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ISSUE . July 15th, 2010
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Cover Story


Mother Do You Wanna Bang Heads With Me?
Joe Jordan and his mom, Jacqui Gore, are the loudest family in town.
by A.D. Amorosi
"Ladies and gentlemen — my mom," says Jordan, reliving that ritual moment with stagy brio. "She was 33 when she had me — how's she doing?" He's done that intro countless times. The reaction's always the same. "The crowd goes nuts," he says.


Opinion


Loose Canon:
But Enough About Me
Sorry, friends, I have to go.
by Bruce Schimmel
It's unusual for an old owner to stick around, much less be welcomed for so long by a place he once ruled. But City Paper is a strange place.

Editor's Letter:
Beer Me
by Brian Howard
It's been a few weeks since I've written in this space. Excuse me while I shake off the sand and lean on that time-honored columnist's crutch — what I did on my summer vacation.

Feedback:
Letters to the Editor
What You Say
"'Corny'? Would you call the last movement of the Mahler Eighth 'corny'?"


News


News :: We Need InformationWe Need Information
A Temple prof's campaign to alert city officials to the dangers of Shale drilling.
by Isaiah Thompson
Pennsylvania has suddenly become the epicenter of a massive gold rush — or, rather, gas rush — as companies have raced to lease private and public land for drilling. And with that drilling have come problems.

Man Overboard!:
What You're Worth
Humans, like dogs, respond to rewards.
by Isaiah Thompson
With data and computers, Harrah's casinos can calculate exactly how and how much a gambler can be convinced to play longer, and to greater loss, than they might otherwise.

The High Cost of Affordable Housing
How do you spur low-income housing when developers can't break even?
by Yowei Shaw
How do you stimulate development of low and moderately priced housing when it so hard for developers to break even, let alone make a profit?

Sports:
Soccer, In; MLS, Out
Water will find its level, and the American tide remains low.
by E. James Beale
The endless question, "Is soccer ever going to make it in America?" can be answered. Yes. Soccer can, will and has made it in America. Major League Soccer (MLS) — and with it, our local chapter, the Chester-based Philadelphia Union — is another matter.

A Million Stories
All the news we care to print.
by Jeffrey C. Billman, Holly Otterbein and Yowei Shaw
"I don't particularly respect The Public Record as journalism or anything close to it." | For the record: Pennsylvania's unemployment rate is at a 26-year high; nationwide, there are five applicants for every open position. The jobs aren't there, Tom. You prick.

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


Arts


Arts :: Look Who's Talking
Art:
Look Who's Talking
Expressionist Mark Brosseau opens up about art that's hard to explain.
by Bruce Walsh
At 34, Brosseau is still adjusting to a somewhat unfair expectation often hurled at abstract artists: that he be willing and able to discuss his emotional connection to the work.

Arts Picks:
DesignLab
July 17-Aug. 28, free, 2001 Ben Franklin Parkway, 215-965-4027, thegalleriesatmoore.org.

by Marielle Mondon
Emerging Philly clothing designers and up-and-coming local artists are pairing up and taking inspiration from each other.

PlayPenn
July 19-26, free (reservations recommended), Adrienne Theatre, 2030 Sansom St., 215-717-7127, playpenn.org.

by Mark Cofta
PlayPenn celebrates its sixth annual New Play Development Conference by sharing six intensely workshopped pieces, two by area playwrights.

Hallucinating History
Wed., July 21, 7 p.m., free, Christ Church Neighborhood House, 20 N. American St., 215-413-9006, livearts-fringe.org.

by Will Stone
Focusing on the tug-and-pull of American liberty, the play time-travels between kinky séances in the Lincoln White House and the violent radicalism of today.

Re-View:
Off the Cuffs
Robin Rice on Visual Art: "Icons of Costume: Hollywood's Golden Era and Beyond" at James A. Michener Art Museum
by Robin Rice
The glossy feathers dominating Marlene Dietrich's svelte black ensemble from Shanghai Express are a perfect foil for her cool, calculating face. Together, photograph and object illustrate that extra dimension a skilled actor brings to a costume — and, equally, the way a great costume can frame a moment in time.

