Jazz fans seek slower tempo in radio sale
Jazz Lives in Pittsburgh, a group of notable jazz musicians and fans, is asking the FCC to slow down the process for transferring WDUQ’s license to new owners, who want to overhaul its jazz-and-NPR format. In a written objection to the agency, Jazz Lives asks that the license not be transferred to Essential Pubilc Media…
MP3 Monday: Dethlehem
When you get an email from someone who calls you “sir,” and signs off with “Keep the blade sharp,” you take notice. Hence my paying good, close attention to Dethlehem, the comedy-metal band that released The Ghorusalem Codex, Volume 2: Of Magick and Tyranny this past weekend. Dudes who dress up in knight outfits and…
Kail-Smith proposes new strip-club zoning, and a lap-dance ban
City councilor Theresa Kail-Smith this morning introduced legislation that would regulate how adult entertainment businesses are permitted and operate in the city. If the changes go through, zoning rules would be more clear cut … and lap dances would be outlawed. Spurred by two new clubs proposed for the North Side and the West End…
“Corrugated Fountain” at the Arts Fest
If you’re Downtown for the Three Rivers Arts Festival, leave some time to check out the several galleries located a few blocks up Penn or Liberty. Thought you’ll temporarily be out of funnel-cake range, there’s plenty of good work up there, including the festival’s own Juried Visual Art Exhibition, at 805 Liberty (and more on…
In county exec race, anti-fracking activist earns 490 write-in votes
Dana Dolney’s last-minute write-in campaign for county executive yielded 490 votes May 17, according to unofficial results from the Allegheny County Elections division. (Write-in results take longer to tabulate, and only became available in the county exec race today.) Some 990 write-in ballots were tabulated in the Democratic primary; Dolney topped the write-in field, followed…
Kayak Pittsburgh Opens
Just saw my first yellow kayaks of the spring in the Allegheny. That’s a sight that comes about five weeks later than usual. Kayak Pittsburgh, a project of Venture Outdoors that rents the craft from beneath the Clemente Bridge (North Side bank), had been set to open April 28. But the freakishly rainy spring delayed…
Activists keep pressure on Zappala in Miles case
Activists seeking justice in the January 2010 arrest of Jordan Miles today delivered 1,000 petitions to the Allegheny County District Attorney’s office, urging DA Stephen Zappala to press charges against the three Pittsburgh police officers accused of beating the Homewood teen-ager. “This incident has provoked outrage on the part of many people,” Tim Stevens, chairman…
Fleeting Pages is Popular, But Not Profitable
It looks like East Liberty’s pop-up bookstore will complete its month-long run as a cultural success but a financial disappointment. Jodi Morrison, the project’s founder and financial backer, told CP today that she’ll probably lose about $13,000 on the venture, which temporarily revived the former Borders Eastside as a hub for independent writers, presses and…
In wake of May primary, Jacque Fielder departs as ward chair
Earlier this week, we had a post-mortem about the race in city council district 9, in which we noted that challenger Phyllis Copeland-Mitchell experienced some tough sledding, despite the backing of Ward 12 chair Jacque Fielder. Copeland-Mitchell finished third — out of three candidates — even in Ward 12 itself. This morning, word comes that…
Short List: Week of June 2 – 9
The Dollar Bank Three Rivers Arts Festival is June 3-12, it’s free, and you know where to find it: Downtown, mostly within a few blocks of Point State Park. The park houses the main music stage, with acts from the Blind Boys of Alabama (June 3) to the Tom Tom Club (June 4) — and…
Yellowbrickroad
Poking around in old mysteries best left unexplored is the premise of this indie horror flick from the writing and directing duo of Jesse Holland and Andy Mitton. In 1940, what caused an entire small town in a remote part of New Hampshire to walk deep into the mountains and disappear? Now, with coordinates to…
The Hangover Part II
I have a grudging admiration for the team behind The Hangover Part II, who clearly didn’t give a rat’s ass that they were simply re-making The Hangover, with the thinnest veneer of “different.” Director Todd Phillips simply re-assembles the same “wolf pack” (Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms and Zach Galifianakis), and sends them out on a…
Art on Film
Nine free movies at the Harris examine art and artists
Nancetta’s
At this cozy Italian restaurant, a strong start doesn’t follow through
Dear Postman
A poem by Emily Mohn
Critics’ Picks, June 2-5
Josh Ritter comes to Hartwood Acres, Kaia Wilson from The Butchies appears with Operation Sappho, and jazz and Jewish music are celebrated.
