Image of the Day-"Joke or a Lie"

 Sharon Van Etten

Flock Of Dimes

Carnegie Lecture Hall

Saturday, April 28, 2012

Oakland

Simply put, I loved this show. From the opening set by Flock of Dimes to Sharon and her band's last song, I was amazed how music can enthrall an audience, including me. Read some more love here. My boy posted video (which doesn't do the performance justice) of practically the whole show here. Bummed that you missed it? Relax, she is returning to Pittsburgh on June 22nd at Schenley Plaza as part of WYEP's Summer Music Festival! Check out more photos here.

Image of the Day-"Never Change"

Julianna Barwick

 CMU Underground

Monday, April 2, 2012

Oakland

Arriving early as I usually do, I found Julianna already set up and sitting by herself. She was very nice and among other topics, we talked about the media's perceptions of her and her music and how she herself perceives it. It's always cool to find out from the musician themselves different aspects of the industry that they ultimately really can't control. She then played to a full and attentive room. By 'room' I mean a cafeteria that turned out wasn't the awful space it seemed to be before she began. Very cool little set to see.

Image of the Day-"Paying These Dues"

12th Annual WYEP Alternative Souper Bowl

Bill Toms

Joy Ike 

Mark Dignam

Carnegie Library

 Oakland

This was my fifth 'Souper Bowl'. The venue change from the now closed Eastside Borders had the crowd spilling out into the stacks. Free music before the big game is always a good time. Check out more photos here.

 

Image of the Day-"Too Dramatic"

Ra Ra Riot

Carnegie Lecture Hall

Saturday, December 17, 2012

Oakland

I love being at a show and recognizing a song that the band is playing from someplace deep in my memory. I cannot tell you where I heard the tune before but it becomes instantly familiar. That was the case as Ra Ra Riot performed their third song of the night. I never saw them play and I don't know their music all that well, but I have heard and liked 'Too Dramatic' and it becomes a sweet little moment for me. You can check out more of my photos from the show here.

Image of the Day-"Wave Pool"

1,2,3

Carnegie Lecture Hall

Saturday, December 17, 2012

Oakland

Only the second time I have seen the band but have been digging their debut release for awhile so it's always nice to hear live arrangements of familiar tunes. Strange venue for the band though. The austerity of  lecture hall has the audience 'sitting on their hands' for every show I have seen there. The band seemed a bit taken aback from the drop dead silence in between songs. Regardless, they soldiered through with a terrific set.  I am sure the vibe was quite different at the sold out Brillobox gig this past weekend.

Image of the Day-"Two Hearts"

Bruce Springsteen
Joe Grushecky & The Houserockers
Soldiers & Sailors Memorial Hall
Thursday, November 3, 2011

Oakland

For the second straight year, Bruce and Joe put on a pair of shows that may as well be locks for the best of the year. Scoring a photo pass is probably the most insignificant aspect of the night as I was too busy enjoying the show too really worry about the shooting conditions (which, at the angle I was at, was ass). Who cares, right? How lucky we are to get to see the shows? Pittsburgh rocks for sure! Proper reviews here, here and here. My buddy John got some cool shots of him arriving for sound check here.

Image of the Day-"Life Fantastic"

Man Man

William Pitts Student Union Ballroom

Saturday, October 15, 2011

Oakland

 

I really love going to these college shows. Even though I may turn out to be the oldest fogey in the room, the energy generating from the band to the crowd and vice versa is always great. It was getting crazy during  Man Man with the kids going nuts up front for these guys. Cool thing was the band was eating it all up.

Image of the Day-Boom!CHK-A!Boom!

Expensive Shit

William Pitt Student Union Ballroom

Saturday, October 15, 2011

Oakland

Paul Quattrone and Eric Yeschke make up this local duo who specialize in funky electronic instrumentals that was the perfect warm up for the other two bands on the bill. It was cool being in such ornate surroundings as the ballroom grooving to an unusually 'underground' sound. Do yourself a favor and seek out and support local music.

Image of the Day-"Nothing's Going On"

Meeting of Important People

Carnegie Library

Sunday, October 9, 2011

Oakland

The night before the set, I was feeling all kinds of happy and boozily exclaimed on Facebook that I demanded an electric set from Josh for the 'quiet room' gig. Threatening to boycott, poor guy had to let me down that it would be him solo and unplugged. Was I going to attend? Of course, I was. I am so glad I did because he ended up playing an hour of the most chill (meaning really, really good) versions of his and cover tunes to a modest but appreciatively attentive crowd. Perfect for a Sunday afternoon at the Library.

