Philadelphia’s Parker administration took action Wednesday to remove 50 people remaining at a Kensington Avenue tent city, the final push in a month-long “encampment resolution” that’s cracking down on an area estimated to hold about 39 percent of Philly’s unhoused population. That news inspired community organizer and poet LindoYes to write the following poem, recalling the eviction of his own family when he was in the third grade. In the video above, he performs that poem, titled “Landlord,” from the scene of the encampment sweep.
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Nora Grace-Flood
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May 7, 2024 3:45 pm
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Nora Grace-Flood Photo
No shoes, nothing to lose: Brandon Washburn, Paul Mangan, and Dylan Michael of Attack Dog.
Attack Dog PhilaMOCA 531 N. 12th St. Philadelphia May 2, 2024
Attack Dog ambushed an avant-garde audience inside PhilaMOCA — not with snarling words or slobbery chops, but with catchy riffs and puppy dog charm.
The Philly-based boy band closed a three-set show Tuesday night with springer-spaniel-level energy alongside rock crew Phil Spector’s Fun and touring Tokyo group LOOLOWNINGEN& The Far East Idiots.
I had traveled to the venue to see the latter group, a self-described “avant-punk trio/ alternative blues trio with ink wash painting-like sounds & unicursal rhythms for all wanderers.” But I stayed for the dog show.
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Nora Grace-Flood
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May 6, 2024 3:49 pm
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Live Band Karaoke Fergie’s Pub 1214 Sansom St. Philadelphia May 4, 2024
Backed by a guitarist, bassist, drummer and a harmonizing hostess, the pony-tailed sequined woman who had introduced herself as “Stacey from the dog park” transformed into a Chris Stapleton-singing Lucinda Williams before my eyes.
I’ve looked for love in all the same old places Found the bottom of a bottle’s always dry … But when you poured out your heart, I didn’t waste it ‘Cause there’s nothing like your love to get me high …
When she hit the chorus, the whole bar began to belt: “You’re as smooth as Tennessee whiskey/ You’re as sweet as strawberry wine/ You’re as warm as a glass of brandy/ And honey, I stay stoned on your love all the time.”
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Nora Grace-Flood
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May 1, 2024 10:30 am
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Yoga instructor Deb Cohen leads a lesson back by dark ambient band Monks Pond.
Savage Sisters Metal Meditation with Monks Pond PhilaMOCA 531 N. 12th St. Philadelphia April 28, 2024
*Extra credit: Test your focus (or flexibility) by reading this review while listening to the heavy metal meditation recorded above.*
People packed like sardines on 2‑foot-wide yoga mats were practicing their box breathing when a force of harmonium, gong and electric guitar smacked me square in the face.
Woodworker Jesse Rinyu and Poet LindoYes attempt to fix their shared sculpture's nutty brain.
LindoYes performs his poem, "Irregular Heartbeat."
The Poetry Gumball Machine Project Museum for Art in Wood 141 N. 3rd St. Philadelphia April 27, 2024
“Tough love is being punched until you don’t cry — and crying is the only thing that stops the punching from hurting as much,” Philly Poet and local organizer LindoYes recited softly. His words were resonant enough to reach his audience without relying on a mic as he stood next to a wooden robot designed to dispense his poems — and social service supports — to the city at large.
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Nora Grace-Flood
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Apr 26, 2024 11:51 am
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Stellar sound from KulfiGirls Wednesday night.
KulfiGirls The Dolphin Tavern 1539 S Broad St. Philadelphia April 24, 2024
Amid the fuzz rock, punk and noise music bouncing off the walls of the Dolphin Tavern Wednesday night, I found myself transported out of South Philly and into a Lisa Frank-like wonderland — as Carnatic rock crew KulfiGirls cut through an acidic night with an experimental mixture of sweet, sometimes gritty pop, colorful multi-instrumentalism, and neon joy.
Lee’s Deli Since 1993 4700 Baltimore Ave. Philadelphia April 23, 2024
The hungover in need of buttered toast and bacon might be searching for comfort and carbs with their swollen eyes rather than culinary excellence — but we found both at Lee’s Deli Since 1993 in West Philly.
Dom Flemons City Winery Philadelphia April 19, 2024
“Don’t it always seem to go?” former Carolina Chocolate Drop and Black Cowboy Dom Flemons lamented into a City Winery microphone — as he quoted famed folk singer Joni Mitchell, not as part of a song, but to make a point.
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Nora Grace-Flood
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Apr 18, 2024 11:02 am
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Some of the visuals screened during Dark Matter — which look more compelling (I swear I'm not bragging) after undergoing iPhone collaging and editing.
Nora Grace-Flood Photo
Pearl Jam fans Larry and Jen Coppertino, the latter of whom has attended 151 live shows.
Pearl Jam: Dark Matter in the Dark Landmark’s Ritz 5 214 Walnut St. Philadelphia April 16, 2024
The theater lights faded until nothing remained but the pixelated heads of 60-something Pearl Jam fans, the sound of sharp, upbeat guitar blaring through a fuzzy sound system, and the internal nagging of my own inner critic — as one of the ’90s’ most popular rock bands used movie tickets to sell their latest album, Dark Matter, to the masses.
My shopping list when I set out for South Philly last week read: Lysol wipes, curtain rods, instant ramen, chairs.
The contents of my stomach when I returned empty-handed one hour later included: barbecued pork, wontons, anchovies, avocado, mango jelly, curry, chia seeds, collard greens, coconut meat, condensed milk, meatballs.
Crammed around a three-person table at Ortlieb’s, I was listing to seven of my pals jokingly critique the “notes” of their house beers and bar snacks when the sound of familiar lyrics turned my attention towards the back of the room:
I spread like strawberries! I climb like peas and beans. I’ve been sucking it in so long that I’m bursting at the seams.
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Nora Grace-Flood
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Apr 9, 2024 10:17 am
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M Solivan Photo
Art, albeit shitty (but a better photo than I could get) ...
Nora Grace-Flood Photo
... as compared to a permanent sculpture that served as artistic guidance to Monday's show.
Eclipse Viewing The Woodlands April 8, 2024
The Woodlands in West Philly looked picturesque under the half-baked sun Monday afternoon, with picnic blankets, magnolia leaves, and bicycles strewn across the historic lawns as neighbors sought out their personal vision of a rare celestial show: the solar eclipse.
They came expecting a cosmic spectacle. As an arts reviewer, I came looking for an answer to a question: Could an eclipse count as art?
