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EVENTS 7.21 – 5-8pm TEACHER WORKSHOP: POP CULTURE IN THE CLASSROOM Tickets $30
7.28 – 7-10pm SILVER SCREEN BAZAAR Featuring a variety of Hollywood-related memorabilia from vendors and the Pittsburgh premiere of Warhol’s film San Diego Surf. Free with museum admission
7.28 – 5-9:30pm FACTORY SWING SHIFT The Factory stays up late! Free with museum admission
8.5 – 10am -12pm HALF-PINT PRINTS The Factory Free with museum admission
9.15 - 8pm TQ LIVE! A queer evening of dazzling performance, dance, poetry, comedy, music, and more. Please note this performance contains adult subject matter and strong language. Tickets $10/$8 members & students
The Andy Warhol Museum receives state arts funding support through a grant from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, a state agency funded by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania; the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency and The Heinz Endowments. Further support is provided by the Allegheny Regional Asset District.
Andy Warhol: Stars of the Silver Screen is generously supported by Cadillac.
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PITTSBURGH CITY PAPER
07.19/07.26.2017
07.19/07.26.2017 VOLUME 27 + ISSUE 29
INVIGORATED.
[EDITORIAL] Editor CHARLIE DEITCH News Editor REBECCA ADDISON Arts & Entertainment Editor BILL O’DRISCOLL Associate Editor AL HOFF Digital Editor ALEX GORDON Staff Writers RYAN DETO, CELINE ROBERTS Music Writer MEG FAIR Interns CARLEY BONK, HALEY FREDERICK, KRISTA JOHNSON, HANNAH LYNN, JORDAN MILLER, MATT PETRAS
How I feel after my weight loss journey. -Judy Grimm
Lost 100 lbs. with gastric sleeve surgery
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{COVER PHOTO BY KATE HAGERTY}
Director of Operations KEVIN SHEPHERD Production Director JULIE SKIDMORE Art Director LISA CUNNINGHAM Graphic Designers JEFF SCHRECKENGOST, JENNIFER TRIVELLI
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“I’m just a small woman with a big mouth that tries to make sense out of this nonsense.”
If your weight is keeping you down, the experts at UPMC Bariatric Services have so many ways to help you find a healthier, happier you. We offer a comprehensive weight-loss program for men and women that includes everything from behavioral and medical weight loss programs, online diet resources, and new bridge therapy alternatives such as the intragastric balloon. And our team will create a personalized plan to help you meet your goals. So find a new you and visit UPMC.com/Bariatrics, or schedule an appointment near you by calling 1-800-533-UPMC (8762).
[MARKETING+PROMOTIONS] Marketing Director LINDSEY THOMPSON Marketing Assistant LIZ VENUTO Office Coordinator THRIA DEVLIN
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Remembering the life of director George Romero PAGE 37
News 06 Views 14 Weird 16 Music 18 Arts 26 Events 30 Taste 33
Screen 37 Sports 39 Classifieds 42 Crossword 42 Astrology 44 Savage Love 45 The Last Word 46 NEWS
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GENERAL POLICIES: Contents copyrighted 2017 by Eagle Media Corp. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written permission of the publisher. The opinions expressed in Pittsburgh City Paper are those of the author and not necessarily of Eagle Media Corp. LETTER POLICY: Letters, faxes or e-mails must be signed and include town and daytime phone number for confirmation. We may edit for length and clarity. DISTRIBUTION: Pittsburgh City Paper is published weekly by Eagle Media Corp. and is available free of charge at select distribution locations. One copy per reader; copies of past issues may be purchased for $3.00 each, payable in advance to Pittsburgh City Paper. FIRST CLASS MAIL SUBSCRIPTIONS: Available for $175 per year, $95 per half year. No refunds.
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THIS WEEK
“THE NARRATIVE IS CHANGING AROUND WHAT UPREP AT MARGARET MILLIONES WAS AND IS NOW.”
ONLINE
www.pghcitypaper.com
City Paper stopped by the massive Deutschtown Music Festival this past weekend, and we have the video to prove it at www.pghcitypaper.com.
BACK TO UPREP
Local filmmaker Mike Watt discusses the legacy and impact of late film director George Romero online at www.pghcitypaper.com. Also check out our story on Romero’s work on page 37.
Over a year ago, a 30-student fight thrust the school into the headlines, but what’s been going on there since? CP’s music writer Meg Fair spent a day embedded at the Vans Warped Tour. Her findings will be revealed in our FFW>> blog at www.pghcitypaper.com.
CITY PAPER
INTERACTIVE
Our featured reader-submitted photo from last week is by @j_minear. Use #CPReaderArt to share your local photos with us for your chance to be featured next!
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{BY REBECCA ADDISON}
I
N FEBRUARY 2016, 16-year-old Amina
Morris was a freshman at Pittsburgh Milliones, also known as University Prep, on the day dozens of students got into a brawl. She was in gym class when the school went on lockdown. Police officers were already roaming the halls. But that didn’t stop Morris from being attacked. “The whole school was basically fighting,” says Morris. “When I got jumped, there was a lot of them and I was backed into a corner. I got stomped and pushed around.” That was the last day Morris would attend UPrep. She was homeschooled for the remainder of that school year and now attends Sto-Rox High School. “I had to be homeschooled because I couldn’t go back to school,” says Morris, who believes the girls attacked her because they didn’t like her cousin. “I’m not allowed to play sports anymore. I wanted to cheer, but I wasn’t cleared for cheering because of the concussions I
{CP PHOTO BY RENEE ROSENSTEEL}
Amina Morris and her mother, Jessica Thrower, who has been a source of comfort for her since the fight
had and all the medications I’m on. It ruined a lot of stuff for me, going through high school.” Morris only attended UPrep for one year, but unfortunately, she’ll never forget her experience there. And as if the negative impact the attack has had on her health wasn’t enough, it also hasn’t been good for her name. “If you Google my name, it’s just everything about that brawl,” Morris says. “I don’t like that at all.” While Morris’ reputation might have
been damaged by the media attention that February fight received, the reputation of University Prep is on the rise. The following school year, administrators made changes to the culture, structure and curriculum at the school. And they say improving absenteeism and suspension rates show their efforts are working. Next year they plan to go even further. CHRISTOPHER HORNE was among the first teachers at UPrep when it opened in 2008. He eventually left to work in CONTINUES ON PG. 08
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the Penn Hills school district before returning to the school to serve as principal. The now-legendary fight occurred during his first year. “It was a challenging culture,” says Horne. “The summer before my first year of leadership, there were just a lot of things going on between the two main neighborhoods that feed into my school, Garfield and the Hill District. It just really erupted when they were in the same space after a summer of instigating and violence.” But he says he learned a few things from that unfortunate incident. Today, Horne says, the administrators and staff at UPrep do a better job of trying to monitor conflicts on social media because that’s often where these kinds of fights are born. But, he says, overall it’s the culture at his school that’s changed. “When you compare my first year of leadership to year two, it’s all about relationships, building positive relationships with student and staff,” says Horne. “They know what my expectations are. They know that I care. I empower people to lead by example and make good decisions.” As a result, suspensions from fighting are down 85 percent from Horne’s first year. That school year, 35 percent of students at the school had been suspended at least once. The district average for grades 6-12 schools is 24 percent. Horne also changed the start time at the school back to 8:38 a.m., and as a result, he says, the school has seen its chronic absenteeism rate drop by 11 percent. The year of the fight, 67 percent of students in the school were chronically absent, compared to the average for grades 612 schools of 37 percent. “Eighty-five percent is a huge decline,” says Horne. “It’s what the students have always wanted. The students have really made a decision to be focused on education.” This summer, teachers have been working to move even closer toward the current vision for UPrep. They’re developing a behavior-management plan to ensure consistency across classrooms for staff and teachers. Another team of teachers is studying culturally relevant pedagogy to help train other teachers on how to make learning relevant in the classroom. Yet another is developing a list of college, career and life skills they want students to have when they graduate, in order to set bench-
marks for each grade. One more team is focused on improving community and family engagement. “I’m very excited about all the different supports that are in place. We’re continuing to improve,” Horne says. “The narrative is changing around what University Preparatory School at Margaret Milliones was and is now.” Part of that change emerged in the weeks immediately following the fight. At the time, Briana Jinar, a literacy coach at UPrep, and her students discussed the media’s portrayal of the school and African Americans, and decided that they wanted to change it. “In my classroom, I like to try to give my students a way to be agents of change through positive means,” says Jinar, who has worked at the school since it opened in 2008. “It’s a source of frustration to see how their school is portrayed in the media. We had so much press about the fight, but there were a lot of good things that the students were doing that did not receive media attention.” To combat the negative press, the students created Behind the Scenes, a social-media page that was designed to change the narrative about their school in the media. The students posted pictures of themselves with signs that said positive things like “I’m an honor roll student,” and they shared photos from other positive events. “They said, ‘We’re not going to worry about what the media says about us, we know what we are,’” says Jinar. “It’s a totally different environment now. They changed the narrative themselves, and now they’re becoming what they knew they could be. They didn’t fall into that media stereotype, even though it’s really difficult for them to see it every day.” And the following school year, the school underwent several changes to ensure progress continued. That fall, UPrep began offering entertainment technology (web design, photography and animation, for example) as part of a career- and technical-education program. A new student-envoy program gives students the opportunity to earn a leadership role where they can work with administrators, teachers and staff to develop strategies to improve the school. The school even won a grant to create its own greenhouse. Most importantly, this past school year, students were finally able to earn
“THEY’RE BEING EXPOSED TO SOMETHING THAT WAS PROMISED TO THEM YEARS AGO.”
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isn’t educating kids.” Udin has kept his eye on UPrep since it opened nearly a decade ago through his involvement with education watchdog group A+ Schools and the Hill District Education Council. In the days after the fight, he helped form a task force on school violence to address issues at the school. Since then, he says, he’s seen improvements, but academic achievement remains an issue. “That was a very difficult time for us when that big fight occurred,” Udin says. “A year later, the principal is confident that changes have occurred even though things academically are not where any of us would like to see them.” Unfortunately, these changes came too late for former UPrep student Morris, who said she never felt safe at the school. She says she hopes keeping attention on UPrep will ensure another kid never has the same experience. “I’ll never forget it. It was upsetting. I was scared. I didn’t feel protected. It wasn’t a good feeling,” Morris says. “I want to help other kids. Maybe by getting the story out it could help other people.” RA D D I S ON @ P G H C I T Y PA P E R. C OM
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college credits at the Community College of Allegheny County while taking classes at UPrep. It’s a program that was part of the original vision for the school. “This is a wonderful opportunity for students. They’re being exposed to something that was promised to them years ago,” says Jinar. “Whenever I have a student who used to be roaming the hallways, and now he comes into my classroom and says, ‘I’m going to get my college ID today,’ I get goosebumps. It’s fabulous. They have a sense of purpose now.” Incoming school-board member Sala Udin, who will represent the Hill District school, says these kinds of academic improvements are paramount to ensuring UPrep is a place where students can feel safe. “The establishment of a school district where excellence is the standard, where parents are engaged, is the kind of school district that will ensure the safety and the education of the students,” Udin says. “It’s not just the question of physical safety that has to be solved. We have to solve the systemic fundamental problem of an education system that
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SAFE HAVEN? Does Pittsburgh need official ‘sanctuary city’ status to fully protect its immigrant population? {BY RYAN DETO} JUST AS President Donald Trump started his term in January, members of Pittsburgh City Council passed a series of bills meant to make Pittsburgh more welcoming and to hopefully calm the fears of undocumented immigrants about being deported. The city wanted to show that it can pass policies that are pro-immigrant, but some local immigrants feel like the new laws aren’t doing the job of actually protecting them. On Jan. 17, just three days before Trump took office, Pittsburgh City Councilor Dan Gilman (D-Squirrel Hill) introduced his City for All agenda “aimed at making Pittsburgh a more welcoming and inclusive city,” according to a press release. This package of bills was signed by Mayor Bill Peduto on Jan. 31, and included an ordinance prohibiting Pittsburgh from denying services based on immigration status; resolutions to create a citywide
Named the best continuing blog in Western Pa. (No, we’re not shitting you.) First place, 2017 Press Club of Western Pa. Golden Quill Award
READ US ON THE REGULAR AT WWW.PGHCITYPAPER.COM
{CP PHOTO BY RYAN DETO}
Brenda Solkez (right) translating for an undocumented immigrant speaking at a July 12 public hearing
language-access plan; and a police office of multicultural affairs to accommodate immigrant needs. But many in the city’s Latino community, as well as in immigrant-rights groups, say these bills weren’t enough to assuage their anxiety. They want Pittsburgh to invoke “sanctuary city” status to protect law-abiding undocumented residents, but council believes the city has enough policies in place to accomplish the same goals. Sanctuary cities limit communication and cooperation with U.S. immigration officers as a way to build trust between immigrants and local police. This disconnect between immigrant advocates and city officials was exemplified during a July 12 public hearing sponsored by concerned citizens. Brenda Solkez, of immigrants-rights group FURIA, spoke at the hearing about how Pittsburgh’s Latino undocumented immigrants were growing increasingly anxious about being deported and were scared to speak to city officials. Pittsburgh City Councilor Deb Gross offered assurances. “It doesn’t matter what your immigration status is, you may speak here,” Gross told the group. Problem was, council didn’t provide a translator for the group of more than a dozen undocumented immigrants, many of whom only spoke Spanish. Solkez eventually translated for the women wishing to speak, but the message was sent: Even as Pittsburgh officials want to ensure immigrants are welcomed and protected, their message of support isn’t reaching the entire undocumented community. Councilor Gilman says the legislation
he sponsored gives all city residents, regardless of immigration status, equal rights and access to city services and will eventually lead to improved relations between police and immigrants. But immigration-policy experts say with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) increasing its arrests, cities may want to step up efforts to protect resident immigrants. Local advocates like Solkez are calling on the city to pass broader legislation. Gilman says his legislation, in combination with the Pittsburgh Police policy to not initiate contact with ICE officials, is currently adequate to serve the city’s undocumented residents. He is open to additions and changes, but rejects the idea of the city declaring itself a sanctuary city. “I worked for a long time with the community, immigrants and refugees on those bills,” Gilman says. “I am less concerned about the title versus the substance of those bills.” But since that passage of those bills, Avideh Moussavian, senior policy attorney for the National Immigration Law Center, says federal immigration enforcement has been ramped up significantly. “This administration is dramatically going after anybody who might fit the description of being undocumented,” she says. According to a May USA Today article, in the first three months of the Trump administration, immigration arrests were
up 38 percent compared to the same time period in 2016. And Solkez says this is happening in Pittsburgh too. “What ICE is doing is savage,” says Solkez. “They are picking up people, they are following people, they are going around to schools.” Pittsburgh City Paper spoke with a group of six undocumented immigrants who attended the July 12 public hearing. Most live in Beechview, and they said this increased ICE presence is causing them anxiety. One mother of two said, “No, I don’t feel safe,” in Spanish. Moussavian says cities around the country should respond to this increased enforcement by making more effort to protect law-abiding undocumented immigrants. “Cities should assuage fear, and not exclusive to law-enforcement policy,” says Moussavian. “Cities should say, ‘We are going to train our staff, train our community.’ Kids are afraid to go to school, and parents are afraid to take kids to hospitals.” Solkez says Pittsburgh has a long way to go in easing area immigrants’ fears. She wants Pittsburgh police to eliminate all communication and cooperation with ICE and wants the city to pass legislation prohibiting city employees from contacting ICE. (Currently, Pittsburgh police will cooperate with ICE if ICE has criminal warrants, and Peduto spokesperson Tim McNulty says no rules currently exist barring city workers from contacting ICE.) Solkez also hopes city council will encourage other municipalities in Allegheny County to pass similar legislation to Pittsburgh’s. According to estimates, about 4,500 undocumented immigrants live outside Pittsburgh in Allegheny County, and it’s unclear if any other county municipalities have any immigrant protections on the books. Gilman says Pittsburgh could increase its outreach to better calm immigrants’ anxieties and inform them of services that are available. “The number-one thing that I took from the public hearing is we need to double down in terms of outreach,” he says. And Solkez says she will continue to pressure the city and other regional agencies. “This is our fight, and we are going to keep fighting,” says Solkez. “I don’t want to diminish any other immigrant groups, but I believe the undocumented immigrants are the most vulnerable right now. … If it has to be a civil-rights movement, let’s do it.”
“I AM LESS CONCERNED ABOUT THE TITLE VERSUS THE SUBSTANCE OF THOSE BILLS.”
RYA N D E TO@ P G HC I T Y PA P E R. C OM
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NOMINATE. VOTE. CELEBRATE.
