Icepack

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

by A.D. Amorosi

The one good thing that any computer problem brings to the table is focus. OK. And I can't spend time shopping for gongs on eBay and quite frankly, I have enough gongs. So Icepack will devote a large part of its column length to the Philadelphia International Gay & Lesbian Film Festival this week — not because we have to. Because we want to. I mean, how could you be fucking-A prouder of TLA Releasing and director Todd Stephens for dropping Another Gay Sequel: Gays Gone Wild! onto PIGLFF's opening? You'd have to bring Philly's own answer to the question "And what if we can't let Boy George into the country?" to the table. That's South Street's glammiest band, TV Sound, and they've dropped several songs onto the Gays Gone Wild! soundtrack. And what bout Philly punk drag impresario Needles Jones being two places at once — one being the punk-drag-film party for Squeezebox! at Vango, the other ringing in Suicide Idol's parody song competition with Dirty Diamond and Closer To None at the Balcony July 14? Mostly, though, there's Chi Chi. But isn't there always? Chi Chi LaRue is known to porn fans, straight (shudder to think) and gay as one of its top-notch directors. LaRue is a drag persona, a DJ extraordinaire and, for the fest's best purposes, the presenter of a Showcase of Smut (July 11, Pure). His mom and pals call him Larry. "I'll be in a packed club or hosting an event and a friend that knows me will yell my name — 'Larry!' — when I'm in drag and I hate that," says LaRue. What he loves is the chance as a director to capture really good sex all the time. ("Whether it's a big-budget movie or a two-day wonder, you know when you watch a Chi Chi LaRue movie, you'll actually get to see the tongue touch the asshole.") He also liked going straight with Vivid Video and Jenna Jameson for a hot minute. ("When you're doing girl/girl movies, you never have to wait for a hard one, which is delicious.") LaRue digs the porn boys he discovered, like Johnny HazardBlake Riley — two exclusives whom he'll bring to Philly. LaRue loves 'em apparently because they have fans in every genre ("twinks, muscle guys, bears") and they're ready to go any minute. LaRue loves the excitement of the film festival. "And telling [TLA's] Erik Schut that Madonna has man hands in person," he says. And like me, LaRue's got an eBay obsession. "I'm a complete and utter shopaholic — anything I buy gives me a special tingle down there." I hear you, sister.

► Storm the Bastille (Day): That's when Stephen Starr's PARC opens along Ritt Row's 18th Street. Check my Clog bit this week for lots of designer Shawn Houseman's gorgeous secrets.

► Remember when y'all saw Lineage Gallery on Second Street in Old City go down and you thought that gallery row was in the shitter because a hairrrrrrr salon was taking its high-ceiling place? Well, honeys, please. That's Lakshmi's Hair Studio that's taken over the 21 N. Second address, and it's Robin Warriner's place. And she is to Philly hair what Hellmann's is to mayonnaise: bringing on the best.

► So the other day we saw that Amos Lee's Last Days at the Lodge came out and hit the Billboard charts at No. 29. And we said atsa nize. And we remembered that the last time we saw Amos he was with Mutlu playing a Democratic registration/Obama bash at the Fire. Lee and Multu (both managed by Bill Eib) seemed peaceable-like. So wouldn't it be nice to see friction between the folk-jazz-bos now that Mutlu's debut full length, Livin' It, will offer Lee stiff competition soon? Multu's playing before Daryl Hall at the Keswick July 12. Maybe Lee could slip Visine into Multu's wheat beer or vicey-versey.

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► Gonegonegone from Philly mag, A.J. Daulerio takes over the editor-in-chief position at the damn fine sports site Deadspin after being its senior writer for lo these many moons. A.J.D. was my bud at The Black Table and Gawker's Oddjack jawn. This boy is nothing but a honey. Congrats.

► Painter/designer Kevin Kernan is just back from Spain and boy are his arms tired. But not so much that he can't create an exhibition, "Barcelona/Ninja," with several of his Crane Arts Building associates, that'll commence July 11 at Glam on S. Second.

► Before you had clout and before you had a pager, there was the all-night rager that was Second Story. Imagine, it's 1970-something and there's nothing but snappy 4/4 on the floor rhythms and super-squelchy synths a-bubbling. The boy mustaches are un-ironic. So are the girl shags. Sex is without consequence. And the club you like most has all thee trimmings of a church (stained glass) and an opera hall (massive ceilings) and the city's best 24/7 African-American gay club in the basement (Catacombs). That's Second Story. And I'm hearing they're looking for a reunion. Why? Because we found this: secondstoryreunion.com.

► Media sluts: While you weren't looking, Envision appeared. You know: the Delaware Valley's visual arts magazine. They had a party next door to Bar Ferdinand for its opening. An interview and photo feature with Philly-photog Lauren Lyons is on its cover. And they had balloons. Where the fuck were you? Say hello to editor Bill Horin at envisionartsmagazine.com.

(a_amorosi@citypaper.net)