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Signs of intelligent life
Babies can’t talk, but they have a lot to share about how our brains develop
Week ahead: For the week of Monday, February 22
Rochester For Progress will hold a downtown march for Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, February 27. The march starts at City Hall, 30 Church Street, and participants are asked to wear their “Bernie gear.” The route is about 1.5 miles. The date was chosen, according to organizers,…
Jazz Fest announces last two headliners
The Rochester International Jazz Festival announced today the last two headliner acts for the 2016 festival. Bandleader and pianist Bruce Hornsby and Southern rocker Gregg Allman have joined the 15th edition of the festival, which will take place June 24 through July 2. Hornsby — who will perform with his band, The Noisemakers, on Wednesday,…
Film review: “Son of Saul”
There have been plenty of films over the years that have attempted to tackle the subject of the Holocaust, but nothing quite like László Nemes’s gripping “Son of Saul.” Winner of the Grand Prix at last year’s Cannes Film Festival — where even securing a place in competition is a rare achievement for a first-time…
RochesTarot features familiar faces and spaces
After 14 months of diligent work, Rochester-based artist Jay Lincoln’s RochesTarot deck is finally complete. The much anticipated project will be celebrated this weekend with a deck release party and art show at Lux Lounge (666 South Avenue). Lincoln is known for his colorful caricatures of celebrities, which can be found in bars and cafes…
Film review: “Southbound”
From some of the same makers as the horror omnibus trilogy “V/H/S,” the clever “Twilight Zone”-esque indie-horror anthology film, “Southbound,” presents a quintet of tales, each centered around people on the run from someone or something they’d like nothing more than to put squarely in their rearview mirror. Set within the same stretch of lonely…
Eastman Museum celebrates Black History Month with Google Cultural Institute partnership
Earlier this month, the George Eastman Museum launched an online exhibition of 44 photographs as part of the Google Cultural Institute’s celebration of Black History Month. These images, part of a virtual exhibition in collaboration with more than 40 other cultural and archival organizations — including the Baltimore Museum of Art, Carnegie Hall, the Museum…
Schumer seeks funding for lead projects
Removing lead paint from old homes is expensive, and Senator Chuck Schumer is pushing for the federal government to provide more financial aid for homeowners who take on the task. Schumer and Rhode Island Senator Sheldon Whitehouse will introduce a bill this week that would provide a $3,000 tax credit for homeowners who remove hazards…
Could Scalia’s death offer a chance for healing?
The Republicans’ reaction is one more example of the deep division in Washington – and in the country.
‘Birds of the West Indies’ connects Bond, birds, babes
Currently on view at Eastman Museum, Taryn Simon’s “Birds of the West Indies” is a two-part undertaking that connects Ian Fleming’s famous character with the American ornithologist whose name Fleming borrowed. In her oeuvre, Simon links the real James Bond’s captured birds with 007’s pursuit of “birds,” she becomes a hunter herself, and invites her…
THEATER | The Bronze Collective Theatre Fest
A young festival that launched just last year will return next week for its second annual engagement at MuCCC from February 22-28. The Bronze Collective Theatre Fest is a weeklong event dedicated to “various artistic genres expressed through local black/African Diasporic (sic) artists/producers.” Shows include “Black Coffee: The Poets’ Café,” featuring local artist Reenah L.…
Penfield weighs options in sale of golf courses
The Dolomite Group’s plan to sell two Penfield golf courses caught town officials by surprise and has them scrambling to exert some control over the future of the properties. The Town Board will consider enacting a temporary moratorium on development of the land at an upcoming meeting. Dolomite put Shadow Lakes and Shadow Pines on…
THEATER | “The Designated Mourner”
“I am the designated mourner. I have to tell you that a very special little world has died, and I am the designated mourner.” That’s also the title of Wallace Shawn’s unsparing, unsettling three-character drama, which tells of “a very special world” in which lives and art are unraveling, under siege in an unnamed but…
Nothing ‘interim’ about Cimusz’s agenda
Interim school superintendents are often thought of as placeholders: people who keep the lights on and the buses running until a permanent leader is found. That’s not a description that fits Linda Cimusz, who was thrust into the interim job with the Rochester school district after a health crisis felled the school board’s pick. Though…
RECREATION | Heavy Metal Yoga
Maybe you’re interested in the health and sanity benefits of yoga, but the thought of spending a precious hour stretching to modern mystical tunes gives your style the cramps. For something completely different, check out Jesse Amesmith’s Heavy Metal Yoga, which is held Monday nights through July 25, 6 p.m. to 7:15 p.m., at Yoga…
‘Simple’ and ‘superb’ define Fiorella
After the visits my wife and I made to Fiorella, one word stuck in my mind and defined almost everything about the restaurant: simplicity. Simplicity resonated through the entire experience, from start to finish. Walking through the door for dinner, the combination of the low lighting and the tastefully decorated white block walls gave some…