Little Feet
A poem by Jimmy Cvetic
Unicorn Mountain’s long-awaited third anthology might be its best yet.
“We tried to draw those people out and do an anthology of work that all these people were secretly doing.”
CD Reviews
New local releases from The Patti Spadaro Band, Legs Like Tree Trunks and Cuidado.
Morning’s at Seven
It’s like joining a support group for widows with mono, except you have to sit in the back, and there’s no free coffee.
The Diary of Anne Frank
This version puts the Franks smack in the middle of the second world war and the throbbing anti-Semitism just outside their door.
A show at Fe Gallery is an up-to-the-minute take on the concept of “home.”
The strongest and most interesting pieces in the show are those in which a house is portrayed as a character caught in an existential drama beyond its control.
Local writers produce some darkly satisfying stories for Pittsburgh Noir.
There are Fox Chapel moments, McKees Rocks moments, Homewood moments — not generic Pittsburgh moments.
On the Record with LGBT activist Stuart Milk
“As long as a majority of our community remains brutally repressed, we all remain repressed”
Down Under the Farm: Concerns grow about Marcellus Shale gas drilling near food production
“We know there is a potential for contamination, we just don’t know to what extent.”
Big Freedia brings the bounce and pop to Shadow Lounge
Her performances are start out by pushing peoples’ comfort level but soon leaves them feeling liberated through the release of dance.
Chris Frantz returns to Pittsburgh with Tom Tom Club
“I was so proud. To us, at the time, the Three Rivers Arts Festival was the pinnacle of the arts scene and the art world in Pittsburgh.”
From Spud to Stud
Boyd & Blair conquers the world
Ward of the Dance: Hines dances away our championship blues, sort of
Ward made it all the way to the finals of this season’s Dancing With the Stars, taking down a former Playmate, a model, a boxer and the Karate Kid
Fish and Plants, in Harmony
Shadyside Nursery’s cycle of life also includes food scraps and worms
Thrash-Con 2011 lets indie rockers cover Anthrax
“We don’t have to be deep about it. It’s fun to play thrash covers. Paul Baloff wouldn’t sit here and overanalyze it.”
Savage Love
My husband and I recently realized that in order for us to remain happily married, we need to fuck other people. Enter the boyfriend. This 20-year-old hunk has opened the sexual floodgates, and tales of our exploits have made things even hotter between my husband and me. Everybody’s happy! So what’s the problem? Well, after…
Part II: Some words on the passing of Gil Scott-Heron
Yesterday, we posted quotes from some local hip hop and literary luminaries on the passing of Gil Scott-Heron. As promised, here are a few more. BusCrates, music producer: First time I heard his music was when I was a kid. My father had quite a few of his records. In particular, I remember him having…
Superhero-Comics Lecture Series
Jews and superhero comics — Michael Chabon famously explored the theme in The Amazing Adventure of Kavalier & Clay. But of course that Pulitzer-winning novel was partly inspired by real comics history: Pioneering man-in-tights Superman was created in 1932 by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, two teen-agers living in Cleveland who were both the sons…
Review: Weezer at Stage AE
Going to a Weezer show, you’ve got to arrive with a few things already understood: 1. If you’re still of the mindset that “Pinkerton is the only Weezer album I like because I’m an old school fan,” you should sell your ticket to a 14-year-old boy and go home, 2. Weezer attracts as many dude-bros…
