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Cover Story

Breakin' Ball

by Jeremy Lee

Let’s face it, says Shane Fry, better known as B-boy Depree: Over the last 15 years or so, something happened to hip-hop. It wasn’t a good something. Hip-hop lost touch with its roots.

Getting a Grip

Taxachusetts Mayhem

by Michael I. Niman

Speaking at the anti-abortion “March for Life” in Washington last Friday, Iowa Republican Congressman Steve King asked if there was anyone from Massachusetts in the crowd. He went on to congratulate these “pro-life” voters “for helping us kill the anti-life bill” that would have extended health insurance to 30 million uninsured Americans.

News Analysis

The New Serfdom

by Bruce Fisher

On a cold, slushy winter’s day in a Great Lakes city, there’s no place people would rather stay away from than the welfare office. On a recent morning’s visit to the downtown headquarters of the Erie County Social Services department, there were hundreds of people waiting in line to apply for Food Stamps, home-heating assistance, rental assistance, Medicaid, and other income-support programs.

Week in Review

7 Days: The Straight Dope From the Week That Was

by Geoff Kelly

The Week's Winners and Losers

by Zachary Burns

Theater Week

A Weightier A.R. Gurney

by Anthony Chase

The enticement in the publicity for the Road Less Traveled production of A.R Gurney’s A Light Lunch—“You may think you know Gurney, but you’ve never seen Gurney like this!”—is entirely true for much of the Buffalo audience.

Theater Review

In The Heights

by Anthony Chase

To get the main question out of the way: Yes, the national touring company of In the Heights that opened at Shea’s on Tuesday is sensational. The test of a national tour is whether or not it approximates the experience of the Broadway original, and wow, this company does does does!

Theater News

Stagefright

by Javier

Now best known for his role in TV’s Ugly Betty, Michael Urie was in New York this week taking part in a reading of Caligula by Albert Camus.

Classical Music

Happy Birthday, Wolfgang!

by Jan Jezioro

After a certain age, birthday parties can seem old hat. But sometimes the way the event is celebrated can make all the difference in the world. This weekend’s pair of Buffalo Philharmonic concerts—Saturday, January 30 at 8pm and Sunday, January 31 at 2:30pm—celebrating the 254th anniversary of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s birth on January 27, 1756, is the kind of birthday celebration we are all lucky to be invited to.

Left of the Dial

A.A Bondy & James Blackshaw

by Donny Kutzbach

Every couple of years it seems as though there’s a new “new” folk music movement that gets bandied about, and usually it evaporates as quickly as it started.

B.O.O.M!

Round 4 Week 2: Thrown To The Wolves vs. The Breathing Tree

CONGRATULATIONS to Glass Hero for bringing in the most votes in our weekly online contest. With that, they earn a spot on the bill at our next live showdown, scheduled for February 26 at Nietzsche’s.

5 Questions With...

Chris Hawley: Urban Planner and Historian

Chris Hawley is and urban planner for the City of Buffalo, but you’re more likely to spot himhasunting the city’s coffee shops, plugging away at his laptop. Hawley is a tireless historian of the city’s built environment and a crusader for the rebirth of Buffalo along urbanist, preservationist principles.

Film Reviews

Edge of Darkness

by M. Faust

Crazy Heart

by George Sax

Listings

On The Boards Theater Listings

Movie Times (Friday, Jan. 29 - Thursday, Feb. 4)

Film Now Playing

Events

See You There!

Artvoice's weekly round-up of events to watch out for the week, including our editor's pick: The Entrance Band, who plays Soundlab on Monday, February 1st.

Letters to Artvoice

UB and Buffalo Car Share

by Jonathon Welch

Chris Collins: The Holding Center is a Travesty

by Gloria McLaughlin

Offbeat News

News of the Weird

by Chuck Shepherd

In December, a prominent online game player, Buzz “Erik” Lightyear, won the auction for ownership of a virtual space station in the Planet Calypso game, paying 3.3 million Project Entropia Dollars (PEDs), which at various points entered the game’s play-like economy at an out-of-pocket cost of 10 actual U.S. cents per PED. Thus, Lightyear “paid” $330,000 for nothing more than digital representations of cool-looking structures.

Gaywatch

Listings & Resources

Buffalo has a large and diverse gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender community. For further information about its numerous organizations and activities, visit Gaywatch at Artvoice.com, call the Western New York Pride Center (852-7743), or email WinterDanny@AOL.com.

Horoscopes

Free Will Astrology

by Rob Brezsny

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): In the coming week, I predict that you will NOT experience disgusting fascinations, smiling-faced failures, sensationalized accounts of useless developments, or bizarre fantasies in the middle of the night.

Advice

Ask Anyone

I work in an office downtown and my boss won’t get rid of any paperwork, regardless of how outdated or useless it is. When I place items in the trash or recycle bin, I find them back on my desk in the morning.