Cover Story
When lightning strikes
A good concert photographer can document the sound and motion, that palpable energy of a performance, in a second. It’s in the preparation leading up to that magic moment where sound and image merge that the photographer’s stealth and intuition really makes the difference. It’s where the talent lies. It’s a dimensional exchange — a…
Does anyone hold the SED and the Regents accountable?
It’s hard to say what the future holds for Ted Morris, the 22-year-old former lead applicant for the Greater Works Charter School. Morris went from wunderkind to someone people began eyeing with suspicion in the span of a day or two after it turned out he had invented much of his educational background and work…
Democrat and Chronicle newsroom changes begin, with some losses
The Democrat and Chronicle’s new newsroom is taking shape, but there have been casualties. Executive Editor Karen Magnuson laid out some of the changes in a column on Sunday. She listed some new members of the “leadership team,” and said that most of the company’s journalists have been given new roles, which will start this month.But…
Remembering Philip Seymour Hoffman
A scholarship fund has been established in honor of the late Philip Seymour Hoffman, a Rochester native and Oscar-winning actor. The Philip Seymour Hoffman Scholarship Fund will support scholarships for Geva Theatre Center’s training programs. According to a press release, the goal is to raise $25,000 to provide two annual scholarships for Geva’s Summer Academy…
After Ferguson, calls for unity
Local activist groups and members of the community came together at the Liberty Pole on Sunday to rally and march against police brutality and systemic racism.
WEEK AHEAD: Eviction blockade; public hearing on county budget
George Douglass, Take Back the Land Rochester, and other community members will hold a nonviolent community eviction blockade at 11 a.m. on Tuesday, December 2, to keep Douglass in his home. The blockade will take place at Douglass’s home, 95 Roxborough Road. Douglass and other community members say that they are willing to risk arrest…
Film Review: “The Theory of Everything”
Stephen Hawking’s most famous book, “A Brief History of Time,” has sold more than 10 million copies. His personal story, as most people know, makes him a perhaps more compelling figure than his contributions to human knowledge.
Theater Review: “West Side Story” at Kodak Center
"West Side Story" may be nearly 60 years old, but it’s remarkably spry. The 1957 musical blended drama, music, and especially dance as no musical before it had quite done, and few musicals after it have completed the equation quite as elegantly. It’s an ambitious choice for a joint production by RAPA and The Rochester…
Theater Review: “West Side Story” at Kodak Center
"West Side Story" may be nearly 60 years old, but it’s remarkably spry. The 1957 musical blended drama, music, and especially dance as no musical before it had quite done, and few musicals after it have completed the equation quite as elegantly. It’s an ambitious choice for a joint production by RAPA and The Rochester…
Film Review: “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1”
The first and second parts of the “Hunger Games” franchise earned big profits and critical praise; they also inspired a good deal of trendy talk about empowering young women in action pictures, which seems to mean that the heroine wields a wicked bow and can fight and kill with the best of them. The new,…
Film Review: “Beyond the Lights”
The release of “Beyond the Lights” signals the heartening reemergence of a film genre that’s sadly become increasingly rare to find at the multiplex these days: the adult romantic drama. Films in which the developing love between two characters gets treated as the focus of the story, and not a side product of whatever high-concept…
Refining the Roc soup: TEDxRochester 2014
This year’s TEDxRochester event was hosted at East High School on Saturday, November 15, and was emceed by Larry Moss of the ambitious balloon art operation, Airigami. Moss introduced this year’s theme, “Roc Soup,” by telling a variation on a favorite folk story, “Stone Soup.” In this tale, a clever traveler convinces the stingy and…
JAZZ | The Fortuna Quartet
Omar Tamez is capable of coaxing otherworldly chords and melodies out of his guitar. Angelica Sanchez is a formidable pianist with a percussive, avant-garde style. Drummer Harvey Sorgen has worked with artists ranging from The Allman Brothers Band and Paul Simon to Dave Douglas and Dewey Redman. And bassist Joe Fonda has played with Billy…
A do-nothing Congress? We ain’t seen nothing yet
Well, for anybody who loves a good fight, the next couple of years ought to be just splendid. Members of Congress will have plenty on their plates when they start their new session in January: government funding, tax policy, trade policy, economic growth, inequality, health care costs, Russia, China, Iran, Isis, infrastructure, education, immigration, climate…
TRIBUTE | Start Making Sense
Bands may come and go, but reverence for Talking Heads hangs in there like a hair in a biscuit. The Rock and Roll Hall of Famers formed in the mid 1970’s and went on to influence numerous other bands, including Vampire Weekend and Radiohead. Close your eyes and imagine the big suit. Expect an exploration…
ROCK | Clockmen
Clockmen is a tight, exuberant punk trio that has been melting faces in Rochester for the last seven years. Its songs are rich, fist-pumping anthems that pull in the audience and let them be a part of the fun. Nick Walter’s guitar provides the crunch with power chords and wailing solos; Adam Pawlukiewicz’s drums are…
SINGER-SONGWRITER | Bob Bunce
You can call him Mr. Matter-o-fact, Mr. Tell-it-like-it should be, or you could stick with just plain old Bob Bunce. This rootsy songwriter lives off the grid and plays off the grid. With a gentle, honesty guitar style that threatens to break out of its pen, Bunce’s music is as enticing as it is thought…
ROCK | goodbyemotel
Even when New York by way of Melbourne, Australia’s goodbyemotel (lower case g, no space is their call) unplugs there is still bristling electricity that comes off weightless, atmospheric, and ethereal. When things get plugged back in, it’s downright enchanting. And just as picturesque as this may sound, goodbyemotel (with its latest album and fifth…
