Cover Story
Fried cakes: A sacred Rochester tradition
We went in search of the Holy Grail, but found seven instead.
Film review: “The Dressmaker”
“The Dressmaker” is a fascinating mix of tones, shifting between dark humor, melodrama, and a bit of camp — with just the right amount of crazy to give the film its pleasantly nutty flavor.
Album review: “Toys”
Burn It Up “Toys” Self-released burnitup.bandcamp.com Burn It Up burns it down on “Toys,” the band’s new beaucoup bombastic blast of rock ‘n’ roll. I mean, holy shit, the energy on this 10-song album is berserk. The ska lurking within Burn It Up’s previous incarnation, Mrs. Skannotto, has shifted to the afterburner — not an…
Album review: “No Candy”
The Vine Brothers “No Candy” Self-released thevinebrothers.com What New York City-based bluegrass trio The Vine Brothers lacks in volume, it makes up in tangible joy on its new eight-song outing, “No Candy.” That’s not to say they can’t raise hell, but the power of this band is in its subtlety and the air breathing between…
Fringe Festival gets a new name
The First Niagara Rochester Fringe Festival has rebranded as the KeyBank Rochester Fringe Festival; the announcement follows a merger between two KeyCorp entities. “There’s much more to the KeyBank Rochester Fringe Festival than a sponsorship,” said James Barger, president of KeyBank’s Rochester market, at a press conference this morning. “The Fringe will continue to be…
ROCK | Jacuzzi Boys
Jacuzzi Boys is loud, fast, steamy, and slightly trippy — and if you’re looking for even more validation, Iggy Pop is a fan. Established in 2007 by high school buddies Gabriel Alcala (guitar and vocals) and Diego Monasteri (drums), the Miami-based band later added Danny Gonzales on bass. The trio’s rendition of Big Audio Dynamite’s …
‘Cotton Toe’ Scrivens goes beyond the blues
Rochester bluesman Mike “Cotton Toe” Scrivens laughs at the rumors and scuttlebutt surrounding his nickname. As the story goes, Scrivens was minding his own affair, playing a solo gig on a riverboat near Gretna, Louisiana, when a 12-foot gator suddenly appeared on deck, snarling and snapping and thrashing about. Patrons were running every which way.…
ROOTS | David Mayfield
Watch in utter amazement as David Mayfield kicks it off in high gear, playing hella loose and reckless, and winding things up high and tight like a first-time inmate’s haircut. Mayfield’s guitar work is utterly brilliant and mad in a sort of demolition-derby way. It sounds as if the guitar can’t make up its mind,…
LECTURE | “Tattoo Traditions of Turtle Island”
I sometimes joke with my friends that you’re more of an anomaly these days if you don’t have any tattoos. Though getting inked is a relatively commonplace practice, we often overlook the varied, globe-spanning traditions that tattooing emerged from, and the meaning behind certain permanent marks. This includes tattooing traditions that were practiced for thousands…
CLASSIC ROCK | Steely Dan
Steely Dan’s music is witty and wry, if not rather indefinable. If you know where the duo got its name, you’d know what I mean. The band formed in the early 1970’s as a sort of antithesis to rock. Members Walter Becker and Donald Fagen first pitched their sound in the Brill building, coming to…
JAZZ | Clay Jenkins
Jazz trumpet professor Clay Jenkins paid his dues with the great jazz orchestras of Stan Kenton, Harry James, Buddy Rich, and Count Basie, and the Clayton/Hamilton Jazz Orchestra. His upcoming Kilbourn Hall concert will feature music Jenkins has written for a smaller ensemble. The sextet consists of Eastman School of Music faculty members Charles Pillow…
JAZZ FUSION | Project/Object
Don Preston played keyboards in The Mothers of Invention from just after the band’s beginning in 1966 to just before its ending in the mid-1970’s. Ike Willis served as Frank Zappa’s lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist from the late-70’s to the late-80’s. The two musicians are featured in Project/Object, the longest-running group dedicated to the…
CLASSICAL | “re: Percussion and Brass”
Violin sonatas, piano trios, and clarinet quintets are all familiar entities on chamber music programs, but brass players seldom get their proper place at the chamber music table, and percussionists almost never do. The First Muse chamber music series shifts the paradigm this Sunday when it presents “re: Percussion and Brass” as the opening concert…
SYNTHPOP/ROCK | Midge Ure
Midge Ure’s current tour, “Something from Everything,” promises songs from every album he’s ever recorded — from his early band Rich Kids, Visage, and Ultravox, to his many solo works. A stalwart of the New Wave era, Ure captured the mood and aesthetic of the time with songs such as “Fade to Grey” (with Visage),…
Urban Action 10/5
This week’s calls to action include the following events and activities. All are free and open to the public, unless otherwise noted. Learn about poverty in Rochester The Rochester chapter of the Social Welfare Action Alliance and several human services organizations will hold “Reality Tour-Get on the Bus!” on Saturday, October 15. The tour is…
Feedback 10/5
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. Selective enforcement…
Power plant sold
The complex network of industrial utilities inside Eastman Business Park is getting a new owner, again. And the buyers will pay to retrofit the park’s power plant with high-efficiency natural gas boilers, replacing its coal-fired ones. Recycled Energy Development reached a deal to sell its portfolio of site-specific power and utility systems – which includes…
Rochesterians stand with the Sioux
Around 1,500 miles separate Rochester and the Standing Rock Sioux encampment meant to block construction of a section of the Dakota Access oil pipeline near the nation’s North Dakota reservation. But the distance isn’t stopping Rochesterians from joining the fight. They’ve organized events, such as last Saturday’s Water for Life rally, to draw attention to…
THEATER | “When You Comin’ Back, Red Ryder?”
