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40TH SEASON THRU JULY 23! A GATHERING OF SONS, acclaimed World Premiere Sondheim’s SWEENEY TODD, Handel & more! See ad on pg. 36
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06.28/07.05.2017
Factory Swing Shift
The Factory stays up late! EVENTS 7.21 – 5-8pm TEACHER WORKSHOP: POP CULTURE IN THE CLASSROOM Tickets $30
7.28 – 7-10pm SILVER SCREEN BAZAAR Featuring a variety of Hollywood-related memorabilia from vendors and the Pittsburgh premiere of Warhol’s film San Diego Surf. Free with museum admission
8.5 – 10am -12pm HALF-PINT PRINTS The Factory Free with museum admission
9.16 – 8pm & 10pm NIGHT OF 1,000 MARILYNS Feel like a Hollywood star at our third annual fundraiser. Free parking in The Warhol lot. Tickets $200 VIP; $50 General Admission; $25 Late Night
7.28 – 5-9:30pm
MEMBERS ONLY: 7.29 – 2pm Members Tour: Stars of the Silver Screen
The Factory, Free with museum admission
The Factory stays up late! Visit our hands-on underground studio to make art after dark during Factory Swing Shift. Visitors can drop in to experiment with a range of materials and techniques in a relaxed creative environment with skilled artist educators, special guests, and music NEWS
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The Andy Warhol Museum receives state arts funding support through a grant from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, a state agency funded by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania; the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency and The Heinz Endowments. Further support is provided by the Allegheny Regional Asset District.
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We’ve made it simple! We’ve now made it even easier to purchase or reload your ConnectCard. Riders can now buy a card, purchase a pass or stored cash value and check their balance at over 150 ConnectCard sites throughout Allegheny County including: Port Authority’s Downtown Service Center, most area Giant Eagle stores, Goodwill stores, independent retailers, dozens of ConnectCard machines and online. For more information, go to connectcard.org.
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PITTSBURGH CITY PAPER
06.28/07.05.2017
06.28/07.05.2017 VOLUME 27 + ISSUE 26
Religious & Ethnic Intimidation: Policies & Their Impacts [EDITORIAL] Editor CHARLIE DEITCH News Editor REBECCA ADDISON Arts & Entertainment Editor BILL O’DRISCOLL Associate Editor AL HOFF Digital Editor ALEX GORDON Staff Writers RYAN DETO, CELINE ROBERTS Music Writer MEG FAIR Interns CARLEY BONK, HALEY FREDERICK, KRISTA JOHNSON, HANNAH LYNN, JORDAN MILLER, MATT PETRAS
A forum to learn about the problems local organizations and their clients are facing and potential solutions. A public hearing where those who visit, live or work in Pittsburgh can share their experiences of discrimination.
[ART]
Friday, June 30, 2017
Director of Operations KEVIN SHEPHERD Production Director JULIE SKIDMORE Art Director LISA CUNNINGHAM Graphic Designers JEFF SCHRECKENGOST, JENNIFER TRIVELLI
[MAIN FEATURE]
Not only does our animal issue have lots of great content on bats, cats, penguins and everything in between, the issue is also great for lining bird cages. (Go ahead, we don’t mind.) PAGES 6, 14, 15, 18-25 and 54
It can be difficult to keep in mind that the robots we view creating these artworks are not actually the artists. PAGE 34
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News 06 Views 15 Weird 16 Music 26 Arts 34 Events 37 Taste 40
Screen 44 Sports 46 Classifieds 50 Crossword 50 Astrology 52 Savage Love 53 The Last Word 54 NEWS
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Leslie Aizenman
Travel Bans & Federal Immigration Policy
Immigrant Services & Connections and Jewish Family & Children’s Services
Guillermo Perez Pittsburgh Labor Council for Latin American Advancement
11:15am PUBLIC COMMENT 1:00pm
Marketing Director LINDSEY THOMPSON Marketing Assistant LIZ VENUTO Office Coordinator THRIA DEVLIN
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GENERAL POLICIES: Contents copyrighted 2017 by Eagle Media Corp. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written permission of the publisher. The opinions expressed in Pittsburgh City Paper are those of the author and not necessarily of Eagle Media Corp. LETTER POLICY: Letters, faxes or e-mails must be signed and include town and daytime phone number for confirmation. We may edit for length and clarity. DISTRIBUTION: Pittsburgh City Paper is published weekly by Eagle Media Corp. and is available free of charge at select distribution locations. One copy per reader; copies of past issues may be purchased for $3.00 each, payable in advance to Pittsburgh City Paper. FIRST CLASS MAIL SUBSCRIPTIONS: Available for $175 per year, $95 per half year. No refunds.
Welcoming/Sanctuary/ Freedom Cities
Robert Whitehill For the American Civil Liberties Union
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Discrimination in Educational Settings
Bishnu Timsina
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Interior Enforcement & Employment Discrimination
Sundrop Carter
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EAGLE MEDIA CORP.
“There’s a freeing feeling in singing something that feels good, but you’re not necessarily sure where it comes from.”
Migration Policy Institute
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City Council Chambers – 414 Grant Street
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INVITED SPEAKERS:
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Jules Lobel Center for Constitutional Rights
Sheila VelezMartinez
The Pittsburgh City Code protects persons from discrimination, or an illegal difference in treatment, based on age (over 40), ancestry, color, disability, ethnicity, gender identity or expression, national origin, place of birth, sex, sexual orientation, race, or religion, enforced by PghCHR.
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THIS WEEK
“WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT THESE GUYS ARE NOT EATEN, BUT ARE EATING.”
ONLINE
www.pghcitypaper.com
On Sunday, pedestrians and cyclists took over some of the city’s roadways for Open Streets. Check out our photo slideshow from the event at www.pghcitypaper.com.
The latest CP Longform looks at nearby Ford City, a town in need of a comeback. Check it out online at www.pghcitypaper.com.
City Paper’s blog PolitiCrap was named best blog at this year’s Golden Quill awards.
{CP PHOTOS BY RENEE ROSENSTEEL}
Allegheny GoatScape tends a lot in Crafton Heights.
HELPING HERD
Catch up on the latest posts at www.pghcitypaper.com/blogs/PolitiCrap.
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T’S A TUESDAY morning in Crafton Heights. Behind a fence on Crafton Boulevard are eight goats, one man and one miniature donkey. The man, Gavin Deming, wears a blue cap adorned with the image of a goat biting down on a baseball bat. It’s Chompers, the mascot of the Double-A minor-league baseball team the Hartford Yard Goats. Deming’s own herd of goats is also made up of distinct characters: Cowboy is the wild one; Wimpy is certainly not as shy as his name suggests; and Hobo, the miniature donkey, serves as the goats’ protector. Deming is the founder and director of Allegheny GoatScape. And he’s on a mission to clean up the overgrown lots of Pittsburgh with the help of his herd of landscapers. “Generally, goats are just a very friendly, docile animal,” says Deming,
whose herd includes nine goats. “As castrated males, they have no other function really except for to be eaten or to eat. We want to make sure that these guys are not eaten, but are eating.”
Allegheny GoatScape offers novelty, sustainability as the herd embarks on a mission to clean up Pittsburgh {BY HALEY FREDERICK} Using goats to clear overgrown and invasive vegetation is a growing trend in urban environments. Goats have gone to work in places like Detroit, Washington, D.C., and Brooklyn. You can even use
Amazon to hire a herd near you. But it’s hard to tell what is behind the growth of the goat landscaping industry. Is it about the spectacle and cute-factor of farm animals in urban environments, or an interest in environmentally friendly practices? Are people in it for the petting zoo or the planet? For Deming, it’s about a desire to help the environment and create community spaces. “Long ago, a friend of mine and I talked about the idea of walking a herd of goats throughout the North Side and letting them eat all the vacant overgrown lots, so that they could turn into community gardens and things like that,” he says. The industry was first launched in Pittsburgh in 2015 after the City of Pittsburgh updated the urban agriculture zoning code, CONTINUES ON PG. 08
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PITTSBURGH CITY PAPER
06.28/07.05.2017
It takes a big heart to donate part of your liver.
Mike Thompson Kennedy’s living-liver donor Age 38
Become a living donor to a child who needs a new liver. Kennedy Stevenson Liver recipient Age 5
It’s always hard for kids to wait. But when a child is waiting for a lifesaving liver transplant, the wait is even more difficult. However, for the more than 30 kids who are on Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC’s liver waiting list, there’s another option: living donation. This is when a part of an adult liver is transplanted into a child. The adult’s liver grows back, while the child can go on to live a healthy life. We are on a mission to find donors for these children and to save lives through living donation. Donors are carefully screened and not everyone is eligible. So spread the word and please consider being a living donor to a child. You’ll leave a legacy. And you’ll save a life. Visit UPMC.com/BeADonor.
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We’re more than just cleaning. * $88 new customer special includes two professional maids, cleaning for a two hour maximum with our environmentally friendly cleaning products.
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PITTSBURGH CITY PAPER
* Homes that have 3 or more bedrooms or require a more involved cleaning will fall under the $88 new customer special, or $20 an hour after the first two hours.
06.28/07.05.2017
HELPING HERD, CONTINUED FROM PG. 06
allowing residents to keep chickens, bees and goats as long as they had an appropriate amount of land. That year, Deming saw his dream of goats in the city come true when the Steel City Grazers established Pittsburgh’s first goat-grazing company. Deming got involved with the organization when the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy, where he works as a community specialist, worked with Steel City Grazers on a project in Oakland in 2015. “I was so impressed with how efficient the goats were and with how well they did removing the foliage and the vegetation,” says Deming, who works with the Conservancy’s Community Gardens and Greenspace Program. “Our staff was able to come through right after that and whack down whatever they didn’t eat, and we were able to plant trees immediately. So with a little of the follow-up management, we turned a pretty densely invasive space into a welcoming corridor of Pittsburgh.” He kept in touch with the Steel City Grazers, and at the end of 2016, when Deming let them know that his property was approved for goats, the Steel City Grazers let him know that they wanted to move in a different direction and offered to sell their business to him. He gladly accepted the offer. In January 2017, he officially formed Allegheny GoatScape as a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization. “The reason I turned it into a nonprofit rather than a for-profit corporation is because I want to be sure that these guys can be on public property,” Deming says. “The resources are often scarce for public projects. I want to be able to raise money through grants and fundraising, so that we can get them in public spaces like our parks.” And the public has been embracing Deming and his herd with open arms ever since. In May, Allegheny GoatScape launched a “Goats on the Go” campaign on In Our Backyards, a crowdfunding website focused on connecting communities to local projects in need of funds. Seventy-eight people donated to the campaign, raising $5,335 — which exceeded the goal by $150 — so that Allegheny GoatScape could purchase a trailer to transport the animals. Even Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto has voiced his support for the use of goat landscaping in Pittsburgh. “When I met him at Earth Day in Frick Park, he said, ‘I certainly hope you guys continue to come into our city parks,’” Deming says. “He’s seen it work, and it’s not coming from the city’s dime; it’s coming from wonderful advocates like Tree Pittsburgh and other groups that have gotten the goats on city property.” In fact, Allegheny GoatScape is getting ready to undertake its biggest project yet in South Side Park, thanks to a $10,000
Gavin Deming with part of his herd
grant awarded to the Friends of South Side Park from the Allegheny County Conservation District. The goats will tackle a six-acre section of the 65-acre park that was nicknamed “Jurassic Valley” by locals due to the thick vines and vegetation that make it inaccessible. Once the goats have cleaned up the grounds, volunteers, along with Pittsburgh’s Student Conservation Association, will follow up by planting trees. On July 8, Friends of South Side Park is holding “Goat Fest,” at the Bandi Schaum Community Garden, to celebrate the goats’ work and to give the public the chance to meet the herd. Other local sites the Allegheny GoatScape herd has tended include Garfield Community Farm and a lot owned by the First United Presbyterian Church of Crafton Heights. “Our church owns a hillside that is a challenge, to say the least, to traditional landscape management. Our current lawn service refused the business, because he thought it would be too tough on his machinery or too risky to his employees,” says Pastor Dave Carver. “The environmental factor was huge, too. We’ve been trying to be greener and greener, and this seemed like an attractive option.” Goats are popularly known for consuming anything that’s put in front of them, making them the ideal weed-eaters. Though they’re sometimes called “mowers,” this isn’t technically true. Animals like sheep are grazers, meaning they eat low vegetation like grass, but goats are browsers. “They get pretty creative with how they look for food. If it’s easy and at their face level, that’s their favorite, but if they want leaves, they’ll climb as high as they can get CONTINUES ON PG. 10
GALLERY CRAWL in the Cultural District
Friday, July 7, 2017 5:30 – 10 pm
FREE ADMISSION TO CRAWL EVENTS
TRUSTARTS.ORG/Crawl
crawl after dark COVER CHARGES MAY APPLY
20+ events including:
#CrawlPGH
SPACE Wall Paintings: Storytellers | Guest curated by Robert Raczka A live art event featuring 12 artists or teams painting directly on the gallery walls, incorporating elements of narrative or storytelling.
Trust Arts Education Center Drap-Art An association of artists who use trash as their material and/or conceptual resource.
937 Liberty CSA PGH Remix CSA PGH creates “shares” of art to feed the public’s cultural appetite. See past editioned artwork and new work by alumni.
Agnes R. Katz Plaza Sponsors:
Devin Moses & The Saved Alternative folk band from Pittsburgh.
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HELPING HERD, CONTINUED FROM PG. 08
21e+ nt ev
SATURDAY, JULY 8 • 7 – 10 PM MATTRESS FACTORY 500 SAMPSONIA WAY • PITTSBURGH, PA 15212
Come enjoy a night full of 10+ local breweries, wineries & distillers, Food trucks & Live Music! Tickets: GA: $40 VIP: $50 DD: $25
www.eventbrite.com/e/imbibe-north-side-tickets-35179801734
Ticket Includes: Free drinks, commemorative pint glass, live music & museum exhibits.
and reach for it and pull down,” says Deming. Many of the plants the goats eat are invasive species like Japanese knotweed, which is known to damage structures and kill other native plants. “The nice thing about this whole venture, bringing them to eat unwanted plants, is that they like most of the plants in here,” Deming says gesturing to the lot in Crafton Heights. “Goats are similar to humans in that they have tastes, so some things they like more than others. We’re very grateful that one of their favorites is the knotweed.” It is important to remember, however, that the goats aren’t taking the plants out at the root; they’re weakening it by eating what’s above the ground. “To really remove it in full, there needs to be a management plan in place, so that somebody is gonna cut it down when it comes back up or dig it out,” says Deming. “This is really just the first broad brush that allows a neighborhood or the owner to see what can happen with the space.” Goatscaping is an environmentally friendly alternative to more traditional landscaping techniques that use harmful chemical herbicides or fuel-powered machinery. The only fuel the goats require is
the plants they eat, and they even leave behind some natural fertilizer in the process. In addition to the environmental benefits, cost is a major reason why people are choosing goats over traditional landscapers. That can cost a few thousand dollars after paying for labor, machinery and chemicals, whereas a herd of goats is much cheaper. Allegheny GoatScape charges a setup fee which is dependent upon the challenges of the particular space, after which the cost to have the herd there is only about a hundred dollars a day. “When I hear people talk about how much things cost, they’re shocked at how cheap this can be,” Deming says. Ultimately, it’s the affordability of goatscaping that could make it more sustainable than other environmental practices, which sometimes cost more than their environmentally harmful counterparts. And the cute-factor of having goats on your property doesn’t hurt either. No matter what leads people to embrace goatscaping, Deming just wants to see the practice more widely used. “It’s OK if good things are cute,” he says, “even when good things aren’t always cute.” I N F O@ P G H C I T Y PA P E R. C OM
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PITTSBURGH CITY PAPER
www.MedMark.com 06.28/07.05.2017
JENSORENSEN
OFFICIAL ADVERTISEMENT
THE BOARD OF PUBLIC EDUCATION OF THE SCHOOL DISTRICT OF PITTSBURGH Sealed bids will be received in the Office Of The Chief Operations Officer, Room 251, Administration Building, 341 South Bellefield Avenue until 11:00 A.M. prevailing time JULY 11, 2017 and will be opened at the same hour for the purchase of the following equipment and supplies:
WINDOW CLEANING General Information regarding bids may be obtained at the Office of the Purchasing Agent, Service Center, 1305 Muriel Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15203. The bid documents are available on the School District’s Purchasing web site at: http://www.pghboe.net/pps/site/default.asp Click on Bid Opportunities under Quick Links.
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The Board of Public Education reserves the right to reject any and all bids, or select a single item from any bid. Leon Webb Purchasing Agent
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We are an equal rights and opportunity school district. Parent Hotline: 412-622-7920 www.pps.k12.pa.us
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To Europe in a heartbeat. New this year: Fly nonstop from Pittsburgh to Frankfurt and beyond.
Born to fly.
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06.28/07.05.2017
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THE FUR STILL FLIES Some bats show resistance to deadly white-nose syndrome {BY BILL O’DRISCOLL} EIGHT YEARS AGO, white-nose syndrome, a deadly bat disorder, spread from upstate New York and claimed its first victims in Pennsylvania. DeeAnn Reeder, a Bucknell University biologist researching the problem, was worried about bats’ chances against this fast-moving fungal scourge. “If you ask me on a really pessimistic day,” Reeder told City Paper in 2009, “I might say that we won’t have any bats in Pennsylvania in five years.” Reeder’s 2009 prediction wasn’t far off. Take the little brown bat, historically the state’s most populous species, once numbering in the millions: Its ranks have shrunk by an estimated 99 percent or more. Other species, including the tri-colored, northern long-eared and Indiana bats, have been similarly decimated. Nationally, estimates the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, whitenose syndrome has killed about six million bats. And white-nose is still spreading. It currently infects bats in 31 states and two
Canadian provinces — it’s even jumped to the Pacific Northwest — and there’s no known treatment. But if all that sounds hopeless, it’s not, quite: In Pennsylvania and other states where white-nose struck early, bat populations have apparently stopped declining.
The 5th Judicial District of Pennsylvania and Allegheny County Pretrial Services urges you to enjoy your weekend out in Pittsburgh but
make the right choice,
don’t drink & drive.
“We’ve reached a relatively stable point, we think,” says Reeder today. For example, while the little brown bat’s numbers remain perilously low, remnant adults have now survived several years of white-nose and continue reproducing, suggesting they have in-born resistance or have otherwise adapted. And at least one other species, the big brown bat, barely seems to be affected by white-nose, Reeder says. Whether affected species can recover enough to survive long-term is uncertain. But for now, says Reeder, “We’re cautiously optimistic.” White-nose appeared in North America in 2006. It’s caused by a cold-loving fungus (Geomyces destructans) that dusts the muzzles and wings of hibernating bats. The infection, which is spread bat to bat by these highly sociable creatures (but is harmless to humans), makes bats arouse too often. That depletes their fat reserves; in winter, unable to feed, they die. This has been bad news for more than the world’s only true flying mammal. Bats are also champion insect-eaters — a single bat can eat up to its weight in bugs in a night — and pollinators and seed-dispersers, too. They’re crucial to their ecosystems. And the authors of a 2011 report in Science estimated that bats save U.S. farmers $22.9 billion a year in prevention of pest damage and reduced pesticide application alone. Bats face other human-caused threats. For years they’ve been harmed by people disturbing their roosts (including those man-made bat caves: abandoned coal
mines), by habitat loss and by pesticides. And in the past decade or two, bats have met a new enemy: wind turbines. One estimate cited by Bat Conservation International attributes as many as 400,000 bat deaths in the U.S. and Canada to wind turbines in 2012 alone. Worldwide, wind turbines are actually the single biggest killer of bats; wind turbines hit hardest migrating bats, who because they don’t hibernate are generally spared white-nose. Conservation groups have been working with the wind industry on fixes like briefly idling turbines during periods of light wind, when bats are most active, reducing mortality while impacting energy generation minimally. Such efforts are a work in progress (there’s disagreement about the ideal wind-speed cut-off point), but bats’ biggest threat around here is still white-nose. While wildlife officials work to restrict human access to caves to help prevent its spread, researchers explore possible treatments for the disease. So far, though, most of the hope is coming from the bats themselves. Bucknell’s Reeder, for example, is amazed by the how big brown bats resist the ill effects of the fungus that merely taints them while killing their cousins. “I’ve just started calling them the superbat,” she quips. The big brown’s larger body size helps (it’s got more fat to burn if it wakes up early), as do its habits of hibernating in colder, less crowded roosts for shorter periods of time. There’s some evidence that remnant little brown bats, too, have taken to colder roosts, where the fungus doesn’t thrive. Genetic factors are also being researched, she says. Christina Kocer, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s northeast-regional coordinator for white-nose syndrome, notes that ideally, bats who’ve survived whitenose have a resistance they can pass on to their pups. Perhaps North American bats will follow the path apparently taken historically by bats in Europe and Asia, where Geomyces destructans is endemic but somehow rendered harmless. (The fungus was likely imported here inadvertently from Europe, by humans.) Yet even if the worst of white-nose is over in Pennsylvania — a big “if” — bats face a struggle. They live 20 years or more in the wild but reproduce slowly: Big brown bats are the only species in Pennsylvania that bear even two pups per litter, says Reeder. Kocer, who’s based in Massachusetts, says bat populations in New York and Vermont are stabilizing, too, even growing. But even if all goes well, she says, “It’s still going to take a long time to get them back.”