Pittsburgh City Paper’s Best Of Pittsburgh VOTING starts Friday, July 28th PGHCITYPAPER.COM/BESTOF2017
IME STILL T E! S ’ E R THE MINAT TO NO NS NATIO LY I M O N JU WED., CLOSE MIDNIGHT TH T 19 A
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[GREEN LIGHT]
FEAR FACTOR {BY BILL O’DRISCOLL} IT WAS IN the 1980s that I first read about what was then called the greenhouse effect. The idea that we were overheating the Earth by heedlessly burning fossil fuels was both frightening and enraging. And ever since, as scientific evidence for global warming has mounted, I’ve become only more convinced of the need to decarbonize the economy. Along the way, I’ve also learned that the prospects for environmental disaster that motivated me don’t motivate everyone. And last week, the question of how to make people urgent about fighting global warming came into sharp focus with the publication of “The Uninhabitable Earth.” Journalist David Wallace-Wells’ terrifying 7,000-word essay in New York magazine tells what could happen if we continue burning carbon unabated. Citing climate experts, he writes that much sooner than we think — by the end of this century, within the lifetime of today’s children — we could be facing a planet riddled with killer heat, flooding and other extreme weather, and highly prone to disease, famine, drought and deadly smog. Plus, toxic oceans. And with whatever people who remain fighting more wars over whatever resources remain. “[N]o matter how well-informed you are,” Wallace-Wells writes, “you are surely not alarmed enough.” In An Inconvenient Truth, Al Gore quipped that global warming could lead us on “a nature hike through the book of Revelation.” But “Uninhabitable Earth” is perhaps the most dire high-profile warning in years. The article was widely shared on social media. Critics, including outspoken Penn State University climate scientist Michael Mann, charged “Uninhabitable Earth” with “overstating some of the science” to paint a maximally grim picture. (For instance, Mann argues that a massive release of frozen methane in a thawing Arctic is less likely than Wallace-Wells contends.) In an email to City Paper, Mann cautions against “overstating observed trends and presenting the low-probability outcomes as if they are likely outcomes.” However, most discussion about the article concerned tone and framing. Online pieces in The Atlantic, The New Republic and Grist, for instance, argued that apocalyptic scenarios — New York’s cover read “The Doomed Earth Catalog” — make people shut down, not fight. Or, as one reader tweeted, “We might as well just pack it in.” “It’s almost like he’s trying to make readers give up,” says Joylette Portlock, a Pittsburgh-based climate-change activist and
educator. Portlock contends that WallaceWells downplays or ignores viable solutions to climate-related threats (like combating hunger by eliminating food waste). But others held, as another reader tweeted, that “a little shock therapy is good.” In Slate, Susan Matthews wrote that confronting global warming requires not simply individual initiative but collective political action. So if “hopelessness … scares people into actually taking this issue seriously at the ballot box, the trade-off will be well worth it.” She concludes, “[W]e need to start by being more alarmed.” To be fair, even Mann acknowledges that scientists (professionally conservative) tend to understate the risks of climate change. And the New York article does explore climate solutions. But if its overall effect is doomy, that’s as Wallace-Wells intended. “[I]t didn’t seem plausible to me that there was more risk [of] scaring people too much than there was at not scaring them enough,” he told The Gothamist. And hey, the Ghost of Christmas Future flipped Scrooge. But fear alone won’t work here, says Gabrielle Wong-Parodi, a Carnegie Mellon University decision scientist specializing in attitudes about climate change. Getting people to address a threat requires providing both adequate warning and plan of action that’s specific and “behaviorally realistic” — i.e., prostate cancer kills, but preventive exams can save you. In her documentary series Sustainability Pioneers, Pittsburgh-based filmmaker Kirsi Jansa focuses on climate solutions like renewable energy. But while she agrees that “Uninhabitable Earth” might engage in fear-mongering, she’s more concerned about things like massive fossilfuel-industry spending to promote climate denial. A wake-up call like Wallace-Wells’ might puncture the vague sense of “hope” that can also make people complacent, she says. “Hope and despair are two sides of one coin,” Jansa says. “Once you let go of hope, you can let go of despair, too. And then you’re free to act.” D RI S C OL L @ P G HC I T Y PA P E R. C OM
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JUL 22– DEC 31 2017 cmoa.org
40 artists. 2 museums. 1 American story.
one of the four carnegie museums of pittsburgh
This unique collaboration places two major museum collections in conversation. Highlighting a diverse array of makers and media, 20/20 offers a metaphoric picture of America. The exhibition foregrounds artworks that address challenging notions of identity and social inequality in art and life across the 20th century and into the 21st. 20/20 is organized by Carnegie Museum of Art in partnership with The Studio Museum in Harlem.
JOIN US ON SATURDAY
ALSO AT CMOA
Summer Break ($8 members, $5 students and individuals 17 and under)
July 22 | 3–9 p.m. | $10
Bradford Young: REkOGNIZE Artist and cinematographer Bradford Young (Selma, Arrival) draws inspiration from Pittsburgh's Hill District and the photographs of Charles "Teenie" Harris for this new three-channel video work.
Celebrate the opening of 20/20: The Studio Museum in Harlem and Carnegie Museum of Art with a summer afternoon of art activities, music, conversation, food trucks, and outdoor fun.
one of the four carnegie museums of pittsburgh
Details and Tickets at CMOA.ORG
Photo credits: Lyle Ashton Harris, Miss America (detail), 1987/1988, The Studio Museum in Harlem, New York, anonymous gift © Lyle Ashton Harris; Kerry James Marshall, Untitled (Gallery) (detail), 2016, Carnegie Museum of Art, The Henry L. Hillman Fund © Kerry James Marshall; Charles “Teenie” Harris, Man wearing sunglasses and eating popsicle, standing in front of telephone pole and houses (detail), ca. 1960, Carnegie Museum of Art, Heinz Family Fund © 2017 Carnegie Museum of Art, Charles "Teenie" Harris Archive; and still from Bradford Young, REkOGNIZE, 2017, three-channel video (color, sound), courtesy of the artist, REkOGNIZE is commissioned by the Hillman Photography Initiative, Carnegie Museum of Art.
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News of the Weird
S E N D YO UR WE I R D N E WS I T E M S TO W E I RD N E W S T I P S @ AM UN I V E R S AL . C O M .
{COMPILED BY ANDREWS MCMEEL PUBLISHING}
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What could go wrong? Canadian company Bad Axe Throwing announced in June it is bringing its unusual entertainment concept to Denver. It’s “like darts, but on steroids,” says founder Mario Zelaya. Customers provide their own food and beer and learn how to throw axes at targets. “We’ll be bringing along the competitive league side as well. That means that folks in Denver can sign up ... and compete at a global level,” Zelaya said.
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It was dark in the wee hours of June 30 in Jacksonville, Fla., and Cedric Jelks, 38, probably never saw the loaded gun on the driver’s seat of his car as he got in, but he certainly felt it after the gun went off, wounding his manhood. When police investigating the report of a gunshot wound arrived at the hospital Jelks was taken to, they added possible firearms charges to his pain after discovering Jelks had a prior conviction for cocaine possession.
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A driver in Zhenjiang, China, took drivethru service to the next level on June 10 when he carefully pulled his tiny automobile through the front doors of a convenience store, requested a package of potato chips and a bottle of yogurt, paid for his purchase and reversed through the doors with the cashier’s guidance. Surveillance video shows the cashier waving and saluting as the car pulls away. He posited that the driver might have been avoiding getting out of his car in the rain.
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Smoke bombs aren’t just for celebrating our nation’s birth! Mike Tingley, of Grand Blanc Township, Mich., burned his garage to the ground on July 3 when he used smoke bombs to try to rid the structure of a bees’ nest. When firefighters from three townships arrived, fireworks stored in the garage were shooting into the sky. “We really weren’t going to celebrate the Fourth of July so much,” Tingley said. His home, which was not attached to the garage, was not damaged.
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Jerry Lynn of Ross, Pa., is continually haunted by the result of a minor mishap 13 years ago while drilling a hole in the wall of his living room. During his project, an alarm clock fell through the hole and to the floor behind the wall. Since then, the alarm sounds dutifully at 7:10 p.m. (standard time) every day.
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Ventura County, Calif., sheriff’s officers charged three produce workers with grand theft fruit after they were caught making unauthorized cash sales of avocados from a ripening facility. Joseph Valenzuela, 38, Carlos Chavez, 28, and Rahim Leblanc, 30, liquidated up to $300,000 worth of off-the-books avocados. “It’s a big product here in California,” said Sgt. John Franchi. “Everybody loves avocados.”
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The Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy reported in June that as many as 16.4 million Americans believe that chocolate milk comes from brown cows. In fact, the center’s
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most frequently asked question on its website is, “Does chocolate milk come from brown cows?” (The answer is no.) Almost half of respondents to the center’s survey weren’t sure where chocolate milk comes from at all.
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A Spencer’s store at Park Plaza Mall in Little Rock, Ark., took on a Jerry Springer vibe on June 21 when a disgruntled customer tried to steal a stripper pole. A Spencer’s employee chased the woman into the mall and in the ensuing struggle was bitten by the customer, who then relinquished the stripper pole and ran away. At press time, the biter was still at large.
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Awesome! An industrious group of Russian mechanics created a huge fidget spinner by welding parts of three cars together in the shape of the ubiquitous toy. The Garage 54 team, based in Novosibirsk, tried spinning the creation with one person in each car, but eventually had better luck with just one driver.
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Two unidentified thieves managed to elude capture even after one of them nearly lost his pants during a Wellington, Fla., car break-in. The man, caught on a security camera June 18 while running back to a getaway car, tripped over his pants and landed facedown, clearly yelling, “My pants fell!” He managed to make it to the vehicle, and the thieves have yet to been identified.
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Honduran housewife Iris Suyapa Caceres Castellanos “felt something coming into my body from the soles of my feet,” after finding a flour tortilla with a likeness of Jesus Christ. Since the discovery on June 14, Castellanos’ home in Danli has been flooded with pilgrims who want a look at the holy tortilla, including Olga Marina, 71, who said: “You look at the little eyes, the little mustache and his hair ... can you imagine? It’s a miracle.” Castellanos hopes to preserve the savior-y tortilla for the rest of her life.
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LOCAL
LISTEN AS YOU READ: SCAN THE CODE FOR OUR NEW SPOTIFY PLAYLIST, A SOUNDTRACK TO THE STORIES IN THIS SECTION, OR VISIT WWW.PGHCITYPAPER.COM/BLOGS/FFW/
BEAT
{BY MEG FAIR}
“Oh my God, it’s fucking hard to change,” rasps vocalist and guitarist Cameron LeViere to begin Replacement Therapy, Lawn Care’s debut LP. This declaration sets the tone for 30 minutes of music about wrestling with yourself in an attempt to become a better, healthier human being, even when times seem bleak. These difficult themes marry with bouncy, hornaccented indie rock that makes you want to dance away the pain with your friends. The album title comes from the therapeutic practice of replacement therapy, often used to treat recovering addicts. LeViere is a counselor himself, which was a point of inspiration for the concept. “It’s maintenance therapy,” explains LeViere. “A lot of this album is about trying to change yourself for the better. But if you’re going to get rid of things and behaviors, you also need to take new things on, because it’s so hard to imagine the absence of something.” Songwriting serves its own therapeutic purpose for LeViere. “I don’t think I really started writing songs until it became a cathartic thing,” he says. The album was recorded about a year ago, but LeViere has been crafting and performing these songs for the last five years. “I am very slow songwriter,” laughs LeViere. “I was still finishing up lyrics for some of these songs when we were in the studio.” The lyrics join with carefully composed instrumentation and dynamic shifts that keep you on your toes, hanging on movements and lines. You feel like you too are on a journey of recovery with Lawn Care. One of the powerful pieces of the Lawn Care set-up is the artful incorporation of horns, namely a trumpet and saxophone. The horns and the gang vocals, provided by friends who include Tatiana (The Childlike Empress), Laura Lee (Rue) and Derek (The Homeless Gospel Choir), audibly boost the album’s joyous expressions. “I’m blown away by the people we get to work with,” says LeViere. “I’m proud of the songs that I wrote, but this album is amazing because of all our talented friends who put so much work into it.” MEGFAIR@PGHCITYPAPER.COM
LAWN CARE, RUE, MIKE OF ENDLESS MIKE and THE BEAGLE CLUB, OLD GAME 7 p.m. Fri., July 21. The Glitterbox Theater, 460 Melwood Ave., Oakland. $5. All ages. www.theglitterboxtheater.com
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Lawn Care {CP PHOTO BY JORDAN MILLER}
CHANGING BEHAVIOR
Lydia Lunch and Retrovirus
STAY SICK {BY MARGARET WELSH}
E
ARLIER THIS YEAR, Lydia Lunch released a record called Under the Covers, a collection of cover versions of famous songs. The selections — which she recorded with English musician Cypress Grove — might seem a little odd to those familiar with Lunch’s decadesspanning avant-garde oeuvre: Track listings include Bon Jovi’s “Blaze of Glory,” the Allman Brothers’ “Midnight Rider, and “Low,” by Cracker. (“Cracker!” Lunch exclaims with a laugh. “What the fuck?”) But these songs aren’t as at odds with Lunch’s previous output as they might initially seem. “I really love ‘Low,’” she admits. “I mean, it’s about drugs and obsession, and it’s just a great song.” And though she says she’s always hated Steely Dan, she likes the lyrics and “bizarre riffs” of “Do It Again,” so she included an extra-sinister rendition. “I wanted to make a record that you want to play driving in your car,” she explains, adding that she also wanted to “reclaim some of these really male songs that we grew to hate as teenagers, but where the
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words are really great. “And so I can say, ‘Well, I kind of own Bon Jovi, I kind of own Gregg Allman.’” Under the Covers is not technically the project Lunch is supposed to be talking about in this interview — she spoke with City Paper from Brooklyn, her temporary home while she prepares to go on tour with
LYDIA LUNCH’S RETROVIRUS
WITH MICROWAVES, VALERIE KUEHNE & THE WASPS NESTS, EMPTY BEINGS 8 p.m. Wed., July 26. Spirit, 242 51st St., Lawrenceville. $15-20. 412-586-4441 or www.spiritpgh.com
her band Retrovirus. But, for an artist who always has at least a few projects in the works, it’s hard not to drift to other topics. Plus, the approach she took with Under the Covers — staking claim to hyper-masculine hits — is a perfect example of the kind
patriarchy-dismantling irreverence that has made Lunch a profoundly influential artistic force over the past four decades. As a teenager in the ’70s, Lunch moved to New York City and formed Teenage Jesus and the Jerks, a band that helped define the experimental, dissonant, blues-rock-rejecting sound known as no wave. After that came bands like 8-Eyed Spy, 1313 and Big Sexy Noise (to name a few), and a long, long list of collaborations, books, spoken-word recordings and an extensive filmography. Hers, in other words, is a difficult career to summarize. “When people say, ‘Oh, I like your music,’ I’m always like, ‘Well, which era? What year? What album?’” she says. “And I’m not being sarcastic — it’s because it can really tell me a lot about what they’re into.” Retrovirus, which comes to Spirit on July 26, draws from across Lunch’s vast catalog, offering audiences a kind of distilled sampling. “It’s interesting to do a retrospective of my work because I have so many different
kinds of music that a lot of people have never heard, or that has never been played live,” she says. “I play it with such incredible musicians, who bring new life to these songs which, to me, are perverse and pertinent and kind of fun.” Retrovirus is hardly an exercise in nostalgia. Her band chooses the songs the musicians want to play — the lineup includes Weasel Walter (The Flying Luttenbachers) playing guitar and serving as music director, plus bassist Tim Dahl (The Hub) and drummer Bob Bert (Sonic Youth) — and Lunch provides them with the creative freedom to make her songs their own. “We just try to make something that’s most representative of the different atmospheres within an hour-long set.” By her own tally, Lunch has written more than 300 songs, but the set, she says, is “coherent somehow. I guess it’s the band that makes it coherent.” Retrovirus’ stop in Pittsburgh is a return for Lunch, who lived in Observatory Hill for a few years in the early ’90s. “I really liked [Pittsburgh],” she recalls. “I liked the architecture, I liked the rivers, I liked the steel bridges. I liked that five minutes outside of the city it was green. I liked all the decay out there … and I really just liked the no-bullshit nature of the town at the time.” “No bullshit” is an ethos that emanates from Lunch, who is candid about the pain and ugliness of life, but good-humored in her nihilism. She’s preoccupied with politics and impending fascism, but also knows the value of a good time. After Lunch produced Philadelphia punk band Pissed Jeans’ last record, singer Matt Korvette described her to City Paper as “really tough and definitely, like, criminal in her behavior. But she’s also really nurturing.” For all those reasons, and because she has always created art on her own terms, it’s tempting to call Lunch a feminist icon. But she won’t claim that title for herself. She’s not wild about “feminist” as an identifier, for one thing. “It’s such a loaded word, because there are so many kinds,” she says, adding that she feels that she speaks just as much for the male outsider as she does for women. “Obviously,” she says, “my first line of attack was the father as the microcosm of fascist, religious, heads of families; and then God the father and the father of our country: These have always been my main attacks.” But she sees herself as only a small part of a centuries-long fight against those oppressive forces. “There were a lot of women before me that had far deeper power struggles,” she says. “I’m just a small woman with a big mouth that tries to make sense out of this nonsense.”
Hot Summer Nights at Your Local St. Vincent de Paul Thrift Stores! Neighbors helping neighbors HOT DEALS on vintage & designer clothing, jewelry, accessories, furniture, linens, & other unique & hidden treasures! 10% DISCOUNT on ALL PURCHASES made after 4PM until store closing.
alleghenycounty.us/summer
July 21 Gin Blossoms with Jimmer Podrasky & The Redd-Ups (Alternative Rock)
July 23 The Mavericks with The Last Bandoleros
HOT MUSIC by some of the region’s
(Americana/Country Pop)
greatest acoustic acts every Friday night!
All concerts are free and begin at 7:30 p.m.
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Dan Stonerook
CORAOPOLIS 6-8PM Eddie Kuntz
Food trucks and Hop Farm Brewing Company craft beer at all concerts beginning at 6:00 p.m.
MONROEVILLE 6-8PM Absent-Minded Professors
PENN HILLS 5-7PM Carrie Collins
3W S
SHARPSBURG 4-6PM Donna O
SWISSVALE 6-8PM
David Hipchen of Tilted Shadows
Visit www.svdppitt.org for store locations!
INFO@ PGHC ITY PAP ER.CO M
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{PHOTO COURTESY OF ZACKERY MICHAEL}
Spoon
ROAD MODIFIED {BY ALEX GORDON} PRIOR TO heading out on its mammoth, six-month international tour earlier this year, Spoon was facing a problem. Its new album, Hot Thoughts, had been an ambitious undertaking. There were more instruments, more synthesizers, more personnel and more studio tinkering than the band members had relied on for their eight prior albums. While it paid off — Hot Thoughts landed Spoon its second No. 1 spot on the Adult Alternative charts in its 20-plus year career, alongside rave reviews — the songs were proving hard to recreate live. “Not that Spoon in the past hasn’t experimented in the studio,” says Alex Fischel, the group’s guitarist since 2014. “But there was a lot more studio-based sounds [on Hot Thoughts], synthesized sounds that aren’t necessarily as easy to do live or [don’t] come to mind as easy to do live.” So the four-piece, including frontman Britt Daniel, drummer Jim Eno and bassist Rob Pope, took inventory of which songs needed to be scrapped, and which needed to be pared down. “We went through every song and asked, ‘What do we know we can do without?’” says Fischel. “Sometimes things we thought we could do without, we couldn’t.” “Us,” the sprawling sexy sax track that closes the album, was one of the first to go, for the simple reason that the saxophonist, Ted Taforo, wouldn’t be touring with them. Ditto for Sharon Van Etten, who lends her voice to “First Caress.” Brad Shenfeld, who previously played in The Alien Beats with Eno and Daniel and is now the band’s lawyer (a story for another time), provided saz (a Middle Eastern string
instrument) and darbuka (goblet drum) to “Pink Up.” The liner notes are filled with details like these. So how do you bring these ambitious songs to life on a budgeted lineup? It takes a few listens, but if you can cut through headline-stealing changes in the band’s sound, you’ll hear the same old Spoon. The trademark crunch-and-scratch dynamic of the guitars and Daniel’s voice are as present (and winning) here as ever, and Eno provides some of his best work on this album, which is saying something.
