Insert Coin to Play: Pinball Life

One of my personal faves from last year.

In case you forgot about my insatiable love for pinball (or Mike Budai, or Brian Holderman, for that matter), well…I love it.

Usually sometime around my birthday, PAPA comes to town. This ends up with me playing pinball and drinking margaritas. Two of my favorite things in life. Well, this year, my birthday comes a little early with Insert Coin to Play: Pinball Life at Wildcard in Pittsburgh. Starting this Friday, it’s a great way to kick off the summer pinball season here in the ‘Burgh. Check it out:

Announcing their presence with an explosion of sound, lights, and design, pinball machines are a unique part of pop culture that combine gaming, skill, and art into one colorful package. To celebrate the machine’s presence as both art and an inspiration to artists, Wildcard is proud to present Insert Coin to Play: Pinball Life from July 15 to August 21.

Pinball Life is timed to coincide with the Professional & Amateur Pinball Association (PAPA) World Championships (August 11-14), held each year in Scott Township. This group show includes original work from local and national artists and also features vintage backplates of old games (on loan from PAPA).

In addition to the vintage pinball machines at Wildcard and a third on loan, Pinball Life includes the debut of the new Lawrenceville-themed pinball machine, featuring art by local artist Andy Scott. In addition, Wildcard will be hosting its annual Wildcard Pinball Classic on Friday, July 22. The competition will feature four tournaments on four separate machines, as well as a playoff
for a grand prize. Free to enter. In addition, 50% of the proceeds from the show and tournament will go to local bicycle advocacy group Bike Pittsburgh (www.bike-pgh.org/).

A complete list of artists follows:
– Dan Burfield works with sculptural and metal elements (www.notionpotion.com)
– Andy Scott draws and paints on different mediums (www.aplace-forall.blogspot.com)
– Cryss Stephens photographs pinball machines in extreme close-ups
(www.csstriker.deviantart.com)
– Elizabeth Klevens creates pieces out of metal and glass (www.elizabethklevens.com)
– Doug Cooper uses charcoal and other paints to create murals and video pieces
(www.andrew.cmu.edu/user/dcooper/)
– Brian Holderman is an illustrator/artist whose custom pinball machine appeared in the
Funland exhibit at the Warhol (www.bholderman.com)
– Rafael Colon uses sneakers and skateboards as his artistic medium (www.brolicdesigns.com)
– Mike Budai’s illustrations appeared on a custom pinball machine in the Funland exhibit at the
Warhol (www.crayondracula.blogspot.com)

Insert Coin to Play: Pinball Life runs from Friday, July 15 through Sunday, August 21.

I know what Iiiiiiiiii’ll be doing Friday night! And for the next month! Hooray for pinball season!

Metal Monday: Dethlehem Two-fer!

Well, it’s the very first Metal Monday here on That Girl With A Blog and boy do we have a treat for you! Pittsburgh’s very own Dethlehem has released their second full length album, The Ghorusalem Codex, Volume 2: Of Magick & Tyranny, the long awaited sequel to their 2009 debut, The Ghorusalem Codex, Volume I: Enthroned Upon A Spire.

“But, what makes this a two-fer!?”, you ask. And the answer to that question is the fact that I saw them spouting this stuff live on Friday. Kickass.

As for Dethlehem, self-described as “epic, medieval, fantasy, Dungeons and Dragons metal”, they’re a riot. What sets them apart from other bands in this vein is their tongue-in-cheek approach. Imagine Gwar, but funny. To catch you up on the story so far, from the band’s Myspace:

Dethlehem formed in the greatest respect to the centuries old story of the Three-Wise-Demons. The story takes place long ago before the first cataclysm, in the well known village of Dethlehem, in the land of Ghorusalem. History says that a baby with great, evil powers was born to a virgin goblin whore. After the birth, the infant first brought plague to the village of Dethlehem. Not soon after, ancient flying serpents were awakened from their hibernation deep in the earth’s crust. They soon ruled the land, only to abide by the unholy one’s word. Soon, the Three-Wise-Demons: Galatan, Kullinia, and Brigalathis visited the baby boy and revealed to him just how much evil he could control. They named him, Yagolith.

