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ISSUE . October 2nd 2008

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Cover Story

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The Way of the Scalper

Risk and reward inside South Philly's stealth economy.

by E. James Beale

Scalpers don't specialize. There aren't sports scalpers and music scalpers. In Philly, nearly all events — be it your Flyers game, your Jonas Brothers concert or your Disney on Ice — are worked by the same group of guys. If there is a crowd, they will be there.

A Fan's Guide to Buying from a Scalper

by E. James Beale

Nine quick tips to getting the best ticket for the best price outside of the system.

Opinion

Slant:

Say It Ain't So

Palin tries to out-cutesy a traumatized nation.

by David Faris

So while her debate performance against Biden may not have been the total catastrophe we'd all been hoping for, it reinforced the catastrophic choice by the McCain campaign to have Palin play hide-and-go-f&*k-yourself with the media for the past month.

Editor's Letter:

Wildcards

It's all up to Brett Myers. (And Joe Biden.)

by Brian Howard

"She can turn a 60-second response to a query about her specific solutions to healthcare challenges into a folksy story about how she's met people on the campaign trail who face healthcare challenges."

Slant:

Drawn to Blood

Christine Flowers vs. The Chupacabra

by Isaiah Thompson

About the murder itself, White was blunt: "All we know is that another black man is dead and another cop is dead." That's not playing any card — it's an honest and sad observation.

Loose Canon:

A Tale for One City

A city-oriented radio service could leap the literacy gap.

by Bruce Schimmel

The commission spent a long day asking reporters, editors and alternative oddballs (like me) what Philadelphians need to know, and how to get it to them.

Feedback:

Letters to the Editor

What You Say

"Sarah Pain is a c**t because she had the audacity to accept her party's nomination for vice president and you don't agree with her politics? You are a complete disgrace."

Naked City

The Ringleader

When Damon Feldman pits C-listers against each other, everybody wins.

by A.D. Amorosi

Maybe they boxed. Maybe they wrestled. Maybe there were suds and wet T-shirt contests on the side. Who cares? Feldman seems to revel in blurring the line between entertainment and sport.

Icepack

Amorosi on the news, nightlife, gossip and bitchiness beats.

by A.D. Amorosi

I look down at my Blackberry and there're texts reading "Sarah Palin hit Tony Luke's and Irish Pub and I'm scared" and "Alycia Lane's suing everybody." Ach du lieber!

Running Numbers

A scholarly look at the digits that matter.

by Nick Norlen

Is it too much to ask to have art exhibits in this town with pieces that are both bigger than a postcard and also melting?

News

Get Out the (Out) Vote

Obama's chance to make sure he leaves no LGBTQ vote behind.

by Timothy J. McLaughlin

The votes of Philly's LGBTQ community will help decide where Pennsylvania falls in the presidential race. So come Oct. 12, Obama supporters will be hitting OutFest's glitter-covered streets.

The Bell Curve

City Paper's Quality-o-Life-o-Meter

When news breaks in Philadelphia, we make jokes.

Technology Turns Against the Techies

The Center City Philadelphia Macintosh Users Group

by Aarthi Manohar

Like many users groups, CCPMUG is a nonprofit that relies on a modest $3 monthly membership fee to keep itself afloat. But Torbin believes it can grow, and attract more "geeks," if it becomes sufficiently social.

Dispatch:

The Long Blue Line

Philly's finest and bravest are getting accustomed to burying their dead.

by Mike Newall

One man in line has a crime scene photo on his cell phone of McDonald's murderer, Daniel Giddings, lying dead in the street after being shot by Highway Patrol Officer Richard Bowes. Most of the men have seen the photo too many times now to gain any pleasure from it.

Political Notebook:

Obama Land

by Mary F. Patel

For the really well-heeled and -connected, Rendell and his former chief of staff, David Cohen, are hosting a dinner party at Cohen's house following the fundraiser. Guests can either purchase a $10,000 ticket or raise $50,000 for the Obama campaign.

