Cover Story
Fall Guide 2018: Relishing the season
CITY’s annual guide to the Fall season of art, theater, dance, drinks, film and music.
Religious leaders are called to help end gun violence
The Reverend Lewis Stewart, president of the United Christian Leadership Ministry, is calling on all of Rochester’s religious leaders to join together in a coordinated effort to stop gun violence in Rochester.
Adam reviews ‘Frankenstein Bemshi!’ and ‘One Frogless Evening: A Tribute to Amphibian Artiste Michigan J. Frog’
With a fall chill in the air, I embraced the spooky spirit of the season with “Frankenstein Bemshi!” at Writers & Books. Perfectly timed for the tale’s 200th anniversary, the show offers a loose retelling of the Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein story through a blend of avant-garde film, music, spoken word poetry, and performance art. The…
Daniel reviews Gold Koa and The Velvet Noose
Gold Koa performed its first-ever concert on the Gibbs Street Stage on Friday, and the band’s existence seemed especially natural, logical — even inevitable. Frontwoman Cammy Enaharo — best known to Rochester audiences as a solo, indie folk artist — sounded as if she were born to front an R&B-pop outfit. Her voice was brimming…
Leah reviews ‘Poetry in Motion’
In addition to performing three company shows at School of the Arts (the last show happens Saturday at 7 p.m.), several members of PUSH Physical Theatre produced solo works for Fringe. Jonathan Lowery, a longstanding member of Fringe who also performs in community theater productions around town, tapped further into his multidisciplinary roots with “Poetry…
Kathy Reviews Eddie Izzard and ‘Good Joke/Bad Joke Bingo’
I’ll admit, my knowledge of Eddie Izzard’s comedy before he came to the Rochester Fringe Festival was limited. I had seen him in a few cameo roles in movies like “Ocean’s 12” and “Ocean’s 13,” and “Across the Universe,” as well as a few late-night shows on which he was a guest. I knew he…
Anti-abortion group must stay outside Planned Parenthood’s buffer zone
A local pro-life group that protests in front of the Planned Parenthood office on University Avenue does have to abide by a 2005 federal court ordered injunction, according to the city and state attorney general’s office. The injunction prevents protesters from crossing a 15-foot buffer zone. The decision, which came late last week, reverses an…
Daniel reviews Garth Fagan Dance
In case anyone had forgotten, Thursday’s performance by Garth Fagan Dance at the company’s downtown studio was a poignant reminder of Fagan’s brilliance as a choreographer. The program began with “Prelude: ‘Discipline is Freedom.’ ” A leisurely piano riff initiated a subtle jazz groove, and the moderate tempo made plenty of room for the dancers’…
Downtown will have a ‘Holiday Village’ in December
Much of Martin Luther King Park will become a Holiday Village for every weekend in December, with a raft of family-oriented events and attractions. City and business officials announced the event this morning. Starting on December 1 and continuing on weekends through Sunday, December 23, there’ll be a Santa’s workshop, music and other entertainment, Breakfast…
Daniel reviews ‘A Jazz Musician Walks Into a Comics Shop’
On Wednesday, musician and graphic novelist Dave Chisholm presented the most fully realized version of his highly ambitious multimedia project, “Instrumental.” The work has always existed as both a graphic novel and its jazz soundtrack simultaneously. But the Fringe Festival audience at the Lyric Theatre was the first to hear the soundtrack performed live in…
Adam reviews ‘The Spyglass Seven’ and ‘Truly Divine’
Poet Edgar Allan Poe makes for a characteristically gloomy romantic hero in “The Spyglass Seven,” a gothic drama written and directed by Michael Seebold. The play imagines that the ghost of the writer (played by Dillon Herbig) has been resurrected by the spirit of Beauty to return from the grave for one night. It seems…
Legal fight over Pittsford complex continues
A Village of Pittsford board will appeal a judge’s ruling that it must approve the proposed Westport Crossing apartment complex. The village’s Architectural Preservation and Review Board voted last night to appeal the ruling, which Supreme Court Justice issued last week, says Pittsford Mayor Bob Corby. Ark ordered the board to issue a certificate of…
VOTE NOW: Best of Rochester 2018 Final Ballot
Welcome to the final round of CITY’s 2018 Best of Rochester. Earlier, we asked you 100 questions designed to test your knowledge of all things great in Rochester. Some of your answers were thoughtful, some hilarious, and a few were scary, but in each category we selected the top four responses. Now you’ll see those…
FILM | ‘A Piece of the Dream’
