Spinning vinyl: Alt-models do their little turns on the catwalk.

A-List

Catwalk Tragedy 4, “March Is Justice Month” Film Showcase, Terry Riley and Light of Unity Festival.

Catwalk Tragedy 4

Oh what a tragedy it would be if the latest fashion trends—men’s shirt dresses cinched with foot-thick belts and ruffles come to mind—were smashed under the stiletto of a goth goddess on the catwalk. That’s what Catwalk Tragedy 4 is for. The Catwalk Tragedy is an alternative fashion show and competition: Think America’s Next Top Model with fetish fashion models instead of batshit maniacs starving for attention. This year the competition is open to men, so expect equal-opportunity eye candy all around. The judges are fetish and fashion model Apnea, burlesque performer Joey Martini, photographer Lithium Project, and America’s Next Top Model (“cycle” five) finalist Jayla Rubinelli. So if you’re sick of high-wasted, skinny-jeaned, ’80s-infused crap, this show might be a breath of fresh air. (Shanique Jones)

Terry Riley

Terry Riley

With his skull cap and long gray beard, Terry Riley could be called the Dumbledore of the classical avant-garde. He altered Western music in 1964 with the masterpiece In C and continues casting such spells into his 70s. In The Rest Is Noise: Listening to the 20th Century, critic Alex Ross situates Riley as a West Coast minimalist whose mentor La Monte Young “introduced [him] to the postserialist tendencies of marijuana and mescaline.” Heaving aside the severity and angst of prewar European composers, the West Coasters and their New York counterparts (Steve Reich, Philip Glass) gave American optimism a place at the classical table. They also wound up influencing rock contemporaries such as the Velvet Underground and the Who. Riley has haunted Philadelphia of late: The Kronos Quartet premiered “Sun Rings” last April, and the American Composers Orchestra unveiled “Remember This O Mind” in February. Now the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia gives us the “Triple Concerto” for two guitars and violin, with Riley himself at the piano. (David R. Adler)

Light of Unity Festival

Go find something new at the Light of Unity Festival as part of Book Corner’s Emerging Writers Series. This all-afternoon event is a real-life way to keep in touch with new poets, essayists, spoken-word artists, comedians and musicians. As Bahá’u’lláh, founder of the Bahá’i religion, once said, “So powerful is the light of unity that it can illuminate the whole earth.” Which just goes to show that Bahá’u’lláh is an awesome name. (Greg Halbreich)

“March Is Justice Month” Film Showcase

Despite the common belief resulting from years of misleading Hollywood portrayals, America’s prisons aren’t packed with super-violent female nymphomaniacs, bird-loving reformed murderers and rough-around-the-edges convict football teams that enjoy tearing down adversity like a backhoe through concrete. Turns out this country’s many, many penitentiaries are full of untold stories that belie common perceptions of prisoners, their families and the American justice system. Short-film collective Life Size Action Pictures presents a handful of works that will tell these stories. Some of the films showcase the wide spectrum of experiences that often stay hidden behind prison walls. Others highlight the efforts of organizations that step up to meet the needs of prisoners left unfulfilled by the penal system from free books for inmates to rehabilitation and anger management programs for those out on parole. They might not be as sexy, funny or easy to watch as other prison flicks, but these short films hit harder than any Burt Reynolds-helmed prison squad ever could. (Jean Luc Renault)