Cover Story
The holy war next door
Aided by August’s scorching heat, the sienna- and iodine-colored images of dismembered fetuses seem to sear into the sidewalk in the 100 block of University Avenue. Anti-abortion advocates, some carrying signs, others holding religious objects like crucifixes and rosary beads stand on both sides of the entrance to Planned Parenthood’s Rochester office. When a blue…
City Spotify Playlist: Week of January 8
We know you use Spotify. We know you read City Newspaper. So why not use both of them at the same time? Every week City will put together a Spotify playlist of our top concert picks for you to check out yourself. Excited? Yup, you should be. (or play in Spotify: web player | desktop…
Fewer city students will catch transfer buses downtown
New bus passes will greatly restrict the thousands of city school students who have been using the RTS system to travel freely throughout the city, said school and city officials today. Most students will only be allowed to travel to and from school. Beginning this Friday, more city students will be required to use the…
And we’re shut down…
In the wee hours this morning, it happened; the U.S. government entered a partial shutdown. It’s a statement that just doesn’t look right. We’re all painfully familiar with why we’re in this position. In simple terms, Congress couldn’t come to agreement on legislation that would fund the government. Being Congress and all, the situation really…
“Breaking Bad”: The good and bad of the finale
When “Lost” had its finale three years ago, I didn’t think there would ever be another show that could drag me in like it did. My friends would always tell me about shows they liked on TV, and I would always react with a, “Pshh, it’s not as good as ‘Lost.'” In a sense, I…
Week Ahead: Food trucks in Henrietta, Latino outreach event, domestic violence in Monroe County
The Town of Henrietta will have a public hearing on its proposed food truck and cart regulations at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, October 2, at Town Hall, 475 Calkins Road. The regulations would allow food trucks and carts to operate in the town. They lay out the licensing and location criteria that any “mobile food…
Fringe Fest 2013 Reviews: Mikaela Davis
I’m right almost all of the time; just ask me. I’m wrong plenty, too; just ask my wife. But I know I’m right in saying Mikaela Davis is going to be a big sensation from this jerkwater burg as soon as she quits wasting time at SUNY Potsdam and hits the road. Davis and her…
Fringe Fest 2013 Reviews: “Transient Being”
Saturday was the final night of Fringe, the last show I went to, and, damn, am I glad I did. “Transient Being,” choreographed by Eran David P. Hanlon in collaboration with performing artist AlainaOlivieri and visual artist Joseph Tarantelli moved me like nothing else I’ve seen at the festival. Olivieri’s arresting movements reflected the deconstruction…
Fringe Fest 2013 Reviews: Day of Dance
The dance community in Rochester is more vibrant and diverse than most probably realize. But if you went to the Day of Dance at RAPA during the final day of the Fringe Fest, you certainly left knowing that. From swing and Lindy Hop to contemporary, step dance, and hip-hop, to tap and even Bhangra, the…
Fringe Fest 2013 Reviews: “Heart and Soul,” “Sun Boxes,” Fringe Fingers, “Spirits Within”
For me the final day of Fringe 2013 started at Writers & Books for “Heart and Soul: Medicine and Life.” This spoken-word program featured poetry and short stories written by five health professionals: family physician Pebble M. Kranz, family medicine resident Natercia Rodrigues, family therapist Tziporah Rosenberg, resident family physician Francesca Decker, and family physician…
Fringe Fest 2013 Reviews: “How to Survive Crack Addiction”
To begin with, the audience crowding the foyer of Writers & Books waiting to see Padraic Lillis’ one-man show “How to Survive Crack Addiction” seemed all wrong to me. I expected — I don’t know — youthful? But these folks were almost all of a certain age, dressed respectably and drinking coffee out of Styrofoam…
Fringe Fest 2013 Reviews: Nosferatu Bemshi!
