BY MIKE WOLVERTON SPORTS GUY It was the Running Into the Kicker penalty early in the 3rd quarter that was the last straw. Before that, a couple of borderline calls had gotten the referees on the crowd’s bad side, but when the zebras bought Colts punter Pat McAfee’s kick-and-flop, the crowd had had enough. A big early lead gone, still bitter about the Phillies, this was the Philadelphia Sports Collective’s first chance to vent after two weeks stewing about the Eagles collapse against the Titans and the Phillies flameout. Oh, and the Sixers poor start (just kidding!). Now the crowd […]
TONITE: We Don’t Need No Education
Pink Floyd the Wall by NOT a FIRE exit Roger Waters’s performance of The Wall kicks off a three night stand at The Wells Fargo Center tonight, with repeat performances on Tuesday and Thursday. Tickets are available for all three nights. INQUIRER: One show at the [Spectrum], which is slated for destruction, sticks out in Waters’ mind. As a result, he says, the song “Comfortably Numb” “resides in the Spectrum.” “I was getting ready to do a gig there, and I had some stomach bug. Terrible, terrible stomach cramps. We had a doctor come into the hotel and say, ‘Well, […]
RAWK TAWK: Life According To Brother JT
BY JONATHAN VALANIA Garage-punk savant, drone-rock wizard, acid-dazed psychonaut, human ouija board, holy fool of the Internet — Brother JT is a man of many hats. He’s been a puppet, a poet, a pirate, a pawn and king. He’s been up and down and over and out — and he still really likes the LSD thing. He’s come to tell us all that the emperor has no clothes, the sky is falling, God is great, we’re already dead, and yet despite all that life is beautiful. He’s also leading the protest movement against the war going on in this country […]
CONCERT REVIEW: Guided By Voices @ The Troc
BY JONATHAN VALANIA FOR THE INQUIRER Funny how Gen X used to mercilessly mock its predecessors for endlessly revisiting the Woodstockian ecstasies of its youth, as though nostalgia were a generational affliction instead of a universal symptom of aging. Now that the gray-bearding of Gen X has commenced, its members have proved no less immune to the impulse to revisit the pleasures of their gloriously misspent youth. Exhibit A is Guided by Voices’ sold-out “Hallway Of Shatterproof Glass Tour,” which reunites the so-called classic lineup of the Dayton, Ohio, indie darlings for one more beery, fist-pumping, scissors-kicking sing-along of their […]
WORTH REPEATING: Drunk, Naked And Courtney Love Is No Way To Go Through Life, Son
[Photo by HEDI SLIMANE] NEW YORK TIMES: Shortly after 8 p.m., Ms. Love burst into the room with the Marchesa dress slung on one arm and the noted German Neo-Expressionist artist Anselm Kiefer on the other. She was entirely naked and leaning on Mr. Kiefer for support. She made one lap around the room, walking in front of a photographer, an assistant, a hairstylist and me. She pulled over her head a transparent lace dress that covered up nothing, and demanded my assistance — “Not you,” she said to Mr. Kiefer, who was bent over trying to help her — […]
ALBUM REVIEW: The Growlers’ Hot Tropic
BY MATTHEW HENGEVELD Returning with pounding lo-fi neo-surf-rock, the Growlers create a little brother for their 2009 psychedelic monster, Are You in or Out? The brand-new EP, Hot Tropics, sounds like a collection of B-sides from the Growler’s debut— but that’s not a bad thing. They’ve patented a new brand of hypnosis in their rehashing of surf-rock and drugged-out droning. I found these guys in the The State Theater lobby at Penn State, schmoozing with the college students. Just about to open for Dr. Dog, they wanted to sell a few discs before getting on stage. The South Cali band […]
CONCERT REVIEW: Bassnectar & Beats Antiques
BY PELLE GUNTHER Walking into the Electric Factory, the glow stick littered pavement told tales of many an enthusiastic raver’s shattered dreams as security confiscated everything they could find a reason to take. Watching the vibrantly dressed fans enter the venue, as glow sticks were pulled from shoes, out of sleeves, from hats, pants and god knows where else, the security’s failure at the art of security became painfully clear. Once inside the venue the amount of successfully-smuggled contraband-rave materials on display was astounding. But these fans brought their rave A-game for a reason: This frigid 5th of November (my love […]
THE EARLY WORD: The Club Is Open
The classic ’94-’96 GBV lineup plays the Troc tomorrow. The show is sold out. Stay tuned for a complete report…
ALBUM REVIEW: Black Mountain Wilderness Heart
The words “psychedelic rock” can be an easy turnoff for some, especially those who have no truck with hair-wagging peddle-hopping stoner-rock. However this is something entirely different. The heavy-riffing Canadian psychedelic outfit known as Black Mountain has been causing quite a stir with their latest release Wilderness Heart, which feels like listening to an immaculately-preserved mix tape of late 60s/early 70s psychedelic rock you found in your hippie uncle’s basement. The album starts it off strong with the Zep-tastic “Hair Song.” Its very Americana chord progression makes me want to sip Coca-Cola on the sidewalk outside a corner store while […]
CINEMA: Bee Girl And The Jihad Jokers
THE GIRL WHO KICKED THE HORNET’S NEST (2009, directed by Daniel Alfredson, 147 minutes Sweden) FOUR LIONS (2009, directed by Chris Morris, 97 minutes, U.K.) BY DAN BUSKIRK FILM CRITIC I was a little disappointed that the title of this third film from the best selling Stieg Larsson novels was only metaphoric. In the first part, hacker and violent avenger Lisbeth Salander really showed her dragon tattoo and in the second half she actually played with fire (engulfing her abusive daddy in flames). Here, I was hoping for some Wily Coyote-style action where Lisbeth made one of her many attackers […]
CONCERT REVIEW: Wolf Parade @ The Troc
[Illustration by KAGAN McLEOD] BY PELLE GUNTHER Wolf Parade has long been known for heavy indie rock dirges covered in wild synth leads and a live show does not disappoint. On top of that Spencer Krug’s wailing vibrato is just as bizarre and captivating in person, all pining and heartbreak mixed with a strange sense of hope. Unfortunately, when Krug took a break from screaming his vocals, Dan Boeckner filled in with his much less distinctive voice, which didn’t carry the same emotional pull that Krug had captivated me with. The band focused much of their set on new music […]
RICH MAN POOR MAN: Mo’ Money, Mo’ Republican
[click to enlarge] RELATED: Despite what you are hearing about Tea Party Populism and hopping mad Main Streeters, one thing is indisputable. The more money you make, the more likely you were to cast a ballot for Republicans in the 2010 elections. The GOP was swept into office by a green tide of affluence. MORE RELATED: Who was the big winner in this week’s midterm election? The Republican Party? No. Former half-term Governor Sarah Palin? Not hardly. Speaker-in-waiting John Boehner? Nope. The Tea Party movement? Think again. Tuesday night’s big winner was undoubtedly Fox News. It did more than just […]
EXILE IN GUYVILLE: Liz Phair Reviews Keith Richard’s Life For The New York Times
[Illustration by Enkeling] NEW YORK TIMES: As their popularity grows, so does their stardust. “Suddenly we were being courted by half the aristocracy, the younger scions, the heirs to some ancient pile, the Ormsby-Gores, the Tennants, the whole lot. I’ve never known if they were slumming or we were snobbing.” It’s a blue-collar fairy tale, but distance between Mick and Keith begins to steadily expand — so much so, Keith confesses, that “I haven’t gone to his dressing room in, I don’t think, 20 years.” The Glimmer Twins, once so close Keith claims they had “identical taste in music,” now […]