VIA Music Festival takes over Pittsburgh Oct. 6-8
VIA Music Festival Weekender takes place Oct. 6-8 and features a diverse set of electronic performers.
Racist vandalism apparently targeted at Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin not removed for days after request
A woman said she reported a racist threat scribbled on a park bench in the North Side on Sept. 30, but said authorities’ response downplayed its seriousness.
U.S. Rep Tim Murphy, who allegedly urged mistress to have an abortion, just voted to restrict abortions
The Republican South Hills congressman has a history of pro-life votes, but his latest vote runs in the face of his personal life.
An antiwar poem by Jimmy Cvetic: Square peg into a round hole or a letter to God
Pounding a square peg into a round hole smashing the peg smashing pounding the peg pounding till it almost fits or writing a love letter in the sand like an old Pat Boone song. That’s exactly like trying to force a poem like sitting on the pot unable to shit. It’s the same thing and…
Listen Up! Oct. 4 Issue
Music from tomorrow’s issue, today
Lynn Cullen Live – 10/3/17
Video Archive Audio Only Archive Stream or download the last 5 shows on the MP3 downloads page.
MP3 Monday: SPISH
A rollicking, menacing, slightly witchy track from SPISH’s new album.
Thrival Music Festival brings thousands to Carrie Furnaces
Photo highlights from Thrival Music Festival’s fifth year
Lynn Cullen Live – 10/2/17
Video Archive Audio Only Archive Stream or download the last 5 shows on the MP3 downloads page.
Marilyn Manson has a rough weekend, sustaining injuries in Pittsburgh and New York, cancels next nine shows
Marilyn Manson cancels tour dates after injuries in Pittsburgh, New York
Last chance for donations for Maxo Vanka mural preservation to be matched
Deadline for funding challenge is Sept. 30
Lynn Cullen Live – 9/29/17
Video Archive Audio Only Archive Stream or download the last 5 shows on the MP3 downloads page.
Lynn Cullen Live – 9/28/17
Video Archive Audio Only Archive Stream or download the last 5 shows on the MP3 downloads page.
Lynn Cullen Live – 9/27/17
Video Archive Audio Only Archive Stream or download the last 5 shows on the MP3 downloads page.
Plans for the Pittsburgh International Airport renovation leave a lot to be desired
Editor’s Note: This story has been updated at the bottom with a statement from the Allegheny County Airport Authority that was sent after this piece was published. On Sept. 12, Allegheny County Airport Authority CEO Christina Cassotis, alongside several professional associates and political leaders, announced the airport’s Terminal Modernization Project, an undertaking to substantially reconfigure…
Middletown at Little Lake Theatre
MIDDLETOWN continues through Oct. 5. Little Lake Theatre, 500 Lakeside Drive South, Canonsburg. $13.75-21.75. 724-745-6300 or littlelaketheatre.org I just read in the papers that Donald Trump Jr. is foregoing his Secret Service protection for “privacy” reasons. In a spasm of public service, he should donate his security detail to playwright Will Eno, because I’ve just…
After 30 years, Pixies are sounding comfortable and maybe that’s OK
PIXIES, SUNFLOWER BEAN 6:30 p.m., Wed., Oct. 4. Stage AE, 400 North Shore Drive, North Side. All ages. $42. 412-229-5483 or promowestlive.com “Vamos” is not Pixies’ most popular song, nor the band’s catchiest, but it’s one of the most quintessential, the most Pixies-ish, for lack of a better wording. Everything that makes the band what…
We Need to Talk
Last July, United States Bartenders Guild Pittsburgh chapter president Nicole Battle told a powerful story at the 86 Conference, a two-day forum organized by Good Peoples Group and Collected Pgh to address issues of sexism, racism, classism and company culture in the restaurant industry. At the bar where Battle was working, a male bartender had…
Critics’ Pick: Thrival Festival
[FESTIVAL] + FRI., SEPT. 29 & SAT., SEPT. 30 Summer’s over, but that doesn’t mean we’re done with music festivals. Now in its fifth year, the Thrival Music Festival will bring two days of local and national artists to Carrie Furnaces. Headliners include rapper Logic and hometown hero Wiz Khalifa, in addition to indie pop…