SPOON WITH THE NEW PORNOGRAPHERS 7 p.m. Wed., July 26. Stage AE, 400 North Shore Drive, North Side. $35. All ages. www.promowestlive.com
Dave Fridmann, the producer and recording engineer known for his sprawling psychedelic work with The Flaming Lips and Mercury Rev, lends his talents to Hot Thoughts, and the influence isn’t hard to detect. If the album were easy to sum up — and it’s not — you might say that Hot Thoughts reflects a subtle shift toward the Lips’ world of light-hearted psychedelia, without losing its footing back here on earth. It’s true, Spoon has never sounded so disco — “Shotgun,” in particular, sounds like something Donna Summer would have rocked out of this world — but to focus too much on that is to miss how danceable and fun its music is. The magic of Spoon has always been in its balance of substance and levity — the ability to hit hard, emotional notes and still make people dance. At Stage AE on July 26, even without saz, saxophones or Sharon Van Etten, the band will do just that. A L E X G ORD ON @ P G HC I T Y PA P E R. C OM
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{PHOTO COURTESY OF JIM HERRINGTON}
JD McPherson
NATURAL FIT {BY BILL KOPP} WHEN JD MCPHERSON released his debut
album, 2010’s Signs & Signifiers, he created a slow-burning sensation. The record first gained notice thanks to a YouTube video of one of its standout songs, “North Side Gal.” A major-label reissue was named 2012’s Best Hard Rock Album by the Independent Music Awards. The 2015 follow-up, Let the Good Times Roll, might have been passed over for awards, but it was perhaps an even stronger collection, and it fared even better on the charts. In many ways, the Oklahoma-born guitarist and songwriter is a traditionminded artist. But it’s not as if McPherson emerged wholly formed from some rich musical environment; he had to find it on his own. He says that’s partly because he lived in such a rural area. “Where I grew up, there was really nothing — you can even underline this — nothing else to do except kind of explore what I was interested in,” he tells City Paper. “Things that I was gravitating towards — art and film and music — just weren’t available.” That meant he had to work harder to discover the things that would inspire him. “That kind of set my resolve,” he says. McPherson’s insatiable curiosity would eventually lead him to discover two acts that would exert considerable influence upon him. The first was Austin, Texas, band the Bellfuries. “When I found them, I thought, ‘Oh man, this is the right way to do it.’ Because they were playing with the sonic hooks of early traditional rockabilly,” McPherson says. He recalls that the band reminded him of very early Elvis Presley, but the songs were special. “The singer was a real
songwriter, not writing about ‘the hop’ and stuff,” he says. “He was making nods to the Smiths and the Ramones, too.” Another artist who inspired McPherson was a one-time member of the Fabulous Thunderbirds. Guitarist Nick Curran released the superb, retro-rocking Reform School Girl in 2010, two years before his untimely death. Reform School Girl sounds like a cross between Little Richard and punk rockers the Misfits; Curran and McPherson are clearly kindred musical spirits. “Nick was truly gifted, and one of the best guitar players ever,” McPherson says.
JD MCPHERSON AND DAN GETKIN & THE TWELVE SIX
7:30 p.m. Fri., July 28. South Park Amphitheater, 3700 Farmshow Drive, South Park. Free. All ages. www.tinyurl.com/ACConcerts
Perhaps surprisingly, McPherson and his band have been embraced by the Americana music scene. “I never really knew about the Americana thing until suddenly we were sort of part of it,” he says with a laugh. He laughs even more when he recalls playing a set at the AmericanaFest in Nashville. “We’re a lot louder than these other bands,” he thought to himself. In between live dates, McPherson has been hard at work on his third album, though neither a release date nor title has yet been announced. McPherson says that those who enjoyed his first two albums may be surprised when they hear the new one. “It’s much more guitar-driven … more of a garage-type record. We’ve been playing some of the tracks live, and they’re going over really well.” Nick Curran surely would have approved. I NF O @PGH C IT YPAPE R . C O M
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CRITICS’ PICKS {PHOTO COURTESY OF KATHRYN STABILE}
André Costello and the Cool Minors
This direct-to-web series spotlights our region’s talented, innovative and diverse artists. STED! RECE NTLY PO
[GARDEN PARTY] + SUN., JULY 23
[FOLK ROCK] + MON., JULY 24
Sundays tend to have a gloom that hangs over them. You could combat this with breakfast alcohol, but for a healthier option, go see live local music in a cute garden. Every summer Sunday, the Weather Permitting summer concert series hosts a collection of bands at the Shadyside Nursery (along with a bunch of food trucks and water guns). This week, check out André Costello and the Cool Minors, a groovy folk-rock band of cool adults. Also featured will be the sweet harmonies of folk trio Her Ladyship and the upbeat bluegrass of Shelf Life String Band. Hannah Lynn 5 p.m. 510 Maryland Ave., Shadyside. Adults $10, kids free. www.tinyurl.com/ weatherpermitting
Philadelphia-bred Mt. Joy are in some ways a typical indie folk-rock band with a laid-back and easy sound. But if you listen close to songs like “Sheep” — about the anger and disappointment following the 2015 death of Baltimore’s Freddie Gray while in police custody — you’ll recognize that there’s a lot more going on. The song is a call for musicians with a platform to address important issues, even ones that don’t affect them specifically. Joining Mt. Joy at Club Café tonight is Trevor Sensor, with his gravelly voice and working-class songs reminiscent of ’80s rock classics. Rounding out the evening is the earnest folk-rock sound of local oneman-band Zoob. HL 8 p.m. 56 S. 12th St., South Side. $12. 21 and older. 412431-4950 or www. clubcafelive.com
[MAVERICKS MUSIC] + SUN., JULY 23
AR LO ALDO Go to wqed.org/sessions THANKS to Live Nation and Pittsburgh City Paper for their underwriting support.
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The above label is supposed to describe the genre of music played by the band we’re writing about. Sharkmuffin But after 28 years, the Mavericks have built a catalog of music that defies our instincts as music consumers to label a band’s style. Any one record could have songs that vary from Western swing and honky-tonk to blues and fast-paced, tight Latin rhythms. The Mavericks swing through town this evening with The Last Bandoleros to play a free show at Hartwood Acres as part of the Allegheny County Concert Series. Get there early for a good spot, because the Mavericks typically pack local shows — and this one’s free. Charlie Deitch 7:30 p.m. 200 Hartwood Acres, Hampton Township. Free. All ages. ww.tinyurl/ACConcerts
[PUNK] + TUE., JULY 25 There’s an energy to all-female Sharkmuffin that could be partially attributed to its origins on the Jersey Shore. Now based in Brooklyn, the band still retains a “surf” sound, in the spirit of ’60s girl groups like The Shangri-Las, only with heavier guitar riffs and more shameless lyrics, like the energetic and boldly titled “Tampons Are for Sluts.” Joining Sharkmuffin at Mr. Smalls is The Off White, also from New Jersey, which describes its psychedelic punk as having the excitement of fireworks “in your mom’s broken washer machine,” plus the political-minded but hopeful rock of Pittsburgh’s Victory at the Crossroads. HL 8 p.m. 400 Lincoln Ave., Millvale. $5. 412-821-4447 or www.mrsmalls.com
PROUDLY TATTOOING PITTSBURGH SINCE 1994!
TO SUBMIT A LISTING: HTTP://PGHCITYPAPER.COM/HAPPENINGS {ALL LISTINGS MUST BE SUBMITTED BY 9 A.M. FRIDAY PRIOR TO PUBLICATION}
FRI 21
ROCK/POP THU 20 CLUB CAFE. An Evening with Larry Campbell & Teresa Williams. 7 p.m. South Side. 412-431-4950. DIESEL. Avatar. 7 p.m. South Side. 412-431-8800. HOWLERS. The Penske File, Latecomer & Bryan McQuaid. 9 p.m. Bloomfield. 412-682-0320. JAMES STREET GASTROPUB & SPEAKEASY. Wine & Spirit w/ Gallatin Hall. Speakeasy. 7 p.m. North Side. 412-904-3335. JERGEL’S RHYTHM GRILLE. Ridgemont High. 7 p.m. Warrendale. 724-799-8333. MOONDOG’S. Evad & the Ominous Squad. 7:30 p.m. Blawnox. 412-828-2040. SMILING MOOSE. Letters to Part, Tremoravia & LK Hae. 10 p.m. South Side. 412-431-4668. THE SHOP. Meow Twins, Freeman’s Dead, Big Splash, Bit Dit & Owner. 7:30 p.m. Bloomfield. 412-953-4841.
CLUB CAFE. The Buckle Downs w/ Donora. 6 p.m. BobbyrocK w/ Thoughts In Motion, Tori Leigh. 10 p.m. South Side. 412-431-4950. JERGEL’S RHYTHM GRILLE. Steeltown. 9 p.m. Warrendale. 724-799-8333.
SAT 22
WALNUT STREET. Jam On Walnut. Jam on Walnut, a benefit for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, is a three day outdoor concert, occurring one Saturday during each summer month. Last year this event brought in approximately 10,000 people for the city’s best community celebration! 7 p.m. Shadyside. 412-321-4422.
tattoo & piercing studio
CLUB CAFE. Matt The Electrician. 6 p.m. South BAJA BAR AND GRILL. Side. 412-431-4950. Told Ya So. 2 p.m. Fox DOWNEY’S HOUSE. Chapel. 412-963-0640. . w w w Mr. B & The Bad Boyz. HOWLERS. Sierra, typaper ci h g p 8:30 p.m. Robinson. Witches of God, .com 412-489-5631. Smoke Wizzzard & HAMBONE’S. The Van Jakethehawk. 8 p.m. Allen Belt, Height, Hank & Bloomfield. 412-682-0320. Cupcakes, Dinosoul & Timothy THE R BAR. Billy The Kid & Eerie. 8 p.m. Lawrenceville. the Regulators. 6 p.m. Dormont. 412-414-4213. 412-942-0882. PARADISE ISLAND. Hellin SHADYSIDE NURSERY. Weather Back Band. 9 p.m. Neville Island. Permitting: Andre Costello & Cool 412-264-6570. Minors, Shelf Life String band, SOUTHSIDE WORKS TOWN Her Ladyship. 5 p.m. Shadyside. SQUARE. Lenny Smith & The 412-251-6058. Instant Gators. 6 p.m. South Side. 412-481-8800. CLUB CAFE. Mt. Joy. 7 p.m. South Side. 412-431-4950. ROCK ROOM. ELIX-R, Nihilistic Fit, Peace Talks & Tanning Machine. 9 p.m. Polish Hill. 412-683-4418.
SUN 23 FULL T LIS ONLINE
Open Daily, 1pm-8pm walk-ins welcome, appointments recommended!
(412) 683-4320 5240 Butler St.
Pgh, PA • 15201
MON 24
MP 3 MONDAY
{CP PHOTO BY JORDAN MILLER}
LAWN CARE
Sir Sly at Stage AE / CP photo by Jordan Miller
Check out concert photos, reviews and more on our music blog at www.pghcitypaper.com
TUE 25 JERGEL’S RHYTHM GRILLE. The Grid. 7:30 p.m. Warrendale. 724-799-8333. STAGE AE. All Time Low w/ Swmrs, Waterparks & The Wrecks. 5:30 p.m. North Side. 412-229-5483.
WED 26 MR. SMALLS THEATER. Piebald. 7 p.m. Millvale. 412-821-4447. SPIRIT HALL & LODGE. Lydia Lunch’s Retrovirus, Microwaves, Valerie Kuehne & The Wasps Nests & Empty Beings. 8 p.m.-midnight. Lawrenceville. 412-586-4441. STAGE AE. Spoon w/ The New Pornographers. 7 p.m. North Side. 412-229-5483.
DJS THU 20 MR. SMALLS THEATER. Centrifuge Thursdays. At the Funhouse. 9 p.m. Millvale. 412-821-4447. PERLE CHAMPAGNE BAR. Bobby D Bachata. 10 p.m. Downtown. 412-471-2058.
Each week, we post a song from a local artist online for free. For your enjoyment, we’re sharing “Farmer’s Tan,” by Lawn Care. It’s a lively proclamation about needing to spend time working on yourself, brightened with horns and upbeat instrumentals. It’s the kind of catchy tune to listen to as you set up an appointment with a therapist or throw away your last pack of cigarettes. Stream or download “Farmer’s Tan” at www.pghcitypaper.com.
FRI 21 ANDYS WINE BAR. DJ Malls Spins Vinyl. 5 p.m. Downtown. 412-773-8884. THE FLATS ON CARSON. Pete Butta. 10 p.m. South Side. 412-586-7644. CONTINUES ON PG. 24
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CONCERTS, CONTINUED FROM PG. 23
ONE 10 LOUNGE. DJ Goodnight, DJ Rojo. 9 p.m. Downtown. 412-874-4582. ROWDY BUCK. Top 40 Dance. 10 p.m. South Side. 412-431-2825. RUGGER’S PUB. 80s Night w/ DJ Connor. 9 p.m. South Side. 412-381-1330.
SAT 22 DIESEL. DJ CK. 10 p.m. South Side. 412-431-8800. JAMES STREET GASTROPUB & SPEAKEASY. Electro Swing Dance Party. Ballroom. 10 p.m. North Side. 412-904-3335 PERLE CHAMPAGNE BAR. DJ Tenova. ladies night. 9 p.m. Downtown. 412-471-2058. ROWDY BUCK. Top 40 Dance. 10 p.m. South Side. 412-431-2825.
TUE 25 THE GOLDMARK. Pete Butta. Reggae & dancehall. 10 p.m. Lawrenceville. 412-688-8820.
WED 26 THE GOLDMARK. Pete Butta & Preslav. Top Dollar Dancehall. 10 p.m. Lawrenceville. 412-688-8820. SMILING MOOSE. Rock Star Karaoke w/ T-MONEY. 9:30 p.m. South Side. 412-431-4668.
HIP HOP/R&B THU 20 HEINZ HALL. A Night of Symphonic Hip-Hop w/ Common. 7:30 p.m. Downtown. 412-392-4900.
BLUES FRI 21 MOONDOG’S. Billy Price. 8:30 p.m. Blawnox. 412-828-2040.
SAT 22 NIED’S HOTEL. Shot O’ Soul. 7 p.m. Lawrenceville. 412-781-9853. THE R BAR. Wil E. Tri & the Bluescasters. 9:30 p.m. Dormont. 412-942-0882.
SUN 23 THE R BAR. Billy The Kid’s American All-Stars. 7 p.m. Dormont. 412-942-0882.
CHAPEL. Pianist Harry Cardillo & vocalist Charlie Sanders. 6:30 p.m. Fox Chapel. 412-967-1900. DOUBLETREE MEADOWLANDS. Roger Barbour Band. 8 p.m. Washington. 724-222-6200. JAMES STREET GASTROPUB & SPEAKEASY. Olga Watkins Band. Speakeasy. 6 p.m. North Side. 412-904-3335. LA CASA NARCISI. Erin Burkett & Virgil Walters w/ Max Leake & Mike Tomaro. 6 p.m. Gibsonia. 724-444-4744.
SUN 23
SAT 22
TUE 25
BACKSTAGE BAR AT THEATRE SQUARE. Ron Wilson. 5 p.m. Downtown. JERGEL’S RHYTHM 412-456-6666. GRILLE. Davy Knowles. . CIOPPINO www per 8 p.m. Warrendale. a p ty ci pgh m RESTAURANT & 724-799-8333. .co CIGAR BAR. Roger Barbour Band. 7 p.m. Strip District. 412-281-6593. JAMES STREET GASTROPUB & SPEAKEASY. The Tony Campbell JAMES STREET GASTROPUB & Jam Session. Speakeasy. 5 p.m. SPEAKEASY. Roger Humphries North Side. 412-904-3335. Jam Session. Ballroom. 8 p.m. THE MONROEVILLE RACQUET North Side. 412-904-3335. CLUB. Jazz Bean Live. 7 p.m. RILEY’S POUR HOUSE. Jazz Monroeville. 412-728-4155. Happy Hour w/ Martin Rosenberg. STARS AT RIVERVIEW JAZZ 5:30 p.m. Carnegie. 412-279-0770. SERIES. The Bob Vallecorsa VALLOZZI’S PITTSBURGH. Eric Johnson. 5:30 p.m. Downtown. Organ Trio w/ Southside Jerry & Bobby Short. 7 p.m. North Side. 412-394-3400. 412-255-2493. TABLE 86 BY HINES WARD. RML Jazz. 7:30 p.m. Mars. 412-370-9621. ANDORA RESTAURANT - FOX
WED 26
JAZZ
THU 20
FRI 21
FULL LIST ONLINE
ROCKS LANDING BAR & GRILLE. Tony Campbell, John Hall, Howie Alexander & Dennis Garner. 7 p.m. McKees Rocks. 412-875-5809.
MON 24 HAMBONE’S. Ian Kane, Ronnie Weiss & Tom Boyce. Jazz Standards, showtunes & blues. 6:30 p.m. Lawrenceville. 412-681-4318. JERGEL’S RHYTHM GRILLE. Jessica Lee. 7 p.m. Warrendale. 724-799-8333.
{JULY 27-31}
WED 26
Electric Factory
CLEVELAND {MON., JULY 31}
Tegan and Sara
ACOUSTIC
House of Blues
THU 20
COLUMBUS
HOP FARM BREWING. The Shameless Hex. 8 p.m. Lawrenceville. 412-726-7912. REX THEATER. Wild Child. 8 p.m. South Side. 412-381-6811.
{SUN., AUG. 6}
Kevin Devine
FRI 21 CRANBERRY SPORTS BAR & GRILLE. Eclectic Acoustics. 8 p.m. Cranberry. 724-776-5500. DOUBLETREE BY HILTON HOTEL PITTSBURGH - CRANBERRY. EASE. 6 p.m. Cranberry. 724-776-6900.
