A quick thought on the Stadium Authority
The city is all abuzz that Mayor Luke Ravenstahl has yanked Deboarh Lestitian, the chair of the Stadium Authority — presumably because she was often a dissenting voice on the five-member board. City Councilor Bill Peduto, a frequent opponent of the mayor, was bounced from the board a year ago. This isn’t a huge surprise:…
Harry’s Friendly Service
Rob Zellers’ new play at Pittsburgh Public Theatre reminded me of an interview I did with sage local filmmaker Tony Buba some years back. Buba is famed for short films documenting his hard-times hometown of Braddock, Pa., often highlighting postindustrial urban eccentrics: a motor-mouthed ne’er-do-well, a zealously overoptimistic used-furniture salesman. Interviewed a couple decades after…
MP3 Monday: The Long Time Darlings
After filling a variety of roles in the live music scene in Austin, Tex., former Pittsburgher Brett Staggs returned to his old stomping grounds and reignited his band The Long Time Darlings with a new lineup. Andy Mulkerin has described their music as “straightforward rock ‘n’ roll somewhere between classic rock and the ’90s alt…
Sort Of Records 3 rd Anniversary Show
Last May, we ran a feature story on local record label Sort Of Records, responsible for some of the more interesting music coming out of these parts in recent years. The label, run by Raymond Morin, celebrates its third anniversary this weekend, with three of the label’s flagship acts performing this Sat., June 20 at…
Short List: Week of June 18 – 25
Fri., June 19 — Powwow If you’ve been waiting to sample elk meat or experience the frenetic intensity of Northern Drum music, the second-annual Intertribal Buffalo Nation Powwow has you covered. Kicking off tonight with live music from Cherokee rocker Randall Eating Bear, the weekend continues with traditional storytelling, dances in full regalia and nightly…
Up-routed
Construction around the West End Circle should unsnarl traffic for commuters. But local businesses say they’ve lost their road map.
The Merry Gentleman
Film’s current fascination with sympathetic hitmen is likely due to the dramatic noodling that comes with a character who, as befits his profession, takes a life as nonchalantly as the rest of us take a business meeting. Yet more often that not, filmmakers decide the inherent contradiction is enough, and never bother to unveil the…
Imagine That
First, the good news: This is Eddie Murphy’s most watchable performance in years. He plays a frazzled father and investment analyst, and he’s engaging and funny without being unctuous or offensive. (That role goes to scene-stealer Thomas Hayden Church, who portrays his business rival partial to spouting phony Native America-ish mumbo-jumbo to win over clients.)…
Easy Virtue
In the late 1920s, the very proper country estate of the oh-so-British Whittakers is rocked by the arrival of the scion’s new bride, a vivacious, oh-so-modern American woman who races automobiles. This is a mostly frothy re-work by Stephan Elliott of a Noel Coward play, and purists are best advised to stay home sorting their…
Outrage
Outrage is more opinion essay than recitation of fact: “There exists a brilliantly orchestrated conspiracy to keep gay and lesbian politicians as closeted as possible … even though it profoundly hurts many Americans.” While there’s not a lot of hard proof, Dick turns over some interesting rocks. Dick examines a few notable campaigns to out…
Adoration
The lugubrious Canadian filmmaker has always required patience, but as his work deepens and matures, he’s become worth the wait. Adoration deals with history, both personal and political, and tells its story through the intellectual journey of a young man trying to comprehend. Here, a teen-age boy, as part of a school assignment, claims to…
Murray Avenue Grill
This Squirrel Hill venue offers a well-prepared variety of good, all-American fare
This Just In: June 18 – 25
Highlights from the local TV news: News you can booze.
Gas Heat
“Can we talk about the dead cows and what it’s doing to your property, instead of [about] creating jobs?”
Jumping Tracks
Pitt journalism program being merged into broader non-fiction program
All Inclusive
Film program, Wilson center brought diversity to Pride ’09
Market Value
Are UPMC’s demands holding up plans for a new grocery store?
The Seagull
The performers do little with the play’s subtle depth, going nowhere insightful or original, creating something generic rather than specific.
What the Butler Saw
Orton’s theatrical invention is breathtaking.
Burn This
Conrad plays with and against the tough New Jersey-ite stereotype, and ravenously chews the delectable scenery.
A photography retrospective examines Aaronel deRoy Gruber’s Analytical Eye.
But Gruber also offers a suite of images that express what the naked eye sees, only moreso.
A local artist facilitates personalized ringtones.
“One tone made somebody cry. One tone made somebody salivate.”
A mysterious real person and his musical passions are imagined in Opera For a Small Room.
Cardiff and Miller perform a feat of emotional archaeology that imagines that every life merits the diva’s stage.
Noise-rockers Black Dice visit Garfield Artworks this week
While live performances no longer involve the torn T-shirts and bloody noses of its early years, a thrashing at a Black Dice show is still guaranteed.
Local country band The Beagle Brothers celebrates the release of All My Friends
“We’ve been trying to build some type of community that’s focused on this particular type of music.”
The Paper Chase brings its “utterly horrifying” music to Brillobox
I tend to hear The Paper Chase as a musical equivalent to Evil Dead II — hilariously horrifying.
Americana duo The Bowmans revisit their old stomping grounds with a Club Café show
“We would just improvise melodies and harmonies, and the harmonies were usually pretty medieval-sounding and dark.”
Why are the 31st and 40th Street bridges arched so much? It’s not like they have to allow room for tall-masted ships to pass underneath …
Don’t be too sure. The mayor has talked about putting windmills on Mount Washington — it’s all about renewable energy these days. Up until the 1920s, though, many Allegheny River bridges were much lower. Some cleared the river’s surface only by a couple dozen feet: Passing ships were often furnished with hinged smokestacks that could…
Slim Forsythe’s full-length album offers classic-country vibes
Forsythe has mined his own history to forge a unique Northern honky-tonk mythos.
Karmic Yogurt
Tart yogurt makes its Pittsburgh debut.
Savage Love
I have been with my current boyfriend for about three years and we are living together. About a year ago, our relationship started to go bad when I found out I was pregnant and ended up having an abortion. Every time I look at him, all I see is this baby I didn’t have and…
