A final (?!?!) plea for reforming finance reform
So the election is over, and the campaign-finance reform kerfluffle has abated — at least for the moment. City councilor Ricky Burgess has proposed legislation to scrap the city’s limits on campaign contributions entirely, but his repeal is currently in limbo, pending a public hearing. And based on the discussion in council chambers last week,…
Hip-hop activist takes issue with “Most Livable City” designation
City officials often boast of Pittsburgh’s designation as “America’s Most Livable City.” But next week, local activists plan to use hip-hop and a community discussion to prove Pittsburgh hasn’t exactly earned the title. On May 31, One Hood Media will premier activist/artist Jasiri X’s latest music video, “America’s Most Livable City,” at 7 p.m. inside…
MP3 Monday: The Cynics
Howdy! This week’s MP3 Monday offering comes from longtime local garage legends The Cynics. The band releases its eighth studio album, Spinning Wheel Motel, next week, but we’re giving you a preview RIGHT NOW. The track is the first on the album, and it’s blistering, and it’s called “I Need More,” and it’s got a…
Review: Distal at Garden of Earthly Delights (Brillobox)
Friday the 13th, night of superstitions and all around strange occurrences, oh-so aptly marked the return of the Garden of Earthly Delights party hosted by DJ James Gyre at the Brillobox. The lineup included Lazercrunk resident Keeb$, followed by the party’s host and headlined by special guest Distal (Atlanta/Embassy Recordings) with visuals provided by Jocklaw.…
My Idea of Fun prepares for the Rapture
I don’t know long your “Things To Do Before (Maybe?) Being Raptured” list is, but I suggest making a little time for My Idea of Fun. The Johnstown-based artist collective is celebrating the Glorious End of Days by releasing everything they’ve got –older recordings by Hit or Miss Engines and Higher Fives, new stuff from…
Artist/author of Clemente Graphic Novel
Wilfred Santiago, the author and artist behind a terrific new graphic novel about Roberto Clemente, visits Phantom of the Attic Comics, in Oakland, tomorrow. Here’s the interview writer David Davis did with Santiago for CP back in April: www.pittsburghcitypaper.ws/gyrobase/Content?oid=oid%3A93344. Santiago’s 21 tells the baseball hero’s life story, and not just his exploits with the Pirates…
The 2011 primary: more important than you think
So. What did this week’s primary election results really mean, in the cosmic sense, for city government? The simple answer is: We won’t really know until 2012, when Corey O’Connor is sworn in. Since all the council incumbents who ran for re-election won, the only change is in District 5, where O’Connor replaced outgoing councilor…
Thorny budget math problem for new schools chief
Even the most gifted student would have trouble trying to solve the math problem Gov. Tom Corbett has presented the Pittsburgh Public Schools. That much was clear tonight as Superintendent Linda Lane outlined the city district’s budget woes during a community meeting hosted by A+ Schools. Addressing nearly 100 parents, community members and school officials,…
This week in punk news: White Wives sign to Adeline, CMNH scientist names bird after Greg Graffin
Here are two unrelated, except in that they both deal with local things and punk rock things, pieces of news for you to digest: — The local band White Wives announced today that their forthcoming album, Happeners, will be issued June 28 by Adeline Records, the label run by Billie Joe and Adrienne Armstrong. The…
Review: Last week’s FUZZ drum n bass night at BBT
The Bloomfield Bridge Tavern was packed early, uncharacteristic for a Wednesday evening. The weekly drum ‘n’ bass night hosted by FUZZ! 412 DnB DJ collective can always draw a crowd of the faithful, but on certain nights, with certain headliners, they can pack the little dance floor with raging bass junkies who get in early…
Short List: Week of May 19 – 26
Highlights of events happening around town.
Queen of the Sun
Honey bees are the focus of Taggart Siegel’s docu-essay, and, specifically, their current alarming plight. The film interviews experts for their insights on “colony collapse disorder,” which involves bees not returning to their hives, abruptly disappearing. CCD may be caused by pesticides, monoculture, destruction of habitat, “mobile bee factories,” mites, genetically modified plants or some…
Beautiful Darling: The Life and Times of Candy Darling, Andy Warhol Superstar
James Rasin’s recent bittersweet documentary revisits the short but fabulous career of Candy Darling (born James Slattery, in a Long Island suburb). Living as a woman, Darling became an actress and a fixture in the 1960s New York art scene, including Warhol’s Factory, before dying young from cancer. Rasin mixes interviews of Darling’s contemporaries with…
The Greatest Movie Ever Sold
In his new documentary, Morgan Spurlock (Super Size Me) wallows in the mire to expose a scandal: Hollywood filmmakers take money to place brand-name products in their movies. To be fair that’s not quite (or not entirely) what the film is about. Spurlock’s movie is mostly about the danger of ubiquitous advertising. Spurlock is a…
The First Beautiful Thing
As tempestuous as the emotions are in The First Beautiful Thing, Paolo Virzì’s satisfying drama doesn’t feel inimitably Italian: It depicts a universal affliction of the late 20th century, a time of demoralizing transition in the world, especially for proto-feminists living in small towns. In 2009, Bruno, a college professor and poet in his late…
Miral
On its surface, Julian Schnabel’s film about the last few decades of Palestinian-Israeli relations isn’t nearly that deep or complex. Yet despite its limitations, it’s at least thought-provoking about something of importance. Miral opens in 1947, then skips through history, rounding up the usual arguments and dilemmas, before getting to Miral, a Palestinian girl raised…
Burgers and Rice Bowl
Your one-stop for cheap and tasty American, Asian and Cuban fare
At the Edge of Friendship
A poem by Sarah Williams-Devereux
Critics’ Picks
Local shows featuring Sierra Leone’s Refugee All Stars, Danzig, Cave In and My Cardboard Spaceship Adventure.
