Philadelphia Weekly

Photo by Vicki's Nature, via Flickr

Wednesday November 25

Jim Breuer
Jim Breuer has children, which had to happen eventually. The once hazy-eyed SNL vet no longer appears in stoner comedies. Unless you count the stuffed crust pizza commercials (“Jackpot!”) as short films. Breuer’s retired the old Joe Pesci bat and Goat Boy horns and hooves to the mantle, now opting to take his comedic cues from the day-to-day mayhem of raising kids. Playing make-believe with his daughter is enough of a trip to get him braying with laughter. Now he’s on tour, promoting his new Comedy Central special and DVD Let’s Clear the Air, which one Amazon.com reviewer calls “The new high-water mark in dad comedy.” It’s old bong water, but you get the idea. With Ray Romano out to syndication pasture and Bill Cosby too angry to crack wise, somebody had to step up and wax hysterical on parenthood. Because kids? Kids are weird, man. Paul F. Montgomery
8pm. $27.50-32.50. Keswick Theatre, 291 Keswick Ave., Glenside. 215.572.7650. keswicktheatre.com

Andrew Lipke & The Prospects
Philly singer-songwriter Andrew Lipke’s carved out a pretty fascinating music career for himself. Sometimes, you can find him in cavernous venues playing keyboards and guitar (and making a decent living) with Get the Led Out, arguably the nation’s premier Led Zeppelin tribute band. Other times—like tonight’s show—you can find the South African-born Lipke and his four-piece backing band the Prospects bringing songs from his recent, excellent Motherpearl & Dynamite to life. Lipke’s style falls somewhere between roots/folk-rock and mid-’90s Brit-pop. His wide-ranging voice soars along with the band’s appealing, anthemic melodies, which can easily take you over the hills and far away. Michael Alan Goldberg
8:30pm. $10. Tin Angel, 20 S. Second St. 215.928.0770. tinangel.com

Pawnshop Roses
Philly’s own Pawnshop Roses’ triple guitar onslaught, led by lead vocalist Paul Keen, gives them a blues-rock punch that is unrivaled in the area. Some of the band’s tunes recall the deep, bluesy cuts of the Black Crowes, while others employ foot-stomping Nashville twang or Stones-sounding, dueling guitar licks. Despite those varied elements, the group stays true to their hometown’s do-it-yourself roots. Keen’s impassioned, warm vocals—along with blaring electric guitars—are the perfect ingredients for feel-good choruses about lovin’ and lettin’ it roll. On “The Life We Lead,” Keen wails, “When we were through, we went back home and drank ‘til 10am/ We sleep all day and do it all again.” What aspiring rock star can’t relate to that? Kevin Brosky
9pm. $13. With Leroy Justice + Blackjacks. World Cafe Live, 3025 Walnut St. 215.222.1400. worldcafelive.com

Metric + Band of Skulls
You’ve got to give the Canadian pop/new wave band Metric a lot of credit: After nearly a decade of underground buzz, the Emily Haines-led combo managed to finally break through to the mainstream this year with an album (Fantasies) that was entirely self-financed and self-released. Of course, that wouldn’t matter for shit if Fantasies was a lame, watered-down version of the band calibrated for maximum appeal, but it’s not. Sure, the production is bigger and there are plenty of hooks, but the band remains as intense, bittersweet, and genuine as always. Fuzzy, garage-bluesy English trio Band of Skulls are pretty intense and sincere-sounding, too, so they’re probably worth getting there early for. M.A.G.
8pm. $20-$22. Electric Factory, 421 N. Seventh St. livenation.com

Kennel Club Reunion
Every great music scene needs a hub, a haven where young artists with interesting ideas cut their creative teeth. Back in the 1980s, Philadelphia’s punk protégés bloomed inside the dark walls 1215 Walnut Street where weekly Kennel Club parties played host to a group of rebellious party goers who preferred the multi-hued, circus-like atmosphere that the Kennel provided to other “straight” parties. Bound by a collective queerness, the scene fostered the growth of ’80s Goth and spoken word poets like Henry Rollins. Party promoter Sharon Moss describes the scene as pure hedonism, a place where boys dressed as girls go-go danced in cages and punks of all colors, shapes and sexual preferences partied into the early morning without fear of judgment. While the physical structure is gone, the movement lives on in the hearts and art of several former scensters who will celebrate with a reunion this week. The party starts early with music provided by DJs Bobby Startup, Chip Dish and Danny Kelly. Jazmyn Burton
9pm. $10. J.D. McGillicuddy’s, 421 N. Seventh St. 215.925.5310. jdmcgillicuddys.com

