City Paper rolling out new Pittsburgh City Council blog Monday
City Paper is launching a new blog, “Keeping Up With the Council.”
Activists Protest Inmate Deaths at Allegheny County Jail
Protestors demand county to hire interim medical director and input into county jail’s health-care decisions.
‘Listen, Lucy’ Celebrates Re-launch, Gives Internet Users Anonymous Space to Share Feelings
Listen, Lucy is a place where people can share their feelings anonymously.
Plea for Nepal Concert Tomorrow at Chatham
Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra members perform a benefit concert for earthquake victims.
Correction: Author Celeste Ng Visits on Mon., June 1
CORRECTION: Author Celeste Ng speaks at Carnegie Library Lecture Hall on Mon., June 1.
Listen Up! May 27
Every Wednesday, we make a Spotify playlist containing tracks from artists covered in the current music section. Think of it as the soundtrack to this week’s issue!
PWSA hit with lawsuit over billing issues
PWSA customer files lawsuit against authority.
Concert announcements: Beach House, Calexico, MisterWives
It’s Tuesday, which can only mean one thing (at least when it comes to the FFW>> blog): concert announcements! On September 23, MisterWives and Waters play Stage AE ($20-22, on sale Friday). Of Monsters & Men plays an outdoor show at Stage AE on September 16 ($39.50-42, on sale Friday). Trampled By Turtles appears at Mr. Small’s on…
MP3 … Tuesday???: Bent Squares
This week’s MP3 Monday (posted a day late, due to the holiday) comes to you from local artist Marcus Meston’s new solo project, Bent Squares. Meston’s been around the MP3 Monday block a few times in the past, but “Hook, Line and Sinker” marks his first under a new moniker. Take a listen below. Sorry,…
Lynn Cullen Live 5/26/15
Video Archive You can listen to the audio archive here. Less than half a percent of the population is in the military. The story of a female sergeant from Pittsburgh. DeNiro speaks at Tish graduation. Eggs are about to become extremely expensive because of bird flu. Dept of Defense pays NFL to put on a…
Local Crowdfunding Campaigns for “Robot Repair,” Ceramics in Classrooms
Locals crowdfund for arts and education.
Review: Palma Violets at Brillobox, May 21
When a wild-haired, Cockney-accented man appears to be magically everywhere in a venue – from behind the bar, to through the bar, to dancing through the crowd, where he urges patrons to check out fresh-faced yet gritty openers Public Access Television, then leaps back, encouraging the audience forward (and this wasn’t the culmination of his…
City Paper wins seven Golden Quill Awards
City Paper staffers took home seven Golden Quill Awards, including best in show.
CP Weekend Podcast – May 22 – 24, 2015
This week on the CP Weekend podcast: Spend some porch time at the Frick, wish on a star or feel the presence of a saint.
Lynn Cullen Live 5/21/15
Video Archive You can listen to the audio archive here. Oil spills in California spread over 9 miles. The construction boom in Pittsburgh and how we should petition for better buildings. Audio Only Archive Listen to the Audio Archives on with our new Apple and Android Apps or the computer audio player.
