Cover Story
Emerging artists 2014
It’s a daunting task to start a map-less career in this modern world, with its perpetual insanity. It’s easy to feel entirely adrift. Each year, City Newspaper highlights four Rochester artists who are beginning to come into their own, and are plotting their own course. The following four emerging artists — Brittany Williams, Kim “YEWS”…
Train station work under way
The new Rochester Amtrak station is officially under construction. Officials say that that the station should be completed in 2017. Most of the work happening through this year will be site preparation and design work. CSX, which owns the railway that carries Amtrak trains through Rochester, will remove unused signal poles by the end of…
Anti-casino group second in lobbying spending
In the first half of 2014, the No More Casinos Coalition was second only to New York State United Teachers in what it spent on lobbying. The coalition, which was formed by Western Regional Off-Track Betting and Finger Lakes Gaming and Racing, spent $24,000 on compensation for lobbyists and approximately $1.4 million on lobbying expenses,…
Theater Review: “Good People” at Geva Theatre Center
In David Lindsay-Abaire’s "Good People,” you’re always kept guessing about who the good people really are. As the play opens, Margie (Constance Macy) is being fired from her job at a dollar store in South Boston by the manager (Nick Abeel) for her excessive lateness. Margie is the single mother of a handicapped daughter, cared…
Film Review: “St. Vincent”
Despite the myriads of changes in taste and fashion, in audience demographics and box office appeal, the film industry still depends heavily on the ancient formulas of high concept and old hat. High concept refers to a simply understood movie idea that can be summed up in a neat phrase or sentence — “fish out…
Film Review: “It’s Better To Jump”
Screening as a part of the annual Witness Palestine film series, the documentary “It’s Better to Jump” focuses on the changing face of Akka, a picturesque Palestinian city on the coast of Northern Israel. Over the years, the city’s Arab residents have found themselves squeezed out by Israeli authorities, Jewish settlers, and developers keen to…
![[UPDATED] McFadden declines mayor’s request to resign RHA post](https://i0.wp.com/www.roccitymag.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/mcfaddenadam02_thumb.webp?fit=180%2C180&ssl=1)
[UPDATED] McFadden declines mayor’s request to resign RHA post
But he says that he won’t seek a permanent appointment.
RCSD and non-teaching staff fight over wages
More than 400 members of the Board of Education Non-Teaching Employees union and the Rochester Area Paraprofessionals union protested at last night’s city school board meeting over contract negotiations with the district. The unions, which represent a wide range of often lower-paid non-teaching employees – bus drivers, food servers, clerical support staff, custodians, security guards,…
Film Review: “Dear White People”
College is traditionally a time when we’re allowed to experiment, try on different personas, and generally attempt to figure out what type of person we ultimately want to become. It’s also the first time many of us are truly on our own and most of us take advantage of that in every way we can.…
Cuomo says fracking report due by year’s end
There was a moment in last’s night’s gubernatorial debate when Governor Andrew Cuomo broke some fracking news. In response to a question about fracking, Cuomo said that he expects a long-awaited report from the Department of Environmental Conservation and the Department of Health by the end of the year. Previously, he’d only said that the…
Question Bridge discussion: Mayor Lovely Warren and Judge Stephen Miller
This week’s discussion surrounding “Question Bridge: Black Males,” held on Wednesday, October 22, focused on Mayor Lovely Warren and Judge Stephen Miller as leaders in the city — specifically as leaders in the black community. The first question, submitted through Facebook, asked if the Warren and Miller were comfortable with the impact their actions had…
THEATER | Festival of New Theatre 2014
What’s new in local theater? Geva Theatre Center has several answers to that question in its annual Festival of New Theatre, or FONT, currently running at the Nextstage. The festival began Monday with a work-in-progress reading of Nora Cole’s “Katherine’s Colored Lieutenant,” which will be performed at Geva in February 2015. You’ll also have the…
