Pittsburgh Grooveline: April 25-May 1
Each week, the City Paper compiles a list of Pittsburgh dance parties for you and your crew to bust loose to the best bangers, EDM, pop hits, and more. (All events are 21 and over unless otherwise stated.) Fri., April 26 Jellyfish PUFF Opening Night Party at P Town Bar. 10 p.m.-2 a.m. 4740 Baum…
Protests at Tazza D’Oro after the Millvale coffee shop closed abruptly last week and fired all four employees
On April 15, Tazza D’Oro closed up shop for a week. The move was announced as a temporary hiatus on the Millvale coffee shop’s Twitter account. The tweet indicated the store would re-open on April 23. But on that day, instead of opening its doors, Tazza D’oro was met with protests from former workers and labor…
Prototype PGH hosts first fundraiser with ART ALL DAY
In 2017, Erin Gatz (formerly Oldynski) and Louise Larson founded Prototype PGH, a feminist makerspace set up in the old Blumcraft building on Melwood St. in Oakland. Created as a response to Pittsburgh’s male-dominated makerspace culture, Prototype has worked to build gender and racial equity in tech and entrepreneurship by providing affordable access to high-tech tools and equipment,…
Youngstown native reps Rust Belt redemption with Searching for Jenny
Tyler Calpin is looking for something. At the moment, it’s a room temperature Tecate that he’s fishing out of his loaded backpack — notebooks, camera equipment, a change of clothes — to ease his mind after a long day. He’s walking through his latest work at AIR, a print shop and art gallery on the…
National Concert Week kicks off May 1
Yes, you read that right: $20 concert tickets. Live Nation’s National Concert Week is back for the fifth year. Running from May 1 to May 7, fans have the opportunity to purchases tickets for just $20 (fees are included). The sale runs from noon Wed., May 1 through the evening of Tue., May 7. An exclusive 24-hour…
Steve Bannon documentary The Brink is both fascinating and repulsive – but mostly repulsive
The most humanizing part of the Steve Bannon-centered documentary, The Brink, is when the former White House chief strategist is talking about how hideous he looked during the 2016 election. “I don’t know if you saw pictures, but I was scary,” he says. He’s still hideous, especially when he wears two polo shirts at once,…
Attack Theatre closes season with ambitious amalgam of Rube Goldberg machines and Bach
Attack Theatre closes out its 24th season with one of its most ambitious programs to date, The Rube Goldberg Variations. The 90-minute dance-theater performance combines Rube Goldberg machines, which achieve simple tasks through unnecessarily elaborate means, with J.S. Bach’s equally detailed composition The Goldberg Variations. In it, two neighbors (here portrayed by Mark Thompson and…
The best Pittsburgh submissions to NPR’s Tiny Desk contest
In March, NPR opened submissions for its fourth annual Tiny Desk contest. Up and coming bands could send video demos between March 12 and April 14 for a chance to perform at NPR music writer Bob Boilen’s famed “tiny desk.” Among the wave of submissions were a number of videos from Pittsburgh acts. Here are…
Lynn Cullen Live – 4/23/19
Video Archive Lynn’s sister Susan is joining her today. To start things off she is getting Susan’s take on whether or not to try for impeachment. Susan believes it is the duty of the House to follow the investigation, and attempt to impeach. They are also talking about the most recent Paul Krugman article in…
What would a $15 minimum wage mean for Pittsburgh workers?
