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ISSUE . April 2nd, 2009
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Cover Story


Do You Want More?!!!??!
The Champs Return
by E. James Beale
The Phillies come into this season with the same basic cast of characters as last year — same big stars, same versatile role players. The seemingly minor changes will be the ones that will determine if the team can adapt to a changing league, and if 2009 will be a championship honeymoon, or a championship hangover.


Opinion


Editor's Letter:
Spring. Woo.
by Brian Howard
"But sunshine and spring notwithstanding, it's been a pretty beat-nut winter, and the recent warm snap like waking from a bad dream. The city budget's decimated. The recession is slithering this way and that. And our shiny new president seems hamstrung by haters."

Loose Canon:
The New Green Jobs
by Bruce Schimmel
They name themselves, for the same reason you don't name an abandoned dog: because the naming makes them harder to ignore. So let's listen for a moment. For as reviled as these kids are, their fears reveal our own.

Feedback:
Letters to the Editor
What You Say
"Wake up, America. We have a solution to peak oil, we just don't have the smarts to use it."


Naked City

Quality Vs. Quantity
Do good teachers trump more teachers? New research says yes.
by Morgan Zalot
El-Mekki, along with three other panelists, spoke Tuesday in a discussion titled "Effective Teaching for All Children: What It Will Take." The panel, established in conjunction with the Education First Compact and the Philadelphia Cross City Campaign, is lobbying for better teaching quality and equity across the board in Philadelphia public schools.

Astrology:
Free Will Astrology
by Rob Brezsny


Running Numbers
A scholarly look at the digits that matter.
by Nick Norlen
If I offended any Dumpster Divers with my comment about the inappropriateness of using trash to make a sock puppet, I apologize. My sock puppet also apologizes. My mouth is not moving.


News


News :: My Gambling ProblemMy Gambling Problem
Why I can't stop writing about casinos.
by Isaiah Thompson
God knows I try to get away from them. Since my first casino story in Philadelphia, a piece on Foxwoods' proposed move to Chinatown, I've written about all manner of non-casino-related topics: taxi unions, drug corner payphones, radical Christians, Obama's inauguration ... but I keep coming back.

Back by Popular Demand
And now, a word from the mayor.
by Michael Nutter
Things nowadays are tough and I recognize the hardships that many of you are facing as recent challenges have grown in their complexities.

Career Alternatives
The recession leads more women to consider stripping.
by Taara Savage-El
In these tough economic times, more and more women in Philadelphia seem to want to become strippers. Managers at three different clubs say they're seeinga spike in applicants for stripping jobs.

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

Dispatch:
At the Hearing
by Mike Newall
It was another preliminary hearing for the murder of a Philadelphia police officer. It was last Thursday in Courtroom 306 at the Criminal Justice Center.

A Million Stories
Guns: Still a Problem "Illegal guns kill cops and children," reads the sign, and car horns blare in support.

Icepack
Amorosi on the news, nightlife, gossip and bitchiness beats.
by A.D. Amorosi
How we'll miss that walk up to your second floor to buy yer fine handmade clothes and tchotchkes.


Arts


Arts :: First Friday FocusFirst Friday Focus
Lori Hill's First Friday Hit List
by Lori Hill
Bonus Web Content
Bridgette Mayer Gallery, Painted Bride, Cerulean Arts and then there's more.

Theater Review:
Age Spots
by David Anthony Fox
Edward Albee's The Zoo Story — America's most famous one-act — just turned 50. But Zoo wears its years lightly.

Shelf Life:
Free Agents
Justin Bauer, under the covers
by Justin Bauer
Jedediah Berry places a clever metafictional nod at the start of The Manual of Detection (Penguin, Feb. 19). Right after mild-mannered file clerk Charles Unwin receives his unexpected promotion to detective, the notifying colleague gives him a book called The Manual of Detection, explaining that the book will guide him through his new job.

Kaleidoscope
A well-rounded list of reviews from our editors from books, movies, and even Bow Wow.

Arts Picks:
Ink not Ink
Through May 9, free, Drexel University (various locations), 215-895-2548, drexel.edu/inknotink
by Lauren F. Friedman
This survey-scale exhibition of Chinese contemporary art, whose only U.S. stop will be at Drexel, includes more than 80 sculptures, prints, paintings and videos by 40 artists.

