Cover Story
Festival Preview: ImageOut 2017
A look at the 25th Annual Rochester LGBT Film & Video Festival The inaugural ImageOut kicked off in 1993; Bill Clinton had just begun his first term as President, Nelson Mandela won the Nobel Peace Prize, Beanie Babies hit the market, and Donald Trump was an unnecessarily famous real-estate developer. Now, 25 years later ……
P.J. Soles talks ‘Carrie,’ ‘Halloween,’ and being part of the horror community
The actor will be in Rochester Saturday for a screening of the original “Halloween”
Classical review: Cordancia’s ‘Streets of Paris, Songs of Russia’
There is a vast, rich musical world in Rochester beyond the walls of the Eastman School of Music and Kodak Hall. Cordancia Chamber Orchestra drove this point home last Friday at the Finger Lakes Community College Auditorium with a fascinating program of obscure orchestral gems written by important, mostly underappreciated composers. The program began with…
Classical review: RPO performs an inconsistent concert with Isabel Leonard
On Thursday, the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra and Music Director Ward Stare welcomed accomplished opera star Isabel Leonard to Kodak Hall for a program that was heavy on Spanish influence – a welcome programmatic turn – but light on consistency. The story of the concert was a tale of two halves. The inconsistency was apparent from…
Theater review: ‘School of Rock’ at RBTL
The RBTL ushers in their 2017-18 season with “School of Rock,” adapted from the crowd-pleasing 2003 comedy starring Jack Black.
JAZZ | Doug MacLeod
As a blues performer, Doug MacLeod has lent his talents to Big Joe Turner, Eddie “Cleanhead” Vinson, Big Mama Thornton, and many more. As a composer, his songs have been covered by Albert King, Albert Collins, Eva Cassidy, and others. He’s won just about every award a blues man can win and yet … he’s…
Activists protest at police union
Tension grew last week between local activists and the Rochester Police Locust Club as officers participated in a controversial training program conducted by the Force Science Institute, paid for by the union. Critics say that FSI and its founder, Bill Lewinski, encourage officers to escalate their use of force in volatile situations, often in communities…
Folk phenoms of Auld Lang Syne focus on family life
For a group that isn’t actually based in the city anymore, Auld Lang Syne simultaneously remains one of Rochester’s most beloved bands — particularly among area musicians — and arguably the city’s best-kept musical secret. The songwriting vehicle of married couple Kathy and Timothy Dick, who first met while studying music at Roberts Wesleyan College,…
Album review: ‘The Space’
The Buddhahood “The Space” Self-released facebook.com/buddhahoodmusic The Buddhahood went through some shifts here and there after its beloved leader, Tony Cavagnaro, passed in 2007, yet it endured. Today the lineup is solid and better than ever, in particular in the horns, which lay down a deep shag and groove on the band’s latest recording, “The…
ROCK | Eagles of Death Metal
It’s funny when a band that doesn’t take itself too seriously sets its sights on making some serious music. Remember: rock ‘n’ roll was made for shaking your ass. Despite the revolving door of heavy talent, Eagles of Death Metal plays some of the freshest garage-infused rock music you’ll ever hear. Formed in 1998 in…
Album review: ‘Nowhere in Time’
Richie & Rosie “Nowhere in Time” Self-released richieandrosie.com “Nowhere in Time” doesn’t drop until sometime in November, but I felt compelled to let you in on it now so you can clear your calendar. What I particularly dig abut Richie & Rosie’s new CD is the room; you can hear the walls as they take…
CLASSICAL | RPO with Isabel Leonard
Spanish art songs take center stage at Kodak Hall this week, when prominent mezzo-soprano Isabel Leonard joins the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra and Music Director Ward Stare. The Metropolitan Opera star will sing Manuel de Falla’s “Seven Popular Spanish Songs” as well as a set of works by Enrique Granados. The program will also include several…
Sarah Gilbert’s engraved glass wonders
Sarah Gilbert’s solo show at More Fire Glass Studio is a homecoming of sorts. Now based in Tacoma, Washington, she’s originally from Rochester, and took her first glass class in 2000 at More Fire Glass Studio. Owner Elizabeth Lyons got her into glass blowing, Gilbert says. “I worked with her for a long time at…
JAZZ | Alex Skolnick Trio
If you recognize that some of the best musicians reside in metal and jazz then the Alex Skolnick Trio makes complete sense. Skolnick’s group spins originals and jazzy interpretations of heavy classics, giving the songs a new dimension. There’s quite a few nuggets on the band’s 2002, debut CD “Goodbye to Romance: Standards for…
LECTURE | Hidden Passions Series
The Memorial Art Gallery’s Hidden Passions lecture series is entering its fourth season, kicking off Friday, October 6, with talks by professor, businessman, and music promoter Brian Bailey and physician and musician Kishan Pandya. The monthly talks celebrate the creative hobbies of Rochester professionals. Following talks are held on Thursdays: November 9 features professor and…
LECTURE | Art Power Symposium
In the interest of addressing Rochester’s racial segregation within the arts and culture sectors, 21st Century Arts and a new collaborative of community organizers have created a new endeavor called “At the Crossroads: Activating the Intersection of Art and Justice.” The group, on Monday, October 9, will present its first event, Art Power Symposium, which…
