Icepack

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

by A.D. Amorosi

Everyone needs a laugh. Not mean ones like the chuckles you got when Tiger Woods got his golf club beat down or the no-shit-Sherlock sort that followed news of Reese Witherspoon and Jake Gyllenhaal's breakup (that's what leaving your gal in Philly with Paul Rudd'll do). Joke laughs. Punch lines. The whole bit. So I'm psyched to see Jersey boy Joe Matarese and 610 WIP's Steve Trevelise open Sarcasm at the Cherry Hill Crowne Plaza on Marlton Pike. Comedy club openings are rare. Maybe entrepreneurs don't like leaving one exposed-brick wall totally blank. But I'm doubly up on Comedy Is the New Noise Music — a series of ongoing themed comedy nights at Space 1026 starting Dec. 5. Rose Luardo, Hillary Rae, Billy Dufala and Liz Thamm will be in on the laughs for what artist/host A.J. Wright's dubbing "Really Real Reality." "I call it reality comedy, comedy about actual feelings and events, not made-up jokes," says A.J. He knows of what he speaks. Wright's been doing "art jokes" for a li'l bit in galleries, bars, basements and colleges with Man Man, Sweatheart and Lightning Bolt. "Other artist friends of mine were like, 'Hey I want to do comedy, too,' so I organized an all-prop night two months ago, 'Prop 'Til You Drop.'" But what's an "art joke" anyway? "They're like regular jokes, except a lot less people think they're funny." Oh. I know that feeling.

► Philly's Jim Beanz got co-writer, producer and vocal production credits on Timbaland's upcoming Shock Value 2, including "Morning After Dark" (featuring Nelly Furtado).

► In 2001, Philly's burgeoning tbtmo label released the chill-n-cuddly electro-pop of Collette Carter's The New Stroboscopic. The real-life love duo of Rod Sledge and Wilynda's music reflected their (then) 11-year-old relationship: dense, knowing, soft. Working on harder, indie-r material recently, Carter does one of its first out-from-the-basement gigs at Patou's First Friday Drugbunny soiree Dec. 4 with ROIR-signed band Univox. That's a sweet show.

► Noisy old Gang wants you to be in on their new single "Why Can't You Just Be." Hit the Wolf Building at 12th and Callowhill on Dec. 7 (gangtheband.com).

► The Moshulu isn't just a joint that serves a mean duck. They've got bandleader/vocalist Eddie Bruce, whose supper-clubby November Wednesdays just got extended to the end of '09.

► Eric Vincent may spend his days as a novelist (Searching for Signal), but the Curve Dominant producer gets a hankering now-n-then to bust out the six-string. He's started Delph Conspiracy, a hip-hop-rock collective with players from Kef and MCs like Jalima Shani, Inscrypshun and D-Sharp, who'll debut at National Mechanics Dec. 7. 

Congratulations to my old boss-at-The-Bank Stephen Starr on Sunday’s nuptials to January Bartle (owner of Third Street Habit).

➤ You love Diplo and I love Diplo. Along with Mad Decent’s 2010 filling up with CDs, 12-inchers and online stuff from new friends Rusko, Philly-Pakistani threesome Popo, Bosco Delrey, Jason Musson and a retrospective of the Hollertronix series with DJ Low Budget — Diplo’ll drop plastic with Sweden’s Robyn. The two have been Twittering about working on new muzika.

➤ WHOWHATWHERE: Diddy’s all-up on the Philly/NJ area Monday — morning at the Wachovia Center with Wired 96.5’s Chio for a toy collection run, then mur.mur for his Last Train to Paris release party. Meanwhile LMFAO hit Dusk in A.C. after party rocking at House of Blues. While visiting his family during the T-day holiday, Johnny 5 from L.A.’s Still Standing made a pit stop at National Mechanics’ Monday Night Club where he played a few new tunes. Same holiday, different hair cut: Bill Pullman ate at Darling’s Diner with family.

➤ You love Nixon’s Head, Philly’s premier hard pop elders. You’re probably already doing their Enemies List release show at North Star Bar, Dec. 5. Get there early, though, to see Ukulele Orchestra — an ensemble of uke players, including Head members Mike Frank and Dorothy Haug — tiptoe through the tulips hard.

➤ Everyone likes fabric for the holiday, right? Philly Runway runaway Jay McCarroll’s got a new line, Germania, that he’s just debuted (jaymccarroll.com). Manayunk’s Liz Galbraith and Ephraim Paul — Galbraith & Paul — got fabric in spades, colorful remnants, samples and extras they’ll sell off cheap during their now annual Studio Sample Sale, Dec. 5, at 116 Shurs Lane (galbraithandpaul.com).

(a_amorosi@citypaper.net)