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11 WAYS OF LOOKING AT A PIGEON

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A quick look at what’s new in the Pigeon/Casey/Grant affair. Plus, has anyone heard from Erie County District Attorney Frank Sedita

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BY GEOFF KELLY STATE AND FEDERAL INVESTIGATORS seem

very busy attempting to turn political operative Steve Pigeon into a statue. Indeed he is likely to be frozen in place throughout the election cycle underway, and while he is immobile, expect a lot of excrement to collect on and around him.

And expect us the continue documenting every drop.

Let’s recap some of the more intriguing facts that have surfaced in the week and a half since the FBI and the New York State Attorney General’s office raided the homes of Pigeon, former Buffalo deputy mayor Steve Casey, and Congressman Chris Collins’s chief of staff, Chris Grant: 1 Over the years, Pigeon has used a number of addresses for the campaign committees he has operated and the web of LLCs that fund and do political work for them. Among the most popular is 101 Reo Drive in Cheektowaga. That’s the home of Sandi Schmid, Pigeon’s long-time personal assistant and bookkeeper.

Pigeon used Schmid’s address to contribute $50,000 to Governor Andrew Cuomo’s campaign in 2013.

2 Pigeon apparently lives in a 10th-floor condominium in Admiral’s Walk, on Buffalo’s waterfront; that’s the place the investigators searched. But he has also used the addresses of two seventh-floor condos in the same building.

He owned 703 from 1997 until 2009, when he sold it; in 2007 he bought 704 and still owns it. The 10th-floor condo is 1003, but that seems to be owned by Tanning Bed founder Dan Humiston, who has dabbled as a candidate for political office: He ran an unsuccessful campaign for state Assembly in 2012 to which Pigeon donated.

3 Humiston is currently seeking approval to convert the former Tyson chicken plant in Buffalo to a medical marijuana operation. So who lives in 704? And why is Pigeon living in a unit apparently owned by a guy who must be furiously lobbying the governor’s office for a lucrative concession?

4 Let’s assume that Pigeon does indeed live at 1003, since that’s the address authorities searched for three hours on May 28. The board of managers at Admiral’s Walk has liens against the owner of 1003 totaling more than $10,000 for unpaid condominium fees. Add that to Pigeon’s more than $270,000 in IRS tax liens since 2008, and it suddenly becomes clear how Pigeon was able to donate $100,000 of his own money to the Western New York Progressive Caucus, the PAC whose 2013 activities are at the center of the investigation: He doesn’t pay his bills, freeing up cash for other pursuits. A few months ago, Pigeon apparently showed the Buffalo News’s Bob McCarthy a copy of a recent tax return to prove that he could afford to spare that $100,000. Why didn’t the News check Pigeon’s tax liabilities before printing that story?

5 A rumor that has been circulating was confirmed this week: Investigators have shown special interest in a donation to Western New York Progressive Caucus comprising three money orders. The caucus listed it as one donation from the campaign committee of Cheektowaga Democratic Party chief Frank Max, but Max reported it differently, suggesting some connivery. The person whose name appears on the money orders is Matthew Connors, the son of prominent attorney Terry Connors. Sources close to the investigation confirm this, but other sources indicate that Matt Connors is a victim of fraud. We are told that law enforcement is satisfied that Matt Connors did not put his name on those money orders. So who did?

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6 On the day of the raids, many political insiders wondered why the home of Western New York Progressive Caucus’s treasurer and public face, Kristy Mazurek, had been spared.

Another rumor confirmed: Mazurek is cooperating with the investigation. There was no need to raid her house because she was already giving investigators what they wanted from her.

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7 Let’s not forget about Grant and Casey: Grant’s connection to all this seems to be a consulting and printing company he ran called Herd Solutions; rumor has it that Casey was part-owner of the business. There has been some talk of investigators looking at “elevated billing” and even “phantom billing,” suggesting that there may have been some sort of fraudulent kickback scheme at work.

8 That would seem to be it for Grant—that and the fact that he and Pigeon and Casey have worked on a number of political projects together, dating to succesful effort in 2009 to split the Democratic majority in the Erie County Legislature and create a rubberstamp for Collins, then Erie County executive.

9 There is this curiosity, however: In the ethics disclosure form Grant filled out when he took the job as Collins’s Congressional chief of staff, he indicated he did political consulting work for Aaron J. Pierce when Pierce ran for president of the Seneca Nation of Indians.

Pierce, who is a Seneca cigarette merchant, was the third biggest donor to Western New York Progressive Caucus, behind Pigeon and New York State Senator Tim Kennedy. Grant’s connection to Pierce may be coincidental—political consultants go where the money is—but it draws the strings tighter.

10 And speaking of Kennedy, who steered $85,000 to Western New York Progressive Caucus, nearly a third of its total fundraising: What are we to make of his claim that he has not laywered up, though he spent more than $60,000 on attorney Terry Connors in the fourth quarter of 2014, when this investigation first heated up? That’s what Pigeon told Channel 2 News last week, after we reported that Connors was his attorney. Is it likely that he, alone among those associated with Western New York Progressive Caucus, has not been contacted by investigators?

11 One final thought: We still have heard nothing about this whole affair from Erie County District Attorney Frank A. Sedita III. How come the county’s chief law enforcement officer is taking no part in this investigation? Doesn’t even have anything to say? Where’s Frank?

Exhausted? It’s not even close to over yet.

Keep up by reading Alan Bedenko’s columns P at dailypublic.com.

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ECONOMISTS, FAST-FOOD WORKERS, union leaders, and community activists all gave compelling testimony in favor of a $15 miniDate _______________________ mum wage to the New York State Wage Board at a packed Buffalo Common Council hearing last Friday. Governor Cuomo, who favors the Y15W22 Issue: ______________________ increase, exercised his authority to empanel the commission under very specific New York law that allows the State Department of Labor to take action for specific industries—in this case, THIS PROOF MAY ONLY BE USED FOR the fast-food industry, which is an easy politiPUBLICATION IN THE calPUBLIC. target because it is dominated not by momand-pop local franchisees but by multinational corporations that pay their CEOs multiple millions and their shareholders multiple billions even while paying higher wages to their workers in Europe and Canada than they do here.

mum wage is not a done political deal—because it will be blocked by the Republican majority in the New York State Senate.

Same-day media coverage of the event focused on the anguished presentations of fast-food workers, many of whom work multiple parttime jobs with big burdens of chronic illnesses, dependent family members, student loan debt, and other stresses at home. Fast-food industry flacks did not present testimony, instead obtaining direct media access by corralling reporters outside the confines of Council chambers.

Politically, the numbers that really matter are these: The head-count of suburban Caucasians who actually admit to experiencing economic dislocation is growing. In the Buffalo area, this means Millennials and their families—people who are angry at having amassed student debt in order to obtain college degrees, people who are now working for $8 to $10 an hour, many of them living at home or in housing that is more typical of undergraduates than of adults, who confront an economy that offers plenty of lowwage work options but very few appealing prospects for escaping the minimum-wage treadmill.

And though both the powerful statewide Service Employees International Union and the public-sector unions organized effectively at the event, telling Cuomo’s appointees what they already knew they’d hear, an increase in the mini4

THE PUBLIC / JUNE 10, 2015 / DAILYPUBLIC.COM

The problem for Republicans, though, is real and it’s present: In suburban and rural communities where Republicans customarily win Congressional and legislative seats and big majorities for Republican presidential nominees, the economic distress long associated with urban households is reaching new heights. The populist resentments that gave rise to the Tea Party are not just confined to racism and a sense of grievance about cultural elites—it’s the new experience, as the post-Crash recovery continues to sputter along, that something fundamental has shifted in our economy for the majority of households, and not just for visible minorities.

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POLITICALLY, THERE IS A COST TO LOW-WAGE WORK THAT SEEMS ABOUT TO GET COSTLIER—IN THE FORM OF GROWING POPULIST ANGER… TROUBLE BY THE NUMBERS There are indeed more jobs in Western New York today than there were during the Great Recession. But as a recent report from the Fiscal Policy Institute showed, most of the new jobs are in low-paid service occupations—and the greatest number came from an upsurge in the hospitality industry.

the Internal Revenue Service from the Buffalo area show that almost half of all reported incomes here were below $25,000. The poverty threshold for a family of four is $26,000. Below that number, people with families are literally the working poor.

THE $15-PER-HOUR OPPORTUNITY?

Around Buffalo, there were 47,200 jobs in food-service, bars, restaurants, hotels, and such in April 2007, the year the subprime-mortgage crisis started bubbling, the year economists usually cite as the last year before the Great Recession took hold. In April 2015, there were 56,400 jobs in that sector. (In April 2007 there were 59,900 jobs in manufacturing here; in April 2015, there were only 52,800.) So as long as Boomers with paid-off mortgages and extra disposable income keep going out for $8 microbrews and revival rock-and-roll concerts, there will be jobs for Millennials.

Could increasing the minimum wage from $8 per hour to $15 per hour, as has already happened in Seattle and San Francisco, be a driver for economic development?

But as Buffalo State College economist Fred Floss calculated in the testimony we co-wrote, the most recent available data show that there are more than 174,000 people in our area—almost exactly one-third of all working people here—who work in job categories that have an average wage of less than $11 an hour. This means that a big share of the region’s employed people is working in jobs that don’t pay enough to help them attain economic self-sufficiency without substantial, taxpayer-funded public assistance.

We know what the alternative to an increasing minimum wage will be: more economic stress for more families, and greater dependency on income-support measures funded by taxpayers.

Economists at the University of California have calculated that New Yorkers spend between $6,800 to $15,000 per low-wage worker, depending on the presence or absence of children, just to keep the low-wage worker from falling into malnutrition, substandard housing, illhealth, and all the other aspects of poverty.

THE LIVING WAGE? Economists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology took a look at what it takes to pay for a $600-a-month apartment, $100 in utilities, enough money to pay for food, healthcare, a used car, and other basics (not including savings, student loan payments, or $8-a-pint IPAs).

Two adults living together with no kids can get by in the Buffalo area on today’s $8 minimum wage if they both work full-time.

But add a child to the mix, or two children, or take away one minimum-wage worker, or switch from two full-time workers to two parttime workers, and it gets ugly fast.

The minimum wage would have to be more than $30 an hour to keep a single-parent, two-child household solvent. A two-parent, one-earner household with two kids would need for the working parent to be bringing in $21.67 an hour. The largest categories of expenses that children bring: childcare and healthcare. At today’s $8 minimum wage, these expenses literally impoverish.

A $15-an-hour minimum wage would get a two-parent, two-earner household with two kids close to being able to make ends meet— but MIT calculates that the numbers would still be short unless each of the parents were actually bringing in $16.49 an hour.

Do the math. A full-time $15-an-hour worker working 40 hours a week for 50 weeks a year would bring in a gross income of $30,000.

But that’s not how the numbers work today.

In the testimony, Floss’s calculations of federal Labor Department data show that half of employed persons in the Buffalo area work in occupations that have an average wage of less than $15 an hour.

And the data from our analysis of tax returns (although they’re a couple of years old) also bear this out: Actual tax returns submitted to

The modeling hasn’t been done in the positive—yet. But consider: With low housing costs, low barriers to entry to enterprise-formation, a more broadly available social safety net (including healthcare) than in years past, and a positive, pro-urban, pro-youth political messaging regime, the business community’s sadly conventional wisdom on the effects of a higher minimum wage may be 180 degrees wrong.

And politically, there is a cost to low-wage work that seems about to get costlier—in the form of growing populist anger that will cross the longstanding divides between city, suburbs, and rural areas. Historically, great rebellions have come about from a combination of highly visible excess for the few with the defeat of expectations for the many. Today in Buffalo, expectations of economic rebound are meeting the stubborn trend toward fewer high-paying jobs but greater numbers of low-paying jobs.

If trends persist through the 2016 elections, as they most probably will, candidates for public office may well face some of the anger that was present at last week’s hearings.

Defeating the movement for a higher minimum wage may look like victory to suburban Republicans, who can be expected to oppose whatever positive recommendation the Cuomo-appointed Wage Board releases. But politically, the suburbanization of the trend toward lower wages means that working people in every age cohort are now experiencing what urban minorities have long experienced—a downward pressure on household incomes because the combination of outsourcing, part-time or “contingent” work with no job security or benefits, and rapid technological change keep all the bargaining power in the hands of employers.

The $15 minimum wage makes easy economic sense in wealthy, growing metros like Seattle and San Francisco, where the cost of everything is quite high compared to the rest of the US. Were Buffalo and the other Upstate metros to get the $15 minimum wage, chances are great that the rising tide of resentment of elites might be blunted—but also that the promise of economic renaissance, which is today otherwise hollow for Millennials, may edge closer to reality. As of now, the IRS numbers are clear: $15 an hour would give a raise to at least half of the 440,000 individuals who signed income-tax returns in 2012.

Bruce Fisher is visiting professor of economics at SUNY Buffalo State and director of the P Center for Economic and Policy Studies.

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THE LEAST WE CAN DO At Friday’s state Wage Board meeting, workers testify to the need to raise the minimum wage

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THE FIRST FORMAL MEETING of the New York State Wage Board, empaneled by the State Labor Department at the request of Governor Andrew Cuomo, convened at City Hall last Friday morning. More than 100 individuals—fast food workers, union leaders, economists, lawyers, community advocates, and religious leaders—registered to address the board, comprising Mayor Byron Brown, web entrepreneur Kevin Ryan, and Mike Fishman, secretary-treasurer of the Service Employees International Union [SEIU].

By far, the largest and loudest contingent belonged to the ranks of fast food workers—a representative slice of the nearly 200,000 such workers across the state, who make about $9 an hour.

They said that they are unable to rely on a steady supply of hours each week, and that, even when they get full-time hours, the resulting check is insufficient to cover life’s basic necessities.

Lauren Schmidt, an employee of Arby’s and nursing student, told the board that “some weeks I get four hours and some weeks I get 40 hours.”

Some of those currently attending college said that they’d seen an entire week’s check spent on one book; others said they’d had to go without books in order to fulfill more pressing needs.

Going without medical care (just 13 percent of frontline fast food workers have health insurance, according to one study), decent meals, and a personal sense of security was a common theme.

