Saturday night: The Goodnight Loving
Some weeks you run out of room and/or time before you can give a heads-up in the newspaper about a show that’s worth checking out. In the case of The Goodnight Loving, it’s happened a few times — I’ve been intending to get something written up on this band, but each time they’ve been through,…
Diagnosis: Chaos!
Granted, it’s a little early for beach reading. But if you can’t wait for Scott Turow’s next novel to come out, perhaps this 45-page lawsuit — filed against the city’s health care leviathans this week — will tide you over. The lawsuit was filed by West Penn Allegheny Health System against UPMC and Highmark –…
Peter Matthiessen at Chatham (and on PBS)
Prior to the announcement that writer and activist Peter Matthiessen would speak here April 15, I wasn’t — to my chagrin — terribly familiar with his work. Offered the possibility of a phone interview, I boned up with the help of an anthology of Matthiessen’s nonfiction, and was quickly entranced by the beautiful prose in…
Mayoral Debate Wrap Up
Before I weigh in on last night’s mayoral debate, a bit of disclosure. I don’t have cable — in order to understand the average Pittsburgh voter, I’m still viewing TV the way 84-year-old shut-ins do it. And while I’ve lived in about a half-dozen neighborhoods, WTAE has never come in very well in any of…
Dance Alloy’s Alloy on Alloy
This show of short pieces, most choreographed by the dancers, alarmingly fell just two weeks after the troupe’s spring concert, Exposed. And you could have forgiven the dancers for seeming drained after hustling to get this unique showcase on its feet before their summer break kicked in. But on the contrary, it was a delightful…
Arts Festival sounds announced
It’s that time again — time to check out what artists the Three Rivers Arts Festival is bringing to town then bellyache about how it’s not edgy enough, or not Pittsburghy enough, or whatever you can find to bellyache about. Here’sa quick overview of what the slightly truncated festival is bringing to Point State Park…
Debatable Tactics
It’s with slightly mixed feelings that I announce that City Paper is co-sponsoring a mayoral forum on Wednesday, April 29 at 6 p.m. On the one hand, I’m pleased that challengers Carmen Robinson and Patrick Dowd will both be on hand for the event, which is being held at Carnegie Mellon University’s McConomy Auditorium. But…
Iraq War photos and Bach
Chris Hondros is a war photographer. As he noted this past Sunday, in the South Side photography studios of Jeffrey Swensen, he also listens to a lot of music during the inevitable and often lengthy stretches of waiting that punctuate the life of an embedded conflict photographer. Thus was born a rather stunning art event.…
MP3 MONDAY: Kill the Drama
It’s been awhile since we’ve caught up with Kill the Drama, but the local modern rock quartet has been plenty busy. While they’ve yet to release a follow-up to their debut 2007 album, Close Friends with Sharp Knives (read my profile/review here) the band’s been focusing on building a fanbase and have recently put together…
Rock camp contest pulling through Pittsburgh
The trend in recent years has been to equip kids with the tools to rock out — Paul Green School of Rock, Willie Mae Rock Camp for Girls, even a recently announced Rock Radio Camp to be presented by WYEP. It gets one to wondering whether the next generation of rebellious kids might be wearing…
SEIU sweeps up in Science Center unionization vote
Just got word from the Service Employees International Union that the custodial staff at the Carnegie Science Center has officially, and unanimously, voted to unionize. This is no great surprise: All 10 of the custodial staff signed union cards late last year. The only surprise is that it took so long to ratify that decision.…
A final dip of the teabag
On my desk right now, I’m looking at a pre-printed poster, in black and gold, handed out at yesterday’s Market Square “tea party.” “A movement is brewing,” it says — just above the KDKA 1020 logo, and its daily program guide. I guess it’s not surprising KDKA embraced a one-sided political rally, where speakers repeatedly…
Pittsburgh celebrates Record Store Day on Sat., April 18
“We have, in our city, folks who want a direct connection with the bands, their music, and the place where they buy it.”
Short List: Week of April 16 – 23
Highlights from the week’s calendar of events.
A Jones for Music
Trumpet player Sean Jones honors Pittsburgh’s jazz past — and tries to solidify the city’s claim on the future
This Just In: April 16 – 23
Highlights from the local TV news: Pizza shop gets new drive-through window.
