Pittsburgh Grooveline: Feb. 28-March 6
Each week, the City Paper compiles a list of Pittsburgh dance parties for you and your crew to bust loose to the best bangers, EDM, pop hits, and more. (All events are 21 and over unless otherwise stated.) Fri., March 1 Millennial Fresh Party at Spirit. 10 p.m.-2 a.m. 242 51st St., Lawrenceville. $20. spiritpgh.com…
Replay FX expands into esports with Pittsburgh Knights partnership
Each year, Replay FX brings gaming culture to the David L. Lawrence Convention Center. Come August, local gamers will see even more play at the convention thanks to a new deal with the locally-based global esports organization, the Pittsburgh Knights. The Knights signed a multi-year partnership to co-produce Replay FX (Aug. 1-4). The deal serves…
Talkin’ Snack: Quaker’s hidden Baked Cheddar gems
Did you know Quaker has a snack mix? I’m not sure Quaker does, as these exquisite treats aren’t anywhere to be found on its website. Tanisha from D.C. was sniffing a little too close to a bag of these golden nuggets, and Frito-Lay Facebook threw her off their scent with a 404 error page: I…
Black History Month: How Frankie Knuckles changed music forever
Frankie Knuckles is often referred to as the “Godfather” of house music, and while that’s hard to argue against, the scope of his influence is far wider than any single genre. The tools he cultivated in his approach to composition (whether in physical instruments or production tricks) can still be heard in popular music today,…
Pittsburgh City Podcast: Discussing CP’s Black History Month coverage with contributing writer Tereneh Idia
Black History Month can elicit ambivalent responses. It’s been criticized for being superficial and fleeting, while its goal should be for something far more substantive and continuous. As a white editor of a mostly white staff, Lisa Cunningham wanted to acknowledge and celebrate Black History Month, but was unsure how to go about it, so…
Wigle and Omni Hotel team up for a bar crawl the way it should be: indoors
Wigle Whiskey and The Omni William Penn Hotel are teaming up for the perfect cold weather activity: an all-indoor tour of favorite Wigle spirits. On Friday, cuddle up to a cocktail at A Cozy Bar Crawl, the warm version of summer bar stumbles. There’s no trudging through snow and no fidgeting with puffy coats because…
Op-Ed: We can finally see which bus will take us to the game
Port Authority of Allegheny County CEO Katharine Eagan Kelleman recently announced that Port Authority buses would begin showing only route information on their LED destination signs. Meaning they will no longer cycle through messages related to sports, holidays, or other information not related to transit. Pittsburghers for Public Transit welcomes this move as a way…
Pączki find life after Fat Tuesday
On March 5, Fat Tuesday revelers will stuff their faces with pączki, (pronounced poonch-ski in its plural form) a traditional holiday dessert with Polish origins. In Pittsburgh, the treat has risen in popularity, popping up at local bakeries and Giant Eagles. And with Fat Tuesday rolling around later than usual this year on March 5,…
Black History Month: How Pittsburgh native Billy Porter stole the show at the Oscars
For many, this year’s Oscars were something of a disappointment. Green Book, which has been criticized for providing an overly rosy picture of civil-rights history, took home the Best Picture award, on a night when other Black films like BlacKkKlansman and Black Panther could have won. But let’s not forget the fashion aspect of ceremony,…
Lynn Cullen Live – 2/26/19
Video Archive Lynn is getting Susan’s take on the Oscars to start the show today. Susan is singing the praises of Billy Porter, and the designer Christian Siriano. They are also discussing the ending of the Bradley Cooper, Lady Gaga duet. It was a strange moment where neither of them acknowledged the audience while getting…
Action Movement Revolution exhibit showcases diverse styles of local photographers
The Manchester Craftsmen’s Guild is an unassuming stumpy building, next to a UPS center, a construction company, and other mundane businesses. But inside, MCG is home to Action Movement Revolution, a bright and lively exhibit in the Connie Kerr Gallery. The exhibit, which opened Jan. 14 and will run through April 5, showcases photography work…
Why that report ranking Pittsburgh among the nation’s worst traffic may be wrong
Pittsburghers, like most Americans, hate traffic. And also like most Americans, drivers here seem convinced that their traffic is worse compared to other cities. So when a report comes out that validates those feelings, Pittsburghers eat it right up. That happened earlier this month when local TV stations and others published a story about an…
Princess addresses fluidity in video concept piece, Out There
