Pittsburgh to celebrate bicentennial with events year-round
Pittsburgh will be celebrating it’s 200 year anniversary with a series of events throughout 2016.
Listen Up! Jan. 6
Every Wednesday, we make a Spotify playlist containing tracks from artists covered in the current music section. Take a listen below:
MP3 Monday: Wooly Woman
This week’s track comes from Greg Smee’s indie psych project Wooly Woman; stream or download “Makes His Money” from the record Free, below. Appropriately enough, Smee is offering digital or physical copies of the record at no cost: if you like what you hear, get at him on Facebook or listen to more at CD…
Critics’ Picks, Dec. 31-Jan. 6
[DANCE] + THU., DEC. 31 Less than a month ago, the Ace Hotel opened its newest boutique hotel in East Liberty’s former YMCA. Tonight, it partners with creative collective VIA to present VITAMIN NYE, a cornucopia of electronic and analog dance music, including DJ sets by Pittsburgh Track Authority, Clark Price, Boo Lean, Kelly Carter,…
At Lawrenceville’s Butterwood Bake Consortium, the focus is on dessert
Butterwood Bake Consortium 5222 Butler St., Lawrenceville. 412-781-0218 or thebutterwoodbakeconsortium.com The name is a mouthful, but the concept of Lawrenceville’s Butterwood Bake Consortium is simple. “It’s sort of inspired by Austrian/Viennese coffee shops,” explains owner/baker Ally Slayden. But while the shop offers beverages from Munhall’s Klvn Coffee Lab, the focus is dessert. And thanks to…
Pittsburgh punk band No Time gets ready to release a long-awaited record
It’s the first night of Pittsburgh punk band No Time’s mid-December mini tour and, because drummer Tom Moran lives in Philadelphia, it’s the first time all five members have played together in weeks. But for the audience crowded under the low, Christmas-light-studded beams of this West Philly basement, chemistry and showmanship obscure rustiness. Guitarists Nick…
The drinks menu at Justin Severino’s new venture looks to Spain
Stepping across its threshold, I realized that having waited even two weeks after its opening to have a drink at Justin Severino’s new Lawrenceville venture, Morcilla, seemed a criminally long time. Dark wood ceilings slant cozily inward, with simply carved embellishments that repeat throughout the dining room and bar. Cured meats hang from the ceiling,…
New Releases
Jasiri X Black Liberation Theology (1Hood Media) www.jasirix.com Of all the spoken-word samples that introduce tracks on Jasiri X’s Black Liberation Theology, the one I’ve been replaying the most is both familiar and revelatory. It opens the record’s third track, “The Greatest [My God],” and fires off a segment of Rev. Jeremiah Wright’s monologue which…
The most popular Pittsburgh City Paper stories of 2015
1. At 78 and with myriad health issues, surf-rock legend Dick Dale plays through the pain In a July interview, musician Dick Dale told City Paper editor Charlie Deitch that he continues touring so that he can pay for his medical bills. “I can’t stop touring because I will die,” he said. Dale has suffered…
The Top 10 City Paper stories of 2015
At this time of year, everyone who runs a news outlet of any kind has been busy preparing some sort of year-in-review package. We’ve done the same, of course, but were initially stymied on how exactly to proceed. First off, what passes for news nowadays can make your head spin, with stories about “celebrities” like…
Savage Love
I am a 30-year-old straight man and I’ve been with a 28-year-old bisexual woman for a year. Early in our relationship, after much discussion, we established that it would be open. I would have the liberty to see other women and so would she. We just had to be safe and always keep each other…
The Year in Visual Art
If you value innovation in art, boxy gallery spaces present a challenge, if not an outright problem, that goes beyond corners. The “white cube” carries a lot of baggage, including expectations from artists, curators, funders and audiences. Still, galleries continue to be indispensible for many kinds of art, with some artists happily disrupting or even…
The 2015 Urine Review
Read the full version here Sources: The Centers for Disease Control – 2014 STD Surveillance Report http://www.cdc.gov/nchhstp/newsroom/2015/std-surveillance-report.html PA Department of Health – STD datasets https://apps.health.pa.gov/EpiQMS/asp/SelectParams_Tbl_STDCounty.asp The Centers for Disease Control – HIV Among Youth http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/group/age/youth/ Bio: Em DeMarco is a freelance journalist in Pittsburgh, whose comics journalism features for the Pittsburgh City Paper are published…
Five notable locally sourced books from 2015
Five notable 2015 books by Pittsburgh-based writers, alphabetically by author or editor: The Pittsburgh Anthology (Belt Publishing), edited by Eric Boyd. This book’s 38 contributors of nonfiction, poetry, visual art and photography range from relative unknowns to nationally known poets Robert Gibb and Terrance Hayes and 2015 MacArthur genius-grantee LaToya Ruby Frazier. Boyd excels at…
Wysocki’s Best and Worst awards for 2015
Everybody knows that you can’t be a legitimate newspaper column without having year-end awards. So without further adieu, I give you the never-acclaimed 2015 Cheap Seats Awards (CSA). While most end-of-the-year reviews focus on the positives, being a bastion of fair-and-balanced coverage requires the CSAs to include the worst as well. That sense of fair…
Forbidden Fruit takes Meissen porcelain to the edge of irreverence
FORBIDDEN FRUIT: CHRIS ANTEMANN AT MEISSEN continues through Jan. 10. Frick Art and Historical Center, 7227 Reynolds St., North Point Breeze. 412-371-0600 or thefrickpittsburgh.org In a cursory perusal of Chris Antemann’s porcelain works for Meissen Couture Art Collection, there is nothing that separates them greatly from what the house of Meissen customarily generates. Though the…
Six Game-Changing Productions of 2015
