Listen Up! Feb. 3
Kid Cudi, Voivod, Noura Mint Seymali
“Pie” is the most popular attraction at Girasole’s restaurant in Shadyside
There are tons of reasons you might go to Girasole’s Italian restaurant. You can go for the savory, southern-Italian sauces or the freshly made pastas. You can go for the creative and beautifully presented meat and fish dishes, or the unpretentious but worldly wine offerings. And some go just for that distinctively Pittsburgh neighborhood buzz…
U.S. Senate candidates pick up endorsements after CMU forum
The three major Democratic candidates for U.S. Senate get endorsements and settle back into their typical campaign routines after meeting with Pittsburgh area voters.
A conversation with Taylor Guarisco of Givers
Givers is band that really needs to be listened to rather than described. The Lafayette, La. outfit recorded its newest LP, New Kingdom, in a multitude of locales, from North Carolina to New Orleans and even Eau Claire, Wisconsin, with Justin Vernon of Bon Iver. The band is set to play Hangout Fest and Bonnaroo…
State Rep. Ed Gainey to formally launch re-election bid
State Rep. Ed Gainey is running for re-election in the upcoming May primary.
Lynn Cullen 2/02/16
Video Archive You can listen to the audio archive here. Iowa caucus with Sanders and Cruz. Lulu Lemon expands. Straight Outta Compton. Audio Only Archive Listen to the Audio Archives on with our new Apple and Android Apps or the computer audio player.
Residents line up to view the completed tiny house in Pittsburgh’s Garfield neighborhood
An open house for Garfield’s tiny house on Jan. 31, where dozens of residents queued for their chance to see Pittsburgh’s first legitimate tiny house.
MP3 Monday: Lights La Soul
This week’s MP3 comes from local hip-hop artist Lights La Soul, who released his latest EP, Elevator Music (which he recorded with Big Jerm at ID Labs) last November. Stream or download the single “Faithful” below. Download link has expired, sorry!
Lynn Cullen 2/01/16
Video Archive You can listen to the audio archive here. K9 unit killed in Wilkinsburg last night. Mr. Black and Mr. White. The secret lives of trees. The frontiers of discovery. The ark is being reconstructed in KY. Audio Only Archive Listen to the Audio Archives on with our new Apple and Android Apps or…
New Pterosaur exhibit brings world-class fossils, casts to Pittsburgh
The exhibit features life-size replicas, pristine fossil membranes and interactive displays to color the Pterosaur’s prehistoric world.
Campaign 2016’s Silly Season: A Weekly Tweet Roundup Jan. 29
This week, Trump goes rogue and Sanders gets an ice cream flavor.
What you need to know about Pittsburgh news this week
This week Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto delivered his “State of the City” speech, the Central Blood Bank attracted donors with The Walking Dead promotion, and Pittsburgh City Council voted to let cyclists ride on wooded trails.
State Rep. Jake Wheatley to kick off campaign at Rivers Casino
State Rep. Jake Wheatley to launch reelection campaign alongside supporters
Lynn Cullen 1/29/16
Video Archive You can listen to the audio archive here. The Trump show. Audio Only Archive Listen to the Audio Archives on with our new Apple and Android Apps or the computer audio player.
Pittsburgh City Council approves measure giving cyclists more room to ride
Pittsburgh City Council has approved changes to city code that will give cyclists permission to ride on wooded trails in city parks.
Lynn Cullen 1/28/16
Video Archive You can listen to the audio archive here. Wounded Warriors spends their money but not on veterans. Phil Borque reports memory loss. ACLU sues the city of Flint. Master Sgt. Roddie Edmonds. Audio Only Archive Listen to the Audio Archives on with our new Apple and Android Apps or the computer audio player.