Hairy legs, bright pink tutus, a dress suit, form-fitting blue spandex, and penis rocket ships make up Out There, a video piece by performance duo Princess, comprised of Alexis Gideon and Michael O’Neill. It’s a mash-up of traditionally masculine and feminine notions that toy with gender roles and expectations. Performed as a live video album,…
#MusicMonday Wrap-up: Feb 25
Every Monday, CP staff writer Jordan Snowden wraps up the weekend in local and national music news with #MusicMonday. Here’s what went down in the past few days. Local This is the last week to vote for WYEP’s Big Spring Countdown. In March, the local adult alternative station will air a countdown curated by listeners.…
East End Brewing releases two new beers, in champagne bottles
East End Brewing lovers may remember its “funky beers” known as Brett Hop and Saison La Seconde, offered as a limited release in champagne-style bottles last year. Well, they’re back, but in a slightly different way than before, all thanks to a little microscope culture. Brettanomyces-lactobacillus, the active culture found in both Brett Hop and…
John Zobele, aka chris†††, dives deep on Deep Dark Trench
Vaporwave — the electronic music subgenre and aesthetic movement born of internet communities —may have peaked in the early 2010s, but in 2019, John Zobele is making his living from it. The 25-year-old Pittsburgh-via-New Jersey resident runs Business Casual, a self-proclaimed “internet music label,” out of his apartment in Oakland, where he also makes music…
Black History Month: Fiction by Black authors
Part of Pittsburgh City Paper’s month-long celebration of Black History Month. Trying to decide what to read next? Why not pick up one of these fiction reads by Black authors. Be forewarned: once started, you may not be able to put them down. An American Marriage – Tayari Jones One of Oprah’s 2018 Book Club picks,…
Women in India learn to make their own pads in Period. End of Sentence.
In the United States, a country in which menstrual products are relatively accessible, the topic of periods is still taboo. They still get called the vague and useless term “feminine hygiene products.” Women in prison often can’t afford pads or tampons. Even outside of prison, the they’re exorbitantly priced. Imagine, then, how difficult it is…
Lynn Cullen Live – 2/25/19
Video Archive Lynn is back from her week away, and feels she is still on California time, so she’s easing into things this morning. Up first the Oscars. The host-less show went better without a host in her opinion. She also feels like Pittsburgh’s own Billy Porter stole the show. In addition Lynn is talking…
Black History Month: Writing workshop with poet-artists Saretta Morgan and Bekezela Mguni tomorrow
Part of Pittsburgh City Paper’s month-long celebration of Black History Month The struggles of Black Americans are long and frequent throughout American history. New struggles are documented each day. Coping with those and understanding them is a struggle onto itself. Writing can help. The University of Pittsburgh’s Hillman Library is hosting a writing workshop with…
Black History Month: A love letter to A Different World
Part of Pittsburgh City Paper’s month-long celebration of Black History Month I’d like to open with the disclaimer that, as a white woman, I know nothing of the Black experience in America, and would never suggest that I do. What I can say is that I grew up during the tail-end of the 1980s and…
Smallman Street redesign includes bike lanes, angled parking, and a public plaza
The Strip District is going to be a little less bare in just over a year. The city unveiled designs earlier this month detailing a complete renovation of a five-block area of Smallman Street. Design plans for the 16th to 21st streets include adding sidewalks, angled back-in parking, “high-visibility” crosswalks, bike lanes and a public…
State Rep. Daryl Metcalfe says reducing carbon dioxide emissions will kill his vegetables
State Rep. Daryl Metcalfe (R-Cranberry) is well known for making ludicrous statements, ones that are typically tinged with arch-conservative ideology. For example, a video went viral that showed an irritated Metcalfe shouting “I’m a heterosexual. I have a wife. I love my wife. I don’t like men, as you might,” when touched on the elbow…
Ice cream and margs are still good in the winter: tastiest food stories in Pittsburgh
Each week, City Paper food writer Maggie Weaver wraps up our favorite stories from Pittsburgh’s food scene. Sugar Spell Scoops opens storefront location Sugar Spell Scoops, Pittsburgh’s first all-vegan ice cream company, unveils its long-awaited storefront in Sharpsburg this weekend. Amanda Burk, the owner and brains behind the operation, introduced Sugar Spell Scoops to Pittsburgh at…
Black History Month: Three Black female musicians to watch
