PHILADELPHIA — TWO CBS 3 staffers were detained Thursday by officers assigned to the Veterans Administration Hospital (39th & Woodland) for videotaping without permission.The pair were caught “in an area of the nursing facility where they were not allowed to be,” Rich Manieri, U.S. Attorney’s office spokesman, told us Friday. A female photographer was fined $150 for disorderly conduct after putting up some sort of struggle when confronted, and was also fined $50 for trespassing and $50 for unauthorized photography. A male producer also received the lesser two fines. VA officers confiscated a videotape from the CBS 3 crew and […]
TONY CONRAD: Ten Years Alive On An Infinite Plain
WIKIPEDIA: Tony Conrad (born Anthony S. Conrad in 1940 in Concord, New Hampshire) is an American avant-garde video artist, experimental filmmaker, musician/composer, sound artist, teacher and writer. His father was Arthur Conrad, who worked with Everett Warner during World War II in designing dazzle camouflage for the US Navy. Conrad’s most famous film, The Flicker (1966), is considered a key early work of the structural film movement. The film consists of only completely black and completely white images, which, as the title suggests, produces a flicker when projected. When the film was first screened several viewers in the audience became […]
MAILBAG: ‘Not if they were giving out free cocaine and BJs’
The following was forwarded to us by a reader, along with the quote above: Dear [Redacted], I received your complaint this morning about our decision to convert the TLA into The Fillmore Philadelphia. Being a huge live music fan myself I can understand your attachment to the TLA name. All I can ask is that you give us a chance. This is not just a name change. We are putting hardwood floors in the club, changing the decor to reflect rock and roll history — and Philadelphia rock history specifically. We are bringing chandeliers into the venue. After select shows […]
CHIX WE DIG: Marty Moss-Coane, Host & Executive Producer of WHYY’s Radio Times & Total Babia Majora
BY JONATHAN VALANIA How do we love Marty? Let us count the ways: The way she picks Philadelphia’s brain every day for two hours, leading listeners through two completely different, but somehow relevant, topics of interest — with confidence, class and MILF-y aplomb. The way she never loses her cool or raises her voice or engages in ad hominem attacks, and expects her guests and callers to do the same; how she enforces that covenant with the gentle firmness of a Cub Scout den mother. The way she and her girlfriends — back when they were teenagers — sometimes went […]
JUNK SCIENCE: A Spring Clean For The May Queen
BY ELIZABETH FIEND The vernal equinox, AKA spring time, occurs when the earth is tilted so that the sun is directly over the equator at high noon. In this momentary balance of light and dark, we are halfway between summer and winter. Mid-points have been celebrated through out the ages and around the world. In ancient Babylon, the New Year occurred at the spring equinox. The ancients of America oriented their giant earthwork mounds to equinox sunrise points. Celtic Pagans lit fires at dawn to cure ills, renew life and protect crops. Today, we party in Cancun. Or we clean. […]
HEAR YE: Amy Winehouse/BACK TO BLACK
“What kind of fuckery is this/You made me miss the Slick Rick gig” — Amy Winehouse, “Me & Mr. Jones” [NOW PLAYING ON PHAWKER RADIO]
LIVE REVIEW: Toots & The Maytals, Sweet & Dandy
BY S. FITZGERALD LODWICK In 1962, Toots Hibbert moved to Kingston, Jamaica and formed the original incarnation of The Maytals. Last night — some 45 years later– the TLA was graced with appearance by the godfather of reggae and the show he put on would shame men half his age. This diminutive, aging Rastafarian played one of the most dynamic two and a half hour sets I’ve ever had the pleasure to witness, and whaled with a voice that sounded like it could easily last another hundred years. As those of royalty often do, Toots showed us, with mellow aplomb, […]
Cover Wars: Whose Artfag Kung-Fu Is Stronger?
WINNER: DAILY NEWS?
KILLADELPHIA: Settled Scores Reach 104
INQUIRER: After hitting 100 homicides, Philadelphia witnessed unrelenting violence over the weekend, with the gruesome discovery of a woman’s body with a plastic bag tied over her head and three men felled by gunfire. Police said no arrests had been made in the homicides, which boost the city total to at least 104, higher than that of some larger cities in the country. Victims of three other unrelated shootings early yesterday were in critical condition last night. “It was a gory night,” said an officer who declined to be named. MORE *PLEASE NOTE: Our recurring GUNCRAZY column, wherein we try […]
We Know It’s Only Rock N’ Roll But We Like It
SNAKE EYES: Slo-Mo‘s Mic Wrecka, Johnny Brenda’s, March 29 [FLICKR] CITIZEN MOM REPORTS: A funny thing happens when Yr Mom and Boss Phawker go out to review a show together. There’s a foot-plus height differential at work, making it possible for us to stand three feet apart in front of the same stage and see two very different shows. For example, Thursday night at JB’s, the Boss’s elevation gave him a view of Mic Wrecka’s uh, mic wreckin’ and Sue Rosetti’s abdomen, while I got an eyeful of Mike Brenner, specifically, his feet. It’s actually a pretty groovy vantage point, […]
Q: Are We Not Men’s Warehouse? A: No, We Are Phillies
INKY: New Uniforms Stylish, But Impractical
BADMOTORFINGER: The Stooges’ Ron Asheton
[Illustration by ALEX FINE] BY JONATHAN VALANIA Ron Asheton, the original guitarist for the Stooges, is widely regarded as one of the Top 20 guitarists of all time by the people that make such subjective decisions. Recently, Phawker called up Ron and talked about both the ancient and modern history of the Stooges, the needle and the damage done, the stylish evil of Nazi uniforms, how to evade the Vietnam draft, who gave Iggy the peanut butter and what it feels like to be choked by Bam Margera‘s Uncle Vito. The Stooges have reunited — with Mike Watt filling […]