Nick Pratt: Middle Finger Music
Pitt grad Nick Pratt releases “Middle Finger Music” mixtape.
Op-ed: In Occupy Pittsburgh coverage, I think I smell a rat
As we settle in for the denouement in the Occupation of Mellon Green, this might be a good time to look at preview footage of the kind of media coverage we can expect. And probably the best place to go is KDKA-TV’s Marty Griffin. On Friday night, Griffin aired a report alleging that the Occupation…
Lynn Cullen Live 02/07/12
Video Archive Phone guest: Susan ( who will be here IN the studio next month! ); Missouri primary; new poll finds: the more people learn about Romney, the more they don’t like him; the skill set it takes to be a good candidate is different than the skill set it takes to be President; state…
Occupy Pittsburgh waiting for the end
An Allegheny County judged ruled today that the sheriff’s department must remove all protesters, tents and other equipment from Occupy Pittsburgh’s camp at BNY Mellon’s downtown parklet. When that will happen, however, is still anyone’s guess. As of 7 p.m. this evening, about a dozen tents remained on Mellon Green and about two dozen Occupy…
Rabih Mroué’s “The Pixelated Revolution” at The Warhol
Last Friday, the Lebanese performance artist wrapped his first U.S. tour, performing this brand-new piece co-commissioned by The Warhol. (It was his second show at the museum, where the night before he’d performed “Looking for a Missing Employee.”) “Pixelated Revolution” is a sort of illustrated lecture about the use of cell-phone imagery by Syrian protesters.…
Video: Ball of Flame Shoot Fire via Serious Business
It’s been a few years since we really discussed Ball of Flame Shoot Fire; that’s because the local guys aren’t so local anymore, as they live in Brooklyn. BUT, they’re still pretty great, and the piano dude still wears a “Don’t Bury Jerry” t-shirt, so when I got this video from BreakThru Radio sent along…
I Made It! Market
Pittsburgh City Paper was at I Made It! Market Saturday, February 4th from 12-4. I Made It! Market is Pennsylvania’s nomadic indie-crafts marketplace. I Made It! partners with local craftspeople as well as community, arts and non-profit organizations to make an impact in the communities we share.
Lynn Cullen Live 02/06/12
Video Archive Payton’s kid brother out Super Bowl’d him!; last 7 presidential elections, candidates were either sons of privilege / strong father figure OR sons who had no relationship w/ their father; our backwards reassessments; Occupy Pgh campers need to vacate this morning; Tea Party people standing in the way of local green projects (…
Transit supporter begins online advocacy on behalf of Port Authority
Since the Port Authority of Allegheny County announced a possible 35 percent service reduction earlier this month, transit advocates have been trying to mobilize riders to save their transit service. Among them is Andrew Twigg, who is circulating an online petition asking state lawmakers and Gov. Tom Corbett to commit to state funding for transportation.…
Lynn Cullen Live 02/03/12
Video Archive Fire at Sarris candy; Occupiers have been given 3 days to leave the encampment; Homewood reassessment 79% higher than sale price, Shadyside 21% lower; people cutting their ties w/ Komen & giving money to Planned Parenthood; Komen gives money to Penn State, but they’re under gov’t investigation too….; will the NFL drop the…
Also a quick heads-up: Loves It! tonight at Thunderbird
Photo courtesy of Scott Rouse Loves It! I’ve waxed ineloquent before on the topic of Jenny Parrott’s songwriting; she was, up until this past fall, lead lady in the Austin-based Western swing band Shotgun Party. Here’s the deal: Jenny Parrott is back, having teamed up with Vaughn Walters to form a duo, Loves It! And…
Judge gives Occupy Pittsburgh three days to vacate Mellon Green
Judge Christine Ward has issued a ruling affirming Bank of New York Mellon’s right to evict Occupy Pittsburgh from Mellon Green. Her ruling gives Occupiers three days to remove all their belongings from the site, though it acknowledges that they are not likely to do so willingly. “The Occupy Pittsburgh movement … has effectively communicated…
Video of the day: New Shouts
Video for “Hung On You,” by New Shouts
In wake of layoffs, EDMC reports weaker earnings; stock drops
Officials at Education Management Corp. may want to consider expanding their stock repurchase program: The stock price plummeted nearly 20 percent this morning after being traded “more heavily than usual,” according to CBS Marketwatch. The stock price closed at $25.60 per share Wednesday afternoon — right around the time the company released its second-quarter earnings…
County workers will be waiting a little longer for domestic-partner benefits, commission told
Last month, Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald told the county’s Human Relations Commission that he would implement domestic-partner benefits for county employees by the time of the Commission’s next meeting. That meeting was held today, and Fitzgerald still has not issued the promised executive order. But representatives from Fitzgerald’s office did tell the HRC that…
Lynn Cullen Live 02/02/12
Video Archive Guest: Tom Sokolowski; how a car got inside the Warhol; new pedestrian bridge from Ellsworth to East Lib; Christo’s new installation in Colorado set to cover 6 miles of the Arkansas River, environmentalists not enthused; David Cho painted graffiti in Facebook office’s lobby in exchange for shares, will be worth over 200 million…
Kickstarter note: Gypsy and His Band of Ghosts
Last week, I mentioned that Meeting of Important People had a Kickstarter campaign going to fund their next album. That one came together nicely, as did this one from the Beagle Brothers. One that’s currently on the docket: Gypsy and His Band of Ghosts. Gypsy is Giuseppe Capolupo (formerly of Once Nothing and Haste the…
Skeeball League Comes to Town
Remember skeeball at Chuck E Cheese? The yellow tickets flowing out of the machine by the dozen; running to the prize counter with a cardboard bouquet above your head like it’s the terrible towel in 2005. Finally, the jumbo slinky you always wanted. Happiness came easy back then. Lucky for you, skeeball is back as…
Sharon Needles Watch!
