RuPaul’s Drag Race: Alaska Watch
It’s Final Five for Alaska on RuPaul’s Drag Race
Untitled Feminist Show at the New Hazlett
The Warhol’s Off the Wall series hosts a joyous, memorable and completely naked show created by Brooklyn’s Young Jean Lee. A review is in Program Notes.
Free Tix for Sneak Preview of Sundance Channel’s Rectify
Free tix for sneak preview Sundance Channel’s new drama Rectify
Heads Up: Morning headlines for April 2
I spent most of my time yesterday following the withdrawal of Michael Lamb from the Pittsburgh’s mayoral race, but the more lasting political reversal may have been this: Sen. Bob Casey now supports same-sex marriage. Casey has long advocated civil unions, so this isn’t as big a surprise as it might be if the only…
Lynn Cullen Live 04/02/13
Video Archive Phone guest: Susan; technical problems in the studio; spring weather is always unpredictable; some St. Louis scoop & Susan’s crazy neighbour; Pgh mayoral race; Senator Casey in favour of same-sex marriage; why it could be a compliment to call someone an asshole; making sausages looks masturbatory; too many kids are being “diagnosed” with…
Could the mayor’s race get any MORE complicated? Signs, and Democratic bylaws, point to “yes”
Warning: This post involves a lengthy discussion of Democratic Party bylaws. It is not recommended for people with delicate stomachs, heart conditions, or personal lives. So now that Michael Lamb, the endorsed Democrat in the city’s mayoral race, has dropped his bid, there’s one question on everybody’s mind: Could this race get any more fucked…
MCG Jazz announces 2013-14 season: Ahmad Jamal, Chucho Valdes, Ramsey Lewis, more
Ahmad Jamal The Manchester Craftsmen’s Guild 2013-14 MCG Jazz concert season has been announced, and it includes some big names — some local, some global. Ahmad Jamal and the Pittsburgh Jazz Legends — which includes Roger Humphries, Joe Negri, Harold Betters and plenty of other well-known local jazz musicians — kick off the season Sat.,…
Untitled Feminist Show at the New Hazlett Theater
Boundary-pushing playwright has unclothed performers in dialogueless stage work
Lamb drops mayoral bid, endorses Wagner
City Controller Michael Lamb, whose campaign for mayor never seemed to find its footing, dropped out of the mayoral race today — and endorsed Jack Wagner instead. “Our government has to be better, smarter, and more efficient, and we’re going to have to build on the strengths that we already have,” Lamb said during a…
Poet Begins Cross-Country Hike
“Typewriter Girl” Embarks on Poetry Adventure to West Coast
Play Ball!
Pirates-related street art suggests hope.
Equal Pay Day Rally Scheduled
Next Tuesday, April 9, marks Equal Pay Day — a public awareness event to illustrate the gap between men’s and women’s wages. The Women & Girls Foundation will hold a rallies across the region on the 9th. In Pittsburgh, a rally will be held from noon to 1 p.m. at Market Square, Downtown.
Jazz Legend Lou Donaldson To Perform At Cabaret
Legendary jazz saxophonist Lou Donaldson set to perform at the Cabaret at Theater Square Tue., April 2, at 7:30 and 9:30 p.m.
Lynn Cullen Live 04/01/13
Video Archive Opening Day – GO BUCS!; Sidney Crosby, Kevin Ware injuries & how CBS / NBC differed in their responses; marathon TV watching, losing yourself to the shows; new food at PNC Park feat. The Brunch Burger; Obit: Elsie Thompson, former oldest American; loud horns at Pens games; AMC has the best TV shows;…
Review: Nevada Color, Sharkey Lewis EP
Just a few days before their performance with The Apache Relay at Stage AE last week, indie rock quintet Nevada Color released its debut EP, Sharkey Lewis. In six songs, the band embarks on a colorful adventure of bright guitars and sunny vocals (“Sweet Adventurer”), as upbeat rhythms and playful percussion reveal their desire to…
Final Weekend for Breath & Imagination at City Theatre
The world-premiere show about pioneering African-American singer Roland Hayes has four more showings through Sunday. Read more in Program Notes.