Arts

First Friday Focus

Lori Hill's First Friday Hit List

by Lori Hill

National Constitution Center | Proximity Gallery | Fabric Workshop and Museum | Pentimenti Gallery | Area 919

Shelf Life:

The Hit List

Under the Covers with Justin Bauer

by Justin Bauer

Child 44 by Tom Rob Smith | Sea of Poppies by Amitav Ghosh | A Most Wanted Man by John le Carré | The Good Thief by Hannah Tinti

Theater Review:

Rock in a Hard Place

Tom Stoppard's Rock 'n' Roll

by Mark Cofta

Supporting performances, particularly by Mary McCool as a frisky academic and Ryan Farley as Jan's closest friend, emphasize the human dimensions of a typically dizzying Stoppard script.

Lost Universe

The World Goes Round

by David Anthony Fox

I thought Prince's mission was to cultivate interesting new work. Nothing here qualifies.

Book Review:

Up on Dec

How an Irish author went from small potatoes to the big time without getting lost in the plot.

by Char Vandermeer

"Everybody likes to get paid for what they do, but there's much more behind it than selling copies and trying to pay the mortgage. There's a lot of faith stuff that went into this."

Arts Picks:

Philadelphia Open Studio Tours

Self-guided tours, Sat.-Sun., Oct. 4-5 and 11-12 , noon-6 p.m., free, philaopenstudios.com; "Open Portfolio," Sat.-Sun, Oct. 11-12, noon-6 p.m., free, Crane Arts Building, 1400 N. American St., 215-735-6090, printcen

by Natalie Hope McDonald

More than 300 painters, sculptors, photographers, printmakers, ceramists, furniture designers and other artists will open their doors to the public for this eighth annual free event, which spans more than 16 neighborhoods, from West Philly to NoLibs.

The Dos and Don'ts of Time Travel

Oct. 2-19, $15-$20, Playground at the Adrienne, 2030 Sansom St., 215-551-3376, strawflower.org.

by Deni Kasrel

This notion has offered inspiration to plenty of movies and TV shows. But there's no time machine here; Bellomo promises something more scintillating will convey the shifts to past, present and future.

Arts Agenda

Last Chance

Catch it or Regret It

by Molly Eichel

Ernestine Ruben Retrospective | Eon | Another Day in the Beautiful World

Arts Agenda Picks:

Just Do It

Philly Zine Fest

by Kathryn Lipman

The pre-Livejournal network of writers mailing well-concealed dollar bills in exchange for zines will gather at the Rotunda to sell publications and handmade crafts.

In The Event That...

You're Into the Dark Arts

by Holly Otterbein

In the Rev. Jack Malebranche's painting of an open-mouthed gorilla, titled The Beast of Man, he conveys the Satanist tenet that all humans are vicious animals.

Just Opened

Goldfish Gallery

by Jimmy Viola

The excitement is evident as Sfakianos speaks about her neighborhood's art scene and the future of her gallery, which will serve as a space for Fishtown painters, sculptors and photographers to show their work in the comfort of their backyard.

Galleries

Museums/Exhibits

Performing Arts

Readings/Book Signings

Movies

Out of Sight

When inhabitants of a city mysteriously go blind, they give in to primal chaos.

by Sam Adams

Like pirates on an unmapped sea, they plunder heedlessly, demanding payment in money, goods and eventually flesh for a share of the remaining food. The Stygian orgy that results is the movie's moral low point, a hellish vision of primal appetites untempered by reason or belief.

Simon Says

An interview with Simon Pegg

by Shaun Brady

"To be a grown man acting not just with Leonard Nimoy, but with that character who I've known since I was a child, is just mind-blowing."

Repertory Film

Your weekly guide to local film events, festivals and under-the-radar screenings.

Send repertory film listings to molly.eichel@citypaper.net.

Music

Great Unknowns

The mystery of The Residents isn't who they are — it's why.

by Shaun Brady

Even those who've never heard a single note of Residents music are aware of the iconic top-hatted eyeball heads and the fact that no one knows who's been making that twisted noise for more than 35 years.

Comedy CD Reviews

Mitch Hedberg & George Carlin

Hedberg knew the comedic value of profanity for his adult audiences, but a lot of the time his act had a charming, kid-like quality that was completely endearing: "It'd be cool if you lived with a monster. You'd never get the hiccups."

