Lynn Cullen Live 05/22/12
Video Archive Phone guest: Susan; DWTS update; American Idol update; Catholic Diocese lawsuits; Orthodox Jewish men gather in Mets Stadium to figure out what to do with the internet; religious men can’t control themselves, so they have to control their women; our country’s plummeting vocabulary; Mark Zuckerberg marries the day after Facebook goes public; German…
Atrocity Exhibition 2012
Great contrast Saturday night between the prosaic throngs of drunken college students and bachelorette-partiers out on East Carson Street and the scene inside the Rex Theater, at this annual cabaret. Safe to say there were more corsets, vinyl garments and emptied tubes of white face paint in the Rex than on the rest of the…
2012 Urban Garden Party
Mattress Factory www.Mattress.org
Lynn Cullen Live 05/21/12
Video Archive Orie sisters’ senteces; 3rd world countries have better trains than we do; impossible to get a direct flight out of Pittsburgh; Lynn’s adventures in Green Bay; Wisconsin recall of Scott Walker; the Republican plan isn’t working; 400 Pittsburgh Public School layoffs making national news; labor news never presented in the media; Caller: Jarrod,…
Landmark Forest Hills pizza shop shuttered — UPDATED
Word has reached our ears that Vincent’s Pizza Park — beloved Forest Hills home of the “Vinnie Pie” — has been shuttered, following a business dispute that ended up in federal court. Two other pizza locations bearing the Vincent name, in Penn Hills and Irwin, are still open: Both are separate franchises unaffected by the…
Local Film and Student Academy Awards
Mark Christian was used to Pittsburgh’s unpredictable weather, but nothing could’ve prepared him for nights in Arizona. In roughly two hours, the temperature had dropped more than 40 degrees, and soon, his spirits had followed suit. Sitting on a dolly in the middle of the desert, the Point Park senior couldn’t help but think, “This…
Extended Q&A: Jacques Greene
Longer version of our interview with Jacques Greene.
Lynn Cullen Live 05/17/12
Video Archive Guest: Tom Sokolowski; Glen Campbell & Alzheimer’s; fame / being recognized; POP! — Andy Warhol Musical; Sokolowski’s first encounter w/ Warhol; Warhol’s work ethic; word of the day: parvenu; Cubs owner’s father to launch campaign against Obama, plans to go to lengths McCain wouldn’t; white people are becoming the minority in the US;…
Free Admission at the Carnegie Tomorrow
The Carnegie Museums of art and natural history will offer free admission from 3:30 p.m. until closing time, 8 p.m., as part of the Association of Art Museum Directors’ Art Museum Day. Art Museum Day is officially Friday, but the Carnegie is piggybacking its free admission on its monthly Culture Club happy hour. Tomorrow’s Culture…
Dark Shadows
The 1960s cult soap opera Dark Shadows was in the ratings crapper for about a year — until it morphed into a story about the moody vampire Barnabas Collins and a gallery of other supernaturals in his eponymous town of Collinsport, Maine. This innovative choice extended its life for four years and two feature films…
Penn’s Corner Online Farmstand is an alternative to CSA boxes
Here’s my problem with community-supported agriculture: There’s only so much kale I can stand to eat. Joining a CSA means receiving a share of a farm’s weekly produce, whatever that happens to be. Sometimes, though, it happens to be lots of kale. I’m for local farming, but there are limits. Happily enough, Penn’s Corner —…
The Dictator
After unleashing his agit-prop characters Borat and Bruno on the unsuspecting public in previous films, Sacha Baron Cohen switches gears slightly, delivering another button-pushing protagonist, but in a scripted fish-out-of-water comedy. In Larry Charles’ The Dictator, Cohen portrays the titular character, a made-up megalomaniacal despot from a made-up North African country, who — through various…
Amaro, an obscure Italian liquor, gains larger audience
Amaro, a class of bitter Italian liquors, is a bit of a mystery to most people. “It’s very different for people to see all these bottles and not know what they are,” says Kiersten Schilinski, a bartender at the South Side’s Dish Osteria. That’s partly because aside from an ever-present bitterness, each amaro has a…
Crooked Arrows
Steve Rash’s inspirational sports tale may well be the first film about lacrosse — even though the game has been played on North American soil longer than any other. (Native Americans played spiritually inspired lacrosse matches that lasted more than a day.) Crooked Arrows takes the familiar trope — underdog team vs. undisputed champs —…
Elles
Anne (Juliette Binoche, in fine form) is a Parisian journalist, working on a story about two college students who moonlight as prostitutes. Each is attracted to the money — one girl is from the housing projects, the other is a Polish immigrant. But in their interviews, the two also claim agency and profess to not…
