Cover Story
With mixed emotions, Bill Edwards closes Lumiere
Health issues forced Lumiere Photo owner Bill Edwards to close up shop, but the business may yet have a future
Rochesterians tweet city support to reclaim #ROC
Early on Tuesday, a pro-Trump organization launched a Twitter campaign using #ROC, a well-known social media hashtag for the city of Rochester. It didn’t take long for a backlash to flare up from Rochesterians, and many have started tweeting pictures and examples of why they love the city in order to reclaim the tag. The…
Rochester MusicFest returns to Genesee Valley Park
Man alive, this town loves its festivals. And Mayor Lovely Warren, on Monday, announced the resurrection of the Rochester MusicFest in Genesee Valley Park — the festival was known as the SummerFest the last few years. The two-day festival will run Friday, July 14, and Saturday, July 15. The 2017 Rochester MusicFest kicks off on…
Group seeks more police accountability
The Rochester Coalition for Police Reform, a social justice group led by the Rev. Lewis Stewart, is calling for abolishing the current Civilian Review Board and replacing it with a new board with much stronger oversight powers. The current board doesn’t have the power to independently investigate complaints, or subpoena testimony or evidence, and has…
Film review: ‘Gifted’
After taking a spin through the realm of mega budget superhero films with “The Amazing Spider-Man” and its sequel, director Marc Webb now helms the charming family drama “Gifted,” returning to the type of small-scale filmmaking that first brought him success. It’s not too surprising to find that the “(500) Days of Summer” director seems…
POP/ROCK/ACTIVISM | Rise Up! Festival
The circus going on in America right now is calling you to action like never before. Now we’re not talking about setting yourself on fire or leaving a flaming bag of dog poo at the front door of the White House, but you can rock out with the Rise Up! Festival, an evening-long community music,…
How the city made its Parcel 5 choice
If multiple large companies were moving their headquarters to downtown Rochester, or the county’s population were exploding, there’d have been a high-stakes bidding war over developing Midtown’s Parcel 5. Instead, city officials and developers had to choose from a small handful of proposals, each of them based partlyHowconfidence that current demand will continue for years.…
CLASSICAL | Emanuel Ax
The illustrious pianist Emanuel Ax arrives in Rochester on Monday with an excellent program of intimate impromptus, both classic and new. Ax will present Franz Schubert’s alluring and enigmatic Four Impromptus alongside rising contemporary composer Samuel Adams’ “Impromptu 2 ‘After Schubert.'” The program also features music by arguably the most beloved composer for the piano,…
Activist wants changes in anti-abortion movement
As far as Hannah Murphy is concerned, Bernie Sanders is more “pro-life” than Donald Trump, even though Sanders supports abortion rights and Trump has started to attack abortion programs and funding, both domestic and global.
Feedback 4/12
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More than a spectacle, it’s a Dirty Bourbon River Show
New Orleans act Dirty Bourbon River Show is more than a band. It’s a show with extra biz. It’s a lunatic parade; a collaboration. It’s a concept. It’s a blast of New Orleans brass punctuated by the reedy lope of the accordion and the sub-strata honk of the sousaphone. It’s a boundless endeavor of funky…
RoCo’s exhibit approaches serious subjects with merry media
Rochester Contemporary Art Center’s newest show, “It’s Not Funny,” brings together local, national, and international creators who use toys and humor as raw materials for art that expresses serious subject matter. Bright colors and familiar playthings draw viewers and create a wry dissonance when the makers’ meanings sink in. The show brings together a variety…
Catching a nap on campus
Students at the Rochester Institute of Technology can now find the best sites on campus for taking a quick nap between classes, using the “Naps” link on the RIT website. They can click on the link, and a map with little Z’s scattered all over campus will show them where they can catch some. The…
FILM | Rochester International Children’s Film Festival
The Rochester International Children’s Film Festival returns for its 12th year, touring neighborhood libraries all around Greater Rochester with a free hour-long program of 10 award-winning, kid-friendly short films. In addition to films from Russia, England, Spain, and Australia, this year’s lineup also includes “Last Stop on Market Street,” which is based on the Newbery…
Album review: ‘Icebreaker’
Dreamland Faces “Icebreaker” Self-released dreamlandfaces.com Rochester expats Dreamland Faces break the ice on its new EP (and 10-inch vinyl), “Icebreaker,” with a slight case of discordant chaos that has the duo welcoming coronet, cello, and mysterious noises that grow on the listener like an itch. You see, Dreamland Faces is an accordion and saw duo.…
FILM | “13th”
On Monday, the Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School will host a screening of Ava DuVernay’s vital, eye-opening documentary “13th” as part of the organization’s “When I was in Prison…Restoring Dignity and Justice” lecture series. Nominated for Best Documentary Feature at last year’s Academy Awards, the film examines the 13th Amendment, drawing a direct line from…
