What kind of octogenarian would you like to be? Us, we’ll be Merce Cunningham please. At 89 the famous choreographer is not only still creating works, but continues in his tradition of pushing the technological envelope by combining dance with accompanying music in unique and often fantastical ways (dude’s had Radiohead compose for him. That we’d love to see). Merilyn Jackson has a wonderful article tracing some of his collaborations and technological innovations in the......

It's the holiday season, so many of us are in a charitable mood. Certainly, there are good feelings to be had from performing acts of selflessness, and we at Phillyist encourage you to donate your time, money, or a toy this holiday season. Sometimes you get the opportunity to contribute to a good cause and have a lot of fun at the same time. Thursday night, you'll get one such opportunity. WXPN is presenting a......

This Sunday, a music legend comes to the World Cafe Live. And he's not just coming to play. Bob Mould (MySpace) will take part in a special Q&A session before performing an intimate acoustic set. Then he'll step aside for a screening of his first concert DVD, Circle of Friends. If that doesn't sound cool, there's something wrong with you. Bob Mould is, of course, the mastermind behind punk/college rock band Hüsker Dü and......

It's not exactly the kind of album that's going to get you up on your feet and dancing, but Force of Light, the most recent release from Barbez (a band led by New York guitarist/composer Dan Kaufman) is definitely an interesting and haunting piece of music, and we wanted to mention it here, since the band will be playing a free event called Diaspora Kristallnacht at the Rotunda this weekend with Philly's own Oscuro Quintet.......

We weren't familiar with Jennifer O'Connor (MySpace) when we recently received a copy of her latest release, Over The Mountain, Across The Valley And Back To The Stars. But with an album title like that, we assumed her music would turn out to be the worst kind of touchy-feely singer-songwriter crap. Luckily, we were entirely wrong. Yes, it is low-key pop from a singer/songwriter/guitarist. But it's really high quality low-key pop with fantastic vocals, clever......

Tuesday Pianist Gary Graffman turned a right hand injury around into a brilliant career performing repertoire written for the left hand alone. Hear him play works by Bach, Brahms, Scirabin, Corigliano, and more. Perelman Theater (Kimmel Center); 8 PM; $22.50 Thursday Crossroads Music presents Kalman Balogh, accomplished player of the cimbalom, a difficult 36-stringed Central European hammered dulcimer. Calvary Center for Culture and Community (48th and Baltimore); 7:30pm; $10-$20 The new chief conductor of......

We can't say we're entirely proud of ourselves for this, but we have to admit we're totally loving Black Fingernails, Red Wine, the third album and latest release from Australian trio Eskimo Joe (MySpace). Sure, it's pop. But it's also totally fun (one might even say irresistible), infectious, danceable pop rock with a New Wave (sometimes almost Depeche Mode-ish) flavor, and a piano often tinkling in the background. Download two of our favorite tracks off......

Wednesday The Opera Company of Philadelphia finishes its run of Verdi's timeless and tragic Rigoletto. The Academy of Music (Broad & Locust Sts); 7:30 PM; $7-$205 Acclaimed concert pianist and teacher Seymour Lipkin gives a solo recital of Bach, Brahms, and Debussy presented by the Philadephia Chamber Music Society. American Philosophical Society (427 Chestnut Street); 8 PM; $25 Thursday The Slought Foundation presents Vincent Royer and Philadelphia-based ensemble Noamnesia in an evening of music by......

This Phillyist is a Libra, a sign that is characterized by indecisiveness and the desire for nice things (Linda Goodman describes us as "pink, fluffy clouds"). It is with great rejoicing then that we greeted the news that Lush (purveyor of bath bombs the world over) on Walnut is a Libra too, and will be celebrating its first birthday in spa-ish style. They're offering goodies throughout the day, complimentary chair massages from 5-8 pm,......