“WE’RE CAUTIOUSLY OPTIMISTIC”
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PITTSBURGH CITY PAPER
06.28/07.05.2017
[GUEST COLUMN]
ANIMAL FRIENDS {BY SALLY WIGGIN} I CANNOT remember a time that I didn’t love animals. I remember, at 3 years old, my parents gave me a plastic Lone Ranger doll along with his horse, Silver. I tossed the Lone Ranger and kept Silver; my love affair with horses began and continues to this day. At age 10, I memorized all the dog breeds that were a part of the American Kennel Club at the time. At 11, I tried to do the same with an encyclopedic volume, Mammals of the World. As a child, I had a dachshund, turtles, a parakeet (whom my dog ate, setting off a minor childhood trauma) and a snake. Since then, I have lived with and loved eight dogs, three horses and two cats. Yes, I wanted to be a zoologist or a veterinarian, right up until my freshman year of college. But, like so many young women at that time, I was terrified of math, a requirement in animal sciences. So, I tabled my obsession with animals as an academic pursuit, for degrees in Asian studies. It was another love, sports, that landed me in broadcast journalism, but that’s a story for another time. Finally, in 1989, I came to appreciate the greater connection between wildlife and humans during my first trip to Africa. It was a horseback safari in Kenya, and the thrill of galloping alongside giraffes and eland (the largest species of antelope) was transformative. But then you touch an elephant, and love turns to advocacy. It was 1994, and I had gone to do a television interview with the great elephant expert, British zoologist Iain Douglas-Hamilton. He was lecturing at the Pittsburgh Zoo, and was standing in the elephant yard with Willie Theison, himself now regarded as one of the nation’s top elephant managers. They invited me to touch the elephant, Tasha. It rocked my world, like it does so many others who are activists trying to save these animals from the slaughter that is threatening them with extinction. Recently Theison told me, “Elephants have great energy.” He watches that energy calm people, relax them. But he hopes it teaches, too. Teaches people to “keep everything in balance. To understand life, rather than be the dominant entity over animals.” He said, with urgency, “Animals, they have a place. We have to keep a place.” Yet, a statistic two years ago showed that of all of the world’s philanthropy, only 1 percent goes to wildlife conservation. Assailed by climate change, habitat loss and poaching, our planet’s biodiversity
{PHOTO COURTESY OF SALLY WIGGIN}
Sally Wiggin and Noris
is gravely threatened. But there is hope. I heard the “Father of Biodiversity,” E.O. Wilson, speak in Pittsburgh several years ago. He pointed out that there are enough financial resources to fix this. To set aside spaces to enhance the planet. We just have to have the will. I have been blessed to see what that will can produce, from Antarctica, where I walked with penguins, to Rwanda, where I have sat with gorillas. I have seen the conservation work in India, where rangers protect rhinos and tigers. But there is also great will and heart in domestic animal shelters which work to reduce overpopulation and animal cruelty. Humane Animal Rescue CEO Dan Rossi says, “Watch shelter workers and see the calming effect the people have on the canines in our care.” Karen Winter, featured with her Scottish deerhounds in our WTAE Chronicle, “Dog Stories,” adds, “I’d like to think I am a better human, because I have lived with animals.” Which brings me to this personal revelation. I always wanted children, the husband and the role of working at home. But my marriage and successive relationships didn’t work out. I say this to emphasize that a connection to animals doesn’t exclude connections to people. And as I continue to grieve my brave and precious German shepherd, Noris, I can only emphasize life is about balance — balance with the natural world. Without it, we are doomed.
I CANNOT REMEMBER A TIME THAT I DIDN’T LOVE ANIMALS.
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Sally Wiggin has been a broadcaster for WTAE, Channel 4 since 1980. She is currently the host of the station’s topical news-magazine show, Chronicle, and has worked as both a reporter and anchor. She is also on the board of directors of several local animal-oriented organizations, including the Humane Rescue League and the Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium.
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News of the Weird
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In rare cases, a mother has given birth for the principal purpose of “harvesting” a baby’s cells, ultimately to benefit another family member with a condition or illness that the cells would aid. However, Keri Young of Oklahoma gave birth in April for a different purpose. After learning while pregnant that her baby would not long survive after birth (because of anencephaly), she nonetheless carried it to term — just to harvest organs for unspecified people who might need them (though the grieving Keri and husband Royce admit that some might judge their motive harshly).
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PITTSBURGH CITY PAPER
In some parts of traditional Japanese society, it remains not uncommon for someone to feel the need to “rent” “friends.” For example, relatives at a funeral bear grief better if they realize the many “friends” the deceased had. Or, a working man or woman may rent a sweetheart just to help deflect parental pressure to marry. In northern China, in April, a man was arrested for renting “family” and “friends” to populate his side of the aisle at his wedding. Apparently, there were conflicts plaguing each family, and police were investigating, but the groom surely worsened the plan by not coaching the actors on his personal details, thus making interfamily small-talk especially awkward.
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Our Litigious Society: (1) David Waugaman, 57, fell off a barstool last year and needed surgery, and of course he is suing the tavern at Ziggy’s Hotel in Youngwood, Pa., for continuing to serve him before he fell. Wrote Waugaman, “You’re not supposed to feed people so much booze.” (2) Robert Bratton filed a lawsuit recently in Columbia, Mo., against the Hershey chocolate company because there was too much empty space in his grocerystore box of Reese’s Pieces, which he thought was “deceptive” (even though the correct number of Pieces was printed on the label). In May, federal judge Nanette Laughrey ruled that Bratton’s case could continue for the jury to decide.
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For not the first time in News of the Weird’s experience, a man shot himself but had the bullet pass through him and hit a bystander (except this time it was fatal to the
06.28/07.05.2017
bystander). Victor Sibson, 21, was charged in Anchorage, Alaska, in May with killing his girlfriend even though he had aimed at his own head. Investigators were persuaded that it was a genuine attempt, though he survived, but in critical condition.
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More Animals With Affordable Health Care: In April, the annual report of the Association of British Insurers on its members’ policies for pet owners noted that among the claims paid were those for a bearded dragon with an abscess, an anorexic Burmese python, a cocker spaniel that swallowed a turkey baster, a cockatoo with respiratory problems, and even a “lethargic” house cat (which nonetheless cost the equivalent of $470 to treat).
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Legal “Experts” Everywhere! American “sovereigns” litter courtrooms with their self-indulgent misreadings of history and the Constitution (misreadings that, coincidentally, happen to favor them with free
passes on arrests and tax-paying). But now, the U.K.’s Exeter Crown Court has experienced Mark Angell, 41, who said in May that he simply could not step into the courtroom dock to state a plea concerning possession of cannabis because he would thus be “submitting” to “maritime law,” which he could not legally do on dry land. Judge: “Don’t talk nonsense. Get in the dock.” Angell was ordered to trial. Before leaving, he gave the judge a bill for his detention: the equivalent of $2.5 million.
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More of the World’s Third-Oldest Crime (Smuggling): (1) In the latest awesome drug-mule haul of gold (into South Korea, where it fetches higher prices than in neighboring countries), 51 people were arrested in May for bringing in, over a two-year period, a cumulative two tons, worth $99 million, by hiding it in body parts befitting their biological sex. (2) Customs officials in Abdali, Kuwait, apprehended a pigeon in May with 178 ketamine pills inside a fabric pocket attached to its back
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ANIMAL TALES
LET’S GO PENS! Get up close and personal with this team of penguins at the National Aviary {BY CHARLIE DEITCH}
Brooklyn Magill of Ellwood City feeds a penguin at the National Aviary. {CP PHOTOS BY JORDAN MILLER}
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PITTSBURGH CITY PAPER
06.28/07.05.2017
P
ENGUINS ARE HUGE around these hung back on some rocks and caught most
parts. And while I’ve heard many a hockey fan say how cute Pittsburgh Penguins Sidney Crosby and Kris Letang are, they’ve got nothing on Goldie and Slippy. During a recent penguin-feeding encounter at the North Side’s National Aviary, Goldie milled around the legs of the Aviary’s penguin-care team, like a cat looking for a scratch behind the ear. Slippy, whose name was selected by local voters in a name-that-penguin contest, hung back a bit waiting for someone to toss him his lunch. Eventually, a fish got thrown his way. But it wasn’t thrown by a member of the Aviary staff. The two penguinfeeders on this day were members of the general public, who were taking part in the zoo’s new private penguin-feeding encounter. For $100, plus a general admission ticket (Aviary members receive free admission), participants age 16 and over are given a pair of rubber waders and boots, a short introductory course on proper penguin-feeding etiquette and a threelegged stool. They are then taken inside the Aviary’s Penguin Point exhibit, which houses 20 African penguins. A penguin-team member explains the different types of fish to the participants and which penguins like which type of fish. Basic protocol is to touch the bird lightly on the beak with the fish and when the penguin begins eating, hold the fish until the bird has it under control. Others, like Slippy,
of the fish that were thrown their way. Abby Kuwik, a member of the feeding team, explained that penguins are a lot like humans when it comes to eating. “Some of my friends like to cut up their pizza and some of my friends like to eat it whole,” she explains. “So, what we do is we adjust each penguin’s feeding needs. Some penguins like to have their fish thrown to them,” because they don’t like to get in the mob of penguins who rush the feeders. The feeding process is interesting to watch. The penguin-team members advise which fish to hand a particular penguin — each bird wears a band on its arm with its name — or to toss gently. The penguins won’t necessarily take the fish that’s being handed to them. Many of the birds turned their heads away, and some even gestured with what you would swear was a head shake like a baby trying a lemon for a first time. The feeding, which can be viewed by the public around the encounter area, lasts roughly 20 minutes. One by one, the birds walk away until it’s time for their next feeding. There’s one feeding at 1 p.m. and another at 4 p.m., and private feeding encounters are available at both times. The aviary also offers another penguin encounter, at $40 per person for up to eight people, to spend about 30 minutes with the penguins — who themselves decide if they want to participate — asking questions, taking photos and touching the penguins. And these are just two of the encounters offered by the Aviary.
“OUR BIRDS ARE AMBASSADORS FOR THEIR WILD COUNTERPART”
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Robin Weber, senior director of marketing and communication at the National Aviary, says the encounters “are a way to learn about a species that’s critically endangered.” According to information from South Africa’s Kruger National Park, the population of these birds has declined by more than 50 percent in the past 30 years, mostly due to commercial fishing off Africa’s coast. That’s why properly educating the public about their plight is so crucial. “We don’t treat our animals like pets; you don’t pet them like a dog,” Weber says. “When you get a chance to touch a penguin, it’s so you can feel their feathers and understand how its feathers help it live in its natural climate. It’s for an educational reason.” “These encounters are another chance to provide more in-depth information,” she says. “But more importantly, what we’re trying to do as a whole is connect people to the natural world. When people have an up-close encounter with one of our animals, it gives them a chance to connect personally and to identify with that species. Our birds are ambassadors for their wild counterparts.”
Penguins aren’t the only residents of the National Aviary to get their own encounters. Check out these other interactive programs. For pricing and availability: www.aviary.org. PENGUIN PAINTING: Choose your color and then watch the penguin artists go to work. SLOTH ENCOUNTER: When the Aviary’s second sloth, Valentino, arrived at the facility last year, the 3-month-old broke the internet. This experience allows you to feed and touch the sloth, and get a selfie. FLAMINGO ENCOUNTER: Observe these birds on the Aviary’s wetland beach, learn about them and even help feed them. BIRD OF PREY ENCOUNTER: Learn about these birds, including the falcon, vulture and hawk. There’s even a chance for a photo. OWL ENCOUNTER: Yes, we know. Technically an owl is a bird of prey, but growing up with X the Owl on Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood made us love the birds. TRAINER FOR A DAY: Love all the birds? Spend a day with the Aviary’s animal-care team, known as aviculturists, learning what life is like for the folks who care for, feed and train the Aviary’s 500 birds.
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{PHOTO COURTESY OF JOE GORDON}
Joe Granata with a flathead catfish he caught earlier this year in the Ohio River
PITTSBURGH’S PREDATORS
Flathead catfish are impressive predators in Pittsburgh’s rivers {BY RYAN DETO} RECENTLY, CATFISH were thrust into Pitts-
burgh’s public sphere thanks to a Nashville Predator fan chucking a dead catfish onto the ice at PPG Paints Arena during Game 2 of the Stanley Cup finals. The Pittsburgh Penguins responded by winning the Stanley Cup, and Pittsburghers everywhere started saying, “We throw parades, not catfish.” Well, the hockey season may be over, but there are still plenty of catfish in Western Pennsylvania. And Joe Gordon and Joe Granata of the 3 Rivers Catfish Club think the region’s native catfish shouldn’t be dismissed. The two friends have been catfishing (no, not that kind) for years and have caught dozens of flathead catfish in the Allegheny, the Monongahela and the Ohio, even right in front of PNC Park. Some of these fish have weighed in at more than 35 pounds, says Granata, and he believes 50-pounders, some stretching as long as four feet, reside in area rivers. Gordon feels the impressive size and abundance of flathead catfish should garner more attention in our region. He says flathead catfish are the apex predator in the Ohio River watershed in this area.
“In these rivers, there is no other fish that can hunt them,” says Gordon. “Once you catch one, you will never want to catch anything else.” Gordon says flatheads don’t have scales like other fish, and can actually taste through their skin. The fish pick up scents flowing in the currents of our rivers to home in on their prey. When small fish swim close enough to touch flatheads’ foot-long whiskers, the large fish open their massive mouths, causing a vacuum effect in the water and sucking the prey into their jaws. While Gordon and Granata love the sport of catfishing, and on good nights can haul in about a dozen catfish, they are dedicated to preserving the fish and its ecosystem. Gordon says they use circle hooks that cause the least amount of pain possible to the animal by attaching at the corner of the fish’s mouth. Granata also says the club is dedicated to “CPR” fishing (catch, take a picture, and then release). And Gordon is hoping the state will soon regulate catfishing to lessen any potential harm to the population. Since
flatheads are at the top of the food chain, lowering their numbers too drastically would have an outsize effect on the entire ecosystem, says Gordon. For those interested in catfishing, Gordon says water temperature is key to reeling in flatheads. It’s ideal when the river temperature is between 50 and 72 degrees Fahrenheit. The catfish prefer to hang out where boulders or other objects gather on the river bottom. And if you ever snag one, hold on. Gordon says a caught flathead will “dig,” or dive straight down, and it can be hard to hold on to. “When they dig, it feels like your forearms are getting ripped out of your body,” says Gordon. However, even Granata admits that Tennessee still has Pennsylvania beat, catfish-wise. The Volunteer State is home to bigger catfish, including 100-pound blue catfish, and they are more abundant in Tennessee waters. Granata prefers Western Pennsylvania flatheads anyway. “Ours are better in Pittsburgh,” he says. “They have more character.”
“OURS ARE BETTER IN PITTSBURGH.”
RYA N D E TO@ P G HC I T Y PA P E R. C OM
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PITTSBURGH CITY PAPER
06.28/07.05.2017
{PHOTO COURTESY OF PITTSBURGH AVIATION ANIMAL RESCUE TEAM}
PAART has rescued hundreds of dogs to date.
FRIENDLY SKIES
Pittsburgh aviation teams rescues animals along the East Coast {BY REBECCA ADDISON} AN ABUSED DOG adopted by a veteran. Forty sea turtles from Massachusetts. A canine sent to serve as a therapy dog for autistic children. These are just a few of the creatures rescued by Brad Childs and Jonathan Plesset, the aviation duo behind Pittsburgh Aviation Animal Rescue Team. The organization was created in 2006 after the pair, who had grown bored flying from airport to airport for leisure, began flying charitable missions. Then they were contacted by a friend who asked them to fill in for him on a mission. After they agreed, they found out the mission was to rescue a dog. “As the story goes, the phone went quiet for a long time and he said, ‘Are you still there?’ and I said ‘Dude, you’re putting a dog in our airplane; this isn’t your [car],’” says Childs. “And then we fell in love with the dog and fell in love with animal rescue, and here we are today.” PAART regularly partners with the Pittsburgh Zoo, along with other animal and wildlife organizations along the East Coast. Recently, the group transported sea turtles found off the coast of Massachusetts. “They didn’t migrate south fast enough. The water gets cold and they get stunned. They washed up on the shore and were rehabilitated,” says Plesset. “And in conjunction with the Pittsburgh Zoo, we traveled to Cape Canaveral, Florida, and released 40-plus sea turtles right into the ocean.” While the pair has rescued a variety
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of animals, the majority of those they rescue are dogs in danger of being euthanized. They do a lot of missions in West Virginia, where shelters in rural areas don’t have the same resources as those in larger cities like Pittsburgh. “We’re talking about very, very rural parts of the world. When we land at these airports, there might be a thousand people who live in that community, and they have shelters that have no staff, no electricity, no running water. And they have nowhere to put the animals, and no resources, funding or support to get them to a place like Pittsburgh where we’re not overpopulated,” says Childs. “In West Virginia, they’ll end up on a list. They’ll say, ‘We’ve got 60 animals. We only have food for 15 of them. We’re going to euthanize 45 animals.’” PAART offers its services free of charge to parties at both ends of the mission. The group says the reward is seeing how the animals it saves positively impact people’s lives. “Over the years, it started as, ‘Let’s save some dogs’ and it’s really transformed into, ‘We’re really helping people,’” says Plesset. “The question in our minds is always, ‘What if we don’t go? What is the world, what is a family, what is a human going to miss from not having this special animal in their life?’”
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HIDDEN EXHIBIT
Inside the Hall of Birds at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History {BY CARLEY BONK} The Carnegie Museum of Natural History knows how to turn every inch of free space into a learning experience, including the hallways. One exhibit that proves this is the Hall of Birds. The hallway, connecting other exhibits at the museum, displays 306 taxidermied birds of various sizes and habitats — just a fraction of the Carnegie’s collection — including some specimens more than 100 years old. And Rebecca Shreckengast, director of exhibition experience, says this high-traffic area makes a lot of curious guests slow down.
{CP PHOTO BY VANESSA SONG}
“Wanna hang out? Maybe get a coffee?”