New Local Releases: Killer of Sheep
Killer of Sheep Scorned TAANG! Records killerofsheep1.bandcamp.com Killer of Sheep’s latest release, Scorned, is a blistering hardcore-punk album of bitter protest. The band takes down capitalism (“You’re a Customer”); white supremacy and police brutality (“Use of Force,” “Jordan Miles/Gasolina,” “… The Kettle Black”); corporate destruction of the environment (“FIREWATER”); state surveillance (“Thought Police”); and mindless…
Clément Canne Bleue Rhum Agricole
“The AOC requirement is that rhum agricole must be made in Martinique or Guadalupe with pure pressed sugar-cane juice. The result is that you get rhum that’s very grassy, vegetal and organic-tasting. It’s 100 proof, and it makes a great daiquiri.” Recommended by Peter Kurzweg, co-owner, Hidden Harbor Clément Canne Bleue Rhum Agricole is available…
Napping Princess tops a week of Japanese animation at Row House
It’s Anime Week at Row House Cinema, and the highlight of the four-film program of Japanese animation is the Pittsburgh premiere of Napping Princess. Kenji Kamiyama’s film mixes genres — action, fantasy, coming-of-age — into an entertaining hybrid that revolves around a nascent technology familiar to Pittsburghers: autonomous vehicles. It’s 2020, and a big auto…
This week in Pittsburgh Sports History
Sept. 28, 1938 Chicago Cubs catcher Gabby Hartnett would hit one of the most legendary home runs in professional baseball (although certainly not better than Maz’s home run in 1960). It was called “The Homer in the Gloamin’.” The gloaming, you see, was an old-timey word for dusk. The phrase, penned by Associated Press writer…
New Local Releases: The Stapletons
The Stapletons Ballads and Battles Self-Released www.thestapletonsmusic.com Husband-and-wife duo The Stapletons use a Mexican guitar and a Celtic harp to create songs that mix classical sounds with Appalachian folk sensibilities. Their album Ballads and Battles showcases bright harmonies (“Carry Me Home”) and pretty, open arrangements (“Star Sailor”), which creates an instrumental bed for stories about…
Since Major League Baseball’s reorganization in 1995, the Pirates have not once won a division title, and that sucks
The dim hope of another Buctober was ingloriously extinguished at the beginning of September. Now the corpse of a once-semi-promising season is being dragged to the finish line. In fact, by the time you read this, it will practically be over. Just a couple of months ago, at the All-Star break, the Pittsburgh Pirates trailed…
Szechuan Spice brings a menu of spicy Chinese food to Shadyside
For many years, “Szechuan” in America mostly denoted a category of Chinese-American food only slightly more spicy than the mild, courtly food of Canton. We’re excited to see that changing as American diners develop appetites for less assimilated versions of foreign cuisines and, locally, a larger Chinese population seeks the authentically vibrant tastes of home. Now,…
Short List: Sept. 28 – Oct. 5
FREE EVENT: Sat., Sept. 30 – Festival Simon Girty, a traitor for our times? Hear out Eric Marchbein, the Squirrel Hill activist who (with help from the Squirrel Hill Historical Society) has secured a Pennsylvania State Historical and Museum Commission roadside marker here for Girty, who during the American Revolution left the Virginia militia to…
Works by local authors: new young-adult science-fiction novel and a Gettysburg travelogue
Reviews of the first 50 pages of recent books by local authors. FREEFALL. Joshua David Bellin’s third book of young-adult science fiction (Margaret K. McElderry Books, 361 pp.) takes place in 3151, as the fortunate few who fled an uninhabitable Earth wake up deep in space after a 1,000-year sleep. But teen-age protagonist Cam has…
Critics’ Pick: The Growlers at Mr. Smalls
[ROCK] + TUE., OCT. 4 Californian band The Growlers has songs that are perfect for riding a bike through the park, laying by the river, cracking open a coconut or other extremely chill activities. It’s the kind of laid-back surf rock that makes it even more obvious how quickly we’re hurtling toward the chilly grip…
After a period of improved Pittsburgh police-community relations, do recent brutality allegations signal a backslide to the bad old days?
