Weekly Rochester Events #236: Years Keeping the Sun From Setting on the British Empire

Thursday, July 17, 2003

After that I went to the new place Chasers (151 St. Paul St.) which is a pretty boy/pretty girl bar. You know, where the pretty people go to get drunk and ... umm ... hook up ... or whatever they do after being drunk. Anyway, they advertised a band called (and presumably named after the character) Stifler's Mom which is an okay cover band ... everybody in the band is good. Well, except that the guys who do backup vocals are pretty much awful. I hadn't been in that scene in a long time and I figured it just wasn't any fun at all not being drunk.

So it was off to Rochester Visual Studies Workshop (31 Prince St.) to see a bunch of new bands. When I got there, Picastro was playing. They do this ambient, repetitious music with great harmonies. Next was Devendra Banhart who does expertly crafted, soft, even-paced acoustic songs ... a little like Brendan MacNaughton of Acoustic Semi in vocal cadence and melody. Finally up was the lead singer from Xiu Xiu who I thought was just okay ... he did an interesting variety of styles with an acoustic soloist bent.

But the best part is that I got to take part in an art project for Kara Canal.

See, she was running a kissing booth as a photo project. Pay a buck. Kiss the girl. Have your picture taken. It was half-jokingly "blurring the line between intimacy and commercialization." It sounds so simple.

Interestingly, though, it wasn't as popular as you might initially think—even though Kara was pretty cute. I thought of myself as some kind of dinosaur of relationships, but I wasn't alone in my hesitation. I spent a couple minutes working through my fears and concerns.

On the one hand, you'd think that kissing a cute girl would be pretty ideal. Well, what I found was that I'm gay ... er ... I mean I found that despite how simple it seems to just kiss someone, when it's a complete stranger in this kind of circumstance, it gets weird. I find it's easy to kiss "kissy" people because that's just trying to make people comfortable. The only other time I kiss is when I'm dating, and the first kiss is kind of important. So when you're confronted with a stranger offering a first kiss that's not from a kissy person, what exactly is it?

I had to hurriedly think my way through all that and decided it just wasn't that big a deal after all. I paid my buck and got to be the 19th of 19 people to have their Polaroid snapped. And to kiss Kara, of course. She closed her eyes, by the way. I guess you'd have to if after 18 people you get stuck with me.

I hung out for a while longer but didn't get a chance to talk with one of only a couple women who kissed Kara.

The rest of the week was pretty even keel. I gave Sondra directions on the road from 2,232 miles away on Tuesday night. Hmm ... I guess that's about it.

I wanted to mention The Toronto International Film Festival because they're now selling advance tickets. By the time of the festival in September, we just might have a fast ferry to Toronto, but I doubt it.

This week, though, I figure it's about time I went to see Buckwheat Zydeco again. I tried to see them at the The Lilac Festival but the gig got moved to German House (315 Gregory St.) and they got started late and I had to take off before they got started. Prior to that, I saw them on a Wednesday ... October 5, 1994. I went with my apartmentmate Heather who knew of the band. I think we parked in the lot across the street and went to the Milestones (old location) (50 East Ave., until 1997 or so) You won't find it anymore since it's now the site of New York State Appellate Court Building (50 East Ave., built 1998) It was one of the few live music shows I'd ever really seen, and it was really cool in that little space and it was really really loud. I remember getting some beer and dancing a bit and talking to the band a bit. Anyway, Buckwheat Zydeco will be at Manhattan Square Park (130 Chestnut St.) on Thursday evening for free. It should be a good show ... I guess it's also part of the The Rochester MusicFest. I don't mean to not be mentioning the Music Fest, it's just that like the The Rochester International Jazz Festival, it really doesn't offer me much of anything I want to see.

Maybe I'll finally see Buckwheat Zydeco since last time.

I really wanted to write more, but I'm exhausted ... have you seen this week's listing of stuff? There's like almost a third more items than average and there were two with a bunch of bands and manual entry and stuff. Whew. I'm just glad I'm done.

