Rapper T-Real uses his release show to raise money for the Greater Pittsburgh Food Bank
It never hurts to be reminded how close to home hunger can hit. In Pennsylvania, 19.3% of all children are food insecure, as are 12.9% of PA seniors. But you can help! In fact, this very weekend, rapper T-Real offers an easy opportunity to lend support. Friday, T-Real (a.k.a. Tajah Russell) will celebrate the release…
Allegheny County receives $3.4 million to fix homes with lead paint
Allegheny County receives money to clean up lead-paint-ridden homes.
Listen Up! June 15
Every Wednesday, we make a Spotify playlist containing tracks from artists mentioned in the current music section. Listen below!
Pittsburgh advocacy groups at odds over new superintendent accused of inflating his resume
Pittsburgh organization disagree on whether school board should replace newly approved superintendent Anthony Hamlet.
Hillary Clinton hits Donald Trump during Pittsburgh visit over comments in wake of Orlando nightclub massacre
Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton reacted to Orlando shooting and criticized opponent Donald Trump’s response at Pittsburgh rally.
Pittsburgh health-care companies looking to improve care for LGBT community
Highmark and Allegheny Health Network are hosting a ” Meet Dr. Right” event with a specific focus on improving health-care access for LGBT individuals.
MP3 Monday: Menchaca
Download a new track from Menchaca
Lynn Cullen Live 06/13/16
Video Archive You can listen to the audio archive here. The Orlando massacre. Audio Only Archive Listen to the Audio Archives on with our new Apple and Android Apps or the computer audio player.
Sean Lennon talks touring, Bernie Worrell and his new project with Les Claypool
Sean Lennon and Les Claypool’s Claypool Lennon Delirium comes to Nelson Ledges Quarry Park in Garrettsville, Ohio, about a 90-minute drive from Pittsburgh.
Pittsburgh City Council bill would protect domestic-violence victims from housing discrimination
This week Pittsburgh City Council bill approved a bill to protect domestic violence victims from housing discrimination.
What you need to know about Pittsburgh news this week
Phipps Conservatory’s corpse flower blooms; local musician Emily Rodgers drops a new album; and the Three Rivers Arts Festival heads into its final weekend.
The Zombie
Tiki illustration on one of Hidden Harbor’s bar coasters by D.J. Coffman
Thousands gather outside Consol Center for Pittsburgh Penguins Game 5; Pens lose, trash strewn
Pittsburgh Penguins lose Game 5 to San Jose in Stanley Cup Finals
A conversation with D.J. Coffman, this week’s Pittsburgh City Paper Drink Issue cocktail napkin artist
Artist D.J. Coffman talks about his experience live-drawing City Paper’s Epic Bar Crawl.
Organizers call on Pennsylvania Sen. Toomey to support reform of military’s sexual assault reporting
Last year, Pennsylvania Sen. Pat Toomey voted against a measure that would change how sexual assault is handled in the military. Organizers are trying to make sure he doesn’t do it again.
Lynn Cullen Live 06/10/16
Video Archive You can listen to the audio archive here. The future of the medical marijuana industry. Audio Only Archive Listen to the Audio Archives on with our new Apple and Android Apps or the computer audio player.
Listen Up! June 8: Mavericks Edition
Every week, we make a Spotify playlist containing tracks from artists mentioned in the current music section. Listen below! This, week City Paper staffers are moving to new digs, so I took the opportunity to hijack the playlist while everyone is busy to feature The Mavericks, in town for two shows June 17 and 18.…
Three Rivers Arts Fest brings musical acts Leftover Salmon and Charles Bradley to Downtown Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh’s Three Rivers Arts Festival continues through Sun., June 12.
Port Authority of Allegheny County installing digital ‘real-time’ bus stops in Downtown Pittsburgh
New information kiosks at light-rail stations, will provide interactive route maps and a Google Maps-like interface for public transportation riders
SPACE hosts Pittsburgh’s third annual Performance Art Festival tomorrow and Saturday
Bunker Projects’ Performance Art Festival moves to Downtown Pittsburgh for a weekend of avant-garde pieces from around the world.
City Paper Podcast – Episode 021
This week on the City Paper Podcast, we talk to the talented local musician Emily Rodgers about her new album Two Years. Spoiler alert: She plays three beautiful songs in-studio for us.
Lynn Cullen Live 06/09/16
Video Archive You can listen to the audio archive here. Honoring Doc Ellis. Bernie still isn’t giving up. Guaranteed income. Audio Only Archive Listen to the Audio Archives on with our new Apple and Android Apps or the computer audio player.
