Cover Story
It’s Bronson, hands down
CITY endorses Harry Bronson for State Assembly over challenger Rachel Barnart.
Film review: “Miss Sharon Jones!”
In Barbara Kopple’s intimate documentary “Miss Sharon Jones!” we see an artist simultaneously at the top of her game and the lowest point of her life. Chronicling singer Sharon Jones’s experiences over the year following her 2013 diagnosis with stage 2 pancreatic cancer, the film is ultimately an uplifting testament to one woman’s resilience and…
Barnhart responds to CITY’s Assembly endorsement
CITY Newspaper has endorsed my opponent in a piece that strongly suggests the outcome was predetermined. It’s regrettable that CITY has not done a single story objectively covering this race. Instead, readers will only see an endorsement article. The article quotes an ardent supporter of Harry Bronson. No one supporting me was quoted, though the…
‘Grimms’ Mad Tales’ extends casting call
Method Machine has extended it’s call for participants to Wednesday, September 14
NOISE ROCK | The Branch Davidians
Don’t worry, The Branch Davidians aren’t part of any cult, so it won’t try to convert you. The noise pop band takes on an experimental vibe as chief songwriter Ben Stephanus (vocals and guitar), Chelsea Riegal (background and vocals), Greg Stella (bass and synthesizer), and Jon Stevens (drums) unpacks the tunes on its latest…
METAL | Mac Sabbath
Looking like a cross between H.R. Pufnstuf and Gwar emerges Mac Sabbath, a McDonalds-themed Black Sabbath cover band. I know, you’re saying, “Why didn’t I think of that?” Mac Sabbath isn’t your stock tribute band as it takes Sabbath tunes and retro fits them with lyrics that celebrate the perils of fast food. A song…
PUNK | 1916
It seems to me that a lot of bands that Irish up their music wind up crushing it in the blend. The more traditional instruments that are incorporated to give the band a rooted authenticity get mercilessly bulldozed. But not in the case of Rochester’s 1916; this band wails in a cross-genre kind of way,…
ALBUM REVIEW: “Working Stiffs Unite!”
Sisters of Murphy “Working Stiffs Unite!” Silverdish Records sistersofmurphyband.com This record is positively beau-ticious. “Working Stiffs Unite!” is a fresh, fast, and fun kiss on the mouth. Sisters of Murphy plays slick and fast but manages to keep the rubber side down. And when it comes to putting the hammer down and letting fly, the…
ELECTRONIC | The Dub War
We could all stand to be a bit more forgiving when it comes to dubstep. While the oft-maligned electronic sub-genre has garnered its fair share of valid criticism over the years, dubstep is so much more than what Americans know (brostep), neon-green tank tops, and party drugs. Rochester’s Very Important Productions is well aware of…
Feedback 8/31
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. Barnhart gets…
SOUL | Tribute to Motown
Summer in Rochester is a beautiful, fleeting thing. It’s something we all pine for while we’re scraping ice off our windshields for six months straight, but once it finally arrives it feels like it’s gone in an instant. One of Rochester’s annual outdoor concert series, the ROC the Park Urban Music Festival, is stretching out…
Urban Action 8/31
This week’s calls to action include the following events and activities. All are free and open to the public, unless otherwise noted. Discussing Guatemala’s future The Rochester Committee on Latin America will present “Is This a Revolution? Reflections on Guatemala’s 2015 – a Remarkable Year of Public Protests and Political Upheaval” at 7 p.m. on…
JAZZ | Eastman Jazz Faculty
Picture all of the following top-flight musicians on stage at the newly renovated Kilbourn Hall: pianist Harold Danko, trumpeter Clay Jenkins, B3 organist Dariusz Terefenko, saxophonist Charles Pillow, guitarist Bob Sneider, trombonist Mark Kellogg, bassist Jeff Campbell, and drummer Rich Thompson. What rich combos would you put together? That will be up to the jazz…
Cohousing group frustrated in search
The Flower City Cohousing Community is having a tough time finding the right site to build its planned multigenerational development. The group has been looking for three or four years, says coordinator Jane Ellen Bleeg. “This is dragging on a little longer than we had really hoped it would, but you have to have the…
CLASSICAL | “Passion, Past and Present”
There’s a stimulating contrast of themes and talents in one of the final Skaneateles Festival concerts of the summer. The two featured works certainly could not be more contrasted: J.S. Bach’s robust Cantata No. 40, which depicts a triumphant Jesus destroying the works of the devil; and David Lang’s fragile, haunting “Little Match Girl Passion,”…
Refugee screenings miss serious problems