Crescenzo Scipione, an employee of Burger King who left college after two years because he was unable to meet the costs, said, “I almost never know how I’m going to pay bills until a few days before they’re due.”

The testimonies refute the solutions proposed by armchair critics, who like to suggest that fast food workers should simply learn a skilled trade or go to college; indeed, many of those testify-

ing said that the $15 figure was a means to escaping the cycle of poverty and debt by eventually moving into a career via further schooling.

Zaire Doyle, an employee of Wendy’s, wept during her testimony, making much of it incomprehensible. At one point I was able to transcribe “I don’t have anything.”

One concern from the mayor stemmed from the imbalance in the cost of living across the state; he asked whether the $15 figure ought to be higher for fast food employees in New York City.

“It should be based on locality,” responded Flo Tripi, president of Region 6 CSEA, while Scott Phillipson, president of SEIU Local 200, cited a study that pegged $15.08 as a “subsistence” wage in Syracuse.

Fifteen dollars is barely a sufficient wage in Upstate New York and insufficient downstate.

For now, however, $15 remains the cry of organized fast food workers across the state and the nation. There is skepticism that the figure represents an achievable goal, and Cuomo has visibly avoided yoking himself to it; instead, he is eyeing $11.50 for the city and $10.50 for the rest of the state.

James Parrot with the Fiscal Policy Institute compared the general statewide trend of wage stagnation and declination against robust growth in the fast food sector. He suggested that—given the limited number of chains in operation, and the uniformity of wage price across the sector—the balance had tipped too far in the industry’s favor. Fast food chains—either by collusion or circumstance—have rigged the labor market to their advantage.

Sam Magavern, co-director of the Partnership for Public Good, told the board that the fast food sector was the “most unequal” of any sector in terms of pay for executives and pay for frontline employees.

A fact sheet from the governor’s office notes that “the minimum wage for fast food workers

LOCAL NEWS across the nation has barely moved—increasing 0.3 percent since 2000 (adjusting for inflation).

By comparison, earnings for the average fast food CEO have more than quadrupled since 2000 (adjusting for inflation), to an average of $23.8 million in 2013.”

Effectively, Parrot added, the current minimum wage functions as a subsidy to large corporations, which push the costs (e.g. food stamps, healthcare, etc.) onto taxpayers. He estimated the bill at $700 million to $900 million per year.

Tara Melish, director of the Center for Human Rights at UB Law School, later noted that 60 percent of fast food workers rely on public assistance: “Taxpayers subsidize the fast food industry’s subhuman treatment of its employees.”

Irene Tung of the National Employment Law Project agreed that the rapidly growing profits of the fast food sector have “not been shared [and] wages have declined, factoring in inflation.”

She cited a University of Massachusetts study which found that savings from decreasing turnover—the cost of replacing workers in an industry in which it’s abnormally high—along with a modest price increase (12 cents on the Big Mac) would cover the proposed wage hike “without cutting into profits.”

It’s not just a legal, economic and political matter—there is, too, a moral aspect, as illustrated

by Reverend Kirk Laubenstein of the Coalition for Economic Justice, who remarked that “Moses organized workers in Egypt.”

Both WIVB and the Buffalo News quoted Michael Saltsman, research director for the Employment Policies Institute [EPI], who inveighed against the wage hike, pointing to a survey conducted by EPI, which found a majority of restauranteurs would rely on staff cuts and/or price raises as a response to a potential $15 mandated wage.

Via Twitter, LittleSis.org described EPI as a group “secretly funded” by lobbying impresario Richard Berman. Berman is known for his web of nonprofit fronts, like EPI, which claim deductions for charitable donations from anonymous donors, publish industry sponsored re-

[ FAMILY RESTAURANT \

search, and subsequently bill his firm, Berman and Company, which, in this roundabout manner, makes off with the boodle.

Berman has a documented tendency for playing dirty; and, in 2009, his son, former Silver Jews fronter David Berman, excoriated his estranged father in an open letter, calling him “a despicable man…a sort of human molester.”

Nevertheless, Saltsman and the EPI have become a reliable source for the News on matters regarding the minimum wage—see Saltsman’s 2014 appearance in the News’s “Another Voice” column, to which he graduated from his 2013 appearance in the News’s “Letters” section.

Although to my knowledge an EPI rep didn’t speak at the hearing, the voice of business was heard. Enter stage left Grant Loomis, vice president of Government Affairs for the Buffalo Niagara Partnership, to a smattering of boos.

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“The Chamber of Commerce is opposed” to the proposed increase, he said, remarking that it had also been opposed to the previous hike. “Businesses have not had time to absorb [those] increases.”

More boos.

The Wage Board’s Fishman asked Loomis to respond to research on a minimum wage increase that found negligible effects for businesses.

“I’m not here to debate…I’m here to share what members concerns are,” Loomis said.

Taunting, groans, and a lone call of “bullshit” reverberated in the cavernous Council Chambers, prompting a request for quiet from the mayor.

After a couple more questions, Loomis stood from his chair, looking shaken and wan, and disappeared into the gallery.

The Wage Board will hold another meeting in New York City before making its recommendation to the state’s labor commissioner: “The board’s final recommendation is expected by July. The commissioner will then have 45 days from its receipt to issue an order.”

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LOOKING BACKWARD: EVANS SLIP The Evans Slip was constructed in 1832 to 1834, and was part of the practically Venetian network of slips and basins at the terminus of the Erie Canal. The channel was located on the north side of the Buffalo River at its mouth, extending to Erie Street, and was about 700 feet long, 60 to 80 feet wide, and 19 feet deep.

This circa 1958 view of the Evans Slip was taken from an Erie-Lackawanna Railroad swing bridge, built over the slip in 1902. The vacant Thornton & Chester Milling Co.—with mill buildings dating back to 1868—flanks the water on the left at 212 Erie Street. A sign for the George Irish Paper Co. is visible on a building at 21 River Street, across Erie Street. On the right is the Dante Place housing project, completed in 1952 and later renamed to the Marine Drive Apartments. In the distance, Buffalo City Hall terminates the view—coincidentally, perfectly on axis with the Evans Slip.

Plans to fill the Evans Slip were discussed as early as 1950. The slip wasn’t popular: One resident, in a letter to the Buffalo Courier Express, said it was “a stagnant cesspool littered with rotted wood, tin cans, old tires, etc., and is infested with rats.” The dilapidated condition of the slip notwithstanding, what the slip did represent was not appreciated at the time—about 1,500 feet of shoreline, all of which would have added value to the adjacent property as development sites. By 1972, the Evans Slip was filled and Erie Street was “un-straightened” and diverted on top of it. Today, it would be difficult to P discern that this section of Erie Street was once navigable waters.-THE PUBLIC STAFF

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BOOKS INTERVIEW

Painting by Norma Kassirer courtesy of Brian Klemp and Edric Mesmer.

REVISITING THE POETRY OF NORMA KASSIRER Co-editor Edric Mesmer answers 10 questions regarding a new collection of the artist and author’s poetry

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INTERVIEW BOOKS Tell me about this book. On June 27 of this month, 5pm at Brighton Place, there will be a book launch for Minnows Small as Sixteenth Notes: The Collected Poems of Norma Kassirer, a book I coedited with Ann Goldsmith, published

by BlazeVOX [books] of Kenmore.

What influenced this book? A young poet named Paige Melin was searching the holdings of the Poetry Collection of the University at Buffalo for poems about the weather by local writers. She showed me her list, and asked if I could think of anyone she had left off. I said: “Norma Kassirer,” then added, “but there is no book of her poems.”

Where does this book fit into Kassirer’s career as a writer? Most readers will know Norma through her novels for children, Magic Elizabeth and The Doll Snatchers (Viking, 1966 and 1969), but she also wrote short stories under the influence of surrealism, and the numerous poems collected here. Many of these poems were undated, and exist in multiple versions; all were arranged alphabetical by title, and Ann and I have retained that arrangement for the book.

Perhaps what’s most interesting is how Norma came to write poems later in life (though she always read poetry), having primarily written fiction for many years. When I published her short story cycle, Milly, she told me that the line between poem and prose didn’t seem to matter to her anymore. This has always fascinated me as a reader of her work, and it is demonstrated in the lyrical narrative she brings to these pieces.

This aesthetic intuition was also a difficulty when trying to publish her work, as many literary journals and publishing houses would respond that her poetry was too much like prose and her fiction too poetic. It would be different now, I think, with the attention many journals and small press outfits are giving to the prose poem and flash fiction. Perhaps Norma’s audience is now here!

If you had to convince a friend or colleague to read this book, what might you tell them? The many readers who will have heard of Norma Kassirer will not know the breadth of her artistic output. I would tell these readers that Norma was someone who engaged art every day—in stories, poems, paintings, artist’s books, and collage.

In a write-up about her in the Buffalo News, R. D. Pohl mentions how Norma Kassirer influenced several generations of Buffalo artists—and yet there is no definitive book of her work! This is a first step toward that: to collect her poems, which she worked on over the past few decades, to be read alongside the stories collected in The Hidden Wife (Shuffaloff, 1991), the aforementioned Milly (Buffalo Ochre Papers, 2008), and her novella, Katzenjammered (BlazeVOX, 2010).

Tell us what you know of Norma Kassirer’s process: pen and paper, computer, notebooks… I know that Norma wrote every day, usually in the morning, and was an ardent reviser of her work. Something else that strikes me is the way her work seems of a whole: a notebook of asemic writing, a surreal tale of a lost doll and a cultural revolution, a large painting called Mechanical Rabbit (now held by the Burchfield Penney Art Center)—all spring from a signal signature.

How would she have handled a bad review of her work? I think silence has been the most troubling response regarding Norma’s work. She had many promising publishing opportunities which simply dissipated; I believe to some extent this is endemic to all writers, especially with the way publishing falls victim to economy.

But the losses I’m talking about were more tragic in nature…Norma’s books for young readers had been guided into print by the legendary children’s publisher Velma V. Varner (“discoverer” of the young S. E. Hinton), who envisioned a great writing career for Norma, but who died too young of cancer in 1972. Other literary colNorma Kassirer leagues who championed

her writing but died too soon include Donald Barthelme and John Gardner. I think these personal loses had the side effect of isolating Norma in terms of what we now call literary networks.

While her work did garner strong critical endorsement (both The Hidden Wide and Katzenjammered were reviewed favorably in the Review of Contemporary Fiction, a journal published by the Dalkey Archive), I think Norma may have oftener than not felt like a fish out of water. (See her hilarious story “No Democracy in Miracles or in Art” in Blatant Artifice, vol. 2 (1986)!) Her work seems set apart from any school, yet she was friends with almost every other writer and artist in Buffalo.

Which writer would Kassirer most like to have a drink with, and why? For Norma: probably Lewis Carroll! Though Forster, Beckett, and Nabokov wouldn’t be far down on her list.

What’s the biggest mistake Kassirer felt she made as a writer? Norma did speak regrettably about parting ways with an agent who liked her work…I don’t know all the details of what caused them to disassociate, but I knew she felt it didn’t help her publishing any. Also, she voiced concern that she had not spent enough time sending work out. This takes time away from the work of writing, but it can also lead to further possibilities.

On the other hand, Norma’s solitude gave her conviction: She corresponded for many years with the editor of a high-profile literary magazine, who continuously solicited and rejected her stories, telling her they were almost there. Finally—as told to me—she asked herself: Do I want to write stories, or do I want to write a certain type of magazine story? And she quit the correspondence with the editor. (Though she often thought to turn those letters into a story!)

Who was Norma reading? Before she passed away, I recall Norma rereading her favorites— she said she was “testing” these works to see if they held up as she remembered, and she seemed to find that most did! The books she was rereading were—among others—those of Flann O’Brien, Harry Mathews, and Nicholson Baker.

Where did Norma Kassirer find her reading? I imagine Norma found books everywhere, and especially through Talking Leaves Books here in Buffalo, including a complete run of the tiny and astonishing Hanuman series. I imagine her frequent visits to antique shops and garage sales also brought her the many editions of Alice in Wonderland and “Aliciana” she collected.

I want to use this question as a chance to talk about other influences upon her writing as well—both the poems and her fiction. Her brother David, a poet who died young, left her his burgeoning library of early New Directions books, which included the first pamphlet James Laughlin ever printed, Pianos of Sympathy by Montagu O’Reilly. This work had a strong effect on the course of Norma’s writing practice.

Also important to her were the books she inherited from her father’s library, including many adventure books for boys; “forbidden books” her mother kept in the attic, like Djuna Barnes’s Nightwood; and a cache of family papers, including the letters and diaries of a youthful ancestor who had been a minister and worried greatly over the worthiness of his soul…

For Norma, the written wor(l)d was an intimate affair and a familial one, full of all the history and lore and secrecy that family stories entail.

Read Norma Kassirer’s poems at dailypublic.com. P

MINNOWS SMALL AS SIXTEENTH NOTES

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MUSIC SPOTLIGHT

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ditional folk music. And a bad breakup. And Joanna Newsom. And ice cream. Breaking up with her ex-partner was freeing, she says. Rather than coming home and flipping on Netflix, she had free time to channel the pain of breaking up into her songs. She was never able to finish her songs before, says Mok. Now she can. “I’ve started a lot of songs in my lifetime, but this made me really get my act together,” she says.

One of their major musical achievements so far is a beautiful, lilting, yet tragic song called “O Amaranta!” The title of the song is taken from a character in the book One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez.

“The first time we performed that song, it was the day that Gabriel Garcia Marquez passed away. I had no idea. It was this coincidence for me.”

In the book, Amaranta is all about death, says Mok. She’s a plain Jane who is obsessed with sewing her own funeral shroud.

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Katie Weissman and Sharon Mok. PHOTO BY CHARLES PHAM

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Allentown Art-Fest Music-Fest..

IF THE MEMBERS OF BUFFALO INDIE-FOLK

band Tiny Rhymes were to get band tattoos, they’d all get watermelons and they’d do it today. It’s their one-year band anniversary, or “bandiversary,” as they like to call it, but don’t worry, parents of Sharon Mok and Katie Weissman—the primary members of Tiny Rhymes— they don’t actually intend on getting matching band tattoos.