City Paper Weekend Calendar – June 10 – 12
Here are the top five things to do in Pittsburgh this weekend.
A year after protests and criticism that it wasn’t inclusive, has anything changed about Pittsburgh Pride?
As Pride events around the country mark the anniversary of the 1969 Stonewall Inn riots, Pittsburgh’s largest LGBT celebration will culminate with a Pride in the Street parade on June 12, the conclusion of week’s worth of programming by the Delta Foundation. But the local LGBT community has seen some fracturing since last year’s Pride…
City Paper’s food-and-drink section has undergone some changes
For years, City Paper has had a food section dedicated to showcasing the people and places responsible for building and innovating Pittsburgh’s culinary scene. We haven’t been short on inspiration, or new and delicious places to dine. In recent years, the “On the Rocks” column has been our sole homage to eating’s natural companion: drinking.…
Kesha and Angel Haze bring Pride to the Pittsburgh streets
KESHA, ANGEL HAZE 6 p.m. Sat., June 11. Liberty Avenue, between Ninth and 10th streets, Downtown. $38-65.
With Ouroboros, Ray LaMontagne wants to make his way into your life
RAY LAMONTAGNE 6:30 p.m. Sun., June 12. Stage AE, 400 North Shore Drive, North Side. $39.50. 412-229-5483 or stageae.com When Ray LaMontagne releases an album, he wants it to stick to the walls of your everyday. Whether playing from your smartphone, your car radio or the record-player in your living room, the songs are meant…
Pittsburgh-based singer-songwriter Emily Rodger’s mesmerizing new record is her most complete work to date
You’re unlikely to make it more than a paragraph into an article about Emily Rodgers’ music without reading words like melancholy, moody or Mazzy Star (this article included, apparently). Since debuting in 2005, she’s developed a mesmerizing low-key sound in the realm of alt-country, which, translated from music journalese, means roughly “has pedal steel guitar.”…
Just a Bit Outside: The Washington Wild Things are keeping baseball pure just down the road from Pittsburgh
If Maurice Sendak ever got you wondering where the wild things are, it turns out they’re down the road in Washington County. The Washington Wild Things just started their 15th season as a member of the Frontier League. It’s an independent league with no major-league affiliation, one of eight such leagues in the country. The…
The Hangover
We were probably overambitious when we thought we could get to 14 or more bars in one night. After a solid eight hours of drinking and more than one heated argument about city bike lanes, we had to call it a night. Some met up with friends; one had to fetch the bike he had…
Stuff We Like
Ramps. These wild onions thrive in Appalachian soil and are near-impossible to cultivate. Find them at local farmers markets and enjoy them, leaves and all, before their short season is up. pittsburghpa.gov/citiparks/farmers-market New Bike Pittsburgh Maps. The sixth version of this indispensable resource from advocacy group BikePGH introduces special markings for protected bike lanes, a…
Critics’ Picks, June 9-15
[ELECTRO FOLK] + THU., JUNE 9 Tonight, the Three Rivers Arts Festival showcases the whimsical musical workings of Beth Orton. On her latest release, Kidsticks, Orton’s raspy voice joins magnificently with the retro-tinged sound of her looping samples. She’ll likely play older material as well: Her previous work is in a folkier vein and displays…
The 39 Steps at CLO Cabaret
THE 39 STEPS continues through Aug. 14. Pittsburgh CLO Cabaret Theater, 655 Penn Ave., Downtown. $39.75-54.75. 412-456-6666 or pittsburghclo.org Polished, professional and silly silly silly — that’s the takeaway from the Pittsburgh CLO Cabaret Theater’s production of a romping The 39 Steps, directed by Guy Stroman. No doubt that when John Buchan wrote The 39…
Savage Love
I’m a 33-year-old straight guy with a small dick. I have a girlfriend of seven years. When we met, I was really insecure and she had to spend a lot of time reassuring me that it didn’t matter — she loved my dick, sex with me was great, it was big enough for her, etc.…
The Lobster
The Lobster Directed by Yorgos Lanthimos Starring Colin Farrell, Rachel Weisz The film opens with a woman driving into the countryside, leaving her car and shooting a donkey. This scene is never explained or referred to again, but when you get to the end of Yorgos Lanthimos’ singular dark comedy The Lobster, you’ll definitely understand.…
Weird Pittsburgh
Two students at Quaker Valley High School, in Sewickley, wanted to see whether they could sneak quotes from Hitler, Stalin and ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi into their yearbook. It turns out they could. “Originally, I thought, ‘OK, there’s no way they’re going to let me do this,’” one of the pranksters, Joe Sutton, told…
