Pittsburgh, PA

Make sure you head out to the Pub tonight to check out some really great bands, which I can sincerely say each one is equally good and you won’t be disappointed. And yes, I’m biased since I’m friends with most of them, but still! And I have to add that the Main Events are the best joke band Pittsburgh has had to offer for a long time. They’re a lot of fun!

Also, don’t forget about the I Made It craft show Saturday from 12-5 at the Brewhouse (check my previous post for details), or the Janus Film Festival, which ends this weekend (again, see my previous post for more info).

And then Saturday evening, head out to Bellevue to check out the results from the 24 Hr Creative Marathon, which is also going to be a great time. And I’m not just saying that because Buddy Nutt will be performing, who if you don’t already know who he is, shame on you.

Regardless of the music being performed, the art is definitely worth checking out. The last Creative Marathon was quite successful and a lot of work ended up being sold. I’m definitely going to bring some money with me this time.

I plan on making it out to all the above mentioned events, so it’s going to be a busy weekend as usual; expensive if I buy artwork and crafts, but fun. Can’t wait!

Pittsburgh, Gito Gito Hustler, Radio Beats, Shut outs, Main Events, 31st Street Pub, I Made It, South Side, crafts, music, Janus Film Festival, Creative Marathon, Bellevue, art, Buddy Nutt

Janus Films, a well-known foreign and classic film distributor is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year and Pittsburgh Filmmakers is presenting Essential Art House: 50 Years of Janus Films from September 21 through October 4th and is something that is not to be missed.

The films will be screened at three different theaters including Regent Square, Harris Theater and the Melwood Screening Room.

Films will include, Seven Samurai, Death of a Cyclist, Lola, Ballad of a Soldier and more.

For more information and scheduling, go to Pittsburgh Filmmaker’s website here.

I plan on catching at least one of these films, despite all of the other events happening the next two weekends. I highly suggest you do the same!

Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh Filmmakers, Janus Films, Harris Theater, Melwood Screening Room, Regent Square, movies, film, foreign, classic, Lola, Seven Samurai, Death of a Cyclist, Ballad of a Soldier

I was looking into Pittsburgh’s Oktoberfest offerings and found two that look interesting. One is at Penn Brewery and the other is Downtown.

Penn Brewery
RAISE A GLASS IT’S TIME FOR OKTOBERFEST
September 21-23; 28-30, 2007
Friday & Saturday, 5 p.m. to midnight
Sunday, 4 to 10 p.m.

For eighteen years the Penn Brewery has brought Munich to Pittsburgh with our annual Oktoberfest celebration and this year will be no exception. Held the same weekends as its German counterpart, the Penn Brewery offers the most authentic Oktoberfest celebration in Pittsburgh.

Downtown
Oktoberfest & Autumn Beers
Presented by: The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust
Venue: Cabaret at Theater Square
Tuesday, September 18, 2007, 6:15 PM
Tickets: $25

Craft Beer School Fall Semester 2007 series kicks off with “Oktoberfest and Autumn Beers.” Celebrate the ultimate beer lover’s festival with a fine selection of seasonal offering.

If I had to pick one I would go to Penn Brewery. I went there last year and had a great time. While you eat, you can enjoy a live polka band and everyone sings along.

In the past few weeks there has been a lot of buzz about wi-fi in Pittsburgh. The first mention was about local businesses in Shadyside offering free wireless to anyone close enough to get it. Then today there was an article in the Post that talked how Pittsburgh wants to get a contractor to offer free wireless to the whole city.

Right now you can get 2 hours of free access a day Downtown. I have used it before and it’s not that bad. It’s fast enough to check you email but I wouldn’t try downloading large files with it. Even with its limitations it would be great to have wireless access widely available. It might even help keep young people in Pittsburgh; since that seems to be the new goal of this town.

After reading the article you realize that you shouldn’t hold you breathe for this to happen. A lot of wireless companies are finding that it would not be cost effective to offer the service for free.

The best idea so far is from Jonathan Plesset, owner of the Shadyside Inn. He turned on free wireless for all of Walnut Street, in Shadyside not that long go.

