Cover Story
[UPDATED] Women of a lesser God
To say that the Rev. Roy Bourgeois is a thorn in the Vatican’s side is probably an understatement. Bourgeois is a Roman Catholic priest with a long history of social activism, but it is his support for the ordination of woman, in particular, that could get him excommunicated from the church. Bourgeois will be in…
Daily Choices: What to do on Wednesday, November 28
Cold weather make you want to cozy up with a book? Join the Brownbag Book Discussion “Cutting for Stone” by Abraham Verghese. You’re bound to be riveted by the story
“RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars”: The winner revealed (thank god it’s over)
And so we come to the end of the short, disappointing season that was “RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars.” I think the general consensus out there was that this season was not what ANYONE hoped it would be (I suspect that’s especially true for the contestants), and that the ultimate winner felt like an anticlimax…
CEOs fight for entitlements
Much was made of the war on women during the 2012 presidential campaign. But now that the election is over, a second war has begun. And it looks like this one will be waged against the poor and elderly. Congress and the Obama administration are trying to reach an agreement on how to avoid the…
Sports commission in line for funding bump
Next year, Monroe County will host two high-profile professional golf events. And partly because of that, the county is bumping up funding for a non-profit that promotes local sports events. The proposed 2013 county budget includes a substantial funding increase for the Monroe County Sports Development Corporation. Under the proposal, it would receive $207,500 in…
A little County Legislature humor
During his state Senate campaign, Democrat Ted O’Brien stressed the need to relieve local governments of some burdens imposed by the state. So he had to have expected some post-election joking when he returned to the Monroe County Legislature for a committee meeting last night. (O’Brien, a Democrat, doesn’t take his seat in the Senate…
Daily Choices: What to do on Tuesday, November 27
THEATER: Love that old time rock ‘n’ roll? See what it was like in the 1950’s in Memphis, Tennessee, when Rochester Broadway Theatre League brings in the Tony-winning “Memphis,” running tonight through Sunday. The show starts Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. at the Auditorium Theatre; tickets cost $27.50-$67.50. (885 E. Main St. 222-5000. rbtl.org.) MUSIC: Who…
Video Game Review: “Lego Lord of the Rings”
I’m not a hardcore gamer, but I’ve got my franchises: “Resident Evil” (except I’m ready to bail on “Evil” after the lackluster “RE 5” and the dreadful “RE 6”), the Batman “Arkham” series, and the “Lego” games by Traveller’s Tales. The “Lego” games are endlessly inventive — I’ve played all of them — and I…
Daily Choices: What to do on Monday, November 26
MUSIC: Drummer Harvey Sorgen has propelled the bands of greats like Ahmad Jamal, Dave Douglas, and Anthony Braxton. In the rock realm he’s played with Hot Tuna, Bob Weir, and the Allman Brothers Band. Mexican-born guitarist Omar Tamez has enhanced performances by Reggie Workman, Sonny Fortune, and Rashied Ali and produced a classical CD of…
Daily Choices: What to do on Saturday-Sunday, November 24-25
MUSIC: World/Inferno Friendship Society isn’t as much a musical group as it is a sign of judgment day. Led by lead singer/master of ceremonies Jack Terricloth, the Brooklyn orchestra/circus-rock tent revival features a rotating cast of performers that creates a klezmer-jazz-ska-soul-fueled party. There’s never a dull moment on the dance floor when a smidge of…
Will economic decline stop with the middle class?
