Wilkinsburg Councilor Marita Garrett running for mayor
Wilkinsburg Councilor Marita Garrett is running for mayor in the May primary election
Listen Up! Jan. 4
Every Wednesday, we make a Spotify playlist containing tracks from artists mentioned in the current music section. Listen while reading the stories in this week’s paper for a fully immersive experience.
“The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time” at Pittsburgh’s Heinz Hall
Yes, “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time” is very good, and tickets are a relative steal
Western Pa. House Republicans split on ethics vote, but all critical of ethics office
The ruling to disband the Office of Congressional Ethics was eventually abandoned by Republicans, but Western Pa. Republicans still want changes to the office.
Film Kitchen: The monthly film and video series for local and independent artists
Artist Cole Hoyer-Winfield and collaborators present his Midnight in Molina, in which actors narrate a “small-town sci-fi story” told via images hand-drawn on a scroll that’s viewed by overhead projection and advanced by hand-crank. In the story, says Hoyer-Winfield, “the earth unravels and dreams come to life.” The hour-long show, which premiered last year at…
The re-emergence of Penn State’s football program is still hard to watch
As of this writing, I have no idea whether the Penn State Nittany Lions won their Jan. 2 Rose Bowl matchup against the Trojans of USC. To be honest, I don’t care. Even though the Jerry Sandusky scandal broke more than five years ago and he’s been in prison since 2012, it’s still hard…
Pittsburgh Steelers wrap up the regular season with win against Cleveland
A photo Slideshow from the Jan. 1 Steelers vs. Browns game
MP3 Monday: Aquarocket
Happy New Year! Our first MP3 Monday of 2017 comes from post-grunge alt-rockers Aquarocket. Stream or download the band’s new single, “Pearl Moon” — which the band premiered on New Years Eve — for free, below. To download, right-click here and select “save as.”
Pittsburgh City Paper’s most popular online stories of 2016
Let’s skip the whole “Fuck 2016” intro that seems to be ubiquitous in year-end lists this week and just jump into our most popular articles of the year. Sound good? Here they are. News For a year filled to the brim with surprises, it seems fitting that we kicked off the year with predictions from…
Don’t forget: Port Authority fare changes start Sun., Jan. 1
A slew of fare and riding-policy changes are coming to Port Authority in the new year.
Pittsburgh bands I wish existed in 2016 and what I would have written about them
This born again quintet is sure to rise again and again and again on the charts for years to come.
Part Five: The agony and the ecstasy of Pittsburgh Brewing Company, brewers of Iron City Beer
Editor Charlie Deitch tells us about diving into the long and tumultuous history of Pittsburgh Brewing Company, nine years after its contested move out of the city to Latrobe.
Pittsburgh celebrates Hanukkah with annual Menorah Parade and Festival
Pittsburgh’s annual Menorah Parade traveled last night from the Rodef Shalom Temple in Oakland to the Waterfront shopping center in Homestead,
Short List: Dec. 28 – Jan. 3
FREE EVENT: Thu., Dec. 29 – Comedy Terry Jones had a confusing childhood. Not confusing for him; others just weren’t sure what to make of a black comic-book nerd who liked hip hop. “I lived in the suburb of Penn Hills, but because my parents worked, I went to school in Garfield so I could…
As Jack Swing, Pittsburgh musician Isaiah Ross heads out on his own
After nearly a decade of making music, Isaiah Ross is finding his voice. From filling in on guitar for live performances with rock band Brightside to providing vocals and bass as a member of Skull Kid, Ross is no stranger to the Pittsburgh scene. But his latest project presents a new challenge — working (mostly)…
Mount Lebanon’s Block 292 combines well-curated market, butcher shop and fine-dining establishment
Block 292 292 Beverly Road, Mount Lebanon. 412-668-2292 Hours: Lunch Mon.-Sat. 11:30 a.m.-3 p.m.; dinner Mon.-Thu. 4:30-9 p.m., Fri.-Sat. 4:30-10 p.m.; brunch Sat. 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Prices: Appetizers and burger $6-15; entrees $15-33 Liquor: Full bar There was a time when we’d have expressed surprise that a scion of the Eat’n Park family had opened…
Critics’ Picks, Dec. 29-Jan. 4
