Weekly Rochester Events #320: Get Bach to Nick's

Thursday, February 24, 2005

Following that, I went over to George Eastman House (900 East Ave.)... WFMU 91.1 FM (New York, NY) DJ Irwin Chusid was on hand to introduce film clips of some of the artists he talks about on his radio show, in his book Songs in the Key of Z: The Curious Universe of Outsider Music, and in the CD's Songs in the Key of Z: The Curious Universe of Outsider Music and Songs in the Key of Z, Vol. 2: The Curious Universe of Outsider Music. I was somewhat amused that Chusid spent so much effort apologizing for what is otherwise the unique quality of each of the artists. After all, with everyone he showed, I was thinking, "hey, they're not that bad," while being aware that I'm not exactly typical when it comes to music.

I particularly liked Joanna Newsom for whom they showed a video of the single Sprout & The Bean off her album Milk-Eyed Mender. Of course, even Chuspid admitted she's the least outsider of all the outsiders he talked about. I mean, just because she's got a unique voice affectation (which you can interpret as "endearing" or "annoying") and she plays the harp in a nontraditional way (see also local harpist Mary Monroe or Kelli Hicks when she gets on the autoharp [insert obligatory "neither a harp nor an auto: discuss" reference]) doesn't mean her music couldn't be appreciated by the masses. On the other hand, I thought that Alvin Dahn was pretty good too, and I doubt there's many who agree since his style is straightforward but most people complain he doesn't know how to sing.

On Friday I got to The Bug Jar (219 Monroe Ave.) to see Jerseyband who were as good as I remember. Their music is more complicated than I can deal with, so it always stays fresh. Plus, I get weird reactions from hearing their music: I thought that "Save Yourself from Hell" really "smelled like Java's" (16 Gibbs St.) Go figure.

Saturday I was back at The Bug Jar (219 Monroe Ave.) I was very pleased that The Scarlets started off with one of their "strong" songs — one that gets people interested enough to stick around — and it worked. Once they rocked out the crowd, The Juliet Dagger was up. I saw them before in 2003, but I think they solidified since then and they were all the rock-and-roll of rock-and-roll except that the dirty, jockstrap, hardened edge has been cleaned up with a little sugar and spice and everything nice — it's a female-fronted three-piece with the only male being their drummer. Finally, Bee Eater finished everything off and kept the still-enthusiastic crowd happy.

I got an unusual call from my dad over the weekend. Like me, my parent's aren't big on travel, and they're not particularly excited about modern art, but he wanted to know if I wanted to take a train to New York to see "The Gates:" the exhibit by Christo and Jeanne-Claude in Central Park (Central Park South and 7th Avenue, Manhattan). The train ended up not being very practical for a day trip, so Monday I drove back to Schenectady. [Please pardon my temporary exit from Rochester — not unlike the frequent egresses of a certain "I Scene It" author of The City Newspaper, Frank De Blase, who shall otherwise remain nameless.]

Tuesday morning, Archie from Today's Limousine (1064 Broadway, Albany) showed up around 8:30 and drove us to New York. We started at Central Park (Central Park South and 7th Avenue, Manhattan) around noon and walked about a mile over the course of an hour. The Gates installation isn't as dramatic as it first would seem. Although the art project is everywhere in Central Park — what with its 7,500 16-foot-tall orange ... er ... I guess "saffron-colored" gates with saffron-colored fabric hanging between the supports — you can only see a small part from any vantage point. I thought the wind was pretty important the way it blew the fabric around because like the wind, the scale of it is bigger than you are — but you can only observe a tiny part at a time.

Next, we stopped by this place Lasagne Ristorante (941 2nd Ave., at 50th St. East, Manhattan) which had some pretty decent food ... the lasagne I had was as good as I've had. We also managed to get to see the site of World Trade Center (1 World Trade Center, Manhattan) which was quite eerie — even 3 years on. When you're standing right there, all you can think about is the distinct absence of huge buildings that aren't there anymore and all the ramifications thereof. I took a bunch of pictures but I haven't had them developed yet, so I'll try and get something up for next week.

Anyway, we got back by 8 p.m. and I got back to Rochester on Wednesday in time to write the essay ... and that, my friends, is the way to spend a week.

