—JUSTICE ANTHONY KENNEDY
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CP STAFF Associate Publisher Jennifer Clark Editor in Chief Lillian Swanson Senior Editor Patrick Rapa Arts & Culture Editor Mikala Jamison Senior Staff Writer Emily Guendelsberger Staff Writer Jerry Iannelli Copy Chief Carolyn Wyman Contributors Sam Adams, Dotun Akintoye, A.D. Amorosi, Rodney Anonymous, Mary Armstrong, Bryan Bierman, Shaun Brady, Peter Burwasser, Mark Cofta, Adam Erace, David Anthony Fox, Caitlin Goodman, K. Ross Hoffman, Jon Hurdle, Deni Kasrel, Alli Katz, Gary M. Kramer, Drew Lazor, Alex Marcus, Gair “Dev 79” Marking, Robert McCormick, Andrew Milner, John Morrison, Michael Pelusi, Natalie Pompilio, Sameer Rao, Jim Saksa, Elliott Sharp, Marc Snitzer, Nikki Volpicelli, Brian Wilensky, Andrew Zaleski, Julie Zeglen. Production Director Dennis Crowley Senior Designer Brenna Adams Designer/Social Media Director Jenni Betz Contributing Photographers Jessica Kourkounis, Charles Mostoller, Hillary Petrozziello, Maria Pouchnikova, Neal Santos, Mark Stehle U.S. Circulation Director Joseph Lauletta (ext. 239) Account Managers Sharon MacWilliams (ext. 262), Susanna Simon (ext. 250) Classified Account Manager Jennifer Fisher (215-717-2681) Editor Emeritus Bruce Schimmel founded City Paper in a Germantown storefront in November 1981. Local philanthropist Milton L. Rock purchased the paper in 1996 and published it until August 2014 when Metro US became the paper’s third owner.
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PHIL ADELPHIA CIT Y PAPER // JULY 2 - JULY 8, 2015 // C I T Y PA PER . N ET
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THE BELL CURVE
Andy MacP
hail
THIS WEEK ’S TOTAL: -4 // THE YEAR SO FAR: +18
OUR WEEKLY QUALITY-OF-LIFE-O-METER
QUICK PICKS
more picks on p. 18
CRASH BANG BOOM South Street’s not the tattooed paradise it was back when The Dead Milkmen gave shout-outs to Philly Pizza Company and Zipperhead in “Punk Rock Girl,” but you can still find the good stuff if you know where to look. South Street’s Crash Bang Boom, from the makers of Zipperhead, has been a punk oasis for 10 years and counting. Even if you didn’t score a ticket to the Dead Milkmen’s acoustic set on Friday, there’s also Sunday’s day-night punk doubleheader at Dobb’s (withTeenage Chainsaw, The Charley Few and more). Or you can just swing by to buy a T-shirt. 7/3 & 7/5, Crash Bang Boom, CrashBangBoomOnline. com. —Patrick Rapa
+1
Philadelphia company Bacon Jams unveils its line of “spreadable bacon.” “I understand,” says the Dalai Lama, after being told his Liberty Medal will now be going to a jar of spreadable bacon.
-2
GM Ryne Sandberg resigns from the Phillies, who have the worst record in baseball. “Hey Angelo, first time long time. Yeah, Sandberg is obviously the problem because the last coach won the World Series with pretty much the same roster,” says Frank in Port Richmond. “Hey, while I have you on the line, do you know if milk goes bad?”
-1
Delaware high school students’ experiment to study the effects of microgravity on fruit flies is destroyed when the SpaceX rocket explodes shortly after launch. “This is a great tragedy,” says Fruit Fly President Zipsy, son of Loopo, son of Buzniz. “So many lives snuffed out days before their time.”
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The driver of a Chinatown bus from Philly to New York is fired after someone records him using his smartphone while driving. He is hired the next day by a different company that operates out of the same space and uses the same buses along the same routes according to the same schedule.
+2
According to a new study, only 22.4 percent of adults in Philadelphia are smokers, a record low. Some say the numbers are skewed now that most vape users identify not as smokers but as as Pan-Galactic Awesome Soldiers from the Rad Laser Disco Dimension.
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The owner of Brown Street Pub in Fairmount is charged with wire fraud for allegedly using stolen credit card numbers to steal $50,000. Out on the sidewalk, patrons hold a vigil for their fallen bro, lighting candles, tearfully shotgunning Coors Light and solemnly singing only the really obvious parts of Journey songs.
K E IT H A L
L IS O N
0
The Philadelphia Phillies hire Andy MacPhail as team president. Several Daily News headline writers decide not to take the buyout.
THE UMBRELLAS OF CHERBOURG For those who still foolishly insist that they can’t suspend disbelief enough to enjoy a musical, The Umbrellas of Cherbourg is the litmus test: If you can’t be moved by Jacques Demy’s colorful, bittersweet classic, you simply can’t be moved. Screening as part of PFS’ “Cornerstones of French Cinema” series, the film has everything you’d want from a musical — confectionary colors, wall-to-wall music — along with a poignant wistfulness not often found in the genre. 7/6-9, PFS Roxy Theater, filmadelphia.org.
GOATWHORE New Orleans isn’t only about brass bands and revelry. The city also has a small but significant metal scene, well represented by Goatwhore’s blend of death metal grind and classic thrash riffery. The band’s latest, Constricting Rage of the Merciless, is chainsaw-sharp throughout, with the occasional loping groove betraying their roots — and still nowhere near as blissfully aggressive as their live shows. 7/8, Underground Arts, undergroundarts.org. —Shaun Brady
—Shaun Brady
BEER GARDEN CABARET Like you needed another reason to hang in a beer garden: The PHS Pop-Up Gardens, at 15th and South and Ninth and Wharton, host the Bearded Ladies, who’ve created a new cabaret just for the gardens. It’s called, wonderfully, Bitter Homes and Gard ens: A Botanical HoeDown. The show features singing and dancing veggies, like an ear of corn named Jebediah Eatin-Good, and the music of Bob Dylan, Bill Withers and more. 7/2-7/19, phsonline. com. —Mikala Jamison
Raekwon
RAEKWON & GHOSTFACE KILLAH With 2014’s A Better Tomorrow behind them and the sole copy of the nickel-and-silver-plateboxed Once Upon a Time in Shaolin waiting to be snatched up for $5 million, the Wu-Tang Clan’s Ghostface and Raekwon are free to roam, wildly, as is their wont. Newest in Killah’s arsenal is Twelve Reasons to Die II, an ambient-hop project produced by Adrian Younge, a space-soul specialist who last worked with Philly’s Delfonics. Raekwon is also on the album doing his best Cuban Linx riffs. 7/7, TLA, thetla. com. —A.D. Amorosi
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THENAKEDCITY
NEWS // OPINION // POLITICS
HELLO? WE WON: At a rally at the National Constitution Center, gays and others celebrate the Supreme Court decision legalizing gay marriage across the country. But that hasn’t stopped some on the extreme right and left from being miserable. HILLARY PETROZZIELLO
of the misogynist blue sky. Second, an assertion by the nation’s highest court that gay couples are entitled to the same dignity and equality under the law as straight people is a big deal. Thanks to the decision, I feel confident in saying that several young LGBT folks will have an easier time than I did growing up gay in a homophobic society. After all, today, that societal homophobia is a little less official. Third, and perhaps most important, the same-sex marriage decision does not force queer people to get married. It does not actively compel citizens to do a damn thing except to afford constitutional rights to other citizens. It is a very strange universe indeed wherein radicals, people who make claims about individual rights and oppression, wish to
STREET LEVEL
BY JOSH KRUGER
STOP THOSE SOUR GRAPES
Marriage is now a constitutional right for gay people. So, why are some queer people upset? I HAVE A SERIOUS CASE of the “feels,” the good kind, after last week’s Supreme Court decision in Obergefell v. Hodges. In it, the nation’s highest court ruled that marriage is a constitutional right for same-sex couples. Now, states must both recognize and perform same-sex marriages, hereunto simply called marriages. The decision isn’t without controversy; the court was sharply divided 5-4 along ideological lines with so-called “swing” Justice Anthony Kennedy, a Reagan appointee, siding with the liberal camp.
