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ISSUE . November 24th, 2010
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Cover Story


Cover Story:
Sniffin' Grundies
The Comics Issue 2010
by Patrick Rapa
I do not know what grundies are. I have a guess — there may be a clue in our culture's affinity for elegantly brief portmanteaus — but I've never looked it up and I do not plan to.


Opinion


Man Overboard!:
Tased and Confused
Enough stories — what about the numbers?
by Isaiah Thompson
The spike in Taser use has not been accompanied by a decline in gun use: Both are up.


News


News :: A Million StoriesA Million Stories
All the news we care to print
Is the casino itself, as some economists and casino opponents argue, attracting more crime? The data is just starting to come in — except when it isn't.

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


Arts


Theater Review:
Playbills Ring, Are You Listening?
A winter wonderland of theater, from Dickens to Sedaris and beyond.
by Mark Cofta
Holiday theater may start inevitably with A Christmas Carol, but it certainly doesn't have to end there.

Arts Picks:
Love, Queens
Wed., Dec. 1, 7 p.m., Bonnell Auditorium, Community College of Philadelphia, 1700 Spring Garden St.; Fri., Dec. 3, 7 p.m., New Freedom Theater, 1346 N. Broad St.; $10-$15, lovequeens.eventbrite.com.
by Caitlin Durkin
Queens touches on abusive relationships, extreme poverty and mental illness, all through the movements and words of women wearing red, black, pink, green, orange, purple and gold to express their myriad struggles.

Singgalot: The Ties That Bind
Through Jan. 15, free, Drexel Intercultural Center, 30 S. 33rd St., drexel.edu/univrel/drexelcollection/exhibitions.asp.
by Juliana Reyes
In an effort to broaden the Philippine cultural knowledge of both Filipino-Americans and non-Filipinos alike, Drexel University is hosting the Smithsonian traveling exhibit "Singgalot: The Ties That Bind."

Naked Ben Franklin
Through Dec. 4, free, Pterodactyl, 3237 Amber St., 215-501-7158, pterodactylphiladelphia.org.
by Eric Schuman
I may never understand artists' preoccupation with nudity, but they all seem to love it.

Re-View:
Favorite Things
Robin Rice on Visual Art: Salon Joose's "Surface Politics"
by Robin Rice
"Surface Politics" is a piece of installation art in the form of a group art exhibit.

Arts Picks:
The Art of Cameras
Through Dec. 29, free, Free Library, Central Branch, 1901 Vine St., 215-686-5403, freelibrary.org.
by Eric Schuman
Before they were integrated into your phone, cameras were seen as works of art, and local enthusiast Tom Holtje has amassed a collection to prove it.

Dance:
The Sweetest Fruit
DANCE REVIEW: BalletX
by Janet Anderson
The apples linked them to still life, while the tangled bodies suggested a marble Renaissance frieze. Nibbling on the fruit, they romped off stage, tossing the cores in their wake.

Arts Picks:
Michael Lisicky
Sat., Nov. 27, 12:30 p.m., Barnes & Noble, 1805 Walnut St., 215-665-0716; 3 p.m., Borders, 1 S. Broad St., 215-568-7400; Sun., Nov. 28, 2 p.m., AIA Bookstore & Design Center, 1218 Arch St., 215-569-3188; historypress.net.
by Patrick Rapa
The position of Official Historian of East Coast Department Stores is no longer available.


Movies


William Shakespeare Movie Fest
Every Wednesday in December, 2 p.m., free, Free Library, Philadelphia City Institute Branch
by Josh Middleton
The Friends of the Philadelphia City Institute Library are spending December hosting a weekly sequence of flicks dedicated to the world's most celebrated wordsmith.

Repertory Film
Send repertory film listings to carolyn.huckabay@citypaper.net.


Music


Music :: The World Is A VampireThe World Is A Vampire
Aunt Dracula returns to Philly with visions of a dark, demented future.
by A.D. Amorosi
Last year, Aunt Dracula announced it was moving to California to find fortune, fame and any and all weirdness. So what the hell is Scott Daly doing in Philly with a new Aunt Dracula, playing a massive post-Thanksgiving show at Johnny Brenda's?

Music Picks:
Summer Fiction
Wed., Dec. 1, 9 p.m., $10, with In Grenada and Yellow Humphrey, Johnny Brenda's, 1201 N. Frankford Ave., 877-435-9849, johnnybrendas.com.
by John Vettese
It's a rich, eclectic assortment of summertime pop for wintery moods.