Say Hello to my Little Friends
Opening reception Fri., April 3, 6-9 p.m., free, through April 30, Café Estelle, 444 N. Fourth St., 215-925-5080, shannonmclaughlin.net
by Carolyn Huckabay
Shannon McLaughlin's got a thing for critters. "I'm not saying this is healthy in any way," says the 24-year-old mixed-media artist, "but I often find myself relating a bit more to animals than people."

Gesel Mason
Fri.-Sat., April 3-4, 8 p.m., $25, Painted Bride Art Center, 230 Vine St., 215-925-9914, paintedbride.org
by Deni Kasrel
What do Robert Battle, Donald McKayle, Bebe Miller and Jawole Willa Jo Zollar have in common? More than you think.

Whisky Neat
April 2-26, $16-$25, Azuka Theatre at the Latvian Society, 531 N. Seventh St., 215-733-0255, azukatheatre.org
by Deni Kasrel
In between parking and fetching cars, valets chat about all kinds of whatnot. But what happens when a "professional philosopher" joins the mix is the stuff of Bruce Walsh's new play, an expanded version of his 2002 Fringe Festival one-act Dasein.

Headlong Dance Theater
Sat., April 4, 7 p.m., free (RSVP to robin@livearts-fringe.org), Arts Bank, 601 S. Broad St., 215-545-9195, headlong.org
by Lauren F. Friedman
Headlong's three co-directors have been collaborating for more than 15 years, but over the past 12 months, each has been working in secret.

Hot 'N' Throbbing
April 9-May 2, $25-$35, Luna Theater Co. at Walnut Street Theatre Studio 5, 825 Walnut St., 866-811-4111, lunatheater.org
by Mark Cofta
Luna Theater Co. completes a season of quirky Philly premières with Paula Vogel's seldom-seen exploration of our culture's toxic mingling of sex, violence and power.


Movies


Movies :: AdventurelandAdventureland
by Shaun Brady
Greg Mottola's follow-up to Superbad asserts the director's independence from Apatow-land, more of a return to the precisely observed character tics of his debut, The Daytrippers, than the raucous and raunchy comedy its marketing suggests.

CineFest/Philadelphia Film Festival Shorts
Week Two Reviews

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

Too Cute
Jamie Stewart is taking pics, making sweets and collecting stuffed animals.
by A.D. Amorosi
When Jamie Stewart starts his first solo tour since 2003, he does so with the nicest of intentions and the sweetest of gifts.

Reconsider Me:
Relishious
M.J. Fine Does It Again
by M.J. Fine
You can't get there just by turning around and retracing your steps, as Joan Osborne suggests on "Cathedrals."

Music Picks:
Dan Deacon & Ensemble
Fri., April 3, 8 p.m., $10-$12, with Teeth Mountain and Future Islands, First Unitarian Church, 2125 Chestnut St., 866-468-7619, r5productions.com
by Brian Howard
We all know Baltimore gadget freak Dan Deacon makes great music for running in circles, making human tunnels and jumping around to the beat of strobe lights

Lissy Trullie
Tue., April 7, 8 p.m., $8-$10, with Gang and Cortez! Cortez!!, Khyber, 56 S. Second St., 215-238-5888, thekhyber.com
by Patrick Rapa
If you're among the gaggle with googly-eyes for Ida Maria (like me) then you might go for guitar girl Lissy Trullie.

Blue Note 70th Anniversary Tour
Fri., April 3, 8 p.m., $26-$64, Kimmel Center, 300 S. Broad St., 215-893-1999, kimmelcenter.org
by Shaun Brady
There are plenty of legends still living who are intimately associated with the Blue Note label — Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, McCoy Tyner.

Jean Grae
Thu., April 2, 10:30 p.m., $10, with Hustle Simmons and DJ Ultraviolet, Trocadero, 1003 Arch St., 215-922-LIVE, thetroc.com
by Deesha Dyer
She's not in the X-Men but hip-hop MC Jean Grae does have a super power: fresh-to-death rhymes.

Except After Sea
Thu., April 2, 9 p.m., $8, with Gringo Star and Tres Bien, Khyber, 56 S. Second St., 866-468-7619, thekhyber.com
by John Vettese
They sounded like a punky "Planet Telex" on 2007's Waking Hungover from a Long Night of Sober, but in the time since, Except After Sea must have discovered Woody Guthrie and Sam Cooke.

Dr. Doom vs. Dr. Octagon
Sat., April 4, 10 p.m., $15, with DJ Too Tuff, Johnny Brenda's, 1201 N. Frankford Ave., 866-468-7619, johnnybrendas.com
by Brian Howard
Keith Thornton, aka Kool Keith, has more akas than an alter ego should. The former Ultramagnetic MC morphed in 1996 into the character of dark sci-fi rhymer/extraterrestrial gynecologist Dr. Octagon.

