Donald Trump lost the declining, white working-class Southwestern Pa. towns he visited
Political pundits have been praising Trump’s outreach to white working-class voters, but the Southwestern Pennsylvania working-class towns he visited voted against him.
Listen Up! Nov. 30
Every Wednesday, we make a Spotify playlist containing tracks from artists mentioned in the current music section. Give it a listen below:
Pittsburgh workers walk off jobs and rally Downtown to protest for higher wages
As part of the nation Day of Disruption, hundreds of protesters take to Pittsburgh streets in the Fight for $15.
A seasonal primer on darker beers
After an unseasonably warm autumn, Pittsburgh has finally received its first dose of winter weather, with bitter winds and a few flurries sweeping across the region. The changing weather prompts a new wardrobe, new things to complain about and, of course, new drinking habits. Hot toddies and Beaujolais Nouveau are classic choices, but when the…
Pittsburgh City Council introduces city ban on conversion therapy
In response to President-elect Donald Trump’s administration picks’ stances on LGBT issues, Pittsburgh City Council proposes a ban on conversion therapy.
MP3 Monday: Wreck Loose
This week’s MP3 comes from Wreck Loose. The band’s rollicking new single, “Long Time Listener, First Time Caller” may put you in mind of ’70s-era Elton John, and that’s a very good thing. Stream or download the song below, and then check out Wreck Loose Sat., Dec. 3 at Brillobox when the four-piece officially releases the song…
Lynn Cullen Live 11/28/16
Video Archive You can listen to the audio archive here. More appointments from Trump and denial of the popular vote. The life of Esther Lapidus. Audio Only Archive Listen to the Audio Archives on with our new Apple and Android Apps or the computer audio player.
Free Parking in Pittsburgh’s Strip District for Small Business Saturday
Strip District Neighbors nonprofit is promoting Small Business Saturday in the Strip District with free parking and loads of deals.
Turkey Time
Blackberry Meadows Farm is a certified organic farm just outside the city in Natrona Heights. Owners and farmers Greg Boulos and Jen Montgomery grow fruits and vegetables, but also focus on pasture-raised animals, including heritage-breed turkeys. This Thanksgiving, Greg tells us what it takes to raise a turkey and why local heritage-breed turkeys are better…
Nashville Pussy frontman Blaine Cartwright discusses the band’s controversial name
Jim Heath, a.k.a. The Reverend Horton Heat, loves touring with Atlanta-based Southern rockers Nashville Pussy. While the band is wildly popular among its fans, he says it’s never gained the level of success that it deserves, probably because of its memorable, but controversial, name. “I actually think their name hurt them; it’s a fun name,…
Ice Guardians
This new documentary from Brett Harvey delves deep into the history and role of ice hockey’s sometimes-beloved, sometimes-criticized enforcers. These are the big men better known for starting on-ice fights than for scoring goals. Harvey interviews more than a dozen former and current enforcers who, as a self-selected group, mount a strong defense for the…
Critics’ Picks, Nov. 24-30
[NOISY] + FRI., NOV. 25 The Brooklyn noise weirdos of Xaddax are set to take the stage at Brillobox. It’s a spastic and unpredictable blend of punk, synth and harsher noise: With their joint efforts, Chrissy Rossettie and Nick Sakes jerk listeners around while blowing out the sound system. This show is for fans of…
Moana
The latest animated feature from Disney begins with a brief backstory about the mythical creation of the South Pacific Islands. Then we move to a lush island where happy people fish, farm and get tattoos. One resident, tweener Moana (voice of Auli’i Cravalho), is a bit gloomy; she longs to be a sailor, but her…
New Releases
Good Dude Lojack Sevenandtwenty EP (La Squadra) la-squadra.bandcamp.com On Sevenandtwenty, Good Dude Lojack cherry-picks some of electronic music’s best quirks and molds them into something cohesive, gratifying and hard to put down. The four songs are unrushed (five-plus minutes apiece), but active and filled with satisfying details. They operate on repetition, but the tunes are…
Jay D. Aronson’s new book Who Owns the Dead?: The Science and Politics of Death at Ground Zero explores the ethical frontiers of DNA identification of bodily remains
After Sept. 11, 2001, New York City had to process the largest crime scene in American history. The medical examiner’s office used new DNA science to identify bodily remains amidst the rubble. In his new book, Who Owns the Dead?: The Science and Politics of Death at Ground Zero (Harvard University Press), Carnegie Mellon University…
Elephant by Carlsberg
It’s called Elephant because, at 7.2 percent ABV, it’s strong like one. Yes, that’s the company line, but it holds true. This is a malty, rich amber pilsner with a nice bitter kick at the end, but not so bitter that you can’t drink several on poker night at home. — Recommended by Charlie Deitch,…
Children’s-book author depicts little-known African-American historical role model
