Cover Story
Chills, thrills, and gills
Rochester is obviously known for its icy cold winters. But few would guess that, according to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, the Greater Rochester area is home to roughly 2000 sportsmen willing to trek out on frozen ponds, cut through the surface ice, and try to catch a fish on just about…
Daily Choices: What to do on Wednesday, March 6
Music: Looking for a middle-of-the-week doctor? Thunder Body’s Medicine Wednesdays returns tonight, now being hosted at Skylark Lounge (270-8106, theskylarklounge.com), and will repeat every Wednesday night this month. Music starts at 9 p.m., costs $5, and is 21+.
DEC clarifies position on Hemlock-Canadice drilling
A few weeks ago, the Department of Environmental Conservation released a draft of its management plan for Hemlock-Canadice State Forest. At the time, I wrote an article about the plan and pointed out that it did not, in plain language, rule out gas drilling on the lands. I also wrote that the plan suggested DEC…
Concert Review: Deftones
Opening with a seething version of “Be Quiet And Drive (Far Away)” Sacramento’s Deftones tore a hole into the Main Street Armory last night. I was rather surprised at the huge crowd (My guess 4,000 give or take) wedged into the joint for the band’s stop on its Koi No Yokan Tour, but then it…
Climate change brings you the ‘pizzly bear’
As it advances, climate change will manifest in many ways, whether it’s higher average temperatures, shifts in precipitation patterns, or the costs of building heartier storm water collection and treatment systems. Researchers also expect to see change in the ranges of some plant, animal, and insect species; in fact, those shifts are already occurring to…
Daily Choices: What to do on Tuesday, March 5
Recreation: Forest bathing – otherwise known as shinrin-yoku in its native Japan – is, well, sort of just what it sounds like: A soothing walk through a forest, while breathing in organic substances, called phytoncides, which further the relaxation. Sounds lovely, no? Dr. Les Moore, the Director of Integrative Medicine at Clifton Springs Hospital, will…
“RuPaul’s Drag Race” Season 5: Someone give me an “Amen”
This week the 80’s invaded “RuPaul’s Drag Race,” and that can only be a good thing. Between a “We Are the World”-style group-sing challenge, day-glo couture, and fabulous Me Decade guest judges The Pointer Sisters and La Toya Jackson, I was getting all hot and bothered over Cold War chic. Rather than do a point-by-point…
Is Fuccillo ad offensive?
One word: Why? Fuccillo Kia — yes, he of the “Huge” — has released this racially sensitive, culturally uplifting commercial spot. What do you think?
![[UPDATED] Hey, state comptroller, tell us something we don’t know](https://i0.wp.com/www.roccitymag.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/1362415323-money-100s-pile_sidebar.webp?resize=400%2C300&ssl=1)
[UPDATED] Hey, state comptroller, tell us something we don’t know
A report released today by the State Comptroller’s Office — essentially a summation of the City of Rochester’s fiscal profile — reads like a compilation of the city’s greatest hits. In short, it doesn’t say anything we haven’t heard a thousand times before.