Image of the Day-"Staggering and All"

David Wax Museum
Schenley Plaza
Friday, August 26, 2011
Oakland

Nothing beats a free show outside on a pleasant summer night. Second time catching the band and you can listen to the WYEP interview session they recorded earlier in the day here. More photos here.

Image of the Day-"Chelsea Hotel #2"

Sean Rowe
Schenley Plaza
Friday, July 29, 2011
Oakland

Sean Rowe is a NY based singer songwriter who recently released his album "Magic" on ANTI-. He's been compared to Leonard Cohen and Bill Callahan and just finished opening up for Josh Ritter. He is also a naturalist and has a cool wilderness survivalist blog here. He kicked off WYEP's summer concert series Final Fridays in Oakland this past week. It was cool to see his merch table which consisted of a box of CDs and a big 'ole bottle of wine. Nice. More photos here.

Image of the Day-"Eid Ma Clack Shaw"

Bill Callahan
Carnegie Museum of Art Sculpture Garden
Friday, July 8, 2011
Oakland

This show got some rave reviews in the local music press. Read the love here (thanks for the kind words Brendan!) and here. I cannot help but think that what made this show such a success was the actual venue. It just goes to show that where a band plays is key. On another note, the photo restrictions from Callahan's tour manager was kind of odd. Instead of the usual first three songs, I was asked to shoot songs 4-6. Being the pro that I am, I was cool with that, even though I could have been a jerk and easily ignored the request. Those days are way behind me.

Image of the Day-"A Corner In The Shade"

Hidden Ritual
Carnegie Museum of Art Sculpture Garden
Friday, July 8, 2011
Oakland

A rock trio haling from Austin, these guys came on stage, played a perfunctory set and quickly packed up and left. I don't recall them saying anything the whole time. Not to say that weren't good, which they were.

Image of the Day-"Clutching Stems"

The Ladybug Transistor
Carnegie Museum of Art Sculpture Garden
Thursday, July 7, 2011
Oakland

I really loved this set. It was incredibly laid back and they sounded so good. The band seemed to be having so much fun which is nice to see once in awhile. A bonus was having former band members and Pittsburgh residents Jennifer and Jeff Baron join them for a few tunes. More photos here.

Image of the Day-"Touchez Moi"

Joy Tojours and the Toys Du Jour
Carnegie Museum of Art Sculpture Garden
Thursday, July 7, 2011
Oakland

This show began an exciting collaboration between two of the Carnegie Museums in Pittsburgh. The Warhol and Museum of Art teamed up to bring 'indie' music to a new performance space that turned out to be just exactly perfect. I couldn't find one negative aspect about seeing a show in the Sculpture Garden. It was roomy, relaxed, and most importantly, sounded great. Plans are to continue these shows next summer which I am definitely all for. Joy and the gals had the unique distinction to kick things off. More photos here.

Image of the Day-"I'm Losing You"

Neighbours
Carnegie Library Main Branch
Sunday, June 12, 2011
Oakland

I really love these library sets. There's nothing like seeing a band play in unorthodox settings. Really looking forward to their upcoming debut release.

Image of the Day-"Booth of Glass"

Patty Larkin
Carnegie Lecture Hall
Saturday, April 16, 2011
Oakland

Presented by Calliope, what amazed me is that Patty is celebrating her 25th year as a performer. I hadn't realized she had been around that long. Along with opener Merrie Armstrong, the crowd ate up her solid acoustic folk.

First/Last-Matt Holden & Dave Cerminara

Photo courtesy the band

Legs Like Tree Trunks
Bigelow Bash
Sunday, April 10, 2011
Oakland

Today I feature what could possibly be the luckiest band in Pittsburgh this weekend. Legs Like Tree Trunks are college students who are opening an extremely high profile free gig for Ke$ha on Sunday afternoon in the heart of Oakland. The band won the spot in a competition for musicians who attend Pitt. They take the stage at 1:30 (Ke$ha @3p.m.) and this should turn out to be a massive crowd for them to perform in front of. Get a taste of the band with a live radio session here. Bandmates Matt and Dave were cool enough to participate in this "dude, are all those people here for us?" installment of First/Last Friday.

The first album you ever bought?

Matt Holden: I think I traded a chocolate bar for one of my cousin’s Spice Girls cassette when I was five. Pretty sure I got swindled there. On my 13th birthday, my parents gave me OK Computer by Radiohead and Room on Fire by The Strokes. Those two records were and still are huge influences.