Part of Pittsburgh City Paper’s month-long celebration of Black History Month Stop what you’re doing and listen to these emerging Black female artists. Noname Until September 2018, when rapper Noname released her sophomore album, Room 25, the Chicago native flew under the radar. Even though the artist, whose real name is Fatimah Warner, was featured on Chance the Rapper’s breakout album…
Allegheny County council candidate Bethany Hallam wants a countywide conversion therapy ban now
In the 2019 questionnaire seeking an endorsement from the Steel City Stonewall Democrats, Allegheny County Council President John DeFazio wrote that he “would be willing to introduce and advocate for legislation banning conversion therapy.” Conversion therapy is a psychological or spiritual intervention used to attempt to change a person’s sexual orientation from gay or bisexual…
Talkin’ Snack: Ranking vending machine pastries
Talkin’ Snack is a new City Paper column all about the delicious world of snacks, from salty to sweet, from crunchy to gummy, from weird Oreo flavor to another weird Oreo flavor. For the first edition of Talkin’ Snack, I thought there would be no better place to start than a home-cooked meal. By home,…
Pittsburgh Grooveline: Thu. Feb. 21-Wed. Feb. 27
Each week, City Paper compiles a list of Pittsburgh dance parties for you and your crew to bust loose to the best bangers, EDM, pop hits, and more. (All events are 21 and over unless otherwise stated.) Fri., Feb. 22 In Bed by Ten at Spirit. 6-9 p.m. 242 51st St., Lawrenceville. $10. spiritpgh.com – After…
Azorean Cafe brings island flavors to Pittsburgh
Sandwiched between Italian restaurants on Liberty Avenue in Bloomfield, Azorean Cafe salutes the cuisine of the Azores, an archipelago just off the coast of Portugal. The dishes, founded on a “peasant-based” cooking style, are hearty, humble, and full of earthy flavors. Azorean Cafe puts heart into practical, homey dishes. Elsa Santos, the restaurant’s head chef…
Paul Taylor Company returns to Pittsburgh with a new director and a program of Taylor Masterworks
Just before the death of Paul Taylor, leader of the Paul Taylor Dance Company, Michael Novak was surprised to learn he was picked as the successor, even though he had been with the company since 2010. “I had no idea this was coming, no one did,” says Novak. “Paul didn’t ask me, he told me…
Clothes Make … with chef Claudy Pierre of Arnold’s Tea
Name: Claudy Pierre, owner, Arnold’s Tea What are you wearing? [It] always starts with my jeans, the Levi’s 501s. Comfy. The Michael Jordan Air Force 1s, blue, one of my favorites. My custom Arnold’s Tea tee, of course. The Calvin Klein every day on-the-go jacket. And my Apple Watch, gotta have my Apple Watch. How do…
In Mother Country, Irina Reyn explores — and foreshadows — the forced separation of immigrant families
Irina Reyn’s third novel, Mother Country (Thomas Dunne/St. Martin’s Press), is ostensibly about a mother trying to create a better life for her daughter. But as Reyn started writing the book five years ago, the situation in Ukraine — her mother’s homeland, which she’d visited as a young girl for summer vacations — began to…
New venue Liberty Magic opens with magician Eric Jones
There are plenty of venues for music, theater, and dance in Pittsburgh, but none to see magic until now. Liberty Magic, a new downtown venue built to showcase magic and illusion, opened earlier this month. If an expensive magic show geared toward adults seems like an unnecessary, but fun addition, you might be right. The…
The Mexican War Streets preserves community with annual progressive dinner
Intimate conversations are an integral part of the annual Mexican War Streets Progressive Dinner. Compared to other neighborhood-organized events, the dinner offers a chance for in- depth connection with the community. The dinner, on Feb. 23, moves from house to house, groups of neighbors delving into appetizers and entrees at the invitation of community homeowners.…
Free Will Astrology
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Cartographers of Old Europe sometimes drew pictures of strange beasts in the uncharted regions of their maps. These were warnings to travelers that such areas might harbor unknown risks, like dangerous animals. One famous map of the Indian Ocean shows an image of a sea monster lurking, as if waiting to…
I thought The Gun Show was going to be very bad, and I was wrong
Personal disclosure: A one-man show about guns in America promoted with a tagline “loaded. questions.” and a parenthetical “can we talk about this?” sounded to me like an absolute nightmare. I’d never seen a one-man show before but based on pop-culture references, I assumed they involved a lot of awkward pantomime and confusing impersonations. I…
Backstage with props master Rikkilee Rose