WED 26 ALLEGHENY ELKS LODGE #339. Pittsburgh Banjo Club. 8 p.m. North Side. 412-321-1834. PARK HOUSE. Shelf Life String Band. 9 p.m. North Side. 412-224-2273. WHEELFISH. Jason Born. 7 p.m. Ross. 412-487-8909.
WORLD TUE 25 SEVICHE. Hot Salsa & Bachata Nights. 10 p.m. Downtown. 843-670-8465.
REGGAE THU 20 PIRATA. The Flow Band. 9 p.m. Downtown. 412-323-3000.
SAT 22 BAHAMA BREEZE ISLAND GRILLE. Ras Prophet. 5 p.m. Robinson. 412-788-5970.
07.19/07.26.2017
This Is Hardcore 2017
JAMES STREET GASTROPUB & SPEAKEASY. Rick Matt. Dining room. 7 p.m. North Side. 412-904-3335. RIVERS CLUB. Jessica Lee & Friends. 5:30 p.m. Downtown. 412-391-5227.
1810 TAVERN. Right TurnClyde. 9 p.m. Beaver. 724-371-0732. MUSIC TO MY EAR. Christopher Mark Jones. 12:30 p.m. Ross. 412-223-9747. THE SHARP EDGE CREEKHOUSE. Tracy Lee Simmen. 7 p.m. Crafton. 412-922-8118.
PITTSBURGH CITY PAPER
PHILADELPHIA
RILEY’S POUR HOUSE. Jazz Happy Hour w/ Martin Rosenberg. 5:30 p.m. Carnegie. 412-279-0770.
SAT 22
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These tours aren’t slated to come to Pittsburgh, but maybe they’re worth a road trip!
Double Happiness
CLASSICAL FRI 21 EYES & EARS. Master of all styles David Biedenbender, up and coming composer Jung Yoon Wie, and legendary jazz great Rufus Reid were chosen as winners from a pool of 370 composers. Feat. a short work by each of these three composers as well as Andrew Garner’s haunting Glasz and a newly commissioned world premiere by Thomas Osborne written for our very own Timothy Jones. 8 p.m. City Theatre, South Side. 412-206-9323.
SAT 22 EYES & EARS. Master of all styles David Biedenbender, up and coming composer Jung Yoon Wie, and legendary jazz great Rufus Reid were chosen as winners from a pool of 370 composers. Feat. a short work by each of these three composers as well as Andrew Garner’s haunting Glasz and a newly commissioned world premiere by Thomas Osborne written for our very own Timothy Jones. 8 p.m. City Theatre, South Side. 412-206-9323.
WED 26 ON AN OVERGROWN PATH. Master pianist Daniel Pesca brings us a personal, unforgettable journey. Poetic, exploratory, searching, and luminous, the evening shines a light not only
into the souls of these composers, but into Pesca himself. Using Leoš Janáček’s tour de force work On an Overgrown Path as the point of departure, the evening alternates between Janacek’s descriptive miniatures and more recent works to connect themes of nature, growth, and renewal. 7:30 p.m. City Theatre, South Side. 412-206-9323.
OTHER MUSIC THU 20 LINDEN GROVE. Karaoke. 8 p.m. Castle Shannon. 412-882-8687. RIVERS CASINO. Scott & Rosanna. 7 p.m. North Side. 412-231-7777.
FRI 21 LINDEN GROVE. Nightlife. 9 p.m. Castle Shannon. 412-882-8687. RIVERS CASINO. Rockin’ the Paradise. 7 p.m. North Side. 412-231-7777.
SAT 22 ARSENAL CIDER HOUSEWEXFORD. Eden Light. 4:30 p.m. Wexford. 724-777-2402. JAMES STREET GASTROPUB & SPEAKEASY. Travlin’. 8 p.m. North Side. 412-904-3335. PALACE THEATRE. The Chi-Lites & Delfonics. 7 p.m. Greensburg. 724-836-8000. RIVERS CASINO. Etta Cox Trio. 9 p.m. Terrance Vaughn. 9 p.m. North Side. 412-231-7777.
What to do IN PITTSBURGH
July 19-25 WEDNESDAY 19 Art of Anarchy
JERGEL’S RHYTHM GRILLE Warrendale. 724-799-8333. With special guests NeverWake & Descendsion. Tickets: ticketfly.com or 1-877-4-FLY-TIX. 7:30p.m.
SUNDAY 23
A NIGHT OF SYMPHONIC HIP HOP FEATURING COMMON HEINZ HALL JULY 20
one. 7p.m.
A Night of Symphonic Hip Hop w/ Common HEINZ HALL Downtown. 412-392-4900. Tickets: pittsburghsymphony.org. 7:30p.m.
The Mavericks
HARTWOOD ACRES PARK. With special guest The Last Bandoleros. Free show. For more info visit allegheny county.us/summer. 7:30p.m.
MONDAY 24
War on the Catwalk
Phish PETERSEN EVENTS CENTER Oakland. Tickets: ticketmaster. com or 1-800-745-3000. 7p.m.
Pink talking Fish: Phish After Party!
BYHAM THEATER Downtown. 412-456-6666. Tickets: trustarts.org. 8p.m.
VARIOUS LOCATIONS Pittsburgh. For schedules and more info visit fiercequeerburlesquefest. com. Through July 23.
THURSDAY 20
FRIDAY 21 215
MR. SMALLS THEATRE Millvale. 412-421-4447. With special guests Stann Smith, Hubbs, Moemaw Naedon, Franchise of the Come-Up, SpaceJam Jiff & DJ Big Phill. All ages show. Tickets: ticketweb.com/opus
ST. VINCENT DE PAUL THRIFT STORES. Live music & 10% discount on purchases after 4p.m. For more info visit svdppitt.org.
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CLUB CAFE South Side. 412-431-4950. With special guests Trevor Sensor & Zoob!. Over 21 show. Tickets: ticketweb.com/opusone. 8p.m.
Fierce! International Queer Burlesque Festival
REX THEATER South Side. 412-381-1681. Over 21 show. Tickets: greyareaprod.com. 10p.m.
Raekwon
Mt. Joy
Hot Summer Nights
Classical Mystery Tour HEINZ HALL Downtown.
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TUESDAY 25 All Time Low 412-392-4900. Tickets: pittsburghsymphony.org. 8p.m.
Gin Blossoms SOUTH PARK. With special guests Jimmer Podrasky & The Redd-Ups. Free show. For more info visit allgheny county.us/summer. 7:30p.m.
Teacher Workshop: Pop Culture in the Classroom
SATURDAY 22
ANDY WARHOL MUSEUM North Side. For tickets and more info visit warhol.org. 5p.m.
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Millvale. 412-421-4447. All ages show. Tickets: ticketweb.com/opusone. 8p.m.
Pittsburgh Blues & Roots Festival SYRIA SHRINE CENTER Cheswick. 724-274-7000. For tickets and more info visit pghbluesrootsfest.com. Through July 23.
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STAGE AE North Side. With special guests SWMRS, Waterparks & The Wrecks. Tickets: ticketmaster.com or 1-800-745-3000. Doors open at 5:30p.m.
Eric Johnson AGNES KATZ PLAZA Downtown. 412-456-6666. Free show. 5p.m.
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[BOOK REVIEW]
“I TEND TO PUSH MYSELF TOWARD ANYTHING THAT FEELS SCARY.”
BAR LIFE {BY BILL O’DRISCOLL}
Bob Hartley’s second novel, North and Central, is a beer-stained memorial to working-class Chicago circa 1978. But while there’s a lot of love here for a blue-collar bar culture that’s since largely vanished, this smart, gripping crime novel has no place for nostalgia. It’s a toughminded 240 pages whose protagonist and narrator, Andy, would fit right into a classic film noir. The neighborhood tavern Andy inherited from his parents fills nightly with workers from the Zenith plant, nurses and cops, plus regulars like spaced-out barroom philosopher Railroad Bob, and the elderly drunks whom Andy calls The Skeletons. At 35, Andy is lonely and bitter; when he can, he surreptitiously meets up with his high school girlfriend, Rita, who (in)conveniently is married to his lifelong best friend, a city cop named Jerry. To call Jerry a corrupt cop is, in North and Central, virtually redundant; in fact, this concrete jungle is a world where everyone above age 10 is either on the take or a sucker. (Even cockroaches, Andy observes, are merely taking their cut.) Rita talks Andy into hiring her ex-con brother Fatboy, a junkie in recovery, as bar help. Then Andy — seeing Zenith layoffs as an ill omen for his own economic future — decides to start organizing criminal endeavors of his own. (He’s got another personal motive too, one I won’t divulge here.) Hartley lives in Pittsburgh but grew up in Chicago, and writes with authority about these characters, people with nicknames like “Dogbreath.” Between some chapters he includes fictional news articles chronicling a litany of Windy City murders (all are bylined “James Thompson,” perhaps to honor the late crime novelist). But while life in North and Central can be unforgiving, there’s tenderness here, too, for instance in the portrait of Andy’s relationship with Rita. And the novel is quite funny at times, without relinquishing toughness. In one scene, a “straight” cop whom Andy believes is about to nail him for stolen electronics instead merely grabs a VCR from the pile. “Wife’s been beggin’ for a nice Christmas present,” he tells Andy. “If it’d been just TVs,” Andy narrates, “he probably would have busted me, but VCRs were new and expensive. Everybody wanted one.” North and Central ($15.99) is published by Chicago-based Tortoise Books. Combining sharply observed characters with a fast-paced narrative, it’s a strong summer read, if rather on the dark side.
{CP PHOTO BY KATE HAGERTY}
Moriah Ella Mason choreographed and performs in her solo show Sex Werque.
[DANCE]
SKIN, DEEPER {BY STEVE SUCATO}
I
N RECENT YEARS, positive strides have been made in our culture’s attitudes toward sexual orientation and gender identification. But negative views of those who work in the sex industry persist. Women (and, to a lesser degree, men) who use their bodies in legal commerce, such as strippers, are often scorned. They are accused of doing moral and social wrong, and at the same time seen as victims of exploitation. In her new autobiographical onewoman dance-theater show Sex Werque, dancer/choreographer Moriah Ella Mason, a former stripper in Pittsburgh, explores attitudes and misconceptions about the industry, and feelings that both she and fellow strippers have about the profession. The show runs July 27-30, with four performances at off the WALL Performing
DRISCOLL@PGHCITYPAPER.COM
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Arts Center, in Carnegie. With the 90-minute Sex Werque (which contains adult content and partial nudity), Mason says she wanted to emphasize that working in the sex industry is more complicated than the binary responses she
SEX WERQUE 8 p.m. Thu., July 27; 8 p.m. Fri., July 28; 8 p.m. Sat., July 29; and 7 p.m. Sun., July 30. off the WALL Performing Arts Center, 25 W. Main St., Carnegie. $10-20. 724-873-3576 or www.insideoffthewall.com
usually gets: either “that’s so cool and empowering” or expressions of pity and worry. “Both of those responses are true dynamics of the industry,” she says, “but neither tells the complete story.”
A Trafford native, Mason began her dance training at age 10, inspired by seeing her older brother in a local production of High School Musical. She studied dance and choreography at Sarah Lawrence College and danced professionally in Tucson, Ariz., before returning to Pittsburgh where she has performed with the Pillow Project, STAYCEE PEARL dance project, and Maree ReMalia/merrygogo. Last year, she was seen at Carnegie Stage in Mark Thompson’s Kimono. She has presented her own work locally as well as in New York. When she’s not dancing, Mason works as a massage therapist, filmmaker and visual artist. She says she got into stripping partially out of curiosity about the excitement and danger associated with it. “I tend to push myself toward anything that feels scary,” she says. Her biggest motivator, however,
was economics. She was struggling to pay her bills and to fund her art. Of the many responses from people who knew she was a stripper, some of the more complicated came from feminist friends. Some cheered what she was doing, and some jeered, Mason says. Former stripper Jessica Berson, author of The Naked Result: How Exotic Dance Became Big Business, wrote of this feminist quandary: “Many more traditional feminists […] demonize exotic dance, sex work, and many kinds of sexual experience as oppressive and objectifying; on the other hand, many sex radical feminists celebrate these same activities as empowering and transgressive. Both groups are right, and both groups are wrong — the binary is false.”
Mason likewise has conflicted feelings about being a stripper. As Berson writes, in The Naked Result: “I found the experience both empowering and disempowering. Sometimes every man I encountered seemed thoughtful and respectful. … Sometimes every man I encountered seemed misogynistic. … A strident for or against stance doesn’t account for the nuances.” Mason quit stripping close to a year ago because it had more downs than ups for her. She has no plans to return to it, but says, “It was a really transformative experience. It really changed who I am as a performer and my comfort with the stage.” Sex Werque is set to a pre-recorded original soundscape by JF Winkles, of local band It It. Structurally, the show “is an interwoven mix of text, monologue, video and dance,” says Mason. Liz Barentine’s video for the piece will include interviews with other strippers talking about their experiences in the industry. Mason’s modern-dance choreography will also integrate some of stripping’s own unique movement language and that of pole dancing — a stripping genre that has found mainstream acceptance as a clothed workout regime — as well as elements of stripping’s less controversial stage cousin, burlesque. As to why Mason chose to feature this aspect of her life in a dance work, she says: “I care about the lives of the people [I met] in the industry and the stigma associated with it. I want audiences to see a more realistic view of life as a stripper.”
TRUER WORDS {BY MICHELLE PILECKI}
Patrick Halley (left) and Ethan Saks Kinetic Theatre’s The Liar {PHOTO COURTESY OF ROCKY RACO}
“IT REALLY CHANGED WHO I AM AS A PERFORMER AND MY COMFORT WITH THE STAGE.”
[PLAY REVIEW]
INFO@ PGHC ITY PAP ER.CO M
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In a world of rampant stupidity, let us welcome the engagingly clever as both pleasure and antidote. Kinetic Theatre Co.’s ambitious Classics: Re-Mastered series continues its success with the too-timely title of The Liar. (Bring anyone to mind?) David Ives has updated his 2010 version of Pierre Corneille’s 1644 Le Menteur (“The Liar”), which Corneille himself largely swiped from Juan Ruíz de Alarcón’s 1634 La Verdad Sospechosa (“The Suspicious Truth,” a.k.a. “The Truth Can’t Be Trusted”). With such a fine pedigree spanning centuries and nations, so much nonsense and fun can be packed into a two-act comedy that is only very slightly topical. True love trumps all. More important than the plot (such as it is) is the wordplay. Yes, there’s alliteration, onomatopoeia, innuendo and the disdained yet everversatile pun. Ah, but Ives takes on a task worthy of a Herculean Apollo: verse. Specifically pentameter, which Ives rhymes with diameter. The rhythm throbs with incessant, sometimes unlikely rhymes. Directed by Andrew S. Paul, Kinetic’s producing artistic director, Liar is as gleefully physical as it is lexical, casually anachronistic, and entirely charming. In a candy version of Paris, pairs of young lovers meet and part through a bright fog of confusion. Much of the latter is due to the eponymous antihero, Dorante, who would never speak the truth if a lie would save embarrassment, enhance his reputation, or just be good sport. He trips in his own web often, not fully learning his lesson by the happy ending. Ethan Saks unflaggingly embodies the unflappable fabricator. There are many gems, but most sparkly is the “duel” between Dorante and his beefy but dim friend Alcippe (Charles Francis Murphy, as quick on his feet as to anger). Thank you, Michael Petyak, fight choreographer. The cast sparkles, too: Erika Strasburg and Sarah Silk as the non-interchangeable ladies of Dorante’s intentions; Sam Tsoutsouvas as his much-sinned-against father, still able to roar; Patrick Halley, narrator and counterpoint to (and servant of) Dorante; Julianne Avolio as most memorable twins; and John Michnya as the valiant if undervalued Philiste. And a nod to Kim Brown’s luscious costumes and Gianni Downs’ streamlined set. The quick-paced Liar is verbal fencing, scoring one touché after another. And a delicious confection: extra sprinkles and whipped cream on a multi-scoop sundae. With nuts, of course. INFO@PGHCITYPAPER.COM
THE LIAR continues through July 30. Kinetic Theatre Co. at the Henry Heymann Theatre, 4301 Forbes Ave., Oakland. $20-40. www.kinetictheatre.org +
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Through September 8, 2017 Plan to spend Friday evenings at the Frick this summer! Join us for:
Free Performances • Family-friendly Activities • Wine Bars • Food and Fashion Trucks
{IMAGE COURTESY OF THE CARNEGIE MUSEUM OF ART}
Kim Laughton’s contribution to Styles and Customs of the 2020s
[ART REVIEW]
FUTURE TENSE {BY CARRIE MANNINO}
The Frick is open Fridays until 9:00 p.m. Visit TheFrickPittsburgh.org for information.
STYLES AND Customs of the 2020s, at the SUPPORTED BY
THEFRICKPITTSBURGH.ORG | 412-371-0600 | 7227 REYNOLDS STREET, PITTSBURGH, PA 15208
Carnegie Museum of Art, uses virtual reality (VR) to send a warning about the future. It consists of four scenes experienced through a headset, each portraying a different artist’s dystopia. The experience is randomized — one viewer sees a different scene than does the next — and you must complete the experience four times to see each artist’s work. The project was commissioned by the Hillman Photography Initiative for LIGHTIME, a year-long series exploring modern photography. The VR scenes touch on climate issues, brutality, technology and isolation. All contain an undercurrent of danger.
scene, make sure to look down. Kim Laughton’s “Clod” transports you to a secluded outer-space island, equipped with the skeleton of a house and a swinging front door. Through narration, the scene self-consciously comments on the fragmentation of our society, and its VR allows you to feel a consuming physical sense of desolation in the beautifully empty future world. Multi-purpose drones, and our culture of readymade objects, inspire Rachel Rossin’s “Football.” It’s the scariest scene, because it includes a sharply edged drone that lunges toward you each time you move. Nearby, commercial junk constructs and deconstructs itself into a chair, flying at you as if the products themselves had become weapons. Finally, Jakob Kudsk Steensen’s “Dome of Gated Ecologies” presents a barren California, complete with a torn state flag flapping loudly in the wind and a subtle, yet looming, barbedwire fence surrounding a makeshift desert campsite. There is an element of postmodern pretense to the project: Before each scene, you are placed in a virtual cave, and fed a series of hyper-theoretical words (“acoustical excrement,” “hegemonic”) delivered so flatly it is difficult not to tune them out. However, the scenes themselves offer their messages accessibly, and the immersive VR presents the works in a novel and powerful way that functions both as a warning and a call to action.
