Cloaca Melodia

PNC Park, Pittsburgh, PA.... You know, I often wonder whether a band feels cheesy doing this sort of a show, where the concert is a value-added freebie tacked on to a ballgame ticket. If you're Me First & The Gimme Gimmes or The Clarks , probably not. Playing a baseball stadium is a thrill in its own. But if you're in Lynyrd Skynyrd? I dunno. But I am sure that the band doesn't usually have a massive fireworks finale to accompany the coda to "Freebird," and the band didn't have to pony up a dime towards the cost of the pyrotechnics. To back up, after the Pirates finished what was only their ninth sellout of the season with a win (what? did he say "a win"???) in front of 36,621 people, the players dashed off the field and the stadium crew set up a stage at 2nd base. With an enviable efficiency (just a 20 minute or so turnaround), the ballpark was switched into concert mode and the archtypical Southern rock band began playing. Skynyrd played a cro...

Bedford Square, Pittsburgh, PA...... Cracker agreed to headline WYEP's 3rd annual "Rock the Block" event, where we block off the street in front of the radio station and have a concert and general party. After I gave the introduction for the band, David Lowery stepped up and say, "Good evening, we're Cracker. We're from Cleveland." Obviously, he was very aware of the football-inspired long-standing rivalry between the two cities. And then he quickly added, "Just kidding!" Following "The Riverside," David mentioned that that song and "Gimme One More Chance" were from their latest album Greenland . He told the audience, "I know we're supposed to get mellower and more public radio-y as we get older, but we did not get the memo." Then later (following "Mr. Wrong"), David introduced Johnny Hickman saying, "We should let Johnny talk. One of the reasons they don't let me talk is that I do things lik...

Johnstown Folk Festival, Johnstown, PA.... I've been wanting to see Jason Ringenberg & The Nashville Scorchers live for more than 20 years. At my college radio station in 1985, '86, '87, we used to play "White Lies," "Golden Ball & Chain," and the band's take on "Absolutely Sweet Marie" quite a lot. And I remember my friend John Webber going to see them live and enjoying the hell out of it--despite being nearly deaf for days afterwards. So I wanted to see them, too. But eventually, they stopped playing out of Nashville much. I did see Jason Ringenberg solo live back in 2003 , which was a great time. But I still wanted to see the band. When I saw they were going to be appearing at the Johnstown Folk Fest, I thought that the stars were aligning; I've always meant to go to the Fest since moving to Pittsburgh in 2003 (close enough, although still a more than 90-minute drive). Plus, Del Castillo was also on the bill and performing im...