COMEDY | The Second City
In the world of improv, The Second City is legendary. The sketch and improvisational comedy group originated in Chicago, and quickly became a pipeline for “Saturday Night Live.” Among the notable names Second City has churned out: Bill Murray, Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Gilda Radner, Steve Carell, Stephen Colbert, and Cecily Strong. That’s quite the lineup…
THEATER | ‘Deathtrap’
With Halloween just around the corner, all things spooky are eerily creeping back into our lives. The College at Brockport is taking full advantage of the fall feeling by kicking off its season with “Deathtrap,” a melodrama by Ira Levin. The play within a play follows writer Sidney Bruhl as he discovers the dark side…
SPECIAL EVENT | Genesee River Romance
The Genesee River is the reason our city got the nickname the “Flour City” — it powered the mills that turned Rochester into the country’s first boomtown in the 1800’s. Each year, the city pays homage to the river and its impact with the Genesee River Romance event. The three-day weekend includes guided tours of…
Feedback 10/4
We welcome your comments; send them to themail@rochester-citynews.com. Submissions of fewer than 350 words have a greater chance of being published, and we edit selections for publication in print. We don’t publish comments sent to other media. US women in politics On “Where Are the Women,” our article on the small number of women in…
Urban Action 10/4
This week’s calls to action include the following events and activities. (All are free and open to the public, unless otherwise noted.) Protecting resources in Ecuador The Rochester Committee on Latin America will host a talk on the topic “Who Speaks for Nature? Indigenous Environmentalists against Extraction in Ecuador” on Wednesday, October 4. Speaker Karleen…
EcoDistrict moves forward
Greentopia is getting ready to launch the High Falls EcoDistrict. Volunteers will also clean, weed, and replant a section of the Genesee Riverway trail near the gorge. “We want to make sure that every time we do something for the EcoDistrict, we do something tangible,” says Rachel Walsh, Greentopia’s EcoDistrict coordinator. The activities align with…
CLASSICAL | ‘Streets of Paris, Songs of Russia’
Although Cordancia Chamber Orchestra has only been in existence a relatively short amount of time (it’s only in its eighth season), it has already become an indispensable part of Rochester’s classical music landscape. As a chamber music ensemble, Cordancia has carved a niche performing works by composers who may get less attention from ensembles like…
Rochester homeless advocates seek funding for winter shelter
There’s little that’s more emblematic of severe poverty than homelessness. Like most medium-size and large cities, Rochester has emergency shelters for homeless adults, but the demand for beds and living space, especially for the chronically homeless, continues to outpace availability. For the third year in a row, REACH Advocacy – Rochesterians Engaging in Action for…
PUNK | SINGLE MOTHERS
Up-and-coming London, Ontario, degenerates Single Mothers sound like a punk band fronted by a perpetually drunk Allen Ginsberg. Its latest record, this year’s excellent “Our Pleasure,” is a cacophonous blend of nerve-shredding riffs blanketed by frontman Drew Thomson’s sneering tirades against popular society, “the scene,” domestic complacency, and pretty much anything else that stumbles downrange…
Interview: Author Mark Bray on antifa
It’s 2017 in the United States, and not only does the country have a growing anti-fascist movement, it may very well need it. That’s not to say that the US is hurtling toward fascism, the exact definition of which is somewhat fluid. In broad terms, fascism is a social and political ideology that melds authoritarian…
VARIOUS | FrankFest
I fell in love with this event as soon as I read the name. FrankFest is a wonderful, multi-musician event to benefit the Rochester Childfirst Network. It’ll be all you need — along with $2 hot dogs — as 13 bands add the soundtrack on two stages. We’re talking artists like Ben Morey, Brind’Amour, Calicoco,…
Upcoming kitchen incubator The Commissary to give food businesses a leg up
In the lobby of the Metropolitan, formerly known as Chase Tower, the buzz of power tools echoes off the high ceiling as hard-hatted construction workers intermingle with downtown nine-to-fivers coming and going from the new arched glass entrance on South Clinton Avenue. One of the most recognizable landmarks in the Rochester skyline, the Metropolitan is…
Las Vegas, guns, and the evil of inaction
We knew what we needed to do when we saw the pictures of the children murdered in Newtown. And nothing happened.
Film review: ‘American Made’
Just months after having his talents utterly wasted on “The Mummy,” Tom Cruise gets one of the best roles he’s had in years with the true-crime black comedy “American Made.”
Film review: ‘Victoria & Abdul’
Detailing a little-known chapter in the history of the British monarchy, Stephen Frears’ crowd-pleasing period piece “Victoria & Abdul” follows the unexpected friendship that blossomed between the aging Queen Victoria and a young Indian manservant.
Kodak’s Reel Film app + coming attractions
Developed in Rochester, Kodak’s Reel Film app allows users to locate nearby theater venues that offer the opportunity to catch a movie projected on film.
