Cover Story
Busk a move
The Pickpockets is a beautifully rag-tag busker outfit straight out of Tin Pan Alley, boasting a faded sepia romanticism and nostalgic charm. The instrumentation is stark yet achingly beautiful. It’s the blues of hobos riding the rails, the sound of dwindling optimism and migration found in the Dust Bowl during the Great Depression. Though it…
Daily Choices: What to do on Wednesday, December 5
SPECIAL EVENT: Learn more about the Arts & Cultural Council for Greater Rochester at its Open House today from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Open to members and non-members. There will be a presentation at 12:15 p.m. highlighting the benefits of membership. 277 N. Goodman St. For questions, call David Semple at 473-4000 ext. 206.…
A power-sharing pact in Albany
A group of breakaway State Senate Democrats have an agreement with Republican leaders to share control of the State Senate. The Independent Democratic Conference had four members until today, when former Senate leader Malcom Smith joined the group. The other members are Jeff Klein, Diane Savino, David Valesky, and David Carlucci. None of the members…
Let Remmereit go
I’ve been really, really pleased with the Rochester Philharmonic’s concerts since Arild Remmereit became music director. The orchestra has performed beautifully, and I’ve enjoyed and appreciated the new-to-Rochester music that Remmereit has introduced. I’ve been impressed with his injection of poetry readings into the concerts. From what I hear, he has done wonderful community outreach.…
Richards withdraws objections to MCC borrowing
Mayor Tom Richards says the County Legislature should pass its annual borrowing package which, this year, will include funding for Monroe Community College’s downtown campus.
Vargas banks on longer school days
The Rochester school district is one of the first in the country selected to be part of a three-year pilot program to test whether lengthening the school day for some city students improves achievement. The program, TIME Collaborative, will allow Superintendent Bolgen Vargas to extend the lengthened school day programs already serving about 4,000 city…
GOP Senator: Boost energy research funding
A boost in federal spending for energy research and development could do a lot to advance clean energy technology and create jobs. And apparently, it’s not just Congressional Democrats who think it’s a good idea. The Hill reports that Republican Senator Lamar Alexander wants Congress to double the Department of Energy’s research and development funding.…
Daily Choices: What to do on Tuesday, December 4
SPECIAL EVENT: Allow holiday lights to brighten your spirit at the Pittsford Chamber of Commerce’s Candlelight Night 2012. Live music, carolers, and horse-drawn wagon rides. 4 p.m.-9 p.m. For details visit townofpittsford.org/candlelight_night_2012_info. SPECIAL EVENT: Take part in an alternative holiday celebration at Digital Rochester’s Festivus, sponsored by The Entrepreneur’s Network, featuring music by The Jane…
Mayor wants to speed-up projects
Rochester Mayor Tom Richards wants the city to borrow approximately $29 million for major infrastructure and capital projects that were planned for future years. Richards wants to do the borrowing now while the interest rates are so low. The money would be used for to finish construction on Manhattan Square Park, to repair hazardous sidewalks,…
Week ahead: RCSD building plan hearing, County budget, Rochester vs. the crows
The Rochester school board will hold a public hearing at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, December 6, to gather input from parents, students, and residents on the new school buildings master plan. There will be a public comment period followed by an opportunity to ask Superintendent Bolgen Vargas questions about the proposed plan. The plan recommends…
Daily Choices: What to do on Monday, December 3
SPECIAL EVENT: See how the artists at Geva Theatre Center put together their incredible productions at “Magic in the Making.” Meet the artisans who create props and costumes, lighting cues, sound design, and more over the backdrop of “A Christmas Carol.” The event runs tonight 6-8 p.m. Free, no reservations required. 75 Woodbury Blvd. 232-4382.gevatheatre.org.…
Concert Review: Hook and Hastings Organ Debut Concert
Friday night’s inaugural concert of the Hook and Hastings organ at Christ Church was a solid two hours of musical selections from J.S. Bach to the present and including a cellist, a harpist, dancers, and a choir.To an audience so packed folding that chairs were brought out to accommodate the crowd, this marvelous instrument filled…
Daily Choices: What to do on Saturday-Sunday, December 1-2
DANCE: Watch the internationally acclaimed talents of Garth Fagan Dance at Nazareth College’s Callahan Theater in the Arts Center (4245 East Ave.). Click here for City Newspaper’s review of the current program, “Lighthouse/Lightning Rod.” Tickets cost $40-$55. Shows Saturday at 2 &8 p.m. and Sunday 2 & 7:30 p.m. 389-2170. boxoffice.naz.edu. MUSIC: Boston-based alternative trio…
ARTS: RPO Board releases statement clarifying Remmereit decision
