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Blast furnace fever New York City's The Slackers are my favorite ska band. They rock steady without succumbing to the acne-pocked skate-punk homogenization so many ska bands adopt in feeble attempts to get laid. Their packed Milestones show was energetic, with a positive, palpable energy. It was a night full of music, including openers Amy Ryan
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Territory Band Atlas Okka Disc Atlas marks the second incarnation of Chicago-based saxophonist Ken Vandermark's Territory Band. Originally conceived as a group of pairs (Jeb Bishop and Axel Doerner on brass; Dave Rempis and Vandermark on reeds; Kent Kessler and Fred Lonberg-Holm on strings; Paul Lytton and Tim Mulvenna on drums) plus pianist Jim Baker, the second version
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OK: We're all on edge about the war. And people on both sides are pretty emotional. But it's troubling to see war supporters challenging the patriotism of opponents. According to a good number of war supporters, protesters had their chance to speak before
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Staying human Despite mounting tensions between peaceniks and police officials concerned about the cost of containing anti-war protests, the March 28 peace rally at the Liberty Pole downtown (and subsequent march to the former Genesee Hospital) was a largely non-confrontational affair. A few passing motorists gave protesters the one-fingered salute; the protesters responded with two-fingered gestures of peace.
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"I had a fire, and I had an accident," says the man on the phone. He's not telling the half of it. He and his wife and two pre-school boys are newly homeless --- and holed up in a room-by-the-week motel in the northern Finger Lakes.
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Don't let RPO die On a recent Thursday, my friend Ethan and I were sitting in row GG of the Eastman Theater after the RPO concert, waiting for the crowd to disperse and the garage to empty. After silently marveling at the collaborative miracle that is a fine symphony orchestra, I said to Ethan,
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In 1914 Kathleen McEnery was a rising figure on the New York art scene when suddenly, at the age of 26, she disappeared. What happened? She got married and came to live in Rochester. A year earlier, in 1913, she had exhibited two
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At first glance, it certainly seems like there could have been something nefarious about the Rochester City School Board's superintendent search. For one thing, candidates were interviewed in secret and their names were not released, even as the search committee narrowed the pool down to five and, later, two finalists. (The board announced its pick
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Did Ray Kroc of McDonald's bring us the chain restaurant? More likely, it was Howard Dearing Johnson, who rose from his drugstore beginnings to create the Howard Johnson's restaurant and motel empire. Johnson was a pioneer in franchise ownership and theme restaurants, and was a tycoon with 107 restaurants by 1939.
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Although presumably a mere accident of production and distribution schedules, the appearance of John McTiernan's new film, Basic, demonstrates the American film industry's uncanny penchant for seizing the moment. Just in time to jump on the war wagon, Hollywood once again releases a military flick. The movie, however, suggests another, not entirely unknown aspect of the
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It's probably just a coincidence that bombs started falling over Baghdad about 10 minutes after I checked into my hotel in Cleveland, where I was to cover their 27th annual International Film Festival. But there seems to be some unfortunate connection between me leaving town to watch movies and the occurrence of a horrible international
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The solo Spanker on his new record, rock 'n' roll, and how a certain rock star ripped him off. Dig Wammo. He's one subversive, pot-smoking, beat poet, trouble-makin' S.O.B. He's a rocker, a roller. Wammo is a man for our time. From the arguments he starts with strangers in bars, to the poetry he slams,
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Paul Hofmann is on a mission. He wants to prove that musical creativity is not reserved for a small group of geniuses. In his Community Education classes at the Eastman School of Music, Hofmann's students enter with a wide variety of musical backgrounds.
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In harm's way I'm writing this first and foremost as a parent who has recently lost my only son in a rather meaningless way. This made me think of all those other parents who have sons and daughters in harm's way --- and some who are already dead.
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It took Milton a solid week to get the lipstick just right. The edges can be hard to cover. He traced lips he had decided were quite full, pouty almost, with patience; left them glistening moist without blotting. In the background the message played loudly over stereo speakers: Welcome to the voice messaging service. Please
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If Monroe County's finances were your home's water system, you'd have called a plumber, too. By last summer, it was clear the county's finances were in the crapper. It was estimated that its 2002 budget would fall between $15 and $23 million in
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Playing like a feature-film continuation of Family Ties, Lisa Cholodenko's Laurel Canyon (opens Friday, April 11, at the Little) pits a free-spirited mother against her uptight, conservative, and --- yes --- perpetually embarrassed 21st century version of Alex P. Keaton. Because the mom, and the film itself, is all about sex, drugs, and rock 'n' roll,
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A well-known, old graybeard is newborn here, thanks to the distinguished work of the folks at Geva Theatre Center, led by artistic director Mark Cuddy. Matthew Burnett's Theophilus North --- based on novelist and playwright Thornton Wilder's final novel --- has made it to the stage for the first time.
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As you may know, April has been christened National Poetry Month by the high priests of American verse. Splashy displays highlighting new collections of poetry can be found in chain and independent bookstores. Libraries and colleges are hosting readings by hundreds of poets, both distinguished and emerging.
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Joel Schumacher's new thriller, Phone Booth, illustrates once again the weird and ambiguous relationship between popular cinema and its temporal context. Originally scheduled for release many months ago, the picture disappeared, at least for a while, until the manhunt for the Washington, D.C.-area sniper ended with the apprehension of the suspects. The distributors apparently believed, with
