33 Things to Do This Weekend

Prince Tribute, Tim Meadows, Acro-Cats, Megapolis Audio Fest and more.

Xiu Xiu plays Johnny Brenda’s on Sunday as part of the Megapolis Audio Festival. (Alex Brown)

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 15

World’s Largest Pop-Up Photobook @ Philadelphia Photo Arts Center
Every morning through September 26, visitors may watch artist Colette Fu as she works to construct the World’s Largest Pop-Up Photobook entitled Tao Hua Yuan Ji (Utopia: Source of the Peach Blossoms). Meet the artist on Friday, September 22.

Stephen Greenblatt @ Parkway Central Library
The Pulitzer Prize-winning author/Harvard prof reads from his new book, The Rise and Fall of Adam and Eve.

Hardwork Movement @ Underground Arts
The Philly hip-hop/soul group celebrates the release of their new EP, For the People. With Ill-Fated Natives and Aleana.

Iphigenia at Aulis @ USS Olympia
Dan Hodge directs Euripides’s family/war drama aboard a real retired warship. Runs through September 22. Fringe Fest.

David Liebe Hart @ PhilaMOCA
Outsider television personality David Liebe Hart is known for his Christian puppetry, strange songs and appearances in various Tim & Eric projects.

Red Velvet @ St. Stephen’s Theater
Lantern Theater Company presents the Philadelphia premiere of Lolita Chakrabarti’s play about a black actor preparing to play Othello at the same time riots Londoners are rioting because slavery was abolished. Through October 8.

I, Peaseblossom @ Woodlands Cemetery
Curio Theatre Company presents Tim Crouch’s one-person play about a neglected fairy from A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Stars Brian McCann. BYO lawnchair. This is a Fringe event. Through September 17.

Nick Murphy @ Union Transfer
The Australian electro-soul singer-songwriter once known as Chet Faker has a new EP, Missing Link, under the name his parents gave him.

 

Opera Philadelphia’s O17 Festival @ several venues
This giant city-wide celebration of opera features runs through September 25. At press time, only three performances still have tickets available: War Stories, Elizabeth Cree and The Magic Flute.

Father John Misty @ The Mann Center/Skyline Stage
When my Facebook feed isn’t making fun of men in general, it’s mocking Father John Misty specifically. He’s into it, apparently. “I get sick pleasure out of going on the internet and reading about how much people hate me,” he told the Guardian back in March. So, I guess keep it up.

Sweetbriar Rose @ Headhouse Shambles
The local band specializing in “rootsy, thorny, rose-hipped gypsy Americana folk and jazz” plays songs to slow dance to. If you can’t dance, get there early and Society Hill Dance Academy will teach you.

The Hot Club of Philadelphia @ The Piazza
Swing dance lessons plus live gypsy jazz music by the Hot Club of Philadelphia.

Dada @ World Cafe Live Philadelphia
The band who got a lot of buzz in 1992 for the snarky, defeatist anthem “Dizz Knee Land” celebrates 25 years in the business.

 

Floydada @ The Fifth Side at the Maas Building
Peculiar Works Project presents Barry Rowell’s play starring Catherine Porter and Nomi Tichman. Part of Fringe Fest. Through September 16.

TJ Kong and The Atomic Bomb @ Johnny Brenda’s
Dancey, dirty rock ’n’ roll from your hometown. They celebrate the vinyl release of their latest, Dancing Out The Door, at this show.

Ruggedly Jewish @ Suzanne Roberts Theatre
An evening with Bob Garfield — co-host of WYNC’s public radio show On the Media.

 

Tim Meadows @ Helium
The actor/Saturday Night Live alum does standup. Friday and Saturday.

 

The Bald Soprano @ Bethany Mission Gallery
Absurdist theater devotees Idiopathic Ridiculopathy Consortium are once again staging a showed aimed at boggling and bedazzling. The Bald Soprano, Eugene Ionesco’s first and perhaps best-loved play, concerns two husbands, two wives, a maid and a fire chief whose casual small talk leads them to entertaining and befuddling places. It’s funny, but that’s not all it is. IRC’s producing artistic director Tina Brock directs, does sound design, and stars alongside Bob Schmidt, Tomas Dura, Sonja Robson, John Zak and Arlen Hancock. Through September 24.

Town @ Adrienne Theater
Philly Improv Theater’s Jolie Darrow and Jack O’Keeffe co-write and co-direct this “metaphysical horror-comedy play” inspired by Thornton Wilder’s Our Town. Not improv. Through September 17.

Small Talk w/ Doogie Horner @ Good Good Comedy Theatre
Comedian Doogie Horner and pals (Christian Alsis, Sarah Bell, David James and Dave Walk) practice the lost art of small talk.

Home @ Prince Theater
Geoff Sobelle’s ambitious, multimedia production aims to examine the “lifecycle of a house” using “illusion, choreography, live music, construction, homespun engineering, and live documentary.” Home is directed by Lee Sunday Evans, with a set by Steven Dufala and original music by Elvis Perkins. Sobelle, you may recall, was the mastermind behind previous Fringe hits The Object Lesson, Flesh and Blood & Fish and Fowl, and more. Through September 16.

The Amazing Acro-Cats @ Painted Bride Art Center
Rescued house cats perform acrobatic and music feats to amazing and amuse. Includes music by Tuna and the Rock Cats, the “only all-cat band in the entire world.” There’s no way this goes off without a hitch, but that’s probably part of the fun. Through September 18.

 

A Billion Nights On Earth @ FringeArts
Director Thaddeus Phillips and visual artist Steven Dufala team up for a dreamy theater production for all ages. A Billion Nights On Earth stars Michael Fegley and Winslow Fegley as a father and son searching the cosmos for a lost stuffed whale. Sounds like a stunner. Through September 17.

