Weekly Rochester Events #291: Alexander's Treat at the Pub

Thursday, August 5, 2004

On Thursday I made it to the tour of The Rochester Police Department's Eastside Division (30 Hart St.) which was pretty neat. I found it amusing to think that the entire police force for Rochester can fit fairly comfortably in twice the space that I saw, which is probably equivalent to one floor in the Baush and Lomb side of The Rochester Public Library (115 South Ave.) By the way, I believe that in general, the new centralized system will be more effective than the section offices that they had before. I just hope that they keep the important part of the old system where they stay in touch with people in low-crime neighborhoods as much as they can.

Friday was my garage sale (which I hadn't mentioned on the site.) It went pretty well ... my policy this time was: "Take whatever you want. Leave some money if you want to." People took lots of things including many of the larger items which made me happy. I also made some money too ... about $50 or so. I think I'm going to repeat the sale again in a week or so, again just on Friday, to see if I can't get rid of more of it.

It was kind of rainy so I drove to Rochester Contemporary Art Gallery (137 East Ave.) to see the opening of the Members' Exhibition. The art was pretty good on average. Nothing blew me away, but I think I might get back there to check it out again. After that I went to The Rochester Visual Studies Workshop (31 Prince St.) to see Taken For A Ride. I thought it was super ironic that although I'm the guy who rides his bike everywhere, I would show up to the conclusion of The Critical Mass Bike Ride by car.

Anyway, the movie was all about how the automobile industry rather directly dismantled the nation's public transportation system so they could sell more cars. This has led to our present problems of severe highway congestion in large cities, parking problems, and generally the demise of urban centers through lack of an effective means of transportation. In addition, the existing bus-based system is far inferior to the trolley/streetcar/"light rail" systems of the past because it must yield to automotive traffic whereas the rail-based systems do not. In the present, the most offensive maneuver of the automotive lobby is to ensure that all (I guess it's really "most") funds from the gasoline tax go directly — and exclusively — to fund further highway development rather than to help rebuild decent public transportation systems. For me personally, it provides a good reason to stop exploring the idea I had of improving efficiency of internal combustion engines, because by making cars more efficient, the problem will only get worse.

Saturday was the opening of the art show at Lux Lounge (666 South Ave.) which looks like it's quite good. I still have to get back later to see, but I think it's good enough that I'll find some depth in it that I can explore. Later that night I went to Jillian's (Corner of Commercial St. and Mill St.) of all places to see the Battle of the Bands contest. On the way over I was humming along to The QUiTTERS "1982" which they played first in their short set. The big surprise was the first show of The Scarlets featuring Sara Strusz from The Purrs. I guess they ended up winning: in this show, they showed that they were an excellent power-rock/punk-rock band with a lot of talent. I told Sara that I thought this performance was as good as the best show The Purrs ever had, even if you pick-and-choose the good moments from several shows.

Tuesday I got out to The Dryden at George Eastman House (900 East Ave.) to see Yashagaike (Demon Pond) which was pretty nifty. I guess it was a pretty straightforward telling of a somewhat well-known Japanese legend, and it ended up playing out almost like a Sid and Marty Krofft version of Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream." The legend seems fairly complex, and as best as I could tell, it's about a sea princess who's imprisoned in the Demon Pond which is also inhabited by a bunch of odd characters like crabs and crows and such. As long as the people of the village below ring a bell three times a day, she is reminded that she must stay in the Demon Pond instead of heading over to a nearby pond to be with her lover — if she leaves, by the way, the pond will flood, drowning the people below, so the bell reminds here that there's all these people who would die. However, this really pisses her off, so she maintains a drought on the village, mostly to be annoying, but also to make them think that a flood wouldn't be all that bad. It's no surprise that the villagers stop ringing the bell at some point, and all hell breaks loose along with the expected high water. It's definitely a somewhat odd movie from my Western perspective because I had to decipher the legend rather than go in knowing it as part of my cultural identity, but it sure is an interesting and quirky movie.

Coming up, I will probably be out of town for most of the weekend, so I'm going to miss The Park Avenue Festival (Park Ave. from Alexander St. to Culver Rd.; also see Rochseter Event's Park Avenue Festival Page) on Saturday and Sunday. Definitely make a note to stop by and see The BuddhaHood starting around 2 p.m. on both days behind Hogan's Hideaway (197 Park Ave.) catch JoAnn Vaccaro on Sunday at 11:15 at the Kirkhaven Stage, and later that day, The Earl Cram Revue at 3:45 p.m. at the Best Buy/WCMF Stage. I'll also miss The Flour City Brewer's Fest at The High Falls Festival Site (Browns Race and Commercial St.) on Friday and Saturday, so go there for me too.

