A Conversation With Ed Piskor
The cartoonist discusses his new book, The Hip Hop Family Tree
TV Alert: Football and Head Injuries
Tonight, Frontline (on PBS) airs a two-hour report about professional football and head injuries. The episode, “League of Denial: The NFL’s Concussion Crisis,” specifically addresses whether the NFL knew about the dangers of head injuries, and kept that information from players and, by default, fans of America’s most popular spectator sport. The controversial topic began…
City Councilors, activists speak out against UPMC
Photo by Alex Zimmerman Rudiak criticizes UPMC flanked by labor activists and fired workers In the wake of National Labor Relations Board charges alleging that UPMC lashed out at employees who are attempting to unionize, city councilors, labor activists and two workers criticized the mammoth healthcare provider this morning in front of a gaggle of…
Charlotte Sometimes tonight at Garfield Artworks
Photo courtesy of Shervin Lainez Charlotte Sometimes First things first: Charlotte Sometimes is not a Cure tribute act; Charlotte Sometimes is one lady. The New Jersey pop singer released her first record five years ago on Geffen, but really skyrocketed in popularity when she appeared on season two of The Voice. Tonight, she comes to…
Lynn Cullen Live 10/08/13
Video Archive Firefighters help remove penis from toaster; hovering fiscal cliff; someone tell the Republicans that in a democracy, the process is more important than the outcome; party differences that turn into serious stuff; The Weiner Monologues; studies on lying, cheating; unethical behavior on the rise; Nebraska Supreme Court forcing 16 year-old girl to have…
Dogtoberfest 2013
DogtoberFEST is CARMAA’s premier animal adoption event. This celebration of adoption was held the first weekend of October at the SouthSide Works, Pittsburgh, PA since 2010! City Paper was on-site Saturday the 5th giving out prizes and having a great time. Check out the photos!
newMoves Dance Festival at the Kelly-Strayhorn Theater
A review of the three-day festival’s Friday-night program
“All You Can Art Day” at Braddock Library
Festival launched the art-lending library
Lynn Cullen Live 10/07/13
Video Archive Guest: Dan Majors, Post-Gazette / Off The Record; the tale of the disappearing hotel room; Senate chaplain’s detailed, scathing prayers; gov’t shutdown planned almost a year ago by Ed Meese, Koch Bros, & other Repubs; Off the Record, parody of Pittsburgh politics & fundraiser for Pgh Food Bank; GO BUCS! Audio Only Archive
A couple more Pirates tunes for you on game day
As the Pirates suit up for game two of the NLDS against the St. Louis Cardinals this afternoon, a couple more Pirates-themed songs that have come out this week, after I posted last week’s collection: KardaZ, who yearly graces us with the Penguins-themed version of “Quinn the Eskimo,” give us “Raise the Jolly Roger”: and…
Corbett compares same-sex marriages to incest, then apologizes
That’s strike two — at least PR-wise — for Gov. Tom Corbett when it comes to fighting against a Montgomery County register of wills who has been issuing same-sex marriage licenses, despite a state law banning the unions. That case, and one challenging the state’s Defense of Marriage Act, are being challenged in court. In…
Lynn Cullen Live 10/04/13
Video Archive Guest: Chris Potter; Pirates loss last night; Corbett compares gay marriage to incest; Repubs have a completely different reality than the rest of us; reading the classics helps people interpret others’ mental states; remembering L.C. Greenwood & “Mean” Joe Green; genetically enhancing children; Rich Fitzgerald wants buses OUT of downtown. Audio Only Archive
Bluegrass and country locals to play at Twangathon benefit concert
Local bluegrass and country favorites, including Slim Forsythe & his New Payday Loners, will perform at Twangathon tomorrow night.
“Kiss & Cry” at the Festival of Firsts
The Cultural Trust’s slate of U.S.-premiere shows continues with this remarkable hybrid of theater, dance and film — with all the roles played by human hands. See a review in Program Notes.