T H U R S D A Y

Tonight at Manhattan Square Park (130 Chestnut St.) is Buckwheat Zydeco, Duke Robillard, and The Swamp Padres starting around 5:30 p.m. Punk-rock metal band Fallguy, really good metal band Ghost, nearly metal power-rock band The Witching, and (sorry ... new to me) From Hell will be at The Bug Jar (219 Monroe Ave.) for an early show starting around 8:30 p.m. Remember that the last days of The Hill Cumorah Pageant (Hill Cumorah, Palmyra, N.Y.) are today, tomorrow, and Saturday starting at 9pm. The Dryden Theater at George Eastman House (900 East Ave.) will be showing Our Man in Havana starting at 8. A young Obi Wan ... er Alec Guinness plays a vacuum cleaner salesman who makes up some wild tales to appease his bosses when he's recruited to be a British spy. Tonight at Comix Café (3450 Winton Pl.) is formerly local comic Joel Lindley with still local comic Lamar Williams at 8 and 10:45 tonight then again at 8:30 on Sunday. Heh heh. A CB in a Geo Metro. Tonight at Monty's Krown (875 Monroe Ave.) is Osirrus, Mandate of Heaven, and Adrian's Revenge starting around 10:30 p.m. Tonight at Montage Grille (50 Chestnut St.) is the even-paced jazz-oriented rock of Thought starting around 9:30 p.m. Updated: There's a Punk/Indie/Hardcore Show starting at either noon or 6 p.m. (depending on where you look) up at Longhouse Shelter (Seneca Park, off St. Paul Blvd.) in Seneca Park Zoo (2222 St. Paul Blvd.) is: Time Band 12:30 Misled Fortune 1:15 The Teenage Junkies 2:00 Lucia Lie 2:45 Quitters (from Boston) not Rochester's The QUiTTERS 3:30 The Menace Society 4:15 North 5:00 Quipster 5:45 Tina & The Cup Cakes 6:30 The Nocturnal 7:15 Carrie Went Crazy 8:00 Defenbombed 8:45 The Blast-Off's 9:30 Bee Eater Another site reports The Hooligans and Mike Bolis Eastmen but I'm betting the lineup above is right. Pure Kona Poetry Open Mic Night is at Daily Perks (389 Gregory St.) tonight starting at 7:30.

F R I D A Y

Acoustic soloist on guitar, JoAnn Vaccaro, and acoustic soloist on harp, Mary Monroe will be at Daily Perks (389 Gregory St.) starting around 8 p.m. for $7. Tonight's another East End Fest (East Ave., near Scio and Richmond St. near Main St.) which I have gotten in the habit of not really mentioning, however, there's two things that are pretty good (on average.) First is the excellent rock band from New York, Antigone Rising starting at 6:30 at the parking lot between Milestones (170 East Ave.) and Spot Coffee (East Ave. and Mathews St.) The band is really really worth seeing, and you can go see them for free tonight. The other thing is that if you've always meant to get out to see something safe, Uncle Plum does a great job of modern rock and covering other modern rock songs from the radio. They'll be at the stage that's right on East Ave. in front of Milestones (170 East Ave.) starting at 8. Parking will be awful as usual, and if it's a clear summer night, the crowds will be huge. Nonetheless, it's free and a good way to get out and actually see one of the things I talk about all the time on this page. Over at Water Street Music Hall (204 N. Water St.) tonight starting around 8 is a bunch of punk and metal bands Run to the Hill, an Iron Maiden tribute featuring Herod doing Hallowed Be Thy Name, Aces High, and Wasted Years/ Fear of the Dark, The Isotopes doing Number of the Beast and Run to the Hills, Fallguy doing Killers, Withered Earth doing Clairvoient and Powerslave, Within doing Iron Maiden and The Trooper, Bailey, Mason, Lickers doing Gengus Khan and Phantom of the Opera, Heatseeker doing Flight of Icarus and Revelation Warblade doing Evil That Men Do and Childhood's End, Psy Opus doing Losfer Words (Big Aura) and Flash of the Blade, and The VEiNS doing Wrath Child and Running Free. Updated: The great funk-rock band Astronomical Unit will be at Montage Grille (50 Chestnut St.) starting around 10:30 p.m. Tonight at Froggy's Bar & Grill (1129 Empire Blvd.) is your fix of modern rock covers with Better Days (or skip their irritating Flash intro) starting around 9:30 p.m.

