Cover Story
Developing an industry
A small hub of video game developers has started to establish itself in Rochester.
Recap: PUSH Physical Theatre in “Fake Off” finals
Rochester’s PUSH Physical Theatre nearly brought home the $100,000 jackpot in Monday night’s final episode of TruTV’s “Fake Off.” The show challenges performance groups to come up with the best “fakes” using a combination of illusion, theater, acrobatics, and black lighting. PUSH received a score of 28 out of 30 for their on-stage interpretation of…
Film Review: “Foxcatcher”
The bulk of the awards season chatter for Bennett Miller’s “Foxcatcher” has centered around the revelatory performances of stars Steve Carell and Channing Tatum. As the distorted mentor and mentee at the center of Miller’s grimly compelling true-crime drama, both actors deliver transformative performances showcasing abilities beyond anything either has previously demonstrated. Tatum portrays Olympic…
Film Review: “Wild”
If “Foxcatcher” presents a tragedy of lofty aspirations gone horribly wrong, “Wild” gives audiences an inspirational tale of finding strength from within. While director Jean-Marc Vallée’s “Dallas Buyers Club,” left me cold, his new film is intimate and honest in a way that that film wanted to be but never was. Stripped of her usual…
RHA: This can’t be the way it was supposed to go
You know, Adam McFadden might’ve made a damn fine head of the Housing Authority.
Pittsford group files lawsuit over Westport Crossing
A controversial project in the Village of Pittsford is the subject of yet another lawsuit, bringing the total to five. Last month, the village Planning and Zoning Board approved the site plan for Westport Crossing, Mark IV Enterprise’s proposed 167-unit apartment complex off of Monroe Avenue along the Erie Canal. On Friday, the Friends of Pittsford…
WEEK AHEAD: Sale of Port of Rochester land; meeting on UR-East deal
City Council is scheduled to vote on legislation to sell the first chunk of land to Edgewater Resources for redevelopment of the Port of Rochester. The project has faced opposition throughout, with some Charlotte residents saying that Edgewater’s plans are too dramatic for the port area. Council will consider the sale of 1.26 acres of…
Film Review: “Exodus: Gods and Kings”
The Bible remains a valued source for Hollywood, and no wonder; it contains just about anything any producer could want. The Old Testament features the usual sex and violence, war and conflagration, but also great stories, compelling characters, and of course, the presence of a powerful supernatural being. To top it all off, it’s always…
HUD to RHA: McFadden must go
Looks like Adam McFadden’s tenure heading the Rochester Housing Authority may be a brief one, at least as its interim chief. Yesterday, the regional office of the Housing and Urban Development Department sent RHA board members a letter (see below) telling them to terminate RHA’s contract with McFadden. Because McFadden is a member of City…
New downtown parade route announced
The City of Rochester announced today that a new downtown parade route will take effect in 2015. The new route will start at East Avenue and Scio Street and end at Main Street and Plymouth Avenue. The original parade route started at East Avenue and Alexander Street, but construction of the Inner Loop Project required…
![[UPDATED] Finger Lakes projects to get $80.7 million](https://i0.wp.com/www.roccitymag.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/news_icon1_newspaper.webp?resize=800%2C600&ssl=1)
[UPDATED] Finger Lakes projects to get $80.7 million
UPDATED 4:15 p.m. — Details regarding some of the funded projects are starting to trickle out. The Finger Lakes Council’s award includes a $5 million Empire State Development grant for High Tech Rochester to establish a facility for high-tech startups in the city’s Downtown Innovation Zone. The facility will include office space, conference rooms, and…
Pittsford board votes down Westport Crossing designs
A proposed canal side apartment development in the Village of Pittsford has hit another roadblock. Mark IV Enterprises wants to build 167 high-end apartments at 75 Monroe Avenue, a brownfield at the edge of the village. But this afternoon, the village’s Architecture and Preservation Review Board rejected the developer’s designs for the buildings. Mayor Bob…
UR envisions smaller, more robust East High
After six months of planning, yesterday the University of Rochester presented the Rochester school board with a sweeping proposal to transform its low-performing East High School into a highly successful learning environment. If the proposal is approved by both the school board and the State Education Department, it will clear the way for the UR…
