On the eve of releasing Rolling Papers, Wiz Khalifa hits the cover of Rolling Stone
It would take five years — nearly a quarter of Khalifa’s life so far — to jump from CP‘s cover to Rolling Stone‘s. Even in the viral, social-media era, success can be very slow.
On The Record with Don Guter, former presidential advisor on Guantanamo Bay
As a presidential adviser on Guantanamo Bay, Don Guter — the former dean of Duquesne University’s law school — recommended that Barack Obama shut down the controversial prison. Guter, today the dean of the South Texas College of Law, spoke about Obama’s March 7 decision to keep “Gitmo” open. Were you disappointed by Obama’s…
Terms of Endorsement: Candidate hoping party, mayoral support can deliver District 1 victory
Is party backing and the mayor’s support enough to unseat a political stalwart?
In Transition: The Allegheny County Port Authority is changing — into what is the question
The Port Authority is changing, for better or for worse
Prince of Pilsener: Slim Forsythe’s family ties to Duquesne Beer
“He just has a genuine interest in the product and his father’s history with it.”
God, Satan … and Slim Forsythe
“I asked myself, ‘Now, what does a man do after he writes the sequel to The Brothers Karamazov?’ The answer: I was gonna front an all-woman Hank Williams cover band.”
Into the Mix
“Sour mix is a gateway drug,” renowned bartender and blogger Jeffrey Morgenthaler once claimed. “It can lead you down a very dark path, or it can open up a new world.” Unfortunately, many of us turn to the dark side, buying plastic bottles of cloying, pre-made sour mixes. Most drinkers don’t realize that creating fresh,…
Preaching to the Choir: No one looks good in Farrakhan visit
“I am deeply saddened by the controversy,” Louis Farrakhan said early on during his March 11 appearance at the August Wilson Center. “Because it need not have been.” But that didn’t stop him from talking about it.
Waffalonia
Belgian-style waffles arrive in Squirrel Hill.
Savage Love
I am a straight man, blissfully married to my soul mate. We have explored and enjoyed each other for a decade now, and we recently started exploring BDSM and D/s fantasies. Everything was going great — until last night. Two years ago, my wife expressed an interest in an MMF three-way, where I was the…
MP3 Monday: Brad Yoder
Greetings! It’s Monday, and that means music. This week’s free MP3 comes from Brad Yoder, the ubiquitous and contagiously friendly Pittsburgh folk rocker. It’s the first track from his latest effort, released late last year, Excellent Trouble. It’s a song with a beautiful arrangement; Brad makes the most of the soft-to-loud-to-soft dynamics he wrote into…
The Glass Menagerie at Prime Stage Theatre
Prime Stage is known mostly for its adaptations of classic literature for young-adult audiences, and its mission is expressly educational. But don’t let that keep you from this fine production of the Tennessee Williams masterpiece. The performance I attended last night was mostly post-collegiate folk, and few went away disappointed. Admittedly, the turnout was likely…
Ragnar Kjartansson at the Carnegie
The Icelandic performance and video artist’s first-ever Pittsburgh exhibit debuted last night at the Carnegie Museum of Art. The traffic-jamming crowd of hundreds was probably due at least in part to the museum program that makes Thursday-night visits in March free. But everyone seemed curious about Kjartansson, the centerpiece of whose show was a “long-duration…
Seldom
A poem by Todd Sanders
New video from Pittsburgh-ish band 1,2,3
Remember Takeover UK? Remember how we ran a CP cover story about the band and how it was really about to take off, then it broke up instead? Well, COUNT THIS ONE AS A PREDICTION THAT COULD STILL SORT OF PAN OUT. Nic Snyder and Josh Sickels have returned with 1,2,3, a new band, signed…
Short List: Week of March 10 – 17
Thu., March 10 — Art For three weeks starting tonight, three young Icelandic ladies will live in the Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s Hall of Sculpture, singing over and over a brief song whose central phrase is “The weight of the world is love.” Do not be alarmed: It’s all part of Ragnar Kjartansson: Song,…
New How Lee
Sichuan cuisine that rises above its peers with food that’s well cooked, expertly seasoned and fearlessly spicy.
Evita
This production is almost a showcase of unfortunate choices.
boom
Good heavens — there’s actually intelligent dialogue.
The Glass Menagerie
Director Rich Keitel’s production is clear-headed and direct, allowing us to hear the words Williams has written.
Criminal Invention: Police get warrants, raid store before knowing if crime was even committed
According to Mike Manko, spokesperson for Allegheny County District Attorney’s office, police approached the DA in early February for “advice on whether or not any laws were broken.
