Kate Langenburg/A&E Groove

It’s finally happened to me after all these years. That’s right, I finally went to my very first Phish show ever! Let’s just say this — I went on Tuesday night. It is now Friday and I can’t stop daydreaming about it, listening to my live Phish albums, and wanting to go back for more. This band has had a lot of time to perfect their shows…and they certainly have.

After releasing their first album in 1986 and touring for nearly twenty years, the band went on a haitus, a break that was much needed for certain members who had started overdoing the drugs (I won’t mention names here.) Nonetheless, that time gave them all a time out and a chance to think about what they wanted for the future of their music. Now they’re back, armed with a slick light show and some seriously funky beats.

Photo by Kate Langenburg

The crowd in the Wachovia Center Tuesday night was ridiulously large. I never knew venues of that size existed until now. (I also never would have guessed I would end up with a club box seat complete with my own private bar, bathroom, and sitting area.) Everyone in the entire place seemed to be grooving simultaneously, with smiles and good vibes permeating the walls of the arena.

Here’s the setlist from the November 24 Philadelphia show:  

Set 1: Chalk Dust Torture>Bathtub Gin>Cities>Camel Walk>The Curtain With>The Wedge>The Moma Dance>Reba>Golgi Apparatus>Stealing Time From the Faulty Plan

Set 2: Possum>Down With Disease>Twenty Years Later>Harry Hood>The Mango Song>Mike’s Song>Simple>Slave to the Traffic Light>Weekapaug Groove

Encore: A Day in the Life

From the very first note of Chalkdust, I knew I was in for something great. When they went into a real funky Moma Dance, I was in heaven. Everyone was singing along with Reba one minute then, jamming out to Possum, then going into a free fall whirlwind of musical pleasure when they heard A Day in the Life.

Phish’s sound has certainly gotten stronger over the years, and I don’t see this band disappearing any time soon. They are loved by too many fans, have too much talent, and have the drive to keep on keepin’ on. I don’t even know which song was my favorite…they were all wonderful, amazing, beautiful, great. Check out my videos from the show by clicking on the song names below:

The Moma Dance

Simple

Weekapaug Groove

A Day in the Life (Encore)

If anyone I work with happens to read this post, I’m sorry, but I just might have to quit my job and go on tour with Phish.

the little man(by NBA standards) with the biggest heart.

there’s too many memories to really go through one by one, but obviously the playoff series with the Raptors with the back to back Vince and AI 50 point games and this video are the first things that come to mind for me.

Even after five plus years away, there's no place......NONE.....like home!!!!!

The iPod is charged, bags are packed, hat and coat on stand-by……your boy is taking a brief sojourn to his hometown, the one and only Philadelphia PA.  It’s been waaaaaay toooo long since I’ve been home and I miss it and everyone I know and love in it.  Vegas is a beautiful town and it’s been cool to observe it grow and change in the time that I’ve been here, but no matter how bright the lights are on the Strip, they will never outshine Philly.  No, I’m not going to get a cheesesteak ( I am going to find some pretzels, though, believe it!!!), but I am going to envelope myself in all things Philly for a few, and soak up enough to tide me over until I’m able to get back.  So, as I prep myself for the Thanksgiving holiday amongst family and friends, I urge you all to have the best Turkey Day allowed by law (keep it legal, folks), and I will return next week……as will this blog…..Happy Thanksgiving!!!!!!

I have found my new ‘hood.   Northern Liberties…otherwise known as “No. Libs”. I checked out The 8th Annual Northern Liberties Variety Show last Sunday with Autumn.

The show was held at the much past by, never visited, often thought of, bar, Johnny Brenda’s.

The Libertines, a dance trio reminiscent of gay Paree, provided entertainment between acts, in addition to a nod to Statler & Waldorf, all lead by an MC who explained the top 8 people on Philadelphia’s Shit List. (Mostly politicians and the obscene new bike rules and fines).

Acts consisted of live music, performance art including “Death Tap” , a tribute to Farrah Fawcett and her “ass cancer that can never have a proper fundraiser”, man boys playing guitars, a country trio, and comedians.  Two surprises of the night were Chang Chang and the Hula Hoop girl.

Chang Chang performed early this year with Leslie Hall and the Lys. I can only describe his show as “All Over”, as in he is all over what ever he is standing around.  And the Hula Hoop girl teaches Hooping at my gym! On my first day in class (and my only day, really) after 20 minutes of  being able to get the hoop around me once, every time. She said, “We will find you a hoop. No one fails at this with me, I promise.” Maybe I’ll go back to the class now that I’ve seen her do the show.