A Gallup poll in May found that 60 percent of the citizenry thinks same-sex marriage should be “recognized by the law as valid, with the same rights as traditional marriage.” Here in Pennsylvania, a state whose million-strong Democratic Party registration edge is often thwarted by rural conservatism and gerrymandering, the same percentage thinks same-sex marriage ought to be legal and recognized. So, you’d think that most non-homophobic Americans — that two-thirds figure — would be jubilant. You might even think
that all LGBT people would be thrilled! You’d be wrong. There are other queer people who, like me, are feeling things. But they are bitter, unhappy things. Over the past several days, many queer people on the radical left have chewed on a mash of sour grapes. They’ve been saying things like, “This decision does nothing to end homophobia or poverty.” Moreover, other activists have paired their misanthropic bah-humbugging with self-righteous declarations about the oppressive institution known as marriage. First, getting upset that same-sex marriage will not cure every ailment in the queer community is like getting upset that women’s suffrage did not end the gender pay gap or stop domestic violence. Of course it didn’t; like the Obergefell decision — which interprets the 14th Amendment — the passage of the 19th Amendment asserts that the nation’s governing document, the U.S. Constitution, recognizes sexual equality in voting. The 19th Amendment did not whimsically create equal status for women on all fronts out
‘Getting upset that samesex marriage will not cure every ailment in the queer community is like getting upset that women’s suffrage did not end the gender pay gap or stop domestic violence.’ demean or dismiss the bona fide wishes and concerns of literally millions of others. To me, this speaks to a pathological unhappiness found on both the extreme right and left, blocs of folks who would like nothing more than for everyone to be as miserable as they are. Basically, this decision is a good thing — for you, for me, for everybody. And, sure, there’s more work to be done, particularly in terms of employment non-discrimination. There’ll be plenty of time for debates in the future. Right now, though, let’s just throw a damn glittery parade. (editorial@citypaper.net)
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ohn S. James knew he would lose his job with the federal government if his employer found out he was gay. That was the law in 1965, established a dozen years earlier by President Dwight D. Eisenhower via an executive order calling homosexuals guilty of “sexual perversion.” James was aware the country’s leading doctors considered his attraction to the same sex a mental illness, one treatable by institutionalization, lobotomy or shock treatments. And he realized that if he were caught being intimate with a man, consent was no defense. He could be arrested, perhaps incarcerated, almost definitely publicly shamed. Yet on July 4, 1965, James joined about 40 other protesters in front of Independence Hall, marching in one of the country’s earliest public gay-rights demonstrations. Despite the heat, he wore a dark suit, complete with jacket, as march organizers wanted to show the public that homosexuals were not the
degenerates so many believed they were. He carried a handlettered sign reading, “Homosexual CitizensWant Their Right to Make Their Maximum Contribution to Society.” The marchers were silent as they picketed for almost two hours in front of the national landmark, then left with plans to return the next year. Over the next four years, a growing number of people took part in the so-called “Annual Reminders,” protests calling for fair treatment that were staged in front of the building where the words “all men are created equal” were debated and adopted. As local LGBT activists prepare to celebrate the 50th anniversary of that historic protest, the first of four “Annual Reminders,” James reflected on its importance. “It kind of laid the groundwork for the more significant movement that followed,” said James, now 74 and living in John C. Anderson Apartments, an LGBT-friendly senior facility on South 13th Street. “I’m just amazed at how far its come.” Four days of events celebrating the city’s place in LGBT history begin Thursday when Jim Obergefell will lay a wreath at the historic marker dedicated to the Annual Reminders on Independence Mall. Obergefell was the named plaintiff in the
OVER THE RAINBOW: John James marched in the 1965 demonstration for gay rights in Philadelphia. Today, he says he’s ‘amazed at how far its come’ in the half century since. Crosswalks in the Gayborhood were painted as part of the celebration marking the anniversary of that demonstration. HILLARY PETROZZIELLO
CELEBRATION TIME Fifty years ago, 40 gay pioneers stepped forward at Independence Hall in the name of equality. Now, four days of events are honoring the historic protest. By Natalie Pompilio
:: equality forum
Supreme Court decision announced last week affirming same-sex marriages across the nation. Kicking off the events with a nod to those brave marchers, notably organizers Barbara Gittings and Frank Kam eny, is appropriate, said Malcolm Lazin, who is behind the celebration and is executive director of the nonprofit LGBT rights organization Equality Forum. “That was the largest gathering for gay equality up to that point in the history of the world. When the gay pioneers stepped forward and said, ‘We’re gay and we’re asking for equality,’ it was a seminal moment for LGBT civil rights. They were, in their own way, stepping across the Edmund Pettus Bridge,” Lazin said, referring to the historic Selmato-Montgomery civil rights march that also celebrated its 50th anniversary this year. Other weekend events include block parties, concerts and educational panels on equality-related issues, including religion, employment and law. Local museums, among them the National Constitution Center, the National Museum of American Jewish History and the African American Museum, will offer special exhibits related to the LGBT movement. Edie Windsor, whose legal challenge of the Defense of Marriage Act ended in 2013 when the Supreme Court declared the law unconstitutional, and Judy Shepard, whose 21-year-old son Matthew was murdered in 1998, pushing the topic of hate crimes against LGBT indi-
viduals into the national spotlight, will also be taking part. While the 1965 protest was not the very first in the country and would later be overshadowed by much larger gatherings, it is fitting to celebrate its anniversary and the great strides the LGBT community has made here, said Mark Segal, an LGBT activist, journalist and president of the National Gay Newspaper Guild. “Pennsylvania is a vanguard for LGBT rights,” he said, noting the state was one of the first to formally look at discrimination against LGBT community members in government and the first to pass a gay-pride resolution in the 1970s. Philadelphia, too, is known as LGBT-friendly. Last year, the Human Rights Campaign, a national nonprofit working for LGBT equality, named the city one of 23“All Star” municipalities nationwide based on its inclusivity of LGBT people who live and work here. Things were a lot different a half century ago. Before that first march in front of Independence Hall, James said, he told organizers he did not want his photo taken for fear his employers would see the image. He needn’t have worried. “Gays were so marginalized that they weren’t deemed worthy of coverage,” Lazin said. When the Equality Forum partnered with WHYY to make Gay Pioneers, a documentary about the protest, Lazin said he struggled to find images. A friend recommended that he file a Freedom of Information Act re-
