May 16th, 2012 12:46 pm
Rock The Bells, The Big-Time Travelling Hip-Hop Fest, Will Be 1.5 Hours Away In Holmdel, NJ On The First Day Of Budweiser’s Made In America Festival
So on September 1st, you have a choice. Which hip-hop giants would you like to patronize? You’ve got a big-time festival in your back yard on the Ben Franklin Parkway. The 1st is the first day of this much-heralded corporate-sponsored Made In America festival and allegedly the night that Jay-Z will perform (we still don’t know who else’ll be there, though). Or you can take a lil’ road trip and see some other super-exciting acts at Rock The Bells in Holmdel, NJ at the PNC Bank Arts Center. All you really need to know upfront is that Missy Elliott will perform alongside Timbaland. THAT IS HAPPENING IN NEW JERSEY.
Rock The Bells is an interesting festival kind of thing, with only three dates and two of em’ are in California. So this is a pretty cool opportunity. It’d be better if it was happening closer, but New Jersey really isn’t that far (Google says it’s 87 miles and 1 hours and 29 minutes). Thing is: there’s going to be a lot more dopeness at this Rock The Bells than Missy and Tim. There promises to be a reunited Hit Squad (EPMD, Redman, Das EFX, K-Solo, Keith Murray, and DJ Scratch), plus some stars like Kid Cudi, Lupe Fiasco, and Wiz Khalifa, plus some statesmen/stateswomen of hip-hop: Nas, Too $hort, Slick Rick, Ice Cube, SALT-N-PEPA, Bone Thugs, and RZA. AND, the kicker, Method Man and Redman will perform Blackout! in full. IN FULL, y’all! That record is the JAM.
So we know that all of the aforementioned acts will NOT be making appearances at our beloved Jay-Z’s Budweiser’s Made In America Festival at the Ben Franklin Parkway. This we know. But Rock The Bells is much more hip-hop focused. Like you’ll see in this video, heah, some chick’s like “These are not just hip-hop artists, they are AMBASSADORS of hip-hop.” In the 2011 footage, you see the craziness of Lauryn Hill and the soulfulness of Erykah Badu, and it doesn’t seem like that’s happening this year, but THIS YEAR YOU GET MISSY AND TIM! To be honest, it’s hard to imagine this as a one-day kind of thing. With all of these acts, they must start at noon and that doesn’t go over well. We’ll see.
So Jay’s fest is all-genres. Rock is all hip-hop. But which one will be better? It’s a battle and it’s on like Donkey Kong.
May 16th, 2012 9:52 am
2012 Philadelphia Folk Festival Lineup!
Last night at Johnny Brenda’s the fine folks behind the Philadelphia Folk Fest assembled with various members of the press and those enticed by the phrase “free refreshments” (which is a bit redundant) to announce the lineup of this year’s Philly Folk Fest, which will be held from August 17 – 19 at, as always, the beautiful Old Pool Farm in Upper Salford Township, near Schwenksville, PA. It’s the 51st Philly Folk Fest, and the champs at Point Entertainment who book this thing didn’t feel content to half-ass it after last year’s big Golden Anniversary. What? You want proof? Cynical bastard! OK, how about you get a whiff of some of these acts: Little Feat, Steve Earle and the Dukes, Wanda Jackson, Lucinda Williams. Right? And that’s just Saturday night! More highlights include the Secret Sisters, Debo Band, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Voices of the Wetlands, Griz (but not the one from 30 Rock, that’s with two Zs) and the excellently named Pokey LaFarge & the South City Three. So get your tents, find a good hiding place for your weed and get your tickets already. This is going to be a good one. More acts after the jump.
May 15th, 2012 3:56 pm
Urban Outfitters Uses PO PO’s “Bummer Summer” To Promote Summer 2012 Dress Line
Skinny girl. Blonde. Come-hither stare. Pizza. Blank stare. Cityscape. PO PO’s “Bummer Summer.” Urban Outfitters Summer 2012 dress line gets its soundtrack. Congratz, dude.
