Hey, Pittsburgh-area friends. Here is your weekly digest of shows and events that are happening in town. There are some good ones coming up over the next few days, so listen up.
As always, a reminder: I can only write about what I know about — so if you work for a local promotion company, a venue, or a band, please be sure to get in touch with me with anything you want to share.
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As a music blogwriter based in the Pittsburgh area, I feel like it’s my obligation to keep myself relatively informed in terms of what’s happening in the local scene, and then to spread this information to you, the loyal reader, whether you live near here or on the other side of the world. It’s a pretty big job, but I really do try to stay on top of things.
Sometimes I need a little bit of help, though. In one particular case, I had to discover a pretty amazing local band when their 2011 demo tape was featured on another (non-local) blog. That was The Number of the Blog, and I’d you link to the original post, but several months ago TNOTB went off to live on a farm somewhere with lots of land where it could run around with other blogs and be happy and free…
However, the band — Moths — is still alive and well; that two-track demo still features some excellent tech-metal drumming and guitarring as well as nicely-done death-metal vocalling, AND it’s still available for free download (stay tuned till the end of this post); and in fact, just yesterday they released a brand new song that you won’t want to miss…
Around for nearly two decades now, The Real McKenzies were one of the first to come up with the idea of blending old Scottish drinking song styles with punk rock music — incorporating bagpipes into all their songs (as well as appearing in traditional highland dress). You can read more about the band’s inception and their long history here; then head on out to the Altar Bar this evening for some great, rowdy fun!
Shows in the middle of the week are always tough — I’m on my way to work right now and already feeling like I’m running out of gas; knowing I have to do this again tomorrow morning makes me especially unhappy. But they’ve really sweetened the pot with the rest of this line-up: you won’t want to miss this show!
Taking the rockabilly/psychobilly concept to ridiculous new heights, The Goddamn Gallows have augmented the typical “punk band with an upright bass” arrangement by also adding mandolin, banjo, accordion, and washboard; this has prompted the band to describe themselves as old-timey “gutterbilly” punk. You can read up on their story here.
And as an added bonus, there will be two a great local opening acts — pirate rockers extraordinaire The Bloody Seamen (recently profiled by Valley of Steel here) and sleazy muppet punks Ernie and the Berts (discussed in brief a few months ago, here)!
**UPDATE: Unfortunately, I’ve just learned that The Bloody Seamen will not be able to make it to this show tonight, but the other three acts should be performing as previously scheduled.**
Find all the details you’ll ever need here, including links to all the bands’ Facebook pages, information on buying tickets, and how you can win a pair of Ernie’s pants (there’s still time to get entered, but it’s running out quickly!) As an added bonus, there are additional Facebook events here, here, and here!
Good morning, readers. If you don’t mind (and actually, even if you do — tough shit, this is my blog), I’m going to step outside the realm of “metal and heavy music” for a second time this week, and talk about another “guilty pleasure”…
My wife and I have developed somewhat of an agreement whenever we’re in the car. We sort of take turns with the driving duties, and consequently we also alternate who will be the passenger. Over time, the job of passenging has evolved to include having control over the radio/CD player. Since there’s very rarely anything worthwhile on the radio, this usually means being responsible for selecting CDs for the duration of us traveling.
Now, we do have a bit of an overlap in our musical tastes, but that isn’t always the case — there are plenty of things I like that she might not have chosen, and vice versa. But after repeated exposure, I’ve discovered that we each have been adapting and expanding our comfort zones a bit, in terms of what we listen to. For example, with her obsession over neo-folk/bluegrass styles, I’ve begun to develop an appreciation for some of this material as well.
So recently when I discovered the the Pittsburgh-area band The Whiskey Holler, they really grabbed my attention.
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Good afternoon! Here's some exciting news that just came my way recently. I haven’t talked a whole lot about Brooklyn post-doom heavyweights Batillus, although I did name their album Furnace as one of my “Top 11 of 2011.” Nevertheless, ever since I discovered the band sometime in the early part of last year, I’ve been a big fan of their immensely powerful doom’n’gloom soundscapes.
Well, just recently, Vendetta Records has released a 12″ split that also includes Whitehorse from Melbourne, Australia. To be honest, this is my first time hearing of that band, but anything that involves Batillus is guaranteed to catch my attention. The LP is now available for purchase from the Bis Auf’s Messer webstore, or you can pick up a copy directly from the two bands when they head out on tour together next month (see a full list of dates later in this post). The first 100 copies will be on a limited-edition white vinyl; all the rest will be available in standard black.
