40 Things to Do This Weekend

ATTN: Punk jump ropers, naked bike riders, VHS tape hoarders and Lady Gaga fans.

Oh Sees, formerly known as Thee Oh Sees, play the Trocadero tonight. (Mini Van Photography)

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 8

Emeka Ogboh featuring Ursula Rucker @ Parkway Central Library
Artist Emeka Ogboh and poet Ursula Rucker collaborate on “Logan Squared: Ode to Philly.” This is a preview event for Monument Lab: A Public Art and History Project, in which 20 artists install “temporary prototype monuments” on sites throughout the city. Runs September 16-November 19.

Warpaint @ Underground Arts
The dreamy indie rock veterans from L.A. released their excellent third record Heads Up! last year and now they’re the subject of a hardcover book by tour manager/photographer Robin Laananen called Us/Then. Here’s a taste:

 

Parkway 100 We Are Connected Festival @ Ben Franklin Parkway
The Parkway is celebrating its centennial with events all year long, though Brian Howard thinks it’s unworthy. The party starts today with the We are Connected Festival, featuring family-friendly events and free/pay-what-you-wish admission to museums along the Parkway.

Which Reminds Me @ Act II Playhouse
Tony Braithwaite wrote and stars in this one-man show. Features stand-up comedy, music, storytelling and more. Runs through October 11.

Low Cut Connie @ Union Transfer
Even the censored version of the video for “Revolution Rock n Roll” by Philly band Low Cut Connie is NSFW:

 

Fringe Festival @ all over town
As always, Fringe Fest 2017 is a behemoth — a massive celebration of art, theater, dance, music and more. There’s just way more stuff going on than we can do justice here. We highly recommend you peruse the Fringe web site or guide and plan a few nights out. And of course, we’ll be highlighting shows throughout the fest, which launches tonight and continues through September 24.

Last Call: Photography by Gene Smirnov @ Gravy Studio
Philly photographer Gene Smirnov documents neighborhood bar culture.

Hello Blackout @ The Drake
New Paradise Laboratories offers “a fresh and compelling take on the idea of a creation myth” with this Fringe Fest production. Directed and Choreographed by Whit MacLaughlin. Through September 17.

L7: Pretend We’re Dead @ PhilaMOCA
A screening of Sarah Price’s documentary about the beloved L.A. grunge band, featuring archival footage and interviews with Exene Cervenka, Shirley Manson, Allison Wolfe and more.

 

Danzig @ Electric Factory
The Jersey metal lord released Black Laden Crown back in May. The cover art was really bad, and Consequence of Sound didn’t care much for the music, calling it “well-crafted, if generally unremarkable.” But if you’re into Danzig, you probably don’t care about all that. Here’s a new video.

Patty Larkin @ World Cafe Live
Veteran singer-songwriter Patty Larkin spins a good yarn and plays a mean guitar. Give her a listen here.

Thee Oh Sees @ The Trocadero
John Dwyer and the rest of this San Francisco band always deliver entertaining garage and psychedelic rock. Also, they’re technically call Oh Sees now, for whatever reason and their latest record, Orc, was released at the end of last month.

UB40 Legends Ali, Astro And Mickey @ Trocadero
Ali Campbell, Astro and Mickey Virtue are not in UB40 anymore, but that’s where you know them from. Campbell was the guy singing easygoing reggae/pop songs like “Red, Red Wine” and “Can’t Help Falling in Love.”

Children Shouldn’t Play With Dead Things @ Laurel Hill Cemetery
The Dead Milkmen’s Rodney Anonymous hosts a screening of this 1972 camp-horror “classic.” We previewed the event and posted the trailer earlier this week.

Aesop’s Fables @ Sedgwick Theater
Short morality tales adapted for modern audiences by Quintessence Theater’s Lee Cortopassi. Through September 17.

Brand Nubian @ Underground Arts
This show was supposed to happen in June but got postponed. Here’s what I said back then: You know Brand Nubian, led by smartass conscious rappers Grand Puba, Sadat X and Lord Jamar. Das EFX, of course, are known to for their spell-bindingly clever rhymes on songs like ‘They Want EFX’ and ‘Mic Checka.’ I agree with me.

Sophia’s Forest @ URBN Annex Black Box Theater
The technology-assisted chamber opera (music by Lembit Beecher, libretto by Hannah Moscovitch) tells the story of an imaginative, 8 year-old immigrant to the U.S. using “tree-like, sound-producing sculptures.”

Hurry Up and Wait @ Asian Arts Initiative
Adriel Luis curates this group show featuring works by Pritha Bhattacharyya, Sanjana Bijlani, Melissa Chen, Yujane Chen and more. Runs through December 15.

2001: A Space Odyssey @ Ritz at the Bourse
A midnight screening of Stanley Kubrick’s classic sci-fi story about the world’s first sentient computer looking to escape his overbearing parents and strike out on his own.

Washington’s Blue Sash @ Museum of the American Revolution
The sash George Washington wore when he took command of the Continental Army is on display, paired with a 1776 portrait of Washington by Charles Willson Peale. Through October 9.