UPDATED 12/3/12 with a statement of support from the Wilson Foundation. The Board of Directors of the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra has released a statement detailing the process that led to its termination of music director Arild Remmereit. The full statement appears below. In the statement, the board says the decision to end the RPO’s association…
CD Review: Pharez Whitted “For The People”
Jazz albums can sometimes be so cerebral and avant-garde that you find yourself searching the tracks for any semblance of a melody. But the latest project by the excellent Chicago trumpeter Pharez Whitted is just the opposite. The tunes are so wonderfully melodic – downright catchy even – that it might make you wonder if…
CD Review: Randy Klein’s Two Duos “What’s Next”
Normally, if I were to write that the songs on a particular album have a repetitive quality to them, that would not be a compliment. But repetition is a central positive ingredient in the compositional style of Randy Klein, and his new album, “What’s Next,” is engaging from start to finish. From Bach-like variations, repeated…
Concert Review: Roc the Town 3.0 at Lovin Cup
When it comes to hip-hop, I usually let my curiosity — or my ignorance — be my guide. But I didn’t need to suspend my comprehension as much as I thought I might at Lovin’ Cup Thursday night for Roc the Town 3.0. It was a non-stop barrage of MCs working it out over beats…
State issues revised fracking regulations
Yesterday, the state Department of Environmental Conservation released a revised version of its proposed regulations for high-volume hydraulic fracturing. The DEC released the regs late in the day, and many of the folks who’ve been studying the regulations haven’t yet commented or shared their impressions. But some environmental groups and fracking critics have rung in,…
Dance Review: Garth Fagan Dance’s “Lighthouse/Lightning Rod”
Garth Fagan creates in good company. His new work, “Lighthouse/Lightning Rod,” wows with the combined powers of his uniquely stylized and gorgeously executed choreography, the bang-up score by jazz great Wynton Marsalis, and bewitching stage sets from Alison Saar, Guggenheim and two times National Endowment of the Arts Fellow. Saar’s sculptures are a stand-out, bestowing…
Daily Choices: What to do on Friday, November 30
DANCE: Take a glimpse back into the night life scene of the 1940’s with BIODANCE’S “No Dancing Allowed” at 8 p.m. The performance combines dance and sculptures from University of Rochester’s art professor, Allan Topolski. $8-$25. Hochstein Performance Hall, 50 N. Plymouth Ave. hochstein.org/events. MUSIC: What a long strange trip it’s been for comedy metal…
ARTS: RPO terminates Remmereit contract
UPDATED 11/30/12 with statement from RPO Principal Pops Conductor Jeff Tyzik. The board of the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra on Wednesday voted to terminate the four-year contract of Music Director Arild Remmereit two years early; his tenure is now set to expire at the end of the current 2012/2013 season. A statement by RPO Board Chair…
‘Susan B. Anthony’ fights to save church
A letter from the activist using the name “Susan B. Anthony” follows this blog. The fate of a historic West Main Street church is one of the bigger stories in Rochester right now. One notable Rochesterian deems it sufficiently critical to interrupt her eternal rest. “Susan B. Anthony” is the force behind an online petition…
Vatican squanders its power
The Vatican’s decision to excommunicate the Rev. Roy Bourgeois from the Roman Catholic Church and to dismiss him from Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers is senseless and heavy-handed. Bourgeois wasn’t defrocked because he committed some immoral or illegal act; he was pushed out because of his outspoken support for the ordination of women priests. His crime…
Design changes made to ‘plain’ College Town B&N
Upper Mount Hope neighbors have succeeded in getting changes to the design of the Barnes & Noble store that will be part of the massive College Town project. College Town, which was initiated by the University of Rochester, will be built on 16 acres on the west side of Mount Hope between Elmwood Avenue and…
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[UPDATED] Democrats criticize snowplowing fee
UPDATE, Wednesday, November 28, 1:45 p.m. From county spokesperson Justin Feasel: “The 2013 Budget holds the property tax rate stable for a 9th consecutive year and protects vital funding for snow and ice removal. Instead of addressing the root cause, unfunded State mandates, Legislature Democrats are attacking the County’s solution to best serve the traveling…
DEC to extend fracking review
The state Department of Environmental Conservation is making a move that should prevent it from having to redo its proposed high-volume hydraulic fracturing regulations. The department faces a November 29 deadline for approving the proposed regulations, which it introduced in 2011. But the state is still conducting an environmental review of fracking in shale formations,…
INDIE: State Radio
This Boston-based alternative trio was founded by singer/songwriter Chad Urmston (also a member of the Vermont jamband Dispatch) in 2002. Urmston disbanded Dispatch earlier that same year at the height of the group’s popularity and began pouring his energy into State Radio. The former has since reunited, but that has not stopped latter’s awesome onslaught…