Summer Guide 2015
Summer Guide 2015: Summer Music Summer Film Summer Arts and Exhibits Summer Stage Summer Fairs, Festivals and Special Events Summer Outdoors Summer Kids
Critics’ Picks: May 20 – 26
[ROCK] + THU., MAY 21 “Buzz” can be a figurative four-letter word — at least for many British rock startups trying to bring the band to America. The London pub-rockers of Palma Violets are experiencing this firsthand, playing much earlier in the afternoon at Coachella and Shaky Knees Festival than they will at Reading and…
New Releases
White Like Fire Wait the Night Out [Self-released] www.whitelikefire.com Many music critics have tossed bands like Kings of Leon and Mumford & Sons to the curb — but Pittsburgh indie-rockers White Like Fire really don’t seem to care. On the band’s latest EP, Wait the Night Out, it mixes tiny doses of twang into dancy…
Saints Tour digs deep into Braddock
THE SAINTS TOUR BRADDOCK Thu., May 21-June 13 Braddock $60 412-471-0999 or bricolagepgh.org The three little girls exit the house and march across the street. “Here they come,” says Tami Dixon. On a chilly May evening, she’s standing in a garden in North Braddock with TaeAjah Cannon as they rehearse for Saints Tour. The three…
Community-oriented cluster planning would revitalize Homewood one block at a time
On a particularly chilly evening in February, about 14 residents are gathered in the basement of the Church of the Holy Cross in Homewood. It has all the usual trappings of a neighborhood meeting: plastic folding chairs, linoleum floors, drop ceilings and some sandwiches spread across a table in the corner — an incentive to…
Two Italian Masters at Christine Fréchard Gallery
TWO ITALIAN MASTERS continues through May 29 Fréchard Gallery 5871 Forbes Ave., Squirrel Hill 412-421-8888 or christine frechardgallery.com A show at Christine Fréchard Gallery illustrates two very different approaches to contemporary art, two states of mind. One concerns the interpenetration of language and image, while the other contemplates both the destabilizing forces of civilization and…
OSHA closes complaint against UPMC over cleaning chemical, but expert says more testing may be needed
In February, City Paper wrote about a fairly new hospital cleaner called OxyCide that was being used in more and more hospitals across the country, including facilities in Pittsburgh. The chemical, which contains peracetic acid, is touted as a useful tool in cutting down on hospital infections. And according to a report released last month…
barebones’ American Falls
AMERICAN FALLS continues through May 31 Barebones Black Box Theater 1211 Braddock Ave. Braddock $30-35 barebones productions.com One is tempted to read the title American Falls as a sentence, with the second word a verb. In a sense, that’s the truth about barebones productions’ presentation of Miki Johnson’s 2012 play about a slice of Americans…
A new documentary tells how in 1941, a young woman founded Pittsburgh’s first gallery of modern art
TRACING OUTLINES 6:30 p.m. Thu., May 21 (5:30 p.m. reception; filmmaker Q&A follows screening) Carnegie Museum of Art Theater 4400 Forbes Ave. Oakland $15 (includes drink token) cmoa.org Three Rivers Arts Festival screenings: June 5, 7 and 10 (Harris Theater, Downtown) 3riversarts festival.org Pittsburgh, we’re told, didn’t much go for modern art until the 1950s.…
Midsummer (A Play With Songs) at City Theatre
MIDSUMMER (A PLAY WITH SONGS) continues through May 31 City Theatre 1300 Bingham St. South Side $15-56 412-431-2489 or citytheatre company.org The first syllable lays out the theme of Midsummer, wrapping up the season for City Theatre. Subtitled “A Play With Songs,” the 2008 Scottish comedy/romance is set in Edinburgh on the weekend of the…
Savage Love
Yesterday, I found my 5-year-old son putting things up his butt in the bath. This isn’t the first time — and it’s not just a “Hey! There’s a hole here! Let’s put things in there!” kind of thing. The little dude was rocking quite the stiffy while he did it. I’m well aware of how…
Detroit at 12 Peers Theater
DETROIT continues through May 30 12 Peers Theater at The Maker Theater 5950 Ellsworth Ave. Shadyside $15-20 412-496-2194 or 12peerstheater.org Lisa D’Amour’s play Detroit (now receiving its local premiere at 12 Peers Theater) was a finalist for the 2011 Pulitzer Prize for drama. Detroit also won an Obie for Best New American play, in 2013.…
