Icepack: A.D. Amorosi on the news, nightlife and bitchiness beats
Please note: This article is published as an archive copy from Philadelphia City Paper. My City Paper is not affiliated with Philadelphia City Paper. Philadelphia City Paper was an alternative weekly newspaper in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The last edition was published on October 8, 2015.
Generally, I look for any old reason to write about one of Philly singer/songwriter Jay Laughlin’s bands — the glam-rocking Like a Fox, the power-popping Lenola or his current obsession, JJL. Alas, this is bad news. Last month, JJL’s practice studio was burned to a crisp in a fire and the power trio lost everything, including Laughlin’s cherished 1975 Les Paul Custom. Dag, I’m just a bad saxophone player and I know the value of the ’75 LPC. Anyway, JJL was shit-out-of-luck until the crew at Fountain Porter (South 10th Street off East Passyunk Avenue), Philadelphia Brewing Company and Noord eetcafe came to the rescue. Starting at 4 p.m. on March 31, Franklin Porter will host a $20-a-head benefit for JJL with prizes and raffles offered up by local businesses. All monies go to Laughlin’s hot trio with Brian Wilkinson and Pete Girgenti. Yay, charity.
Was that really Rick Santorum’s name that passed by on the small screen when The Redemption of Henry Myers unfurled on the Hallmark Movie Channel the other night? Yup. The right-hanging dick from Pennsylvania is a big boss at the faith-based EchoLight Studios, the company behind Henry. I have plenty of faith, plenty of it, but not in anything Santorum hangs his hat upon.
If you were looking for Rex 1516 or Jet Wine Bar’s operators Jill Weber and Evan Malone in the last few days, you needn’t have bothered. The prime pair went down to Mexico City to do some last-minute research for Café Ynez, their Point Breezy Mexican diner at 2025 Washington whose opening date (March 31) I gave you the exclusive on last week.
Record Store Day is weeks away, and there will be plenty of vinyl items to fetishize. One Philly-based thing to look out for comes from local legendary punk/hardcore veteran guitarist Freddy Pompeii’s the Viletones. Though there is no track listing revealed as yet, Pompeii says that the new Viletones 7-inch EP will contain raging tracks, new and vintage, on bright orange vinyl.
Every local theatergoer is so used to seeing actress/director/producer Michelle Pauls doing things solely at her Walking Fish Theater in Port Fishington that it took a second to process her next move: An acting gig in Sam Shepard’s blackly comic Buried Child, taking place at the Iron Age Theatre on DeKalb Street in Norristown. Yay Pauls and yay Norristown. Along with news that Norristown’s ages-old Maennerchor — a German men’s-only social club — is looking to jump the battery with a standup comedy show on May 10, it looks like the town is hopping.
More icepack at citypaper.net/nakedcity.
