Sharon Van Etten and Flock of Dimes at Carnegie Lecture Hall
Review of Sharon Van Etten and Flock of Dimes at Carnegie Lecture Hall, Saturday, April 28.
The News at the Dutch Fest
There was more than enough for the eye — and ear — at this world-premiere “nonfiction opera” by Dutch composer JacobTV, at the Cultural Trust’s Distinctively Dutch Festival. But while some (including me) felt a little overwhelmed by the sensory overload in this two-hour work, there still was more to it than met the eye…
New tunes from Legs Like Tree Trunks
Hey hey! Sharon Van Etten review forthcoming, I promise. In the meantime, I just wanted to send you in the direction of some new tunes released today by Legs Like Tree Trunks, whom I reviewed favorably last summer. The band is working on a full-length to release later this year, but in the meantime, they…
Lynn Cullen Live 05/01/12
Video Archive Phone guest: Susan; Southern California: it’s ugly & has no muscle; woman dentist in Poland removes all of ex-boyfriend’s teeth while sleeping; should we have more than two arms?; May Day; Kathleen Falk vs. Tom Barrett; Missouri leads charge towards Gold Standard; GOP charges Obama w/ politicizing the killing of Osama Bin Laden;…
Three Rivers Arts Festival Preview
This year’s fest runs June 1-10. A few highlights, as offered at a press conference festival organizers held this morning at Point State Park: The 2012 festival will feature “more visual artists than we ever had before,” said festival director Marguerite Jarrett Marks. That reflects the more than 300 vendors in the artists market. Add…
Lynn Cullen Live 04/30/12
Video Archive White House Correspondents Dinner; Chinese scandal cases; North Korea camp escapee; Kony — still on the lamb, using stone age tactics to elude pursuers; Chris Potter vs. Ray in Lawrenceville about anti-prom; Catholic high school alum dis-invited to speak at graduation because he’s gay; Corbett on bailing out the Port Authority: We don’t…
Pandemonium at Roseland
Mac Miller takes Roseland Ballroom in NYC.
Extended Interview: Spanky Wilson
“We have this music, and it came from us, but it’s never had the respect that it deserves.”
Port Authority board approves transit cuts … hopes to reverse itself
The Port Authority board of directors today approved a plan that would implement deep service cuts, massive layoffs and a fare increase to deal with a $64 million budget deficit. The plan, set to go into effect Sept. 2, slashes service of 46 routes, reduces the remaining routes, eliminates service after 10 p.m. for all…
Pittsburgh Craft Beer Week – Rock Bottom Brewery’s Beer As Cocktail Competition
Pittsburgh Craft Beer week is happening now – April 28th and will be celebrated with over 200 events in and around the Pittsburgh area. Pittsburgh City Paper attended Rock Bottom Brewery’s “Beer As Cocktails” Competition Thursday, April 25th. Rock Bottom Brewery hosted bar-keeps from around the Pittsburgh area who were crafting unique, one of kind…
Lynn Cullen Live 04/27/12
Video Archive Guest: Mark Despotakis, music education advocate; Obit of the week: Facts; college loans; how college has changed over the years; gov’t slashing education budgets; the fall of the liberal arts education; students are indentured servants; Pitt closing some areas of study to save money; local school district cuts; El Sistema program in Venezuela;…
Young the Giant at Stage AE
Check out this review of Young the Giant’s April 20 show at Stage AE!
Anthony Raneri at Altar Bar
Check out a review of Anthony Raneri’s April 19 show at Altar Bar!
The New Yinzer Marks 10th Anniversary
And naturally, Pittsburgh’s oldest online literary magazine celebrates with a reading. Plus, it’s following up with a big party on Saturday. The publication’s reading series, The New Yinzer Presents … , goes off as usual this month: 8 p.m. at ModernFormations Gallery, BYOB encouraged, bring a potluck item to escape the $5 admission. The reading…
Lynn Cullen Live 04/26/12
Video Archive Guest: Tom Sokolowski; White House correspondant dinner guest list; Lindsay Lohan to play Liz Taylor; Frank Langella’s new book; thoughts & opinions on the Oakland Catholic anti-prom; mothers sexualizing daughters; Jewish people abandoning religion to protect their children; richness of sub-cultures; the corruption of the best is the worst; our culture yearns for…
Plenty for progressives — especially Peduto — to like in 2012 primary
OK, now THAT was one weird-ass election. Not that anyone was paying attention: In Allegheny County, turnout was below 20 percent, according to unofficial numbers form the county’s elections department. But here in Pittsburgh, some political pillars were toppled. Raja, a political newcomer who ran a failed bid for Allegheny County Executive last year, beat…
Savage Love
Is it possible for a hookup to turn into a relationship? Hoping One Person Enters A hookup is a relationship, HOPE. It may be a short-term relationship, but it’s a relationship regardless. And, yes, a hookup can turn into a long-term relationship, but not if you’re treating your hookups like shit (because they’re only hookups!)…
The Deep Blue Sea
When a tale begins with a suicide attempt, it’s a good sign you’re in for a downbeat ride. And that’s the case with Terence Davies’ drama, adapted from the 1952 Terence Rattigan play. It’s London circa 1950, and we meet Hester (Rachel Weisz) in a shabby flat, as she’s swallowing pills and turning on the…
Short List: April 26 – May 2
“I watch television not as much as people may think,” says the Dutch composer called JacobTV. “I find television sometimes very, very boring indeed.” But television that does interest him has inspired a new kind of opera: The News, his “reality opera” receiving its world premiere this Saturday as part of the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust’s…
The Kid With a Bike
In a small Belgian town, an angry, vulnerable boy (Thomas Doret) is put in a care home after being abandoned by his father. On weekends, he is fostered by a hairdresser (Cécile De France), and later he attracts the attention of a street tough. But in the hands of brothers Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne (Lorna’s…
New festival Pyrotopia celebrates the fire arts.
