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MUSIC FEATURE: The Fox Sisters
It was no big deal; just another night of rock ‘n’ roll in the Flower City. The smart set had shoehorned itself into Abilene on a Friday night in March for headliners 5Head and an unknown support act. You could’ve spread the energy with a spatula. It was palpable within the crowd-powered steam heat when…
AG’s office has funding for land banks
More than a year ago, state attorneys general from across the country signed on to a $25 billion settlement with mortgage lenders who they were suing over illegal practices. The whole point of the settlement is to aid people and communities hit hard by the foreclosure crisis. And here’s how New York State Attorney General…
More testing scares
Another shock wave is likely to spread through the Rochester school district tomorrow when the New York State Education Department releases the scores from the new, more rigorous Common Core curriculum. While some educators are saying that the test scores are not going to be good, others are putting it more bluntly, saying that the…
Xerox chooses Webster for toner plant
Xerox will expand its Webster toner plant, with the help of taxpayer-funded incentives. Empire State Development, the state’s economic development agency, announced Xerox’s decision via press release yesterday afternoon. The company was considering several locations for the plant, though Webster was the only US site on the list. Xerox plans to invest $5 million to…
Do campaign endorsements matter?
Rochester Mayor Tom Richards unveils education plan, gets RTA backing.
VIDEO BLOG: Mayor Richards on Rural/Metro bankruptcy
Rochester Mayor Tom Richards answered reporters’ questions this morning about Rural/Metro’s bankruptcy (see video below). The city’s ambulance provider recently filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Richards’ comments came after an unrelated press conference in which Richards was endorsed for re-election by the Rochester Teachers Association. Rural/Metro has released its own statement. You can read…
Lake Ontario offshore wind not a dead issue
The state Department of Environmental Conservation recently released its Great Lakes basin action agenda — 10 items and related goals compiled from existing plans and studies. The document is full of important and interesting goals and objectives, but some are going to get more attention than others. Offshore wind power development is one of those issues. A…
Week Ahead: University Ave. apartments, school board grant discussion
The Rochester Preservation Board meets on Wednesday to resume hearing Morgan Management’s application for a 102-unit apartment complex on University Avenue, in the East Avenue Preservation District. The board won’t vote that night on whether the project should be built. But it will come up with a position on a key issue: whether the project…
Concert Review: Wavves, Skirts, Dumb Angel at Water Street
It’s an interesting thing to review a show like the Wavves concert that took place at Water Street last Friday night.There are some shows that feel passive enough that being a quiet observer, lingering on the outskirts of the crowd, feels barely outside the norm. At these shows, the focus tends to be the music…
“America’s Next Top Model” Season 20, Episode 1: Bring on the boys
It has been nearly a year since Tyra Banks has been on our television screens. But she is never far from our hearts (I say that both ironically and unironically), and so I was excited to welcome her back Friday night for a whole new season of ridiculousness. And the two-hour season premiere did not…
Charters show higher suspensions
One of the most common characteristics of charter schools with high test scores, many observers say, is the focus on structure and discipline. The schools often bear a striking resemblance to the Catholic schools of the 1950’s and ‘60’s, with their low tolerance for levity and horseplay. The charters like to call it “no excuses.”…
Concert Review: Party in the Park w/Lucius, The Head and the Heart
I have often rejoiced as technology has brought music back to the musicians and out of the grabby paws of the too-long-established charlatans and racketeers. Bands are embracing and forging a new honesty, even a new sound. You’ve got, for instance, Brooklyn’s Lucius, a band so full of unpretentious joy that I smiled until my…
Cornell prof says shale gas is a ‘gangplank to more warming’
Cornell University Professor Anthony Ingraffea has consistently argued that natural gas from high-volume hydraulic fracturing is not as clean as its supporters make it out to be. This week, an editorial by Ingraffea ran in the New York Times and it’s worth a read (if the Times paywall blocks you, just Google “Gangplank to a…
Concert Review: Singer/Songwriter Showcase at Club at Water Street
Took a chance and rolled up on the singer/songwriter showcase at The Club @ Water Street Wednesday night. Half the battle in supporting local music is encouraging it to stay original. Most artists I talk with want to play their own stuff exclusively, but demand often dictates differently. Kaylin Cervini is one of those artists.…