Yagolith, king of all that is evil, harnessed his powers for the most evil purposes. With his ability to shape shift into a dragon, he became quite knowledgable, and his hunger for treasure grew and grew.

For hundreds of years, Yagolith went unchallenged. Until a Legion of Warriors traveled the lands to battle him under a cursed sky…

Long story short, and not to give too many spoilers (you can download this album for free here to get the full story), the formidable band of archaic men kick some goblin-dragon shapeshifter and demon ass. Hey, if they hadn’t, there wouldn’t have been a Volume 2, right? You could’ve figured that one out on your own.

And that leaves us where The Ghorusalem Codex, Volume 2: Of Magick & Tyranny begins. After vanquishing the malevolent Yagolith, the gang, comprised of Lord Bonecrush, Overlord Brom, Bovice, Davidcus the Black, and Hildor, return to find their beloved Dethlehem in ruins. They embark on a quest amidst sand, dirt, and sky to seek their revenge.

I must admit that it’s actually a pretty damn good story! I find myself getting what is probably far more into this album than I should be. All except for the pee-soaked goblin. I could do without the scent of urine. I guess it’s adds to the charm, though, eh? I do also find myself missing the epic guitar solos of Volume 1 (but they brought it back a little in their live show!), but it leaves more room for this yarn to be spun and more adventures to be had. Also, in comparison of their first effort, they’ve gone for a slightly more melodic approach versus their prior thrash metal status, which I particularly prefer. Oh, there’s still growling and such, but the new sound paints a much more vivid story. This is certainly a band of very talented men doing what they do best and having a little fun while they’re at it. That much fun is bound to be infectious, and it sure is.

Alright, now I do know how this ends, but you’re just going to have to listen to the album for yourself to find out. I can tell you that it involves a kick ass fight scene and some portals. Can’t go wrong with portals, right?

To be honest here, I always find it a little harder to do a review for a local band. The Pittsburgh music scene is alive and well and who am I to knock someone down a peg? Thankfully, Dethlehem has made this one very easy for me. I like this album, a lot, and want to know what’s fucked up?

It’s even better live.

Myself and The Husband went to go see them at their CD release show at The Smiling Moose Friday night. I should add that I haven’t been to The Moose since July of 2009, for what I think is a pretty good reason, but this was a pretty kickass way to break that streak. It actually wasn’t the first time that we’d seen them, but it was indeed the first time that we’d seen them in a proper venue. For starters, the place was beyond packed (sold-out, actually, if I’m thinking correctly) and you simply couldn’t beat the energy, despite the fact that it was “late as tits” (Lord Bonecrush).

There were pirates, wenches, medieval knights, and inflatable 20-sided die. I don’t think you can really beat that. They opened with the beginning of the new album, talk-y bits and all, went into a few old tracks and did their classic, rousing rendition of Seal’s “Kiss From A Rose”, which was shockingly good. Overlord Brom is a beast on the drums, managing to play them impeccably well, IN A HELMET. Seriously, just check these guys out already. This was definitely a well spent Friday night in Pittsburgh. These guys totally get an A for effort. When it comes to Dethlehem, you can be assured that nothing you ever hear will be half-assed. Check out more on their site, Facebook, or Twitter.

And Happy Metal Monday! Stay tuned for the next installment with another Pittsburgh band, River Runs Scarlet!

“Kiss From A Rose”

Oh No, It’s Spring (or, Welcome to My Quarter Life Crisis)

***WARNING: THIS POST IS FUELED BY EARLY MORNING CAFFEINE.***

Okay, so this situation is not solely limited to my 25th year, but that magic number seems to have made it a little bit worse.

