37 Things to Do This Weekend

Colleen plays PhilaMOCA on Sunday. (Isabel Dublang)

Friday, November 3

The Gap @ The Drake
Azuka Theatre presents a world premiere by Philadelphia playwright Emma Goidel. The Gap is a dark comedy about a woman who thinks she was abducted by aliens, and her sister who thinks she’s nuts. Directed by Rebecca Wright. Through November 19.

Ariel Pink @ Union Transfer
The easygoing L.A. singer-songwriter/pop-pixelator’s latest, Dedicated to Bobby Jameson, came out in September.

The Gap @ The Drake
Azuka Theatre presents a world premiere by Philadelphia playwright Emma Goidel. The Gap is a dark comedy about a woman who thinks she was abducted by aliens, and her sister who thinks she’s nuts. Directed by Rebecca Wright. Through November 19.

Turkuaz @ TLA
Feel-good kitchen-sink funk — a little Motown, some disco, a bit of George Clinton, you name it.

Mansfield 66/67 @ Lightbox Film Center
This experimental documentary by David Ebersole and Todd Hughes recounts the last two years of Bryn Mawr–born actress Jayne Mansfield’s life “and the speculation swirling around her untimely death being caused by a curse after her alleged romantic dalliance with Anton LaVey, head of the Church of Satan.”

Courtney Barnett & Kurt Vile @ Tower Theatre
Guitar heroes, unite. Good things happen when Australia’s Courtney Barnett and Philly’s Kurt Vile get together. Specifically, I’m talking about the album Lotta Sea Lice, but also their Intercontinental Mixtape Exchange list on Spotify.

Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith @ PhilaMOCA
This ethereal, ambient noisemaker makes music that at first seems peaceful but after awhile you have that “lost in the woods where everything wants to kill me” feeling. Lots of spooky vocals, swirling synths, clicks, bleeps and chirps.

Party Lines Goes Nuclear @ Good Good Comedy Theatre
Max Barth and Joe Messina host an evening of political comedy.

Tera Melos @ Fillmore Philly
Electronic punk from Sacramento. In this video, a digital slug stabs things that get in its way.

Choose Your Own Adventure @ Chemical Heritage Foundation
Every First Friday, the Chemical Heritage Foundation offers historical conundrums to puzzle over. This time the setting is Philadelphia in the late 18th Century, and the city seems to be headed for another yellow fever outbreak.

The Hooters @ Keswick Theatre
The Hooters were once the biggest band in town, with a slew of hits on ’80s radio and an appearance at Live Aid. They have a ton of memorable songs; this one’s my favorite:

Hollywood Babble On/Kevin Smith @ Punchline
The director/podcaster/raconteur sets up shop at Punchline. On Friday, Smith and Ralph Garman do two shows talking about showbiz, just like they do on Hollywood Babble On. On Saturday, there’s two installments of An Evening with Kevin Smith, which I believe is a kind of free-for-all type thing.

Little Strike @ The Barbary
Indie/world/folk artist Little Strike leads an impressive lineup that also includes femme. collective, Tiny Hueman, LuluWish, Maria Neckam and Loosh. Maybe you never heard of some of these bands. Maybe you wanna try something new.

The English Beat @ Underground Arts
According to Wikipedia, there are two versions of this ska/new wave band out there. From what I can tell, this show features the Dave Wakeling U.S. iteration (as opposed to the Ranking Roger U.K. one).

Worriers @ Johnny Brenda’s
I like the way this Brooklyn band makes dancey, guitar-heroic rock. So much fun. They recently made an appearance on The Chris Gethard Show and kicked ass. P.S. show up on time for Thin Lips and Katie Ellen.

Lola G/Daytime Cleaners @ Kung Fu Necktie
You might know Lola G from her dreamy, stargazey L.A. duo DTCV. Steven Soderbergh directed one of their videos. As for Daytime Cleaners, they’re a local “jangle pop/kiwi rock” band that claims The Clean as one of its influences. Interest sparked.

Saturday, November 4

The Shins @ The Fillmore
Albuquerque’s finest return in support of Heartworms, released at the beginning of the year.

Holly Golightly & The Brokeoffs @ Kung Fu Necktie
The British-born garage/honky-tonk queen headlines a show brimming with talented women including Palmyra Delran, Stupidity and Thee Minks.

