FRIDAY:
>>> This weekend, from where we stand, really has three ingredients: The 215 Festival, Kurt Vile and autumnal creature comforts. And if you don’t take part in at least two of these three this weekend, brother/sister, you’re doing it wrong. Vile’s doing an in-store at AKA Music at 7PM, and more about Childish Prodigy in a moment. As for the 215, peep that schedule, and check something out. It’s one of our favorite things each fall, and unlike lots of other festivals, the 215 has zero endowment, and zero budget, but tons of heart. As we mentioned earlier this year, this is something of a “Rebuilding Year” for Philly’s premiere literary/nerd fest, and it’s a great time to get involved.
>>> And of course, it’s First Friday, so plan accordingly.
>>> Elsewhere: Grasshopper’s having a big sale! The Skydrops play North Star with Stars of Track and Field. Sex Dwarf gets down with its bad self. And what in the hell is this HBO Cube thing?

SATURDAY:
>>> Kurt Vile’s new album, Childish Prodigy, comes out on Tuesday, and the record release party, followed by England Belongs To Twee (honestly one of the city’s best/most eclectic DJ nights), is at Kung Fu Necktie. (It’s going to sell out, so get on that.) Over the last few months, more and more folks have been ready to crown KV with a title he gave himself a long time ago: Philly’s Constant Hitmaker, which is basically the Philly rock scene’s version of the “WHY CAN’T US?” rallying cry. Now, here is the part where you might expect us to burst that bubble a little bit, but you know, we just can’t. Because KV is us — his whole sensibility is so mired in the Philly psyche it positively drips our brain juice — and we’re tired of people telling us that we can’t, whatever may follow in the rest of that sentence. Vile’s zen-like-but-also-punching-through-the-dark-clouds songwriting and sound is an aesthetic feat born of both dedication and inspiration; check out the record in full at right. And while we know it’s weird — hell, it certainly feels weird — to have the city’s entire media rally around a lo-fi songwriter who exists almost wholly without showbiz pretense of any kind, it also feels… really fucking good. God bless you, Kurt Vile, and here’s to hoping something about what you do ingrains itself into this city’s aesthetic sense of self every bit as much as Gamble & Huff or The Dead Milkmen did. It’s been a long time coming.
>>> Penn Treaty Park: When all of this is over, bury my ass there. But in the meantime, the River City Festival is plenty reason to go visit, weather permitting.
>>> Elsewhere: Philly Roller Girls Double-Header! Ghostface Killah and Hustle Simmons at the Troc! That Bibliodicscotheque party at National Mechanics! (See 215 Fest links.) And for the jazzheads: Steve Lehman Trio at the Philadelphia Art Alliance!

SUNDAY:
>>> And then wrap it all up with A Place To Bury Strangers at Johnny Brenda’s. May a thousand burned-out-krispy eardrum flowers bloom.

Want more? Check out our nightlife listings and our art listings.

This entry was posted on Friday, October 2nd, 2009 at 4:00 pm.