35 Things To Do This Weekend
Cabaret — starring John Jarboe and Charissa Hogeland — continues at Arden Theatre Company through October 22. (Ashley LaBonde, Wide Eyed Studios)
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 29
Dinosaur Jr. @ Union Transfer
Does J. Mascis have the best strained voice in rock ’n’ roll? When he says he feels the pain of everyone, I believe him. His guitar, however, sounds really free, really unstressed and unburdened. Anyway, here are some Dinosaur Jr. emojis.
Rezz @ Electric Factory
The young Niagara Falls DJ just released her debut album Mass Manipulation, and with it, a 60-page comic book about the time she arrived on Earth from Neptune to entrance us with techno/industrial dance music.
Philadelphia Unnamed Film Festival @ Proscenium Theater at the Drake
PUFF returns with four days of films you probably won’t see anywhere else, including Terrifier, 100 Acres Of Hell, Ruin Me and Assholes. Continues through October 1. Here’s a whole bunch of trailers.
The World Is A Beautiful Place & I Am No Longer Afraid To Die @ First Unitarian Church
Dramatic and emo-ish rock band TWIABPAIANLATD celebrates the release of their new record Always Foreign here in their adopted hometown (well, some of the members live here, anyway). This is one of their most disarming videos yet, and that’s not a back-handed compliment.
Together Pangea @ Voltage Lounge
They’ve got a scuzzy, garage sound, sorta like the Black Lips. But if that’s how they spell Pangaea then they are my enemy.
Revolution, I Love You @ The Barbary
This Philly band mixes synths and guitars in interesting ways, and forces their human drummer to collaborate with electronic beatmaking devices. Give this song a listen:
Bryan Callen @ Helium
Standup by the MadTV alum/co-host of the podcast The Fighter and the Kid. Through Saturday. You might also know him from his appearances on The Joe Rogan Experience.
Rock and Roll Man: The Alan Freed Story @ Bucks County Playhouse
George Wendt (Norm!) and Alan Campbell star in the world premiere of Gary Kupper’s musical about one of the fathers of rock ’n’ roll. Through October 1
Cabaret @ Arden Theatre
Matthew Decker directs this music set in a seedy Berlin nightclub in 1929. Through October 22.
Rainer Maria @ Underground Arts
Last month, this veteran Brooklyn rock trio dropped its first record in 11 years, S/T, and I daresay it’s a dark horse contender for your 2017 top ten list. It’s nervous, nervy and fun as hell — everything you want from Rainer Maria.
Nick Thune @ Punchline
Standup comedy by the hilarious comic/actor/musician you may know from Comedy Bang! Bang!, Don’t Trust the B…, and Dave Made a Maze. Continues through Saturday. Here’s a funny video.
Carousel @ Media Theatre
Rodgers and Hammerstein’s classical musical, featuring Joseph Spieldenner as Billy Bigelow. Through October 22.
Talkmasters @ Good Good Comedy Theatre
Multimedia comic speeches by Lee Minora, Randie Welles, Shiah IrgangLaden, Molly Hanulec and maybe you. Hosted by Kate Banford.
Double Dragon: Bruceploitation Double Feature @ Lightbox Film Center
Lightbox teams up with Exhumed Films for a doubleheader of movies made after Bruce Lee died that pay tribute to/imitate his style: The Dragon Lives Again (1977) and Bruce Lee Fights Back from the Grave (1976).
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 30
Seu Jorge Presents the Life Aquatic @ Keswick Theatre
Brazilian guitar genius returns to pay tribute to his fallen hero David Bowie on a set that recalls The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, the 2004 Wes Anderson movie in which Jorge appeared.
Son Little @ Boot & Saddle
Philly’s bluesy, rockin’ guitar wiz plays the second of two nights at Boot & Saddle in celebration of his latest record, New Magic. (Friday’s sold out.) Son Little recently recorded down under, according to his Anti- bio: “All the songs in Australia were written with one mic and an acoustic left-handed guitar I was playing upside-down that was borrowed from this blind Aboriginal musician named Gurrumul with this angelic voice.”