ALL SCENES CONTAIN AN UNDERCURRENT OF DANGER.
ABBA-SOLUTELY FABULOUS!
STYLES AND CUSTOMS OF THE 2020S
July 28 - August 6
continues through Sept. 4. Carnegie Museum of Art, 4400 Forbes Ave., Oakland. 412-622-3131 or www.cmoa.org
AN EXPLOSIVE CELEBRATION OF ROCK ‘N’ ROLL! August 8 - 13 Julia Murney & Jenny Powers in The Muny’s MAMMA MIA! | Photo: Phillip Hamer
At the Benedum Center
pittsburghCLO.org 412-456-6666 Groups 10+ 412-325-1582
Alan Warburton’s “Her Thief Calculator” shows a smoothly rendered version of the museum’s Hall of Architecture, where the VR experience is stationed, filled with anonymous figures who turn their backs on you as soon as you turn toward them. Piles of picket signs surround you. Armed guards, almost too small to notice, loom above, stationed at each corner of the room. Before leaving the
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Miss this month’s Downtown Gallery Crawl? Check out Jordan Miller’s photo highlights from the event, including John Peña’s Sometimes I Just Don’t Know How to Be in the World at the Lantern Building. Find it on our Blogh at www.pghcitypaper.com
4 0 TH SEASON CLOSES
{PHOTO COURTESY OF MARK SIMPSON PHOTOGRAPHY}
Alexandra Tiso of Texture Contemporary Ballet
SUNDAY, JULY 23
[DANCE]
SOUND IDEAS {BY STEVE SUCATO} MUSIC TAKES center stage in Texture
Contemporary Ballet’s seventh seasonopener, Resounding Sound, July 20-23 at the New Hazlett Theater. The program in three acts feature seven works performed by Texture company members and guest dancers from Suzanne Farrell Ballet, Ballet Quad Cities, Butler University and Point Park University.
TEXTURE CONTEMPORARY BALLET PERFORMS
RESOUNDING SOUND Thu., July 20-Sun., July 23 ($20-30). Children’s performance: 4 p.m. Sat., July 22 ($10 per family). New Hazlett Theater, 6 Allegheny Square East, North Side. 412-320-4610 or www.textureballet.org
Two large premieres will bookend the program, beginning with Texture associate artistic director Kelsey Bartman’s “Simple Twist of Fate,” set to a suite of nine Bob Dylan tunes including “Subterranean Homesick Blues,” “Just Like a Woman” and “Mama, You’ve Been on My Mind.” “I’ve wanted to do a ballet to [Dylan’s] music for about 10 years,” says Bartman. The work for six women (including Bartman) and six men is mostly a reaction to each song, but Bartman says that during the creative process, individual characters and movement specific to each dancer de-
Winchester Thurston, Shadyside
veloped. Performing the tunes live will be Sacramento, Calif.-based musicians Justin Edward Keim and Vincent Randazzo, making their Pittsburgh debuts. Keim and Randazzo are in graduate school for acting at the American Conservatory Theater, in San Francisco. Keim, via email, says that the duo’s collaboration with Texture has all been done remotely. Says Keim, “We’re both chomping at the bit to get in there and play along with these beautiful dancers.” The program’s tantalizing middle will feature: a new pas de deux by Australiaborn Point Park graduate Henry Steele; Texture company member Alexandra Tiso’s solo “Song for Viola”; and reprises of repertory works by Bartman and Texture artistic director Alan Obuzor. Resounding Sound closes with Obuzor’s new 32-minute contemporary-ballet work “Tell Me It’s Not Too Late.” The ballet for 12 dancers including Obuzor, like Bartman’s opener, is mostly a reaction to the music, but also a piece for which the dancers developed their own characters and storylines. It will be danced to music from Pittsburgh indie-rock band Meeting of Important People’s latest album, the critically acclaimed Troika. MOIP previously collaborated on an Obuzor ballet in 2013. Of this new project, for which the band will play live, lead singer Josh Verbanets says, “We have found a much better groove since our last collaboration … which I think will really lend itself to the choreography.”
“Glorious singing!” - City Paper “Top notch performances!” - Pittsburgh Tatler
Discover Strauss JULY 20-23 Four days of exciting events and the PA premiere of INTERMEZZO
Tickets start at $20
Students from free to $12.50 w/ID.
412-326-9687
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FOR THE WEEK OF
07.20-07.27.17 For half a century, The Studio Museum in Harlem has showcased work by artists of African descent, or inspired and influenced by black culture. On Sat., July 22, a collaboration between that pioneering institution and the Carnegie Museum of Art bears fruit with the opening of 20/20: The Studio Museum in Harlem and Carnegie Museum of Art. The exhibit features works by 40 artists — 20 each from the two museums’ collections — meant to spark discussion about art, race, identity, history and inequality in America. The exhibit is the result of an ongoing dialogue between curators Amanda Hunt and Eric Crosby; works in the show span nearly a century. Paintings include “Abe Lincoln’s First Book” (1944), by self-taught, Pennsylvaniaborn Horace Pippin; Noah Davis’ 2008 painting “Black Wall Street”; and recent Carnegie acquisition “Untitled (Gallery),” a 2016 painting by Kerry James Marshall. Other highlights include an unprecedented pairing of 13 works each by iconic, 20thcentury-spanning photographers Charles “Teenie” Harris and James VanDerZee. Harris’ archive (owned by the Carnegie) consists largely of photojournalism from Pittsburgh; VanDerZee (of whose images the Studio Museum has an extensive archive) is best known for his glamorous studio portraiture shot during the Harlem Renaissance, starting in the 1920s. The Carnegie’s Crosby calls the Harris/ VanDerZee pairing “an exhibition within the exhibition.” The 80-some works in the Heinz Galleries will also highlight contributions from such notables as Pittsburgh’s Thad Mosley; Braddock-born LaToya Ruby Frazier; Jean-Michel Basquiat and Andy Warhol; Jenny Holzer; Glenn Ligon; Gordon Parks; Pope.L; and Kara Walker. Hunt, former associate curator at The Studio Museum, is now director of education and public programs at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles. At 1:30 p.m. on July 22, she joins Crosby and three contributing artists for a panel discussion on landscapes in 20/20. From 3-9 p.m., the opening is celebrated with a Summer Break party ($10), featuring food trucks, DJ music and other activities. BY BILL O’DRISCOLL
Noon-5 p.m. Sat., July 22. Exhibit continues through Dec. 31. 4400 Forbes Ave., Oakland. $11.95-19.95. 412-622-3131 or www.cmoa.org
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PITTSBURGH CITY PAPER
Art by Kerry James Marshall {IMAGE COURTESY OF THE CARNEGIE MUSEUM OF ART}
Full events listed online at www.pghcitypaper.com
^ Fri., July 21: Dance Africa 2017: It’s in the A.I.R.
thursday 07.20 BURLESQUE With its open embrace of sexuality, and bold declaration of the right to flaunt one’s body, “the art of burlesque is political,” says Viva Valezz! The local performer and producer says that in today’s often-hostile social climate, that’s truer than ever, especially for queer burlesque performers. So for the fifth year running, it’s time for the Fierce! International Queer Burlesque Festival. This year’s fest welcomes 150 LGBT performers from the U.S. and Canada for six performances in four nights across town. Each show features a unique lineup of 20-some performers, women and men skilled in the arts of the sensual tease. Tonight’s Kick-off Karaoke Party, at Downtown’s There Ultra Lounge, features Pittsburgh’s Velvet Hearts. The Friday early showcase, at James Street Ballroom, has Chicago-based headliner Red Hot Annie; Friday’s late headliners are Egypt Blaque Knyle and Tito Bonito, both from Los Angeles. The Ace Hotel Ballroom, in East Liberty, hosts Saturday’s showcases, with headliners The Incredible, Edible Akynos, from New York City
07.19/07.26.2017
(early), and Seattle’s Indigo Blue (pictured) and New York’s Ninia la Voix (late). The Fierce! Brunch IDKE Edition, at James Street Speakeasy, featuring Mr. Karter Banger, from Ottawa, wraps things up on Sunday. Bill O’Driscoll Continues through Sun., July 23. $15-22.50 (weekend pass: $110). www.fiercequeerburlesquefest.com
WORDS Akhil Sharma debuts his latest book at City of Asylum’s Alphabet City. The acclaimed author, born in Delhi, India, first published most of the stories in A Life of Adventure and Delight (Faber & Faber) in outlets including The New Yorker, The Atlantic and The Paris Review. The title story follows a Ph.D. student’s sex life. “Gautama’s favorite thing about hiring prostitutes was negotiating the price,” Sharma writes. “This was because actually having sex with a prostitute seemed so immoral that it was hard to enjoy it.” Matt Petras 8 p.m. 40 W. North Ave., North Side. Free. 412-435-1110 or www.alphabetcity.org ^ Thu., July 20: Fierce! International Queer Burlesque Festival {PHOTO COURTESY OF PAULE SAVIANO}
{ART BY RICK ARMSTRONG}
^ Fri., July 21: Isolo
friday 07.21 ART “We live solo amongst the noise,” writes world-traveling, Pittsburgh-based photographer Rick Armstrong. “We are alone together.” Isolo is Armstrong’s new show at Filmmakers Galleries depicting individuals, whether by themselves or in a crowd. Tonight’s opening reception is followed by a 7:30 p.m. screening of God’s Country, famed French filmmaker Louis Malle’s 1985 documentary about life in Minnesota farm country before and after economic decline. BO Reception: 6-7:30 p.m. (free). 477 Melwood Ave., Oakland. 412-682-4111 or www.pfpca.org
MUSIC Every Friday through Sept. 8 at The Frick Pittsburgh, it’s Summer Fridays at the Frick. The free, festival-like few hours feature live entertainment, food options and more on the Frick’s verdant grounds, including free access to the historic Clayton mansion. (The Frick Art Museum is also open until 9 p.m., but admission is ticketed.) Tonight, enjoy the sounds of six-piece belly-dance rock band King Fez (pictured). Dining options include The Café at the Frick, the Café Wine Bar, ^ Fri., July 21: Summer Fridays at the Frick and food trucks including Bull Dawgs, SS BBQ and Sugar & Spice Ice Cream. Picnic on the lawn while you listen; the whole site’s open till 9 p.m. BO 6:30-9 p.m. 7227 Reynolds St., Point Breeze. Free. 412-371-0600 or www.TheFrickPittsburgh.org
DANCE Three days of dance and drumming in the African tradition comprise Dance Africa 2017: It’s in the A.I.R. Along with daytime workshops, highlights of this showcase at the Kelly-Strayhorn Theater include evening performances by event organizer The Legacy Arts Project along with Afoutayi HaitIain Dance Company, Oyu Oro Experimental Afro-Cuban Dance Ensemble and the Staycee Pearl dance project. The program is Pittsburgh’s incarnation of DanceAfrica, a long-running New York-based festival. DanceAfrica was founded by Chuck Davis, who upon his death in May the New York Times called “America’s foremost master of African dance”; Pittsburgh’s 2017 program honors him. BO 8 p.m. Also 8 p.m. Sat., July 22, and 3 p.m. Sun., July 23. 5941 Penn Ave., East Liberty. Admission is pay-what-you-can. www.legacyartsproject.org CONTINUES ON PG. 32
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SHORT LIST, CONTINUED FROM PG. 31
EVERYONE IS A CRITIC
{PHOTO COURTESY OF KURT MILLER}
^ Sat., July 22: The Racer at Kennywood Park
saturday 07.22
EVENT:
Hemingway’s Summer Poetry Series
ROLLER COASTERS Even amidst sleek, modern rides, classic roller coasters like The Racer have not even come close to going out of style, at least at Kennywood Park. This weekend, The Racer celebrates its 90th birthday, and visitors can sign up to see who can rack up the most wins on the dual-track ride. The day’s winner will receive a 2018 season pass, and with other prizes for runner-ups. Everyone in attendance, though, can enjoy the thrills of this nonagenarian coaster. MP 10:30 a.m.-10 p.m. 4800 Kennywood Blvd., West Mifflin. $9.99-44.99. 412-461-0500 or www.kennywood.com
at Hemingway’s Cafe, Oakland
CRITIC:
Joe Kaldon, 43, a product manager for a steel company from Hopewell
WHEN:
Tue., July 11
I’ve been coming here for a handful of years. I know a couple of people who were reading … I get into poetry. I actually read here earlier this year. I like to come out when I can. It’s really the poetry community, I would say, not just the city but a little bit beyond as well. I just like to hear different people read, so just to hear them, and give me some ideas for what I’m writing or what I might be working on. I liked [tonight’s readings]. It’s just good to hear different people, different styles. That’s the other thing I like. It’s not just one style or one school of poetry: You hear a lot of different things at any one of these. It helps me broaden things, you know. B Y M ATT P ETRAS
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WORDS Anyone from Pittsburgh knows we talk a certain way (as can be said for places around the globe). Edward McClelland, born in Michigan, tackles ways of speaking in the Midwest in his 2016 book How to Speak Midwestern. The accomplished author, who visits Penguin Bookshop for a booksigning today, has written for Salon, the Washington Post and the Chicago Tribune on topics ranging from the Christian Right to foreign cars in Michigan. How to Speak Midwestern includes analysis of Pittsburgh speech, among many other examples. MP 1 p.m. 417 Beaver St., Sewickley. Free. 412-741-3838 or www.penguinbookshop.com
and games that involve the audience. The group, including Kevin Tit, Max Woodson, Yoki Danoff, Andrew Hall and Peter Musto, is on a multi-state tour. MP 8 p.m. 5601 Butler St., second floor, Lawrenceville. $8-10. 412-212-7061 or www.unplannedcomedy.com
COMEDY Comedy Roulette returns to Club Café, this month featuring standup by Sam Tallent. Tallent, from Denver, is becoming more and more well-known. He appeared on VICELAND’s Flophouse and Comedy Central’s roast-battle series. Local comics Gab Bonesso and Shannon Norman, and host John Dick Winters, also hit the stage during this Race to the Coffin Comedy show. Comedy Roulette changes monthly — June featured a roast battle, for example. MP 10:30 p.m. 56 S. 12th St., South Side. $10. 412-431-4950 or www.clubcafelive.com
wednesday 07.26 WORDS
Osama Alomar, a Syrian-born writer who emigrated to the U.S. in 2008, has since gotten national press for his very short, often parable-like stories; this year, he moved to Pittsburgh courtesy of City of Asylum, which shelters writers persecuted in their home countries. Tonight, at this month’s installment of The Bridge Series, Alomar reads from his first full-length collection, ^ Sat., July 22: Sam Tallent The Teeth of the Comb, new on COMEDY New Directions. Joining Alomar at Five comedians from across the Brillobox are poet Malcolm Friend and poet and memoirist country formed the comedy group The Ex-Wives Club, which Lori Jakiela. Proceeds from tonight’s reading benefit City is based primarily in Washington, D.C. At Unplanned Comedy of Asylum. BO 8 p.m. 4104 Penn Ave., Bloomfield. $5. Warehouse, Alex Stypula hosts the troupe for a night of varied www.facebook.com (“bridge series alomar”) acts. The 90-minute show includes sketch comedy, standup
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THE PLAINLY NAMED “SAUSAGE AND PASTA” WAS ANYTHING BUT PLAIN
AREPAS TO GO Downtown’s lunch-time offerings just got more interesting with Chevere, a new Venezuelan eatery serving arepas, empanadas, tacos and even salads. Now you just have to find it. The venue is a double-header of Pittsburgh wayfinding that incorporates places that aren’t here anymore, a.k.a. Chevere is where the Primanti’s used to be in the old Kaufmann’s garage. Or, it’s on Cherry Way, between Forbes and Fourth. The spot remains spare with just a couple of high tables to stand at. But service is quick and friendly. The place’s name, after all, derives from a slang term that is an allpurpose expression of positivity. There is a simple menu with a lot of mix-andmatch options, but the primary draw is the arepas. These are soft cornmeal discs that are sliced open and stuffed with meat and other fillings, similar to a gyro with pita bread. At Chevere, you first choose the meat (shredded beef, chicken or pork; ground beef; steak, chicken; or a seafood combo). Then, select from a generous array of add-ins: lettuce, spinach, mixed greens, onion, tomatoes, cucumbers, olives, fresco cheese, shredded cheese, sour cream, chimichurri and guacamole. Not enough flavors? Stop by the salsa table to add a mild verde sauce or a spicy red. Also on offer are empanadas, a Latin American variant of the hand pie. The ones here have a cornmeal-based crust and are fried, with chicken, beef or pork fillings. These can also be augmented with items from the add-ins menus, such as sour cream or guac. Any of the above meat and fillings can also be rendered in taco form, with both soft- and hard-shell options available. And those looking for a hearty meal can add sides of rice or black beans, as well as partake of several combo options. Arepas are classic grab-and-go hand food, but newcomers should be advised: Wet fillings like stewed meat and pico de gallo can soak through the cornmeal pretty fast, so caution — and a handy fork — is advised. AHOFF@PGHCITYPAPER.COM
An arepa from Chevere {CP PHOTO BY LISA CUNNINGHAM}
{BY AL HOFF}
{CP PHOTO BY VANESSA SONG}
Italian-style crab cakes, served over a bed of sautéed spinach, with a side of pasta
HOMESTYLE ITALIAN {BY ANGELIQUE BAMBERG + JASON ROTH}
A
S A GENERAL rule in Allegheny
County, boroughs are municipalities, historically and economically tied to the industry within their bounds, while townships are adjacent suburbs. But Stowe Township and the borough of McKees Rocks are an exception to this rule. The big plants north of the Rocks Bridge are actually in Stowe, and the busy, brick-paved Broadway Avenue business district transitions seamlessly from one to the other. Stowe Township began issuing building permits in 1905, and it is from this milestone that one of its showpieces, the 1905 Eatery, takes its name. Located in a particularly handsome brick building at the corner of Broadway Avenue and Dohrman Street, it’s marked by a tall, vertical neon sign and a plate-glass corner storefront incorporating a graceful wooden bow reminiscent of
the area’s many bridges. Despite the name and lovingly restored architecture, the 1905 is a relatively new addition to downtown Stowe. As recently as five years ago, the building was run-down, with empty upper-
1905 EATERY 733 Broadway Ave., Stowe. 412-771-1777 HOURS: Tue.-Wed. 11 a.m.-8 p.m.; Thu.-Fri. 11 a.m.-9 p.m.; Sat. 4-9 p.m.; Sun. 4-8 p.m. PRICES: Appetizers, sandwiches and salads $10-18; pasta $13-23; entrees $20-30 LIQUOR: BYOB
CP APPROVED story window openings and its gracious storefront obscured by cheesy, 1970s stucco and faux timbering. 1905 Eatery is a family establishment. Proprietor Carmen Cupelli emigrated to
Stowe from Italy with his parents and siblings in 1960; in 2014, he opened the restaurant to share his family’s tradition of social, home-cooked Italian meals with the public. The menu itself is timeless ItalianAmerican, full of red sauce, pasta and veal, and featuring family recipes made with locally procured ingredients such as Uncle Charley’s sausage, Penn Mac pasta and Breadworks bread. Lasagna rollatini was definitely something we could picture Carmen’s mom making for him and his hungry friends when they descended on the Cupelli house in the 1960s. Miniature meatballs, crumbled sweet sausage, ricotta, provolone and Romano were rolled up in thick lasagna noodles and smothered in red sauce. Though there were only two to a serving, it was nearly enough food for three. Portions
411 Cherry Way, Downtown. 412-281-0610 NEWS
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Destination
412-252-2877 Check us out @ frontporchgrille.com
blogh.pghcitypaper.com
Work yourself into a lather. Rinse. Repeat.