City Without Men @ Eastern State Penitentiary
Secret Cinema returns to the prison to screen the rarely-seen 1943 drama about women who move into a boarding house next to a prison to be closer to the convicts they love. Short films will also be shown. Friday and Saturday.

Grand Opening Weekend @ Philadelphia School of Circus Arts and Circadium
Celebrate the opening of the new “circus campus” with free lessons, tours and other events, Friday through Sunday.

Worktable @ Bok
Sign up for a 15-minute slot to enjoy Brussels visual artist Kate McIntosh’s installation … in which you are invited to create and destroy things? I mean, that’s what it sounds like, right?: “Once inside there are instructions, equipment, and safety goggles so you can get to work—it’s up to you to decide how things come apart, and how they fall back together.” Through September 18.

 

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 16

A Tribute to Prince @ 50th and Baltimore
This year’s Neighborhood-to-Neighborhood Street Festival is a star-studded tribute to the late pop star. Performers include Sheila E., DJ Questlove, PnB Rock, comedian Skeet Carter and Morris Day and The Time.

Megapolis Audio Festival @ several locations
This two-day festival presents events based around “creating, experimenting with, and experiencing sound” and features the work of “documentarians, technologists, musicians, educators, urban planners, scientists, and radio producers.” Day 1 (Saturday) programming includes “Blinks, Bleeps, and Bits in the Wild: Breaking the boundaries of littleBits” with Ed Bear & Monty Kim” and “Sonic Mapping of Chinatown: a soundwalk across cultural borders” with Amanda Gutierrez.

Bill Frisell: Harmony @ Ardmore Music Hall
Frisell’s all-star band includes vocalist Petra Haden, singer/cellist Hank Roberts and singer/baritone guitarist Luke Bergman.

 

Philly AIDS Thrift Block Party @ Philly AIDS Thrift
Your friendly neighborhood thrift store fir a good cause celebrates its 12th anniversary with a celebrity dunk tank,sword swallowing, moonbounce, games, food trucks, magicians, and music by DJ Robert Drake and West Philadelphia Orchestra.

Splintered Glass @ Performance Garage
Producer/choreographer Courtney Hunter presents a dance performance examining the “ethics surrounding artificial intelligence and humans playing God.” Features guest artists Tiffany Delio and Daniela Galdi of the Blind Faith Project Dance Company.

Kennedy Cornhole Tournament/Fundraiser @ Penn Treaty Park
An annual tradition/competition raising money for kids and parents in the the Pennsylvania Hospital NICU. Donation info here.

Awesome Tapes From Africa @ The Dolphin Tavern
Making Time’s Dave P. celebrates one of his favorite record labels, Awesome Tapes From Africa, with the label’s own Brian Shimkovitz.

The Weeknd @ Wells Fargo Center
A big giant arena show by the Canadian R&B/pop star/party monster who crushed the charts with songs like “Starboy,” “I Can’t Feel My Face,” “I Feel It Coming” and “The Hills.”

Tribute to Michael Duffy @ The New Leaf Club
Friends and bandmates pay tribute to the late singer/songwriter known for playing with Tickets, Lemmy Caution, Science Fiction and other local bands.

Project Pabst Citywide Festival @ Electric Factory
A packed bill of punk and rock featuring Action Bronson, The Menzingers, Big Thief, Speedy Ortiz, Nothing, The Coathangers, Madame Gandhi, Lionize and Thin Lips.

Palmyra Delran and the Doppel Gang @ Boot & Saddle
The Jersey-born rocker was previously in Pink Slip Daddy and The Friggs. Check it:

 

The Special without Brett Davis @ Good Good Comedy Theatre
The NYC “live public access variety show” returns to Philly with Mary Houlihan, Brad Howe, Eliza Hurwitz and Tim Platt.

Karaoke Gung Show @ The Trocadero
Evil overlord/karaoke kingpin Skeletor celebrates 10 years of making you sing for his amusement.

Telling HERstories: Benefit for Women In Transition @ First Unitarian Church
A concert raising money and support for nonprofit the Women in Transition featuring performances by Cookie Diorio with pianist Jillian Zack and duo Albatross (Jennifer Beattie and Adam Marks).

 

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 17

Megapolis Audio Festival @ several locations
This two-day festival presents events based around “creating, experimenting with, and experiencing sound” and features the work of “documentarians, technologists, musicians, educators, urban planners, scientists, and radio producers.” Day 2 (Sunday) programming includes “47 Stories Audio Bus Tour” with Laura Deutch and Shira Walinsky and a concert by Xiu Xiu and Mia Zabelka.

Picture This! @ Good Good Comedy Theatre
“Live-animated comedy” from New York featuring comedians Rojo Perez, Michelle Biloon, Eric Dadourian and more, with live animation by Bryan Brinkman, Sean Dooley Eamon Dougherty and more. Hosted by Peggy O’Leary. Here’s a sample.

Mt. Airy Village Fair 2017 @ Mt. Airy Village
A day-long family friendly festival, featuring food, music, a petting zoo and contests like the “SLOW ice cream eating contest.”

Ace Frehley @ Ardmore Music Hall
A solo show by the KISS guitarist.

Arcade Fire @ Wells Fargo Center
The Montreal indie-cum-arena rock band’s fifth album Everything Now was released in July, and with it came all the usual hot takes: “who cares?,” “they’re the best band in the biz,” “something’s missing,” etc. As for the tour, they’re doing a boxing motif, with the stage set in the center and surrounded by ropes and turnbuckles. Whatevs. I like this song, even though they’re in their Zootopia phase.