Mark Medoff’s “When You Comin’ Back, Red Ryder?” brings a quiet New Mexico diner to life, as characters come to terms with their fears, aspirations, and inner desires at the gunpoint of a Vietnam War veteran. The play is now being performed by University of Rochester’s International Theatre Program, as the cast takes on the…
Beyond Clinton and Trump
Third-party candidates are in a weird spot. They’re blamed for “siphoning” votes from the major parties and possibly altering an election — Bush-Gore-Nader comes to mind. But people who vote for a third-party candidate are often told they’re throwing their votes away. This utterly peculiar presidential election is yielding a common complaint: “Why do I…
LECTURE | The Science of Fashion
Rochester Museum and Science Center is kicking off this year’s Science on the Edge lecture series with a lesson in fashion. Syracuse University professor Jeffrey Mayer will discuss drastic changes in fashion since the mid-1900’s and how recent scientific discoveries and advances in technology — like 3D printing and “lab-grown” fabrics — have helped make…
Raw bar The Vesper opens in former Nikko space
When Joe Frocchi and Eric Aubriot set out to open their new restaurant, The Vesper (1 Capron Street), they wanted to find a way to create elevated food, but still keep it fun. Aubriot, a James Beard Rising Star Award nominee, moved to Rochester after running his own restaurant, also named Aubriot, in Chicago. Frocchi…
ART | Haunted Hungerford
The Hungerford, home of local artisans, craftsmen, and merchants, is in the Halloween spirit as it prepares for its annual Haunted Hungerford. Haunted Hungerford will mark the First Friday in October by joining in on the spooky celebrations early, with more than 20 open studios, live music, and food trucks. Attendees, who are encouraged to…
LITERATURE | An Evening with David Sedaris
Beneath the wit, humor, and satire, David Sedaris tells stories that are intensely personal. The writer and occasional “This American Life” contributor holds nothing back, and it’s that willingness to share himself with his audience that has made Sedaris one of today’s indispensable humorists. Sedaris has written seven essay collections (five of which became New…
Preview: ImageOut 2016
We preview the 10-day Rochester LGBT Film Festival.
COMEDY | The Comedy Get Down
This doesn’t really need any embellishment. Cedric “The Entertainer,” Eddie Griffin, D.L. Hughley, George Lopez, and Charlie Murphy — five of the top comics of the last 20-plus years — are touring together for a massive show they’re calling “The Comedy Get Down.” Each of these comedians is a top-bill headliner in their own right,…
![[CORRECTED] Week ahead: Events for the week of Monday, October 10](https://i0.wp.com/www.roccitymag.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/boardofeducation-building_square-e1755023326264.webp?resize=250%2C250&ssl=1)
[CORRECTED] Week ahead: Events for the week of Monday, October 10
The Rochester school board will hold a public hearing on whether to create a charter school within the Rochester City School District – the first. The Rochester College and Career Charter School has proposed opening in September 2017 with an enrollment of about 190 students in grades K-2. It would add a grade each year…
Chris Lindley’s legacy: government at its best
Curious, intensely ethical, and almost intimidatingly smart, Lindley went into politics to serve the community, not himself.
Film review: “The Birth of a Nation”
Swirling with controversy, “The Birth of a Nation” opens this week. It’s a personal decision to go see the film, but here’s what you should know