The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
First the good news: A lot of your favorite British actors are in this dramedy, and they all deliver the sorts of winning performances that have earned them our affection. A group of British retirees cash out at home and relocate to a faded residence hotel in Jaipur, India. Among them: marrieds Bill Nighy and…
Steve Jobs: The Lost Interview
In 1995, Bob Cringely interviewed various computer-industry players for his TV series Triumph of the Nerds, among them Apple co-founder Steve Jobs. Only 10 minutes of the 70-minute interview aired, and the master tape was lost. Recently, the full interview was re-discovered (on VHS, of all clunky things) and is offered here. The interview will…
On the Record with Jacques Greene
JACQUES GREENE with EDGAR UM, HUMANAUT DJS. 9 p.m. Thu., May 17. Lawrenceville Moose 120 51st St. Lawrenceville. $8-10. www.facebook.com/obviouspgh Jacques Greene, the Montreal-based producer who had us all singing “Another Girl” for months on end last year, brings his live show to the Lawrenceville Moose this Thursday. What music contributed to the development of…
Slices is still cruising, evolving
SLICES PROM 9 p.m. Fri., May 18. Caliente Pizza and Bar 4624 Liberty Ave. Bloomfield. $5. caliente pizzaandbar.com Back in 2004, Pittsburgh’s small but dedicated experimental-music scene met Slices — at the time, a two-piece comprising brothers John and Mike Kasunic. They manipulated feedback, using a no-input mixer and other noodly electronic equipment. They were…
Prom Night
p>After some stops and starts in the lead-up to the release of Still Cruising, Slices decided not to have a proper record-release show. But what they are having will be plenty proper: Welcome to Slices Prom. “Having a prom, it’s an immature thing, that immature people go to, in high school,” says Mike Ovens. “And…
Lynn Cullen Live 05/16/12
Video Archive Guest: Chris Potter; Pat Toomey calling for less bank regulation; being a Republican means never having to say you’re sorry; Pgh Police report stats; Christian vs Jewish funeral / burial practices; Father “What-A-Waste” has fathered a child; new First Lady of France isn’t married to the President; Strauss-Kahn is countersuing hotel maid for…
Former fIREHOSE frontman serves up FOOD
FOOD EP RELEASE with KNIFE THE SYMPHONY, EL GUANO. 10 p.m. Sat., May 19. Gooski’s 3117 Brereton St. Polish Hill. $5. 412-681-1658 In 1986, when he was a student at Ohio State University, Ed Crawford managed, with some persistence, to convince Mike Watt and George Hurley to take a chance on him. The guitarist, who…
Poet Robert Gibb’s exacting approach serves him well in a new collection
As a grad student being mentored by Robert Gibb, I found his poetics to be clearly stated. Concrete imagery was good, abstraction was not. Make all of the words count. Line breaks can change the emotional experience. And when in doubt, remember Denise Levertov’s maxim that a line should be “as long as a breath.”…
Critics’ Picks
[PUNK] + THU., MAY 17 What’s not to love about a band named after a newspaper headline mentioning Mario Lemieux’s 2000 professional hockey return? Canadian hardcore punk act Comeback Kid has been playing its unique style of aggressive yet positive hardcore since 2002; the band’s most recent album for Victory Records is 2010’s Symptoms and…
Local actor finds success with online puppet comedy
Mark Turner has found success in New York, but not exactly as he planned. Instead of securing it onstage, he’s so far gotten more attention online, with comedy and … puppets. The Sheraden native, 27, is a Point Park graduate who later starred in Pittsburgh CLO productions like Forever Plaid. Like most actors, he takes…
No Room for Improvement: Too many hurdles doom South Side service district
As longtime South Side resident Sue Booritch took the microphone at the monthly South Side Planning Forum meeting, she received raucous applause. In part, it was because she opposed a new neighborhood-specific tax proposal. “I get no benefit from this,” she told the crowd of 100 crammed into the UPMC South Side cafeteria. But she…
Warhol musical POP! has bite
POP! Continues through May 27. City Theatre 1300 Bingham St. South Side. 412-431-2489 or citytheatrecompany.org The considerable punch of City Theatre’s POP! is a collective power building almost intangibly to land, at the end, like a sock in the jaw. The beginning, however, is a bit rocky. This 2009 musical examining the 1968 shooting of…
Savage Love
I work in an office tower in Seattle. From time to time, I go to a bathroom on a mostly deserted floor, go into a stall and rub out a quick one. Today, just as I was blowing a load into a handful of TP, someone came into the bathroom. This person walked up to…
At the Toonseum, a traveling exhibit honors comics pioneer Will Eisner.