Oh well ... better things to do ...

T H U R S D A Y

Fleet Party in the Park will be at High Falls Festival Site (Browns Race and Commercial St.) tonight starting at 5:30 p.m. featuring The Machine, "A Multi-Media Tribute to Pink Floyd" and The Addison Groove Project. [source: City Hall press release] Tonight from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. is Garden Vibes at George Eastman House (900 East Ave.) with rock-and-roll band The Hi-Risers. (The rain date is August 12.) [source: Eastman House mailing] This afternoon at 5:30, Sue Nurse will give an outdoor tour of the architecture at The Memorial Art Gallery (500 University Ave., near Goodman St.). [source: Memorial Art Gallery calendar] Tonight at Abundance Cooperative Market (62 Marshall St.) starting around 6 p.m. could be your last chance to see accordian/musical saw duo Dreamland Faces for a while. [source: WITR calendar] Over at Pelican's Nest Restaurant (566 River St.) starting around 8 p.m. is good modern rock cover band Perfect World. [source: Freetime] The Dryden Theater at George Eastman House (900 East Ave.) will be showing Willard starting at 8 p.m. Not the shitty 2003 remake, this is the marginally better version of the tale of the kid who could control rats. [source: Eastman House calendar] Over at The Bug Jar (219 Monroe Ave.) starting around 9:30 p.m. is heavy metal/groove rock band The Torsos from Space, and modern rock from Numm. [source: Bug Jar calendar] Pure Kona Poetry Open Mic Night is at Daily Perks (389 Gregory St.) tonight starting at 7:30. [source: Daily Perks calendar]

F R I D A Y

Over at The Rochester Public Market (280 Union St. N.) is a Blues Bash at the Market performance featuring The Coupe De' Villes and some other fake blues bands starting at 6 p.m. Note that although the event is listed as free, you can't bring any food or drinks onto the site and instead must pay whatever astronomical prices for thimblefuls of water to stay alive. Our Capitalist Masters have graciously allowed that we may bring one sealed bottle of water per person—it is imperative that you bring purchased bottled water. [source: City Hall press release] Tonight at Montage Grille (50 Chestnut St.) is harpist Dee Carstenson, starting around 8 p.m. then modern rock cover band Sometimes Three starting around 10 p.m. [source: Montage e-mail] Over at The Club at Water Street (204 N. Water St.) starting around 8:30 p.m. is Third Estate, Silhouette, Renouf, Out of Line, and Sublime cover band Bad Fish [source: Water Street calendar] Tonight and tomorrow night at High Falls Festival Site (Browns Race and Commercial St.) is The Flour City Brewer's Fest, sponsored by The Rohrbach Brewing Company (3859 Buffalo Rd.) starting around 5 p.m. [source: Freetime] Bat Boy: The Musical opens at Shipping Dock Theatre (31 Prince St., new location at Visual Studies Workshop) tonight at 8 p.m. It runs through August 28 with Friday and Saturday shows at 8 and Sunday shows at 2. If I'm to believe the quotes from critics on the flyer, it's pretty funny. [source: Shipping Dock Theatre mailing] Over at Monty's Krown (875 Monroe Ave.) starting around 10:30 p.m. is The Thundergods for their 10th Anniversary Show (this time, really ... I guess the Krown listed it last week too.) [source: Monty's Krown calendar] Water Street Music Hall (204 N. Water St.) will be hosting Hide The Bodies Printing/Records (HTB), Dawn of War, good metal band Orodruin, The Fall of the Bastards, gimmicky-but-good-anyway metal band Blüdwülf, and Colossus Of Rails starting around 9 p.m. [source: Water Street calendar] Mark Casey will be at Starry Nites (696 University Ave., formerly Moonbeans) starting around 9 p.m. [source: Freetime]

