FALL ENTERTAINMENT PREVIEW

Ithaca’s Greatest Rock Concerts (Other Than The Grateful Dead At Barton Hall)

By Bryan VanCampen

When great Ithaca concerts are discussed, all some people want to talk about is the Grateful Dead show at Barton Hall on May 8, 1977. ere have even been books written about that show. But I challenge its status as Ithaca’s ultimate Rock show, because I’ve seen shows at Barton Hall (Worst Show Ever: e Cars in 1979) and I question that much great music ever happened inside a gymnasium.

My favorite Ithaca show was Squeeze at Bailey Hall in the spring of 1992. I’m a huge Squeeze fan and I got legit emotional when they played their “ nal” show on a 1982 SNL episode hosted by Drew Barrymore. erefore, Squeeze was the rst band I’d ever seen that had broken up and reformed. eir tempos had grown somewhat lugubrious, and when they got back together, they picked up the pace on numbers like “Pulling Mussels From the Shell” and “Black Co ee in Bed.” ey sounded like a veteran Motown band, with lead singer Glenn Tillbrook breaking out solo a er solo on his Fender Telecaster. Plus, Bailey Hall sounds a thousand times better than Barton Hall.

When I put out a call on Facebook for concert memories in town, I got a barrage of bands, names and long-gone venerated venues – nearly 100 folks reached out to share their favorite shows.

Check out these recollections.

William Moratz: e nal Zobo Funn Band concert (September 1981 at the Strand eater). It was their reunion concert, a year a er high school. Most people I knew had moved on to college so I didn’t really see anyone that I knew there. I was still in town since I had an interesting job at

Some say Elvis Costello’s show at the State Theater was the best Ithaca rock show ever. (Photo: Matt Johnson https:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/)

The Hupstate Circus Comes Back To Town

By Lyndsey Honor

The second annual Hupstate Circus Festival will set out to dazzle Ithaca over Labor Day weekend, Friday, September 2 through Monday, September 5. is event brings dozens of circus artists from all over North America right into the heart of the city. In this ve-day period, guests can catch up to 15 shows varying in length, content, and maturity.

e Cherry Artspace will be hosting “Circus Shorts”—a double feature of playful groups blending the cra of circus with storytelling—and “Contemporary Circus Night”—an evening of intricate aerial, juggling, and acrobatic performances. e theatre recently installed rigging equipment, making their venue more accessible for this mode of entertainment. e Cherry Artspace is located at 102 Cherry St.

“Circus Shorts” will be performed at 7 p.m. on Friday and 5 p.m. on Saturday. “Contemporary Circus Night” will feature at 9 p.m. on Friday and 7 p.m. on Saturday.

“Stars Above: An All American Open Air Circus,” one stand-out group from last year’s event, will return to the Press Bay Backlot, located at 118 West Green St. ese shows will be performed outside and will re ect upon the intimate connections between love, loss, and family. ese performances will be held at 7 p.m. on Friday, 5 p.m. and 8 p.m. on Saturday, and 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. on Sunday.

Brand new to the festival this year is a show called “Branché.” is technically skilled ensemble, coming from Montreal and New England, will build their routines using Ithaca’s natural environment—an e ort to limit their carbon footprint.

“Branché” will perform at 1 p.m. on Saturday, and 7 p.m. Monday. e plan is they will start their show at the Stewart Park Carousel and then move around the park. Both shows are free of charge.

e Hupstate Festival was brought to fruition by Amy Cohen—founder and director of Ithaca’s own Circus Culture—to showcase the artform’s true depth. In the United States, there is rich circus history, but Cohen believes it lacks the representation and creative invention evident in other parts of the world.

Cohen received her Master of Arts in Circus as a Tool for Social Change, Education, and Creative Expression from New York University and extended her studies with a Fulbright scholarship in the United Kingdom.

“When talking about circus, especially in the states, people just think about P.T. Barnum and his extravagance,” Cohen said. “But it can be so much more. People are always shocked to discover the similarities that exist between circus and artforms such as dance. But it’s entertainment like any other. It can be culturally speci c, high ying, intimate, and provocative. It can showcase very di erent aesthetics. It can be whatever you make it. You just need to open yourself up to seeing it that way.”

In honor of the budding circus culture in America—and in anticipation of its future—Cohen titled this festival, “Hupstate.” is merges Ithaca’s upstate location with “hup”—an insider circus term meaning “to go.” While a small detail, this play on words serves a big purpose.

