Cover Story
A hearty bunch
Many people’s knee-jerk reaction when the temperatures dip into the below-freezing territory is to run inside and hibernate. And we’re not crazy; sometimes you should listen to your instincts — like during the closing days of 2017 when the cold threatened frostbite to exposed skin in less than 30 minutes. But that instant reaction to…
XRIJF announces final 2018 headliners: Boz Scaggs, Jill Scott, Lake Street Dive
Xerox Rochester International Jazz Festival producers John Nugent and Mark Iocona have rolled out the final three headliners for the festival’s 17th edition. Jill Scott, Lake Street Dive, and Boz Scaggs join the previously announced headliners Seal, Bela Fleck & The Flecktones, and Alison Krauss. The 2018 Jazz Festival runs June 22 to June 30.…
Tarana Burke, founder of #metoo, to speak at UR
Tarana Burke, founder of the original, pre-social media era “#metoo” movement, on Monday, February 5, will speak at the University of Rochester. Burke is a sexual assault survivor who, for more than 25 years, has worked for social justice and helped build the structure for the survivor solidarity that we’re seeing today. Burke initiated the…
Assini calls off congressional run
Republican Gates Supervisor Mark Assini will not run against Democratic House Representative Louise Slaughter for a third time. He was going to, but he abandoned those plans on Sunday. Assini had organized an event for last night to announce his candidacy. But as he took the stage, he explained that the audience and media had…
County unveils opioid strategy
Opioids are taking a lot of lives, and communities everywhere are struggling to contain the still unfurling epidemic. Monroe County officials today released an Opioid Action Plan, which is meant to combat what County Executive Cheryl Dinolfo called “one of the most challenging public health crises our nation faces.” The Monroe County Medical Examiners office identified…
BreadMachine announces new game ‘Slam Land’
Rochester-based game developer BreadMachine today officially announced its new game “Slam Land” — what they’re calling a “couch-competitive slam dunking brawler,” where you must slam-dunk the other player in an attempt to impress a seemingly gentle-faced, stoic, blue giant. The game features a completely illustrated style, with bright colors overlayed with watercolor-like textures. Instead of…
Feedback 1/24
Send comments to themail@rochester-citynews.com or post them with articles on our website, rochestercitynewspaper.com. We edit selections for publication, and we don’t publish comments sent to other media. Guns and health As a physician, I must look at gun violence with the same lens as the dangers of the Zika virus, Lyme disease, and severe influenza,…
People remember Wendell Castle, beloved sculptor who elevated furniture to fine art
Beloved sculptor, mentor, and friend Wendell Castle died on Saturday, January 20, at his Scottsville home after a battle with leukemia. He was 85 years old. Through his more than 50-year career Castle elevated furniture to a fine art, and while his innovative sculptures earned him international renown, he remained dedicated to Rochester and supportive…
Urban Action 1/24
This week’s calls to action include the following events and activities. (All are free and open to the public, unless otherwise noted.) Fighting for health care Rochester for New York Health will hold an organizing meeting on Wednesday, January 31. The meeting will focus on building a local movement that supports universal health care and…
HIP-HOP | ‘It Was All a Dream’ Notorious B.I.G. Tribute
The first Skunk City Notorious B.I.G. tribute was just over a year ago at the original Funk ‘N Waffles in Syracuse. The show was a packed house with, as Biggie would say “sold out seats to hear Biggie Smalls speak” — not really, but close enough. To start out this tribute night, Emanuel Washington, drummer…
Preparing for the inevitable: City looks at climate change
[UPDATED AND REVISED 01/26/17] Climate change is such an all-encompassing problem that there’s no escaping it. Sure, people, corporations, and governments across the world should be doing everything they can to attack the fundamental problem: the human-generated carbon emissions that are causing Earth to warm at an accelerated rate. But as a planet, we took…
DUB/FUNK | Barika
