Lil Jon plays Hair O' the Dog and 11 other things you can do this weekend

2017 is shaping up to be a pretty great year for Philadelphia. Start off your weekend reading by learning about 9 reasons to be excited about the coming year.

Philly is getting a little glam this week, as David Bowie diehards honor their dearly-departed idol on the one-year anniversary of his death. Philly Loves Bowie week features concerts, movies, and karoake, all in the name of the Thin White Duke.

If that's not enough, here are 12 more reasons to get out of the house this weekend.

» READ MORE: Hair O' the Dog

It's not every day that rapper Lil' John headlines a charity gala, but then again, Hair O' the Dog isn't one of the stuffy black-tie events you normally see in the society pages. Lil' John is joined by Dillon Francis on the decks, while Bex and Mike Adam from 96.5 Amp Radio will serve as hosts. While some might be showing up just to party, this is a charity event, after all, and a portion of the proceeds go to Bianca's Kids, a South Jersey nonprofit that grants wishes to kids in the foster system, as well as other children in need. - Molly Eichel

8 p.m. Friday, Fillmore Philadelphia, 29 E. Allen St., $105-$265, 215-600-0009, hairothedog.com.

» READ MORE: "Paint the Revolution: Mexican Modernism, 1910-1950"

This show, organized by the Philadelphia Art Museum and the Museo del Palacio de Bellas Artes in Mexico City, its only other venue, is billed as the most comprehensive show of Mexican modernism to be seen in the U.S. in more than seven decades. It includes murals that are the most famous works to emerge from Mexico at that time, along with paintings, prints, photographs, and books. Key works of the three most celebrated artists of the period - Diego Rivera, Orozco, and David Alfaro Siqueiros - are on display, along with those of other artists, including Frida Kahlo and Rufino Tamayo. It closes this week, so get there this weekend. - Thomas Hine

Through Sunday, Philadelphia Museum of Art, 2600 Benjamin Franklin Parkway. $14-$20, 215-763-8100.

» READ MORE: Philadelphia Orchestra

Acclaimed British conductor and Mozart specialist Jane Glover leads the Philadelphians in an all-Wolfgang Amadeus program, covering the great one from early (Symphony No. 1, composed when he was 8) to late (Symphony No. 41 "Jupiter," his last) and including the Bassoon Concerto, featuring principal Daniel Matsukawa as soloist. - Michael Harrington

2 p.m. Friday and 8 p.m. Saturday, Kimmel Center's Verizon Hall, Broad and Spruce Streets. $35-$125, 215-893-1999.

» READ MORE: Music of Robert Capanna

The Philadelphia Chamber Music Society presents a recital of works by the esteemed Philadelphia composer Robert Capanna featuring top local performers. On the program: the string quintet Too light, too light, like a sudden waking . . . with the Network for New Music; Piccolo Concertante for saxophone quartet and string quintet with the Prism Saxophone Quartet; What I Know, six songs with text by the composer with soprano Sharon Harms; and Piano Sonata No. 2 performed by Charles Abramovic. - M.H.

7:30 p.m. Friday, Settlement Music School's Curtis Branch, 416 Queen St. $25, 215-569-8080.

» READ MORE: "Goodnight Brooklyn: The Story of Death by Audio"

It's a cautionary tale, told over and over from Haight-Ashbury to South Street: Artists and visionaries move into a rundown area attracted by low (or no) rent, establish a scene that gains renown, developers follow, rents go up, and the original scenesters are pushed out. The rise and fall of the Williamsburg music and arts center Death by Audio is told by cofounder Matthew Conboy in his 2016 documentary. Started in 2002 on the first floor of an old Domino Sugar factory building on a waterfront site described as "just wild dogs and . . . a good place to break the law," it became the center of a DIY arts community. Unfortunately, it was the victim of its own success, pushed out of its building in 2014 when the site was converted to office space for a digital-media company. (Watch out, Fishtown.) Oh well, we still have the movie, which features performances by now-famed stalwarts including Future Island, Deerhoof, Les Savy Fav, Ty Segall, and Three Oh Sees. - M.H.

7 p.m. Saturday, International House, 3701 Chestnut St. $9, 215-387-5125.