“Above all else, I want this festival to do for others what my time with circus has done for me,” Cohen said. “I want every patron to feel a sense of ease in exploring how circus relates to their life. I want them to really challenge their perceptions. I want them to recognize that circus thrives on its exibility, its inclusion, its diversity. Maybe one day these festivals will appear all over the states, but for now? Appreciate the presence of circus right in your very backyard.”

For more information about all these events, and for a complete schedule, refer to the festival’s website. https://www.hupstatecircus.org/

Ticketing can also be found online, but true to Circus Culture’s philosophy, nancials should never be a barrier to circus access. All ticketed shows will o er a sponsored, free option. Feel free to contact hupstatecircus@gmail.com with any questions about this opportunity.

Branché builds their routines using the natural environment. (Photo: Jamie Kraus) Stars Above will perform at the Press Bay Backlot again this year (Photo: Miles Marteal)

Home away from home

Grab and go food made to order Gourmet coffee and pastries Breakfast anytime Lunch sandwiches and paninis

Aurora and Seneca Streets Downtown Ithaca M-Sat 7-7, Sun. 8-5 (607) 319-4022 ooysdeli.com

Porchfest, Now An International Phenom, Coming Back Home

By Matt Dougherty

What started as a small event in the City of Ithaca in 2007 has since turned into an internationally recognized way to celebrate local musicians and create a sense of community in neighborhoods across the continent. Of course, I’m talking about Porchfest.

A er three long years of social isolation, Ithaca Porchfest is nally making a comeback. e rst Porchfest since the start of the pandemic is scheduled to take place on Sunday, September 25, in Ithaca’s Fall Creek and Northside neighborhoods.

Porchfest began in Ithaca as a means for neighbors and local community members to highlight their musical skills on

The Porchfest phenomenon started right here in 2007 and has now spread around the U.S. and Canada. Porchfest offers an eclectic mix and mash up of musical genres. (Photo: Lesley Greene)

Performances take place all over Fall Creek and the Northside, and not just on porches. (Map: Provided)

Porchfest 2022 is scheduled for September 25. (Art: Patty Sipman)

front porches. e original event in Ithaca only started with about 20 musicians, but it has expanded to more than 100 musicians—and the event has spread to other cities across the United States and Canada.

Bands, singers, and instrumentalists participate in the festival for no other reason than to showcase their talents and engage the community. e music is diverse and can range from country to pop, classical, reggae, blues, rock, jazz, Latino, R&B, folk, and more. During the event, musicians voluntarily take to the "stage" on porches (hence the name Porchfest) at their designated times and perform for the public. Signs with artists' names and performance times are usually posted in front of porches and online.

Due to the fact that this is a neighborhood event, people walk, ride bikes or scooters, or push strollers as they move from one porch to another to partake in the festivities. Children o en build lemonade stands to help quench thirst on hot days while vendors o entimes provide ice cream, hot dogs, and other snacks. Schedules and maps will be available online at http://www.porchfest.org.

Porchfest wouldn’t be possible without the support of the public. Volunteers and other organizations facilitate the event

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1159 Dryden Road, Ithaca (607) 273-9725

Slow-smoked barbecue, steaks, seafood and more! Something for everyone at Antlers!

M-Sat 4:30-9 Sun 10-2,4:30-9

BRIAN KEELER, “November Evening Turkey Hill, Ithaca, NY,” oil on panel, 26 x 30”

NORTH STAR ART GALLERY

Paintings by Brian Keeler

Cayuga Lake Collection, 30 paintings

NorthStarArtGallery.com 743 Snyder Hill Road, Ithaca Open Daily by App’t 1st Sat. Open Studio Reception 11-4 607-323-7684

David Lynch Works Highlight Cornell Cinema’s Fall Calendar

By Bryan VanCampen

By the time you read this, Cornell Cinema will have already unspooled a ton of lm, but then again, that’s what they do. If you come to town indi erent to lm, you may become a fan. And if you love cinema, you still won’t have time to see every event on the calendar unless you give up things like “light” and “people.” With the departure of longtime Cornell Cinema director Mary Fessenden, acting director Douglas McLaren is your guide to a few of the semester’s upcoming highlights. And whatever you do, get a Cornell Cinema Flick Sheet for your refrigerator and a really reliable Sharpie.

IT: I take it that this upcoming semester is the last calendar that Mary Fessenden assembled before retiring.

DM: I handled the bulk of programming for this semester, but it was with invaluable guidance and input from Mary Fessenden. Wrapping up 35 years of work and organizing things for one's successor takes quite a bit of time, which drew her away from directly working on this Fall calendar. at said, there are a number of titles this semester that were organized by Mary, including our Sage Chapel screening of “Nosferatu” with live music, and our screening of “ e Janes” with lmmakers Tia Lessin ’86 and Emma Pildes in person. Both are marquee features of our Fall calendar, and all credit goes to Mary Fessenden for making it happen.