Agitation
Search for it — not the touch of a woman But — womanist touch. The known art Why we do — did, done for . . . Why we Spar so hard, not to do what’s required To do out of spite. Of no reason, no Legalist’s rhyme. We just want to let go. Still,…
Fight Club author Chuck Palahniuk visits with a new short-fiction collection
CHUCK PALAHNIUK 7 p.m. Thu., May 21 Carnegie Lecture Hall 4400 Forbes Ave. Oakland Sold out 412-622-8866 or pittsburgh lectures.org Many of his readers, Chuck Palahniuk believes, discovered him in high school and college and stuck with him. But Palahniuk says his writing has changed a lot since Fight Club, his 1996 debut novel that…
Short List: May 20 -26
SPOTLIGHT: Sat., May 23 — Talk We, too, have whiled away 15 minutes at a pop watching TED talks on philanthropy or mushrooms that somebody passed around on Facebook. But Pittsburgh has its own, TED-sanctioned but independently organized and in-person version of the popular speaker series for “ideas worth spreading.” And the theme for this…
Lambert & Stamp
Lambert & Stamp Directed by James D. Cooper Starts Fri., May 22. Harris The typical rock doc spotlights frontmen, songwriters, lead guitarists. But just as The Who’s musical mainspring was its madly innovative drummer, so does James D. Cooper’s Lambert & Stamp view the iconic band from a novel perspective: through the sometimes-literal lens of…
Stuff We Like: Summer Edition
Gus & Yia Yia’s. Few things say summer in Pittsburgh more than a bag of peanuts and an old-fashioned shaved-ice ball from this iconic North Side food cart. 638 W. Ohio St. Leinenkugel Summer Shandy. Crisp and refreshing. If beer and lemonade had an offspring, this is what it would taste like. Kennywood Memories. It’s the…
Summer Music
Navigation: Summer Music Summer Film Summer Arts and Exhibits Summer Stage Summer Fairs, Festivals and Special Events Summer Outdoors Summer Kids MUSIC VENUES 31st Street Pub. 3101 Penn Ave., Strip District. 412-391-8334 565 Live. 565 Lincoln Ave., Bellevue. 412-522-7556 Altar Bar. 1620 Penn Ave., Strip District. 412-206-9719 The Andy Warhol Museum. 117 Sandusky St., North…
Far From the Madding Crowd
In Far from the Madding Crowd, the 19th-century British novelist Thomas Hardy tells too much story for director Thomas Vinterberg’s new two-hour adaptation. But Vinterberg does all he can to focus strongly on character, and he turns out an exceptionally acted and enjoyable period piece. Very long story short, young Bathsheba Everdene (Carey Mulligan) inherits…
Royal Myanmar
Royal Myanmar 644 Center Ave West View 412-415-3380 Hours: Mon. noon-9 p.m.; Tue.-Thu. 11 a.m.-9 p.m.; Fri.-Sat. 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Prices: $4-15 Liquor: BYOB Imagine a map of world cuisines, animated by when they arrived in and around Pittsburgh. Asia would be almost filled in by now. Whereas in the ’90s, the pan-Asian restaurant Silk…
Summer Films
Navigation: Summer Music Summer Film Summer Arts and Exhibits Summer Stage Summer Fairs, Festivals and Special Events Summer Outdoors Summer Kids This summer is going to seem very familiar, with more than a dozen sequels and remakes packed into three months. And maybe you are pumped for Insidious: Chapter 3 (June 5), but take heart:…
I Am Big Bird: The Caroll Spinney Story
Dave LaMattina and Chad Walker’s warm doc looks beneath the yellow feathers of Sesame Street’s iconic Big Bird, and finds Caroll Spinney, the puppeteer who has brought the beloved character to life for 45 years. Equal parts a profile of Spinney, a history of Sesame Street and an assessment of Big Bird’s global impact, the…
New street-fusion restaurant boasts an inventive bar
No more waiting for Taco Tuesdays: Now it can be täkō time all the time, with the much-anticipated opening of Downtown’s täkō. Joining the ranks of Butcher and the Rye and Meat & Potatoes, täkō is the new Latin- and Asian-influenced street-fusion venture from partners Tolga Sevdik and chef Richard DeShantz. Maggie Meskey, a driving…
Summer Arts and Exhibits
Navigation: Summer Music Summer Film Summer Arts and Exhibits Summer Stage Summer Fairs, Festivals and Special Events Summer Outdoors Summer Kids VISUAL ART CURRENT Assemble Artspace. AmeriKKKa: A Post Racial Society (interactive installation by Alaric X), through Sat., May 23. 937 Liberty. Temporary States (art exploring climate change and “a common household substance,” by Lori…