For owner, Photo City is first step toward big plans
Daniel Nielsen has a plan to put on one of the biggest music festivals Rochester has ever seen. The first step of this plan is Photo City (543 Atlantic Avenue), the music and comedy venue that officially re-opened under his sole ownership on January 14. Nielsen wants to use Photo City as a platform to…
LITERATURE | R. Sikoryak’s “Terms and Conditions”
There are easy tricks to keep someone from reading a contract: make the legal language even harder to slosh through by printing or posting it in all caps with no paragraph breaks. We’ve all encountered this when agreeing to the terms of using different social media apps, and most of us, eyes glazed over, rush…
Album review: ‘Sleepless EP’
Fleeting Frame “Sleepless EP” Self-released fleetingframe.bandcamp.com Rochester duo Fleeting Frame follows up its “Sleepless” single, released last November, with the corresponding EP. This is a great record of guitar-on-guitar play and harmonious introspection. At first glance, it’s apparent all five songs found on the EP are simple and could survive being played simply — thankfully,…
COMEDY | “Xeno 911”
Demons, zombies, and beer pixies, oh my! Who you gonna call? Why, the Rochester branch of the Office of Extranormal Affairs, of course. “Xeno 911” is an original radio play-style production that is sort of a mash-up of the hit TV shows “Reno 911” and “The X-Files.” In addition to destructive cryptozoology, the story’s investigator…
THEATER | “Sex with Strangers”
The conclusion of Geva Theatre Center’s 2017 Fielding Studio Series brings “Sex with Strangers” to the stage. The Kitchen Theatre Company (based in Ithaca) production follows Olivia, an undervalued novelist, and Ethan, a successful blogger whose fame comes from his one-night stand tales, as the two get stranded in the same cabin during a snowstorm.…
LECTURE | “Locker Room Talk: Pussies, Guns, and Video Gaymers”
The University of Rochester’s 2017 Rainbow Lecture will feature Dartmouth College’s William Cheng tackling the online realm of gaming culture and the functions of gender, morality, and societal norms in the video game sphere. Cheng, a professor of music, media, and ethics, uses his expertise to analyze and criticize how users interact with their online…
INDIE ROCK | Japanese Breakfast
Japanese Breakfast, the new solo project from Philadelphia-via-Oregon indie wunderkind Michelle Zauner, captures a space that many other young bands have tried (and failed) to occupy. The project’s debut LP, 2016’s “Psychopomp,” is a bold and transformative experience from the opening plunks and ensuing rattle of “In Heaven” to the almost unbearably gorgeous “Triple 7.”…
CLASSICAL | “Fracture/Refractured”
The Easter season and contemporary classical music, this Maundy Thursday, will converge at Rochester Brainery when The International Artist Initiative presents “Fracture/Refractured,” a chamber music program featuring the works of important living composers. Estonian composer Arvo P#rt’s “Fratres” for string quartet brings lovely reverence to the fore, while the solo cello work “Sept Papillons” by…
HIP-HOP | PnB Rock
Philadelphia-based rapper PnB Rock is on the come up in 2017, pouring gasoline on a path that’s already on fire. He emerged on the scene in 2014 with a single that featured on MTV Jams, “My City Needs Something,” which is in response to the alarming rise of violent crime in Philadelphia. He’s only been…
JAZZ | Tanya Darby with the Eastman Jazz Lab Band
Few trumpeters have covered the expansive musical territory traveled by Tanya Darby. Over the last two decades, she has lent her talents to the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra, The Roy Hargrove Big Band, The DIVA Jazz Orchestra, The Count Basie Orchestra, The Duke Ellington Orchestra, and many more. She’s also a first-call musician, backing singers like…
BLUES | Carolyn Wonderland
All it took was for me to hear this flame-haired lady’s take on Rick Derringer’s “Still Alive and Well” and I was a goner. Wonderland is a double threat: on guitar as well as her vocal testimony. Comparisons to Janis Joplin get tossed about, and they make sense, but honestly she’s better than Joplin. There,…
We’re not making a dent in our high poverty rate
The Report Card’s bad news is very bad. And it’s the same very bad news found in previous reports.
Film preview: Rochester International Film Festival
The RIFF will screen 29 shorts by filmmakers from across the globe
Budget deal OK’s Uber, tuition aid, Raise the Age
New York State now has a 2017-18 budget, even if it’s a little late. The far-reaching plan goes beyond basics such as school aid and department funding. The budget includes provisions that: • Clear the way for ride hailing services such as Uber and Lyft outside of New York City. The transportation network companies, as…
Miller and The Other Sinners breaks the blues’ rules
David Miller’s blues is about letting go and being let go. He was always active in music, leading bands in high school and playing in church, but it was never his main focus. Then, four years back, he was fired. “In 2013,” Miller says, “when the company I worked for was bought out and my…