IT: Cornell Cinema always selects at least one lmmaker whose lmography could play over the semester and it looks like it’s David Lynch’s turn.

DM: We are very eager to showcase the new remastering of two David Lynch lms: “Lost Highway” (1997) and “Inland Empire” (2006), both from Janus Films. ese new 4K re-releases served as a great opportunity to revisit earlier works like 1977’s “Eraserhead” (showing on 35mm!) and “Blue Velvet” (1986). What we have assembled is a cross-section of Lynch’s cinematic work, checking in roughly every 10 years.

“Inland Empire” in particular is a fascinating example of a possible future for lm/video restoration. As David Lynch’s rst foray into video, it was shot on a prosumer digital-video camera and released theatrically on 35mm lm, which meant at one point upscaling the SD video to HD and then printing the video frames to a 35mm negative. For this remaster, they went back further than that 35mm negative and decided to upscale the original SD video to 4K, which involved using arti cial intelligence to interpolate the “missing” pixels. e result is closer to a new work altogether (hence the term “remaster” and not “restoration”) and it truly needs to be seen on a big screen.

IT: Cornell Cinema has a tradition of screening live music with silent movies and this is the 100th anniversary of F.W. Murnau’s “Nosferatu” (1922).

DM: We’re quite excited to celebrate the 100th anniversary of “Nosferatu”, and do to so, we’re bringing back the Austin, TX group e Invincible Czars, who are in the midst of a 40-date tour of the country presenting an updated version of their soundtrack for the lm. “Nosferatu” is still

A remastered version of David Lynch’s experimental “Inland Empire,” starring Laura Dern, is one of this season’s highlights. (Photo: Provided)

F.W. Murnau’s classic “Nosferatu” (1922) with a live soundtrack by the Invincible Czars will return to Sage Chapel for a Halloween performance. (Photos: Provided)

Continued on Page 15

ITHACA’S GREATEST ROCK CONCERTS

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Cornell. For everyone there it felt like goodbye to the good times. People had traveled from all over the country to be there. e place was packed. I recorded it and still have the tapes somewhere. I enjoyed their music so much then and still do to this day.

Tom Gibson: I remember that night very well.

Damian Arthur Carr: I worked security at that show. What a blast! Danced in the orchestra pit (And I don’t dance). Found a silver ask of good whiskey. Ran into the woman I would share my life with.

Michael Wellen (Zobo Funn Band drummer): I was at that show…not sure how much I remember.

Susan Gilmore: So many happy memories of the Burns Sisters and Joe Salzano playing at the Ithaca Festival and at Stewart Park. Also Jonathan Richman at the Haunt.

Nick Reynolds (former Ithaca Times editor): I’d read an oral history of Merle Haggard at Grassroots.

David R. Waterman: Does Wolfman Jack at Nite Court count as a concert? I think it was a WVBR thing on a Sunday a ernoon at 4pm, circa 1981-’83-ish.

Matt Ryan: Megadeth in Bailey Hall, 1988. I was searched at the door and they found half a Reuben sandwich in my Korean War-era army pants. We broke a row of seats moshing.

Dan Aloi: Elvis Costello & e Imposters’ most recent show at the State eater. Dylan’s 2019 show at the IC Events Center. Pete Anderson at the Rongo. Gurf Morlix at the Cayuga Grange. Drive-By Truckers at Grassroots a er a hurricane & ooding.

Je Claus (Horse ies, A Boy With a Fish): St. Vincent at Castaways.

Judy Hyman (Horse ies, A Boy With a Fish): Je Claus, we must be married. I was gonna say the same thing.

Gretchen Gilbert: Squirrel Nut Zippers at the Haunt.

Polly Kiely: Gretchen Gilbert: Squirrel Nut Zippers at the State eater!

Fred Cederstrom: Polly Kiely: Squirrel Nut Zippers at Bailey Hall!

Dan Kiely: Levon Helm and family at the State eater six weeks before he passed. I saw Pearl Jam open for Dracula Jones at the original Haunt in 1991. It was like two months before “Ten” dropped and mainstreamed grunge.

Hillel Ho man: Legendary for the right reasons: Patti Smith at Bailey in 1978. Opener: Zobo Funn Band.

Nicole DeMotte: ey Might Be Giants at the State was cool.

Bob Proehl: Arcade Fire at Noyes Hall, Dean & Britta with the Warhol screen tests at Cornell Cinema, Solomon Burke at the State, Neutral Milk Hotel at the State.