{CP PHOTO BY CARLEY BONK}
Toucan Sam and other fowl in the Hall of Birds
“Even if people are in a rush to get to where they’re going, we have this intrinsic connection to birds,” Shreckengast says. “They are a part of our everyday lives, we hear them, we know about them.” Shreckengast is part of the team that is looking to re-imagine the Hall of Birds so it connects with visitors even more. The dark hallway is lacking entrance signage or much decoration, but that’s something Shreckengast is hoping to change. “We are also looking at the long term, how we can create a more atmospheric feeling in here, like trees touching over a road and there’s sort of a tunnel effect,” Shreckengast says. “We are also going to be describing the connection between dinosaurs and birds as well.” However, since projects like this are usually funded through donations from patrons and organizations, Shreckengast says the renovation is expected to be slow-moving. “We want to make people feel like this is not just something to rush through,” Shreckengast says. “It’s an exhibit, a destination to connect with.” INFO@PGHCITYPAPER.COM
Learn more about plans for future renovations at pghcitypaper.com
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PITTSBURGH CITY PAPER
CHILLING WITH CATS {BY AL HOFF} TURNS OUT that there was a hole in Pitts-
burgh shaped like a “cat café” — that is, a spot where people can pay a small fee to hang out with cats. Sue Hendrickson, who co-owns Colony Café with her husband, Erik, says business at their Strip District venue has been “gangbusters,” since the coffee shop and wine bar opened in February. Colony, on Penn Avenue opposite the bus station, is a two-fer. Its first floor is a bright, airy café offering coffee, wine and light fare, and open to humans only. But above the café is a glassenclosed mezzanine, the Cat Loft, where a dozen “homeless” cats await visitors, with or without their drinks. The cats come from Animal Friends, and are vaccinated, microchipped and ready to be adopted. They’ve also been assessed as good fits for the café — “these guys are the more social ones,” Hendrickson explains — and new homes (hint hint). Should a patron find a suitable cat companion, there
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is a $75 adoption fee and a short form to fill out; processing takes a day or two. Access to the cat area is $8 an hour, and limited to 10 people at a time. Reservations can be made online, and are recommended for the busiest times (happy hour, weekends). The Cat Loft is reminiscent of an au courant business hotel with pleasing neutral colors, glass walls and an assortment of comfy chairs. There’s a basket of approved toys. The litter boxes are out of sight, in an anteroom accessible through a cat-sized door. Every cat wants a forever home, but “living” at the cat café seems very pleasant; most cats were peacefully sleeping on pillows when City Paper visited. The Weyandt family — Jack, Lisa and their 7-year-old son, Tyler — were thrilled with the cat café, a first-time visit they had bundled into a trip to the Heinz History Museum around the corner. “It’s a different type of place to get a snack and a drink,” Lisa
A DOZEN READY-TOADOPT CATS ARE THE HIGHLIGHT OF THIS CAFE
says. And she can’t wait to bring other family members to Colony, including one who had even been thinking of visiting a cat café in Japan, where they originated. The Weyandts have two cats at home, but one is 13 years old. “We’d probably come back here,” to look for a new cat, Jack says, nuzzling a sweet gray-and-white cat named Emmy. But the Cat Loft doesn’t require any full commitments: Folks can take a lunch break and share their workplace woes with a sympathetic tabby; or book the room for a social event (wine, plus cats!). But should one be in the market for a pet cat, a visit to the loft is a great way to sort out compatibility in a space relaxing for both man and beast. Already, 36 Colony cats have been adopted, filling three dozen cat-shaped holes in area homes. A HOF F @ P G HC I T Y PA P E R. C OM
Café hours: 8 a.m.-9 p.m. Tue. and Wed.; 8 a.m.-10 p.m. Thu. and Fri.; and 9 a.m.10 p.m. Sat. Cat Loft is open 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Tue.-Sat.; closed for cat nap daily 2-3 p.m. Colony Café, 1125 Penn Ave., Strip District. 412-586-4850 or www.colonycafepgh.com
Is Your Dog a Bad Dog....
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Burgh Bees President Stephen Repasky
BUZZING HOME
Honey-bee swarms are key to fighting population decline
pittsburghkids.org
{BY REBECCA ADDISON} EARLIER THIS MONTH, a few videos were posted to Facebook depicting something out of a scary movie or a nightmare. One local video showed thousands of bees gathered along a chain-link fence. Another, taken from inside a South Side home, showed thousands of bees pressed to a window. Stephen Repasky, president of Burgh Bees, an organization that promotes honey bees and the beekeeping industry, gets calls about this kind of bee activity often. But the swarms are mostly harmless, he says. They’re just looking for a new home. Repasky is a second-generation beekeeper who grew up on a farm in Armstrong County and started learning about the process from his father at age 4. As part of his work with Burgh Bees, he strives to make people less afraid of bees and to give them an understanding of the insects’ many contributions to our ecosystem. “Honey bees are very gentle, they’re docile. They’re not going to bother anybody unless someone bothers their hive,” Repasky says. “Honey bees are responsible for over one-third of the food we eat. One out of every three bites of food can be attributed to pollination by honey bees. There’s so many things they do, from building their own wax to producing honey.” But unfortunately this year, bees were officially added to the list of endangered species in the United States. According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, there has
been an 87 percent decline in the species population since the 1990s. “We’re losing approximately 40 percent of our bee population every year,” Repasky says. “We’re able to recover that 40 percent in the spring by dividing hives, but when we’re losing 40 percent of our population every winter, it’s not sustainable.” The process of dividing hives is what creates the very swarms some were afraid of earlier this month, and it’s key to helping bees replenish their numbers. During the process, a queen leaves the hive with half of the population to create a new colony. The remaining bees at the hive then choose a new queen through a process reminiscent of the HBO series Game of Thrones: The potential queens fight it out, and the surviving bee reigns. “Swarming occurs in the springtime because that’s when there’s a lot of nectar available. If they split up and swarm, that swarm has a greater chance to survive because there’s lots of food sources out there,” Repasky says. “It’s a natural occurrence. It’s as natural as a robin building a nest on your porch.” But since this process isn’t enough to save the bees alone, Repasky focuses his efforts on the manmade causes of bee decline “Call an expert before you spray anything,” Repasky says. “You don’t want to destroy a honey-bee colony if you can prevent it.”
DREAM IT.
RIDE IT.
BUILD IT.
May 20 - September 10, 2017 National tour sponsored by
Locally sponsored by
Hands-On Harley-Davidson™ was created by the Betty Brinn Children’s Museum in collaboration with Harley-Davidson Motor Company. Hands-On Harley-Davidson and Harley-Davidson® are trademarks of H-D and are used with permission.© 2017 H-D. All rights reserved.
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SOUTH SIDE RIVERFRONT PARK
FRICK PARK
This sizable dog run is right off the Three Rivers Heritage trail and provides quick access to the riverside and miles of running and walking trails. The park has separate fenced areas for large and small pups (25 pounds and under), as well as plenty of water bowls and friendly faces.
Doggos can roam in two separate runs in the city’s first off-leash exercise area. The edges are wooded, so pups can enjoy some shade and woods time. Then take the pooch for a dip down at Hot Dog Dam on the Lower Tranquil Trail.
SOUTH SIDE
SQUIRREL HILL
YAPPY HOUR
The Place Where Everyone Knows Your Name {BY CELINE ROBERTS / PHOTOS BY KRISTA JOHNSON} FOR ANYONE WITH A CANINE friend-beast, the neighborhood dog park can be an important social hub. Like a beloved neighborhood
bar, each park offers different amenities (but make sure you bring water to keep your furry friends hydrated), and has its own distinct culture. Some Pittsburghers swear by Frick Park, while others go only to parks by the rivers. Friendships and love, both pooch and human, blossom between the gates, and advice on everything from dog training to the real-estate market is exchanged. Here are a few of the Pittsburgh parks where doggos can run free. CELINE@PGHCITYPAPER.COM
ALLEGHENY COMMONS DOG PARK, NORTH SIDE
BERNARD DOG RUN, LAWRENCEVILLE
OLYMPIA PARK, MOUNT WASHINGTON
This park is the only off-leash area listed that doesn’t have a fence, so owners of spunkier canines be warned. Located on the south side of Lake Elizabeth and a popular spot for regulars, this dog park feels like being part of a club.
This park is named for late Lawrenceville resident and abandoned-dog advocate Jay Bernard, and the community spirit is alive and well here. Get dog tips, let Fido play, and then hop on the Three Rivers Heritage trail for a leashed walk. Only street access is from 40th Street.
This fenced-in hillside play area overlooks a playground, baseball diamond and basketball courts, making it a good place for dog owners with kids. Lush grass is abundant, and dogs of all sizes frolic together. Stop by for a slice of park life for both dogs and their guardians.
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FAST FOOD
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Can you take roadkill home and eat it? {BY ALEX GORDON} PERSONALLY, I’VE never seen roadkill
and thought, “I should eat that.â€? But I’ve always been curious if I could. Let’s say you’re driving home after a long day at work. You’re hungry, there’s no food in the house, and you’re mulling options for dinner. You can order in, stop at the grocery store, or dig through the cabinet for an old can of beans. Then you hit a deer. You pull over and ďŹ nd the deer is very much dead. You have the skills, equipment and wherewithal to butcher it yourself. Can you eat it? Can you toss it in the trunk, bring the body home and start preparing a delicious venison dinner? It turns out the answer is yes, with some caveats. Here’s how it works according to Chapter 147 of the Pennsylvania Code: If you hit a whitetailed deer (or a turkey), or ďŹ nd one already dead on the side of the road, you’re required to contact your regional Game Commission and request a Consumption Permit within 24 hours of taking possession of the carcass. You’ll have to hand over any inedible parts of the animal to the Game Commission — antlers, etc. — so if you’re looking for a new wall ornament, this is not the legal way to go. Is there any reason a consumption
permit would be declined? Allegheny County Wildlife Conservation OfďŹ cer Doug Bergman tells City Paper that there have been cases where hunters will try to pass off an illegal kill as roadkill — i.e. shooting an animal out of season and claiming to have just found it on the side of the road. But Bergman says it’s pretty easy to tell if an animal has been hit by a car, a car has been hit by an animal, or most obviously, if an animal has been shot with a gun. I have to say, that caper seems pretty transparently dumb. But if you’re above board and get the permit, you’re good to go. But let’s say you don’t want to eat it. Maybe you hit a furry little critter and think, “I could wear that.â€? Can you pop it in the trunk and take it home for a pelt? The answer is yes, if you have a fur-takers license — $20.90 for adults — in which case you can take it all home, edible and inedible parts and all. The only caveat here is if you happen to hit a river otter, ďŹ sher (it’s a small carnivorous mammal, not a ďŹ sherman) or bobcat, of which there are a surprising number in Pennsylvania; you may not take those. It should also be mentioned that these only apply to “accidentalâ€? roadkill, so don’t get any ideas. Bon appetit!
YOU PULL OVER AND FIND THE DEER IS VERY MUCH DEAD.
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LOCAL
BEAT
{BY HANNAH LEE}
Some bands form through a Craigslist ad or through introductions to a friend of a friend. Others, like Honey, come together in the chaos of a high school cafeteria. Frontman Joe Praksti, bassist Pat O’Toole and drummer Evan Meindl came together in 2010 and seven years later, they still hold on to what matters. “There’s still the same manic energy between us. I mean we love playing music together,” says frontman Praksti. They’re not just bandmates of convenience; they’re best friends working as a unit. It also helps that they’re roommates. “Living with your band [means] becoming closer with them musically, even if music isn’t technically involved,” says Meindl. Honey will debut its first full-length album, Mock Pop, on June 30. The release party, at Spirit, will also feature local bands Bat Zuppel and Derider, both of whom the band looks to as inspiration in the growing Pittsburgh music scene. “We’re more excited about Pittsburgh music right now than music on the national scene because it’s actually influencing our lives,” says Meindl. Ahead of the album, Honey released the single “Send Me No Flowers,” a heavy guitar track about death personified. While there are traces of death-centric pessimism, the album doesn’t wallow in darkness like a teenage nihilist. As the title suggests, there’s mocking involved, as if to say “death’s laughing and you should, too.” The album title, Mock Pop, comes from an embrace of a poppier rock sound, detouring slightly from Honey’s more experimental punk EP, Exorcise. “It’s our version of doing pop culture through a skewed lens, all our weird influences,” says Praksti. The album ends with hints of Monkees-era pop on the dreamy “Leapt Into My Mind,” which the band lovingly refers to as a victory lap. The band is planning a two-week tour following the release. “If we have any immediate plans,” says Meindl, “it’s just to not stop.” INFO@PGHCITYPAPER.COM
HONEY RECORD-RELEASE SHOW 9 p.m. Fri., June 30. Spirit, 242 51st St., Lawrenceville. 412-586-4441 or www.spiritpgh.com
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Honey: Evan Meindl, Joe Praksti and Pat O’Toole {CP PHOTO BY KRISTA JOHNSON}
SWEET DEBUT
{PHOTO COURTESY OF NATE BURRELL}
Pokey LaFarge
POKEY’S PROGRESS {BY CHARLIE DEITCH}
I
T’S HARD FOR St. Louis-based roots artist Pokey LaFarge to talk about his songwriting process. It’s not because he’s too shy or humble to extol his own virtues. He’s just not exactly sure how it happens. “It’s kind of like having a series of brain orgasms,” LaFarge tells City Paper. “You feel sort of weightless or timeless. There’s a freeing feeling in singing something that feels good, but you’re not necessarily sure where it comes from. “That’s why it’s hard for me to talk about songwriting specifically, because it’s so subconscious. And I think every songwriter experiences that, unless they’re just setting out to manufacture hits and I think you can really tell when that’s all they’re doing. But man, I just try to put myself in a state of mind where I’m open to a song at any moment.” LaFarge has been writing songs and making music this way since 2006, turn-
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ing out eight records, the latest being Manic Revelations, released in May. Beginning with 2006’s self-released record, Marmalade, LaFarge has taken listeners on a musical journey that is heavily influenced by early swing, big band, blues and Western swing. Western swing was certainly the most identifiable influence up until 2015’s Something in the Water.
POKEY LAFARGE
WITH THE HACKENSAW BOYS 9 p.m. Sat., July 1. Rex Theater, 1602 E. Carson St., South Side. $20-25. 412-381-6811 or www.rextheater.net
LaFarge added percussion on that record, and his sound developed a sharper edge. On Manic Revelations, LaFarge continues to progress. Drums are more of a driving force on the new record; the songs even contain
moments reminiscent of the early Sun Studio performances, although more like Carl Perkins than Elvis Presley. It’s a progression that LaFarge recognizes and embraces. “That’s life, man. All of that music from the past is an extension of you,” LaFarge explains. “But you reinvent and reinterpret yourself almost on a daily basis, especially as an artist. “I wanted more space in my music. I was feeling like that could be accomplished with more of a backbeat; more of a drumsand-bass foundation, as opposed to staying on top the beat and swinging all the time.” There’s no better example of this than on the record’s first cut, “Riot in the Streets.” LaFarge wrote the song in the aftermath of the 2014 shooting of 18-year-old Michael Brown in the St. Louis suburb of Ferguson, Mo. Brown, an unarmed black man, was shot by a Ferguson police officer in broad daylight. LaFarge, who lives in St. Louis,
says this song was born out of this incident and people’s reactions to it, both locally and nationally. LaFarge writes in the song: “Preacher speaking; fists raised singing / Barely missing; tear gas whistlin’ / Walkin down West Florrisant road / feels like a city is going to explode / There’s gonna be a riot in the streets tonight.” “The song was rewritten a few times,” LaFarge says. “I didn’t want to write a protest song. I’m not a protest singer. I also wanted to be careful not to inject too much anger into this. But there’s no reason you can’t write a beautiful song that compels people to fight. But I think it’s even more important to come together because that’s a type of fight as well. “This song wasn’t necessarily about the riots themselves, because those were very few and far between. What happened after this shooting was mostly peaceful protest. It was about people’s backs being put up against a wall, and they have no choice but to fight.” LaFarge is at his best when he’s writing about dealing with pain and adversity, especially when the songs like “Riot in the Streets” and the relationship song, “Must Be a Reason,” are placed on top of upbeat, hopeful music. In the latter tune, LaFarge tries to figure out why people love who they love, even when those relationships are drenched in turmoil and drama. That theme was last examined in the title cut of Something in the Water. It’s about a guy in a relationship with someone that he can’t leave, regardless of the pain. “She’ll someday lead to my death I know / But I’ll stay with her just the same, boys” In “Must Be a Reason,” LaFarge figures out that the passion is worth the pain. He writes, “I would fight for a life with you / The same thing that would kill me too / Love’s a war I cannot win / But I’ll see it through until the end.” The song almost feels like a sequel to “Something in the Water,” but LaFarge says it didn’t start out that way. But he recognized the connection himself recently when he played the two songs back to back at a show. “These songs are about the realization that you will never leave the relationship,” he says. “Not that you’re stuck with the person, but that you need that person for positive reasons and for the negative reasons. I’ve been with my girl for going on eight years now, and Lord knows we’ve experienced all of these things we’re talking about and more. I’m just thankful that I have music as an outlet to share the relationship with the world, because it’s material that’s relatable to a lot of people.” C DE ITC H@ PGHC ITY PAP ER.CO M
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ADULT CONTENT {BY ELI ENIS}
alleghenycounty.us/summer {PHOTO COURTESY OF GREG STEPHEN REIGH}
No Men (DB, left)
BRINGING THE DOOM
July 1 Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra (Orchestral)
{BY MARGARET WELSH} ACCORDING TO Chicago-based three-piece
- Starts at 8:05 pm
July 2 Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra (Orchestral) - Starts at 8:05 pm All concerts are free
Food trucks and Hop Farm Brewing Company craft beer at all concerts beginning at 6:00 p.m. 3WS
No Men, Sartre was right: Hell is other people. “You know what you did, you know how I feel,” vocalist/drummer Pursley chants over a menacing beat. “Heaven knows how much I hate you / Hell is real.” Lyrically, it’s a deceptively simple song (in a state of cold rage, sometimes only the most basic emotional descriptors will do). But its driving pulse and sneakily catchy riffs (not to mention Pursley’s powerhouse of a voice) make it one of most viscerally satisfying moments on the band’s 2016 record, Dear God, Bring the Doom. No Men — which also includes drummer Eric Hofmeister and a six-string bassist who goes by DB — are by no means a hateful bunch. But the band’s music has, in recent years, developed a sharper post-punk edge, a shift that can be pretty directly linked to Pursley (who just goes by Pursley) and DB’s move from Austin to Chicago in late 2015. The Austin incarnation of No Men, then a more traditional four-piece was, musically, a looser, slightly amorphous entity: Recordings from that era evoke a range of archetypically chill indie rock. In Chicago, reborn as a three-piece, any of the jangly excesses that one might associate with Texas sunshine began to be pruned back. Part of that shift is regional — Chicago winters have “inspired some bitterness, for sure,” DB laughs, over the phone. But the band’s sound has also been influenced by the bleakness of the current political climate, though it might not always be immediately obvious. “Even though all of us espouse radical, feminist, progressive viewpoints, we don’t usually make it so ex-
plicit in the music,” DB says, noting that the members avoid sounding “preachy” as best they can. “It’s more about conveying the emotion and letting the listener pick up on it for themselves,” he adds. “I don’t want to describe us [as] a ‘political band,’ but I think that sort of feeling goes along with listening to our music.” Of course, the name No Men in itself carries political weight, as does the band’s selfdescription of “queer, femme-fronted, the androgynous opposite of ‘yes men.’” “We do get interest from people who just like our name and what we’re about in general,” DB says. “Even if our music isn’t necessarily their thing, there’s still the appeal that, ‘Hey … you guys are queer and trying to empower women.’”
