Listen Up! April 6
Listen Up! Spotify playlist
Allegheny County Council urges Pennsylvania lawmakers to raise the minimum wage to $10.15
Led by a motion put forth by Allegheny County councilor Nick Futules, the county is asking the Pa. General Assembly to raise the state’s minimum wage.
Democratic Pennsylvania U.S. Senate candidates get heated in TV debate
After months of polite and somewhat boring discourse, the Democratic candidates for Pennsylvania’s open U.S. Senate seat finally started to attack one another in a live-TV debate.
Pulitzer-winner in final week at Pittsburgh Public Theater
Seven performances remain of “Disgraced” at the Pittsburgh Public Theater.
Reading tomorrow at Wigle Whiskey benefits Pittsburgh literacy program
Libations for Literacy aids Words Without Walls, a program for Allegheny County Jail inmates and others.
12 Peers tries a show with no rehearsals; Quantum takes Ibsen to the ninth floor
At its most basic, theater is an actor with a script. And that’s just what you’ll get in White Rabbit Red Rabbit, a striking work that shuns directors, sets and rehearsals — and even prohibits the lone actor from seeing the script before stepping on stage. Or really, “actors,” because as the play requires, each…
Vice President Joe Biden stops in Pittsburgh for anti-sexual assault campaign
Vice President Joe Biden visited the University of Pittsburgh today as part of his campaign to end sexual violence on college campuses.
MP3 Monday: Identity X
Download a new song from Pittsburgh band Identity X
Cartoonist Keith Knight gives free presentation tonight at Pittsburgh’s Point Park University
“Red, White, Black and Blue,” a talk by cartoonist Keith Knight, covers race, media, politics and satire.
What you need to know about Pittsburgh news this week:
This week, Bernie Sanders visits Pittsburgh; President Obama weighs in on Pennsylvania’s Democratic primary; and workers’ rights organizations protest the Steelers firing of union security guards.
Security workers and allies protest Steelers firing of union security workers
The Steelers announced this week they would be firing 15 union security workers.
Lynn Cullen Live 04/01/16
Video Archive You can listen to the audio archive here. CP is sold to Eagle Publishing. Animal visitation. Cup stacking. Donald Trump on punishments for abortion. Women’s soccer sues. Audio Only Archive Listen to the Audio Archives on with our new Apple and Android Apps or the computer audio player.
Bernie Sanders speaks to thousands at Pittsburgh rally
Democratic Presidential candidate Bernie Sanders draws thousands to rally in Pittsburgh.
Corningworks’ “Right of Way” at Pittsburgh’s New Hazlett Theater
Corningworks’ Right of Way is a funny but thought-provoking dance-theater work on gender identity
Eagle Media purchases Pittsburgh City Paper
Eagle Media, the Publishers of the Butler Eagle and Cranberry Eagle, have purchased Pittsburgh City Paper from Steel City Media, Eagle Media President Vernon L. Wise announced this morning.
Lynn Cullen Live 03/31/16
Video Archive You can listen to the audio archive here. Wendy Bell firing from WTAE. Plum borough sex scandal. Hillary Clinton campaign. Audio Only Archive Listen to the Audio Archives on with our new Apple and Android Apps or the computer audio player.
Pennsylvania state Rep. Jake Wheatley facing off against challenger Jessica Wolfe in 19th District fight
State Rep. Jake Wheatley has served in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives for 13 years. And since House representatives run for re-election every two years, Wheatley’s had a number of websites set up for his campaigns: jakeforstate.com, jakewheatley.com, etc. But in this election cycle, those websites were turned against him. Beginning a few months ago,…
Five Bold Predictions for the 2016 Pirates Season
Pirates Preview: Four reasons the Pittsburgh Pirates are headed toward salvation in 2016 and four reasons they’re headed toward damnation While he may still be learning English, Pittsburgh Pirates’ Jung Ho Kang is fluent in the language of baseball Finding the right balance between data analysis and gut reaction is key to Pittsburgh Pirates’ success…
Did the Penn Plaza situation in Pittsburgh’s East End have to unfold the way it did?