Spring is upon us my friends, and with spring comes my insatiable urge to travel (and listen to ska), or simply to get the fuck out of Pittsburgh. I mean, I like Pittsburgh, I really do, but sometimes you just need a change of scenery. Also, it’s not helping that all of my friends are moving to Key West and I looooooove Key West. I love booze, sunsets, and chickens. I just wish it wasn’t so stinking hot and/or didn’t have such giant bugs. I also wish that I could live there without a job, because that would be sweet. I don’t want to go outside in the daytime, dammit. I think I would melt…Wicked Witch style. What’s funny about this is the one thing I’m not worried about: hurricanes. Really. I am all about the hurricane party. Hell, we tried to have a hurricane party in Pittsburgh when Ivan came through. The first floor started to flood, so we went to the second floor, drank beer, and watched Finding Nemo. Really, not that worried. Key West is prepared for this kinda shit.

Wow, okay, so this is going to be the most random blog post, but I love the guy who works at the Cool Beans in my building. I seriously walked in there, told him that I didn’t know what I wanted, but that I wanted it to be “hot, sweet, and far too caffeinated…and big. Really, really big”. I am halfway through this concoction and I feel like I’m going to explode. GOOD MORNING!!!

Okay, so back to this spring/quarter life crisis thing. See, I grew up in a town where people never leave. It’s kind of ridiculous. Also, there’s this whole job thing. What is it about 25? Why do you all of a sudden feel like you need to know what you’re doing with your life RIGHT NOW? My job right now is pretty sweet, but it’s really not what I envision doing with my life. Also, I work for a giant boys club. Now, it’s not that I am saddened about my lack of man-junk, it’s just that I know that there is no room for growth here. It’s one of those things…what the hell’s that AA saying? Something about changing the things that you can and accepting the things you cannot? This is a “cannot” and I’m okay with that. I am super awesome at being an office wench, though. And what city ever doesn’t have offices? Any kind of offices really. I’ll make your coffee and order your supplies and generally make your office kick ass. That’s what I do.

Even when my computer dies, as it did on Friday, I will do everything in my power to make it better. I spent two days trying to get my information from my old hard drive to no avail. It was incredibly frustrating and currently I’m using a computer that I’m pretty sure was built in 1986. Know how many USB ports there are on this bad boy? Two. That’s right, two. I had to unplug my keyboard to upload the meager amount of music that I had on my MP3 player. I just went from around 40GB of music to…4GB. FOUR! Thank god it was all of my “essential albums”, so I have a good mix of great songs. Still, I kind of want to dropkick a baby.

Well anyway, to try to sate this crazy desire for something different, I’ve pierced my septum, cut off all of my hair, and gotten glasses. WHAT ELSE CAN I DOOOOO!?

What to do, what to do.

Holy shit, coffee.

Thank god for credit cards because I have a feeling I’m going to be purchasing last minute tickets to Key West. At least for a few days. 🙂

In the meantime, have some Less Than Jake, the soundtrack to summer traveling and impatient people:

“History of a Boring Town”

AAAAAAAAAAND: Just finished my giant cup of overly caffeinated goodness. My head might explode.

YouTube, you have failed me…

…for not providing the video I so desperately need.

Did anyone else watch the Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Montreal Canadians game last night?

Please tell me you got to witness the drunken hilarity of Bob Errey.

First, he writes “ass” on the screen while trying to describe Kunitz’s assist record during the second period break. Then, later in the third, he proceeds to make that Hannibal Lecter noise (you know what I’m talkin’ about) while describing old school hockey masks.

Oh, that would have been internet glory. I love you, drunk Bob Errey.

Anyway, have some videos!

In case you didn’t know “that noise”:

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand…getting stoned with dinosaurs!

YOU’RE WELCOME INTERNET!

Boycott Ticketmaster

So it’s been quite a while since I’ve actually purchased concert tickets…or tickets to anything for that matter, online. I always just got them at the door. What the fuck did I miss!? When we went to see Mike Doughty last Thursday, I went to the Ticketmaster website to see how much they were. Only $16! How affordable! Especially for a concert that I want to see so badly! Wrong. Oh so very, very wrong. $9 of charges per ticket. That’s more than half the fucking ticket price!

