New Package Deal Provides Staycation Alternative
“PittsburghPass” includes five local attractions
Power pop at the Smiling Moose tonight: Cheap Girls
Cheap Girls Here’s one of those that we couldn’t fit into the paper this week, but that’s worth a listen: Tonight at the Smiling Moose, Cheap Girls — formerly of Rise Records, now independent — play, along with Diamond Youth and I Am a Sea Creature. Cheap Girls’ 2012 release Giant Orange was produced by…
Election Day thoughts
Today is, obviously, a potentially historic day, pivotal for the future of our region. It’s the day that Pittsburgh’s men and women, workers and retirees, students and citizens of all kinds, go to the polls and ask themselves the question at the heart of our republic: “Who the fuck are these judicial candidates?” But there’s…
Lynn Cullen Live 05/21/13
Video Archive Phone guest: Susan; Pgh mayoral election day; US has the most intense variety of weather in the world; weather like the Oklahoma tornado will continue because of climate change; Apple managed to legally not pay billions of taxes; we are no longer a democracy, but an oligarchy; capitalism is an economic philosophy, not…
Former city cop acquitted in insurance fraud/road rage case
A former city traffic officer accused of insurance fraud, reckless endangerment and related charges in a 2010 road rage case was acquitted this afternoon in a non-jury trial. Common Pleas Judge Jill E. Rangos granted Garrett John Brown’s motion for insufficient evidence in the case that stemmed from an encounter — first recounted in this…
Lynn Cullen Live 05/20/13
Video Archive Guest: Dave Rohm, Paddle Without Pollution; mayoral election TMW!; Trib poll shows Peduto in the lead; Florida mayoral candidate endorsed by Jesus?; Clairton High School Robots Team follow-up; Paddle Without Pollution; cleaning our 3 rivers; water & climate change; highest paid people at University of Pittsburgh; highest paid Pgh corporate executives; what happened…
Performance Passes Someone’s Life Before Your Eyes
All-day art happening in Polish Hill
Arts Funding Protest Draws Mayoral Candidate
Rally demands enforcement of percent-for-art laws
Tonight: Bridgette Perdue at the August Wilson Center
About a year ago, Bridgette Perdue put out her first album of piano-pop tunes, Enjoy This Moment. Tonight, the irrepressively positive Perdue presents a special live event at the August Wilson Center, combining a concert with dance and other art forms. She’s calling “Wake Up and Dream” a “live music and art experience,” and in…
Lynn Cullen Live 05/17/13
Video Archive Guest: Dennis Palumbo, mystery novelist / psychotherapist / Pittsburgh Native; book launch for Night Terrors tomorrow at 10am, Mystery Lovers Bookstore, Oakmont. Audio Only Archive
Johnny Angel off the air for now
Johnny Angel’s Heavenly Soul Show is off the air at WJAS, but the longtime DJ hopes to return to the airwaves someday.
Venture Outdoors Festival in Point State Park on Saturday
It’s a day for climbing walls, kayaking, bocce and more
Calliope announces 2013-14 concert series, with Vieux Farka Toure, Bruce Cockburn
Calliope, the folk society, has announced its 2013-14 concert series, running from October through April. The shows will all take place at Carnegie Lecture Hall in Oakland. A quick overview: Oct. 26 — Vieux Farka ToureNov. 16 — Blue HighwayDec. 7 — Bruce CockburnJan. 25 — True Blues: Corey Harris, Guy Davis, Alvin Youngblood HartMarch…
War of words escalating in final days of mayoral campaign
We’re now in the final days of the city’s mayoral campaign, which means all the campaign rhetoric you’ve been hearing for the past several weeks is about to get dialed to 11. And based on a pair of dueling press conferences this morning, the race’s two frontrunners — City Councilor Bill Peduto and former Auditor…
The Composure covers “Closing Time,” plays Altar tonight
Know what’s BIG right now? ’90s nostalgia! And no one’s taking advantage of it better (at least, no one locally) than The Composure. When last we left the pop-punk outfit, they had just released last spring’s Stay the Course EP; now, they’re releasing an EP of all ’90s alt-rock covers. Each will be accompanied by…
New Aviary Show Highlights Misunderstood Birds of Prey
Owls, falcons, vultures are shown off
Lynn Cullen Live 05/16/13
Video Archive Audio Only Archive
Demonstration for Arts Funding Set for Friday
Percent 4 Art Rally at Katz Plaza
Jordan Miles gets high-powered legal team for second trial