Hang The DJ:

Who Got the Chemistry?

Reel Chemistry: The Anthology

by J.F. Pirro

At 31 tracks, the compilation makes a strong case for Top Choice Clique as a great lost hip-hop collective, a kind of Naughty By Nature if Naughty By Nature weren't mostly terrible.

Soundadvice

Get Out!

Music Picks:

Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds

Tue., Oct. 7, 8 p.m., $38, with Kid Congo Powers and the Pink Monkey Birds, Electric Factory, Seventh and Willow streets, 215-336-2000, 856-338-9000, ticketmaster.com.

by A.D. Amorosi

Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!! is really Cave's best shot at snot-pop vitality in the 21st century, his way of showing that he can play the revved-up rock game without losing his French cuff shirt or his delirious literate texts.

The Upper Crust

Opening night of RRSC's fifth annual Revolution Scooter Rally, Fri., Oct. 3, 11 p.m., $15, J.C. Dobbs, 304 South St., myspace.com/jcdobbslive. The rally runs Oct. 3-5, rabblerousersc.org.

by A.D. Amorosi

What can be said is that the crotchety power pop quartet dress like colonial Whig mannequins in powdered wigs with high stockings, painted birthmarks and other turn of the (18th) century vestments.

Orchestra 2001

Fri., Oct. 3, 8 p.m., $27-$32, Kimmel Center, 300 S. Broad St. (also at Swarthmore College, Oct. 5), 215-893-1999, orchestra2001.org.

by Peter Burwasser

This concert will include the final installment of Crumb's American Songbook series, all premièred by O2001, with the composer's Broadway star daughter, Ann Crumb, as a soloist, along with Randall Scarlata, baritone.

Food

Meet Dave

David Katz doesn't care what you think about him. You'll love his food regardless.

by A.D. Amorosi

"Simple food cooked well is by far better than doing too much and leaving all that room for error. And for what? Who really gives a shit about what food looks like? I make a dish look presentable, for sure, but I don't need to use ingredients that don't belong on the plate just for decoration."

Feeding Frenzy

Restaurants opening, closing and pending

by Drew Lazor

Crispy Sweetie | Mix | Café Clave | Mémé | Capriccio Café & Espresso Bar at Café Cret

Middle Eastern High

Hummus

by Trey Popp

Good things come to those who wait, so perhaps it's fitting that the best of many pleasant surprises at Hummus came at the end of

What's Cooking:

The Week In Eats

Get Out!

by Nikki Volpicelli

Third Annual Midtown Village Fall Festival | Oktoberfest at City Tavern | Eat Your Way Through the Italian Market | Terror Behind the Walls: Fright and Bite | Mugshots ll: A Beer-Tasting Bonanza

Small Bites

Little Vittles

Sriracha Latte at Beauty Shop Café | Lamb Kikil at Ethio Café | Tullamore Dew 10-Year-Old | Rabbit Risotto at Privé

You Ask We Answer

Culinary Mysteries Solved

I have a daughter with a severe peanut allergy, which requires us to interrogate restaurants about the contents of menu items. Can you recommend restaurants that will accommodate us?

Agenda

Agenda Lead:

Beauty Quips

Margaret Cho's as saucy as ever.

by Natalie Hope McDonald

"I didn't know China had any little girls left; I thought the gays adopted them all."

Shopping Spree

Fashion > Forward

by Monica Weymouth

Grasshopper Autumn Sale | Arcadia Makeover | Chairlift at Reward | Philadelphia Independent Craft Market

Agenda Picks:

Been There/Done That

Manayunk Kayak Tour

by Carolyn Wyman

Though the river isn't teeming with wildlife — the most interesting natural sighting was a cormorant — it's also not full of trash. (The one car we saw submerged by the bank looked to have been there since shortly after its '70s manufacture.)

Just Do It

Dead Men Do Tell Tales

by Aaron Moselle

The evening workshop includes four stations as well as a ghost hunting history primer. At the Ghost Hunter Lab, visitors will listen in on voices from beyond captured during actual South Jersey Ghost Research cases.

Just Do It

Bikram Choudhury

by Campbell States

"The postures are not difficult. If you find it difficult, then you need them."

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