Cover Story
The monarchs of mushroom forest
Brothers Noah and Abram Johnson stood on a perch overlooking their small farm last month, radiating such pride that you’d think they ruled a vast, mighty kingdom. It was an unusually warm day that beckoned insects out of their winter hiding spots to circle in lazy formations over the Johnsons’ field. Noah, 28, and Abe,…
Art from the weekend past
City check out Axom’s experimental art & music night and The Yards’ Artist Residency
The City Seen: January 16-17
City, over the weekend, ventured outside the Rochester limits to peruse the Wine and Chocolate Festival at the Dome Center, and Winterfest at Mendon Ponds Park. The Wine and Chocolate Festival, which took place Saturday, brought in local wineries, such as Merritt Winery, and chocolate vendors, like Candy Jar Confection, but the festival also brought…
I Scene It: Coulter & Christiano, Enforcer, and The Majestics
Neither snow nor sleet nor rain kept me away from catching Americana act Coulter & Christiano at Sticky Lips Juke Joint on Thursday night. It had been a while since I heard Rita Coulter sing, so it was time to hear what’s happening. Her partner, Don Christiano, performed double duty on guitar and co-lead vocals…
Health crisis forces Lowengard out as RCSD interim superintendent
Linda Cimusz (above), who has been with the district only two weeks, is the school board’s pick to replace him.
Data storage costs often overlooked in rush for police body cameras
In some cities, the cost of data storage runs into the millions of dollars annually.
Concert review: RPO performs “Pathétique”
After this performance one can only hope Fabien Gabel’s presence becomes a lasting annual tradition.
Cuomo calls for significant investment in infrastructure
Governor Andrew Cuomo just wrapped up his State of the State speech and budget presentation. The address was something of a shotgun blast of proposals: a high-level overview that touched on everything from tourism promotions to criminal justice reforms. He appealed to the image many New Yorkers’ have of themselves: that we persevere through tough…
THEATER | “The Devil, the Witch, and the Blacksmith”
The Kingfisher Theater is one of the newer companies in town, and artistic director Kevin Dedes is wasting no time establishing a reputation for producing new works. Dedes teamed up with local performer Amy Canfield (who also directs the newest show) to write a world premiere production, “The Devil, the Witch, and the Blacksmith,” based…
CLASSICAL | From the Top
Pianist Christopher O’Riley brings his popular NPR program From the Top back to Rochester’s Eastman Theatre on Sunday for what is sure to be a mesmerizing set of performances from prodigiously talented classical musicians ranging in age from 14 to 17. The Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra will join the three featured soloists — pianist and Pittsford…
METAL | 1349
Oslo’s black metal stalwart 1349 is nothing if not committed to its craft. Fittingly named after the year the Black Death reached Norway, 1349 has been worshiping at the altar of its Norwegian Black Metal ancestors Mayhem and Darkthrone since the late 1990’s. The band’s devotion to all things corpse paint, spiked bracelets, frostbitten guitar…
POP | Anna Nalick
You may remember the radio hit “Breathe (2 AM)” from a decade ago, but not who penned it. The song, which peaked at No. 45 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, was off Anna Nalick’s 2005 debut album, “Wreck of the Day.” A little bit wrecking ball and a little heartache whisper, Nalick’s sound pulses…
FOLK | Richie & Rosie
Ithaca-based banjo player Richie Stearns (of Donna the Buffalo, and The Horseflies) and fiddler Rosie Newton (The Duhks, Red Dog Run) are a spirited duo playing Americana. Country, folk, and bluegrass is wound into their strings. They’ve been makin’ sweet harmonies for 4 years and put out their freshman project, “Tractor Beam,” in 2013. It’s…
ONE MAN BAND | The Suitcase Junket
Now this is the shit I’m talking about, Jack. The Suitcase Junket is a lo-fi, low-tuned, low-down blast of end-times folk blues. It’s crude; it’s magnificent. With a stage set-up that resembles a junkyard foley stage or Fred Sanford’s living room, The Suitcase Junket — one man band leader Matt Lorenz — incants and intones…
ROCK | Handsome Jack
Buffalo’s Handsome Jack give lots of muscle to its 1970’s big rock inspired boogie and soul. It’s essentially a garage band that outgrew the garage as it moved into bigger sounds and grooves. The guitar is boss in this band, driving neck and neck with the rest or the group’s thunderclap and groove. They’ve consistently…
R&B | Patti LaBelle
The “Godmother of Soul” has been inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame, the Apollo Theater Hall of Fame, and the Songwriters’ Hall of Fame, and has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Her band, LaBelle, was the first African-American vocal group to appear on the cover of Rolling Stone. And did you…
Chris Beard bends the blues
Chris Beard — a k a The Prince of the Blues — was shopping around for labels to release what would be the fifth album for the blues rocker. But execs didn’t get it, didn’t want it, or were simply uninterested. Beard was running into walls and out of options. He was frustrated. This was…
ALBUM REVIEW: “Skeletal Remains”
Melia “Skeletal Remains” Self-released meliarocks.com Melia’s new album, “Skeletal Remains,” is a fabulous slab of rock ‘n’ roll beauty and brutality that doesn’t necessarily defy classification, but does make it a little difficult. Melia skates the razor — always has — between metal speed, hard rock gravel and grind, and a dusting of pop sugar.…