This is beyond ridiculous. Thankfully, I’ve found some other resources for concert tickets in the Pittsburgh area:

Dave’s Music Mine
Mr. Small’s Funhouse
Club Cafe
Garfield Artworks
The Rex
31st St. Pub
…and possibly more, those are just the one’s currently listed on their website.

The Exchange
Has tickets to most of the venues listed above, plus possibly more.

The Benedum
I know you =can buy tickets directly through their box office, as I did when we saw Tori Amos last year. I think you can do this with Heinz Hall as well.

The shame of it is, it’s not Ticketmaster’s fault that they’re a monopoly…it’s the fault of the venues and their exclusive contracts. Ticketmaster also gets no part of ticket sales, so here come the charges!

Service Charge – For the general service they provide.
Building Facility Charge – Determined by the venue, still raked in by Ticketmaster.
Processing Charge – ‘Cause we all know how expensive it is to send an email.
Shipping/E-Ticket/Will Call – Just because they can!

Often these fees are 30% to even 50% of the actual ticket price. What the fuck, Ticketmaster? And they get away with this by giving away million dollar sign-on bonuses to large venues. And it’s not even just music! Ticketmaster is the primary ticket seller for TWENTY SEVEN of thirty NHL teams and TWENTY EIGHT of thirty NBA teams. At least the MLB has gone with competitor, Tickets.com. From now on, I’m going to try my best to not support this monopoly any longer, or their subsidiaries:

Ticketmaster Ventures, Inc.
Ticketmaster Corp.
TMC Realty Holdings, Inc.
Ticketmaster Publications, Inc.
Ticketmaster Travel Corp.
TM/Video International, Inc.
Ticketmaster Advertising, Inc.
TMC Consultants, Inc.
Ticketmaster Tell Ltd.
Ticketmaster-Direct, Inc.
Cinema Acquisition Corp.
Ticketmaster Cinema Group, Ltd.
TM Movie Tix Holdings, Inc.
TM Marketing, Inc.
Ticketmaster Merchandising Corp.
Ticketmaster-Golf, Inc.
MFG Management Corp.
TM Flowers
TM National Flora LLC.

Instead, I’ll be going with the competitors:

LM Loyalty Management
Neighborhood Box Office
NEXT Ticketing
Prologue Systems
Tickets.com, Inc.

Further steps can also be taken. Urge your favorite artists/sports teams to not use Ticketmaster, along with your local venues. The less people who use them, the less power they’ll have to overcharge the masses.

In addition to monopolizing the ticket market and charging these ridiculous fees, Ticketmaster also has no regard for customer privacy. Directly from their website:

“By completing this registration form you indicate that you consent to Ticketmaster sharing your email address and other information with those who provide the event, and that you consent to those who provide the event using your information to contact you by email or other means to send you marketing or other messages or using or disclosing your information in other ways. By completing this registration form, you also indicate that you consent to Ticketmaster contacting you by email or other means to send you marketing or other messages and using and disclosing the information you submit, as described in the Ticketmaster Privacy.”

Why do we let them get away with shit like this!? Fuck Ticketmaster. I’m going with Tickets.com!

Mike Doughty – Live at Club Cafe, Pittsburgh, PA – 10/8/09

I DID get to see Mike Doughty on Thursday and as always, it was a spectacularly fabulous show. This was my first time attending a question jar show and I’ll tell you what, Mike Doughty is one funny man.

And I don’t know what it is…whether it’s just Pittsburgh that makes him tell people to “shove it up their cunts” or if this is just a favorite phrase of Doughty’s, but it makes me laugh every time.

At this show, they also did a live recording that was available afterwards, it’s super fun! At the beginning of the first video, you get to hear the answer to one of our (read: Adam’s) questions, which was, “Why is well liquor always Banker’s Club? Who are these bankers and why do they drink such shitty liquor?” This was probably one of my favorite answers…here, watch!

