Thursday, July 12, 2001

JayceLand's Weekly Rochester Events #131: The First Agnostic is Born

This weekend (and next weekend) looks to be quite a doozy, with the Corn Hill Festival just completely sneaking up on me. I had no idea until about Tuesday that it was this coming weekend. Then there's Brendan MacNaughton who's in town for a couple shows ... I saw him a couple times and he sure can captivate an audience--it's easy to do acoustic music badly, but it's next to impossible to make it incredible. Then there's some decent comedy at Comix Cafe with both Tiny Glover and Bob Nelson headlining this weekend. The movies at the Dryden Theater at George Eastman House are looking pretty good too, not to mention the start of the Rochester Jewish Film Festival today. (Note that Amos Gatai won't be in town because he wants to stay in his home country of Israel as things are a little dicier than usual over there.)

Hopefully I will stop being out of it.

F R I D A Y

Friday the 1[ODBC12..ODBC14] Directive not found I might be having dinner at California Rollin' at Village Gate Square (274 N. Goodman St.) Check out the Fish Mail for the special rolls this week. The Dryden Theater at George Eastman House (900 East Ave.) will be showing The African Queen starting at 8. Bogart and Hepburn play a captain of a small boat and a pompous missionary in a journey through the Belgian Congo. If you got the tickets, it implies you're interested in seeing Barenaked Ladies with Vertical Horizon and Sarah Slean at Darien Lake Performing Arts Center (9993 Alleghany Rd., Corfu, NY) starting at 7. Just like Brian Wilson did. The nauseating Comix Cafe (3450 Winton Pl.) continues to slam decent comedy this weekend ... tonight it's Bob Nelson with Rob Little at 8 and 10:45. Same times tomorrow night. If you're not much up for comedy, perhaps one of the most energizing acoustic performers I've ever seen--Brendan MacNaughton. He'll be at the hellish Milestones (170 East Ave.) tonight with The Niche at 10, but he's here tomorrow too (see tomorrow.) The Shakespeare Players will be performing A Comedy of Errors tonight at 8 at Highland Bowl (South Ave. at Robinson Dr.) I believe this is the first night.

S A T U R D A Y

O'Bagelo's, 165 State Street, noon. The Dryden Theater at George Eastman House (900 East Ave.) will be showing Dad on the Run starting at 8. This looks to be an amusing movie about a father who loses his son's foreskin (after a bris, duh) which is supposed to be buried according to a custom he and his wife chose. Today is the first day of this year's Corn Hill Festival in the Corn Hill Neighborhood. Among hundreds of craftsmen and artists is a handful of live entertainment acts on the stages scattered throughout. Today and tomorrow the Downstairs Cabaret will be at Corn Hill Place all day. Remember, though, that the festival only runs from 10 to 6. Tonight, Brendan MacNaughton will be at the relatively new, but cool, but expensive Caffe Dell'Arte (187 St. Paul St.) starting around 10. Angry Johnny and the Killbillies with those unstoppable rockabilliers (?) Krypton 88 will be at The Bug Jar (219 Monroe Ave.) tonight starting around 10:45. Monty's Krown (875 Monroe Ave.) will have the charmingly named Lem 'N Dic with Edge of Jupiter starting around 10:30. If you really haven't had enough of the outdoors yet, the every trying modern rock cover band Perfect World will be on the Roof Deck of The Centers at High Falls (60 Brown's Race) starting around 9:30.

S U N D A Y

Today is the last day of this year's Corn Hill Festival in the Corn Hill Neighborhood. The Downstairs Cabaret will again be at Corn Hill Place all day and the never-say-die acoustic coverer Jeff Elliot will be playing his James Taylor and Jimmy Buffet from 1 to 2 at the Avery Mall. Remember, though, that the festival only runs from 10 to 6. Remember that Tiny Glover with Rob Little will be at the bland Comix Cafe (3450 Winton Pl.) at 8:30. Tonight at Drinks by Mary Dawn (535 S. Clinton) is the Freestyle Talent Show starting at 9. I asked Mary Dawn about it the other week and she said they have about 3 acts right now, but it's slowly building. Tonight's another Open Jar Jam at The Bug Jar (219 Monroe Ave.)

M O N D A Y

Trivia Quiz continues at The Old Toad (277 Alexander St.) I keep going and we still haven't won -- whether we have a few people or a whole bunch.. We've been within a couple questions of winning, but so has everyone else. If you're up interested, Johnny's Smoke Free Bar (1382 Culver Rd.) will have a DJ playing Barenaked Ladies tunes.

T U E S D A Y

As of a few months ago, Java's (16 Gibb Street) still has open mic poetry downstairs starting around 9:30. Open Mic Comedy hosted by Dan Liberto (of the The Comedy Company) is tonight at Six Pockets (Ridge Hudson Plaza) starting around 10. The shows have been pretty good in the past.

W E D N E S D A Y

Weekly karaoke contest with Sugar Bear, at Comix Cafe (3450 Winton Pl.) Tonight at Daily Perks (389 Gregory St.) is Open Mic Night (for music) from 7 to 10.