Steve Greene
Beyond the notes, the tone, and the technique, and all the “gee whiz” from the proletariat, stands the man who is the master of all three. Rochester jazz guitarist Steve Greene is an utterly splendid and prolific artist. But a conversation with this stunning cat goes deeper to reveal aspects that pre-date the notes, tone,…
High Falls Film Festival 2014
The High Falls Film Festival returns Thursday, October 23, through Sunday, October 26, for its 12th year. Under the guidance of a new Executive Director, Mary Manard Reed, the festival has shifted to a new fall timeframe (previous editions occurred in early summer) but remains committed to its focus on spotlighting the achievements of female…
Concert reviews: The Empty Hearts and Heavy Trash
From my balcony perch at Sticky Lips Juke Joint during The Empty Hearts’ positively packed show last Tuesday night, it was as if I was staring into a boiling, balding caldron of Scorgie’s remnants and black-clad bon vivants. And this was a fantastic show; a memorable show; the band’s maiden voyage on stage anywhere. As…
The ballot proposals: Yes to 1 and 2
In addition to important elected positions, the November 4 ballot contains three proposals. One of them, Proposal 2 – on electronic transmission of legislation – is a mundane, housekeeping issue. The other two, however, have much broader implications. Proposal 1 deals with the way the state’s legislative and congressional districts are drawn. Proposal 3 would…
Pittsford cries fowl
The Village of Pittsford has won a few big fights in its time — usually conflicts stemming from its strict building codes. But it has been bested by the ducks and geese that hang out along Schoen Place. The waterfowl are a fixture of the popular Erie Canal business district, and the public flocks to…
Privacy, other questions surround body cameras
A Rochester police officer strikes a pregnant woman in the back of the head and throws her to the ground. Bystander video of the event — an August 2013 altercation between the officer and Rochester resident Brenda Hardaway — lands on social media, creating a stir. The police explanation went like this: If only you’d…
Feedback 10/22
Send comments to themail@rochester-citynews.com, or post them on our website, rochestercitynewspaper.com, our Facebook page, or our Twitter feed, @roccitynews. For our print edition, we select comments from all three sources, and we edit selections for publication in print. We don’t publish comments sent to other media. No to prop 1 You recently advocated voting yes…
Urban Action 10/22
This week’s calls to action include the following events and activities. (All are free and open to the public, unless otherwise noted.) Discussing black male incarceration Rochester Alumnae and MCC will hold “What’s My Fate?” a panel discussion focusing on the issues raised in Michelle Alexander’s book, “The New Jim Crow,” at 6 p.m. on…
CHOW HOUND: New face on an old place
Rochester residents have seen 170 East Avenue go through many incarnations. From Milestones to High Fidelity, and then Easy on East, the space has been a destination for East Avenue bar hoppers and music lovers for decades. Now the space sits as Flour City Station, and the venue’s current owners have added a menu created…
CLASSICAL | “Handel & Haydn in England”
George Frideric Handel was born in Germany, and Joseph Haydn was born in Austria-Hungary, but they were both idolized in London — Handel for his operas and choral works, Haydn for his great series of symphonies written for London audiences. The Rochester Oratorio Society, under director Eric Townell, presents two imposing works by these celebrated…
Halloween Guide 2014
There’s just nine days left until Halloween — but thankfully, October 31 falls on a Friday this year, so there’s also an extra weekend for spooky festivities. Below, you can find a list of area haunted houses, costume parties, horror-film screenings, masquerades, and trick-or-treating options. Did we miss something? Tell us about it by commenting…
JAZZ | Ravi Padmanabha’s “My Nada Brahma”
Ravi Padmanabha’s “My Nada Brahma” is not your grandfather’s Asian Indian ensemble. Okay, your grandfather may not have had an Asian Indian ensemble. But Ravi Padmanabha is a master tabla player and percussionist and when he’s joined by Ron LoCurto on guitar; Michael McNeill, harmonium; and David Adamcyzk, violin, they produce a unique brand of…