Final Weekend for Breath & Imagination at City Theatre
Stage bio of pioneering black singer has four more showings
It Ain’t the Easter Bunny …
Regardless, enjoy the holiday weekend.
Stream This Ish: March 27 Issue
Stream tracks from the bands featured in this week’s edition of City Paper.
Heads Up: Morning headlines for March 29
City controller/mayoral candidate Michael Lamb has taken some lumps from those who argue he should have done more to unveil alleged financial shenanigans in the police bureau. Now comes this fortuitously timed story in the Post-Gazette, in which we learn that Lamb had “quietly” begun auditing the bureau. Lamb even claims that his initial inquiries…
Win tickets: Pac Div at 6119, Tue., April 2
Every once in a while we like to give you things here at FFW>>. This is one of those times! We’ve got a pair of tickets to see California rap trio Pac Div at 6119 this coming Tuesday. Here, watch their latest video with Mac Miller: Now, to enter, leave a comment below letting us…
Deadline for Social Media Contest with Warhol App
Sunday’s the deadline for “POP Your Culture With the Warhol D.I.Y. App,” a contest built around the app that lets you Warholize any image. Read more in Program Notes.
Heads Up: Morning headlines for March 28
First things first: The Supreme Court heard arguments in a second gay-marriage case yesterday, and you can find audio and a transcript here. The first hour or so involves a debate over standing — the right of a party to bring a case — and is pretty excruciating, though the court may decide to toss…
Lynn Cullen Live 03/28/13
Video Archive Guest: Tom Sokolowski; Andy Warhol’s burial; burials in England during the 17-1800s; how Lynn got to live in Gramercy Park; Maundy Thursday; more on the Supreme Court & same-sex marriage; judges don’t seem articulate in transcript; what about the adopted children in California?; Hair Care Services Unit in Washington DC raising prices because…
Social Media Contest brings Pop Art to smart-phones
A new contest invites you to submit cultural images converted into digital Andy Warhol-style screen prints via The Warhol D.I.Y. POP App. New York-based translation and marketing agency Acclaro and The Andy Warhol Museum present the social-media contest, called “POP Your Culture with The Warhol D.I.Y. Pop App.” Submissions should be entered online on the…
“Straightening Combs” at Pittsburgh Playwrights
It’s the final weekend for performer and playwright Kim El’s engaging one-woman show. Read a few words more in Program Notes.
Straightening Combs at Pittsburgh Playwrights
Final weekend for Kim El’s solo stage show
Wagner pulls public-sector union support in mayoral run
This morning, mayoral candidate Jack Wagner racked up a set of key labor endorsements. The Fraternal Order of Police and firefighters union joined Teamsters Local 249 and Operating Engineers Local 66 to back Wagner on the steps of the City County Building. Wagner called the support a “very important day in the campaign for Pittsburgh,”…
Heads Up: Morning headlines for March 27
In case you missed the historic action at the Supreme Court yesterday, you can find a recording of oral arguments in one of two same-sex marriage cases being argued this week. (There’s also a transcript, in case you want to follow along and figure out which justice is which.) A second case, this one involving…
Savage Love
My brother is 22 years old and mentally ill with social anxiety on the scale of agoraphobia (officially diagnosed). He’s stuck on the fact that he’s a virgin, and he is convinced that he will only be able to pursue a job, have a social life, and tackle other obstacles after he loses his virginity.…
Short List: March 27 – April 2
Spotlight: Dance — Fri., March 29 Gia Cacalano and troupe return to Wood Street Galleries with the latest Gia T. Presents production, The Frequency of Structure and Flow. The 75-minute work, like 2012’s sold-out Blink, is a collaboration between Cacalano’s international troupe of dancers and musicians and an exhibit at the gallery. The Frequency of…