Short List: June 9-15
MAIN EVENT: Fri., June 10 — Festivals For the second year running, Pittsburgh has two simultaneous LGBTQIA-themed festivals: the longstanding Pittsburgh Pride and the fledgling Roots Pride Pittsburgh. The Delta Foundation-organized Pittsburgh Pride’s concluding week includes the citywide Fri., June 10, Pub Crawl ($20, chauffered), and Saturday night’s massive Pride in the Street Party ($38-65),…
Francofonia
In his new essay, director Alexander Sokurov (Russian Ark) ruminates on the Louvre Museum, its long-standing relationship to France’s cultural identity and, more specifically, the fate of the museum and its contents during the Nazi occupation. Sokurov uses archival material (there are a fascinating number of paintings of the Louvre) and some dramatic recreations. One…
Booze Battles: Acacia vs. the Ace Hotel bar
Each week, two mixologists will put their own spins on the same drink in a head-to-head battle. Go to the bars, taste them both and tell us them by tagging @pghcitypaper on Twitter or Instagram and use #CPBoozeBattles. If you want to be a part of Booze Battles, send an email to food-and-beverage writer Celine…
Maggie’s Plan
Rebecca Miller’s comedy of manners set among the Brooklyn-brownstone intelligentsia veers dangerously close to being a parody of the same. Maggie (Greta Gerwig) is single, but wants a baby, so she enlists the help of an artisanal pickle-maker. Meanwhile, she meets-cute a rumpled professor, John (Ethan Hawke), who is unhappily married to a more important…
One Bordeaux, One Scotch, One Beer
Sierra Nevada, Otra Vez $9.99/six-pack They say never drink a beer with cactus in it, but “they” are almost always wrong. Otra Vez is a gose — a German-style sour beer — which means it tastes like it’s gone bad but it hasn’t. The beer is tart, bizarre and despite all that, pretty delightful. —…
Me Before You
In this rather spritely romance, a young working-class woman named Lou (Emilia Clarke) takes a care-tending job for Will (Sam Claflin), a former Dashing Young Man About Town who is now a quadriplegic. She’s poor, perky and naïve; he’s rich, depressed and cynical. And in Thea Sharrock’s adaptation of Jojo Moyes’ popular novel, this mismatched…
Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping
Just because something is low-hanging fruit doesn’t mean it shouldn’t get picked. And so it goes with Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping, a mockumentary that takes aim at such broad targets as Justin Beiber, the 24/7 world of celebrity media, today’s factory-formulated pop music and a couple of long-in-the-tooth romantic balladeers. Popstar tells the oh-so-familiar…
Vaxxed: From Cover-Up to Catastrophe
Remember the British doctor Andrew Wakefield who, in 1998, kicked up the “could childhood vaccines cause autism?” argument with a study that was later redacted? He’s back, and directing his documentary about himself and a handful of folks who believe that the Centers for Disease Control intentionally covered up data that proved his theories. The…
The summer dance season begins with the PrideFest dance showcase
PITTSBURGH PRIDEFEST 2016 DANCE SHOWCASE 2-5 p.m., Sun., June 12. Liberty Avenue between Sixth and 10th streets, Downtown. Free. pittsburghpride.org The kick-off to the local summer dance season, Pittsburgh PrideFest’s eighth annual free dance showcase, curated by Richard Parsakian, offers a stylistically diverse set of performances by seven artists and troupes. Part of Pittsburgh PrideFest…
Film Kitchen is a monthly screening series for local and independent artists
The monthly screening series for local and independent artists is highlighted by three strong short animations. Kristen Lauth Shaeffer’s “349” edits together work by 349 artists asked to depict themselves and a person with whom they have a significant relationship; it plays like a single poignant pas de deux. Andrew Halasz’s “Emmett: A Tomato’s Life”…
Ball on the Bridge highlights ball culture and the need for improved health-care services for Pittsburgh’s LGBT community
After being part of an underground, late-night scene in Pittsburgh’s LGBT community for decades, ball culture is making its free outdoor debut at the Ball on the Bridge event on June 18. Balls originated in the 1960s as underground drag competitions, where participants were mostly black and gay. Since, ball culture has evolved into huge…
Vegan One-Pot Cure was just what the doctor ordered