The Three 4 Tens @ Ortlieb’s
When you Google this time-honored psych/garage rock from Philadelphia, the top result is a MySpace page. Don’t click on that. Go to their FB page, click like, and put the universe back on track.
Trevor Hall @ TLA
The South Carolina singer/songwriter will release bits and pieces of his Kickstarted record, The Fruitful Darkness, throughout 2017 and 2018.
STS9 @ The Fillmore
Instrumental funk/dance/jazz veterans Sound Tribe Sector 9 are known for their visually stunning live shows.
Time Camp 001 @ Icebox Project Space
“As part of the Distance≠Time exhibition, Black Quantum Futurism presents Time Camp 001, a two-day program and interactive installation exploring time, alternative temporalities, time travel, and temporal shifts from various frameworks, disciplines, and cultural traditions.” Includes workshops, film screenings, workshops and more.
Hello I Must Be Going: The Ultimate Phil Collins Tribute @ World Cafe Live
Alfio Caserta and band pay tribute to the great live performances of Phil Collins’ solo career. Face Value, Hello I Must Be Going and No Jacket Required-era Phil are painstakingly recreated.
Kid Cudi @ The Mann Center
The Cleveland rapper launches his Passion, Pain & Demon Slayin’ Tour here in Philly. The album of the same name was released last December. Remember “Frequency”?
Cartoon Monsoon Does Stand Up @ Good Good Comedy Theatre
The Cartoon Monsoon people present an evening of standup comedy featuring Mary Houlihan, Joe Rumrill, Tim Platt and Steve Desiena.
Afrofest 2017 @ Trocadero
African-Caribbean festival celebrating Nigerian Independence Day, hosted by Shiggy.
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 1
Ani DiFranco @ Keswick Theatre
The Righteous Babe released her 20th record, Binary, in June.
Yes @ Kimmel Center
I did a thing on the music video for Yes’ hit 1983 song “Owner of a Lonely Heart” here.
Joon Moon @ Boot & Saddle
Catchy, funky soul-pop from France. Here’s a video about a shark chasing an old lady around:
Merging Identities with Intercultural Journeys @ Gershman Y
A “groundbreaking approach to dialogue and conflict resolution through artistry” featuring performances by Udi Bar-David, Rolando Morales Matos, Mehdi Saeedi and Chloe Perkes.
Group Doueh @ Underground Arts
The Western Sahara band performs live in the U.S. for the first time in six years. The evening’s festivities also include a screening of the documentary Oulaya’s Wedding.
Comedy Accompanied @ Good Good Comedy Theatre
An unholy pairing of standup comedy and jazz Jokes by John Deary, Hannah Trav, Pat George, Audrie Marsh, Wes Williams and Brandon Gorin. Music by the Austin Wagner Trio. Hosted by Brendan Krick.
George A. Romero’s Original DEAD Trilogy @ Lightbox Film Center
Exhumed Films celebrates the groundbreaking zombie filmmaker with screenings of Night of the Living Dead (1968), Dawn of the Dead (1978) and Day of the Dead (1985).
Pigpen Theatre Company @ World Cafe Live
This band of musicians/actors uses live music, puppetry and more to create “atmospheric theatrical fables.”
Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia @ Kimmel Center
Music director Dirk Brossé and the Chamber Orchestra open the new season with Haydn & Goldenthal, Sunday and Monday. “Hear world renowned Norwegian Trumpeter, Tine Thing Helseth, as she performs Haydn’s stunning Trumpet Concerto in Eb. Academy Award winning composer, Elliot Goldenthal, will premiere his For Trumpet and Strings especially for Helseth, with improvised cadenzas.” Her middle name is Thing!
We Are The Union @ Kung Fu Necktie
The upbeat Michigan ska/punk/rock band will perform 2007’s Who We Are in its entirety.
