Modus Operandi

About a month ago, I followed the Unsmokable Brokes to a show in the Bloomfield area. I was not impressed by the venue itself, which consisted of essentially a long hallway with a few half-finished art projects lining the walls at eye level. The high ceiling dwarfed everything in the room and gave it the feel of one of those back alleys you do not want to walk down at night. It was a hot day and the smell of sweat sat in the dead air. I kept thinking about how "the bowels of hell" was an all too appropriate description for this place.

When the bands starting playing, I no longer thought about the heat or the smell or anything like that. Music has a way of doing that...at least good music does. There were three bands there that night--one from somewhere in the middle of PA, one from Detroit, and our local Brokes--and each one managed to keep my attention on them until the show was over. However, there was not much of an audience. The bands listened to each other as they played, and there were a few fans like myself that are at every show, but there was no one who came just to see some new music. So, the bands played for each other, and the music was good.

I always assumed when people told me there was not much of a music scene in Pittsburgh that it meant there was no good music. This just is not true. I have seen bands at shows in Pittsburgh that were better than anything I could hear on the radio or download off of iTunes. I have spoken with musicians that have a passion and a purpose with the songs they write. All of the pieces necessary to start a musical explosion of the highest quality are somewhere scattered throughout this city. But people do not seem to be able to put them together.

I would like to change that simply through a series of connections and thoughtful organization. If fan, venue, and band can find a way to unite in Pittsburgh, change will happen. It is just a matter of getting everyone together.