“We started playing last summer, so we would rehearse and then have a barbecue. Sharon would always show up with a six-pack of beer and a whole watermelon, so whenever I see a watermelon it makes me think of the beginning of Tiny Rhymes,” Weissman tells me as the three of us sit on the patio of Caffe Aroma in the center of the Elmwood Village, the grey storm clouds gathering on the horizon.

Tiny Rhymes has been through a few incarnations in the short year that the band has existed.

In fact, it seems okay to call Tiny Rhymes a collective rather than a band. Sometimes they’re a duo, sometimes they’re a solo act, and sometimes they’re a full band. When they’re a full band, the lineup usually consists of Mok on guitar and lead vocals, Weissman on the cello and backup vocals, Kathryn Koch on violin and vocals, Tony Lannone as bassist, and drummer Brendan Fitzgerald.

When Tiny Rhymes comes to Nietzsche’s on June 11 as part of our series The Public Presents, they’ll perform as a trio—Mok, Weissman, and Koch—alongside a couple of other talented bands, Blue Stone Groove, and Brad Gower & Eavan Kaderbeck, presented with help from the Good Neighborhood.

Mok is considered the primary songwriter of the band. “We started off with a bang. I had written some songs before I found all of the members.”

The first to join Mok was her friend Ross Aftel, who at the time was a UB grad student and percussionist.

“He really encouraged me to get out there and make music and play publicly,” says Mok. Then

10 THE PUBLIC / JUNE 10, 2015 / DAILYPUBLIC.COM

he left for Serbia, but before he left, he introduced Mok to another Buffalo-based cellist, T. J. Borden. Weissman was dating Borden at the time, and as dating cellists, they’d trade gigs if one of them was unavailable. Borden had a gig lined up with Mok, which he couldn’t make, and suggested Weissman take the gig. A best friendship began.

Mok believes that once the band writes their new record, rehearses it, performs it live, road-tests it, gets comfortable with it, and finally records it, then they’ll have a permanent lineup to tour with. “I feel like with this kind of music, with the broad folk genre, your hometown band might be very different than your touring band. That’s a logistical thing, it’s a commitment thing, and the music allows for it,” says Weissman, who sits on the patio next to her dog, Emma.

They’ve met a lot of bands like that while on tour, says Mok, including one they especially enjoyed, led by singer/songwriter Marian Mclaughlin. “She writes all of her own stuff. Sometimes she has an entire mini-orchestra with her and sometimes it’s her and a bassist and sometimes it’s just her.”

They met Mclaughlin on one of the tours they’ve already embarked on as a young band. Last fall they travelled down to the Baltimore Folk Fest before stopping in Frederick, Maryland and Philadelphia—shooting a music video in the process.

“Going on tour with your band for the first time is a very special experience,” says Weissman.

They have an EP, A Kinder History, which they recorded at GCR, coming out June 23.

Mok and Weissman have their songwriting routine figured out, for the most part. Mok comes to Weismann with a skeleton of a song—chords, maybe a melody, and part of the arrangement of the song and Weissman helps her fill in the blanks, even scoring the music—creating sheet music so that they don’t lose track of their progress.

“I just really want to be able to write a good song,” says Mok, who is inspired by Chinese tra-

“The characters in the book hire a guy in town to make a piano lift for them, and I’m a piano rebuilder so I was really interseted in this topic.” Oh yeah, did I mention that Mok is a piano rebuilder, too? Yes, she rebuilds pianos. Here comes a tangent: Mok got into piano rebuilding when she met a blind man on a bus in Toronto. He needed help finding an address, so she helped him and they ended up becoming friends.

He’s a piano tuner, she says, and he came over to tune her piano. In return, she would go over to his house and read his mail to him among other things. She quickly realized that she enjoyed working with pianos and soon ended up at piano tech school. End tangent. Back to Amaranta.

By sewing her own funeral shroud, Amaranta was grieving her own death before she even died.

“I found it really interesting that she was trapped in this mundane act, because as soon as she finished the last stitch, she’d drop dead,” says Mok. “Sometimes you can get inspiration from random places that don’t necessarily have to do with your own emotional landscape, but you can tie your own personality into them,” Weissman adds.

Mok’s personality is ingrained into Tiny Rhymes.

In fact, Tiny Rhymes is technically her name, too. It’s her Chinese name: Sui-Wun, which technically means small poem or small rhyme.

Music is built right into her name.

Weissman’s musical history goes back almost as far, too. She remembers sitting under the piano while her dad would practice. She started playing the cello when she was three. According to her mother, Weissman saw Yo-Yo Ma on Sesame Street when she was 18 months old and her love affair with the cello began. “That’s the story,” says Weissman. “It must have been the sound of the cello that I loved, but it could have been him, because he’s such a charasmatic guy.”

As the grey clouds start to move directly overhead and threaten to pour down on us, Mok reveals the ultimate goal of Tiny Rhymes.

“I have very vague goals about becoming a better songwriter,” she says, finishing the last drop of her IPA. “That’s pretty much all I care about, and what can get me there is continuing to play with excellent musicians who inspire me. Katie is an amazing cellist, Kathryn is an amazing violinist. They both can sing and it’s great. I’ve been surprised by the successes that we’ve had due to people watching us perform and being interested in us. “ Weissman smiles, adding that Tiny Rhymes wouldn’t exist without the help of their local collegues. “The Buffalo music community is so intertwined and supportive and cooperative, and that’s not something that we’ve found in other cities, and it’s a huge part of why we’ve been sucP cessful so far.”

PUBLIC QUESTIONNAIRE THEATER

THE PUBLIC QUESTIONNAIRE:

DARLEEN PICKERING HUMMERT

BY ANTHONY CHASE DARLEEN PICKERING HUMMERT IS one of Buffalo’s most admired character actresses. She is a perennial Mistress Quickly at Shakespeare in Delaware Park, or an Irish wife and neighbor at Irish Classical Theatre Company; she is reliable in the Polish American world of Tom Dudzick, or as any of a range of character women in Neil Simon, including Brighton Beach Memoirs and Broadway Bound. Within this realm, Darleen proves to have astonishing range: She is alternatingly loving or tyrannical; she can be Irish or Polish or Jewish. Among her most memorable roles she counts the spy next door in Pack of Lies, and the strict and unyielding daughter of an aging father in I’m Not Rappaport at the Kavinoky. These performances have earned the actress a litany of Artie Award nominations—five in all.

Darleen’s stage persona is so vivid, that sometimes one is not sure if she actually played a role, or if she merely should have. Did she ever actually play the mother in Barefoot in the Park, or is that merely perfect for her? Did she ever play Mrs. Brice in Funny Girl? Poncia in House of Bernard Alba? Amanda in Glass Menagerie? Winnie in Happy Days? Mattie Fae in August: Osage County? Is there a stage version of Rear Window, because “Dar” could so channel the Thelma Ritter persona!

In addition to her work as an actress, Darleen is accomplished as a director, as a writer, as a producer, as a casting director, and as a publicist. I fully expect that if she is doing a show at the time of my death, she will put flyers on the cars in the parking lot of the funeral home. She is co-founder of Theatre for Change, which, for 25 years, has produced shows about social issues in order to facilitate discussion and education, often in corporate settings.

Darleen just finished a run as Gingy in Love, Loss and What I Wore by Nora Ephron and Delia Ephron, at O’Connell & Company. The character shares the story of her life by telling about the clothes she wore during significant episodes of her past. It is a good part for her. Darleen is skilled at evoking a sense of nostalgia in her performances, pulling on specific details of her characters’ lives in a way that allows audiences to connect to their own pasts, whether it is the memories of growing up in Buffalo’s First Ward, or of our own Irish-Polish-Jewish-Cockney aunts and uncles, recalled from childhood.

Here, Darleen deploys her quick wit and sense of nostalgia to the Public Questionnaire.

What word would your friends use to describe you? Driven. Dedicated. Nurturing.

Elegant. (Okay, I lied about that last one.)

What quality in your most recent character is most unlike your own personality?

Gingy is very open and shares a lot about herself, while I’m much more guarded. (Trust issues?)

What quality in her is most like your own personality? Her resilience.

When and where were you the happiest?

Standing in a square in Galway on May 5, 2008, feeling the presence of my mom, who had always wanted to visit Ireland. She was a fierce and loving South Buffalo Irish-American woman who never had the means or opportunity to do so.

What is your idea of hell on earth? Two words: extreme camping.

What is your greatest fear? Failure. Always been an over-achiever and it’s exhausting.

Which talent do you most wish you had?

Just one: that I could sing like Ella.

What superpower do you most wish you had? Actually, I have it—the amazing power that every actor and writer has—taking an audience on a journey, making them laugh, cry, think, and on occasion maybe even change for the good.

What would you change about your appearance? Too many things to list. I’m working on fixing all of them one at a time. I’ll let you know when I get it just right.

What trait do you most despise in others? Any form of bullying or abuse perpetrated on someone—physical, emotional, verbal.

What trait do you most despise in yourself?

My addiction to clutter. Every so often, I get the time to really clean and organize all the “stuff ” in our house, but give me ten minutes and it will all be back to the way it was.

What do you most value in your friends?

Their generosity and positivity—being there and bringing out the best in me and others.

What do you consider to be your greatest accomplishment? Our Theatre for Change these last 25 plus years—working with clients to start a dialogue with their employees and colleagues on some very difficult issues. It’s been challenging to stay afloat, but because we have some of our area’s leading talent involved in all aspects of what we do, we’re still standing— and thriving.

What is your guilty pleasure? Dancing With the Stars, but I don’t really feel guilty about it.

What character from fiction do you identify with most? Atticus Finch, who embodies values I so admire and aspire to, all in one character: integrity, simplicity, spirituality in the purest sense, love for family, and being a strong advocate for positive social change.

What person from history do you identify with most? Gloria Steinem. She’s my hero.

What do you consider to be the most overrated virtue? Neatness.

On what occasion do you lie? At least once a month, when I declare firmly, “I will not overextend myself.”

What was the subject of your last Google search? Current St. Louis Cardinals baseball scores for the die-hard fan, Richard Hummert.

If you come back in another life, what person would you like to be? Nora Ephron or Mel Brooks.

What is your most prized possession?

The numerous stage families I’ve been fortunate to be a part of—casts, directors, writers, designers, crews and staffs. Currently enjoying being with my four sweet sisters in Love, Loss, and What I Wore—Sandra, Mary, Melissa and our fearless leader, Mary Kate. Such intense collaborations and what a reward in the end of the day!

What role, in which you will never be cast, is actually perfect for you? Playing Grace Kelly in a biopic.

What is your motto? “Life is like dancing.

If we have a big floor, many people will dance.

Some will get angry when the rhythm changes.

But life is changing all the time.” —Miguel P Ángel Ruiz DAILYPUBLIC.COM / JUNE 10, 2015 / THE PUBLIC

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EMERSONIAN TREE MUMMIFICATION (DELAWARE PARK) / MAX COLLINS’s new show, Last Exit, opens this Friday, June 12, at Hi-Temp Fabrications (79 Perry Street), with a reception 7-11pm.

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ZEALOT Cool Little Music Session (Video) Recommended If You Like: Yuck, Dinosaur Jr., No Age

Pizza Club Productions featured the Fredonia-bred fuzz trio in the third installment of its Cool Little Music Session series. Filmed in North Buffalo, the clip includes performances of “Spent” and “Magic Eye.”

ARKELLS THURSDAY JUNE 11 6PM / CANALSIDE, 44 PRIME ST. / FREE [ROCK] Hailing from just around the corner in Hamilton, Ontario, alt rock band Arkells are steadily becoming a household name in this city, returning to larger and larger crowds for each performance. In 2011 the five-piece band signed to Universal Music Canada to release their second full-length album, Michigan Left, marking their emergence onto the mainstream Canadian music scene. The album was nominated for the Rock Album of the Year at the 2012 JUNO Awards, and later that year the band was named Best Live Act by CBC Radio 3. They followed that up with 2014’s High Noon, for which they hired producer Tony Hoffer—known for his work with Phoenix and M83—to modernize their already highly polished retro-tinted pop-rock sound. Though the band is still maybe one step away from full-fleged American fame, they’re aiming in the right direction. Arkells comes to Canalside as part of their free Thursday concert series on June 11. -CORY PERLA

WEDNESDAY JUNE 10

been entangled in an investigation by the US Attorney over dubious allegations, but this past December the nightmare ended with the charges being reduced and Brose being placed on probation. Now a “free” man again, Brose has been able to return to the studio and pick up where he left off. Indicted is composed of new print work that is based off his acclaimed 1997 film, De Profundis. If there is one opening that you attend this weekend, this should be the one. -TD

Lindsey Stirling 6pm Artpark, 450 South 4th St. $17

HOTMEDIUMMILD Mild (EP)

RIYL: Slackjaw, Wesley Willis, Kimya Dawson

The Queen City Music Lottery band released its debut collection of material in the four-track demo EP, Mild, prior to last weekend’s QCML showcase.

The band features members of Difficult Night, Mallwalkers, and Scajaquada Creeps.

[POP] As one of Forbes magazine's "30 Under 30 In Music: The Class of 2015," with a million singles sold last year and a #2 album on the Billboard 200 chart, 28-year-old violin prodigy and former America's Got Talent contestant Lindsey Stirling's got it going on. Her stirring blend of strings and electronica is captivating and unusual, but when you add in the fact that she choreographs her live performances—on full display at Artpark this Wednesday—she truly becomes one of a kind. Occasionally, America's Got Talent actually finds some. -CJT

Men Without Hats 8pm Seneca Niagara Bear's Den, 310 4th St $25-$35

Chris O’ Leary 7pm Spotsmen's Tavern, 326 Amherst St. $15-$20

[ROCK] If you followed Levon Helm's work post-the Band, you're probably familiar with Chris O'Leary. O'Leary's bluesy pipes and harp-blowing prowess served as the lead in Helm's band the Barnburners. With an upright bass and a pair of brass-men, O'Leary's own band oozes old-timey swagger with bits of jump-blues and edgy shuffles that'll keep you on your feet and moving, this Wednesday at the Sportsmen's Tavern. -CJT

MDNT

“Baptize” (song)

RIYL: Maxwell, The Weekend, How to Dress Well

The latest track from the Rochester-raised R&B artist was produced by up-and-coming Buffalo beat-maker YLXR. The smooth cut of soulful electro will be included on mdnt’s debut EP, XII Labors, set to drop this August.