NO MEN, THE LOPEZ, DERIDER 9 p.m. Sat., July 1. Gooski’s, 3117 Brereton St., Polish Hill. $5. 412-681-1658
And for whatever weather-related aggression Chicago has inspired in No Men, that city has also inspired a lot of positive feelings. “[Chicago] is such a fertile breeding ground for a lot of awesome, creative musicians and artists,” DB says. “It’s such a good art scene that it’s inspired us to be better, I think, just by being around such a large concentration of talented people.” Navigating and learning to write for an unconventional two drums/one bass setup (especially considering that DB plays his bass more like a guitar), has also been inspiring. “It’s been a learning process … you start to think more in terms of writing for our three voices specifically,” he says. “It’s like when I make up a bass riff, I’m immediately thinking … how will it fit with Eric’s drumming and Pursley’s vocal styles. We want to sound like one unit instead of three separate musicians.” INF O @PGH C IT YPAPE R . C O M
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{PHOTO COURTESY OF BAO NGO}
Adult Mom
On its sophomore record Soft Spots, New York’s Adult Mom sharpen its delivery while packaging the intersection of singer/songwriter Steph Knipe’s experiences with relationships, queerness and mental illness, into a more refined bunch of tunes than on 2015’s Momentary Lapse of Happily. “I took a lot longer to write and narrow down songs, which I’ve never done before,” Knipe tells City Paper. “I wanted it to be cohesive.” At only nine tracks spanning 25 minutes, that cohesion is evident. Knipe (who identifies with the pronoun they) and the band’s thoughtful songwriting is apparent on cuts like “Full Screen” and “J Station.” Both are still as tender as anything on Momentary Lapse, but the band opens the shades and cracks the window a bit to give Knipe’s bedroomy tunes the extra kick of a warm breeze. However, the lyrics are still as intimate as ever, which Knipe says has gotten easier to present over time. “It used to be scary, but at this point it’s become so much a part of all the work that I do,” they says. “It’s a relief but it’s also this therapeutic process of just needing to share and needing to have witnesses.” “Witnesses” is a good way of describing Adult Mom’s fans. Knipe has a knack for what they called “oversharing,” and listeners are given more than just a glimpse into the singer’s personal struggles, often using very specific language to describe various interactions. “Now I’m older, so I realize that I have to be more protective of the people that I’m writing about. Or more consenting from them, depending on the content” Knipe says. “I have the rule [that] if someone really hurt me, or if I feel really strongly about the situation, I feel OK about writing about someone without asking.” INFO@PGHCITYPAPER.COM
ADULT MOM with FREE CAKE FOR EVERY CREATURE, RUE and CAPSULE CORP. 7 p.m. Sat., July 1. Mr. Roboto Project, 5106 Penn Ave., Bloomfield. $10. www.therobotoproject.com
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CRITICS’ PICKS blogh.pghcitypaper.com
Rinse. Repeat.
The O’Jays
[FUNDRAISER] + THU., JUNE 29
[JAZZ/POP] + TUE., JULY 04
Tonight at Mr. Roboto Project, catch an all-star lineup of local ’Burgh bands in a fundraiser for Livy’s Library, an organization that aims to give free books to children in the Pittsburgh area. The sweet, angelic voice of • f i g • lulls you into calmness as she sings about women and Eden and running free. SOFT GIRL’s intimate alt-rock tunes can bring tears one minute and shoulder bops the next. With a clear, strong voice and a guitar as her only tools, Scout Flinch sings about what she loves, like Howl’s Moving Castle. Rounding out the tunes for the night is the selfdescribed “outsider Irenka music” of We Hold Hands And We Jump, but the event also features the personal and political spoken-word poetry of Brittney Chantele. Hannah Lynn 6:30 p.m. 5106 Penn Ave., Bloomfield. $5 suggested donations. www. theroboto project.com
Belgian singer Irenka moved to Nashville to work on her music, but didn’t re-emerge with a twang or rhinestone-studded Stetson. Instead, her unique and captivating mix of genres (jazz, rock, pop, electronic) and languages (French and English) make for a sound that is part Parisian lounge singer, part witch from a misty forest. Never mind her twisted lyrics like, “Yes I plead guilty for the crime / I smashed your brain with a punch line.” Also playing Hambone’s are local singer-songwriter Heather Kropf and Nashville-based folk-Americana singer J. Shields. HL 8 p.m. 4207 Butler St., Lawrenceville. $7. www.hambones pittsburgh.com
[SOUL] + THU., JUNE 29 People all over the world — mainly Pittsburgh — join hands to see The O’Jays perform with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra at Heinz Hall tonight. See the classic soul and R&B group perform classic hits like “Love Train” and “Put Your Hands Together,” backed by Pittsburgh’s finest horns and strings. Personally, I think hearing a symphony orchestra play “Love Train” has the potential to be a magical experience capable of bringing world peace. If three men in sparkly purple suits singing about love doesn’t make you happy, then you have a heart of stone. HL 7:30 p.m. 600 Penn Ave., Downtown. $39-119. www.pittsburghsymphony.org
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{PHOTO COURTESY OF RAYMOND BOYD}
Work yourself into a lather.
[D-BEAT] + WED., JULY 5 Being a femme person in the world (hellscape) we live in can be pretty damn infuriating. Our society’s ever-present rape culture encourages people (especially men) to treat us like objects. Or scream horrifying catcalls at us and then have the audacity to be pissed when we fight back, speak up or, let’s face it, simply exist and take up space. Lucky for us, bands like BIDET, of Baltimore, are making the political, grimy D-beat hardcore punk to soundtrack the feminist resistance, tackling the demonization of sexually liberated women, the verbal and physical abuse of femmes, and the willful ignorance of our violent nation. Throw down to it at the Rock Room tonight. Limber up to openers EEL and Unreliable Narrator. Meg Fair 8 p.m. 1054 Herron Ave., Polish Hill. $5. 412-683-4418
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JAMES STREET GASTROPUB & SPEAKEASY. Ezra John & the First Second w/ Buffalo Rose. Speakeasy. 7 p.m. North Side. 412-904-3335. JERGEL’S RHYTHM GRILLE. Smells Like Nirvana. 8 p.m. Warrendale. 724-799-8333. RUMFISH GRILLE. The Rockers. 7 p.m. Bridgeville. 412-914-8013.
DIESEL. The Holdup. 7 p.m. South Side. 412-431-8800. DOWNEY’S HOUSE. King’s Ransom. 8:30 p.m. Robinson. 412-489-5631. GOOSKI’S. No Men w/ the Lopez & Derider. 9 p.m. Polish Hill. 412-681-1658. JERGEL’S RHYTHM GRILLE. Rumours. 8 p.m. Warrendale. 724-799-8333. MR. SMALLS THEATER. Chillent & Manic Soul. 10 p.m. Millvale. 412-821-4447.
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SUN 02
ROCK/POP THU 29
CLUB CAFE. Pet Clinic. 10 p.m. South Side. 412-431-4950. JERGEL’S RHYTHM GRILLE. No Bad Ju Ju. 9 p.m. Warrendale. 724-799-8333. MOONDOG’S. Kleptosonic. 9 p.m. Blawnox. 412-828-2040. MR. SMALLS THEATER. C. Friend, The Petals, Luxury Machine, Carol Blaze & Pachyderm. 7 p.m. Millvale. 412-821-4447.
SAT 01 CLUB CAFE. Evan Isaac, Anthony Heubel & BananaFish. 6 p.m. Laser Lloyd. 10 p.m. South Side. 412-431-4950.
Supervolcano. 9 p.m. Bloomfield. 412-682-0320. KEYSTONE BAR. The Bo’Hog Brothers. First Wed. of every month, 7 p.m. Sewickley. 724-758-4217. MR. SMALLS THEATER. Blackbear. 7 p.m. Millvale. 412-821-4447.
DJS THU 29
BELVEDERE’S. Camp Belvederes w/ Harpoon Brewery. 10 p.m. Lawrenceville. 412-687-2555. THE R BAR. Billy The MR. SMALLS Kid & the Regulators. www. per pa THEATER. Centrifuge 6 p.m. Dormont. pghcitym .co Thursdays. At the 412-942-0882. Funhouse. 9 p.m. Millvale. 412-821-4447. PERLE CHAMPAGNE BAR. HOWLERS. Zigtebra, Dumplings, Bobby D Bachata. 10 p.m. Reign Check & Sorry I’m Dead. Downtown. 412-471-2058. 9 p.m. Bloomfield. 412-682-0320. SMILING MOOSE. Blacktop JAMES STREET GASTROPUB w/ 0h85, Keebs, Spednar & SPEAKEASY. Bachelor & Cutups. 10 p.m. South Side. Boys Showcase. First Tue. of 412-431-4668. every month, 7 p.m. North Side. 412-904-3335.
FULL LIST ONLINE
TUE 04
FRI 30
WED 05
ANDYS WINE BAR. DJ Malls Spins Vinyl. 5 p.m. Downtown. 412-773-8884. BELVEDERE’S. Down N Derby. Last Fri. of every month, 9 p.m. Lawrenceville. 412-687-2555. CATTIVO. The Summer Jam: A Dance Party. Hosted by DJ DavefromPGH. 9 p.m. Lawrenceville. 412-687-2157. THE FLATS ON CARSON. Pete Butta. 10 p.m. South Side. 412-586-7644. ONE 10 LOUNGE. DJ Goodnight, DJ Rojo. 9 p.m. Downtown. 412-874-4582. ROWDY BUCK. Top 40 Dance. 10 p.m. South Side. 412-431-2825. RUGGER’S PUB. 80s Night w/ DJ Connor. 9 p.m. South Side. 412-381-1330.
HOWLERS. Insect Factory, Literals,
MP 3 MONDAY {PHOTO COURTESY OF LUKE SHANNON}
THE PETALS
SAT 01 BELVEDERE’S. Sean MC & Thermos. 90s night. First Sat. of every month. 10 p.m. Lawrenceville. 412-687-2555. CATTIVO. Illusions. w/ Funerals & Arvin Clay. First Sat. of every month, 9 p.m. Lawrenceville. 412-687-2157. DIESEL. DJ CK. 10 p.m. South Side. 412-431-8800. PERLE CHAMPAGNE BAR. DJ Tenova. ladies night. 9 p.m. Downtown. 412-471-2058. ROWDY BUCK. Top 40 Dance. 10 p.m. South Side. 412-431-2825. SPIRIT HALL & LODGE. TITLE TOWN Soul & Funk Party. Rare Soul, Funk & wild R&B 45s
Each week, we post a song from a local artist online for free. This week, it’s “Rest,” from The Petals’ new album, Meld (out on Friday). The guitar-driven songwriting and hard-soft dynamics have a distinct 1990s feel, but there’s also something pleasantly off-kilter and hard to describe going on here, which could describe most of this foursome’s output. Stream or download “Rest” at FFW>>, the music blog at pghcitypaper.com.
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CONCERTS, CONTINUED FROM PG. 31
EARLY WARNINGS
feat. DJ Gordy G. & J.Malls First Sat. of every month, 9 p.m. Lawrenceville. 412-586-4441.
TUE 04 THE GOLDMARK. Pete Butta. Reggae & dancehall. 10 p.m. Lawrenceville. 412-688-8820.
REGGAE THU 29
WED 05
PIRATA. The Flow Band. 9 p.m. Downtown. 412-323-3000.
SMILING MOOSE. Rock Star Karaoke w/ T-MONEY. 9:30 p.m. South Side. 412-431-4668.
WED 05
HIP HOP/R&B
STAGE AE. Iration w/ J Boog, The Movement. 7 p.m. North Side. 412-229-5483.
Everytime I Die
THU 29 HEINZ HALL. The O’Jays. 7:30 p.m. Downtown. 412-392-4900.
[SUN., AUG. 06]
Jeff Rosenstock, Laura Stevenson
BLUES FRI 30
DID YOU KNOW? CP IS SHAKING THINGS UP WITH OUR EMAIL NEWSLETTERS. WE WILL SOON HAVE SEPARATE NEWSLETTERS DEDICATED TOWARDS DIFFERENT INTERESTS.
Mr. Smalls, 400 Lincoln Ave., Millvale
BLOOMFIELD BRIDGE TAVERN. JP Soars & the Red Hots. 9 p.m. Bloomfield. 412-682-8611. JAMES STREET GASTROPUB & SPEAKEASY. Ian Gordon’s Electric Five. Speakeasy. 6:30 p.m. North Side. 412-904-3335.
[WED., AUG. 16]
Every Time I Die
THE R BAR. Billy The Kid’s American All-Stars. 7 p.m. Dormont. 412-942-0882.
JAZZ THU 29
EIGHTY ACRES KITCHEN & BAR. Erin Burkett, Virgil Walters JAMES STREET GASTROPUB & & Gavin Horning. 5:30 p.m. SPEAKEASY. Brandon Coleman Monroeville. 724-519-7304. Quartet. Speakeasy. 6 p.m. JAMES STREET GASTROPUB Don Aliquo Jr. w/ Thomas & SPEAKEASY. Roger Wendt Quartet. Ballroom. 6 p.m. Humphries Jam Session. North Side. 412-904-3335. Ballroom. 8 p.m. ROCKS LANDING BAR North Side. 412-904-3335. & GRILLE. Tony RILEY’S POUR HOUSE. Campbell, John Hall, Jazz Happy Hour w/ Howie Alexander Martin Rosenberg. . & Dennis Garner. www per 5:30 p.m. Carnegie. a p ty ci pgh m 7 p.m. McKees Rocks. 412-279-0770. .co 412- 875- 5809. VALLOZZI’S PITTSBURGH. Eric Johnson. 5:30 p.m. Downtown. HAMBONE’S. Ian Kane, 412-394-3400. Ronnie Weiss & Tom Boyce. Jazz Standards, showtunes & blues. 6:30 p.m. Lawrenceville. ANDORA RESTAURANT - FOX 412-681-4318. CHAPEL. Pianist Harry Cardillo & vocalist Charlie Sanders. 6:30 p.m. Fox Chapel. 412-967-1900. RILEY’S POUR HOUSE. OAKS THEATER. Ladies of Jazz. Jazz Happy Hour w/ Martin Hosted by Etta Cox. 7:30 p.m. Rosenberg. 5:30 p.m. Carnegie. Oakmont. 412-828-6322. 412-279-0770.
SUN 02
FULL LIST ONLINE
MON 03
FRI 30
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TUE 04
SAT 01
CIOPPINO SEAFOOD CHOPHOUSE BAR. Lucarelli Jazz w/ Peg Wilson. 7 p.m. Strip District. 412-281-6593.
WED 05 THE BLIND PIG SALOON. Erin Burkett, Virgil Walters, Gavin Horning & Mike Tomaro.
JERGEL’S RHYTHM GRILLE. David Cook. 8 p.m. Warrendale. 724-799-8333.
CLASSICAL FRI 30
ACOUSTIC
OTHER MUSIC
August Wilson Center, 980 Liberty Ave., Downtown
JAMES STREET GASTROPUB & SPEAKEASY. Jessica Lee Jazz. Speakeasy. 7 p.m. The Tony Campbell Jam Session. Speakeasy. 5 p.m. North Side. 412-904-3335. THE MONROEVILLE RACQUET CLUB. Jazz Bean Live. 7 p.m. Monroeville. 412-728-4155. SOUTHSIDE WORKS. Roger Barbour Band. 6 p.m. South Side.
WED 05
7:30 p.m. New Kensington. 724-337-7008. CITY OF ASYLUM @ ALPHABET CITY. Tony Campbell. 8 p.m. North Side. 412-435-1110. JAMES STREET GASTROPUB & SPEAKEASY. Free Music Series: Ron Wilson. Dining Room. 7 p.m. North Side. 412-904-3335.
[FRI., AUG. 25]
Kaki King
THE HANGAR. Strange Brew. 9 p.m. Coraopolis. 724-457-9630. JAMES STREET GASTROPUB & SPEAKEASY. Roger Humphries’ Night of Ray Charles. Ballroom. 7 p.m. North Side. 412-904-3335. REX THEATER. Pokey LaFarge. 8 p.m. South Side. 412-381-6811.
COUNTRY
AMERICANA CONCERT. A performance in honor of service men and women. Join the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra for a concert of singalongs, marches & tributes to our military personnel including Stars & Stripes Forever & God Bless America. Pittsburgh Symphony cellist Charlie Powers will perform Bragato’s “Graciela y Buenos Aires”. Vocalist Katy Shackleton Williams & singing detective Ricky Manning will join the PSO for a salute to George M. Cohan & the favorite Armed Forces Salute. Reservations are required, even though tickets are free of charge. Soldiers & Sailors Memorial Hall, Oakland. 412-392-4900.
Stage AE, 400 North Shore Drive, North Side
SAT 01
SUN 02
PARK HOUSE. Shelf Life String Band. 9 p.m. North Side. 412-224-2273. WHEELFISH. Jason Born. 7-10 p.m. Ross. 412-487-8909.
FRI 30 DOUBLETREE BY HILTON HOTEL PITTSBURGH CRANBERRY. EASE. 5 p.m. Cranberry. 724-778-4177.
SAT 01 THE SHARP EDGE CREEKHOUSE. Tracy Lee Simmen. 7 p.m. Crafton. 412-922-8118.
SUN 02 BLACK FORGE COFFEE HOUSE. Ally Brown & Tiny Rhymes. 5:45 p.m. Knoxville. 412-291-8994. HAMBONE’S. Calliope Old Time Appalachian Jam. First Sun. of every month, 5 p.m. Lawrenceville. 412-681-4318. SQUIRREL HILL SPORTS BAR. Lazer Lloyd, Chillent!! 5 p.m. Squirrel Hill. 773-597-7690.
WED 05 ALLEGHENY ELKS LODGE #339. Pittsburgh Banjo Club. 8 p.m. North Side. 412-321-1834.
THU 29 LINDEN GROVE. Karaoke. 8 p.m. Castle Shannon. 412-882-8687. STAGE AE. Cody Jinks. 7 p.m. North Side. 412-229-5483.
FRI 30 LINDEN GROVE. Dancing Queen. 9 p.m. Castle Shannon. 412-882-8687. RIVERS CASINO. Rick Purcell & Shari Richards. 9 p.m. Shannon Wallace w/ the Marty Ashby Quartet. 9 p.m. North Side. 412-231-7777.
SAT 01 JAMES STREET GASTROPUB & SPEAKEASY. Travlin’. 8 p.m. North Side. 412-904-3335. RIVERS CASINO. Juan & Erika. 9 p.m. North Side. 412-231-7777.
WED 05 LINDEN GROVE. Oldies Night. 7 p.m. Castle Shannon. 412-882-8687.
What to do June 28- July 4 WEDNESDAY 28 Dirty Heads & Soja
HIGHMARK STADIUM Station Square. With special guests The Green & RDGLDGRN. All ages show. Tickets: ticketfly.com or 1-877-4-FLY-TIX. 7p.m.
Jill Scott BENEDUM CENTER Downtown. 412-456-6666. Tickets: trustarts.org. 8p.m.
IN PITTSBURGH
special guest Paul Cauthen. Tickets: ticketmaster.com or 1-800-745-3000. Doors open at 7p.m.
Band. Tickets: ticketfly.com or 1-877-4-FLY-TIX. 9p.m.
Pokey LaFarge REX THEATER South Side. 412-381-1681. Over 21 show. Tickets: greyareaprod.com. 9p.m.
Miss May I REX THEATER South Side. 412-381-1681. With special guests Upon A Burning Body, Kublai Khan, Currents & Tuesday’s Too Late. All ages show. Tickets: ticketfly.com or 1-877-4-FLY-TIX. 7p.m.
SUNDAY 2 Solar Sundays
CARNEGIE SCIENCE CENTER North Side. For more info visit carnegiesciencecenter.org. 10a.m.
The O’Jays
Snakehips MR. SMALLS THEATRE Millvale. 412-421-4447. With special guests Promnite & Metacara. All ages show. Tickets: ticketweb.com/opus one. 8p.m.
Rock ‘n Ramen SPIRIT Lawrenceville. With special guests Meeting of Important People & Bikini Islands. For more info visit whirlmagazine.com/rockn ramen. 6p.m.