Legislature passes 2015 county budget
The 2015 Monroe County budget is a done deal. Last night, the County Legislature passed County Executive Maggie Brooks’ $1.2 billion plan as-is, without so much as a technical amendment. The Republican majority defeated the few amendments proposed by Democrats, which included efforts to restore child day care funds and to halt plans for outsourcing…
Theater Review: RBTL presents Rodgers & Hammerstein’s “Cinderella”
A nearly sold-out audience filled the Auditorium Theatre, Tuesday, for the opening night of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s “Cinderella,” brought to town by the Rochester Broadway Theatre League. I was surprised at the full house (on a Tuesday) and the age-span of the viewers, from pre-school tots to grandparents pushing walkers and in wheelchairs. Little girls…
HARD ROCK | Nashville Pussy
Hailing from Atlanta, Georgia, Nashville Pussy’s brutal fusion of all things rock — the band has been called psychobilly, Southern heavy metal, and even cowpunk — and quasi-porno stage antics have earned it legendary live show accolades. Guitarist Ruyter Suys lays down riffs that invoke Buddy Guy and Angus Young, all while maintaining a fierceness…
HOLIDAYS | Emmet Otter’s Jug Band Christmas
Kermit the Frog won’t be hosting a troupe of boppin’ Muppets, but Lovin’ Cup will feature its own whimsical rendition of Jim Henson’s “Emmet Otter’s Jug-Band Christmas.” A crew of musicians pulled from top local bands — The MoHo Collective, Teressa Wilcox Band, The Isotopes, The Ruckus Juice Jug Stompers and others — will re-create…
HOLIDAYS | Mannheim Steamroller
Mannheim Steamroller’s first Christmas album — simply “Manheim Steamroller Christmas” — released in 1984, is certified 6x platinum, and the band became a Christmas music giant in the process, ranking right up there with Trans-Siberian Orchestra, though with a vastly different style. Mannheim is much more chilled out, with a classical-heavy approach with some rock…
POP | Mat Kearney
A bell might not ring in your head when you hear the name Mat Kearney, but the singer-songwriter has more than a few songs that you’ll surely recognize. His tracks “Nothing Left to Lose,” “Ships in the Night,” and “Undeniable” are contemporary radio staples, and he’s been featured on shows like “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Scrubs,” and…
Better By Morning
An endorsement from Roy Stein, I’m telling you, it ain’t no hype. The always black-clad Stein has his fingers on rock music’s loud and proud pulse and in a lot of pies as a drummer, producer, engineer, teacher, sensei, consigliore, etc. So when Stein pulls on your coat about Better By Morning, a band he…
ALBUM REVIEW: “Grow”
Hieronymus Bogs “Grow” Self-released hieronymusbogs.com The first time I heard Hieronymus Bogs was in concert at a local bar, and many of those at the show were sitting on the venue’s floor, mesmerized by his solo performance. Much the same way, Bogs’s latest album, “Grow” has me hypnotized. “Grow,” the musician’s sixth studio album, is…
Women’s work
The work of Rochester-based artist and educator Heather Layton is consumed by the ailing world. Much of her art is action-oriented, and has taken the form of everything from installations meant to evoke compassion, to writing a letter to every head of state in apology for America’s aggression, and traveling to dangerous places to encourage…
ALBUM REVIEW: “Live With Yourself”
Parkerhouse Road “Live With Yourself” Self-released parkerhouseroad.com From the moment you press play, Parkerhouse Road’s five song EP, “Live With Yourself,” is an aggressive, raging, tuneful exercise in modern hard rock. The songs are tightly structured. The drums are banging. The bass is driving. The guitars are big and there are plenty of riffs, lines,…
ART | “Hoag: Sculpture Combines”
For me, admiring the aimless elegance of Lee Hoag’s sculptural work has always brought on the creeping sense of an archaeologist trying to discern a set of objects hailing from some alien or long-forgotten culture. The shapes and forms feel familiar, but their uncertain utility is slippery. Hoag creates mixed media sculptural work, transforming mundane,…
EXHIBIT | Holiday Botanical Show
Continuing a 103-year-old tradition, Monroe County’s Lamberton Conservatory is hosting its annual Holiday Botanical Show, which will run through Sunday. January 4, 2015. County Executive Maggie Brooks says, “The Lamberton Conservatory will be adorned for the holiday season with a festive botanical display of brilliant colors and fragrant scents filling the entire complex.” The show…
