What to do in Philly this week (Feb. 21-27): Post Malone, eat out in East Passyunk, Life mag photo fest, Mardi Gras with Mummers, and more
Plus a drink-and-draw at the Wagner, Sydnee Washington at Good Good Comedy, and more...
Whether you’re planning on weathering out the rest of February by defiantly going out or stubbornly staying in, here’s how to keep busy this week:
Stay in: If your podcast playlist is getting a little tired, or lacks some local love, Grace Dickinson listened to hours of Philly-made podcasts and found some great locally-produced options on everything from food to sex to sports.
Go out: There’s lots on, including a restaurant week on Philly’s foodie-friendly diagonal drag, East Passyunk. Here’s what the chefs would pick off those prix-fixe menus. If you want something a little more laid back, we sent food critic Craig LaBan to try the dine-in movie experience at the Fashion District AMC. Which is more entertaining, Bad Boys for Life, or LaBan’s assessment of “7,310 calories worth of lukewarm movie food indulgence”? You can judge that for yourself.
FOOD
East Passyunk Avenue Restaurant Week
Dig into tapas at Barcelona Wine Bar, dumplings and dan dan noodles at Bing Bing Dim Sum, or hand-pulled pasta and chocolate tiramisu at Le Virtu during East Passyunk’s annual restaurant week. All along the neighborhood’s diagonal main drag, find restaurants serving up prix fixe menus at multiple price points ($15, $25, and $35). Reservations are highly encouraged. — Grace Dickinson
Feb. 24-March 6, select locations along East Passyunk Ave., $15-$35, eastpassyunkrestaurantweek.com
PHOTOGRAPHY
Life Magazine and the Power of Photography
Organized with Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts, this show highlights the greatest of the mid-20th-century picture magazines. Based on the magazine’s photo and paper archives, with materials from the archives of the distinguished photographers who contributed, the exhibition includes caption files, contact sheets, and shooting scripts that document the collaborative process behind many now-iconic images and photo-essays. — Thomas Hine
Feb. 22-June 21, Princeton University Art Museum, Elm Dr., Princeton, N.J., free, 609-258-3788, artmuseum.princeton.edu
MARDI GRAS
Mummers Mardi Gras
All 16 Philadelphia Mummers string bands will strut into Xfinity Live! for this all-ages, Philly-style Mardi Gras party. Tickets get you access to nine hours of live music and revelry, photo-ops with glitzy costumes and props, and build-your-own Mummers umbrella sessions. Also look forward to a polka contest hosted by the Polish American String Band, a Mummers bull riding contest, and plenty of food and drink vendors. — G.D.
11 a.m. and 8 p.m. Sunday, XFINITY Live!, 1100 Pattison Ave., $20, mummersmardigras.com
DRAW
Sip and Sketch with artist Marguerita Hagan
Ceramic artist Hagan will lead an evening of guided drawing among the Wagner Free Institute’s coral, sea stars, and sea sponges, and share her science-inspired artistic process. The Wagner itself is a hidden gem — a Victorian natural history museum in its original 1855 state, situated near the Liacouras Center. — Stephan Salisbury
5:30 p.m. Thursday, Wagner Free Institute of Science, 1700 West Montgomery Ave., $25, 215-763-6529, wagnerfreeinstitute.org
COMEDY
Sydnee Washington
The time to see Washington at a smaller venue so you can tell people about it one day is … now. She’s appeared on Broad City, and hosts a stand-up showcase at Brooklyn’s Knitting Factory, launchpad for comedians like Hannibal Buress. Bonus: She and Marie Faustin will record their podcast Unofficial Expert live before the show. — Jesse Bernstein
10 p.m. Saturday, Good Good Comedy, 215 N. 11th St., $16, 215-339-1279, goodgoodcomedy.com
JAZZ
Jazz in the Planetarium at the Franklin Institute
Enjoy a cocktail under the stars while listening to the energetic tunes of the Arpeggio Jazz Ensemble inside the Franklin Institute’s planetarium. Before the jam session, chief astronomer Derrick Pitts will talk about the cosmos as guests gaze toward the sky. — G.D.