C I T Y PA PER . N ET // JULY 2 - JULY 8, 2015 // PHIL ADELPHIA CIT Y PAPER
‘In a sense, ironically, J. Edgar Hoover became our principal archivist’ quest with the FBI, believed to have been monitoring the “troublemakers.” Indeed, the agency turned over a large collection of photos and redacted reports. “In a sense, ironically, J. Edgar Hoover became our principal archivist,” he said. While the press paid more attention to the marches in the years that followed — the 1967 march, for example, was covered by the Associated Press and a blurb about it appeared in the New York Times — the Annual Reminders were noted for their civility: The protesters wore professional clothing and were quiet, letting understated signs (“Homosexual American Citizens, Our Last Oppressed Minority,” “Fifteen Million U.S. Homosexuals Ask for Redress of Grievances”) do the talking. The tone of the movement changed following the June 1969 Stonewall Riots in New York, Segal said. The focus went north and turned to organizing a march there to commemorate the confrontations now considered a turning point in gay — and human — history. Whereas the earlier movement was “conservative,” the one that followed was “out and in-your-face gay people,” Segal said. The first an-
niversary of Stonewall, now considered the nation’s first Gay Pride parade, drew 2,000 to 5,000 who walked the 51 blocks from Christopher Street in GreenwichVillage to Central Park. Their dress was not muted and the marchers were anything but quiet. “This is a remarkable and heroic story,” Lazin said. “I don’t think those pioneers who took on prejudice and launched the movement in the earlier part of the last century would ever have imagined this.” The story is not over. Lawmakers in Harrisburg are discussing bills that would end workplace discrimination against, and ensure hate crime protection for, LGBT people. There are also as yet no federal nondiscrimination laws protecting gays and lesbians. Those in the transgender community face even greater challenges. These individuals are so often victims of crimes, including homicide, that the nonprofit National LGBT Task Force has begun a StopTransMurders campaign. “At the end of the day, the goal is to eradicate homophobia from society,” Lazin said. “We’re making tremendous strides, but we have a long way to go.” (editorial@citypaper.net)
hen Chana Rothman’s son Izzy, then 2 1/2 years old, told her he wanted to wear a dress to preschool, she was taken slightly off guard. Not because he’s a boy, but because she wasn’t quite sure what the “right” answer was. Still, the singer/songwriter told her son that yes, he could, and they then rehearsed how to respond to people who questioned his choice. “We practiced him saying, “I can wear whatever I want,’” said Rothman, 40, who lives in Mt. Airy. “There are these moments as parents when you make a choice. Are you going to let the world dictate what your kid wears or are you going to ask the world to change for your kid? You can say, ‘Don’t wear it because the world isn’t ready yet’ or ‘Get ready, world. Here comes my kid. Make some room.’”
W
GENDER FLUID: Singer/songwriter Chana Rothman of Mt. Airy encourages her sons, Izzy (left), and Yarden to play with all kinds of toys, not just those geared toward their gender.
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It turns out that Izzy was testing his identity, and his parents supported the experiment. Last month, Caitlyn Jenner brought the conversation about transgenders — those whose self-identity does not conform to society’s expectations of their biological sex — to the national spotlight by appearing on the cover of Vanity Fair magazine. Trans people have long been a part of society, but what has changed in recent years is how much more they’re being accepted. In this year’s State of the Union address, President Obama added transgender individuals to the list of those deserving protection from persecution. On TV, transgender actors are starring in popular television programs, including Orange Is the New Black. Less than a decade ago, the idea of being transgender “wasn’t in the public consciousness,” said Nadia Dowshen, a doctor of adolescent medicine who co-founded Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia’s Gender and Sexuality Development Clinic in January 2014. The few transgender individuals who were well-known were already adults, she said. But with more positive portrayals of transgender men and women in the media, more youths are recognizing at an earlier age that the gender they express doesn’t align with their birth sex. Parents are also recognizing their children’s struggles with their sexual identities. CHOP’s clinic currently serves 150 clients ranging in age from 5 to 21. “Young people start to develop a sense of gender identity as young as 2 or 3, in the years leading up to school,” Dowshen said. “At school, they’ll be asked to stand in the boys’ line or the girls’ line, and that’s when they start to solidify their gender identity and express it if it varies.” For those struggling to understand identity, there are events like the Mazzoni Center’s Trans Health Conference. In 2002, the conference’s inaugural year, programming was mostly aimed at health-care providers. About 150 people attended. Last month, the three-day event held at the Pennsylvania Convention Center drew more than 3,500, including hundreds of parents with their children.
continued on p. 12 HILLARY PETROZZIELLO
AS GENDER NORMS BEND, HELP GROWS FOR TRANS YOUTHS By Natalie Pompilio
equality forum ::
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:: Celebrating Philly’s 50 years in the gay-rights movement Philadelphia will celebrate its role in LGBT history with four days of events starting Thursday. Many of the events are free and take place in or near Center City.
Thursday, July 2
Other options
2:15 p.m. :: Jim
The following museums/locations are running LGBT history exhibits:
Obergefell, the named plaintiff in the recently decided Supreme Court same-sex marriage case, will lay a wreath at the historic marker celebrating the Annual Reminders on Independence Mall.
10 p.m. :: 50th anniversary party at National Museum of American Jewish History.
Friday, July 3 4 p.m. :: National Interfaith Service at Christ Church
5 p.m. :: Live Nation 50th Anniversary Concert at Penn’s Landing
6 p.m. :: Screening of the documentary Gay Pioneers at WHYY
Saturday, July 4 2:15 p.m. :: National LGBT 50th Anniversary Ceremony at Independence Hall
7 p.m. :: Wawa Welcome America Concert, Benjamin Franklin Parkway
Sunday, July 5 Noon :: Street Festival, the Gayborhood
National Constitution Center :: “Speaking Out for Equality: The Constitution, Gay Rights and the Supreme Court”
National Museum of American Jewish History :: “The Pursuit of Happiness: Jewish Voices for Gay Rights”
The African American Museum in Philadelphia :: “Legendary,” featuring photos by Gerard H. Gaskin
Liberty Bell Center :: “Protesting for Equal Rights: 50th Anniversary — Reminder Day”
Free Library of Philadelphia/ Central branch :: “Barbara Gittings, LGBT Library Activism and the Stonewall Book Awards” In addition to these events and exhibits, nightly parties will be held in and around the Gayborhood. For more information on the events, see lgbt50.org.
the law of the land For a Q and A with Jim Obergefell, named plaintiff in the U.S. Supreme Court case extending same-sex marriage rights across the nation, go to citypaper.net.