Here are some pictures from the other acts.

Or course, I did not leave this show uninspired! I, too, would be willing to perform in the 9th Annual Northern Liberties Variety Show! My song (you know it’s coming!) of choice?

Bette Midler: “My Otis Regrets”

I just need to find some Queens for back up dancers!

Jimmy Fallon no siempre logra ser cómico, pero a veces tiene unos momentos de genialidad indudables. El más reciente fue su cover de la canción de Fresh Prince of Bell Air, pero como si fuera Neil Young en los setenta.

Si no se recuerdan acá va la original

Y si les suena raro es porque seguramente estuvieron acostumbrado a escucharla en español, en Venevisión, con el voice over de la muerte dando los nombres de los actores.

y de ñapa les dejo la versión gallega que nunca había escuchado JA!

First of all, Happy almost Thanksgiving to everyone! I myself can’t wait till I stuff myself full of food and drink in the midst of family. The Wednesday prior to Thanksgiving is usually a total wash out no one is concentrating on work or school or whatever, they’re focused on getting the hell out of wherever they’re at so that they can get their holiday to an early start.

Everyday, I roll into school going straight into North Philly. It’s not the safest of places nor is it “up and coming” at the moment. There are some ruined homes and grime and in this there is character. One fall day, on my way back home from school, I snapped some photos while driving. I think they came out pretty well.

Enjoy.

Tastykake Factory. If you roll down your windows, it’ll smell like sugary baked goods.

Fairmount Park. Super gorgeous in the fall.

Mary, Kirstie and I took a road trip and landed in Philadelphia, PA for a day! We LOVED it, can you tell? Hahahaha.

We chilled with/got to see our girls Michelle and Catzie from Yellow Rage. Thanks to Gayle, Toni, Gary, and everyone that we met that night at the Asian Arts Initiative – the show was amazing! Kelly Tsai is a phenomenal, personable performer. We travel far and wide to see, hear, taste and feel good poetry. The other open mic’ers were brilliant and I hope to be back there soon! Philly is definitely in my Top Three U.S. Cities list.

janice.

One of my favorite shows to attend is The Philly Show which is held at The Valley Forge Convention Center in Valley Forge, PA.  Before Hunt Auctions purchased the show last year they would only get one or two autograph guest to come over the whole weekend.  After Hunt Auctions acquired The Philly Show they have been able to bring in a bunch of big ticket athletes for collectors to meet ranging from Willie Mays to Frank Robinson.  The next Philly Show takes place on Dec. 4-6 and is a must for any Phillies fan.  Check out the lineup of athletes scheduled to attend.

Saturday 12-5:

• Pete Rose
• Mike Schmidt
• Jamie Moyer
• Todd Pratt

Sunday 12-6:

• Steve Carlton
• Scott Eyre
• Keith Moreland
• Shane Victorino

I enjoy getting in person autographs, because you can obtain cards almost anywhere you live.  It doesn’t matter if you have a hometown card shop or not.  Collectors can always go to the internet.  Meeting athletes like this can’t be done all the time.  The dealers must do well at these shows if Hunt Auctions continues to bring in big celebrities like this.  I plan to attend Saturday and hope to get some great autographs and photos to share.  I might also bust a box or two   You can learn more about the show from MAB Celebrity and The Philly Show’s site.  More autograph guests could possibly be added in the future.

Well I’m getting ready to head back to Philly for Thanksgiving break. If I don’t get a chance to post anything while I’m there, have a Happy Thanksgiving in advance.

Click Pic To Download Album

Infinito 2017 (is Marcellous Lovelace) – Year In Review (free download Album)
An album of selected titles of Infinito 2017 from 2009. Year in review gives you a look inside the multiple album titles he has made, a sample of a few albums. Production credits from Fathom 9, Dj Waht,… Black Sparx, Cool D, The White Shadow of Norway, Maxptah, Soloman Cain, 950 King. Guest vocals from 9th Scientist and Knuckles Bandit. for more info goto: http://www.infinito2017.com

If we make Mixtapes they will be mixed by a DJ and Have Cuts on, be on a tape, be blended etc … If not it will be a DJ Routine on a Cd

download link: http://www.sendspace.com/file/k00run

It’s not just a place where the Liberty Bell resides, where Rocky ran up a whole lot of stairs, or where you can get soft pretzels fresh from the oven at 1 in the morning. It is also a place where gray concrete meets colorful community gardens and car fumes meet parades of many themes. Philadelphia is a place where we come home to see some of the most beautiful familiar faces and places in our world!