Bilal
Sun., Nov. 28, 8 p.m., $25-$40, with U City, World Café Live, 3025 Walnut St., 215-222-1400, worldcafelive.com.
by K. Ross Hoffman
Airtight's Revenge is at least as overdue and, if anything, an even more powerful, masterly, richly engrossing statement.

Free Energy/Foxy Shazam
Sat., Nov. 27, 9 p.m., $23, with Hollerado and Nico's Gun, TLA, 334 South St., 215-922-1011, livenation.com.
by Patrick Rapa
Philly's motivational rockers Free Energy have had a hell of a year.

Dan Hicks
Sat., Nov. 27, 8 p.m. (pre-concert chat with Gene Shay, 6:45 p.m., $10), $28.50, Appel Farm Arts and Music Center, 457 Shirley Road, Elmer, N.J., 800-394-8478, appelfarm.org.
by Mary Armstrong
There seems to be an inside joke bubbling right under the surface anytime Dan Hicks sings.

KT Tunstall
Fri., Nov. 26, 9 p.m., $20-$22, with Hurricane Bells, Trocadero, 1003 Arch St., 215-922-6888, thetroc.com.
by M.J. Fine
Rather than be pigeonholed as an adult-contemporary singer-songwriter, Tunstall tries her hand at funk, folk, rawk and dance, and ends up sounding like herself.

Borgore: Dub Nation
Wed., Nov. 24, 9 p.m., $15-$20, Starlight Ballroom, 460 N. Ninth St., steezpromo.com. For all your DJ Nights, visit citypaper.net/djnights.
by Gair Marking
Dub Nation is back with another 18-and-up event.

Bardo Pond
Wed., Nov. 24, 8 p.m., $5, with James Plotkin, Dan Matz and Gods & Queens, Kung Fu Necktie, 1250 N. Front St., 215-291-4919, kungfunecktie.com.
by Brian Howard
When a band releases an eponymous album this deep into its career, what's it mean? They've run out of ideas? They've perfected their sound?


Food


Food :: Canned DoCanned Do
Philadelphia Bar & Restaurant is not yet blue-ribbon worthy.
by Adam Erace
PBR is only two months old, and Sauter's menu is still trying to decide if it's more casual pub (scrapple cheesesteak, wings) or green-market bistro (escolar in olive oil beurre blanc, fava bean mousse-stuffed braised onion with tomato crudo).

Portion Control:
Wine, For One
by Drew Lazor
Vino Solo, slightly depressing name notwithstanding — we've been jokingly referring to it as "Cat Lady Chardonnay" at my house — is steadily making headway in its very specific niche of the wine market.


Agenda


Agenda :: NoLibs Holiday Shopping Spree
Shopping Spree:
NoLibs Holiday Shopping Spree
by Julia West
Forfeit the fuss of mall parking lots and the disappointment of soggy food-court fare for a leisurely stroll through the shopping mecca that is NoLibs instead.

Icepack
Amorosi on the news, nightlife, gossip and bitchiness beats.
by A.D. Amorosi
With Thanksgiving, THE season for old friends — to say nothing of hard sour drinking, the bittersweet use of coke for the first time in a year, and deep regret — begins. Embrace it.

Agenda Picks:
Bizarre Bazarre
Sat., Nov. 27, 10 a.m.-6 p.m.; Sun., Nov. 28, noon-4 p.m.; free, 1220 S. Eighth St., facebook.com/profcouch.
by Daniella Wexler
For nearly 20 years, Mondo Merchandise's Professor Furry C. Ouch has been encouraging Philadelphia junk hoarders with his annual Bizarre Bazarre.

Piazza Holiday Bazaar
Fri., Nov. 26, 11 a.m.-7 p.m., free, Piazza at Schmidts, 1101 N. Second St., 215-467-4603, atthepiazza.com.
by Josh Middleton
Let everyone else head to the 'burbs to battle long lines and traffic jams while we mosey through funky local boutiques at the Piazza at Schmidts' Black Friday Holiday Bazaar.

Tibetan Arts & Crafts Bazaar
Fri., Nov. 26, 10:30 a.m.-7 p.m.; Sat., Nov. 27, 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m.; free, Ethical Society, 1906 Rittenhouse Square, 215-701-7018, tibetanbuddhist.org.
by Caitlin Durkin
This year, give those on your holiday shopping list the gift of culture with trinkets from the annual Tibetan Arts & Crafts Bazaar.


 
 
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