are big at the 1905, and the food is hearty. Tasty as well: The rolled-up format made for a generous filling-to-pasta ratio, and the creamy ricotta shone, even if the meatballs were a bit tough. Tripe — cow stomach — is an Italian classic that hasn’t made it onto many American menus, but you can get it at 1905 in both starter and entrée sizes, with the former being close to a full dinner portion. Our only previous experience with this cut has been at Chinese restaurants, where preparation doesn’t shy away from chewiness. But here, it was simmered until tender and served in a spicy red sauce enriched with garlic, onion and banana peppers. The meat had an extraordinary texture that was at first firm, like squid, but then almost melted away. The assertive, astringent sauce was the perfect pairing for the complementary slice of Italian bread. Compared to this, wedding soup was rather pallid, with mushy pasta and greens so thoroughly boiled of their character it was impossible to tell if they were the traditional escarole or not. But with our pasta dishes, 1905’s kitchen was back on top. The grilled-chicken cutlet atop our pasta carbonara was fantastic, moist and meaty and flavorful, where all too often grilled chicken is not much more than diet-friendly, under-seasoned protein. Yet the chicken’s leanness was a welcome counterpoint to 1905’s Americanized version of carbonara, the kind that starts with a heavy Alfredo cream sauce and adds bacon and peas. Though dauntingly rich, and perhaps a bit too thick and starchy, the sauce’s flavors blended well. Gnocchi in a sturdy marinara sauce had that wonderful mashed-potato nuggetiness that sets this pasta, at its best, apart from wheat-flour noodles. And the plainly named “sausage and pasta” was anything but plain: penne marinara with just-hotenough Italian sausage and its natural companions, onions and peppers. We appreciated the bold, old-school use of green peppers in this dish. Although almost completely supplanted by sweet red peppers in most recipes nowadays, green peppers have a distinctive, just-this-side-of-bitter juiciness that can be the perfect foil to the sweetness of, say, marinara. Despite the enormous portions of which we’d freely partaken, at the end of all this, there were some murmurs around the table about tiramisu, a family favorite dessert. We were saved from bursting by our server, who assured us that this deservedly popular confection was sold out for the night. It’s just as well, as it gives us an excuse to come back when the adjoining bakery is open and enjoy 1905 Eatery’s casual, convivial atmosphere again. INF O @PGH C IT YPAPE R . C O M
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[PERSONAL CHEF]
SUMMER WINE FOR AROUND THE BONFIRE {BY TRICIA COHEN AND LISA GRAVES} Potus ypocras was a popular medieval beverage. There were many different variations on the recipe, but it most certainly contained mulled red wine, honey, ginger and spices, such as cardamom, nutmeg, cloves and white pepper, to name a few. The after-dinner drink was often consumed warm and valued for its calming properties (assuming they did not drink too much of it). Potus ypocras was also referred to as Hippocras, after the famous Greek physician Hippocrates, who had a medical theory involving “the four humours.” It was believed that the body was healthy when the four internal liquids (we will let you look that up for yourself) were in balance. Until the 19th century, Europeans believed that this drink had the healing properties and restorative values to achieve that balance. If the four liquids in the body were not aligned, disease and disabilities were likely. To ensure that you are healthy and balanced, we’ve provided a version of potus ypocras, with the addition of sparkling wine for the summer. Here’s to good health. Cheers! INGREDIENTS • 1 bottle (750 ml) Riesling, or another mildly sweet white wine • 1 cup honey • ¾ cup elderflower liqueur • 8 whole cloves • 2 apples, cored and cubed • 1 cup seedless grapes • 1 bottle prosecco or champagne INSTRUCTIONS Bring the wine and honey to a boil. Clarify by skimming the bubbles from the top as the mixture boils. Remove the pan from the heat and let cool. In a pitcher, combine the wine and honey mixture with all other ingredients except for the bubbly. Let the mixture sit overnight in the refrigerator. To serve: Fill a champagne glass halfway with prosecco and fill the other half with the summer wine, leaving room for some of that deliciously drunk fruit. Remove the cloves, as you do not want to chomp on those. INFO@PGHCITYPAPER.COM
Tricia Cohen and Lisa Graves, authors of A Thyme and Place: Medieval Feasts and Recipes for the Modern Table. Their new cookbook, A Thyme to Discover, due out in November 2017, will focus on colonial-era American cuisine. www.thymemachinecuisine.com WE WANT YOUR PERSONAL RECIPES AND THE STORIES BEHIND THEM. EMAIL THEM TO CELINE@PGHCITYPAPER.COM.
Authentic traditional handcrafted Hungarian cuisine
Formerly the
Tin Angel
A LEGACY BAR & GRILL
Dining with a
{CP PHOTO BY KRISTA JOHNSON}
Beverage director Alec El behind the bar at Yuzu Kitchen
[ON THE ROCKS]
YUZU KITCHEN OPENS DOWNTOWN Drawing on the drinks culture of China, Japan and Korea {BY CELINE ROBERTS} YUZU KITCHEN Ramen & Robata Grill had
its soft open earlier this month and is still slowly but surely moving toward a full service that will include both a downstairs and upstairs bar. Owner Teejay Li, also of Thai Foon in Robinson, is filling Downtown’s ramen void as well as adding some Asian flair to its growing cocktail scene. The restaurant’s namesake, the yuzu (called yuja in Korea), is a citrus fruit native to China, Japan and Korea. The food, cocktails and decor take their culinary inspiration from the same countries. Beverage director Alec El, formerly of Bar Marco, and who staged at Washington, D.C.’s lauded Columbia Room, says he plans to bring a detail-oriented style of service to both of Yuzu’s bars. Each will have a unique cocktail menu. “I’ve gotten a lot of inspiration from Japanese bartenders,” he says. “In America, craft cocktails are fun but I feel like you don’t get to experience that Japanese way [of service]. It’s very detail-oriented, more subtle. Everything you do has meaning, from the shake to the stir. It’s beautiful.” The downstairs bar, now open, is meant to be more casual, with a sprawling 22-seat, faux-marble-topped bar and a selection of simple, cleanly crafted cocktails. Look through the mirrored cutout above to see a hint of the soon-to-open upstairs bar. It’s smaller, with an intimate, lounge-style vibe; patrons will be able to sip drinks while looking toward a soaring arched window that lets light filter in. The cocktails will be seasonally focused, based on an era, ingredient or spirit that will serve as a theme.
Yuzu also offers wine, beer, shōchū, saké and whiskey menus. Shōchū, which has the least traction in U.S. markets, is a distilled spirit that’s typically clear and made from different bases like sweet potatoes, barley, rice and even chestnuts. Education will be important to familiarize guests with their options. For example, the wine menu is accompanied by a map of France’s Loire Valley, and El plans to include more visual aids and pointers on the shōchū and saké menus to help educate guests on the spirits and make them more approachable.
627 E North Ave
in Pittsburgh’s Northside
412-322-8795 huszarpittsburgh.com
1200 GRANDVIEW AVENUE • MT. WASHINGTON 412-381-1919 • VUE412.COM
YUZU KITCHEN RAMEN & ROBATA GRILL 409 Wood St., Downtown. 412-288-9900
“Shōchū and saké are meant to go with and complement the food,” he says, adding that his main goal is to start a conversation. Happy hour should offer a good time and monetary incentive to try new things, with $5 cocktails available. El is also excited to expand the selection of spirits, with a specific focus on shōchū, saké and whiskey — spirits popular in China, Japan and Korea. “If you can go to Japan and get high balls in cans, that’s saying something,” he says. For now, El is putting his focus mostly on his staffers, developing and highlighting their skills behind the bar. “It’s the most important thing but it’s definitely fun, in that it’s testing my leadership and my ability to teach,” he says. CELI NE @PGH C IT YPAPE R . C O M
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MEXICAN RESTAURANT & BAR
OAXACAN CUISINE
FRIDAY, JULY 21ST LIVE MUSIC LATIN GUITAR
BOOZE BATTLES {BY CELINE ROBERTS}
Each week, we order the same cocktail at two different bars for a friendly head-to-head battle. Go to the bars, taste both drinks and tell us what you like about each by tagging @pghcitypaper on Twitter or Instagram and use #CPBoozeBattles. If you want to be a part of Booze Battles, send an email to food-and-beverage writer Celine Roberts, at celine@pghcitypaper.com.
THE DRINK: MORE MULES
HAPPY HOUR
s Wednesday - Friday 5PM-7PM Half Off Appetizers!
VS.
WE CATER!
The 5th Judicial District of Pennsylvania and Allegheny County Pretrial Services urges you to enjoy your weekend out in Pittsburgh but
make the right choice,
don’t drink & drive. 36
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Wigle Tasting Room and Bottle Shop
Eleven 1150 Smallman St., Strip District
530 William Penn Place, Downtown DRINK: Pittsburgh Pêche INGREDIENTS: Wigle Monongahela Rye, peach ginger beer, lime, aromatic bitters OUR TAKE: Flavors of lime and peach elegantly intertwine to make this drink floral, creamy and refreshing. The ginger beer contributes a significant kick that complements the warm notes of peach on the nose.
DRINK: Eleven Mules INGREDIENTS: Effen Cucumber vodka, Fever Tree ginger beer, lime, cucumber OUR TAKE: This more classic mule is perfectly balanced with verdant cucumber notes and cooling lime. Ginger beer adds the impression of heat without being overwhelming.
Learn more about Pittsburgh’s food scene on our podcasts Sound Bite and Five Minutes in Food History online at www.pghcitypaper.com.
One Bordeaux, One Scotch, One Beer Bluecoat gin $24.99-28.99/750 ml A smooth gin made in Philadelphia, Bluecoat gives you a good reason to buy Pennsylvania-made products. Made from all-organic botanicals, this gin is slightly spicy without being overwhelming and is well balanced with both citrus and juniper notes. RECOMMENDED BY CELINE ROBERTS
Bluecoat gin is available at Pennsylvania Fine Wines & Good Spirits stores.
“WE ALL KNOW WE’RE GOING TO DIE, SO WE’RE ALL THE LIVING DEAD.”
AN ARTFUL LIFE {BY AL HOFF} Aisling Walsh’s new bio-pic Maudie unfolds the quiet life of Maud Lewis, who in time became Canada’s treasured folk artist. In the 1930s, young Maud (Sally Hawkins) is living in a tiny fishing village in Nova Scotia; she has a bum leg from arthritis and is a bit odd.
Ethan Hawke and Sally Hawkins
CP APPROVED
But her fierce spirit results in her seeking employment with a taciturn fisherman named Everett (Ethan Hawke), who inexplicably needs a housekeeper for his ramshackle two-room cottage. There’s not a courtship, so much as a relationship of convenience — Maud sees a life of greater independence with Everett than she had living with her aunt — so the two marry. Thus settled, Maud has more time for painting, and Everett becomes marginally more considerate. There’s not much more plot than that — painting gives Maud’s life meaning, and Maud gives grumpy Everett’s life meaning. But it’s a sweet film (despite the couple’s unrelenting poverty and Maud’s often difficult day-to-day life), and both actors manage to overcome somewhat mannered performances to be quite affecting. The film does put a rosy spin on what seems to be a complicated, and perhaps, by contemporary standards, not ideal marriage. In reality, the couple stayed together for decades, until Maud’s death in 1970. Maud’s works are deceptively simple paintings — often done on scrap wood or paper — featuring bright colors and images of nature, particularly flowers. They are childlike and charming, reflecting Maud’s generally sunny disposition and her gratitude for life’s simple pleasures. For instance, she loves windows, seeing them as artists’ guides, already helpfully framing the marvelous world outside. Manor
{PHOTO COURTESY OF JOSH JENSEN}
George Romero
ROMERO REMEMBERED {BY BILL O’DRISCOLL}
I
N 1968, when George Romero premiered
Night of the Living Dead, nobody was making zombie movies, and nobody was shooting feature films in Pittsburgh. That low-budget feature about humans battling a horde of undead flesh-eaters, itself mauled by critics, became a cult classic. Its 1978 sequel, Dawn of the Dead, was an even bigger hit, further ensconcing zombies as a cultural touchstone, and helping jumpstart Pittsburgh’s film industry. Romero, who died Sunday at 77, in Toronto, was born in the Bronx. In the late 1950s, he came to study at the Carnegie Institute, and would live and make films in Pittsburgh for decades. He began his career producing TV commercials, instructional films, and shorts for Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood. NOLD, shot in Butler County, was his debut feature. Author Kendall Phillips calls Romero a founding father of the modern horror film. To a tired genre he brought a “dark, nihilistic tone,” a contemporary political sensibil-
ity, and a willingness to depict both brutality and physical decay in fresh ways, says Phillips. In Romero films, “The violence is very close, very immediate,” says Phillips, a professor at New York’s Syracuse University, and author of Dark Directions: Romero, Craven, Carpenter and the Modern Horror Film. In the midst of the civil-rights era and the Vietnam War, NOLD’s casting of African-American actor Duane Jones as the lead was revolutionary. And Romero re-imagined zombies, formerly an occult novelty, as undead versions of ourselves; Dawn of the Dead, with zombies attacking Monroeville Mall, famously doubled as a satire of mindless consumerism. “We all know we’re going to die, so we’re all the living dead,” Adam Lowenstein, a University of Pittsburgh professor of English and film studies, recalls Romero once telling him. Romero’s early films gave many local cast and crew their first shot at feature films. John Rice, a Point Park University instructor and veteran independent film-
maker, was script assistant on DOD; the crew included special-effects wizard Tom Savini and Nick Mastandrea, now a top assistant director in Hollywood (TV’s Westworld). Iconic local filmmaker Tony Buba worked on DOD and 1978’s Martin, and says that by showcasing Pittsburgh’s talent pool, such films helped launch a production boom here that included The Silence of the Lambs. Romero “really was the catalyst,” says Buba. Romero is widely remembered as gracious, gregarious and fun to work for. “He just happens to be one of the greatest guys ever,” says John Amplas, a Point Park theater student when Romero cast him as the lead in Martin. Amplas, now a Point Park theater professor, also acted in 1981’s Knightriders and 1982’s Creepshow (on which Romero collaborated with Stephen King). Amplas says he’s still friends with many of the other cast and crew: “That’s what [Romero] gave us, I think. He gave us each other.”