S A T U R D A Y

O'Bagelo's, 165 State Street, noon. Cynthia Howk of The Landmark Society of Western New York will lead a Coffee Walk of Historic Charlotte this morning starting at The Charlotte-Genesee Lighthouse Historical Society (70 Lighthouse St.) at 9:30 a.m. [source: Landmark Society e-mail] The Park Avenue Festival (Park Ave. from Alexander St. to Culver Rd.; also see Rochseter Event's Park Avenue Festival Page) runs today from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Musical highlights include great, tight, modern-rock from The Meddling Kids at noon at the Best Buy/WCMF Stage, wicked fun percussive groove-rock from The BuddhaHood starting around 2 p.m. behind Hogan's Hideaway (197 Park Ave.), and rockin' rockabilly from Krypton 88 at 4:30 p.m. at the Oxford Street Stage. [source: Park Avenue Summer Art Fest page at RochesterEvents.com] Tonight at Downstairs Cabaret (172 West Main St.) is a double-dose of Nuts and Bolts Improv Troupe (see their site at ImprovAmerica too) starting around 8 p.m. and then again at 10 p.m. Tonight at Daily Perks (389 Gregory St.) is The Steve Greene Trio, and Tina Albright starting around 8 p.m. [source: Daily Perks calendar] The Dryden Theater at George Eastman House (900 East Ave.) will be showing Go Further starting at 8 p.m. Ron Mann follows actor and activist Woody Harrelson in this eco-documentary. [source: Eastman House calendar] The last show of Withered Earth, very good metal from Sulaco, and more really good metal from Ghost will be at The Bug Jar (219 Monroe Ave.) starting around 10:45 p.m. [source: Bug Jar calendar] Solidly good rock band with strong groove rock influences Dudley Dawson will be at Acme Bar & Pizza (495 Monroe Ave.) starting around 10 p.m. [source: JamBase calendar for Rochester] McFadden's Restaurant and Saloon (60 Brown's Race) will be hosting funk-rock (and apparently mostly reggae) band Mountain Mojo Authority (click here to skip their annoying flash intro) starting around 10 p.m. [source: Freetime]

S U N D A Y

The Park Avenue Festival (Park Ave. from Alexander St. to Culver Rd.; also see Rochseter Event's Park Avenue Festival Page) continues today from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and the musical highlights include daring and incredible acoustic soloist JoAnn Vaccaro at 11:15 at the Kirkhaven Stage, Dudley Dawson (fresh from playing at Acme last night) at 11:15 at the Fleet Somerton Green, then reggaeish Mountain Mojo Authority (click here to skip their annoying flash intro) at 12:15 p.m. at the Best Buy/WCMF Stage, more of The BuddhaHood starting around 2 p.m. behind Hogan's Hideaway (197 Park Ave.), and finally, power-pop/rock band The Earl Cram Revue at 3:45 p.m. at the Best Buy/WCMF Stage. [source: Park Avenue Summer Art Fest page at RochesterEvents.com] Today at The Rochester Public Market (280 Union St. N.) is another Community Garage Sale from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. If you're interested in getting a booth, call 428-6907 for more information. [source: City Hall press release] The Dryden Theater at George Eastman House (900 East Ave.) will be showing Mysterious Island starting at 5 p.m. More of Ray Harryhausen's animation in this film about some Civil War soldiers who escape by hot-air balloon only to find themselves landing on an island populated by giant insects and stuff. [source: Eastman House calendar] This afternoon from 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. is a Corn Hill Stroll sponsored by (and starting at) The Landmark Society of Western New York (133 S. Fitzhugh St.) [source: Landmark Society e-mail] This afternoon's performance of Bat Boy: The Musical at Shipping Dock Theatre (31 Prince St., new location at Visual Studies Workshop) at 2 p.m. is the "pay what you can" show. [source: Shipping Dock Theatre mailing] Elwyn will be at Monty's Krown (875 Monroe Ave.) probably starting around 10:30 p.m. but maybe earlier. [source: Monty's Krown calendar]

M O N D A Y

Tonight at Dinosaur Bar-B-Que (99 Court St.) is Los Straitjackets (whom I hear are very good) starting around 10 p.m. [source: Dinosaur Bar-B-Que calendar] Hugo, and acoustic rocker Gregory Paul (just him) will be at The Club at Water Street (204 N. Water St.) starting around 9 p.m. [source: Water Street calendar]

T U E S D A Y

Tonight is a Tuesday Nature Nights Guided Bike Ride along Rochester's trail system starting at 6:15 p.m. (helmets required, weather cancellations will be made on site at the start time ... I guess unless it's obvious.) Tonight's ride is along the Genesee Riverway Trail starting at Turning Point Park (Boxart St.) [source: City Hall press release] Tonight at The Bug Jar (219 Monroe Ave.) is The Flesh, and punchy drums-and-guitar punk-rock band Blue Spark and Flame starting around 10:45 p.m. [source: Bug Jar calendar] 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]

W E D N E S D A Y

Tonight at Starry Nites (696 University Ave., formerly Moonbeans) is the only light jazz band I've liked, The Lumiere Gypsy Jazz Trio starting around 8 p.m. [source: Freetime] Tonight at The Rochester Visual Studies Workshop (31 Prince St.) is The W-Vibe, and The Scientifics starting around 8 p.m. [source: Visual Studies Workshop e-mail] Dinosaur Bar-B-Que (99 Court St.) will be hosting blues-playing/gumbo-cooking The Sauce Boss starting around 10 p.m. [source: Dinosaur Bar-B-Que calendar] 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]