Based in Rochester’s JOSANA neighborhood, Greentopia project Green Visions is a community-centered workforce development program that sees neighbors working together to install and cultivate cut flower gardens on once-vacant lots. Flowers planted remove toxins from the soil in a process called phytoremediation, and the program is also a youth development effort that provides kids with…
Nazareth opens new arts center
A gala on Saturday, September 22, will mark the grand opening of Nazareth College’s Jane and Laurence Glazer Music Performance Center. The $15.5 million facility will be the new home for the school’s Department of Music, a space for both performance and rehearsals, serving one-fifth of Nazareth’s student population. The jewel of the new center…
SPECIAL EVENT | ‘Rattlesnake Revue: All Star Burlesque’
If you missed “The Hooperellas Spectacular” at this year’s Rochester Fringe, shimmy on over to Iron Smoke Distillery this weekend to catch some of Rochester’s favorite Burlesque beauties at the “Rattlesnake Revue: All Star Burlesque.” The lineup of performers includes Miss Ruby Sparkles, headmistress of Sirens and Stilettos; Danielle Saint Velvet, co-producer of the Empire…
Frank reviews ‘2 Ruby Knockers, 1 Jaded Dick: A Dirk Darrow Investigation’
Say, I’ll be honest: They had me with the fedora. Even when old school detective imagery and language moves toward pastiche, I still love it. And of course if the hat didn’t get me, the title most definitely did. Australian comedian, storyteller, and mentalist Dick Darrow (Tim Motley) was a side-splitter, rip snorter, a rapid…
Urban Action 9/19
This week’s calls to action include the following events and activities. (All are free and open to the public, unless otherwise noted.) Seeking equitable development The Parcel 5 Community Programmers will host “Gentrification Supper” on Sunday, September 23. A workshop, “Development without Displacement,” will be led by the 540WMain Community Learning Academy. A meal provided…
Leah reviews ‘The Girl in the Band’ and ‘Home is a Four-Letter Word’
When Megan Loomis walks out on stage for her one-woman show, “The Girl in the Band,” she doesn’t appear to be, well, a girl. Dressed in coveralls and a flat brim cap and affecting a “boy voice,” Loomis begins the show by quoting many of the misogynistic things her bandmates have said to her over…
Feedback 9/19
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. For our print edition, we select comments from all three sources; we edit selections for publication in print, and we don’t publish comments sent to other media. Comments of fewer than 450…
Changes and standards
Looking ahead to the 2018-19 theatrical season
CLASSICAL: Voices
Voices begins its tenth anniversary season this Sunday afternoon. Under the direction of Music Director William Weinert, Rochester’s professional chamber chorus will present a Renaissance-era program titled “Sing Out, My Tongue”. The main work, and the concert’s namesake, will be Josquin des Prés’ “Pange Lingua” Mass–a masterpiece of the Renaissance, but rarely heard in live…
Flicks and treats
Fall’s cinematic sweets we’re most excited to see
FUNK | Magic Beans
Denver’s Magic Beans is a four-piece jam band that gives a refreshing take on funk by fusing it with progressive rock and soul. Formed in 2010, Magic Beans has released two live and two studio albums–including its newest collection, “Casino Cabaret,” released last March. Vocalist and guitarist Scott Hachey has an easygoing, warm voice –…
From studio to social engagement
Exploring the 2018-19 arts season
ROCK | Grand Reopening of Mellow Madness
Mellow Madness is a well-known tattoo shop that’s been located at the corner of South Clinton Avenue and Meigs Street since December 2017. After eight grueling months of completely gutting the space and rebuilding from the ground up, the business is hosting its grand reopening and celebrating the eighth anniversary of its existence. This Saturday,…
Album review: ‘CMFRTBL’
King 20/20 “CMFRTBL” Self-released king2020music.bandcamp.com If there is one thing I take away from the alternative hip-hop album “CMFRTBL,” it’s that King 20/20 is an open, honest rapper. Much of the record feels like a heated discussion between him and me around the dinner table- it’s that relatable. In 14 tracks, he tackles today’s mental,…
EMO | Romancer
I have a soft spot in my heart for rock bands with emo tendencies. Enter Romancer, a Canadian quartet with plenty of raw energy and swooning vocals for days. Ultimately though, it’s the tight strong structures and nuanced guitar textures that give the songs their substance. This Sunday, the energetic outfit will bring its winning…
Album review: ‘The Great Mundane’
