Pittsburgh’s superintendent scandal could hurt education discourse
Whether or not you believe new Pittsburgh Superintendent Anthony Hamlet lied on his resume, the events of this past week could have lasting consequences for his tenure.
Hatebreed draws dedicated fans to Mr. Smalls Theatre
“As Hatebreed’s techs sound-checked, a father leaned over to his son and excitedly asked, “Can you feel that in your chest?!” My heart low-key imploded.”
Photos from refugee camp a highlight at Pittsburgh’s Arts Festival
Maranie Staab’s installation, at Pittsburgh’s Three Rivers Arts Fest, seeks to put a human face on the refugee crisis.
A (longer) conversation with Chris Carrabba of Dashboard Confessional
This is a longer version of an interview with Chris Carrabba the previously appeared in print and online. Dashboard Confessional headlines this summer’s Taste of Chaos tour stopping in Pittsburgh tonight at the Petersen Events Center. Taking Back Sunday, Saosin with Anthony Green and The Early November are support. I saw you played with Prince. That’s…
Pittsburgh artist Vince Dorse hopes Kickstarter will bring his award-winning comic to print
“I’ve never had more fun or felt more connected to any other project I’ve ever worked on,” Vince Dorse tells City Paper.
The Three Rivers Arts Festival opening weekend brings art and music to Downtown Pittsburgh
The Freedom Band and Ibeyi bring a fun and souful vibe to the Three Rivers Arts Festival main stage.
A conversation with Adam Lazzara of Taking Back Sunday
Adam Lazzara of Taking Back Sunday talks about recording, touring and longevity
MP3 Monday: Emily Rodgers
Stream or download a new track from Emily Rodgers
Lynn Cullen Live 06/06/16
Video Archive You can listen to the audio archive here. Muhammad Ali. Buildings shadow Central Park. Oberlin students ask for abolition of midterms. Audio Only Archive Listen to the Audio Archives on with our new Apple and Android Apps or the computer audio player.
Ai Weiwei speaks in Pittsburgh on eve of Warhol exhibit
Ai Weiwei speaks to a sold-out crowd in Pittsburgh ahead of the opening of Andy Warhol | Ai Weiwei exhibit.
Verizon, CWA agree to contract; little guy’s news story is pulled
My superiors at the City Paper suggested that I react to having my first full-fledged story pulled from publication by writing this blog post. So, why not?
What you need to know about Pittsburgh news this week
This week Beyonce slays at Pittsburgh’s Heinz Field; the Penguins go 2-0 in the Stanley Cup Finals; and Phipps Conservatory anticipates the bloom of the smelly corpse flower.
Lynn Cullen Live 06/03/16
Video Archive You can listen to the audio archive here. Bob Kerrey’s horrific record in Vietnam. What’s happening at the PG? Trump says judge should not be able to sit judgment in Trump University because he’s Mexican-American. Audio Only Archive Listen to the Audio Archives on with our new Apple and Android Apps or the…
City Paper Weekend Calendar – June 3 – 5
Here are the top five things to do in Pittsburgh this weekend.
Pittsburgh cheers on the Penguins outside Consol Energy Center during Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Finals
The “Big Screen” was back outside Consol Energy Center, showing the game for free to fans gathered outside.
Lynn Cullen Live 06/02/16
Video Archive You can listen to the audio archive here. Pens win. Animals in zoos and how risk is handled. Eagles used for drone pick up at airports. North Korea applauds Trump. What if Trump drops out. Audio Only Archive Listen to the Audio Archives on with our new Apple and Android Apps or the…
Paddy the Wanderer stretches out on new full-length The Neighbors Are Listening
Paddy the Wanderer, Delicious Pastries, Andre Costello & the Cool Minors 10 p.m. Fri., June 3. Spirit, 242 51st St., Lawrenceville. Free. 412-586-4441 or spiritpittsburgh.com One of the more labor-intensive ways to record an album involves having each musician record his or her instrument separately, guided only by a temporary guitar track. That’s just how…
Accidental Love Note
Paperclips and highway ghostings, There’s no sense of place just like there’s no hint of sound; The rotors fail and the car stalls, your phone number in ink On the inside of my palm. Gas station coffee, two empty cans, There’s this outside feeling, just like there’s this devil may care; My door is open,…
Critics’ Picks: June 1-8
[FOLK METAL] + FRI., JUNE 3 Belvedere’s Ultra-Dive is back, after having been shut down by a fire. The recently re-opened bar is the spot for its devoted patrons, and is also a place full of surprises. For example, its first show back will showcase the larger-than-life Mongolian band Tengger Cavalry. The Cavalry fuses elements…
Short List: June 1 – 8