“There’s no reason we couldn’t do this in Squirrel Hill or South Side,” he said. His plan is to have business owners in those areas chip in to cover the costs of the system, so their clientele could use it for free.
He’d like to talk with the city about its plans, but said he believes it makes most sense to “just do it neighborhood by neighborhood.”

This something that would benefit the city but finding the best solution is going to take a long time. So I can’t see the city wide wi-fi happening anytime soon, but I guarantee in the near future the “Plesset Style” wi-fi system will be popping up all over.

city wide wi-fi, pittsburgh, downtown, free wi-fi, Shadyside, Jonathan Plesset, Walnut Street

One of the great benefits of writing this blog is that I can promote any event/anyone I like and this post is all about supporting my friend’s bands, well minus Lucinda Williams, although I wish she was my friend!

This weekend brings a lot of good music to Pittsburgh, starting with the ever popular local, turned national band, Black Tie Revue.
They’re playing a free show tonight at the Smiling Moose at 10pm with Philadelphia’s the Teeth and Ohio’s Men of Gentle Birth. The band has really emerged as one of the most successful bands coming out of Pittsburgh in the past couple of years. They’ve been getting a lot of press coverage and played at the SXSW festival in Austin this past March. I couldn’t be happier for them and I’m not just saying that because I know the keyboardist and think he’s one of the best ultimate frisbee players ever!
If you’ve never heard of Black Tie Revue or want to check out some of their new songs, make sure you go to their website and/or Myspace to listen and buy their new album!

Go to this! One of my friends, well actually two are in the Main Events and it’s bound to get crazy! Listen to them on their Myspace. The Fitt has one too here and so does Federale. Show starts at 10pm Saturday at the 31st Street Pub.

Like I said, Lucinda Williams is not my friend, but she has been one of my favorite musicians ever since I can remember. She has some of the greatest, most thought provoking lyrics and her voice isn’t half bad either, despite what some people might say!
She is playing at the Byham Saturday at 8pm and although I can’t afford to go, I sincerely hope she gains some new fans in Pittsburgh this weekend. Go to her Myspace to listen to some of her new songs or buy the album on her website.

If your music tastes favor electronic music and dj’s, instead of power pop and alt-country and whatever craziness goes on at the Pub, make sure you check out Shy Fx and a whole bunch of other djs/electronic music at the Chinatown Inn Saturday night starting at 9pm.

For more details, go to 1337’s website.

And lastly, as I previously mentioned, the 13th Annual Pittsburgh Blues Festival held at Hartwood Acres starts today and continues into Sunday.

It’s a good weekend for shows, so check out at least one of them please! I’ll be at Black Tie Revue, the show at the Pub and Shy FX if anyone cares.

Pittsburgh, music, Lucinda Williams, Byham, Black Tie Revue, Smiling Moose, the Teeth, Men of Gentle Birth, Main Events, Forbidden 5, The Fitt, federale, 31st Street Pub, Shy FX, Chinatown Inn, djs, downtown, South Side, local bands, Hartwood Acres, Blues Festival

Mayor Luke Ravenstahl is sponsoring a series of Neighborhood Forums, the first of which will be held in the North Side tonight. There will be information about the initiative, Neighborhoods First Agenda and there will be input from the Mayor on the current conditions and future of the community. There will be a series of ten community conversations throughout Pittsburgh neighborhoods in the coming months.

For any readers who live in the city of Pittsburgh, you might want to participate in one of the following forums:

July 19 – North Side
August 1 – Downtown, North Shore & Strip
August 29 – Southside Flats, Slopes, Hilltop, Mt. Washington & Duquesne Heights
September 5 – Upper East End (Lawrenceville, Morningside, Garfield, Friendship, Bloomfield, Highland Park)
September 19 – 31st Ward, Hazelwood, Glen Hazel
September 24 – West Pittsburgh
October 24 – East End (East Liberty, Larimer, Lincoln Lemington, Homewood, Brushton and East Hills)
November 7 – Squirrel Hill, Shadyside, Greenfield, Swisshelm Park, Point Breeze, Regent Square
December 5 - South Hills (Brookline, Beechview, Banksville, Overbrook, Carrick)
December TBD – Oakland, Hill and Uptown

These forums will be listed in the “community events” calendars of the Post-Gazette and Tribune Review ahead of time.

