City Council discretionary spending raises questions
Councilor Darlene Harris raises questions about discretionary spending.
City and coders partnered to launch Pittsburgh trash-day app
An app to tell you to take out your trash
“You just have to experience it”: Frank Turner’s Sept 19 appearance at Mr. Small’s
“The crowd is the nicest group of heavily tattooed people you will ever meet in one space, and if you can’t see the stage, they will kindly move for you.”
Listen Up! Sept. 30
Every Wednesday, we make a Spotify playlist containing tracks from artists covered in the current music section. Listen while you read!
Riverfront bike/ped trail to reopen to the Strip District
The section of trail along Allegheny River has been closed for years and will finally reopen after many false starts.
Photographer Who Documents Braddock Wins MacArthur “Genius Grant”
LaToya Ruby Frazier wins honor with intimate work about family and social justice.
Final Week for Quantum’s World Premiere “The Winter’s Tale”
Last chance to see Quantum Theatre’s “A Winter’s Tale”
Scrutiny of PIRC program continues
Councilor Theresa Kail-Smith raises concerns over violence reduction strategy
Final Performances for Quantum’s “The Winter’s Tale”
Baroque-opera Shakespeare adaptation runs through Saturday
Lynn Cullen Live 9/29/15
Video Archive You can listen to the audio archive here. Planned Parenthood Rally today! Stand with us! Cereal restaurant in London vandalized by citizens angry about gentrification. The rule of three and technology. Audio Only Archive Listen to the Audio Archives on with our new Apple and Android Apps or the computer audio player.
Banned Books Week “Read-Out” on Wednesday
Rick Sebak, Etta Cox among the readers and performers
Penn Plaza residents reach agreement with Gumberg, city over evictions
The soon-to-be-evicted residents of Penn Plaza get a bit more time and some money to move out, but might have trouble staying in East Liberty.
MP3 Monday: The Semi-Supervillains
This week’s song comes from local power-pop band The Semi-Supervillains. Stream or download “Bad News,” the catchy opening track from the band’s new release, Here Comes Trouble, below, and listen to more here. This download link has expired, sorry!
Lynn Cullen Live 9/28/15
Video Archive You can listen to the audio archive here. CEO sentenced to 28 years in prison. GM walks with a fine. Blankenship on trial. Jeb Bush and free stuff. The problem with the kiss cam. Audio Only Archive Listen to the Audio Archives on with our new Apple and Android Apps or the computer…
The Districts play WYEP’s Final Friday tonight
Ryan Farber The Districts They’ve played Bonnaroo. They’ve played Reading and Leeds. They’ve played Governor’s Ball. They’ve opened or the Rolling Stones So far, 2015 had been a good year for the The Districts. “Its been absolutely crazy,” says vocalist / guitarist Rob Grote. “I don’t think any of us can fathom the fact that…
“Stand-Up Horror” Opens Tomorrow at ModernFormations
Michael McGovern, a veteran local performer with a taste for macabre humor, reprises his Stand-Up Horror show this weekend and next. Your pre-Halloween details are in Program Notes.
Stand-Up Horror Opens Tomorrow at ModernFormations
One-man show runs this weekend and next
Lynn Cullen Live 9/25/15
Video Archive You can listen to the audio archive here. Boehner resigns as the Speaker of the House. WQED in midst of major lay offs. Trying to manage public transit in Pittsburgh. Audio Only Archive Listen to the Audio Archives on with our new Apple and Android Apps or the computer audio player.
Registration Deadline Tomorrow for Meetings About The Arts and Pittsburgh’s Future
Visioning sessions are Oct. 1 and 2
The Pirates are headed back to the Postseason, let’s celebrate!
via GIPHY Video by Heather Mull
CP Weekend Podcast – Sept. 25 – 27, 2015
This week: Guitars abound, memories come to life on stage and museum experts share their knowledge.
Lynn Cullen Live 9/24/15
Video Archive You can listen to the audio archive here. Pope’s address to Congress. 717 people die from trampling at the Hajj. RIP Yogi Barra. Volkswagen CEO resigns in wake of emissions lies. Audio Only Archive Listen to the Audio Archives on with our new Apple and Android Apps or the computer audio player.