Pete Magnus: Neutral Milk Hotel at the State was everything I hoped it would be. Probably is my favorite concert of all time.

Steve Gollnick: Every Candypants show ever.

Consider this last anecdote an encore, so get out your lighters, but don’t start any res like those tools at Woodstock ‘99. Peter Bakija teaches high school and hosts “Burning Airlines” on WRFI. Bakija chose to talk about an opening act: Mike Watt at the (second) Haunt on Willow Avenue.

IT: When was this? at’s so Ithaca.

PB: Mike Watt came to Ithaca and opened for the Meat Puppets, I think in the fall of 2017. So it was not that long ago. is was at the Haunt that isn’t there.

IT: As of now, there are no Haunts. PB: Exactly. [laughs] No Haunts at all.

IT: What was it about this particular show?

PB: Mike Watt was the bassist for the very in uential punk-rocky band e Minutemen, from L.A. ey were a very well-loved, early 80’s complex punk rock band. All their songs were very short, thus the name Minutemen. But they were more complex than your standard three-chord rock n’ roll, and they were very politically minded, and they fell apart when their lead singer died in a tragic car accident in 1985. Mike Watt carried on a er that, doing various musical projects and has been kicking around for the last 30, 40 years, just being a really nice guy in the rock n’ roll industry. He just kept playing and kept doing things. And so when he came to Ithaca to open for the Meat Puppets, I was super, super excited because I’d never seen him before. e show was the most packed room I have ever been to in in a small theater in Ithaca, the most packed-to-the-gills room I’d ever been to. Again, this is prepandemic, so the fact that it was packed to the gills was novel, not terrifying.

IT & PB: [laughs]

PB: I have no problem with the Meat Puppets, but I was not going there to see the Meat Puppets. I was going there to see Mike Watt. I was stuck up on the bar platform and couldn’t get any closer. All sorts of people from town that I knew were there. And Mike Watt blasted through—in an hour, he played 30 songs or something. It was half Minutemen songs, half new original stu that he was doing. He covers regularly Iggy Pop and Blue Oyster Cult, because he and D. Boon were really into them. ey had very wide-ranging musical tastes that they brought into e Minutemen.

And the show was fantastic. e room was lled with people who were superexcited. A er their set, Mike Watt was just sitting at the merch table, just interacting with all the people. He signed the singles that I bought, and he just kept shaking my hand and chatting with me. He just seemed genuinely interested in interacting with the people around him. It was just a spectacular Ithaca rock n’ roll moment, that whole show.

And then the Meat Puppets came on, and I was like, “Ah, I’m going home, I gotta get up in the morning.”

IT & PB: [laughs]

Some say Megadeth’s performance at Bailey Hall in 1988 was Ithaca’s best show. (Photo: S. Bollmann https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)

CINEMA PREVIEW

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scary 100 years later, but it’s also a great family-friendly Halloween event. We last screened a movie in Sage Chapel back in the Fall of 2019, so we’re thrilled to welcome an audience back to this beautiful and unique venue for silent lm!

IT: Can you talk about some of the lms premiering and some of the guests you have lined up this fall?

DM: In September alone, we’re presenting eleven Ithaca premieres, four of which are part of the Cine con Cultura Film Festival. One of those lms, “Cadejo Blanco”, will feature a post-screening discussion with its lmmaker (and Cornell alumnus) Justin Lerner ’02 on Wednesday, September 21. We’re also quite pleased to host the venerable director Whit Stillman on Friday, September 23 for a belated thirtieth anniversary screening of his debut lm “Metropolitan” (1990). Later, on October 13, documentary lmmakers Tia Lessin ’86 and Emma Pildes will present their new HBO documentary “ e Janes”—and we’ll be one of the few cinemas in the country to screen the lm. e following night, October 14, Tia Lessin will show a 35mm double-feature of two lms she saw at Cornell Cinema back when she was a student, which made a lasting impression on her: Lizzie Borden’s “Born in Flames” (1983) and Marlene Gorris’s Dutch feminist lm “A Question of Silence” (1982).

IT: Is there any one title in the calendar you’re most looking forward to? I’m sure it’s hard to pick just one.

DM: It’s hard to pick just one title I’m most looking forward to, but I think it would have to be “The Devil, Probably” (1977), screening November 9 on a new 35mm print. It was the penultimate film by French master Robert Bresson (“Au hasard Balthazar”, “Pickpocket”) and many of the topics raised in the film—capitalism, climate change, the difficulty of social movements to affect change against the status quo—were ahead of its time in 1977 and are all too relevant today. It’s a film I believe everyone should watch, but especially college students today. It’s important to see that the struggle isn’t new; it’s been going on a long time, but we’re making progress. Ok, one other title: the return of the “Cat Video Fest” on September 30 and October 1.