Local bands join together to celebrate DJ Mad Mike Metrovich
MAD MIKE VS. THE MAD ’80S 8 p.m. Sat., Jan. 30. Cattivo, 146 44th St., Lawrenceville. $10. 412-687-2157 or cattivopgh.com Whether they know it or not, local fans of vintage garage rock owe a debt to the late radio DJ Mad Mike Metrovich. Throughout the ’60s, Mad Mike scoured record shops across the country, digging…
Critcs’ Picks, Jan. 28-Feb. 3
[RAP] + THU., JAN. 28 Texan rapper T-Wayne, whose real name is Tyshon Dwayne Nobles, didn’t intend for his stage name to resemble an amalgamation of his contemporaries T-Pain and Lil Wayne. But it’s clear upon listening to his 2015 single “Nasty Freestyle” that he would welcome the comparison. (Nobles subsequently invented a new pseudonym,…
New Releases
Northern Gold The Heart Was Heavy (Self-released) northerngold.bandcamp.com Jake Anderkovitch, the core figure behind this indie-folk project, has a straitlaced and straight-faced vibe akin to the similarly smooth-voiced and equally emo Rocky Votolato. Lyrics dealing with battles between good and evil, and what it means to be a man (as in the EP’s standout opening…
The Pa. Democratic candidates for U.S. Senate share their plans for affordable housing
Election season is upon us. A long and grueling run-up to the April primaries is on the horizon, with politicians spouting their ideas and opinions about what is important to Pennsylvanians, and the American people, seemingly repeating themselves at every turn. At City Paper, we thought we would try a slightly different approach with the…
Despite numerous requests, Pittsburgh police refuse to release data on guns used in violent crimes
Last year, in an effort to get a better picture of gun violence in the city, Pittsburgh City Paper began reporting on each and every gun homicide during the summer. However, residents in the neighborhoods where homicides were occurring rarely wanted to talk about the cases, and the families of victims were equally quiet. But…
Pittsburgh’s Black History Month program will focus on African Americans in film
A History of Film: A Tribute to the Contributions of African Americans on Film 6 p.m. Mon., Feb. 1. City-County Building, 414 Grant St., Downtown. Free. Website Since 1991, Pittsburgh Citiparks has celebrated Black History Month with elaborate displays inside the lobby of the City-County Building, Downtown. This year the lobby will be decorated with…
At the SCC, a wide-ranging show about mental health
MINDFUL: EXPLORING MENTAL HEALTH THROUGH ART continues through March 12. The Society for Contemporary Craft, 2100 Smallman St., Strip District. 412-261-7003 or contemporarycraft.org The Society for Contemporary Craft has been producing group shows that tackle densely layered and highly relevant subject matter. These exhibits confront and analyze complex issues of personal, political and social importance…
Savage Love
Christmas came and went, and every present I bought for my extraordinary husband could be opened in front of our children. He deserves better, and I have a particular gift in mind for Valentine’s Day. My husband has expressed an interest in sounding, something we’ve attempted only with my little finger. He seemed to enjoy…
Reviews of two recent poetry chapbooks
Kayla Pongrac’s chapbook The Flexible Truth (Anchor & Plume, $10) is a curious, unpredictable collection. Most of its 37 pieces in 38 pages are prose poems or flash fiction in the first person, though there’s also a recurring feature in the form of a surreal advice column, “Ask Murph,” whose author gives poetic but irrelevant…
A new world
I gaze at the screen, looking searching, waiting for something 2 arrive, 2 engage, 2 stimulate me an email arrives — click clack — fingers moving quickly on keys no, that’s not it, i send a reply or not search the web — click clack — ads, news, more info pop-ups pop up with…
A new show of Douglas Cooper’s panoramic sketches of Pittsburgh
DOUGLAS COOPER: GRAPHIC PITTSBURGH continues through Feb. 13. Concept Art Gallery, 1031 South Braddock Ave., Edgewood. 412-242-9200 or conceptgallery.com Pittsburgh has been called the Paris of Appalachia. But if you’ve never thought of Pittsburgh as the Grand Canyon of Appalachia, then let Douglas Cooper’s new works persuade you. Douglas Cooper: Graphic Pittsburgh is an exhibit…
Wysocki: Underwhelming Pirates offseason is a bit alarming
Winter in this city can be pretty bleak, depressing and dreary. Likewise, the Pittsburgh Pirates’ offseason moves have left me with those same feelings. While other teams have added good, productive players to their rosters, the Bucs mainly subtracted them. While I try to be as optimistic about our team as possible, this offseason is…
The 2016 Oscar-nominated animated short films screen
Oscar-nominated Shorts Animated and Live Action (two programs) In English, and various languages, with subtitles Starts Fri., Jan. 29. Regent Square The Academy Award-nominated short films don’t garner as much attention as, say, Best Picture. But drawn from across the globe, they do offer a broader menu of people, places and experiences. So, take a…
Pittsburgh Left: It’s time for whites to confront racism in a meaningful way
I have never been discriminated against. I have never been pulled over by a cop without cause. I have never been beaten by a police officer. I have never been shot once, let alone multiple times. I have never been called a racist slur. As a 44-year-old white male in America, I have never been…