:: equality forum
as gender norms bend, help grows for trans youths
continued from p. 11 “The space is very recharging for [transgender youth] and it’s something they anticipate yearly. They can network and build a community and have a better support system,” said Samantha Jo Dato, the Mazzoni’s Center’s trans health logistical coordinator. “Parents can talk to other parents in a safe environment.” Among the workshops offered this year was “Your First Conference: A Gentle Guide for Parents of Trans Youth.” Jenn Burleton, executive director of the Oregon-based nonprofit Transactive Gender Center, steered the program, first asking the 75 people in the crowd to raise a hand if this was their first conference. A majority of the group said it was. Burleton said many parents tell her they fear for their transgender children. They ask, Will my child be happy? Will my child be able to love and be loved? Yes, yes, yes, she replied. But that child needs support. “One way parents parent is through empathy, but what if your kid is having an experience so foreign that it’s a challenge to relate to? How do you talk about something you’ve never experienced yourself?” she said. “You can affirm it, value it, authenticate it, even if you never understand it.” That’s what Rothman did when her son, now 5 years old, said he wanted to wear a dress. After a long period of favoring dresses — including a rainbow-patterned one that became so worn that the colors ran and she had to repeatedly patch it — and often using female pronouns, Izzy is currently showing a preference for pants and male pronouns. That’s fine with his family. “He’s very, very fluid in how he sees himself,” said Rothman, who is pregnant with her third child. “We talk about gender pronouns a lot. We have friends of many genders and books about many genders, so there are a lot of opportunities.” Still, she noticed a lack of resources for families who wanted to talk about gender. That prompted her to write and record Rainbow Train, an album she hopes “encourages people to have respectful conversations.” Lyrics in the title track note: “Sometimes people tell you who to be/ They try to put you in a box that you can’t even see/ But we’re moving to a place where we’re free/ And there’s plenty of room for you, there’s plenty of room for me.” “Trans kids feel that this CD is about them and the kids who are not trans feel that this CD is about them,” Rothman said. “Parents with kids across the gender spectrum have told me they appreciate the CD because it gives them language and a framework to use to talk to their kids.” Some parents with transgender children wonder if the children are wrong, if what they’re feeling is a phase. The grownups can be overwhelmed by this new world with its new lingo. When these kids talk about needing a binder, they’re referring to a garment that flattens breasts to give the chest
a flat appearance, not about a folder for schoolwork. When they discuss their changing bodies, they’re often wondering if medical intervention, like puberty blockers, are needed to stop that development. Dowshen tells the puzzled parents to look for insistence, persistence and consistency in their child’s gender identity. In most cases, it’s not a phase or a mood. While there’s no doubt that society has grown more tolerant of transgenders, it’s difficult for anyone to deal with the feeling of being born in the wrong body. “When someone is transgender, you are constantly confronted with your gender every second of every day in every space you occupy,” Dowshen said. “When they go to school or walk in public or see extended family or go to church or synagogue or the doctor, so many people and so many systems don’t understand how to support them that they’re constantly being challenged.” Rothman saw that play out during a family holiday party, when she and her partner, Izzy’s father, allowed the boy to wear one of his dresses. Some family members were so upset that they left. Some who remained said they supported the family, but wondered why they had allowed their son to wear something they knew could make others uncomfortable. “Our response was, ‘It’s not our job to protect you. It’s our job to protect our child,’” she recalled. Transgender youth need the support, Dowshen said. She knows one transgender youth who died by suicide recently. Another was murdered. Last week, she met a gender nonconforming young person who was attending cyber school to escape bullying. “These stories are all too common . … Many of the trans or gender nonconforming youth who first come to me are in a difficult place mentally,” she said. “About 40 percent of people who are trans have attempted suicide at some point in life. Our biggest goal is to help them find support in their communities … so they can grow up to be happy and healthy adults like everyone else.” That can happen, she said. These young people are “amazingly resilient, despite facing too many challenges to count.” They can find support at one of the CHOP clinic’s support groups, through organizations like the Attic Youth Center or via events like the Trans Health Conference. At that conference, Rothman led programs in the “Kids Camp.” Organizing a parade through the larger conference, she asked the young people to make signs that would send a message about themselves. Then more than 50 people — adults and children — marched through the Convention Center, chanting some of the words on those signs: Be who you are! Don’t be afraid! Be yourself! “It was so powerful,” Rothman said. “I kept looking back at one trans girl, she was 9 or 10, and she was just glowing. She was so proud.” (editorial@citypaper.net)
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ARTS&ENTERTAINMENT
ARTS // MUSIC // THEATER // BOOKS
TRIPLE THREAT: This Friday, kick off your Fourth of July weekend with art from (L-R) Laura Fabens-Lassen, Lindsay Rapp and Monica O.
“PLEXSEA GLASS”/GALLERY OPENING BY LINDSAY RAPP The new Lindsay Rapp Gallery, named for the PAFA and UPenn alumna at the helm, celebrates its inaugural opening this week. This first exhibition features the artist’s series, “PlexSea Glass,” comprising dazzling bluetinted translucent pieces flecked with gold and mother of pearl. Rapp will also show a selection of portraiture. Celebrate the always good news of a gallery opening at the reception, where you can sip speciality drinks and meet Rapp and have the chance to purchase a painting. Free, Friday, July 3, 6-8 p.m., Lindsay Rapp Gallery, 60 N. Second St., lindsayrappgallery.com.
ART EQUALS FREEDOM
Now it’s got us thinking about our own everyday food routines. Is eating a microwaved chicken sausage every morning, with your hands, standing up over the sink, really that weird? The artist proclaims online that the work represents “the intersextionality of food, love, and art.” Bon appetit. Bonus: Catch the closing reception of the “Ouroboros” show here at the same time. Free, Fri., July 3, 6-9 p.m., Little Berlin Annex, 2430 Coral St., littleberlin.org.
“SMALL TALK” BY PHANTOM HAND Phantom Hand is a “loose collective” of young Philly illustrators. For First Friday, its members make up LMNL’s first group show. “Small Talk,” as you might imagine, dives into the “awkward, forced, occasionally drunk, seemingly meaningless and yet necessary interactions we have with strangers every day.” In case you noticed an artist shiftily scribbling nearby a conversation of yours recently, get this: The artists in the show hung out in coffee shops, buses, bars, etc. to sketch and take notes of the small talk around them. Field Notes sponsored the show, so you’ll notice that each artist works from the same style of notebook. With 16 artists in the mix, it’s actually likely your latest coffee shop
“THEY CAME IN GOLD” BY MONICA O Oh, dang. I look at these pieces and instantly picture money flying out of my bank account so I can hang them on my walls at home. O burns Philadelphia landmarks into slices of wood, and the first one she ever did was of the Divine Lorraine (then she went and made another great DL one). On her website, she calls the collection “Graining on That Wood” and says it’s “the result of listening to too much hip-hop.” In addition to Philly staples like the Ben Franklin Bridge and City Hall, she’s fond of burning lyrics into the slabs. But this show is all Philly-focused, and for that, we’re thankful. Free, Fri. July 3, 6-8 p.m., through Aug. 30, Philadelphia Independents, 35 N. Third St., philadelphiaindependents.com.
FIRST FRIDAY FOCUS
BY MIKALA JAMISON
Before you hit the barbecues and fireworks this weekend, check out five of Philly’s latest visual art offerings. date and all its “So, how many siblings do you have?” drivel is now hanging on a gallery wall. Free, Fri., July 3, 6-9 p.m., through July 31, LMNL Gallery, 1526 Frankford Ave., lmnlgallery.com. “CUMFORT FOODS” BY LAURA FABENS-LASSEN Well, we can all feel good about the message here: “There’s no guilt in a slice of pizza, cupcakes or cantaloupes.” Ah, vindication. But anyway, for just one night in the Little Berlin Annex, Fabens-Lassen shows off her illustrations and watercolors with the scintillating name. The show will explore “the sensuality, culture and everyday routines revolving around food.”
“COLLAGE BIZARRE AT EL BAR” BY JOE BROWN We love to see any and all art shows and exhibitions, no matter the size, step out of traditional gallery spaces and into the places in Philly neighborhoods where all kinds of people congregate. That’s why it’s exiting to see art
‘Small Talk’ dives into the ‘awkward, forced, occasionally drunk, seemingly meaningless and yet necessary interactions we have with strangers every day.’ hit the walls at El Bar, the long-established Fishtown dive. Local artist Joe Brown will show his collages at El, which he creates from comics and medical textbooks. He says, “they are extremely detailed, with hundreds of glued pieces almost creating a mosaic design.” You can check them out throughout July to add a little culture to your Citywide. Free, Fri., July 3, 5 p.m., through July 31, El Bar, 1356 N. Front St.
