Pittsburgh Penguins fans cram into Downtown for the city’s Stanley Cup victory parade
Pittsburgh Penguins celebrate Stanley Cup win with fans.
Listen Up! June 14 Issue
Listen while you read: seven of the artists featured in our June 14 music section.
Scenes from Sunday’s Pride Festivities in Downtown Pittsburgh
A photo essay from Pittsburgh’s 2017 EQT Equality March
Pittsburgh Penguins announce Stanley Cup victory parade route
The Penguins, fresh off their second Stanley Cup victory in two years, will hold a Downtown parade on June 14.
MP3 Monday: Glo Phase
Each week, we post a song from a local artist online for free. This week, it’s “Tchoupitoulas,” from Glo Phase’s Halftone. That title (pronounced “chop-it-too-las”) references to a street in New Orleans, where much of the album was written over a month last winter. Words like hip hop, IDM and chillwave might work to describe…
Lynn Cullen Live 06/12/17
Video Archive President Trump. Audio Only Archive Stream or download the last 5 shows on the MP3 downloads page.
Pennsylvania Sen. Bob Casey proposes legislation to disarm those convicted of hate crimes
The Disarm Hate Act would prevent individuals convicted of violent misdemeanor hate crimes from purchasing or possessing firearms.
Researchers at Pittsburgh conference say human trafficking hits close to home
Pitt’s Center on Race and Social Problems holds Summer Institute on immigrants, refugees, and human trafficking.
Lynn Cullen Live 06/09/17
Video Archive President Trump. Audio Only Archive Stream or download the last 5 shows on the MP3 downloads page.
Heated opinions at forum sparked by controversial painting
A sometimes-contentious discussion on race, representation and art
Fuku Tea, in Oakland, specializes in a wide variety of bubble teas
“Do you want bubbles?” Ordering “bubbles” (a.k.a. large tapioca pearls) in tea would have seemed inexplicable 20 years ago, but now that’s just how we roll. The bubble-tea concept, imported from Asia, is now popular enough that Fuku Tea can set up a tea-only outpost in Oakland, and manage a steady stream of customers. The…
Lotto: Experience the Dream at New Horizon Theater
LOTTO: EXPERIENCE THE DREAM continues through Sun., June 11. New Horizon Theater at the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh — Homewood auditorium, 7101 Hamilton Ave., Homewood. $15-20. newhorizontheater.org While there are many reasons to catch New Horizon Theater’s production of Lotto: Experience the Dream, the biggest is the chance to see local leading lady Chrystal Bates…
A conversation with Jonathan Safran Foer
JONATHAN SAFRAN FOER 7 p.m. Fri., June 9. Carnegie Lecture Hall, 4400 Forbes Ave., Oakland. $10-22. pittsburghlectures.org There is an old Jewish story about two children who are playing hide and seek. One boy hides, but after a time the other stops looking for him. Angry and disappointed, the first boy runs to his grandfather…
Thom Pain at 12 Peers Theater
THOM PAIN continues through June 18. Studio Theater, Cathedral of Learning, 4400 Forbes Ave., Oakland. $20. 412-626-6784 or 12peerstheater.org Just as it’s important in a restaurant never to blame the waiter for a mistake the chef has made, in the theater, one should never blame the actor for faults in the script. So I’ll separate…
This week in Pittsburgh Sports History
A look back at events that you’ve either forgotten about or never heard of in the first place. June 9, 1914 Pittsburgh Pirates great Honus Wagner becomes the second member of Major League Baseball’s 3,000-hit club when he doubles off Philadelphia’s Erskine Mayer. Or, as the Atlanta Constitution reported the next day: “Hans Wagner makes…
An American in Paris at Pittsburgh CLO
AN AMERICAN IN PARIS continues through Sun., June 11. Benedum Center, 237 Seventh St., Downtown. $26-90. 412-456-6666 or trustarts.org There are two types of Gene Kelly fans: Team Singin’ in the Rain, and Team An American in Paris. I’ve always run with the former, finding the latter to be an overly cute soufflé of a…
Big-time hockey is coming to Fayette County’s big-time arena
On the northwest tip of Fayette County rests a hamlet of slightly more than 1,000 residents. It may seem like any other small town in our area, but no other small town can claim the title of Hockeyville USA. More than 1,400 boroughs, towns and cities with hockey arenas entered the contest to earn the…
Tall Pines Distillery Pine Sap Moonshine
This cinnamon-and-vanilla-infused moonshine from Somerset County is perfect for ’shine novices. Hits hard up front with that traditional corn-liquor kick, but rounds out nicely from the smoothness of the vanilla. Tall Pines distillers suggest mixing it with Coke or Dr. Pepper, but I prefer it as bootleggers intended: straight-up while hiding between the pines. …
It Comes At Night