The 2016 Oscar-nominated Live Shorts
This year’s Academy Award nominees for Best Short Live-Action Film comprise a 107-minute program, with material ranging from the comic to the tragic. Basil Khalil’s “Ave Maria” (Palestine/France/Germany) unfolds at a Roman Catholic convent, along an Arab road in the West Bank, where the normally silent nuns have their routine disturbed by Jewish settlers with…
Stuff We Like
MAKENight. A couple of times a year the Children’s Museum offers a 21-and-over event where adults can be kids again. Activities vary depending on the time of year — Feb. 11 is “My Snarky Valentine” — but the evening always features delicious food and drinks from local vendors. www.pittsburghkids.org Traditional Medicinal’s Organic Ginger With Chamomile.…
Anomalisa
Charlie Kaufman and Duke Johnson’s stop-motion-animated drama depicts one day (and mostly night) in the life of Michael Stone (voice of David Thewlis), a motivational author stopping over in Cincinnati to deliver a speech. Michael is unhappy — we get a few hints of a troubled home life, and then there is his listless demeanor.…
Short List: Jan 27 – February 2
SPOTLIGHT: Tue., Feb. 2 — Stage In 1998, Roundabout Theatre Company mounted just the second Broadway revival of Cabaret. The 1966 Kander & Ebb musical, centering on the decadent Kit Kat Klub in 1931 Berlin, had long been defined by Bob Fosse’s famed 1972 film adaptation, starring Liza Minnelli and Joel Grey. Still, the stage…
Dirty Grandpa
When a man loses his wife after more than 40 years of marriage, he guilt-trips his lawyer grandson into accompanying him on a road trip to his second home, in South Florida, in this comedy from Dan Mazer. However, on the way down, the grandpa (Robert De Niro) convinces his grandson (Zac Efron) to take…
Fire Side Public House
Fire Side Public House 6290 Broad St., East Liberty. 412-661-9900 Hours: Sun.-Thu. 4-11 p.m.; Fri.-Sat. 4 p.m.-midnight Prices: $7-14 Liquor: Full bar Walking into Fire Side Public House, it is impossible not to be struck by the near-complete transformation from the building’s hot-dog-heavy past. The ketchup, mustard and relish color scheme is gone, as are…
Lazer Team
In this modestly budgeted sci-fi comedy from Matt Hullum, four not-very-heroic guys in a small Texas town find themselves defending Earth from an alien attack. It’s the result of a mix-up — a real hero, trained in a secret military installation, was supposed to get a super-duper weapon suit supplied by friendly aliens, but there…
Fresh snow can be converted into an ice-cream-like treat
When I was little, my mother would always tell me and my brothers how lucky we had it compared to her childhood. Usually it was to make us feel guilty about being lazy, ungrateful bastards. My mother had eight siblings; they were crammed into a shack and food was often scarce. They ate what they…
A conversation with Ryan Bingham
RYAN BINGHAM with BIRD DOG 9 p.m. Sat., Jan 30. Mr. Small’s Theatre, 400 Lincoln Ave., Millvale. $25. 412-821-4447 or mrsmalls.com Ryan Bingham has come a long way from his early days of playing mariachi tunes and riding bulls on the West Texas rodeo circuit. The 34-year-old Americana singer/songwriter has recorded five albums; performed the…
Hitchhiker Brewing Enters City Limits
“I swore I’d never do a PowerPoint,” said Gary Olden, owner of Hitchhiker Brewing Co., as he gleefully booted up a Jan. 15 press-conference presentation about the establishment’s expansion plans. After opening in May 2014, the Mount Lebanon microbrewery is taking a step inside city limits with a second location. The future brewpub is a…
With a new record, Columbus, Ohio’s Angela Perley & the Howlin’ Moons expand their vision
ANGELA PERLEY & THE HOWLIN’ MOONS with RAY LANICH BAND 9 p.m. Fri., Jan. 29. Pittsburgh Winery, 2815 Penn Ave., Strip District. $10-12. 412-566-1000 or pittsburghwinery.com Angela Perley & the Howlin’ Moons have been digging up quite a bit of attention since the 2013 release of their EP, Nowhere Is Now Here. The debut full-length,…
Dada Masilo’s reimagined Swan Lake explores homophobia and AIDS
Just like theater classics, ballet classics often receive contemporary redos. Top choreographers including Mats Ek, Jean Christoph Maillot and Matthew Bourne have all created alternate versions of such ballets as Giselle, Romeo & Juliet and The Sleeping Beauty using contemporary choreography and themes. Now, young South African choreographer Dada Masilo offers her version of Swan…
City Paper Podcast, or “Untitled” – Episode 002
In the week’s City Paper podcast episode, we talk about the U.S. Senate race with staff writer Ryan Deto and speak to Lidia Bastianich about food, family and her new cookbook.
CP Weekend Podcast – Jan. 28-31, 2016
This week: Compete in an adult spelling bee, listen to Latin jazz or indulge in a food-truck roundup.
Lynn Cullen 1/7/16
Video Archive You can listen to the audio archive here. Trump opts out of the debates. Henry Worsley dies on trek. 27 year old football player dies, brain damage found. Audio Only Archive Listen to the Audio Archives on with our new Apple and Android Apps or the computer audio player.
Lynn Cullen 1/26/16
Video Archive You can listen to the audio archive here. Texas indicts on Planned Parenthood case. The case against tight suits. Supreme Court on mandatory sentencing. Audio Only Archive Listen to the Audio Archives on with our new Apple and Android Apps or the computer audio player.