UR study reveals concerns about new Common Core curriculum
New York is among 45 states that signed on to teaching a new, more rigorous curriculum called the Common Core. The general idea is two-fold: raise the standard of information that students must know, and create consistency across the public education landscape to help the US remain competitive in a global economy. Seventh-grade students learning…
FOLK | Sara Watkins
You may know Sara Watkins from her years of playing with the popular folk trio Nickel Creek, but she has recently created a name for herself as a solo artist in the folk and bluegrass scene. Watkins plays the role of both singer-songwriter and fiddle player, creating mellifluous bluegrass tunes — some of which comfort,…
POP/ROCK | Wavves
It’s difficult to categorize the type of music made by San Diego-based band Wavves. At times it’s an obvious ode to pop-punk, at others it’s a nod to the surf-rock sounds of the 60’s. Lead singer, guitarist, and songwriter Nathan Williams has created a sound that is hard to define. Wavves embraces a lo-fi, stoner…
Preserving preservation
The plan for a new apartment building at 933 University Avenue is back in the news. The proposal, by Morgan Management, is on the Rochester Preservation Board’s August 7 agenda. The board won’t vote that night on whether the project should be built. But it will come up with a position on a key issue:…
INDIE/FOLK/ROCK | The Head and the Heart
Maybe it’s a backlash to all the bands that go to 11, but it seems like a lot of bands that are popping up on pop radar are unplugging. What bands like Seattle’s The Head and the Heart focus on is the melody and the awesome power it creates as it catches on and takes…
Feedback 7/31
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. For our print edition, we select comments from all three sources; those of fewer than 350 words have a greater chance of being published, and we do edit selections for publication in…
JAZZ | Miche Fambro
Miche Fambro started out as a drummer. When he moved to the front of the stage, that’s when it became obvious that the singer-songwriter had the gift of a beautiful voice and the chops of a guitar maestro. Fambro returned to this region several years ago after more than a decade of touring as a…
Abortion activism
If you’ve been out and about in Rochester over the last week, you may have seen a truck with images of an aborted fetus on it. Or spied protestors toting equally graphic visuals. That’s because the anti-abortion group Operation Save America has been in Rochester since July 24 for its yearly national event, which concludes…
CLASSICAL | Finger Lakes Chamber Music Festival
Two great writers get the musical treatment in the final concert of the 2013 Finger Lakes Chamber Music Festival. Mark Twain’s “War Prayer” pulls no punches in giving the business to sermons glorifying war and destruction, and has been set to music several times, most recently by the Festival’s music director Richard Auldon Clark. Premiered…
Nuclear options
A Vermont Law School researcher recently released a list of 12 US nuclear power plants that he says face economic risks that could lead to early shutdown. And the Ginna nuclear plant in Wayne County is on the list. Mark Cooper, a senior fellow for economic analysis at the school’s Institute for Energy and the…
ELECTRONIC | Mishva
It’s a travelling kind of night at Dubland. Swinging straight out of Brazil is Mishva, here to show us how they dub in South America. While it’s a bit of a heavier groove, it will be wicked awesome to get down to. In from Portland, land of the hipsters, is Mortal Gray, which has a…
CLASSICAL: “Camelot”
Growing up in north Jersey, I thought of life as a musical. Julie Andrews and Doris Day at the movies. Yul Brynner and Rex Harrison on Broadway. It was a big deal when I got old enough to take the bus into the city on my own and head to TKTS for discounted same-day show…
PUNK | Off With Their Heads
The Twin City area has been a prolific breeding ground for punk and hardcore since the mid-70’s, and this Minneapolis-based outfit is dutifully following in the footsteps of respected area acts like Dillinger Four. Off with Their Heads formed in 2003 and, until the steadying effect of its most recent studio release, this year’s “Home,”…
The artist of Highland Park
Monroe County horticulturist Tom Pollock ventures out into Highland Park often when the mornings are barely light. Driving a small green John Deere utility cart with its rear platform stocked with pruning shears, saws, shovels, and maybe an edger, Pollock patrols the park’s 155 acres for trees and shrubs in need of seasonal maintenance or…
“Fruitvale Station”
Arriving laden with prizes from the usual festivals, “Fruitvale Station” demonstrates once again the relevance of the small, independent films shoehorned into the narrow space amidst the noisy blockbusters, witless comedies, and insipid chick flicks that clog the summer screens. Along with such documentaries as “Capitalism: A Love Story,” and “The Tillman Story,” and a…