ITHACA PORCHFEST

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by selecting appropriate dates, acquiring musicians, and publicizing the event. Residents volunteer their own porches as a way to support the local music scene and interact with their neighbors.

According to Porchfest organizers, they are “urgently looking for volunteers.” because it takes a lot of people to make Porchfest happen safely. Most volunteers will be stationed at barricades near street closures, to redirect tra c and escort residents’ vehicles in and out as needed. Other volunteers will be stationed at information tents or circulate on bikes to help keep up with crowds in the street and excessive performer volume.

You can sign up to volunteer at https:// forms.gle/2PNJTmYL5rAXpwi69.

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than 95% of votes counted, Riley received a total of 61.52% of the vote compared to Cheney’s 35.29%. ose results were closely re ected in Tompkins County where Riley received 64% compared to Cheney’s 29%.

“I am so honored to be the Democratic nominee for Congress here in New York’s 19th District,” said Riley a er he was announced as the projected winner. He continued saying, “For too long Upstate New Yorkers have been sold out by professional politicians and special interests. I’m running for Congress to bring change and new leadership.”

Cheney released a concession statement saying, “I fully support Democratic nominee Josh Riley, and look forward to helping him beat anti-choice politician Marc Molinaro and keep the House blue this fall.”

Democratic nominee Josh Riley will now advance to face Republican Marc Molinaro in the general election for the 19th Congressional District on November 8th. According to the non-partisan Cook Political Report, the new 19th Congressional District is one of the most competitive districts in New York State.

In the Democratic primary election for State Senate District 52, Lea Webb defeated Leslie Danks Burke. With all districts reporting Webb received a total of 58.83% of the vote compared to Danks Burke’s 37.27%. Similarly to the 19th Congressional District, Tompkins County closely re ected these results with Webb receiving 55% of the vote compared to Danks Burke’s 40%.

A er Webb was announced as the projected winner she said, “Tonight we celebrate, but tomorrow we get back to work.” She continued saying, “ is campaign was never about me, alone. It was always about building a platform for those voices who have gone neglected and unheard for so long…I’m con dent we will ride this people-powered wave to victory in November.”

Burke responded to her defeat with an election night statement saying, “I’m not able to reach Lea Webb by phone, but I have le her messages congratulating her on her successful campaign, recognizing the honor that it has been to join her in this race, and wishing her every success.”

Former Binghamton City Councilmember Lea Webb will now advance to face former Binghamton Mayor and Republican Rich David in the general election on November 8th.

ITHACA NOTES

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might have jovially been called “swell” clothes: nice clothes, stylish clothes, fancy clothes. ere’s no call for them here. Go to a wedding in too ne an ensemble and you might show up the assembly, and maybe even the principals. Too nice a jacket worn to a job interview, forget about a suit, might cost you that job. Your thin leather shoes are not your best foot forward.

Now those clothes are like friends you don’t see anymore. ey even have names: Christian Dior, Bill Blass, Marc Anthony, J. Crew, Lanvin. ey’re like fading entries in an old address book. Are they even still alive?

On some occasions it might make sense to break out the apparel not from the bottom of a barrel: when going to the doctor, for instance. Mightn’t they treat you better the more professional you look? Maybe, but then you arrive and you’re the only one in the waiting room not wearing jeans, sweats, shorts, sneakers or sandals, and the staff all wear sneakers, including the practitioner.

If you’re ready to hang up, as in give up, the haberdashery, there are options.

e Recycling Center o Route 13 accepts clothing. ey are slightly fussy in that the material must be of donatable quality, i.e. not ragged, and brought in clear plastic bags, or it will be refused. e Salvation Army, a bit further south on Route 13, is less strict, which seems ironic for an army. My experience there is seeing people bring things in all types of bags and everything is accepted. ey do make a point of asking that nothing be le there during o hours.

Catholic Charities on W. Bu alo Street has a service of providing free clothing from donations. I was told they might be particular about acceptances because of space limitations, and because with the pandemic fewer people than usual have been coming in to take things. But when I went they were happy with what I brought, which was of fairly high-toned provenance, but also simply because it was men’s wear, which they said they get much less than women’s.

It reminded me of the biblical verse, particularly apt in that setting, that it’s more blessed to give than to receive. I know this is generally construed as a moral exhortation, but it always seemed to me a mere statement of fact, because it means you have something to give in the rst place. I was blessed enough to have had a full closet once, and not to need one now.