Selma’s Texas Barbecue
Selma’s Texas Barbecue 9155 University Blvd. Moon. 412-329-7003 Hours: Mon.-Sat. 11 a.m.-8 p.m.; Sun. noon-6 p.m. Prices: $6-23 Liquor: BYOB Located in what appears to be an old drive-in burger stand near the former airport entrance in Moon, Selma’s Texas Barbecue represents a bit of a culture clash. The setting and the decor — heavy…
Cooking School: Club provides students with culinary experience
When the new after-school cooking club launched at Barack Obama Academy in East Liberty, 15-year-old Joel Macklin was one of the first to sign up. “I don’t know how to cook,” he says, adding that as a sophomore, he’s been thinking about what it will be like being on his own in college. “I was…
Tender Bar + Kitchen draws on expertise of cocktail “dream team”
While Pittsburgh’s cocktail scene is growing in fame and sophistication, its bartenders aren’t household names. At least not yet: The new cocktail-focused Tender Bar + Kitchen suggests things might be changing. When he wanted to compile a list of innovative cocktails for his new Lawrenceville establishment, owner Jeff Catalina assembled a crack team of six…
Olympus Has Fallen
Antoine Fuqua’s Olympus Has Fallen is pretty much “Die Hard in the White House.” After North Koreans (not a typo) take the building, the Prez (Aaron Eckhart) is held captive in the basement bunker by the moustache-twirling villain. The Prez’s only chance comes from the lone remaining Secret Service agent (Gerard Butler), who trained at…
In an era of chain-store pizzas, the Pizza House, in Ambridge, keeps its idiosyncrasies
When I first visited the Pizza House, in Ambridge, nearly 15 years ago, I was intimidated. “Do you know how to order in there?” asked my wife, who had grown up eating the crispy, square slices. “Because there’s a system.” The “system,” while not an overly complicated one, can flummox even a veteran and well-traveled…
Leonie
Hisako Matsui’s recent film is a bio-pic of Leonie Gilmour, whose primary entry in the historical record was being the influential mother of renowned sculptor Isamu Noguchi. But the film doesn’t forefront this, instead choosing to highlight Gilmour’s remarkable life as a proto-feminist, educator and free spirit in the early 20th century. Despite a few…
A local author’s new book explores the world of squatting
HANNAH DOBBZ speaks 3-5 p.m. Sat., April 6, as part of The People’s University series. Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh — Main Branch 4400 Forbes Ave. Oakland. Free. 412-622-3151. You might assume it’s illegal to live in someone else’s abandoned property without permission. But things aren’t always that clear-cut in the world of squatting as explored…
Lore
After all these years and all these films, it seems remarkable that someone could deliver a new angle on World War II, Nazi Germany and the Holocaust. But Cate Shortland’s quietly devastating coming-of-age story, adapted from Rachel Seiffert’s novel The Dark Room, is just that. As the Allies take Germany, a 15-year-old girl named Lore…
Unusual footwear among the novelties in the new Texture Ballet program.
TEXTURE BALLET COMPANY performs There’s Something About Fontina, 7:30 p.m. Wed., April 3; 7:30 p.m. Thu., April 4; and 8 p.m. Fri., April 5. New Hazlett Theater 6 Allegheny Square East North Side. $20. textureballet.org The American Dairy Association may have been onto something in its ads touting “the power of cheese.” Anecdotal reports of…
Stoker
After the head of the Stoker family dies, his teen-age daughter, India (Mia Wasikowska), and his chilly wife (Nicole Kidman) get a visit from his brother, the sort-of charming, sort-of creepy Charlie (Matthew Goode). Korean director Chan-wook Park’s first English-language film doesn’t have the outlandish brio of the best of his past work (like 2003’s…
Pittsburgh Playhouse REP’s Antarktikos.
