Cloaca Melodia

Amphitheatre at Station Square/Chevrolet Amphitheatre, Pittsburgh, PA I was extremely late for the show. I was on the guest list, but they almost weren't going to let me in since they had already broken down the will call table. I had just recently moved to Pittsburgh and I was still getting used to the early concert start times which are the rule here (unlike the NY-NJ area, where the headliner rarely goes on before 11pm, even on weeknights). post continues.... My previous experiences seeing The Clarks were in small clubs in NJ, so I was shocked and amazed to see a sellout crowd in this amphitheater (which is actually just a parking lot with a permanent teflon tent-structure over it). Regional stars are a phenomenon we don't have enough of anymore--bands usually attain some level of national success or else they're stuck in local-band hell. The Clarks sold out this place, something that the Foo Fighters didn't even do a little more than a week later. Cool!

Amphitheatre at Station Square, Pittsburgh, PA sorry, Mike has not yet written about this show -- coming soon!

Rosebud, Pittsburgh, PA sorry, Mike has not yet written about this show... add your own comments if you were also there!

Point State Park, Pittsburgh, PA sorry, Mike has not yet written about this show... add your own comments if you were also there!

Club Cafe, Pittsburgh, PA sorry, Mike has not yet written about this show... add your own comments if you were also there!

Post-Gazette Pavilion, Burgettstown, PA Neil Young setlist: Falling From Above Double E Devil's Sidewalk Leave the Driving Carmichael Bandit Grandpa's Interview Bringin' Down Dinner Sun Green Be The Rain encore: Hey Hey, My My Sedan Delivery Powderfinger

Point State Park, Pittsburgh, PA sorry, Mike has not yet written about this show... add your own comments if you were also there!

Point State Park, Pittsburgh, PA sorry, Mike has not yet written about this show... add your own comments if you were also there!

Point State Park, Pittsburgh, PA sorry, Mike has not yet written about this show... add your own comments if you were also there!

Moondogs, Blawnox, PA sorry, Mike has not yet written about this show... add your own comments if you were also there!

Count Basie Theater, Red Bank, NJ..... This show took place at the same day the U.S. began bombing Iraq, initiating the war. Very surreal, but it was great seeing Hamell perform at this venue. His song "Big as Life" (which I loved) uses Count Basie as a part of the lyrics..

The Saint, Asbury Park, NJ.... I went primarily to see Dorothy, who had written a song I was obsessed with at one point. The show also served as a birthday celebration for WBJB Music Director Jeff Raspe and The Saint manager Scott Stamper.

The Bitter End, New York, NY.... Since the summer of last year, I've been working on writing a book about the music scene of 1992. One of the bands that my old radio station, WHTG, used to play in '92 was called the Cliffs of Dooneen, a rock group of Scottish and Irish lads transplanted to Boston. I was surprised to see that Flynn, the former Cliffs frontman was not only still recording but was doing a solo show at The Bitter End in New York this evening. I decided, at the last minute, to zip in to the city and see the show.  Irish rock band Stand, a quartet of expats, opened.  

Arlene's Grocery, New York, NY..... My friend Suzanne always raved about The Vitamen, so I went to see them. They're sort of a Ween-meets-Pavement band: very quirky lyrics and indie rock sound, but not afraid to mix in different styles. Their song "Pretty Little Secret" is a perfect example--an R&B styled song filtered through modern lo-fi with, um, offbeat lyrics to say the least.  That night I also met former Sumak frontman and current "Boy Wonder" Mark McAdam. His solo album was titled Boy Wonder, and it was perhaps the best unsigned album I've heard in a long, long time. McAdam's songs are a touch of Tom Waits, a bit of Leonard Cohen, and maybe some of Paul Westerberg's wry self-deprecation. His old band Sumack, purveyers of self-described "junk rock," were more like a typical pop-rock band, albeit with really sharp lyrics (although McAdam's future direction was certainly foreshadowed).

The Saint, Asbury Park, NJ.... The duo Swan Dive performed at The Saint in Asbury Park, and I attend on this chilly night. On record, the duo seems very earnest. In person, however, Bill DeMain and Molly Felder are very humorous and genial. Bill purchased a fake mustache kit when the tour started and he began the show by selecting one of the six different lip coverings included in the kit to wear during the performance (it started falling off almost immediately and didn't last long).