The inspiration for Tick Tock Banneker’s Clock, Fox Chapel resident Shana Keller’s first published children’s book, came from her daughter. Four years ago, Keller’s daughter came home from first grade during Black History Month with an article on the mostly self-taught astronomer, scientist and mathematician Benjamin Banneker, a free African American born in Baltimore County,…
Pittsburgh City Paper Booze Battles: Seviche vs. Roasted Barrelhouse & Eatery
Each week, we order the same cocktail at two different bars for a friendly head-to-head battle. Go to the bars, taste them both 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…
Between Riverside and Crazy at Pittsburgh Public Theater
BETWEEN RIVERSIDE AND CRAZY continues through Dec. 11. Pittsburgh Public Theater, 621 Penn Ave., Downtown. $15.75-56. 412-316-1600 or ppt.org While it wasn’t as exciting as the Hamilton audience booing Mike Pence, there was a moment of political frisson at Pittsburgh Public Theater’s Between Riverside and Crazy. A character launched into an extended vitriolic attack on…
While they may have lost the WPIAL football title, Aliquippa’s biggest victory needs to happen off the field
Editor’s Note: DiMantae Bronaugh, who was the subject of this story, passed away Nov. 29 due to complications from his illness. On Nov. 18, Aliquippa battled Beaver Falls for the Division 3A WPIAL football championship. There would be four games that day, but this one wasn’t just about football. Aliquippa was hunting its second consecutive title…
Three Days in the Country at Kinetic Theatre Co.
THREE DAYS IN THE COUNTRY continues through Dec. 4. Kinetic Theatre Co. at the New Hazlett Theater, 6 Allegheny Square East, North Side. $20-36. 888-718-4253 or kinetictheatre.org Kinetic Theatre Co. debuts an ambitious Classics: Re-Mastered series with the U.S. premiere of last year’s London hit, Three Days in the Country, a tragical romp with romance,…
Lineup Card
After several seasons clinging tightly to the bottom rung of mediocrity, the Pitt Panthers football team made big strides when it hit eight regular-season wins. And now, as the 2016 regular season prepares to end Saturday, consider the corner turned. Yes, the Panthers have four losses going into the finale, but only one of those…
The Rover at CMU Drama
THE ROVER continues through Dec. 3. Philip Chosky Theatre, CMU campus, 5000 Forbes Ave., Oakland. $10-33. 412-268-2407 or drama.cmu.edu Oh, how Carnegie Mellon University’s School of Drama loves to tease, showing us an austere wooden set — that Samuel Beckett would appreciate — at the opening of its production of The Rover. (If this company…
Can cities like Pittsburgh continue their progressive ways in Republican-controlled waters?
The day after the election that swept Republican Donald Trump into the White House, Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto threw his speech into the trash. Peduto was set to address more than 3,000 city-government workers and elected officials during the National League of Cities conference taking place in Downtown Pittsburgh. With the surprising election result, he…
The Eagle Huntress
The Eagle Huntress Directed by Otto Bell Starts Fri., Nov. 25. Harris. In Kazakh, with subtitles. These are fraught times, and we could use some reassurance that there is still much to celebrate in the human condition — that positive change comes slowly and in odd ways, but come it does. So let Otto Bell’s…
Trusst Lingerie offers more supportive bras
Sophia Berman can tell you what it’s like to pitch a bra that better supports large breasts to a roomful of male investors. “I definitely think we had a different experience than if we’d been pitching a male-designed product for men,” Berman says with a chuckle. “Some [investors] invited their wives to the meetings, so…
Allied
In 1942 Morocco, Max Vatan (Brad Pitt), a Canadian operative working for the British Army, is assigned to play husband to Marianne Beausejour (Marion Cotillard), a member of the French resistance infiltrating Nazi society in Casablanca. Naturally, the two fall in love, and eventually move to Britain, where they marry and continue to fight the…
The Pittsburgh Steelers have been Turkey Day’s biggest goat
A holiday that celebrates gluttony, sloth and football is a holiday that’s all right by me. There’s no pressure to buy anything, no costumes to put on, and nobody gets any fingers blown off in a homemade-fireworks display. Thanksgiving hasn’t had a war declared on it, and yes, you are allowed to say “Happy Thanksgiving.”…
The North Side’s The Foundry transcend the gastropub scene
The Foundry 381 North Shore Drive, North Side. 412-930-0744 Hours: Sun.-Thu. 11 a.m.-midnight; Fri.-Sat. 11 a.m.-2 a.m. Prices: Starters, sandwiches, salads and sides $5-15; entrees $18-26 Liquor: Full bar We misread the cues. Not all of them, but when we read about The Foundry, offering “fresh takes on pub favorites” (as per its website) in…
Donald Trump has become the Tweeter-in-Chief