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Fri., July 21, and 7 p.m. Tue., July 25. Hollywood
FILM CAPSULES CP
DOUBLE INDEMNITY. Fred MacMurray stars as the insurance salesman who gets ensnared in the web (and anklet) of an unhappily married woman (Barbara Stanwyck). Can they get away with murder and a big payout? Billy Wilder directs this classic 1944 film noir. Starts Fri., June 21. Row House Cinema
= CITY PAPER APPROVED
NEW DUNKIRK. Christopher Nolan directs this World War II drama about the evacuation of Allied soldiers, trapped by the German army in Dunkirk, France. Starts Fri., July 21
KISS ME DEADLY. Adapted from Mickey Spillane’s popular novel, this 1955 film opens with a bang. On a dark rainy highway, tough-guy detective Mike Hammer (Ralph Meeker) almost runs over a beautiful and incoherent blonde — who’s wearing only a raincoat. The night only gets crazier. Soon Hammer is clashing with the blonde’s roommate, gangsters and rogue scientists, all in pursuit of a mysterious glowing box, a veritable Pandora’s box of nuclear annihilation. Director Robert Aldrich easily adapts the free-floating postwar paranoia typical of noir features into a terrifying real-world tale about man’s (and femme fatale’s) inability to manage what has been wrought by the nuclear age. Starts Fri., June 21. Row House Cinema
GIRLS TRIP. Four friends take a trip to New Orleans, where there is — surprise! — outrageous fun to be had. Regina Hall, Queen Latifah, Jada Pinkett Smith and Tiffany Haddish star in Malcolm D. Lee’s comedy. Starts Fri., July 21
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LIKE CRAZY. This Italian dramedy from Paolo Virzi (Human Capital) begins at a rather charming and sprawling country estate, which has been converted into a residential psychiatric facility for women. There we meet Beatrice (Valeria Bruni Tedeschi), who is loud, brash, imperious and constantly boasting of her upper-class connections out in the real world. When a new patient is admitted, Beatrice takes the fragile Donatella (Micaela Ramazzotti) under her wing. Soon after, Beatrice, who is above and beyond any rules, sees a chance for the two to escape. Thus, the pair embark on a shambolic road trip, marked by giddiness, petty crime and the sort of emotional meltdowns that draw the women closer. They find a loose quest — Donatella is seeking her young son, of whom she has lost custody — and the various encounters with the women’s relatives fill in the blanks about their chaotic and ultimately rather sad lives. Still, the film, which cycles between madcap and melodramatic, offers a heady dose of female empowerment, whether in the form of this supportive friendship, the fight for personal agency or the revelation of the many men who have contributed to these two women’s instability. There is also plenty of gorgeous sunny Tuscan scenery. In Italian, with subtitles. Starts Fri., July 21. Hollywood (Al Hoff)
Like Crazy
Night of the Living Dead
VALERIAN AND THE CITY OF A THOUSAND PLANETS. Luc Besson (The Fifth Element) directs this fantastical actioner set in the future about two young people (Dane DeHaan, Cara Delevingne) who must secure the future of the universe. In 3-D, in select theaters. Starts Fri., July 21
movie: Relax your mind and just let the sounds and images, some beautiful, some disturbing, swirl around you. Rated R, for explicit sexual imagery (some of it violent). In Japanese, with subtitles. Through Thu., July 20. Melwood (AH)
ONGOING
REPERTORY
BELLADONNA OF SADNESS. The gist of Eiichi Yamamoto’s animated 1973 tale is straightforward: In some long-ago time, a poor peasant girl named Jeanne, after being raped and degraded, makes a pact with the devil to gain power over those who would subjugate her. (The film is a loose adaptation of Jules Michelet’s 1862 work Satanism and Witchcraft.) At first she resists the penis-shaped demon, but he proves too compelling. Once empowered, she leads the village into freaky flower orgies, and later — like her namesake Joan of Arc and other reputed witchy women — she is destroyed (or is she?) at the burning stake. But you won’t be watching the avant-garde Belladonna for the story. Instead, it offers handdrawn animation — ranging from trippy psychedelics and line drawings reminiscent of early 1970s advertising to lots of sexually suggestive illustration. (“Belladonna” is both a deadly flower and a beautiful woman, and the work’s female protagonist is frequently depicted erotically entwined with flowers.) There are nods to both traditional Japanese watercolors and the swirly, surrealistic rock posters of the late 1960s. The soundtrack veers from upbeat lounge to psychrock, and the total experience is very midnight
DOLLAR BANK CINEMA IN THE PARK. Doctor Strange, Wed., July 19 (Schenley Park: Flagstaff Hill), and Sat., July 22 (Riverview). Finding Dory, Thu., July 20 (Brookline); Fri., July 21 (Arsenal); and Sat., July 22 (Grandview). Nine Lives, Sun., July 23 (Schenley Plaza); Tue., July 25 (West End/Elliott Overlook); and Thu., July 27 (Brookline). The Good Lie, Wed., July 26 (Schenley Park: Flagstaff Hill). Films begin at dusk. Free. 412-255-2493 or www.citiparks.net
VIVE LE TOUR and HUMAIN, TROP HUMAIN. The famous multi-day bicycle race Tour de France is the subject of Louis Malle’s 1962 short film “Vive le Tour.” The feature-length Humain, Trop Humain (1973) examines the production of cars at a Citroen factory. Screens as part of a week-long series of French director Malle’s documentary work. In French, with subtitles. Melwood: 7:30 p.m. Thu., July 20; and 5:30 p.m. Sun., July 23. Harris: 5:30 p.m. Fri., July 21; and 7 p.m. Mon., July 24
PITTSBURGH CITY PAPER
Belladonna of Sadness
THE BIG SLEEP. This 1946 film from Howard Hawks is the gold standard of Marlowe movies, as Humphrey Bogart seemed born to play Raymond Chandler’s hard-boiled detective. Just don’t try to follow the story; enjoy the snappy dialogue and the pairing Bogart and Lauren Bacall instead. Starts Fri., June 21. Row House Cinema PANIQUE. Julien Duvivier directs this 1946 French thriller, an adaptation of a Georges Simenon tale, with its tangle of murder, theft, twisted romance and danger, as a man with few allies witnesses a murder. In French, with subtitles. July 21-23 and July 25-27. Row House Cinema NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD. What better way to celebrate the career of George Romero, who died last weekend, than with a late-night screening of his locally produced, low-budget 1968 nail-biter that inspired American filmmakers’ late-20th-century fascination with zombies? Romero’s depiction of flesh-munching was ground-breaking for its time, but what really makes this horror flick resonate still is its nihilism and sense of futility: No heroes, no easy resolutions — something terrible is just outside the door, and it’s gonna get us. 11 p.m. Fri., July 21. Row House Cinema (AH)
CP
STOP MAKING SENSE. The filmmaker Jonathan Demme, who died in April, had a long and varied career, directing films that ranged from silly (Caged Heat) to serious (Philadelphia). Among his most heralded works is this 1984 concert film that catches Talking Heads at the peak of the band’s creativity, covering nearly 20 songs in an innovative fashion. And David Byrne wears a giant white suit. 7:30 p.m. Wed., July 19. Hollywood BATMAN. Biff! Pow! Zap! That’s the sound of oldschool Batman getting the job done. Adam West, Burt Ward and the whole gang of colorful characters from the TV series — including Garfield native Frank Gorshin, as the Riddler — star in Leslie Martinson’s 1966 feature film. 7:30 p.m. Wed., July 19. AMC Loews Waterfront. $5
07.19/07.26.2017
GOD’S COUNTRY. Louis Malle’s 1985 look at a Minnesota farming community makes two stops: first, in 1979, when the area is prospering, and six years later, when there is economic hardship caused by overproduction and the foreclosing of family farms. Screens as part of a week-long series of French director Malle’s documentary work. Melwood: 7:30 p.m. Fri., July 21. Harris: 7 and 9 p.m. Sat., July 22; and 7 p.m. Thu., July 27 PLACE DE LA REPUBLIQUE. Louis Malle’s 1974 film captures the comings and goings of Parisians at this well-known city area during the fall of 1972. Screens as part of a week-long series of French director Malle’s documentary work. In French, with subtitles. Harris: 7:30 p.m. Fri., July 21; and 7 p.m. Tue., July 25. Melwood: 7:30 p.m. Sun., July 23 BLOOD AND BLACK LACE. A masked killer with a clawed glove is murdering models at a Roman fashion salon. This 1964 thriller from Mario Bava is often cited as defining the blood-soaked Italian giallo genre, as well as providing a template for later “slasher” movies. In Italian, with subtitles. 9:30 p.m.
CALCUTTA. Shot in the late 1960s, this 1969 film captures scenes from the crowded, often-chaotic Indian city. Screens as part of a week-long series of French director Malle’s documentary work. In French, with subtitles. Melwood: 5:30 and 7:30 p.m. Sat., July 22. Harris: 3:30 and 5:30 p.m. Sun., July 23; and 7 p.m. Wed., July 26. WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO SOLANGE? It’s murder on campus, all set to a creepy score by Ennio Morricone. Fabio Testi stars in Massimo Dallamano’s 1972 thriller. Dubbed in English. 9:30 p.m. Sat., July 22, and 9:30 p.m. Wed., July 26. Hollywood ATTACK OF THE KILLER TOMATOES. Everybody loves fruits and vegetables now, but who remembers when they grew sentient and started killing people? See how it all goes down in John DeBello’s low-budget 1978 horror-movie spoof featuring gardens gone wild. Midnight, Sat., July 22. Row House Cinema DON’T TORTURE A DUCKLING. There is a lot of unpleasantness going on in a small Italian village, including child murder, drugs, a witch and a corrupt Catholic church. Lucio Fulci directs this shocking-for-its-time violent thriller from 1972. 8:30 p.m. Sun., July 23, and 9:30 p.m. Thu., July 27. Hollywood CLUE. Jonathan Lynn directs this 1985 mystery comedy adapted from the popular board game. Eileen Brennan, Tim Curry and Madeline Kahn head an ensemble cast. 7:30 p.m. Wed., July 26. AMC Loews Waterfront. $5
HISTORY LESSONS
STARLING MARTE WILL WRITE A DR. SEUSS-LIKE CHILDREN’S BOOK CALLED GREEN EGGS AND PEDS.
This week in Pittsburgh Sports History {BY CHARLIE DEITCH} JULY 20, 1969 Ed O’Neill, known by millennials for his work as Jay on Modern Family and by Gen Xers as Al Bundy on Married with Children, was cut by the Pittsburgh Steelers. According to a story on NFL.com, O’Neill went to drown his sorrows in a local bar. That was the same day that American astronauts landed on the moon. O’Neill told the website that he remembers thinking, “Well, at least someone is having a good day.”
JULY 21, 1982 Pirates legend Willie Stargell hits the final home run of his great career, No. 475, against Cincinnati.
Rabbit Maranville
JULY 21, 1923 The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Boston Braves in a double header, 14-4 and 6-4. Pie Traynor had a great game with a home run and five hits. But the star of the game was Rabbit Maranville, not because he had three hits, scored three times and had two RBI. But because his name is Rabbit Maranville, quite possibly the greatest name in MLB history.
{CP FILE PHOTOS}
Starling Marte and Jung Ho Kang
JULY 22, 1910
CRYSTAL BASEBALL
During a game at Brooklyn against the Dodgers, Pirates pitcher, yes pitcher, Deacon Phillipe hits an insidethe-park grand slam.
JULY 22, 2005 The Pittsburgh Penguins use their first overall draft pick to select Sidney Crosby. Crosby becomes awesome.
JULY 23, 1991 Carrick resident, former Pirates third baseman and current Pirates broadcaster John Wehner goes 5-5, becoming the first Buccos rookie to do it since Richie Zisk in 1973.
JULY 24, 1967 Pittsburgh Pirate Lloyd Waner is inducted in the Baseball Hall of Fame, making he and his brother Paul, the first brothers to be enshrined.
JULY 24, 1992 The Pittsburgh Steelers hire athletic trainer Ariko Iso, making her the first female trainer in the NFL.
JULY 26, 1997 Pittsburgh Steelers center Mike Webster is inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
{BY CHARLIE DEITCH}
T
HE PITTSBURGH Pirates stormed out of the All-Star break this past weekend by taking two out of three games from the St. Louis Cardinals. Josh Bell hit a walk-off homer on July 14, and on July 16 Adam Frazier hit a walkoff single to score shortstop Jordy Mercer. As of press time, the Buccos were 44-48, and in fourth place in the division behind Milwaukee, Chicago and St. Louis. But the Pirates are just seven games back, and anything can happen in this currently mediocre-as-shit National League Central. Between drug suspensions, visa denials and a weaker-than-normal bullpen, this season has been nerve-wracking. There’s no telling what’s going to happen in the second half of the season, but here are my predictions.
CDEITCH@PGHCITYPAPER.COM
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Andrew McCutchen, who broke out of his offensive slump in the past six weeks or so, will pull a Johnny Cash-like move and take out a full-page ad in newspapers to address the fans and pundits who thought his career was over and that he should be traded. Instead of a middle finger, like Cash used, McCutchen will be photographed performing an expertly executed crotch chop under the headline “Trade This!”
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In an effort to win back fans following his suspension for performance-enhancing drugs, Starling Marte will write a Dr. Seuss-like children’s book called Green Eggs and PEDs. The New York Times best-seller will feature prose like: “I will not take them in a box, I will not take them in Blawnox. I will not
take your PEDs, I’ve learned my lesson … probably.”
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Pirates third baseman Jung Ho Kang, currently unable to enter the country after receiving a suspended prison sentence for his third DUI offense, will use a false name to enter the country and rejoin his team. That name? Cal Ripken Jr.
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As the trade deadline approaches, the Pirates will make a huge move. After two seasons, Bacon Burt will be removed from the team’s pierogi race because everyone agrees that a pierogi with hair on it is disgusting.
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Deciding that money is no object, the Pirates will acquire Todd Frazier, CONTINUES ON PG. 40
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CRYSTAL BASEBALL, CONTINUED FROM PG. 39
John Jaso
Sonny Gray and JD Martinez to make a run at the postseason. I will wake up and realize I was dreaming, go back to sleep and instead have a more pleasant dream about kittens wearing life jackets and riding sea turtles.
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An autographed John Jaso gameworn dreadlock will sell at auction for $38,000 to benefit Pirates Charities.
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Pirates minor-leaguer Steven Brault’s ERA will fall to 1.84 by Aug. 3. The Pirates will still claim the time’s not right
to bring him up from Indianapolis.
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The band Chicago, set to play a concert after the Aug. 4 Pirates game, will decide to show its devotion to the hometown Cubs. Pitcher Gerrit Cole will miss his next start after founding band member Robert Lamm uses his keytar to hit Cole on his throwing arm.
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Jameson Taillon will remain free of injury for the rest of this season and the next 10. After all he’s been through, he deserves it. C D E I T C H@ P G H C I T Y PA P E R. C OM
Y A L P D N A T U O E M O C # BIG TALK FROM BIG DUDES Get to know the legends of wrestling on our new blog, updated every weekday, at www.pghcitypaper.com. 40
PITTSBURGH CITY PAPER
07.19/07.26.2017
[THE CHEAP SEATS]
THE UPPER HAND? {BY MIKE WYSOCKI} THE RIVALRY BEGAN in the heart of the Cold War. In the late 1950s, while the nation liked Ike, the Mount Lebanon School District was becoming overwhelmed with students. Crowding had school-board members wanting to kick out some of the riff-raff. The board decided to no longer accept kids who lived in Upper St. Clair. The ostracized citizens decided to make their own high school, and the heated rivalry was on. Last week, we took a look at some of the famous students who were products of Mount Lebo. This week we look at Mount Lebo’s ultimate rival, the Upper St. Clair Panthers. The Blue Devils may have produced more athletes, but arguably, USC has produced better ones. And baseball is the best example. USC’s Sean Casey is nicknamed “The Mayor” for his congenial personality and penchant for talking to everybody. In addition to his shining personality and sense of humor, Casey could crush a baseball. He earned a spot in the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame alongside players named Rose, Larkin, Morgan and Seaver. The Mayor began his career in Cleveland, but had a tough time breaking into a lineup that featured Jim Thome, Manny Ramirez and David Justice. He was traded to Cincy, where over eight years he averaged over .300. The Pirates got him to start the 2006 season, and he continued to produce. A .296 average by July earned him the right to be immediately traded to Detroit. In return, the Bucs received legendary pitcher Brian Rogers. B-Rog, as he may have been known, hurled 102/3 innings for the Bucs and allowed 11 runs in the process. The Mayor went on to play in the World Series that year, hitting .529, though his team lost to St. Louis. Lifetime, Casey hit .302 in the majors. Other USC baseball standouts include Kevin Slowey (43 career wins with the Twins and Marlins) and Kevin Orie, currently employed in local radio, who bounced around the majors accumulating 253 hits and 22 homers in the pros. Former Pittsburgh Penguin Ryan Malone attended USC and became the first Pittsburgh-born-and-raised NHL player. Malone started his career on a line with two Hall of Famers: Mark Recchi, who was just inducted, and Sidney Crosby, who will be. Malone bolted for Tampa at the beginning of the 2008-09 season, just after play-
{PHOTO COURTESY OF TEAM USA HOCKEY}
Ryan Malone
ing for the Pens in the Stanley Cup Finals the year before. Malone went on to score a respectable 370 points in his career. Dylan Reese, who tallied 17 NHL points, was also part of the school’s rapidly growing hockey program. Upper St. Clair is a school that offers golf, forensic teams and barbershop quartets to go along with the plethora of blue ribbons, trophies and other awards it has won. But it churns out some tough guys as well. The football team is good, seemingly every year, and is perhaps most proud of Cowboys linebacker Sean Lee. Lee has undergone numerous brutal injuries in the NFL but keeps plugging along. He played 15 games for Dallas last year, notching 93 tackles, and was named a first-team All Pro for the first time. Steelers offensive coordinator and former Chiefs coach Todd Haley was also a Panther. Steelers fans don’t care where you come from if they’re not happy with your performance. Haley has endured more than his share of criticism since arriving, but his teams have put up some pretty good numbers. There’s also Kirk Ferentz, the longest-tenured coach in Division 1 College Football. Ferentz is in charge of the Iowa Hawkeyes, with whom he has won 135 games and two Big Ten titles. Overall, Upper St. Clair has the upper hand. Mount Lebo has never produced a baseball player as good as Sean Casey, a hockey player as good as Ryan Malone, or a football player as good as Sean Lee. Mount Lebanon has sent more people to Hollywood, but USC grad and standup comic Anthony Jeselnik is glad to make fun of them.
MI K E W YS O C KI IS A STA NDUP CO MEDI AN . FO LLO W HI M O N TWI TTER: @IT SMIK E WYSO C K I
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General Production Laborers Unifirst Corporation, a national leader in the garment services industry, is looking for General Production Laborers. No experience is necessary, company will train. Looking for dependable people who want to work hard and who have a willingness to learn. Full time employment: Mon through Fri., first & second shifts. These are light duty production positions, where you will perform a variety of tasks including shipping, receiving, pressing, folding and packaging products for customer delivery. We offer competitive starting pay ($9.50) with opportunities for raises, paid vacation and holidays, 401K and Profit Sharing plan, Health and Dental and Life Insurance plans, and the opportunity to advance in a rapidly growing company.
Interested applicants should apply UniFirst Corporation 1150 2nd Ave, New Kensington, PA. 15068 Fax resume to: 724-337-9785 or apply online: www.unifirst.com UniFirst Corporation is an equal opportunity employer. EEO/AAE/M-F/D/V
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PITTSBURGH CITY PAPER
Smokers Wanted The University of Pittsburgh’s Alcohol and Smoking Research Laboratory is seeking participants for a three-part research project. To participate, you must: • Currently smoke cigarettes • Be 18-55 years old, in good health, and speak fluent English • Be willing to fill out questionnaires, and to not smoke before two sessions.
Earn up to $150 for completing this study.
For more information, call (412) 624-8975 *Our laboratory is also seeking couples, where one or both people smoke.