WEEK AHEAD: Union protests Monroe Developmental Center closure
Union representatives will hold a press conference on Friday, March 8, to draw attention to state plans to close the Monroe Developmental Center. A notice of the press conference was included in a local labor e-mail newsletter sent out last week. Monroe Developmental Center is a residential facility for people with developmental disabilities. The state…
Daily Choices: What to do on Monday, March 3
Music: At this stage of the band’s career, the members of Sacramento’s Deftones are wily veterans: churning out a solid album every few years and touring to throngs of both long-time as well as newly found fans. Over the course of seven records the band has stayed mostly true to its alternative metal roots, updating…
Concert Review: Deadstring Brothers, Cowboy Mouth
Best show of the winter alert: The Deadstring Brothers served up an excellent set of honky-tonk barroom boogie Friday night, winding the packed house that Abilene built into a two-step frenzy. The band rocks out the country without losing sight of the actual country. It’s like a more rural, less collegiate Old 97s. The instrumentation…
Daily Choices: What to do on Saturday, March 2 and Sunday, March 3
Kids: The Queen of Play cordially invites all regional youngsters to engage in a magical weekend filled with fairytale fun at the National Museum of Play (1 Manhattan Square). Dress the kids in their courtly best, and bring them to the museum on Saturday, March 2, 11 a.m.-4 p.m., or Sunday, March 3, 1-4 p.m.…
Concert Review: RPO’s “Exquisite Puccini”
Thursday night at Kodak Hall the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra presented a lovely evening of the music of love by Rossini, Puccini, Respighi, and Verdi, led by guest conductor Neil Varon. Soloists Karin Wolverton, soprano, and Dinyar Vania, tenor, gave exquisite performances from “La Boheme” and “Madama Butterfly.” The program will be repeated Saturday; it’s a…
Southern Tier water case with fracking ties in court today
Local anti-fracking advocates have been trying to draw attention to a court hearing, happening today, in a lawsuit against the Village of Painted Post. Painted Post officials signed a five-year agreement with a Shell subsidiary, allowing the company to withdraw over 1 million gallons of water a day from a local aquifer, says a July…
Daily Choices: What to do on Friday, March 1
Art: Time to brave the bitter weather. March’s First Friday is a cabin-fever reliever, and promises a bunch of art receptions and even a literary scavenger hunt. Visit firstfridayrochester.org or our online calendar at rochestercitynewspaper.com for more. Music: The founding members of They Might Be Giants have been creating and playing music together for 30…
Concert Review: Thousand Foot Krutch, Love and Death, and The Letter Black
Water Street Music Hall was hot and steamy for some multi-band hard rock hi-jinx last night. I rolled up as The Letter Black took the stage. The band was tight but the combo of female vocals and the band’s hard rock struck me as a little stiff. Regardless, the audience loved ’em. Love and Death…
If MCC flops, will city taxpayers be on the hook?
The lessons of Frontier Field and the soccer stadium have yet to be learned, apparently, says Rochester Mayor Tom Richards. The backers of both projects swore that they could survive on their own steam, only to need taxpayers to bail them out. That history is causing Richards to look at MCC’s planned move to Kodak’s…
Cuomo vs. the IDA’s
Virtually every industrial development agency in New York has come out against Governor Andrew Cuomo’s proposal to restrict their ability to offer state sales tax exemptions to businesses. The Monroe County Industrial Development Agency is part of the opposition. “We’ve been doing it since 1969 and it’s been effective,” says COMIDA executive director Judy Seil.…
Daily Choices: What to do on Thursday, February 28
Lecture/Screening: There will be a screening, as well as an accompanying discussion, of Martin Luther King Jr’s. “I Have A Dream” speech tonight at Finger Lakes Community College, Room A105 (3325 Marvin Sands Dr., flcc.edu). Starts at 1 p.m. and is free. Music: Minnesota-based Now, Now has come to kick back in our comparatively balmy…
“American Idol” 2013: Sudden Death, Round 4 (Top 10 guys revealed)
Between the awful group of girls we had last night, and the equally terrible group of guys we had last week, I was totally dreading tonight’s show. Thankfully it turned out better than expected. There were some pretty good performances in the mix, and some well-intentioned ones that backfired. But it was markedly less painful…
“American Idol” 2013: Sudden Death, Round 3 (Top 10 girls revealed)