Miles to Go: After more than a year of being the face for police accountability, Jordan Miles is now adding his voice
“Those cops, they are brutal and they were wrong.”
Highly Offensive?
Broadcaster faux pas that have generated FCC complaints
CD Reviews
New local releases from Ben Shannon, Sean Jones and Tom Breiding
Festival showcases a regional array of tomorrow’s dancers at the Byham.
For the second straight year, the Regional Dance America festival brings 500 student dancers — and some quality dance works — to town.
Louder, Faster
Louder, Faster is as funny as a death rattle.
Cirque du Soleil delivers with Totem.
Totem is jam-packed with edge-of-your-seat entertainment performed by an international cast.
At the Carnegie, You Are Here probes how we relate to architecture both in life and in museums.
Your view may depend on whether you rely on a structure for shelter or simply ponder its aesthetic qualities.
Whitey Morgan and the 78’s bring outlaw country to Thunderbird Café
The band makes music that could be from 1972 just as easily as from 2011.
Wes Eisold goes pop with latest band Cold Cave
“I didn’t want Cold Cave to come with ‘Here’s this hardcore guy’s new band.’ I didn’t want it to have any ties or preconceived notions.”
A slice of life at DiCarlo’s Pizza
When I was growing up in the Ohio Valley, the pizza at our school wasn’t your typical cafeteria food. It was made by DiCarlo’s — a Wheeling, W.Va., pizza shop with franchises along the Ohio River. And for 30 years, I’ve remembered loving it, even if I couldn’t remember why. So when I learned there…
Pick-Up Artist
Talking trash with Ann Rose
Punk rock karaoke goes live at Howlers
The event takes the best part of karaoke — performing your favorite songs for a crowd of drunk people — and combines it with the fun of seeing, and being a part of, a sweet rock band.
Pisco is South American brandy for people who don’t like brandy
Brandy is not for everyone. As a result, many consumers probably never heard of its more palatable, South American cousin.
Savage Love
I suppose you are going to call me an asshole, but I hope you have some advice. I am a 45-year-old heterosexual male. I am currently single. I am discouraged. One reason for my discouragement: I have to get too far into a relationship before I can determine if it will work out with any…
Digging a Hole
No matter who wins elections, opponents of gas drilling lose.
Belated review: Arlo Aldo and Big Snow Big Thaw at Club Café
Hey there! Sorry I’ve been missing for a while; next week’s issue is SUMMER GUIDE! and that means I’ve been busy writing a huge lists of all the concerts ever, and reading other huge lists, or other summer goings-ons. But here I am, to write about a show I attended last Friday at Club Café.…
Draconian Cut in Arts Funding Proposed
In March, when Tom Corbett offered his first budget proposal as governor, things looked relatively good for the arts. The Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, our state government’s principal arts-funding body, was to receive a small cut — but compared to the decimated state education budget, say, that was something arts groups could live with.…
District 1: spoiler alert!
Obviously, anyone can see that city council district 1 incumbent Darlene Harris survived yesterday’s election largely because her opposition was split three ways. The county’s unofficial vote tally reads thusly: Bobby Wilson: 490Vince Pallus: 1,487Darlene M. Harris:1,591 Steven P. Oberst: 279 So Pallus, the mayoral-backed contender, lost by just over 100 votes. If you assume…
May primary postgame analysis starts here, in district 7
Gonna do some numbers-crunching on last night’s election results throughout the day. I’ll start with one of last night’s bigger surprises (at least for me): Patrick Dowd’s thorough schooling (a 64.5 percent majority!) of Tony Ceoffe. On paper, this should have been a great match-up. When Dowd was elected back in 2007, he had plenty…
Shields takes on 14th ward, and other election-night miscellany
This’ll be our last Election Night update — see previous live-blogging coverage here — and we start with a dispatch from Chris Young, who has been watching the action in Squirrel Hill. Young reports that Doug Shields exited the district justice race in the same way he has conducted so much of his political life:…