THURSDAY 29 Cody Jinks
STAGE AE North Side. With
HEINZ HALL Downtown. 412-392-4900. Tickets: pitts burghsymphony.org. 7:30p.m.
Westmoreland Arts & Heritage Festival
Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra HARTWOOD ACRES PARK. Free show. For more info visit alleghenycounty.us/summer. 8:15p.m.
DIRTY HEADS HIGHMARK STADIUM JUNE 28
TWIN LAKES PARK Latrobe. 724-834-7474. For more info visit artsandheritage.com. Through July 2.
FRIDAY 30 305
MONDAY 3
Summer Jam Free Concert Series w/ The Dave Matthews Band
Jared & The Mill
CATTIVO Lawrenceville. 412-687-2157. With special guests Some Kind of Animal & November Blue. All ages show. Tickets: ticketfly.com or 1-877-4-FLY-TIX. 7p.m.
visit thefrickpittsburgh.org. 6:30p.m.
Vivian Reed AUGUST WILSON CENTER Downtown. 412-456-6666. Tickets: trustarts.org. 7p.m.
BESSEMER COURT Station Square. With special guest Alex Talbot. All ages show. Free show. 7:30p.m.
TUESDAY 4
SATURDAY 1 Rumours
Summer Fridays
JERGEL’S RHYTHM GRILLE Warrendale. 724-799-8333. With special guest Ray Lanich
THE FRICK Point Breeze. 412-371-0600. For more info
What are YOU doing this summer?
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WE MIGHT BE INCLINED TO ROMANTICIZE THIS SITUATION
[OPERA]
VOICE ACTIVATED In 2012, Opera Theater of Pittsburgh changed its name and embraced a new format. Rather than staging productions year-round, it became a summer festival, concentrating its season into a few weeks. The move succeeded, says Jonathan Eaton, the longtime artistic and general director of what’s newly known as Pittsburgh Festival Opera; its first five festivals (all as Opera Theater SummerFest) drew more than 50,000, the company says. Now, in its 40th season, the company founded by international opera star Mildred Miller Posvar continues evolving. It prefaced the official start of its current season with the world premiere of A Gathering of Sons, Pittsburgh-based composer Dwayne Fulton’s jazz opera (libretto by Tameka Cage Conley) revolving around the shooting death of an unarmed young black man by a white cop. And the company has a new mainstage: Falk Auditorium at Shadyside’s Winchester Thurston School, a 400-seat hall that fulfills the festival’s goal of intimacy and accessibility (which includes presenting all its operas in English). “I like my audience to be able to relate personally to the characters on stage,” says Eaton. In addition to four remaining performances of A Gathering of Sons, other 2017 mainstage productions include Sweeney Todd (July 7-22), starring internationally known baritone Andrew Cummings, whom Eaton says will be “terrifying” as Sondheim’s Demon Barber of Fleet Street, with Pittsburgh favorite Anna Singer as Mrs. Lovett. On July 14, 16 and 22, acclaimed countertenor Andrey Nemzer and soprano Lara Lynn McGill star in Handel’s Xerxes, set amidst romantic intrigue in the court of Persia. And on July 21 and 23 comes the Pennsylvania premiere (!) of Strauss’ 1923 romantic comic opera Intermezzo. Additional programming, some of it at satellite venues, includes: June 30’s The Three Countertenors, featuring Nemzer, Cody Bowers and Rudy Giron singing Handel, Vivaldi and … The Andrews Sisters; the Rodgers & Hammerstein revue “If I Loved You …”; the children’s opera Hansel & Gretel (tickets: $5-10); vocalist Daphne Alderson singing Leonard Cohen (July 13); the Discover Strauss Series of talks and recitals; free, late-night cabarets; and more. Another looming change: In August, Eaton assumes a new post as music professor and opera-studies chair at the University of North Texas. But he’ll remain PFO’s artistic director, overseeing projects including, starting next year, a multi-season staging of Wagner’s epic Ring cycle. DRISCOLL@PGHCITYPAPER.COM
PITTSBURGH FESTIVAL OPERA continues through July 23. Various venues. Most tickets are $20-75 (multi-show packages available). 412-326-9687 or www.pittsburghfestivalopera.org
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Anna Singer and Andrew Cummings star in Sweeney Todd at Pittsburgh Festival Opera {PHOTO COURTESY OF MARK ABRAMOWITZ}
{BY BILL O’DRISCOLL}
In Robotlab’s “Bios (Bible),” a machine copies the Bible, in German
[ART REVIEW]
ART-O-MATION {BY LISSA BRENNAN}
W
ITH AN exhibition spanning six months, “Bios (Bible)” and “The Big Picture,” installed at Wood Street Galleries by Germany’s Robotlab, have considerably longer running times than most shows there. The longevity is deliberate, necessary and painstakingly calculated: It’s the period required for the works to be completed, with the artists confined within the gallery walls from first stroke to last dot. This approach is not self-indulgent, cruel or parasitic, considering that the artists here are man-made. Robotlab develops works incorporating industrial robots in public spaces. At Wood Street, the robots are armed with ink, set beside inkable surfaces, and encoded to
06.28/07.05.2017
mark one with the other until words and image ensue. Even as you read this, “The Big Picture” is busy duplicating an image transmitted from Mars of that planet’s landscape with a single line, while “Bios (Bible)” is copying the text of one of the most pervasive literary works of Western mythology.
ROBOTLAB continues through Sept. 3. Wood Street Galleries, 601 Wood St., Downtown. 412-471-6505 or www.woodstreetgalleries.org
While they’re superficially identical at a glance — big orange metal contraptions stain paper according to the data
with which they have been programmed — the contrasts between what is being set down in the two pieces is drastic. “Bios (Bible)” replicates a story written by man in a language developed by man, of a god whom many believe was created by man. “The Big Picture” captures something unseen by man, visible only in an image man is able to view through the utilization of technology. Observing these works in progress, it can be difficult to keep in mind that the robots we view creating them are not actually the artists, but the tools of the artists. With our own eyes, we watch one of them meticulously scrawling a single line to tattoo a canvas with the image of an environment we’ll never see with our
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[DANCE]
BELLY DIVA {BY STEVE SUCATO}
Michelle Sorensen {PHOTO COURTESY OF KEL-Z PHOTOGRAPHY}
own eyes; the other robot we see producing line after line after line of text, calligraphic, in German. To us, they are the creators, at least during the part of our experience of this work that exists within the gallery’s walls. While we know there are humans behind this, their involvement is not obvious. The choice of subject matter is theirs, but while that subject matter is a monumental part of the work, the human contribution is still not evident in the simple act of viewing. We know that contribution is real. But as a part of our emotional, visceral response to work superficially produced by machines with neither emotions nor viscera, it’s invisible. The immediate reaction of some viewers will be to anthropomorphize these machines, which will in turn bring admonishments from those disinclined to anthropomorphize anything. This divergence of opinion might even become a polarizing factor: The former observers will be analyzed as impractical and overly imaginative, the latter regarded as the kind of folk who don’t make up songs for their dogs. As with all art, either response is valid. For those of us in the latter camp, the response doesn’t stop when the continuous line replicating the red rocks of the fourth planet comes to its final point, and the act of creation for the drawing robot on this floor has reached its end. At this point, the writing robot on the floor above will have its work interrupted, and the project will not reach fruition. (For us anthropomorphizing types, this spurs concern that the device should at least allowed to finish the paragraph it is in the process of transcribing and not be disturbed mid-sentence.) Although the work stops, the machines continue. Replacement of human workers by robots is much in the news lately, and Wood Street’s Robotlab show inspires further thoughts on the matter. Human artists, when successful in the fulfillment of their intentions, finish one work and begin another, then again, then again, then again. At any given time, they are likely to have various projects at various stages. They have the capacity to change what they’re directing their attention toward, and they have the ability to move forward, consistently, always. They can expand. They can improve. Each of these robot artists is limited to an oeuvre of one and, as an entity, is unmotivated to desire anything more. We might be inclined to romanticize this situation, considering what we could call the human artists’ destinies through a human lens. But the artists themselves won’t.
If your image of belly-dance comes from old Hollywood movies, it’s time to update it. As with other dance forms, contemporary belly-dance is fusing tradition with modernity. Professional belly-dancers have added theatricality to their performances, mixing dance styles and performing to current music. For those familiar with Pittsburgh’s rich belly-dance scene, this is old news. For the uninitiated, however, An Evening of Bellydance With Michelle Sorensen, on Sat., July 1, at Carnegie Stage, may just be the ticket to get you up to speed. Hosted by Pittsburgh Golden Gun Fusion Bellydance duo Liz Hays and Erin Rosenberg, the 90-minute program set to an eclectic mix of recorded music will consist of 15 works utilizing several different bellydance styles, from traditional and Latin fusion to cabaret and tribal fusion. Headlined by the Utah-based Sorensen, who is making her Pennsylvania debut, the program also features an all-star lineup of local professionals, including former Zafira Dance Company dancer Maria Hamer; Colleen Wilde, of Bellydance Evolution’s national touring show Fantasam; male belly-dancer Hakan; Joanna Abel and her Carnegie-based 3rd Street Bellydance; and Youngstown, Ohio’s Tribe of EOS. Sorensen, a sought-after, awardwinning national and international performer, is the owner/operator of The Velveteen Serpent Movement Studio and Boutique in Salt Lake City, and a member of Portland, Ore.’s electro-vaudeville outfit Sepiatonic. She describes her dancing as a fusion of Middle Eastern belly-dance movements mixed with other styles. For this production, she will be joining several other performers in a high-energy “hotpot improvisation tribal-style” segment, as well as performing a solo work set to Belgian singer Tsar B’s song “Escalate.” “The solo is heavily influenced by horror films, theater, and contemporary and classical Indian dance movements,” says Sorensen. “The costuming is inspired by a mythical creature called a ‘selkie,’ who lives as a seal in the sea but sheds its skin to become human on land.” Sorensen’s visit will also include several technique workshops on July 1 and 2, at Sterling Yoga and Wellness Center, in Dormont. Visit www.goldengunfusion.com for details.
LOCATIONS LOCATIONS IN IN BLOOMFIELD, BLOOMFIELD, GREENTREE GREENTREE & CORAOPOLIS CO R AO PO LIS WE WE HOST HHOST OSTT PARTIES OS PART PA PARTIES RTIE RT IESS IE AERIAL AERIAL AERI AE RIAL RI AL SILKS SSILKS ILKS IL KS AND AAND ND CIRCUS CCIRCUS CIRC IRCUS USS CLASSES CCLASSES LASSSES LA SSESS FOR FORR AGES FO AGES AG ESS 5-ADULT 55-ADULT -AADU DULT LT LT
CONGRATS PENS!
SUMMER SALE GOING ON NOW!
Pittsburgh Aerial Silks 412-681-0111 412 681 0111 011 PITTSBURGHAERIALSILKS.COM
INFO@PGHCITYPAPER.COM
AN EVENING OF BELLYDANCE with MICHELLE SORENSEN 7:30 p.m. Sat., July 1. Carnegie Stage, 25 W. Main St., Carnegie. $15. 412-592-1414 or www.carnegiestage.com
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[OPERA REVIEW]
SONS RISING {BY MICHELLE PILECKI} THERE’S NOTHING shy or subtle about A
Gathering of Sons, a new work developed and produced by Pittsburgh Festival Opera. Big voices. Big cast. Big undertaking. More allegorical than narrative, Gathering taps into atavistic traditions of community in union with, and guarded by, spirits of the ancient world: earth, sky, sea, blood. But there are strong Christian themes of redemption through suffering and understanding. And ultimate forgiveness. Solidly operatic in structure (score by Dwayne Fulton, libretto by Tameka Cage Conley), Gathering incorporates elements of gospel, jazz and pop. The plot: A heartless white police officer (Lockdown) kills a young black man (Victor). In secret, the cop thinks, but the Legion of Sons, souls of Victor’s kin past and future, stand witness and cry out to the ruling spirits, who are themselves appalled. Adding to his crime, Lockdown steals Victor’s “magic,” passed down through the generations. The spirits wreak vengeance. Contrasting Victor’s death is the birth of a son (Freedom) to his brother and wife
{PHOTO COURTESY OF PATTI BRAHIM}
A Gathering of Sons, at Pittsburgh Festival Opera: Miles Wilson-Toliver (with gun); Terriq White (arms spread) and Robert Gerold (kneeling)
(City and Violet). City, himself a police officer, promises his own revenge, but he cannot surpass what the spirits have wrought. The power of Gathering is not in the story but in the strength of the ensemble,
A GATHERING OF SONS continues Wed., June 28, and Thu., June 29 (Kaufmann Auditorium, Hill House, 1825 Centre Ave., Hill District) and July 1 and 8 (Falk Auditorium, Winchester Thurston School, 555 Morewood Ave., Shadyside). $20-75. 412-326-9687 or pittsburghfestivalopera.org
“Mark Southers’ staging is riveting...Lead singers are impressive...Terrific show!” – Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
directed by Mark Clayton Southers, of Pittsburgh Playwrights Theatre. Magnificent in bringing home the crime to the guilty are the powerful-voiced spirits: Demareus Cooper as the stolid Speaking Earth; Charlene Canty as The Sky That Can’t Stop Seeing; Michele Williams as The Waters; and Rodolfo Giron as The Blood. Fantastical hair and makeup by Jina Pounds, and costumes by Tony Sirk, cleverly delineate each, while underlining the magical expression of the opera.
The “mere mortals” also acquit themselves well: Denise Sheffey Powell as Victoria, a widow newly grieving her son in solo and heartfelt duet; Miles Wilson-Toliver as City, the joyful father and enraged brother; Adrianna Cleveland as Violet, wife and new mother battling new fears; and certainly not least, Robert Gerold as Lockdown. Not just the villain of the piece, Gerold has the greatest journey to make (and most of the scenery to chew) from quintessential asshole to sincere repentant. His suffering is truly operatic in nature. Straddling the worlds of the living and the dead, Victor (Terriq White) inflicts the most exquisite pains on his killer, who at last understands Victor’s lost future and unborn descendants. Victor embodies the many unjustly killed black men who motivated the Festival’s commissioning of Gathering for its Music that Matters series. And let’s give deserved shoutouts to Kevin Maynor, towering physically and vocally as the embodiment of Glock; Austin Keys as the golden boy, Freedom; set designer Hank Bullington, for his skeletal trees wrapped in vines; and conductor/ orchestrator Robert Frankenberry. “We Are One,” the triumphal march that solidifies the theme of A Gathering of Sons, leaves the audience thrilled in their bones. I N F O@ P G HC I T Y PA P E R. C OM
4 0 TH SEASON
Thru JULY 23 Discover Strauss JULY 20-23
“Takes imaginative flight...ventures into provocative territory...”
Four days of exciting events and the PA premiere of INTERMEZZO
– Pittsburgh Tatler on SONS, on stage thru July 8 only!
Innovative and intimate world-class performances. On tour around Pittsburgh and at Winchester Thurston, Shadyside. The Three (Counter) Tenors & Opening Party - Fri., June 30 Daphne Alderson sings Leonard Cohen - Thurs., July 13 Mozart by Moonlight - Wed., July 19
Tickets start at $20 Students from free to $12.50 w/ID.
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Festival Box Office: 412-326-9687 Pittsburgh Festival Opera is not affiliated with Pittsburgh Opera.
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“If I loved you...” - Rodgers & Hammerstein Revue Some Enchanted Sunday Evenings! July 2 in the barn at Snuggery Farm, Sewickley Heights with gourmet BBQ prior. Vintage Car Rally after 5pm July 9 & 16 in Shadyside
pittsburghfestivalopera.org
FOR THE WEEK OF
06.29-07.06.17 Full events listed online at www.pghcitypaper.com Mark Rylance is best known as a preeminent Shakespearean and screen actor, from TV’s Wolf Hall and Steven Spielberg’s Bridge of Spies — for which he won an Oscar as Soviet spy Rudolf Abel — to Christopher Nolan’s forthcoming Dunkirk. But regarding 1892’s infamous Battle of Homestead, Rylance is also an ardent history buff. Starting with one of his visits to perform Shakespeare here, “I just became obsessed with the history of Pittsburgh,” said the British-born,
American-raised Rylance, via Skype recently from his home in London. He was especially drawn to the battle that ensued when industrialists Henry Clay Frick and Andrew Carnegie hired an armed security force, the Pinkertons, to confront thousands of locked-out steelworkers and townspeople here, resulting in 16 deaths and heralding a new era of low wages and longer hours. Rylance, an outspoken peace activist, became involved with the nonprofit Battle of Homestead Foundation and (with British artist Peter Reder) began writing a play based on the episode. “I’m interested in the things that hardened Mr. Frick’s heart,” he says. On July 6, the Battle of Homestead’s 125th anniversary, Rylance and Pittsburgh talents including actors David Conrad and Wali Jamal will perform excerpts from that work in progress — interspersed, intriguingly, with passages from Hamlet. That tragedy’s hero, Rylance notes, was addressing his own historical injustice (the murder of his father). “The ghost in Hamlet says, ‘Remember me,’ and this is an evening of remembrance,” says Rylance. The show, perhaps ironically, is at the Carnegie Library of Homestead Music Hall, one of the philanthropic gifts Andrew Carnegie bankrolled from his years as a robber baron. On Fri., June 30, Rylance will attend an informal Meet & Greet in Homestead, which like the performance is a fundraiser for the Battle of Homestead Foundation. BY BILL O’DRISCOLL
Mark Rylance Meet & Greet: 7 p.m. Fri., June 30 (Bost Building, 623 E. Eighth Ave., Homestead; $150). Shakespeare & The Battle of Homestead: 7:30 p.m. Thu., July 6 (510 East Ave., Munhall; $25-50). www.battleofhomestead.org NEWS
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{ART BY MARION DE QUINZIO}
^ Sat., July 1: Vivid Visions
thursday 06.29
the down-low. MP 8 p.m. Continues through July 15. 500 Lakeside Drive South, Canonsburg. $12-20. 724-745-6300 or www.littlelake.org
WORDS Two days before the official release of The Fourth Monkey, author J.D. Barker visits Penguin Bookshop. In this thriller, “the Four Monkey Killer” is found dead, but his final victim may still be alive. Barker, who lives in both Pittsburgh and Englewood, Fla., made his name with the horror novel Forsaken, a finalist for the Bram Stoker award. A TV adaptation of The Fourth Monkey is already in the works. Matt Petras 6:30 p.m. 417 Beaver St., Sewickley. Free. 412-741-3838 or www.penguinbookshop.com
SCREEN Back in the day, silent films were never truly silent; they were usually accompanied by a pianist. Among those reviving the art of silent-film accompaniment is ace Pittsburgh-based jazz pianist Tom Roberts, who in 2012 was commissioned by the Pittsburgh Symphony to compose new scores for films by Charlie Chaplin. Tonight, Alphabet City screens three of Chaplin’s classic shorts from 1916 — “The Rink,” “The Pawn Shop” and “One A.M.” — while Roberts performs his scores for them live. The show is free. Bill O’Driscoll 8 p.m. 40 W. North Ave., North Side. Free tickets at www.alphabetcity.org
STAGE Little Lake Theatre Company opens a new production of the comedy One Man, Two Guvnors, Richard Bean’s 2011 adaptation of Carlo Goldoni’s 1743 work Servant of Two Masters. The play’s premiere run, in England, like a subsequent Broadway production, starred late-night host James Corden. Little Lake’s staging stars Tom Protulipac and is directed by TJ Firneno, with musical direction by Kirk Howe. Set in England in 1963, it follows Francis Henshall, an awkward fellow who is working for two different bosses — a gangster and an upper-class twit — and trying to keep each gig on
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friday 06.30 WORDS “I don’t play with words, I work words,” says John Gibson, a.k.a. JG The Jugganaut, in his piece “Vernacular Mack.” “I put words on a track and tell them they better bring daddy his money back.” The Columbus, Ohio-based Gibson (pictured), ^ Fri., June 30: Phenomenal Open Mic Series CONTINUES ON PG. 38
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SHORT LIST, CONTINUED FROM PG. 37
EVERYONE IS A CRITIC
^ Thu., July 6: Random Acts of Artists Invitational Exhibition
a 2013 National Poetry Award winner, is the featured artist at today’s installment of the Phenomenal Open Mic Series (theme: “Confessions”). Lady Mahogany hosts this Jade Earth Events showcase at Wilkinsburg’s Sherwood Events Center. BO 4-10 p.m. 400 Sherwood Road, Wilkinsburg. $10. Artists can sign up at 412-301-7300 or jadeearthevents@gmail.com.