SPOTLIGHT: Thu., June 2 – Stage David Ives’ Venus in Fur is a Tony-winning 2009 play (and a 2013 Roman Polanski film) with a steamy premise: a sexually charged power struggle between a playwright and the actress who appears unnannounced to audition to play the slavemistress/lover in his adaptation of Leopold von Sacher-Masoch’s 1870 erotic…
The cult-doc “Heavy Metal Parking Lot” stops by the Dormont Theater on its 30th-anniversary tour
The concept was simple: Film fans partying before a Judas Priest concert in suburban Washington, D.C. The result was epic: a 17-minute cult-hit documentary titled “Heavy Metal Parking Lot,” now celebrating its 30th anniversary, and screening this Saturday at the Hollywood Theater, in Dormont. On May 31, 1986, filmmakers John Heyn and Jeff Krulik1 took…
Shadyside’s Highland Avenue has a new coffeeshop called Adda
Adda, the new coffeeshop in Shadyside, takes its name from the Bengali word that means friendly conversation, or the place to hold such talks. And the name is also a nod to the shop’s stated commitment to be global in its approach — from fairly sourced tea and coffee and highlighting a world region each…
Savage Love
There’s this boy — he’s 29; I’m 46 and female. We met when we were 23 and 41. I was not and am not into little boys. The Kid chased me, and I turned him down for months — until I got drunk one night and caved. It was supposed to be a one-night stand,…
Weird Pittsburgh
A small-town official used his knowledge of arcane zoning laws to get out of a speeding ticket. A municipal police officer said he clocked Quincy Township Supervisor Kerry Bumbaugh driving 55 mph in a 35-mph zone, reports the Record Herald of Waynesburg. During an appeal hearing, Bumbaugh, 51, argued that the road sign was incorrect.…
Pennsylvania advocates and health officials push for mandatory lead-level tests in children
Walking along the streets in Pittsburgh’s Homewood neighborhood, A.J. Koury points to boarded-up houses and overgrowth. “This is one square mile in Pittsburgh’s East End. It’s an interesting kind of place because it was really booming in the 1930s and ’40s, and then there was a period of rapid decline in terms of population,” says…
Street foods from around the globe enliven the menu at Pittsburgh’s Streets on Carson
Streets on Carson 1120 E. Carson St., South Side. 412-918-1006 Hours: Tue.-Thu. 11:30 a.m.-midnight; Fri. 11:30 a.m.-1 a.m.; Sat. 5 p.m.-1 a.m.; Sun. noon-10 p.m. Prices: $6-15 Liquor: Full bar “Happily ever after” is hard-won in the restaurant business, but if anyone is living a foodie fairy tale, it might be Matt and Lauren Christie.…
Four totally unscientific reasons the Penguins will win the Stanley Cup
You want me to talk about the Pittsburgh Pirates and major-league baseball — I can go on for hours. You want me to pontificate about the upcoming Steelers season? Just tell me when to start and tell me when to stop. In fact, I can hold my own in conversations about basketball, most college sports,…
At BoxHeart, Jennipher Satterly grapples with our legacy of plastic
FLOODGATES FOR HYDRA continues through June 24. BoxHeart Gallery, 4523 Liberty Ave., Bloomfield. 412-697-8858 or boxheartgallery.com Since the waning years of the 20th century, artist Jennipher Satterly has documented the pervasiveness of plastic in the consumer landscape. From plastic’s aesthetic qualities and myriad forms to its effects on the environment, she seeks to capture her…
The Spitfire Grill at Front Porch Theatricals
THE SPITFIRE GRILL continues through Sun., June 5. Front Porch Theatricals at the New Hazlett Theater, 8 Allegheny Square East, North Side. $24-30. frontporchpgh.com Coming out of nowhere three years ago, Front Porch Theatricals zoomed to the top of the local theater charts thanks to high production standards and top-drawer talent. The company’s latest, The…
slowdanger continues its memory series
SLOWDANGER performs MEMORY 4 8 p.m. Thu., June 9. New Hazlett Theater, 6 Allegheny Square East, North Side. $20-25. 412-320-4610 or newhazletttheater.org Pittsburgh’s hottest hipster dance couple, Anna Thompson and Taylor Knight, a.k.a. slowdanger (like the roadsign), will present the fifth installment of their “memory” series June 9 at the New Hazlett Theater. memory 4,…
The Old Settler at New Horizon
THE OLD SETTLER continues through Sun., June 5. New Horizon Theater in the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh-Homewood auditorium, 7101 Hamilton Ave., Homewood. $15-20. newhorizontheater.org Spinster. Old maid. Miss Grundy. Wilis. Unmarried women have been cultural punching bags and punchlines since Athena and her sister Virgin Goddesses hung up their chitons. One epithet I hadn’t heard…
Alice Through the Looking Glass
Alice Through the Looking Glass Directed by James Bobin Starring Mia Wasikowska, Helena Bonham Carter, Sacha Baron Cohen and Johnny Depp In 3-D, in select theaters I’m at the point where I actively dread the release of the latest bewigged-Johnny Depp pantomime. So when Alice Through the Looking Glass opened with the title “Straits of…