I barely know where to begin. Three-quarters of the way through this new semi-final format, in which we culled the contestants from Top 40 to Top 20 (meaning we still have to lose half again before the finals), I feel I can safely say that this is the worst crop of singers we have seen…
City gets land bank approval
The City of Rochester has received state approval to form a land bank. Earlier this month, city officials submitted an application to Empire State Development, seeking to form the nonprofit Rochester Land Bank Corporation. The land bank will acquire vacant, abandoned, and tax-delinquent properties in the city and then turn them over to the Greater…
NYS looking to alternatives to the GED
There may be a rival exam to the GED in New York State in 2014. GED Testing Service’s plan to computerize the GED exam and rising costs are among several issues driving the state and more than 30 others to find alternative exams. Currently, New York pays the testing company $60 for each exam because…
Supreme Court case could deal another blow to campaign finance law
The Supreme Court is set to take up a case that could wipe out federal campaign contribution limits. And if that happens, the public is supposed to pity Washington lobbyists, apparently. An article published yesterday in The Hill, a news site devoted to all things Congress, bears the headline “Lobbyists fear shakedown if Supreme Court…
PUNK | The Queers
Despite several break-ups over the years, The Queers have been playing Ramones-inspired punk rock since the early 1980’s. And though the comparisons make perfect sense, the band adds its own harmony and pop polish twists. With close to 40 members having gone in and out of its ranks, guitarist/lead vocalist Joe Queer is the one…
ROCK | The Deftones
At this stage of the band’s career, the members of Sacramento’s Deftones are wily veterans: churning out a solid album every few years and touring to throngs of both long-time as well as newly found fans. Over the course of seven records the band has stayed mostly true to its alternative metal roots, updating its…
SHOEGAZE/POP | Now, Now
Minnesota-based Now, Now has come to kick back in our comparatively balmy climes. It will be a brief break from hanging with Minus the Bear on the Waves Overhead Spring Tour, with the band sharing some of its particularly cheery blend of pop and shoegaze, sung by co-vocalists Cacie Dalager and Jess Abbott. The topic…
CLASSICAL | Lyman Brothers
Brothers Zachary and Thatcher Lyman will present a concert of music for trumpet and organ Tuesday, March 5, at St. Mary’s Church, featuring works by Johann Baptist Georg Neruda and American composers Vincent Persichetti and David Sampson. Organist Thatcher Lyman will also perform solo organ works by Felix Mendelssohn and Anton Heiller. Thatcher is currently…
ART | First Friday
Time to brave the bitter weather. March’s First Friday is a cabin-fever reliever, and promises a bunch of art receptions and even a literary scavenger hunt. Here are just a few highlights of cultural events taking place on March 1; visit firstfridayrochester.org or our online calendar at rochestercitynewspaper.com for more. Cat Clay at the Hungerford…
CHOW HOUND: Eats from our streets
If you ever happen to embark on a label-studying spree like the one I’ve been on, you’ll no doubt find yourself impressed with the creativity and gumption of some of your proverbial neighbors, fellow Western New Yorkers who are making a go of it in the world of edible goods. And, the smart practice of…
DANCE/ART | Rochester Dance Project
Rochester Dance Project will bring the paintings of Jennissa Hart to life through contemporary dance on Friday, March 1, at 7:15 p.m. The evening will also include student/teacher demonstrations in ballroom dancing with live music, and takes place at the new multi-use space, Lessons at the Loft (708 University Ave.). The event is free and…
Feedback 2/27
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. Students and college…
FILM | Dryden Theatre Re-Opens
Local film fans have had an especially rough winter since the George Eastman House’s Dryden Theatre, the premier archival cinema in the area, has been closed for an extensive remodel. The good news is that the wait is over, and the revamped Dryden will open Saturday, March 2, with a screening of Alexander Payne’s beloved…
“Dark Skies”
Like the movies themselves, the haunted house, a favorite real estate of generations of horror, has come a long way from the gloomy castle or the dark Victorian pile; directors now relocate that spooky domicile to the more recognizable suburbs that proliferate and spread their interchangeable blandness across our great nation. The menace that once…
KIDS | Royal Ball
The Queen of Play cordially invites all regional youngsters to engage in a magical weekend filled with fairytale fun at the National Museum of Play (1 Manhattan Square). Dress the kids in their courtly best, and bring them to the museum on Saturday, March 2, 11 a.m.-4 p.m., or Sunday, March 3, 1-4 p.m. Kids…
