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ISSUE . November 27th, 2008
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Cover Story


Keepers of the Chaos
North Philly free jazz outlaws Jamaaladeen Tacuma and G. Calvin Weston are still breaking the rules.
by Shaun Brady
The swirl of funkified noise — like P-Funk on hallucinogens after trudging through a delta blues swamp and emerging in downtown NYC — will be the result of 35 prior live shows and one recording date. No rehearsals, no sound checks, no casual jam sessions.


Opinion


Editor's Letter:
Free as They Want to Be
by Brian Howard
"Can we find out where this guy lives and just wait him out?"

Slant:
Wither the Media?
Since Nov. 5, the media has forced us to go cold turkey.
by Eric Trager
For those who believe that the media failed to challenge the Bush administration sufficiently after 9/11, heads up: You ain't seen nothing yet. In the aftermath of Barack Obama's landslide victory earlier this month, the mainstream media has replaced serious journalism with blind euphoria.

Loose Canon:
A Season of Slow Cooking
Call it Good Kitchen Karma. The happiest kitchens are democracies.
by Bruce Schimmel
Home cooking is slow work, and so forms the core of Slow Food, a philosophy of cooking and eating that eschews all that is easy and quick.

Feedback:
Letters to the Editor
What You Say
"I resigned my church membership a week ago over this. I'm also gay."


Naked City


Naked City :: Get on the GridGet on the Grid
Philly's new urban sustainability magazine is building a base.
by Brian Howard
Living sustainably has been a buzzed-about notion for years, but given the economic uncertainty we're all steeping in at present, the idea's become trendy for an entirely new reason. Into the breach comes Grid, a fledgling magazine pointing "Towards a Sustainable Philadelphia."

Icepack
Amorosi on the news, nightlife, gossip and bitchiness beats.
by A.D. Amorosi
I'm certain many of you think of me as an ungrateful cur. Not so. To prove as much, here're things I'm truly grateful for going into Thanksgiving.

Running Numbers
A scholarly look at the digits that matter.
by Nick Norlen
Fortunately, rain has been ruled out by The Farmers' Almanac 2008 Football Forecast, which predicts the weather will be "Fair and cold for Thanksgiving." How terribly specific!


News


News :: The CP Library ProjectThe CP Library Project
We've got the raw data behind the closings. Help us make sense of it.
by Isaiah Thompson
Since last week, we here at City Paper have been collecting data related to the closures — some provided by library officials, some from elsewhere. But there's a lot of it, and we're not statisticians.

The Bell Curve
City Paper's Quality-o-Life-o-Meter
When news breaks in Philadelphia, we make jokes.

Citizen Mom:
Twittstorm
Within days, YouTube was stocked with response videos made by moms furious at an ad that so trivialized a parenting technique used for millennia.
by Amy Z. Quinn
The mobilization began on the blogs but really took off on Twitter, where the so-called "Motrin Moms" juggernaut was born. Within days, YouTube was stocked with response videos made by moms furious that the drug maker would so trivialize a parenting technique used by women for millennia!


Arts


Arts :: Holidays Ex Machina
Art:
Holidays Ex Machina
Local stages plot to cure your winter discontent.
by Mark Cofta
Each holiday season offers an entertainment variety revealing that our culture's holiday spirit continues to thrive on area stages, despite Mother Nature's icy agenda.

Get Me to the Show on Time
A guide to holiday theater in Philly

Web Exclusive
Art:
All Smiles
Additional insights from Roy Smiles, one of our favorite across-the-pond funnymen.
by A.D. Amorosi
"The difference between America and England? America has Johnny Cash, Bob Hope and Stevie Wonder — England has no cash, no hope and with the Conservatives about to get back in, it's no fucking wonder."

Re-View:
Diamond in the Ruff
Robin Rice on Visual Art: "Dog Heaven" at Locks Gallery
by Robin Rice
In Sarah McEneaney paintings, she is so uniquely, even relentlessly — and sometimes literally — nakedly herself, that a rival's envy can't come into the picture. Empathy, yes; envy, no.

Book Review:
One-Two Punch
Fight Scenes by Greg Bottoms
by Jimmy Viola
A violent showdown against Bottoms' bigger, stronger 16-year-old nemesis is written as if the author was distracted by "Return to Thunderdome," some of it osmotically absorbed into his subconscious.

Theater Review:
Tangled Web
Dark Play or Stories for Boys at Theatre Exile
by Mark Cofta
If you've long suspected that most Web-trollers are either deviant miscreants or lonely dopes, this well-staged story from Theatre Exile will confirm your fears.

Opera:
Play on, Players
Don Giovanni, Nov. 22, Curtis Opera Theatre
by David Shengold
Curtis Opera Theatre double-casts its main-stage shows — so while I was glad to have caught the bracing Saturday night performance of Don Giovanni at

Arts Picks:
Schmucks
Dec. 3-Jan. 4, $39-$55, Wilma Theater, 265 S. Broad St., 215-546-7824, wilmatheater.org
by A.D. Amorosi
Schmucks allows Roy Smiles to examine his obsession with what he calls the "Jewishness" of most American comedy.

Toni Morrison
Mon., Dec. 1, 7:30 p.m., $14, Free Library, Central Branch, 1901 Vine St., 215-686-5322, freelibrary.org.
by Natalie Hope McDonald
Morrison says the narrative moves like an engine, interspersed with deeply introspective reflections from a cast of characters living on a farm in Maryland.