WORLD | Aditya Verma and Sandeep Das
Aditya Verma and Sandeep Das are at the forefront of carrying on the traditional sounds of India. Strong emotion, oral tradition, and a history of improvisation simmer in their sound. Verma, hailing from Montreal, is an internationally-acclaimed sarodist, while Das, of India, has two Grammy-nominations under his tabla playing. Das’s hand drums have taken him…
BLUES | David Miller
Buffalo-based musician David Miller has blues in his bones. Whether it’s in his solo project, his duo, Miller and the Other Sinners, or his full band, Dive House Union, it’s blues with a little bit of gospel poured in. Sultry, plump and soulful, Miller’s sound travels from intimate coffeeshops to high-octane festival stages, depending on…
REGGAE | Mighty Crown
A Japanese reggae group may make you do a double take, but rest assured, Mighty Crown is no joke. Known as “The Far East rulers of dancehall,” the band has gained a reputation in the reggae community as one of the better acts around, performing frequently at huge reggae events around the globe. The group…
ELECTRONIC | The Manhattan Project
For The Manhattan Project, it’s all about the flow. Rochester-based duo Shawn Drogan (drums, electronics) and Charlie Lindner (keyboards, synths) create mostly instrumental tunes that take shape, transition, deconstruct, and morph into the next soundscape. The duo’s elastic sonic palette also makes you move and groove. When I caught The Manhattan Project a few years ago, it…
ART | “The Voice of Nature”
Reduction sculpture can feel more intimidating than other methods of sculpting, if only for the plain fact that one false chip can utterly destroy your endeavor. This week, check out the work of a true master, and meet the artist, too. Ock Hee’s Gallery (2 Lehigh Street, Honeoye Falls) will host “The Voice of Nature,”…
Furoshiki
It is core to my mission to enter meals that I review with an open mind and palate. With that being said, I couldn’t help being pleasantly surprised by the improvement I tasted in Furoshiki’s bowls of ramen compared to those I had sampled in the past. After my recent review meals, I spent some…
EXHIBIT | “Sweet Creations”: Gingerbread House Display
It’s no secret that the commercial holiday season now begins immediately after Halloween. And while most of the ways this manifests earn a giant eye roll or a rant, there are a few cheerful traditions that are welcome as soon as the weather turns. For example, when I went to see an exhibit at George…
Feedback 11/26
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. Anthony was…
THEATER | “A Christmas Carol”
If anything in literature deserves to be called a durable property, it’s “A Christmas Carol.” Charles Dickens’s story of Ebenezer Scrooge and his moral transformation at the hands of three Christmas Ghosts was published in 1843 and has never been out of print. It has been a constant holiday presence in movies, radio, recordings ……
FILM | “Twenties”
For most Millennials, your 20’s are a time of being broke, being listless, and just not really having your sh*t together. It’s easy to relate to the main actors of “Twenties,” an independent comedy, filmed entirely in Rochester, about two friends who are putting off adulthood — despite staring into empty wallets. So when a…
ALBUM REVIEW: “Big Hero 6”
“Big Hero 6” Original Motion Picture Soundtrack Walt Disney Records music.disney.com Having composed for more than a dozen features including “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” and “Winnie the Pooh,” Henry Jackman’s filmography has thus far been dominated by two main types of movies: superheroes and animation. With “Big Hero 6,” he finally has a chance…
THEATER | “The Nutcracker”
This Friday through Sunday, the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra and Rochester City Ballet team up to deliver a live performance of “The Nutcracker” at Kodak Hall at Eastman Theatre. Performances are on Friday, November 28, Saturday, November 29, and Sunday, November 30, 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. each day. Since its premiere in 1892, “The Nutcracker”…
Immigration plan’s winners and losers
People come to the US to escape extreme poverty and violence, said one Upstate New York immigrant farmworker after hearing President Obama’s immigration speech last week. “We’re here to do the right thing and provide food for everyone,” he said. “I didn’t come to this country to produce weapons or smuggle drugs. I produce food.”…
MARKETS | Holiday Fair Round-up
In preparation for the holiday season, several craft fairs and public markets throughout the greater Rochester area will open this week, and will feature local makers selling their wares: Maxfield Memorial Bingo Hall (8181 Maxfield Road, Naples) will host the Naples Holiday Bazaar on Saturday, November 29, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., featuring products created…
What happened to HIV prevention?
In the more than 30 years since it began appearing in gay men in the New York City, San Francisco, and Los Angeles areas, HIV/AIDS has transformed from a death sentence to what is perceived by many as a manageable health condition. Still, AIDS is the second-highest killer of New Yorkers ages 25 to 44,…
Mike Turzanski
For many Rochesterians in the emergent art scene, the name Mike Turzanski probably brings up images of intricate line work forming beastly faces and figures full of body distortions, horns, flaccid noses, veiny-hairy-and-melting skin, and oozing sphincters in odd places. Though the 31-year-old artist is not shy about a chortling gross-out, the illustration style he…
Urban Action 11/26
This week’s calls to action include the following events and activities. (All are free and open to the public, unless otherwise noted.) Brooks and Warren discuss area’s future The Rochester Downtown Development Corporation and the Rochester Rotary Club will present “Vision-Future” from noon to 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday, December 10. The event will feature presentations…
