Icepack

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


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Published: Jul 20, 2010

Some people leave town and you could care less. Others you'd pay train or plane fare to hit bricks quicker. Liz Rywelski and Ryan Trecartin, not so much. We love the performance artist/photographer and the installationist/filmmaker who both split town and each other at July's end. Wolgin Prize-winning Trecartin debuted his flick Roamie View (starring Philly roommate Liz Ryw) in his soon-to-be new city, Los Angeles, over the weekend. Rywelski — I've seen her rip tampons from her body and viewed her works on self-perception (see lizrywelski.com) with awe. Not only is she publishing a blog-mag in September with Space 1026 Mummer Tip Flannery called Sex Injury ("about how people who've had serious near-life-altering or -threatening sex injuries don't talk about them as much as they should," says Liz) and starring in Trecartin's movie. She's heading for U at Buffalo for an M.F.A. in Emerging Practices. Before she goes, she'll read from Sex Injury, screen Roamie View and invite pals Amanda Blank, Pow Pow Powell, Jayson Musson and others to see her off with tribute performances at the Fringe-preview/Needles Jones b-day jam I'm throwing at National Mechanics July 26. The only two people I'd miss more are me and then me again, if I came back.

► Pride of New Hope and Internet fishing sensation (brownietroopfs.com) Mickey Melchiondo — oh yeah, he's also in Ween — got his formal certification as a captain from the federal authorities, and can now offer services as a fishing guide. Mickey's Guide Service, home of Archangel Sport Fishing, can be found in Belmar, N.J.

► Speaking o'Weenie music, masters of swank Distant Orange (pals of the whole dippy Great Vibration/Carriage House scene), Lamagier and the sweet-n-quirky Black Horse Motel do a late-night slumber at the Balcony July 24.

► L&I was supposedly all over Old City, first bugging the long-closed-but-looking-to-reopen Glam for rumored old violations, then Crocodile, which postponed its opening for a day. The Croc's up and running now.

► The Franklin got voted a Top 10 Best New Cocktail Bar by Bon Appetit mag. Glug.

► Aaron Levinson isn't only Philly's finest Latino-music producer (although you can check what he's done for salsa kings BioRitmo's new La Verdad when he DJs their July 23 World Café Live gig). He's a spokesmodel for the Sylvan Learning Center's new version of what used to be the Paul Green School of Rock. And he's an adjunct at the Sorbonne of North Philly, aka Temple U, and president of Bell Tower Music, Temple's kickass new online label. "I'm teaching fresh-faced college kids about the secret of the Pyramids," says A-Lev.

► There are three reasons for me to like the new book from which Philly author Thom Nickels will read on July 24. One is that Nickels is a good man with a solid local journo reputation. Two, his set-in-Philly new novel’s name is Spore, which sounds seriously sci-fi but actually has to do with a man whose family life falls apart so much so that street-living and preaching seems a better option. Three, Nickels will sign and read at AxD Gallery, which never fails to crack me up because I’m 9 years old.

➤ Want to scope the new School of Rock logo without Paul Green’s name? After relocating themselves to the North Seventh Street building that houses Larry Gold’s studio and the Bryan Dilworth booking plaza, the School of Rock is playing Electric Factory on Aug. 14. We hear the kids miss Green.

HALF OFF DEPOT

Why live life at full price?

➤ Icepack told you about Apple coming to 16th and Walnut, and when they were holding job interviews. Now listen here, iPhonies: The doors open July 23 or 24.

➤ WHOWHATWHERE: The singer who nearly killed Van Halen, Gary Cherone, was spotted at RAW with director Tigre Hill. Hill’s upcoming flick, The Barrel of a Gun, features Cherone doing the theme song that the vocalist just shot a video for in Philly with Hill behind the camera. For the sadly uninitiated, Hill’s incendiary Barrel is about the 1981 Daniel Faulkner murder case and convicted killer Mumia Abu-Jamal. Both Meatloaf and Queen’s Brian May (the latter in town for a Free Library book signing for Village Lost and Found) were spotted in the lobby of the Ritz-Carlton — not together. Jake Gyllenhaal was spotted at El Vez. I would’ve paid money to have seen it if the Jake-off was wearing his Prince of Persia hair and biceps. Speaking of biceps, Mario Lopez hosted a mur.mur party at the Borgata in Atlantic City for its seventh anniversary and was spied supping at Bobby Flay’s steak-haus there. Herbie Hancock was in Old City over the weekend, sporting a Kangol and pinstripe pants, when he ran across Baptist Preachers’ John Cecil Price playing guitar on Chestnut. Hancock tipped Price a buck. Price — who didn’t recognize Herbie at first — said thanks and joked, “Who says people don’t like jazz no more?” To which Hancock replied, “If you knew me you’d know how I feel about jazz,” and walked away with a smile. How does Hancock feel about jazz? One dollar’s worth. Rockit. Manchester United soccer folk got invited to a Concha y Toro wine tasting dinner at Capital Grille. When I was in my wine-o phase years ago, the CyT merlot was the tastiest, most inexpensive wine you could buy. Have they raised their price points or was I so drunk back then, it didn’t seem like a lot of money? Plus for the finale of QFest, Thom Cardwell — Q exec and co-screenwriter of the fest’s headliner, You Can Have It All — made good on the promise of bringing its star, Wendie Malick, to town. Brava to both.

➤ We liked the old Zot space on Headhouse Square and all the ships who sailed her because the Australian/New Zealander dude who owned it was hilarious and never ceased to offer hard-shelled things of some kind when I stopped in. I was sad that he sold it to a craft-beer lot, The HeadHouse, but figured it was in good hands and who doesn’t lurrrrv crafty beer? Right now, no one in that neighborhood, as the new spot just closed operations for the summer with no word yet on its return.

➤ The much-loved Delaware Destroyer and friend to old Dobbs-rocking South Street, George Thorogood plays the House of Blues in AC July 23 with hot-shot c+w/blues guitarist and Jersey Outlaw Jimmie Lee opening the show. And who is in Lee’s band? None other than one-time producer for The Roots (and more, Lee included) David Ivory, Rocco Notte (of The A’s) and much-loved drummer Richie “Yvonne” De Carlo. No, that last joke never gets old. See their George Manney-directed video here.