Philadelphia Weekly

Calendar: Sept. 7-13

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Wednesday, Sept. 7

The National, Yo La Tengo + Wye Oak
This powerhouse triple-bill should satiate any live music jones. Headliners the National fashion elegant, keenly crafted music that balances moody mannered orchestration and propulsive indie rock. Whatever they sometimes lack in hooky immediacy is ably compensated by vibrant dramatic arrangements and Matt Berninger’s alluring smoky baritone croon. Yo La Tengo’s catalog overshadows the National, spanning a quarter-century and a stylistic range running though bracing punk rumble, indie rock spunk, noisy experimentation and dreamy, quiet downtempo pop. Up-and-coming opening duo Wye Oak are even more impressive live. Drummer Andy Stack also plays keyboards with his left hand, and Jenn Wasner’s seductive alto slinks alongside the spidery sometimes spiky, folk-inflected guitar melancholia. -Chris Parker

7pm. $39.50. Also on Thurs., Sept. 8. Kimmel Center, Broad and Spruce sts. kimmelcenter.org

Zon-Mai
Zon-Mai is an idiom meaning “at home, elsewhere,” and this live multimedia installation aims to present exactly that—dancers performing in their most personal and intimate interior spaces, outside for public viewing on what appears to be inside-out houses with no windows or doors. Choreographer Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui and filmmaker Gilles Delmas traveled across the globe to the homes of 21 dancers who have experienced migration and displacement. They filmed them performing choreographed dances inside their houses and apartments—inside their kitchens, bathrooms and even below and above their furniture. The footage will be projected on massive 20-foot screen houses inside an old pumping station, across from the new (and very pretty) Race Street Pier. -Nicole Finkbiner

5-8pm. Free. Through Sept. 17. Race Street Pier, 140 N. Columbus Blvd. livearts-fringe.org

Uncaged
Let’s face it, if there’s two things we all love, it’s puppies and watching burley dudes beat the shit out of each other. Normally, the combination of the two would be cause for concern, but this event is 100 percent animal-friendly. For one night, local boxers and mixed martial arts fighters will battle it out in the Old City studio’s boxing ring and MMA cage not only for the sadistic enjoyment of others, but to help raise money for PAWS, the largest animal rescue organization and only no-kill shelter in the city. In addition to raffles and prizes and a fine art show from Silent K Studios, guests will be treated to hors d’eouvres courtesy of Cuba Libre and drinks compliments of Finlandia vodka. Best of all, PAWS will be bringing along some adorable pets that are in need of a new home. -N.F.

7pm. $45. Brazen Boxing & MMA, 45 N. Third St. 215.995.0215. brazenboxing.com

ICA Fall Opening
Artists—like magicians—craft meticulous, thought-provoking works, and yet we rarely get the chance to sneak a peak behind the velvet curtain. The ICA is lifting the proverbial veil with its take on a retrospective of the late Philadelphia minimalist Bill Walton. Walton was always interested in exploring the elemental properties of his materials—wood and metal—to the point that those explorations became equally important as the finished work. In this exhibition you can see the artist’s sculptures in his obsessively organized and well-curated space. In some cases, the studio is so organized and beautified it’s difficult to tell the finished work from the pile of tools used to create it. This show provides a rare opportunity to experience art in its original creative environment, expanding our traditional notion of how we display and look at art. -Darren White

6-8pm. Free. Institute of Contemporary Art, 118 S. 36th St. 215. 898.7108. icaphila.org

Thursday, Sept. 8

Resurrect Dead: The Mystery of the Toynbee Tiles
In the late ’80s, strange tiles began appearing at intersections around Philadelphia. Embedded in the asphalt, each generally bore just four lines of cryptic text: “Toynbee idea, In Kubrick’s 2001, Resurrect dead, On planet Jupiter.” Most pedestrians overlooked the message underfoot, but Justin Duerr was intrigued. When the lanky 17-year-old spotted his first tile in 1994, a search for the origin and meaning of the tiles began that lasted more than 15 years. The investigation is chronicled in th