Kiss & Cry at the Festival of Firsts
Show blends dance, theater, film and more
Lynn Cullen Live 10/03/13
Video Archive St. Louis newspaper dedicated cover to the Cardinals, our papers got nothin’; government shutdown & Obamacare; more on Obamacare & how Republicans like to screw over poor people; Post-Gazette editorial calling out local Repubs; Ann Romney’s cookbook; stagehands at Carnegie Hall make 400K a year, going on strike; blood pressure PSA; goats furloughed…
Cultural Trust, Artist Reach Rubber-Duck Detente
“Quack N’ At” T-shirts OK’d to benefit Toonseum
Billy Bragg at Mr. Smalls
First Pittsburgh show since ’90s a hit
Day of Giving Begins at Midnight
Matching funds available for more than 700 nonprofit groups
Artist Brandon Locher builds a band with The Meets
BRANDON LOCHER: MAZES TO THE MOTHERLODE Exhibit continues through Nov. 5. The Bottleworks, 411 Third Ave., Johnstown. 814-536-5399 or bottleworks.org In the past week, Brandon Locher has unveiled two new presentations of his art. One, his exhibit Mazes to the Motherlode, at The Bottleworks, in his hometown of Johnstown, is visual; it’s ordered, intricate, bordering…
Tom Breiding joins United Mine Workers’ campaign against West Virginia conglomerate
FAIRNESS FOR PATRIOT CONCERT FEATURING TOM BREIDING, MIKE STOUT, BILL TOMS. 7:30 p.m. Fri., Oct. 4. Moondog’s, 378 Freeport Road, Blawnox. Free. 412-828-2040 or moondogs.us Tom Breiding grew up in Wheeling, W.Va., in a state long associated with coal mining — but his involvement with the United Mine Workers union came through music. “It began…
Critics’ Picks: October 2 – 8
[AVANT-POP] + THU., OCT. 3 It’s hard for us in the singer-songwriter-driven pop-music world to wrap our heads around, but San Fermin is essentially the solo project of a keyboardist and composer; there are vocals on the band’s album, but they’re contributed by hired guns (including Jess Wolfe and Holly Laessig, of Lucius, who provide…
New Releases
Brent Malin and the Railroaders Two Trees (Self-released) Classic-country-style songs from the local singer-songwriter and his band. Solid tunes with decent vocals and classic lyrics and tropes. (Some of the songs have names, like “Abilene” and “The Gambler,” that toe the line between homage and unoriginal, though they’re well done.) Malin’s voice actually lends itself…
Adjunct Mary Margaret Vojtko’s death raises questions on college campuses all across Pittsburgh
By Daniel Kovalik’s account, even Adult Protective Services was surprised to learn that Mary Margaret Vojtko was a college professor. Professors are, after all, supposed to have lifetime tenure and academic freedom. But when Vojtko died at age 83, she’d been laid off from Duquesne University as a part-time French instructor after 25 years. And…
Gallery Crawl
Pittsburgh City Paper was at the Gallery Crawl Friday the 27th giving away prizes and having a great time! The Gallery Crawl is a free quarterly showcase of art and entertainment in the heart of the Cultural District. All events take place at a variety of galleries and spaces and are FREE and open to…
Wandering Off
Last week, the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reported that Josh Wander, the Republican running for mayor of Pittsburgh, had sold his home and was living in Israel, working as a security consultant. Wander, who says he’s renting a Pittsburgh residence and is still in the race, responded to the story with a bunch of Republican-type statements about…
The Carnegie International returns, this time with more local flavor
2013 CARNEGIE INTERNATIONAL Oct. 5-March 16 (opening day includes free performances). Carnegie Museum of Art, 4400 Forbes Ave., Oakland. $11.95-17.95. 412-622-3131 or cmoa.org ALL YOU CAN ART (opening party for Braddock Carnegie Library’s Art Lending Collection): 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Sun., Oct. 6. 419 Library St., Braddock. Free. braddockcarnegielibrary.org When the 2013 Carnegie International opens this…
Competitive Fire
Right now they’re paddling at a pretty good clip: 51 strokes a minute. The 700-pound boat — a long affair with white sides, blue scales, and a dragon’s head and tail — jounces down the Allegheny River, sending up spray. It’s a good workout, but a far cry from racing speed, when the stroke count…
The newMoves Contemporary Dance Festival features work by 18 dance companies from Pittsburgh and beyond
NEWMOVES CONTEMPORARY DANCE FESTIVAL 7:30 p.m. nightly, Thu., Oct. 3; Fri., Oct. 4; and Sat., Oct 5. (Pre-show mixers 6:30-7:30 p.m. nightly.) Kelly-Strayhorn Theater, 5941 Penn Ave., East Liberty. $10-20 (festival pass: $45). 412-363-3000 or kelly-strayhorn.org When Kelly-Strayhorn Theater Executive Director Janera Solomon was putting together the theater’s inaugural newMoves Contemporary Dance Festival, in 2009, few…
Savage Love
