Icepack

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

by A.D. Amorosi

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Published: Mar 3, 2010

My Music Issue Ice is nice because as I wrote it I sang "You're So Vain" backward while whispering David Geffen's name. I did.

► Let's start with something harder than a rumor but wobblier than a fact: The Old City olds who own and run Eulogy (Michael Naessens) and the Tin Angel/Serrano/Sassafras axis (Donal McCoy) are separately in the running to take their neighboring rock-pub the Khyber off Steve Simons' hands. Both like the price and have inspected the joint for joists and such. The clock is ticking on this. Someone's gotta pony up cash before the other. Stay tuned.

► I caught up with Ahmir "?estlove" Thompson between his trips to Japan and Canada and asked when the long-awaited Roots jawn How I Got Over would finally drop on Def Jam. "That's why I'm exhausted," says Thompson. "Not only are we readying our thing for July — you know, if it doesn't move again — we're all over the John Legend record that's due out in June." Jumping butterbeans, that's two Philadelphia mints in one. How all over the Legend deal are they? "His record company's making it into a joint project. It's pretty amazing." Dizamn! In the meantime, Legend can be heard on reggae-raga-lady Angelique Kidjo's new album, O/Y/O, with John and his bud Bono on her cover version of Curtis Mayfield's "Move on Up." Swanky, that.

► I was the first to tell you about Philly-expat David First's bee-buzzing guitar band with Stephen Bilenky, The Notekillers. You recall: They played the Hot Club in the '70s, made one single, then disappeared until the 21st century? Well, they're back, playing SXSW in Austin and releasing a new album in the spring. Bzz.

► Glam popster/Big Mess participant Kaki Burns could become Philly's Lady Gaga if only she'd let herself. Check her merry sexy madness (along with that of noise-god locals Drums Like Machine Guns) at Patou on Market's First Friday rawk soirée March 5.

► Is a June hole in Live Nation's Lincoln Financial Field sched to be filled by McCartney, Green Day or that Jeff Beck/Eric Clapton jawn?

► John Vettese ofCity Paperfame has for nearly three years produced Local Tracks at Y-Rock on XPN. Philly squawkers play. Jake Nisenfeld hosts. Yay. Well, the other day, The Dead Milkmen recorded Vettese's 50th session, to air March 7. After that, look forward to The Cobbs, Cold Cave and more.

► Why isn't Jill Scott getting more press for leaving her label (Hidden Beach/Sony) after The Light of the Sun comes out? They're suing her since she owes 'em more albums. Plus shouldn't J-Lo, who just got released by Epic, go to the PA-based QVC to sell her due-whenever Love? independently?

►Remember I wrote a story about hard, hot gastromolecular ice cream for CP’s food section? How’s this sound: Andrea Scotacci and Fabio Auguadro will open the old Vino space at Piazza at Schmidts reeeeally soon and serve liquid nitrogen gelato. A.D. Amorosi is the futuahhhh.

➤ Last-minute extra added ?uestlove to the mix: In between dropping secrets on his band’s pairing with John Legend and setting up his DJ gig at Voyeur with Lee Jones one floor below the Black Eyed Peas (they promised to stop by after their Wachovia Center gig, prolly the two Peas everyone is scared of), Ahmir Thompson announced his Roots Picnic 2010 with Vampire Weekend and Pattern is Movement on June 5 with a yet-unannounced special guest: the first reformation of Run-DMC (The Rev. Joseph “Run” Simmons, Darryl “DMC” McDaniels) after the 2002 slaying of Jam Master Jay. Stay tuned.

➤ Live Arts-farters, take heed. You just got served. Or will get served. Stephen Starr, Marc Vetri, Michael Solomonov, Jose Garces and Georges Perrier will host and serve a Feastival Sept. 15 to benefit the Live Arts Festival and Philly Fringe, at the Fringe hub in NoLibs. Plus Live Arts just got its centerpiece act, DANCE, from Philip Glass, Sol LeWitt and Lucinda Childs, the latter of whom calls this Kimmel Center piece her signature work. Dig it.

➤ Matthew Vlahos just told me March is Philadelphia Steak Month. Chomp chomp chomp. Eight of Philly’s steak houses will offer prix fixe menus Sunday through Thursday. $50 three-courses for Davio’s, Delmonico’s, Morton’s, the Palm, Prime Rib, da Saloon, Smith & Wollensky and Union Trust. “All of the city’s top steak house restaurants were invited to participate; all but two agreed,” says Vlahos. “Del Frisco’s and Capital Grille had other promotions going and weren’t able to join in. Stephen Starr declined for both Barclay and Butcher & Singer for similar concerns.”

➤ Corbin Bernsen (Psych) and Brian O’ Halloran (Clerks) will start shooting Calendar Girl at the Aramingo Diner before I finish this sentence. Jerry Blavat will join them in the film. I’m not joking.

➤ Azuka Theatre keeps continues to celebrate its 10th anniversary with a one-night-only staged reading of their debut production, Le Rue des Faux, ex-Azuka-ite Raelle Myrick-Hodges’ adaptation of James Baldwin’s Giovanni’s Room. It’s March 9 at the Latvian Society. After Raelle left Philly she became the artistic director of BRAVA Theater in San Fran, so this’ll be a nice homecoming. And two original cast members, Kevin Glaccum and Tyler Melchior, will perform, too.

➤ Plus, on March 4, check out Councilwoman Blondell Reynolds Brown and R. Andrew Swinney, president of The Philadelphia Foundation, as they read for the Philly Young Playwrights’ benefit — Write On! A Celebration of Student Voices — at the Suzanne Roberts Theatre. Someone’s bound to flub a line, and I’m taking names.

(a_amorosi@citypaper.net)

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