Jordan Miles Civil-=rights attorney Joel Sansone, who in 2008 secured a $28 million jury award against two state troopers who shot an unarmed 12-year-old in the back, will be leading Jordan Miles’ second civil trial against the three police officers Miles in January 2010. Sansone, who filed his notice of appearance on May 2, told…
In mayor’s race, intriguing footprints on the money trail
With one week to go before the May 21 mayoral primary, the money trail is becoming increasingly convoluted — as reflected by financial activity involving the campaigns of the race’s two frontrunners. For starters, a contractor whose work on Mayor Luke Ravenstahl’s home has become the subject of stories in the Post-Gazette appears to be…
Event reminder: Ride of Silence tonight
Tonight, cyclists will gather to remember those injured in crashes around the city, during the annual Ride of Silence. Cyclists can meet between 6:15 p.m. and 6:45 p.m. at Dippy the Dinosaur at the corner of Forbes Avenue and Schenley Drive by the Carnegie museum in Oakland tonight. Crash victims and their families will share…
From Up on Poppy Hill
Japanese anime is associated with films that are fantastical, cyberpunkish or require the creative license that animation can provide. But the latest feature from the renowned Ghibli studio co-founded by Hayao Miyazaki, From Up on Poppy Hill, is quite simply a slice of ordinary life. It’s 1963 and Japan is prepping for the 1964 Tokyo…
Briton Rob McCaughey counsels independence for Pittsburgh drinkers
Pittsburgh newcomer Rob McCaughey is a wine and spirits evangelist. The affable Brit spent the last 20 years as a global ambassador of hospitality and beverage management, working in Europe, Asia and, for the last five years, as an importer and distributor in Abu Dhabi. McCaughey moved to Pittsburgh a few months ago to accompany…
Summer Guide 2013
Section Links: Summer Films Summer Arts and Exhibits Summer Music Summer Kids Summer Outdoors Summer Stage Summer Fairs, Festivals and Special Events Now that the sun is shining again, get out there and enjoy yourself. We’ve compiled a list of activities and events to keep you active and entertained this summer.
Kiss of the Damned
Zombies have received so much press lately, we’ve forgotten about the other undead we used to love — vampires. Fans of the sexy, Eurotrash strain of vamps — perpetual life is so languid, dahlink — should be pleased with this latest entry, a melodrama from Xan Cassavetes (daughter of the late filmmaker John). Flame-haired Djuna…
Patrix Café is a popular offshoot of Patrick Polk’s catering venture
It’s easy to overlook Patrix Café. It’s tucked inside the Hill House Association’s Kaufmann Center, and there’s not even a sidewalk sign outside. But folks are finding this offshoot of caterer Patrick Polk’s Patrix Gourmet Foods. Nine months after opening, the café has just added breakfast to its eclectic menu. Polk, who grew up on…
Summer Films
Section Links: Summer Films Summer Arts and Exhibits Summer Music Summer Kids Summer Outdoors Summer Stage Summer Fairs, Festivals and Special Events Numbers rule this season at the megaplex: Quite a few releases have a 2 or 3 — even a 6! — appended to their titles. Add in unnumbered sequels, plus remakes and spins-offs,…
Lady Lamb the Beekeeper’s Aly Spaltro brings her first album to Pittsburgh
LADY LAMB THE BEEKEEPER with XENIA RUBINOS, MIDGE CRICKETT. 8 p.m. Fri., May 17. Garfield Artworks 4931 Penn Ave., Garfield. $8. All ages. 412-361-2262 or garfield artworks.com Fresh off a spate of European tour dates and about to embark on a U.S. tour, Aly Spaltro, better known as the mastermind of Lady Lamb the Beekeeper,…
Summer Arts and Exhibits
Section Links Summer Films Summer Arts and Exhibits Summer Music Summer Kids Summer Outdoors Summer Stage Summer Fairs, Festivals and Special Events CURRENT 3rd Street Gallery. Waterworks (Pittsburgh Watercolor Society membership show), through May 25. 707 Penn Gallery. Adult Arcade (immersive multimedia installation by Marc Burgess), through May 17. 709 Penn Gallery. Cast of Characters…
Ian Svenonius talks with dead people in his new book on rock bands
IAN SVENONIUS READING. 8 p.m. Fri., May 17. Pittsburgh Filmmakers, 477 Melwood Ave., Oakland. Free. 412-681-5449 or pfm.pittsburgh arts.org Ian Svenonius has never been one to think of a rock band as just a rock band. The frontman of Nation of Ulysses, The Make-Up and Weird War always has something else going on — usually…
Summer Music
