We kick it into high gear tonight at quizzo. Steak Em Up has been a little too hot lately, and it’s time to knock them down a notch. They’ve won 6 straight, thus necessitating a $20 Bounty on them tonight. Action starts at 10:15 p.m. But we start at 8 p.m. at Ugly American, where things are wide slam open. The most parity on the tour. 7 different winners in the past 8 weeks. If your ego needs the boost that a quizzo win can provide, I highly encourage you to play at the UA. Hope to see ya tonight!

First of all, great turnout for our new quiz last night at North Star bar. I think it’s gonna be a great spot for a quizzo. Next up, we’re back to normal this week. Well, more or less. The music round is Round 2 and Speed round is round 3, but other than that, it’s a good old fashioned quizzo, with topics across the board. No special themes or anything like that. We kick it off at O’Neals at 8 p.m., then move to City Tap House at 10:15. The kids are starting to file back into town, and our crowds are getting bigger at CTH. Things are gonna be wide slam open pretty soon. Oh, and I have some sweet last place prizes. So even if you’re dumb, this should be a good week for you. As far as the music round, the music above should give you a hint.

A new era in JGT quizdom begins tonight. We kick off a new quiz at the North Star Bar. Action begins at 7 p.m., and in addition to the questions you all know and love (no more Denver questions about Crispin Glover and home run derbys, for the love of God), there will be some live music between rounds, courtesy of Brian Walker. Prizes for first and 2nd, as well as free tix for upcoming shows on the line. (As for questions, I’ll be using the same ones on Monday and Tuesday, and then Wednesday and Thursday this week. I may change it back in the future, however.)

Here are some of the topics for tonight’s event: Acting Like Musicians, Ape Shit, Literary Before and After, Oscar vs. Emmy, and This Round Will Change Your Life I Swear. For the 6th topic, it’s posted on twitter. Action starts at 7 p.m. Bring your brains. It’s important that Philly kick some ass tonight.

All the teams have received their JGTSI Summer Invitational invites, and Sunday at 7 p.m. at National Mechanics will represent Philly against our mortal enemies dear friends in Denver, Dallas, Albuquerque, Nashville, DC, and Austin. 8 rounds, 8 questions each, with the winning city accepting their trophy either in Austin or Philly, depending on who wins. We’ve got some top flight squads doing battle, and I’m hoping they all bring their A-game. We’ll average the scores of the top 5 teams and compare them with the top 5 teams in the 6  other cities to determine a winner. I’ll post the winning city on the site Monday. If you want to know instantly, follow me on twitter, as I’ll post it on the results the instant I get them on Sunday night.

New quiz starts Monday night! In addition to the bar tab prizes, I’ll have tix to give away and live music between rounds! Gonna be a great new quiz. Mondays at North Star Bar. If you have friends in the Fairmount area, spread the word please. Thanks!

Just a few quick reminders about Sunday. First of all, looking forward to hearing tunes from the great Terrence Brown Trio. Secondly, National Mechanics is hooking us up with some great specials. Here they are:

• $2.50 Lagers
• $3 off all pitchers (other than Lager)
• $7 National Burgers (veggie or beef)

The quiz will start at 7 p.m., so I’d plan on being there a little earlier than that. We are doing a Denver style quiz. 8 rounds, 8 questions each. You saw how it worked a few weeks ago, but just as a refresher…don’t even think about jokering anything but rounds 2 and 8, since they are worth double the points. I’ll explain the rest that night. National Mechanics is located on 3rd, between Chestnut and Market. Great bar, great tunes, and at the end of the day, we’re going to make people in Dallas cry. What could be better than that?

Well this is it. It’s all or nothing tonight. I’m going to open things up a bit, however. I am going to allow any team that finishes in the Top 3 tonight earn an invite to the City vs. City Smackdown on Sunday. And now that the smacktalk is starting on facebook, you might want to get in on this action. We are going to have a lot of fun with this.

There will be two 80s quizzes tonight. Koob and Kristy host one at Drinker’s West at 8 p.m., and I’ll be hosting 80s quizzes at Ugly American at 8 p.m. and Bards at 10:15 p.m. But there is a wrinkle in both. Mine won’t only be 1980s. There will also be questions about the 1880s, 1780s, 1680s, and so on. From Karate Kid to Krakatoa to Cornwallis, it’ll all be there. As for Koob and Kristy’s quiz, they’ll be hosting a round of 80s punk rock in addition to other questions about the 1980s.

And oh yeah, corn dogs are a buck at Ugly American, we’ll be giving away french fries at both bars, great beer specials at all 3, and the Phils-Giants game will be on the big screen at the Bards. Hope to see ya tonight!

We get the party started at O’Neals at 8 p.m. Things have been kicking there lately, and plenty of parity, though Brain Delay has been on a hot streak lately.

On to the City Tap House at 10:15 p.m. Just a couple more weeks until I start screaming at Penn kids for using their cell phones. Until then, it’s anybody’s ball game and there’s a $100 gift certificate on the line. Hope to see ya tonight.

As you know, Reef the Lost Cauze will be hosting a round tonight at quizzo, as well as battling me on the microphone. I asked him a few quick questions heading into tonight’s quiz.

1. When you first started rapping, who were your early influences?

My early influences were guys like Big Daddy Kane, Kool G Rap  and as a teen Big L and Nas. The classic MCs.

2. Are you encouraged or discouraged by the direction hip-hop is headed?

The direction its headed is always going to be new and different. As an older guy its easy to dismiss it but it has to keep evolving so I’d say I’m encouraged. There’s room for all of it.

3. What has been the biggest thrill of your career thus far?

Really hard to pinpoint one but I’d say just getting the respect of MCs I grew up admiring and playing gigs with them all over the world. That’s a mindf**k for sure.

4. What is something that most people don’t realize about the rap business?

That it’s all smoke and mirrors.

5. What music artist would you most want to collaborate and why?

Prince. Cuz he’s prince!

Gonna be a wild one tonight. All new music questions. We start off at Ugly American at 8 p.m. I have never worked a quiz that was harder to predict. Every other week we get 80 people, and then the next week we’ll have 20. Last week was packed, so I’m thinking this week will be quiet, and the perfect opportunity for YOUR team to get a win and earn a spot in the JGTSI.

On to the Bards, where I will be having a rap battle against the best battle rapper in Philly, Reef the Lost Cauze. Don’t worry, I expect to hold my own with a rap about my favorite presidents. Action starts at 10:15 p.m. In addition to the rap battle, you’ll have a chance to win fries by defeating Reef in a trivia battle. This quiz is gonna be nuts. And don’t worry, there won’t be a ton of hip-hop questions.

RELATED: Like Reef on Facebook.