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ISSUE . February 25th, 2010
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Cover Story


The Art of The Art of the Steal
The Barnes debacle hits the big screen.
by Sam Adams
Over the course of Toronto's 10 days, you could hear the conversations about The Art of the Steal growing more frequent and more intense, as if someone were steadily turning up the volume. Like the Barnes itself, the movie felt like a secret that thousands of people had discovered on their own.


Opinion


Loose Canon:
U-Pay Health Care
Give people the means and incentive to spend wisely.
by Bruce Schimmel
My friend Frank and I rarely agree on politics. I say left, he says right. But in the matter of health care, we are beginning to see things the same way.

Feedback:
Letters to the Editor
What You Say
"You can't Monday morning quarterback the actions of a group with which you have no basis of knowledge."


News


News :: A Million StoriesA Million Stories
All the news we care to print.
by Jeffrey C. Billman and Holly Otterbein
If you're like us — and we know you are because we've seen you in the shower — you spent last week wondering what in the holy hell is going on in Lower Merion Township, where school officials were accused of secretly spying on their students via Webcams in their district-issued laptops.

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

Risk and Reward
Dredging the Delaware might not bring as many jobs as proponents claim.
by Holly Otterbein
The environmentalists' main argument these last two decades has been that the deepening will stir up toxic sediments that could pollute drinking water and jeopardize environmental habitats. But Maya van Rossum is now making a bold claim that's only been hinted at before. She thinks the jobs promised by deepening advocates are a sham.

Man Overboard!:
Mob Mentality
Maybe we should just go ahead and sue the Internet.
by Isaiah Thompson
After the flash mob, School District of Philadelphia Superintendent Arlene Ackerman charted a similar course, rejecting the idea of having the school district monitor social networking sites while pointing the finger at society. What should she do? Fair question. I don't know. But probably not nothing.


Arts


Arts :: Play your Lace
Re-View:
Play your Lace
Robin Rice on Visual Art: Encantamientos/Enchantments at Painted Bride Arts Center
by Robin Rice
Bonus Web Content
Guest curator Anabelle Rodriguez-Gonzalez's inspired pairing at the Painted Bride — Rodriguez Calero and Henry Bermudez — looks gorgeous and generates a rich, thoughtful visual dialogue.

Last Chance
Catch it or regret it
by Holly Otterbein
"All That's Left" at Proximity Gallery | "Going from Nowhere" at Philadelphia Photo Arts Center | "Seductive Subversion: Women in Pop Art 1958-1968" at University of the Arts

Arts Picks:
Picasso and the Avant-Garde in Paris
Through April 25, $20, Philadelphia Museum of Art, 2600 Ben Franklin Parkway, 215-763-8100, philamuseum.org.
by A.D. Amorosi
Bringing forth everything from violent color schemes and overwrought angles to his peculiar use of the Minotaur, Pablo Picasso's time spent in France between the World Wars was his mightiest.

Kaleidoscope
"Nameless and Reverberating" | Efterklang's Magic Chairs | Curator's Choice 2010: Unseen Corners of the Secret Cinema Archives | Microworld(s) Part 2: The Undiscovered Country

Arts Picks:
Black Grace
Fri., Feb. 26, 7:30 p.m.; Sat., Feb. 27, 2:30 and 7:30 p.m., $34-$44, Kimmel Center, 300 S. Broad St., 215-893-1999, kimmelcenter.org.
by Deni Kasrel
What exactly constitutes Pacific dance? If you're curious to know, be sure to catch New Zealand-based Black Grace at the Kimmel Center this weekend.


Movies


Movies :: The Ghost WriterThe Ghost Writer
City Paper Grade: B-
by Sam Adams
Considering that it's been more than a decade since The Ninth Gate, you'd think Polanski would have had more in store.

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 :: Controlled ChaosControlled Chaos
Behind the choreographed freak-outs of West Philly's Grandchildren.
by John Vettese
Bonus Web Content
West Philly six-piece Grandchildren blurs the line between avant-garde spontaneity and finely honed pop chops.

Music Picks:
Surfer Blood
Mon., March 1, 7 p.m., $10 with Turbo Fruits, The Barbary, 951 Frankford Ave., 866-468-7619, r5productions.com.
by K. Ross Hoffman
This fresh-faced Floridian crew — former hardcore types currently cresting on a sweet wave of 'net-hype — sure know how to pile on the attention-getting hipster tropes.

Aid or Invade:
Chile!
It would be impossible for Inti-Illimani to kick more ass.
by Rodney Anonymous
The cover of Antologia Vol. I 1973-1978 depicts the band members draped in red ponchos which make them look like a satanic cult about to chase Peter Fonda through the woods in a B-movie circa 1973 to 1978.

Album Reviews
Shout Out Louds | Scanners | Krisha Das

One Track Mind:
Miles Kurosky
"The World Won't Last the Night"
by Patrick Rapa
Miles Kurosky loves you but he's chosen darkness.

Show Me How You Do That Trick
The Silence Kit's new album is their most cohesive statement so far.
by Patrick Rapa
Frontman Patrick McCay makes no bones about his love for post-punk Britishisms; the artful arrangements, stark guitars and charismatic vocals recall Joy Division or The Cure.

Music Picks:
All Crazy
Sat., Feb. 27, 9 p.m., $5, The Blockley Pourhouse, 3801 Ludlow St., 215-222-1234, theblockley.com.
by Patrick Rapa
Flagrantly radio-friendly, but friendly nonetheless, All Crazy is back with another album full of positive/positively unchallenging "Hip-Rock."

