News/posts
A Minor Forest, Melt-Banana, Harriet the Spy, The 1985
Another Connan Room show, this time featuring my then-local-faves The 1985 at the peak of their powers, Harriet the Spy (who are still remembered fondly by fans of that particular time and place), and Melt-Banana, whose performance I actually missed in 1996 at a show that has a very seminal place in my adolescence. A Minor Forest headlined; at the time, I had their CD Flemish...
Ian Nagoski, Meisha, Plea Circuits, Neptune
This was a show that I set up, which I apparently titled in a series called 'The New Breed'. I think I grabbed that from an Impulse records compilation LP I found (a pretty good one with Archie Shepp and Grachan Moncur III on it), attempting to brand shows i promoted. It's funny cause in Pittsburgh in the late 90s, no one did that, whereas my experiences in Europe are...
Superchunk, Neutral Milk Hotel
This was a night to remember, forever. A year and a half after I saw Neutral Milk Hotel play the Beehive, they came back to Pittsburgh, only this time they were my favourite band. Ever. I mean, they aren't my favourite band ever now, but I think it's safe to say that my passion for this music at this time was greater than I've ever felt about a recording artist -...
Sue Garner, Les Batteries, The Johnsons
I don't remember a whole lot about this one either, another CMU show. Run On had broken up at this point but Sue and RIck were touring together, not doing a Fish & Roses reunion but playing separately. Les Batteries I believe was originally a project that featured Charles Hayward instead of Rick Brown, though I didn't know this at the time. All I remember about it...
The Pittsburgh Sound, Choke City, Boom Box
The Pittsburgh Sound was a project organised by John Roman of Microwaves/The 1985 fame, which was modeled after a thing in Chicago called The Chicago Sound, which I think Weasel Walter started and looked to franchise. The Pittsburgh Sound was about 10 people who would play along to a mix CD of carefullly curated classic rock songs, which was played back through the monitors for us to...
Silver Apples, Apples in Stereo, Notwist, Meisha
A battered but intact poster from a concert at CMU that I remember attending my freshman year of University. Doug Mousrak who I am still friends with organised this and designed the poster, which has a lovely, shimmery metallic feel to it that probably doesn't come across well in the scan. This was a great concert, as I was quite a fan of Apples in Stereo at the time, liked the...