The Vermont-based Barika is a powerful six-piece band with a soulful West African-inspired sound — and that hardly describes it. Previously an all instrumental band with booming horns and groovy guitar and keys, the group’s leader, Craig Myers, decided Barika’s new album needed a voice. “When The Time Comes” includes trance-y, rhythmic guest vocals by…
Let it go
The ephemeral art of ice sculpting featured at Caledonia festival
CLASSICAL | Fifth House Ensemble
Fifth House Ensemble plays classical music on the cutting edge. If it’s new music by a living composer, it’s fair game for the 11-person group. Members of the Chicago-based ensemble will perform a concert entitled “Americana” this Saturday as guests of the Eastman School of Music’s Institute for Music Leadership. Violinist Charlene Kluegel, cellist Herine…
‘Plateapalooza’ celebrates the trashy star of Rochester cuisine
When I tell people that I’m from Rochester, the response typically isn’t “Oh! You guys have that internationally renowned photography museum!” or “Isn’t that guy from Foreigner from there?” It’s usually, “Rochester? Aren’t you known for that dish? That gross pile of food? What’s it called, again?” It’s called the garbage plate — and, legally,…
CLASSICAL | ‘Parisian Masses’
First Inversion begins its fourth concert season this Friday and Sunday with masses by two rather obscure French organist-composers, Louis Vierne and Jean Langlais. Led by founding Artistic Director Lee Wright, the 26-member vocal ensemble presents its “Parisian Masses,” featuring two organs. Whether you’re an aficionado of sacred music or you just enjoy the human…
TECH | ROC Game Dev Showcase Party
Too few Rochesterians know that there’s a growing video game industry right here in town. Not only are we the home of game developer company Workinman Interactive and its sub-studio BreadMachine, Rochester also has a community of indie developers known as ROC Game Dev. On Saturday, January 27, members of this collective will showcase some…
The Struts do glam rock tougher
It was during the deep freeze of last December’s winter when roughly 500 of the frozen and the faithful piled into the Main Street Armory’s downstairs venue. The crowd was alive with the bizz-buzz about The Struts — Derbyshire, England’s gift to rock ‘n’ roll. The band was straight-up sing-along glam rock. It delivered with…
THEATER | ‘Maid Julie’
Shakespeare may be well known for his tales about forbidden love, but he wasn’t the only playwright to tackle the subject. Grey Noise Theatre Company has adapted August Strindberg’s relationship drama “Maid Julie” into a chilling tale about reconciling romance against class differences. Set in the heat of one summer in the thirteenth century, the…
Album review: ‘Feel The Voodoo’
Johnny Smoke “Feel The Voodoo” Self-released facebook.com/johnnysmokerocks This new four-song EP from Johnny Smoke is a pleasant and clever departure for this normally hard-rockin’ outfit. Don’t panic, though, Johnny Smoke still rocks out major league. However, instead of blasting out of the gate with the band’s political slant and straight ahead rock ‘n’ roll, “Feel…
MUSEUM | ‘Genome: Unlocking Life’s Code’
People have always told me I look just like my mother. No offense to her (she takes none), but I just don’t see it. But the genetics are definitely there. That’s part of the focus of “Genome: Unlocking Life’s Code,” a new exhibit opening this week at the Rochester Museum and Science Center. The exhibit…
Album review: ‘In Paris: The Definitive ORTF Recording’
Wes Montgomery “In Paris: The Definitive ORTF Recording” Resonance Records resonancerecords.org Pat Metheny has called him the greatest jazz guitarist ever, and listening to this new (old) Wes Montgomery album, it’s hard to argue. There has long been a recording available of Montgomery’s 1965 gig at the Théâtre des Champs-lysées in Paris, but it was…
COMEDY | Sebastian Maniscalco
Comedian Sebastian Maniscalco proudly brags that he is “half-Sicilian and half-Italian,” and he isn’t afraid to tell it like it is. He’s bringing his boisterous brand of humor to town this week. Maniscalco rocketed to fame in 2006, when Vince Vaughn selected him to be a featured performer in his critically acclaimed “Wild West Comedy…
FILM | ‘Tell Them We Are Rising’