Arts Picks:
BalletX
July 21-25, $30, Wilma Theater, 265 S. Broad St., 215-546-7824, balletx.org.

by Julia Askenase
For its fifth birthday, BalletX is celebrating the best way it knows how: by mashing up traditional technique and experimental choreography.

Silkscreen: A Universal Tool of Justice
Through Aug. 5, free, NEXUS at Crane Arts Building, 1400 N. American St., 215-222-6979, spiralq.org.

by Lauren Macaluso
"Teens Revolt: What's on Our Minds" will be featured in a monthlong exhibit alongside firsthand accounts of artists in South Africa who used printmaking to challenge the regime.

Kaleidoscope
XPoNential Music Festival | Burning Star Core's Papercuts Theater | Justin Kramon's Finny | Famous Franks party at Dirty Frank's

Arts Picks:
Can't Afford the Freeway
Fri., July 16, 8:30 p.m., free, screened with films by Caleb Lyons and Kathryn Scanlan, vacant lots behind Philadelphia Art Hotel (bring FM radio for audio), 2007-2015 E. Hazzard St., 267-639-9166.
by Holly Otterbein
The open road, already a paradoxical symbol of freedom and oil addiction, is now the stage for modern-day warfare. How's that for a prepackaged motif?


Movies


Movies :: In DreamsIn Dreams
Dark Knight director Christopher Nolan piles on the layers in Inception. Can he find his way out?
by Sam Adams
More than an exploration of dreams, which are always private and sealed-off, Inception's closest analogue is to the shared dream of the movies, a tantalizing fantasy whose incompleteness begs us to fill in the gaps.

Everyone Else
City Paper Grade: A-
by Sam Adams
Everyone Else feels less like voyeurism than symbiosis, merging spectator and spectacle until the boundary between them starts to dissolve.


Music


Music :: Aid or InvadeAid or Invade
The Philippines!
by Rodney Anonymous
If you shout out "Björk" when asked to name a native-born Nigerian folk singer, then you might be surprised to learn that neither David Byrne nor Fatboy Slim are from the Philippines. However, the subjects of their ambitious collaboration most certainly were.

Music Picks:
Jordin Sparks
Sun., July 18, 7 p.m., $20, TLA, 334 South St., 215-922-1011, livenation.com.

by K. Ross Hoffman
Bonus Web Content
It's been exactly a year since the 2007 AmIdol champion released her last album, Battlefield, and nearly that long since she's had a single in the charts.

Deer Tick
Tue., July 20, 9 p.m., $12, with Wye Oak, Johnny Brenda's, 1201 N. Frankford Ave., 877-435-9849, johnnybrendas.com.

by Patrick Rapa
Young dudes with old-man voices. Is there no cure for this vocal affliction which reduces our clean-cut college indie types into crooked-backed four-packs-a-day hackmen wheezing at the moon?

The Budos Band
Wed., July 21, 9 p.m., $12-$14, with Urban Shamans, Johnny Brenda's, 1201 N. Frankford Ave., 877-435-9849, johnnybrendas.com.

by K. Ross Hoffman
The 10-plus Daptone-affiliated Afro-soulsters who constitute the Budos adopt an admirably workmanlike, no-nonsense approach to laying down sinfully thick, nasty grooves.

Kid Sister
Fri., July 16, 9 p.m., $15, with Gang, Johnny Brenda's, 1201 N. Frankford Ave., 877-435-9849, johnnybrendas.com.

by K. Ross Hoffman
She keeps her hip-hop aspirations modest, but Young's got an endearing, surprisingly distinctive persona going for her, juggling cost-conscious relatability with vicariously enjoyable true-glitz.

Peter Wolf Crier
Fri., July 16, 9 p.m., $14-$16, with Heartless Bastards and The Builders and the Butchers, North Star Bar, 2639 Poplar St., 215-787-0488, northstarbar.com.

by K. Ross Hoffman
Peter Wolf Crier's Inter-Be finds them in fine stylistic company, full of fuzzy warbled melodies and raggedy back-porch strums.