In its third year, Thrival Innovation + Music festival continues to expand, boasting a new stage in Hazelwood, and headliners Raekwon and Ghostface Killah
THRIVAL FESTIVAL Innovation: Mon., Sept. 21, through Fri., Sept. 25. Music: Fri., Sept. 25, through Sat., Sept. 26. Innovation events are free. Music passes are $35-350. All ages. Full schedule at thrivalfestival.com Three Septembers ago, Thrival took over a stretch of land along Penn Avenue where a middle school once stood. The festival site was…
Short List: September 23 – October 1
“Time is the most valuable thing a man can spend,” said the ancient Greek philosopher Theophrastus. With Texture Contemporary Ballet’s latest work, Timescape, the company invites local audiences to spend some time contemplating time via a trio of ballets. Choreographers Kelsey Bartman and Alexandra Tiso’s ballet “The Weight of Living” is a premiere set to…
This year’s VIA breaks the festival mold, offering a lineup dominated by female-indentifying artists, LGBTQ artists and artists of color
VIA 2015 Thu. Sept. 24-Sat., Oct. 3. Various locations. Individual event prices vary, all event passes, $75-100. via-2015.com Five years after its inaugural event, VIA is preparing for something of a full-circle moment. In the festival’s first year, it hosted an event at the Moose Lodge which featured !!!, Fol Chen, Majeure and others. Now,…
London-based Krar Collective brings its modern Ethiopian music to Pittsburgh
KRAR COLLCTIVE 9 p.m. Thu., Oct. 1. Tana Ethiopian Restaurant, 5929 Baum Blvd, East Liberty. 412-665-2770 The music of Ethiopia has received increased recognition in the current millennium. The Ethiopiques CD series has released 24 discs since 1997 that celebrate the music of the country, which includes both traditional music and jazz that merges cultural…
A new zine, Women in Sound, aims to change the way we talk about women in music production
WOMEN IN SOUND VOL. 1 ZINE RELEASE PARTY 7 p.m. Fri., Oct. 2. Pop-up at 5118 Penn Ave., Garfield. $5. All ages. via-2015.com Conversations about gender in the music-production industry often boil down to the question: Why aren’t there more women in sound? To Madeleine Campbell, a Pittsburgh-based audio engineer, a better question would be:…
Critics’ Picks, Sept. 24-30
[HICK HOP] + THU., SEPT. 24 You’ve heard him on the radio, and perhaps even seen him on his A&E television series, where he and his family work hard on the family farm in Tennessee. John Smith, a.k.a. Big Smo, grew up in the South as a fan of hip hop, rock and country music;…
India in Focus artists explore the interplay between traditional and contemporary cultures
INDIA IN FOCUS opening at Gallery Crawl with a Liberty Avenue street party, Downtown. 5:30-10 p.m. Fri., Sept. 25. Free. 412-456-6666 or trustarts.org In 2002, at age 29, Sarika Goulatia left India and settled in Pittsburgh. In India, Goulatia had worked with textiles, but here she studied art at Carnegie Mellon University, and she’s since…
Cameron McLay getting high marks after first year as Pittsburgh police chief
On Dec. 31, 2014, newly confirmed Pittsburgh Bureau of Police Chief Cameron McLay walked into the Crazy Mocha coffee shop on Liberty Avenue. It was New Year’s Eve in Pittsburgh and Downtown was bustling with First Night celebrations. But the conversation among one group in the coffee shop was less festive. In the wake of…
Littsburgh is a new online hub of local literary resources
As with most things Pittsburgh, I learn about the Littsburgh website through word of mouth. I expect a glorified literary calendar. What I find is an online hub of literary resources. Not only does it dedicate an entire page to events, it showcases local author bios. Another page lists the city’s extensive literary…
Port Authority instituting a new era of equity and transparency
After years of financial struggles and cuts, the Port Authority appears ready to turn the corner. “We spent the last decade cutting service, now we have the luxury to invest back into service,” says PAT spokesperson Jim Ritchie. These investments are already paying off with new service extensions for Baldwin and Groveton. And now the…
Quantum’s The Winter’s Tale
THE WINTER’S TALE continues through Oct. 3. Quantum Theatre at the Union Trust Building auditorium, 10th floor, 501 Grant St., Downtown. $18-55. 412-362-1713 or quantumtheatre.com How time does fly when you’re having fun. Quantum Theatre celebrates its 25th anniversary — as does Chatham Baroque — with a new collaborative multimedia adaptation of Shakespeare’s The Winter’s Tale.…
A new survey explores reducing congestion in Pittsburgh
If we’re headed in the wrong direction environmentally, one big reason is how we travel: mostly in cars and trucks, alone, through heavy traffic. Transportation accounts for 28 percent of total U.S. energy use, and a similar percentage of the emissions that cause climate change — not to mention its share of pollutants that make…
Hacking The Sims with Angela Washko and other fun and games at VIA
While Pittsburgh’s VIA Festival might be best known for its music offerings, it also presents provocative arts programming. This year, highlights include the VIA Games Salon, at Garfield’s BOOM Concepts during the Oct. 2 Unblurred gallery crawl. The artists deconstructing games of all sorts for amusement and edification include Angela Washko, who’ll give the first-ever…
Duquense Football: Cheap, classy and on a roll
