Cover Story
Slaves to the machines
Big Data can quantify your life, but may not necessarily improve the quality
JCC threat fits into campaign of terror
It wasn’t a matter of whether the Jewish Community Center of Greater Rochester would receive a threat, but when. It had been spared during previous rounds of bomb threats to Jewish community centers across the country, none of which have involved actual bombs, thankfully. That changed just after 6 a.m. Tuesday, when the center on…
JCC reopens after bomb threat
The Jewish Community Center of Greater Rochester was evacuated this morning after it received a bomb threat.
Film review: ‘Logan’
With “Logan,” Hugh Jackman makes his (supposedly) final appearance as Logan, a k a Wolverine, a character he’s played to perfection for 17 years and across nine “X-Men” films. The third solo outing for Wolverine, this sad, stirring film focuses on the humanity and emotion of its story, making “Logan” a gory and surprisingly affecting…
Theater review: ‘Sister Act’ at RAPA
By now, “Sister Act” is a story firmly etched into the cultural consciousness. A lounge singer aspiring to stardom finds herself in mortal danger when she accidentally witnesses her shady boyfriend murder someone; suddenly part of a witness protection program, she takes cover in a local convent, and light-hearted, slightly sacrilegious fun ensues. It is…
Rochester Fringe submissions open April 1
The KeyBank Rochester Fringe Festival will begin accepting submissions to its 2017 edition on Saturday, April 1. The submission period opens at 9 a.m. and runs through 11:59 p.m. on April 30, and will only be accepted online at backstage.rochesterfringe.com. The multi-arts Fringe — this year’s dates are September 14 through September 23 — is…
Warren will seek a second term
[UPDATE] In a long-anticipated move, Mayor Lovely Warren has announced that she’ll seek a second term. Given the Democratic Party’s voter-registration domination in Rochester, a Democrat is almost certain to win the November general election. But Warren will first have to face at least three other candidates in a September 12 Democratic primary: former Rochester…
Bello consolidates city DMV services
County Clerk Adam Bello is eliminating Department of Motor Services at the county parks offices in Highland Park starting March 15. Instead, his office is making DMV services available daily at City Place, 50 West Main Street. Bello, a Democrat, tried to advance a plan for a full-time DMV office at City Place in the 2017…
Theater review: ‘The Flick’ at JCC CenterStage
“The Flick” is a show for anyone who’s worked a job where their world has grown (perhaps too) small; for anyone who’s been radically underpaid or thrown together with a motley crew of coworkers
Reports focus on RPD’s structure and relations with the public
The five-section patrol structure of the Rochester Police Department is working well, but the relations and trust between police officers and the community need major improvements. Those are the findings of two new reports released this morning by Mayor Lovely Warren and Rochester Police Chief Michael Ciminelli. Together, they address issues that have raised major…
Film review: ‘The Red Turtle’
Directed by Dutch animator Michaël Dudok De Wit, “The Red Turtle” is at first fairly straightforward Robinson Crusoe-like fable about a sailor shipwrecked on a deserted tropical island. But what begins as a simple survival tale slowly grows into something much deeper and more enigmatic as it progresses. After washing ashore, the unnamed man explores…
Film review: ‘My Life as a Zucchini’
Dark emotional terrain is contrasted against adorably whimsical style in “My Life as a Zucchini,” the lovely stop motion animated film that was one of the five stellar Best Animated Feature nominees at this year’s Oscars. After the death of his alcoholic mother, a shy, young boy named Icare (he prefers to go by “Zucchini,”…
THEATER | “Magic and Madness”
For 10 years, Method Machine has had a method in its madness, or madness in its method — or probably both, since it’s one of Rochester’s most enterprising performance companies. Method Machine, led by artistic director David Henderson, over the last decade has presented a wide variety of plays by writers from Brecht to Tony…
Album Review: ‘Not Convinced Yet’
Aretheyyestheyare “Not Convinced Yet” Self-released aretheyyestheyare.bandcamp.com Televisionaries’ homeboys Aretheyyestheyare take surf a few clicks weirder than what we’re used to hearing in our hang-ten-friendly landlocked metropolis. “Not Convinced Yet” is a four-song, quasi-primitive, guitar-fueled EP done with old school, perfunctory recording techniques. It’s cool, but the techniques threaten to drown the tune out a bit.…
ART | “Politits: Nevertheless”
Politits: Art Coalition is a small band of women who make provocative performative and visual art and show their work as a group in different spaces around town. This Friday, March 3, PAC takes over Gallery Q (Gay Alliance of the Genesee Valley, 100 College Avenue) with its newest exhibit, “Nevertheless.” The show includes work…
Surgery that’s almost real
Doctors Ahmed Ghazi and Jonathan Stone have the kind of personal synergy that lets them finish each other’s sentences. Their enthusiasm about their research, which could change the way surgeons are trained, is impossible to ignore. For the last three years, Ghazi, assistant professor in the University of Rochester’s Department of Urology, and Stone, a…
ART | “Deaf Way, Her Way”
Internationally known artist Ann Silver is a founding member of the historic Deaf Art Movement of the 1960’s and 1970’s, which preceded the De’VIA that today represents deaf artists and their perspectives. Silver was born deaf and has served as an advocate for the recognition and inclusion of deaf art in the art world and…
Blue Toad makes cider for all seasons
Ciders, while delicious, are not necessarily known for a balance in their flavors. Mass-produced cider can be sickeningly sweet for some palates. On the opposite end, artisanal ciders can be off-puttingly dry to those expecting more traditional apple notes. The “farm license” trend in New York State has grown stronger in the last few years. Notable,…
Urban Action 3/1
This week’s calls to action include the following events and activities. (All are free and open to the public, unless otherwise noted.) Benefit event honors activists The Rochester Committee on Latin America will hold its annual Rice and Beans Gala Dinner and White Dove Awards on Friday, March 10. This year’s ceremony will recognize Pueblo…
White to enter mayoral race
The Green Party’s Alex White will make his third run for Rochester mayor. White, who owns Boldo’s Armory on Monroe Avenue, will announce his candidacy at 10 a.m. today at the Liberty Pole, according to his press release. His campaign will center on progressive ideas, the same as his past two bids for the office,…
Feedback 3/1
We welcome your comments. Send them to themail@rochester-citynews.com, or post them on our website, rochestercitynewspaper.com, our Facebook page, or our Twitter feed, @roccitynews. Comments of fewer than 350 words have a greater chance of being published, and we do edit selections for publication in print. We don’t publish comments sent to other media. Fooled once……
Developer eyes gap on Pittsford waterfront
Wilmorite wants to build office and retail space, as well as an 80-room boutique hotel with a spa and restaurant, on Schoen Place.
