BY JOHN BURNS OF THE NEW YORK TIMES [T]here is little sign that the Baghdad push is accomplishing its main purpose: to create an island of stability in which Sunni Arabs, Shiite Arabs and Kurds can try to figure out how to run the country together. There has been no visible move toward compromise on the main dividing issues, like regional autonomy and more power sharing between Shiites and Sunnis. For American troops, Baghdad has become a deadlier battleground as they have poured into the capital to confront Sunni and Shiite militias on their home streets. The rate of American […]
REVIEW: ‘I’d say this is a movie from a fellow insecure about his modest achievements, who no longer impresses women with his knowledge of Sam Fuller films and now fantasizes about killing them along the side of the highway.’
GRINDHOUSE (2007, directed by Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino, 191 min., U.S.) BY DAN BUSKIRK FILM CRITIC What has happened to Quentin Tarantino? There was a time when the Animals were considered as good as the Stones, a time when Stallone was touted as the next Brando and a time when Tarantino was thought of as one of the next important American filmmakers. Grindhouse, a double feature pairing “Death Planet,” from Sin City‘s Robert Rodriguez, with “Death Proof,” a new feature from the only video store clerk to win Golden Palm at Cannes. With it, Tarantino extends his vacation from […]
BREAKING: Tritone’s Rick D. Killed By Heart Attack
SARA SHERR REPORTS: I’m shocked to even type this. Just found out through Paul Dellevigne that Rick D co-owner of Tritone passed away from a heart attack just a few hours ago. I’ve known Rick D for over a decade, first as a music journo, back when he booked The Firenze, JC Dobbs, and Upstairs at Nick’s. He was an early supporter and adopter of all kinds of punk bands, most famously booking Green Day at Dobbs pre-Dookie. He also ran a label called Black Hole and was in a band called the Newbyles. He probably has a history pre-bar […]
Rick D: Barman And Booker Extraordinaire, Beloved Inventor Of The Bob & Barbara’s Happy Meal
BY BRIAN HOWARD The crowds have changed since [Nate] Wiley first began playing at the bar in 1983 with the Joe Whalen trio. Back then, Bob and Barbara’s drew primarily black crowds as one of the last of South Philadelphia west-of-Broad’s jazz bars. (Many nearby establishments had closed or vacated in the ’50s, ’60s and early ’70s due to the long-planned-but-never-realized crosstown expressway, which eventually became the Vine Street expressway.) Bob Port, who had owned the bar since 1978 with his friend Barbara Carter, retired to Kansas City in 1995 and sold the bar to Prince, who used to own […]
We Know It’s Only Rock N’ Roll But We Like It
I AM THE RED MAN: Mike Patton’s Peeping Tom, TLA, Saturday Night BY S. FITZGERALD LODWICK I arrived on South Street shortly after nine and, after straightening out some unpleasantness with my press credentials, headed across the street from the TLA to enjoy a beer with the Mike Patton fanatics. One young woman had been to the Peeping Tom show just two days before, in Baltimore, MD. This is not wholly uncommon as, truth be told, Mike Patton fans are more of a cult than an audience. More intelligent than the Moonies, and far less frightening than the Scientologists, yet […]
About Last Night…
SOMETIMES YOU’RE UP, SOMETIMES YOU’RE DOWN: Bambi Gallery, 8:34 P.M.
FILM FEST WEEKEND PREVIEW: ARTFAG KUNG-FU; UNSPEAKABLE SISTER ACTS; LARS VON TRIER
BY DAN BUSKIRK FILM CRITIC It’s the opening weekend of the 16th annual Philadelphia Film Festival and we’re sitting on the ass end of winter, so no one has to feel bad about being inside, in the dark, on a perfectly beautiful day. Surely you have many more sunny days in Rittenhouse Square in your future, but when will you get another chance to watch silent Our Gang shorts with Leonard Maltin? While Maltin’s taste in contemporary film can be a bit prim, his love of early Hollywood animation and the world of comic shorts better reveal his importance as […]
HOLLA: At The Film Fest Opening Night Partay
BY JAMES DOOLITTLE In nonchalantly telling my spouse that the reason I showered yesterday for the first time in two days was to attend the opening gala for this year’s Philly Film Fest, her question of “where” produced another, even more obvious question: Why was the Film Society holding this year’s fest at a strip club. In and of itself, an honest query, but a quick review of the Penthouse Lounge & Grille‘s website reveals a stated attempt to provide Philadelphia with “an upscale concept restaurant”, which based on last night’s shindig means a tray of coconut shrimp is […]
THIS JUST IN: NEW TWIST IN PW SALE SAGA
PW’s Steve Volk is reporting that the sale of PW to Village Voice Media (AKA New Times) is NOT the done deal Philebrity has been reporting, and reveals yet another apparent bidder: In a story published on Tuesday evening, a local blog reported that PW had already been sold to Village Voice Media (VVM), a Phoenix-based chain of alternative newsweeklies. That report now appears to be erroneous, and the bidding is ongoing. PW: Get Back Jo Jo
All Of This Happened While You Were Sleeping
Sharon Pinkerson & Paul Rudd, Film Fest Opening Night Party, Penthouse Club [Photo & FLICKR by JONATHAN VALANIA] Brian Fantana: [about Veronica] I’ll give this little cookie an hour before we’re doing the no-pants dance. Time to musk up. [opens cologne cabinet] Ron Burgundy: Wow. Never ceases to amaze me. What cologne you gonna go with? London Gentleman, or wait. No, no, no. Hold on. Blackbeard’s Delight. Brian Fantana: No, she gets a special cologne… It’s called Sex Panther by Odeon. It’s illegal in nine countries… Yep, it’s made with bits of real panther, so you know it’s good. Ron […]
TONIGHT: Whip It Good!
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Write Clever Caption, Win Tix To See The English Beat!
The City of Philadelphia’s photo archive contains over 2 million images that date back as far as the late 1800s, i.e. the last time a Republican won in this town. In all seriousness, this is an INCREDIBLE visual record of the city’s evolution and a relatively new web site, PhillyHistory.org, is making it available for online consumption and purchase. To date, some 22,000 images have been digitally scanned, at a rate of roughly 2,000 images a month. So, if you’ve been wondering why the line at Kinko’s is so goddamned SLOW, well, now you know. Phawker will be showcasing images […]
THE EARLY WORD: Girl, Kill Your Boyfriend
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