Chris Cornell, Tower Theater, last night by HOWARD GAINES BY JOE PAONE The Tower Theater’s iconic marquee read “SOUNDGARDEN SOLD OUT.” The WMMR Fun Times Party Van was out front. Shiny tractor trailers stretched as far as the eye could see. Middle-aged superfan rock dudes excitedly chattered about the latest projects from people like “Tom” (Morello). Silver-haired middle managers and salespeople roamed the venue with their uncomfortable-looking wives. Some people looked like they hadn’t been to a rock show since Eric Lindros captained the Flyers. And then there were the kids who weren’t even born during the height of grunge, […]
The O.C. On A Sat. Night, Same Sh*t, Different A**holes
PHILLY.COM: A violent brawl in Old City over the weekend was captured on video, showing attackers beating a car and other people, and an alleged gunman running from police. A video of the fight posted on YouTube shows a crowd of people kicking a white car. Then, the group is shown repeatedly punching and beating at least one person who is sprawled on the ground. One shot was fired during the incident, police say. “That guy has a gun,” one witness to the brawl is heard saying on the video. MORE
REWIND 2012: The Year In Phawker Interviews
Talk is cheap, especially on the Internet, but at Phawker it’s totally free, baby — at least for you, dear reader. Trolling through the vast and dusty Phawker archives, we have dug up fat sack of conversations from the past year that are worth re-visiting: Dick Dale, King Of The Surf Guitar; graphic novelist Charles Burns, the Edgar Allan Poe of right now; photographer Joe Kazcmarek, who tirelessly chronicles the murder-scarred backstreets of North and West Philly; Jim Reid, lead singer of The Jesus And Mary Chain; Anton Newcombe, cult leader of The Brian Jonestown Massacre; Hardball host Chris Matthews; […]
MEMORIAM: Jack Klugman, ‘Rubber-Mugged’ Everyman
NEW YORK TIMES: His features were large and mobile; his voice was a deep, earnest, rough-hewed bleat. He was a no-baloney actor who conveyed straightforward, simply defined emotion, whether it was anger, heartbreak, lust or sympathy. That forthrightness, in both comedy and drama, was the source of his power and his popularity. Never remote, never haughty, he was a regular guy, an audience-pleaser who proved well-suited for series television. Mr. Klugman was already a decorated actor in 1970 when he began co-starring in “The Odd Couple,” a sitcom adaptation of Neil Simon’s hit play about two divorced men — friends […]
THE AP TICKER TRIO: Winter Wonderland
Season’s greetings from The Least Trusted Name In News. And a Happy New Year!
PISSED JEANS: False Jesii Part 2
Punk friggin’ rock. Allentown represent!
How To Disarm The NRA: All You Need Is Love & $38 Mil
BY JONATHAN VALANIA FOR THE PHILLY POST It is a sad testament to the depth of our national indifference that it took the massacre of 20 six year olds in their first grade classroom to finally trigger a united and sustained public outcry for an end to the madness. After 62 mass murders and counting since 1982, we have, it would appear, finally reached the tipping point. On this we can all agree: Never again. In fairness, this complacency was not entirely our own fault, it was, by and large, fostered and fomented by the National Rifle Association, which runs […]
Thou Shall Not Put The Ocean Behind A Paywall
Photo by WEEGEE BY JONATHAN VALANIA FOR THE PHILLY POST As you may have heard, a bipartisan pair of New Jersey lawmakers are sponsoring a bill (S-2368) that offers the Garden State’s dazed and shattered shore towns a Hobson’s choice: Accept public funds to restore beaches from the ravages of superstorm Sandy and forfeit the right to charge beachgoers an admission price in the form of beach tags OR don’t take a dime of public money and charge at will. Also, if you do choose to take the taxpayers’ money, you MUST provide seaside public restrooms, which would put an […]
CONTEST: Win Tix To See Polyphonic Spree @ The Troc
Like Santa Claus, The Polyphonic Spree is coming to town — to the Troc tomorrow night to be exact — in support of the new HolidayDream: Sounds of the Holidays Vol. One. Eyewitnesses breathlessly describe the band’s live shows as bliss rallies, as sonic Ecstasy hits, the antidote to Seasonal Affect Disorder, all indie/rock/orchestral/Tabernacle choir sunshine and goodwill and tidings of comfort and joy. ‘Tis the season, right? We have two pairs of tickets to give away because we heard you were bummed and figured the Spree would help turn that frown upside down. To qualify all you have to […]
THE REVEREND HORTON HEAT: Bales Of Cocaine
Last night at the TLA, where he opened for X, the good Reverend announced that he would be performing tonight at the North Star!
TONIGHT: Heyward Bound
If there was a more beautiful, idiosyncratic and intelligently-designed debut released this year than Heyward Howkins‘ The Hale & Hearty, then I didn’t hear it. Imagine, if you will, M. Ward and Antony naked and slathered in milk and honey, sealed in a giant clamshell to baste for a thousand years. A millennium from now, long after the oceans have evaporated and the insects once again rule the earth, when the shell opens music-box style, there will be this magnificent pearl sitting there on the half shell, and when you rub it, much like when you wet your finger […]
CONTEST: Win Tix To See X Tonight!
Literary, transgressive, noir-ish in their buzzsawing, X is arguably the greatest West Coast punk band in the last 35 years. If everything I just said was like a dog watching a card trick, watch The Unheard Music and join us at the next sentence. After a series of hiatuses and reunions, they’ve re-activated in recent years as an ongoing touring concern. Tonight they play the TLA with the mighty Reverend Horton Heat and we have three pairs of tickets to give away. To qualify to win all you have to do is sign up for our mailing list (to the […]
CONCERT REVIEW: Passion Pit @ The Electric Factory
Photo by DEREK BRAD EDITOR’S NOTE: All times approximate. Present tense added retroactively the next morning. 7:45 – Waiting for 23 bus en route to Electric Factory. See a stray/lost cat through a fence, talk to him or her, but for some reason assume it is male. “Aw poor little guy, aw my sweet little thing. Aw.” Aw. 7:49 – Board 23 bus. There is food and trash all over the floor. Would not have it any other way. 7:55 – Deboard at Callowhill, catch a peek at The Trestle Inn, get simultaneously happy and sad. 7:57 – Loving the desolation, […]