In February, Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto held a press conference announcing the successful relocation of the vast majority of Penn Plaza residents, and one theme came shining through: teamwork. “We are not claiming victory, but we are showing what can be done when people work together,” Peduto’s chief of staff Kevin Acklin said at the…
Mike Wysocki’s Pittsburgh Pirates PNC Park 15th-Anniversary Team
Pirates Preview: Four reasons the Pittsburgh Pirates are headed toward salvation in 2016 and four reasons they’re headed toward damnation While he may still be learning English, Pittsburgh Pirates’ Jung Ho Kang is fluent in the language of baseball Finding the right balance between data analysis and gut reaction is key to Pittsburgh Pirates’ success…
A farewell dispatch to former Pittsburgh Pirates slugger Pedro Alvarez from his biggest fan
Pirates Preview: Four reasons the Pittsburgh Pirates are headed toward salvation in 2016 and four reasons they’re headed toward damnation While he may still be learning English, Pittsburgh Pirates’ Jung Ho Kang is fluent in the language of baseball Finding the right balance between data analysis and gut reaction is key to Pittsburgh Pirates’ success…
Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Jeff Locke tunes out the noise while he fine-tunes his game
Pirates Preview: Four reasons the Pittsburgh Pirates are headed toward salvation in 2016 and four reasons they’re headed toward damnation While he may still be learning English, Pittsburgh Pirates’ Jung Ho Kang is fluent in the language of baseball Finding the right balance between data analysis and gut reaction is key to Pittsburgh Pirates’ success…
This Week in City Paper History
At the time City Paper wrote this story, Jamie Lynn Stickle had been dead only about a year. In February, 2002, she was found burned to death in her Jeep, which was parked at a local scrapyard. Her apartment and other clues indicated there was a struggle, but the cause of death was ruled undetermined…
I Saw the Light
“Son, there are no shortcuts to the Opry.” And as we learn painfully in Mark Abraham’s bio-pic about country-western star Hank Williams, there are no shortcuts to telling a meaningful, rich story. Because I Saw the Light is not that work; rather it is a pastiche of scenes that mostly reminds us that actors are…
Wysocki: Opening Day provides a fresh start for both the Pittsburgh Pirates and the teams that stink
The countdown is on for Opening Day 2016. It’s like Christmas for baseball junkies and the time has come to get our fix. For teams and fans alike, opening day is a new beginning, a fresh start. Even fans in Tampa and Seattle think they have a chance for a good season. For 20 years…
Eisenstein in Guanajuato
Celebrated for his three groundbreaking silent films (Strike, October, The Battleship Potemkin), Russian director Sergei Eisenstein set his sights on North America. But his projects were rejected by Hollywood studio heads. So, in 1931, he accepted an invitation to make a film in Mexico (Que Viva Mexico), financed by author Upton Sinclair and assorted sympathizers.…
Savage Love
I was honored to speak at JCCSF — Jewish Community Center of San Francisco — last week as a part of their “Uninhibited: About Sex” lecture series. The audience submitted questions on cards, which were ably put to me by Jourdan Abel, who was wearing a wonderful uterus-themed sweater. (Check out my Instagram account —…
Hello, My Name is Doris
Sixtysomething Doris (Sally Field) leads a rather dull single life in her late mother’s cluttered home on Staten Island. But she works in an office full of hip young people, and one of them, John (Max Greenfield), catches her eye. Through a series of misunderstandings and small kindnesses, Doris and John become buddies, enjoying some…
Stuff We Like: Baseball Edition
Pirates Player Bike Lane. Ride your bike over to PNC Park using the protected bike lanes on the Sixth Street Bridge — complete with painted road signs depicting Pirate great Roberto Clemente riding a bike. Better Call (Sauerkraut) Saul T-Shirt. Show your love for the Pirates pierogies and TV with this Pierogi-At-Law T-shirt from local…
