Philadelphia Weekly

Ha Ha Tonka plays at Sunday's barbecue at World Cafe Live.

Wednesday September 2

Crazy Dreams Band
Baltimore’s Lexie Mountain is best known for the alternative universe a capella of her Lexie Mountain Boys, but her other project, Crazy Dreams Band, demonstrates that she can belt like a 1960s rock diva when she wants to. An EP on Holy Mountain last spring rampaged guitar-less through kraut-ish drones and synthy dance anthems, with Nate Nelson of Religious Knives and Mouthus on drums and Lexie raising the roof, Grace Slick style, on mic. Now with a slightly reconfigured line-up and a new album on the way, the band splices classic rock swagger with noise-funky rhythms and an unstoppable sense of fun. Jennifer Kelly
8pm. $5. With Hex Nine, Serpents Of W.I.S.D.O.M. + Trufflehunter. Danger Danger Gallery. 5013 Baltimore Ave. myspace.com/dangerdangergallery

Thursday September 3

Supergiant
Aptly named after a class of massive stars, Supergiant are dense enough to suck light right out of the sky into the lumbering throb of their quaking bottom-end. Creeping like molasses, distorted guitars bloom like solar flares sparking thick-limbed plumage from their primordial boogie. Genuflecting at the altar of Blue Cheer, this Albuquerque blues-psych quartet stir molten riffage with sturdy chug cast in sativa-soaked jams bound by their own weight. They’re not as incendiary or expansive as a Nebula, shading more toward a hue of Deep Purple, concentrating principally on deep-seated propulsion and thick, syrupy grooves. They’re supporting a full-length debut, Antares, that’s as fuzzy as a Tribble. Chris Parker
9 pm. $8. Khyber, 56 S. Second St. 215.238.5888. thekhyber.com

Happy Birthday Habit
It’s a truth universally acknowledged that Philadelphians, when given a reason to celebrate, take it. And run with it. Sometimes in stilettos. Often enough, this is cause for major regrets the next morning—Why did I buy those half-off leopard-print ankle boots? How am I going to wear that Japanese coat/poncho/headscarf? It’s enough to make you give up your champagne goggles once and for all. But wait. It doesn’t have to be this way. Nestled among Old City’s boutiques and art galleries, for five years Third Street Habit has been outfitting Philadelphians in classy, perennially chic styles that won’t cause shrieks of horror when you find them in your closet the next morning. In honor of Habit’s fifth anniversary, stop in this Thursday for some celebratory cake, a “Denim Raffle,” discounts (10% off all new fall merch!), gift bags with purchase, and—of course—bubbly. But don’t worry about overindulging. This is a Habit you won’t regret. Caitlin Drummond
5pm. Free. Third Street Habit, 153 N. Third St. 215.925.5455. thirdstreethabit.com

Nurses + Throw Me The Statue
A seriously wobbly trio from Portland, Nurses smear their new album Apple’s Acre with lurid sounds and anchor it with swooning vocals and harmonies. It’s quite a feat of artful atmosphere, considering it was recorded entirely on GarageBand, and the sheer quality of it should catapult the band to drooling national attention. Seattle’s Throw Me The Statue have already been there, and now the solo-project-turned-band have answered the quirky breakthrough Moonbeams with the streamlined Creaturesque. TMTS are even better live, as proven last time they were in town. This stellar touring bill is completed by New Zealand’s amorous Brunettes. Doug Wallen
8pm. $10. With the Brunettes. Johnny Brenda’s, 1201 N. Frankford Ave. 215.739.9684. johnnybrendas.com

Missed Connections, A Craigslist Fantasia
If Facebook is the leafy campus quad populated with relatively normal types and Twitter the soapbox for our megalomaniacal town criers then Craigslist is an island of misfit toys—where the unemployed and fetishists clamor in an opportunistic cesspool constructing an e-tapestry of the bleakest parts of humanity featured on the interwebs. As part of this year’s Philly Fringe Festival, Curio Theatre presents a peek at these 21st-century personal ads with a conceptual stage performance. Lifting text directly from the site, the troupe offers a reconstructed look at the online community of beggars, thieves, stalkers and unwanteds. According to company playwright Alex Horne, “This kind of bartering, soliciting, hawking, craving and urging no longer exists in modern malls. Where the lay people make deals with other lay people, it it the essence of what the human market place is at its very core. Craigslist fills a need.” Andrew Amundsen
Thurs., Sept. 3, 7pm. ( Also runs at various times throughout the Festival.) $10-$15. The Calvary Center for Culture and Community,
4740 Baltimore Ave. 215.729.1028. livearts-fringe.org

