Police have released the names of two men murdered yesterday in the city. The killings brought this year’s homicide total to 60.Early last night, Jamal Slade, 19, was fatally shot in Logan, police said. Slade, who lived in the 5200 block of North Second Street, was shot multiple times in the torso shortly before 7 p.m. at 11th and Louden Streets, police said. He was transported to Albert Einstein Medical Center and later pronounced dead. Police reported no arrests. Yesterday afternoon, Mondez Lloyd, 31, of 2800 North Van Pelt, was fatally wounded yesterday in a shooting on a North Philadelphia […]
TODAY I SAW…
BY JEFF DEENEY “Today I saw…” is a series of nonfiction shorts based on my experiences as a caseworker serving formerly homeless families now living in North and West Philadelphia. I decided not long after starting the job that I was seeing so many fascinating and disturbing things in the city’s poorest neighborhoods that I needed to start cataloging them. I hope this bi-weekly column serves as a record of a side of the city that many Philadelphians don’t come in contact with on a daily basis. I want to capture moments not frequently covered by the local media, which […]
We Know It’s Only Rock N’ Roll But We Like It
I AND I: The Skatalites, Trocadero, February 22nd, 2007 EVA SAYS: I wasn’t at all surprised to find a lot of empty space between patrons at the Skatalites show. On a night like this, all the hip, trendy kids were probably well on their way to catch the new electro-ipod/turntable-avant-garde-sample whatever somewhere along the borders of NoLibs. Their loss. Though a little aged and worn around the edges, the Skatalites still delivered one of the most fun shows of the past year. And sure, the musical aspect was important. There was no forgetting that I was in the presence of […]
GUNCRAZY: Learn To Love, MOTHERFUCKERS!
A weekend of gun violence in Philadelphia left four dead and at least six people injured. One flare-up involved a shoot-out near an all-night Center City pharmacy early yesterday. Shortly after 2 a.m., two men were wounded when a disturbance in a nightclub apparently spilled out into the streets of Center City near a CVS Pharmacy, police said. Police identified them as New Jersey residents, ages 25 and 26. Police said the altercation may have resulted from an earlier dispute in the Tragos nightclub near 19th and Chestnut Streets. Police said that they weren’t sure if the incidents were connected, […]
THE MICHAEL SMERCONISH EXPLAINER: Wiping The Smirk Off Mr. Clean With The Dirty Rag Of Truth
BY JONATHAN VALANIA Michael Smerconish looks like Mr. Clean, or, as he is known to Russian housewives, Mr. Proper. Michael Smerconish is also a country club Republican, a talk-radio host and, as of late, a regular fixture of the Inquirer’s Sunday Op-Ed page. Bully for him, we’re all for equal time and open debate even if we think he has his head up his ass most of the time. Sadly, because of guys like Smerconish — Machiavellian media climbers that will say ANYTHING to ensure their butt space in the game of musical chairs that is the talking head punditocracy […]
We Know It’s Only Rock N’ Roll But We Like It
ALL YOUNG IN THE SOUL: The Photon Band + Like A Fox, Johnny Brendas, Last Night [FLICKR] [Photos by JONATHAN VALANIA]
TODAY I SAW…
BY JEFF DEENEY “Today I saw…” is a series of nonfiction shorts based on my experiences as a caseworker serving formerly homeless families now living in North and West Philadelphia. I decided not long after starting the job that I was seeing so many fascinating and disturbing things in the city’s poorest neighborhoods that I needed to start cataloging them. I hope this bi-weekly column serves as a record of a side of the city that many Philadelphians don’t come in contact with on a daily basis. I want to capture moments not frequently covered by the local media, which […]
We Know It’s Only Rock N’ Roll But We Like It
OUR MOTHER THE MOUNTAIN: Son Volt, WORLD CAFE LIVE, Noon BY AMY Z. QUINN It’s difficult to know sometimes whether Jay Farrar is actually enjoying himself up there. The never-excitable singer/songsmith at the front of Son Volt rarely cracks a smile, doesn’t dance and, as per usual, is a man of few-to-no words. But those are the wrong places to look for vital signs with this guy. With Farrar it’s when his left leg starts going, a steady stomp that never gets faster, only pounds harder against the stage while he works out his quiet rage. And what beautiful rage […]
Cover Wars: Whose Artfag Kung-Fu Is Stronger?
[The curtain closes and the camera pulls back to reveal a stone-faced audience sitting on their hands. The uncomfortable silence is broken only by the occasional cough, chair squeak and, yes, the chirping of crickets.] WINNER: Daily News’ Shitful Cover Band Cover Because, Hey, It’s Been That Kind Of Week
HIZZONER ’07: Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
By CATHERINE LUCEY & BOB WARNER LAST NIGHT, Philadelphia’s five mayoral candidates were asked how they would stem the city’s tide of violence. One would declare an emergency. One promises job training. One wants to reverse the mind-set of violence. One said education, not crime, is the issue. And one didn’t show up. Crime — considered the No. 1 issue to voters — was the focus of a mayoral forum held last night at St. Joseph’s University and sponsored by the school’s Institute of Violence Research and Prevention. The above responses were, in order, from: former Councilman Michael Nutter, businessman […]
CENTENNIAL: Ben Franklin Parkway Turns 100
Dignitaries gathered at 22nd and the Parkway to bury a time capsule to mark the occasion. As the skies opened up, a modern-day Ben Franklin led a ceremony to bury a time capsule containing what quickly became soggy items from places like the Free Library and the Franklin Institute: “We’ll ask each of the people from the institutions just to throw a little dirt!” One hundred years ago, demolition to build the Parkway began. Among those donning bowler hats for the event was state senator Vince Fumo, showing good humor despite facing federal corruption charges: “I’m going to start charging […]
POP IN TAPE: Hot Wax In The 215
THIS WEEK: A YOUNG PERSON’S GUIDE TO SYNTHETIC SPAGHETTI By MICHAEL FICHMAN Party people seem to fit in to three categories- music nerds, people who only want to hear music they know and people who like partying but don’t care about music. Needless to say I’m in the first category and the last two types of folks really grind my gears. But being a DJ is about compromise. You have to strike a balance between the plebian tendencies of the masses and your own conceit. It’s not unlike working food service, you kind of hate the people on the other […]
COMING ATTRACTION: New Flick Combines Classic Philly Soul With Inspiring Tale Of Philly Swim Coach
PRIDE tells the true story of Philadelphia inner-city swim coach Jim Ellis and a group of audacious, talented African-American youngsters who trained with him, conquering inexperience, prejudice, low expectations and their own insecurities to win honors in a sport that had no black role models in 1973. Directed by South Africa’s Sunu Gonera, the life-affirming PRIDE stars Academy Award nominee Terrence Howard (HUSTLE & FLOW, CRASH, RAY) and Bernie Mac (GUESS WHO, OCEANS 12, BAD SANTA).Coinciding exactly with the time and place of the explosion of Philadelphia soul in the early 1970s, PRIDE presented an opportunity for the film music […]