Thinking big
“Make no little plans. They have no magic to stir men’s blood and probably themselves will not be realized.” Chicago architect and Grade-A dreamer Daniel Burnham may or may not have said that, depending on which source you believe. Regardless, I love the statement, particularly because of its appropriateness to cities and city planning (which…
ALTERNATIVE: Green Jelly
What a long, strange trip it’s been for comedy-metal punk group Green Jelly. What began as Green Jello, the world’s worst band, in Buffalo, New York, Green Jelly relocated to Hollywood and scored a surprise hit with “Three Little Pigs.” The group’s decades-long career has been characterized by a twisted sense of humor that leaves…
MOVIE REVIEW: “Red Dawn”
The original “Red Dawn” appeared in 1984, and like many works of popular art provides a useful glimpse of the temper of its time. During the Reagan administration’s orchestration of a systematic slaughter of leftists, liberals, and other supporters of land reform and democracy all over Central America, the movie posited an invasion of the…
HIP-HOP: Jean Grae
Jean Grae isn’t a household name like my alter-ego Nicki Minaj, but if you know hip-hop you likely know Jean Grae. A daughter of South African jazz musicians, she was raised in NYC and is an alumna of the High School of Performing Arts. Her songs including “My Life” and “Love Thirst” from “Jeanius with…
MOVIE REVIEW: “Life of Pi”
One of the most talented filmmakers working today, Ang Lee has had a fascinating career. While most directors of his skill usually settle into a distinct aesthetic, Lee remains something of a chameleon, jumping genres and subject matter, apparently content to take on whatever stories happen to capture his interest. From “Sense & Sensibility” to…
ELECTRONIC: Boregore
Boregore has that kind of music that makes you feel like you need a shower — but in a good way. With a dash of chip music, a snappy synthetic beat, and raps that sound suspiciously like grime with a twist of sexual frustration, the overall effect is glittery until the beat drops — at…
ART: “New Arcadia”
The concept of Arcadia — which in art alludes to the Utopian vision of pastoralism — is not a new one. Originally a region in ancient Greece, the name has been adopted by countless modern places and is used to reference longing for peaceful perfection in works that range from literature to music, film, and…
CLASSICAL: Hook and Hastings Organ Concert
This Friday night, the Eastman Rochester Organ Initiative unveils the newest addition to its organ restoration project: an 1893 Hook and Hastings Organ, recently installed in Christ Church. Music will be performed by organists Edoardo Bellotti, David Higgs, Stephen Kennedy, and William Porter, as well as the Christ Church Schola Cantorum. According to Higgs, chair…
ART REVIEW: “Art of the Book”
I recently read a brilliant Carl Sagan quote regarding the existence of books as “proof that humans can work magic,” in that they are a tool by which we have broken “the shackles of time,” through which we are able to hear the voice of another human, across millennia, and gain from what they have…
DANCE: Biodance “No Dancing Allowed”
BIODANCE, a local contemporary dance company that choreographs with an emphasis on social, political, and environmental issues, will premiere its fifth anniversary season on Friday, November 30. The title piece, “No Dancing Allowed,” is a collaboration between BIODANCE and University of Rochester professor and sculptor Allen Topolski. A trip through history back to the 1940’s…
Silver bells, decked halls, and more
UPDATE 11/30/12: Corrected date of Michael Unger’s concert at Memorial Art Gallery; it takes place December 16. This time of year is filled with wonder and with dread. Whether you like to cook and shop or you don’t, your feet and your wallet quickly poop out. So why not support a local musician and treat…
LIT: The Beets Farewell Reading
Rochester’s literary scene is as rich as any other area of its arts, boasting a large number of authors and poets, many of whom are known nationally and internationally. The Beets is a group of poets made up of Tricia Asklar, Jan Wenk Cedras, Charlie Coté, Kitty Jospé, Paulette Swartzfager, and Sally Bittner Bonn, who…
DANCE PREVIEW: Garth Fagan Dance
Garth Fagan Dance is home from its travels for the Rochester premiere of a new collaboration between Tony and Olivier Award-winning choreographer Garth Fagan and Grammy Award-winning jazz great Wynton Marsalis. The piece, “Lighthouse/Lightning Rod,” is the second collaboration between Fagan and Marsalis; the first — “Griot New York” — was created by the duo…
RECREATION: ROC Orienteering Scrooge-O
Anyone who’s seen or read “A Christmas Carol” knows that Ebenezer Scrooge’s sour attitude can be contagious. The Rochester Orienteering Club represents his infectious nature in a unique way at its Annual Scrooge-O. Participants are given maps of a park and compete to find key locations in the dark while simultaneously avoiding “Scrooge.” Several Scrooge…
DINING REVIEW: Victoire
