MP3 Tuesday: Joy Toujours and the Toys du Jour
Greetings! Yes, it’s Tuesday, and this is a Monday feature. Were you hitting refresh on your browser all day yesterday while FFW>> was cooking out and remembering our fallen soldiers? Sorry boutcha. This week’s free MP3 download comes from Joy Toujours and the Toys du Jour. It’s a pretty, subdued little folk number, and I…
Are gloves coming off in Penguins/Hill dispute?
Hill District leaders are used to dropping the gloves with the Pittsburgh Penguins. But as their criticism of the team has mounted, the Hill District Consensus Group says the hockey team’s president recently directed a cryptic threat to the neighborhood group’s leader. According to Carl Redwood, convener of the Consensus Group, Penguins President David Morehouse…
Some words on the passing of Gil Scott-Heron
“The first time they told me there was trouble in the Middle East, I thought they were talking about Pittsburgh” – Gil Scott-Heron (from his appearance on 1985’s “Let Me See Your I.D.”) Gil Scott-Heron passed away on Friday, May 27 at the age of 62, though his legacy lives. His words can be read…
Belated election analysis: city council district 9 reflects Burgess strength, progressive weakness
A bit of belated election analysis from city council district 9, where Ricky Burgess won a three-way race in which he got exactly 50 percent of votes (not counting a handful of write-ins). I haven’t said much about the results here, mostly because I figured Burgess to win this race ever since it became clear…
Code Blue! Who wins in healthcare fracas?
They may get lost in the holiday weekend, but both our dailes have stories about the ongoing clash of healthcare titans, and they are well worth reading. UPMC, the region’s biggest healthcare provider, and Highmark, our biggest health insurer, have been on the outs for months — with a marked escalation in tensions since Highmark…
Through a Glass(man) darkly: antigay group takes parting shot at Pittsburgh’s newest resident
Stephen Glassman, the longtime head of the state’s Human Relations Commission, is coming to Pittsburgh. And as he heads out the door, his old foes at the American Family Association of Pennsylvania have a final kick in the ass for him. The AFA is one of those “family values” conservative groups. You know the kind:…
Artist Grant-Writing Workshop
Over the past few decades, arts funding has moved to a more organizationally based model, leaving individual artists with fewer options to support their work. And funding in general is tight lately — witness the current proposal to decimate Pennsylvania Council on the Arts funding (www.pittsburghcitypaper.ws/gyrobase/Content?oid=oid%3A95389). Nonetheless, there are still grant opportunities out there for…
Arts and Exhibits
Current 28 West Second Gallery & Studio Space. 40×40 (Mike Bendik, Michelle Bendik and various artists), through May 28. American Jewish Museum. Too Shallow for Diving: The 21st Century Is Treading Water (group show of work related to water), through July 29. The Andy Warhol Museum. My Mommy Is Beautiful (installation by Yoko Ono), through…
Stage
Current August Wilson Center. Weekly offCenter performances (music, readings and more) in a lounge-style atmosphere, 5-9 p.m. every Thursday. First Voice Festival. A showcase for local and visiting African-American artists, performers, writers and musicians, through May 28 (August Wilson Center). Louder Faster. City Theatre favorites Eric Simonson and Jeffrey Hatcher celebrate Pittsburgh-native playwright George S.…
Fairs, Festivals and Special Events
May 29 Animal Friends Mutt Strut, Hartwood Acres, Indiana Township. Games, activities and pooches. 412-847-7000 or www.thinkingoutsidethecage.org May 30 Memorial Day Celebration, Soldiers & Sailors Memorial Hall, Oakland. 412-621-4253. Free. June 3-12 Three Rivers Arts Festival, Downtown. 412-471-6070 or www.artsfestival.net. Visual art exhibitions, public art installations, music and dance performances, and arts and…
Films
Ah, summer: When we celebrate big, noisy, junky films rather than bemoan them. Popcorn-munchers won’t be disappointed this season — there are sequels, aliens and talking animals galore! But to cut the grease, look to local venues to deliver more substantial fare. Crime takes no holiday, and various do-gooders suit up against it. X-Men: First…
Outdoors
CITY POOLS City park pools are open June 16 through Labor Day. Programs include swimming lessons and swim teams. Purchase pool tags for the season or pay a daily entrance fee. 412-323-7928 SPRAY PARKS Movement sensors activate sprayers in this “three-dimensional world of water.” In Beechview, Troy Hill, Shadyside and East Hills. 412-323-7928 …
Music
Music venues 31st Street Pub. Strip District. 412-391-8334 Altar Bar. Strip District. 412-263-2877 Andy Warhol Museum. North Side. 412-237-8300 Belvedere’s. Lawrenceville. 412-687-2555 Brillobox. Bloomfield. 421-621-4900 Carnegie Library Music Hall of Homestead. 412-368-5225 Carnegie Museum of Art. Oakland. 412-622-3131 Club Café. South Side. 412-431-4900 Club Zoo. Strip District. 800-745-3000 Consol Energy Center. Uptown. 412-642-1800 Diesel. South…
Summer Guide
Don’t get burned this summer! Now that the sun is back, summer fun in Pittsburgh can begin. Below you’ll find listings for seasonal events and activities. From Shakespeare to Transformers, county fairs to neighborhood walks, new art to traditional music, City Paper’s Summer Guide has got you covered. Music Films Arts + Exhibits Stage Fairs,…
Short List: Week of May 26 – June 2
“I would say that above all, my plays are about people who are well raised but who lose control of themselves,” Yasmina Reza recently told the Los Angeles Times. That certainly describes her best-known work, Art, and perhaps even moreso God of Carnage, her 2009 Tony-winner for best play, premiering locally at Pittsburgh Public Theater.…
Patio 10
The front patio — with views of Downtown, the river and trains — sets this hotel restaurant apart
Bill Cunningham New York
The work of photographer Bill Cunningham is familiar to anyone who’s ever idly skimmed the Sunday New York Times. Besides photographing various society events, his feature “On the Street” documents what New Yorkers of all stripes are wearing, organized around a trend or theme caught by Cunningham’s keen eye. Richard Press’ affectionate documentary profiles Cunningham,…
Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives
The Thai director Apichatpong Weerasethakul spends a lot of time contemplating things in Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives, a tranquil elegy to the myths and traditions of his native culture. The word “recall” in the title means to bring back as well as to remember. So at dinner one night, old Uncle…
Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides
In which Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp), his nemesis Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush), a former love (Penelope Cruz) and her pirate father (Ian McShane) – plus some stray Spaniards – search for the fountain of youth. Our adventure gets off to a lively start, but the film soon turns dull. The narrative lacks an easy flow, and…
Critics’ Picks
Local shows this week from Richard Pinhas, EMay and friends, The Avett Brothers and Weezer.
