Apples in Stereo
[02.12.2007]
Assembly of Dust
[02.04.2007]
The Hackensaw Boys
[01.27.2007]
Paul Luc
[01.20.2007]
Local Honey / Slim Cessna
[01.13.2007]
Bob Seger
[12.14.2006]
Skinks / Rahim / Transcontinental Booze Hounds
[11.25.2006]
The Big Sleep
[11.18.2006]
Local Honey / The Izzys
[11.10.2006]
Cloud Cult
[11.07.2006]
Grand Buffet / Magnolia Electric Co
[10.31.2006]
Norman Nardini
[10.28.2006]
Wilco
[10.20.2006]
Wilco
[10.18.2006]
Kid Congo Powers
[10.12.2006]
Dave Alvin
[09.23.2006]
Wolfmother
[09.22.2006]
Mountain Goats
[09.20.2006]
World Party
[08.27.2006]
Gil Mantera's Party Dream
[08.16.2006]
Whiskey Daredevils / Local Honey
[08.11.2006]
The Silver Jews
[07.28.2006]
The Bottle Rockets / Marah
[07.27.2006]
Slim Cessna's Auto Club
[07.15.2006]
Alejandro Escovedo
[07.10.2006]
Cat Power
[07.09.2006]
Life In Bed / The Transcontinental Booze Hounds
[07.07.2006]
Violent Femmes
[07.01.2006]
Guitar Zack Wiesinger / Pittsburgh Pirates Loss # 54
[06.30.2006]
The Black Crowes \ Robert Randolph \ The Drive-By Truckers
[06.25.2006]
Pearl Jam
[06.23.2006]
The Octopus Project \ Black Moth Super Rainbow \ Amoeba Knievel
[06.19.2006]
The Bottle Rockets
[06.14.2006]
Govt.
Mule / Local Honey / Wil E. Tri
[06.08.2006]
Tehran Iran
[06.03.2006]
Astronautalis
[05.25.2006]
Grand Buffet / Cobalt Black
[05.19.2006]
Phil
Boyd w/Manny Theiner & Weird Paul / The Codetalkers feat. Col. Bruce
Hampton
[05.15.2006]
The
Four Seasons Boys
[05.11.2006]
The
Supersuckers
[05.02.2006]
The Breakup Society
[04.28.2006]
The Four Seasons Boys / The
Gris Gris
[04.19.2006]
Rhett Miller & The Believers
[04.14.2006]
Good Brother Earl
[04.08.2006]
Slim Cessna's Auto Club
[04.03.2006]
"Guitar" Zack Wiesinger
[03.25.2006]
The Minus 5 / The Silos
[03.24.2006]
The Mendoza Line / Great Lake Swimmers
[03.12.2006]
Dave Alvin
[03.10.2006]
Apollo Sunshine
[03.07.2006]
Lyle Lovett / John Hiatt / Joe Ely
/ Guy Clark
[02.14.2006]
Marah
[02.12.2006]
Marah / Slim Cessna's Auto
Club
[11.12.2005]
Ted Leo + Pharmacists / Sharon
Jones and the Dap-Kings
[11.08.2005]
The National
[11.02.2005]
Modey Lemon
[10.07.2005]
Gang of Four
[10.04.2005]
Joe Grushecky and the Houserockers
[09.24.2005]
Thunderbirds Are Now!
[09.22.2005]
The Walkmen
[09.17.05]
Circle
[09.15.05]
Akron/Family, Great Lake Swimmers
[09.05.05]
Los Lobos
[08.21.05]
Grand Buffet, Magnolia Electric
Co.
[08.20.05]
Joe Ely
[08.19.05]
Solomon Burke
[08.14.05]
Billie Joe Shaver
[08.11.05]
Robert
Randolph & The Family Band
[08.07.05]
Oneida
[08.06.05]
Richard
Buckner
[07.13.05]
NYC Road Trip
[07.08.05]
Stars
[06.23.05]
Aimee
Mann
[06.19.05]
Bobbie
"Blue" Bland, Michael Penn, Erin McKeown, OPEK, The Mavens
[06.18.05]
The
Holmes Brothers
[06.15.05]
Drive-By
Truckers, Deep Purple
[06.11.05]
Los
Lonely Boys, Martin Sexton
[06.10.05]
Marah
[06.08.05]
Brant Bjork & The Bros.
