THE ONE: Ne-Yo all up in the matrix, Powerhouse 2007, Wachovia Center. BY JONATHAN VALANIA FOR THE INQUIRER ‘Nothing succeeds like success’ may well be a cliche but that doesn’t make it any less true, especially in the hip-hop world where sales is artistry. And that’s pretty much how things went down Friday night at the Wachovia Center when radio station Power 99 hosted Powerhouse 2007, a nearly six-hour revue-style parade of major hip-hop artists — some on their way up, others on their way back down. Kanye West, currently the king of the hip-hop hill, headlined with great artistic […]
WORTH REPEATING: Question The Parking Authority
SIX YEARS after Republicans took control of the Philadelphia Parking Authority in a political coup d’etat, the number of people on its payroll has doubled and top salaries have soared, making the patronage haven one of the best-paid addresses in municipal government. In 2001, when House Republican leader John Perzel engineered the takeover, the Parking Authority had 512 full-time employees. Only two of them were making six-figure salaries. Six years later, the full-time payroll has grown to 1,051 people, including 20 who are making more than $100,000 a year. The authority’s top job now belongs to Vincent J. Fenerty Jr., […]
TODAY I SAW: Mantua Hall II
BY JEFF DEENEY TODAY I SAW new black magic marker tags scrawled on the sidewalk outside Mantua Hall. “Tre Six Gangstas,” read one, “36th Street Mafia” read another. There’s a ledge outside the front doors to the housing project tall enough to sit on, and there were seven or eight Tre Six boys kicking back on the ledge and mobbed on the steps leading to the front door. It was early Friday evening, so I assumed they were getting ready to serve the payday party crowd that would start rolling through at any minute. One of the boys had shoulder […]
BREAKING: Don’t Call It A Comeback
Roc-A-Fella Records’ CEO and Def Jam President Jay-Z will leave the office in November to embark on the “American Gangster Live” tour, a five-date outing in support of his upcoming album, American Gangster. Jay-Z will treat fans to exclusive shows in mid-sized, intimate venues in Los Angeles, Chicago, Baltimore, New York and Philadelphia, where he will perform songs from his American Gangster album, which is the rapper’s interpretation of the upcoming American Gangster movie. The rapper will kick off the tour at the House of Blues in Los Angeles on November 6, the same day the American Gangster album lands […]
INSTA-REVIEW: Five Things You Should Know About Spoon Last Night At The Electric Factory
1. They start off mellow, measured and, frankly, boring-as-hell. Half the crowd is asleep by the third song. Please oh please, Britt! Break out some of them catchy tunes. You know, like that “Camera” song. Yeah, that one! Okay, that’s more like it. Hips are moving. People are grooving. Now the pace is set for the rest of the night. 2. “The Ghost of You Lingers” is meant to be heard live. The bassist and guitarists are banging, banging, banging on the keyboards. Britt’s tremulous voice lingers and echoes as if he were singing into a vast subterranean cavern. It’s […]
All Of This Happened While You Were Sleeping
SUB PRIME LENDER: 50 Cent showed up unannounced at Powerhouse 2007 last night at the Wachovia Center, grabbed his dick and left. Plus, some other stuff happened. [Photo by JONATHAN VALANIA]
ALT-RAWK TALK: Thirteen Astonishing Things You Are NOT Supposed To Know About Spoon
[As told to JONATHAN VALANIA] 1. Britt Daniel has never killed anyone. “Technically, no,” he says when asked. 2. “Don’t Make Me A Target” was originally titled “Don’t Blame Me I Voted For Nader.” 3. Spoon is named after the Can song of the same name. Britt first learned about Kraut Rock in the 11th grade from his obsessive study of every word uttered by Julian Cope. 4. Britt Daniel may have voted for Ralph Nader instead of Al Gore in 2000. “I think maybe I did,” he says when asked. 5. Britt Daniel is 36 years old and has […]
SPOON: Don’t You Evah
Spoon plays the Electric Factory Friday, with The Ponys and DJ Dave P.
THAT’S COMCASTIC! Or Why ‘Net Neutrality’ Matters
ASSOCIATED PRESS: Comcast Blocks Some Internet Traffic NEW YORK (AP) — Comcast Corp. actively interferes with attempts by some of its high-speed Internet subscribers to share files online, a move that runs counter to the tradition of treating all types of Net traffic equally. The interference, which The Associated Press confirmed through nationwide tests, is the most drastic example yet of data discrimination by a U.S. Internet service provider. It involves company computers masquerading as those of its users. If widely applied by other ISPs, the technology Comcast is using would be a crippling blow to the BitTorrent, eDonkey and […]
‘Straight Scouts’ Get Bitch Slapped By City Hall
Kudos to the Fairmount Park Commission for holding firm on the Boy Scouts thing, though one suspects there may be other issues at work, like hmmm, say, the city getting its hands on that phat building at 22nd and Winter? Well, if it’s in the pursuit of an even higher cause, the real estate angle can be overlooked. Long story short: The Boy Scouts, America’s favorite homophobic paramilitary youth group, pays $1 a year in rent on a building that should cost $200K. So it’s time to pay up or pack up, Boys. FOXNews goes there about whether city solicitor […]
HOT DOCUMENT: Hey Bub, Wanna Buy A Boxing Ring?
$6500000 The Legendary Blue Horizon Reply to: amyb@yentis.com Date: 2007-10-18, 10:24AM EDT A multi-purpose venue located on the Avenue of the Arts. #1 Boxing Venue in the world; 3-story structure; interesting architectural details; asking price does not include boxing business; 41,440+/- sq. ft. above grade; Contains CarMichael Auditorium with clear span and high ceilings, seats 1500 people for boxing and wrestling, seats 600 in lower auditorium and 580 in balcony for concerts and also used for cabarets/parties; Blue Diamond Ballroom seats 500; Newer Roof (2005); newer boiler (2003); Zoned C-2; 400+ amp electric; Taxes $11,239; 74 x 200 Lot. Daniel […]
PAPERBOY: ‘Freak-Folk Wit Whiz’ Edition
BY AMY Z. QUINN Like time, news waits for no man. Keeping up with the funny papers has always been an all-day job, even in the pre-Internets era. These days, however, it’s a two-man job. That’s right — these days you need someone to do your reading for you, or risk falling hopelessly behind and, as a result, increasing your chances of dying lonely and somewhat bitter. Hey, we know how it is — so many words to read, so little time to surf for free porn. That’s why every week, PAPERBOY does your alt-weekly reading for you, freeing up […]
D.C. IMPROV: Ladies And Germs, Arlen Specter!
INQUIRER: Specter finished second last night in a contest to determine the funniest celebrity in the nation’s capital, a charity event to benefit VH1’s Save the Music Foundation and the Institute of Musical Traditions. Most of the other performers were members of the media, so Specter stood out not only for his age — at 77 he was the oldest contestant by a good quarter-century — but for being a good sport among his famously dour and introverted congressional colleagues. Specter, looking trim and relaxed, a consoling martini nearby, said his jokes ranged from “the questionable to the highly questionable […]