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] |
Joe Grushecky and the
Houserockers
09.24.2005 / Carhops / Pittsburgh, PA
 I
must have missed the mayor declaring the last three days Joe Grushecky
Weekend. The man was everywhere. I caught some of his Songwriters Series
at the Hard Rock on Thursday. On Friday he was part of a large Hurricane
benefit at the Mellon Arena. Then, I see that on Saturday he and the Houserockers
will be playing at Carhops up in Dormont.
About six months ago Wifey
and I brought my buddy up to Carhops to see the band and I was quite impressed
with the renovations that had been done with the place. By opening up
the other side of the bar, all of the sudden Carhops was giving off a
Decade vibe. Wifey and I loved it, but our buddy was looking to hook up
and was bitching that we took him to a middle-age bar. So we didn’t
stay long.
Now with another friend in
town for the Steelers game on Sunday we headed back to Dormont ready to
rock out. The $5 to get in was fine but as soon as we started ordering
beers I got a little confused. “I think this draft was $4. That
can’t be right.” Call me cheap but I rarely pay over $2 a
beer. So my buddy asked the bartender if that was right and she gets all
defensive saying that other bars charge more and something about having
to pay the band $1000. OK. I’ve got no problem paying a little extra
to cover the band but don’t give me some shit about it being reasonable.
Oh well. At least the band
rocked. I’ve been a Houserockers fan ever since I moved back to
the city in ’95 and see them as often as I can. To me these guys
are the real deal. Grushecky is a teacher. Bassist Art Nardini (Norm’s
brother) works in Polish Hill at a sunglasses factory and years ago coached
my kid’s baseball team in Bloomfield. Hot shit guitarist Bill Toms
used to have a decent CD shop in the South Side, and so on. And when these
guys aren’t rocking-out on their own they are joining Springsteen
on stage and jamming
with him.
My only problem with Houserocker
shows is that they often devolve into standard rock and R&B sing-alongs.
Words can’t describe how much I detest “Mustang Sally.”
So catching them earlier in their set, we were able to hear the songs
that really matter. “No Strings Attached,” “Dark and
Bloody Ground,” “Blood On The Bricks,” “Have a
Good Time (but get out alive)” and “Never Be Enough Time,”
to name a few. Salt of the earth shit. And thank god for Bill Toms, who
can unleash a guitar solo like no other.
They were great tonight as
they always are. But where are the rest of you yinzer rockers? I’m
sure Joe and the guys are tired of seeing the same people out there at
every one of their shows. At one point I was watching Joe as he surveyed
the crowd and imagined that he must be thinking, why bother. All of this
pomp and circumstance for what? Well, don’t worry, I’ll keep
showing up. If the Stones are still sexy then you guys got plenty of years
left in ya. Now if you could just find a way to get all of the bozos forking
over $100+ for Mick to show up at your shows once in awhile. And how about
telling that lady at Carhops that Pittsburgh beer doesn’t cost $4.
It’s all river water anyway.
|