LOCAL SHOW PICK OF THE WEEK HUMBLE BRAGGERS EP RELEASE SHOW MOHAWK PLACE / 47 E MOHAWK ST SAT / JUNE 13 / 5PM / $5

THURSDAY JUNE 11 Sleepy Hahas 7pm Studio at the Waiting Room, 334 Delaware Ave. $8

[ROCK] Buffalo Spree's Best Local Original Music Act of 2014 nearly flew the coop recently, threatening to leave us for the milder temperatures of Georgia. Opting instead to stick around, the band is shopping for a replacement drummer as it readies the release of a new disc, the first single from which is "Deep River," a fun, freewheeling electro-psych mishmash with equal parts falsetto and neo-industrial clang. Fasten your seatbelts for Sleepy Hahas with the Soft Love, Sheds, and Planet Three at Studio at the Waiting Room this Thursday, June 11.

-CJT

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FortyForForty 7pm Hallwalls, 341 Delaware Ave.

[ART] Alternative art spaces are often born from a place of necessity and passion, surviving on a day-to-day model, with the future unknown. Ten years is an eternity for an art space to exist in this day and age, when most arts organizations must raise money constantly to exist. Hallwalls happens to have the most fun way to do so. Founded in 1974, Hallwalls is celebrating its 40th year with a rock star list of contributors to this auction.

If you are on the market and looking for a beautiful new artwork to hang in your office or home, or if you just want to be a good samaritan, come out on Thursday, June 11 and show your support. The catalogue for this show is available online at hallwalls.org.

-TINA DILLMAN

FRIDAY JUNE 12 Indicted: New Work by Lawrence Brose 6pm BT & C Gallery, 1250 Niagara Street free

[ART] This Friday, June 12 will go down in history, as it marks the one-year anniversary of BT &C Gallery’s existence, and for the first time since 2009, local experimental filmmaker and artist Lawrence Brose will exhibit his artwork. For the last six years, Brose has

[NEW WAVE] Your eyes are not deceiving you: Men Without Hats are, in fact, still relevant, in that the 1980ss-era synth-pop collective will play at the Bear’s Den on Friday, June 12. Best known for creating “The Safety Dance” and “Pop Goes the World”—two of the most familiar songs of the 1980s—Men Without Hats built on the new wave sound, bridging the gap between punk and disco with electro-popping, synth-laden cuts. Now comprised of Ivan and Stefan Doroschuk, the band has undergone frequent lineup changes over the years, but Ivan has been a mainstay and his baritone vocals are characteristic of the Men Without Hats sound.

-KELLIE POWELL

Zomboy 8pm Town Ballroom, 681 Main St. $23

[ELECTRONIC/DANCE] Zomboy is the moniker of Joshua Mellody, a UK-based dubstep producer who caught his first big break in 2011 with the release of his single "Organ Donor"—a hard-hitting dubstep number which incorporates vocoder samples and elements of drum and bass. The single quickly spiraled up beat-port charts and immediately put the young producer on the electronic music press radar. It was a highly promising start for the emerging artist. No one would guess however, that Mellody's history with music goes back to a background of recording and mastering the music of bands and solo artists. It was only upon attending the Academy of Contemporary Music and enrolling in the production program where he discovered

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BEAUTY PILL FRIDAY JUNE 12 8PM / MOHAWK PLACE, 47 E MOHAWK ST. / $8-$10 [INDIE] Ongoing personnel changes marked the pair of EPs and singular full-length from DC’s Beauty Pill during their initial push in the early to mid-2000s, but nothing derailed things quite like focal point Chad Clark’s bout with viral cardiomyopathy. Ten years and a few surgeries after from the band’s last release, Clark and company return with Beauty Pill Describes Things as They Are, a wild, shapeshifting art-pop ride that makes good on the promise alluded to on 2004’s The Unsustainable Lifestyle. A visionary talent, Clark seems to understand instinctively the mechanics of pop music—it’s an asset that allows him to play with the form, pushing at its edges and deviating from the template without losing the plot altogether. The results are compelling and rife with experimentation—often surprising, at turns pretty and jarring, but never boring. It’s just what you’d expect from an album that begins with the line, “I want more life, Fucker!” Currently a five-piece, Beauty Pill comes to Mohawk Place on Friday, June 12 with Lips and Returners.

-CHIRSTOPHER JOHN TREACY

an insatiable appetite for electronic music, inspired by dubstep prodigies like Flux Pavillion, Skrillex, and Rusko. Zomboy quickly transformed from an obscure name to one of the stars of the bass music world—renown for his innovative take on the genre through his experimentation with unusual production styles and blending the traditional two step meter with various styles of dance rhythms.

Thanks to MNM Presents, dubstep mavens and dance-a-holics alike are in for a special treat this Friday, June 12 when Zomboy is set to hit the stage at Town Ballroom alongside special guests Laxx and Notixx.

-JEANNETTE CHIN

SATURDAY JUNE 13 SonReal 6pm Studio at the Waiting Room, 334 Delaware Ave. $10-$13

[HIP HOP] By way of independently releasing a stream of mixtapes alongside compellingly humorous music videos on YouTube, Vancouver-based rapper SonReal, real name Aaron Hoffman, caught the attention of the press and the hip hop community alike, leading him to share a JUNO nomination with fellow Canadian hip hop artist Drake. The swaggering single "Everywhere We Go" is paired with a Napoleon Dynamite-inspired video, fueled by an oddball cast of characters with Hoffman playing the post-pubescent nerdling himself.

This Saturday, June 13, he'll perform at the Studio at the Waiting Room alongside Buffalo hip-hop collective Evident Truth and local artists J3, LumberJackMatt, and Rizzo.

-JC

Dreamland Art Fair 10am Dreamland, 387 Franklin St. free

[ART] During the massive Allentown Art Festival happening this weekend, the new kids on the block over at Dreamland are hosting their own curated art fair that includes works by dozens of local contemporary art-

ists. All works will be available for purchase and range between $1 and $250, so, if you are looking for something unique and not yet branded, come on over to this artist-run alternative art space and support the local economy by buying some great art made by emerging artists. -TD

PRESENTS

SUNDAY JUNE 14 Willowbank Jazz Festival 1pm Riverbend Inn & Vineyard, 16104 Niagara Pky $45

[JAZZ] The 12th annual Willowbank Jazz Festival will take place on Sunday, June 14 at the Riverbend Inn & Vineyard at Niagara On The Lake with headliner Guido Basso.

Basso, the well-known Canadian jazz trumpeter will be joined by a full band. Set to kick off the festival are the Bourbon Street Buskers, followed by pianist and singer/ songwriter Tyler Yarema with his band His Rhythm, and traditional jazzists Climax Jazz Band. -CP

BLUE STONE GROOVE

MONDAY JUNE 15 White Lung 8pm Mohawk Place, 47 E Mohawk St. $10-$12

[PUNK] Vancouver punk powerhouse White Lung has consistently wowed fans and critics alike with a trio of fantastic albums, including last year's Deep Fantasy, the band's first disc for the Domino label. With a hard-driving, no-bullshit rhythmic foundation, front-gal Mish Way leads with the sort of detached indifference that recalls early Blondie—spandex animal prints included—further aided by a dismissive snarl. White Lung breathes life into Mohawk Place on Monday, June 15 with Obliterations and the Utah Jazz.-CJT

BRAD GOWER & EVAN KADERBECK

TINY RHYMES

THURS JUNE 11 / 8PM / $5 / NIETZSCHE’S / 248 ALLEN ST FREE ENTRY W/ INSTRUMENT DONATION TO

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PHOTO COURTESTY OF ALLENTOWN VILLAGE SOCIETY, INC

58TH ANNUAL ALLENTOWN ART FESTIVAL SATURDAY JUNE 13 - SUNDAY JUNE 14 10AM / ALLENTOWN [ART] Everybody knows what the Allentown Art Festival is: It’s a citywide tradition; a marker that good weather has finally arrived; a chance to refresh your art collection with new pieces from paintings to ceramics; and a good excuse to explore the neighborhood you think you know. The 58th annual Allentown Art Festival will take place this Saturday, June 13 and Sunday June 14. Artists come from all over the country—from New York City to Huntsville, Alabama and Buford, Georgia—to participate in the festival, but this year we’ve compiled a list of some of the best homegrown talent that will be on display.

1. Artist Kelsey Merkle of Clarence Center combines the life-like with the surreal in her colorful designs. Many of Merkle’s photo-realistic paintings are of familiar faces—celebrities like Robert Downey Jr. or Benedict Cumberbach—some are of serene scenes, but all are done with an attention to detail that is unmatched. Find her on Delaware Avenue between North and Allen Streets.

2. In the business of taking beautiful, sprawling nature shots, it seems that photographer Jim Saba has an uncanny ability to pick just the right spot to set up his camera in locations that range from the Grand Canyon to places a little closer to home, like Letchworth State Park. This veteran photographer’s tent is a must-stop for photo lovers. Find his booth at the corner of West Tupper and Delaware.

3. Sculptor Thomas Hooper has served the community by teaching sculpting classes for UB’s Creative Craft Center, the Trinity Episcopal Church, and the Greater Buffalo Jewish Center for years. He’s also acted as director of the Carnegie Art

Center, bringing insight as an expert potter and clay sculptor. You can find this Williamsville-based artist’s clay pieces on Franklin Street near Virginia.

4. Lancaster’s Laurel Davern took home the second-place prize for jewelry at last year’s Allentown Art Festival. The artist’s style is is unique. Natural elements— forest and wood themes—are carved out of metal to create one-of-a-kind designs, works of fine art that you hang not on your wall but from your neck. You can find the jeweler on Delaware between Virginia and Edward Streets.

5. They call what artist Cheektowaga native Brian Newton does “creative crafts.” What he does is he takes a chunk of wood and makes the coolest bowl you’ve ever seen, or the most ornate vase you can imagine. Most of the stuff he carves transcends the medium itself, going beyond what we think wood can look like. Check out Brian Newton’s Outdoor Expressions on Delaware near Virginia Street.

-CORY PERLA

Widespread Panic

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PUBLIC APPROVED Mumford & Sons

[ROCK] For anyone who ventured out last summer to catch Widespread Panic, there was some unfortunate weather that prohibited the band from playing a full set. Normally the band plays two sets, but the lightning that day stopped the show dead in its tracks before they took the stage a second time.

This Tuesday, June 16, Widespread Panic will be back for a makeup at Artpark. There is no opener, so get there early to enjoy a full night of Panic. -JS

5pm The Commons at Butler's Barracks, 440 King St $69.50

[INDIE] Mumford & Sons has been around for almost a decade now, but it wasn’t until their second release, Babel, in 2012 that the British folk rockers really saw their careers take off. That release and the recent Wilder Mind both debuted at number one in the UK and US and placed them among the leaders in the recent explosion and reintroduction of folk music to the mainstream. Besides the multiple Grammys and headlining of major music festivals, the band’s honest music and natural timbre has beckoned many fans to return to tasteful instrumentation and honest lyrics. This Monday, June 15, Mumford & Sons will take the stage at the beautiful and historic The Commons at Butler’s Barracks at Niagara-on-the-Lake. Opening this special evening will be tour mates, the Maccabees. With the venue being less than an hour from the greater Buffalo region, it’s worth the drive for the picturesque landscape and the equally beautiful music that will be shared that night. -JEREMIAH SHEA

Benjamin Booker 7pm Tralf Music Hall, 622 Main St. $15-$17

[ROCK] A scrappy, garage-blues aesthetic informs New Orleans singer-songwriter Benjamin Booker's 2014 ATO Records debut. His live gig takes that edginess a few steps further, making him a captivating and impassioned performer that's known to pack an unexpected wallop on stage. Rolling Stone named his Lollapalooza performance the festival's "best rock star moment—best experienced live and turned up to 11," which nicely frames what you can expect from his upcoming appearance at Tralf Music Hall on Tuesday, June 16. at 7 p.m., $15/$17. -CJT

TUESDAY JUNE 16 Glass Animals 7pm Asbury Hall, 341 Delaware Ave. $17-$20

[INDIE] Ani DiFranco’s Babeville concert venue doesn’t have a consistent stream of music playing, but when they do bring an act in, the quality matches that of the venue. This Tuesday, June 16, Glass Animals will be coming to town for an evening at Asbury Hall. The British indie rockers are led by singer David Bayley, who interestingly enough draws influence from his involvement and study in medicine and neuroscience. The result is a cathartic blend of electronic and live instrumentation, deep in texture and emotion.

Getting things started will be Gilligan Moss who is touring with the band throughout the tour. -JS

6pm Artpark, 450 South 4th St. $12

TYLER, THE CREATOR SUNDAY JUNE 14 7PM / TOWN BALLROOM, 681 MAIN ST. / $30 [HIP HOP] Tyler, the Creator doesn’t make it easy for fans to like him. On the one hand, he tends to spew the occasional homophobic verse; on the other, he launches an anti-homophobia merch line. There are some conflicting tones going on here for sure, and it could be that the 24-year-old rapper, real name Tyler Okonma, is trying to separate his onstage persona from his real-life persona, but if that’s the case, he really needs to further develop his onstage character.