Thursday November 26

Thanksgiving Dinner
The specter of disaster haunts every Thanksgiving dinner. The range of possibilities is long: Turkey doesn’t defrost, oven craps out, stuffing is too soggy, uncle gets drunk and starts spewing racist invective. One solution to all these problems (perhaps not the last one) is to go out for Thanksgiving this year. But how do you know that’s not going to suck too? In the case of Supper’s offering, you can trust PW food scribe Adam Erace. Even though he wasn’t there for the holiday meal, he found that in the hands of Mitch Prensky “sweet potatoes taste sweeter and apples are crisper. Roasted fingerling potatoes—nestled in a sandbox of kosher salt, star anise, peppercorns, fennel seeds and coriander—are a study in simplicity.” Sounds like a solid Thanksgiving to me. And even if your Thanksgivings don’t revolve around fear, there’s another bonus to going out: you don’t have to clean up afterwards. Dan Packel
2pm and 5pm. $50. Supper, 926 South St. 215.592.8180. supperphilly.com

Friday November 27

Free Energy
Hockey Night’s jangly, Pavement-flavored jams always seemed tailor made for coming- of-age flick soundtracks, all angst and bravado and misdirected yearning. The band was, maybe, one OC showcase away from breaking big, yet never pushed it over the top. Now, in Free Energy, Hockey Night’s Paul Spranger leads a more aggressively rock outfit, still channeling the raw emotions of late adolescence, but this time with lots more cowbell. The dance punk kingpins at DFA have just signed Free Energy, so grab your chance to see them now—before they go all white boy funky. Jennifer Kelly
7:30pm. $10. With Tough Shits + Post Post. Kung Fu Necktie, 1248 N. Front St. 866.468.7619. r5productions.com

Julian Plenti
It may be a fake name, but we’d know that voice anywhere. Julian Plenti is the solo masquerade of Interpol frontman Paul Banks, whose forlorn baritone launched a thousand Joy Division comparisons. The recent Julian Plenti Is ... Skyscraper expands upon what we’re used to hearing from Banks, although there are enough whip-like guitar lines and moody textures that it doesn’t feel like a career reversal. It’s just a well-placed step outside the full-band setting, with the aid of producer and gloom merchant Peter Katis. There’s a slinking sexiness on display—dig “Girl On The Sporting News”—and Banks tempers his vocals with breathy softness. Look out, ladies. Doug Wallen
8pm. $12. With I’m In You. First Unitarian Church, 2125 Chestnut St. 866.468.7619. r5productions.com.

Saturday November 28

Parallel Universe
Three Philadelphia natives bring you a collaboration of art and fashion at tonight’s Parallel Universe fashion show. Jeantrix Clothing Co. has joined forces with celebrity hairstylist Sina Washington and make-up artist Darya Latham to put together the night as an introduction of the trio onto the Philly scene. Each look represents the chaos of different universes and features characteristic finishes representing a specific theme. Peep very structural shapes during the heavy metal portion of the show, while a 3-D section will have colorful, pixilated looks. Guests in the VIP area can drink and dine on champagne and cheese while watching the 40-plus looks strut the runway, and gift bags will be handed out at the end of the evening. Model Raquel Reed hosts, with attendance by Ms. Jade and other Philly notables. Network your way around the Philly fashion scene—in stilettos, no less. Emily Freisher
7pm. $30-$50. Hamilton Hall, University of the Arts, 320 S. Broad St. 484.390.0036. myspace.com/theecollaboration

Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure
Since our culture’s moviewatching habits have gravitated towards needleesly labyrinthine and often impenetrable storytelling—anyone capable of summarizing the last Transformers movie?—it’s important to cherish plots so simple you can summarize them in a half a tweet. Here’s one: Manchild wants his bike back. That, of course, belongs to Pee-wee’s Big Adventure, every bit as great a work of cinematic excellence as The Bicycle Thief. After his arrest for public masturbation in 1991, the Paul Reubens empire crumbled, and subsequent comeback attempts have never properly snowballed. (Reubens, who mothballed the character in 1992, has two Pee-Wee scripts in the works, one for the kids, one not. We remain cautiously optimistic.) But no amount of personal weirdness has been able to tarnish his splashy starmaking debut, whose endless array of inspired loopiness include a fugitive mattress tag-ripper and a a snake wearing a vest. And something or other about a dead fat woman. Matt Prigge
Midnight. $9. Ritz at the Bourse, 400 Ranstead St. 215.925.7900. landmarktheatres.com

The Mountain Goats
If songwriters are neighborhoods populated by their songs, then the Mountain Goats inhabit a suburb near John Updike’s Rabbit Angstrom, but in a seedier precinct where the malaise grows darker. There’s sado-masochistic alkie couples brushing against institutionalized death metal dreamers, tweakers with their hands out, and insurance fraudsters with tickets to Cancun. Singer John Darnielle’s measured croon is as graceful as his clever verse. Since leaving the lo-fi “boombox” apartment of his first recording decade for Matador/Beggars-sponsored studio digs his last seven releases, the presentation’s improved dramatically. A witty, dispassionate chronicler of dysfunction, Darnielle will ply the heartstrings, but never for sheer puppetry so much as to throw shadows of pathos on the wall. Chris Parker
9pm. $18-$21. With Final Fantasy. Theater of Living Arts, 334 South St. 215.922.1011. livenation.com