A hidden, mysterious voice calling out for blood and bones.A dark figure with long claws reaching out on screen.An explosion of drum beats. The rapid-fire lyricism of the guitar. Chills. My last show of this year’s Fringe Fest took me to Writers & Books Friday night for the multidisciplinary showing of NosferatuBemshi! Part film, part…
Fringe Fest 2013 Reviews: Michael Burritt and Friends
I’ve seen a few percussion shows in my day, and often they are long and drawn-out affairs, featuring a lot of atonal contemporary music designed to test the limits of the audience’s attention span. Sometimes the pieces can be downright bizarre. I recall one show that I saw that featured the rhythmic shattering of glass…
Fringe Fest 2013 Reviews: An Evening with Dave Barry
It’s a man’s world. What else could explain how the unaffected faces of headliners Marc Maron and Dave Barry could be plastered on billboards all over the city? Could you even imagine if they were, instead, talented women just smiling away without the least bit of sexiness? Call it my bad-attitude carryover from Jazz Festivals…
Fringe Fest 2013: Merged: A Dance Concert, Dangerous Signs, Bending and Breaking
Merged: A Dance Concert, taking place at the Geva Nextstage, features the work of two locally based but nationally renowned choreographers. Heather Roffe is an assistant professor of dance at Nazareth College, while James Hansen is an associate professor and the undergraduate program director of the Department of Dance at The College at Brockport. This…
Remmereit leaves chamber orchestra post
Conductor Arild Remmereit, who was to become music director of the Rochester Chamber Orchestra next season, has withdrawn from that commitment. He has also canceled his remaining appearance conducting the RCO this season, on October 27. The RCO’s longtime music director and founder, David Fetler, will lead that concert. RCO board president Tom Paul said…
School officials blame student behavior, not transporation for problems on East Main Street
The large numbers of young people hanging out on East Main Street between bus transfers and getting into fights has certainly gotten City Hall’s attention. Though it’s still not clear whether a city school student fired the shot at the Liberty Pole last Monday, it couldn’t have happened at a worse time. Downtown business leaders…
Global panel says there’s no room for doubt on climate change
In a long-awaited report, the world’s top climate scientists say that there’s no longer room to doubt or deny that climate change is happening and that human activity is the largest contributing factor.
Fringe Fest 2013 Reviews: Cello Show, “Wing-Man,” “Ephemeral”
Squeezing six cellos and a drum set (along with the musicians playing them) into the small music area at Java’s Cafe on Gibbs Street was quite a feat – one that, had it not been accomplished once already this festival, I wouldn’t have believed possible. As it was, the process of making it happen resulted…
Fringe Fest 2013 Reviews: Hiroya Tsukamoto, My Plastic Sun
All I knew about Hiroya Tsukamoto before seeing him play Fringe Fest at Bernunzio’s Thursday was that he’s from Japan, plays guitar, and he played Jazz Fest this year. Of course his appearance at Jazz Fest had to be during the only summer I’ve spent outside of Rochester, so I didn’t get the chance to…
Fringe Fest 2013 Reviews: Dead Metaphor Cabaret
First let me start by saying I never metaphor I didn’t like. And I love Dead Metaphor Cabaret; a duo that wrestles in the peace of stark beauty and a poetic emphasis on lyrics or a lyrical interpretation of poetry. But the group’s performance Thursday night at Writers & Books wasn’t so much a play…
Fringe Fest 2013 Reviews: Present Tense Dance “Make ‘Em Laugh, Make ‘Em Cry”
The folks behind Present Tense Dance’s Fringe Festival show at Kilbourn Hall must know a thing or two about truth in advertising, because “Make ‘Em Laugh / Make ‘Em Cry” does just that. The sweeping, hour-long performance (which flew by faster than I wanted it to) reminds us, in simple terms, the best of what…
Concert Review: RPO Opening Weekend (Mahler’s First Symphony)
Last night the fireworks of Mahler’s Titan Symphony exploded in the Eastman Theater, raining showers of brilliant sparks over the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra and guest conductor Jun Märkl. (OK, not literally. But it was surely an opening-night performance filled with enough drama to give me goosebumps and have me imagining fireworks.) The RPO opened it’s…
Fringe Fest 2013 Reviews: TriviaCity (the Greatest Event of All Time)
Question: What was the most amazing way for Rochesterians to spend Wednesday night? Answer: By participating in TriviaCity: An Arts & Culture Quiz, put on by City Newspaper at the Spiegelgarden as part of the First Niagara Rochester Fringe Festival. I can say, without any conflict of interest, that this was the greatest game of…
Fringe Fest 2013 Reviews: Rhythm Tap Rochester, “12 Dollars”
I’ll admit, as a lifelong tapper, I had lofty expectations for “Rhythm Tap” at RAPA Wednesday night. The art of hoofing is often lost this day in age – and I’m thrilled to say that in William “Bill” Evans and Cheryl Johnson’s performance, it’s been found again. The duo’s 50-minute Fringe Fest show is a…
Richards demands plan to stop youth fights
The recurrent violence involving young people at the Liberty Pole and other areas downtown is unacceptable and a solution must be found, says Rochester Mayor Tom Richards in a strongly worded statement released this afternoon. The most recent incident took place on Monday, in which a shot was fired. A suspect was pursued, but not…
Lightfoot resigns from airport board
Democrats in the Monroe County Legislature are looking to change their representative on the county’s Airport Authority board.