Thursday, July 19th
6:30 -7:30 pm
Pittsburgh’s Grand Hall at The Priory
614 Pressley Street
Pittsburgh, PA 15212

For more information contact:
Jennifer Watson
Neighborhood Initiatives Coordinator
Office of Mayor Luke Ravenstahl
412-255-4765
Jennifer.Watson@city.pittsburgh.pa.us

The following information was taken from the websites of the Post-Gazette and Progress Pittsburgh.

Pittsburgh, neighborhood forum, Luke Ravenstahl, mayor, North Side, downtown, North Shore, South Side, South Hills, Squirrel Hill, Shadyside, Oakland, Point Breeze, Strip District, Mt. Washington, Duquesne, Upper East End, East End, Hill district, Hazelwood

The Mayoral election is just around the corner and I have found the candidate that I hope wins. His name is Mark DeSantis and he is a Republican. I know what you thinking; how can a Republican run in a Democrat infested town? I don’t know, but he is going to try.

After reading this article about him in the City Paper I fell in love. Finally there is a politician that wants change in Pittsburgh. Here are a few notable quotes from the article.

“I believe we no longer have the option of staying on the well-traveled path for it has become our road to ruin.”

I agree with this. How many years do we need to be in the red to see that there is a problem with how the Democrats are running things? We need to rethink how the city is spending its money and where it’s coming from.

“I’m not anti-government by any means, but we have to revisit our notion of what our government is for. It doesn’t exist for itself, but for the people who live here and we have to reorganize it for that purpose.”

Wow that quote right there made my heart flutter. A politician that understands the purpose of government! This is not common and Pittsburgh is lucky to have someone like this running for Mayor.

“My single ambition is to change the way we do things here; to no longer be satisfied with the status quo and just being good enough,” DeSantis says. “I know that change is risky and it’s a lot to ask people to take that risk with me. But when people are willing to take big risks, you can accomplish great things.”

Listen, Pittsburgh! How many times have you said your not happy with what’s going on around you? How many of you are upset with high taxes and not seeing a difference in the budget problems. It is time for change.

I love this city and it kills me to watch it slowly crumble. I am not saying that Mark will save the city, but I think he is a step in the right direction.

Pittsburgh, Mayoral election, Change, Mark DeSantis, Republican, Democrat, November

I think Pittsburgh is the only city to have fireworks all year long. You can expect fireworks for just about every event in or around the city during the summer. Sometimes I feel like the city just makes up reasons to shoot them off. Every Friday at the Pirates game is Fireworks Night, and if it’s not Friday every homerun means fireworks.

Pittsburgh loves fireworks and that means on the Fourth of July there is going to be plenty of them. I found on the Post Gazette’s website a list of this year’s firework displays. I am still not sure which ones I am going to see yet, but I usually see the ones Downtown.

pittsburgh, fireworks downtown, firework displays, Pirates, Fourth of July, Post-Gazette

There is a lot of events going on this weekend and I hope to make it out to some of them. It’s going to be hard since I have a friend coming in from CA and there’s events going on north of Pittsburgh I have to make it to as well. But enough about my busy schedule; here’s two events you should check out this weekend.

Tonight is the Gallery Crawl downtown, where you can check out up and coming artists, hear local bands and eat and drink for free. You can’t beat that.
The Crawl will be taking place in various galleries, including the Wood Street Galleries, SPACE, Show Here, 707 Penn Gallery, Future Tenant and more. You can check out the map in this week’s City Paper, or at the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust’s website.
It starts at 5:30 and ends around 9pm this evening. There is also a couple of afterparties at places like Trilogy and on the Theater Square’s Parking Garage Rooftop. I’ve never personally been on that rooftop, but sounds kind of interesting.
I hope to make it out tonight after I hit up a Community Days out in my hometown, but if not, I will definitely be at WYEP’s Summer Music Festival.

