Heavy cello thunder
A rock fan sees a cello and is inclined to turn tail and run. A classical music buff hears “heavy metal” and cringes. Break of Reality cellist Erin Keesecker is keenly aware of both reactions. “You have to erase any preconception you have of our music and then listen to us,” Keesecker says. “People are…
The reaper and the smoker
Today, we try to answer the age-old question, “Is it possible to enjoy a restaurant while watching the New England Patriots on a giant TV screen?” You could go farther, and simply consider the giant TVs, regardless of programming, but let’s focus. You’re at the new Merchant Street Smokehouse in Brockport, opened by owner Jonathan…
Women…
The public doesn’t seem to care much for female team athletics. It’s proven. From 1996 to 2002, organizers launched five major pro women’s leagues in basketball, soccer, softball, and volleyball, and only one — the Women’s National Basketball Association — remains. The top NCAA men’s basketball programs draw more than 16,000 to their games, while…
Waste nothing: the power of the remake
The release last month of Ocean’s Twelve, the sequel to the 2001 Ocean’s Eleven, itself a remake of the 1960 Ocean’s Eleven (are you still with me?) underlines one of the great truths of the American film industry, a profound and apparently enduring belief in the doctrine of the conservation of matter. Such recent efforts…
Crouching monster, hidden agendas
If you’re planning to see Incident at Loch Ness(Saturday, January 22, 8 p.m., Dryden Theatre, 271-4090), don’t read beyond this paragraph. Seriously, the less you know about the film, the more you’ll probably enjoy it. And if you decide to continue with this review, you’ll hopefully be persuaded to see Incident but you’ll come across…
Tattooed in A flat
I dug The Franks (is that a cool name or what?) open for The Earl Cram Revue at The Montage a couple of Thursday nights ago (alas, it would turn out to be my last time there). Frontman Dan Frank is another great guitar player here who I’m afraid gets overlooked. It’s the 20th anniversary…
America’s party
It is a tradition, this extravagant inauguration of an American president. And however much we liberals enjoy finding reasons to scold (The war! The tsunami!), George Bush is not the first president to hold a bunch of glitzy do’s during times of great stress and tragedy. So go ahead, if you’re in the mood…
The XX files
Since scientists discovered extra sleep results in weight loss, I’ve been going to bed earlier and staying there longer, pillow over my head, trying to get a bit more shut-eye. What this really means is that instead of sleeping I’m spending hours in bed wide awake, thinking. I think about how odd it is that…
Reader feedback 1.19.05
Bible lessons, saving Social Security, King’s words
Body count 1.19.05
To honor the war dead and fill an information gap in US mass media, City Newspaper will run weekly lists of American soldiers and Iraqi civilians killed during the occupation of Iraq. The totals: 1,360 American soldiers, 160 Coalition soldiers, and approximately 15,365 to 17,582 Iraqi civilians have been killed in Iraq from the beginning…
The incredible shrinking district
When the city school district held a series of public forums last fall to put together a list of school-closing criteria, almost nobody showed. That surprised officials at the time, but no one’s surprised by the amount of attention being paid now that those criteria are being implemented. Facing permanently declining enrollment, the district embarked…
City’s choice: film
Timothy Carey was a sleepy-eyed yet volatile character actor who worked with the likes of Marlon Brando, Stanley Kubrick, and John Cassavetes. He was also one of the “sources of inspiration” to whom Quentin Tarantino dedicated his script for Reservoir Dogs. Despite the demands of being cool, Carey still found time to write, direct, produce,…
Fast Ferry acts
City Hall has released the list of 11 people Mayor Bill Johnson and City Council President Lois Giess are recommending for a new city-run corporation to oversee fast-ferry operations called the Rochester Ferry Company. There are 11 appointments to be made, and state legislation requires those appointments to be made by Mayor Bill Johnson and…
Family valued 1.19.05
Candy stores rock! I have to face the facts. I have the sweet tooth of a large brown bear. Keeping that in mind, and here just in time to save your hide for Valentine’s Day, are a couple of spots that my kids really love and I like too. Oliver’s Candies, 25 State Street, Pittsford…