Name: Rikkilee Rose, Charleroi Work: Props Master, freelance Recent projects: The Olde Curiosity Shop, PICT Classic Theatre; Orphans, Aftershock Theatre; “Off The Record,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Current: The Legend of Georgia McBride, barebones productions What does a Props Master do? During the run of a show, I’m checking everything beforehand, making sure everything is in the…
Fair Moans and Assemble host first-ever DIY sex toy workshop
After becoming involved with sex-positive collective Fair Moans, Meredith Maloney achieved a longtime dream of expanding the material and tools for sex education. “I’ve always had an interest in opening up a sex toy shop in Pittsburgh, and that’s kind of like a passion of mine, is this idea of inclusive sex education and having…
7 Days of Concerts
Thursday The Bird Hour, Suavity’s Mouthpiece, Closure, Sadie’s Song 8 p.m. Spirit, Lawrenceville. spiritpgh.com Friday Funky Fly Project 8:30 p.m. Hard Rock Cafe, Station Square. hardrock.com/cafes/pittsburgh Saturday Adia Victoria 6 p.m. Club Cafe, South Side. clubcafelive.com Sunday Machine Girl, Five Star Hotel, Channel 63, Food Corps, Kala Btz, Mallard Theory, Aka Name 8 p.m. 3577…
Form meets function at CMU’s Generous Feedback design exhibition
The future of design, in its many glorious forms, will be on display at Generous Feedback, an exhibition in the Carnegie Mellon University’s Miller Institute for Contemporary Art. Featuring work by students from CMU’s School of Design Class of 2019, the show includes projects described as “pushing the boundaries of medium and method in the…
Gab Around ‘Tahn
I wanted to know what Pittsburghers think is the most overrated thing about Pittsburgh. I decided to annoy the members of my gym (Pittsburgh Kettlebell and Performance) to see what they think. Scott, Dormont “Primanti’s. The sandwiches aren’t that good.” GAB: Ouch. I’m a fan of the capicola myself, but okay. Amanda, Peters Township “Well…
A new Kickstarter campaign has a terrible solution to your relationship problems
Three weeks ago, a Kickstarter campaign launched for a piece of technology aimed at improving couples’ communication about sex. LoveSync promises a solution to mismatched libidos. It offers “an entirely new way to increase your sexual frequency and boost your romantic relationship with the simple press of a button.” The idea is simple. Each person…
Farm-to-table? Garden-to-table is faster
Becca Hegarty and Jason Oddo, the team behind Bitter Ends Garden & Luncheonette, captured Pittsburgh’s attention with their mom-and-pop counter-service restaurant in Bloomfield. The small menu presents dishes with intention and care. Bitter Ends quickly topped restaurant charts, the often-present “Sold out! See you next week :)!” sign a display of love for the quirky…
What new bands and musicians can learn from The Flow Band
New local bands and musicians could learn a thing or two from veteran Pittsburgh reggae rockers, The Flow Band. Formed in 1980, the six-member group has established themselves so well in the music community that they can pretty much play where they want, when they want. “We stay pretty booked,” says The Flow Band guitarist…
What’s does the future hold for the historic buildings on the Garden Block in North Side?
As a headline, “Dog bites man” is satirical, but it indicates that an event is unfolding about as you would expect. When Pittsburgh loses a cluster of historic buildings, as we did with the recent demolition of 4, 6, and 8 West North Avenue on the North Side at the beginning of February, that is…
After years of being ignored by the video gaming industry, gamers with disabilities are building the community and technology they need
Pushing a button on a video game controller doesn’t require a lot of physical effort for the average gamer. There are maybe a few millimeters of movement involved in moving a joystick or working a handheld controller. But for gamers with physical disabilities, those movements can be difficult or impossible. So what options exist for…
Celebrate Black History Month with these streaming shows and movies
If you can’t make the Black Bottom Film Festival, you can still celebrate Black History Month with these streaming shows and movies that highlight the diversity of Black culture. High Flying Bird (Netflix) This sports drama directed by Steven Soderbergh, with a screenplay by Tarell Alvin McCraney (Moonlight), centers around a 72-hour basketball standoff that…
Italo disco is alive and well
American music fans are wholly aware of disco, a party-style genre that emerged during the 1970s. Known for its glittery outfits, late-night dancing, psychedelic flashing lights, and bumping bass and synths, the electronic music scene found today is often credited to that culture. But in the U.S., Italo disco, which modern house, trance, and techno…