Trey Edward Shults’ horror thriller is a lean piece of paranoia and tension. It opens with no preamble on a man dying of something horrible. Quickly, we ascertain that there is some contagious disease loose, and for safety, one family has barricaded itself in a house in the isolated woods. Paul (Joel Edgerton), his wife,…
Pittsburgh City Paper Booze Battles: Caselulla vs. Pints on Penn
Each week, we order the same cocktail at two different bars for a friendly head-to-head battle. Go to the bars, taste both drinks and tell us what you like about each by tagging @pghcitypaper on Twitter or Instagram and using #CPBoozeBattles. If you want to be a part of Booze Battles, send an email to…
Pittsburgh Pirates ground crew shares its knowledge with local universities and school districts
Chances are good that Evan Mascitti, the field-operations supervisor for the Pittsburgh Pirates, has heard your “grass is greener on the other side” jokes. “I don’t mind them,” he says with a chuckle. “Even my family jokes about it.” Part of his job is making sure the grass at PNC Park is kept at the…
Don’t miss these events celebrating the LGBTQ community
The events during Pittsburgh’s Pride celebration are meant to both entertain and educate. Here’s a rundown of some can’t-miss events during this year’s celebration. LGBTQ Media Training 1-5 p.m. Thu., June 8. Persad Center, 5301 Butler St., Lawrenceville At this training event, regional media will get information about working with the LGBTQ community. Speakers will…
Consuming the World Through a Rainbow-Colored Glasses
As City Paper’s music writer, I’m not used to writing anything this close to the front of the paper. But it’s Pride week and as one of the gay™ employees here, I wanted to talk a bit about my experiences as a queer journalist/person in this city. I’m a gender-fluid pansexual person which means my…
Wonder Woman
Wonder Woman Directed by Patty Jenkins Starring Gal Gadot, Chris Pine, David Thewlis In 3-D, in select theaters It’s an old joke-not-a-joke: If you really need something done, call a woman. That’s certainly the case with the burgeoning DC Comics Cinematic Universe, which made viewers slog through the dull and occasionally incoherent Batman v. Superman…
ToonSeum adding classes for youths
The ToonSeum is expanding its comics-education programming for kids and teens with The ToonSeum Comics Club. “We want to teach the next generation of cartoonists how to draw and perfect their craft,” says ToonSeum executive director John Kelly. To date, ToonSeum’s educational sessions were intermittent and often linked to events, like the Pittsburgh Indie Comics…
Megan Leavey
Megan (Kate Mara) introduces herself during the opening scene of Megan Leavey as a directionless young woman from a dead-end town. So, following Sept. 11, she joins the Marines and discovers her calling: working with an explosives-detecting German shepherd named Rex, a fellow “Marine” who has some anger issues. But the two work well together,…
Alternatives targets for Donald Trump’s hate instead of the LGBTQ community
Someone recently took issue with all of the “negative” things that I write about President Donald Trump. They told me that I need to be “less critical” and “fall in line” with the way things are in this country now. And that if I were a “patriotic American,” I would instead “roll up my sleeves”…
The Steel City Sisters work to help Pittsburgh gay, homeless youth
They dress in habits and minister to the community, but these nuns are a little different than your usual sisters. You may have seen them at the Three Rivers Arts Festival: dressed in white face, most with full beards. They’re the Steel City Sisters, “a 21st-century order of queer drag nuns whose mission is to…
Critics’ Pick: Los Colognes at Brillobox
[ROCK] + WED., JUNE 14 The band hails from landlocked Tennessee, but all of Los Colognes’ music sounds refreshingly like the ocean — either diving into it, emerging from it or lying on the sand next to it. The newest album, The Wave, gently rolls like one too, with breezy tracks like “Unspoken” and slower,…
The spellbinding psychedelic blues of All Them Witches
ALL THEM WITCHES WITH HANDSOME JACK 8 p.m. Tue., June 13, and 8 p.m. Wed., June 14. Club Café, 56 S. 12th St., South Side. $14. 412-431-4950 or clubcafelive.com Nashville-based All Them Witches play a modern variety of psychedelic blues. The four-piece group’s heavy music has caught on with audiences in a big way; like…
Critics’ Pick: Cat Toren at City of Asylum
[JAZZ] + SAT., JUNE 10 It doesn’t take much for an artist to be political in a time when staying alive can be considered defiant, but Cat Toren is deliberate in her choices. The jazz pianist draws on the traditions of civil-rights-era jazz musicians like John Coltrane and Nina Simone in her latest project, Human…
New Release: Sound/Unsound