Of course our local gal, Sharon Needles, would easily win RuPaul’s Drag Race’s first challenge: zombie-slash-post-apocalyptic couture. When it comes to Lifestyles of the Undead, it’s Advantage Pittsburgh. After decades of drag and three seasons of RuPaul’s increasingly demented (and popular) show, you’d think you’d seen it all. Until Sharon spewed up a mouth of…
On his first U.S. tour, an acclaimed Lebanese performance artist visits The Warhol.
Rabih Mroue performs Looking for a Missing Employee 8 p.m. Thu., Feb. 2 and The Pixelated Revolution 8 p.m. Fri., Feb. 3. The Andy Warhol Museum 117 Sandusky St. North Side. $25-30. 412-237-8300 or warhol.org In Looking for a Missing Employee, Lebanese performance artist Rabih Mroué himself seems to be missing — from the stage.…
Banner Days
A police officer killed in the line of duty … a soldier killed by an IED … a lifelong civil-rights advocate … a successful football coach. Do any one of these not belong? After Penn State legend Joe Paterno died last month, Gov. Tom Corbett raised some eyebrows by calling for state flags to be…
Big Miracle
Big Miracle Directed by: Ken Kwapis Starring: John Krasinski Drew Barrymore Starts Fri., Feb. 3 It’s October 1988, and at Point Barrow, the northernmost tip of Alaska, three California gray whales are trapped under the ice, five miles from open sea. When their breathing hole freezes over, the whales will die — unless they are…
A Taste of Dahntahn
A Taste of Dahntahn 535 Liberty Ave. Downtown. 412-224-2240 Hours: Mon.-Thu. 6:30 a.m.-10 p.m. Fri. 6:30 a.m.-11 p.m. Sat. 8 a.m.-11 p.m. Sun. 8 a.m.-9 p.m. Prices: Dinner: appetizers, soups and salads $5-13; entrees $14-32 Liquor: Full bar It’s a pretty bold move, putting “Dahntahn” in neon, as this restaurant has done with its street…
One for the Money
Sure, Julie Anne Robinson’s crime comedy, adapted from the popular Janet Evanovich novel, One for the Money, was filmed in and around Pittsburgh (subbing for Trenton, N.J.). But is that reason enough to see it? In a word: no. Katherine Heigl stars as Stephanie Plum, an unemployed lingerie salesgirl, who, desperate for work, takes a…
“It’s a community of people who give a fuck.”
Building a Better Robot Book-release shows. 7 p.m. Fri., Feb. 17 Live music at Mr. Roboto Project 5106 Penn Ave. Bloomfield 5-8 p.m. Sat., Feb. 18 Readings and acoustic music at Lili Coffee Shop 3138 Dobson St. Polish Hill. robotoproject.info Someone once said of The Velvet Underground’s first album that only 1,000 people bought it,…
Being Elmo
It’s been a big year for Muppet fans, what with a hit movie and an Oscar nomination. But then life has always been sunny for the furry hand-held gang from Sesame Street and The Muppet Show. These puppets are such an integral part of our lives that we’ve long forgotten they’re simply stitched-together bits of…
Selected stage happenings for the week.