Even before the Great Recession hit in 2007, the middle class was getting squeezed. Business and political leaders have been portraying globalization as the Grim Reaper of US manufacturing jobs for years. And job losses that couldn’t be attributed to globalization were blamed on advances in technology. But Hedrick Smith says that globalization and technology…
CONCERT ANNOUNCEMENT: Indigo Girls coming to Rochester
Folk-rock duo Indigo Girls will be coming to Rochester in March, as part of a new music series run by Greentopia. The concert will take place Saturday, March 2, at the Hochstein School of Music. Show starts at 8 p.m., tickets cost $36.50. Tickets go on sale Friday, November 30, and can be purchased through…
Daily Choices: What to do on Friday, November 23
DANCE: Clear Thanksgiving and turkeys out of your mind, and put in some sugarplum visions instead. Take a trip to Kodak Hall at Eastman Theatre (26 Gibbs St.) to see “The Nutcracker” performed by the Rochester City Ballet, Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Bach Children’s Chorus. The holiday classic continues through Sunday, November 25, with…
Daily Choices: What to do on Thursday, November 22
It’s Thanksgiving! Hopefully you’re spending it stuffing your face with your family, watching the Macy’s Parade, or catching some football. But here are some other options: RECREATION: Make like a turkey and trot at the 41st Webster Turkey Trot. The 4.4 mile starts at 10 a.m., 2.5 mile starts at 10:10 a.m. Registration at 8:15…
MOVIE REVIEW: “Step Up To The Plate”
Blend the peek at the creative process in “elBulli: Cooking In Progress” with the familial concerns of “Jiro Dreams Of Sushi,” and you’ve got “Step Up To The Plate” (or the better French title, “Entre Les Bras”). It’s a lovely, lyrically shot documentary that spends four seasons with renowned chef Michel Bras as he prepares…
Judging Petraeus
If we had expected some kind of news lull after the election, we sure didn’t get it. The fall of David Petraeus pretty much dominated the news last week – and how could it not? The story’s subjects included a popular, high-profile general turned CIA director and two young, self-promoting and apparently loopy women. And…
THEATER REVIEW: “Motherhood the Musical”
There are certain theater shows that you decide to see because you want to learn, to be challenged, or surprised or moved in some way. Other shows you see because you need a pleasant, inoffensive entertainment to which you can take your grandmother that won’t rile her up too much. The forgettable “Motherhood the Musical,”…
MUSIC INTERVIEW: Infrared Radiation Orchestra
Kim Draheim’s battered guitar is your library card — or perhaps more accurately, your passport — to rock ‘n’ roll. After plundering the region for more than 25 years in the guitar-centric hard-rocking bar band, Static Cling, Draheim has re-emerged with The Infrared Radiation Orchestra, a classic bar band in the tried and true trio…
SWAN plans growth
At a time when many neighborhood organizations are tightening their belts, Robert Walker-Smith, new executive director of the Southwest Area Neighborhood Association, says his goal is to nearly triple the group’s annual budget from $1.2 million to about $3.5 million over the next 18 months. Where will the extra money come from? SWAN will likely…
Medley, RBTL have theater deal
It’s a busy week in Medley Centre news. First, the East Irondequoit school board approved a measure requiring Medley Centre developer Scott Congel to pay several hundred thousand dollars for missing an investment milestone. And now, Arnie Rothschild, chair of Rochester Broadway Theatre League’s board, says that Congel has agreed to build a 3,000-seat theater,…
Reckoning day nears for MCC campus
The future of Monroe Community College’s downtown campus might become clearer next month, or not. A year ago, the college’s Board of Trustees voted to move MCC out of the Sibley building in downtown Rochester. Board members recommended purchasing and renovating buildings in Kodak’s State Street complex, transforming that property into the new Damon City…
Apartments OK’d
A proposed apartment complex in the Village of Pittsford is a step closer to construction. | On Monday, the Village Board voted 3 to 2 to approve the site plan and required permits for an upscale apartment complex at 75 Monroe Avenue, the former Monoco Oil site. | Mayor Bob Corby and Trustee Paula Sherwood…
CHOW HOUND: CHAR at Strathallan, and more
Throughout time, weary travelers have been able to procure meals and lodging at the same establishment, though the food can sometimes taste mostly of convenience. Ideally, the in-house restaurant should enhance a hotel’s reputation; think Escoffier at London’s Savoy, Ducasse at Monte Carlo’s Louis XV, or Robuchon at Manhattan’s Four Seasons. Here in Rochester the…
Feedback 11/21
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. Lessons from…
Urban Action 11/21
This week’s calls to action include the following events and activities. (All are free and open to the public, unless otherwise noted.) Award recipient honored Temple B’rith Kodesh will host the Harvesting Justice Dinner to honor Librada Paz, the 2012 Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Award recipient, at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, December 4. Paz…
MOVIE REVIEW: “Lincoln”
Of all our presidents, Abraham Lincoln dominates motion pictures; simply as a character in film, in fact, he ranks in number of appearances up there with such luminaries as Sherlock Holmes and Dracula. (Honest Abe actually encountered some of Dracula’s relatives in the ridiculous “Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter” of a few months back, and of…