PYROTOPIA 8 p.m. Sat., April 28. Pump House 880 E. Waterfront Drive Homestead. Free.pyrotopia.net Eric Singer remembers the glory days of fire art in New York City. It was after residents got thirsty for oddball spectacle in light of the city’s plasticized Giuliani makeover, and before the recession squeezed out madcap artists. Back then, Singer…
Pirates! Band of Misfits
From Aardman Studios (Wallace and Gromit, Chicken Run) comes this stop-action-animated tale of pirates, directed by Peter Lord and Jeff Newitt. As the title suggests, a particularly motley crew of pirates are vying to have their captain (voiced by Hugh Grant) win the Pirate of the Year award. The gang reckons they’ve found their ticket,…
One poet explores the interpersonal, the other looks at life in West Virginia’s coal fields.
Chapbooks, often associated with literary contests, are an important stepping stone for poets trying to establish their voices among the many small presses that showcase works in booklet form. Two new chapbooks take varied approaches to the format: Greensburg resident Kelly Scarff’s I Fall in Love with Strangers (Liquid Paper Press) and West Virginian Susan…
Evan Weiss gets into it for good
INTO IT. OVER IT. with MACE BALLARD, BLUEBIRD MIDWEST, HEARTWELL, JUICEBOX KINGS. 6 p.m. Sat., April 28. The Smiling Moose 1306 E. Carson St. South Side. $10. All ages. 412-431-4668 or smiling-moose.com Evan Weiss never planned on pursuing a music career. “I think I always wanted to, but I was always afraid to,” says Weiss,…
In the Next Room or the Vibrator Play
IN THE NEXT ROOM OR THE VIBRATOR PLAY continues through May 5. Charity Randall Theatre Stephen Foster Memorial Forbes Avenue at Bigelow, Oakland. 412-561-6000 or picttheatre.org There are so many puns about the wonders that technology brings to sexual stimulation that could be provoked (or, in decency, avoided) in discussing In the Next Room or…
Eric Hutchinson moves on up
ERIC HUTCHINSON with GRAFFITI6. 7:30 p.m. Mon., April 30. The Club at Stage AE 400 North Shore Drive North Side. $15. All ages. 412-229-5483>br> or stageae.com As if taking a cue from George and Weezie Jefferson, Eric Hutchinson’s new album, Moving Up Living Down, is an ode to bettering your station in life while remaining…
Lar Lubovitch Dance Company makes a rare Pittsburgh appearance.