Lakes love
A bipartisan group of House representatives called the Great Lakes Caucus has introduced legislation that would provide significant funding to improve water quality in the lakes. | The bill would reauthorize and fund the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, the Great Lakes Legacy Act, and the Great Lakes National Program Office. It would also create the…
“The Wolverine”
“The Wolverine” marks the sixth time that Hugh Jackman has portrayed the beloved mutant superhero known as Wolverine (that includes his tiny, brilliant cameo in “X-Men: First Class”) over the past 13 years. It’s the most times a single actor has portrayed any comic-book character on the big screen, and by now the role fits…
Urban Action 7/31
This week’s calls to action include the following events and activities. (All are free and open to the public, unless otherwise noted.) Voter registration and public forums Rochester for Obama will hold a voter registration drive on Saturday, August 3, and Sunday, August 4, at the Park Avenue Festival from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.…
CHOW HOUND: Think globally, eat locally
I hate to call an entire suburb on to the carpet — especially the beautiful one where I was born and raised — but Irondequoit has had somewhat of a restaurant problem. With a couple of exceptions, there’s never really been anything interesting to eat, unless you’re only ever in the mood for a pizza,…
COMEDY | The Amazing Acro-Cats
People generally fall into two groups regarding felines: you either L-O-V-E them or you loathe them. The strange and adorable creatures have the run of many households, and have just about taken over the internet via photos, videos, and memes. Part of their charm/repulsion is that while you can train a dog to do tricks,…
FESTIVAL | 2013 Monroe County Fair
County fairs are what they have always been to rural people — a social, festive atmosphere with the chance to win a blue ribbon for prize produce or livestock. But to city folk they are an opportunity to temporarily make contact with a long-forgotten and fascinating living-off-the-land existence. The 2013 Monroe County Fair features the…
FESTIVAL | Park Avenue Summer Arts Festival
Revel in the summer festivities this weekend at the Park Avenue Summer Arts Festival, which will be held Saturday, August 3, 10 a.m.-6 p.m., and Sunday, August 4, 10 a.m.-5 p.m., along picturesque Park Avenue, between Alexander Street and Culver Road. In addition to a juried art show of more than 300 artists, the event…
THEATER: 2013 Shaw Festival
So far, I’ve seen only half the plays at this year’s Shaw Festival, so it wouldn’t be fair to draw final conclusions. But at this point the word for this season is — with exceptions — mediocre. Only director Jackie Maxwell’s production of George Bernard Shaw’s “Major Barbara” in the small Royal George Theatre transformed…
KIDS | 2013 Rochester Teen Film Festival
Dr. Brian Bailey, associate professor of adolescence education at Nazareth College, and Linda Moroney, programmer of Greentopia Film, are the co-founders of the Rochester Teen Film Festival, a collaborative, juried media competition for youth in the Rochester region, held in order to give area youth the chance to show off their creations. Every-other summer, the…
THEATER: ‘MoM: A Rock Concert Musical’
“MoM: A Rock Concert Musical” is the second and final show in Geva’s summer 2013 season. Along with the previous show, “Big Pants & Botox,” it’s fairly light, female-leaning fare. (Geva did have a more serious piece, a Robert Forster-starring Ronald Reagan play, initially on the summer schedule, but it was cancelled.) The thing about…
THEATER | Fight With Love 2013
The 7th Annual Fight With Love musical-theater benefit for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS will be held this weekend. The student-run event is a manifestation of the commitment of local youth in the theater community to help combat the HIV/AIDS epidemic by telling the emotional stories of victims of the disease, and raising awareness of the…
ROCK | Celebrating the Life of Aaron Plunkett
Aaron Plunkett, owner of Aaron’s Alley on Monroe Ave., was a huge music fan who sold concert tickets (often without handling fees) and merchandise including items associated with his favorite group, the Grateful Dead. Plunkett died suddenly on July 20. Friends described him as a free spirit and as the sort of person that would…
SPECIAL EVENT | A Prairie Home Companion’s Radio Romance Tour 2013
Garrison Keillor, the ruby-slippered author, storyteller, humorist, and host of the Minnesota Public Radio show, “A Prairie Home Companion,” will be back in Rochester this week with his “A Prairie Home Companion’s Radio Romance Tour.” Keillor will be accompanied by singer and fiddler Sara Watkins, comedian Fred Newman, Rich Dworsky and The Guy’s All-Star Shoe…
