Results tagged “bonjovi”

This week ended with the launch of the seventh and final Harry Potter installation. But while the world was consumed with Pottermania, it's important to remember that there were more serious things going on in the world, too – two of them in -Ist cities.

What's new and/or interesting on television this week.

Philllyist is greatly saddened that, with the passing of the Big Game, there is no more pro-football to be had for quite some time (the Pro-Bowl doesn't count. It really doesn't). However, in order to tide over our thirst for a rejuvenated Eagles making it all the way next season, we will take solace in the Philadelphia Soul, our very own arena football team.

What's new and/or interesting on TV this week.

The Philadelphia Zoo, unable to provide their elephants with the space they require, is giving them up to Maryland & Tennessee. Now our old zoo key is extra redundant.

What's new and/or interesting on TV this week.

In fact, we feel that if you can't have a good time at Jolly's, you probably aren't any fun at all.


The concept is simple – Jolly's is a bar and restaurant with live piano performances. The audience is welcome, even encouraged, to make requests and sing along. (They are also encouraged to drop some dead presidents in the tip jar – a few dollars goes a long way to getting your song of choice played.) It's a little like karaoke in this respect, only in this case the whole bar is singing sloppily along, so there's less performance anxiety.
We recommend stopping in on Thursday or Saturday nights – which is when Stu Shames man's the piano. Shames is funny, personable, a little ribald, and knows how to handle a crowd. We've seen him manage some awkward situations gracefully, including drunken bachelorettes trying to disrobe him, people on Walnut Street gaping through the windows over his shoulder, and, most recently, a strange man with a Members Only jacket and a harmonica who repeatedly insisted on playing along; and all this without missing a note. And no surprise there; he's a consummate performer, a passionate music fan and one of the brains behind the Philadelphia Songwriters Project. And even though we firmly disagree with his no Bobby Darin policy, we have seen him go from Cole Porter into Bon Jovi; he's a man who knows his stuff.
Oh – another thing – if you go when Shames is playing, be prepared for at least an hour where Billy Joel requests are verboten. And we can't say we blame him.
The service at Jolly's is top notch, and the drinks are generous (if a little pricey). There's no cover however, so if you don't drink (or stick to non-alcoholic fare) it conceivably could be a cheap night out. Between drinks and the tip jar, it can get costly, quickly. When we go, we pretty much resign ourselves to the fact that we'll be spending a pretty penny (after all, we can't be frugal all the time). Since it gives us a chance to be goofy and sing at the top of our lungs in public, we consider it money well spent.
The Joint gets crowded quickly come 10PM or so, so if you want a table, we recommend you get there before 9PM, or even earlier if you want to secure seats around the piano (best seats in the house).
And for Pete's sake, think of something more original to ask for than Piano Man.
 
Jolly's Piano Joint

The Latham Hotel

17 th & Walnut Street

Photo by author

• The Philadelphia branch of the Paul Green School of Rock has numerous music videos on YouTube.  Above is their rendition of Sweet Transvestite from Rocky Horror.
• Only Partially Insane creates a musical movie meme about the best get-up-and-dance moments.  (Why did no one tell Phillyist that Hugh Grant shook his thang in Love, Actually?  We might have bothered to have seen it if we knew...)
• Brad at Philly Future is pleased to see Y100 is coming back to the airwaves...by way of XPN.

Fun around town, for $10 or less:

Every Tuesday and Thursday, we'll be posting events that are going on sale during the current week. This Thursday post only collects the latest announcements, so definitely check the Tuesday post for any you may have missed.

The shapeless dough of the internet, formed into tasty pellets and baked to perfection, just for you.

- Always feel like somebody's watching you? Come this May your paranoid delusions might be based in truth; it's then that voters will have a chance to vote on whether or not police surveillance cameras should be posted around the city.

Phillyist thinks that perhaps Jon Bon Jovi is laying the groundwork to run for political office in Philly. He could be the first Philadelphia mayor to wear leather pants for all his press conferences. First, Bon Jovi gives us an arena league football team, the Philadelphia Soul, and now he and his band have announced a partnership with Habitat for Humanity to build two new duplexes in North Philly. And the new Bon Jovi video will be taped at the construction site.

AOL, a Live 8 partner, has announced a broadcast lineup for its online coverage of Live 8. Considering how chaotic Live 8 planning has been, this could be flipped and reversed and scrapped entirely by Saturday morning, but it gives us a first glimpse at how Saturday might go down. You know, aside from the predictions of large riots. And no, that's not a Kaiser Chiefs joke, but it works out as one in retrospect, doesn't it? 12:33 - Bon Jovi

1:00 - Destiny’s Child

1:16 - Kanye West

1:30 - Will Smith

1:56 - Toby Keith

2:13 - Dave Matthews Band

2:40 - Alicia Keys

2:52 - Def Leppard

3:10 - Linkin Park & Jay-Z

3:56 - Sarah McLachlan

4:11 - Maroon 5

4:34 - Keith Urban

4:48 - Jars of Clay

5:00 - Rob Thomas

5:21 - Stevie Wonder

Besides chancing the formation of an extra finger, or the loss of one, hardly-chlorinated water can cause any number of rashes and infections on its own. There are almost 30 public fountains in Philadelphia and each of them is used as a swimming pool at one point or another.

This Saturday when 6.4 million people stuff the Parkway tighter than Bon Jovi’s pants, you have to expect there will be a certain amount of Mer-men willing to exercise their sea legs just to make sure that the EMT’s have something to do, but we’re not worried about those people. In fact, Live 8 has zero do with the situation other than the fact that the fountains on the Parkway are most likely going to have to be quarantined afterwards. Plus, it’s supremely difficult to pass up an opportunity to make fun of Bon Jovi.

The real point is that people, mostly little kids, all over the city are using these filthy structures as swimming pools and it isn’t safe. A few years ago Action News conducted tests on the safety of the water in the fountains and concluded that if they were held to the same health standards that pools were, they would be closed immediately. Point being: don’t swim in the fountains.

It’s gross enough when the tub hasn’t been Cloroxed in a while, think about the grime building up in fountains used by neighborhood kids, the homeless, pigeons, dogs, ducks, and any number of other wayward animals for swimming, bathing, and everything else. Of course, it’s not exactly like you’re wading out into the Ganges, but then again most of us won’t even go into the baby pool.