Week of Feb. 7, 2024

From the editor’s desk

What do you miss about Reno “back in the day”? The Mapes? Mama Casale? The Awful Awful? In this month’s Streetalk, photo editor David Robert gave locals a chance to reminisce. 

“Every day, someone asks me not to serve their beer in a ‘girly glass,’” said Reno bartender Anna Vetter. Cocktail scribe Michael Moberly looked into the gender dynamics of beverages and glassware and found that our aesthetic choices can be tied to our values in deeper ways than we might imagine.

Calling all Sondheim fans! The University of Nevada, Reno’s Department of Theatre and Dance is performing Assassins for the next two weekends. “Sondheim’s sharp lyrics bring audiences into the minds of these killers, making them, if not sympathetic, at least somewhat understandable,” writes Jessica Santina in the preview. “They’re experiencing many of the ills that plague us all.”

If you remember the star-studded 1985 video for “We Are the World,” you might recall a few lighthearted minutes of musicians smiling and singing. The story behind the night the video was filmed is much more complicated, and the new Netflix documentary, The Greatest Night in Pop, tells that story with aplomb. Here’s Bob Grimm’s full review.

Seattle funk/soul shredder Jimmy James—who can play the guitar with his teeth and behind his back—is set to perform at Cypress Reno tonight, Wednesday, Feb. 7. Before you go, learn about what he loves and where he’s been in his Lucky 13 interview with Matt King.

No need to travel to a planetarium for premium February stargazing—a good pair of binoculars will do you right this month. Robert Victor’s astronomy report has advice on where, when and why to look up at the sky.

Take care,

—Kris Vagner, managing editor