WILL EISNER’S NEW YORK continues through May 27. Toonseum 945 Liberty Ave. Downtown.412-232-0199 or www.toonseum.org Will Eisner’s New York, a traveling exhibit from New York City’s Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art, honors the creative achievements of this towering figure in the world of cartooning. As good as the work looks on the printed page,…
Making a Living Building
On a brilliant spring day, it looks much like any other construction site: beefy guys in hardhats pouring concrete and running backhoes. But Phipps Conservatory’s new Center for Sustainable Landscapes might revolutionize how we think about our built environment. The 24,350-square-foot structure, set to open May 23, sits directly behind Phipps’ Tropical Forest Conservatory, overlooking…
“Happy Ending” & “Day of Absence”
“HAPPY ENDING” and “DAY OF ABSENCE” continue through Sat., May 19. Kuntu Repertory Theatre in the auditorium of Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh Homewood. 412-648-7814 or proartstickets.org Given the success of and controversy about the movie The Help last year, it certainly would be instructive to hear from real African Americans of that period on “domestic…
Short List: May 16 – 23
The August Wilson Center for African American Culture’s First Voice Festival showcases new work by the center’s fellows and visiting artists, with everything from oral histories to multimedia hip-hop poetry. This fourth annual international festival of black arts starts May 18 with Women of the Great Migration: A Listening Experience. Radio journalist Erika Beras’ documentary…
Twelve Angry Men
TWELVE ANGRY MEN continues through Sun., May 20. Stage 62 in the Studio Theater of the Andrew Carnegie Free Library and Music Hall 300 Beechwood Ave. Carnegie. 412-429-6262 or stage62.com The program for the Stage 62 production of Twelve Angry Men reads “adapted by Sherman Sergel from the television movie [emphasis added] by Reginald Rose.”…
James Street Gastropub & Speakeasy
James Street Gastropub & Speakeasy 422 Foreland St. North Side. 412-904-3335 Hours: Sun.-Thu. 11 a.m.-11 p.m.; Fri.-Sat. 11 a.m.-1 a.m. Prices: Soups, salads, sandwiches, appetizers and wings $6-15; entrees $16-32 Liquor: Full bar James Street Gastropub & Speakeasy represents the rebirth of a great Pittsburgh tradition: jazz, food and drink on the North Side. The…
MP3 Monday: Andre Costello and the Cool Minors
Download “Equestrian Dreams,” by Andre Costello and the Cool Minors.
MP3 Monday: Xander Demos
Download “White Knuckle Driving,” by Xander Demos.
MP3 Monday: Whiskey Holler
Download “Let’s Dance, Let’s Scream,” by Whiskey Holler.
MP3 Monday: Ursa Major
Download “Free Will,” by Ursa Major
MP3 Monday: Deadhorse
Download “No Particular Night or Morning,” by Deadhorse.
MP3 Monday: Vulture
Photo courtesy of Paige Swiderski Vulture Howdy! It’s Monday, so let’s get you an MP3. This weeks’ track comes from Vulture, the sludgy, stoner-y metal band that released its new album, Oblivious to Ruin, this past weekend. The song they’re sharing today is called “Dead Sea”; it’s track three on the seven-song album. Stream and/or…
MP3 Monday: Call to Attraction
Download “Katie” by Call to Attraction!
MP3 Monday: Invader
Download “Never Wanted to Kill You More,” by Invader.
MP3 Monday: Bluebird Midwest
Download “I’ve Always Loved You,” by Bluebird Midwest.
MP3 Monday: The Composure
Download “The One” by The Composure!
MP3 Monday: These Three Words
Download “Cinderblock Ella and the Freudian Slipper,” by These Three Words.
MP3 Monday: Sneaky Mike
Download “I Look Like Lil B (RSK remix)” by Sneaky Mike!
MP3 Monday: Pet Clinic
Download “Stop Wasting My Precious Time” by Pet Clinic!
MP3 Monday: The Williams Band
Download “Places I Pass Through,” by The Williams Band
MP3 Monday: Ben Hackett
Listen to “Broken,” by Ben Hackett.
MP3 Monday: The Beauregards
Stream or download “Work,” by The Beauregards.