The push from advocates, politicians, and labor unions all align at one point: $15. In terms of minimum wage advocacy, whether on the federal, state, or local level, the ultimate goal appears to be $15 an hour. Presidential candidates campaign on it, Democratic representatives introduce bills to set it as the minimum wage, and advocates…
#MusicMonday Wrap-up: April 22
Every Monday, CP staff writer Jordan Snowden wraps up the weekend in local and national music news with #MusicMonday. Here’s what went down the past few days locally, along with new releases from Pittsburgh bands and musicians. Two exciting news updates from BBGuns. After announcing that they signed to local label Crafted Sounds, the indie…
Cruel Intentions The ’90s Musical left my anti-musical beliefs ‘Torn’
A narrative devolving into song and dance has never made sense to me in the same way that wizards, witches, and warlocks don’t. But when I got the opportunity to see a musical based on my debauched, late-90s pop-culture upbringing, I threw my ass in the jackpot. Cruel Intentions The ’90s Musical is a jukebox…
Masked Singer: The undeniable charm of Orville Peck’s queer cowboy music
Orville Peck is a mysterious cowboy with piercing blue eyes behind a leather Zorro mask that drips with fringe to hide most of his face. His voice is a mix of Johnny Cash and the honey-tinged timbre of k.d. lang. His music combines country storytelling and warm croons into dynamic songs that tie in elements…
Lynn Cullen Live – 4/22/19
Video Archive The horrific bombings in Sri Lanka is the topic Lynn is starting off the week with. After the events, the Sri Lanka government shut down all access to social media platforms in the country. Many are now wary of these platforms, and the companies in charge of them. The belief is that they…
Block Communications board member Susan Block shares anti-Muslim conspiracy theories on social media
This was a historic week for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and its parent company Block Communications. The paper was awarded a Pulitzer Prize for breaking news reporting in response to the Tree of Life shooting last fall. That award included not only great breaking reporting, but also investigations into the alleged shooter Robert Bowers. Those investigations detailed…
Goodbye fish fry, hello springtime Gobblerito, and more food news this week
Picklesburgh It’d be difficult to miss the news about Picklesburgh in the past few months, but if you’re the indoorsy/offliney type: Picklesburgh is returning in 2019 for its biggest incarnation yet. The festival, recently voted America’s #1 Specialty Food Festival in a USA Today readers’ poll, is doubling in size. Picklesburgh is extending beyond its…
Lynn Cullen Live – 4/19/19
Video Archive One of Lynn’s takeaways from yesterday’s release of the Mueller Report is that there are some fast readers out there. She has only started reading the over 400 page report, but the number of people who were able to read the entire thing yesterday, and talk about it intelligently has her impressed. The…
Pittsburgh City Podcast, April 17: Life as a student journalist
In this episode of Pittsburgh City Podcast, we’re discussing the daily life of a student journalist. CP managing editor/podcast host Alex Gordon and CP staff writer Ryan Deto are joined by news intern Janine Faust, who, this fall, will take over the Pitt News as editor in chief. We’re also joined by students/future journalists from…
The Book of Mormon at Heinz Hall through April 21
The line for The Book of Mormon at Heinz Hall stretched two or three blocks around the building. Though the show premiered in 2011, people are obviously still clamoring to see it. I went in knowing nothing about the musical or the plot, other than it’s about Mormons and is written by the South Park…
Meet this week’s Pittsburgh City Paper cover artist: Ellissa Nicholle Schatz
This week’s colorful hand-lettered Marijuana Issue cover was created by Pittsburgh artist Ellissa Nicholle Schatz. Pittsburgh City Paper asked her a few questions over email about her artwork after completing the cover illustration. How did you get into illustrating? I went to SCAD [The Savannah College of Art and Design] for illustration and printmaking, and…
Lynn Cullen Live – 4/18/19
Video Archive Attorney General William Barr is speaking about the Mueller Report as the show starts, but it has not been released yet. It is expected to be around 11 am today, so we are still in a state of wait and see. Lynn is talking about her difficulty with watching comedy right now. She…
