Over two separate occasions in the past two years, I’ve come to realize two great things about a Soulive-headlined show. One is that the members of the funk/jazz trio Soulive always bring it hard, and the other is that their opening act is always awesome. I discovered DJ Williams’ Shots Fired that way and, more recently, the Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio of Seattle. When DLO3 played one of Pittsburgh’s final pre-pandemic concerts in January 2020, it was an opportunity to compare a newer organ power trio to a veteran act. My conclusion: Soulive hits you hard from beginning to end, while upstart Delvon Lamarr and his band can, and does at times, crank it back in proper vintage style. Don’t let Lamarr fool you, though.
CP Photo: Jared Wickerham Chengdu Gourmet owner Wei Zhu poses for a portrait inside his Squirrel Hill restaurant. The Year of the Rat is nearing its end, and many Asian Americans are preparing for Lunar New Year celebrations. But as we usher in the Year of the Ox, many must compromise and adjust their traditional and personal rituals to keep themselves, their families, and their communities safe. And Asian Americans in Pittsburgh are no different. Celebrations for the Lunar New Year vary across Asian cultures from the Bhutanese and Tibetan Losar to the Vietnamese Tết to the Chinese Spring Festival (chūnjié) but many traditions involve spending time with one’s community and family. COVID-19 safety precautions preclude the typical banquets and communal gatherings, but people and organizations in Pittsburgh are still fin
Despite being the shortest month of the year, February is also often the coldest, which can sometimes make it feel like the longest in a city like Pittsburgh where everything comes to a halt when the show starts falling. February, and, to a similar extent, March, are a barren landscape of waiting out the cold. This feels especially true during pandemic times, when braving the winter means huddling inside a home until it s warm enough to go outside and interact with other humans again. So while Valentine s Day is rarely anyone s favorite holiday, it s something to latch onto in the middle of the long, dark month that comes before spring. Whether you love it, hate it, or feel completely ambivalent, but sometimes buy a box of chocolates for fun, we have a Valentine s itinerary for you.
Mrs. Kasha Davis (second from left) with her fellow
RuPaul s Drag Race contestants Local artist Angela Washko has a complicated relationship with reality television, at once feeling weird about how much of it she watches while also being willing to become the subject of it. “I do feel some embarrassment and insecurity as someone who does consume a lot of it,” she says, adding, “I ve auditioned many times for
Survivor.” It makes sense then that
Workhorse Queen, Washko s first documentary feature project, set to debut on Fri., Feb. 12 through the virtual Slamdance film festival, delves into one of reality TV s biggest and longest-running hits