» READ MORE: Gustafer Yellowgold

Morgan Taylor's creation is a friendly (and bright) denizen of the Sun who lives in a trippy version of the Minnesota woods while visiting Earth, and stars in a series of videos for songs such as "Cakenstein" (about a robot made from cake). His live show mixes live music, animated illustrations, and storytelling. - M.H.

11 a.m. Saturday, World Cafe Live, 3025 Walnut St. $10.05, 215-222-1400. 

» READ MORE: Olate Dogs

The winners of America's Got Talent in 2012, the adopted stray pooches perform amazing feats such as jumping rope, doing backflips, and dancing in a canine conga line. - M.H.

10 a.m. and 1 p.m. Saturday, Sellersville Theatre, 24 W. Temple Ave., Sellersville. $25, 215-257-5808.

» READ MORE: Rich Vos

The self-deprecating comedian may be best-known for his stint on NBC's Last Comic Standing, but we're pretty sure he didn't get a trophy for being the third-season finalist. Still, you have to root for a guy whose podcast, cohosted by his wife, Bonnie McFarlane, is called My Wife Hates Me. - M.H.

7:30 and 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Helium Comedy Club, 2031 Sansom St. $22-$34, 215-496-9001.

» READ MORE: Orchestra Afrisa International with M'bilia Bel

Congolese musical giant Tabu Ley Rochereau - "the African Elvis" - died in 2013, but his spectacular soukous and rumba band and his vocal partner and wife, M'bilia Bel, live on. With Orchestra Afrisa International, Tabu Ley spent decades making polyrhythmic dance music of irresistible effervescence - for proof, check out the 2007 compilation The Voice of Lightness. Now, his legendary outfit are reunited with Bel, and on their way Sunday to New York for a date at the globalFEST, they will play their first U.S. show in this configuration at Johnny Brenda's. - Dan DeLuca

8 p.m. Friday, Johnny Brenda's, 1201 N. Frankford St. $20-$25. 215-739-9684.

» READ MORE: Light of Day Philadelphia

The Light of Day benefit concerts to combat Parkinson's disease were born in 2000 in Asbury Park and have now expanded to a weeklong LOD Winterfest that has moved south to include an annual Philadelphia show. Out-of-towners bolstering a strong local bill include veteran rocker Willie Nile and California rocker Chuck Prophet, whose single "Bad Year For Rock and Roll," from the coming Bobby Fuller Died For Our Sins, captured the spirit of 2016. Ben Arnold, Jeffrey Gaines, the Hooters' Eric Bazilian, and Soraia will also hold forth. More info at www.lightofday.org. - D.D.

8 p.m. Saturday, World Cafe Live Upstairs, 3025 Walnut St. $20-$25. 215-222-1400.

» READ MORE: Frog Holler

In what is becoming a January tradition, Frog Holler return to Johnny Brenda's, this time to commemorate the Berks County band's 20th anniversary and the release of Souvenirs, their seventh album and first since 2009's Believe It or Not. Fronted by Darren Schlappich, the band specializes in contemplative but often-rousing roots rock with healthy doses of crunchy electric guitars and casual harmonies, plus the occasional pluck of a banjo. They top a strong bill with Chester County's chipper Tin Bird Machine and thoughtful local singer-songwriter Jonny Drucker. - Steve Klinge

9 p.m. Saturday at Johnny Brenda's, 1201 N. Frankford Ave. $10-$12, 215-739-9684.

» READ MORE: Alejandro Escovedo

"Lately, I can't stand the sound of my own voice," Alejandro Escovedo sings on "I Don't Want to Play Guitar Anymore" on Burn Something Beautiful, his 14th solo album. While the Texas rocker's superb new songs - written with Scott McCaughey of the Minus 5 and Peter Buck of R.E.M. - are suffused with world weariness, they also kick hard against the dying of the light. At the World Cafe Live, his bang-up band will include not only McCaughey and Buck, but also guitarist Kurt Bloch and the great Linda Pitmon on drums. - D.D.

With the Minus 5, 8 p.m. Sunday, World Cafe Live, 3025 Walnut St. $24-$28, 215-222-1400.