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PHIL ADELPHIA CIT Y PAPER // JULY 2 - JULY 8, 2015 // C I T Y PA PER . N ET
MOVIESHORTS
FILMS ARE GRADED BY CIT Y PAPER CRITICS A-F.
TRUE BROMANCE: Despite the ladies’-night marketing, the heart of Magic Mike XXL is male bonding.
DRAMEDY
CLAUDET TE BARIUS
MAGIC MIKE XXL
/ B / Don’t let the G-strings and the gyrating and spraytanned abs fool you: Gregory Jacobs’ male-stripper road film is the most guy-friendly movie of 2015. Though the marketing will have you believe it’s the ultimate ladies’-night vehicle (leave that neglectful beau at home and get it in with yo gurlz!), Magic Mike XXL is a candycolored paean to heterosexual male bonding, so assured in its celebration of blinders-on bromance that it makes Entourage look like Steel Magnolias. Steven Soderbergh’s 2012 original introduced us to Channing Tatum’s Mike, a clean-cut dancer with a gift for panty-dropping performance who longed to spend his days making ugly custom furniture. Three years later, he’s left the dollar-bill downpour behind to focus on this profession full-time, though he’s still got a little skin in the game. Jacobs establishes as much in the least subtle way possible, having Mike pull a workshop Flashdance to Ginuwine’s “Pony,” complete with welding mask and REBELS OF THE NEON GOD // B+
Early in Tsai Ming-liang’s debut feature — only now getting its first U.S. release in a restored digital version — the character played by Tsai’s onscreen muse Lee Kang-sheng pins a cockroach to a wooden desk with the point of a compass and watches it twitch. It’s not unlike the method Tsai explores in his study of two
young Taiwanese men, one played by Lee, the other by Chen Chao-jung, with a gaze so intently curious it seems as if it might pierce right through them. The director hasn’t quite latched onto the deadpan minimalism and meticulous composition that make movies like What Time Is It There? and Goodbye, Dragon Inn so mesmerizing, but his feeling for wayward souls is already keen.
reclaimed-wood hobby table. Nuance is not needed here, nor is it welcome. Less emoting, more grinding! Stung by the abrupt end of a relationship, Mike reconnects with his brothers in creatine-swollen arms, joining his former co-workers on a road trip to a male stripper convention (?) in Myrtle Beach. Each has a chance to express personal hangups and entrepreneurial ambitions along the way — shout-out to Tito (Adam Rodriguez) and his probiotic yogurt truck — making the trip as much about healing (Matt Bomer does Reiki!) as humping. Jacobs keeps the pace rapid and light, ensuring you don’t have time to miss Soderbergh’s half-sketched meanderings or Matthew McConaughey’s anything. Though it’s ostensibly designed for women, XXL doesn’t do them many favors. While the conversations between the guys aren’t overtly misogynistic, they’re a bit diminishing, casting any female who enjoys a strip show as an undersexed princess who can only reach salvation via hip thrust. Amber Heard, as Mike’s artsy love interest, is tough to distinguish from Cody Horn’s character in the first one; Jada Pinkett Smith, as the show’s snappy, fedora-sporting emcee, is allotted just a little more fun. Weird as it sounds, this is a movie about the special love between dudes. If you don’t believe it, watch for the scene where Mike and another stripper literally high-five each other while delivering dueling lap dances. Doesn’t get much more bro than that. —Drew Lazor (wide release) Chen plays a scooter-riding delinquent who vandalizes pay phones and arcade games for money; Lee, a poor college student who starts shadowing Chen after a moment of violence briefly connects their stories. In the movie’s half-built Taiwan, no one seems to notice either of them, and while Rebels of the Neon God derives some energy from Chen’s exuberant hooliganism, the
movie’s overwhelming mood is one of incandescent melancholy distilled to its haunting essence. —Sam Adams (Ritz at the Bourse)
citypaper.net/movies
Film events and special screenings.
REPERTORY FILM
BY DREW LAZOR
AWESOME FEST AT LIBERTY LANDS 926 N. American St., theawesomefest.com. Turbo Kid (2015, U.S., 95 min.): An unassuming young man becomes a super-charged superhero in this tribute to post-apocalyptic sci-fi of the ‘80s. Fri., July 3, 9 p.m., free. BRYN MAWR FILM INSTITUTE 824 W. Lancaster Ave., Bryn Mawr, 610-527-9898, brynmawrfilm.org. Shadow of a Doubt (1943, U.S., 108 min.): A young girl suspects her kind uncle is actually a murderer. Tue., July 7, 7:15 p.m., $12. Cat Ballou (1965, U.S., 97 min.): Western comedy starring Jane Fonda as a reserved schoolmarm turned badass outlaw. A 35mm screening. Wed., July 8, 7:15 p.m., $12. HEADHOUSE SQUARE SHAMBLES Second and Pine streets, 215-413-3713, southstreet.com. Hairspray (2007, U.S., 117 min.): Movie musical version of the John Waters classic. The screening will be accompanied by food trucks as part of the South Street Headhouse District’s “Dinner and a Movie” series. Wed., July 8, 8 p.m., free. LA PEG 140 N. Columbus Blvd., 215-375-7744, lapegbrasserie. com. The Party (1968, U.S., 99 min.): Peter Sellers as a klutzy foreign actor with a knack for blowing shit up. Wed., July 8, 8:30 p.m., free. PFS THEATER AT THE ROXY 2023 Sansom St., 267-639-9508, filmadelphia.org/roxy. Party Girl (2014, France, 96 min.): Co-director Samuel Theis’ momma, Angélique Litzenburger, plays a lively nightclub hostess who decides it’s time to settle down. Thu., July 2, 7:30 p.m., $10. The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (1964, France/Germany, 91 min.): A pregnant French shopgirl evaluates life and love in this colorful musical. Mon., July 6, 2 p.m., $8, and Wed., July 8, 2 p.m., $8. Off the Black (2006, U.S., 90 min.): Nick Nolte as a downtrodden baseball ump who forms an unlikely friendship with a player. Mon., July 6, 7:30 p.m., $10. Donnie Darko (2001, U.S., 113 min.): Richard Kelly’s trippy psychological thriller followed by a science-y chat with physicist Jeff Blomquist of Widener University. Tue., July 7, 7:30 p.m., $12. Peter Grimes (2009, U.K., 194 min.): Theatercast of the ambitious British opera, about a fisherman convicted for crimes in the court of opinion. Wed., July 8, 7 p.m., $13. RITZ AT THE BOURSE 400 Ranstead St., 215-440-1181, landmarktheatres.com. The Road Warrior (1981, U.S., 94 min.): Mad Max sequel starring Mel Gibson and an adorable Aussie cattle dog. Fri., July 3, midnight, $10. TROCADERO THEATRE 1003 Arch St., 215-922-6888, thetroc.com. Legally Blonde (2001, U.S., 96 min.): “When I dress up as a frigid bitch, I try not to look so constipated.” Mon., July 6, 8 p.m., $3.