Section Links: Summer Films Summer Arts and Exhibits Summer Music Summer Kids Summer Outdoors Summer Stage Summer Fairs, Festivals and Special Events VENUES 31st Street Pub. 3101 Penn Ave., Strip District. 412-391-8334 222 Ormsby. 222 Ormsby St., Mount Oliver. 222Ormsby.tumblr.com 6119. 6119 Penn Ave., East Liberty. www.facebook.com/6119Penn Altar Bar. 1620 Penn Ave., Strip District. 412-206-9719…
DJ Pete Butta has come a long way since the State College Damon’s
If being well-travelled lends a sense of diversity, it should come as no surprise the sense of variety that Pete Butta embraces as a DJ. The New Jersey-born 25-year-old was raised in Illinois before living his teen-age years in State College. His interest in music began in fourth grade, when he purchased Dr. Dre’s “Forgot…
Summer Kids
Section Links: Summer Films Summer Arts and Exhibits Summer Music Summer Kids Summer Outdoors Summer Stage Summer Fairs, Festivals and Special Events ONGOING Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh. Branches of the library citywide offer kids’ and teens’ programs — from storytime and crafting to children’s yoga — throughout the summer. www.carnegielibrary.org Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh. Adventures with…
Lynn Cullen Live 05/15/13
Video Archive Guest: Chris Potter; laughable at what the Repubs are making the Benghazi situation out to be; terrorist attacks vs. acts of terror; IRS Tea Party scandal; gov’t becoming a bunch of shady advertising; one man’s whistle blower is another man’s leak; CP Golden Quill winners; Ft. Hood Sexual Response & Assault Prevention Sgt.…
Summer Outdoors
Section Links: Summer Films Summer Arts and Exhibits Summer Music Summer Kids Summer Outdoors Summer Stage Summer Fairs, Festivals and Special Events ONGOING City Pools. Citiparks pools are open June 14 through Labor Day. Programs include swimming lessons and swim teams. Purchase seasonal pool tags or pay a daily entrance fee. 412-323-7928 or www.citiparks.net Spray…
Critics’ Picks
[PARTY ROCK] + SUN., MAY 19 Since the release of I Get Wet more than a decade ago, Andrew W.K. has developed a close following for his strange, irreverent approach to music, and his party-on philosophy. Songs like “Party Hard” and “I’m a Vagabond” define his sound, which at times feels reminiscent of the kind…
Summer Stage
Section Links: Summer Films Summer Arts and Exhibits Summer Music Summer Kids Summer Outdoors Summer Stage Summer Fairs, Festivals and Special Events CURRENT Abigail/1702. Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa’s drama follows the girl who cried “Witch!” in The Crucible into adulthood, through May 26 (City Theatre). Clybourne Park. Bruce Norris’ scathing, Pulitzer- and Tony-winning comedy about race as…
New Releases
B. White The Anomaly (The 58s) McKeesport rapper B. White here presents his first solo full-length, released by his group The 58s. In 18 tracks (plus two bonus tracks), he lays down often brutal truths about life in the Mon Valley. White mixes social commentary and the personal, often in close quarters. On one track…
Summer Fairs, Festivals and Special Events
Section Links: Summer Films Summer Arts and Exhibits Summer Music Summer Kids Summer Outdoors Summer Stage Summer Fairs, Festivals and Special Events ONGOING Pittsburgh Neighborhood Festivals. Held throughout the city through fall. 412-422-6405 or www.citiparks.net for complete list MAY 15-19 Pittsburgh International Children’s Festival. Schenley Plaza, Oakland. www.pghkids.org MAY 17-19 Ambridge Nationality Days. Ambridge. www.ambridgechamberofcommerce.com…
Impossible Choice: Despite onerous restrictions already in place, women’s health options are coming under fire again
It’s not like getting an abortion in Pennsylvania was easy before. Just ask Janet, who more than a decade ago found out she was pregnant, at age 17. State law requires parental consent if a minor wants an abortion, unless a judge bypasses the requirement. But Janet, who grew up around Erie, couldn’t tell her…
At Silver Eye, a new series finds comparable but distinct work by teacher and student hanging side by side.
CONTINUUM: DOUG DUBOIS AND AARON BLUM continues through July 20. Silver Eye Center for Photography 1015 E. Carson St., South Side. Continuum: Doug DuBois and Aaron Blum is the first in a projected series of contemporary photography exhibits exploring mentorship and influence — generally between teacher and student. Blum received an MFA in photography in…
Redeveloping History: Will arena development revitalize the hill or simply extend Downtown?