Sorry for the poor quality BTW…

And…Mike Doughty has never fucked a Republican. Who knew?

“Tremendous Brunettes” I love how when he says that he will never perform naked you can hear me say an audible, “Damn…” haha. A girl can wish, I suppose.

Aaaaand…”Ossining”.

It was a really fantastic show, in case you couldn’t tell. He even played two Soul Coughing tracks! “Circles” and “True Dreams of Wichita”. My goddamn batteries died in the middle of it, of course, so that video’s not included. He did play a few songs from each solo album, including “Real Love” which I thought was badass. And man, I’ll tell you what…Andrew Howard “Scrap” Livingston is a goddamn animal on the cello. Absolutely phenomenal. (As seen in the “White Lexus” video above.)

Club Cafe was a super sweet venue for this show, as well. I mean, it’s very dark and small, but it’s incredibly intimate and the sound was amazing. It was a huge change from Mr. Small’s Funhouse, where I’ve seen him twice before. No, I didn’t get to hear “King of Carrot Flowers”, but this was still an amazing fucking show. If you ever get a chance to see this man live, plugged or acoustic, you will not be disappointed. Make sure to check out his new album, Sad Man Happy Man, out now!

As I promised…the 2009 Pittsburgh Vintage Gran Prix!

So, I know this has taken far too long to get up here, but here it is, folks. Usually, I’m not into this sort of thing, but we went with a friend who certainly is and well, we had a blast.

It was a beautiful day back in June, we ate fancy cheese and drank beer…in a park that you are apparently not allowed to drink beer in. Ah, Schenley Park…hangout place of college stoners and Extreme Frisbee fans for so many years.

It was certainly odd to see it transformed into a full-out racetrack, complete with a 2.33 mile circuit, 23 turns, bridges, and all the hazards of everyday Pittsburgh roads. It was a fucking car race…in Schenley Park. Who’da thunk it?

And now! The results!

Pre-War

1. 1935 Reuter Special “Old Gray Mare,” Ben Bragg, Woburn, MA
2. 1939 MG TB Special, Frank Mount, Caledon, Ontario
3. 1931 Bugatti T37-Ford Special, Sandy Leith, Dedham, MA

Post-War: Under One Liter

1. 1964 Auto Dynamics Mark I, Keith Lawrence, McMurray, PA
2. 1959 Turner Mk I, Jim Southwood, Wexford, PA
3. 1963 Formcar Formula Vee, Bill Kovick, Canton, OH

Sports Racers and Formula

1. 1958 Lotus XI, Dick Fryberger, Watertown, MA
2. 1962 Lola Mk I, Bob Gett, Boston, MA
3. 1959 Lotus Seven, George Vapaa, Wilmington, DE

Pre 1960: Under Two Liter

1. 1958 Elva Courier, Michael Oritt, Solomons, MD
2. 1952 MG TD, Manley Ford, Milford, MI
3. 1951 MG TD, George Shafer, Somerset, PA

Pre 1960: Over Two Liter

1. 1955 Austin-Healey 100M, RJ Mirable, Lower Gwynedd, PA
2. 1959 Devin D, Cliff McCandless, Grove City, PA
3. 1962 Aston Martin DB4, Lawrence Macks, Owings Mills, MD

Small Bore through 1965

1. 1961 Elva Mk VII, Tom Grudovich, Palm Beach, FL
2. 1963 Elva Courier Coupe, Stefan Wiesen, Caledon, Ontario
3. 1965 Ginetta G4, Hervey Parke, Waccabuc, NY

It’s funny, when we were there, I wasn’t so much concerned about the winning cars, as all the shiny pretty cars. As you can see by the following pictures, I like bright, shiny things. Either Adam or myself took all of the following:

Those are just some of the pics, you can see the full set here. All in all, we really had a super fun time, and would be willing to see at least vintage cars again. I don’t think it would be nearly as exciting with new cars. At the end actually, there was a BMW race…not nearly as fun. Being stationed near the chicane was awesome, too. It’s definitely a laugh to see these vintage, outrageously expensive cars with a bale of hay stuck in the grill, especially after you’ve knocked back a few.