Rochester has needed a good Belgian beer bar for at least a decade — which, coincidentally, is almost exactly the amount of time that I’ve lived here. Despite the excellent beer bars and microbreweries that have bred like rabbits across the region in recent years, the lack of a true Belgian joint has been a…
SPECIAL EVENTS: World AIDS Day Commemorations
Just a few decades ago, AIDS could not be mentioned in a phrase without an enormous stigma accompanying the word. Today, more people realize that people living with this disease should be treated as respectfully as any other. World AIDS Day will take place on Saturday, December 1, in an attempt to raise awareness about…
Feedback 11/28
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. Election reflections…
SPECIAL EVENTS: Holiday Season Begins
As we swing into December and toss the turkey scraps behind us, this week a variety of festivities will take place to help us ring in the holiday season. On Thursday, November 29, the 19th Annual Park Avenue Holiday Open House will run 5-9 p.m. Enjoy holiday decorations, holiday music, horse-drawn wagon rides, hot roasted…
Daily Choices: What to do on Thursday, November 29
SPECIAL EVENT: See all Park Avenue has to offer this holiday season at the 19th Annual Park Avenue Holiday Open House. From 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. enjoy holiday decorations, holiday music, horse-drawn wagon rides, hot roasted chestnuts, Santa Claus, and more. 721-3299. park-avenue.org. MUSIC: Jean Grae isn’t a household name like Nicki Minaj, but…
Iroquois identity
The Iroquois Nationals lacrosse team was turned back just as team members were about to board a plane to the United Kingdom to participate in the 2010 International Lacrosse Championship. Assistant coach Ansley Jemison found out that British officials wouldn’t accept team members’ passports because they were issued by the Haudenosaunee or Six Nations, a…
BLUES: Popa Chubby
Popa Chubby’s (a.k.a. Ted Horowitz) blues are as big as the man himself. This New York City badass gooses the blues with punk fury as well as bluesifying classical stuff from Bach to “The Wizard of Oz.” Picture Howlin’ Wolf pickin’ on “Jesu Joy Of Man’s Desiring.” Who knows; if Chubb was in the choir…
Underground cure
When it comes to cute and cuddly, mole rats are challenged by almost any standard. The blind mole rat is only slightly more appealing than its toothy, hairless distant kin, the naked mole rat. But both rodents share a remarkable characteristic that compensates for their lack of physical beauty: they may be the only mammals…
Theater Review: RBTL’s “Memphis”
Given that the 2012-13 Rochester Broadway Theatre League season is stocked with big-name shows like “Book of Mormon,” “Les Miserables,” and “Mary Poppins,” you might have overlooked “Memphis,” which is currently on stage at the Auditorium Theatre. Judging by the audience reaction to Tuesday night’s area debut, this show has the potential to be a…
Proposed RBTL theater hinges on Medley progress
Medley Centre developer Scott Congel plans to build the Rochester Broadway Theatre League a new 3,000-seat theater.
ELECTRIC BLUEGRASS: Lindsay Lou and the Flatbellys
Lindsay Lou Rilko’s lyrics celebrate big, bad, quirky Jim Thompson-esque characters fleshed out and set to music. Her tales of moonshiners, bank robbers, and other assorted American renegades get a kick and a giddy-up from her Michigan-based Flatbellys. The band keeps it fresh with frequent trips into pop territory peppered with bluegrass gold. Lindsay Lou…
LGBT grants
Funding is a serious challenge for many of the region’s nonprofit organizations. But Rochester’s lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community got a boost recently from an organization that, in a unique twist, comes from the LGBT community. | For the first time, the LGBT Giving Circle of the Rochester Area Community Foundation provided grants to…
HOLIDAY: Trans-Siberian Orchestra
The Trans-Siberian Orchestra has been bowling over audiences with its elaborate concerts and unique musical style for almost 20 years. This extremely ambitious outfit, founded in 1993 by composer/producer Paul O’Neill, incorporates classical, orchestral, symphonic, and progressive components into a hard rock and heavy metal aesthetic. The band has sold more than 7 million albums…
Urban Action 11/28
This week’s calls to action include the following events and activities. (All are free and open to the public, unless otherwise noted.) Anti-war toys demonstration Genesee Valley Citizens for Peace will hold a demonstration against the sale and purchase of war toys for holiday gifts from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Saturday, December 1.…
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[UPDATED] Week ahead: County budget meetings, West Main Street church discussion
Monroe County Legislature committees start discussing County Executive Maggie Brooks’ 2013 budget proposal today. Today’s schedule: Agenda/Charter, 5 p.m., Planning and Economic Development, 5:30; Public Safety Committee, 6. Tuesday: Recreation and Education, 5 p.m.; Transportation, 5:30; Human Services, 6 p.m. Wednesday, Environment and Public Works, 5 p.m.; Intergovernmental Relations, 5:30. Legislators typically ask a lot…