S A T U R D A Y

O'Bagelo's, 165 State Street, noon. Ok, Saturday and Sunday from noon to 11:00 p.m. is the Chili Chil-"E" Festival at Memorial Park (3235 Chili Ave., Chili) with a parade at 7 on Saturday and fireworks on Sunday at 9:30. Get it ... Chili? Chili? (Oh, it makes sense if you speak it.) Record Archive (1880 East Ave.) will have the fun punk band The Flour City Knuckleheads starting around 2 p.m. If you get the chance, check it out for free. The Club at Water Street (204 N. Water St.) will be hosting a night of great modern punk-rock with The Flour City Knuckleheads, The Beligerants, The Emersons, Stray Bullets, and Blasting Caps starting around 9:45 p.m. The Dryden Theater at George Eastman House (900 East Ave.) will be showing Amen. starting at 6:30 and a second showing at 10. Just what did the Pope and the Vatican know about the Holocaust as it was happening? Tonight at The Bug Jar (219 Monroe Ave.) is The Mates of State, The Retreads, and Hinkley starting around 10:30 p.m. Over at Monty's Krown (875 Monroe Ave.) starting around 10:30 p.m. is Tom Foolery and the Shenanigans Sweatin' Like Nixon will be at Richmond's (21 Richmond St.) starting around 10:30 p.m. They're a mostly groove rock band but with elements of modern jazz and blues. Tonight at Curley's Saloon (511 E. Ridge Rd.) is Burning Snella, and FMGreen starting around 9:30 p.m. Spenders (1600 Lyell Ave.) will be hosting your fix of modern rock and covers with Uncle Plum starting around 10:45 p.m.

S U N D A Y

The Bug Jar (219 Monroe Ave.) will be hosting the 1970's-style jam rock band with a modern edge, Sofa King Killer, 16, and Orodruin starting around 8:30 p.m. Over at The Bug Jar (219 Monroe Ave.) is an afternoon show starting around 3:30 p.m. is Bound and Gagged, Screaming Afterbirth, and Discratia. The excellent rockers The Hirisers will be doing a "brunch show" at Empire Brewing Company (300 State St.) starting around 12 a.m. Today is the last day of The Rochester Jewish Film Festival with a couple films at The Little (240 East Ave.) See the website for details.

M O N D A Y

Those Legendary Shack Shakers, and Krypton 88 will be at The Bug Jar (219 Monroe Ave.) starting around 10:45 p.m. Oh, it's a rockabilly show. Bar Rot will be at Monty's Krown (875 Monroe Ave.) starting around 9:30 p.m.

T U E S D A Y

This morning at Victor Central School (953 High St., Victor, NY) is the In Jest Science Circus at 10:30. Ordinarily I wouldn't put anything in like this except that it appears in Freetime Magazine and just reading the title, I realized why all the ladies love the cunning linguist. Ok, I just wanted to put in my own pun. Tonight at Verb Café at Writers and Books (740 University Ave.) is a Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/Transgendered Open Mike starting around 7. It's for both pros and amateurs, so if you feel the need to listen, support, or express yourself, head on down. Tonight and every Tuesday in July, funny funny guy Kevin Meaney will be at Comix Café (3450 Winton Pl.) at 8:30. The Bug Jar (219 Monroe Ave.) will be hosting Switchblade Romance, MDG, and Returning Soul Lottery starting around 10:45 p.m. Tonight at Montage Grille (50 Chestnut St.) is the excellent funk band The Filthy Funk starting around 9:30 p.m. Monty's Korner (363 East Ave.) will be hosting Bar Rot (who did indeed just play at the Krown last night) starting around 9 p.m. Tonight at Dinosaur Barbeque (South Ave. and Court St.) is the great local rock band The Hirisers starting around 10 p.m. Daily Perks (389 Gregory St.) is hosting an Acoustic Open Mic from 8 to 10. For this one, there's no microphones and it's pretty open ended.

W E D N E S D A Y

Updated: Tonight at 6:30 is an introductory improv class at Terry Fyke Studio of Dance (30 Main St., Scottsville, NY). The cost is $10 and registration in advance is required. It will be taught by John Barthelmes, a local theatre director/performer, and Frank Storace, local theatre director/performer and founder of Nuts and Bolts (see their site at ImprovAmerica too). E-mail John Barthelmes (at improvclass_2003723@JayceLand.com) for details. Updated: Over at The Club at Water Street (204 N. Water St.) starting around 9:30 p.m. is the great funk band Mountain Mojo Authority and will be joined by (as best as I can tell) Astronomical Unit. The Dryden Theater at George Eastman House (900 East Ave.) will be showing Amere victoire (Bitter Victory) starting at 8. After the German invasion of North Africa, a British officer tries to defend his honor. Tonight at Monty's Krown (875 Monroe Ave.) is Rockin' Red, and Billy Joe starting around 10:45 p.m. Tonight from 8 to 10 is an Open-Mic Comedy Night at Daily Perks (389 Gregory St.) While once it was a workshop type of environment, it's now more-or-less a regular open mic ... by default it's still a place to try out new stuff.