Jonathan Biss
Tue., April 7, 8 p.m., $23, Independence Seaport Museum, 211 S. Columbus Blvd., 215-569-8080, pcmsconcerts.org. Thu.-Sat., April 23-25, $39-$125, Kimmel Center, 300 S. Broad St., 215-893-1999, philorch.org
by Peter Burwasser
(CLICK IMAGE FOR LARGER VERSION) classical This recent Curtis grad, a student of the great Leon Fleisher, plays with an intensity of concentration and sense

Jennifer Hudson
Fri., April 3, 8 p.m., $36.50-$82, with Robin Thicke, Tower Theater, 19 S. 69th St., 610-352-2887, livenation.com
by Deesha Dyer
Simon Cowell said she wouldn't make it, but there's Jennifer Hudson with her songs on the radio and that Oscar on her mantel.

Julian Lage Group
Sat., April 4, 8 and 10 p.m., $20, Chris' Jazz Cafe, 1421 Sansom St., 215-568-3131, chrisjazzcafe.com
by Shaun Brady
Guitarist Julian Lage is only 21 and just releasing his debut CD; yet he's already an old pro.


Food


Food :: Crowding the PlateCrowding the Plate
Opening Day is this Sunday. Hungry yet?
by Drew Lazor
Bonus Web Content
Those classic ballpark eats represent just a fraction of the grub that'll be on offer this year at the stadium. With a focus on fresh, local ingredients, made-from-scratch dishes and a full scorecard of vegetarian-friendly options, good eats are now more accessible than ever on Pattison Avenue.

Back in Quack
INTERVIEW: The Foie Gras Wars author Mark Caro
by Drew Lazor
Chicago Tribune reporter Mark Caro's The Foie Gras Wars: How a 5,000-Year-Old Delicacy Inspired the World's Fiercest Food Fight (Simon & Schuster) is a hearty, funny and informative look into the complex struggle surrounding foie gras (fwah grah), or the fattened livers of ducks.

What's Cooking:
The Week In Eats
Get Out!
by Lauren Fleming
Marigold Kitchen | RMS Titanic | Sake Fest 2009 | Sunday Brunch at Plaza Café | 11th Annual Fairmount Bunny Hop

Feeding Frenzy
Restaurants opening, closing and pending
by Drew Lazor
Bish Bish Café | The Blockley Pourhouse/Mary Oaks | Barclay Prime


Agenda


Agenda :: Deth Be not Proud
Agenda Lead:
Deth Be not Proud
Brendon Small of Metalocalypse brings the rock.
by A.D. Amorosi
Going into season three of Metalocalypse, finishing up DETHALBUM II — these sound like things the guys from Metallica might do. Rather, it's the handiwork of Brendon Small, the 34-year-old creator, writer, voiceover actor and musician whose drug-and-violence-addled Scandinavian death metal band Dethklok has its own cartoon, Metalocalypse, on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim.

Shopping Spree:
First Friday Fashion Fair
Fashion > Forward
by Felicia D'Ambrosio
Vintage | Bags & Tees | Neon & Experimental | Jewelry

Just Opened:
Alfred W. Fleisher Memorial Synagogue at Eastern State Penitentiary
by Lauren F. Friedman
Inside the towering stone walls of Eastern State Penitentiary, behind the locked front gate, down a narrow alley and hidden behind a plain blue door, there is a synagogue.

In The Event That...:
You Think Imitation is the Sincerest Form of Flattery
Seeing is Believing: Meet Edgar Allan Poe
by Lauren Fleming
Babij began his career as a Poe impersonator about three years ago, and has since attempted to show people the man behind the legend.

Just Do It:
PAWS Prints Exhibit & Benefit
by Christina Shaffer
Bonus Web Content
Animal rescue is a lifelong pursuit for Philadelphia artists Ruth Savitz and Christopher Woods. They'll be selling their color animal prints — of polar bears playing, dogs begging for attention, a child connecting with a hippo — to raise money for PAWS, which saves about 30,000 animals each year.

Been There/Done That:
Night Skies in the Observatory
by Lauren F. Friedman
It's been at least 15 years since I've entertained fantasies of being in From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler — a book about kids hiding in a museum overnight — but upon entering the vaulted front hall of the Franklin Institute after hours, it was my first thought.


 
 
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