I’m sorry!

I’m sorry people, out there in the blogosphere. Things have been crazy hectic around these parts, but I promise you something big is coming up.

Here, have a little taste:

Mmm…vintage-y. Stop back for lots more to come!

Signal to the Ocean Estate – Tunes for the Bird of Chittenden

Pittsburgh locals, Signal to the Ocean Estate, have released their debut album, Tunes for the Bird of Chittenden. I am shocked at how good this album is. Really. I don’t know why I’m so shocked that it’s good, Pittsburgh has a really awesome local music scene.

Perhaps, it’s just been too many years since I’ve been directly in it. Years and years ago, if you needed to find me, you would look at the nearest all ages local show. What the hell else is there to do when you’re under 21 and in the suburbs?

I am ashamed! Ashamed I tell you! Why did I not know about all these awesome bands currently rocking out in Pittsburgh, including Signal to the Ocean Estate?! I seriously got this album yesterday afternoon and have not stopped listening to it since. It has this indie/experimental yet familiar vibe to it. As per the band’s Myspace, their influences include Sufjan Stevens, The Decemberists, Radiohead, The Beatles, Cake, Nine Inch Nails, and a ton of other seemingly unrelated people. That’s what makes Signal so great. Not a single song on this album sounds the same.

Also, I can’t believe the rich sound that they have on this album for technically being a three piece. (And for those of you who know me, you know my penchant for three pieces!) Like the track, “Tribute to the Capital”, a politically driven doo-wop revival. By the end, it’s just a cacophony of friends and family and sounds like a silly good time to me. If you don’t find yourself at least smiling to this song, you don’t have a pulse. This is my favorite album on this song because they just sound like they’re having so much fun making it, and isn’t that supposed to be what it’s all about? I’ll admit it, I danced to this song in my kitchen last night while doing dishes…what?

Other super awesome tracks on this album include, “Ghost Town”, an obvious hit with a parasite of a chorus. Once it’s in your brain, you’re fucked. I love the vocals on this one as well. They kind of remind me of Brand New, in the Your Favorite Weapon days (the best ones!). Also, check out the video for this one at the bottom of the page. Fucking rad, right? Incredibly well made and creepily awesome.

“In Heaven” has a sultry Nick Cave/early Marilyn Manson quality to it. The only qualms I have about this album, and I’m not sure if it’s the singer or the productions, is the low volume of the vocals. These guys can sing and they should do it loud and proud, dammit. But maybe that’s just me.

And then…there’s “Hope”. What is that? Is that a fucking ukulele I hear? I fucking love ukuleles! (Don’t worry, this isn’t the only song with it, either). Also, some sweet female backing vocals. I’m game.

“The Ocean” was definitely not one of my favorite tracks when I first heard this album, but it’s quickly growing on me. You can see the Radiohead influence in this song. It’s like when you’re tripping…this is what colors sound like. Kind of like all of Ruby Vroom from Soul Coughing.

The album ends with “Wings”, a spectacular male/female duet, hauntingly sweet. Another thing about the album is how well it’s assembled. I don’t think there’s any better way for the tracks to be positioned on this album. It has a swell and ebb better than I’ve heard in a long time. From people who are signed with big record deals.

All in all, these guys are really fucking awesome. It’s great to see such talent pumping out of Pittsburgh (again). Definitely check them out! They have a show coming up at The Brillobox tomorrow night with The Slant and The Central Plains. Support the Pittsburgh local music scene! A!

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Pittsburgh Penguins Win the Stanley Cup!!!

Holy shit. I don’t think it’s even really sunk in yet. I remember at a time in the season when we weren’t even sure we were going to make it to the finals, yet here we are. This one’s for all the Fleury haters and nay-sayers, dammit! LET’S GO PENS!!!!!

A city of champions we are! w00t w00t!