Mad Max: Fury Road
Likely to be the best action pic of the summer. Makes those bloated comic-book movies just look silly. Literally starts off running, and doesn’t let up. Basic plot: Max (Tom Hardy) and a truck-driver (Charlize Theron) need to get themselves and their precious human cargo from Point A to Point B while being chased by…
Szmidt’s Old World Deli relocates Downtown
If Day One was any indication, Szmidt’s Old World Deli needn’t worry about drawing customers to its new Downtown location. On May 7, an hour into its first lunch since moving from Greenfield, the full-service restaurant’s nearly 100 seats were two-thirds full. Credit, in part, the reputation Darren Smith’s deli had built since it opened…
Summer Stage
Navigation: Summer Music Summer Film Summer Arts and Exhibits Summer Stage Summer Fairs, Festivals and Special Events Summer Outdoors Summer Kids NOW PLAYING Our Town. The Thornton Wilder classic, through Sat., May 23 (Little Lake). Detroit. Lisa D’Amour’s drama about two couples from vastly different backgrounds in contemporary suburban Detroit, through May 30 (12 Peers…
Pitch Perfect 2
Elizabeth Banks’ sequel to 2012’s Pitch Perfect is pretty much the exact same film. This time, the female college a capella group The Barden Bellas vie for an international title. Same actors, same awkward mix of rom-com, singing and snark. New this round: More cameos by assorted stars and newscasters, and the “a capella” numbers…
Hear From the Creators of the Saints Tour – CP TV
Produced by Ashley Murray and Aaron Warnick
Summer Fairs, Festivals And Special Events
Navigation: Summer Music Summer Film Summer Arts and Exhibits Summer Stage Summer Fairs, Festivals and Special Events Summer Outdoors Summer Kids ONGOING Pittsburgh Neighborhood Festivals. Held throughout the city through fall. 412-422-6405 or www.citiparks.net for complete list MAY 22-23 Pyrofest. Fireworks festival, Hartwood Acres. www.pyrofest.com MAY 25 Memorial Day Celebration. Soldiers & Sailors Hall, Oakland.…
In separate performances, William Parker and David Torn bring adventurous modern jazz to Pittsburgh
WILLIAM PARKER / DANIEL CARTER QUARTET 8 p.m. Thu., May 28 Thunderbird Cafe 4023 Butler St. Lawrenceville $16-$20 412-682-0177 or thunderbird cafe.net DAVID TORN 8 p.m. Sun., May 31 Club Café 56-58 S. 12th St. South Side $20 412-431-4950 or clubcafe live.com April wound up being a busy month for fans of improvised music. Instead…
Summer Outdoors
Navigation: Summer Music Summer Film Summer Arts and Exhibits Summer Stage Summer Fairs, Festivals and Special Events Summer Outdoors Summer Kids ONGOING City Pools. Citiparks pools are open June 9 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 Parks.…
On the latest release from Marina & the Diamonds, singer Marina Diamandis becomes more herself
MARINA & THE DIAMONDS 7 p.m. Tue., May 26 Stage AE 400 North Shore Drive North Side $25-30 412-229-5483 or stageae.com Welsh pop singer Marina Diamandis — who performs under the name Marina & the Diamonds — isn’t afraid to go for it. For her 2012 concept album, Electra Heart, she fully adopted the larger-than-life,…
Summer Kids
Navigation: Summer Music Summer Film Summer Arts and Exhibits Summer Stage Summer Fairs, Festivals and Special Events Summer Outdoors Summer Kids ONGOING Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh. Branches of the library citywide offer kids’ and teens’ programs — from story time and puppet shows to gaming and literature discussions — throughout the summer. www.carnegielibrary.org Carnegie Science Center.…
After the glitz of Nashville, singer-songwriter Jon Bindley prefers to use his music to foster human connection
JON BINDLEY 5:30 p.m. Fri., May 22 Mullaney’s Harp and Fiddle 2329 Penn Ave. Strip District 412-642-6622 or harpand fiddle.com Last October, Jon Bindley gave Norah Jones a book. The Pittsburgh-born singer-songwriter was back in his hometown, driving a limousine to make ends meet after two years living in Nashville, when he was sent to…
Lynn Cullen Live 5/20/15
Video Archive You can listen to the audio archive here. Results of local elections and what it says about Rich Fitzgerald. Last Letterman show airs tonight. Are squirrels multi-lingual? L.A. county approves $15 min. wage. Audio Only Archive Listen to the Audio Archives on with our new Apple and Android Apps or the computer audio…
