• First off, anybody got any exciting plans for watching the Euro final on Sunday? Anybody know of any Spanish or German bars where people will be going wild (and where there will be Spanish and/or German women who are not celebrating a birthday that day?). Ludwig’s woulda been perfect for this. Got any good ideas, drop ’em below.
• Posted a thing on Kerri Lee’s site lately about the origins of common phrases and cliches. Think you might get a kick out of it.
• There are rumblings that the Phillies were stealing signs from the Red Sox in their recent matchup. This from the Boston Globe (via PhiladelphiaWillDo): The Sox played the Phillies last week, and one major league official thought the Phillies were taking Boston’s signs. Yep, cheating got Barry Bonds 762 Home Runs, cheating got the Patriots three Super Bowl wins, and cheating got the Phillies blown out twice in three games by the Red Sox. Mon dieu, imagine how bad we’d be getting beat by the American League if we weren’t cheating.
• The Bad News: Making a dumbass rap video about killing cops while waving a gun around will get you arrested, especially if your son is filming. The Good News: Making a dumbass rap video about killing cops while waving a gun around and getting arrested is definitely gonna help move units of your forthcoming album. The kids love it when you keep it real!

I just came across the following sentence in Saturday’s Inquirer**: …or you can challenge your brain at the Quizzo Tournament with Philly staple Johnny Goodtimes in the Innovation Studio. Philly Staple? That’s awesome. Staple is not really legend, but still bigger than “Philly regular” or even “Philly entertainer.” Ha! Staple. I’m gonna be riding high off this all day. In other news, I don’t have a lot of excitement going on in my life right now.

**no, I wasn’t googling myself. Puh-Leez. What do you think I am, some sort of loser? Don’t answer that.

• Now, I’ve always been a little bit scared to go in the water. You know, sharks and piranhas and kingfish and all that. But I have still gone swimming anyway, because I am very brave. But no longer. I will never enter the water again, after I saw the video of the underwater sea snake robot.
• G. Love just released his latest album, Superhero Brother, yesterday. You can listen to some of the new songs on his Myspace. The song Wiggle Worm sounds good, but the name just reminds of underwater sea snake robots. He’ll be playing at Penn’s Landing on August 16th.
• The lovely Ginger just released her first column in the Philadelphia Weekly.

Got to see two hip hop legends over the weekend. First up, on Friday, went to see Slick Rick at the Trocadero. There was much hype about MC Ricky D playing with a live band. It was soon apparent why he was doing that. Because, on his own, Slick Rick has about much charisma as dry paint. He honestly never moved for the entire 45 minute set. I mean, it was still cool, because I got to see him perform some of his old hits, but I think he was, quite frankly, bored out of his mind doing “Children’s Story” for the 7,000th time. When the crowd called for an encore, the whole band returned…except for Slick Rick. On a brighter note, it was my first trip back to the Troc since the firing, and it was great to see the gang again.

After my gig at the Kimmel on Saturday, I decided to see Spinderella at the Perelman Center. And let me just say it was off the hook. She was all over it. I mean, it’s not real easy to just be a DJ on a stage all by yourself and own it, but she was just awesome. I wasn’t even dancing (I have never been able to walk up to a random woman and just start dancing. Just can’t do it.) but I sat there in awe of how great her set list was, and she kept chatting with the crowd. Of course, by the time I found someone who might have danced with me (emphasis on “might have”), she started playing freaking disco, and I can’t dance to that garbage. But for the most part, Spinderella was phenomenal. One of the best DJs I’ve ever seen. Then to top it all off, after she got done, she came down in to the crowd to sign autographs and take photos. Pretty stark contrast to a guy who wouldn’t even come back out for an encore.

• A recent poll listed the best and worst cover songs of all time, and somehow Shatner’s Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds didn’t make either list. Which means that in my eyes this list is moot.
• Posted 15 good George Carlin quotes on the Kerri Lee blog.
• The Philadelphia Independent Film Festival is going on this weekend. Phillychitchat has a preview. Here is the International Film Fest website.