T H U R S D A Y

This afternoon's Thursday Thinkers in Gleason Auditorium at The Rochester Public Library (115 South Ave.) is titled If All Rochester Read the Same Fossil Record, a nod to Andrea Barrett's Servants of the Map (the "If All of Rochester Read the Same Book" book) wherein there is a recurring theme between science and the desires of everyday life. Director of The Paleontological Research Institute (1259 Trumansburg Rd., Ithaca) Dr. Warren Allmon will discuss evolutionary theories. [source: Friends of the Public Library flyer] The Bug Jar (219 Monroe Ave.) will be hosting Scott Biram, The White Devils, and Rocky Dorsey starting around 8:30 p.m. [source: Bug Jar calendar] [18+] Tonight at Kilbourn Hall at Eastman Theatre (60 Gibbs St.) is another concert from Ossia New Music at 8 p.m. featuring Matthias Pintscher's Choc, David Plylar's The Artist's Studio, and Elliott Carter's Double Concerto. [source: Ossia New Music calendar] [all ages] The Dryden Theater at George Eastman House (900 East Ave.) will be showing A Blaxploitation Celebration starting at 8 p.m. in honor of Black History Month (albeit leaning firmly on the border of bad taste.) They'll be showing 75 minutes worth of movie trailers of black-exploitation films. [source: Eastman House calendar] [all ages] Pure Kona Poetry Open Mic Night is at Daily Perks (389 Gregory St.) tonight starting at 7:30. [source: Daily Perks calendar] [all ages]

F R I D A Y

Tonight at 5:30 p.m. is a free Food Tasting from local businesses and chefs in the atrium of City Hall (30 Church St.) [source: City Hall press release] The Blackwater Ensemble will be performing The Numbers We See sketch comedy tonight and tomorrow at 8 p.m. at The Black Box Theatre (34 Elton St.) [source: band e-mail] Johnny's Irish Pub (1382 Culver Rd., still smoke-free) will be hosting great acoustic cover guy John Akers starting around 5 p.m. and a second set starting at 9:30 p.m. [source: Johnny's Irish Pub calendar] The opening party for Nicole Maynard's Women and Bulls at The Rochester Contemporary Art Gallery (137 East Ave.) starts at 7 p.m. tonight and will feature music by The Fresh Water Lakes. [source: Carbon Records calendar] [all ages] The Dryden Theater at George Eastman House (900 East Ave.) will be showing MOVE starting at 8 p.m. about the MOVE commune in Philadelphia in the mid-1980's. This will be followed by American Exile about former Black Panther Pete O'Neal and his exile to Tanzania. [source: Eastman House calendar] [all ages] Tonight at A|V Art Sound Space (#8 in the Public Market, off N. Union St., formerly The All-Purpose Room) is Gaybot, and impressive organic experimental jazz from The Blood and Bone Orchestra starting around 9:30 p.m. [source: artsound website] [all ages] Over at Paradigm Café (3118 E. Henrietta Rd., formerly Blue Sunday) starting around 9 p.m. is Maria Gillard, and Rita Coulter as the talented duo Gillard and Coulter. [source: Paradigm Cafe calendar] [all ages] Tonight at Starry Nites Café (696 University Ave., formerly Moonbeans) is Eclectet starting around 9 p.m. [source: Starry Nites calendar] [all ages] Tonight at Fat Moe's (4419 Dewey Ave.) is really good modern-rock cover band The Meddling Kids starting around 10 p.m. [source: WBER calendar] Over at The Clarissa Room (293 Clarissa St., formerly Shep's Paradise) starting around 9:30 p.m. is Janet Beaman, and Te'Naj. [source: Freetime]