LAR LUBOVITCH DANCE COMPANY 8 p.m. Sat., April 28. Byham Theater 101 Sixth St. Downtown. $19-45. 412-456-6666 or trustarts.org Seven people are tumbling and spinning out of control as the van they are riding in topples over a cliff. That is the imagery that choreographer Lar Lubovitch had in his head when creating his latest…
Spanky Wilson is back in town
SPANKY WILSON at PITTSBURGH VINYL CONVENTION. Sat., April 28. Pittsburgh Filmmakers 477 Melwood Ave. Oakland. $3. All ages. facebook.com/pghvinylcon During a recent performance at Downtown’s Fairmont Hotel, someone asked jazz singer Spanky Wilson, “Where are you from and where have you been?” She replied, “I’m from Pittsburgh, but I left early and never came back!”…
Around the World in 80 Days
AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS continues through May 13. Pittsburgh Public Theater 621 Penn Ave. Downtown. 412-316-1600 or ppt.org At first glance, a stage adaptation of Around the World in 80 Days might seem counterintuitive. This 1873 Jules Verne novel is regarded less as a hallmark of literature than as a cracking adventure story…
CD Reviews
Ken Karsh Conversations (Alanna Records) The venerable local jazz guitarist burns it up on this new collection, mostly originals with a few covers (“My Girl,” “Scarborough Fair”) thrown in. While a lot of the tunes are downtempo, opener “Polkaboppin'” and “Down Pat” are upbeat pleasures. Good stuff. — Andy Mulkerin KEN KARSH CD RELEASE. 7:30…
The Raven
The Raven Directed by: James McTeigue Starring:John Cusack, Luke Evans, Alice Eve, Brendan Gleeson Starts Fri., April 27 Deep into that darkness peering / long I stood there wondering, fearing… Like the tormented narrator of Edgar Allan Poe’s poem “The Raven,” I too waited anxiously in a darkened room as the screen barely brightened with…
Lynn Cullen Live 04/25/12
Video Archive Guest: Chris Potter; low voter turnout in Allegheny County; election results; Peduto looks good for next mayoral race; anti-Tim Murphy ad, worst ad ever; Raja wins; endorsements; Los Angeles is ugly; voter ID rules not enforced everywhere; Pitt bomb threats over; new CP out today — Oakland Catholic’s backlash against girls’ anti-prom; Larimer…
Footnote
Footnote In Hebrew, with subtitles. Starts Fri., April 27. Manor. Joseph Cedar’s dramedy Footnote depicts the strained relationship of a father and son living in Jerusalem, each a Talmudic scholar. The elder, Eliezer (Shlomo Bar-Aba), is a reclusive sort, embittered that the esoteric research he’s spent decades on has gone unrecognized, while his son, Uriel…
Critics’ Picks: April 26 – 28
[NEW WAVE] + THU., APRIL 26 Chris Difford and Glenn Tilbrook’s musical synergy has survived 35 years, and the two founding members of English new-wave wonder Squeeze continue to impress crowds worldwide. Despite numerous line-up changes and break-ups since its inception, the group became a staple of U.K. pop and garnered notoriety in the United…
Russian Film Symposium
Russian Film Symposium For more information, visit rusfilm.pitt.edu The annual Russian Film Symposium returns, now in its 14th year. The six-day symposium, co-presented by the University of Pittsburgh and Pittsburgh Filmmakers, begins Mon., April 30, and will offer 13 films, to be shown on the Oakland campus and at Melwood Screening Room, in North Oakland.…
Transition makes planning for life in a post-oil world seem possible, even desirable.
Transition Resources For information on local and national efforts to build communities resilient in the face of peak oil, climate change and global economic instability. Transition Pittsburgh: transitionpgh.org Transition U.S.: transitionus.org What does the future look like? Many people imagine it’ll be like today, only moreso: faster, flashier, more globalized. But in the low-profile neighborhood…
Putting Baby in the Corner: Oakland Catholic takes aim at popular prom alternative
For many students at Oakland Catholic High School, prom night is something they’ll never forget … if only because they may not attend it in the first place. Students at the all-girls Catholic high school have long bemoaned the strict rules at the yearly formal dance, which they say are excessive even for a religious-school…
Bike trails traverse the region and its history
It’s a hazy morning. The Monongahela, still and calm, reflects the low brown-and-green hillsides surrounding it. Bob Gangewere and I stand with our bicycles at the Pump House, at the eastern edge of Homestead’s Waterfront. A memorial marks this as the place where, on July 6, 1892, a union-Pinkerton skirmish transformed the Homestead Steel Strike…
Cure
Cure 5336 Butler St. Lawrenceville. 412-252-2595. Hours: Mon., Wed. and Thu. 5-9 p.m.; Fri. and Sat. 5-10 p.m. Prices: Appetizers $7-14; entrees $13-26 Liquor: BYOB When last we checked in with chef Justin Severino, he was providing a jaw-dropping array of meats, cheeses and tiny, particular salads on the charcuterie menu at Downtown’s Elements. Severino…
Madonna’s
Madonna’s 441 Smithfield St. Downtown. 412-281-4686. Open Mon.-Fri. 10:30 a.m.-3 p.m. Conventional wisdom says to go to Mexican restaurants that are run by, well, Mexican people. But Mario Moussa, who runs Madonna’s, on Smithfield Street Downtown, says you shouldn’t count out the Bulgarians. “Bulgarian food and Mexican food are similar, really,” says the Bulgarian native,…
Industry Public House concocts new drinks from industrial past
Industry Public House 4305 Butler St. Lawrenceville. 412-683-1100 It’s not every day that you see a bartender smoking whiskey, but that’s what has been catching the eye of patrons at Lawrenceville’s newest bar, Industry Public House. “As soon as people see the process, they’re totally intrigued,” says bar manager Adrian Van Balen as he sets…