EVENT: Ladyfest, at The Shop, Bloomfield CRITIC: Meredith Nicol, 29, an office worker from Regent Square WHEN: Fri.,
COMEDY
June 23
I think I heard about [Ladyfest] the first year they did it. My band actually played one year, but I couldn’t be there. I’ve gone out every year I can. I really like both of the bands that played so far. Especially that first band [WolfBlud] because they’re so young. They were very skilled. I guess [Ladyfest is] just a bunch of people coming together and enjoying music that women are playing and wrote, and just kind of celebrating women in music. I even look at my own music collection and it’s very maleheavy sometimes. You see all the top guitarists and top drummers or something, and you go through a list of 50 or 100, and there will be like one or two women that you feel like [were added] to be like, “Oh, we need to have a woman on here so we don’t look sexist.”
Comedian Jim Norton, a frequent guest on shows like Louie and Inside Amy Schumer, comes to the Pittsburgh Improv for four shows tonight and tomorrow. Norton brings the raunch and manages to offend on topics from sex to politics. In his recent Netflix special Mouthful of Shame, Norton recalls seeing a man at a bar wearing a fedora. When the man asked what would be good to wear with it, Norton says he replied, “A rope.” MP 7:30 and 9:45 p.m. Also 7 and 9:30 p.m. Sat., July 1. 166 E. Bridge St., West Homestead. $27. 412-462-5233 or www.pittsburgh.improv.com
STAGE A world-touring multimedia performance artist and a nationally touring puppeteer and theater artist conclude month-long residencies at PearlArts Studios with work-inprogress ess performances tonight. New York-based Wendell Cooper/Mx. er/Mx. Oopss ((pictured) pictured d) previews Carrying Capacity, y a work k combining “sound meditation,” urban dance video and rap to take audiences nces “on a speculative journey mixing g sacred and profane.” And in Hope Rises, s Pittsburgh-based Felicia Cooper err employs movement, live dancers rs and large-scale automata and mechanized puppetry to tell a story y inspired by the myth of Pandora. ora. A dance party follows this PearlDiving Diving Movement Residency Artist Showcase. BO O 8 p.m. 201 Braddock raddock Ave., Studio 614, Point Breeze. Suggested donation: $10. www.pearlartsstudios.com
COMEDY MEDY When n we hear the term “found footage,” ge,” we might think of horrorr films, but it turns
B Y M ATT P ETRAS
> Fri., June ne 30: Jim Norton
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out that found footage blends with comedy, too. Vidiots! returns to Arcade Comedy Theater for its monthly show hosted by creator Shannon Norman. Strange VHS footage plays and a series of improvisers act out scenes based on it. Norman says that the footage is provided by “thrift-store aficionados DoltonTV and Salvaged Cinema.” There are also what Norman refers to as “commercial breaks,” where a comedian does some standup. The event is 18-and-older. MP 10 p.m. 811 Liberty Ave., Downtown. $12. 412-339-0608 or www.arcadecomedytheater.com
saturday 07.01 ART For the fourth time in five years, The Gallery 4 welcomes Marion Di Quinzio, who first hung her work there during its 2013 Salon Show. Di Quinzio studied at Carnegie Mellon and Pitt and is now based in Philadelphia. She returns with a collection of oil paintings titled Vivid Visions. See the striking abstract works, with their fluid, dancing shapes in rich and varied colors, at tonight’s opening reception. BO Reception: 7-11 p.m. (free). Exhibit continues through Aug. 12. 206 S. Highland Ave., Shadyside. 412-363-5050 or www.thegallery4.us
sunday 07.02 OUTDOORS What’s summer for if not staring at the sun? Oh, wait, you’re (Something to do with retinas.) really not supposed to do that. (Someth you have safe viewing But there’s an exception, and that’s if yo Center makes available equipment like the Carnegie Science Ce 13. Solar SUNdays finds every Sunday afternoon through Aug. 1 staffers setting up the gear in the “brai “brain maze” out in front of the center. Having a peek at the sun is, naturally enough, a weather-permitting event. BO O 1-4 p.m. One Allegheny Ave., ($11.95-19.95). North Side. Free with admission ($11.95 www.carnegiesciencecenter.org 412-237-3400 or www.carnegiesciencec
tuesday 07.04 FESTIVAL Telling you what to do on the Fourth of July would sor sort of infringe on your, you know, know independence. But if putterin puttering around the backyard gril grill by yourself feels kind of lonesome, the EQT Flashes lone of Freedom festival offers a free,
PROUDLY TATTOOING PITTSBURGH SINCE 1994!
tattoo & piercing studio Open Daily, 1pm-8pm
^ Sun., July 2: Solar SUNdays
walk-ins welcome, appointments recommended!
(412) 683-4320
community-style option in Point State Park. The day-long affair — the City of Pittsburgh’s official July 4 celebration — offers live music (from classic-rock covers to an Air National Guard band), historical re-enactors at Fort Pitt Museum, kids’ activities, food vendors and more. It culminates with a big fireworks show at 9:30 p.m.; if you’re lucky, you might be able to catch it from your backyard. BO Noon-9:30 p.m. Downtown. Free. www.celebrateamericapgh.com
5240 Butler St.
Pgh, PA • 15201
wednesday 07.05 ARTMAKING Every Wednesday, all kids ages 13-18 are welcome at the Youth Open Studio. This collabo between The Andy Warhol Museum and Artists Image Resource teaches the photographic silkscreen-printing process and lets participants work on independent projects in a relaxed environment. The Open Studio takes place at AIR, an artist-run printmaking facility, and is taught by Warhol staffers. Learning is free, but each silkscreen costs $5-10. No printing experience is necessary. BO 4-8 p.m. 518 Foreland St., North Side. Free. info@artistsimageresource.org
thursday 07.06 ART
{PHOTO COURTESY OF ANDREW MAISONETTE}
^ Fri., June 30: PearlArts Studios Random Acts of Artists is a membership group for artists in the Sharon, Pa., area. Some 30 of its members have work in the Random Acts of Artists Invitational Exhibition, at the Hoyt Center for the Arts venue The Confluence, in New Castle. View these paintings, drawings, ceramics, photographs and more at tonight’s opening reception. BO Reception: 5-7 p.m. (free). Exhibit continues through Aug. 31. 214 E. Washington St., New Castle. 724-652-2882 or www.hoytartcenter.org
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THE STANDOUT STARTER WAS GOLDEN MUSHROOM
SWEET THINGS {BY ALEX GORDON} Ten years ago, Thomas DeGeest quit his job as a consultant at IBM to focus on waffles. The Belgian-born DeGeest was disappointed in what passed for “Belgian-style waffles” in this country, so he committed himself to delivering more authentic fare. In 2007, Wafels and Dinges debuted with a storefront in Manhattan (“dinges” is a vague term that translates roughly to “things” or “whatchamacallits”) and now boasts six locations around New York, as well as four mobile food carts.
{CP PHOTO BY VANESSA SONG}
Kra tong thong: Herbed minced chicken, sweet corn and carrot in crispy pastry shells
TIME FOR THAI
{CP PHOTO BY KRISTA JOHNSON}
The WMD (Wafel of Massive Deliciousness), at Kennywood
And now, Pittsburghers can get in on the action at Kennywood Amusement Park, where Wafels and Dinges has stationed up for its inaugural summer season. The menu is pretty simple and true to its name. Customers start with a waffle ($5.61) and can add “things.” These toppings ($1.17 each) range from fruit and dulce du leche to walnuts and Nutella. There are also six specialty waffles, including the Double Trouble, touted as “de Cadillac of wafelwiches,” which is more or less a fruit-andwhipped-cream sandwich with waffles instead of bread. Fans of Food Network’s TV show Throwdown, on which celebrity chef Bobby Flay challenges cooks around the country to a cook-off of their signature dish, might recognize DeGeest as a winner from season seven. That dish, the “Liege Waffle,” is available here too, though now it’s called “de Throwdown Wafel,” and described as “legendary victor of the battle with the great Flay.” And victory, as one knows, tastes sweet.
{BY ANGELIQUE BAMBERG + JASON ROTH}
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N THE DECADES we’ve been dining out in Pittsburgh, our fair city has gone from having one Thai restaurant to an exciting variety. There is a place serving Thai food for every occasion, budget and palate, from simple to swank, and offering fare to those seeking the familiar to those who are more culinarily adventurous. Senyai Thai Kitchen, the latest, is the first in a long time to redefine the experience — aesthetically, at least. All-white walls and furnishings create a serene, almost spa-like backdrop. Pops of jewel-tone color are provided by a bouquet of silk pillows and fresh flowers on the tabletops. Of note is the wall art, consisting of views of Thailand silkscreened onto metal panels, a treatment that takes them out of the realm of
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tourist photography to suggest dreamlike reflections on the country’s iconic temples and landscapes.
SENYAI THAI KITCHEN 5865 Ellsworth Ave., Shadyside. 412-441-4141 HOURS: Mon.-Sat. 11 a.m.-9 p.m.; Sun. 4-9 p.m. PRICES: Appetizers $4-9; entrees $14-22 LIQUOR: BYOB
CP APPROVED Most extraordinary of all is a ceiling that uses computer-cut plywood fins to create a fascinating pattern of crisscrossing panels and vaults. Designed by Carnegie Mellon University architecture professor Dana Cupková and Gretchen Craig, Senyai’s ceiling elevates the otherwise spare space (the onetime Fajita Grill
on Ellsworth Avenue) into someplace artfully special. What sort of food is served in this remarkable room? Mostly, it is a typical Thai menu. A few dishes struck us as unfamiliar, but overall, we hoped the kitchen would distinguish itself through execution, not novelty. A good start was larb, that substantial but refreshing salad of pork or chicken over greens and plenty of herbs, spiced by ground chili and textured by ground roasted rice. Senyai’s larb used minced, not ground, pork, and we appreciated the improved texture that resulted. Red onion, scallion, cilantro and mint created a flavorful and varied bed, but the ground rice — whose toasty flavor as well as crunchy texture are so characteristic of larb — was scarcely in evidence.
Chicken satay was flawless, tender and moist and basted with herbs and spices. Still, the standout starter was golden mushroom. A cluster of enoki mushrooms fried, tempura-like, in a light, fluffy batter, became a sort of crown of crisp, faintly chewy tendrils. They were equally satisfying plain and dipped in a sweet chili sauce surfaced with ground peanuts. Pad Thai, a staple of American Thai restaurants, is actually less a traditional Thai dish than a relatively recent innovation. It’s milder than much Thai cuisine, but what has elevated it to the status of national noodle is its enchanting blend of sweet, salty and tangy notes, together with the faintest suggestion of spice. We weren’t sure what to make of Senyai’s pad Thai. Unlike bad pad Thai, it wasn’t overbalanced toward the sweet, but its flavor composition seemed rather light on the savory umami side. Ultimately, the pad Thai was tasty, but short of truly satisfying. The rice noodles were also on the soft side, clinging together in masses that resisted mixing with the crunchy bean sprouts. Another noodle dish, pad prik king, sold us with its promise of spicy lemongrass sauce, and it delivered. It wasn’t punishingly hot. Senyai has joined the welcome trend of replacing the old 1-to10 heat scale with a simple zero-to-3, and we found a level 2 suited us well. But we kept the rice bowl handy. Alongside tender pork were crisp green beans, carrots and bell peppers, and if the overall effect was faintly evocative of Chinese-American stir-fries, the lemongrass held our palates unmistakably, and deliciously, in Southeast Asia. Angelique loves curries. Her favorites are green and Panang, and while both were on offer here — it’s the rare Thai restaurant that doesn’t include them — Senyai’s menu enticed her to try something new. Crab curry contained just two main ingredients, jumbo lump meat and kale, in a creamy yellow curry. The flavor was mild yet focused, the crab succulent, and the kale tamed and tenderized by its coconut curry bath. Is kale an authentic Thai ingredient, or an innovation of an American restaurant in the time of trendy superfoods? No matter; this curry is a dish you won’t find anywhere else, another reason to go — and return — to Senyai. Senyai’s service, food and interior design add up to a distinctive dining experience. Its light, bright interior and modern menu of Thai standards, plus a few salutary surprises, make it a worthy destination on Ellsworth Avenue’s quirky cultural corridor. INFO@ PGHC ITY PAP ER.CO M
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[PERSONAL CHEF]
CLEAN-OUT THE FRIDGE QUICHE {BY KELLY ANDREWS, GREENFIELD} Maybe it’s a millennial thing, but lately my lifestyle leans toward that of a Depressionera grandmother rather than a woman in her early 30s. Not only do I obsessively turn off lights in unoccupied rooms, but certain things appeal to me now that never did before: saving the slivers of soap that are too small to use on their own until I have enough for a new bar; washing and reusing Ziploc bags (for the environment’s sake!); and taking all the dying vegetables in my fridge and sautéing them up for a quiche. I even sifted through a bag of wilting spinach to save just a handful of good pieces! In the same vein, my generation seems to think that if it’s not made from scratch, it’s an inferior dish. Just last night, a friend scoffed at Giant Eagle bakery cookies as if they aren’t delicious because they aren’t homemade. GOOD GOD, THEY’RE STILL COOKIES. Point being, anyone can make a quiche out of leftovers lurking in the vegetable crisper and, as I discovered, making a crust from scratch is actually manageable. This crust recipe comes from a friend’s ItalianAmerican mom, so you know it’s legit.
Destination
412-252-2877 Check us out @ frontporchgrille.com
INGREDIENTS CRUST: • 2 cups wheat flour • 1/8 tsp. salt • ½ cup oil • ½ cup milk QUICHE: • ½ cup milk • 2 tbsp. oil • 4 eggs • fridge veggies • ½ cup any cheese INSTRUCTIONS Combine flour and salt in one bowl, and oil and milk in another. Slowly add the milk/oil mixture and fold into flour. Do this a little bit at a time. Don’t be ashamed to watch YouTube tutorials on how to fold and roll. Sprinkle the countertop with flour and roll it out into a pie-shaped crust with your (until now, decorative) rolling pin. Sauté veggies in two tablespoons of oil (anything goes with quiche —I used carrots, spinach, onions, garlic and green peppers). Beat eggs and milk together. Add veggies to the mix. Pour over crust and top with ½ cup of (any) cheese. Bake at 350 degrees F for approximately one hour. Invite over your organic-loving friends and brag about how you’ll never go back to popping cardboard boxes of dough again. INFO@PGHCITYPAPER.COM
Kelly Andrews is a poet who plans to stick around Pittsburgh indefinitely. You can find more sad, healthy (and funny) meals on her blog sadhealthymeals.wordpress.com. WE WANT YOUR PERSONAL RECIPES AND THE STORIES BEHIND THEM. EMAIL THEM TO CELINE@PGHCITYPAPER.COM.
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A selection of spirits at Dormont’s Needle & Pin
[ON THE ROCKS]
COTTONING TO GIN It’s a versatile spirit with an impressive cocktail pedigree {BY DREW CRANISKY}
What have you always wanted to know about Pittsburgh?
“WHY DOES PITTSBURGH HAVE AN H IN IT?” “IS A PARKING-SPOT CHAIR LEGALLY BINDING?” “WHAT IS SLIPPY?” Mike Wysocki has the answers. (well...sorta)
SUBMIT YOUR PITTSBURGH QUESTIONS AT PGHCITYPAPER.COM
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AMERICANS ARE obsessed with whiskey.
Bourbon sales are booming, whiskey bars continue to pop up across the country, and rare bottles fetch eye-popping sums. While whiskey certainly has a key place in the cocktail world, many connoisseurs would argue that aged spirits are best on their own. Needle & Pin, a new British-Indian restaurant in Dormont, highlights a versatile spirit with an even more impressive cocktail pedigree: gin. If you were tempted to stop reading at the mere mention of that word, you’re not alone. Whether turned off by the prominent pine flavor or nauseated by a bad night in college, plenty of people think gin just isn’t for them. But Colin Smith, the chief operating officer of Needle & Pin, aims to change all that. “We’ve already had a lot of guest interactions where they’ve had kind of this eureka moment,” he says. “Where they’re like, ‘Wow, I had no idea this even existed.’” Needle & Pin’s expansive gin list helps ensure there’s something for everyone. “Right now we’re in the eighties, with some more rare gins coming,” says Smith. “I don’t know that we’ll ever stop collecting. It’s a passion of mine as much as it is a business model.” Though gin, by definition, must contain juniper berries, not all versions of the spirit highlight juniper’s distinctive, resinous flavor. Some are floral, some are citrusy, and some even veer toward whiskey. And the list boasts gins from all over the world, including bottles
from Japan, Iceland and Spain. Of course, gin is a spirit meant to be mixed, and Needle & Pin takes that job seriously. For gin and tonics, for instance, Smith makes five varieties of homemade tonic, each designed to pair with a different style of gin. For martinis, bartenders use a thermometer to guarantee that every drink goes out at exactly 24 degrees Fahrenheit. And for his personal favorite, the Gibson, he makes his own house-pickled onions. Gin is at the center of everything Needle & Pin does; the restaurant’s name comes from Cockney rhyming slang for gin. And that spirit is what ultimately led Smith and his team to the restaurant’s British-Indian ethos. “The tradition of how gin grew and became what we know of today has way more to do with India than anyone would ever even believe,” he says. Reflecting the fusion approach they take in the kitchen, the list of original cocktails plays with a globe-spanning selection of ingredients, including kumquats, Thai chiles and English cucumbers. Though gin might have an upper-crust reputation, Needle & Pin aims to be a welcoming neighborhood restaurant and bar. Smith encourages guests to order in rounds, ask plenty of questions, and linger as long as they like. “At the end of the day, all we care about is making the guest happy,” says Smith. “Everything else is a side effect.” I N F O@ P G H C I T Y PA P E R. C OM
3271 W. Liberty Ave., Dormont. 412-207-9724 or www.needle-pin.com
BOOZE BATTLES {BY CELINE ROBERTS}
Each week, we order the same cocktail at two different bars for a friendly head-to-head battle. Go to the bars, taste both drinks and tell us what you like about each by tagging @pghcitypaper on Twitter or Instagram and use #CPBoozeBattles. If you want to be a part of Booze Battles, send an email to food-and-beverage writer Celine Roberts, at celine@pghcitypaper.com.
THE DRINK: MARTINEZ
MEXICAN RESTAURANT & BAR
TAJ MAHAL
OAXACAN CUISINE
INDIAN RESTAURANT
Serving North Indian, South Indian and other authentic regional Indian Cuisine
FRIDAY, JUNE 30TH LIVE MUSIC
HAPPY HOUR
s Wednesday - Friday 5PM-7PM Half Off Appetizers!
VS.
The Commoner
Spoon
458 Strawberry Way, Downtown
134 S. Highland Ave., East Liberty
DRINK: Oaked Martinez INGREDIENTS: Barrel-finished Bluecoat gin, sweet vermouth, orange bitters, maraschino liqueur OUR TAKE: With some other bright, dry notes rounded out by its barrel finishing, this gin takes on a smooth and slightly more herbal flavor. Orange bitters echo the citrus notes in the gin, with the sweet vermouth and maraschino adding just a touch of sweetness for a perfectly balanced cocktail.