Former band-members of Luna, Dean Wareham and Britta Phillips, known as Dean & Britta, will be performing at World Cafe Live this Thursday, March 8th. Maybe I'm crazy, but I've never heard of the band Luna, even though they released seven studio albums, including a "Best Of." Regardless, I was intrigued by their music as I visited their homepage and MySpace. They classify themselves on MySpace as folk/lounge/psychedelic, but to me, it's just good......

Tomorrow night, The Slip, New England's quickest-rising stars (not named Matsuzaka), are hitting Philly for a headlining show at World Cafe Live. If you're a fan of bands like Umphreys McGee, you'll be blown away by these three dudes. Last time through the area, they opened for My Morning Jacket and didn't really get a chance, in a six-song set, to prove why they've been voted Boston's best live band. Phillyist has been sold on......

Ah, Valentine's Day: refuge of the uninspired lover and bane of the singleton's year. Fear not! We present our annual offbeat V-day guide, guaranteed to add some flair to the red-heart holiday (whose idea was it to put a celebration of love and relationships smack in the middle of the great gray beast February anyway, we ask you?). Ancient Girls Gone Wild The Young Friends of Penn Museum present their second annual look into......

Countering all the claims that electronic music took a sharp dive in the mid to late 90's has been the continued quality of composition from producers like BT (Brian Transeau), a Berklee College of Music dropout who began his electro-dance music career working with his DJ friends Deep Dish in Washington DC on the way to earning international fame as a trance music pioneer. Though his style and production habits are constantly changing, the......

We like the idea of a good time for a good cause, so we're pretty excited about the Third Annual Philly Bands Together that's taking over the entire World Cafe Live, upstairs and down, tonight at 7:30PM (doors open at 6). A TON of artists - including Grey Eye Glances, Hoots and Hellmouth, Lili Anel, and Red Heart the Ticker - will be there playing music (you can find a detailed schedule and band......

Teitur Giveaway
12/3/06-12/4/06...

Kristoffer Ragnstam (also on MySpace, natch) is playing a free show at World Cafe's Upstairs Live venue this Friday night at 7PM, and we wanted to let you know it might be worth dropping by to check him out. He's from Sweden, but you'd hardly know it when you listen to him sing on his latest EP, Do you want a piece of me. Sure, he's got a slight accent, and there's that one song......

ALL WEEKEND - Sherman Community Arts Says Goodbye to The Cinema: Sherman Community arts is giving The Cinema (3925 Walnut St.) one last hurrah with a weekend of cheap and/or free film events, including screenings of Dünyayi kurtaran adam (The Turkish Star Wars), Bad Brains Live CBGB, Let's Scare Jessica to Death and more. For information on admission prices (where applicable), features and show times, visit the Sherman Community Arts Events page. FRIDAY Clamor:......

Fun around town, for $10 or less: Free Fringe: Don't forget it's Fringe season, and several shows are free. Friday "Irish Rasta Pirate Music!": Albert Einstone with Amy Pickard and Rebecca Zapen at The Green Line Cafe (43rd & Baltimore). $5 suggested donation. 7:30 PM Panoramic Poetry: Open mic at October Gallery (68 N. 2nd Street) at 7:30PM. $7 Saturday Beastie Boys vs. Beck: The School of Rock presents The Music of the Beastie......

Fun around town, for $10 or less: Friday bowerbird presents: Berndt / Bailly Duo, Tweeter & The S-2-Boyz at The Cinema (3925 Walnut St.) at 8PM. $5 A Night of Funk: Fisher, The Ross Brown Project & Dr. Ketchup at The World Cafe (3025 Walnut Street) at 9PM. $8 Saturday Dirty Diamond: Naughty Neil Diamond cover act, Dirty Diamond, plays the Khyber (56 S. 2nd Street) with Nitty Gritty, Howard's Dilemma & Stucco Lobster......

We love Megan over at Canary Promotions. That's because she tells us about all the cool stuff happening around Philly and sometimes gets us in to them for free. She's also just an all-around cool person, so far as Phillyist can tell. So we thought we'd show Megan some love in return and let you know about the awesome bash she and partner Mason (both Wendell) are throwing this Saturday night to celebrate their......

