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Explore the Best of Rochester
The results for our annual scavenger hunt are in. We asked you to respond to our 2019 Best of Rochester readers’ poll with your favorite people, places, and things as you’ve explored our fine region, and you delivered.
Eastman School of Music backpedals, cancels China tour
Eastman School dean relents on China tour under intense criticism.
Dinolfo starts rolling out her 2020 budget
County Executive Cheryl Dinolfo has renewed Budget Week again this year – three days of talking up what she views as the highlights of her 2020 spending plan – and she opened Monday by discussing jobs programs. The full budget, or anything beyond its basic $1.2 billion figure, isn’t available yet. Dinolfo will talk about…
Douglass statue time capsule contents badly damaged
Crews are moving the Douglass statue to a more prominent location in the park and they dug up the capsule earlier this week.
Groups take aim at Project Exile
Civil liberties and criminal justice reform groups are calling on Monroe County District Attorney Sandra Doorley to pull out of a federal program that has some local gun cases turned over to federal prosecutors. Federal charges for gun crimes carry harsher sentences than state charges. Representatives of three groups – Enough is Enough, Citizen Action…
Former Housing Authority chair faces more charges
George Moses, the former chair of the Rochester Housing Authority and the executive director or North East Area Development (NEAD), has been indicted on 28 charges, including wire fraud, aggravated identity theft, and lying to the FBI. The charges are connected to an alleged scheme to defraud Rochester Housing Charities, a subsidiary of the Rochester Housing Authority,…
The F Word: Mirth, monkeyshines, and beer
Last Friday night, I found myself at the Bug Jar. The joint was sold out to the walls. The crowd had successfully shoehorned itself into the venue to dig Screaming Females — a ferocious band that punctuates its music with full-throttle vocal vibrato and howlin’ guitar.
ART | Sylvia Taylor
Ithaca-based artist Sylvia Taylor’s mixed media work incorporates relief prints, paintings, and drawings, and at first seem like simple, playful renderings of animals and humans. But each being serves as a touchstone for the way ahead through longing, loss, and the less familiar paths to come. Taylor’s new solo exhibition, “The Time Between the Dog…
Best Arts & Entertainment
BEST ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT BEST LOCAL ORIGINAL BAND Joywave @joywavemusic; joywavemusic.com Danielle Ponder and the Tomorrow People | Sirens and Sailors | Teagan and the Tweeds BEST LOCAL SOLO MUSICIAN Teagan Ward facebook.com/teaganwardmusic.com; teaganward.com Mikaela Davis | Cammy Enaharo | Jon Lewis BEST LOCAL HIP-HOP ACT Moses Rockwell mosesrockwell.bandcamp.com Benny Beyond | MdotCoop | Tyreckdagoat…
FAMILY | ‘Spooky Sweet Tooth Science’
Whenever actual Halloween night falls on a weekday, it gives us license to celebrate from the weekend before through the weekend after. Those are just the rules. And since it falls on a Thursday this year, both this weekend and next are fair game for spooky celebrations. On Friday, October 25, Rochester Museum & Science…
Best Nightlife
BEST NIGHTLIFE BEST NEW BAR/CLUB Riot Room 350 East Avenue, (585) 546-7468; letsstartariot.com 80W | Sensation Nightclub | Vern’s BEST BAR FOR BEER Tap and Mallet 381 Gregory Street, (585) 473-0503; tapandmallet.com MacGregor’s Grill & Tap Room | Rochester Beer Park | Swiftwater Brewing Co. BEST BAR FOR WINE Living Roots Wine & Co. 1255…
FILM | ‘Blacula’
The Baobab Cultural Center is bringing back an old-school cult classic this week with a screening of “Blacula,” William Crain’s 1972 time-traveling-romance-fantasy-horror flick. When 18th century African prince Mamuwalde (William Marshall) is sent to Transylvania to ask Dracula’s help in thwarting the slave trade, the fanged jerk instead transforms him into a creature of the…
Best answers
OFF-THE CUFF, SOMETIMES OFF-COLOR RESPONSES TO OUR BEST OF ROCHESTER 2019 PRIMARY BALLOT
SPECIAL EVENT | Museum of the Dead
Adults may be well past the trick-or-treating years, but there’s so many creative ways to enjoy spooky season as a grown-up. For example, Memorial Art Gallery hosts an annual 21+ event, “Museum of the Dead,” which blends art, booze, treats, and costumes. That’s really all I could ask for. Now in its 5th year, this…
Critics’ Picks
BEST YOUNG FARMER: Eric Houppert of Deep Root Farm There are myriad categories featuring food in the Best of Rochester awards, but nothing about the people growing (and supplying) local ingredients behind the scenes. Several years ago, Macedon resident Eric Houppert made the jump from graphic designer to farmhand at Mud Creek Farms in Victor.…
GALLERY: Best of Rochester 2019 Party
Over 500 Best of Rochester party-goers decended upon the atrium at Village Gate to celebrate the winners of the 2019 Best of Rochester reader poll. See the full list of winners here!