It was a thriller at the Kimmel Center on Saturday night, as a packed house of I’d say (roughly) 150 people played to determine who would win the first ever Summer Solstice Spectacular. In the end, we had a shocker, as the Flesh Tuxedo edged the Hurtin Kingdom (a mashup of the Sofas and the Bombs), 104-103. It all came down to the final question. “What legendary water ice shop will you find on 7th and Christian?” The Kingdom answered Jack’s (wrong), the Tuxedo answered John’s (right), and that was the difference in the contest. I’ll try to post some questions a little later, and will also talk a little more about the other acts as well. Click “Continue reading” below to see all of the final scores.

Continue reading “FLESH TUXEDO EDGES HURTIN KINGDOM AT PACKED KIMMEL CENTER” →

On our pantheon of people we don’t like, hipsters fall somewhere between New Jersey drivers and Boston Red Sox fans. So we were tickled pink when we saw that a few of them in Francisville got strong-armed by the police a few days ago. After a search of their shelled out home, the cops quickly concluded that they were more than mere hipsters, they were possible terrorists. “They’re a hate group,” (Police Captain Dennis Wilson) asserted. “We’re trying to drum up charges against them, but, unfortunately, we’ll probably have to let them go.”

Of course they are a hate group. They’re hipsters. They hate everything. They hate fun, they hate sports, they hate people, they hate laughter. They are the walking definition of a hate group.

My suggestion for the “Francisville Four”? Go back to listening to the Puffy Doorknobs or whatever random band you’re going to love for the next 15 minutes before you suddenly decide that they’ve sold out for playing in a venue that has electricity and then hate on them over the Champagne of Beers at Johnny Brenda’s. And shave that damn beard off. It’s summertime, fool.

RELATED: Our prediction? Philebrity hosts some sort of Belle and Sebastian dance party fund raiser for these clowns.

Alright, here’s the deal on Saturday. If you are in town, you wanna go to this. Seriously, it’s gonna be fun. And yes, they will be serving alcohol. The Solstice Spectacular starts at 3 p.m., and rolls on all night long. I’ll tell you about the quizzo first, then discuss some of the other fun stuff going on.

WHO: You and me, fool. Plus there is a pianist between rounds.

WHAT: Summer Solstice quizzo. Yes, it will be a themed quizzo, with Summer as the obvious theme.

WHEN: Saturday night at 10 p.m.

WHERE: Kimmel Center. It’s that building on Broad Street with the big windows.

WHY: Why not? Also, I am in discussions with them about doing Quizzo Bowl V there, and it will definitely work in my favor if we get a good turnout for this.

PRIZES: Got 4 airline vouchers from American Airlines to give away, plus several tickets to upcoming Kimmel Center concerts and events.

TICKETS: Get ’em at the door. $10 pays not just for quizzo, but for all the stuff going on all day and all night. A few highlights:

• 3:15 p.m. GIVE AND TAKE JUGGLERS.
• 6:30 p.m. PHILLY POPS FESTIVAL BRASS.
• 8:30 p.m. BRAZILIAN FESTIVAL.
• 10 p.m. QUIZZO
• 12 p.m. DJ SPINDERELLA. Yes, that DJ Spinderella. Will Johnny be performing “Whatta Man” at this event? There is only one way to find out.
• 2 a.m. HYDROGEN JUKEBOX CIRCUS SIDESHOW: The Hydrogen Jukebox Circus Sideshow ensemble began as a small a rock band but has grown to incorporate dancers, poets, puppets, live painting, comedy, fire art and more. Did someone say puppets and fire? I’m in.

There a ton more stuff going on too. Click here to check out the full schedule.

It’s funny because it’s true. Basically the story of my trip to Mexico in 2004. Thanks to Elvira for sending this in. If you see something funny, drop me a line.

It’s a personality test based on the Myers-Briggs that will tell you what kind of personality you have. I am dying to see what it says about you guys. I am an ESFP. Please take the test (takes probably about 5-7 minutes) and then post your results below. Word.