Cover Story
Best of Rochester 2015
We asked, and you voted. Now, take a look at what City readers have named the Best of Rochester. There’s a lot to see and a lot to explore in Rochester; maybe this will help you get started.
Is online voting a real possibility?
WXXI’s Evan Dawson had an interesting show today about elections and local politics. Dawson asked his assembled media panel, which included City’s Jeremy Moule, about the possibility of online voting. The panel pretty much agreed that consistently abysmal voter turnout would eventually force the powers that be to do….something. What? Nobody’s quite sure. Online voting…
Medley spared again; auction called off
The auction of Irondequoit’s Medley Centre, scheduled for later this month, has been called off. The dead mall’s owner, Bersin Properties, owed Monroe County $1.2 million in property taxes from 2013, and the county was set to sell off the property at a November 10 tax-foreclosure auction. But Nomura Capital and Credit, the company that once…
Week Ahead for Monday, November 2
The election is Tuesday, November 3. County executive, County Legislature, and City Council are on the ballot.
Turning the camera on the glitz and glamour
Photo exhibit at Eastman Museum documents the lives of the wealthy.
ALBUM REVIEW: “Twelve Spells”
The Stone Foxes “Twelve Spells” Self-released thestonefoxes.com “Twelve Spells” threatens to boil over with its steamy chaos and kerrang. Garage rock has a series of posts you have to kick the ball through or — according to the bowl-cut-wearing Nazi eggheads — it ain’t garage rock. I disagree. Those who don’t obey, don’t abide, or don’t…
Tapping into good beer
Regardless of what you think about the style of the College Town development, it has become the immediate dining and social hub for the University of Rochester crowd. Most of the bases are covered within the College Town confines, including a selection of chain establishments, a stylish Italian restaurant, and the only grocery store in…
Best of Rochester 2015: Food & Drink
Readers Poll Results
Feedback 10/28
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. Lessons from California…
When words fail
Post-war artists became not painters of pictures, but painters of conditions, reflecting — in works that properly defied tangibility – the world’s disillusionment. They expressed the mammoth weight of things that are universally experienced but not easily uttered. Viewing these works can therefore be something of a spiritual experience, where we reach out to touch…
Urban Action 10/28
This week’s calls to action include the following events and activities. All are free and open to the public unless otherwise noted. RCDC community grants available The Rochester Community Design Center is accepting applications for development-design funds until Monday, November 30. The $2,500 to $15,000 grants are awarded for community projects such as building rehabilitation,…
DANCE | DANCE/Hartwell
The work of six undergraduate dance majors and four MFA candidates will be showcased this weekend when The College at Brockport’s Department of Dance presents DANCE/Hartwell. The presentation will feature diverse dancers ranging from serious and sensitive to quirky and idiosyncratic, and will include a duet choreographed by undergraduate dance major Marissa Subik entitled, “Fondest…
FILM | Polish Film Festival
This year’s Polish Film Festival will feature nine award-winning Polish films which explore the culture and history of the Polish people. The festival premieres Sunday, November 1, at 3 p.m., and will run through Monday, November 9. Some of this year’s titles will include “Deluge Redivivus,” “Illumination,” “Warsaw 44,” and “A Grain of Truth.” All…
THEATER | “The Intergalactic Nemesis”
“The Intergalactic Nemesis” is a comedic adventure story that has taken the form of a PBS-produced YouTube series, audio dramas, an audio podcast, graphic novels, and a multi-installment theatrical production. On Friday, October 30, Nazareth College Arts Center (4245 East Avenue) will present “Target Earth,” part one of the live-action graphic novel, which introduces us…
Best of Rochester 2015: Critic Picks
Best sandwich that is unquestionably a sandwich The Turkey Melt at Harry G’s In case you haven’t seen the debate, Google “Is a hotdog a sandwich?” The question went viral earlier this year, and you’ll find that what constitutes a sandwich for one person is something else entirely to another. Still, there is little better…
DANCE | Upstate NY Latin Dance Festival
Salsa, Bachata, Kizomba, Cha Cha, and more will spice up Rochester during the 4th Annual Upstate NY Latin Dance Festival. Artists hailing from Rochester, Buffalo, New York City, Toronto, and Detroit will perform, teach classes, and lead parties during the three-day festival. Confirmed artists include Cultural Explosion, United Salseros, Nuevo Ritmo, Roc Kizomba, Frances Hare,…
Best of Rochester 2015: Best Answers
Off-the-cuff, sometimes off-color responses to our Best Of Rochester 2015 Primary Ballot
Best of Rochester 2015: Goods & Services
NOTE: Runners up listed in alphabetical order Best New Retail Store Little Button Craft & Press. 658 South Avenue, 445-8224, littlebuttoncraftandpress.com Runners up: DL Home & Garden | JBRD | Modish Pet Boutique Best Jewelry Maker Cornell’s Jewelers. 3100 Monroe Avenue, 264-0100, cornellsjewelers.com Runners up: Blueground Jewelry | The Gem Lab | Interstellar Love Craft…
CLASSICAL | Publick Musick plays Boccherini
Luigi Boccherini (1743-1805) is perhaps best-known for writing a famous minuet that has become a musical shorthand for “18th-century elegance.” But during his lifetime, he was a famous cello virtuoso (his B-flat cello concerto is still popular) and a noted composer, of chamber music in general and of string quintets, written to feature his own…
THEATER | “A Twist of Lemmon”