Enchanted April at Little Lake
ENCHANTED APRIL continues through June 11. Little Lake Theatre, 500 Lakeside Drive, Canonsburg. $13.75-21.75. 724-745-6300 or littlelake.org With summer almost here at last, virtually everybody wants to get away. Enchanted April, now at Little Lake Theatre, keeps with the season and follows the warm-weather respite of four vastly different society ladies in postwar England. Based…
Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry
Alison Klayman’s 2012 film Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry is a straightforward documentary about the contemporary Chinese artist Ai Weiwei. Arguably China’s most well-known artist, he enjoys fawning attention in the West, particularly for his pointed critiques of his homeland’s government, while in Beijing, his celebrity and influence is constantly checked by the authorities. Klayman interviews…
Rosé’s comeback continues
After a substantial amount of positive press by food writers, bar managers, sommeliers and chefs, rosé continues to climb the ranks in the mind of the average imbiber. What was once widely considered a nearly undrinkable, syrupy sweet wine-cooler-esque pour has settled into its rightful place as an enjoyable, lighter-bodied wine that graces the menus…
Yeah, player, it’s time for the U.S. Open
The good part about golf is that you can be an overweight man in your late 30s, smoke enough cigarettes to impress John Mellencamp and still win a major athletic competition. That’s what Angel Cabrera did the last time the U.S. Open was held in Oakmont, in 2007. He’s known as “El Pato,” the Spanish…
This Week in City Paper History
City Paper’s Issue 22 should probably be known as the marriage-equality issue. On May 30, 2012, staff writer Lauren Daley began a multi-part series describing the difficulties that same-sex couples face when they try to get married, using her experience as the backdrop. Daley and her girlfriend were planning their wedding in New York (where…
A conversation with Chris Carrabba of Dashboard Confessional
Dashboard Confessional, the emo band that found success in the early-aughts, will headline this summer’s Taste of Chaos tour, which hits Pittsburgh June 7 at the Petersen Events Center. Dashboard Confessional will be joined by Taking Back Sunday, Saosin with Anthony Green, and The Early November. The Taste of Chaos tour kicks off June 3,…
We preview the 57th annual Dollar Bank Three Rivers Arts Festival
DOLLAR BANK THREE RIVERS ARTS FESTIVAL June 3-12. Downtown. Free. traf.trustarts.org Squonk Opera is a familiar sight at the Dollar Bank Three Rivers Arts Festival. In 2012, for instance, Pittsburgh’s resident performance-art rockers debuted their GO Roadshow there. In 2014 came Pneumatica. But Cycle Sonic, the nationally touring group’s latest surrealist musical spectacle, set to…
This Just In: A look at local news online and on the tube.
Flaming Moderate KDKA money-and-politics editor Jon Delano, a self-described “flaming moderate,” has an active (and flaming) Twitter presence. Critics are accusing him of race-baiting. Recently, he posted a photo of Trayvon Martin flipping the bird with the caption, “Gun jury found #Zimmerman used in self defense against attack by #TrayvonMartin now up for auction? Whadya…
Layer Cake Festival showcases Pittsburgh’s ambitious, artistic energy
Layer Cake Festival Fri., June 3-Sat., June 4. Multiple venues. $15-40. See website for more information: www.layercakefest.com The Layer Cake Festival is a perfect storm of musically diverse performances and live visual art with one purpose: promoting good music — especially that of local artists—in local music spaces. Ziggy Sawdust, the festival’s organizer and a…
Stuff We Like
Toynbee Tile. Street improvements, such as re-paving, mean that only one of these infamous street-art tiles remains in Pittsburgh. Admire it while you can. Smithfield and Oliver streets, Downtown UnREAL. Last year, Lifetime surprised us all with this smart, funny and female-positive original show, a behind-the-scenes look — and a deconstruction of — a reality-TV…
Lynn Cullen Live 06/01/16
Video Archive You can listen to the audio archive here. The barrage of the Benghazi hearings. Mister Softee and New York Ice Cream in the middle of turf wars. Op-ed on Trump. Audio Only Archive Listen to the Audio Archives on with our new Apple and Android Apps or the computer audio player.
Dollar Bank presents Food Truck-a-Palooza
Food Truck-a-Palooza sponsored by Dollar Bank was held on May 21st at The Pump House at the Waterfront. Over 20 food trucks came out rain or shine for the event. Blue Moon was the beer sponsor and had beer flowing all day! Related Stories