School board members don’t trust suspension data
Rochester school board members got some good news last night about suspensions. According to a recent report, short- and long-term suspensions have dropped significantly, from 11,000 in the 2007 to 2008 school year to 5,500 in 2012-2013. The problem is that board members don’t believe the data. District officials concede that the way disciplinary problems…
BLUES | Buddy Guy
*UPDATE: Buddy Guy’s 9/29 show at Water Street Music Hall is being rescheduled. All tickets honored at new date (TBA). Refunds available at point of purchase. Chicago blues pioneer Buddy Guy is 77 years old and still on stage schoolin’ fools and kickin’ ass. He’s a legend that lives up to the title. The call-and-response…
ROCK | The Sadies
Toronto-based band The Sadies has been on the scene for almost two decades, and its music has gone through several phases throughout those years. The band itself believes that it has “developed, even perfected, a style of music that is uniquely [its] own” — made apparent through ever-changing influences and frequent experimentation within varied genres.…
CLASSICAL | Brass without Boundaries
Brass instruments usually don’t get much chance to shine on a chamber-music program, other than the occasional Hindemith sonata or (if you’re a trumpeter) the Saint-Saëns Sextet. The First Unitarian Church will rectify this with the first concert of the season in its chamber-music series, First Muse. The shining will be done by a trio…
ROCK | Red Jumpsuit Apparatus
Despite parting ways with its record label, Florida-based Red Jumpsuit Apparatus continues to release material and is still going strong in part due to its social-media outreach. The quintet flirts with Christian themes, infuses pop to hardcore music, and packs an emotive lyrical punch that is common among groups of its ilk. The result has…
JAZZ | Larry Ochs/Don Robinson Duo
If the avant-garde is your cup of tea, you won’t want to miss saxophonist Larry Ochs and drummer Don Robinson in a duo performance at the Bop Shop. Ochs, a founder of Rova Saxophone Quartet, and Robinson, a top player on the San Francisco jazz scene, have been playing together in a variety of larger…
POP/ROCK | Darwin Deez
For Darwin Deez, a sense of whimsy goes a long way. Frontman Darwin Smith in particular is but one part of the quirky image the band is striving for/achieves. Smith’s hipster perm, hippie headband, and astoundingly long neck above which that curly mop hangs all serve to convey an indelible image that meshes well with…
CHOW HOUND: The sweet spot
If you’re not already happy when you cross the threshold, walking into a bakery can instantly put a person in a good mood. The atmosphere is typically homey, the smells are always heavenly, and the display cases are packed with vivid nibbles that are almost too pretty to eat — but there ain’t no way…
FESTIVAL | AppleUmpkin Festival
Unfortunately, appleumpkins are not a real thing (I know, this crushed my hopes and dreams, too). Regular old apples and pumpkins will have to sate our fall produce needs. But the AppleUmpkin Festival IS real, and is taking place this Saturday and Sunday, September 28-29, in the historic Gaslight Village in Wyoming, NY. With plenty…
The slavery effect
White Southerners living in the former Cotton Belt are more likely to have negative attitudes toward African Americans than other Southerners, according to a new University of Rochester study. And they are more likely to be Republican and to express opposition to social and economic justice policies such as affirmative action, the study says. Researchers…
SPECIAL EVENT | Vertex Late Riser’s Alternative & Gothic Garage Sale
The really bad thing about garage sales is that they always take place during the day. What about those of us who like to sleep in? The answer is finally here, as Vertex (169 N. Chestnut St.) is hosting the Late Riser’s Alternative & Gothic Garage Sale. Don’t let the name scare you off. You…
GOP’s Latino love
Political parties at all levels, including in Monroe County, are reaching out to Latinos — an increasingly influential voting bloc. Over the summer, former New York State Assembly candidate Peterson Vazquez founded the Latino National Republican Coalition of Monroe County. It’s a local affiliate of the Latino National Republican Coalition, which aims to build GOP…
LIT | Dine & Rhyme
“I rip and I rhyme, I rhyme and I rip, this is the way that Dylan spits.” That’s an example of a bad rhyme. If you want to hear some good rhymes, then check out BOA Editions’ 16th Annual Dine & Rhyme event, taking place this Sunday, September 29. The event will feature readings by…
EXHIBITION | “Aliens and Androids”
We’ve all asked the question at some point: are we alone? Then somebody near you says “I’m right here,” and you give an angry rebuttal on how you were talking about alien life. If the concept piques your interest, the Rochester Museum and Science Center has the exhibit you’ve been waiting for. “Alien Worlds and…
Dazed and satisfied
The first time I saw The Fevertones was during an impromptu set at the Rochester Public Market, so it was high time that I caught the band at a proper gig. Singer-songwriter Emma Lane opened up Friday night’s show at the Bug Jar with a solo acoustic set. I couldn’t tell if Emma Lane was…
FILM | Alfred Hitchcock Classic Films Series
If you’re scared of the shower, random bird attacks, or you are quick to make grisly assumptions about your neighbor’s wife’s sudden disappearance, you’ve probably watched a lot of Alfred Hitchcock films. If you haven’t watched any Hitchcock films, then you are in for quite the treat over the next few weeks. The Little Theatre…
The park and resurrection
Rochester scored a win a couple of years ago when New Jersey-based Natcore Technologies moved its solar cell research and development work to Eastman Business Park. Eastman, which is the former Kodak Park, beat out several competitors in the company’s nationwide site search. And recently, state and Natcore officials announced that the company plans to…
CLASSICAL PREVIEW: More than filling the gap
CORRECTION: The original version of this article contained several erroneous listings for the conductors’ birth places and current cities of residence. We have removed those fields. When I first realized that the 2013-2014 season for the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra would consist of 13 guest conductors plus one concert with Conductor Laureate Christopher Seaman (March 6…
The gun carnage grows. How much do we care?