Alex Northrup “The Great Mundane” Proof That the Seacow Exists! Records alexnorthrup.bandcamp.com Though songwriter Alex Northrup released “The Great Mundane” back in 2017, it hasn’t seen much light-of-day until now, with the emergence of the Jon Lewis Band keyboardist as frontman of the newly formed band Alex Northrup and The Backup. There is an earnest…
Sounds unexpected
Sampling the upcoming classical music season
ROCK | Martin Barre Band
The flute wasn’t the only instrument fueling legendary English rock band Jethro Tull. Guitarist Martin Barre was behind the riffs for more than four decades before the group broke up in 2014. Barre’s playing style is rooted in blues, but includes an amalgam of other genres. Fittingly, his guitar technique on the most iconic of…
SPECIAL EVENT | Fantastic Findings Sale
The Rochester Museum & Science Center’s Women’s Council annually presents its Fantastic Findings New-to-You Sale as a fundraiser to support RMSC’s dedication to STEM programming. Treasure hunters this week can visit the museum’s large-scale sale of antiques, art, jewelry, furniture, toys, collectibles, and more. And with new items added daily, you might be tempted to…
Beechwood’s bump in the road
Parsells Avenue is, at its heart, a neighborhood street. But the street – a former trolley car route – is wide and straight with no stop signs, so drivers feel comfortable going faster than they should. The speeding is an obvious problem. Two different churches along Parsells have been struck in recent years by cars…
Pro-movement
Selections from the regional season in dance
CLASSICAL | “Distant Worlds: music from FINAL FANTASY”
Few video game franchises are as enduring or iconic as Final Fantasy. The same can be said for the series’ musical scores—the first nine of which were solely composed by Nobuo Uematsu (he also contributed to the music in subsequent games from the series). The Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra last performed music from the series in…
LECTURE | ‘#HappinessIsPolitical’
Co-presented by the Susan B. Anthony Institute for Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies and the Frederick Douglass Institute for African and African-American Studies, the annual Two Icons Lecture focuses on discussions about the intersection of race and gender. The series will this week feature black feminist cultural anthropologist Bianca Williams, who is an associate professor…
No surprises
Dems’ establishment wins the primary
ART | The Upstate NY Drawing Invitational
Currently exhibited at Main Street Arts is the gallery’s annual survey of contemporary drawing. The Upstate New York Drawing Invitational features six artists from the Rochester, Syracuse, and Buffalo regions who use drawing as a primary method of creative expression, but the show pushes the boundaries of what can be considered a “drawing.” You’ll see…
Apple of your eye
Craft cider (regular and alcoholic) make a comeback
Interview: Leland Sundries
New York City band Leland Sundries wears its heart on its sleeve most unapologetically. Whether it’s wielding influences from the city they inhabit–Jim Carroll Band and the Velvet Underground–or giving a nod to non-Gotham superheroes like The Replacements, Leland Sundries is a band of geographic reference and irreverent humor. It looks like New York, it…
LITERATURE | Open Letter 10th Anniversary Celebration
Over the course of its 10 year history, Open Letter Books has published more than 100 titles of world literature in translation. This week the Rochester-based independent press celebrates its 10th anniversary with a gathering that features food, specialty cocktails, a raffle, and special guest Dubravka Ugrešić. The Croatian writer is the first author Open…
Collins stays in
Chris Collins has become the unwanted guest Republicans just can’t get rid of. The former Erie County executive has been running for his fourth term in Congress. But after he was hit with criminal charges related to allegations of securities fraud and insider trading, party leaders began trying to devise a way to get off…
Dispatches from the Toronto International Film Festival
Just across the shores of Lake Ontario, our neighbors to the north host one of the largest and most prestigious film festivals in the world: the Toronto International Film Festival. TIFF came to a close this past weekend, and this year’s lineup had plenty of cinematic goodies to offer, a number of which will be…
Chow Hound: Blades
Now open on University, Blades offers breakfast, brunch, and lunch, with options for those with food sensitivities and vegetarians.
Kathy reviews ‘Cirque du Fringe: Sideshow’
After 6 consecutive Rochester Fringe Festivals, it’s hard to imagine that I’ve never seen a single “Cirque du Fringe” show. But lucky year number seven broke the streak and I kicked off my fringing this year with this new iteration of the longtime favorite, titled “SideShow.” Show creator Matt Morgan and his wife (and ringmaster)…