On the record with Andrew Seward of Against Me!
“Against Me! always struck me as more Creedence Clearwater Revival than NOFX. No offense to NOFX.”
Absent Minded
From the minutes of a May 2 Mount Oliver Borough public hearing to discuss a council motion to vacate the seat of Councilwoman Billie Michener. Two weeks later, borough councilors voted 4-0 to remove her, citing her failure to attend several consecutive council meetings. One day after that council action, Michener was the top vote-getter…
Breathing Room: Will increased Marcellus Shale drilling mean more air pollution?
“There’ll be a good chance of a significant increase in asthma attacks from all these different sources added together.”
Parking Break: the parking biz revels in Pittsburgh
Parking in Pittsburgh has always been a problem. The Mon Wharf floods as often as the Ganges. Downtown garages fill up by 8 a.m. And then there are the tickets, and the dreaded “boot.” But the parking industry has a fun side, too — and it was on display this week at the International Parking…
Jittery, vaguely menacing robots populate Wood Street’s Hysterical Machines.
Their limbs have no purpose, but we treat them as sentient beings.
Pump Boys and Dinettes
Everyone does the tunes and the words real proud. Good thing, too ’cause there ain’t much story.
The Marvelous Wonderettes
A little of this saccharine music goes a long way.
At the Warhol, an artist delves into the patriarchal limits of the Torah.
Aylon’s seeks to rescue the sacred from imperfect human understanding and profane encumbrances.
A lack of site-specificity hampers a Mattress Factory show nominally dedicated to the proposition.
The objects depersonalize the space to the point of vagueness, suggesting more of an arbitrary encounter than veiled, intimate narrative.
The lowdown on Braddock Fest
All the details on the two-day punk and metal festival
Former Pissed Jeans bassist makes Braddock home
Braddock Fest — headlined by Corrosion of Conformity and Converge — marks Rosenstraus’ 30th birthday
On the Record with Ed Stricker, dean of the University of Pittsburgh’s Honors College
In July, professor Ed Stricker will take over the reins of the University of Pittsburgh’s Honors College. He’ll be charged with attracting the best and brightest students and challenging them with the school’s toughest courses to better prepare them for the future. You’re replacing the late Alexander “Doc” Stewart. How do you envision stepping…
GOP’s hands are all over financial support for vouchers
“A colleague of mine calls it a right-wing conspiracy.”
No Choice: Pennsylvania School Voucher plan could leave disabled students out to dry
“Let’s face it, they’re going to get to pick and choose” who they let in
AppalAsia mixes Eastern and Western folk traditions
“Even though we’re viewed as a world folk thing, to us it’s as much like a jazz ensemble because of the way it functions.”
Buying a Round For the House
East End Brewery seeks help from customers
Pittsburgh’s Own Wieners-on-Wheels
Franktuary launches at hot-dog truck
Savage Love
I am a bi woman happily married to a straight man, and we both participate in hot sexy times with other women during threesomes. It’s hard to find hot 30ish bi girls where we live, but the encounters we’ve had were excellent. Everything was great until three weeks ago, when we had a miscarriage. We’d…
Essential Public Media fleshes out vision for WDUQ
[Editor’s note: Earlier today, the folks who hope to run the new WDUQ-FM released a statement about their plans for the station, which we summarized here. As part of the effort to roll out their vision, execs with Essential Public Media have been meeting with reporters today. Our very own Chris Young sat down with…
Plans for new ‘DUQ unveiled: good news for newshounds, mixed bag for jazz fans
The would-be new owners of 90.5 FM have unveiled a general manager for the station, and expounded on plans to launch July 1. As expected, the format will be heavy on “in-depth NPR news and information,” including locally-produced journalism. As for jazz lovers, who wanted to continue WDUQ’s current jazz-heavy format? They should probably start…