ANTARKTIKOS continues through April 7. Pittsburgh Playhouse 222 Craft Ave. Oakland. $24-27. 412-392-8000 or pittsburghplayhouse.com I hate to open with this, but: SPOILER ALERT. There’s no way to discuss the Pittsburgh Playhouse REP’s world premiere of Antarktikos, by Andrea Stolowitz, without giving away a little bit of a plot twist. So if you’re planning on…
Shadow Lounge prepares to close after over a decade in a changing neighborhood
SHADOW LOUNGE LEGACY SERIES featuring Formula 412, Phat Man Dee, Mega Def, Jasiri X, many more. 7 p.m. March 29-30. Shadow Lounge. $20 for each show or $30 for both. 412-363-8277 or shadowlounge.net In recent years, there’s been no shortage of media hype touting Pittsburgh as a haven for artists and young people. But back…
Young Jean Lee’s Untitled Feminist Show lets women be themselves.
UNTITLED FEMINIST SHOW 8 p.m. Sat., March 30. New Hazlett Theater 6 Allegheny Square East North Side. $20-25. 412-237-8300 or warhol.org By forcing herself to explore subjects she’d rather not, and using theatrical forms that discomfit her, playwright Young Jean Lee pushes her work in fascinating directions. Previous touring shows by the Brooklyn-based Lee have…
NOISE mixes music and art
NOISE featuring WHITE WIVES, THE WAKENING, MIKE EGAN, MAURICE RICKARD. 5-8 p.m. Sun., April 7. 2315 Wharton St. South Side. Free. welcometonoise.com Few things are more irresistibly interactive than bubble wrap, which is why Doug Dean and Bill Krowinski used it to cover the posters and handbills promoting their design-and-music event, NOISE. Both senior designers…
On the Road
On the Road Directed by: Walter Salles Starring: Sam Riley, Garrett Hedlund, Viggo Mortensen Starts: Fri., March 29. Regent Square How do you make a watchable movie out of an unreadable book? “That’s not writing, it’s typing,” Truman Capote famously said of Jack Kerouac’s On the Road, and who am I to disagree? But so…
Critics’ Picks: March 27 – April 2
[AVANT-ROCK] + FRI., MARCH 29 Douglas McCombs’ Brokeback broke its silence with a new record this year; the Tortoise bassist and guitarist hadn’t released anything with his side project in a decade. McCombs’ new Brokeback lineup — including members of Head of Skulls! and Pinebender — has been playing together since 2010, perfecting eclectic tunes…
Lynn Cullen Live 03/27/13
Video Archive Guest: Chris Potter; Lehigh Valley IronPigs baseball team’s urinal gaming system; Supreme Court voting on same-sex marriage; the questions & concerns arising within the Supreme Court; mange, scabies, ticks & mites; stabbing at the East Liberty Target; gay parents will be just like straight parents; indictment of Chief Harper; Luke Ravenstahl suing UPMC;…
Police Drama: Video captured the night police officers shot an unarmed motorist four times leads to more questions than answers
At first, there was nothing unusual about the traffic stop that began at about 9:30 p.m. on the night of Nov. 11. Two Pittsburgh Police officers, trailing a 2006 silver Infiniti G35x they later reported was “driving too fast,” saw the driver fail to come to a complete stop at a Highland Park intersection. As…
Tarnished Brass
“Here he comes,” a reporter said quietly as former Pittsburgh Police Chief Nate Harper walked down the ninth-floor hallway of the federal courthouse. A cautious gaggle gathered in front of the doors of courtroom 9B as Harper approached, a few steps behind attorneys Robert Leight and Robert Del Greco. “How ya doing, Nate?” another reporter…
Community Blues
When Mayor Luke Ravenstahl announced a lawsuit challenging UPMC’s tax-exempt status, it was yet another media shitstorm for the hospital giant. When you’re claiming to be a charity, it’s hard to imagine worse PR than a lawsuit accusing your CEO of hiring a private chef, chauffeur and jet. These days, even the new pope supposedly…