MOVIE REVIEW: “Silver Linings Playbook”
It was literally a dark and stormy night when I saw David O. Russell’s latest, “Silver Linings Playbook,” but that hurricane rain at least helped to rinse away some of the feeling that I had been utterly, completely used. Maybe you too have experienced that tawdry sensation of watching a film, laughing and crying at…
METAL | Pirate Toy Fund Benefit
It’s not every day that you mix pirates with metal and not expect a plundered merchant ship or broken barstool. On Black Friday, Monty’s Krown will host a benefit concert for the Pirate Toy Fund. The premise of this event is simple: your donation of one new store-bought toy gains you entrance to the show,…
JAZZ | Harvey Sorgen / Omar Tamez
Drummer Harvey Sorgen has propelled the bands of greats like Ahmad Jamal, Dave Douglas, and Anthony Braxton. In the rock realm he’s played with Hot Tuna, Bob Weir, and the Allman Brothers Band. Mexican-born guitarist Omar Tamez has enhanced performances by Reggie Workman, Sonny Fortune, and Rashied Ali and produced a classical CD of music…
AMERICANA | Chinchillas
It’s a shame and a sin. The Chinchillas is a splendid alt-country/roots-rock/Americana gem of a band that should be on the lips and iPod of every red-blooded fan of heartfelt lyricism and lonesome twang. Instead this fantastic foursome wallows beneath gray skies in relative northeastern obscurity. The band has just released “Something Beautiful,” an eight-song…
HARD ROCK | Primate
Not quite a year ago, Mastodon guitarist and Rochester ex-pat Bill Kelliher was recording Atlanta grindcore band Primate. Apparently the man is hands-on. By the time recording was finished, Kellier had joined the band. The heavy heroes in Mastodon were in post-tour cool down, and Kelliher still wanted to play. He describes the band as…
CLASSICAL | Eastman at St. Michael’s Church
Since 2009, students at the Eastman School of Music have presented concerts at St. Michael’s Church, under soaring archways and ceiling covered with art, amidst wood carvings with gold leaf, and light streaming through Austrian stained-glass windows. Classical music in the setting of an 1888 Gothic Revival church is sure to delight all the senses.…
ART EVENTS | Holiday Arts & Crafts Show
For many shoppers Black Friday is the official start to the holiday shopping season. Sleep in and search for something a little more unique this year by shopping around at the many local arts and craft fairs that will be occurring this weekend. More Fire Glass Studio is hosting its Annual Holiday Open House and…
DANCE | “The Nutcracker”
Towering Christmas trees, toys that come to life, and visions of sugarplums — the wondrous images that “The Nutcracker” ballet evokes always put me in the holiday spirit. For the 14th consecutive year, the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, Rochester City Ballet, and the Bach Children’s Chorus have combined forces to present Tchaikovsky’s “The Nutcracker” to ring…
FILM | Miyazaki Series
In 2002 Japanese filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki captured the attentions of worldwide audiences with his Academy Award-winning film, “Spirited Away.” Over the next two weekends the Dryden Theatre will conclude its month-long program highlighting five of Miyazaki’s films. On Friday, November 23, at 8 p.m. and Sunday, November 25, at 2 p.m. the theater will show…
KIDS | Holiday Train Rides
The beloved children’s book “The Polar Express” made a lasting impression on many when it was published in 1985. Perhaps that’s why so many people now associate train rides with the holiday season. If you’re a fan of the book, and can still hear those crystal-clear bells, there are many opportunities to have your own…
THEATER | “A Christmas Carol”
Charles Dickens’ classic tale of London’s most sour and greedy miser who has a change of heart at Christmas is coming back to Rochester this week. For several years Geva Theatre Center (75 Woodbury Blvd.) has upheld this holiday tradition, and will revive it starting Friday, November 23, and continuing through Sunday, December 23. This…
THEATER | “Memphis”
The surge in rock musicals in recent years has only left audiences wanting more. In 2010 “Memphis” saw this demand and delivered, winning four Tony Awards that year, including Best Musical, Best Original Score, and Best Book. The Broadway hit will come to Rochester’s Auditorium Theatre (885 E. Main St.) Tuesday, November 27, through Sunday,…
EXPERIMENTAL FUNK | Dopapod
This Brooklyn quartet bends genre boundaries as easily as a toddler with ESP bends cutlery. Like many bands in the “jam” scene, Dopapod’s incessant touring schedule has honed the group’s sound as well as expanded its fan base. The band’s flurried intensity, deep, concentrated grooves, and superior technical musicianship has wowed audiences at a number…
FUNK | Universe Shark
As the band’s moniker not-so-subtly implies, its music will take a bite out of you. Universe Shark is the proud progenitor of what it calls “carnivorous space funk.” This fearsome foursome takes cues from the independent Buffalo music scene as well as the ever-expansive “jam band” brand. The band’s eclectic and energetic mix of jazz,…
ALTERNATIVE | World/Inferno Friendship Society
World/Inferno Friendship Society isn’t as much a musical group as it is a sign of Judgment Day. Led by lead singer/master of ceremonies Jack Terricloth, the Brooklyn orchestra-circus-rock-tent revival features a rotating cast of performers that creates a klezmer/jazz/ska/soul-fueled party. There’s never a dull moment on the dance floor when a smidge of punk is…