S A T U R D A Y

This morning at Abundance Cooperative Market (62 Marshall St.) is a Store Tour starting at 10 a.m. discussing the history of the store as well as its products, then it's Bob Zimmerman performing music starting around 2 p.m. [source: Abundance Co-op calendar] [all ages] Lunch is at O'Bagelo's (165 State Street) at noon. Over at Daily Perks (389 Gregory St.) starting around 8 p.m. is charismatic and stylistically nimble soloist Scott Regan, and Phil Marshall. [source: Daily Perks calendar] [all ages] Over at The Bug Jar (219 Monroe Ave.) starting around 10:45 p.m. is heavy rock with metal drumming from Stinking Lizaveta, disco-like power-pop (apparently) from Gil Mantera's Party Dream, and very good metal from Sulaco [source: Bug Jar calendar] Tonight at Starry Nites Café (696 University Ave., formerly Moonbeans) is Chuck Abell, Jon Seiger, and Bernie Heveron starting around 9 p.m. [source: Starry Nites calendar] [all ages] Monty's Krown (875 Monroe Ave.) will be hosting The Spaces, and Christopher Walken (the band, not the guy) starting around 10:30 p.m. [source: WBER calendar]

M O N D A Y

There's another The Eastman Musica Nova Ensemble tonight at Kilbourn Hall at Eastman Theatre (60 Gibbs St.) with conductor Brad Lubman starting at 8 p.m. [source: Eastman School of Music calendar] [all ages] Tonight at 9:15 p.m. (despite The Little's best efforts to prevent this information from being known) is another in the Emerging Filmmakers Series at The Little (240 East Ave.) featuring Handshake by Patrick Smith, Tesseract by Geoffrey Alan Rhodes and Sarah JM Kolberg, Miss Dumont's Air by Kelly Gildea, Eat the Fish by Rachel Dang, Inter-Galactic SuperBeings in: Being Super by Stephen Lindsay and Michael Bartolotta, Valentine's Day by Crista Giuliani, Biblical Real World by Tonya Hurley, The Art of Hollering by Vivian Wenli Lin. [source: Little Theatre calendar] Norm Davis' Wide Open Mike will be at Verb Café at Writers and Books (740 University Ave.) tonight at 7:30 p.m. [source: Writers and Books calendar] [all ages]

T U E S D A Y

Today from 12:12 p.m. to 12:52 p.m. is another Tuesday Talks in Gleason Auditorium at The Rochester Public Library (115 South Ave.) titled Our Supreme Court, the Senate, and the Next Four Years with The University of Rochester (Elmwood Ave. at Intercampus Dr., details on River Campus Map) professor Dr. Gerald Gamm. [source: Friends of the Public Library flyer] Updated: Mayor William A. Johnson Jr. will deliver his State of the City address at 7 p.m. tonight at The Rochester Academy of Medicine (1441 East Ave.) Tonight at Kilbourn Hall at Eastman Theatre (60 Gibbs St.) at 8 p.m. is Collegium Musicum with Paul O'Dette and Christel Thielmann. [source: Eastman School of Music calendar] [all ages] 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. [source: Daily Perks calendar] [all ages]

W E D N E S D A Y

Tonight at Nextstage at Geva (75 Woodbury Blvd.) is the first night of The Race of the Ark Tattoo at 7:30 p.m. Regular showtimes are Tuesday to Friday at 7:30 p.m., Saturday at 5 p.m. and 9:30 p.m., and Sunday at 3 p.m. [source: Geva Theatre website] Tonight at The Club at Water Street (204 N. Water St.) is This Day and Age, Waking Ashland, Socratic, One Year Nothing, and Verona starting around 6:30 p.m. [source: Water Street calendar] [all ages] Omni-styled rock-and-roll from Japan from Electric Eel Shock, The Thieves, Baba Yaga, and RWAKE will be at The Bug Jar (219 Monroe Ave.) starting around 10 p.m. [18+] The Dryden Theater at George Eastman House (900 East Ave.) will be showing À bout de souffle starting at 8 p.m. Jean-Luc Godard's first feature about a crook who goes on the run with his American girlfriend. Eastman House's calendar adds, "this masterpiece of the French New Wave is sometimes a love letter to classic Hollywood cinema and sometimes a challenge to it." [source: Eastman House calendar] [all ages] Poor People United meets tonight and every Wednesday at 7 at St. Joseph's House of Hospitality (402 South Ave.) [source: the proverbial grapevine] 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. [source: Daily Perks calendar] [all ages]

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JayceLand #312 is the updated I did on December 30 with the chain letter these links.

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