Dave Cerminara: I bought a Collective Soul record along with the Space Jam soundtrack all in the same trip to the mall when I was like 8. After that the next record I clearly remember buying was Full Collapse by Thursday when I was 12.

Your last album bought?

MH: School - Use Your Body Words

DC: Question - Standard Translation, and Cepia - S/T

Favorite album of all time?

MH: Always a tough question, but I have to go with Radiohead- In Rainbows. Dear And The Headlights- Drunk Like Bible Times is a very close second.

DC: Based on my ITunes "number of plays" list... At The Drive-In - Relationship of Command.

Least favorite/most disappointing album?

MH: Minus the Bear – Planet of Ice. Everything before that record is gold, but something happened and I could never get into their later stuff.

DC: Tie between Murs & 9th Wonder – Fornever, and The Strokes - First Impressions of Earth. Planet of Ice was a monumental let down for myself as well.

First concert attended?

MH: Someone took me to see The Casualties in middle school. I think I had only been in the U.S. for about 2 months at the time, so it freaked me out a little bit! To this day I have never seen so many red mohawks in one room.

DC: Goldfinger in the summer between 6th and 7th grade. I remember asking my sister during the first band if the whole show was going to be this loud cause it was bothering me...I was and probably still am a huge dork.

Last concert?

MH: Apart from house shows and bands we’ve played with, it was Twin Shadow at Brillobox.

DC: Poor But Sexy at Club Cafe...they fucking OWNED!!!! Most enjoyable set I've seen in a really long time.

Favorite concert ever?

MH: I saw Grizzly Bear play with the Brooklyn Philharmonic a few years back. That completely blew me away. Singlehandedly the most beautiful thing I have ever witnessed. Apart from that, the Cap’n Jazz reunion in Philly was awesome; I never in my wildest dreams thought I’d get to see them live.
DC: Thursday at Metropol in September of 03. It was 3 days after War All The Time came out...I was way into that band when I was younger and still occasionally listen to their first 3 records.

Most disappointing concert?

MH: Broken Social Scene at Byham Theatre. I was pumped because I got out of work early and scalped a ticket for half price, but they just didn’t have the same energy they had the first time I saw them. I wanted another Kevin Drew stagedive during the peak of ‘It’s All Gonna Break,’ but it was a more reserved, seated affair.

DC: Thursday at Club Zoo in February of 2011...I went with a friend for nostalgia's sake and it was heart breaking to see the same band 8 years later and 8 years past their prime in my opinion...I left feeling old and pissed off at the 16 year olds with straightened hair...Just when you thought a bullshit scene aesthetic died, America's suburban youth slaps you in the face with reality.

Favorite thoughts, experiences about Pittsburgh?

MH: I really love the local music scene that’s developing in Oakland. Places like The Aviary are awesome. The guys that live there just took a whole bunch of foam from some old couches and put it up on the walls of their basement. Now they have all sorts of cool bands play every other Thursday. Also, I just love that everybody knows each other here; I’ve lived all over and Pittsburgh has a small town feel that I’ve never seen in any other city.

DC: Pittsburgh's a little city that thinks it's a big city...it has a total Napoleon complex that I absolutely love. I've grown up here and want to leave after college for a while, but still plan on spending the better part of my life in this city. Ask around and most people know most people, especially in the music scene, which is what I really love about this place.

Thanks fellas. Have a blast on Sunday. Any way you can score me a photo pass now that you're big time!

Image of the Day-"This Modern Age"

Passengers
Rangos Hall
Carnegie Mellon University
Sunday, February 12, 2011
Oakland

This is a relatively new band on the local scene. They have been playing out to some high praise lately and have a gig coming up at Brillobox on April 2nd. Discovering new Pittsburgh bands people...that's what it's all about!

Image of the Day-"Houses Of The Holy"

Robert Plant & Band of Joy
North Mississippi Allstars
Peterson Events Center
Wednesday January 19, 2010
Oakland

This show was really good. Really. The band sounded excellent and if you took away the fact that almost everybody in the room was patiently waiting to hear more Zep tunes, I think that the anticipation factor unfairly lessened the show impact.
On a photographic note, we were relegated to the back of the floor. No PIT shots again tonight. Oh, well. As a fellow photog pointed out, once the musician is over fifty, your shooting from the back of the room. HA! His shots turned out really nice, then again my man had a $6,000 lens!
The North Mississippi Allstars opened the night as a duo and while I can appreciate the drums and electric blues vibe, it bores me after awhile.
More photos here and here.