Icepack

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

by A.D. Amorosi

The continuing saga of Molly's Books on Ninth and its owner Molly Russakoff: After freeing her location of books and taking pains to make Molly's into something of a home-school resource center (Project 360) for area families, Russakoff hit a wall. "When it came down to it, everybody but me got cold feet, which is to say none of the interested families committed to the program," says Russakoff. "They'd all be glad to participate for free but I could no longer foot the bill." P360 isn't dead. Russakoff walled off 350 square feet of Molly's for home-schooling teens to meet Fridays, with additional events, workshops and kiddie stuff to follow. What is happening full-time at Molly's? "Bella Vista Natural Foods," exclaims Russakoff, who'll open the flax-seed-n-tofu tower Nov. 1 with a bIG tEA pArty hosted by Elizabeth Fiend. "I have to feed my babies and I miss being a shopkeeper. I guess you can say I'm a slugger. Either that or nuts."

► After seasons spent at Bar Noir and the Troc's Balcony, the Monday Night Club clusterfuck of musos, perf-artists, comics, theater-tistes, poets, strippers and all-around boozehounds moves to National Mechanics starting Oct. 20 with Dirty Diamond's Suicide Idol parody game show. Why'zat crucial? 'Cuz I started the damned thing, handed it to drag racer Needles Jones and DJ Evan G to play with, and am back to make it merrier, continue its charter and fill it with the same sorts (see Danny Ozark + Dani Mari's open mic at the end of the month) plus some local filmmakers to boot. Good times.

► Philly's Good Hands label signed Lil Scrappy away from Warners. That's impressive, given Scrappy's ties to Lil Jon's crew and 50 Cent's G-Unit. Lil Scrappy and G'$ Up Silence & Secrecy is due early '09. Sooner than that comes the once-lost, now-found Philly hip-hop lion DJ Too Tuff's first CD, Lost Archives, available at all Targets (a real G'n'R move) and his infamous rap act's site tuffcrew.net. Now, who'll sign Camden MC Dave Ghetto and Philly beat maker Tha S Ence — together known as Hu$tle Simmons — after their Oct. 22 Silk City gig? Yell for "The Rundown."

► Da Vinci Art Alliance takes over Bartram's Garden this weekend, Oct. 17 to 19, with readings by poetess Ronnie Norpel, a DaV exhibition, box and mosaic workshops with Ted Warchal and Liz Nicklus, respectively, and more.

► Oct. 22 finds Loews Hotel gone all Iron Cheffy: Terry White of Union Trust, Ari Weiswasser of Pearl, Evan Turney from Valanni and culinary-school students do some skillet-to-skillet warfare for Rumble in the Kitchen and its Modest Needs charity. HGTV's Michele Carano, Lauren Lake (Spice Up My Kitchen) and Eagle John Runyan host and judge, starting at 5 p.m.

► There's a rumor going around that Pink — Doylestown's own — has been sniffing around Terry Lee Barrett's screenplay for his hopefully animated film feature, Shady Dawgs and that she loves it and the "Alexandra" role. Woof. We also heard previously that Harvey Keitel (who should do anything but Life on Mars) also read and liked Dawgs.

► Radio Eris got back from Germany just in time for Dan Redbeard Baker's other band, the Cream-meets-Helmet trio Apogee, to fall apart when its drummer Mike Mongiello (Scareho, Bunnydrums) left. "I'm going to put the pieces of our second album together with a more marketable group of people," states Redbeard. There's guitarist Jay Medley (Resin, Science Fiction) who regrets to inform me he's "leaving the most dangerous blues band in Philly, The Hired Guns." Shame dat. Hired Guns also carry on. Its first show sans Medley, "Blues, Booze 'n' Belly Dancing" will be Oct. 18 at St. Maron's Church on 10th, with percussionist Joe Tayoun. Finally, the other half of Bunnydrums' rhythm section, bassist Marc Laurick, commences his solo gig with ex-No Milk/Sensory Fix guy Jeremy Klotz for their Wire-like Witchtrialz and its Oct. 24 Tritone debut.

HALF OFF DEPOT

Why live life at full price?

► WHOWHATWHERE: Some of AC/DC — without funny hats or shorts — ate at Public House the other night and did shots with the crowd. Who bought, though? Rockabilly legend Charlie Gracie hung out after his Rembrandt's gig with NARAS regional prez Craig White, Tug McGraw's son, Mark McGraw, and WHYY Channel 12's Ed Cunningham.

► CP's own DJ Nights author DJ Dev 79/Gair Marking is a person. With a birthday. Which he'll celebrate Upstairs@Glam with DJs from the 700 Club helping out Oct 17. Ask for a Dev cocktail. Bring presents.

► While Milton and the Devils Party play outside the Wilma on Oct. 20 to celebrate Tom Stoppard's cultural exposé Rock 'n' Roll, one of the play's subjects (radical Czech act Plastic People of the Universe's former member Paul Wilson) will take part in an "After the End of History" symposium inside. "I'm curious as to what American and Philadelphia audiences will make of this play and its arguments," says Wilson, a Canadian who spent 10 years in Czechoslovakia (1967 to 1977) before being expelled by Communist authorities. "We had no idea we were heading toward the end of history ... which is a nonsensical idea, especially for the Czechs, for whom history really began only after Communism collapsed in 1989. I think Stoppard's depiction of the history of the Plastics, and of the arguments that went on among the dissidents, is one of the most accurate I've seen by someone who was only present in his imagination."

(a_amorosi@citypaper.net)