2010

John Mayer coming to Pittsburgh Augusts 1st, 2010

John Mayer playing in Pittsburgh Augusts 1st, 2010 (pic by P Keigan)

John Mayer visits the ‘Burgh next Sunday, on August 1^st, at the First Niagara Pavilion. (Yes, I still want to call it the Post-Gazette, too, but that’s show biz.) I’ve seen some good shows there in the past—the name change can’t have made that much of a difference.

Mayer is one of those artists whose place in the pop culture often eclipses the art itself. That’s a dangerous place for an artist—people will form opinions about the individual (based on what the press reports) without ever viewing the painting, reading the book, watching the movie, hearing the music. I remember when this happened to me, back in the early 90’s, when Nirvana was suddenly everywhere—before I ever had a chance to hear their music, I was already tired of them.
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Maxwell Concert @ Mellon Arena POSTPONED

Maxwell Summer Tour 2010 in Pittsburgh at Mellon Arena - Postponed

Maxwell’s “The Tour” concert in Pittsburgh on Saturday, July 10th has been postponed until further notice. This was supposed to be the final event at the historical Mellon Arena.

We haven’t been given a reason for why the show was cancelled and all evidence of the tour stopping in Pittsburgh have been removed from Maxwell’s official events page. Before you get all pissed off, the concert was not cancelled because of the Igloo closing down…
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Hamell on Trial: Explicit (but poetic) Lyrics

See Hamell on Trial at Club Cafe in Pittsburgh on June 3rd, 2010 (flickr via armadilo60)

Now that I have your attention, I’d like to call your attention to Hamell on Trial’s impending show, Thursday, June 3rd, at Club Café in the South Side. I know what to expect. I expect the same good time I had the last time I saw him there. Granted, that was a few years ago now, but I have faith in him.

I say this partially because I also have faith in the venue. While I wouldn’t want to see a pyrotechnic metal band there (come to think of it, I doubt I’d want to see a pyrotechnic metal band anywhere), I know from personal experience that Club Café is a great place to see an acoustic act. Intimate setting, nice sound, good beer on tap, and, as of less than a year ago, excellent food.
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The Boogie Hustlers @ The Rex on 5/14/10

The Boogie Hustlers at The Rex: Friday, May 14th, 2010 at 9:00pm

Let’s just go ahead and call them “Pittsburgh’s own”—not just because they’re from Pittsburgh, which they are, but also because they seem to be on the verge of becoming bigger than their hometown. There’s a part of me that almost doesn’t want The Boogie Hustlers to get any bigger than they are now. Besides the fear that their music will lose its heartbeat if and when they find a major label and a producer to match, I would also miss being able to see them at The Rex Theater in Southside.
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Jay-Z, Young Jeezy, and Trey Songz

Jay-Z performing "Empire State of Mind"

If you didn’t make it to the Jay-Z Blueprint 3 concert at the Mellon Arena on Tuesday, you pretty much could have followed the entire show on Twitter. Trey Songz was the opening act – followed by the star of the show, Jay-Z w/ Memphis Bleek and Young Jeezy. The night couldn’t have been better. The live music was simply amazing, especially the guy on the soprano sax. Even the backgrounds were designed to perfection!

Whether you’re a fan of rap music or not, you would’ve received a wealth of entertainment value out of this concert. Which is exactly why it was interesting that so many people were texting on their phones during the performance. How many people left the show wishing they spent more time watching than tweeting? Haha, blame DJ Bonics, because he got everyone to tweet him song requests while Trey Songz was preparing to hit the stage.

In the words of Jigga: