Cover Story
Completing the canvas
Tattooing helps women reclaim what breast cancer stole.
Protesters target Slaughter over refugee vote
Dozens of people spoke out against House Representative Louise Slaughter’s Syrian refugee vote.
Film review: ‘The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2’
The series comes to a satisfying conclusion, even if it never quite lives up to the previous installments.
Film review: ‘Brooklyn’
“Brooklyn” is a lovely romantic period drama.
Film review: ‘Creed’
Everybody loves an underdog story. Rooting for a scrappy, gutsy hero to win the day against seemingly insurmountable odds is a timeless formula, and the secret behind the success of the popular “Rocky” film series. So it’s fitting that when expectations were low for the seventh film in the franchise — a spin-off following Adonis…
Week Ahead: For the week of Monday, November 23
Rochester City Council will hold a public meeting at 6 p.m. on Monday, November 23, on the pending police body-camera program. Meetings will be held throughout November and one on December 3. Tonight’s meeting is at the Edgerton center, 41 Backus Street The purpose of the meetings is to get public input on the pending…
The City Seen: November 21-22
we found this past weekend buzzing with creativity as we visited the Rochester Mini Maker Faire at the Riverside Convention Center on Saturday and caught the tail end of the Holiday Bazaar and Craft Show at the Rochester Museum and Science Center on Sunday. The Mini Maker faire brought dozens of inventors, tinkerers, artists and…
Concert review: RPO performs Wagner, Barber, and Sergei Prokofiev
In its concert in Kodak Hall Thursday night, the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra interpreted the works of important composers who, despite their undeniable mastery, are not included frequently enough in orchestral programs. By adding a guest appearance from a young American phenom to the mix – Simone Porter – the recipe for success was complete. Opening…
Figures framing essence
Every so often, art collector and dealer Deborah Ronnen and her assistant Jen Burger pull together a showcase of work to exhibit at Deborah Ronnen Fine Art. Ronnen is dedicated to introducing Rochester audiences — and collectors — to work by artists they might not otherwise encounter. The current show on view, “Body and Soul,”…
County, city to explore fiber options
Monroe County and City of Rochester officials want to hire a consultant to figure out how to best use their fiber networks. Over the years, county workers have installed 367 miles of fiber optic cable throughout Monroe’s towns and villages, and particularly in the City of Rochester, said Monroe County Executive Maggie Brooks during a…
Teachers union calls for immediate RCSD leadership change
A statement released by the union cites a lack of leadership at the district and dangerous conditions.
ROCK | KDNY Benefit Show
This fall, local musician Phil Pierce put together the compilation “KDNY” to support his sister Glori Alexander, who had just received a successful kidney transplant. Friday marks the official CD release with a benefit show at the Bug Jar. The jam-packed bill features several of the album’s contributing artists: Harmonica Lewinski, Pleistocene, Passive Aggressives Anonymous…
Feedback 11/18
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. In the…
ROCK | Silverstein
At the forefront of melodic punk for the past 15 years stands Burlington, Ontario’s Silverstein. This band rocks hard. It’s not too melodic, however, because then you’d be talking pop punk here, and you’d be doing it without me. It’s more an aggressive atonal meandering between the notes and overall drive that makes Silverstein unique…
FOLK | Jonathan Byrd
North Carolina folk cat Jonathan Byrd plays countrified folk with a sexy slow drag and drawl. But beyond his music’s bump ‘n’ grind is a masterful melody maker of captivating insight — just dig his tune “You Can’t Outrun the Radio.” He’s observant to a fault as laid out melodiously in the man’s own flexible…
CLASSICAL | “Colors of France”
The next stop on the Society for Chamber Music in Rochester’s season-long survey of music from around the world is “Colors of France.” Since French composers have long been noted for their way with wind instruments, those colors will range across the spectrum, from the sinuous solo flute of Debussy’s “Syrinx,” performed by Rebecca Gilbert,…
Urban Action 11/18
This week’s calls to action include the following events and activities. All are free and open to the public unless otherwise noted. Play to dramatize students’ plight The Rochester City School District will present “Breaking the School to Prison Pipeline,” a play by Robert Ricks at 7 p.m. on Saturday, November 21. The play focuses…
CLASSICAL | RPO performs “Romeo and Juliet”
Music Director Ward Stare returns to the podium to lead the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra in the last Philharmonics program of 2015. The program is chock-full of melodically sumptuous works, from the charismatic bravado of Wagner’s act three prelude in the opera “Lohengrin” to the consummate refinement and vivid orchestral colors of excerpts from the ballet…
ROCK | Satisfaction: The International Rolling Stones Show
This Show Has Been Cancelled. One of my favorite concerts last summer was a performance by Texas-based tribute act Satisfaction: The International Rolling Stones Show at the Rochester Public Market. Glimmer Twins doppelgangers Chris LeGrand (as Mick Jagger) and Jim Riddick (Keith Richards) particularly nailed down their roles as the production packed the Market like…
JAZZ | Dave Liebman
Saxophonist and flautist Dave Liebman hit the ground running in the late 1960’s with the fusion group Ten Wheel Drive. But it wasn’t long before his John Coltrane-oriented tenor sound led to gigs with Miles Davis, Elvin Jones, McCoy Tyner, and Chick Corea. Liebman has made hundreds of records as a sideman and dozens more…
DANCE | Danscore