The Summer Music Festival starts this evening at the World Cafe, featuring Jon Check and Kim Richey at 6pm and 8pm.
Then on Saturday, the Ike Reilly Assasination, Moe. and Sinead O’Connor will be at the Cafe, however both Moe. and Sinead O’Connor are already sold out. Ike Reilly Assasination starts at noon.
If you’d still like to see Moe. and Sinead O’Connor, head to the outdoor festival on Saturday at Allegheny Landing in the North Side, by Isabelle and 6th Street. I know I am extremely curious to see Sinead O’Connor perform live; she actually has some pretty decent songs.

Here’s the schedule for Saturday:
Jon Check: 4-4:40pm
Ike Reilly Assassination: 5:05-5:55pm
Kim Richey: 6:20-7:10pm
An Acoustic Evening with Sinead O’Connor: 7:30-8:45pm
moe.: 9:15-10:30pm

Blankets, picnic baskets, children and dogs are all welcome according to WYEP’s website, where you can check out the details.

WYEP, Summer Music Festival, Pittsburgh, downtown, North Side, Sinead O’Connor, Moe., Ike Reilly Assasination, Jon Check, music, art, Gallery Crawl, SPACE, Wood Street

The last weekend of the Arts Festival was amazing. If you remember, a few weeks ago I posted about Flux. Well I attended the event on Saturday and let me just say that it was better than the first one I went to. It looks like they had everything more organized this time around and the music was a lot better. One stage had nothing but punk music while other stages had more low key stuff and DJs. The night flew by, as you checked out the art and listened to music on the two floors of the Brooks Brothers Building, Downtown.

On Sunday I went back to the Arts Festival to see Swoon. Emily talked about them in her post about the last weekend of that Art Festival. They were scary and relaxing to watch at the same time. I am sure if you do a search on the all mighty Google you can find more pictures of them. Also, I wish I had a Swoon pole so I could fly around. It looked like a good time.

So as you can see, Pittsburgh really pulled through this year in making the Arts Festival a good time even with Point State Park under construction. I can’t wait to see it again next year.

swoon!, pittsburgh, arts festival, downtown, punk music, point state park, flux, pfunkt

Well, it’s already the last weekend of the Art’s Festival, so you better go while you can! There are still plenty of things to see and do Friday-Sunday and here’s the schedule for anyone who is interested:

Friday
-Swoon!: description follows below; shows at 12:30 and 5:00
-Bands such as 9th Ward and Great Ants playing at Market Square at 5:30, Jackie Greene at 7:30 at the Stanwix stage and Steel N’ Jazz featuring music played on steelpan drums at 8pm at 121 7th St, sixth floor. $5 cover
-American Humbug: a politically fueled satirical play that’s been ongoing at the festival at 8pm at 937 Liberty. $5 cover

Saturday
-Swoon! performances at 12:30, 2:00, and 3:30.
-Bands at the Stanwix stage include Lohio at 6pm and Rickie Lee Jones at 7:30pm.
-Lime: A Mixer Caribbean Style, featuring steelpan drums, jazz, food and drinks. $5 cover and it’s at 121 7th Street, 6th floor.

Sunday
-Swoon! performances at 12:30, 2:00 and 3:30pm.
-And to close off the performance, Rodney McCoy and Spyro Gyra will be playing at 5:30 and 7:00 pm at the Stanwix stage.

I highly suggest you make it out to see Swoon!
I know I’m rearranging my schedule this weekend just to witness this show.
According to the Art’s Festival’s website, the show features “four daredevils” who “tell a spectacular story of love, loss, joy and freedom up on high. Through a whirlwind of dance and movement on 12 foot high flexible poles, the vibrantly costumed couples transcend past, present and future as they move together and apart.”

downtown, Pittsburgh, Three Rivers Arts Festival, art, music, Swoon!, 9th Ward, Great Ants, Jackie Greene, Steel N’ Jazz, Lohio, Rickie Lee Jones, Rodney McCoy, Spyro Gyra, circus

Well it looks like controversy hits the Arts Festival this year, with an installation piece that featured nudity. It was located in PPG Place, where just about anyone could see it. Here is a quote from the article.