Bside, the folks who ran the cool website for this year's Philadelphia Film Festival, are running a different festival through Philly tonight - the Bside Roadshow, a travelling film and music festival also sponsored by MySpace and AMD. Of course, it's rather a small festival, as it features only one film and one show, and lasts only one night at World Cafe Live, but still. The movie is a documentary/comedy called The Outdoorsmen: Blood,......

This Sunday evening the World Cafe will host, at their Downstairs Live venue, a CD release party/performance by a truly unique act: Klingon Klez. They're local, unless you believe their press release (which says the band is "made up of genuine aliens disguised as of some of Philly's best-known jazz, funk and dixieland musicians"), but we're betting they'll sound pretty foreign to most of you. That's because they play a traditional Jewish style of music......

Tonight at World Cafe Live you can catch a performance by two former members of other bands who've joined together to form a mellow, bland, vaguely countrified folk rock outfit. We're talking about Isobel Campbell from Belle & Sebastian and Mark Lanegan from Screaming Trees and Queens of the Stone Age. They're on tour behind their new album Ballad of the Broken Seas, which was released a week ago. Phillyist has to admit we found......

Frugal in Philly is a weekly celebration of all things Philly that are fun, frugal (costing $10 or less) or free! Stop here each week to see what Philly's got to offer for those of us who haven't quite mastered the art of becoming Independently Wealthy (although believe us, we're trying). Featured Pick of the Week: Baby Loves Disco Attention all Moms & Dads: if you thought you had to hand in your dancing shoes......

Frugal in Philly is a weekly celebration of all things Philly that are fun, frugal (costing $10 or less) or free! Stop here each week to see what Philly's got to offer for those of us who haven't quite mastered the art of becoming Independently Wealthy (although believe me, we're trying). Featured Pick of the Week: This week, we're highlighting an activity beyond our city borders. But as it's (a) easily accessible by PATCO and......

We kinda like Michael Penn. There are many reasons, but the first one in our mind is that video for "Try." You know the one - one-take, down the hallway, directed by Paul Thomas Anderson. The song was on the Boogie Nights soundtrack and we've had a little crush on Penn ever since. He's touring behind his latest album, Mr. Hollywood, Jr. 1947. Now, we'd normally be snarky about a singer/songwriter born in 1958 writing......

Frugal in Philly is a weekly celebration of all things Philly that are fun, frugal (costing $10 or less) or free! Stop here each week to see what Philly's got to offer for those of us who haven't quite mastered the art of becoming Independently Wealthy (although believe me, we're trying). Featured Pick of the Week: Comix 101 Art Spiegelman, author and artist behind the ground-breaking, best-selling, Pulitzer Prize winning graphic novel Maus (you read......

Frugal in Philly is a weekly celebration of all things Philly that are fun, frugal (costing $10 or less) or free! Stop here each week to see what Philly's got to offer for those of us who haven't quite mastered the art of becoming Independently Wealthy (although believe me, we're trying). Featured Pick of the Week: Really - What Good *IS* Sitting Alone in Your Room?: Phillyist has been surprised and delighted by the amount......

Frugal in Philly is a weekly celebration of all things Philly that are fun, frugal (costing $10 or less) or free! Stop here each week to see what Philly's got to offer for those of us who haven't quite mastered the art of becoming Independently Wealthy (although believe me, we're trying). Featured Picks of the Week: Each week Frugal Phillyist highlights a budget-friendly event that we think deserves some extra attention. Well this week, there......

Frugal in Philly is a weekly celebration of all things Philly that are fun, frugal (costing $10 or less) or free! Stop here each week to see what Philly's got to offer for those of us who haven't quite mastered the art of becoming Independently Wealthy (although believe me, we're trying). Featured Pick of the Week: See Skeletor Sing: Tonight at North3rd (3rd and Brown Streets in Northern Liberties), Skeletor - professional thorn in He-Man's......