I come from a long line of people who spent most of their time in the kitchen. I used to perch on a stool and watch with reverence as my mom confidently buzzed around our counters. Usually I’d get roped in when she planned and cooked dinner for hundreds at community events. She was always…
As guitarist of the Mavericks, Eddie Perez lives out his rock-god dreams in an unlikely forum
THE MAVERICKS. 7 p.m. Fri., June 17, and 7 p.m. Sat., June 18. The Carnegie of Homestead Music Hall, 510 E. 10th Ave., Munhall. $45-65 (two-show discount: $80-120). All ages. 412-368-5225 or librarymusichall.com Eddie Perez knew from a very early age that he wanted to be a rock god. “My heroes were Jimmy Page, Jeff…
Geek Parenting is a golden ticket to the nerd zeitgeist
GEEK PARENTING BOOK-SIGNING with STEPHEN SEGAL and VALYA LUPESCU Noon, Sat., June 11. Rickert & Beagle Books, 3233 W. Liberty Ave., Dormont. rickertandbeaglebooks.com In a recent NPR interview, actor Rainn Wilson bemoaned the commodification of nerdism, but acknowledged that because he is a nerd, the trend has helped his career. The new book Geek Parenting:…
Pig Iron Public House in Cranberry is a sort of hybrid of sports bar and family restaurant
Pig Iron Public House 926 Sheraton Drive, Cranberry. 724-553-5592 Hours: Mon.-Wed. 11 a.m.-midnight; Thu.-Fri. 11 a.m.-2 a.m.; Sat.-Sun. 10 a.m.-2 a.m. Prices: $5-15 Liquor: Full bar Time was, it was noteworthy if a bar had a salad or even fried zucchini on its menu alongside its burgers, fries and wings. Nowadays, practically all but the…
Matilda at PNC Broadway in Pittsburgh
MATILDA continues through Sun., June 12. Benedum Center, 237 Seventh St., Downtown. $26-90. 412-456-6666 or www.trustarts.org Outside the Benedum Center, for the first national tour of hit Broadway musical Matilda, they’ve posted a quote from one of the New York reviews: “The Best Musical Since The Lion King.” I agree … if you substitute “most…
A conversation with comedian Louie Anderson
LOUIE ANDERSON 8:30 p.m. Sat., June 11. Monroeville Convention Center, 209 Mall Blvd., Monroeville. $30-35 (includes Wine Festival admission). simoneventmanagement.com For more than 30 years, Louie Anderson has been making people laugh as a standup comic, voice actor, game-show host and author. Now, as co-star of FX’s hit Baskets, he plays Christine, the mother of…
City Paper staffers set out on a crawl across Pittsburgh to our favorite bars
Bar crawls are time-honored traditions in American drinking culture. The first typically occurred on your 21st birthday, when you were young and invincible. Your older friends probably drew up an intimidating list of watering holes and kept it going until you either gave up or puked. It didn’t matter, because at that age you were…
The Consorts at The Summer Company
THE CONSORTS continues through Sun., June 12. The Summer Company at Genesius Theater, Duquesne University campus, Uptown. $6.50-16.50. thesummercompany.com Tim Ruppert’s new play The Consorts gives British history a postmodernist tickle. It’s set in 1556, in the jail cell where Archbishop of Canterbury Thomas Cranmer awaits execution the following morn: As a leader of England’s…
Stickler’s Ice Pop Company opens a storefront in Millvale
Stickler’s Ice Pop Company 1149 Evergreen Ave., Millvale. 412-444-8513 or
This Week in City Paper History
On June 5, 2012, news editor Charlie Deitch looks into the practice of some health-insurance companies refusing to pay for experimental treatments that could save patients’ lives. The story profiled terminal-cancer patient Brenda Brunner, who has since succumbed to the disease. As her health was declining, Brunner often wondered whether the experimental treatments she was…
Lynn Cullen Live 06/08/16
Video Archive You can listen to the audio archive here. Why aren’t we more excited about Clinton? The impending race looms. The destruction of the Republican party. Obesity numbers climb. Audio Only Archive Listen to the Audio Archives on with our new Apple and Android Apps or the computer audio player.
Local author Dorit Sasson explores her experiences volunteering for the Israel Defense Forces
DORIT SASSON Accidental Soldier book launch: 6:30 p.m. Tue., June 14 (Shaler North Hills Library, 1822 Mount Royal Blvd., Glenshaw; free; www.shalerlibrary.org). Other appearances: June 23 (Penguin Bookshop, Sewickley) and June 26 (Classic Lines Bookstore, Squirrel Hill). doritsasson.com Dorit Sasson’s Accidental Soldier: A Memoir of Service and Sacrifice in the Israel Defense Forces (She Writes…
Dollar Bank Presents Three Rivers Arts Festival 2016
The Three Rivers Arts Festival is presented by Dollar Bank and runs from June 3 through June 12, 2016. The festival is located at Point State Park, celebrates art and music, and is free to the public!