In 2012, now 24-year-old Leon Ford was paralyzed after being pulled over by Pittsburgh police officers for running a stop sign. The encounter began just like any traffic stop. Ford was asked to show his license and registration. He gave them to the officers and everything checked out. But there was one problem. The two…
Texture Contemporary Ballet looks to go Boundless
TEXTURE CONTEMPORARY BALLET performs BOUNDLESS 8 p.m. Fri., Sept. 29; 8 p.m. Sat., Sept., 30; and 2 p.m., Sun., Oct. 1. (Free hour-long interactive children’s performance: 4 p.m. Sat., Sept. 30.) New Hazlett Theater, 6 Allegheny Square East, North Side. $20-30. 412-320-4610 or textureballet.org Named for the freedom of expression dance can offer, Texture Contemporary…
Pittsburgh City Paper Booze Battles: Muddy Waters Oyster Bar vs. The Pines
Each week, we order the same cocktail at two different bars for a friendly head-to-head battle. Go to the bars, taste both drinks and tell us what you like about each by tagging @pghcitypaper on Twitter or Instagram and using #CPBoozeBattles. If you want to be a part of Booze Battles, send an email to…
Dave Made a Maze
Bill Watterson’s indie film Dave Made a Maze is a quirky hybrid of comedy, adventure quest, horror and cardboard. A lot of cardboard. Dave (Nick Thune) is a slacker, the sort who can’t ever seem to finish anything. But when his girlfriend Annie (Meera Rohit Kumbhani) comes back from a trip, he greets her from…
A crowded stage is nothing new for Broken Social Scene
Broken Social Scene with Frightened Rabbit 8 p.m. Sun., Oct. 1. Byham Theater, 101 Sixth St., Downtown. $44.75-49.75. 412-456-6666 The members of Broken Social Scene have a running joke inspired by the group’s massive lineup: Those on stage left never have any idea what’s happening on stage right. Considering the Toronto band might have more…
Fired janitors at Pittsburgh’s Ellis School raise concerns over custodial workers’ pay and role in the black community
It’s hard to argue that being a janitor is a great job, but when considering service-industry positions, janitors shouldn’t be overlooked. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, in May 2016, service-industry jobs (cashiers, waiters, food-prep workers and janitors) comprised more than 100,000 jobs in the Pittsburgh region and about 10 percent of its labor…
Critics’ Pick: Wye Oak at Club Cafe
[INDIE POP] + WED., OCT. 4 Baltimore duo Wye Oak create a hard-to-pin-down kind of pop that dabbles in styles — like synth pop, indie pop and indie rock — without fully committing to any genre. Its latest release, Tween, is a compilation of abandoned songs written between the recording of its two previous albums,…
Still Going Strong: Weird Paul Celebrates 33 Years of Vlogging
In 2012, Pittsburgh musician Weird Paul (real name: Paul Petroskey) began uploading a small portion of the massive collection of home movies that he made as a child. A 1984 video featuring a 14-year-old Petroskey reviewing a McDonald’s breakfast became a mini-sensation, likely because it resembles many aspects of today’s vloggers but from 30 years…
Matthew Newton explores the history and mystique of the shopping mall
MATT NEWTON reading and conversation: 6:30 p.m. Thu., Oct. 12. Carnegie Library Main Branch, 4400 Forbes Ave., Oakland. Free. 412-622-3114 or carnegielibrary.org Love it or hate it, the American shopping mall is an iconic space. At the height of mall shopping, it was seen by some as a triumph of American capitalism and consumer culture.…
Is signing Jaromir Jagr the key to a Pittsburgh Penguins threepeat?