Sunday November 29

Ellery Eskelin-Erik Deutsch-Allison Miller
Along with his husky, exploratory tenor saxophone voice, Ellery Eskelin has displayed a flair for intriguing trio concepts on discs such as Forms and Arcanum Moderne. This new unit features Erik Deutsch, an emerging keyboardist (Charlie Hunter, Madlove) who’s making waves of his own as a leader (Fingerprint, Hush Money). Allison Miller, who has pounded skins with everyone from Marty Ehrlich to Ani DiFranco to her own collaborative Agrazing Maze, completes the lineup. Finishing a three-city road trip, the group offers a new improvisational take on the classic organ trio. Deutsch and Miller have an existing rapport as two-thirds of singer-songwriter Erin McKeown’s band, so that ought to jumpstart things. David R. Adler
8pm. $12. International House, 3701 Chestnut St. 215.895.6546. arsnovaworkshop.org

Monday November 30

Acoustic Soul
Business man/poet, Damali is bringing the arts back to West Philly. His Monday night Acoustic Soul event features spoken word, hip-hop and soul performances live at Festival Caribbean Restaurant, but West Philly haters can also peep the production at watchurmoth.com. For old school Philly art appreciators, Festival may be more familiar by its former name: the Hollywood Palace. During the 1950s and 1960s, the Palace was where jazz royalty like Dizzy Gillespie and Miles Davis held musical court. Acoustic Soul continues the legacy of excitement and artistry in performance on the stage made famous for jazz with performers like local hip hop artist Schoolly D, touted as “the godfather of gangsta rap.” This week kicks off the Ménage: Acoustic Soul’s fourth Monday erotic poetry night. Raymond Tyler
8pm. $7. Festivals, 5222 Walnut St. 267.241.1787. watchurmouth.com

Parker: The Hunter
Brave New Worlds hosts a discussion of the year’s hardest boiled graphic novel. Donald Westlake (aka Richard Stark) may be dead, but his tough-as-nails antihero Parker is still at large. In Parker: The Hunter, Darwyn Cooke returns to the professional thief’s first adventure, a revenge tale of the early ’60s. The last heist went all wrong, and Parker’s barreling through New York like an express train to get what’s his. No amount of curves or fluttering lashes gets you a free pass. For a lowlife like Parker, it’s shoot first, ask questions never. Cooke’s the perfect man for the job, rendering it all in black and white and blue. It’s the prettiest damn bruise you’ve ever seen. If you like your noir long on the shadows and short on the poetics, this is the score you’ve been waiting for. P.F.M.
7pm. Free. Brave New Worlds Comics, 45 N. Second St. 215.925.6525. bravenewworldscomics.com

Do Make Say Think
Arguably the flagship band for Canada’s visionary Constellation Records, Toronto’s all-instrumental giants Do Make Say Think now have a full decade of recording behind them. Hammering home a penchant for the unique, the five-piece spells out its band name over the titles of the four tracks on its new sixth album Other Truths, each averaging 10 minutes. Those luxurious spaces allow for some familiar post-rock maneuvering, but there’s a quivering beauty and classical-inspired scope that triggers easy admiration. When the ensemble takes the stage at the Church Sanctuary, expect selections from across the band’s towering back catalog. D.W.
8pm. $14-15. With Years + The Happiness Project. First Unitarian Church Sanctuary, 2125 Chestnut St. 866.468.7619. r5productions.com

Tuesday December 1

Lidia Bastianich
A different kind of celebrity chef, Lidia Bastianich doesn’t look like a model. Physical appearance is certainly part of the explanation of why her show, Lidia’s Italy, is on PBS, not Bravo or the Food Network. To push an analogy, in the world of food TV, Top Chef, Chopped, and whatever show Rachel Ray is doing now are junk food, while Lidia’s Italy is a lovingly prepared feast. Traveling across Italy to document culinary traditions and demonstrate techniques, she’s not afraid to get her hands dirty in the kitchen or on the farmstead. But unlike other culinary travelers (I’m looking at you, Bourdain), she recognizes the “authentic” as something more than a chance for yuks. At the Free Library, Lidia will be talking up her newest book, Lidia Cooks From the Heart of Italy. You can blame her later, when you break the bank loading up DiBruno’s on fancy olive oil. D.P.
7:30pm. $7-$14. Central Library, 1901 Vine St. 215.686.5322. freelibrary.org

Pelican
Post-metal’s lumbering volume and epic, endurance-challenging crescendos come to thunderous fruition in Pelican’s live show. The Chicago-born (but currently LA-based) four-piece have been sculpting repetitive riffs into cinematic landscapes for almost a decade now. Their latest album What We All Come to Need, out on Southern Lord, has been widely hailed as a career best, balancing of annihilating guitar tonnage and pensive intervals of melody. The album comes to its obliterative peak with its title track—a long, long climax for people who never want the good things to end. For the full stomach-pounding heaviness to sink in, though, the record won’t do. You really have to be there. So be there. J.K.
8pm. $12. With Black Cobra Disappear. First Unitarian Church. 2125 Chestnut St. 866.468.7619. r5productions.com