After a 2-0 start for the first time in five years, the Duquesne Dukes football team is hot. It’s also pretty classy. “Duquesne” has the distinction of being one of the few words of French origin that we here in Pittsburgh grant actual French pronunciation (Chartiers and Versailles have not been given the same fate).…
Choreographer Olivier Tarpaga recalls his home continent in Declassified Memory Fragment
BAKER & TARPAGA DANCE PROJECT PERFORMS DECLASSIFIED MEMORY FRAGMENT 8 p.m. Fri., Sept. 25, and 8 p.m. Sat., Sept. 26. Kelly-Strayhorn Theater, 5941 Penn Ave., East Liberty. Admission is “pay-what-makes-you-happy.” 412-363-3000 or kelly-strayhorn.org Choreographer Olivier Tarpaga calls his latest dance-theater work, Declassified Memory Fragment, “an open letter on African society.” Tarpaga, 37, has witnessed five coups…
This Just In: A look at local news online and on the tube
Editor’s Note: Years ago, City Paper readers were kept abreast of local broadcast-news happenings (mainly the screw-ups and questionable news judgment) in a column called This Just In. As the face of news dissemination changed, CP dropped the column. In hindsight, the column should have changed with it, because there’s still a need to cover…
Black Mass
Black Mass Directed by Scott Cooper Starring Johnny Depp, Benedict Cumberbatch, Dakota Johnson For a quarter-century now, since Edward Scissorhands, Johnny Depp has been a tabula rasa of film acting: With each performance, he becomes something unrecognizably strange and elusive, and I’ve always wondered whether there’s a whole person behind the masks, or if the…
Bill’s Bar & Burger
Bill’s Bar & Burger 1001 Liberty Ave., Downtown. 412-567-2300 Hours: Sun.-Thu. 11 a.m.-11 p.m.; Fri.-Sat. 11 a.m.-midnight. Prices: Appetizers, sushi and sides $3-12; salads, burgers and entrees $8-25 Liquor: Full bar At this point, Pittsburgh’s had so many accolades we’re almost ready to say, “We don’t care if you really, really like us.” But we…
Everest
Everest is a well-acted and briskly told film about a catastrophic real-life 1996 climb up that famed Himalayan peak. Director Baltasár Kormakur offers stunning vistas, harrowing action and well-delineated characters, including famed guide Rob Hall (Jason Clarke), Jake Gyllenhaal as another guide, and climbers played by Josh Brolin and John Hawkes. Another character is Jon…
Circe
My mother in the steaming kitchen. My beautiful mother, tan and petite. Botox, lipo, prick and prong. My mother at the sink, the stove. My mother at the mirror. My mother and her lovers. Each man grows plump. See their greasy chins and unbuttoned jeans? Hear how their snouts grunt, how their yellow tongues drip?…
Goodnight Mommy
This Austrian psychological thriller from Severin Fiala and Veronika Franz uncovers the dread and horror that springs up in a seemingly carefree relationship between a mother and her 10-year-old identical-twin sons, Lukas and Elias (Lucas and Elias Schwarz). Momma (Susanne Wuest) has returned from some undefined medical event, with her face completely bandaged. And she…
Yoga classes exemplify brew-pub community-building
Bars have always been gathering places for people to come together and knock one back. Businesses are built, alliances forged, romances started and inventions dreamed up in back booths across the world. Here in Pittsburgh, many bars are taking that idea and expanding it, using their spaces to help other local businesses and charities grow.…
Meet the Patels
Ravi Patel, the grown child of Indian immigrants, finds himself at the center of his parents’ obsessive need to find him a bride — preferably Indian, also a Patel and a hundred other important/not-important qualifications. So Ravi enlists his filmmaker sister, Geeta (also “tragically” unmarried), to document his search, which spans the globe — from…
Savage Love
I’m a 26-year-old single bi woman. Sometimes my roommate/best friend and I have drunken threesomes with men. We’ve had some great one-night stands (less scary with a friend!), but recently we slept with a man I’ve been (drunkenly) sleeping with over a period of months, my “friend with benefits.” I shared my FWB with my…
Pawn Sacrifice
Edward Zwick’s new bio-pic recounts the first decades in the life of Bobby Fischer — from Brooklyn child prodigy to global chess superstar in the early 1970s. His coming-of-age, already tinged with narcissism, anger and mental-health issues that would plague him for a lifetime, segues into the lead up to a series of significant chess…
Slice Island makes Spirit Lodge a destination for pizza-lovers
It’s no surprise that Spirit has become a popular spot since opening in April. Not only does it offer dance parties and live bands, but it has great pizza, courtesy of Slice Island. This isn’t some slap-dash, food-for-drunks setup. The venue in the wood-paneled former Lawrenceville Moose Lodge was opened by Jeff Ryan and Tom…
Stonewall
In 1995, British director Nigel Finch told a story of the 1969 Stonewall riots with high spirits and low-keyed drama. Yet despite the advances in LGBT rights since then, a new version of the story, from the German-American director Roland Emmerich — known for muscular action movies like Independence Day — has a much more…
Stuff We Like
High School Volleyball and Soccer. If you’re a fan of WPIAL sports, there’s more for you to follow than football. Almost every night of the week you can find soccer or volleyball games at area stadiums or gyms. A lot of them offer free admission, and these hard-working athletes would love more fans in the…