May 15th, 2012 11:41 am
Bob Lefsetz On Budweiser’s Made In America Festival
Do you read Bob Lefsetz? No? Good. Don’t start. His “Lefsetz Letter” is consistently awful, but we do get the occasional kick out of some of the wild turns he makes in them. Like in today’s, for instance, where he starts out writing about how the Counting Crows/BitTorrent announcement (which he assumes everyone in the world is thinking about and discussing) is “a publicity stunt” before segueing into his opinion that Carol King’s biography, which he just read on the plane ride to New York, is “trash.” He then writes about a story he read in a newspaper about Mark Zuckerberg refusing to dress nicely for Wall Street. He draws a parallel to music, which is what he always does, no matter how obtuse. This time, though, he kinda gets it right: “this used to be how the musicians acted. They wore their street clothes on stage, they kept ‘the man’ at arm’s length, corporations were anathema. Now they’re all like Mel Brooks playing the Gov in Blazing Saddles, just asking where to sign.”
He uses the just-announced-yesterday Budweiser Made in America Festival as a current example of what he’s talking about:
And then there was that story about Jay Z’s “Budweiser Made in America” music festival in Philadelphia… Do they call it “Coors Coachella”? Or “Beck’s Bonnaroo”? One of the reasons Coachella lasts, why it’s become a rite of passage, why tickets sell without a lineup announced, is because the fans trust the promoters, it’s first and foremost about the music. Put the sponsor’s name in the title and you know money comes first. What an insult. Add in the insane concession prices and you wonder why concertgoers hate Live Nation. Couldn’t they leave ANY money on the table?
And I don’t expect fans to revolt against Jay Z, but the paradigm of getting in bed and ripping off corporations is so last century in a nation beaten down by recession. Now it’s all about giving back, not taking.
Good points, Bob. A broken clock is right twice a day. But it’s hard for us to give you credit on any issue when your very next thoughts are these:
And when I got off the plane four musicians were using their suitcases as scooters. Yup, there was a platform upon which they stood and they dashed down the halls at light speed, impressive and fun.
And flying’s always insightful. The woman across the aisle was so tan, I thought it was a joke. Expect society to sterilize her so she can have no children and tan them too. I mean really, does she think she looks good?
But that’s America, where everybody wants to be famous, noticed for something.
You’re a performance artist, dude. Bob Lefsetz will be at the Non-Commention in Philly this weekend. Say hi to him, but don’t make direct eye contact.
May 15th, 2012 11:04 am
First Position: A Ballet Documentary, Is A Brilliant Film Playing At The Ritz East And It Features A Philadelphian Dancer And Her Training At The Rock School
Michaela DePrince’s story is a fascinating and inspiring one. She’s only 14, but her life’s been remarkable in many ways. She and her sister were born and orphaned at the height of a civil war in Sierra Leone. They recall seeing death and dying all around them as toddlers. One husband and wife duo in Philadelphia decided to look at adoption from war-torn countries. They found Michaela’s sister, but decided to take both sisters when they discovered that Michaela had pigmentation spots on her skin; the orphanage admitted that her skin would be an issue for her adoption – some believe her pigmentation is the work of the devil. It was in Sierra Leone that Michaela found a dance magazine with a beautiful ballerina, smiling, with a tiara, a tootoo and gleamingly white skin. She wanted to be just like her. And after she started taking ballet and realized she had serious talent, it was a goal that became almost realistic. And as it turns out, those dreams came to life here in Philadelphia on Broad and Washington at the Rock School.
First Position documents six dancers of different ages and their journey to the Youth America Grand Prix competition, a multi-national and massive ballet competition that ends in a final competition that yields rewards, scholarships and contracts to young ballet dancers. Bess Kargman directs this inspiring footage from all over the world. Ballet isn’t for everyone, in fact, it’s an expensive hobby. And dancers struggle through agonizing foot pain, breaks, sprains, overall body pain and struggle to keep up a discipline that will promise perfection. Perfection is the goal: the perfect shape, angles, body, grace, execution of technique, and then you’ve got to have charisma and a visible passion for dance. Anything short of perfection, a slip-up here or a stumble there, and you’ve got tears. To prepare for the Grand Prix, parents with enough money will be doling out thousands for private rehearsals, choreography lessons, outfits and registration fees. Parents and parenting become interesting aspects of the film as really young dancers embark on a dancing career that’s demanding and challenging – the line between being encouraging and supportive is thin before parental support can appear fanatical and frightening.