 

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 9

Haverford Music Festival @ Havertown, Pa
This free, outdoor festival features four stages and 30 performers — including headliner Matthew Sweet, best known for catchy, guitar-forward songs like “Girlfriend” and “Where You Get Love” in the ’90s. Sweet released his latest record, the Kickstarted Tomorrow Forever, in June. Also playing are The Weeklings, Danielle Miraglia, Nadjah Nicole and more.

Ruby the Hatchet/Heavy Temple/Meddlesome Bells @ Johnny Brenda’s
This is just a solid bill of twisted, heavy, artful bands that balance thick riffs with agile playing. Jersey stoner-monsters Ruby the Hatchet just released Planetary Space Child; it’s gloriously doomy and oddly invigorating.

Teenage Bottlerocket @ Boot & Saddle
Wyoming’s most esteemed punk band released Stealing The Covers in July, playing favorites by other punk bands they think deserve more attention.

Johanna d’Arc of Mongolia @ Lightbox Film Center
The New Yorker wrote about Ulrike Ottinger’s 1989 film back in May: “It’s a sumptuously stylized yet ardently observational film that builds its wild contrasts into its plot, about a train ride of legendary proportions aboard the Transsiberian, a virtual Orient Express filled with an exotic collection of international travellers with mysterious backgrounds and fabulous personalities.” Read the whole article here.

Philly Naked Bike Ride @ the streets of Philadelphia
Strip down and ride, to the delight of slideshow-makers, status-updaters and you.

Saturday Morning Cartoons @ PhilaMOCA
Eat sugary cereal and watch cartoons from 1985. A family friendly event.

Philadelphia Honey Festival @ several locations
A free, three-day festival centered around honey. Includes educational and tasting (mead!) type events at Bartram’s Garden, Glen Foerd and Wyck Historic House. Continues September 9 & 10.

Billy Joel @ Citizens Bank Park
The piano man returns. This remains his triumph:

 

BrainFest @ The Ukie Club
Philadelphia Sundrop Music & Arts Festival raises awareness and money in the fight against brain tumors. Benefits the American Brain Tumor Association.

Cocoon Central Dance Team @ Good Good Comedy Theatre
This “choreographed dance-comedy act” from New York features Sunita Mani, Tallie Medel and Eleanore Pienta (whom you may have seen on GLOW, Mr. Robot, Inside Amy Schumer and The Chris Gethard Show).

A Womb of Their Own @ William Way LGBT Community Center
A screening of Cyn Lubow’s film in which “six articulate, charismatic and diverse masculine-identified people discuss their pregnancies and chest-feeding experiences, demonstrating the non-binary nature of gender.”

VHS Party and Tape Swap @ Tattooed Mom
“Philadelphia VHS Society and Lunchmeat present the 1st Philadelphia VHS Party and Tape Swap. Bring some tapes to sell or trade.” So people just trade old VCR tapes? What does lunchmeat have to do with it? Does anybody want my copy of Event Horizon?

Nathan Fielder @ Keswick Theatre
The hilarious/awkward comedian/idea man previews the upcoming season of his Comedy Central show Nathan For You. I did a whole big thing on him yesterday.

Jane Austen Night @ The Woodlands
Croquet, letter-writing and screenings of Jane Austen movies Emma and Clueless.

 

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 10

Prophets of Rage @ TLA
Rap and rock collide in this heavy, political supergroup that features
B-Real of Cypress Hill, Chuck D of Public Enemy and several members of Rage Against the Machine and Audioslave.

Jon DelCollo @ Good Good Comedy Theatre
The Philly comic does his first one-hour set. With openers Sonia Zambrana and Sidney Gantt.

2 Chainz @ The Fillmore
Every few years, a new prophet shows up on the scene claiming to know where the pretty girls are. Now here comes 2 Chainz with his Pretty Girls Like Trap Music tour and I’m telling you, they better be there because this is exhausting.

Dead Cross @ Union Transfer
People seem to dig this metal/punk outfit featuring Mike Patton (Faith No More, Mr. Bungle), Dave Lombardo (Slayer) and Justin Pearson (Locust, Retox). They’re loud and crazy, but also textured and crazy. Point is, they’re not just building walls of sound out there. The band recently invited Jello Biafra up onstage to rework a Dead Kennedys classic for the Trump era. And also some of them were in police custody for some reason. Anyway, here’s a video to creep you out.

Lady Gaga @ Wells Fargo Center
Let’s just read some recent headlines. Pizza Party! Lady Gaga Surprises Disappointed Fans with Food After Canceling Canada Show. Lady Gaga Tries To Buy Her Own CD At A Walmart And Causes A Riot In Her New Netflix Documentary. Lady Gaga smokes weed in her grandpa’s car… Okay, that’s enough. Gags plays Sunday and Monday.

Punk Rope @ The Rotunda
“A mash-up of jump rope and recess that improves cardio, agility, strength, and coordination, while burning approximately 600 calories per hour.” Jump ropes will be supplied.

The Meatball Chronicles @ Adrienne Theater
Actress Debrianna Mansini (Better Call Saul, Crazy Heart) tells stories of romance and relatives via the family meatball recipe. Fringe Fest. Runs through September 12.