Sound/Unsound 15728 (Self-released) Sound/Unsound consists of drummer David Throckmorton, guitarist Josh Wulff and saxophonist Ben Opie. The trio specializes in free improvisation, although despite their respective track records, most of the music here would not be considered free jazz, i.e. wild blowing that still bears some distant link to Thelonious Monk. In fact, Opie doesn’t…
Savage Love
I hate how my boyfriend has sex with me. He is 40 years old. It used to be fine, but a year ago he started adding new moves he obviously got from porn: smacking my pussy with an open palm, vigorously rubbing my clit, wrapping his hands around my neck. I’m not anti-porn; what bothers…
Critics’ Pick: Muddy Magnolias at Mr. Smalls
[ROCK] + SAT., JUNE 10 A lot of people are determined to fit each musical act into a single genre, but bands like Muddy Magnolias are determined to make it hard for them to do so. New Yorker Jessy Wilson and Mississippian Kallie North crossed paths in Nashville, making their blues/rock/country sound both distinct and…
Pittsburgh’s music scene is booming with many talented LGBTQ artists
This city is full of amazing musicians. What’s even more magical is the amount of talented LGBTQ musicians, artists and promoters who are working on the stage and behind the scenes to foster a more inclusive community. I have recently attended shows where there’s a healthy mix of trans people, gender-nonconforming individuals, and guy and…
Selwyn Birchwood’s long road to overnight success
SELWYN BIRCHWOOD BAND 8 p.m. Sat., June 10. Moondog’s, 378 Freeport Road, Blawnox. $15. 412-828-2040 or moondogs.us Guitarist Selwyn Birchwood’s fourth and latest album, Pick Your Poison, is his most fully realized release to date. Based in the blues idiom, it draws from gospel, soul and R&B. “There are a lot of different shades of…
More pro sports are showing support for the LGBTQ community
In June 2015, after the Pittsburgh Pirates played the Philadelphia Phillies at PNC Park, a band called Big & Rich took to the stage and played for fans. Coincidentally, that game was the same night as Pittsburgh Pride’s Pride in the Streets event. I didn’t realize Big & Rich played at PNC until a few…
LGBTQ advocates say federal legislation would allow religious adoption agencies to discriminate
As a gay couple, Sean O’Donnell and Todd Collar always wanted to adopt kids, but it wasn’t something they initially thought possible. “We have been together for 20 years,” says O’Donnell. “We have wanted kids for as long as we can remember. We didn’t think that this was something we could do.” However, Pennsylvania has…
PrideFest dance showcase expands to two days
PITTSBURGH PRIDEFEST 2017 DANCE SHOWCASE Noon-5 p.m., Sat., June 10, and 1-5 p.m., Sun., June 11. Liberty Avenue at Sixth and 10th streets, Downtown. Free. pittsburghpride.org Year nine of Pittsburgh PrideFest’s annual free dance showcase, curated by Richard Parsakian, sees an expansion to two days of stylistically diverse performances by local dance artists. It takes…
Pazzo, in Upper St. Clair, offers Italian-American favorites
Pazzo 1614 Washington Road, Upper St. Clair. 412-481-9100 Hours: Tue.-Sun. 4 p.m.-close Prices: Appetizers $8-14; soups and salads $5-11; pasta, pizza, and flatbread $14-22; entrees $18-22 Liquor: Full bar In a city already packed with classic Italian-American restaurants, old and new, we always wonder that more continue to open. There are surely unplumbed depths to…
Short List: June 8-15
Fri., June 9 – Festivals The good news on this traditional weekend for celebrations of LGBTQ pride is that in Pittsburgh, there are more Pride events than ever — if partly because of ongoing disagreements about who best represents the LGBTQ community. The most high-profile events remain those organized as part of the Delta Foundation’s…
Killer Tofu
I was on tour with my band, Oh Shit They’re Going To Kill Us. We played at the Acheron in Brooklyn (RIP), and because we were in New York City, we also got to stay with my then-girlfriend, now wife and business partner, Dingo. Since my bandmates were all nice young men (and included my…
Abjuration Brewing to open in refurbished Parkway Theater
“It’s unbelievable what you can get done and hold other jobs,” says Pints on Penn bartender Tom Glover. Glover is one half of the team of the yet-to-open Abjuration Brewing. Dave Hallam, a computer programmer at the University of Pittsburgh, is the other. The seed for the project was planted when Hallam’s wife bought him…
Critics’ Pick: Electric Guest at Cattivo
[POP] + FRI., JUNE 9 There’s a good chance you’ve heard Electric Guest on TV. The band’s 2012 song “This Head I Hold” has appeared in at least three commercials — apparently marketing directors have good taste in music. After a four-year break following its debut, the pop duo of Asa Taccone and Matthew Compton…