“Snitch”
There’s no denying that Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson has come a long way from his days as a pro wrestler for the WWE. Since making the transition to film acting over ten years ago, he’s appeared in dozens of movies and has always maintained an immensely likeable screen presence. He’s got good looks, charisma to…
INDIE/FOLK | Kristen Ford Band
This Boston-based singer-songwriter has been praised for her multidimensional sound and dynamic live shows, which feature beat boxing, fervent lyrical appeal, improvisational songwriting, and a percussive approach to acoustic guitar. Ford, in the best possible way, is a genre train wreck, mixing the styles of reggae, indie, folk, and disco into a frenetic musical fold…
MUSIC INTERVIEW: The Indigo Girls
Amy Ray’s voice does it for me every time. Whether it’s delivering a pounding indictment of Holocaust complicity or letting her heart bleed all over an old lover, the sound that claws out of her throat is by turns plaintive, playful, violent, and raw — never passive or ambivalent. It is folk rock’s molten core.…
SPECIAL EVENT | Orchid Show & Sale
I know, it seems like this winter will never end. Every time you go outside snow is in the air, ice is on the ground, and your hair freezes. But spring really isn’t that far away. Get yourself excited for the return of flowers and warmer temps with Sonnenberg Gardens & Mansion State Historic Site’s…
Domestic violence
Two Rochester artists have constructed an 18-foot-long rhinestone-laden replica of a US Predator drone, which will be shown as part of a multimedia exhibit opening Friday, March 1, at the Hampden Gallery at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. The installation, “Home Drone,” asks audiences to consider what life is like for people in Pakistan, Yemen,…
METALCORE | I The Breather
Christian bands tend to get a bad rap for being considered junior-varsity alternatives to the secular mainstream. But anyone who has heard I The Breather can testify that this group is neither meek nor lame. The Baltimore-based quintet is tough, fast, sonically out-of-control and blessed with the ability to make the abrasion sound beautiful. Chalk…
Morelle steps into MCC fray
State Assembly member Joe Morelle is sharply questioning Monroe Community College’s plan to move its downtown campus. Morelle is not the only local elected official who has been skeptical of the plan; Mayor Tom Richards and County Legislature Democrats have been very critical of it. But Morelle’s involvement is adding to tensions over the plan.…
THEATER | Festival of Ten
The Rochester area is awash with great live theater. But if you’re looking for something a little different, or if your attention span isn’t what it used to be, consider the biennial Festival of Ten, returning this weekend to SUNY Brockport. This theater festival features 10 plays that run for a mere 10 minutes. This…
THEATER REVIEW: “The Book Club Play”
UPDATED 3/4/13: Edited to reflect that Geva Theatre has extended the run of “The Book Club Play” to March 23. Karen Zacarías’ “The Book Club Play” began life in 2008 and has continued to be workshopped, allowing the writer to polish and refine her script. It’s now five years later, but the current production, currently…
JAZZ | Vlatkovich Tryyo
West Coast trombonist extraordinaire Michael Vlatkovich has played with stars like Peggy Lee, Brian Setzer, and Bryan Adams. His skillful sliding has also enlivened the soundtracks of movies like “The Mask,” “Jingle All The Way,” and John Cassavetes’ “The Tempest.” But when Vlatkovich takes the reins, he prefers to improvise on the wild side with…
Urban Action 2/27
This week’s calls to action include the following events and activities. (All are free and open to the public, unless otherwise noted.) Lectures on faith, politics, and science Nazareth College will present “Catholic Bioethics, Political Priorities, and the Common Good,” a lecture by Lisa Sowle Cahill at 7 p.m. on Thursday, February 28. Cahill will…
INDIE ROCK | They Might Be Giants
The founding members of They Might Be Giants have been creating and playing music together for 30 years. While the line-up of the rest of the band has changed since the move to a full band in the early 90’s, John Flansburgh and John Linnell have been the linchpins, overseeing the group’s sound and direction.…
Partisanship, poverty, and paychecks
In his State of the Union address, President Obama issued a challenge: “Tonight, let’s declare that in the wealthiest nation on earth, no one who works full-time should have to live in poverty, and raise the federal minimum wage to $9 an hour.” On this he finds support from Governor Cuomo, who proposes increasing the…