I am a straight male, in a long-term monogamous relationship. I love my wife, we have good sex. When we first got together, I had a mild foot fetish. We have done and still do foot play on occasion. But my fetish has grown stronger as time has passed, and I have grown thirstier for…
Lynn Cullen Live 10/02/13
Video Archive who cares that the government is shut down WHEN THE PIRATES ARE IN THE PLAYOFFS!; AMC movie theatres offering free popcorn to furloughed gov’t employees; Twittersphere during the Pirates game last night; Craig Sagar’s outfit last night; the Pope on narcissistic heads of church, modernizing the church; Trader Joe’s opening new store, selling…
Short List: October 2 – 10
Free Event: Thu., Oct. 3 — Tour Old-timers can be jaded, so maybe it takes relative newcomers like Melissa LuVisi and Christine Smith to see how much Pittsburgh’s changed in recent years. The latest initiative of the two young women’s arts start-up Treading Art is Discover Pittsburgh. This three-day series of events — timed to…
The REP’s Soldier’s Heart
SOLDIER’S HEART continues through Oct. 13. Pittsburgh Playhouse, 222 Craft Ave., Oakland. $24-27. 412-392-8000 or pittsburghplayhouse.com We should applaud a play that takes institutional misogyny as its subject. But such shows occupy an awkward position: The people who most need to watch them would never be receptive to the message. Soldier’s Heart, by Pittsburgh-based playwright…
Handle Bar and Grille
Handle Bar and Grille 342 W. Pike St., Canonsburg. 724-746-4227 Hours: Tue.-Thu. 11 a.m.-9 p.m.; Fri.-Sat. 11 a.m.-11 p.m.; Sun. noon-5 p.m. Prices: Appetizers, soups, salads, sandwiches $5-10; entrees $9-15 Liquor: Full bar So Jason recently had a minor bike accident, which, interestingly, has prompted neighbors to ask: “Motorcycle or a bicycle?” (It was the…
12 Peers Theater’s Colorado
COLORADO continues through Oct. 13. 12 Peers Theater at the Grey Box Theatre, 3595 Butler St., Lawrenceville. $10-20. 412-496-2194 or 12peerstheater.org Given JonBenét Ramsey, Columbine and various other mass shootings and disasters, Colorado has become a symbol of modern American … something. And whatever that is has been screwed to the wall in 12 Peers…
The rise in urban chicken-keeping has led to unforeseen problems
Like many “foodie” issues these days, raising urban chickens can ruffle some feathers. As the urban homesteading movement has taken hold, there have been national headlines about chickens being orphaned at the nation’s animal shelters. “Hipsters” have been accused of growing weary of their flocks, or being naïve about a hen’s egg-laying capacity. (Chickens can…
Bricolage’s Shakesburgh
MIDNIGHT RADIO: SHAKESBURGH continues Fri., Oct. 4, and Sat., Oct. 5. 937 Liberty Ave., Downtown. $15-25. 412-394-3353 or webbricolage.com Back in ye olde Shakespearean times, there was something called “playing to the pit.” Bricolage adds a whole new meaning with Shakesburgh, the first episode of the fifth season of the troupe’s hugely popular “Midnight Radio”…
Local bartenders-for-hire have a flair for their work
When most of us think about “flair” bartending, one image comes to mind: Tom Cruise in the movie Cocktail, flipping bottles of booze to the sounds of the Beach Boys’ “Kokomo.” Stephen Pacacha says it’s time to erase that image from our memories. “They really don’t do much flair in that movie, just a couple…
Two stage works featuring puppetry serve as companion pieces at the Pittsburgh International Festival of Firsts
Robin Frohardt’s THE PIGEONING 7 p.m. nightly (937 Liberty Ave., Downtown). Perth Theatre Company’s IT’S DARK OUTSIDE 9 p.m. nightly (Trust Arts Education Center, 805-807 Liberty Ave., Downtown). Both shows run Wed., Oct. 9, Thu., Oct. 10, and Fri., Oct. 11. $25. 412-456-6666 or trustarts.org How do you survive the middle of life, and how…
Gravity
Gravity Directed by: Alfonso Cuarón Starring: Sandra Bullock and George Clooney In 3-D, in select theaters. Starts Fri., Oct. 4 Things we know about space: It’s super cold or super hot; there is no oxygen; and in it, no one can hear you scream. All these things matter — a lot — in Alfonso Cuarón’s…
The Patience Stone
In The Patience Stone, an allegorical tale set in an Islamic country similar to today’s troubled Afghanistan, a young wife (a fantastic Golshifteh Farahani) is mostly sequestered in her home with her much older husband. He has been shot, and lies in a vegetative state. For the first time in their loveless marriage, she can…
Enough Said
At a party, Los Angeles masseuse Eva (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) meets Albert (James Gandolfini), and the two bond over a few laughs and their shared status: Each is long-divorced and has an only child heading off to college, and neither is much interested in dating. But date they do, and a relationship begins to grow. Eva…