It’s one of the dancers, Joan Sebastian Zamora, who’s one of the most inspiring stories. He’s Colombian and 16, and young Colombian boys don’t really dance. His teacher and mentor put it bluntly – a dance school, like London’s Royal Academy of Dance, can cost $50,000 a year. And for a boy whose parents make $250 a year, how on Earth is he going to be a professional ballet dancer without a prestigious education? The Grand Prix is how – dancers like Joan and Michaela get a chance to let their talent speak for them, not a check or a family connection. Joan, many times, just wants to give up and go home. At 16, he misses his mom and dad, the cooking, the comforts of home. But through calling card phone conversations, they push him to keep dancing because there’s no life for him as a dancer in Colombia. His return to his parents’ home before his final performance at the Grand Prix will melt your heart and send tears racing down your face.
The film is inspiring in so many ways. Talent is talent and some people just have it. Furthermore, your passion in the pursuit of success with your talent manifests itself in a palpable way – when you perform, your passion comes forth. And if you don’t have it, you’ve got to dig down deep and see if this is really what drives you. Also, bodies are malleable tools for expression, and everyone can apply determination and discipline in the shaping and training of your physical shell. How you hold your body can say a lot, too: at one point the 10-year-old Jules Fogarty is standing in full costume in front of his teacher with slouched shoulders and a bulbous belly. His teacher pulls his shoulders back and tells him to suck in his stomach. “You’re in a ballet costume, give it some respect,” he barks. Jules laughs, but that’s because he doesn’t take it seriously. The ones that do take it seriously are enough to send you off into the night with the motivation to set goals, make lists, start achieving and rethinking your future. For better or worse.
May 14th, 2012 1:30 pm
Ten Things We Saw, Heard And Learned At Saturday Night’s Regina Spektor Show At The Tower Theater
We went to see Regina Spektor at the Tower Theater on Saturday night. Here are ten things we saw, heard, and learned.
1. The audience had a lot of diversity (read: lots of different types of white women), but overall they were calm, cool, and collected—minus the girl in the fluffy orange prom dress. Why were you wearing that? Why were you the only one? What happened to your date? What’s going on, girl?
2. Only Son opened for Regina, and they were a nice little punchy alt rock brew to start the night off with. We would definitely party with them.
3. Regina’s stage was simple. A keyboardist, cellist, and drummer sat quietly and dispersed behind her. A large piano and raised keyboard were huddled near the front for her utilization. There were no fancy sets or wild lights. It was Regina Spektor singing Regina Spektor songs like Regina Spektor does.
4. She opened her show with “Ain’t No Cover,” a dark a capella with the only music being her steady finger thumping on the microphone. It was jazzy and sexy and let all Spektor newcomers know that she can sing just as good—and even better—without music or studio filters.
5. After a couple of songs, Regina blushingly informed the people of the Tower Theater that this venue was the first place she performed on her first tour ever, back when she was an opener for the Strokes. It should have been a very sentimental show, but the audience couldn’t live up to it. The most requested songs and the biggest cheers arrived for her biggest pop numbers (which she seemed hesitant to play and largely ignored until her “Us”-”OnTheRadio”-”Samson” encore). Many of her selections avoided the moderate-to-well-known-sing-alongs. But many of her selections also came from her yet-to-be-relased album What We Saw From The Cheap Seats. So, ya know.
6. Speaking of what we saw from the cheap seats, if you have a time machine or other travel plans to see Regina’s show, try to sit in the center or right side of the room. If you are on the left, her back will be to you the entire time. It felt like we were in a fight. Like she was giving us the silent treatment in the middle of her own concert. THAT’S HOW POWERFUL IT WAS. But to be fair, she tried to reconcile by making her way to the standing keyboard for “Dance Anthem of the 80s” … but then she left. Back to sitting at the piano with her back to us. Not that we’re bitter or anything, but we’re bitter and everything. If she wasn’t wearing such a glittery tunic it would have been really depressing.