Rochester takes in more than 700 refugees annually from countries often devastated by wars and regional conflicts. And though the refugees are screened for mental and physical health issues, new research out of the University of Rochester shows that the screenings don’t always detect developmental delays in children because of cultural differences and communication issues.…
Week ahead: Events for the week of Monday, September 5
Democrats Harry Bronson and Rachel Barnhart, who are running in a 138th Assembly District primary, will debate from 8 p.m. to 9 p.m. Wednesday, September 7. Bronson is the incumbent in the race and Barnhart is a former television news reporter and anchor. The debate is sponsored by Voice of the Voter, which is a…
Lawsuit bogs down schools overhaul
A lawsuit was filed last week against the group charged with overseeing a massive upgrade of buildings in the Rochester City School District. The suit names the Rochester Joint Schools Construction Board and each member of the board individually, except for Brian Sanvidge, who is a nonvoting member. The lawsuit was filed by Rochester Careers…
‘Weird Al’ is still on an excellent adventure
After more than 30 years in the industry, “Weird Al” Yankovic is still hitting new heights. The squeezebox-wielding comic musician’s output long ago thrust him toward mass appeal, and Yankovic’s ability to capture the essence of the songs he parodies has earned him the respect of his peers and a spot as one of the…
ALBUM REVIEW: “Haunted Island Phantoms”
Haunted Island Phantoms “Haunted Island Phantoms” Self-released hauntedislandphantoms.bandcamp.com Here’s a concept album that I never thought I’d see come across my radar. “Haunted Island Phantoms” is from Rochester musician Rick Yogis (The Isotopes), and he’s giving the acoustic, one-man-band boogie treatment to the caper-based narratives found in Scooby Doo’s classic tales. It’s songs about knights,…
Kindred Fare puts the Finger Lakes region’s offerings to good use
I don’t spend nearly enough time exploring the Finger Lakes. That statement is one of the more embarrassing things I can say considering I love the food options in the region. The farthest I usually go is Canandaigua, but part of my mission this summer was to spend more time checking out what the area…
‘War Stories’ exhibits document change, conflict, and memory
The two shows currently on view at Memorial Art Gallery each pack a walloping emotional punch. Using 45 textile works, “Afghan War Rugs” offers a measure of insight into a people and place, and in the exhibit “War Memoranda,” photographer Binh Danh and poet Robert Schultz explore the concepts of loss, memory, and renewal. Through…
ART | “Intimations”
What better way to wrap up a long, humid summer, than with an exhibit of artwork that focuses on New York State vistas at their glorious peak? Usher in the fall by visiting Oxford Gallery (267 Oxford Street) to see “Intimations,” featuring paintings in oil by Poughkeepsie-based artist Carolyn Edlund and Buffalo-based artist Fran Noonan.…
ART | Annette Dragon’s “Stylee and Mee”
New York Stylee has been an iconic fixture of Monroe Avenue’s culture for nearly 20 years. Owners Helen and Kevin Knight maximize their clothing and accessories shop’s stop-light location to dazzle drivers and passers-by with sexy window displays of tantalizing club wear: hot pants, second-skin dresses, and don’t-f***-with-me boots. In celebration of these traffic-stopping sights,…
SPECIAL EVENT | Drum Corps Associates World Championship
The Drum Corps Associates, a governing organization for drum and bugle corps, will host its World Championship competition at Sahlen’s Stadium and the Riverside Convention Center this weekend. Drum and bugle corps — marching bands that include brass, percussion, and color guard, with participants of all ages — from across the country will perform in…
ART | “I’m Every Woman”
In Genesee Center for the Arts and Education’s upcoming exhibition “I’m Every Woman,” photographer Floyd Gibson explores what female fashion throughout the 20th century meant to the “average woman.” Gibson photographed evening, casual, and swim wear from the 1920’s through the 1970’s as a way to highlight not only how fashion has changed but how…
Downtown Rochester crime myths, Round 2
If you don’t feel safe anywhere unless there is absolutely no crime, then you won’t feel safe downtown – or in Gates or Greece.
Film review: “Don’t Breathe”
Uruguayan director Fede Alvarez, the mastermind behind 2013’s “Evil Dead” remake, flexes his filmmaking muscle with “Don’t Breathe,” a stylish home invasion horror-thriller that makes for a diabolically chilling end-of-summer treat. Petty thief Rocky (Jane Levy), her friend Alex (Dylan Minnette), and Rocky’s macho boyfriend, Money (Daniel Zovatto), have been pulling off a string of…