The outrageous and controversial Odd Future leader returned this year with Cherry Bomb, a pretty aggressive alt hip hop record full of some major guest appearances, including Schoolboy Q, Kanye West, Lil Wayne, and Pharrell Williams. The record includes a track called “Buffalo.” It may not have anything to do with our fair city, but Tyler, the Creator will return here anyhow—to the Town Ballroom on Sunday, June 14 with Odd Future cohort, Taco. -CORY PERLA

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WEDNESDAY JUNE 17 The Soul Rebels 9pm Buffalo Iron Works, 49 Illinois St. $17

[FUNK] The Soul Rebels are an explorative brass band straight out of New Orleans who touch on a wide array of styles. Incorporating everything from jazz to hip hop, the band has in parallel shared the stage with a healthy mix of musicians—from Kanye West to the Allman Brothers. Next Wednesday, June 17, the Soul Rebels will take the stage at Buffalo Iron Works. Opening the night will be The Rockaz—a Buffalo band that mixes similar sounds of reggae, funk, ska, and hip hop. -JS

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BLONDE REDHEAD TUESDAY JUNE 16 7PM / THE WAITING ROOM, 334 DELAWARE AVE. $20-$25 [INDIE] Listening to Blonde Redhead‘s latest album Barragán, one can’t help but feel compelled to sit up straight, cook a fine meal, and unwind. Sparse guitar lines and hard-panned flutes are sandwiched between natural sound recordings of wind and flowing water. The dichotomy provokes imageries of paradox: an acrophobic clenching his wind-blown umbrella, a well dressed man strapped to the top of a horse.

A bit of kindly probing is all that was necessary for singer and guitarist Amedeo Pace to open up and confirm the origins of this duality. We talked to Pace in anticipation of Blonde Redhead’s show at the Waiting Room on Tuesday, June 16.

You’ve lived in New York City for more than 20 years now. Do you ever have visions of a quieter life in the country, away from all that hostile grumbling?

I’ve often thought about getting a place upstate. I’ve been upstate a lot lately and I’ve been riding horses as well, but I do worry about ticks and stuff like that. Growing up in Italy I never had to worry about lying in the grass or going in the forest and being barefoot, but it's such a worry there with Lyme disease. You must know about it too? [Interviewer nods somberly.]

But whenever I’m in the country I feel so great.

I am attracted to living away from New York, and especially where I live now in Brooklyn; they’re building all around me. I initially chose this neighborhood because it made me feel like I was in the country but there are now like four building sites around my apartment and I think its going to continue to change. It’s really important to me to have a place where I know that I can walk or bicycle and it gets quieter

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and quieter as I get closer to home and when I finally get there I have some oxygen and breathing space. I love being in nature but I also really feel like I need to have an activity; I would have a hard time feeling at peace with myself. Since I’ve been here for so long I would really have to learn how to be in nature properly, beyond just accepting the fact that it’s quiet and beautiful and I can just sit and relax.

Has this longing for peace and quiet inspired the use of field recordings on your new album? The field recordings come from our producer Drew [Brown]. I never really thought it would add this much, but then when he actually put it in the music I thought it was really, really beautiful. I never did have that mentality of recording sounds from the outside, although when I hear something that sounds amazing, whether it’s by nature or by machines or what’s happening around me I get really excited.

MIKE GORDON TUESDAY JUNE 16 7PM / TOWN BALLROOM, 681 MAIN ST. / $28-$32 [ROCK] At six years old, Mike Gordon kept a filing cabinet. Suffering from an insatiable urge to organize, he tucked in it hundreds of selftyped documents. He couldn’t help it. This compulsion followed him to adulthood even after his band, Phish, had grown into one of America’s highest-grossing touring acts. Today, things are different—at least a little.

Gordon turned 50 last week. He has a six-year-old of his own now, a daughter, Tessa. But in many ways, he’s still the kid with the filing cabinet. “Occasionally I can get caught up in the minutia of planning rather than doing,” he tells me while en route to Tessa’s ballet recital in rural Vermont. “They used to say it’s because I’m a Gemini and have too many interests, but I don’t know. Each decade I feel like I get better at cutting to the chase. You get to a certain age and you’re like, ‘What really counts?’”

Are you proud of what you accomplished on Barragán? It’s still hard for me to know how I feel about the album. It takes maybe a year or two to digest what we did and to start having a clear vision of what it meant to do this album and what it means in our history as a band. I don’t think I’m the person that’s supposed to say what I think about my own album.

Blonde Redhead has a truly cinematic sound. Do you have any recommendations for great films that you’ve seen lately? I’ve been having a little trouble sleeping so I’ve been watching these nature programs. I don’t know if you know this guy—David Attenborough? He narrates these BBC nature programs and his voice is just amazing. It’s been really calming me down watching and hearing him talk. They’re mostly about the planet and animals and plants and the sea water and tides.

They’re very interesting and calming for me to see that and experience that.

-ANDREW ESPOSITO

The longer we talk, the more evident it becomes: Gordon’s complex mind is a filing cabinet of its own. During our conversation he touches on, among other things: transcendental meditation, Phish—a band in which he’s played bass for more than three decades—the Bhagavad Gita, his solo career, lucid dreams, Oprah, psychedelic drugs, and the songwriting process. His speech pivots on “althoughs” and “then agains”—always considerate of opposing viewpoints. Thoughts cut off mid-sentence, new ones pick up in stride—“If I play a song too many times…I might’ve loved it before…everything is in flux. I guess that’s what Buddhists would tell you: Everything is impermanent.” His ideas wind together like his own knotty bass-lines. Then, without a hint of irony, Gordon pauses to consider the power of simplification. “You carve away your artistry like a sculpture,” he says. “If it seemed like there needed to be this many things in a song—this many chords, this many notes, this many grooves—maybe when you’re older you realize, ‘No, it doesn’t have to be all that.’ Recently I’ve carved away some of the notes—it wasn’t boring, it was just better. If you can love the fewer notes—or fewer anything—there could be a big payoff.” Say, for instance, in life.

Gordon credits his twice-daily transcendental meditation with helping him simplify things. “That’s been huge. It allowed me to take away time-consuming things, like organizing emails into files. I feel better than ever now—I’m doing what I want to be doing.”

This, no doubt, also applies to Gordon’s career. He seems to have found a healthy balance between Phish—the world’s preeminent jam band—and his solo group, billed simply as Mike Gordon, which is slated to appear at Town Ballroom on Tuesday, June 16.

In a sense, he’s simplified his outlook. “I approach it logistically, and I approach it emotionally,” he says. “My feeling right now is that I need both bands for very different reasons. There’s a lot of good about Phish.

The biggest one is musical inspiration. When I get together with guys I’ve been playing with for 32 years, a lot of stuff happens naturally—ways of not stagnating, linking up telepathically, all that—including growth.”

And while Gordon admits Phish’s success helps “fund his other stuff,” the relationships and music are “as good as ever—or better.”

Different, to be sure. Phish tours modestly these days. All four band members are fathers now. They cleaned up a drug-addled, vampiric backstage scene. To the surprise of many, Gordon has never tried psychedelic drugs. “A mind-altering experience can happen without them, I’ve been there,” he says. “In my dream-world and musical peak experiences, I’m nothing at all like my normal being. I’m more likely self-actualized and I’m more myself than ever.”

In fact, one of Gordon’s most profound musical experiences came recently at a Boston Symphony Orchestra performance in Massachusetts. He and Tessa were sitting front row as the pianist played Rachmanioff for 45 minutes without sheet music. “It was,” Gordon recalls, “ferocious and breathtaking and scary.” He suggested they leave at set-break. Tessa put her foot down. “No,” she said. “We’re staying right here.” Gordon laughs.

P “Being in the moment is what makes it so real.” -JOE DOHERTY DAILYPUBLIC.COM / JUNE 10, 2015 / THE PUBLIC 17

ARTS REVIEW

Untitled work by Denton Crawford.

AMID/IN WESTERN NEW YORK Volume three of the regional artists showcase at Hallwalls

BY JACK FORAN SOME WONDERFUL ART ON VIEW at the current—volume

three—Amid/In Western New York exhibit at Hallwalls. Such as Pam Glick’s variously abstract renditions of Niagara Falls. And Evelyne LeBlanc-Roberge’s cardboard packing boxes with some surprises. And a sweet little video about a sweet little technokid in a carnival milieu by an artist duo going by the name Flatsitter.

It works for the most part.

If you thought Andy Warhol had had the last word on packing boxes as art, you need to see LeBlanc-Roberge’s work. No Brillo labels here, just plain brown cardboard boxes, tape-sealed and stacked, ready to be picked up and delivered—or maybe just delivered—until you look closely and discover an odd bit of string on one of the boxes, a house key on another—it looks like the exhibit preparators had been hasty setting up, or hadn’t quite completely cleaned up before the opening—isn’t a bit of string at all, or the key a key, but these are inkjet printed—somehow—on the box brown cardboard.

You’ll want to feel to believe. And if you did feel—but the rule is, you don’t touch art, in a gallery, anyway—you’d discover that the clear tape on the boxes—most of it anyway—isn’t tape either, but again inkjet printed. And the cardboard flaps, where they come together—the break between the flaps—isn’t a break. Printed.

One of the boxes has some fragments of broken glass on it. You’d hesitate to finger broken glass. But if you did, it isn’t broken glass. At least as good pop art—joke art—in a good sense—as Andy Warhol’s boxes.

LeBlanc-Roberge has another quite different sort of piece. Ex18 THE PUBLIC / JUNE 10, 2015 / DAILYPUBLIC.COM

cept inkjet printed again, and trompe-l’oeil. A large section of blank concrete wall, it looks like. According to information on a handout, part of an elaborate project involving her artistic renderings of descriptions by actual prisoners of the spaces they are confined to versus spaces or places they would rather be in, that they remember or imagine but now cannot access.

Pam Glick’s paintings show Niagara Falls—the actual waterfall—in a dozen or so versions representing that many moods of the artist as much as aspects of the icon wonder. Thirteen ways of looking at a blackbird. “Niagara Falls is a subject I’ve been painting off and on since the ’80s,” she says in an artist’s statement.

“It symbolizes home. The pull of the water going over the ledge is a metaphor for both change and inevitability. The geometry of its 45-degree angle and contrasting elements have endless possibilities for me; stillness, motion, color, repetition, and mystery.

Taking it apart, I hope, allows the viewer to examine its meaning for themselves.”

Some of that happens. Most particularly, I thought, in the piece called Niagara Falls Diagram, in media listed as black paint marker on white board. The face of the falls as irregular grid. Furious and placid curtain. Changing and unchanging. Not imitative but reminiscent somehow of the minimalist art of Agnes Martin.

The Flatsitter video tells the story of a little girl who sews electronic devices of some sort—surveillance devices, possibly—into the innards of plush toys that she then circulates into the larger world as carnival sideshow prizes (she seems to have a deal going with the carney).

AMID/IN WESTERN NEW YORK HALLWALLS 341 DELAWARE AVE / HALLWALLS.ORG

Sculptor Bethany Krull has three works about “the complicated and often contradictory relationships humans maintain with other animals,” she explains in an artist’s statement. Departed consists of a ceramic sculpture mouse or rat in a shoebox satin-lined coffin. Surrogate consists of what looks like a space alien baby in a cradle holding a human species doll.

Allen Topolski has several combination found objects sculptures and graphic items, the found objects sometimes including lighting apparatus, sometimes audio components. Ian McCrohan has a complicated painting with collage elements intended allegory about landfills and the environment. Denton Crawford has a series of various media items, one consisting of a fake flower and fake denture, in blue and pink hues. Whereas Adrian Bertolone seems to aspire above all to be inscrutable. His artist’s statement—maybe explaining or describing one or maybe all of his several works in the show, or maybe not—reads in part: “A small car in a literal hamster wheel of stone roads and ivy with constant tire squeal. The arms and jaws in this place. If you read out the words, it makes a funny sound. I live in a house made of plastic and bones.”

The Amid/In Western New York show continues through July 3. P

REVIEW ARTS

ERIC EVINCZIK

The End of the Old Order by Eric Evinczik.

ARTSPACE BUFFALO GALLERY 1219 MAIN ST / BUFFALOARTSPACE.ORG

IMAGINE HISTORY MUSEUM DIORAMA DISPLAYS of longgone species. Picture grand pastoral landscapes teaming with prehistoric creatures, snakes, angels, and demons. Think Jurrasic Park meets Garden of Eden. The thirty-one paintings by Eric Evinczik present a vision of primitive behavior as we take an evolutionary trip back through time.

At first glance, we see colorfully lush and fanciful representational works featuring roaming dinosaurs. Look more closely to notice the detail of these dense environments as supernatural beings and animals from earlier eras are juxtaposed in pre-modern landscapes reminiscent of specific artists and movements from 17th Century Dutch to 19th Century Hudson River School.

The folktales and mythical stories pertaining to these beasts are gone now, but the artist provides a brief back story for each painting. An art educator with the Buffalo Public Schools, each of his paintings describe a specific encounter with Ceratosaur, Parasaurolophus, Triceratops, etc. While there is an otherworldly dreamlike quality to these scenes, they are grounded in science and mythology with equally weighty titles, such as: The End of the Old Order; Swamp Apocalypse; Cicle of Life.

PALEOPSYCHEDELIA Atavism: Paintings by Eric Evinczik at Artspace Buffalo Gallery

BY PATRICIA PENDLETON

IN GALLERIES NOW

BY TINA DILLMAN = ART OPENING 464 Gallery (464 Amherst Street, Buffalo, NY 14207 464gallery.com): Eclipsed: Art & Installation by Stephen Seguin, Jun 12-Jul 3, opening Fri Jun 12, 6-10pm. Wed-Fri: 12-6pm, Sat-Sun: 12-4pm, by event or appointment.

1045 Elmwood Gallery for the Arts (1045 Elmwood Avenue, Buffalo, NY 14222, 716-228, photographics2.com/store/ welcome-to-our-studio-1045-gallerystore): Stained Glass Works by Jace Totaro, Jun 11-Jun 20, opening Sat Jun 13, 6-9pm. Thu & Fri 11-6, Sat 11-4 and by appointment.

Albright-Knox Art Gallery (1285 Elmwood Avenue, Buffalo, New York 14222, 882-8700, albrightknox.org): Shake the Elbow: Dan Colen on view through Oct 18; Art’school “Inspired” Online Exhibition, on view through June 21; Art’school “Inspired” Exhibition on view through Jun 21; Jeff Koons: Gazing Ball on view through Aug 16. Tues-Sun 10am-5pm, open late First Fridays until 10pm.

Art Dialogue Gallery Custom Framing (5 Linwood Avenue, Buffalo, NY 14209. artdialoguegallery.com): Fiber Work by Estelle Hartman, on view till Aug 21. Tues-Fri 11am-5pm, Sat 11am3pm.