Philadelphia Jewish Film Festival @ several locations
This ambitious festival offers screenings all over the area, including features, documentaries and shorts. Runs November 4-19

Tori Amos @ Tower Theatre
The baroque pop heroine released her 15th record Native Invader in September. The first single, “Cloud Riders,” is classic Tori Amos: spooky, blissful and groovy in a ghostly way.

Ibeyi @ Union Transfer
The French-Cuban sister duo makes music that’s somehow haunting and jubilant at the same time. Really powerful, hard-to-define stuff. Here’s a video to make you feel weird.

Christine Havrilla & Gypsy Fuzz @ World Cafe Live
The veteran singer-songwriter from Philly plays soulful acoustic rock with a full band that can swing.

Emily Drinker @ Bourbon & Branch
The Philly singer-songwriter sings strongly and soulfully. Here’s a Beach Boys cover.

Mutantis @ South Street Cinema
Philadelphia Unnamed Film Festival presents Dire Wit Films’ tribute to classic monster movies. “When an unscrupulous scientist drags his stepchildren out into the forest to use them as bait in the hopes of luring out a big foot, not even the team of hillbillies he hired can contain the horror they find.”

Joel Kim Booster @ Good Good Comedy Theatre
Standup comedy by a guy you might’ve seen on Conan, Samantha Bee, @midnight and more.

Lydia Loveless @ Underground Arts
The Ohion singer- songwriter plays a solo show. Loveless doesn’t fit neatly into any known subgenre. Her music is indie-ish and country-ish. Don’t say cowpunk; grosses me out for some reason. Alt-country-punk? Honky-tonk-punk? Honky-punk? I’ll stop now.

The Dears @ Boot & Saddle
Led by Natalia Yanchak and Murray Lightburn (totes married, aw), this Quebec indie band has a Blur/Cure thing going on.

Philly Bike Expo @ Pennsylvania Convention Center
Look at bicycles and maybe buy them but surely at least discuss them with lots of other enthusiasts and vendors. Saturday & Sunday, November 4 & 5.

Nick Offerman: Full Bush @ Merriam Theater
The humorist/author/actor (he was Parks & Rec’s Ron Swanson, of course) returns with his latest show, Full Bush.

Japanese Expanded Cinema Project @ Lightbox Film Center
Two programs of works by “seminal artists who experimented with multiple film projections and performance.” Includes Phenomenology of the Zeitgeist by Rikuro Miyai, Hopscotch by Kanesaka Kenji, Dance Party in the Kingdom of Lilliput, No.2 by Takahiko Iimura and many more.

Sunday, November 5

Pirate Jenny’s Conspiracy @ International House
Poet Laureate of Philadelphia Yolanda Wisher tells the story of Pirate Jenny, from Kurt Weill’s Threepenny Opera. “Musing on black love and rage, civil rights, and the meaning of womanhood, Wisher’s tour-de-force performance travels the continents of spoken word and song, with first-mate and double bassist Mark Palacio at her side.” Nina Simone had a thousand songs that could make my hair stand on end, but nothing scared me quite like her version of “Pirate Jenny.”

Margaret Cho @ The Fillmore 
The veteran standup comedian in on her Fresh Off The Bloat tour, featuring personal material about drugs, drinking and other dangerous pursuits. This show kicks off the First Person Arts festival.

Jonwayne @ Kung Fu Necktie
The L.A. artist rhymes like an MC and looks like a beat poet. He dropped Rap Album Two back in February.

Mom Jeans @ Everybody Hits
Berkeley’s Mom Jeans make feel-good rock for the emo-punks. It’s kinda pretty and decidedly comfortable. Also on the bill: Slingshot Dakota, Prince Daddy & the Hyena and Kississippi.

Alton Brown @ Merriam Theater
The Food Network host is touring with his Eat Your Science tour featuring “songs, multimedia presentations, talk-show antics, and bigger and better potentially dangerous food demonstrations.”

Josh Ritter & the Royal City Band @ Union Transfer
If Paste magazine raised a baby, it might grow up to be Americana/folk singer-songwriter Josh Ritter. That’s not a burn; he’s really good at what he does. (It is, however a calculated statement on nature vs. nurture.) Get there early for the sweet melodies of Good Old War.

Colleen @ PhilaMOCA
Artful, ambient electronic music from France. Her latest, A flame my love, a frequency, is like a long, tense waking dream — a bit blissful and a smudge sublime, but always ready to teeter into darker territory.