We were instantly in a world of comforts and familiarities, and it was actually an adjustment to have bright lights inside at night since we have become so accustomed to oil lamps and candlelight! Despite the changes, it didn’t take long to make our-selves at home at Beck and Gar’s, and it was such a treat to spend time with them, Addy, the Cooks and the Hannigans!

In addition to the ball game, Halloween was also approaching, and it was so fun to see our young niece and nephew in their costumes!! Later in the evening we had the great pleasure seeing our friend Ali and perform with Philly Bloco at the World Cafe Live – drums, Brazilian beats, dance grooves, and great covers from Stevie Wonder and the “King of Pop” (RIP)… Good times were had by all!

We also came home to attend our old friends wedding that took place at their homestead / farm in the heart of Germantown. The ceremony was beautiful to say the least, and, despite downpour during the reception, people had a fun filled time of socializing, eating, and dancing! There were also pictures taken and can be seen HERE. It is amazing and inspiring to see that city living can include so much backyard harvest, acres of vegetables, and harmonious communal living!

While in town, The Phillies beat the Dodgers and back to the World Series they went. Philadelphia was stirring just as it had been just weeks before we left in April. We spent a lot of nights with friends excitedly rooting and rallying around a TV. It was something special to partake in the celebrating of our home team’s successes, and to see so, so many people coming together with uniting a common interest. Such enthusiasm kept our visit exciting, and it is good to see that people are capable of making time and sharing such energy together.

Other awesomely notable moments during our visit included eating at some of our favorite restaurants, Michael Dur’s birthday, a sleepover in South Philly at Kristin’s, visits with our families; Pepe’s, Spivacks and Sunds (what a pleasure!), a fall hike thru Philadelphia’s beautiful and scenic Fairmount Park’s Wissahickon with Jay and Dot, and lots more…

Always representing the “City that Loves you Back.” Thank you Philadelphia!

View more photos of Philly, Phamily, and Phun on our Flickr page!!!

Just picked up a $20 off the ground. TWUP.

TWUP

At this point last year, I was stressing going back to Philly for my five year high school reunion. Who did I want to see?  Who would I have to avoid? And was there enough alcohol available to get me through the whole thing?

Today, though, as I head back, I’m thinking much more about what I’m looking forward to, than what I’m not.

• I’m looking forward to pie duty. Every year during Thanksgiving dinner, I help around the kitchen, but my biggest responsibility is making the pies – pumpkin and pecan, naturally.

• I’m looking forward to Black Friday. Yes, it’s gotten a little ridiculous with sales starting at midnight (whatever happened to the good old fashioned 4am start?), but it’s still tradition. So I will drag myself to the outlets at an ungodly hour, and do my part in stimulating this economy. Even though the crowds are terrifying.

• I’m looking forward to running my first race with my entire family. We’ll be doing a 5k in the area, that not only promises appearances from the “Jogging Turkey” and Santa Claus, but also helps raise money for the school near which it’s being held.

• I’m looking forward to brunch with my high school girlfriends. I usually only see them over the holidays (though, that might be changing soon – I’m sensing a whole lot of weddings coming up), but we always pick up right where we left off.

I’m unfortunately not looking forward to the extended family we’ll have over on Thanksgiving day, but hey, nothing’s perfect.

And that’s what bottles of wine are for.

One Of The Best MUSIC Videos Around

Nyle Emerson (rap name just Nyle) is from Philly and graduated last year from NYU and is trying to emerge as a hip-hop star. He became famous, rightly so, for his music video “Let The Beat Build”. It is a music video for one of his raps that uses a bunch of NYU students and is impressive because it is recorded in one take and not using a recording studio mic or mixing but rather straight from the microphone on the camera to capture the instuments and the mic he holds. IT IS ONE OF THE MOST ORIGINAL AND TRULY MUSIC BASED VIDEOS RECENTLY. Lil’ Wayne even did an offical remix to this song. He came out with 4 albums in college, all of them are free and you can get them off his website which I listed below. He came out with one each year of school (and actually released his senior year album before his junior year one because he said his junior year one is his best and he wanted to wait to release the best for last). Being that he was a student at NYU he had lots of resources to come up with great beats and loops to rap over and it shows in most his albums. They are not like your typically rap mixtape with 20 tracks, most of which are trash n short freestyles. Instead he took each and made 8 or 9 tracks that he thought were the best. He used his resources well at NYU and has an alternative hip-hop feel to him.