A Pittsburgh boy made good on the national-media stage turns to a new endeavor — theater — and returns to town for the premiere of his play about a man with a year to live. Ambridge native Eric Burns got his start in television at WQED and went on to success as a TV host,…
Dragonslayer
Tristan Patterson’s very shaggy documentary profiles Josh “Skreech” Sandoval, a semi-professional skateboarder from Orange County, California. It’s a slice-of-life film that seemingly catches Skreech in a transitional time of his life: He’s mostly dropped out of the skating circuit; he’s a physical wreck, spending much of the day getting high; and he’s homeless. On the…
Short List: February 3 – 9
Fri., Feb. 3 — Art Thirty-three artists from Edinboro, Pa., to Balaclava, Australia, contribute to Transformation 8: Contemporary Works in Small Metals, a biennial exhibition at the Society for Contemporary Craft. The 33, including eight from overseas, are all finalists for the 2011 Elizabeth R. Raphael Founder’s Prize, named for the woman who founded the…
Short List: February 3 – 9
Fri., Feb. 3 — Art Thirty-three artists from Edinboro, Pa., to Balaclava, Australia, contribute to Transformation 8: Contemporary Works in Small Metals, a biennial exhibition at the Society for Contemporary Craft. The 33, including eight from overseas, are all finalists for the 2011 Elizabeth R. Raphael Founder’s Prize, named for the woman who founded the…
Spring Awakening
Pittsburgh Music Theater performs SPRING AWAKENING Through Sun., Feb. 5. Byham Theater 101 Sixth St. Downtown. 412-456-6666 or pgharts.org In 1906, Frank Wedekind shocked Germany with Spring Awakening, an angry drama about how a sexually repressed society mangles, even kills, young people. In the early years, the play was censored more than it was produced.…
Lynn Cullen Live 02/01/12
Video Archive Guest: Chris Potter; stinkbugs in the shower; weirdo on Smithfield Street, lack of reactions; Romney took Florida, Newt’s lack of graciousness; Susan G Komen Foundation cut ties with Planned Parenthood because of gov’t investigation; Don Cornelius’ suicide; Family Leave Act; there are countries in Western Europe w/ more social mobility than the US;…
Pet Project
Pet Clinic EP Release with THE HARLAN TWINS, DJ set by TM EYE. 7:30 p.m. Sat. Feb. 11. The Shop 4312 Main St.Bloomfield. $7. 412-951-0622 A first record is a milestone for any musician, but for David Bubenheim of Pet Clinic, it’s a major stop on the journey to becoming a real band. “What is…
Sneaky Mike wants to party
Sneaky Mike CD Release with DAZZLETINE, RSK, AG AG LADY and more. 8 p.m. Fri., Feb. 3. Rex Theater 1602 E. Carson St. South Side. $10. 17 and older. 412-381-6811 orrextheater.com Sneaky Mike doesn’t look like Lil B, as he claims in the opening track of his first solo release, I Look Like Sneaky. Known…
CD Reviews
Bridgette Perdue Enjoy This Moment (Self-released) Upbeat and sometimes tender piano-pop tunes from the relative newcomer. Perdue’s strong voice makes the album a pleasant listen; the tunes are heartfelt and catchy. Lyrically, it gets cumbersome at times, as Perdue tries a little too hard. But on the whole, these are songs about love and longing,…
Critics’ Picks: February 3 – 7
[INDIE] + FRI., FEB. 3 Since the early 2000s, Johnstown natives Endless Mike and the Beagle Club have created a folk-punk spectacle at venues nationwide, seeking positivity in an unjust world by layering lyrics of hope and conviction with captivating melodies. The collaboration, whose membership varies from 15 musicians to just ringleader Mike Miller, takes…
On North Side, a proposed high school merger worries everyone except the school district
Shauna Ponton is dreading Oliver High School’s final bell. After it sounds in June, Oliver students will move to nearby Perry High School, where they will begin the 2012-13 school year in a newly combined high school. Ponton’s son graduated from Oliver last year, but as a concerned North Sider, she worries that the…
For-profit educator EDMC gives employees a tough lesson in modern business
Education Management Corporation is one of Pittsburgh’s most prominent employers. But not everyone was hurting when the for-profit educator, which owns the Art Institute of Pittsburgh and other schools around the country, laid off hundreds of workers last Thursday. Cabbies, at least, did well: During much of the day, Yellow Cabs were parked outside the…
Savage Love
My husband is a very kinky submissive man. When we were dating, I found out that he had been talking to people online and that he had met with a professional dom a couple of times. I felt betrayed that he had done this all behind my back, even though I had told him that…
Bar Marco adds tapas-style dining to former Embury site
Bar Marco 2216 Penn Ave. Strip District. 412-471-1900 or barmarcopgh.com A few years ago, Greensburg native Bobby Fry was in New York, hustling on Wall Street. Now, he’s planning to run a different investment: Bar Marco, a newcomer to the Strip District scene, with Justin Steel, Kevin Cox and Michael Kreha — all childhood friends…
As You Like It
As You Like It continues through Feb. 19. Pittsburgh Public Theater, 621 Penn Ave. Downtown. 412-316-1600 or ppt.org Pittsburgh Public Theater’s Ted Pappas and a superb cast have come up with a vivacious, engaging, memorable version of Shakespeare’s As You Like It. The performers make the words sparkle with thorough understanding and wit, and their…
Sinful Sweets
Christopher Weck wasn’t always a chocolatier; in fact, until just last year, he was working in the education industry. That’s what brought the New York native — who’s also lived in Chicago — to Pittsburgh in the mid-’00s. But a longtime love of food led Weck to open Sinful Sweets Chocolate Company, in the heart…
City politicians compete for the limelight (or at least the LED light)
Today in current events: A battle between political rivals over who gets credit for saving electricity. (And yes, “current events” was an electricity pun. There will be others; consider this your trigger warning.) At 11:42 this morning, Pittsburgh City Councilor Bill Peduto’s office sent out notice of a press conference tonight in Shadyside. Titled “Pittsburgh’s…
MP3 Monday: Lakookala
Download “Mother Biiiirds,” by Lakookala.