Friday September 4

Opening of the Festival Bar
Unless you’ve been living on Mars, in a cave, with your fingers in your ears, you know it’s that time again. The Philadelphia Live Arts Festival and Philly Fringe (longest. name. ever.) has rolled back into town, essentially ensuring that your social life will revolve around theater and dance for the next three—count ’em three—weeks. Consider yourself cultured if you attend more than four shows. Consider yourself in the inner circle if you hang out with performers, techies and other show-goers at the Festival Bar, which opens tonight and runs through the entire Festival. Touted as your “once-a-year, ultra-hip-coutry-lodge-backwoods-Pennsylvania-taxidermy-antlers-yellowed-couch-doily-make-out-lounge,” the bar opens with a party featuring tunes spun by DJ Lee Jones, Broadzilla DJs, Robotique DJs, DJ Apt One, Dave Tat and Jeff Fry. Erica Palan
Bar opens at 9pm on weekdays and 10pm on weekends. Free. The Hub, Southwest corner of Fifth and Fairmount sts. 215.413.9006.
livearts-fringe.org

Toxic Holocaust
Lying somewhere between the hyperactivity and political commentary of hardcore, and the muscular riffing and in-your-face ballsiness of Motorhead, Portland, Oregon’s, Toxic Holocaust take the best of both and deliver a no-frills thrash punch that is as fun as one might hope. Joel Grind, the group’s driving force and mastermind, makes the most of a familiar path. Sure, his must-be-a-wig spiky white glam hair clashes with the sleeveless denim jacket and bandoliers. So what? Toxic Holocaust proves that you don’t need expensive light shows and coordinated onstage poses to make it happen. It’s this simplicity that ends up serving them well in the end. John Cramer
9pm. $10-$12. With Howl + BSOM. Johnny Brenda’s, 1201 N. Frankford Ave. 215.739.9684. johnnybrendas.com

Mystery Beer Weekend
Thirty-three beers in three days doesn’t seem like a lot. Hell, some people drink 33 beers in one night (hi, grandma!). There’s a catch though. The Memphis Taproom is pouring stuff they’ve never poured before, and you’ve got to guess what you’re kicking back. Starting at the golden drinking hour of noon, three beers of 11 different styles—from IPAs to Dubbels to hop bombs—will be tapped and offered to beer sleuths at a special price (mixed flights of 3 for $10). Then it’s up to you, Sherlock, to taste them all and identify them on your ballot by Sunday at 6pm. If you win, there’s a beer-filled prize package with your name on it. If you lose, you’ll just have to console yourself by conducting investigations into a few more bottles. Watson will drive. Matt Soniak
Noon. Free. Memphis Taproom, 2331 E. Cumberland St. 215.425.4460. memphistaproom.com

Stomping Grounds
Rifle through the catalogs of former Philadelphia artists like Eakins and the Wyeths and you’ll find no shortage of bucolic landscapes. Lots of rowing too. But what about the corner dives, the concert halls, the graffitied storefronts and gnarled telephone poles? Local artist Michele Melcher showcases favorite urban watering holes in her new series “Stomping Grounds” at Proximity. When new hangouts rise up out of ancient avenues, the results are often a jarring tangle of aesthetics. Melcher celebrates the asymmetry with vibrant landscapes centered as much around the people as the architecture. Pen and ink illustrations of Pat’s and Geno’s are rendered downright pretty with delicate application of watercolor. These are the places where we do much of our hustling and bustling. Stop and enjoy the scenery. Paul F. Montgomery
1pm-9pm. Free. Proximity Gallery, 2434 E. Dauphin St. 267.825.2949. michelemelcher.com