Letters to the Editor: April 15 – 22
Feedback from readers: Taking a shot at the Culture War.
What’s Cookin’ at Casey’s
Casual, comfortable dining in the heart of Oakmont.
Observe and Report
The latest, from Jody Hill and starring Seth Rogen as a bipolar security guard with a variety of “issues,” is strenuously obnoxious. Undoubtedly, some folks will find this “edginess” funny, but while I’m open to button-pushing laughs, Observe missed the mark. The film’s clunkiness doesn’t help: If you can see the cast working, the jokes…
Harvard Beats Yale 29-29
I’m not much for football. To pretend I care (and to be annoying), when a team is waaaay down and out of time, I’ll often declare: “There’s a lot of football left to play.” Every now and then, I’m brilliantly prescient. I sure would have been at the 1968 Harvard-Yale match-up, when the game’s final…
The Mysteries of Pittsburgh
Among the mysteries we’ve been kicking around the past year or so: Whatever became of the film version of The Mysteries of Pittsburgh? It was shot here in 2006, with much fanfare and a generous slate of amusing faux pas from the film’s starlet, Sienna Miller. Then, like one of the promising young people the…
“Reachings” and “Pain in My Heart”
Both plays illustrate Penny’s talent for bringing abstract political and social issues down to a concrete level.
Human Error
All three seem to be very aware that they are characters in a play.
Acclaimed short-story writer Charles D’Ambrosio visits.
These are superb stories — snappy, lean, and they can take a turn.
Grocery Shopping in America
A poem by Gerry Rosella Boccella
Canvas Reports
Two local voting-machine watchdog groups that urged Allegheny County to verify its machine software believe the county’s effort last December was “ground-breaking.” But they’re calling for more extensive and systematic efforts to ensure an accurate vote. The county Division of Elections and the Commonwealth’s Secretary of State, which oversees elections, say such a move is…
Master Plan
Community planners may be struggling in these tough economic times. But one lucky firm will soon find work planning much-needed development for Pittsburgh’s Hill District. In an effort to find a consultant who can provide a comprehensive plan identifying community needs — affordable housing, economic development, educational facilities — the city’s planning department issued on…
A Conversation with Charlie Kernaghan
In the 1980s, Charlie Kernaghan had his master’s degree in psychology, was teaching at Duquesne University and pursuing his doctorate. Then he decided to move to New York and experience life. He drove a cab and found an interest in photography. In 1985 he went on a peace march through Central America and discovered horrible…
Perverse Outcome
Protecting kids from sex offenders is a noble goal, but the best way to go about doing so is unclear — a county ordinance, a lawsuit and pending appeal later, it’s still contentious. Allegheny County passed an ordinance in 2007, in an effort to keep kids out of the grasp of sex offenders by limiting…
Pittsburgh n’@
Dispatches from the blogosphere: Pitt football snubbed.
Americana’s rising stars The Felice Brothers play Mr. Small’s
Raw, ragged music delivered with wheezy, seasick accordions, twangy electric guitar, and an atmosphere both oppressive and freeing.
Singer-songwriter Sarazin Blake has studied at the foot of the masters
“I’m immersed in the folk tradition, the ballads and such,” Blake says, “but I mix that with the punk-rock essence that surrounded me as I grew musically.”
Ian Svenonius’ new band Chain and The Gang offers satire and soul
“It’s called Chain and The Gang because it’s inspired by work gangs and the kind of compulsory service that musicians feel, making music.”
A Super Bowl: Oatmeal
A South Side coffee shop wants you to eat your porridge.
U.K. dubstep star Stenchman spins at the Subdivision party this weekend
“We started doing parties because there were so many acts we really wanted to see, and nobody was throwing anything exclusively bass-oriented.”
Savage Love
My roommate is astoundingly hot. Her room is being repaired (the ceiling fell in), and, at her request, I’m letting her and her boyfriend sleep in my room while I take the couch. I’ve been able to contain my attraction just fine up to now, but the minute she entered my space I had this…
The Warhol’s new curator, Eric Shiner, debuts with The End.
For those who find solace in ironic overtures, however, The End might actually inspire hope.