The album I chose to review is his sophomore album entitled “S’MORE”. The abum is only 8 tracks (really only 6 because the first one entitled “Voicemail” is an intro and the last “Wildkick (Outro)” is as you can guess an outro). The first real track “Wildkick” is a mellow rap song that sounds a lot like just straight poetry and has a very relaxing backbeat. The song shows his influence from right after high school graduation when he started to try and make it big by performing at Bowery Poetry Club. He performed there throughout college and is the reason most of his rap is spoken poetry to alternative beats. “Breakdown” is a cover to Jack Johnson (although Jack is not the one singing the refrain, they just used the lyrics and guitar) and is another great track. Next comes “OverTakes Me” which is the first track that doesn’t sound like straight poetry and has a catchy hook. It’s a little more fun and upbeat than the others. “High Yellow Stacey” gets back to the poetry feel with the strong cymbal beat and its powerful lyrics. The next track “Question Why” is a rap over a guitar and an alternative singing refrain. It’s a serious song with powerful lyrics and a good, but serious, feel to it. “Friendly Fire” is the final real track on the album and is a cover to Citizen Cope’s song “Friendly Fire” and is a beautiful song. It reminds me a lot of Rhymefest’s “Bullet” which is also a Citizen Cope cover. Overall, the album is mellow but extremely well done. I recommend downloading all his albums from the website but this is the only one I felt like reviewing. Unfortunately for Nyle, he seems to be losing momentum in the rap game since he graduated but I wish him the best of luck.

Overall:   8 / 10     GREAT POETIC FREE RAP!!!

Similar Artists: Rhymefest, Kid Cudi, Asher Roth, 6th Sense

Best Songs: “Breakdown” “OverTakes Me” “Friendly Fire” “Wildkick”

One Down Fall: He doesn’t have the best flow to his rhymes, it is very much just spoken poetry

Download All His Albums for FREE!!!

http://nyleraps.com/wordpress/?page_id=51

LET THE BEAT BUILD!! KEEP IN MIND IT’S ALL ONE TAKE AND IT’S LIVE! (not from this album though)

Jack Johnson Remix

The Devin Hester Ass Show

This whole ordeal wouldn’t have happened if Chicago saviour Jay Cutler could hit his receivers in the hands. Hey, he has no problem hitting defending players right in the hands, so why not Devin Hester?

Philadelphia: a city of parking tickets, one way streets, and brotherly love. Woke up at 10:04am on Saturday morning in a Home Alone panic, having slept through my alarm and missed my bus to Philly for my first trip since moving to NY. But fate is a kind mistress and I ended up claiming the last seat on the next bus out, running into an old co-worker, and arriving early enough to spend a glorious autumnal afternoon in lazy solitude. Bought yuppie takeout from Di Bruno Bros., sampled gourmet caramels with fleur de sel at the farmers market, sniffed exquisitely overpriced candles at Anthropologie, and for a blissful half-hour dog-watched in Rittenhouse Square, apple turnover and forgotten volume of Joyce in hand, the light on the page like a dream. And then a grand reunion with Lucy, Mother Earth, and Nida Sugar, trying on hats and picking out ill-fitting frocks at Anthropologie, eating at Chickpea and The Bean Cafe on South Street, and – one of my favorite activities dating back to high school – driving around aimlessly at night, to a soundtrack of Lady Gaga and giggles, safely swathed by the dark and inside jokes and the backseat of a beloved car. Then a second grand reunion with Kumar and my tri partner in crime; rising and fumbling and tripping in the pre-dawn; singing karaoke favorites through the second half of the Philadelphia Half-Marathon; brunch at the homey White Dog Cafe; a third trip to Anthropologie; companionable silences and spontaneous hugs; and passing out on the bus back to NYC, 24 hours later. I woke as the bus emerged from the Lincoln Tunnel and began to make its slow procession through Midtown, twilight falling like a gauze over the city and each window lit in its own cinema. When I stepped off, the city was suddenly, unapologetically present – a blast of hot air, sweet with roasting nuts and tangy with exhaust, the commotion of cars and crowds, the drunken horn section of an orchestra – and I thought, with deep satisfaction, ahh, I’m home.

I’ve been to Philadelphia twice before: once with my ex, back in the heyday of our relationship, as an adventure maybe or a really good secret, something for us to share and for us alone; and twice with a different kind of ex, the summer before we torched our friendship in spectacular Jerry Bruckheimer-fashion. It’s the third time that’s turned out to be the charm, and a mercy. A reminder that sometimes we lose the people we love but also that the people we love can make us whole again.

Anyway, to save this from becoming a total after-school special, I note that this is the first race I’ve run in five years where I’ve seen someone drop trou for an emergency pit stop and someone in front of me vomit, just short of the finishing line, too. Stay classy, Philadelphia! And in the meantime, I’ll be listening to this Springsteen cover.