Rochester acts to protect immigrants
Rochester officials and area activists are responding with concern to the Trump administration’s immigration plan. The deportations are likely to have a serious impact in Upstate New York, not only in rural areas, where immigrants are working on farms and vineyards, but also in cities, whose residents include refugees from countries the administration is targeting.…
To reach city’s potential, rethink what is possible
Guest commentary by Rochester mayoral candidate Rachel Barnhart
METAL | Goatwhore
“Who needs a God when you’ve got Satan?” If you’ve been to a metal show in the past decade, the chances that you’ve seen that theologically confusing phrase printed on the back of a T-shirt are pretty high. It’s the de-facto mission statement of New Orleans black metal giants Goatwhore, who unlike its bayou peers…
CLASSICAL | Franz Liszt symposium
Nineteenth century pianist Franz Liszt was arguably the first pop star. A rare composer who lived to see his widespread fame, Liszt inspired unparalleled fervor among his fans. The notoriety hasn’t abated, and now the Romantic era legend is the subject of a three-day conference, “Liszt and Virtuosity — An International Symposium.” Located at the…
CLASSICAL | Women in Music concerts
In honor of a century of women’s voting rights in New York State, the Eastman School of Music will present “Women’s Voices,” a concert that reveres the past while looking to the future. A full lineup of performers includes pianists Sylvie Beaudette and Tony Caramia, vocalists Kathryn Cowdrick and Teresa Ringholz, violinist Rebecca Boyd, and…
HARDCORE | F*** You Pay Me
There’s something about Cleveland hardcore, it sounds just like what you’d expect from a Rust Belt city that once set a river on fire. It’s abrasive, dark, confrontational, gruff, and oozing with frustration. That pretty much describes F*** You Pay Me, the Clevo band fronted by scene legend Tony Erba, formerly of Face Value, 9…
INDIE ROCK | Communist Daughter
Some bands grow on you. Others, you like right away. Communist Daughter — the name’s taken from a Neutral Milk Hotel song — is a little bit of both. Hailing from St. Paul, Minnesota, the band is a mid-tempo groove beneath lyrics of self-reflection and little guilt; gone is the apologetic stance other indie bands…
POP | Maroon 5
The first time I interviewed Maroon 5, it was at Mark’s Texas Hots, about 2:30 in the morning, over patty melts and questionable coffee. Since then they’ve gone on to mucho success writing and playing pure hook-laden pop. Their mantle’s running out of room: Maroon 5 has been awarded three Grammys, three American Music Awards,…
Space Grazer shouts at the universe
When you’re in a hard rock band and the holy trinity of sex, drugs, and rock ‘n’ roll has lost its glitter and appeal, what do you do? What do you sing about? The name of this heavy outfit is Space Grazer, and the band has solved that problem by writing songs about space and…
FILM | “Girl Rising”
Educating young girls is a global effort. On Saturday, the M.K. Gandhi Institute for Nonviolence will screen “Girl Rising,” a popular film with a mission to start and direct a conversation about education for young women and the barriers children around the world face between them and learning. The film follows nine stories of girls…
Album review: ‘Talking Under Water’
Talking Under Water “Talking Under Water” Self-released talkingunderwater.bandcamp.com I don’t normally complain about the artwork, but on Talking Under Water’s new, self-titled CD, the info is printed over a complicated background, rendering it virtually illegible. Still, I simply have to tell you about this tremendous album. I’m flying on instruments here, so please bear with…
Trump’s fact-free nation and democracy’s future
To some Americans, facts don’t matter. And the president is turning the public’s distrust of the media into a personal weapon.
WALLTHERAPY brings crochet artist Olek to Rochester
WALL\THERAPY didn’t host its annual summer street art festival in 2016 for various reasons. Founder Dr. Ian Wilson has been busy launching his own private practice, Rochester Endovascular, and in April the team sent five Rochester artists to work with Urban Nation in Berlin. But organizers say the festival will be back this summer, taking…
Film review: ‘A United Kingdom’
A touching historical romance, “A United Kingdom” is inspired by the true story of Seretse Khama, the crown prince of the Bechuanaland Protectorate (later known as Botswana) who unexpectedly fell in love with a white Englishwoman, Ruth Williams
Film review: ‘Table 19’
It’s a relatively clever concept for a comedy: a group of strangers meet when they’re assigned to the “randoms” table at an acquaintance’s wedding (reserved for courtesy invites no one actually expected to attend). As the day wears on, the band of misfit guests forge an unlikely bond, enlisting one another’s help as they each…
Theater review: Geva’s ‘Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner’
When “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner” debuted 50 years ago, it was the height of the Civil Rights Movement. Interracial marriage was still illegal in 16 states, and the subject made a lot of people uncomfortable. Like a true artist, filmmaker Stanley Kramer saw a chance to begin a conversation, so he assembled an all-star…
