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Brendan Giusti on October 9th, 2008
To me, a closet has always been a place with a single rod to hang clothes from, and a door to hold in all the clutter tossed in right before entertaining company. But with all the bells and whistles available, modern closets are anything but an afterthought in home construction,
Choice Concerts
Brendan Giusti on September 17th, 2008
Aside from writing catchy pop tunes that resonate with the adoring teen fans, perhaps Kate Voegele's biggest accomplishment is proving that myspace.com is useful for something else other than killing time at work. That is, after all, where the singer-songwriter got her start, separating herself from the pack of aspiring
Guides
Brendan Giusti on September 17th, 2008
It was a scene out of a spy novel: I was waiting in a local coffee shop to meet with a guy who went by the name "Jackbear." I knew nothing else, except that Jackbear was willing to introduce me to the seemingly murky, yet somehow simple and good-natured world
News Articles
Brendan Giusti on September 17th, 2008
As the sun begins its ascent over downtown Rochester on a late summer Sunday morning, a loosely assembled group of women stand barefoot on mats placed along the edge of the Genesee River. They stand with their arms outstretched toward the increasingly bright sun, and move in unison from a
Choice Concerts
Brendan Giusti on September 10th, 2008
Guitarist Alex Skolnick has the uncanny ability to play jazz for appreciative heavy metal fans, as well as play metal songs for adoring jazz aficionados. Maybe this is because he is both a rock guitarist and jazz guitarist rolled into one, combining the melodies of his favorite heavy rock songs
Choice Concerts
Brendan Giusti on September 3rd, 2008
The annual Turtle Hill Folk Festival features a lot of acoustic guitar strumming and storytelling singing, and includes performances by Steve Gillette, Priscilla Herdman, Anne Hills, and Cindy Mangsen. The festival also offers clinics and workshops throughout the three days for aspiring performers, including sessions on playing blues harmonica and
Choice Concerts
Brendan Giusti on August 27th, 2008
While it's commonplace for a headlining band to have an opening act for its show, the Hi-Risers will actually opening for the movie "American Graffiti," the coming-of-age film is set in a time when rock ‘n' roll bands wore suits on stage, and cruising around with the top down was
Choice Concerts
Brendan Giusti on August 20th, 2008
Fresh off the release of "Beer For My Horses" - both the movie and the soundtrack - Toby Keith will bring the newly written tunes and his many sing-along anthems to Darien Lake Performing Arts Center for a one-night stint with country music duo Montgomery Gentry. In classic
Guides
Brendan Giusti on August 20th, 2008
Maybe algebra was never really your idea of fun, or reading up on the Civil War during history class was torture. But there are plenty of classes offered locally that are off the mainstream education radar and might get you excited about learning. Here are six
Guides
Brendan Giusti on August 20th, 2008
Computers, in the right hands, can do impressive work - keep track of personal finances, act as a library at your fingertips, organize and edit photographs. Movie studios use computers to edit the feature films shown in theaters across the country. And with computers now widely
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Brendan Giusti on October 19th, 2008
Stephen Colbert just does not stop. He plays the role of arrogant, selfish, pseudo-journalist with such flair and commitment that I sometimes wonder where his line between satire and actual belief system is drawn. Seeing his lecture Saturday at the University of Rochester for the college's Meliora Weekend was like
Music Blog
Brendan Giusti on July 18th, 2008
Believe me, I've heard the hype. Hell, I've been listening to Frank De Blase talk about the band for months now. And after finally seeing Black August perform for the first time at Thursday's Party in the Park, I believe every bit of it. The band emitted this classical soul vibe
Music Blog
Brendan Giusti on July 11th, 2008
I'm pretty accustomed to the "in like a lion, out like a lamb" vibe. I can count on it just about every winter in Rochester, and just about anytime three or more bands perform back-to-back on one stage. But Thursday's "Party in the Park" must have forgotten to schedule the
Music Blog
Brendan Giusti on June 27th, 2008
Chris Beard played his first show in Rochester in nearly three years Thursday at the Riverside Festival Site (corner of Court Street and Exchange Boulevard) as part of the city's Party in the Park concert series. His homecoming (of sorts) was welcomed warmly, and Beard appeared humbled as he shuffled
Music Blog
Brendan Giusti on June 22nd, 2008
What a long, strange trip it's been on this nine-day jazz binge. Anyone with a Club Pass has probably hit the wall of exhaustion, caught their second, third, and fourth winds, and seen some impressive acts at some of the most unexpected moments. What really sticks out for me (aside
Music Blog
Brendan Giusti on June 21st, 2008
The Soul Rebels Brass Band opened its show at High Fidelity with a round robin of solos, where each of the players strutted his Big Easy vibe around the stage. The bass drum thumped out the low end with the help of the tuba (yes, a tuba) that played more
Music Blog
Brendan Giusti on June 20th, 2008
I used to hear hip musicians perform and wonder if it was something in the water that got their musical mojo working. But after seeing Devon Allman's Honeytribe play a set at Harro East Ballroom, I'm convinced it's in the genes (he's the son of the legendary Gregg Allman). The
Music Blog
Brendan Giusti on June 19th, 2008
DJABE pushed the boundaries between pop and jazz a little closer together with its show at the Big Tent Wednesday. The first tune had an electrified pop vibe to it, then suddenly broke down into a chanting call-and-response using what looked like short wooden pitchforks that were tuned to mimic
Music Blog
Brendan Giusti on June 18th, 2008
The Yellowjackets show at Harro East Ballroom left me with no other option but to use an oxymoron of epic proportions: smooth jazz at its absolute finest. But it was smooth in the 1970's sense of the word, from before the term was hijacked by the folks who make elevator
Music Blog
Brendan Giusti on June 17th, 2008
Day 4 of the festival was swingin' hard, yin-yang style. First on the docket was the David Liebman Quartet. Before the first note rang out, the audience knew that Liebman was a serious player as he joked about beginning to play while the sun was still up. He honked and squealed
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