Lynn Cullen Live – 4/17/19
Video Archive Pennsylvania now has an official amphibian, the Eastern Hellbender. With all that is going on in the world Lynn can’t believe the PA House has spent time voting for or against a nocturnal salamander. She is also shocked by the local controversy over the new Pitt football uniforms. The helmet had 412 on…
Get high on our supply of insightful marijuana content
People in Pittsburgh are turning to weed as a healer, not just an intoxicant. More and more local patients have begun taking medical marijuana since dispensaries first opened here last year, with new medical conditions added to the list of treatments since becoming legalized in 2016. For this week’s Marijuana Issue, we talked to a…
Dungeons & Dragons-inspired play explores death, escapism, and toxic culture
On April 18, D&D enthusiasts and fantasy-loving theatergoers will get to see the University of Pittsburgh’s Department of Theatre Arts production She Kills Monsters at the August Wilson African American Cultural Center, a play that was originally staged at Pitt last October. It’s presented as part of the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust’s Multiple Choice Events series,…
Free Will Astrology
ARIES (March 21-April 19): The Qing Dynasty controlled China from the mid-17th century to the early 20th century. It was the fifth biggest empire in world history. But eventually it faded, as all mighty regimes do. Revolution came in 1911, forcing the last emperor to abdicate and giving birth to the Republic of China. I’m…
Meet the man who catalogues Andy Warhol’s 500,000 objects
Name: Matt Gray, Regent Square Work: Project Cataloguer, Archives Collection at The Andy Warhol Museum What do you do? It’s never one thing by definition. Every single item that is included in an exhibition or a published work, no matter how big or small, has to be cataloged. A lot made it into Time Capsules,…
Meet the AI bot making medical marijuana information more accessible
Siri, Alexa, and other artificial intelligence bots have a variety of functions. They can play your favorite song, remind you it’s trash day, or settle an argument over the capital of Austria (it’s Vienna). But mass-marketed AI probably can’t remember the best time to take your medical marijuana prescription or offer you the proper way…
Three generations of one Pittsburgh family run local cannabis clothing company planetHEMP
Samuel Graeb says the idea for planetHEMP came from above. “It has its own heartbeat,” the 22-year-old from Scott Township says about his business, a fashion line of activewear and athleisure clothing and accessories made from hemp fiber. Industrial hemp is a strain of the cannabis plant, but unlike marijuana, it contains less than .3…
Expansion of conditions to qualify for medical marijuana in Pennsylvania could be far off
For years, Jennifer Kelly’s left arm was in such constant pain, she couldn’t even wear long-sleeve shirts. A lesion on her arm kept her from sleeping through the night and participating in any rigorous activity. “If it was bumped into, it felt like I got stabbed,” says Kelly. “People didn’t believe me, but it was…
Treat yourself to this Manischewitz slushy recipe
It’s Passover season which also means it’s Manischewitz season. The brand, which makes all kinds of Jewish food products from boxes of matzo to jars of gefilte fish, is probably best known for its wine. If you have never had the dis/pleasure of tasting Manischewitz wine, just picture yourself as a child, getting handed a…
The ins and outs of cannabis-infused lube
Melody Kush was on vacation with her husband in Spain the first time she decided to try cannabis-infused lube. “We were out for a night on the town and found a shop that sells weed lube, made with sativa oil!” she said. “We went back to the hotel after a few drinks to have fun,…
The Burdens is a witty play about family, modern communication, and a bad grandpa
In the olden days, people had to wait weeks or months to get a letter from a loved one on the other side of the country. It’s so much easier to maintain relationships now that there’s texting – isn’t it? This is the question posed by playwright (and CMU grad) Matt Schatz in The Burdens,…
Aretha Franklin concert finally sees release after 47 years
If there was any doubt about Aretha Franklin’s impact on American culture (and there wasn’t), it was underlined during her funeral last August, which lasted for nearly nine hours. Former presidents, other musical icons, church leaders, directors, producers, and more filled the room, gave speeches, and sang to honor Franklin. Everyone knew she had a…
