Laurel Hill Cemetery Tour

Philadelphia Weekly

July 9, 2008

A-List

Laurel Hill Cemetery Tour, Chikara Pro, Uhuru Solidarity Flea Market at Clark Park and Inventos: Hip Hop Cubano.

»picnic tour

The Cemetery and the River: A Tour and BYOF Picnic Overlooking the Schuylkill

Sun., July 13, noon. $20. Laurel Hill Cemetery: The Underground Museum, 3822 Ridge Ave. 215.228.8200. www.theundergroundmuseum.org

Defying countless booms, crashes and “adjustments,” one real estate industry truth has remained self-evident throughout history: Location is everything. When Laurel Hill Cemetery’s founders were vetting potential plots for the grandiose graveyard, proximity to the Schuylkill River was considered an absolute necessity. Incredibly, this determination wasn’t borne of a great notion to streamline deliveries by floating corpses from Fairmount to the Falls like so much Oregon timber steered by the Schuylkill’s mighty yet predictable currents. Rather the riverside stipulation stemmed from decidedly more prosaic plans, namely providing picturesque scenery to mollify mourners and attract tourists. Additionally, easy access from shore to sepulcher offered the bereaved the option to roll straight gangsta, riding to interments on steamboats pimped out with 20-foot paddlewheels. The planners’ insistence on putting their politicians and patriots to rest in such idyllic environs proves that even before the Industrial Revolution gained a full head of steam, people were already just dying for primo waterfront digs. Sunday’s tombstone tour traces the (presumably) more historically accurate origins of the nationally recognized historic landmark and concludes with a BYOF picnic on its hallowed grounds. Bring your own … Fulton? Fife? Financier? (Joshua Valocchi)

Club d'Elf

Philadelphia Weekly

July 2, 2008

A-List

Club d’Elf, Orpheus, Fourth of July Dance Party, Pardon My Freedom and the Cat’s Meow: 40th Annual CFA Cat Show

»Musical Guests

Club d’Elf

Sat., July 5, 7:30pm. $11-$16. With Paradigm. World Cafe Live, 3025 Walnut St. 215.222.1400. www.worldcafelive.com

In stark contrast to their fellow Massholes, Club d’Elf tend to keep to themselves. Despite hailing from the same area code as the majority of the insufferable Red Sox Nation and the resurrected Celtic Brigade, d’Elf regulars rarely go on the road looking to make noise in other cities. Purveyors of a unique meld of world jazz and tribal hip-hop, Club d’Elf have inundated downtown Beantown with their musical mastery for years while shunning the rest of us in a fashion that borders on self-sabotage. Stemming from a side project helmed by late Morphine frontman Mark Sandman, d’Elf originated as a revolving cast of musicians proudly including the likes of John Medeski, DJ Logic and Joe Manieri. Now a consistently evolving ensemble, Club d’Elf mesmerize Bostonians with a seemingly eternal bimonthly residency at the legendary Lizard Lounge, infusing elements of post-funk and smart turntablism into loose jazzy foundations. Bassist and bandleader Mike Rivard plays conductor and conjuror, leading his sonic soldiery through seamless transitions that leave genre boundaries faded and decapitated. Joining Rivard’s assault squad, G. Calvin Weston’s bombastic beats and Mat Manieri’s bowstrung feats duel before the backdrop of this all-too- exclusive engagement. (Joshua Valocchi)