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PHIL ADELPHIA CIT Y PAPER // JULY 2 - JULY 8, 2015 // C I T Y PA PER . N ET
ROCK/POP
EVENTS
: JULY 2 - JULY 8 :
GET OUT THERE
PINS
Faith Holgate has dry, deadpan vocals for any occasion: got-it-bad ballads, aloof-but-excitable punkish rock, sweet-as-wine-gums garage pop. She and her swaggering, jangly guitar can knock your socks off at any speed. Her Manchester quartet PINS has drawn all kinds of comparisons to the ancients — Sleater-Kinney, Jesus and Mary Chain, Phil Spector — but to me they sound like right now. Stick your finger in the book and dance, nerds. —Patrick Rapa
thursday
7.2
AVERY SHARPE QUARTET
Free // Thu., July 2, 7 p.m., with Across the Globe, Kennedy Plaza, Chicken Bone Beach, between Mississippi and Georgia aves. on the boardwalk, Atlantic City, 609-4419064, chickenbonebeach.org. JAZZ Given the history of Chicken Bone Beach — a Blacks-only beach prior to the passage of the Civil Rights Act — it’s fitting that bassist Avery Sharpe should open its annual summer jazz series. Sharpe’s last two projects have paid tribute to AfricanAmerican icons Jesse Owens and Sojourner Truth, while he has worked alongside many of the music’s greats, including Art Blakey, Archie Shepp and a two-decade association with pianist McCoy Tyner. —Shaun Brady
THEATER RESIDENCY AT SEI INNOVATION STUDIO
night to catch the public workshopping of five new theater pieces with music. Here’s how it works: The Kimmel has paired up with NYC’s famous Joe’s Pub at The Public Theater for a theater residence at SEI. Since June 21, five artists have been working alongside Joe’s Pub director Shanta Thake and Kimmel artistic director Jay Wahl to each compose a new work. Some of what’s been produced during these residencies will go on to have successful runs all over the place — SEI just staged Mary Tuomanen’s outstanding SEI-workshopped Hello! Sadness! You can watch a free reading today and get a chance to give feedback and ask questions. Also cool: Philly’s own Dito Van Reigersberg (aka Martha Graham Cracker) pairs with Dave Sweeny (aka Johnny Showcase). —Mikala Jamison
SWIRLIES/ SUBURBAN LIVING
Free // Thu., July 2, 7:30 p.m., SEI Innovation Studio, 300 S. Broad St., 215-8931999, kimmelcenter.org.
$12-$14 // Thu., July 2, 9 p.m., with Spirit of the Beehive, Johnny Brenda’s, 1201 N. Frankford Ave., 215-7399684, johnnybrendas.com.
THEATER Tonight’s the last
ROCK/POP Though they
were originally a Go-Go’s cover band, The Swirlies (pictured) have been paving the way for disruptive dream-rock à la My Bloody Valentine since the early ’90s. Today, the Bostonbased band serves as an inspiration for countless
groups interested in emulating their scuzzy sound, and Philly’s Suburban Living is one of them. Watch the old and the new play together this week along with Spirit of the Beehive, which is setting out on a cross-country tour with Amanda X starting late July. —Nikki Volpicelli
f riday
7.3
BUDDY GUY $32.50-$59.50 // Fri., July 3, 8 p.m., with Quinn Sullivan,
Keswick Theatre, 291 N. Keswick Ave., Glenside, 215-5727650, keswicktheatre.com. BLUES Don’t let the fact that Guy is the last great oldschool blues guitarist fool you. With each new album, he’s searing, inventive and boldly colored, and Born to Play Guitar (RCA), his latest, is no exception. “Whiskey, Beer & Wine” certainly holds its own vintage vibe, but “Smarter Than I Was” and several tributes to blues greats such as B.B. King are freshly funky. —A.D. Amorosi
EXHUMED FILMS: UNIVERSAL PICTURES
$10 per night // Fri.-Sun., July 3-5 and 17-19, dusk, Mahoning Drive-In, 635 Seneca Rd., Lehighton, exhumedfilms.com, mahoningdit.com. MOVIES Universal Pictures’ horror/sci-fi rep is largely built on its 1930s monster films, but the studio distributed its fair share of genre pictures in the ’70s and ’80s. Now, Exhumed Films is returning some of those movies to their natural habitat, the drive-in, with six double or triple features including John Carpenter’s They Live and The Thing, The Last
Starfighter, Flash Gordon and An American Werewolf in London. —Shaun Brady
PURE HELL
$10 // Fri, July 3, 8 p.m., with YDI and Anti-Suburbans, Boot & Saddle, 1131 S. Broad St., 877-435-9849, bootandsaddlephilly.com. PUNK Long before Living
Colour, Fishbone and The Roots, Philly’s Pure Hell was one of the sole all-Black rock acts around. Better yet, they’re credited as the first Black punk act (take that, Bad Brains) — with a brash, noisy 1978 cover of Nancy Sinatra’s “These Boots Are Made for Walking” as proof. OK, that’s the only thing that the Philly quartet ever officially released (there is an unreleased album with L.A. Guns and Lemmy out there), but that just makes the legend complete. They’ve been back together, more or less, since 2012. —A.D. Amorosi
saturday
7.4
YACHT JAUNT $60 // Sat., July 4, 10 p.m.,
WILD ONES: $10-$12 // Thu., July 2, 8 p.m., with Beverly and Izzy True, Boot & Saddle, 1131 S. Broad St., 877-4359849, bootandsaddlephilly.com. JOSHUA JACKSON
Ben Franklin Yacht, 401 N. Columbus Blvd., whatscene.net. PARTY Yacht Jaunt was originally thrown to show that an underground party could pop in a place that wasn’t a gallery, bar or music venue. For the event’s second edition, they’re expecting more than 200 people. It’ll be sailing along the Delaware at night as everything sparkles, but I don’t really need to get into all that because there are three words for why this evening can’t be lame: Sylo. Sylo. Sylo. DJ Sylo has this dexterity that allows him to go from club mixes to beloved hip-hop hits to some ig’nant trap and back again. His sets are consistently dope. As he’s spinning, there will be barbecue. (It’ll be the Fourth, after all. Plus,
C I T Y PA PER . N ET // JULY 2 - JULY 8, 2015 // PHIL ADELPHIA CIT Y PAPER
the food will be all-youcan-eat.) There will be local rappers Danny Chung and Tierra Whack performing. And there will be Henny. (Guess who’s sponsoring?) —Cassie Owens
Free // Sat., July 4, 1-8 p.m., with Baby Shakes, Bonzai and Souldiers of Soul, 26th and Wharton, search “cdhy” on Facebook.
a mopey, British post-punk answer to Lou Reed without all that nasty addiction business. This is a compliment. For a while there, Cole could only be heard troubadour style with an acoustic guitar and a good microphone. Recently though, he picked up his amp, plugged in and went electric for Standards with one-time Reed drummer Fred Maher, American power-pop mensch Matthew Sweet and Joan (As Police Woman) Wasser as his band. Nice band. —A.D. Amorosi
wednesday
7.8
HOLLIS BROWN
Galore, Doom Whore and Souldiers of Soul, among others. Typically held on May 5, this week will mark the last CDHY block party maybe ever, citing “critical mass” as its fatal flaw. Go, but only if you don’t plan on being an asshole. —Nikki Volpicelli
tuesday
7.7
LLOYD COLE
$25 // Tue., July 7, 8 p.m., World Café Live, 3025 Walnut St., 215-222-1400, philly.worldcafelive.com. ROCK/POP Lloyd Cole is the saddest-sounding guy you could ever hope to hear,
$10 // Wed., July 8, 8:30 p.m., Boot & Saddle, 1131 S. Broad St., 877-435-9849, bootandsaddlephilly.com. COUNTRY/POP Named
for Dylan’s “Ballad of Hollis Brown,” this New York City quintet is a less puckish and a bit more flushed out than Bob’s stark blues reverie. A sprightly pop/country band with a hint of blues, they sound like Deer Tick with
Send the Grumpy Librarian two books you like and one you hate and she’ll tell you what to read.