Not your average ‘what to watch while you’re stoned’ list
It can’t be limited to just shows or movies. There is no telling what strange places the zooted mind will take you. 1. Vine compilations — It’s been said many times, but RIP Vine, forever in our hearts. Luckily, there are beautiful souls who upload Vine compilations to YouTube. Tip: look for the compilations with…
Spirits & Tales’ French fare flies high above Oakland skyline
Jessica Lewis is not a new face in Pittsburgh’s food scene. The chef made her way through Heinz Field catering, launched Carota Cafe in Smallman Galley, helped open both The Commoner and or, The Whale, and made a mark in Lawrenceville with Merchant Oyster Co. Now, she’s reigning over Oakland. Spirits & Tales, Lewis’ latest…
Vape Van hits the streets to bring CBD and vape products to your neighborhood
Food trucks are a summertime staple for hungry Pittsburghers. This June, a new store on wheels will hit the same streets (but it won’t be selling pierogies or tacos.) The Vape Van, a mobile offshoot of City Vape & CBD in Leechburg, will be officially unveiled at Pittsburgh Pride in June. The colorful converted ambulance,…
CBD Retailers
In Pennsylvania, marijuana is only legal with a medical card, but CBD is legal and plentiful. Marijuana and cannabidiol (CBD) both come from the cannabis plant, but CBD won’t get you high. Here are some local shops selling marijuana’s legal little cousin. Compassionate Certification Center compassionatecertificationcenters.com 355 Fifth Ave., Downtown Product highlight: Exogen CBD Sleep…
New York Times best-selling author brings new book of essays to Oakland
Most people who encounter odd or unusual situations either dismiss or forget about them. Sloane Crosley does not forget. She documents her peculiar interactions in a new collection of essays, Look Alive Out There (Picador/MCD). A few examples: • While writing at a friend’s remote cabin in California, she was shot at while trying to sneak…
Former service member and PTSD sufferer holds edibles cooking class at Medical Marijuana Education Center
In Pennsylvania, medical marijuana patients can’t purchase edibles in dispensaries. If patients want to medicate by eating cookies, brownies, or chocolate, they are going to have to cook, bake, or construct those goodies at home themselves. It is legal, however, for medical marijuana patients to make edibles with flower bought from a dispensary. And that…
A 5K tour of locations tied to Pittsburgh’s environmentalist movement
Wondering how to spend Earth Day? Whether you’re looking for family-friendly activities, outdoor events, or something more educational, Pittsburgh City Paper has compiled a list with a little something for everyone. Pittsburgh Earth Day: From Steel to Sustainable (April 17-20, pittsburghearthday.org) This multi-day, citywide event features a wide array of programming celebrating advancements made in…
Top 5 songs about smoking weed
1. “Habits (Stay High)” by Tove Lo I gotta stay high all the time To keep you off my mind 2. “How to Roll a Blunt” by Redman The second paragraph might makes you laugh When a brotha’ rolls a blunt and his breath smells like gr-ass 3. “Marijuana” by Kid Cudi Pre, pre, pretty…
Can Pennsylvania marijuana bill balance the scales of justice?
Who’s getting the grass? Who’s getting the cabbage? Brothas, especially with locs, raise your hand if this has ever happened to you: You were most likely minding your own damn business. Maybe you were one of — or the only — Black person at a party. Perhaps you were just walking down the street, chilling in a…
Western Pennsylvania Medical Marijuana Dispensaries
CY+ www.cydispensary.com LOCATIONS: 2116 Penn Ave., Strip District; 4 Kensington Square, New Kensington; 201 Pillow St., Butler The Healing Center www.thehealingcenterusa.com LOCATIONS: 130 Mall Circle Drive, Monroeville; 799 West Chestnut St., Washington Maitri Medicinals www.maitrimedicinals.com LOCATIONS: 5845 Centre Ave., East Liberty; 27 West Main St., Uniontown Solevo Wellness www.solevowellness.com LOCATIONS: 5600 Forward Ave., Squirrel Hill;…
Renowned abstract artist debuts solo exhibit at Carnegie Museum of Art
Ruth Root has shown at museums throughout the U.S. and abroad, including the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the MoMA PS1 in New York, the Seattle Art Museum, and the Kunstmuseum Bonn in Germany. Now, the New York-based painter will see her first solo exhibit at a major American museum as part of the 81st…
