Mark Wednesday August 20, 2008
Doors @ 7, Show @ 8. No problem. I head out the door and arrive at the venue about ten to eight. Walking a couple blocks to the club (nightmare Southside parking) I notice Mark on the sidewalk on his phone. I linger for about a minute till he's done and I guess he notices the CD's in my hand. He immediately does a 45 degree angle and walks into the middle of the street. Undeterred, I 'catch' him and ask for an autograph. Before he has time to fully make an excuse ("Well, I am supposed to be meeting someone...") he agrees. I am struck how his speaking voice mirrors his plaintive singing tone. He scribbles an 'MK' on the Red House Painters Retrospective cover and doesn't even bother with the 'K' on the Ghosts Of The Great Highway disc. Sorry to bother you bro'. Next time I'll save the energy/money and just download your music.
So I walk around to the entrance and find out that the opener Kevin Finn was already over and since I was on the fence about the show anyway, I bailed. I didn't go not because he was sort of a tool (which he kinda was) but because Diesel is THE most fan unfriendly venue in the city. Add to that that I'm hurting for funds and $20 bucks to be put to sleep wasn't sitting right with me at the moment. Maybe next time...if he's playing a free show. Maybe I'm being too harsh? It was probably a great show. If you were there leave a comment.
I didn't go to the show...but I am not sure how you feel Diesel is 'fan unfriendly'. I believe its one of the best places to see a show in pgh. Clean, tier layered (no sitting behind a barrier if your 21+), nice bathrooms, plus the best sound man behind the board in pgh (he knows how to produce a mix). Besides the fact you may not be able to take professional pics, what am I missing?
ReplyDeleteProbably my biggest reason for calling it fan unfriendly is that they cut the bands short and throw you out to have disco night or someother lame excuse to make money. I heard that they did exactly that on Wednesday.Any place with hard bodied security guys just looking for a reason to chuck you out sucks IMO. I also don't need a guy in the bathroom to make me feel bad that I don't tip him for handing me a squirt of soap after a piss. Yeah, plus the fact that they won't allow pro pics. The sound has always been great BTW. Is that Scott Kilowatt you're referring to?
ReplyDeleteNot sure of his name. But he usually is the man behind the board...nice guy. I agree with the attendants. They are definitely not needed.
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