JAZZ | Mwenso and the Shakes
Michael Mwenso conducts the Shakes with every bone in his body. He’s like a human metronome or a man-sized baton, pouring himself out on the stage in an unrelenting display of positivity. It’s an eclectic collision of jazz and world beat affirmation. Born in Sierra Leone and raised in London, Mwenso packs visceral energy and…
Feedback 10/23
We welcome your comments. Send them to feedback@rochester-citynews.com with your name, your daytime telephone number for verification, and your city, town or village. Comments of fewer than 500 words have a greater chance of being published, and we do edit selections for publication in print. We donÕt publish comments sent to other media. Tit for…
PSYCHEDELIC ROCK | The Mushroom Cloud
Get down and dirty to the funky rock variations of Connecticut-based quartet The Mushroom Cloud. Featuring guitarist-keyboardist Paul Harris, guitarist Matt Cuddy, bassist Ryan Berry, and drummer Russ Harris, the band has been sharing its mostly instrumental jam sessions with audiences since 2011. The Mushroom Cloud mixes rock, funk, electronica, and psychedelia into a danceable…
Urban Action 10/23
This week’s call to action includes the following events and activities. (All are free and open to the public unless otherwise noted.) ‘No More Tinkering’ The Coalition for Public Education, Great Schools for All, the South West Common Council Education Committee, and the College at Brockport are sponsoring a community-wide forum titled, “No More Tinkering,”…
METAL | The Highest Leviathan
Like a Hammer Film Productions movie with a doom metal soundtrack, The Highest Leviathan starts at a comfortable low-flying grind before diving into a hellish dirge of sub-strata violence and decay. Way drop-tuned guitar wrestles with drop tune vocals. It’s like drowning in lava. The Highest Leviathan plays with Et Mors and DOUR, Thursday, October…
JAZZ | Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis
The first jazz orchestras came to prominence about a century ago. Since then interest in the form has ebbed and flowed, but over the last three decades, no ensemble has done more to keep the flame alive than the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra and Music Director Wynton Marsalis. Aside from Marsalis — one of…
Best Food & Drink
BEST FOOD AND DRINK BEST PIZZA The Pizza Stop Several area locations; pizzastop1.com Mark’s Pizzeria | Pontillo’s Pizzeria | Salvatore’s BEST BURGER Bill Gray’s Many area locations. billgrays.com The Gate House | Restaurant Good Luck | Swillburger BEST BARBECUE Dinosaur Bar-B-Que 99 Court Street, (585) 325-7090; dinosaurbarbque.com Good Smoke BBQ | Sticky Lips | Texas…
FOLK | David Wax Museum
David Wax, one-half of the core duo of David Wax Museum, sings and plays the jarana, a type of guitar. His wife Suz Slezak plays the fiddle, provides vocal harmonies, and sometimes plays the quijada, a percussive instrument that’s similar to a vibraslap, but it’s actually a donkey’s jawbone. It may seem unconventional but it…
Best Goods & Services
BEST GOODS AND SERVICES BEST BIKE SHOP Park Ave Bike 600 Jay Scutti Boulevard, (585) 427-2110; 3400 Monroe Avenue, (585) 381-3080. parkavebike.com Bike Zone | Full Moon Vista | Towpath Bike BEST FITNESS TRAINER Molly Flaherty at M/Body 1048 University Avenue, (585) 434-2608; mbodyrochester.com Anthony Caruso (Samsons Powerhouse) | Julian Darrohn (World Gym) | Lore…
SURF-INSTRUMENTAL | Los Straitjackets
