MUSIC
Friday, 4/23: Quasi with Let’s Wrestle, Johnny Brenda’s, $12, 21+
Janet Weiss, our love for you will never die. The drummer for the now defunct Sleater-Kinney is touring with her new band, also featuring Sam Coomes of Built to Spill, providing a mellower experience than either of their previous projects. Check out their folksy, swelling tunes — unfortunately, they won’t be bringing the '90s with them to Philadelphia, but this is almost as good.
Monday, 4/26: Casiotone For The Painfully Alone with Magical Beautiful and Light Pollution, Johnny Brenda’s, $10, 21+
The emotional fragility of a six-year-old … coupled with a six-year-old’s toys? Owen Ashworth performs live with toy keyboards and battery operated instruments to create a sound that is far more complex than Fisher-Price ever envisioned. This tour, he is joined by a full band, fleshing out the live experience of the songs he crafted in the privacy of his bedroom.
Sunday, 4/25: Hot Chip with Memory Tapes, Theatre of the Living Arts, $30, All Ages
Hot Chip, blah blah. Yeah, yeah, yeah, we know you like Made in the Dark a lot and you danced “sooo hard” at their show. However, the real appeal here lies with local Memory Tapes, the melding of Memory Cassette and Weird Tapes (who were both really just the work of Jersey’s Dayve Hawk all along). His chill-wave, lo-fi dance beats are complex and captivating — you should dance “sooo much harder.”
Monday 5/3: Shout Out Louds with Freelance Whales, First Unitarian Church, $13, All Ages
When it comes to pop music, Swedes do it better. ABBA? Ace of Base? A*Teens? The Shout Out Louds might not follow quite the same trajectory, but the Scandinavians in this quintet are also masters of the really fucking catchy pop song. Freelance Whales, a New York band on the verge of a blog blow-up, start things off with their unique brand of folk-pop, fueled by an unusual combination of instruments and touring in support of their first album, Weathervanes.
ARTS
Now through various dates: Philagrafika
Remember that innovative festival of printed matter we couldn’t shut up about all semester? Well, it’s almost over. Check out Philagrafika’s web calendar to catch up on when exhibitions are closing and plan a study break to see some art.
Sunday, 4/25: Sunday Studio: Printmaking Without a Press, Philadelphia Museum of Art, $100 plus $35 supply fee, 9:15 a.m. — 4:30 p.m.
Learn relief, gelatin and frottage printmaking techniques that you can take home with you! This intensive session, limited to 13 students, will provide you with the skills needed to craft your body of work. Admission to the Graphic Unconscious exhibition at the PMA is also included.
Friday, 4/30 — Sunday, 7/25: Live Cinema/Histories in Motion: Jennifer Levonian, Martha Colburn, Joshua Mosley, Philadelphia Museum of Art, $12 student admission
Three young artists, including Penn Fine Arts Professor Joshua Mosley, present animation in three linked exhibitions this summer. The works embrace individual and communal experience and understanding of histories public and private and are accompanied by works on paper, collages and sculptures related to the creation of the works.
THEATER
Now — Sunday, 5/2: Rooms: A Rock Romance, Prince Music Theater, $19-30
The 11th Hour Theater company presents the Philadelphia premiere of Rooms, a rock musical about young love in a British punk band. Arrive early and check out a rotating schedule of local singer-songwriters who perform before the curtain.
Tuesday, 4/27: Janeane Garofalo with Marc Maron, Theatre of the Living Arts, $29.50, All Ages
We don’t know who Marc Maron is and we don’t care if we should because JANEANE GAROFALO is coming to Philadelpia. She is cute, hilarious and a kick-ass feminist. You’ve seen her as the female Jerry on Seinfeld and as Winona’s sidekick in Reality Bites. Her show promises to be irreverent, smart and riotously funny. Sorry, Marc.
Saturday, 5/1 — Sunday, 5/23: Girls Night: The Musical, The Kimmel Center: Innovation Studio, $157
Middle-aged ladies having a "wild and outrageous girls' night" at a karaoke bar leads to nostalgia and '80s hits. We're not sure why you'd pay upwards of $150 to see what you can probably see on any weekend night in Old City, but hey, MILFs might be your thing.