However, the two tracks from the Batillus side of the record can be downloaded for free (or whatever price you choose to pay) from their Bandcamp page —
Hey there, readers. Real quick, I wanted to bring this to your attention: in a joint effort between Blistering.com and Clawhammer PR, for the next few days you can have the opportunity to win a prize package from Portlandian death-thrashers Stonecreep!
This giveaway will include a digipack of the 2011 re-release (via Old-School Metal Records) of their 2009 album The Deathmarch Crushes On, a CD copy of the 2007 demo EP We Bleed Disaster, a t-shirt, sticker, and beer koozie. All you need to do is click right here, and fill in the relevant personal information. Be sure to submit your entry soon, because the contest will close on Friday (1 June)!
Oh, and while we’re on the subject, the band will soon be heading out across the U.S. in support of the Deathmarch album’s recent re-release, on what they’re calling the Storm of the Deathmarch U.S. Tour 2012. So far there have been sixteen confirmed dates over the course of three weeks between June and July (including a stop in Pittsburgh). See below for the full details…
Update 12 June: the contest may have ended but the Deathmarch tour is still, umm, deathmarching soon! I’ve learned of a few adjustments to the tour schedule, which has been updated accordingly, below, along with an explanatory statement from the band…
The Bloody Seamen is the premier Pirate-Rock band in the Pittsbugh area. They won an award from Backallie Music for “Best Live Band in Pittsburgh” in 2011. Also, little known fact, they’re actually better at playing baseball than the actual Major League Baseball team, the Pittsburgh Pirates. But the same could be said about practically anybody, so these guys tend to focus on their own unique skill-set, which involves drinking rum*, plundering booty (both kinds), and plenty of high-seas hijinks, but primarily their mission statement is to “crush your souls and melt your faces with sheer rock n’ roll power.”
“Their songs range from traditional accapella shanties to blistering, bombastic rock n’ roll. Their music can only be matched by their stage shows which include swordplay, firearms, audience participation, fisticuffs, and all sorts of high-seas skullduggery.” See below for audio and video evidence of said skullduggery.
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* – And speaking of rum, these buccaneers embarked on a campaign a few weeks ago to attrack the attention and sponsorship of Sailor Jerry brand “Original Spiced Navy Rum” — the potent-potable maker has sponsored music acts, but never a pirate-themed rock band, and TBS have made it their mission to become the first. To this end, any fans are encouraged to get in touch with the company with a (polite) request to consider the band.
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Led by Captaine Maurice Lafiet Blaqueguttes (vocals), this band of cut-throats also consists of First Mate Mr. Alasdiar “Pipes” Quint (fife/accordion/bagpipes), Quartermaster “Filthy” Cheswick Springdale (guitar), Botswain “Keelhaul” Von Blaggard III (drums), Master Gunner Thom “Gunny” Castor (guitar), and Swabbie “Squid” (bass).
Hello there, Pittsburgh-area readers. Once again, it’s time for me to share my weekly digest of shows and events that are happening in town. As it turns out, I’ve got a few pretty interesting ones, and they’re all taking place Friday night (the 25th). Below you will find all the necessary information and details, and then YOU can decide which you want to attend!
And once again, I can only write about what I know about — so if you work for a local promotion company, a venue, or a band, please be sure to get in touch with me with anything you want to share.
I haven’t really seen a lot of press about this, but fortunately I just happened to stumble upon a post by The Gates of Slumber on Facebook which referred to new tour dates… as it turns out, the Indianan colossi of epic doom metal are heading out across the country, beginning tonight (21 May) in Cleveland and tomorrow night (22 May) in Pittsburgh!
It’s been about a year now since the band released their latest album The Wretch (their fifth, not including a whole slew of EPs, splits, and demos), and the critical praise just keeps on pouring in. I’ve been a huge fan of these COTD-ers since 2008’s Conqueror, but haven’t yet had the chance to see them in a live setting. They’ve got such an enormously crushing sound on record, though, I can only imagine it would be a pretty monumental experience. Full dates listed below.
Hello. It’s time once again to talk about “What To Do In Pittsburgh” this weekend. There are a couple cool goings-on in the world of heavy music, coming up this Saturday (19 May) that I’d like to bring to your attention — one in Pittsburgh, and one that’s a few hours away (but both involve local area musicians). And just to remind you once again, if you work for a local promotion company, a venue, or a band, I can only write about the shows that I know about! So get in touch with me if you’ve got something you want to share.
Valley of Steel 