Sugar Town
Sat., Feb. 27, 9 p.m., $7, with Kitten Disaster, The Sky Drops, She Ends All and DJ Maura Johnston, Tritone, 1508 South St., 215-545-0475, tritonebar.com.
by Patrick Rapa
Nine years in (with a few interruptions), Sara Sherr's monthly ladyfest remains one of the most reliable sources of new/underexposed music in Philly.

Georgia Anne Muldrow
Thu., Feb. 25, 8:30 p.m., $12-$15, with Dudley Perkins, Aquil and Electric Lady, Arts Garage, 1533 Ridge Ave., 215-765-2702, georgiaannemuldrow.eventbrite.com.
by K. Ross Hoffman
Muldrow's a key player in the jazzy Afrodelic future-funk groove-world orbiting around SoCal labels Stones Throw and Ubiquity — count Sa-Ra, Madlib, Erykah Badu and Mos Def among her collaborators and fellow travellers.

Wild Beasts
Thu., Feb. 25, 9 p.m., $10, with Still Life Still, Johnny Brenda's, 1201 N. Frankford Ave., 215-739-9684, johnnybrendas.com.
by K. Ross Hoffman
It's not too often that you hear something genuinely, joltingly unexpected on an indie rock record these days.


Food


Food :: On a BoatOn a Boat
Michael Schulson focuses on flavor at his stylish 13th Street hang.
by David Snyder
Instead of making Asian dishes accessible by dumbing things down, Sampan heads in the opposite direction — more flavor. The results are often delicate and beautiful.

'Shine On
Book Review: Chasing the White Dog: An Amateur Outlaw's Adventures in Moonshine
by Drew Lazor
Archival dexterity aside, Watman is at his strongest when it comes to profiling the vibrant (and almost entirely male) cast of characters that serve as moonshining's surprisingly diverse ambassadors.

What's Cooking:
The Week in Eats
Get Out!
by Alexandra Harcharek
Tuna Tasting Menu at Blackfish |  "Foodies, Chefs & the Blogosphere" at Pen and Pencil Club | Dining with Dr. Seuss Week at The Pop Shop | Foodery Beer Class at Nodding Head | Flower Show Menu at Bistro St. Tropez

Feeding Frenzy
Restaurants opening, closing and pending
by Drew Lazor
Philly Sweettooth | Doma | Xochitl | Anima Napoletana | It's A CupCake


Agenda


Agenda :: Peeling the Layers
Agenda Lead:
Peeling the Layers
How The Onion benefits the Theater of the Absurd.
by Lauren F. Friedman
The Onion essays are not serious, but Raw Onion is directed with the conceit that the monologues will be more entertaining if they are performed by characters who are at least somewhat believable. The joke becomes the absurdity of the character, not just the punch lines in the text.

Agenda Picks:
Flower Show Food Tour
Mon.-Sat., March 1-6, 3 p.m., $35, Rittenhouse Square, 215-360-1996, cityfoodtours.com.
by Alexandra Harcharek
City Food Tours hosts a three-hour walking tour inspired by the Philadelphia Flower Show.

Ecbacc Comic Workshops
Tue., March 2, 4:30 p.m., free, Free Library, West Oak Branch, 2000 Washington Lane, 215-685-2843; Wed., March 3, 4 p.m., free, Free Library, Wynnefield Branch, 5325 Overbrook Ave., 215-685-0298, ecbacc.com.
by Julia West
The ECBACC is touring the libraries of Philly in conjunction with One Book, One Philadelphia to get kids hyped on reading, writing and drawing through a love of comic books.

A Mad Tea Party
Wed., March 3, 6-8 p.m., $5-$10 (registration required), Rosenbach Museum & Library, 2008 Delancey Place, 215-732-1600, rosenbach.org.
by Tom Tiballi
Alexis Siemons wants secret brew buffs to come out of the tea chest.

Icepack
Amorosi on the news, nightlife, gossip and bitchiness beats.
by A.D. Amorosi
Between the fire at Gamble and Huff's Philadelphia International Records studios and Electric Factory Larry Magid leaving Live Nation, we've taken a hard left and quite a bruising.

Shopping Spree
Fashion > Forward
by Felicia D'Ambrosio
In Philadelphia, our scattershot Fashion Week programming is a delightful diversion, not a business opportunity, for most spectators.

Agenda Picks:
Pabst Blue Ribbon Crafting Challenge
Sat., Feb. 27, 3 p.m., $8, 2424 Studios Skybox, 2424 York St., 2424studios.com.
by Josh Middleton
Art may be objective, but the only thing that can possibly be imagined when staring at a sculpture derived from used PBR cans is, "Mmm, beer."

What Farocki Taught
Thu., Feb. 25-Sat., Feb. 27, $5-$8, Ibrahim Theater at International House, 3701 Chestnut St., 215-3875125, ihousephilly.org.
by Sam Kaplan
You might walk out of International House's upcoming Harun Farocki series feeling a little shaken.

Cabaret Red Light's "The Experiment"
Thu., Feb. 25, 8 p.m., $15, L'Etage, 624 S. 6th St., 215-592-0656, cabaretredlight.com.
by Emily Currier
Through vaudeville and original music, time travelers will recount their travels in the future, when Pornographic Socialism's slogan "working hard, staying hard" reigns.


 
 
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