6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday, The Franklin Institute, 222 N 20th St., $20, 215-448-1200, fi.edu
DRINK
Rick and Morty Bar Crawl
Love Rick and Morty? Love beer? Join dozens of others navigating the Multiverse during this bar crawl through Old City. Participants will face off in a three-round Rick and Morty trivia match (smartphones required) while enjoying beer specials throughout the night. Costumes are encouraged; the best dressed wins a prize. The night concludes with a DJ-spun dance party. — G.D.
4 p.m. to 10 p.m. Friday, starts at Brasil’s, 112 Chestnut St., $20, welovepubcrawls.com
MUSIC
Post Malone
Spacey pop hip-hop’s most face-tattooed friend (and Ozzy Osbourne collaborator) Post Malone is coming to the Wells Fargo. The chart-topper sounds more relaxed now than he did when we first heard him on his 2015 debut single "White Iverson,” (where he compares himself to the former 76er). Now, Malone’s sandy voice is less aggressive and more sing-song-y that the Post of yore, but fans can expect his usual blend of country, rock, hip-hop, and modern soft soul, executed in the same drowsy drawl that he brought to 2016’s Stoney, 2018’s Beerbongs & Bentleys, and his most recent album, Hollywood’s Bleeding. — A.D. Amorosi
8 p.m. Friday, Wells Fargo Center, 3601 S. Broad St., $133.50-$523.50, 215-336-3600, wellsfargocenterphilly.com
Sloan
The beloved Canadian power-pop band Sloan is a model of longevity and democracy: The quartet of equal songwriters has been intact since they debuted in 1991. The excellent 12, their most recent album, arrived in 2018. At Boot & Saddle on Friday, they will celebrate one of their best: 1998’s Navy Blues, with its perky pop gems such as “C’mon, C’mon (We’re Gonna Get It Started)” and rave-up glam rock like “Money City Maniacs.” — Steve Klinge
8:30 p.m. Friday, Boot & Saddle, 1131 S. Broad St., sold out, 267-639-4528, bootandsaddlephilly.com
Celine Dion
Dion has spent the past decade holding down a residency in Las Vegas, but the titanic-voiced Canadian belter hasn’t performed in the Philadelphia area since her last U.S. tour in 2008. Now she’s back on the road behind her 2019 album Courage, which includes contemporary hitmakers like Sia and Greg Kurstin. In addition to her own hits, her show, which plays Atlantic City on Saturday and South Philly on Wednesday, includes covers of songs by John Lennon, Eric Carmen, and Patti LaBelle. — Dan DeLuca
7:30 p.m. Saturday, Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall, 2301 Boardwalk, Atlantic City, $95-$246, 609-348-7000, boardwalkhall.com. And 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Wells Fargo Center, 3601 S. Broad St., $55.50-$245.50. 215-336-3600, wellsfargocenterphilly.com
Digable Planets
In the early 1990s, Digable Planets excelled at the intersection between hip-hop and jazz. The trio of Ishmael “Butterfly” Butler, Mariana “Ladybug” Vieira, and Craig “Doodlebug” Irving (a Philadelphian) were leading lights along with Natives Tongues acts like A Tribe Called Quest and De La Soul in expanding the parameters of rap. The band won a Grammy for Reachin’ (A New Refutation of Time and Space), and Butler went on to form acclaimed duo Shabazz Palaces in 2009. Johnny Popcorn opens, Lady B is the host. — D.D.
7:30 p.m. Sunday, Ardmore Music Hall, 23 E. Lancaster Ave., Ardmore, $39-$59, 610-649-8389, ardmoremusic.com
Elvin Bishop/Charlie Musselwhite
Elvin Bishop looks a bit like Harpo Marx, so it’s fitting that the blues are rarely as fun as they are in his hands. His current group is even named Elvin Bishop’s Big Fun Trio. But the musicianship is serious — the 77-year-old is in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a guitarist for the Paul Butterfield Blues Band. And for this show he will be teaming up in a duo format with another blues eminence, the harmonica master Charlie Musselwhite. — Nick Cristiano
8 p.m. Friday, Keswick Theatre, 291 N. Keswick Ave., Glenside, $35-$70, 215-572-7650, keswicktheatre.com