[06.03.05]
Railroad
Earth
[05.20.05]
Andrew
Bird
[05.17.05]
Ryan
Adams & The Cardinals
[05.13.05]
Rosavelt
[05.12.05]
Green
Day
[04.23.05]
The
Shins
[04.15.05]
Bonnie
"Prince" Billy and Matt Sweeney
[04.14.05]
The
Beakup Society, Whiskey Daredevils
[03.25.05]
Apollo
Sunshine
[03.12.05]
From The Jayhawks: Gary Louris
and Mark Olson
[03.11.05]
Clem Snide, Archer Prewitt
[03.07.05]
Norman
Nardini
[03.04.05]
The SPUDS, Norman Nardini
[02.18.05]
The Comas
[02.15.05]
Tarbox Ramblers
[02.12.05]
Black Tie Revue
[01.28.05]
Elvismas, Shade
[01.08.2005]
Chalk Outline Party, Comrad
[12.18.2004]
One Star Hotel
[12.10.2004]
Ted Leo + Pharmacists
[12.03.2004]
Thanksgiving Eve / The Italian
Club / Blairsville, Pa
Sue Foley
[11.20.2004]
The Whiskey Daredevils
[11.19.2004]
The Arcade Fire, The Cynics
[11.15.2004]
Steelers v. Patriots
[10.31.2004]
Mike Watt
[10.21.2004]
Magnolia Electric
Co.
[10.14.2004]
The Mendoza
Line
[10.09.2004]
The Black Keys
[10.07.2004]
The Secret Machines
[10.06.2004]
The Fiery
Furnaces, Charles Bissell (The Wrens)
[09.23.2004] |
Black Tie Revue / 01.28.2005
31st
Street Pub / Pittsburgh, PA
 Now
that we’re in the long, cold months of winter things always seem to
slow up a bit. I’m not sure if it’s the lack of genuinely decent
things to do or the reluctance to head out and brave the 2 A.M. drunken
exodus onto unplowed roads layered with fresh fallen snow and ice. Regardless,
my music calendar for the coming months is looking sparse. At least the
Steeler season kept the seasonal depression at bay for a while but that
all came crashing down last Sunday. A big disappointment, sure, but it’s
my sense that this loss wasn’t taken as hard as the last one to the
Patriots in the 2001 playoffs. This year was more of a pleasant surprise
considering the previous year’s 6-10 record and the fact that we were
playing a 22-year-old rookie as quarterback.
Not helping matters is the fact that the future
is bleak here in Pittsburgh if you expect to catch any up and coming
acts without making the drive to Cleveland or Columbus. Sure, there’s
the occasional YEP
show here and there but the fact that Clear Channel won’t book anything
and now that The World has closed the pickens will be slim.
It wasn’t until midnight that I headed out to see Black
Tie Revue at the 31st St. Pub on Friday. These guys were having an
EP release and at my count I’d already missed them twice in recent
months at other shows reviewed here so it was time to pony up. The big
surprise here was the crowd that had packed the place this night. When
I arrived Comrad was on and they sounded much better than the last time
I’d seen them at the Rex. The intimacy of the 31st really helped
bring their wild abandon into better focus.
After an abandoned trip to Cookie’s down the street I was back
at the Pub when Black Tie Revue took the stage. My first two observations:
1. Oh, that chubby guy is the singer. You don’t see that too often
and 2. I’m really amazed that so many people are still here and
paying attention to the band. Pittsburgh audiences have a tendency to
head home early and I’ve been to shows at the Pub where the headlining
band will play to half the audience that was there just ninety minutes
earlier.
It turns out this was just a testament to the quality of rockin’
these guys were about to do. Not that there is anything particularly Earth-shattering
about their brand of keyboard backed straight-ahead rock attack but they
sure do approach it well and seem to be having fun doing it. So there’s
a lot of potential here. There was much love in the room and nary a soul
appeared to bail early. As the singer worked the crowd into a frenzy their
Shaggy look-alike guitarist’s enthusiastic playing held everything
together. B.T.W. This guy seems to turn up everywhere lately and, come
to think of it, a lot of these people in the audience look familiar too.
So either this is a coincidence or we might have a decent little music
scene on our hands.
Well, we’re gonna need it and although I skipped out on the $8
cover and thus a chance to get a copy of the EP, I hope to pick it up
down the road as it appears the locals will have to keep the fires burning
around here. These guys are headed down to SXSW in March and even though
it’s impossible for the small bands to get much notice anymore it’s
always a hell of a time. Drink a Shiner for me.
|