Through archival footage and interviews with scholars and historians, Emmy-winning filmmaker Stanley Nelson’s “Tell Them We Are Rising: The Story of Black Colleges and Universities” explores the transformative role that HBCUs played in creating space and opportunity for black students and promoting pride and self-determination in the black community. A free screening of “Tell Them…
FILM | ‘Through Conflict to Negotiation’
Visual Studies Workshop’s Community Curator Program invites individuals from different community groups to guest-curate film screenings from the workshop’s extensive collection. On Saturday, January 27, VSW will host a screening of Bonnie Sherr Klein’s 1968 film “Through Conflict to Negotiation,” which tells the story of community action group FIGHT’s battle with Kodak regarding corporate responsibility…
A grown-up’s guide to sledding
As an adult, it can be difficult to find the time for nostalgic, winter staples, like sledding. There is something so simple about racing down a frozen hill, uncontrollably giggling and forgetting about your obligations for a fleeting moment. Now that I’m older and wiser, but still a kid at heart, sledding makes a long,…
WORLD/REGGAE | The Buddhahood
After vowing to keep on keeping on after its leader, Tony Cavagnaro, died in 2007, world-beat masters The Buddhahood has been a band in flux, with some members coming and others going, thus augmenting the sound slightly. The band has since worked out the kinks and beefed up the reggae with some brassy funk. It…
From the frozen vine
Rochesterians love to incorporate wine into any season. Wine slushies are a centerpiece of the Lilac Festival, and local companies make it easy to plan robust winery tours in the fall. The frigid winter months, those bring a thick, sweet dessert wine known as ice wine. Ice wine is a highly concentrated dessert wine known…
ROCK | Magoozler
At first you’ll wanna classify Magoozler as being simply a prog-metal band. But that would be too easy. That would be missing the point. Wait until it abruptly hairpins into its mash of keen introspection and dreamy psychedelia. The band skates pretty damn close to stoner rock, but the drums are too lively for that.…
VOCAL/POP | Audra McDonald
The remarkable Audra McDonald hasn’t won the Nobel Peace Prize yet, but her awards cabinet already contains six Tony Awards, two Grammys, and an Emmy, so I’m sure it’s only a matter of time. McDonald, who has starred in “Ragtime,” “Porgy and Bess,” and “Carousel,” not to mention a few plays and the occasional opera,…
Winter landscapes
You may have seen the meme of “Star Wars” characters under a heavy Hoth snowfall quipping, “Going to Wegmans. Need anything?” It’s true that the Upstate New York climate can be fickle in how it participates in the changing of the seasons — sometimes it feels like all we get is winter and construction season.…
POP-PUNK | Iron Chic
While that header might read “pop-punk,” don’t fret. Long Island’s Iron Chic have nothing in common with the saccharine naivety that hangs over the current scene’s most popular bands. In fact, Iron Chic’s music aches and roars with the unmistakable weight of real-world emotional experience, and nowhere is this more evident than on its most…
Rochester Winter Survival Kit
If you wear sneakers outdoors between October and March, this list is for you. If your tires aren’t the nicest thing on your car, this list is for you. If your snow shovel wasn’t invented by a NASA engineer from Minnesota, this list is for you. If your snow scraper is still in the back…
18 for 2018
[Updated 01/25 to correct the listing for the RPO’s “Winter Sing,” which is not open to the public] The Rochester winter can be a brooding time of year that can occasionally feel a little hopless. Sure, you can stay inside in your own private hibernation — until the inevitable sense of cabin fever sinks in.…
Film review: ‘Den of Thieves’
If Michael Mann’s “Heat” is the filet mignon of cops and robbers stories on screen, “Den Of Thieves” plays more like the Big Mac version — and that’s not necessarily a bad thing. It’s a film that knows exactly what it is: it might not be good for you, but it’s a satisfying enough meal…
Film preview: ‘Hostiles’
Writer-director Scott Cooper’s grim “Hostiles,” a harsh telling of story of the American West, treats its Native American characters as mere plot devices to enlighten the white characters.