Whether you’re fan of actor Chris Lemmon, or more familiar with the work of his father, Jack Lemmon, you’ll learn about both of their histories in this production by Chris Lemmon. The lives of both stars are explored in “A Twist of Lemmon,” presented at Downstairs Cabaret Theatre. Audiences can watch as the father and…
JAZZ | Charles Pillow
The saxophonist, clarinetist, and flautist on the Hatch Recital Hall stage Monday night will all be Eastman School of Music multi-reedist extraordinaire Charles Pillow. He’ll be playing in duos, trios, and quartets with fellow Eastman faculty members, guitarist Bob Sneider, drummer Rich Thompson, and bassist Jeff Campbell in a program featuring tunes by Billy Strayhorn,…
FILM | “New York Portrait I, II, III”
Not every story is told by spinning a linear yarn or by zeroing in on specific characters. On Wednesday, October 28, the Dryden Theatre (Eastman Museum, 900 East Avenue) will screen Peter Hutton’s “New York Portrait I, II, III” in 16mm. The three-part work is non-narrative, but rather a collection of impressions of place. Edited…
JAZZ | Holy Crow Jazz Band
If you close your eyes, Jessy Carolina and the Holy Crow Jazz Band will transport you back to the 1920’s and 1930’s when the great American art form, jazz, was freshly minted and bursting with creativity. You’ll hear the tunes of Kid Ory, King Oliver, Louis Armstrong, and Bix Beiderbecke and a few new ones…
Best of Rochester 2015: Local Color
NOTE: Runners up listed in alphabetical order Best Local Politician Louise Slaughter. @louiseslaughter; louise.house.gov Runners up: Joe Robach | Ryan Shepard | Elaine Spaull Best Group or Person Improving the Community WALL\THERAPY. @walltherapyny; wall-therapy.com Runners up: Shawn Dunwoody | Metro Justice | Louise Slaughter Best Local Activist Group Gay Alliance of the Genesee Valley. 875…
ROCK | Holly Golightly
I’ve seen Garage rock queen, Holly Golightly get down duo style and heard her rock out with Thee Headcoatees under the watchful eye of Billy Childish. She’s also performed and recorded with Rocket From The Crypt, and The White Stripes. She’s someone you need to see if garage rock is in your wheelhouse. She’s released more…
OPERA | Opera Week
In celebration of National Opera Week, Rochester Lyric Opera will present a series of performances and lectures, and a competition at the Lyric Theatre. The week begins Monday, November 2, 7 p.m., with a lecture from the Opera Guild of Rochester’s Art Axelrod about the “bad boys” in opera. The week’s events include a performance…
Best of Rochester 2015: Nightlife
Readers Poll Results
CLASSICAL | “Distant Worlds: Music from ‘Final Fantasy'”
For most video gamers, the “Final Fantasy” series is instantly recognizable for its epic nature. The storytelling is always grand, rich, and dramatic, and to match the vision, an equally impressive and emotional score is needed. It can be argued that a lot of the emotional intensity that exists in a “Final Fantasy” game is…
Slideshow: Best of Rochester Party 2015
Photos from the Best of Rochester 2015 party at Village Gate.
Stunt rock
Not everyone sets out to be a rock star. “I always wanted to be a stuntman,” Austin Lake says. “Evel Knievel had his own record. And I thought it was a good publicity stunt to put out your own record. And now I’m hooked on this music thing. I realized I had some stuff I…
Best of Rochester 2015: Arts & Entertainment
NOTE: Runners up listed in alphabetical order Best Local Original Band Teagan and The Tweeds. @teaganandtweeds; teaganandthetweeds.com Runners up: Joywave | Thunder Body | Violet Mary Best Local Cover Band The Skycoasters. skycoasters.com Runners up: JunkyardFieldTrip | Something Else | Zac Brown Tribute Band Best Local Solo Musician Teagan Ward. teaganward.com Runners up: Amanda Ashley…
ALBUM REVIEW: “Everything’s Fine in the Big Time”
Rock-N-Roll Social Club “Everything’s Fine in the Big Time” Self-released rocknrollsocialclub.com This here LP is a tour of the ultimate record collection; a collection it belongs in. Laying it on thick and heavy with copious doses of greasy melody and greasier riffs, Rock-N-Roll Social Club delivers a nice clean kick to the balls. In the…
Clinic worries Brighton residents
Growing opioid dependence in the Rochester region is straining local treatment facilities, including UR Medicine’s outpatient Strong Recovery program. The health system wants to move Strong Recovery — which treats alcohol and drug dependency, including opioid addiction — from Strong Memorial Hospital’s R-Wing on Crittenden Boulevard to the Brighton Business Center at 2613 West Henrietta…
Vargas is out
Bolgen Vargas will step down as superintendent of the Rochester school district at the end of December, well before his contract expires in June 2016. (Related column: “Impossible job claims another superintendent.”) He will be replaced by Daniel Lowengard, retired superintendent of the Syracuse City School District. Lowengard will serve as interim superintendent of Rochester…
Vargas out: Impossible job claims another superintendent
This is not a Rochester problem. It is a problem facing every urban school district in the country.
Film Review: “Steve Jobs”
The last time Aaron Sorkin delivered a story of an enigmatic tech visionary, we got the masterful “The Social Network,” about Facebook creator Mark Zuckerberg. Now the Oscar-winning writer joins director Danny Boyle to take on the life of innovative Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, played here by an excellent Michael Fassbender. Despite the love that…
Film Review: “Truth”
The gripping directorial debut of screenwriter James Vanderbilt, “Truth” tackles the story behind the controversial 2004 “60 Minutes” segment that effectively ended the career of veteran CBS anchorman Dan Rather. Fresh off breaking the Abu Ghraib story, CBS producer Mary Mapes (an excellent Cate Blanchett) is looking for a new story to add to her…
Theater Review: “Annapurna” at Blackfriars
“Annapurna” is the kind of theater this city needs more often.
