Results tagged “firstfridays”

Neal Dandade is one of my heroes. Luckily for me, unlike most people's heroes, I know mine. Quite well, actually: Neal and I go back ten years and two thousand miles to Coronado High School in El Paso, Texas. We acted together then, and now I'm lucky to get onstage once a year, but Neal is doing it professionally, performing with a number of improvisational and sketch comedy groups in the Chicago area—including the career-launching Second City. As you'll see from his interview below, improv is a natural fit for Neal, who sometimes thinks so fast it's hard to keep up. ("He was always so bright," as Mamaist put it.) You may actually have seen some of his work: know those Boost Mobile commercials with the rapping George Washington? Neal actually originated the jingle (but hasn't, as of yet, been given any credit for his work).

We're big supporters of new emerging artists and thus we're really looking forward to seeing Northern Liberties' Projects Gallery open its 2008-09 exhibition season with Fresh! 2008.

Because July's First Friday falls on the nation's 232nd birthday, in addition to firecrackers, brews, hot dogs, and sliders, we also get to savor good art, as many of the Old City galleries stage their usual First Friday openings and extended hours. Note that some galleries will be closed on the 4th, so if you have a particular favorite that you always aim for, give them a call first to make sure that they will be open on the 4th.

Wexler Gallery was so packed during Old City's First Fridays for the opening of the (In)Between exhibition that the owners had to stand by the doors and regulate traffic and let new visitors in as people left the show. It was clear that we weren't the only ones really looking forward to check out British bad boy of art Damien Hirst's debut in the Philly gallery scene.

The weather forecast has changed, and it's no longer supposed to rain today. Good thing, too, because that means that it should be nice and dry (okay, maybe nice and sticky, what with a daytime high in the upper 80s and humidity to spare) for tonight's First Friday goings-on. Here are a few of our picks if you're out and about tonight.

Maybe you've been missing out, all this time, on www.BadmintonStamps.com, written by Philabuster and SkinnySlim, two witty, sometimes charmingly snarky, guys who are way more up on the music-slash-party scene in Philadelphia and Brooklyn than you are. Their great site has two battling playlists to keep you entertained at work; music and other news from Philly and that still-sometimes affordable borough; and hot links to songs carefully paired with the long soundbite-sized posts. Check it out.

It's the first First Friday of the spring, and the weather today promises to be perfect for walking around Old City. Which means today's probably going to be crowded, so if you want free wine and all the cheese and crackers you can eat, you should plan on hitting the galleries earlier in the evening. That's what we'll be doing, at the places below and other locations. (Free is the best kind of drunk to be...)