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LISTINGS@CITYPAPER.NET | SEPT. 6 - SEPT. 12
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the agenda
[ a smart attempt at modest modernism ]
LIGHT BRIGHT: Lightning Love plays World Café Live at the Queen in Wilmington tonight.
36 | P H I L A D E L P H I A C I T Y PA P E R |
S E P T E M B E R 6 - S E P T E M B E R 1 2 , 2 0 1 2 | C I T Y PA P E R . N E T
DOUG COOMBE
The Agenda is our selective guide to what’s going on in the city this week. For comprehensive event listings, visit citypaper.net/listings. IF YOU WANT TO BE LISTED:
Submit information by email (listings@citypaper.net) to Caroline Russock or enter them yourself at citypaper.net/submit-event with the following details: date, time, address of venue, telephone number and admission price. Incomplete submissions will not be considered, and listings information will not be accepted over the phone.
THURSDAY
9.6 [ rock/pop ]
✚ LIGHTNING LOVE It doesn’t take long to fall for Lightning Love. Four coos and a jaunty keyboard line, and Leah Diehl’s got you swooning. “Together” is a charming introduction to the Ypsilanti, Mich., trio, but more treats lie ahead on Blonde Album (Quite Scien-
tific), their second full-length: angelic harmonies, synth waltzes, good-faith promises and flirty drums courtesy of Diehl’s brother Aaron. All that sweetness makes you root for Diehl whenever she figures out what she wants, whether that’s turning a pal into something more (“Just Friends”) or finding their way back to platonic status (“Awkward”). “Bobby Thompson” raises the stakes of the typical twee-pop boy-girl sparring by erupting into an all-out rocker, but Lightning Love always stays true to the frilly heart beating within. —M.J. Fine Thu., Sept. 6, 8 p.m., $7, with Jamaican Queens and W.C. Lindsay, World Café Live at the Queen, 500 N. Market St., Wilmington, Del., 302-9941400, worldcafelive.com.
[ rock/experimental ]
✚ INVISIBLE THINGS Invisible Things is only two men, but they erect a daunting wall of noise. Break through, however, and you’ll find an
intensely variegated landscape within the psych-noise squall of their debut, Home IS the Sun. The duo in question is guitarist Mark Shippy, veteran of rock demolitionists U.S. Maple and Shorty, and drummer Jim Sykes, late of Grooms and Parts and Labor, who also happens to be an ethnomusicologist who spent time studying percussion in Sri Lanka. The album unfolds as one long track, so prepare to simply lose yourself within the whirlpooling sound. —Shaun Brady Thu., Sept. 6, 11 p.m., free, with Bad News Bats and Arc in Round (DJing), Kung Fu Necktie, 1250 N. Front St., 215-291-4919, kungfunecktie.com.
[ irish ]
✚ IRISH MUSIC AND DANCE FESTIVAL As much as traditional dancing to blazing fiddles and accordions symbolizes Irish culture — and there will be plenty of that at this Ceili Group festival — consider eas-
ing into the quiet heart of the people, the old songs. Some are in English, some are in Irish, all are powerful. On Thursday night, the singers will remember longtime Ceili Group head Frank Malley. Friday night, you can either dance or listen to Sean Tyrrell explain “Who Killed James Joyce.” Saturday peaks in the ballroom with legendary piper Paddy Keenan, the revived Dé Danann and Ringo McDonagh. —Mary Armstrong Thu.-Sat., Sept. 6-8, $15-$20 per day ($40 all-festival pass), Commodore Barry Club, 6815 Emlen St., 215-8498899, philadelphiaceiligroup.org.
FRIDAY
9.7 [ visual art ]
✚ WHAT IF… The Philadelphia Sculpture
Gym — a Knight Arts Challenge-winning workshop space where artists can buy memberships to use the tools and heavy-duty equipment — is still a few weeks away from opening, but its gallery space is already hosting its second show. “What If…” features new work by PAFA sculpture major Terri Aluise, who drew on the fairy tales she loved as a child. In revisiting and researching, she says, she was “quite surprised to find that I remembered them all wrong.” The results? A creepylooking bunny, three napping bears, the Big Bad Wolf made into a rug. “Soft wools, felt and fur just seem to make my creatures more approachable than stark plaster casts,” says Aluise. “In the end, I hope to create a total environment of whimsy with a touch of weird.” —Theresa Everline Opening reception Fri., Sept. 7, 6-9 p.m., exhibit through Sept. 30, free, Philadelphia Sculpture Gym Gallery, 1834 E. Frankford Ave., 215-901-1933, philadelphiasculpturegym.com.
[ pizza party ]
✚ PIZZA BRAIN GRAND OPENING PARTY Finally, Pizza Brain is ready to deliver. Brian Dwyer’s much anticipated Fishtown pizzeria/museum — boasting the world’s largest collection of pizza memorabilia as well as some pretty solid slices — will open Friday with a grand gala. Sharing the same space as the psychedelic Little Baby’s Scoop Shop, Pizza Brain marks its territory with a 34-foot-long mural of famous Philadelphians by local illustrator/hot-dog historian Hawk Krall. Attendees can look forward to a ribbon-cutting ceremony with lofty speeches, belly dancing, live music, face painting, haircuts, free beer, pizza-flavored ice cream and pizza-flavored pizza. —Caroline Russock Fri., Sept. 7, 4:30 p.m., free, 2313 Frankford Ave., pizzabrain.org.