Is there anything left to be said about guns and violence? Charles Blow got it right in the Times following the terror in the Washington Navy Yard last week. “Another mass shooting,” Blow wrote. “Another round of shock, sadness, and outrage. Another pitched discussion about rights and responsibilities, mental illness and background checks. And then…
THEATER | MuCCC Fest
The Rochester Fringe Festival is still going on, but there’s more than that going on over at the Multi-use Community Culture Center. In addition to being an official Fringe venue this year, MuCCC is also putting on MuCCC Fest. It runs through Saturday, September 28, and features a wide variety of performances to check out.…
Urban Action 9/25
This week’s calls to action include the following events and activities. (All are free and open to the public, unless otherwise noted.) Book group meeting The Moving Beyond Racism Book Group will meet at 7 p.m. on Monday, October 7, to talk about “The Round House” by Louise Erdrich. The story is about a Native…
“Salinger”
The new documentary on J. D. Salinger, timed to appear close to the publication of a new biography, should revitalize interest — if that were needed — in one of the most admired writers of the last half of the 20th century. Ever since the publication of his most famous work, “The Catcher in the…
“Prisoners”
With the release of Denis Villeneuve’s chilly, David Fincher-esque procedural “Prisoners,” this year’s Oscar season has officially begun. Boasting several award-worthy performances from its A-list stars, a twisty plot, gorgeous cinematography, and an epic length, the film seems like exactly the sort of thing the Academy loves to reward. Still, the dark, often unpleasant subject…
Fringe Fest 2013 Reviews: “ROOMS: A Rock Romance”
The closest I’ve ever come to writing a theater review is Alice Cooper’s show at the Auditorium Theatre a few years back. I’m not exactly a Broadway guy — on- or Off-. But I’ve got to admit I loved the production of “ROOMS: A Rock Romance,” playing at RAPA’s East End Theatre as part of…
“Ballin’ at the Graveyard”
Produced in Upstate New York, the documentary “Ballin’ at the Graveyard” posits that every city has one particular basketball court that everyone wants to play on, and functions as a hub in the subculture of urban pickup basketball. The film focuses on one such court, in Albany’s Washington Park, known as the Graveyard. Director Basil…
ART REVIEW: “Transmutations: Photographic Works by Carl Chiarenza”
Of the transmission of experience through art, poet Robert Frost wrote, “No tears in the writer, no tears in the reader. No surprise in the writer, no surprise in the reader.” Though renowned photographer Carl Chiarenza creates abstract works that are purposefully open to viewers’ interpretations, the crystallized emotional experience of the artist is present…
Feedback 9/25
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; those of fewer than 350 words have a greater chance of being published, and we do edit selections for publication in…
ROOTS-ROCK | Grand Canyon Rescue Episode
As its name suggests, this Rochester-based sextet boasts a sound that is as wide-ranging as it is deep. The “Great” Grand Canyon Rescue Episode is an American music adventure, as it gives its audience a taste of every flavor of roots-rock imaginable. GCRE’s five (yes, five) contributing songwriters delve into everything from folk balladry and…
Steve Katz
Some of us remember the time as if it were yesterday. Sitting in the bedroom of a friend’s home in the mid-1960’s, taking the brand new record from the album cover with the five hip-looking guys on it, and playing “Projections” by The Blues Project. A few years later we were putting the needle down…