“A nude video installation by a local artist proved to be a little too risqué for the Wintergarden at PPG Place. It was covered, unplugged, then moved to another site as part of the Three Rivers Arts Festival” –Trib

I find it funny that people were trying to cover it up and unplug it. I can just imagine some lady after viewing it, running around, hands waving in the air looking for the plug. I didn’t get a chance to see this for myself, but from what that article said it was done tastefully. But I guess I will never know since it was taken down.

My right to view the art piece was taken away because it offended someone. What these people don’t understand about art is, if you don’t like it, don’t look at it. No one was being forced to look at it, but now we are being forced not to.

Pittsburgh, art, art fest, PPG Place, nudity, Trib, Downtown, Events

Ok so I didn’t realize how much was going on at the Arts Festival this weekend, so this is the second of two posts about it just so the list doesn’t look overwhelming and you get scared and don’t go.

Saturday
-Jaggerbush Junction deserves it’s own post, but this will have to do for now.
Jaggerbush is a a large scaled installation and interactive event that Unicorn Mountain is putting on, which Mosley previously talked about. They will be transforming Market Square into an “indie comic wonderland” according to the Art’s Festival website. Centipede E’est and Wax Fang, play from 5:30-7:30 and Oxford Collapse will close the show with a performance at 9. The exhibit will be from 12p-11p and I highly suggest you check it out.

-For the blues fan, the Willi Tri Blues Band will be performing at 7 on the Stanwix Street Stage, followed by the Grammy Award winning, Chicago native, Koko Taylor! According the Art’s Festival’s website, “during the course of her 50-year career she’s sung with the likes of Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, Willie Dixon, B.B. King, Buddy Guy and Robert Plant.” Fantastic!

Well, that’s it for now. While you’re there, make sure you check out the Artist’s Market and good luck finding a parking spot! Best bet parking garage wise would be the Ft. Duquesne & Sixth Street Garage: 3 hours - $7.50, After 4:00 p.m. - $2.00 - $5.00, Weekends - $2.00 - $5.00, Daily Max Rate - $10.00 or any of the garage’s that feature $5 flat rate parking.

Pittsburgh, Three Rivers Arts Festival, Koko Taylor, Willi Tri Blues Band, Oxford Collapse, Unicorn Mountain

Just thought I’d highlight a couple of the events happening at the Arts Festival this weekend in case anyone was thinking of going there, which you should! I wish people would go to and support more local art events in Pittsburgh, but I’ll take what I can get.

Friday
-Circuits of Steel Showcase, featuring Grand Buffet, Rein[Forced], Discuss, Hotness, Michael Johnsen and Margaret Cox, tENTATIVELY, a cONVENIENCE, syne_lapse_variate, and Catacomb 9.re with performances starting at 5:30-7:30 and between 8:30-11pm.
The showcase celebrates the release of the second Circuits of Steel Compilation, which features local musicians from the electronic music scene. All performances are in Market Square and I’m almost positive that Grand Buffet starts at 10p, because I plan on being there.

-Cowboy Junkies sponsored by Point Park University at 730p at the Stanwix Triangle Stage.
WYEP is always talking about this band on the radio and I can’t remember if I like them or not, but I trust WYEP and have for years.

-Therman Statom… Imagine Glass exhibit continues, featuring work by the internationally known glass artist Therman Statom and the works of local middle and high school students. A reception will be held tonight for Collective Fusion as part of the Glass Art Society Conference gallery crawl on Friday, June 8.

Pittsburgh, Three Rivers Arts Festival, Therman Statom, Cowboy Junkies, Grand Buffet, Circuits of Steel

Flux is an art show that goes on a few times a year in different areas of the city. I went to one a few months ago in Braddock, and was wowed by the art and music. They transformed a few blocks of the town into a living art exhibit. It seems like just being there made you part of the art and music that was around you.

I hope the one Downtown will have the same feeling as the one in Braddock did. It’s going on at the same time as the Arts Festival so I hope that it doesn’t lose the edginess that I like about it. Go to their website and check it out, but keep in mind that you’re going to have to see this thing for yourself.

art show, Braddock, living art exhibit, music, Downtown, Arts Festival