Artists Group Gallery (Western New York Artists Group) (1 Linwood Ave, Buffalo, NY 14209, 716-885-2251, wnyag.com): Screenprints: A Retrospective, work by Dorothy Markert, on view through July 10. Wed/Thu 11-5pm, Fri 11-4pm, Sat 11-2pm.

Betty’s Restaurant (370 Virginia Street, Buffalo, NY 14201, 362-0633, bettysbuffalo.com): Seeing and Being: Making Art in WNY Neighborhoods, group exhibition, on view through Jul 19.

Big Orbit (30d Essex Street, Buffalo, NY 14222, cepagallery.org/about-bigorbit): Skewed Perspective, an installation by Anne Muntges, opening reception Sat Jun 13, 8-11pm, on view through Aug 9. Fri-Sun 12-6pm.

BT&C Gallery (1250 Niagara Street, Buffalo, NY 14213, 604-6183, btandcgallery.com): Indicted, new work by Lawrence Brose, opening reception, Fri Jun 12, 6-9pm, on view through Jul 24.

Fri 12-5pm or by appointment. ¡Buen Vivir! (148 Elmwood Avenue, Buffalo, NY 14201): Struggles for Justice: Forests, Land and Human Rights-Late 80s to Late 90s, Photos

by Langelle, on view through Jun 19.

Fridays 3-8pm.

Buffalo Artspace Gallery (1219 Main Street, Buffalo, NY 14209, 812-0696, buffaloartspace.org): Atavism, new work by Eric Evinczik, on view June 2-30, opening reception Fri Jun 12, 7-10pm.

Buffalo Arts Studio (Tri Main Building 5th Floor, 2496 Main Street, Buffalo, NY 14214, 833-4450, buffaloartsstudio.org): Alicia Marvan: Auxiliary Constructions & Barbara Buckman: New Works, both shows on view through Jul 1. Tue-Fri 10am-5pm, Sat 10am-2pm, Fourth Fridays through 8pm.

Buffalo & Erie County Botanical Gardens (2655 South Park Avenue, Buffalo, NY 14218, 827-1584, buffalogardens.com): David & Julius McCann, on view in the Arcangel Gallery through Aug 9; Natural Conditions, Public Art Installation by Shayne Dark, on view through Oct 4. Mon-Sun 10am5pm.

Burchfield Penney Art Center (1300 Elmwood Avenue, Buffalo, NY 14222, 8786011, burchfieldpenney.org): Second Friday Activities-5:30-7:30pm: The Tins perform on the Front Yard, along with Art Making Workshops & at 7:30pm Screening of Paul Sharits by Francois Miron. Currently on view in the galleries: The Likeness of Being: Portraits

by Philip Burke, on view through Sep 13; Robert Blair: Selections from a Soldiers Portfolio, on view through Sep 27; Patteran: A Living Force & A Moving Power, on view through Sep 27; Emil Schult: Portrait of a Media Artist Pioneer, on view through Sep 27; The Scrutiny of Objects: sculptures by Robert A. Booth on view through Aug 30; Body Norms: Selections from the Spong Collection, on view through Aug 30; Inquisitive Lens: Richard Kegler/ P22 Type Foundry; Charles E. Burchfield: Audio Graphics, on view through Aug 23; Charles E. Burchfield: A Resounding Roar, on view through Aug

23; Tue, Wed, Fri & Sat 10am-5pm, Second Fridays till 8pm, Thu 10am-9pm, Sun 1-5pm. Admission varies, visit site for more information.

Burchfield Nature and Art Center (2001 Union Road, West Seneca, NY 14224, 677-4843, burchfieldnac.org): An Alaskan Adventure, artworks by Tom Dalbo, on view through Jun 28.

Mon-Fri 10-4pm, Sun 1-4pm, see site for upcoming classes.

Castellani Art Museum (5795 Lewiston Road, Niagara University, NY 14109, 286-8200, castellaniartmuseum.org): Patrick Foran: Defacement, on view through Aug 9; Artists View the Falls: 300 Years of Niagara Falls Imagery, on view through Aug 16. Tue-Sat 11am-5pm, Sun 1-5pm.

The CG Jung Center (408 Franklin Street, Side Entrance, Buffalo, NY 14202, 854-7457, apswny.com): Common Maladies of Uncommon Souls, works on paper by Joshua Nickerson, on view through Jul 31.

Dreamland (387 Franklin Street, Buffalo, NY 14202, facebook.com/dreamlandarts.buffalo/timeline): Art Fair, A curated art sale featuring dozens of local artists, Sat Jun 13 & Sun Jun 14, 10-6pm.

El Museo (91 Allen Street, Buffalo, NY 14202, 464-4692, elmuseobuffalo. org): Diversity Works, works from the collection of Gerald Mead, opening reception Fri Jun 12, 6-9pm, Collector Talk at 6pm, on view through Aug 7.

Tue-Sat 12-5pm.

Enjoy the Journey Art Gallery (1168 Orchard Park Road, West Seneca, NY 14224, 675-0204, etjgallery.com): Through Our Eyes, work by Suzanne & Carl Borowicz, on view through Jun 27. Tue & Wed 11-6pm, Thu & Fri 2-6pm, Sat 11-4pm.

Evinczik also hosts the Facebook page ”Mind Wide Open: A Contemporary Art Criticism Group,” a platform for lively discussion about all aspects of visual art today. The content of his painting can be linked to the notion of peaceful coexistence between all beings and nature found in the work of Thomas Cole and the Luminism movement of his student, Frederic Edwin Church. Yet, there is also kinship with the darker bio-apocalyptic futuristic visions of contemporary artist, Alexis Rockman.

The scientist Carl Sagan said that “extinction is the rule—survival is the exception.” The canvases are evidence of human survival and offer a playful stage where extinct animals gain immortality as they come alive in the 21st century. The exhibition at Artspace P Buffalo Gallery will remain on view through June.

org): Amid/In WNY Part 3, survey of local and regional contemporary artists, on view through July 3. Tue-Fri 11am6pm, Sat 11am-2pm.

14301, 282-7530, thenacc.org): Buffalo Niagara Art Association Spring Show, on view through Jun 14. Mon-Fri 9am5pm, Sat & Sun 12-4pm.

Hi-Temp (79 Perry Street, Buffalo, NY 14203, 852-5656, Gallery hours are by appointment only): Last Exit, work by David Mitchell, Max Collins & Flatsitter, opening reception Fri June 12, 7-11pm, on view till July 3. M-F 10am-4pm.

Indigo Art Gallery (47 Allen Street, Buffalo, NY 14202, 984-9572. indigoartbuffalo.squarespace.com): lakelines, recent paintings by Dorothy Fitzgerald, on view through Jun 27.

Wed & Fri 12-6pm, Thurs 12-7pm, Sat 12-3pm, and by appointment Sundays and Mondays.

Nina Freudenheim Gallery (140 North Street, Buffalo, NY 14201, 8825777, ninafreudenheimgallery.com): Lilt, New work by Kyle Butler, on view through Jun 24. Tue-Fri 10am-5pm, Sat & Mon open by appointment only.

Kenan Center House Gallery (433 Locust Street, Lockport, NY 14094, 433-2617 kenancenter.org/arts/gallery. asp): Fine Arts League of Buffalo 62nd Annual Spring Juried Open Exhibition, Jun 12-Jul 19, opening reception Sun Jun 28, 2-5pm. Mon-Fri 12-5pm & Sun 2-5pm.

Lockside Art Center (21 Main Street, Lockport, NY 14094, 478-0239, locksideartcenter.com): Photography Exhibition, opening reception Sat Jun 13, 2-4pm, on view through Jul 25. FriSun 12-4pm.

Manuel Barreto Furniture (430 Delaware Avenue, Buffalo, NY 14202, 8678937, manuelbarreto.com): The Art of Harold L. Cohen, on view through June 26. Tue-Sat 1-6pm.

Market Street Art Studios (247 Market Street, Lockport, NY 14094, 478-0248, marketstreetstudios.com): In the Whalen Gallery, Sue McKenna Retrospective for her Mom, on view through Jun 14. Mon-Sat 10am-5pm, Sun 11am-4pm.

Fargo House Gallery (287 Fargo Avenue, Buffalo, NY 14213, thefargohouse. com/, visit website for appointment): Currently on view, Caitlin Cass: Benjamin Rathbun Builds Buffalo.

Meibohm Fine Arts (478 Main Street, East Aurora, NY 14052, 652-0940, meibohmfinearts.com): The Ridge, Benefit Exhibition for the Chestnut Ridge Conservancy, on view through Sat Jul 18. Tues-Sat 9:30am-5:30pm.

Glow Gallery (224 Allen Street, Buffalo, NY 14201): Chroma 2015: Pride Buffalo Art Exhibition, on view through Jun 28. Thu & Fri 4-8pm, Sat & Sun 3-7pm.

Native American Museum of Art at Smokin’ Joe’s (2293 Saunders Settlement Road, Sanborn, NY 14123, 2619251) Open year round and free. Exhibits Iroquois Artists work. 7am-9pm.

Hallwalls (341 Delaware Avenue, Buffalo, NY 14202, 854-1694, hallwalls.

Niagrara Arts and Cultural Center (1201 Pine Avenue, Niagara Falls, NY

Pausa Art House (19 Wadsworth Street, Buffalo, NY 14201, 697-9069, pausaarthouse.com): Life’s a Beach,

by Peter Caruso, on view through Jun 27. Live Music Thu-Sat. See website for more info.

Queen City Gallery (617 Main Street, Buffalo, NY, 14203, 868-8183, queencitygallery.tripod.com): Rotating members work on view. Tues-Fri 11am-4pm and by appointment. Open late every First Friday from 6-10pm and every Thursday Open Mic, 7-9pm. Open to all musicians and writers.

Starlight Studio and Art Gallery (340 Delaware Avenue, Buffalo, NY 14202, starlightstudio.org): Projected Portrait Series, work by Amanda Giczkowski, on view through Jul 10.

Mon-Fri 9-4pm.

Studio Hart (65 Allen Street, Buffalo, NY 14202, 536-8337, studiohart.com): Artists & Gardens, on view through Jun 27. Tue-Fri 11:30am-3:30pm, Sat 12-4pm, and open every First Friday 6-9pm.

Sugar City (1239 Niagara Street, Buffalo, NY 14213, buffalosugarcity.org): From Your Collection, on view through Jun 16, see site for more details.

UB Anderson Gallery (1 Martha Jackson Place, Buffalo, NY 14214, 829-3754, ubartgalleries.org): Transmaterial, a group exhibition curated by Alicia Marvan; Martha Jackson Graphics: Prints from the UB Art Galleries Permanent Collection; These Fragile Truths, UB MFA Thesis by Tricia Butski; Our Own Devices: Exploring the Tools of Cravens World, on view through Jun 28.

Wed-Sat 11am-5p, Sun 1-5pm.

Western New York Book Arts Collaborative (468 Washington Street, Buffalo, NY 14203, 438-1430, wnybookarts.org): Through A Dirty Window, work by Joseph Scheer, on view P through Jun 26. Wed-Sat 12-6pm.

DAILYPUBLIC.COM / JUNE 10, 2015 / THE PUBLIC 19

FILM REVIEW

BLYTHE SPIRIT I’LL SEE YOU IN MY DREAMS THE MAFIA ONLY KILLS IN SUMMER

BY M. FAUST I SIT THROUGH A LOT OF MOVIES in the hope of finding one as endlessly charming as I’ll See You In My Dreams. And when I do, it tides me through a lot of the cynical, contrived product that gets thrown onto most theater screens.

Here’s how much I liked this movie: I hate to have to write about it for fear that I might fail to persuade you to take a chance on it. Still, there are those of you who don’t share my taste for this kind of little independent movie: those who are impressed by box office figures, or a film’s budget, or the number of digital effects technicians listed in the end credits. I’m not going to persuade most of you—you’re too busy in the summer.

To begin with, this is the first film to provide a starring role for Blythe Danner. I don’t understand how it is possible that no one in Hollywood over the past 50 years ever said to themselves, “Hey, this is a terrific, beautiful actress who you can’t take your eyes off of when she’s on screen, let’s build a movie around her.”

Maybe they felt that she was too quirky, and that Diane Keaton already had that territory wrapped up. Or maybe it’s her own fault—maybe she preferred to spend her time on the stage, limiting her film and TV work to supporting roles that didn’t take up much of her time.

Danner plays Carol Petersen, a widow of about 70 living alone in a pleasant little house in southern California. Her daughter is a plane ride away, and most of her friends have moved into a nearby retirement community.

Her undemanding routine is disrupted by the death of her dog.

(Pet owners who have ever had to put a beloved dog or cat to sleep may want to skip the first five minutes of the film: That dreaded moment is depicted—tastefully, but it’s still likely to bring up unhappy memories.)

Carol’s friends, with whom she meets to drink wine and play cards, try to persuade her to move in with them, or at least to take advantage of their community’s dating opportunities. This bunch is played by Rhea Perlman, Mary Kay Place, and June Squibb, whom you may recall for her scene-stealing part as Bruce Dern’s wife in Nebraska. This is perfectly balanced quartet of comic actresses, and I can only hope that the DVD has lots and lots of outtakes of their scenes.

Carol does end up spending some quality time with Bill (Sam Elliott), a loner who has moved into the community so as to be near to people even though he prefers not to spend much time with them. But she also makes a new friend named Lloyd, a guy in his 30s who cleans her pool, having moved in with his ailing mother after a failed career as a musician. Lloyd is played by Martin Starr, the Freaks and Geeks alumnus usually seen as arrogantly snarky nerds on shows like Silicon Valley and Party Down.

With a softened look and an attitude adjustment, he makes for a surprisingly vulnerable and likeable screen star, and his scenes with Danner are the high point of the movie.