When Travis Williams of the Pittsburgh Penguins stood before a roomful of Hill District residents April 10 to discuss the team’s plans for the Lower Hill District for the first time, he said out loud what nearly all in the room knew to be true. “It would be easy for me to stand up here…
David V. Matthews offers a strong debut short-story collection.
David V. Matthews’ Meltdown in the Cereal Aisle is his first collection of short stories. It’s self-published, but don’t be put off: Meltdown is a nice piece of work, entertaining and slick in its way, but also rather sophisticated. Its 141 pages contain eight interconnected stories set in Western Pennsylvania over the past 35 years.…
Greener Together
In April, City Paper ran a suite of articles about how Pittsburgh might become a green role model for other towns by creating citywide programs to conserve energy, move to renewables and reimagine how we handle transit, trash and sewage. If the federal government is shirking its duty to act on climate change, we figure,…
Stage 62’s Dani Girl
DANI GIRL continues through Sun., May 19. Andrew Carnegie Free Library, 300 Beechwood Ave., Carnegie. $15-18. 412-429-6262 or stage62.org. Be advised: As I left Dani Girl at last Friday’s performance, a woman rushed past me. She scampered down the corridor, sobbing uncontrollably. She waved off concerned friends, shrieking, “I can’t! I can’t!” Dani Girl is…
Savage Love
I have a mentally disabled cousin who has lived for more than 40 years in the same nursing home in a small, conservative town. He is now in his late 60s. He has always enjoyed dressing up as a woman, but given that he’s in a Christian nursing home, he must keep it fairly secret.…
City Theatre’s Abigail/1702
ABIGAIL/1702 continues through May 26. City Theatre, 1300 Bingham St., South Side. $15-55. 412-431-2489 or citytheatrecompany.org When we left Abigail Williams, near the end of Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, she had just vanished after bringing Salem to its knees with accusations of witchcraft. In his new play, Abigail/1702 (now at City Theatre), Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa attempts…
Now
Loose grey hairs tickle as the air moves untamable tipsy yellow jackets raid the apple’s core honing in repeatedly a bill’s sealed edge ripped open slices skin drips stinging red against white torrents soak the obscured ground underfoot the sugarless leaf edges blur, almost dawn one brother reaches out for the other’s hand innately bracing…
Tarzan at Pittsburgh Musical Theater
TARZAN continues through Sun., May 19. Pittburgh Musical Theater at the Byham Theater, 101 Sixth St., Downtown. $12.25-44.75. 412-456-6666 or pittsburghmusicals.com It may not be easy being green, but Pittsburgh Musical Theater’s production of Disney’s Tarzan is doing an awfully good job. The Byham’s stage has been turned into a remote Congo jungle, complete with…
Short List: May 15 – 22
Thu., May 17 — Stage Bridgette Perdue calls being a fellow with August Wilson Center for African American Culture “a dream come true.” Annually, the fellowship supports African-American artists who then showcase new work at the Center’s First Voice Festival. Perdue, a R&B vocalist and composer, dreamt of singing and dancing to her own music,…
Pittsburgh Ballet school offers its annual pre-professional showcase
PITTSBURGH BALLET THEATRE SCHOOL Pre-Professional Showcase. 7 p.m. Fri., May 17; 1 and 7 p.m. Sat., May 18; and 1 p.m. Sun., May 19. $20. 412-281-0360 or pbt.org While Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre is one of the nation’s top ballet companies, its school also has a reputation for turning out top talent. The school draws dancers…
Savory Hill
Savory Hill 988 Brodhead Road Moon. 724-457-7109 Hours: Tue.-Thu. 11 a.m.-9 p.m.; Fri.-Sat. 11 a.m.-10 p.m.; Sun. 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Prices: Soups, salads and starters $3-12; entrees $19-23 Liquor: Full bar; on-staff sommelier The fantastically named Moon is a township in transition between its past as a bustling service depot for Pittsburgh International Airport and…
The Great Gatsby
The Great Gatsby Directed by: Baz Luhrman Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Tobey Maguire, Carey Mulligan, Joel Edgerton In 3-D, in select theaters. On one level, F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby is about puncturing grand myths and the manipulation of smaller truths. In that spirit, I’ll confess to not having read the Jazz Age novel since…
Lucy Nguyen runs a popular, seasonal banh mi stand in the Strip District
Pull Quote: “A lot of it is Lucy herself. The food is good, but I’m also taken care of here.” When 71-year-old Lucy Nguyen set up her grill and the table full of pickled ingredients in the Strip District two weeks ago, the texting and Tweeting and Facebooking began: “Look who I found!” Jeff…