THE GRUMPY LIBRARIAN
BY CAITLIN GOODMAN
CINCO DE HIGH YO BLOCK PARTY
PARTY Is your idea of a good time slinging back a Bud Heavy and watching the shade of your sunburnt shoulders go from red to redder? Here’s your chance to do that to music. This Fourth of July head deep into South Philly for the Cinco de High Yo block party, where NYC’s super riffy Baby Shakes (pictured) will play with Rockers
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AS NASTY AS YOU WANNA BE LOVED: Cormac McCarthy, No Country for Old Men LOVED: Jacqueline Susann, Valley of the Dolls DIDN’T: Junot Diaz, This Is How You Lose Her
DELTA OF VENUS
ANAIS NIN
(Mariner Books) THERE’S NO surprise in a reader having enjoyed both No Country For Old Men and Valley of the Dolls (the Grumpy Librarian thinks they’re both pretty solid, although she prefers the Susann) but the GL is rather curious about the kind of person who believes these two titles to be characteristic of one’s reading interests. Reputation aside, it’s worth noting McCarthy can be a bit Diet Hemingway — terse, claiming an undeserved moral authority. There’s purple prose in them hills, etc. So combining the sort of portentous sparseness that McCarthy trades in with some crazy sex scenes, take a copy of Anais Nin’s Delta of Venus to bed (or to the airport or wherever). Created for a private client who commissioned the dirty stories and requested Nin “leave out the poetry,” the patron got about half of what he paid for — plenty of dirty with a good bit of poetry snuck in alongside. Henry Miller may be funnier, but you probably got enough testosterone in the first 10 pages of McCarthy.
(grumpylibrarian@citypaper.net)
more harmonies and a thing for latter-day Velvet Underground records (hence 2014’s Hollis Brown Gets Loaded and its note-fornote coverage of VU’s classic Loaded). They’ve got a new album, 3 Shots, that’s simply charming. —A.D. Amorosi
CLOSER THAN EVER $25 // July 8-25, Mazeppa Productions at Christ Church Neighborhood House, 20 N. American St., 267-5599602, mazeppa.org. THEATER Director Rob Henry follows last year’s summer Center City production of the lavish musical Xanadu with this musical revue featuring the
songs of Richard Maltby Jr. and David Shire. This “bookless book musical,” as the creators call it, uses four performers and 24 songs to deal with diverse topics concerning life after our 20s — such as aging, midlife crises, second marriages, working couples and unrequited love — in wise and witty ways. —Mark Cofta
citypaper.net/events
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crabeatery.com 4494 Rt. 130, Burlington, NJ 08016, (609) 387-3700
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PHIL ADELPHIA CIT Y PAPER // JULY 2 - JULY 8, 2015 // C I T Y PA PER . N ET
FOOD&DRINK
REVIEWS // OPENIN GS // LISTIN GS // RECIPES
BLOSSOMING: At Bibou, chef Pierre Calmels’ zucchini blossom cradles a scoop of scallop-and-lobster mousse. MARIA POUCHNIKOVA
BIBOU // 1009 S. Eighth St., 215-965-8290, biboubyob.com. Wed.-Sat. seatings at 5:30/6 p.m. and 8:30/9 p.m. Tasting menu only, $100, cash only.
REVIEW
BY ADAM ERACE
BIBOU 2.0
Will the popular bistro’s smaller, prix-fixe revamp keep it in the upper echelon of Philly dining? ON A FRESH summer evening, two couples sat at opposing two-tops at Bibou. One appeared to be about the age — and bank account — to retire, move to Florida and buy a boat. The other was younger, like they could have been their son and daughterin-law, and of a similar Main Line bearing. They were even dressed alike: drapey dresses for the ladies, lightweight blazers for the fellas, plus one fedora trying way too hard atop the dome of the older gentleman. The couples seemed to know each other casually, exchanging courtesies and notes on the foie gras on the way out. At one point, the younger man offered up, “You’re the one who got me into my $300 wine habit,” and everyone shared a rich chuckle. Six years after opening on a nondescript
corner of Bella Vista, Bibou is still the preferred destination of people with $300 wine habits. Other worthy restaurants have opened, but the collectors still come, cradling cherished bottles of cult cabs and heirloom Bordeaux like newborns. Nobody is good enough for their babies but Pierre Calmels. Some of us aren’t so picky, and Bibou’s reputation as a playground for Parker pointers shouldn’t dissuade us from eating there. I managed just fine with a cheap, screw-cap bottle of crisp verdejo through most of my meal, plus a juicy late-harvest muscat for later. Bibou’s ace staff thoughtfully offered to uncork that one early to pair with the foie gras, the giddy, toe-tingling apex in my seven-course tasting — as it was the last time I reviewed Bibou, shortly after it
opened in 2009. Back then, when Pierre Calmels was a relative unknown coming off an eight-year stint as the head chef of Le Bec-Fin, he dressed the delicacy with pumpkin bread and a killer plum chutney scented with clove and brightened with lime. The pumpkin bread is still there, I found, and just as moist and heartily spiced as I remembered. Torn into little sienna hunks, it orbited a pad of seared Hudson Valley liver that was caramelized outside, molten inside and flat-out delicious with streaks of balsamic duck sauce and fresh Crenshaw melon. But before I get ahead of myself, a short history of Bibou: Pierre Calmels and his wife/business partner, Charlotte, grew up in Lyon, met in Switzerland and moved to Philadelphia when Pierre was offered the position at Le Bec.When he and Charlotte opened Bibou, the restaurant — cozy, personal, polished — seemed to find instant success: three bells from the Inquirer’s Craig Laban, GQ’s Ten Best New Restaurants list, James Beard nomination for Best New Restaurant. “To eat Calmels’ food is to, at least momentarily, depart the bistro parameters that have lately defined (or constrained, maybe) French in Philly,” I wrote in my 2009 review for Philadelphia Weekly. “Sure, Bibou is a bistro at heart … but the clean presentation, precise execution and sheer élan with which Calmels cooks puts it on another level.” As I recently took my first bite of the canapé trio, avocado mousse piped onto a thin radish slice, I wondered if that assessment would hold up. It felt kind of … lazy. The other amuses were better. Onion soubise and Comté cheese suggested soupe á l’oignon in a tiny phyllo envelope. Duck terrine pleased with plum and ramp. But exceptional? No. Calmels, who’s spent the past two years captaining Bibou’s little sister, Le Cheri, is back in the kitchen at Bibou following the departure of his longtime second-in-command, Ron Fougeray, and a six-week closure that refreshed the dining room with toffee wainscoting, blueand-gold damask paper and supple leather chairs. And it took a couple of courses for him to hit his stride. Asparagus soup, poured around an island of Époisses foam, needed salt to sharpen its sleepy vegetable bass note. Wild-caught mackerel escabeche shimmered with acidity, but couldn’t derive all the salinity
