Icepack

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

by A.D. Amorosi

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Published: Jan 27, 2010

Freeing your mind and letting your ass follow isn't a new thing. It was an idea even before George Clinton put it into words in 1970. Jerry Blavat 's been doing the shimmy-shimmy-ko-ko-bop thing for 50 years, according to The Geator who'll start a year long celebration of such with Saturday night's Rock 'n' Roll/R&B Legends at the Kimmel. The lineup includes Darlene Love , Jay Black and members of The Shirelles , but host Blavat's the star you're there to see. He hit the airwaves Thu., Sept. 8, 1960, live from the Venus Lounge (of course courtesy WCAM-AM in Camden). They later dropped him and Hy Lit when the station figured rock 'n' roll was a fad. He returned in '62 to WCAM , only to get moved again in September of 1963 when another new GM banned rock 'n' roll. But it didn't matter, Blavat just added two hours to his WHAT show and ba-da-bing. At a time when rock elders hawk cell phones ( Clapton ) and tux up for a classical gas at the Academy Ball ( Sting ), Blavat's still got a yon teen's heart.

► Then there's a youngin like Stephen Bluhm who's got an old soul, writing Tin Pan Alley-ish fare and singing croon-y folk jazz in a voice that'd make Morrissey swoon. The Green Line Café regular is leaving town to help open Hudson, N.Y.'s Club Helsinki — "It's an adventure," he says — but not before he gifts us with a last gig (Jan. 30, Green Line, 45th Street). Bluhm also told me about a song he landed in the West Philly-shot Jennifer Love Hewitt / Jamie Kennedy flick Café that's due this spring. The team — director Marc Erlbaum and co-producer J. Andrew Greenblatt — wanted songs indigenous to their coffee-klatch setting. They snagged Birdie Busch 's cover of "Wild Mountain Honey" and Bluhm's swank original "Sing to Me." Stephen is pragmatic. "Something could happen like the scene with my song ends up on the cutting-room floor." Then again, he says the producers had the song in their soundtrack since summer '09. No cutting.

► Philly guitarist/noise-bot Nick Millevoi cuts a swath, not only with his contribution to SHREDfest V released on CD this week ( Tiger Asylum Records ), but also with his band Many Arms signed to Engine Records , a subsidiary of ESP.

► A little birdie tells me Jon Myerow , the owner of many a cheesy Tria , acquired the space that's Intermezzo Cafjavascript:passCharacter('233') at 31st and Walnut. When phoned, Myerow wouldn't confirm or deny that he'd plant another Tria in U-City but promised to tell A.D. ASAP.

► When Thom Cardwell of the Philadelphia Cinema Alliance e-mailed me that the April 8-19 Philadelphia CineFest was canceling due to lack of sponsorship, I was sad and floored. I bought a brand-new seat cushion and all (those Prince Theater seats, you know) and was looking forward to he and Ray Murray’s peachy speeches. PCF promises it’ll be back in 2011, don’t you fret.

➤ But what of J. Andrew Greenblatt’s Philadelphia Film Fest that he staged in fall of 2009? Oddly enough, I asked him last week while talking about Café what was going on with his fest for this September. His response:. “The Fest is coming well. It’s early, but things really get started with post-Sundance, so we’re getting ready, locking dates, venues, etc.” Stay tuned.

➤ Meanwhile our friends at Cashman and Associates are at Sundance right now, hosting the Philadelphia Industry Lounge, repping the DIVE vid-masters checking out John Legend performing with The Legendary Roots Crew for the first time ever and hanging with Bill Gates (dancing badly) and Queen Latifah (whose dance steps have not been commented upon by the press). The Cashman girls also spied Ron Stephens (Legend’s brother) and actress Malin Ackerman. Air kisses for all.

➤ The Greater Philadelphia Film Office’s annual Shoot in Philadelphia Screenwriting Competition for films and for TV pilots has a deadline. And it’s Feb. 1. Hit film.org if you’re feeling squirrelly.

➤ What’s up Doc? Nothing actually. The old-school 11th Street bar Doc Watson’s that I reported (first) was out of there like a pair of old Adidas many-many-months ago is finally wrapping up Feb. 3 with a big party thrown by owner Barry Sandrow. An English pub called Sherlock’s Tavern will take its spot, physically, but never its place, if you get my too-sentimental drift. Man-oh-man I hate crying over a bar.

➤ There’re a lot of jokes here, but: Philly fashion designer Jay McCarroll and current New Jerz resident Sebastian Bach will both star on the new edition of Celebrity Fit Club on VH-1 in February.

➤ I can’t let January close without mentioning how Jan. 8 was David Bowie and Elvis Presley’s birthdays and how none of us did dick to celebrate. Poet CAConrad’s naughty Advanced Elvis Course (Soft Skull Press) book has taken off. “I’m doing radio shows every morning from my bed, and now the book sales are through the roof,” says Conrad, who just won — and he’s screaming here — “MOST INTERESTING BOOK OF 2009 by The Millions site” (themillions.com/2009/12/a-year-in-reading-tim-w-brown.html). He’ll celebrate that book and his collaboration with Frank Sherlock and Zoe Strauss, The City Real & Imagined, at The Institute of Contemporary Art on Feb. 3 at 8 p.m. Bowie? He was supposed to have got a tribute from Radiohead and another from Mad Dragon records — the latter got shelved (due to licensing, according to rumor).

➤ The Philadelphia Orchestra trips into the 21st century (no more just downloading from its online store solely) with its music available through iTunes, Amazon, Rhapsody, etc., as well as recording new live stuff at Verizon Hall through Ioda with recordings released both as high-minded 256 kbps, mp3s and HDtracks in FLAC.

➤ Philly’s The Swimmers host the Victory Over Leukemia benefit for The JMML Foundation Jan. 29 at Johnny Brenda’s, with Audible and East Hundred. Do that.

➤ NOOOOOOOOOOOO: Chipotle Mexican Grill wants to take over the gorgeous brownstone at 1512 Walnut St. — the late great spot which held Susanna Foo. A Feb. 3 hearing is set with the city Zoning Board of Adjustment. Make it stop. Plus Sal’s and Frangelica at 12th and Chancellor streets will become a sports bar soon. Dag, bro. It used to host blowjob-happy Broadzilla bashes and bear parties. I’m sad.

(a_amorosi@citypaper.net)

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