IN CINEMAS NOW

BY M. FAUST & GEORGE SAX

PREMIERES I’LL SEE YOU IN MY DREAMS—Comedy-drama starring Blythe Danner as a woman trying to find a new balance in her life after the death of her beloved dog. With Sam Elliott, Martin Starr, Mary Kay Place, Rhea Perlman, Malin Akerman, and June Squibb. Directed by Brett Haley (The New Year). Reviewed this issue. Eastern Hills (Dipson) JURASSIC WORLD—Sequel/reboot of the 1994 Steven Spielberg film that invented summer movies as we now know them. Starring Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, Irrfan Khan, and Vincent D’Onofrio. Directed by Colin Trevorrow (Safety Not Guaranteed). A review will be posted at dailypublic.com. Area theaters.

THE MAFIA ONLY KILLS IN SUMMER—Italian comedy-drama about a boy in Palermo growing up in the shadow of the Mafia in the 1970s and

Sam Elliott and Blythe Danner in I’ll See You in My Dreams.

When I see it again, as I plan to, I may find a moment or two to quibble with. If I do, I suspect they will be very minor. It’s just about a perfect little film. It opens Friday at the Eastern Hill Mall Cinema, and if that’s a little out of your way, plan to make a day of it: They’re also showing Love & Mercy and Saint Laurent, both also highly recommended.

***

In the 1970s and 1980s, tensions between the police and government of Palermo, Sicily and the Mafia, which was headquartered there, reached a boiling point. Crime bosses killed their foes with growing impunity, often doing so openly with little fear of retribution. The situation got as bad as it did partly from widespread corruption of public officials but also from the general population’s refusal to acknowledge the problem.

Pierfrancesco Diliberto and Cristiana Capotondi in The Mafia Only Kills in Summer.

Admittedly, I’ll See You In My Dreams does not have a lot of plot.

Instead it develops character through an assemblage of scenes: Lloyd takes Carol out to a karaoke bar, where she provides a terrific rendition of “Cry Me a River.” Carol tries out speed dating, where her first tablemate is Max Gail (Detective Stan Wojciehowicz from Barney Miller). Carol tries to connect with her daughter (Malin Akerman) when she pays an unexpected visit.

The ladies get high on medical marijuana. (That may seen like a scene thrown in for an easy laugh, and maybe that’s all that director Brett Haley and his co-writer Marc Basch expected out of it, but the four actresses pull it off hilariously.)

The film is muted, sedate: There’s almost no musical score, and moments aren’t hammered home to make sure you get the point.

But as an actress, Danner couldn’t ask for a better showcase of her skills as Carol re-opens herself to the possibilities of life she has avoided for decades.

1980s. Starring Alex Bisconti, Cristiana Capotondi, and Pierfrancesco Diliberto, who also directed. Reviewed this issue. North Park WHEN MARNIE WAS THERE—From Studio Ghibli, an anime feature based on the British novel by Joan D. Robinson about a lonely young girl who makes an unusual friend when she is sent away for the summer to a seaside town. North Park

ALTERNATIVE CINEMA ERASERHEAD (1976)—Even by his outré standards, David Lynch’s first feature film is sui generis. For a description, you can’t beat his own phrase—“a dream of dark and troubling things.”

Fri-Sat 9:30pm. Screening Room NIAGARA (1953)—Marilyn Monroe’s last film before becoming a major star in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes was this not-too-suspenseful thriller in which she plays a wife scheming to murder her husband (Joseph Cotton) while vacationing just a few miles north of Buffalo.

With Jean Peters and Richard Allen. Directed

by Henry Hathaway. Fri, Sat 7:30pm. Screening Room

20 THE PUBLIC / JUNE 10, 2015 / DAILYPUBLIC.COM

The Mafia Only Kills in Summer takes a comic look at these years through the eyes of Arturo, a boy whose every life event seems matched to a Mafia moment, beginning from his conception simultaneously with the Viale Lazio massacre in 1969.

Arturo’s Mafia-centric view of life is wryly humorous, turning him into a very odd young man indeed. It isn’t until he grows into adulthood that he realizes how skewed his perception of the good guys and the bad guys has become.

The adult Arturo is played by Pierfrancesco Diliberto, known as “Pif ” to fans of his satirical comedy show on MTV Italy. As the writer and director of this movie, he calls on his own childhood memories. At the film’s North American premiere at the Montreal World Film Festival last August, he told the audience that he was inspired to make the film after moving from Palermo to Milan in northern Italy and realizing what an antiquated notion of the Mafia most non-Sicillians had.

Unfortunately, most of the film’s impact will be lost on non-Italian audiences who aren’t familiar with the real-life figures it portrays (occasionally in Zelig-like scenes in which actors are mixed with newsreel footage). A funny scene of young Arturo going to a costume party dressed as Prime Minister Giulio Andreotti works better if you know what an uninspiring fuddy-duddy he P was. It opens Friday at the North Park.

PADDINGTON—The beloved “short but polite” talking bear of children’s books comes to the big screen in a good-natured movie that will be beloved by Anglophiles of all ages. Combining computer effects with animatronics, Paddington’s story stays close to the books as he journeys from “darkest Peru” to London in search of a home. For dramatic structure the movie borrows from 101 Dalmations in the form of Nicole Kidman as a Cruella De Vil-ish taxidermist in a snakeskin jumpsuit. Starring Hugh Bonneville, Sally Hawkins, Peter Capaldi, Julie Walters and Jim Broadbent, along with other faces you’ll probably recognize if you’re a Britcom fan. Directed by Paul King (The Mighty Boosh). –MF Sat-Sun 11:30am. North Park PATHER PANCHALI (India, 1955]—Satyajit Ray’s first film and the beginning of his Apu Trilogy follows Apu as a boy in a small village where his idealistic father struggles to provide for his family. Thu June 18 9:30pm. North Park SOAKED IN BLEACH— Not to be confused with HBO’s recent Montage of Heck, this Kurt Cobain docudrama is based on the investigation of LA County Sheriff’s detective Tom Grant, who concluded that Cobain may have been

murdered. Directed by Benjamin Statler. Reviewed this issue. Thu June 11 7:30pm. Screening Room STILL MINE—Drama based on the true story of an 87-year-old New Brunswick farmer and lumberman (James Cromwell) who tried to build a new house on his land to make life easier for his wife (Geneviève Bujold) as she slipped into dementia. He is opposed by both family and local officials who try to stop him. This smallscale movie’s sturdy, uncomplicated humor, and writer-director Michael McGowan’s sure handling of his material, prevent it from descending into sentimental simplicity. Its appeal is sturdy, like its unusual protagonist. –GS Sun 4pm. Roycroft Film Society, Parkdale School Auditorium, 141 Girard Ave., East Aurora. roycroftcampuscorporation.com SUGAR WONDER BLUES—Locally produced drama set in the Lovejoy district, where two brothers fight for control of their father’s auto repair business after his death. Starring Michael Seitz, Adam Rath, Laura Mikolajczyk, and Dee Perry. Directed by Megan Erbacher. Sun 2pm.

North Park

PLAYING NOW FILM

LOCAL THEATERS

POLTERGEIST—What’s different in this remake of the less-than-classic 1982 Steven Spielberg production? There’s less plot, and the special effects are better. But the characters—a family struggling with a haunted house—were what made the original a success, and movies with great CGI effects are nothing unusual these days. The best thing this has going for it is a good cast, including Sam Rockwell as the dad, Jane Adams as the head of the team of investigating parapsychologists, and Jared Harris as a TV ghostbuster (substituting for the “Magic Munchkin” of the original. Directed by Gil Kenan (Monster House). -MF Regal Transit, Regal Walden Galleria, Flix (Dipson), Maple Ridge (AMC), Regal Elmwood, Regal Niagara Falls, Regal Quaker, Sunset Drive-In, Transit Drive-In

AMHERST THEATRE (DIPSON) 3500 Main St., Buffalo / 834-7655 amherst.dipsontheatres.com AURORA THEATRE 673 Main St., East Aurora / 652-1660 theauroratheatre.com EASTERN HILLS CINEMA (DIPSON) 4545 Transit Rd., / Eastern Hills Mall Williamsville / 632-1080 easternhills.dipsontheatres.com FLIX STADIUM 10 (DIPSON) 4901 Transit Rd., Lancaster / 668-FLIX flix10.dipsontheatres.com FOUR SEASONS CINEMA 6 2429 Military Rd. (behind Big Lots), Niagara Falls / 297-1951 fourseasonscinema.com HALLWALLS 341 Delaware Ave., Buffalo / 854-1694 hallwalls.org HAMBURG PALACE 31 Buffalo St., Hamburg / 649-2295 hamburgpalace.com LOCKPORT PALACE 2 East Ave., Lockport / 438-1130 lockportpalacetheatre.org MAPLE RIDGE 8 (AMC) 4276 Maple Rd., Amherst / 833-9545 amctheatres.com MCKINLEY 6 THEATRES (DIPSON) 3701 McKinley Pkwy. / McKinley Mall Hamburg / 824-3479 mckinley.dipsontheatres.com NEW ANGOLA THEATER 72 North Main St., Angola / 549-4866 newangolatheater.com NORTH PARK THEATRE 1428 Hertel Ave., Buffalo / 836-7411 northparktheatre.org REGAL ELMWOOD CENTER 16 2001 Elmwood Ave., Buffalo / 871–0722 regmovies.com REGAL NIAGARA FALLS STADIUM 12 720 Builders Way, Niagara Falls 236–0146 regmovies.com REGAL QUAKER CROSSING 18 3450 Amelia Dr., Orchard Park / 827–1109 regmovies.com REGAL TRANSIT CENTER 18 Transit and Wehrle, Lancaster / 633–0859 regmovies.com REGAL WALDEN GALLERIA STADIUM 16 One Walden Galleria Dr., Cheektowaga 681-9414 regmovies.com RIVIERA THEATRE 67 Webster St., North Tonawanda 692-2413 rivieratheatre.org THE SCREENING ROOM 3131 Sheridan Dr., Amherst / 837-0376 screeningroom.net SQUEAKY WHEEL 712 Main St., / 884-7172 squeaky.org SUNSET DRIVE-IN 9950 Telegraph Rd., Middleport 735-7372 sunset-drivein.com TRANSIT DRIVE-IN 6655 South Transit Rd., Lockport 625-8535 transitdrivein.com

Pather Panchali

IN BRIEF THEATER INFORMATION IS VALID THROUGH THURSDAY JUNE 11

ALOHA—Billy Wilder died early in 2002. His acolyte Cameron Crowe hasn’t made a decent film since. Coincidence? I don’t know, but Aloha is almost unrecognizable as the work of the writer-director behind Almost Famous and Jerry Maguire. What’s on screen is such a jagged mess that it seems likely that the studio took it away from Crowe and recut it, though it’s hard to see where more of it would make it any better. There are some nice scenes of Hawaiian locales and a few scenes that play well, but you really have to dig to find anything to like about this one. Starring Bradley Cooper, Emma Stone, Rachel McAdams, Bill Murray, John Krasinski, and Danny McBride. -MF Flix (Dipson), Maple Ridge (AMC), Regal Elmwood, Regal Niagara Falls, Regal Quaker, Regal Transit, Regal Walden Galleria AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON—The latest and most elaborate special effects extravaganza from Disney-owned Marvel Studios is the weakest of that company’s interconnected crowd pleasers, neither as smart as Captain America: The Winter Soldier nor as fun as Guardians of the Galaxy. Of the overstuffed cast reprising their roles from other superhero movies, only Scarlett Johansen and Mark Ruffalo are called upon to do much more than provide action for green screen technicians and stunt doubles to enhance. So many characters and subplots have been crammed into this film that there is little opportunity for characterization or suspense. Starring Robert Downey, Jr., Chris Hemsworth, Chris Evans, James Spader, Jeremy Renner, and Samuel L. Jackson. Directed

by Joss Whedon (Buffy the Vampire Slayer).

–Gregory Lamberson. Flix (Dipson), Maple Ridge (AMC), Regal Elmwood, Regal Niagara Falls, Regal Quaker, Regal Transit, Regal Walden Galleria, Sunset Drive-In

FAR FROM THE MADDING CROWD—Handsome adaptation of Thomas Hardy’s 19th-century rural novel about an independent young woman (Carey Mulligan) who inherits her uncle’s farm and encounters three very different suitors (Matthias Schoenaerts, Tom Sturridge, Michael Sheen). Like red wine, Hardy’s novels have to be allowed to breathe, and longform television is probably the only real way to do him justice: Compressed into the length of a film, the heroine’s behavior feels unduly arbitrary, and the climax feels both rushed and uncertain. But the production values are strong, which matters in a story about country life, and the leads are well-cast. . Directed by Thomas Vinterberg (The Celebration). -MF INSIDIOUS: CHAPTER 3—Horror sequel. Starring Dermot Mulroney, Stefanie Scott and Angus Sampson. The directing debut of Saw scripter Leigh Whannell. Flix (Dipson), Regal Elmwood, Regal Niagara Falls, Regal Quaker, Regal Transit, Regal Walden Galleria, Sunset Drive-In, Transit Drive-In LOVE & MERCY—Exemplary biopic of Brian Wilson, who as the songwriter and architect of the Beach Boys found new uses for the recording studio in creating intricate pastries of sound.

The film inevitably focuses on his mental problems (misdiagnosed as paranoid schizophrenia for decades) that may have been part and parcel with his creative gifts. He is played as a young man beginning to come apart at the seams by Paul Dano, and as a middle aged lost soul by John Cusack: both performances are excellent, even if Cusack doesn’t look much like the real Wilson. The scenes of Wilson in the studio devising tracks for the Pet Sounds album alone are worth the price of a ticket.