Tapping back in
It’s been 13 years since comedian Kevin James’ one-hour stand-up special, “Sweat the Small Stuff,” debuted on Comedy Central. In the years since, James has broken out as a major actor in comedy movies — he made his first film appearance with Will Smith in 2005’s “Hitch,” co-starred with Adam Sandler in “I Now Pronounce…
JAZZ | Charles Pillow
In his first concert as a member of the Eastman School of Music faculty, multi-reedist Charles Pillow will share the stage with a “Who’s Who” of Eastman jazz players. He’ll play duets with pianists Bill Dobbins, Harold Danko, and Dariusz Terefenko (on Hammond B3); he’ll perform a Brazilian Choro tune with guitarist Bob Sneider; and…
ART | “Golden Legacy”
This week, the Memorial Art Gallery (500 University Avenue) opened a seriously nostalgic exhibition which is sure to delight children and adults alike. “Golden Legacy” features the most extensive public showing of original illustration art from American publishing’s picture-book series, Little Golden Books. Launched in 1942, Little Golden Books made high-quality illustrated books available at…
BLUES | The Ori Naftaly Band
In a genre that embraces the slow burn, Memphis, by way of Israel, bluesers The Ori Naftaly Band plays low and slow like good barbeque. The band rocks it a little funkier than those steeped in the tradition but you can’t call it nothing but the blues. See what the international scuttlebutt is all about.…
THEATER | “I’m Not Rappaport”
For its first show of the season, Blackfriars Theatre made do with a single performer: Susan Hopkins in “Shirley Valentine.” The next Blackfriars production ups the ante to two outstanding actors in Herb Gardner’s “I’m Not Rappaport.” This Tony Award-winning play features Rochester theater stalwarts Fred Nuremberg as Nat Moyer, and Reuben Tapp as Midge…
FUNK | Lettuce
Brooklyn-based Lettuce is keeping Funk alive and kicking with its full, rich soundscape. There are rarely lyrics but they are not needed, as the band speaks fluently through its rhythmic, dance-inducing instrumentals. Hearing the instruments trade off the lead like they do is nice, but hearing the solos is the real treat. A great song…
ART | “Magical Southwest”
Rochester-based artist Kathy Clem has been working through the ABC’s with her “Alphabet of Memories” themed shows in her multi-media space, iGalleryKathyClem (Anderson Arts, 250 North Goodman Street, Suite 215). Her newest iteration, “Magical Southwest (P is for Places),” opens Friday, October 24. “Magical Southwest” is a multi-media installation which includes photographs from Antelope Canyon,…
HIP-HOP | Shwayze
If your moniker is a play off of actor Patrick Swayze’s name, you better be bringing some good music. Shwayze (Aaron Smith) has the catalogue that backs up the name. The rapper, along with Cisco Adler, had a few hits on their debut album in 2008 with “Buzzin” and the uber-catchy “Corona and Lime.” The…
SPECIAL EVENT | Edible Expo
On Sunday, October 26, WellVentions will host the Edible Expo at Artisan Direct Art Space at 565 Blossom Road, from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. The event is a fundraiser celebrating healthy eating and a growing local food economy. The Edible Expo will include the reveal of teen created specialty food products, live performances, a…
CLASSICAL | RPO performs Hovhaness, Mozart, and Prokofiev
For its upcoming concert, the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra visits two sweeping mid-20th century pieces: Sergei Prokofiev’s 1944 piece, Symphony No. 5, and Alan Hovhaness’ Symphony No. 2, “Mysterious Mountain,” written in 1955. Following the German invasion of Russia in 1941, prominent Soviet artists, including Prokofiev, were forced to flee Moscow. Following a turn in the…
MUSIC/FILM | Organ and Film Festival
This weekend, the Eastman Rochester Organ Initiative and Film/Music cluster of the University of Rochester will host the Organ and Film Festival. This four-day event is a celebration of the art of organ accompaniment to silent film, and will feature silent film presentations from the early 1900’s at a different Rochester location on each of…
POP | Bastille
To say Bastille’s single, “Pompeii,” really blew up is an understatement — it was everywhere: on the radio, commercials, and I think I heard a street busker play it on an accordion during the summer. It was a precursor for the British pop band’s debut album, “Bad Blood,” which debuted at number one on the…