Food


Food :: The PitmasterThe Pitmaster
Barbecue king Steven Raichlen preaches from the gospel of global grilling.
by Will Stone
Bonus Web Content
"In a nutshell, it's the discovery you could use fire to cook meat that turned us from apes to humans, basically. Forget about upright walking, it's really cooking that made us human."

Gelati Party
Who invented the water ice/ice cream combo?
by Carolyn Wyman
Bonus Web Content
Independent local shop owners cite a 40-60 ratio of gelati to plain water ice sales, saying the heavier gelati sells better in the evenings and on cool days, and worse to manual laborers than people who "work in air-conditioned offices and don't have to worry about throwing up on some rooftop," as Cardullo puts it.

What's Cooking:
What's Cooking
Get Out!
by Eric Henney
Bonus Web Content
Fork Fisherman's Trip and Dinner | The Dude Hates Cancer Fundraiser at Drinker's Tavern | Second Annual Pour-a-Palooza | University City Dining Days | Good Food Good Beer and the Rest is History

Feeding Frenzy
Restaurants opening, closing and pending
by Drew Lazor
Adsum | Machismo Burrito Bar | Kong | Mumbai Bistro | Black bird | Chhaya Café


Agenda


Agenda :: Turning Tricks
Agenda Lead:
Turning Tricks
Cheap Trick screen Budokan. Just watch out for the screaming Japanese girls.
by A.D. Amorosi
"Knowing people so long you get to know when to stay out of people's way. It's one big long compromise — like being married to several different wives."

Agenda Picks:
Johnny Showcase & The Lefty Lucy Cabaret
Fri.-Sat., July 16-17, 9 p.m., $15, Connie's Ric Rac, 1132 S. Ninth St., 215-279-7587, johnnyshowcase.com.
by Katy Bergen
Johnny Showcase, the ringleader of a crew of eccentric performers known as the Lefty Lucy Cabaret, thinks he's hip.

Comedy Sportz World Championship
Thu.-Sat., July 15-17, 7 and 9:30 p.m., $18-$100, World Café Live, 3025 Walnut St., 215-222-1400, comedysportzphilly.com.
by Matthew Cahn
The 26th annual ComedySportz World Championship, an Olympic-style improv competition, has found its way to our city for the first time.

Icepack
Amorosi on the news, nightlife, gossip and bitchiness beats.
by A.D. Amorosi
Philly has its mysteries. What historic artifacts are buried below SugarHouse? How can people stand It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia? What the hell happened to the Paul Green School of Rock? What does Michael Vick have on Jeff Lurie that he deserves this kind of job security?

Queer Bait
Josh Middleton on the LGBTQ scene
by Josh Middleton
queerARt? | Queer Memoir Salon | Community Thursdays @ Tabu

Agenda Picks:
'50s Pinup Ice Cream Parlor photo shoot
Sun., July 18, $220, Salon Blush & Spa, 2407 E. York St., 215-634-1606, ilovesalonblush.com.
by Marielle Mondon
In addition to providing skin care treatments with titles like "The Bardot" or "The Monroe," Ralph takes pride in being the only salon in Philadelphia offering pinup hairstyling and photography.

Ride the Divide
Tue., July 20, 8 p.m., $12.50, World Café Live, 3025 Walnut St., 215-222-1400, worldcafelive.com.
by Lauren Macaluso
The Tour Divide is a 2,700-mile-long race equivalent to climbing Everest seven times. That's a whole lot of peddling.

Jean Renoir Screenings
Sun., July 18, 2 p.m., $8 after museum admission of $16, Philadelphia Museum of Art, 2600 Ben Franklin Parkway, 215-684-7585, philamuseum.org.
by Eric Henney
In conjunction with "Late Renoir," currently running at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, a three-part film series features the work of Pierre-Auguste's kid, Jean — you know, the subject of some of the exhibition's paintings.

Drums, Fifes, and Flags
Through the summer, $3, Germantown Historical Society, 5501 Germantown Ave., 215-844-1683, germantownhistory.org.
by Matthew Cahn
Call off the re-enactment and tell Ma you won't be home for hardtack.




 
 
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