With Paul Giamatti as Wilson’s controlling therapast Eugene Landy and Elizabeth Banks as Melinda Ledbetter, who got him out of Landy’s clutches. Directed by Bill Pohlad. -MF Amherst (Dipson), Eastern Hills (Dipson, opens Friday June 12) MAD MAX: FURY ROAD—It took thirty years for George Miller to get the fourth installment of his post-apocalyptic series fof the ground, but his persistence paid off with this spectacular, stunt driven road chase picture Tom Hardy takes over the title role (from Mel Gibson) of Max Rockatansky, former police officer turned lone highwayman trying to survive in a nightmarish wasteland. But the film is dominated

by Charlize Theron as Furiosa, the most fully realized action heroine since Aliens’s Ellen Ripley. In a film that is almost one long chase sequence, the cars and stunts are as important as the people, and they are top of the line creations. Hopefully we won’t have to wait thirty years for the next installment. –Gregory Lamberson. Maple Ridge (AMC), Regal Elmwood, Regal Niagara Falls, Regal Quaker, Regal Transit, Regal Walden Galleria, Transit Drive-In

ENTOURAGE—Were there really enough fans of the HBO series to justify this theatrical followup? The story is simple enough to follow if you never watched the show—the Hollywood adventures a movie star, his buds and his agent— but if you’re not already a fan nothing in view here is likely to make you care about any of these characters. It’s pretty thin stuff, with a sense of humor and attitude toward women that seems directed at audiences well shy of the legal drinking age. Jeremy Piven is fun to watch as superagent-turned-studio head, Kevin Dillon is intensely annoying as the star’s wanna-be actor brother, and the others barely register. An endless string of (mostly Z-list) celebrity cameos doesn’t do much for the minPITCH PERFECT 2—Acapella sequel. Starring imal entertainment value. With Adrian GreniAnna Kendrick, Hailee Steinfeld, Brittany er, Jerry Ferrara, Kevin Connolly, Emmanuelle Snow, Katey Sagal and Elizabeth Banks, who Chriqui and about 487 thin blonde women in also directed. Aurora, Flix (Dipson), Hamburg Flix,MORE skimpy bikinis.

Directed by Doug Ellin. -MF Palace, Maple Ridge (AMC), Angola, Regal VISIT DAILYPUBLIC.COM FOR FILM LISTINGS & New REVIEWS >> Maple Ridge (AMC), Regal Elmwood, Regal NiElmwood, Regal Niagara Falls, Regal Quaker, agara Falls, Regal Quaker, Regal Transit, Regal Regal Transit, Regal Walden Galleria, TranWalden Galleria, Transit Drive-In sit Drive-In

CULTURE > FILM

SAINT LAURENT—Even if you have no interest in haute couture, this biopic of the French designer Yves Saint Laurent is a languorous but transfixing portrait of artistic life and the decadence that often comes with it, a throwback to some of the best-remembered European arthouse films of the 1960s and 1970s. Focusing on the peak years of his fame (1967-77), Bertrand Bonello’s film is leisurely about observing process, from the seamstresses who labored to construct his designs to the business meetings of his marketing partners to his evenings in trendy discos, one more part of the job. Starring Gaspard Ulliel, Jérémie Renier, Léa Seydoux, Helmut Berger, Valeria Bruni Tedeschi and Dominique Sanda. –MF Eastern Hills (Dipson) SAN ANDREAS—I admit to being a sucker for disaster movies, a genre that would seem to have peaked a few years back with 2012. This one steps back a bit, content to destroy only California instead of the whole world, and to do so with only one name-value box office star, Dwayne Johnson (though having an actor as able as Paul Giamatti on hand as the Science Guy who explains what’s happening helps a lot). If you’re of a mind to, you’ll have no trouble finding inconsistencies and improbabilities (no, a tsunami wave would never be that high).

I won’t try to defend it (especially the last halfhour), but I enjoyed it. With Carla Gugino, Alexandra Daddario and Kylie Minogue. Directed

by Brad Peyton (Journey 2: The Mysterious Island). -MF Regal Elmwood, Flix (Dipson), Maple Ridge (AMC), Regal Niagara Falls, Regal Quaker, Regal Transit, Regal Walden Galleria, Sunset Drive-In, Transit Drive-In SPY—At last, a starring role for Melissa McCarthy that takes advantage of her substantial talents and doesn’t require her to play a troll.

As a CIA desk jockey who gets her first chance at a field assignment, she predictably gets into lots of comic scrapes but just as often displays her physical agility in action scenes. Shooting in numerous European locations, writer-director Paul Feig has fun concocting a gently feminist spoof of the James Bond genre. And he has assembled a terrific ensemble cast in the real sense of that word, including Jason Statham (who plays especially well with McCarthy), Jude Law, Rose Byrne, Bobby Cannavale, Allison Janney, and British TV favorites Miranda Hart and Peter Serafinowicz (England’s answer to Hank Azaria). Directed by Paul Feig (Bridesmaids). -MF Regal Elmwood, Flix (Dipson), Maple Ridge (AMC), Regal Niagara Falls, Regal Quaker, Regal Transit, Regal Walden Galleria, Sunset Drive-In, Transit Drive-In TOMORROWLAND—If you consider unpredictability a virtue, this science fiction fantasy from former animator Brad Bird is a must see: that it retrains your interest while keeping its overall shape hidden for most of its two-plushour running time is certainly an accomplishment. Problem is, even when you get where you’re going, you’re not sure where you are.

I’m guessing that a lot of that blame falls on co-writer Damon Lindelof, who on the evidence of Prometheus, World War Z and TV’s Lost overrates the idea that the journey is more important than the destination. Appropriately for a Disney movie (though a tad dark by the Walt’s standards), it’s a long homily about the value of optimism and forward-thinking, like what got us on the moon. Starring George Clooney, who looks very grumpy, Hugh Laurie, whose speech about our indifference to global destruction is the film’s high point, and a young actress named Raffey Cassidy who has an amazing career ahead of her if she stays in the business. –MF. Flix (Dipson), Maple Ridge (AMC), Regal Elmwood, Regal Niagara Falls, Regal Quaker, Regal Transit, Regal Walden GalP leria, Sunset Drive-In, Transit Drive-In

CULTURE > FILM

VISIT DAILYPUBLIC.COM FOR MORE FILM LISTINGS & REVIEWS >> DAILYPUBLIC.COM / JUNE 10, 2015 / THE PUBLIC 21

PUBLIC MARKET TO PLACE AN AD CALL SEAN AT (716)856.0737 OR EMAIL SEAN@DAILYPUBLIC.COM THE PUBLIC’S NOTICE The Public encourages you to use caution while participating in any transactions or acquiring services through our classified section of the newspaper. While we do approve the ads in this section, we do not guarantee the reliability of classified advertisers. If you have questions regarding advertisers in this section please email sean@dailypublic.com.

WEDDINGS & ENGAGEMENTS JESSE KATSOPOLIS + REBECCA DONALDSON OCCUPATIONS

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-------------------------------------------------ELMWOOD VILLAGE Elmwood at Cleveland. 1 & 2 bdrm apartments available. Great location, walk to everything, unique and sunny apartment. Application, heat and water included. No dogs/smoking. References, appl. Call 886-3374 -------------------------------------------------ELMWOOD VILLAGE Elmwood at Lexington. Great location, unique, sunny, 1 bdrm apt. Hdwd. appl. storage. laundry. nodogs/smoking. ref, appl.

886-3374 -------------------------------------------------WEST SIDE Baynes/Manchester: 1400 sq ft 3 bdrm lwr, hrdwd floors with parking, w/d. $950+ 316-9279 -------------------------------------------------ELMWOOD VILLAGE Colonial Circle at Lafayette - 2 bedroom, hdwd flrs, skylights, new kitchen and bath (granite and stainless steel appl), off street pkng, porch, coin op lndry.

MUST SEE! No pets/smoking. $1550 incl all util. Please call 912-2906 -------------------------------------------------ELMWOOD VILLAGE Colonial Circle. 3 bdrm very large and totally updated apt with hdwd flrs, new kitchen and bath (granite and stainless steel appl), off street pkng, large porch, coin op lndry. MUST SEE! No pets/smoking. $1750 incl all util. 912-2906 -------------------------------------------------CANISIUS COLLEGE 70 Blaine Avenue Upper. 3 bdrm includes stove, fridge, dishwasher. Washer and dryer in basement for tenant use. $900 Call 239-7160

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The couple met a charity date auction in 2005.

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CONSTRUCTION SIGHTS

Jesse: Owner of the Smash Club, host of the KFLH’s Rush Hour Renegades and musician Rebecca: Co-host of Wake Up San Fransico

April 18th, 2015 at Disney World in Orlando, FL.

ENGAGED? GETTING MARRIED? THIS COULD BE YOU! EMAIL SEAN@DAILYPUBLIC.COM FOR DETAILS!

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2004 CHEVY IMPALA - SWEET! Fast, clean , maintained, all records The maid of honorkept. was Donna Jo Tanner, best friend and daughter bride’s television Daniel Tanner. The best men were Engine is fast of andthepowerful $2800. co-host, ACROSS Joseph Gladstone and Daniel Tanner, the groom’s respective radio 833-4804

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commentator

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37. Full name for a onenamed pop star

60. “100 Years... 100 Movies” org.

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The groom is the son of Nick and Irene Katsopolis. He is a 1989 graduate of the University of Buffalo with a bachelor degree in music history. In addition to his time69 spent as a touring musician, he is owner of The Smash Club and host of the KFLH radio program, Rush Hour Renegades.

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The bride is the daughter of Jerry and Kerry Donaldson of San Francisco. She is a 1990 graduate of the University of San Francisco with a bachelors degree in broadcast is the well-known 58journalism.

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their new home in Buffalo.

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Jesse Katsopolis and Rebecca Donaldson of Buffalo, NY were married on Saturday, April 18, 2014 at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida.

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MARKET

FAMOUS LAST WORDS BACK PAGE

ASSISTED LIVING “ON OR OFF THE MARKET”

BY KEITH BUCKLEY

PRIDE PARADE 2015 PHOTO BY SHAWNA STANLEY

PHOTOS BY RASHARD CUNNINGHAM

DEAR KEITH: I just broke off an engagement to a guy whom I no longer loved.

This is my first time being single in I don’t know how long. My initial reaction is to jump into the arms of another (as was my tactic back in the day), but something is telling me to try and “find myself.” Is this a farce or an attainable goal? Can you give any advice on how to fight the need for another, and be happy with myself?—ON OR OFF THE MARKET DEAR ON OR OFF THE MARKET: You just

want to be happy? That’s it? Hell, this might be the easiest puzzle I’ve been asked to solve yet. Lean in. If you want happiness—genuine, eternal happiness—do exactly what I do: Surround yourself with so much excitement and interference that it’s impossible to be aware of just how empty you are inside. Then, in the rare, fleeting moments of silence where you find your only company to be your true self, drink until you both black out.

Thanks for reading. Stay safe out there.

Difficult to judge, but this year’s Pride Parade felt like the biggest one ever. One curious absence: the handful of Christian fundamentalists at Elmwood and North condemning the marchers to hell. Have they given up?

See the full gallery on our Facebook page.

Okay, I’ve been told I need to fill a bit more space with the column, which to me is like telling Hemingway that his “Baby Shoes” story was too short, but whatever. I guess I can address other parts of your dilemma while they’ve got me here. Let me begin by disabusing you of the notion that “finding yourself” is a real possibility because it definitely is not. We are a collection of images created by the images we create—a compendium of all human knowledge that is constantly adding to the immense ledger of cosmic history only what is gained by interacting with the universe and everything in it, even if what we gain are the scars and bruises of insufferable loss. We are shaped by the things we observe through a lens set in place by the prejudices and traditions of our own past, so as those things around us change (which they all do), we change with them. Life is in constant fluctuation. Words like “god” and “love” and “9/11 was an inside job” take on new meaning; The Cable Guy somehow gets funnier while all of a sudden Robert Plant’s voice on old Zeppelin recordings gets worse. To believe that there is some sort of immovable, inarguable “you” that either lies underneath layers of experiences or outside of the world in which those experiences occur is dangerously unsound no matter how empowering Eat Pray Love made you feel when you watched it a few summers ago. I definitely did not watch it, just so happened to be on in the background while I drank wine in the hot tub, I swear. You are not this little thing that is crushed by the weight of unsolicited encounters or a blank screen onto which wrong ideas are unfairly projected.

You are the result, yes, but also the cause of innumerable actions and decisions, ones you cannot undo just by finally “shedding your inhibitions” and sucking off a Portuguese barista you meet at a rave while backpacking across Europe. I don’t know where the idea came from that if we carelessly abandon the things we love in search of personal fulfillment we might foster a transcendent relationship with life itself, but it—wait, they’re telling me it was Buddha. Buddha did exactly that.

Here’s something a lot of people don’t consider because they’re so busy trying to distance themselves from a world that just doesn’t “get” them: The world actually does get you. It gets you so well, in fact, that every single thing it offers and takes away is done so to help you evolve. So if you want to take this newly rediscovered alone time to “jump back into the arms” of Kayden from spin class who might momentarily understand you better than your ex, do it. Though if/when you do, make sure it’s not with the belief that you will end up finding anything even slightly resembling true love, because you have already learned on previous instances that Kayden thinks Family Guy is brilliant and uses hashtags in his texts. On the other hand, if you want to be alone, that’s totally cool too, but again, don’t venture down that road with the supposition that shutting out everything around you is going to allow you the chance to emerge from your inward journey an enlightened being like you’ve passed through some sort of “glory hole.” And definitely don’t do it thinking that a six-month overseas mid-life Rumspringa where you will finally get a tattoo and force yourself to appreciate Guinness beer can give you the tools necessary to carve yourself into an edified, unwavering mainstay that returns from far off lands totally prepared to stave off all future heartache with one universally applicable theory of self. Who would want that anyway?

Not allowing room to expand and contract according to the unexpected grief that gets thrown at you is hardly living.

Above all, “On or Off the Market,” don’t consider for a second what anyone tells you about recovering from a break up, especially me. I’m a total shithead. Your trip isn’t my trip and it definitely ain’t anyone else’s. If you’re going to do any or all of the things that you’re considering in the wake of your loss, do them because they make you happy. Chances are that if you’ve broken off an engagement, you’ve been unhappy for some time. But if I may suggest one thing—and you can take it or leave it—it’s this: To really find yourself, consider looking in everything else first.

Dude, that last line was good as hell. I just came up with it out of nowhere.

HAVE A QUESTION FOR KEITH? ADVICE@DAILYPUBLIC.COM Editor’s note: As frontman of Every Time I Die, Keith Buckley has traveled the world gaining insights about the universe. In this biweekly column he’ll use those insights to guide our readers with heartfelt and brutally honest advice.

DAILYPUBLIC.COM / JUNE 10, 2015 / THE PUBLIC 23

PHOTO BY SHAWNA STANLEY

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