7. It should be impossible for one person to simultaneously beatbox, tongue tisk, sing, growl, and play piano with such a tangibly delightful attitude. But Regina’s distinctiveness comes from her ability to do this anywhere and everywhere.
8. Regina sang the catchphrase of “Sailor Song”—“Marianne’s a bitch!”—with such intensity that there’s no way that it isn’t about a real person. Someone in the audience called out to ask who Marianne was, and even though Regina ignored the majority of audience calls, she directly responded to this one with a prompt and dangerous whisper, “It’s a secret…” It was scary! We need deets!
9. If you ever want to get out of trouble or something with your boss or parents, ask Regina how to speak. Between each song she said “thank you” in the most adorable and heart-melting way. We wanted to buy her lots of toys and candy and glittery things and apologize for any time we were ever unkind to her.
10. Regina Spektor in concert is exactly what you would expect it to be—charming, simple, and vocal-heavy. It won’t put you in a party mood but it will remind you that broken hearts can be uplifting and that music should impress you.
—Jay Stephens
May 14th, 2012 1:01 pm
Reflections On The Scene At This Morning’s “Made In America” Presser With Mayor Nutter And Jay-Z
It was all over the interwebs last night, much to our chagrin. When THE MAN (aka Sir McManus) asked me to show up for the “big announcement” at the Art Museum’s steps, the imagination went wild. Perhaps put best by a one Mr. Elliot Sharp’s Tweet last night, “The possible world in which Jay-Z bought the Philadelphia school system was more avant-garde.” Was he going to build a Roca Stadium in Center City? Maybe he just bought the Art Museum? Would he and Beyonce move to Philly and start expanding their empire beyond the tri-state area? Even better, would she show up!? MAYBE BEY AND BABY BLUE WOULD BE DRAPED ALONGSIDE THE RAP ICON. Alas, no, Jay’s just gonna have a big-ass concert on September 1st and 2nd at the Ben Franklin Parkway. But you knew this already.
The crowd was substantial this morning. Lots of fans pressed up against metal barriers at the top of the stairs as a massive American flag loomed in the background, draped in front of the Art Museum’s impressive columned facade. The track from Watch the Throne, “Made in America,” had been drifting around in the crowd’s collective skulls as American mythology was peddled like candy. Jay-Z is an all-American man, they say, coming from nothing and now being a near-billionaire entrepreneur. Because, honestly, what we really want is money, fame, stardom and Beyonce’s hand in marriage. And what’s more American, rap-friendly and musical than Budweiser? NOTHING. So much so that every time we mention this glorious two-day Live Nation concert, we must mention Budweiser’s sponsorship. AND, let’s let the Budweiser guy introduce Jay-Z to the eager Philadelphia press audience – not Mayor Nutter or the United Way chick.
We don’t know who’ll be playing this multi-genre super-fest yet. Tickets will go on sale on May 23rd, and the lineup will be announced shortly. Sure, Budweiser’s got a past with music, sponsoring Superfests and the Rolling Stones and what not. And someone’s gotta pay for one of the biggest rappers in the world to come to Philly. But the real question is: WHO WILL THE EMPEROR CHOOSE? Because he can pick anyone for this 30-act gig and they’ll come a-runnin’, right? Certainly, there are some acts who he’s associated with who’ll make their way onto the bill, like Philly’s Freeway, who was in attendance this morning. Then there’s ladies like Rihanna and his wife, plus the acts he’s signed like Ne-Yo and Kanye. But that’s all hip-hop and R&B. Will he ask dopey bands-of-the-moment like Foster the People or that band that does that “We Are Young” song? Or will he get heavy-hitters like Radiohead or Coldplay or some shiz? And just as we speculate, Philebrity’s got Santi pegged to be involved because there was a song of hers playing on the PA system before the short speeches. We’ll know who 100% of the acts are a week from today, but Jay reassured us that 70% of the acts are booked. Some two-day tickets will be available at $99, and you can get an early shot at them by “liking” Budweiser’s Facebook page.