ALBUM REVIEW: “Lotus”
Mike Moreno “Lotus” World Culture Music mikemoreno.com He may be overshadowed by more famous guitarists like Pat Metheny and Mike Stern, but Mike Moreno has earned a reputation as one of the top up-and-coming guitarists on the scene. In fact, Metheny has called him “a really talented guy,” and Stern has said his playing is…
Feedback 1/13
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. Big, bad…
Retrospective explores Coburn’s brief but prolific career
A few weeks remain to catch Eastman Museum’s retrospective of the life and work of photographer Alvin Langdon Coburn. Three galleries full of images, as well as objects from Coburn’s personal life, tell the story of a talented and intrepid young artist. Though Coburn lived a long life (1882-1966), he produced his staggering amount of…
Urban Action 1/13
This week’s calls to action include the following events and activities. All are free and open to the public unless otherwise noted. Gun documentary and discussion at The Little New Yorkers Against Gun Violence, in cooperation with several area faith organizations, will present “No Control,” a documentary film that explores how Americans are coping with…
ART | “The Magic of Light 2016”
Let Image City Photography Gallery’s popular annual juried show, “The Magic of Light,” carry you through our region’s darker, more dismal months. Featuring 98 photographers exhibiting more than 160 photographs, the show includes portraits of people and places in gloriously lit grayscale, moments of playful interaction between architectural form and its shadows, and light dancing…
Calamity in Puerto Rico has families worried here
Puerto Rico is teetering on the edge of a Greece-style financial calamity. The US territory defaulted on its debt payment earlier this month, failing to pay $174 million on the roughly $72 billion it owes lenders. And Rochester’s large Puerto Rican community is extremely concerned; many have family members living on the island. Thousands of…
THEATER | “The Amen Corner”
The next installment of Project Baldwin will stage James Baldwin’s three-act play “The Amen Corner.” The 1954 play focuses on the role of the church in the African-American family through the story of a Harlem pastor who is confronted by her estranged husband, and the repercussions it has for not only her family, but also…
Cuomo restarts the fight for $15
Governor Andrew Cuomo will set the tone for this year’s legislative session in Albany when he gives his combined State of the State and budget address on Wednesday, January 13. At the top of his list: a true, statewide, cross-industry $15 an hour minimum wage. Approximately 2.4 million New Yorkers — a quarter of the…
SPECIAL EVENT | Wine & Chocolate Festival
I’m guessing that only those of you with the sturdiest adherence to your New Year’s resolutions would need any convincing. Personally, after reading the headline, I would only be scanning these paragraphs for the where and when, so I’ll get to it. The festival will take place Saturday, January 16, from 3 p.m. to 9…
Wood-fired pizza comes to Merchants neighborhood
The space at 564 Merchants Road has seen its fair share of turnover the last few years — Luna Piena Bistro to Merchant’s Pasta House, then Porcini Bar & Bistro. New owners Steve Costanza and Donna DiMarzo — who has been in the business of wood-fired pizzas for 15 years — opened Merchants Wood Fired…
RECREATION | Winterfest at Mendon Ponds
Earn your Rochesterian stripes: Defy the urge to hole up for the winter and enjoy some all-weather recreation. There has to be more to the next several months than trudging from home to work, and work to home. Balmy or bitter, snow or not, rain or (fingers crossed) shine, the 21st annual Winterfest at Mendon…
Have we all gone mad? Guns, anger, and us
We may not be able to get control of our gun violence unless we do something about our anger, fear, and hatred.
Film review: “The Revenant”
At last Sunday’s Golden Globe ceremony, Alejandro González Iñárritu’s macho survival tale, “The Revenant,” took home awards for Best Picture, drama; Director; and Actor, drama. While it remains to be seen whether that will translate to Oscar gold (Academy Award nominations are announced Thursday), the Globes generally have a spotty record for predicting which way…
Top 15 movies of 2015
2015 has been over for almost two weeks now, and the big Oscar contenders have just about finished trickling into Rochester theaters. We’re still waiting on a few last-minute stragglers (“Anomalisa” opens next week and “45 Years” is due in February), but there’s more than enough to begin taking stock of the year that was.…
Film preview: “Sympathy, Said the Shark”
Two filmmakers return to their hometown for the Rochester premiere of “Sympathy, Said the Shark,” a new crime thriller from writer-director Devin Lawrence and producer Matthew Mourgides, both Sodus natives. On a dark and stormy night, a young couple — Justin (Lea Coco) and Lara (Melinda Cohen) — answer their door to find their estranged…
Geva names new executive director
Geva Theatre Center today announced Christopher Mannelli will be the next Executive Director and co-CEO with Artistic Director Mark Cuddy. Following Geva’s national search, Mannelli comes to Geva from Victory Gardens Theater in Chicago — a 41-year-old, Tony Award-winning institution dedicated to new plays and playwrights, where he served as managing director for five years.…
Airigami announces ‘Journey on the Genesee’ build
This year’s sculpture will use more than 40,000 compostable balloons.