If you’re looking for Rochesterian and elite guitarist Greg Townson on stage with his band Los Straitjackets, it’s easy: He’s the one in the mask. Formed in Nashville in 1988, this band plays slick surf and instrumental guitar music, with a hilarious deadpan approach as the play exclusively in Luchador masks. Viva Los Straitjackets! Televisionaries…
Best Local Color
BEST LOCAL COLOR BEST LOCAL ACTIVIST GROUP Girls Rock! Rochester girlsrockrochester.org Hope Dealers BTC | Metro Justice | Out Alliance BEST SOURCE OF ROCHESTER PRIDE Wegmans Many area locations. wegmans.com Frederick Douglass | Garbage plates | Out Alliance BEST LOCAL MEN’S SPORTS TEAM Red Wings @rocredwings; redwingsbaseball.com Amerks | Flower City Fear | Knighthawks BEST…
DANCE | MAD Weekend
Nazareth College’s Theatre and Dance Department will this week present its 8th annual MAD (Movement and Dance) Weekend, presenting a whirlwind of master classes, lectures, and performances by more than 25 renowned dancers, choreographers, and educators from the region and across the nation. Highlights include an open tap class taught by New York City-based artist…
Publick Musick explores Dido myth in season-opening concert
Dido, Queen of Carthage, is one of the most memorable women in ancient lore. Seduced and jilted by the Trojan War hero Aeneas, Dido took her own life rather spectacularly, building her own funeral pyre and stabbing herself as she lay on it. But Dido if was only a temporary inspiration to Aeneas, she proved…
CITY to end political endorsements
A better approach during campaign season is to thoughtfully report on and analyze individual issues and policies. Readers need to be informed. CITY can help in that regard.
Police reform: advocates on what should come next
Police reform proponents say city officials don’t have to wait for a court decision to bring change to the Rochester Police Department. An accountability board is essential, they say, but additional reforms are also needed.
Film preview: ‘The Lighthouse’
“The Lighthouse” sits comfortably within the recent trend of films that plumb the psyches of men, and drudge up all manner of insanity. Lonely and horny, the characters alternate between seemingly wanting to tear each other to shreds, kiss, or violently screw. In its way, “The Lighthouse” is its own sort of love story.
Casual, cozy Lucca Kitchen & Cocktails opens in North Winton
Matthew Gervasi’s original Lucca Wood Fire Bistro, a staple of Main Street in Victor, now has a sister restaurant. Lucca Kitchen & Cocktails is open in the North Winton Neighborhood, with an urban Italian bistro flare.
Theater review: ‘Detroit ’67’
While the story onstage may be fictional, the riots of 1967 were very real, and they are soberingly reminiscent of recent police brutality headlines. “Detroit ’67” is not the most uplifting night out, but its strong performances, historical content, and a distinct relevance to current events make for an impactful experience.
Album review: ’64’
Vanishing Sun ’64’ Self-released vanishingsun.com Local jazz fusion sensation Vanishing Sun is about to release its third studio album, "64." Originally formed as an instrumental collective in 2016, Vanishing Sun now boasts six members, including its powerhouse vocalist Zahyia. "64" combines jazz, pop, electronica, and hip-hop, bringing the heat and attitude with an emphasis on…
Campaign reframes domestic violence
Willow Domestic Violence Center is running a campaign meant to get the public to change how it thinks about domestic violence.