Dead Lines
Amid the gray, grim columns of the obituary page, a good, playful nickname can seem both a little inappropriate and very welcome: like stifling a laugh when the eulogy reminds you of a joke the deceased used to tell.
Critics’ Picks: The Town Pants, Low Water, Sic Alps and DJ Gene Hunt
Music highlights the week of March 10-16, with sounds coming from Vancouver (The Town Pants) to Chicago (DJ Gene Hunt), Brooklyn (Low Water) to Drag City (Sic Alps).
Union Labels: Local union leaders address the new spotlight shining on organized labor
Since mid-February, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker has dominated national headlines by seeking to limit collective-bargaining rights for his state’s public employees. Closer to home, as this issue goes to press, Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett is preparing to give his first budget address. Labor leaders are watching anti-union initiatives — from a proposal to privatize liquor…
Take Me Home Tonight
Things that are missing from Michael Dowse’s comedy set in 1988: fresh plot ideas; laughs; the Eddie Money song that the title is taken from (though that omission is a plus). Over Labor Day weekend, all the kids from the Class of ’84 show up at one big party, in some swank house in Los…
Orgasm Inc.
Nearly a decade ago, filmmaker Liz Canner took a job editing erotic videos for a company hoping to develop a “female Viagra.” (The finished reel was to be used to test response in drug trials.) What Canner discovers is the emergence of a new “disease,” dubbed Female Sexual Disorder (FSD), the definition of which is…
Mars Needs Moms
Frankly, it would be cheaper — and take less time — to simply paint a hammer with the words “Families are important” and just hit yourself repeatedly until you get it: “Families are important.” That’s how I felt watching Simon Wells’ animated adventure comedy in which a boy goes to Mars to get his mom…
Evangelion 2.0: You Can (Not) Advance
Trouble continues in Hideaki Anno’s anime, a sequel to Evangelion 1.0. A post-apocalyptic Tokyo is still under attack from powerful “angels,” which can be defeated (just barely) only by EVAs, gigantic robot warriors piloted by teens. Besides battling these invaders, the youngsters also fight with tricky feelings – daddy issues, new crushes, unspeakably mysterious pasts.…
Casino Jack
When “super lobbyist” Jack Abramoff got caught peddling influence and lining his pockets, there was speculation that the related worlds of President Bush and his Republican buddies would get busted open. Didn’t really happen. Casino Jack catches us up with the last two years of Abramoff’s ride, as Jack (Kevin Spacey) and his partner Mike…
Imminent floods postpone local rock cruises
Time was when, during a flood, people thought the BEST place to be was on a boat, preferably with one’s family, and two of every living creature, clean or unclean. Nowadays, apparently we shy away from the waters when they rise, hence the postponement of this weekend’s two Gateway Clipper Fleet rock cruises. Friday night’s…
Cedar Rapids
his isn’t the great comedy that 2011 is still waiting for. But for a gentle, if foulmouthed lark set in a relatable milieu, a trip to Cedar Rapids may be worth a ticket. Tim Lippe (Ed Helms) is an insurance salesman who attends a regional conference, where some newfound and rowdy colleagues help him grow…
CD Reviews: New local releases from Miss Freddye, John Vento and The Incline
Miss Freddye may have a few things to be blue about — lying men, lonely tours — but being ignored probably isn’t one of them.
Nora Chipaumire and Thomas Mapfumo at the August Wilson Center
Honestly, I would have stepped out to see either of the two headliners on his or her own. Chipaumire is the Zimbabwe-born choreographer and dancer with a couple impressive Pittsburgh performances on her resume. Mapfumo, also a Zimbabwean ex-pat, is his country’s musical conscience: a legendary Afropop pioneer who supported anti-colonial efforts in the ’70s…
Court filing opens chapter #174,076 in the Great Electronic Billboard Debate
Last week, we reported that Scenic Pittsburgh and Mike Dawida, its executive director, were planning to compel the city to remove the unfinished electronic billboard at the Grant Street Transportation Center. Today, the organization took the matter to Common Pleas court, filing a petition against the city and Lamar Outdoor Advertising, the company that started…
Lamb: not sheerly running for controller?
This will be the first of a handful of posts stemming from the political forum City Paper helped out with this past weekend. I’m making the somewhat counterintuitive choice to start with a race that is uncontested: city controller Michael Lamb’s reelection bid. I’m doing it for two reasons. First, as we’ve noted before, so…
