Cover Story
Rochester’s health care revolution
The restructuring of health care in the Rochester area is a work in progress.
Film Review: “The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies”
I think most of us can agree that some of the best moments of Peter Jackson’s films based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s novel, “The Hobbit,” thus far have involved the malevolent dragon, Smaug. A spectacular blend of state of the art movie effects magic and pitch-perfect voice acting from Benedict Cumberbatch, Smaug was the true star…
Film Review: “Foxcatcher”
The picture’s odd title, “Foxcatcher,” in effect explains itself in an introductory montage of black and white still photographs mixed in with home movies, showing images of horses, riders, dogs, and inevitably, rich people in fancy riding clothes — something right out of one of those British PBS television series. The title refers to a…
Theater Review: “The Man Who Came To Dinner” at Geva’s Fielding Nextstage
Now being performed at Geva’sNextstage through Saturday, December 27, “The Man Who Came to Dinner” comes to the stage courtesy of Rochester’s Screen Plays, a wonderfully creative theater group dedicated to performing classic American plays that were made iconic on film (in this case, the 1942 motion picture starring Bette Davis, Monty Woolley, and Ann…
Warren’s Facebook flap
It’s beginning to look a lot like a difficult holiday for Rochester Mayor Lovely Warren. Screenshots of Facebook messages between someone claiming to be Warren and an unidentified user began circulating on social media on Monday. The unknown user criticizes the city for emptying out a settlement that was being used by the homeless, calling…
Reed: state should compensate landowners because of fracking decision
House Representative Tom Reed says that the state’s decision on high-volume hydraulic fracturing is “the wrong decision for New York State’s future.” During a conference call this morning, Reed said that the decision is a missed opportunity for the state and that fracking could provide jobs and a boost for the Southern Tier’s depressed economy.…
School board approves UR plan for East
The Rochester school board last night approved a plan from the University of Rochester to partner with East High School with the goal of dramatically improving student performance at East. The vote was 6 to 0, with board member Melisza Campos absent. The plan, which allows the UR to take over the management of East…
Summer school programs net math gains
Rochester city schools students who participated in a summer program entered school this fall with a significant advantage in math over their peers, according to the early results of a RAND Corporation study. The RCSD is one of five large school districts from around the country participating in the six-year study, which is part of…
McFadden to leave Housing Authority
McFadden’s brief tenure was marred by accusations of cronyism.
New York officials reject fracking
State environmental and public health officials have concluded that high-volume hydraulic fracturing is too risky to allow in New York. In January, the State Department of Environmental Conservation will finalize its environmental statement on high-volume fracking, and as part of that process will officially prohibit the extraction technique in New York. Fracking is used in…
CHOW HOUND: In praise of the pig
Americans love their pork. We add bacon to everything, from ice cream to vegetables, and look to discover new and inventive ways to prepare and serve as much of the animal as possible. The pig is featured prominently on the menu at ButaPub (315 Gregory Street), a new casual, American pub located in the historic…
The Younger Gang
Despite its members converging from stylistically far reaching bands like Roots Collider, Blackened Blues, Sparx and Yarms, and Poetry For Thieves, The Younger Gang’s focus is kept intact and nailed to its roots by the plunka-plunka plink and twang of its namesake’s banjo. That’s not to say the band has individually abandoned their roots or deny where…
Anti-gravity and grace
While so much of our culture is characterized by violence, our days are action-oriented, and our collective headspace is inundated with noise, the work of sculptor Robin Whiteman focuses on the sacred serenity of being a body. For years, she has sculpted human-and-other-animal hybrid figures in both ceramic and fiber media, but her current work…
ALBUM REVIEW: “Baila El Twomp”
Hula Baby “Baila El Twomp” Folc Records Hulababy.bandcamp.com Rochester garage rock sensations The Hi-Risers sell out to crowds of screaming kids wherever they go, including Spain, where the trio inspires fans and musicians alike. But this blurb isn’t about The Hi-Risers, it’s about Hula Baby, a Spanish twang-tastic, fantastic band clearly influenced by the Flour…
ART | “Thou Art…Will Give…”
America’s first penitentiary differed greatly from the prison system we have today. Eastern State Penitentiary, which operated from 1829 to 1971 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, emphasized reform and penance more than punishment. As seen in the photographs by Eric T. Kunsman, the penitentiary today is a ruinous shadow of its former self. Kunsman, a lecturer in…
FILM | “The 78 Project Movie” Rochester Premiere
Inspired by Alan Lomax and his quest to capture music where it lived throughout the early-20th century, the creators of The 78 Project traveled around the country to record American musicians using a 1930’s-era microphone-to-vinyl recorder. The result is a collection of one-of-a-kind 78-rpm records of punk rockers, and folk, gospel, and Cajun singers, each…
COMEDY | The Best of the #Roc Holiday Party
Enjoy a night of some of the best in local comedy as the Joke Factory Comedy Club presents The Best of the #Roc Holiday Party. Starting at 9 p.m. on both Friday, December 19, and Saturday, December 20, The Best of the #Roc Holiday Party features stand-up from local comedians Marcus Cox, Yolanda Smilez, Charlie…