Feedback 12/10
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. They’re ‘illegals’…
THEATER | “Baby Boom Baby”
Actor, musician, and comedian Tommy Koenig is wearing all of his hats in his latest stage show, “Baby Boom Baby.” The musical comedy, is 90 minutes of just Koening exploring the Boomer generation’s search for themselves through Rock and Roll icons from the 50’s to present-day. A Comedy Central and National Lampoon star of stage…
Urban Action 12/10
This week’s calls to action include the following events and activities. (All are free and open to the public, unless otherwise noted.) Last public forums on police reorg The Rochester Police Department will hold its final public forums to discuss and hear community feedback on a major reorganization from its current two-division patrol to a…
FILM | Queer Women of Color Film Festival
It’s no secret that the media we consume doesn’t give fair representation to the diversity of its audience. The spectrum of LGBT identities are only beginning to be discussed more widely than the collegiate classroom circuit, and we have a long way to go in our understanding of the lives and experiences of people of…
Henrietta Dems resurrected
When then Henrietta Supervisor Mike Yudelson announced last year that he was switching from Republican to Democrat, it was a big deal. As the town’s top elected leader and, before that, a longtime Town Board member, Yudelson was an important “get” for the Dems. County party leaders called a press conference and then-chair Joe Morelle…
THEATER | “Pura’s Beauty”
Latino Theatre Productions’ newest show, “Pura’s Beauty,” is a counterpart to the group’s “Macho’s Place,” presented last year. That was a one-act, one-hour play set in a barbershop; this is a one-act, one-hour play set in a locally-owned beauty salon. It also sounds a bit like a Latin version of “Steel Magnolias.” A group of women gather at Pura’s not only to get…
Virus linked to slowed development
The congenital human herpesvirus-6 has long been associated with a wide range of conditions and illnesses. And now a researcher at the University of Rochester Medical Center says that HHV-6 could play a role in slowing children’s mental development. Dr. Mary Caserta, a URMC professor of pediatrics and infectious diseases, recently completed a study showing…
THEATER/KIDS | “Babes in Toyland”
The RAPA Family Theatre aims to immerse audiences in the familiar-yet-fantastical world of nursery rhymes with an annual production of “Babes in Toyland.” This debut show is presented at the new Kodak Center for Performing Arts (200 Ridge Road West) through Sunday, December 14. When Barnaby, the miser of Mother Goose Village, threatens to foreclose…
DINING REVIEW: City Grill
I can’t help but think of big, brash song standards when I think of City Grill. I can hear Frank Sinatra, fedora hat cocked just so, belting out an upbeat tune. City Grill, which describes itself as a contemporary American restaurant, strikes me as having a Rat-Pack-takes-Vegas sort of style. The menu is expansive, with…
HIP-HOP | Rochester Hip-Hop Winter Showcase
Unlike a battle of the bands, a showcase doesn’t rank performers but instead attempts to develop a sense of community among participating artists. A showcase also creates an opportunity for a performer to break into the local scene and grow a fan base. The Entertainment Collective’s Rochester Hip-Hop Winter Showcase features eight acts: Nickel Bag Boyz,…
CLASSICAL | “Contemporary Vignettes”
The Society for Chamber Music’s smorgasbord approach to programming is yielding some tasty concerts, and this weekend’s “Contemporary Vignettes” is definitely appealing. It begins with an “Epitaph for Jean Harlow” by Charles Koechlin, the prolific 20th-century composer enamored of old-time Hollywood stars, and ends with the ubiquitous Astor Piazzolla’s “Libertango.” In between are up-to-the-minute works by John…
CLASSICAL | “German Baroque Christmas”
You can celebrate Christmas this weekend not with Bach or Handel, but with a generation or two of German composers who preceded them: Heinrich Schutz, Johann Schein, and Dieterich Buxtehude (born in Denmark but a longtime resident of Lubeck, Germany). Their music may be heard less often than Bach’s or Handel’s, but it offers multiple…
The race issue – again
This country may have eradicated slavery, but racism and racial tension are still very much with us.
