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Cover Story

The Pausa That Refreshes

by Jeff Czum

Pausa Art House, which might be more fittingly called Pausa Music House, is located on Wadsworth St., just around the bend from another music venue, the legendary Nietzsche’s on Allen. Pausa is a quiet, intimate space that’s perfect for the wide variety of jazz, offbeat forms of music, and artwork that’s featured within.

Theater News

Presenting the Nominees...

by Anthony Chase

The 25th Annual Artie Awards, Buffalo’s celebration of local theater, will be held on Monday, June 1, 2015 at 710 Main. The event will be hosted by actors Charmagne Chi and Amy Jakiel with this writer, Anthony Chase, Artvoice theater editor. The show begins at 8pm.

Interview

Now You See It...

by Jeff Czum

The internationally renowned and critically acclaimed magician/illusionist/artist Criss Angel will be bringing his “Mindfreak LIVE!” performance to Shea’s Performing Arts Center on May 26 (6pm & 9pm). “Mindfreak Live!” is based on Angel’s first television series, A&E’s Criss Angel Mindfreak, which ran for an impressive six seasons between 2005-2010.

Best of Buffalo

Best of Buffalo 2015 Winners

Best of Buffalo 2015 Winners

Investigative Post

A Terminal Case?

by Charlotte Keith, Investigative Post

For years, the Central Terminal suffered from wilful neglect at the hands of its private owners. While the building lay open to vandals, artifacts were stolen and metal pipes stripped out.

Chess Profile

Man Over Board

by Peter Soscia

Chess is a game of strategy and conquest. Move by move players must act and react as the game changes. In recent years the board game’s popularity has been put in “check,” as younger generations become more attracted to flashy new technology. However, United States Chess Federation Chess Coach Michael McDuffie has a counter move to this trend, and it starts by bringing chess to local children.

Beer Feature

Do You Know Your Beer?

by Kevin Wise

Along with the craft beer craze sweeping the nation is the need for more people who are considered trained authorities in the field of beer. While a sommelier is a trained and knowledgeable wine professional, until recently there was no standard for trained beer professionals.

What's Brewing

Presented by Consumer Beverages

by Paul Marko, Chris Groves

Hamburg Brewing Company Farm to Pint Maple Smoked Beer & Muskoka Brewing - Summerweiss

Art Scene

Built Buffalo

by Jack Foran

In portraying Buffalo and immediate environs, artists of the Western New York Artists Group show themselves true romantics. In love with the city. And with a pretty romanticized view of it. It makes for some beautiful works. But you wonder if you’re getting the whole picture. The group current exhibit at their gallery at One Linwood Avenue is called “Artists See Buffalo.” It comprises several score artworks by almost as many artists.

Classical Music Notes

Bernstein at the BPO

by Jan Jezioro

Music Director JoAnn Falletta returns to the podium in Kleinhans Music Hall on Friday May 29 at 10:30am and Saturday May 30 at 8pm to conduct the final pair of concerts of the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra’s current Master Classics season. The program features what at first glance may seem an unusual pairing of two works: Gustav Mahler’s a Symphony No. 1 in D major and Leonard Bernstein’s brilliant showpiece Serenade, (after Plato’s “Symposium”), for Solo Violin, Harp, Percussion and Strings, each of which is an audience pleaser in its own right.

Books

Get Lit

by Heather Cook

On Thursday (5/21), “Into this first and oldest cradle / I invite you, reader” to come to Talking Leaves for a discussion of Sherry Robbins’s book-length sequence of poems—or, The Whale—that interact with Herman Melville’s Moby-Dick.

Film Review

Mad Max: Fury Road

by Jordan Canahai

It’s only May and the summer of 2015 has already seen its masterpiece. Mad Max: Fury Road is a beautiful symphony of revving engines, burning nitro, screeching tires, crunching metal, explosions, bullets, and the occasional whirring chainsaw.

Film Review

Tomorrowland

by E. Ladd

One might think (and hope) that a movie directed and co-written by Brad Bird, based on his past notable animated features The Iron Giant and the Oscar-winning The Incredibles, would yield impressive results.

Featured Events

See You There!

AV Hit List: Top Event Picks for This Week

Listings

On The Boards Theater Listings

Movie Listings (Friday, May 22 - Thursday, May 28)

Film Now Playing

Graphic Traffic

Captain America: Winter Soldier Ultimate Collection

by Carolyn Marcille

Richard Stark's Parker: The Hunter

by Michael Hoffert Jr.

Letters to Artvoice

Told You So

by Jack Dumpert, Kenmore

America's Jails Need Fixing Too

by Ronald Fraser, Colden

So Long, Buff State

by Matthew Brick, Buffalo

You Auto Know

2015 Chevrolet Trax

by Jim Corbran

If you like the Buick Encore, but aren’t crazy about its nearly 25 grand starting price, there’s a reasonable alternative out there in the new Chevy Trax. Both are small SUVs built on the same platform. Styling is similar but different; from a block or two away it could be either or.

Offbeat News

News of the Weird

by Chuck Shepherd

There’s hardly a more “generic” song in America than “Happy Birthday to You,” but to this day (until a judge renders a decision in a pending case), Warner/Chappel Music is still trying to make big dollars off of the 16-word ditty (15 original words plus a user-supplied 16th).

Horoscopes

Free Will Astrology

by Rob Brezsny

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): “Aha!” is your mantra for the coming weeks, Gemini. Keep it on the tip of your tongue, ready to unleash. This always-ready-to-be-surprised-by-inspiration attitude will train you to expect the arrival of wonders and marvels.