Movies


Movies :: Playing it StraightPlaying it Straight
Gus Van Sant tones down the experimentation for his biopic of Harvey Milk, the first gay man elected to U.S. office.
by Sam Adams
Given the biopic's endemic middlebrow orientation, Van Sant is in the position of trying to paint a masterpiece with one arm tied behind his back. There's no question that Milk is less viscerally exciting than the movies that precede it, but the movie's very conventionality is what makes it extraordinary.

Down Under
Baz Luhrmann's Australia
by Shaun Brady
The film is paced like a Viagra overdose, seemingly reaching a climax about every 30 seconds. Each shot clamors for attention like a spoiled child. Luhrmann directs with all the subtlety of a Mummers Parade — why simply end a scene when you can throw in dancing in the streets?

Repertory Film
Your weekly guide to local film events, festivals and under-the-radar screenings.
Send repertory film listings to molly.eichel@citypaper.net.


Music


Music :: Vodou AngelVodou Angel
How Haitian art inspires Nancy Josephson's bluegrass.
by Mary Armstrong
"[Haiti] is an important lens into my world. It has been a life-changing experience for me. Finding beauty in this shithole is transformative — speaks to how you look at yourself in the world."

Hang The DJ:
Country Feedback
Taylor Swift's Fearless and Britney Spears' Circus
by J. Edward Keyes
There's a couple of mandolins and a half-hearted banjo, but this is pop music through and through, expertly rendered songs that rely on big, glistening guitars and Swift's honey-on-a-tree-branch vocals.

Soundadvice
Get Out!
by Kevin Pearson and Deesha Dyer
Q-Tip | King Khan and BBQ Show | Sebastien Grainger | Immortal Technique | Redman and Method Man

Music Picks:
El Guincho
Sun., Nov. 30, 6.30 p.m., $10, with Lemonade and Magnet City Kids, The Barbary, 951 Frankford Ave., 866-468-7619, r5productions.com.
by Kevin Pearson
While he's been called a European counterpart to Panda Bear, El Guincho eschews the Animal Collective member's celestial style for a more upbeat, dancefloor approach.

Dolce Suono
Wed., Dec. 3, 7:30 p.m., free, First Unitarian Church, 2125 Chestnut St., 267-252-1803, dolcesuono.com.
by Peter Burwasser
Mimi Stillman's musician friends are among the best in the business, and she has recruited them to help her put on these diverse and intriguing programs.

Kenny Werner Trio
Fri., Nov. 28, 5:45 and 7:15 p.m., free with museum admission of $14, Philadelphia Museum of Art, 2600 Ben Franklin Parkway, 215-763-8100, philamuseum.org.
by Shaun Brady
It's always worth a look when Kenny Werner assembles a new trio. Chances are, if they meet his exacting standards, they'll absolutely cook. And if they're playing at that level, then they'll be too busy to stick together for long.


Food


Food :: Any MinetteAny Minette
The first and third acts shine brightest at this authentic bistrot.
by Trey Popp
My order, in broad terms, mirrored everyone else's: The appetizer was a winner by knockout, but the entrée was a split decision. Dessert brought back the golden gloves.

Feeding Frenzy
Restaurants opening, closing and pending
by Drew Lazor
Thai Chef & Noodle Fusion | Del Frisco's Double Eagle Steak House | Ugly Mug Tavern | Brunch at Novità Bistro | New chef at The Sidecar

Shared Blessings
Thanksgiving Dinner for the Homeless at Portofino
by Felicia D'Ambrosio
Ralph Berarducci is 72 this year, but possesses no trace of an old man's hesitancy or fatigue. Good thing: The scale of his Thanksgiving event would test even a young man's stamina and compassion.

Top 5:
Flavors of Harvest
What We're Thankful For
by Laura H. Yacoe
Pumpkin Pancakes | Apple Cider Doughnuts | Sweet Potato Pie | Thanksgiving Dinner on a Roll | Pumpkin Whoopie Pie

What's Cooking:
The Week In Eats
Get Out!
by Nikki Volpicelli
Philadelphia Brewing Co. Open House | The Feast of the Seven Dishes of Fish | Prix-Fixe Brunch Menu at Tinto | St. Andrew's Day at Grey Lodge | Cliveden Winter Beer Fest


Agenda


Agenda :: Triple Threat
Agenda Lead:
Triple Threat
The Stella boys can't get enough of each other.
by A.D. Amorosi
Bonus Web Content
"When we're at our best, we are both very rehearsed and very improvisational. And the audience doesn't know which is which. For me, that's when Stella is really hitting on all cylinders."

Shopping Spree
Fashion > Forward
by Monica Weymouth
Off the Blanket at Space 1026 | City Paper Trunk Show at the TLA | Made in Philly Holiday Craft Fair at Studio 34 | Standard Craft at Standard Tap | Bus Stop, Arcadia Boutique, Grasshopper ...

Agenda Picks:
Just Do It
The Rebecca Davis Dance Company: 1994 in Philadelphia
by Kathryn Lipman
Most of the narratives in 1994 in Philadelphia come from children — both those who were orphaned by the genocide and those whose parents lived to tell them about it.

Day Tripper
"Unguarded Moments: Backstage and Beyond"
by Shaun Brady
Darby Crash was always much more image-savvy than those legions of aging keg-and-leathers cover bands could hope to be, and pegged his friend Theresa Kereakes to document the Germs virtually from its birth.

What We Heart
Kiehl's World AIDS Day Lip Balm #1
by Nikki Volpicelli
Give your pucker a fighting chance with Kiehl's Lip Balm #1, an intense serum that contains wheat germ oil, allantoin and vitamins A and E.


 
 
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