THEATER | “Mistakes Were Made”
This weekend, MuCCC will host performances of Craig Wright’s comedy, “Mistakes Were Made.” Described by New York Magazine as “ninety furious, fulminating, very funny minutes of American hucksterism in extremis,” “Mistakes Were Made” is the tale of B-list Broadway producer Felix Artifex. Felix bites off a bit more than he can chew when he takes…
THEATER | “The Man Who Came to Dinner”
It definitely has one of the best-known titles in the repertory, but Moss Hart and George S. Kaufman’s “The Man Who Came to Dinner,” a great hit of the 1940’s and 50’s, isn’t presented very often anymore, so it’s nice to see it returning for the holidays. This production is presented by Screen Plays (and…
THEATER | “Riding the Midnight Express”
If you want to see an epic tale about beating seemingly impossible odds, you could go see “Unbroken” in the movie theatre, or you could hear an equally brilliant tale told live by the man who lived it. “Riding the Midnight Express” is the chilling tale of Billy Hayes, who when he was a college…
80’s New Wave Night
Whether it was Madonna, David Bowie, The Violent Femmes, The Cure, or Siouxsie and the Banshees, a specific music ruled the airwaves and the clubs back in the 1980’s. Now these singers and bands are household names, but at that time, they hadn’t yet broken into mainstream culture. Today, the sound of the 80’s continues…
PUNK | Lemuria
Putting the Buffalo-based trio, Lemuria, into any one genre is a tough thing to do. Generally referred to as an indie punk band, the group goes back and forth with punk, rock, and pop sounds throughout its catalogue. Sometimes they go back and forth in one song, changing time signatures and switching from a poppy…
Feedback 12/17
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. We need…
CLASSICAL | RPO’s Gala Holiday Pops
The RPO describes its annual Gala Holiday Pops concert as “Rochester’s most popular holiday musical tradition,” and barring various “Messiahs” and “Nutcrackers,” they may be right. Certainly this concert has been a favorite for at least a couple of decades now. This year, Michael Butterman conducts the festivities instead of Jeff Tyzik, but the musical…
Vote may be this week on UR’s plan for East
If all goes well, the Rochester school board will vote on Thursday, December 18, on the University of Rochester’s sweeping proposal to transform East High School. That would let the district meet the State Education Department’s December 31 deadline for submitting a turn-around plan. If the SED approves the plan, the UR will assume full…
CLASSICAL | Heinrich Schütz’s “Christmas Story”
About 80 years before Handel’s “Messiah,” there was Heinrich Schütz’s “Weihnachtshistorie (Historia der Geburt Jesu Christi),” or to put it simply, “Christmas Story of the Birth of Jesus Christ.” Written about 1660 (when Schütz was in his 70’s) and published in 1664, it is a modest but colorful retelling of the familiar biblical accounts —…
Restoring the balance
Invasive species have mucked up Lake Ontario’s food webs; many scientists, environmentalists, conservationists, and anglers have observed the disruptions themselves. Take the alewife — a species of herring — which entered the lake in the late 1800’s via the Welland Canal and never left. In time, the more aggressive fish pushed out the native lake…
CELTIC | The Town Pants
When you think of the Pacific Northwest, Celtic music may not be your first thought, but then again there are more striking contrasts: like reggae bands from Virginia. While this five-piece “West Coast Celtic” band hails from Vancouver, its brogue accents root them across the pond. The band’s dual lead vocals bolster its boisterous conviviality.…
Urban Action 12/17
This week’s calls to action include the following events and activities. (All are free and open to the public, unless otherwise noted.) Six-part series addresses race The Friends and Foundation of the Rochester Public Library will present “Conversations on Race,” a six-part series of facilitated public discussions. The events will be held in public libraries…
ROCKABILLY | Bobby Henrie and the Goners
Bobby Henrie and the Goners came together in 1985 and have been shakin’ Rockabilly and roots rock ‘n’ roll ever since. The members of the trio — Bobby Henrie, Brian Williams, and James Symonds — all experienced solo musicians, coalesced over the zeal for the tradition of musicians that defined much of the musical 50’s,…
PUNK | Pup
Toronto-based band Pup is more than the labels many attribute to it. Although it is pop-punk at its core, Pup’s chops are gnarly and full of grit. The band enlivens a sometimes tired genre with structurally intricate songs wrapped with an unhinged ferocity. Its exuberant ideas are delivered with an enthusiasm that is infectious, leaving…
Money for PAC study
The Finger Lakes Regional Economic Development Council has been awarded $80.7 million this year for projects across the area. And some of the awards are substantial: $5 million for a high-tech startup incubator in downtown, $2 million for Eastman Business Park’s Biosciences Manufacturing Center, and $3 million toward redeveloping the Sibley building. Buried in the…
ROCK | Airborne Toxic Event
Here’s an indie rock band with rather unique melodious meanderings that fly close to melancholy without getting overwrought. Born in 2006, L.A.’s Airborne Toxic Event’s sound is curious and exploratory, running between the limitless goalposts and across the sonic planes of synthetic space and orchestral splendor. Limitless and deep. Airborne Toxic Event perform Friday, December…
When a nation tortures
Our torture is drawing outrage from many quarters right now. But its supporters in Congress will be in control in January.
