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Eight years ago, at the age of 18, Richie Salvaggio, a.k.a. DJ Richie Salvaggio, brought a brand new sound to Rochester: funky house. It happened in a building on Main Street his friends intended to turn into a record store (they never
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Mykonos owner Steffie Rizos and I went to high school together in Binghamton, where one of the most popular restaurants is the Argo, a Greek family joint specializing in seafood. Though Rochester has its share of "Greek" diners, as well as the wonderful Olive Tree, we didn't have a restaurant like the Argo. Mykonos's claim
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Editor's note: Thanks to a holiday scheduling snafu, we here present another review of Solaris. Yes, this does mean the film is extra good. Some students of science fiction prefer to call the genre speculative fiction, an appropriate term for
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A must-see for Japanimaniacs, those interested in Japanese folklore, or anyone weary of the boring stories that typically accompany American animation, Miyazaki's Spirited Away is a refreshing new take on Alice in Wonderland. The film, which destroyed box office records in Japan, knocking Titanic out of the top spot (which, in turn, had bested the
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Jazz fans may get a feeling of deja-vu Thursday evening when Bill Dobbins takes the Kilbourn Hall stage to conduct the Eastman Jazz Ensemble. From 1973 to 1994, the name Dobbins was synonymous with the Eastman School's big bands. But in 1994, Dobbins left for Germany to become principal director of Cologne's WDR Big Band,
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If there had been a hidden camera, you would have seen 11 women of various ages and shapes in black leggings and T-shirts vamping toward a mirrored wall, throwing their hands against it, and then wiggling their derriËres. And if there had
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The Art-o-mat cometh. Yes, thanks to a collaboration between Rochester Contemporary and the Record Archive, our city finally gets to experience the joys of "vended art." In 1997, in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, Clark Whittington invented the Art-o-mat by turning an abandoned cigarette vending
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Bridge to this century The US Army Corps of Engineers considers the Hojack Swing Bridge a "hazard to navigation" and wants it removed. But the bridge, which once carried trains across the Genesee River near Lake Ontario, has defenders who rightly view it as a work of art.
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Snow was gathering outside Eastman Theatre and onstage as the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra and Rochester City Ballet gave us an early Christmas gift last weekend. Saturday night, I saw another extraordinary performance of the Nutcracker ballet. It was rewarding to a degree far beyond any appreciation born of boosterism or local pride. I've said that
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Amid snowy tree branches and slush-dappled parked cars, the aroma of wood smoke makes its way down many Rochester streets. Even if you don't burn wood yourself, you get a taste of the season and all its associations --- like that "chestnuts roasting on an open fire" thing.
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The only question about the touring blockbuster musical Mamma Mia! was whether it keeps up the phenomenal energy and high performance standards that have made its long runs in the world's major theater centers so magical. And the answer is a resounding yes. Completing two-weeks at the Auditorium Theatre this Sunday, December 8, Mamma Mia!
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Stopping the war Several weeks ago, I was in Washington DC with 150,000 others protesting the Bush administration's fraudulent rush to war. Surrounded by fellow dissenters, buoyed by demonstrations taking place elsewhere across the US and abroad, I sensed a powerful tide of public opinion against the war. Back in Rochester, a coalition of organizations
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It's safe to say most folks familiar with Rochester's art scene have never heard of The Impressions Gallery. Or, if they have, they've never dared to go there. Located in a
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On December 17, the New York State Senate will reconvene and vote on the Sexual Orientation Non-Discrimination Act (SONDA). If the act passes --- which is still far from certain --- it will cap a legislative effort to protect gay rights that's been three-decades in the making.
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A pious cleric casts a demon's shadow. A skeletal Santa no longer shakes like a bowl full of jelly. An evil clown glowers while smoking five coffin nails at once. The unassuming, yet menacing, grill of a classic Merc sits... waiting. Frankenstein's green face is all twisted up in frustration. Skulls and skulls and
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Fairport efforts The article "War, Peace at Fairport High School" (Metro Ink, November 20) was misleading. While there was initial controversy about the issue, the administrators, and especially Dave Paddock, have been working with us; Dave Paddock said he had no problem with our plans as long as we didn't hurt anybody.
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Dance lovers owe a lot to Nazareth Arts Center, which brought us two of the world's greatest dance companies just weeks apart: the Paul Taylor Dance Company on November 9 and Rochester's Garth Fagan Dance December 4-8. Regular readers may be tired of my referring to the Fagan dancers' beauty, virtuosity, precision, energy, and commitment.
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We set off a bit of controversy with our November 27 cover, a collage that included a woman's bare breasts. Some readers called or wrote to complain. Some newsstands refused to distribute that issue of our newspaper. And here at City,we had a rousing staff debate about the cover.
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David Lindsay-Abaire's Fuddy Meers slowly unearths haunting mysteries. I'll tell you all the plot revelations now. You're unlikely to remember the details when you go see Shipping Dock Theatre's production of this goofy, disturbing drama, anyway. And if you do, they'll probably turn out to be untrue.
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Is it appropriate for our nation's leaders to consult astrologers on critical decisions? Should you check your horoscope when buying a car? In this column, I will show why astrology is 99.9 percent bunk. Astrology is confused in some people's minds with astronomy.