New Works by Rob Sato and Joseph To
David Choe is homeless, but he also has a website (davidchoe.com) and a bellyful of accolades for his work as a muralist and comic creator. He’s a bit of a globe-trotter, frequenting the world’s surlier vacation destinations (Vietnam, the Republic of Congo, the Gaza Strip) always making sure to leave art in his wake. Even when forced to sit still—as in his stint in a Japanese prison for roughing up an undercover detective—Choe produces art that makes you wish you’d brought a camera. Even if it means using soy sauce and his own urine. The Metropolis gallery of Lancaster presents an exhibition curated by Choe featuring work by Joseph To and Robert Sato. Opening night includes the premiere of Dirty Hands, a Choe biopic by Harry Kim. P.F.M.
Fri., Sept. 4, 11am-6pm. Through Sept. 30. Free. Metropolis, 154 N. Prince St., Lancaster. 717.572.9961. metropolis-store.com

Saturday September 5

Marlon Simon and the Nagual Spirits
In Marlon Simon’s Nagual Spirits one hears plenty of Afro-Latin jazz heritage, but also a knife-edged post-bebop vocabulary that has long permeated New York and Philly, two of the drummer’s home bases since he came from Venezuela in 1987. Much like his brother, the killer pianist Edward Simon, Marlon taps into Central and South American folkloric roots to convey a unique musical-spiritual message (naguals are figures of legend who can take on animal form). He’s also got a taste for unlikely juxtapositions, such as string quartet and batá drums on the Naguals’ latest In Case You Missed It. Also worth catching: his French-Latin side project with the group Black Chantilly. David R. Adler
8pm. $20. Chris’ Jazz Cafe, 1421 Sansom St. 215.568.3131 chrisjazzcafe.com

Off the Grid Theater Festival
The Bard may have lamented his poor player strutting and fretting his hour upon the stage, but he never considered the carbon footprint of all that strutting. All that sound and fury may signify nothing, but it comes at an environmental cost. Enter, stage left, eco-friendly theater. Each of the four productions in the Off The Grid Theater Festival will power their own spotlights with solar panels, wind turbines and a foot pump. The science-obsessed local dance troupe Miro will incorporate a power-generating bicycle into its dimly lit set. The productions are necessarily small-scale: these are not epic musicals with pyrotechnics and hydraulics. New York magician Steve Cuiffo will train solar-powered lights on just two decks of cards and one sharply honed wit. Thaddeus Phillips will perform a monologue about Nicola Tesla and a rubber duckie inside a 3’ x 3’ x 8’ white box. A recycled white box. Phillips has seen where our humanity really lies, and it’s not on the power grid. Peter Crimmins
Through Sept. 19. $15. Painted Bride Art Center, 230 Vine St. 917.251.1594. offthegridfest.org

Sunday September 6

Noam Chomsky Mural Benefit
Peter Pagast has worked on murals of Philadelphia’s biggest personalities, including Paul Robeson, Edgar Allen Poe, Grover Washington, Jr., and Patti La Belle. Now he’s raising money to paint a mural of Philly native Noam Chomsky, the world-renowned MIT linguist and lefty political critic. Many don’t know that Chomsky is a local: he grew up in North Philly’s East Oak Lane neighborhood and graduated from Central High and Penn. The audience gets to vote on which of three Chomsky mural designs Pagast will paint—you can even enter a raffle to get a Chomksy portrait of your own. A true labor of political love, the painter is donating all of his time and just wants to make a few thousand bucks to cover cost. Music from the Victor Victor Band, Surgeon, mikingmihrab, Seizure 17 and Brat Bangs. Daniel Denvir
6pm.  The Fire, 412 W. Girard Ave. 267.671.9298. iourecords.com

Bicycle Polo
At the 2012 Olympics in London you might see trial demonstration sports like women’s boxing or cricket. Maybe even darts. But you won’t see polo, neither on horse nor bicycle. Fortunately, Philadelphia has a solution. The world champs will be crowned this weekend at the first international bike polo world championship and no doubt they will be holding aloft mallets made from old ski poles and plastic plumbing. The Philadelphia-based Hardcourt Bicycle Polo Federation is trying to make bike polo legit, with rules, standards and—crossing fingers—endorsements! Not bad for a bunch of tattooed former bike messengers who like to ride in circles while whacking each other with sticks. Naysayers may say, “Bike polo don’t need no stinkin’ badges!” But if the planets align properly, Chicago might get the Olympics in 2016, and Chicago is a killer biking town. P.C.
For more information, visit hardcourtbicyclepolofederation.com. (Also Sat., Sept. 5.)