Halloween Ball
Paradise Alley
624 N. Front Street
9 p.m.-2 a.m., $25/$30 door
(215) 413-3900
Somehow, I find it doubtful that people are really thinking about peace on earth and goodwill to men when they are swilling in beers and bumping and grinding on the dance floor. Nonetheless, good will is what it is, and a portion of the proceeds benefit PhillyVolunteers.org's children's holiday shopping tour. Costume is recommended, and free goodies, including everyone's favorite witch's brew, are available until midnight.
Rod Stewart
First Union Center
3601 S. Broad Street
7:30 p.m., $35.35-$75.25
(215) 336-3600
While riding in my friend's car recently, Rod Stewart came on the radio. I, in my idiocy, sing along to everything and was consequently made fun of. Doesn't everyone know "Maggie May" and "Reason to Believe" and "Forever Young"? And isn't "Do Ya Think I'm Sexy" hilarious? Errrr... Nevermind...Dammit...
Dox Thrash: An African American Master Printmaker Rediscovered
Philadelphia Museum of Art
Benjamin Franklin Parkway and 26th Street
Through February 24
(215) 763-8100
I like how artists who are "rediscovered" are often just plain and simple discoveries for most people. Elitist scoundrels at the PMA want us to feel inferior, that's what it is! Well, it won't work, I tell you! Prints, drawings, and even watercolors are all good and well, but Thrash is best known for his carborundum etchings during the WPA years.
Go to Hell Again
Shampoo
Willow Street, Between Seventh and Eighth streets
(215) 922-7500
In order to gear up for your big night at Shampoo on Wednesday, we suggest you spend some quality time with some contortionists who twist themselves into weird positions and claim that it's a legitimate career and not just a lame excuse for attaining the flexibility to perform auto fellatio. Funny that you'd find these people at an event called "Go to Hell," Hell being a place where a certain man by the name of SATAN resides. Well, we say enjoy the debauchery while you can, because anything is worth it for a chance to grind it hard on that box! (See Give Me 5s.)
Life According to 6 Bitchin' Babes
Keswick Theater
Glenside, Pa.
8 p.m., $24.50
(215) 572-7650
It's been two months since you left home... do you miss your mommy? Oh, poor thing. You miss the nagging, the whining, and the "where on earth did you get that whip mark?" Well, these mommies, disguised as six bitchin' babes, for obvious mommies-in-denial appeal, will sing and joke you off to sleep. And then wake you up too early and call you a lazy bum.
Ray Davies
TLA
334 South Street
7 p.m., $32.75
(215) 922-1011
All the Brit-poppers out there that are oh-so-trendy nowadays--Blur, Coldplay, Oasis, Travis and Pulp--owe every cent they own to Ray Davies. Davies, the Godfather of Brit Pop, has done it all, from songwriting to founding the Kinks to rock operas. It's rare to find an old British guy in Philadelphia who's actually cool. We demand you check him out.
Luther Vandross
Liacouras Center
1776 N. Broad Street
7:30 p.m., $55- $65
(215) 336-2000
Only one good thing has ever come out of Luther Vandross' career: the Endless Love ice-skating scene in Happy Gilmore with the weird old man lip-synching. You know what I'm talking about. Funnily enough, that's a damn good reason to go see this weight-dropping crooner at the Tweeter. Just stand in the audience, surrounded by swooning middle-aged women, and think, "the price is wrong, bitch!"
Misfits--25th Anniversary Show
Trocadero
1003 Arch Street
7:00 p.m., $18
(215) 922-LIVE
It's always been a little difficult to decide exactly what the Misfits' intentions were. Their hardcore punk approach mixed with sci-fi imagery on tracks like "I Turned Into a Martian" and "Mommy, Can I Go Out and Kill Tonight" really straddle the line between being quite frightening and completely hilarious. Minus Glen Danzig you kind of have to wonder what they're doing sticking around, but there's really no way to describe how deeply a song like "Hate the Living, Love the Dead" can touch your soul. It's that intangible quality that makes this completely untalented band so endearing.