[’80s NIGHT] + THU., DEC. 29 For the loyal fans of the weekly ’80s dance night at Belvedere’s Ultra-Dive, tonight marks the end of an era. This is certainly a sad “See you later,” as DJ hatesyou 2.0 (who will still be DJing other varieties of dance nights at the venue in 2017) has been…
Dugout Deli in Mount Washington offers sandwiches with ample amounts of meat
Even in the winter, a trip to Dugout Deli can make you feel like you’re enjoying another day at the ballpark. The baseball-themed décor includes wall-to-wall murals of Pirates greats and fake ivy. The newly opened deli fills a needed dining hole in Mount Washington, where the majority of options are diners and bars. “The…
This year sucked, but there were plenty of good drinks to ease the pain
2016 has been awfully rough. This year, single words could trigger sadness, anger and deep existential despair. Prince. Harambe. Trump. Clickbait with titles like “Why 2016 Was a Total Dumpster Fire” has become a fixture on our various feeds. With all its ups and downs (so many downs), 2016 gave us plenty of reasons to…
Kielbasa
My memories of growing up in an Eastern European family in Ambridge include kielbasa, the version of sausage that traditionally graced our holiday table at the Christmas, New Year and Easter. As fragrant and tasty as it was, roasted and sliced on the diagonal or cooked in sauerkraut, I always ended up burping up the…
Pittsburgh City Paper Booze Battles: Butterjoint and Dish Osteria
Each week, we order the same cocktail at two different bars for a friendly head-to-head battle. Go to the bars, taste them both and tell us what you like about each by tagging @pghcitypaper on Twitter or Instagram and using #CPBoozeBattles. If you want to be a part of Booze Battles, send an email to…
2009 Primitivo, Zypora Vineyards, Sierra Foothills, California
After tasting wine from this vineyard a few years ago with the winemaker, Ron Casertano walked over and dropped his bottle of zinfandel in the trash. “He said, ‘What’d you do that for?’” says Casertano. “I told him, ‘Well, I thought I was doing this right until I tasted yours.’” — Recommended by Ronald Casertano,…
Fences
Fences Directed by Denzel Washington Stars Denzel Washington, Viola Davis Starts Sun., Dec. 25 August Wilson is America’s most-produced playwright this year, but his audience remains largely limited to theater-goers. Meanwhile, popular culture is short on fully realized accounts of African-American life (not to mention great roles for African-American actors). An elegant answer to both…
City Paper writers look back at music in 2016
Some favorite songs from local artists in 2016 by Alex Gordon Mars Jackson & Nice Rec — “Sunrise” Sandman — “Animal Jen” It It — “The End of Pig Death” S.L.I.P. — “No Hope for the U.S.A.” Swampwalk — “Mailbox” Tunatown — “Bird Man” Good Dude LoJack — “The Golden Peg” Mars Jackson — “Rabbit…
Passengers
Passengers is not a good trip. Director Morten Tyldum’s film is a mish-mash of genres and premised on a creepy plot point. The trailer suggests Passengers is a sci-fi thriller, but alas, it is not. (Some folks at my preview screening left in a rage, delivering the not-quite-accurate-but-still-funny rant: “It’s You’ve Got Mail in space!”)…
Savage Love
Earlier this month, we recorded our Savage Lovecast Christmas Spectacular live at Revolution Hall in Portland, Ore. The audience submitted questions on tiny cards before the show, which allowed questioners to remain anonymous and forced them to be succinct. More questions were submitted than my guests and I could get to, so I promised the…
Assassin’s Creed
I imagine the actor Michael Fassbender in his off hours, sitting by a crackling fire brooding over poetry with a glass of brown nearby. But after sitting through this head-scratching actioner — an elaborate 15th-century cosplay married to a Dan Brown thriller that is, in fact, adapted from a video game — I have adjusted…
Weird Pittsburgh: Go fine yourself, Thou shalt not wrestle a girl and the Ballad of Crusty Owens
Some dilapidated houses in Pittsburgh are quietly owned by the city, acquired through the seizure of properties for delinquent taxes. Their maintenance is outsourced to private contractors, but residents of more downtrodden neighborhoods have complained that the empty buildings just decay into eyesores. The problem has gotten so bad that agents for the Department of…
Why Him?