A War
As part of the international coalition, a group of Danish soldiers are stationed in Afghanistan. They are led by Pedersen (Pilou Asbaek), who as a more sensitive military leader pitches in on some of the disliked work, such as patrols through local villages, where those who pose threats are hard to distinguish from those in…
Short List: April 1 – 7
FREE EVENT: Sun., April 3 — Talk Jews first settled in Western Pennsylvania in the mid-1800s, and Pittsburgh remains the hub of regional Jewish life. This week, the Heinz History Center unveils a project exploring something that’s quickly fading into history: Jewish life in the region’s small towns. For the past year, two researchers with…
With Tau Cross, Amebix frontman Rob “The Baron” Miller finds a new musical home
TAU CROSS with BEHIND ENEMY LINES, THE S/CKS 8 p.m. Fri., April 1. Cattivo, 146 44th St., Lawrenceville. $10-12. 412-687-2157 or cattivopgh.com Rob “The Baron” Miller draws inspiration from Shakespeare, Blake and Tennyson. “Not in a literal sense,” he explains via email, “but rather I am able to immerse myself in their worlds and enjoy…
Prairie is the newest restaurant in Pittsburgh’s Garfield neighborhood
Prairie 5491 Penn Ave., Garfield. 412-404-8487 Hours: Dinner, Mon.-Thu. 5-10 p.m., Fri.-Sat. 5-11 p.m., Sun. 5-9 p.m.; brunch Sat.-Sun. 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Prices: Starters, sandwiches, soups, salads $5-14; entrees $18-28 Liquor: Full bar CP Approved In the competitive world of restaurants, proprietors tend to hold on till the last dollar. Jeff Catalina of Verde, the…
Kind of Blue drummer Jimmy Cobb comes to town with Miles Davis tribute, 4 Generations of Miles
4 GENERATIONS OF MILES 8 p.m. Tue., April 5. Cabaret at Theater Square, 655 Penn Ave., Downtown. $30.75-35.75. 412-456-6666 or trustarts.org Jazz pundits consider Miles Davis’ Kind of Blue to be one of greatest jazz albums of all time, if not the best in its class. For casual listeners it oozes atmosphere and sensuality, with…
Zippy the Pinhead creator Bill Griffith talks about his graphic memoir
Bill Griffith is a founding father of alternative comics. About 45 years ago, as a young San Francisco-based artist working in underground comics, Griffith created Zippy the Pinhead, an unshaven, muumuu-clad naif whose unquestioning embrace of popular culture provided ironic commentary on the same. (Griffith later gave Zippy a foil, the cartoonist’s analytic alter-ego, Griffy.)…
Pittsburgh’s Bookshelf Café offers a quirky respite for coffee-drinkers
At the cozy Bookshelf Café in Morningside there are, in fact, bookshelves — six shelving units, containing 40 individual shelves, to be exact. “We just like books,” says Jeremy Schillinger, who along with his wife, Rungnapa Khanchalee, opened the café in September. “We run another restaurant [Thai Cottage] that’s really busy. We just wanted a…
With their single “Countrified,” Pittsburgh’s The Stickers make a mark on the country charts
Though few would call Pittsburgh a hot-bed of mainstream country music, you don’t have to drive far to find a diner with Froggy on the radio, or a bar with an aspiring Blake Shelton on stage. Joe Wodarek, who fronts local country band The Stickers, argues that the city and the genre are better matched…
Disgraced at Pittsburgh Public Theater
DISGRACED continues through April 10. Pittsburgh Public Theater, 621 Penn Ave., Downtown. $15.75-60. 412-316-1600 or ppt.org Ayad Akhtar’s political drama Disgraced first played off-Broadway in 2012 and received strong notices for its intense look at a high-powered New York City mergers-and-acquisitions lawyer named Amir Kapoor. Though born in a Muslim home, Amir has not merely…
City Paper Podcast – Episode 011
This week on the City Paper podcast, “Fake Pedro” says goodbye; we meet a very special wine critic; and we talk to actor and comedian Josh Fadem.