During his presidency, Thomas Jefferson was known, for obvious reasons, as “The Apostle of Democracy,” and Andrew Jackson was nicknamed “Old Hickory” because his former troops thought he was as tough as wood. We all know Abraham Lincoln was “Honest” Abe, Harry Truman was “Give ’Em Hell” Harry and Richard Nixon was “Tricky Dick.” In…
DeLuca’s Bakery brings Italian pastries and more to Upper Lawrenceville
When Annette and Dan Babilon decided to open DeLuca’s Bakery, they chose a storefront in Upper Lawrenceville which for decades housed Frank’s Bakery and later Artisan Harvest. And when they launched the shop in early February of this year, the community welcomed them with open arms. “Everyone in the neighborhood is excited that [this space]…
Savage Love
I’m a very sex-positive girl and I finally convinced my boyfriend to open up about his fetishes. I could tell he was ashamed and torn about sharing them with me, but I’ve been with my fair share of guys and surfed the net for years, and I was convinced nothing would shock me. Well, it…
Three decades in, The Reverend Horton Heat is still spreading his psychobilly gospel
REVEREND HORTON HEAT with NASHVILLE PUSSY, UNKNOWN HINSON, LUCKY TUBB 8 p.m. Sun., Nov. 27. $25. Rex Theater. 1602 E. Carson St., South Side. 412-381-6811 or rextheater.com As an artist who has spent nearly his entire 31-year career touring and playing hundreds of shows annually, it stands to reason that Jim Heath — more widely…
Weird Pittsburgh: Guns for cash, here’s your sign, and Boaty McBoatface for President
Police agencies are often left with weapons confiscated during investigations or when executing protection-from-abuse orders. If the owner doesn’t claim the item or is legally prohibited from getting it back after court proceedings, most departments destroy the weapons, which keeps them off the streets. Westmoreland County Sheriff Jonathan Held thinks he has a better idea.…
New release from S.L.I.P. is a ‘dark, depressing good time’
Slippy When Wet, the new album from S.L.I.P., sounds like a dark, depressing good time. The songs are high-energy, but the subjects are gloomy: hopelessness and insomnia, opioid addiction and pollution, vapid music scenes, armchair liberals and gentrification. There are only five songs out of 12 available now, but they cover a lot of ground…
Short List: Nov. 24 – Dec. 1
SPOTLIGHT: Fri., Nov. 25 – Opera Typically, Quantum Theatre artistic director Karla Boos selects works to stage based on the playwright’s words. But when frequent collaborator Andres Cladera introduced her to Michael Nyman’s 1986 chamber opera The Man Who Mistook His Wife for A Hat, what enraptured her was the sound. Of the work’s deeply…
Simplicity and dedication to detail reign at DiAnoia’s
The newly opened DiAnoia’s, in the Strip District, already feels like an established neighborhood spot. Settle onto a barstool and be greeted by the sight of a tidy back-bar, gold barware gleaming warmly and arranged just so. A lot of love went into building this place, starting with the owners, married couple Dave Anoia and…
Bleed for This
Something this holiday the whole family can agree on — if everybody is into by-the-book inspirational boxing films. In Ben Younger’s bio-pic, Miles Teller portrays boxer Vinny Pazienza during his fateful years of the late 1980s and early ’90s. After winning a couple of key bouts, the junior-middleweight world-title holder from Providence, R.I., suffers a…
Three local artists take different paths to Illuminations
ILLUMINATIONS continues through Dec. 9. Carlow University Art Gallery, University Commons, 3333 Fifth Ave., Oakland. 800-333-2275 or carlow.edu After the deadly 2015 shooting at Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Fla., Suzanne K. Mellon, president of Carlow University, said: “It is not enough for us to talk about a just and merciful world, but rather it is…
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
In 1926, an English researcher of magical creatures, Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne), travels to New York City with a suitcase full of totally weird animals. David Yates’ fantasy tale was penned by J.K. Rowling, and is based on an ancillary “textbook” she wrote after the conclusion of her Harry Potter saga. Once in NYC, Scamander…
Butternut Squash Soup
Cooler temperatures here in Pittsburgh make us crave warm, comforting foods. Many of my family’s traditions and gatherings are centered on food. This soup recipe came into my family several years ago when my parents and sister traveled to Austria to visit extended family. There they shared wonderful moments and stories that connected home cooking…
Lynn Cullen Live 11/23/16
Video Archive You can listen to the audio archive here. Phat Man Dee and Liz Berlin sings songs from Social Justice Disco. Audio Only Archive Listen to the Audio Archives on with our new Apple and Android Apps or the computer audio player.
Lynn Cullen Live 11/22/16
Video Archive You can listen to the audio archive here. Don’t call them the Alt-Right. RIP Leon Billings. Police use water cannons against Standing Rock protesters. Fake news report on Washington pizza place puts it under fire. Audio Only Archive Listen to the Audio Archives on with our new Apple and Android Apps or the…
