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.
First and foremost, before another plane gets lost or some other tragedy unfolds, let’s pour a 40 for Philly’s David Brenner who passed away over the weekend. Long before Jerry Seinfeld had a sitcom based on the happenstance of nothingness, Brenner was doing observational standup soaked in the minutiae of the everyday and punctuated by the blank stare of the common denominator. I’ve heard from people who loved Brenner and cherished their time working and hanging with him. (And everybody else can go suck an egg.) Brenner was a comedy giant — Philadelphia’s lanky, toothy comedy giant — at a time when this town’s humor profile was nearly nonexistent. Rest in peace, man. You did good.
A shout to MTV’s original VJ, Philly’s Mark Goodman. The Temple grad, onetime WMMR music director and SiriusXM host posted on Facebook that he finally got the liver he’d long sought for a transplant. Mazel tov.
Philly hip-hop’s Meek Mill may be moving back and forth between here and Atlanta, but that hasn’t stopped him from gaining speed on his second artist album. The rapper has said out loud that his sophomore effort, tentatively titled Dreams Worth More Than Money, should be out this summer, and will feature Timbaland, Chris Brown, DJ Khaled and Rita Ora (on a song called “I’ma Ride”). Meek’s MMG label boss Rick Ross just dropped his own new one, Mastermind. Of course his employees would follow suit — that’s the drill.
Summer’s shaping up to be a time for local product foisted into the mainstream. I point at The Roots’ And Then You Shoot Your Cousin, which should be out between their annual Picnic (May 31) and their Fourth of July Parkway celebration.
Then there’s the Clint Eastwood-directed adaptation of the Broadway musical about Frankie Valli’s Four Seasons, Jersey Boys, that’ll be released June 20. Villanova U’s Vincent Piazza will star as Tommy DeVito in the Boys, having wrapped up his Lucky Luciano role for the series season finale of HBO’s Boardwalk Empire. Piazza has several other 2014 films in the pipeline such as Surviving Me, The Wannabe and 3 Nights in the Desert, which is due for release May 1.
Little Pete Antipas is fast becoming the king of 19th Street. He’s got Sutton’s Parlor (that bar-restaurant at 19th and Chestnut) not to mention Piano Bar and several diners in the past. Now his corner spot at 1939 Arch gets a re-do when Logan, a new brew-centric, American cuisine joint, opens this week with help from Grainery Restaurant Group’s Matt Swartz. Opa!
Look for more ice at citypaper.net/nakedcity.