Directed by The College at Brockport’s dance faculty, Danscore, the college’s department of dance-produced company, performs faculty, student, and guest artist works that range from jazz and contemporary ballet, to modern dance and beyond. The company’s performers, who were selected from an audition process, include graduate and undergraduate dance students. This year’s performances will include…
Need drives the expansion of Crisis Nursery
Sarah Cincotta woke up in the hospital earlier this year after a 20-hour seizure, a result of her multiple sclerosis. “When I woke up, I didn’t even have the ability to say my name,” she says. Cincotta was reassured, however, that her daughter, Pearl, who is just over 2 years old now, was not alone…
COMEDY | Brad Williams
Comedian Brad Williams enthusiastically embraces his dwarfism — he jokes about it and uses it to deliver his freewheeling, energetic perspective on disability, relationships, sex, and race. Williams has appeared on “The Tonight Show,” “Jimmy Kimmel Live,” “Mind of Mencia,” and “Pitboss,” and has a podcast on the iTunes charts, “About Last Night,” which is…
JAZZ | Eastman Jazz Café with Jeff Hirshfield
Over the last three-and-a-half decades, drummer Jeff Hirshfield has kept the beat for some of the greatest names in jazz. Hirshfield has played on more than 200 albums, including records by Fred Hersch, John Abercrombie, Paul Bley, Chet Baker, and the Eastman School of Music’s own Harold Danko. At the Jazz Café he’ll play with future…
KIDS/THEATER | “Sesame Street Live”
In “Sesame Street Live,” Grover’s friend from India, Chamki, is visiting Sesame Street for the day and is bound to meet Elmo, Abby Cadabby, and other Sesame Street friends while singing, dancing, and even enjoying cookies with none other than Cookie Monster. “Sesame Street Live” will take place at the Auditorium Theatre, 885 East Main…
Creed Bratton talks about more than ‘The Office’
Actor and musician Creed Bratton has led an eclectic life, and has the varied career — spanning music, movies, and television — to prove it. Best known as a founding member of 60’s rock band The Grass Roots, and later as the lovably psychotic paper salesman Creed on “The Office,” Bratton has maintained a successful…
SPECIAL EVENT | Rochester Mini Maker Faire
The Rochester Mini Maker Faire will showcase the innovation and creativity of the techies, crafters, scientists, and garage tinkerers of Rochester. The showcase will have more than 100 exhibits that include science experiments, art projects, interactive activities, and more. Modeled after the original Maker Faire event in San Mateo, California, the family-friendly fair is independently…
ALBUM REVIEW: “Living Dead”
Amanda Ashley Trio “Living Dead” Self-released amandaashleymusic.com I found this album a little misleading at first. With its campy B-movie cover art and spooky intro, it came off as something for The Cramps fan in us all. But the Amanda Ashley Trio’s “Living Dead” runs a bit deeper than that. At the center of the…
THEATER | “Miracle on 34th Street: The Musical”
The 1947 “Miracle on 34th Street” film is a holiday classic, and with “Miracle on 34th Street: The Musical,” composer and playwright Meredith Willson updated the story of Kris Kringle spreading the holiday spirit to New York City to include a little Broadway song and dance. Presented by Rochester Association of Performing Arts and Macy’s,…
ALBUM REVIEW: “Snowbound”
Susanna Rose “Snowbound” Self-released facebook.com/susannarosemusic Have you ever heard something so pretty, it hurt? Well, just try Susanna Rise’s new release, “Snowbound.” This haunting collection of tunes was penned during last year’s epic winter of suck, where instead of raging at the weather or going stir crazy, Rose found inspiration and motivation while staying warm…
FILM | “Transforming Vision”
“Transforming Vision,” Squeaky Wheel Film and Media Arts Center’s 12th annual animation festival, will showcase the work of many traditional and non-traditional animation styles. This family-friendly event is curated by the Media Arts Center’s staff in Buffalo. The festival will include works by The Brothers McLeod, Daisy Jacobs, and Vince Collins. Screenings will feature, “365…
Two new options for Rochester’s homeless
A winter shelter has been found, and House of Mercy has a new, larger building.
‘The Wonder Garden’ examines the wild, wild suburbs
In her debut novel, “The Wonder Garden,” author Lauren Acampora’s imagination plumbs the messy, complicated inner lives of the residents of an affluent New England suburb. Through the book’s 13 short stories, Acampora deftly interweaves the lives of many individuals as they navigate shifts in relationships and the place of their personal hopes and dreams…
AJ’s adds a Cajun twist to steakhouse fare
The Comedy Club in Webster has been hosting an impressive line-up of national comedy acts as of late, with recent performances from Tom Green, Andrew Dice Clay, and Marc Maron — in fact, Maron called The Comedy Club “the real deal” on his popular “WTF” podcast. AJ’s Tap and Steakhouse (2235 Empire Boulevard) is connected…
Film Review: “Spotlight”
“Spotlight” has become one of the more acclaimed films of the year thus far, and it’s not hard to see why.
Film Review: “Room”
If ever there was a perfect illustration of how a film is less what it’s about than how it is about that thing, “Room” is it. Adapted by Emma Donoghue from her best-selling 2010 novel, “Room” is a gripping and deeply emotional story that nevertheless revolves around a nightmarish scenario of victimization. Taking inspiration from…
Theater Review: “The Lion” at Geva
There’s a performance term called the “first three seconds,” which refers to those hushed moments when the lights go down and a show begins. An expert artist knows how to capture the attention of the audience in those moments. During the first three seconds of “The Lion,” part of Geva’s Fielding Studio Series, performer Benjamin…
The Paris attacks and a US response
Just as we had choices as a country after 9/11, we have choices now. And what we do matters.