THEATER | “Madea on the Run”
Tyler Perry creates a whacky new set of adventures for his beloved character Mabel Simmons — known best as Madea — in “Madea on the Run,” which plays Rochester on February 20. This time around, Madea (played by Tyler Perry) is in hot water with local law enforcement. To fly under the radar, she conveniently…
LGBT radio program debuts
Brian Hurlburt’s obsession with radio programming began when he was a child. He and a neighborhood friend pretended to have their own show where they interviewed each other and played their favorite music. After a long career in broadcasting, Hurlburt now creates and hosts his dream program in Rochester. Hurlburt and co-host Michael Lill have…
HIP-HOP | Lil Wayne
When President Obama references someone in the same line as LeBron James during a speech about talent, it’s hard to deny someone’s success. And to say Lil Wayne is successful is almost an understatement — “Got 10 bathrooms, I could shit all day” is one of his lines, and he’s not exaggerating. You got to admit…
ALT-ROCK | Eleanor Friedberger
Enigmatic, melodic — there are many words that can describe Eleanor Friedberger’s other band, The Fiery Furnaces. Lead singer Friedberger’s own music however is conventional compared to the sprawling weirdness of the Furnaces, a brother-sister act that has played at the Bug Jar. With the band on hiatus, she has embarked on a solo…
JAZZ | Joe Goehle & Cerebral People
Bass player and composer Joe Goehle has been a proponent of free improvisation since he emerged from the Buffalo music scene. Now based in New York City, he as brought together a collection of excellent musicians to bounce off each other musically. Goehle’s Cerebral People — Jim Piela, saxophones; John Blevins, trumpet; Alec Dube, vibraphone;…
CLASSICAL | “Adventurous Italians”
An early music all-star team is getting together for the next Publick Musick concert, this time as part of the Memorial Art Gallery’s “Third Thursday” concert series. The star is probably the gallery’s splendiferous Italian Baroque organ, which will be played by Eastman School of Music faculty member Edoardo Bellotti and student Naomi Gregory, but…
POP | Natalie Weiss
YouTube phenom and Broadway vet Natalie Weiss has certainly racked up the accolades as a performer. Though seemingly comfortable in a cabaret setting, this young lady’s pipes threaten to bring down the joint with their elegant largess. Weiss will wow you with her bold take on Broadway selections and pop standards. Simply beautiful. Natalie Weiss…
ZYDECO | Curly Taylor and Zydeco Trouble
A lot of musicians throw zydeco in the mix as an accent or a spice. Conversely, for Curley Taylor it’s what’s in the pot to begin with. This squeezebox squeezer uses soul, gospel, and hip-hop to spice up his spice. You’ll even pick up hints of the blues while you flail away on the dance…
Occasional Saints make being bad sound so good
Paul Nunes’ hands dance effortlessly up and down the 88’s in a powerful polydactyl boogie. It’s a sound of big ease, of Louisiana bump and sparkle with dashes of jazz and pop mirth. It’s beautiful; it’s sanctified. But a saint, he ain’t. Nunes has finally hit the scene with his new outfit The Occasional Saints,…
ALBUM REVIEW: “Dialectics”
Curtis Nowosad “Dialectics” Cellar Live curtisnowosad.com Drummer Curtis Nowosad has enhanced the bands of Dave Douglas, Miguel Zenón, Donny McCaslin, and others. Now he’s showcasing his own musical vision on his excellent debut album, “Dialectics.” The CD sleeve is modeled after a record cover from the late 1950’s, complete with small-print liner notes and a…
ALBUM REVIEW: “All That We Seem”
Violet Mary “All That We Seem” Belly of the Whale Music http://www.violetmary.com In an era where bands are releasing more abbreviated EPs or forgoing hard copies of a recording altogether in lieu of downloading, comes Rochester rockers Violet Mary with its fourth and latest offering All That We Seem, a double album. That’s right: two…
Feedback 2/17
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. What do…
SPECIAL EVENT | Roc Awards Show
Each year, the ROC Awards Show is to honor Rochesterians in the fields of Performing Arts, Science and Technology, Human Service, Health and Wellness, and Education. The Fourth Annual Roc Awards will take place on Sunday, February 21, 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. at Kodak Theater on the Ridge (200 West Ridge Road). Hosted by…
Urban Action 2/17
This week’s calls to action include the following events and activities. All are free and open to the public unless otherwise noted. Activist group to hold racial justice workshop Metro Justice will hold a racial justice workshop from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, February 27. The workshop will examine the history of racism…
Film review: “The Witch”
Writer-director Robert Eggers makes a masterful feature debut with his chilling period horror fable, “The Witch.” Boasting the subtitle “A New England Folk Tale,” the film takes on the quality of a legend people of the 17th century might have told around a roaring fire; a grim lesson for their youngest generations to obey the…
Classical review: Pegasus’ “The Sun King”
If you’ve ever doubted that it is indeed good to be the king, consider Louis XIV of France, whose job perks included a staff of 30 to 100 musicians who followed him everywhere he went in the course of a day. And I do mean everywhere: Louis’s arising, dressing, promenading and doing of other kingly…
