The latest victim of Philly’s violence

Sean Patrick Conroy, 36 of South Philly, just off his shift at Starbucks in the Marriott.

Attacked by a group of kids on the crowded subway platform at 13th and Market shortly after 2:30 in the afternoon.

What to do this Saturday

At the Weyerbacher Brewery up in Easton, PA:

Weyerbacher Open House Date Announced

This year it’ll be Saturday, March 29th, from Noon to 3 pm. If you’ve been here before you know what a blast it is! If not, here’s the scoop: We setup 8 to 10 kegs of brew around the brewery for sampling, free sample tidbits of some snacks, in a grand open house setting with all of our brewers available to answer your questions. We often bring out a few select brews from our special stash as well. Please join us for the fun! Its all free!

Wyerbacher doesn’t have a proper brewpub like say, Victory or Sly Fox, so this is the perfect time to visit.

The Cribs, Ra Ra Riot & Jeffrey Lewis @ The North Star Bar 3/29/08

I almost forgot this show was happening because it wasn’t publicized at all (no mention in either of the Philly weeklies) and every friend was out of town for Easter (all two of them) but after checking out the openers’ myspace pages I jumped off the couch, put my pants back on and headed to the North Star solo.

Damn glad I did. I caught the last few songs by the opener, Jeffrey Lewis & The Jitters. Ra Ra Riot were also good, and The Cribs were great. I didn’t put their Men’s Needs single on my top 20 list for nuthin.

Anyway, this isn’t a review of the show because really, who cares what I think? What I really wanna tell you about is what happened after the show.

Before Jeffrey Lewis played his last track he mentioned that he and bandmate Helen would have to sleep in their ‘91 Toyota if no one offered a place for them to crash. So of course I offered. Hell, I had an extra empty bed and I live just ’round the corner. They took me up on it and no, (un?)fortunately there was no late night drug/drink/dance/orgy, just a glass of water for everyone then off to bed.
But the next morning we all got up early and after breakfast I mentioned that I had to take a train to Hershey to meet up with the family. They had a gig in Cleveland that night and had to drive that way anyway, so I hitched a ride. How cool is that? So being the music geek that I am I pelted them with questions. “Heard of Dr. Dog? The Pastels? Not only had they heard of every obscure band name I threw at them, but they performed/collaborated/lived with almost every one. Dang.

But I was kicking myself because despite the countless hours I spend reading up on obscure bands I knew nothing about them. They’re usually a four piece but Jeffrey’s brother and the drummer decided to bag it half way through the current tour. He’s been performing since the mid ’90s and is quite big in Europe. Just take a look at this extensive tour schedule. And they have to drive to each show alone. I guess I’m finally glad I didn’t become a rock star. Not a glamorous life on the road.
Go see these fine folks and tell them I sent you.

So that’s my Easter story…

Wait, one more:

While Jeff slept in the back seat Helen and I were talking about Hershey, PA and the chocolate company. She said that for a third grade letter writing assignment, each child in class was supposed to pick their favorite candy bar and write to the company and among other things, suggest improvements. She chose Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups and suggested to Hershey (the maker) that they mold them in different shapes for each holiday. She even offered some examples, like maybe the shape of an egg for Easter.

She was the ONLY kid in class who didn’t receive a nice form letter from the company.
Not only that, but the teacher didn’t believe Helen ever sent the letter since everyone else got a reply.

The real kicker? The VERY next year, guess what hit the candy shelves? You guessed it.

True story.

Lawsuit!

Wait. On second thought, don’t. My Hershey stock is already worth a fraction of what it once was!

Jeffrey Lewis- Posters (right-click to download mp3)

(Check out the accompanying video on their myspace link above- it’s not on youtube)

Ra Ra Riot- Each Year (RAC Mix)

The Cribs- Men’s Needs (Css Remix)

Jeffrey Lewis interview at LA Weekly

Jeffrey Lewis- Williamsburg Will Oldham Horror video:

Jeffrey Lewis’ newest LP 12 Crass Songs in which he covers the band Crass.

crystal castles @ making time 3/22/08

It was nearly impossibly to hold my camera still.  The floor was so bouncy that you were launched unwillingly on the y-axis by the recoil of the masses. 

This shit is hot and you’d be a fool to miss it when it’s in your town.  

Singer Alice Glass was certainly not taking it easy while recovering from last weeks busted rib.  Producer Ethan Kath has the knack for creating infectious repetitions while changing them up enough to never go stale.  Blips, beeps, sweeps, gaming samples and Glass’s projected vocals make a landscape of explosive dance.  They left me a sweaty mess.  The hype is true.  Check ‘em out.  I dare you to stay still.

Crystal Castles- Good Time

Five years, 4,000 dead and 500 billion dollars

The body count is nearing 4,000 troops.

The White house initially told Congress the cost of war would be somewhere between 50 and 60 billion. Here is the cost to us in real time.

An ABC reporter told Vice President Cheney that two-thirds of Americans oppose the war.

His response?

“So?”

Sucks being sick

Boy, I don’t think I’ve been this sick in years. It’s been a week and a half and I’m still not 100%, hence the lack of posts. I tried writing a bit while I was sick but managed to make a glaring mistake (as Jack K. so nicely pointed out) so I gave it up till I got my brain back.

The worst part about being sick? It happened during Philly Beer Week. I managed to hit only ONE event; the South Philly 5 bar crawl and it was a huge success by the way.

I still can’t even choke down a beer.

OH GODS, WHY DO YOU TORMENT ME SO?!?

A Great day for Pennsylvania

I’ve been horizontal for three days- the entire family has the flu AND a bad cold. What a great way to celebrate Philly Beer week.

But things ARE looking up.

First we booted Santorum. Then Street finally got lost. Now it’s Fumo’s turn. That’s right. Fumo’s outta here. Mind you, it would’ve been better if he got out on my terms (felony conviction or at least voted out) but it looked as though he would’ve won another Senate term anyway, even after all the illegal things he did with our tax dollars.

Check the whopping 272 page indictment against him here and here. Here’s another summary.

See ya later jackass.

Oh, I almost forgot to mention another politician who went down in flames- New York Governor Spitzer.
My bro-in-law said it best:
“Finally. A GOP Leader having HETEROSEXUAL relations as his scandal. I was beginning to worry about them!

Jackasses.

What’s on ddogg’s iPod 3/12/08

Get Shake’s Sister Self Doubt EP.  Good fer commuting and kicking it at the El stop. Everything Nina Simone off of the Verve Remixed series including See-Line Woman… which the Thinman tells me that the iPod commercial singer Feist has covered.Sonic Youth, Up, Bustle, & Out, Biggie, and The People Under the Stairs all have gotten play for weeks of train rides.  For some reason, I have an album by The Streets and still don’t get them.  I think actually prefer Art Brut to the streets (similarly annoying).Calvin Harris is on and not coming off. 

MGM All Barkies

 Anna and Jabber did a little tag team Worldcat searching to dig up So Quiet on the Canine Front. MGM had a series of Dogville and All Barkies that filled that void before computer animation. I had been hearing about these for years from me mate Spoppy. So happy they exist. Be sure to read up more here. 

In Honor of Philly’s Beer Week

Get yer hours worth. I only watched a handful, but was happy to see lots of stuff I’d never seen before. The Thinman may remember some of these from his post-war youth. A good chunk of these were shot on film and used optical printing for the effects. Now quit talking and start chalking.Now someone tell me how you can get clips longer than 10 minutes onto youtube. Thx to spoppy for the find.