it needed from the haphazard pieces of pickled purple cauliflower strewn about the plate. But then came the zucchini blossom, its pointed orange petals like a torch cradling a scoop of scallop-and-lobster mousse. The texture of the mousse was like a cloud, its delicate flavor accented beautifully with tarragon, orange and bell pepper. Trout caviar lent the pop of salt I craved earlier. The foie followed — TKO — then an oral Zamboni of bracing grapefruit-vermouth sorbet. Rabbit starred in the final savory course, succulent pulled leg meat beneath a bar of beet-poached daikon and a bit of seared loin I savored like a truffle. The umami of the rabbit sauce, made from a fortified reduction of the braising liquid, seemed to go on forever. The cheese plate featured three French selections (fourme d’Ambert, Morbier, P’tit Basque), fruit, nuts and a standout tomato jam. Calmels closed with a winning throwback: cherries jubilee, big pitted Bings in a kirsch-spiked currant sauce, rolling around a scoop of subtle honey ice cream like fat vermilion marbles. Dainty orange-perfumed madeleines and coconut macaroons — that’s with two O’s, as in the American version, not the French — arrived with the check: $100 a head for the tasting. During its spring hibernation,
The texture of the mousse was like a cloud, its delicate flavor accented beautifully with tarragon, orange and bell pepper. Bibou shed its a la carte menu, along with 12 seats, dropping the total capacity to just 20. So it’s tasting or nothing. The cash-only policy remains. And Bibou’s ranking among the city’s best restaurants? Though its sterling rep is not without a bit of tarnish, that remains as well. (aerace.citypaper@gmail.com, @adamerace)
citypaper.net/mealticket
C I T Y PA PER . N ET // JULY 2 - JULY 8, 2015 // PHIL ADELPHIA CIT Y PAPER
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BY MATT JONES RACHEL KRAMER BUSSEL ON SEX OF ALL STRIPES
LET’S GET IT ON
JONESIN ’ “ BACK AT YA ” return the favor
ACROSS 1 4 10 14 15 16 17 20 21 22 23 26 28 29 31 34 35 36 39 41 42 44 46 47 48 51 53 55
Kenan & ___ (late-’90s Nickelodeon show) Varmint Gear teeth Tina’s ex Chevy model since 1966 Dance with gestures Device that reads other temperature-taking devices? Price basis “You ___ busted!” Co-star of Rue Really avid supporter Down Under predator Judge who heard a Kardashian, among others She sang “Close My Eyes Forever” with Ozzy Blood fluids “Hot 100” magazine The Lion King bad guys With 41-Across, hip-hop producer’s foray into Greek typography? Lincoln’s youngest son See 36-Across “Put me down as a maybe” Bright stars On the way Biblical brother Narrow estuary Some cigs Minimally Gator chaser?
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Become swollen ___ for the money Overly pungent cheeses? Judd’s Taxi role Result of “pow, right in the kisser” Pulp Fiction star Thurman Astronaut Sally Curly-haired Peanuts character Shih tzu or cockapoo, e.g.
DOWN 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 18 19 24 25 27 30 32
Korean pickled dish Barely make “C’mon!” Step into character “Ain’t gonna work!” “That was no joke” Ex-Smiths guitarist Johnny Pistol-packing Not so snug-fitting Fidel’s comrade-in-arms Away from the city, maybe Musical Fox show Actress Rue Took on a roll? Jonah Hill sports flick They’re coordinated to look random ___-en-Provence, birthplace of Cezanne ABC’s ___ Anatomy Brand of kitchen appliances Damage the surface of
Rachel Kramer Bussel is the author of the essay collection Sex & Cupcakes and editor of over 50 erotica anthologies, most recently Come Again: Sex Toy Erotica.
©2015 Jonesin’ Crosswords (editor@jonesincrosswords.com)
33 157.5 degrees from N 34 Cartoon “Mr.” voiced by Jim Backus 36 Binary component 37 Expressive rock genre 38 Nailed at the meter 40 Fight (with) 43 Reprimand 45 Zoo doc 48 Called on the phone 49 Self-conscious question 50 As it stands 52 Till now 54 A, to Beethoven 55 A long way off 56 Bagel shop 58 Italian sparkling wine 61 Game of Thrones weapon 62 Free (of) 63 Government org. concerned with pollution
LAST WEEK’S SOLUTION
The Rev. Beverly Dale
THE REV. BEVERLY DALE EMBRACES SEX — AND GOD IF YOUR CHURCH taught you that sex should be saved for marriage, masturbation is taboo and being gay is a sin, the Rev. Beverly Dale has some news for you: Everything you’ve learned is wrong. OK, maybe not everything, but quite a bit of it. Dale felt called to the ministry at age 11, but, having been told that wasn’t a role for women, her dream went underground until her 30s. In seminary, she discovered the work of feminist Christian theologians, and started to develop a framework of “sexual diversity” that includes people of various genders, sexual orientations and the openly kinky. Now, she preaches monthly at the United Christian Church of Levittown, and heads the Incarnation Institute for Sex and Faith, whose mission is “to teach an inclusive, science-friendly, sex-positive Christianity.” Dale’s programs include “The Orgy that Was Eden” and “Christianity or Polyamory: It’s Not Either/Or,” and she speaks at sexuality conferences about incorporating Christian values into sex education for adults. Dale says Philadelphia is similar to other urban areas in terms of religious attitudes around sex. “There’s a lot of people who’ve dropped out of Christianity, thinking it’s irrelevant, [and many] in sexually alternative communities who don’t see any connection at all between religion and what they’re doing in their sex lives.” According to Dale, many have been “brainwashed by sex phobia. In my workshops there’s a huge number of ex-Catholics, former Southern Baptist, Pentecostal and non-denominational people who’ve been fed this diet of anti pleasure. If you’ve been trained to be obedient to your God and the way the preacher or priest says you have to live, then when your personal life story unfolds differently, you have to throw out religion.” Dale wants to change that, and help those struggling to reconcile faith and desire. Her current focus is an Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign to launch a training program for sexologists and religious leaders, filling in gaps in each other’s knowledge base to best serve their constituents. As a woman quoted in the campaign’s video laments, “There’s no direction from the church on how to integrate sexuality and spirituality into your life.” That’s why Dale is helping develop a curriculum for a class on “How to Read the Bible with Sex-Positive Eyes” as a way to reframe some of the teachings many have accepted as, well, gospel. One example? Masturbation. Says Dale, “Masturbation is nowhere mentioned in the Bible. It’s part of self-pleasure. My detractors would say we have no business pleasuring ourselves; that’s the business of our married partner. The Roman Catholic Church started teaching that the story of Onan was about masturbation; it’s not.” Instead, she asserts, he disobeyed the rule demanding he impregnate his dead brother’s widow. “So rather than talk about that rule, he was punished.” Dale does not mince words, which is to be expected from the creator of the one-woman show, An Irreverent Journey from Eggbeaters to Vibrators. She boldly declares, “I think there’s a lot of Scripture we can use to open the door to sexual diversity. People ask about masturbation because they have problems with pleasure. I have a pleasure-seeking God of love, and I choose to say that’s erotic love. I don’t have any trouble with pleasure: It’s a sacred gift.”
@RAQUELITA rachelcitypaper@gmail.com
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PHIL ADELPHIA CIT Y PAPER // JULY 2 - JULY 8, 2015 // C I T Y PA PER . N ET
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