• Award Winner for Best Indian food 2000-2017 • The proud caterer for G20 summit - #1 choice for catering Indian cuisine. All events, weddings, anniversaries, baby showers • Lunch buffet 7 days a week • Dinner buffets Monday, Thursday and Saturday. Tajj Mahal is owned and operated p by chef/owner h Usha Sethi since 1996. 1996
7795 McKnight Rd • 412-364-1760 • tajmahalinc.com
WE CATER!
DRINK: Martinez INGREDIENTS: Wigle ginever, sweet vermouth, maraschino liqueur OUR TAKE: This punchy, juniper-forward ginever is rich in botanicals. Sweet vermouth and maraschino liqueur add minerality and a dose of sweetness. Notes of stone fruit and light citrus contribute tartness that lingers on the back of the cocktail.
Formerly the
Tin Angel
Learn more about Pittsburgh’s food scene on our podcasts Sound Bite and Five Minutes in Food History online at www.pghcitypaper.com.
Dining with a
One Bordeaux, One Scotch, One Beer Kilchoman Machir Bay Single Malt Whisky $26/2.8-ounce pour Asked for a scotch from Islay or Speyside, bartender Rocky Croyal put this on the bar. “It’s truly one you have to taste to describe. It’s peaty and sweet all at the same time.” RECOMMENDED BY ROCKY CROYAL, BARTENDER AT BLEND BAR
1200 GRANDVIEW AVENUE • MT. WASHINGTON 412-381-1919 • VUE412.COM
Kilchoman Machir Bay Single Malt Whisky is available at Blend Bar, Downtown.
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MUSIC THERAPY {BY AL HOFF}
BABY DRIVER IS A CRIME ACTIONER WRAPPED IN A QUIRKY MUSICAL ROM-COM
Anna (Zoe Lister-Jones) and Ben (Adam Pally) seem like a fun young couple — living in a cute Los Angeles bungalow and … fighting constantly. She’s uptight, he’s a slacker — and as we witness in Band Aid’s opening scene — a complaint about unwashed dishes escalates to someone bringing the Holocaust into the squabble. It’s exhausting, and perhaps this marriage can’t be saved.
Not quite in tune: Adam Pally and Zoe Lister-Jones
But in this dramedy — written and directed by Lister-Jones — an unorthodox form of therapy materializes. After an impromptu jam session at a kids’ rock ’n’ roll-themed birthday party, the couple discover that turning their complaints into songs is super helpful. (Before you snark at too-precious hipsters singing about their feelings because it’s twee-ish, recall that Fleetwood Mac made a zillion dollars slinging songs about the band members’ relationship woes.) They enlist “weird Dave” (Fred Armisen) from next door as a drummer, and even take the act to a couple of open-mic nights. But it’s not all laughs: Their troubles are rooted in some real problems, including frustrated creativity (she should be writing, and he should be making art), money (Anna makes ends meet by Ubering), and the inability to talk about a traumatic event. The film winds up with some men-are-from-Mars-women-arefrom-Venus explanations that felt a little reductive and outdated; there’s blame on both sides of this strained relationship and I’m not sure it’s necessarily gender-based. But I respect that despite some of the exaggerated silliness (Dave’s at-home situation is strictly for comic effect), ListerJones does keep the exploration of the marriage grounded in reality: The problem is a lack of honest and empathetic communication — even if the larger conceit of turning sniping into heartfelt song lyrics is a practical solution. Ultimately, the songs help spur conversation. Band Aid pokes some fun at Los Angeles, today’s obsessive parenting and how every ordinary aspect of life now seems like competitive performance. And TV-watchers will see plenty of cameos from an assortment of actors, including the great Susie Essman (Curb Your Enthusiasm) as Ben’s mother, and Parks and Recreation’s Retta, as a fed-up therapist. Starts Fri., June 30. Melwood
Baby, you can drive my car: Ansel Elgort
MIX MASTER {BY AL HOFF}
I
T’S SUMMER, and a worthwhile movie might only need fast cars, great tunes, funny gangsters and a boy meeting a girl. Take heed: Writer-director Edgar Wright’s comic actioner Baby Driver has this covered. Like his earlier films — Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, World’s End — Baby Driver is a joyful riff on genre fare from a devoted scholar. Viewers won’t be taxed by the plot: A nice guy is just the driver for a gang, but when he decides he’d rather not be a criminal, walking away isn’t so easy. But that’s enough of a familiar frame to hang colorful stuff on. Baby (Ansel Elgort) is a great getaway driver, even if he rarely speaks and is always listening to music on ear buds. He’s the odd man out in the gang’s rotation of motor-mouths, which include Buddy (Jon Hamm), Bats (Jamie Foxx) and leader Doc (Kevin Spacey). Baby Driver crashes out of the gate with a pair of bravado scenes that show-
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case Baby’s unique skills. First, there’s the white-knuckle, rapidly edited car chase through the streets of Atlanta, while Baby sings along and steers the car to Jon Spencer Blues Explosion’s “Bellbottom.” It’s gimmicky, but a blast. Then, in one long take, Wright puts Baby on the sidewalk, bopping along to “Harlem Shuffle,” while the city scenes behind him deliver grace notes to the lyrics.
BABY DRIVER DIRECTED BY: Edgar Wright STARRING: Ansel Elgort, Lily James, Kevin Spacey, Jon Hamm, Jamie Foxx
CP APPROVED Later, Baby meets a waitress named Debora (Lily James), and it turns out the two of them share the same dream of just driving away. She tells him about a Beck song; he shares a T. Rex tune (a band he adorably mistakenly calls “trex”). Turns out that this
film is a crime actioner wrapped in a quirky musical rom-com, with music and songs informing nearly every scene. (Even the hardass Bats speaks knowingly about the ill effect of “hex” songs, like “Hotel California” or Boyz II Men’s “End of the Road.”) Baby Driver is an homage to kicky heist films, but at its real heart, it’s a valentine to all the sentimental musicheads and crate-diggers out there. Instead of a closet of weapons, Baby has a plastic tub full of assorted iPods, preloaded for different moods and scenarios. Like most of Wright’s films, this one is about 15 minutes too long, and the ending is just OK when ideally it should be as punchy and hell-yeah as the opening. But think of Baby Driver as a mix tape: Of course, it has to start strong, and then develop a good groove among disparate elements — an oddball lead, romance, Kevin Spacey being scary, a car chase, a discussion about Dolly Parton, a shootout. Even when all that works, it can be hard to nail down just the right jam for the end. Still a great mix though. A H OF F @ P G HC I T Y PA P E R. C OM
war. Del Toro hews to the style of classical fairy tales, that don’t promise happy endings, or easy times for troubled children. After moving to an army outpost, young Ofelia (Ivana Baquero) escapes from her cold new stepfather — and from Franco’s harsh new reality — through expeditions to a fantastical secret world. Beyond the film’s captivating story, there’s also the thrill of seeing a young director blossom and hit all his marks. It’s the rare film that feels like a complete package, with the singularity of the director’s vision fully realized, and ably supported by a superior cast and top-notch production values. In Spanish, with subtitles. June 30, through July 6. Row House Cinema (AH)
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NEW AMITYVILLE: THE AWAKENING. Folks keep moving into that troubled house on Long Island, and sure as shootin’, they keep getting haunted. Jennifer Jason Leigh stars in Franck Khalfoun’s horror thriller. Starts Fri., June 30 THE BEGUILED. Sofia Coppola directs this period drama, set in a school for young ladies during the American Civil War. The arrival of a wounded soldier (Colin Farrell) changes the dynamic of the women’s relationships. Nicole Kidman, Kirsten Dunst and Elle Fanning also star. Starts Fri., June 30 DESPICABLE ME 3. The minions are back! And so is grumpy Gru, plus Gru’s long-lost charming and upbeat twin brother, Dru. Steve Carrell and Kristen Wiig provide voices for Eric Guillon’s animated comedy. In 3-D, in select theaters. Starts Fri., June 30 THE HOUSE. Will Ferrell and Amy Poehler star in Andrew Jay Cohen’s comedy about struggling parents who start a casino in their home hoping to raise money for their kid’s college tuition. Starts Fri., June 30 THE SURVIVALIST. Writer-director Stephen Fingleton’s lean but intense drama is set some time in the near future, after catastrophic events have destroyed civilization. Or at least that’s how it seems as we follow the morning routine of the titular survivalist (Martin McCann), a young man living in a ramshackle cabin deep in the woods. He’s constantly armed and suspicious of any noise; he makes a meager meal; and he checks on animal traps and tends a vegetable garden. It is a joyless subsistence. Then from the trees appear a mother (Olwen Fouere) and her teenage daughter (Mia Goth). They’re eager to make a trade for any food, and, after some tension, a deal is struck: The girl will provide sex, and the women can eat. Perhaps against his better judgment, the man lets the women stay, and an uneasy household takes root, in which nobody trusts anybody and the deprivation makes everybody’s behavior unpredictable and dangerous. The film offers plenty of tension, and a raw scene or two (the maggots are so much worse than any nudity). There’s little dialogue, and little plot, though it’s inevitable something is going to give. It does seem to provide a more realistic account of day-to-day life after civilization has collapsed, taking with it social, legal and economic order, as well as infrastructure basics like water and energy. Life is filthy, fraught and feral, kill or be killed. The Survivalist is well done and well produced, but it’s a grim tale. Starts Fri., June 30. Hollywood (Al Hoff)
REPERTORY DOLLAR BANK CINEMA IN THE PARK. Airlift, Wed., June 28 (Schenley Park: Flagstaff Hill), and Sat., July 1 (Riverview). The Jungle Book, Thu., June 29 (Brookline); Fri., June 30 (Arsenal); and Sat., July 1 (Grandview). Pete’s Dragon, Sun., July 2 (Schenley Plaza), and Thu., July 6 (Brookline). Captain America: Civil War, Wed., July 5 (Schenley Park: Flagstaff Hill). Films begin at dusk. Free. 412-255-2493 or www.citiparks.net THE BIRDCAGE. Robin Williams and Nathan Lane star in this 1996 comedy, directed by Mike Nichols, about an older gay couple who pretend to be straight in front of their son’s fiancée’s con-
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STARDUST. In the late 19th century, a love-smitten lad named Tristan (Charlie Cox) travels to a magical land to retrieve a fallen star, who turns out to be human-ish (Claire Danes). Director Matthew Vaughn adapts Neil Gaiman’s fantasy novel into a mostly entertaining mélange of romance, comedy and adventure, featuring spells gone awry, men in puffy shirts, swordplay and cheesy special effects. Stardust (2007) travels a sword’s edge between straight storytelling and winking sendup. Tristan’s chief foe is a scheming witch portrayed with gusto by Michelle Pfeiffer; his savior is a ship’s captain with a secret (Robert DeNiro); and the requisite British thespians round out the crew. June 30, through July 6. Row House Cinema (AH)
The Survivalist servative family. 2:30 p.m. Wed., June 28, and 5 p.m. Thu., June 29. Row House Cinema
The newly restored film is back in theaters for its 50th anniversary. Through Thu., July 6. Harris
PINK FLAMINGOS. It’s been decades since its outrageous debut, but there’s still squirms left in John Waters’ 1972 hilarious homage to/send-up of the filthiest people on the planet (or, minimally, the greater Baltimore area). Some shocks have paled or been chitchatted to death; others remain jaw-dropping. How actually funny the film is probably depends more on your taste for shock humor. One delight amidst all the flat “acting” is Divine, whose believable character seems so genuine, both in outrageousness and warmth. This film rests in great part on her ample form. 5 p.m. Wed., June 28, and 9:35 p.m. Thu., June 29. Row House Cinema (AH)
CORALINE. For a bright, spunky girl, the only thing worse than moving to a gloomy Victorian home in the sticks is discovering that the house harbors a monster that wants to suck the soul out of her. Such are the trials of Coraline, the snarky, blue-haired star of this 2009 animated feature, adapted from a Neil Gaiman story by Henry Selick. June 30, through July 6. Row House Cinema
THE PAGEMASTER. Macaulay Culkin stars as the bookish boy who, after a freak accident, must quest his way through a variety of classic book plots in order to return home. Maurice Hunt directs this 1994 film. June 30, through July 6. Row House Cinema TROLL 2. In this 1990 not-actually-a-sequel from Claudio Fragasso, a vacation family is tormented by trolls. Or goblins. Really, it doesn’t matter. People watch this movie because it is heralded as one of the worst films ever made, most notably the acting, dialogue, music, plot and literally everything else about it. Come to laugh! Midnight, Sat., July 1. Row House Cinema
PAN’S LABYRINTH. Guillermo del Toro’s stunning 2006 film is a dark fairy tale for adults, a masterfully intertwined blend of psychological drama, the fantastic and an elegy to childhood innocence, set within the shadow of the Spanish civil
CP
FUNERAL PARADE OF ROSES. Toshio Matsumoto’s stylish black-and-white 1969 film loosely re-sets Oedipus Rex among the demimonde of Tokyo’s gay and drag-queen scenes. In Japanese, with subtitles. 7 p.m. Wed., June 28, and 2:45 p.m. Thu., June 29. Row House Cinema JAWS. Steven Spielberg’s aqua-thriller terrified beach-goers in the summer of 1975, when it unspooled the tale of a great white shark eating swimmers along the Atlantic seaboard. Richard Dreyfus, Robert Shaw and Roy Schneider hit the waves to capture the man-eater: They’re gonna need a bigger boat, and you should see this on a bigger screen. It’s still lots of scary fun. 7:30 p.m. Wed., June 28 (AMC Loews Waterfront); also 7:30 p.m. Wed., June 28, and 7:30 p.m. Thu., June 29 (Hollywood). (AH)
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HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH. In this 2001 film, director John Cameron Mitchell stars as Hedwig, a transsexual rock performer who relates her story of a failed relationship, and of the ex-lover who stole her songs. 9:15 p.m. Wed., June 28, and 7:30 pm. Thu., June 29. Row House Cinema MONTEREY POP. Woodstock gets all the press and nostalgia, but this three-day 1967 music festival, held in Monterey, Calif., was just as defining, culturally and musically. The Monterey International Pop Festival offered a diverse lineup, with performers representing pop, folk, soul, rock and world music. Among the acts: The Who, The Byrds, Ravi Shankar, Hugh Masekela, Simon and Garfunkel, The Mamas and the Papas, and, in powerful performances that jump-started their careers, Janis Joplin, Otis Redding and Jimi Hendrix. (Fun moment: Mama Cass Elliott in the audience, jaw-dropped as Joplin wails it out.) Also significant for the time: The concert was filmed, by documentarian D.A. Pennebaker. The success of the film paved the way for later cinematic concert documentaries such as Woodstock and Gimme Shelter (capturing the disastrous music festival at Altamont).
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PICKLEBALL IS A SPORT THAT’S BREACHING THE MAINSTREAM
HISTORY LESSONS This week in Pittsburgh Sports History {BY RYAN DETO} A look back at events that you’ve either forgotten about or never heard of in the first place. JUNE 30, 1951 Pittsburgh Steelers running back Jerry Nuzum is acquitted of the murder of waitress Ovida Coogler. In 1948, Coogler was found dead in Las Cruces, N.M., when Nuzum was a student at New Mexico A&M, before he joined the Steelers. The judge acquitted Nuzum due to a “complete lack of evidence.”
The Pittsburgh traditions of labor organizing and the Pirates sucking unite as thousands of fans at PNC participate in a walk-out during the third inning as a way to express frustration over the team’s 15-straight losing seasons. Ironically, the Pirates went on to beat the Nationals 7-2. Also, the Associated Press reported only about 100 fans actually left the stadium, and many of the fans who got up from their seats in the third returned later.
Satchel Paige
JUNE 30, 2007
{CP PHOTOS BY BILLY LUDT}
A player returns a serve during a recent pickleball tournament Downtown.
JULY 2, 1921 Radio station KDKA participates in the first-ever broadcast of a world heavyweight fight. American Jack Dempsey knocked out France’s Georges Carpentier in the fourth round. The Pittsburgh radio station was beyond the 200-mile radius of the live broadcast in Jersey City, so KDKA announcers relayed action by reading transcripts sent via telegraph, which is today’s equivalent of me calling a Steelers road game in California from information gleamed from my dad’s texts. “Run the ball, you idiots!”
JULY 3, 1987 Bobby Bonilla becomes the first Pirate to hit a homerun from both sides of the plate in a game against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Three Rivers Stadium. Bonilla accomplished this again in 1988.
JULY 4, 1934 Pittsburgh Crawfords star Satchel Paige, arguably the greatest pitcher ever to play professional baseball, throws a no-hitter in a 4-0 defeat against crosstown rivals, the Homestead Grays. Paige struck out 17 batters, setting the Negro League record. Paige’s gem is also tied with the most strikeouts for a no-hitter in MLB history.
IN A PICKLE {BY BILLY LUDT}
F
OR MANY PEOPLE, pickleball was a game that your P.E. teacher likely taught you one day in your middleschool gym class. In fact, gym class was filled with ridiculous games with names like parachute, four square, lighthouse and red rover. But unlike those games that remain in the schoolyard, pickleball is a sport that’s breaching the mainstream. The GAMMA Pickleball Classic tournament, held at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center, saw 413 players from 17 states and Canada, take to the hardcourt. Tournament co-director Lou Sherfinski said that this second year of pickleball competition in Pittsburgh has doubled in size from the first. Organizers turned the ground-floor convention space into a 27-court arena filled with players ranging from grade-school age to septuagenarians. Even Pittsburgh Mayor
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Bill Peduto and Pittsburgh City Councilor Corey O’Connor played a round. “You saw the mayor and the councilman playing before,” Sherfinski says. “I wouldn’t be surprised if they got the bug.”
