I co-host the first bash for TLA's distributing arm (hung like a baby holding an apple!), TLAraw, and its POPPORN.com blog, June 21? Editor Brian Bangs (total porn name) brings X-raters Stoya and Jessica Drake to National Mechanics that weekend. Hey that sounds like a time at the old Revival (what National Mechanics used to house). Me likey. Plus, will a 40th anniversary screening of Midnight Cowboy at TLA's Phila Gay and Lesbian Film Fest in July yield fruit beyond Brenda Vaccaro? I'm hearing the PhillyFilmFest team's vying hard for Dustin Hoffman and Jon Voight. No Sylvia Miles? She'd come. She's at my house now.

HALF OFF DEPOT

Why live life at full price?

► Ettoré Salon & Spa hired Noel "Dr." Zayas to throw its 10-year anniversary soiree "Tease" June 22. He'll get a mud facial from the Mastroddi brother/owners, bring photog Tony Ward, DJs Dozia, Reenie Kane and more, snag fashions from Joan Shepp, Eleganza and Henri David, get Alexander Kariotis, The Rock Opera Orchestra and Groupo Fuego to perform and benefit Attic Youth Center, Philly's only agency serving lesbian, gay, bi and transgender kids.

► WHOWHATWHERE: Philly folk beauty/CP cover busker Lisa Bouchelle played at NYC's World Hunger Year dinner with Elvis Costello, Sen. John Edwards, Alain Toussant and Robert Plant. She'll be on a WHY compilation in Sept. with another Hunger heart, Bruce Springsteen. Boss. When I spied legendary Philly International engineer Joe Tarsia and PR dude Randy Alexander strolling along Broad and Spruce, they weren't looking for trouble. They were casing the joint for Philadelphia Music Alliance's first Walk o' Fame event/star in nearly eight years — Frankie Beverly's Maze, June 20.

(a_amorosi@citypaper.net)