Critics’ Picks, March 31-April 6
[PSYCHEDELIA] + THU., MARCH 31 Now that the band has been releasing records for more than 20 years, is it safe to proclaim Japanese psych-rock institution Acid Mothers Temple legendary? Regardless, any fan of weirdo Japanese noise, krautrock, progressive rock — or anyone who just likes loud and fuzzy guitars — should give this group a…
Modern-day tap star Michelle Dorrance’s company performs
DORRANCE DANCE 8 p.m. Sat., April 2. Byham Theater, 101 Sixth St., Downtown. $19-55. 412-456-6666 or trustarts.org It has been well over a half-century since tap was king in the dance world. For instance, the heyday of Pittsburgh’s tap scene that included the Kelly family (Fred, Jay, Jim, Louise and superstar Gene), whose Squirrel Hill studio…
Sour beers are a sweet deal
There was a time when I didn’t think I wanted beer with tasting notes like “barnyard” and “horse blanket.” But that was before my first visit to Millvale’s Draai Laag Brewing and my introduction to the wide world of sour beer. For years, hops have dominated American craft beer. And while IPAs are hardly endangered,…
A Conversation with Hanya Yanagihara
Hanya Yanagihara in Conversation 6:30 p.m. Fri., April 1. Carnegie Museum of Art Theater, 4400 Forbes Ave., Oakland. $22 (includes A Little Life paperback). 412-622-8866 or pittsburghlectures.org Hanya Yanagihara doesn’t read her reviews. Which must be an incredibly tantric act, considering she is one of the year’s most lionized novelists. The 2015 winner of the…
Pittsburgh Pirates Preview 2016
Pirates Preview: Four reasons the Pittsburgh Pirates are headed toward salvation in 2016 and four reasons they’re headed toward damnation While he may still be learning English, Pittsburgh Pirates’ Jung Ho Kang is fluent in the language of baseball Finding the right balance between data analysis and gut reaction is key to Pittsburgh Pirates’ success…
A new arts residency combines movement and multimedia
PEARL DIVING MOVEMENT RESIDENCY ARTISTS SHOWCASE 8 p.m. Sat., April 2. PearlArts Studios, 201 N. Braddock Ave. (sixth floor), Point Breeze. Donations accepted at the door. Event will be livestreamed. pearlartsstudios.com When Corinne Spencer put out a call for black women in Pittsburgh to take part in her movement-based video installation project, she welcomed trained…
Finding the right balance between data analysis and gut reaction is key to Pittsburgh Pirates’ success
Pirates Preview: Four reasons the Pittsburgh Pirates are headed toward salvation in 2016 and four reasons they’re headed toward damnation While he may still be learning English, Pittsburgh Pirates’ Jung Ho Kang is fluent in the language of baseball Finding the right balance between data analysis and gut reaction is key to Pittsburgh Pirates’ success…
On the Record with Brendan Kelly of The Falcon
THE FALCON 8 p.m. Tue., April 5. The Smiling Moose, 1306 E. Carson St., South Side. $15. 412-431-4668 or smiling-moose.com “Super group” might be a cliché, but The Falcon is a punk-rock heavy hitter, with members of The Lawrence Arms, Alkaline Trio and The Loved Ones. Brendan Kelly talked to us about the project’s new…
Superman v Batman: Dawn of Justice
Superman v Batman: Dawn of Justice Directed by Zack Snyder Starring Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill, Jesse Eisenberg The short version is that Zack Snyder’s clunky Superman v Batman: Dawn of Justice is not very good. I wish I could tell you it’s at least a decent popcorner featuring two of Earth’s most beloved comic-book characters.…
Lynn Cullen Live 03/30/16
Video Archive You can listen to the audio archive here. RIP Patty Duke. North Carolina legislation. Trump lawsuit. Audio Only Archive Listen to the Audio Archives on with our new Apple and Android Apps or the computer audio player.
Lynn Cullen Live 03/29/16
Video Archive You can listen to the audio archive here. Daniel Bull, founder of 068, a program that teaches skills to ex-convicts. Audio Only Archive Listen to the Audio Archives on with our new Apple and Android Apps or the computer audio player.