THE SLOWER SPEED OF THE BALL MAKES IT A MUCH LOWER IMPACT SPORT THAN TENNIS. Pickleball is a cross between badminton, ping pong and tennis. The game can be played one-on-one or two-on-two. Players volley a plastic ball with holes (think wiffle ball) back and forth over a net with a paddle that’s larger than a ping-pong paddle, but
similar in design. Scoring is similar to tennis, but games require a two-point gap to win, and only the serving team can score. “In tennis, the edge always goes to the server,” Sherfinski says. “The rules in pickleball take that advantage away.” In tennis, a ball is typically served overhand and at a high velocity. In pickleball, the ball is always served underhand. The holes in the plastic ball slow its speed when struck, which evens the play between the serving and returning teams. The slower speed of the ball makes it a much lower impact sport than tennis and opens the game up for people of different ages and abilities. This year, the Pickleball Classic raised about $22,000 for the Parkinson Foundation of Western Pennsylvania. In fact, some players competing in the tournament had Parkinson’s themselves. While studies aren’t available publicly describing the benefits
Pittsburgh City Councilor Corey O’Conner (left) and Mayor Bill Peduto (center) played some pickleball.
of pickleball in Parkinson’s patients, cardio- apply my tennis skills, you can only do so vascular exercise, such as boxing and bik- much of that, so I suffered a little bit. And ing, has been shown to slow the disease’s then I caught on. Now I’m a monster.” symptoms and promote mobility. Pickleball I NF O @PGH C IT YPAPE R . C O M falls under that umbrella. Pickleball player and Parkinson’s patient Andy Leighton can attest to the sport’s benefits. “I love the closeness of it,” Leighton says. “You’re closer to your opponents than you >> The court is 20 feet wide by 60 feet long. are in tennis, and that fosters a social re>> The net is 20 feet long and is 34 inches lationship that you won’t get in tennis or high in the center, extending to 36 most other sports.” inches high on the sidelines. >> The ball is served underhand without Leighton was diagnosed with Parkinbouncing it, diagonally into the son’s disease about six years ago. Off the opponent’s service court. court, his symptoms will flare and his body >> Only the serving team can score. will shake. But once he has a pickleball pad>> A point is scored when the non-serving dle in his hand, everything changes. opponent fails to return the ball or hits “My wife took me to a tournament — the ball out of bounds. >> Games go to 11, but the victor must entered us in a tournament — didn’t tell win by two points. me a thing about the sport, and I’m a tenSOURCE: THE USA PICKLEBALL ASSOCIATION nis player,” Leighton says. “When I tried to
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[THE CHEAP SEATS]
GAME OF CHANCE {BY MIKE WYSOCKI} IT’S THAT TIME of the year when baseball is the only game in town; the sliver on the calendar when PPG Paints Arena and Heinz Field are used only for concerts. As we approach July, the Pirates are the only major sports team to complain about. That is until Mike Tomlin makes his first mistake of 2017. Despite some major setbacks, the Buccos — just like the cult-favorite Bruce Willis movie that was filmed here in the ’90s — are within striking distance. Starting center fielder Starling Marte set the tone early when he was suspended for 49.99 percent of the regular season for using performance-enhancing drugs. Drugs and alcohol have really caused some major problems for our team. Starting third baseman Jung Ho Kang recorded his third DUI, a team record, and that infraction has kept him in South Korea. The Pirates replaced these two good-time Charlies with Adam Frazier and David Freese, both of whom celebrated by immediately spending time on the disabled list. Rookie pitcher Tyler Glasnow impressed everyone in spring training, and followed that up by impressing no one in the regular season. After seeing more than seven runners cross home plate every nine innings he pitched, Glasnow was mercifully sent back to Indianapolis. Tony Watson’s blown saves cost him the closer job, but earned him a spot as a social-media punching bag. The level of ire reserved for one of the Pirates’ best relief pitchers in recent history is high. Heights only reached by cornerbacks who drop interceptions, running backs who fumble too often, goalies who have one bad game, and Pedro Alvarez. Watson’s bullpen-mate Daniel Hudson was one of only two signings in the off-season (Ivan Nova being the other). But the Hudson deal is a bad one so far. Andrew McCutchen, Jordy Mercer and Francisco Cervelli all started the season batting around the .200 mark. Gregory Polanco was mediocre, got hurt and returned 2 percent better. The Pirates bench has been a rotating collection of highly numbered forgettables taking up space. Guys with jerseys reading Gosselin, Moroff, Ngoepe, Hanson and Bostick. Those five were sent to the plate a combined 178 times and
{CP PHOTO BY CHARLIE DEITCH}
Chad Kuhl and the Pittsburgh Pirates have had some issues this season. Luckily the rest of their division has, too.
returned to the dugout with their heads down 146 of them. Chad Kuhl and Trevor Williams are clinging to the rotation out of necessity even though their ERAs hover in the fives. And if that wasn’t enough, young phenom pitcher Jameson Taillon was diagnosed with cancer. But while that sounds like an unrecoverable train wreck of a season, the Bucs are still in it. Thanks to solid pitching by Nova, Taillon and, occasionally, Gerrit Cole, the rotation has kept the rest of the team treading water. Give GM Neal Huntingdon credit for acquiring Felipe Rivero. Mark Melancon posted some of the best numbers ever by a Pirates reliever, but Rivero has looked even more unhittable. Juan Nicasio has made the transition from shaky starter to reliable set-up man; innings eaters Edgar Santana and Jhan Mariñez have been pleasant surprises. Catcher Elias Diaz and utility man Jose Osuna fall into that category, as well as adding much-needed depth. Not stopped by their earlier troubles, Andrew McCutchen and Jordy Mercer have been pounding the ball since May. Josh Harrrison, Adam Frazer and David Freese have been consistently good all year as well. But the real reason the Pirates are still in it is because no one else in the division is much better. The National League in 2017 breaks down like this: Four outstanding teams (Dodgers, Nationals, Diamondbacks, Rockies); three terrible teams (Phillies, Padres,
Giants); and eight teams that are just OK. The experts told us that the Cubs would run away with the division, but the most arrogant .500 team ever assembled has hovered around that mediocre mark all season. These Cubs have been tagged as a superstar dynasty in the making, like
U2, Metallica or the Red Hot Chili Peppers, but they might (hopefully) turn out to be more of a one-hit wonder like Gnarls Barkley, Juice Newton or Chumbawumba. The Brewers have overachieved with a roster of nobodies, and that seems unlikely to continue. The Reds were bad last year, but they may even be worse this year, while the perennial golden boys of the division, the St. Louis Cardinals, have been very un-Cardinals-like all year long. So you’re saying there’s a chance? If Marte returns with a vengeance and the top three pitchers continue to progress, if McCutchen and Mercer continue their streaks and the bullpen is solid, then yes, there is a chance. If either Gregory Polanco or Josh Bell musters just a little consistency to help raise the Jolly Roger a few more times, they could win the division. Forget the Wild Card this year, the Pirates are already over 10 games out of that. For the Pirates, if they’re not first, they’re last. While some folks may be sad that there’s only one major sport on right now, baseball fans are ecstatic because this is the one time of year when the game never gets interrupted by a kickoff or a puck drop. In a way, it’s the best time of the year. And if the Buccos keep battling back, it might turn out to be better than Christmas. I N F O@ P G H C I T Y PA P E R. C OM
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ACROSS 1. Video game classic with the catchphrase “He’s heating up” 7. Pinterest president Kendall 10. Band letters 14. “Isn’t that fan-cy!” 15. Like a moody teen, maybe 16. Hilltop view 17. Folks at the Wayne Manor family reunion? 18. Our prof’s helper might? 20. It’s knot-worthy 21. Unground oats, say 22. Before, archaically 23. Its symbol is an omega 24. Short and thickset owl? 27. Melodramatic sadness 28. French accord 29. “Be on the lookout” announcement, briefly 30. Total fruitcake 31. ___ Hall 34. FAQ fodder 38. Employs a civil wrong when all other civil wrongs failed? 42. Parisian pop 43. Go from paper to plastic 44. Hobby collector’s purchase 45. “I never sleep, cause sleep is the cousin of death” rapper
48. Obesity meas. 49. Swelling treatment 50. Sharpen some hamburger? 55. ___ es Salaam 56. Listening device 57. Was sick 58. Endings of turns in some game apps 59. Argument about whether “shooby dooby doo” or “de dop too wah” is better? 61. Slogan for some of those on the left, and, if read a different way, an explanation of this puzzle’s theme 64. Scorer John 65. Córdoba uncle 66. Showered in the spring 67. ___-Ball 68. Maj. that involves loads of writing 69. Festival settings
DOWN 1. San Francisco’s ___ Hill 2. Punt’s spot 3. Highness measurer 4. CNN’s Tapper 5. Boxer/conscientious objector 6. Chess piece 7. Tank resident 8. Cry during paintball 9. ‘90s sitcom about the Mitchell family 10. Letters on a Crest tube
11. “Girls” actress Zosia 12. Emergency light 13. Urban ___ (Ohio State football coach) 19. Convertible cover 21. Shredding equipment? 23. Confess 24. Peer of McGwire 25. Ans. opposite 26. Closing words? 32. Cheer for cape work 33. Picked up, as a perp 35. “And how!” 36. Stewed chicken dish 37. Playful swimmer 39. Outlook folder 40. “Me too!”
41. Weekendbeginning initialism 46. Massive tank in the first Hoth battle of “The Empire Strikes Back” 47. Islamic worshiper 50. Bridge positions 51. Czech diacritical mark 52. Get the word out? 53. Pixieish 54. Make misty 58. Home of roughly 60% of the world 60. Café beverage 61. They cover their tracks: Abbr. 62. Consume 63. Saint’s Hail Marys, at times {LAST WEEK’S ANSWERS}
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FOR THE WEEK OF
Free Will Astrology
06.28-07.05
{BY ROB BREZSNY}
CANCER (June 21-July 22): When Leos rise above their habit selves and seize the authority to be rigorously authentic, I refer to them as Sun Queens or Sun Kings. When you Cancerians do the same — triumph over your conditioning and become masters of your own destiny — I call you Moon Queens or Moon Kings. In the coming weeks, I suspect that many of you will make big strides toward earning this title. Why? Because you’re on the verge of claiming more of the “soft power,” the potent sensitivity that enables you to feel at home no matter what you’re doing or where you are on this planet.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): You may not realize it, but you now have a remarkable power to perform magic tricks. I’m not talking about Houdini-style hocus-pocus. I’m referring to practical wizardry that will enable you to make relatively efficient transformations in your daily life. Here are some of the possibilities: wiggling out of a tight spot without offending anyone; conjuring up a new opportunity for yourself out of thin air; doing well on a test even though you don’t feel prepared for it; converting a seemingly tough twist of fate into a fertile date with destiny. How else would you like to use your magic?
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Feminist pioneer and author Gloria Steinem said, “Writing is the only thing that, when I do it, I don’t feel I should be doing something else.” Is there such an activity for you, Virgo? If not, now is a favorable time to identify what it is. And if there is indeed such a passionate pursuit, you should do it as much as possible in the coming weeks. You’re primed for a breakthrough in your relationship
with this life-giving joy. To evolve to the next phase of its power to inspire you, it needs as much of your love and intelligence as you can spare.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22):
One of the 21st century’s most entertaining archaeological events was the discovery of King Richard III’s bones. The English monarch died in 1485, but his burial site had long been a mystery. It wasn’t an archaeologist who tracked down his remains, but a screenwriter named Philippa Langley. She did extensive historical research, narrowing down the possibilities to a car park in Leicester. As she wandered around there, she got a psychic impression at one point that she was walking directly over Richard’s grave. Her feeling later turned out to be right. I suspect your near future will have resemblances to her adventure. You’ll have success in a mode that’s not your official area of expertise. Sharp analytical thinking will lead you to the brink, and a less rational twist of intelligence will take you the rest of the way.
get your yoga on!
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): The tides of destiny are no longer just whispering their message for you. They are shouting. And what they are shouting is that your brave quest must begin soon. There can be no further excuses for postponement. What’s that you say? You don’t have the luxury of embarking on a brave quest? You’re too bogged down in the thousand-and-one details of managing the day-to-day hubbub? Well, in case you need reminding, the tides of destiny are not in the habit of making things convenient. And if you don’t cooperate willingly, they will ultimately compel you to do so. But now here’s the really good news, Scorpio: The tides of destiny will make available at least one burst of assistance that you can’t imagine right now.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): In my dream, I used the non-itchy wool of the queen’s special Merino sheep to weave an enchanted blanket for you. I wanted this blanket to be a good luck charm you could use in your crusade to achieve deeper levels of romantic intimacy. In its tapestry I spun scenes depicting the most lovefilled events from your past. It was beautiful and perfect. But after I finished it, I had second thoughts about giving it to you. Wasn’t it a mistake to make it so flawless? Shouldn’t it also embody the messier aspects of togetherness? To turn it into a better symbol and therefore a more dynamic talisman, I spilled wine on one corner of it and unraveled some threads in another corner. Now here’s my interpretation of my dream: You’re ready to regard messiness as an essential ingredient in your quest for deeper intimacy.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19):
schoolhouseyoga.com gentle yoga yin yoga ÁRZ \RJD meditation
teacher training ashtanga yoga prenatal yoga family yoga
east liberty squirrel hill north hills
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PITTSBURGH CITY PAPER
06.28/07.05.2017
Your word of power is “supplication” — the act of asking earnestly and humbly for what you want. When practiced correctly, “supplication” is indeed a sign of potency, not of weakness. It means you are totally united with your desire, feel no guilt or shyness about it, and intend to express it with liberated abandon. Supplication makes you supple, poised to be flexible as you do what’s necessary to get the blessing you yearn for. Being a supplicant also makes you smarter, because it helps you realize that you can’t get what you want on the strength of your willful ego alone. You need grace, luck and help from sources beyond your control.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): In the coming weeks, your relationships with painkillers will be extra sweet and intense. Please note that I’m not talking about ibuprofen or acetaminophen or aspirin. My reference to painkillers is metaphorical. What I’m predicting is that you will have a knack for finding experiences that reduce your suffering. You’ll have a sixth sense about where to go to get the most meaningful kinds of healing
and relief. Your intuition will guide you to initiate acts of atonement and forgiveness, which will in turn ameliorate your wounds.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Don’t wait around passively as you fantasize about becoming the “Chosen One” of some person or group or institution. Be your own Chosen One. And don’t wander around aimlessly, biding your time in the hope of eventually being awarded some prize or boon by a prestigious source. Give yourself a prize or boon. Here’s one further piece of advice, Pisces: Don’t postpone your practical and proactive intentions until the mythical “perfect moment” arrives. Create your own perfect moment.
ARIES (March 21-April 19): This is a perfect moment to create a new tradition, Aries. You intuitively know how to turn one of your recent breakthroughs into a good habit that will provide continuity and stability for a long time to come. You can make a permanent upgrade in your life by capitalizing on an accidental discovery you made during a spontaneous episode. It’s time, in other words, to convert the temporary assistance you received into a long-term asset; to use a stroke of luck to foster a lasting pleasure.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Physicist Freeman Dyson told Wired magazine how crucial it is to learn from failures. As an example, he described the invention of the bicycle. “There were thousands of weird models built and tried before they found the one that really worked,” he said. “You could never design a bicycle theoretically. Even now, it’s difficult to understand why a bicycle works. But just by trial and error, we found out how to do it, and the error was essential.” I hope you will keep that in mind, Taurus. It’s the Success-Through-Failure Phase of your astrological cycle.
GEMINI (May 21-June 20): According to my analysis of the astrological omens, you should lease a chauffeured stretch limousine with nine TVs and a hot tub inside. You’d also be smart to accessorize your smooth ride with a $5,000 bottle of Château Le Pin Pomerol Red Bordeaux wine and servings of the Golden Opulence Sundae, which features a topping of 24-karat edible gold and sprinkles of Amedei Porcelana, the most expensive chocolate in the world. If none of that is possible, do the next best thing, which is to mastermind a longterm plan to bring more money into your life. From an astrological perspective, wealth-building activities will be favored in the coming weeks. Name your greatest unnecessary taboo and how you would violate it if doing so didn’t hurt anyone. FreeWillAstrology.com.
GO TO REALASTROLOGY.COM TO CHECK OUT ROB BREZSNY’S EXPANDED WEEKLY AUDIO HOROSCOPES AND DAILY TEXT-MESSAGE HOROSCOPES. THE AUDIO HOROSCOPES ARE ALSO AVAILABLE BY PHONE AT 1-877-873-4888 OR 1-900-950-7700
Savage Love {BY DAN SAVAGE}
I had a great time at the live taping of the Savage Lovecast at Chicago’s Music Box Theatre. Audience members submitted questions on cards, and I tackled as many questions as I could over two hours — with the welcome and hilarious assistance of comedian Kristen Toomey. Here are some of the questions we didn’t get to before they gave us the hook …
My boyfriend keeps talking about how much he would like for me to peg him. (I’m female.) Should I wait for him to buy a contraption or surprise him myself? We’ve been dating only three months.
If your partner’s social media makes you uncomfortable — whether it’s the overly friendly comments they get on their photos or vice versa (their overly friendly comments on other people’s photos) — do you have the right to say something?
Gay guy, late 20s. What’s the best timing — relative to meals and bowel movements — to have anal sex?
You have the right to say something — the First Amendment applies to relationships, too — but you have two additional rights and one responsibility: the right to refrain from reading the comments, the right to unfollow your partner’s social-media accounts, and the responsibility to get over your jealousy. A couple invited me to go on a trip as their third and to have threesomes. I am friends with the guy, and there is chemistry. But I have not met the girl. I’m worried that there may not be chemistry with her. Is there anything I can do to build chemistry or at least get us all comfortable enough to jump into it? Get this woman’s phone number, exchange a few photos and flirty texts, and relax. Remember: You’re the very special guest star here — it’s their job to seduce you, not the other way around. My partner really wants an open relationship; I really don’t. He isn’t the jealous type; I am. We compromised, and I agreed to a threesome. I want to meet him in the middle, but I really hate the idea of even a threesome and can’t stop stressing about it. What should I do? You should end this relationship yourself, or you can let an ill-advised, sure-to-be-disastrous threesome end it for you. Any dating advice for people who are gay and disabled? Move on all fronts: Go places and do things — as much as your disability and budget allow — join gay dating sites, be open about your disability, be open to dating other disabled people. And take the advice of an amputee I interviewed for a column a long, long time ago: “So long as they don’t see me as a fetish object, I’m willing to date people who may be attracted to me initially because of my disability, not despite it.” Why do I say yes to dates if I love being alone? Because we’re constantly told — by our families, our entertainments, our faith traditions — that there’s something wrong with being alone. The healthiest loners shrug it off and don’t search for mates, the complicit loners play along and go through the motions of searching for mates, and the oblivious loners make themselves and others miserable by searching for and landing mates they never wanted.
Traditionally, straight couples exchange strap-on dildos to mark their six-month anniversary.
Butts shouldn’t be fucked too soon after a meal or too soon before a bowel movement. For more info, read the late, great Dr. Jack Morin’s Anal Pleasure and Health: A Guide for Men, Women, and Couples — which can be read before, during and after meals and/or bowel movements. Three great dates followed by a micropenis. What do I do? Him: 6-foot-4, giant belly. Me: 5-foot-5, normal proportions. Great guy, but the sex sucked. If you require an average-to-large penis to enjoy sex, don’t keep seeing this guy. He needs to find someone who thinks — or someone who knows — tongues, fingers, brains, kinks, etc., can add up to great sex. As a trauma/rape survivor, I found myself attracted to girls afterward. Is this because I’m scared of men, or am I genuinely attracted to girls? Is this a thing that happens after trauma?
What have you always wanted to know about Pittsburgh?
People react to trauma in all sorts of ways — some of them unpredictable. And trauma has the power to unlock truths or obscure them. I’m sorry you were raped, and I would encourage you to explore these issues with a counselor. Rape Victim Advocates (rapevictimadvocates.org) can help you find a qualified counselor.
“WHY DOES PITTSBURGH HAVE AN H IN IT?” “IS A PARKING-SPOT CHAIR LEGALLY BINDING?” “WHAT IS SLIPPY?”
My boyfriend refuses to finish inside me. When he’s about to come, he pulls out and comes on my chest. Every time. I told him I have an IUD and there’s no risk of pregnancy. How do I remain a feminist when my boyfriend comes on my chest every night? I know he loves me, but I feel very objectified.
Mike Wysocki has the answers. (well...sorta)
A woman who enjoys having someone come on her chest doesn’t have to surrender her feminist card for letting someone come on her chest. But you don’t enjoy it — it makes you feel objectified in the wrong way. (Most of us, feminists included, enjoy being appreciated for our parts and our smarts.) Use your words: “I don’t like it when you come on my chest. So that’s over.” He’ll have to respect that limit or he’ll have to go. If he doesn’t feel comfortable coming inside you, IUD or no IUD, you’ll have to respect his choice. He can pull out and come somewhere else — in his own hand, on his own belly or in a condom.
SUBMIT YOUR PITTSBURGH QUESTIONS AT PGHCITYPAPER.COM
Hey, Dan! I’m 27 and I just lost my virginity. Thanks for all the help! You’re welcome! On the Lovecast, Dan chats with the author of Everybody Lies: savagelovecast.com.
Add us by snapcode or search by username PGHCITYPAPER
SEND YOUR QUESTIONS TO MAIL@SAVAGELOVE.NET AND FIND THE SAVAGE LOVECAST (DAN’S WEEKLY PODCAST) AT SAVAGELOVECAST.COM
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W in F st iv a l Saturday, July 15 from 4:00 - 7:00pm Galleria of Mt. Lebanon 1500 Washington Road Pittsburgh, PA 15228
Wine & Liquor Food Vendors Music by First Light
$25 BeneďŹ ts the animals at:
humaneanimalrescue.org/events
Humane Animal Rescue
Tickets can also be purchased at the door.
Care they need. Love they deserve.
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