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.
Given the packed shows at MilkBoy at 11th and Chestnut, the Brü German bierhaus that opened at 1318 Chestnut last year and this spring’s ribbon-cutting for the U-Bahn beer basement at 1320 Chestnut, Center City’s once-busiest (but more recently quite unbusy) strip is again showing vibrant signs of life. So, let’s take a moment to mourn one hot spot that added glitz (and, sometimes, tackiness) to the block, even when it was at its most lifeless: the recently-closed Armand’s at 1108 Chestnut, the classic disco/funk/hop record store whose clientele included any and every DJ worth his/her salt, as well as club entrepreneurs looking to rent turntables, strobe lights and those 360 degree Creative Motion rotators that made doing Special K and Ecstasy a spinny dancefloor treat.
Speaking of Philly disco classics, look for our old friend DJ Robbie Tronco to take control every other Sunday at Lit UltraBar in No Libs starting March 2 with “bi at Sundown,” a night that’s either gay-friendly for straights or straight-friendly for gays.
For well over a decade, there have been many suitors looking to change the Gallery and its tacky surrounding stores. Google will attest to the wealth of rumors (realized and otherwise) on the area that have appeared in this column. My money’s always on mid-range replicated fashion establishments, as opposed to tony upscale places. Word is that Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust agrees, and will more than likely focus on quick, disposable, youth-driven fashion stops and similarly themed food shops. Hey, does that mean Mario Batali’s Eataly culinary megamall, long discussed as a Gallery neighbor, is out of the question?
This spring’s Record Store Day just got a little easier on the ear now that Columbia has announced that it has four unreleased Bruce Springsteen songs ready for 12-inch vinyl on April 26: “Hurry Up Sundown,” and three tunes once-destined for his new High Hopes album: “American Beauty,” “Mary Mary” and “Hey Blue Eyes.”
Philadelphia drummer/entertainment writer/friend to the stars Bruce Klauber says he has doubts about the reasons for the cancellation behind Philly expatriate standup comic David Brenner’s March 1 show at the Broadway Theatre of Pitman, N.J. “The theater’s party line is that ‘David has a medical condition that needs to be addressed prior to him being able to entertain again,’” states Klauber. “While I don’t wish any entertainer to be unwell, I suspect that the cancellation — given that this is a week before the play date — may be due to that all-consuming illness: lack-of-ticket-sale-itis.” Dag.
More ice at citypaper.net/nakedcity.