Weekend appointments available. For more information, call (412) 648-2214
07.19/07.26.2017
1. Somewhat cracked 5. Actor alongside Patrick in “Logan” 9. Marshall boxes 13. Columbus’s home 14. Airy spaces 15. Electrical cord 16. Regular folks on the Russian Space Station? 18. Barron’s subscriber 19. Place to worship an old Russian assembly? 21. New England fish 24. Show that Alec Baldwin has hosted the most 25. Jacket button 26. Bandmate of Ed, Johnny, Phil and Colin 27. Barbecue selection 30. It’s a plus 32. Hairy ox 33. It’s played with 80 balls 36. “Care for this Russian money, Whoopi?” 40. Like some summer rentals 41. Nincompoop 43. Mazda roadster 46. “Wrecked” channel 47. Nincompoop 48. Government agcy. founded by Lincoln 49. Texans sometimes make them: Abbr. 52. Card used in euchre and canasta
53. Russian insect repellent? 58. One of two for J. K. Rowling: Abbr. 59. Flimsy Russian forest? 63. “___ Fan Tutti Frutti” (Squeeze album) 64. Takes top billing 65. Glastonbury grandmother 66. Quick cut 67. Vigeland Museum city 68. Wedding reception song staple
DOWN
1. Sub’s counterpart, in BDSM 2. Spicy tuna 3. Tinsel-covered tree 4. Drum on a rack 5. Implied letters in a URL 6. River to the Caspian 7. Rupert ___ (Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s mentor) 8. Wears 9. Dumbstruck 10. Moments of confusion 11. Incubator baby 12. Trig function 14. Kind of wrestling 17. Ref. book that will probably never be printed again 20. Served blazing 21. Total dump
22. Burn on the outside 23. Big name in streaming players 27. Stink 28. “Picnic” playwright 29. Bit of help 31. Pick up 33. “The Day The Earth Stood Still” alien 34. Fluent to a fault 35. Totals 37. Crunchy sandwich, for short 38. Castling piece 39. Dreamy stare 42. Gift tag word 43. Copycats 44. Retro t-shirt style
45. Birthplace of the saints Clare and Francis 47. Field of flowers? 50. Drunk 51. ESPN numbers 52. Fly like hell 54. A Tribe Called Quest rapper 55. Scorpio stone 56. Roman emperor some considered The Antichrist 57. Earth cycles: Abbr. 60. “What ___ trying to tell you is ...” 61. Bodybuilder’s chain 62. Org. that provides jumps {LAST WEEK’S ANSWERS}
MASSAGE
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FOR THE WEEK OF
Free Will Astrology
07.19-07.26
{BY ROB BREZSNY}
CANCER (June 21-July 22): I predict that four weeks from now you will be enjoying a modest but hearty feeling of accomplishment — on one condition: You must not get diverted by the temptation to achieve trivial successes. In other words, I hope you focus on one or two big projects, not lots of small ones. What do I mean by “big projects”? How about these: taming your fears; delivering a delicate message that frees you from an onerous burden; clarifying your relationship with work; and improving your ability to have the money you need.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Spain’s most revered mystic poet was St. John of the Cross, who lived from 1542 to 1591. He went through a hard time at age 35, when he was kidnapped by a rival religious sect and imprisoned in a cramped cell. Now and then he was provided with scraps of bread and dried fish, but he almost starved to death. After 10 months, he managed to escape and make his way to a convent that gave him sanctuary. For his first meal, the nuns served him warm pears with cinnamon. I reckon that you’ll soon be celebrating your own version of a jailbreak, Leo. It’ll be less drastic and more metaphorical than St. John’s, but still a notable accomplishment. To celebrate, I invite you to enjoy a ritual meal of warm pears with cinnamon.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): “I’m very attracted to things that I can’t define,” says Belgian fashion designer Raf Simons. I’d love for you to adopt that attitude, Virgo. You’re entering the Season of Generous Mystery. It will be y g g a time when you can generate good fortune for
yourself by being eager to get your expectations overturned and your mind blown. Transformative opportunities will coalesce as you simmer in the influence of enigmas and anomalies. Meditate on the advice of the poet Rainer Maria Rilke: “I want to beg you to be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart and to try to love the questions themselves.”
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): I’ve compiled a list of four mantras for you to draw strength from. They’re designed to put you in the proper alignment to take maximum advantage of current cosmic rhythms. For the next three weeks, say them periodically throughout the day. 1. “I want to give the gifts I like to give rather than the gifts I’m supposed to give.” 2. “If I can’t do things with excellence and integrity, I won’t do them at all.” 3. “I intend to run on the fuel of my own deepest zeal, not on the fuel of someone else’s passions.” 4. “My joy comes as much from doing my beautiful best as from pleasing other people.”
get your yoga on!
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): The world will never fully know or appreciate the nature of your heroic journey. Even the people who love you the most will only ever understand a portion of your epic quest to become your best self. That’s why it’s important for you to be generous in giving yourself credit for all you have accomplished up until now and will accomplish in the future. Take time to marvel at the majesty and miracle of the life you have created for yourself. Celebrate the struggles you’ve weathered and the liberations you’ve initiated. Shout “Glory hallelujah!” as you acknowledge your persistence and resourcefulness. The coming weeks will be an especially favorable time to do this tricky but fun work.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): I suspect you may have drug-like effects on people in the coming weeks. Which drugs? At various times, your impact could resemble cognac, magic mushrooms and Ecstasy — or sometimes all three simultaneously. What will you do with all that power to kill pain and alter moods and expand minds? Here’s one possibility: Get people excited about what you’re excited about, and call on them to help you bring your dreams to a higher stage of development. Here’s another: Round up the support you need to transform any status quo that’s boring or unproductive.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19):
schoolhouseyoga.com gentle yoga yin yoga ÁRZ \RJD meditation
teacher training ashtanga yoga prenatal yoga family yoga
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“Everything that irritates us about others can lead us to an understanding of ourselves.” So said psychologist Carl Jung. What the hell did that meddling, self-important know-it-all mean by that? Oops. Sorry to sound annoyed. My cranky reaction may mean I’m defensive about the possibility that I’m sometimes a bit preachy myself. Maybe I don’t like an authority figure wagging his finger in my face because I’m suspicious of my own tendency to do that. Hmmm. Should I therefore refrain from giving you the advice I’d planned to? I guess not. Listen carefully, Capricorn: Monitor the people and situations that irritate you. They’ll serve as mirrors. They’ll show you unripe aspects of yourself that may need adjustment or healing.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): A source of tough and tender inspiration seems to be losing some of its signature potency. It has served you well. It has given you many gifts, some difficult and some full of grace. But now I think you will benefit from transforming your relationship with its influence. As you might imagine, this pivotal moment will be best navigated with a clean, fresh, open attitude. That’s why you’ll be wise to thoroughly wash your own brain — not begrudgingly, but with gleeful determination. For even better results, wash your heart, too.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): A “power animal” is a creature selected as a symbolic ally by a person who hopes to imitate or resonate with its strengths. The salmon or hare might be a good choice if you’re seeking to stimulate your fertility, for example. If you aspire to cultivate elegant wildness, you might choose an eagle or horse. For your use in the coming months, I propose a variation on this theme: the “power fruit.” From now until at least May 2018, your power fruit should be the ripe strawberry. Why? Because this will be a time when you’ll be naturally sweet, not artificially so; when you will be juicy, but not dripping all over everything; when you will be compact and concentrated, not bloated and bursting at the seams; and when you should be plucked by hand, never mechanically.
ARIES (March 21-April 19): The Greek word philokalia is translated as the “love of the beautiful, the exalted, the excellent.” I propose that we make it your keyword for the next three weeks — the theme you keep at the forefront of your awareness everywhere you go. But think a while before you say yes to my invitation. To commit yourself to being so relentlessly in quest of the sublime would be a demanding job. Are you truly prepared to adjust to the poignant sweetness that might stream into your life as a result?
TAURUS (April 20-May 20): It’s a favorable time to strengthen your fundamentals and stabilize your foundation. I invite you to devote your finest intelligence and grittiest determination to this project. How? Draw deeply from your roots. Tap into the mother lode of inspiration that never fails you. Nurture the web of life that nurtures you. The cosmos will offer you lots of help and inspiration whenever you attend to these practical and sacred matters. Best-case scenario: You will bolster your personal power for many months to come.
GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Two talking porcupines are enjoying an erotic tryst in a cactus garden. It’s a prickly experience, but that’s how they like it. “I always get horny when things get thorny,” says one. Meanwhile, in the rose garden next door, two unicorns wearing crowns of thorns snuggle and nuzzle as they receive acupuncture from a swarm of helpful hornets. One of the unicorns murmurs, “This is the sharpest pleasure I’ve ever known.” Now here’s the moral of these far-out fables, Gemini: Are you ready to gamble on a cagey and exuberant ramble through the brambles? Are you curious about the healing that might become available if you explore the edgy frontiers of gusto? In what circumstances do you tend to be smartest? When do you tend to be dumbest? Testify at Freewillastrology.com.
GO TO REALASTROLOGY.COM TO CHECK OUT ROB BREZSNY’S EXPANDED WEEKLY AUDIO HOROSCOPES AND DAILY TEXT-MESSAGE HOROSCOPES. THE AUDIO HOROSCOPES ARE ALSO AVAILABLE BY PHONE AT 1-877-873-4888 OR 1-900-950-7700
’ LET S
Savage Love {BY DAN SAVAGE}
I’m a 35-year-old straight woman, recently married, and everything is great. But I have been having problems reaching orgasm. When we first started dating, I had them all the time. It was only after we got engaged that it became an issue. He is not doing anything differently, and he works hard to give me oral pleasure, last longer and include more foreplay. He’s sexy and attractive and has a great working penis. I am very aroused when we have sex, but I just can’t climax. It is weird because I used to very easily, and still can when I masturbate. I have never been so in love before, and I have definitely never been with a man who is so good to me. Honestly, all of my previous boyfriends did not treat me that well, but I never had a problem having orgasms. My husband is willing to do whatever it takes, but it’s been almost a year since I came during vaginal intercourse! Is this just a temporary problem that will fix itself? MY ORGASMS ARE NOW SHY
orgasm off the table for at least a month — you’re allowed to do other things and come other ways, just not through vaginal-penile intercourse. Instead of working toward the goal of bringing back your vaginal orgasm, enjoy being with your sexy husband and experiment with other ways of sharing pleasure, and if the vaginal orgasms don’t immediately come back, oh well. There are, fortunately, many roads to Rome. Enjoy!” Follow Dr. Chivers on Twitter @DrMLChivers.
GET S CIAL
I’m a straight man who recently moved in with a rich, straight friend. He sent me an email before I moved in letting me know he was in a femdom relationship. He was only telling me this, he said, because I might notice “small, subtle rituals meant to reinforce [their] D/s dynamic.” If it bothered me, I shouldn’t move in. Finding an affordable place in Central London is hard, so I told him I didn’t mind. But I do. Their many “rituals” run the gamut from the subtle to the not-sosubtle: He can’t sit on the furniture without her permission, which she grants with a little nod (subtle); when he buzzes her in, he has to wait by the door on his hands and knees and kiss her feet when she enters and keep at it until she tells him to stop (NOT SUBTLE!). She’s normal with me — she doesn’t attempt to order me around — but these “rituals” make me uncomfortable, and I worry they’re getting off from my witnessing them.
STRESSING OUT ABOUT THE SITUATION WILL ONLY MAKE THE PROBLEM WORSE.
“This is a temporary problem that will fix itself,” said Dr. Meredith Chivers, an associate professor of psychology at Queen’s University and a world-renowned sex researcher who has done — and is still doing — groundbreaking work on female sexuality, desire and arousal. “And here’s why it will fix itself,” said Dr. Chivers. “First, MOANS has enjoyed being orgasmic with her partner and previous partners. Second, even though she’s had a hiatus in orgasms through vaginal intercourse, she is able to have orgasms when masturbating. Third, she describes no concerns with becoming sexually aroused physically and mentally. Fourth, MOANS has a great relationship, has good sexual communication and is sexually attracted to her partner. Fifth, what she’s experiencing is a completely normal and expected variation in sexual functioning that probably relates to stress.” The orgasms you’re not having right now — orgasms during PIV sex with your husband — the lack of which is causing you stress? Most likely the result of stress, so stressing out about the situation will only make the problem worse. “I wonder if the background stress of a big life change — getting married is among the top-10 most stressful life events — might be distracting or anxiety-provoking,” said Dr. Chivers. “Absolutely normal if it were.” Distracting, anxiety-provoking thoughts can also make it harder to come. “Being able to have an orgasm is about giving yourself over to pleasure in the moment,” said Dr. Chivers. “Research on brain activation during orgasm suggests that a key feature is deactivation in parts of the brain associated with emotion and cognitive control. So, difficulties reaching orgasm can arise from distracting, anxiety-provoking thoughts that wiggle their way in when you’re really aroused, maybe on the edge, but just can’t seem to make it over. They interfere with that deactivation.” Dr. Chivers’s advice will be familiar to anyone with a daughter under the age of 12: Let it go. “Let go of working toward vaginal orgasm during sex,” Dr. Chivers advised. “Take vaginal
RITUALS OFTEN OBSERVED MORTIFYING IN EXTREME
His apartment, his rules — or her rules, actually. If you don’t want to witness the shit your rich and submissive friend with the great apartment warned you about before you moved in, ROOMIE, you’ll have to move your ass out. I know a teenager in a theater production who is receiving inappropriate advances from an older member of the cast. Her refusals are met with aggression and threats that he’ll make a scene, ruining the show for everyone. I believe that fear is causing her to follow through with things she isn’t interested in or comfortable with. What advice would you have on how she gets out of this situation? She’s otherwise enjoying the theater experience. THEATRICAL HARASSMENT REALLY ENRAGES ADULT TORONTONIAN
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There are a few things you can do. First, keep listening to your friend. In addition to offering her your moral support, encourage her to speak to the director of the play and the artistic director of the theater. This fucking creep needs to be fired — and if the people running the show are made aware of the situation and don’t act, they need to be held accountable. A detailed Facebook post brought to the attention of the local media should do the trick. Hopefully it won’t come to that, THREAT, but let me know if it does. Because I’m happy to help make that Facebook post go viral.
@PGHCITYPAPER FACEBOOK.COM/ PITTSBURGHCITYPAPER
On the Lovecast, Amanda Marcotte on Game of Thrones: savagelovecast.com.
SEND YOUR QUESTIONS TO MAIL@SAVAGELOVE.NET AND FIND THE SAVAGE LOVECAST (DAN’S WEEKLY PODCAST) AT SAVAGELOVECAST.COM
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FROM BRADDOCK TO VENICE
{BY STEVE MENDELSON}
I MET EMIL LUKAS more that 30 years ago. He believed he was an artist.
He was a big galoot, taller than my 6’4”, and wore size-15 work boots. A gentle giant and serious at his craft, he had caught the attention of the late John Caldwell from the Carnegie Museum of Art, and later the San Francisco Museum. John’s caring and attention to everything art changed both of our lives. He felt we should know one another. The setting was an abandoned factory in Etna, within the musky smellzone of the Allegheny River, replete with metal scrap, mounds of plaster and large dark charcoal drawings. Emil was consumed by his art. Wrestling through the rusted rebar, the copper and steel cut-offs, the bearings, damaged railroad ties and chemical spills, he fashioned gigantic creatures: 20 feet high, skinnier than Emil himself, sporting size-50 feet. They were sentinels of the decrepit mills. The sculptures grew like trees in the misty dank sooty interiors. One was entitled “The Three.” Huddled together they might represent his second-generation Slovakian father and Emil with his brother Dan; they might be Native American spirits of the sacred Three Rivers. They could be explorers ready to cross America, one humongous footfall after another toward the Pacific Ocean.
One of Emil Lukas’ string paintings
materials and needs that he ultimately became his assistant. They moved between New York, Switzerland and Italy, always pushing production ideas, learning from one another. From Swissvale/Braddock, Emil became a world traveler. From student to teacher, husband to Claire, father to Jack and Faye and Jane, Emil has never lost his will to observe, to experiment, to create. His father and his father before him owned Lukas Bar and Grill in Braddock, just up the hill from the Edgar Thomson Works’ gate to the spewing mills, the glowering furnaces, the continuous shifts. The clientele often needed a boilermaker or a quick pick-me-up from a jar on the bar (pickled pig’s feet, sausages or boiled eggs in vinegar). From standing, his father’s feet had spread out even larger than Emil’s. My roots are further up that same polluted river, in McKeesport. We viewed the same explosive sulfur-dioxide sunsets, drank the same metal-tinged water,
EMIL WAS CONSUMED BY HIS ART. My Mendelson Gallery was then in its first incarnation, next to a Morewood Avenue strip club. It fared better than most venues because (to quote Dylan) “When you ain’t got nuttin’, you got nuttin’ to lose …” I pushed the limits of the ’Burgh with off-beat visiting artists from New York, France, Switzerland, Italy and Brazil. No one was getting rich, but certainly we opened some eyes. Through my enigmatic best friend Not Vital, whom I had met in Rome in 1973, I eventually encountered an 85-year-old retired art-museum director living near his tiny Swiss village. His name was Max Huggler. Max had once knocked on the door of Edvard Munch to ask him to exhibit at his Kunsthaller in Berne. By chance, Max shared my first visit to Emil’s grand, industrial studio. So there we stood, The Three. Max — thin, hunched, Giacometti-like — next to Emil — tall, gangly, big feet — and me, Mendelson, as always, impractical, probably wearing a foulard. I’d like to think we grew together. I know we are friends. For years, Emil continued making impractical sculptures, some too tiny and delicate to touch, others so large they couldn’t fit through the gallery door. The largest, left outdoors, might crumble after a few difficult Pittsbugh winters. But people were drawn to them. They trusted us. And they were right to. When Not Vital, more established at the time, was visiting for one of his exhibitions, he needed help creating a project. Emil was so sensitive to his
and breathed the same orange-gray soupy air on inversion days. And here we are today, celebrating a grand opening of his iconic work in a palazzo on the Grand Canal of Venice during the 57th Biennale. (Opening in Venice during the Biennale is a big deal, even if the work’s not in the Biennale.) The sincerity and integrity of Emil’s art has never wavered in details, delicacy or dedication. He remains a modern alchemist, exploring permutations and properties of materials. From my first tiny gallery, he has reached out to thousands through his many exhibitions around the world. The exhibit at the Palazzo Flangini is up through August and exhibits “Lens,” a sculpture of 650 aluminum pipes that move with the viewer according to his or her position. We hope to place one in East Liberty. Emil, who now lives in northeastern Pennsylvania, also exhibits intricate string paintings and puddle works. The pieces need to be seen in person to really resonate. Emil is represented by galleries in New York, San Francisco, Verona, Italy, and of course, by Mendelson in Pittsburgh. He is in many major collections and has had numerous one-man shows across Europe and the United States. Like Pittsburgh, he continues to emerge from his past into an everexpanding future. I N F O@ P G H C I T Y PA P E R. C OM
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