Coming off two Stanley Cup victories in the early 1990s, the Pittsburgh Penguins failed in their attempt for a threepeat during the 1992-93 season. But 24 years later, the Pens have another shot to win a third consecutive NHL championship, a feat that hasn’t happened since the New York Islanders won four straight beginning in…
Dan Savage takes questions from a live studio audience
I had a blast hosting Savage Lovecast Live at San Francisco’s Palace of Fine Arts. Here are some of the questions I didn’t get a chance to answer. I’ve been on the dating apps a while. What’s up with serial first daters? Back when people primarily met at parties, bars, clubs, etc., we established baseline…
Vintage Hitchcock at South Park Theatre
VINTAGE HITCHCOCK: A LIVE RADIO PLAY continues through Sat., Oct. 7. South Park Theatre, Corrigan Drive and Brownsville Road, South Park. $15. 412-831-8552 or southparktheatre.com Murder, mayhem, and nostalgia — those are the ingredients for South Park Theatre’s Vintage Hitchcock: A Live Radio Play, a darkly humorous ode to the Master of Suspense’s early years…
Pittsburgh’s Descendants of Crom music fest is a 17-band dream for metal fans
Descendants of Crom Festival 4 p.m. Sat., Sept. 30. Cattivo, 144 46th St., Lawrenceville. $33. More info Crom is a character in Marvel Comics’ Conan series, a Norse god who worships precious metals. It’s only fitting that his name be used in titling a new doom, stoner, rock and metal festival in the city of…
This butternut squash and apple soup is a great pick for fall
Urban foraging is all the rage, but even that takes some effort. Imagine my delight when I discovered a squash plant growing in a tiny patch of dirt on the curb outside my house. I ignored it, and yet it thrived. Time passed, and one day, there was a fully grown butternut squash. As I…
What Hath Night to Do With Sleep at Pittsburgh Center for the Arts
WHAT HATH NIGHT TO DO WITH SLEEP continues through Oct. 29. Pittsburgh Center for the Arts, 6300 Fifth Ave., Shadyside. 412-361-0873 or pfpca.org In What Hath Night To Do With Sleep, at Pittsburgh Center for the Arts, Stephanie Armbruster collects the shadowy, undulating reminiscences of a year packed with movement — journeys to 18 cities…
Kingsman: The Golden Circle
Some movies should not be two-and-a-half hours long, and that includes Kingsman: The Golden Circle, Matthew Vaughn’s sequel to 2014’s Kingsman: The Secret Service. But while this movie is completely unnecessary, it’s also totally enjoyable. It’s the perfect big, dumb and fun action blockbuster to wrap up a lackluster summer of movies. The original film’s…
Critics’ Pick: Perturbator at Spirit
[ELECTRONIC] + TUE., OCT. 3 If you want to feel like a futuristic spy on an undercover mission in a subterranean club where alien villains hang out, then be sure to catch Perturbator at Spirit. The French electronic musician makes dark and heavy beats that feel cinematic. Sometimes, it sounds like the soundtrack to an…
Critics’ Pick: Tony Lucca at Club Cafe
[FOLK/POP] + THU., SEPT. 28 Any time I really wanna FEEL something, I listen to Tony Lucca’s version of Daniel Johnston’s “Devil Town,” which was recorded specifically for the season-one finale of Friday Night Lights (when the Panthers return home to Dillon, Texas, for their victory parade). If your heart is empty because you never…
808 Cafe brings quick, inexpensive and tasty lunchtime fare to Downtown
When it comes to lunchtime fare Downtown, there are pizza, sandwiches, fast food and upscale sit-down spots. But quick, inexpensive and tasty café fare is a rarer find. Thanks to Café 808, which opened on Penn Avenue in March, the Downtown lunch crowd has another option. In addition to its selections of coffee (try the…
The Villainess
Byung-gil Jung’s actioner opens with an extended tour de force of death, as a very motivated assassin quickly and resolutely shoots, stabs and otherwise dispatches dozens of equally well-armed men. It’s presented like a first-person-shooter video game, and leaves no doubt that (1) the killer is very skilled, and (2) this is going to be…