In a year filled with wonderful dance productions, here are six that graced local stages and proved game-changers for the artist, presenter or art form. Malpaso Dance Company (Kelly-Strayhorn Theater, Feb. 27-28). Malpaso’s Pittsburgh appearance was one of the company’s first forays outside of New York in exposing U.S. audiences to Cuban contemporary dance. For…
Your favorite Pittsburgh City Paper videos of 2015
1. Multiple arrests at the Wood Street T Station Read more coverage of this event. 2. Video of Pittsburgh police officer interaction with students in Downtown Read more coverage of this event. 3. Pittsburgh family on frontlines of PA’s medical cannabis debate Read our full news feature on Jessica Hawkins and her daughter Antania. 4. Sharon Needles…
Most Memorable Spaces in 2015 Theater
Discussing “the use of space” seems like theater wonkery, but there is something to be said for approaching venue not as mere parking space for a play, but as integral to the production. So I’m saying it (in no particular order) to wrap up 2015. A novel, even challenging approach to space has been standard…
Your favorite @PGHCityPaper Instagram, Twitter and Facebook posts of 2015
City Paper’s most-liked photo of the year on Instagram was one of staff photographer Heather Mull’s weekly #filter412 images: a view of PPG Place from the 16th-floor garden terrace of the new PNC Tower, Downtown. We invite readers to share their Pittsburgh photos with us on Instagram by tagging their photos with #CPReaderArt, and then we’ll share our…
The Hateful Eight
The Hateful Eight Directed by Quentin Tarantino Starring Samuel L. Jackson, Kurt Russell, Walton Goggins AMC Waterfront in 70 mm; opens wide in digital format Fri., Jan. 1 When Quentin Tarantino’s new three-hour film The Hateful Eight begins with a titled “Overture,” one can’t help but worry about self-indulgence. The opening credit, over a snow-covered…
Lynn Cullen 1/4/2016
Video Archive You can listen to the audio archive here. Lynn discusses the great cinematographer Haskell Wexler, the Oregon “protests” and tyranny in the USA. Also, marking 35 years in Pittsburgh broadcasting! Audio Only Archive Listen to the Audio Archives on with our new Apple and Android Apps or the computer audio player.
Hitchcock/Truffaut
Hard to believe now, but 50 years ago, Alfred Hitchcock was widely seen as merely a highly successful light entertainer. Film writer Kent Jones’ new documentary Hitchcock/Truffaut recounts the exact moment that began to change. In 1962, French New Wave wunderkind Francois Truffaut instigated a series of conversations with his hero Hitchcock about the older…
Our favorite Pittsburgh City Paper covers of 2015
1. The Wedding Issue. (Feb. 11) This was City Paper’s first wedding issue, and the cover featured local drag performer Lola LeCroix (a.k.a. Kevin Nelson) as both the bride and the groom. Lola was an incredibly gracious model, and photographer John Colombo did a great job capturing her spirit. It was one of the most…
Joy
You can see the appeal: director David O. Russell reuniting with his actors from Silver Linings Playbook and American Hustle for another quirky chapter of Americana — struggling mom invents and successfully markets a newfangled mop. But alas, even the powerhouse trio of Jennifer Lawrence, Bradley Cooper and Robert De Niro can’t rescue this misfire. …
Lynn Cullen 1/5/2016
Video Archive You can listen to the audio archive here. Lynn and Susan talk Botox, The Revenant, & kindergarten. Audio Only Archive Listen to the Audio Archives on with our new Apple and Android Apps or the computer audio player.
Point Break
A former extreme athlete turned FBI agent goes undercover with a crew of extreme-sports enthusiasts who might also be staging extreme heists. I wish I could add “extreme” to this film’s accolades, but at best, Ericson Core’s reboot of the 1991 neo-classic is extremely pointless. The plot makes zero sense — some mystical eco-quest that…
Stuff We Like
Page-a-Day Calendars. Now is the time to buy one. Get wordier in 2016. Getting On. Set in a hospital for female geriatrics, this HBO comedy brings refreshingly smart roles to a wide range of actresses. Now concluded, its three seasons are perfect for winter binge-watching. Tim. The 30th anniversary of The Replacements’ major-label debut is a…
Theeb
Naji Abu Nowar directs this simple but affecting tale of a Bedouin boy living in a remote corner of the Ottoman province of Hijaz during World War I. Theeb (Jacir Eid Al-Hwietat) is the youngest member of a tribe of guides, and when his older brother is asked to lead a British soldier through a…
Short List: December 31 – January 6
Thu., Dec. 31 — Outdoors From the heart of Downtown to far-flung ’burbs, there are plenty of places to ice-skate around here, some of them year-round. But your best bargains are likely at three long-running public rinks — all outdoors, as nature intended: Schenley Park, North Park and South Park. And with Schenley’s rink finally…
Our writers offer music-related predictions, recommendations and wishes for 2016
Last week, we looked back at the things we loved (and didn’t love) about music in 2015. This week, some of our writers offer their music-related predictions, recommendations and wishes for 2016. A South Side Music Festival Local music showcases are popping up at the rate of vape shops on East Carson Street. This year,…
Breakneck Tavern
Breakneck Tavern 273 Mars Valencia Road, Mars. 724-625-9150 Hours: Mon.-Thu. 11 a.m.-10 p.m.; Fri.-Sat. 11 a.m.-11 p.m.; Sun. 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Prices: Appetizers, soups, salads, sandwiches $7-14; entrees $17-39 Liquor: Full bar Breakneck Tavern, a gastropub in Mars, is so new it’s old again. Its bar and other interior features are constructed from materials reclaimed…
CP Weekend Podcast – Dec. 31, 2015 – Jan. 3, 2016
This week: Ring in the New Year with First Night, catch a few laughs and hope for ice skating weather.