Last week, movie audiences were applying the “What is your why?”line from Collateral Beauty to that misguided dramedy. This week, they’ll be asking “Why this?” at Why Him? John Hamburg’s R-rated comedy shuffles out a tired premise, re-sets it at the holidays for maximum last-reel feels and hangs it with a slew of witless gags…
The History Center highlights a century of art donated to city schools
THE GIFT OF ART continues through June. Heinz History Center, 1212 Smallman St., Strip District. 412-454-6000 or heinzhistorycenter.org Arts education is very much in contention these days. Advocates insist that the drive to emphasize science, technology, engineering and math must also add an A for arts, if youngsters are to be educated suitably. STEM must…
Reflecting on the past year in Pittsburgh, the heartache, the broken promises and the traffic
The year 2016 has been called everything from “a dumpster fire” to simply “the worst.” The country saw a new president elected — one whose rhetoric is, surprisingly, not completely in line with the political positions of most of us here at City Paper. Folks in the U.K., our longtime ally, voted for Brexit. And…
Eight notable titles by local authors this year
Some notable releases by local authors that City Paper covered in 2016: We Show What We Have Learned (Lookout Books). From Paste to Publishers Weekly, Clare Beams drew glowing reviews for her debut story collection, whose characters operated in settings from plague-ravaged Europe to a secretive all-girls boarding school. Kirkus placed the collection on its…
Pittsburgh sports-media personalities share their best sports moments of 2016
What a year in sports for the city of Pittsburgh. From bringing home the Stanley Cup to resurging rivalries and inspirational comebacks, 2016 had a little bit of everything, including utter disappointment. Thanks, Pirates. When you’ve reached the zenith of your sport, like the Penguins did in 2016, it’s hard to place any moment above…
Rocky Bleier in The Play at Pittsburgh Public Theater
THE PLAY continues through Jan. 7. Pittsburgh Public Theater, 621 Penn Ave., Downtown. $15.75-75. 412-316-1600 or ppt.org It was said that people voted for George W. Bush because he seemed like the kind of guy you could sit down and have a beer with. By that metric alone, Rocky Bleier should be voted Emperor of…
Looking back at some of the best City Paper sports stories of 2016.
It doesn’t seem like we could find one more year-in-review story for this issue, but I do have another. For a long time, I believed that in a sports city like Pittsburgh, its alt-weekly should have a sports section. This year that finally became a reality. While we knew we’d do some coverage of major…
Notable art as activism in 2016 Pittsburgh
There are countless ways to vilify 2016. But let’s not dwell on it. Instead let’s celebrate artists who use their creativity as a form of activism. The highest profile artist-activist to show this year was Ai Weiwei in Andy Warhol | Ai Weiwei, at The Andy Warhol Museum and the Carnegie Museum of Art. Despite…
Besties and Worsties: Mike Wysocki’s year-end Pittsburgh sports awards
The year 2016 will be known as the time Lord Stanley made his return to Pittsburgh. But it wasn’t all good news. The city of Cleveland came within a game of being called the City of Champions, the Pirates took a step back, and the Steelers stumbled out of the gate. James Connor’s season brightened…
Seven transportive Pittsburgh dance programs of 2016
In a year filled with fine dance programs, here are seven that transported audiences from their seats to places, times and worlds away. Dada Masilo: Swan Lake (Byham Theater, Jan. 30). South African dancer/choreographer Dada Masilo and company took the audience and the 139-year-old Swan Lake ballet to modern Africa for a re-envisioned and memorable…
Solemn Pittsburgh Aubade
There are houses on fire every night here. It doesn’t seem a sin to let them burn. It doesn’t scare me to wake up to their ghosts still hanging skyward — a siren in the War Streets, its doppelgänger spotted in Garfield clear across the…
Notable ensemble productions on Pittsburgh stages in 2016
At its heart, theater is about confrontation: the one-on-one (sometimes just one person confronting him- or herself). But there is a special art in cooperation, the many various conflicts woven into a fabric: the ensemble. A balanced group working together with everyone given a challenge and a chance in the spotlight. In no particular order,…
Lynn Cullen Live 12/28/16
Video Archive You can listen to the audio archive here. A look back on 2016 and who we lost. Audio Only Archive Listen to the Audio Archives on with our new Apple and Android Apps or the computer audio player.
Lynn Cullen Live 12/27/16
Video Archive You can listen to the audio archive here. RIP Vera Rubin, who discovered dark matter. With Oscar nominations coming up, we talk movies all day. Audio Only Archive Listen to the Audio Archives on with our new Apple and Android Apps or the computer audio player.
