Tag: video

Andy Warhol Review (2015)

This is an archived post from radioshower.com. Migrating here to ensure that it is searchable along with other venue reviews.

Luna was pretty great Wednesday night at the Andy Warhol Museum. I was standing in the museum, enjoying the show but thinking about how when I first came to Pittsburgh when I was curious about a venue I would google to see what I could learn about it. You know, is it BYOB? How are the bathrooms? Is it a good venue for a show? So, let’s make this post a venue overview.

The Space Itself. A

I’ve been to the Warhol Museum for several shows now. Vivian Girls and the Beets, Harper Simon and Emily Rodgers, Karl Hendricks, Times New Viking, etc… Every show up until Luna had been in the Theatre. Great decision to move the shows into the lobby space of the museum. That was always an under-utilized space in some ways. I know it got a lot of use at receptions, but making it functional for shows really adds to it’s utilization. And this show had more energy than any other show i’d ever been at at the Warhol Museum. I have always found shows in odd places (museums, schools, etc…) to be slightly awkward at times. I think it’s the big vacant feeling the building around the show emits after hours. But I really like seeing a show against the backdrop of the Warhol Museum which is definitely one of the highlights of Pittsburgh’s arts scene.  The venue is handicap accessible which is nice. I did think it would have been difficult for anyone with disabilities to get a good viewpoint. Perhaps off to the side. In any case, the space overall is a solid A. I’d give it an A+ but for the vacant feeling and the completely understandable inability to bring your drink to the bathrooms. I don’t think they can have that policy any other way but it is a nuisance having to coordinate your drinks and bathroom trips in that way. If you have a handy friend willing to hold your drink that’s fine but sometimes I go to shows solo.

Space Amenities. B-

The restrooms at the Warhol are clean and spacious and they are handicap accessible which is a solid plus. It’s not often that you have bathrooms solid enough to take a comfortable shit at a show if you needed to. But you totally can at the Warhol. And I assume they meet the needs for ladies though I obviously don’t know that for sure.

The Warhol sets up two mini bars for this show. I think in the past there has only been one that I recall, so that’s a plus. There may have been two at the last show I was at there but I can’t recall for sure. But there are two negatives for the Warhol last night. Not shockingly alcohol selection is limited. That’s always been the case but it’s never bothered me because they had a good beer selection. Wine is a solid choice and the selection was fine for show fair. The liquor selection was limited but that’s to be expected for a makeshift bar. But my issue is that I prefer to drink beer at shows and the selection was crap (Bud Lite, Miller, Stella, and some other crap corporate beer). In the past they’ve always had at least one good beer from a mid-sized brewery such as DogFish 60 minute IPA. So that’s a ding from my perspective. And the bar is cash only so that is just something that you have to prepare for and we stupidly didn’t (I swear they took cards last time). Fortunately the gift shop broke our $100 bill so hooyah to the good folks (and in general you aren’t going to find better hosts than the good people at the Andy Warhol Museum).  And one more ding actually. I don’t remember the Warhol ever doing this in the past, so maybe they had an incident. But wasting a plastic bottle by pouring the bottle of beer into a plastic cup. I’m not sure why this is necessary but a definite negative compared to past shows there.

Overall, an A+ for the restrooms but a C- for the bar. Add in no food (not that we’d expect it there) and we’ll call it a B-. And let’s face it, other than the issue with the beer selection and plastic cups, the rest of the issues here are simply museum limitations. So well done overall.

Space Extras. A+

The open gift shop is a nice bonus to the show. I don’t know if it was open on previous shows because it was previously located off to the side and I really didn’t bother checking. But it was great to be able to meander through the store before the set. And they didn’t limit your ability to take your drink in (so I was very, very careful!). And they made change for us! So an A+ here as far as extras.

Mitski – Happy / Your Best American Girl

Today is a big day in our neck of the woods with Jen’s son getting married. And what better way to bring in the day than to post some new music from Mitski’s new album Puberty 2. And getting married is sort of like puberty 2 right? In any case, congrats to Tyler and Jen! In your honor, Mitski…

Just the thought of new music from Mitski makes me happy. But wow, this is really good in a totally new way.

Mitski is the product of Mitski Miyawaki and friends (in this case largely Patrick Hyland). I loved her last album, Bury my Heart at Makeout Creek, and so far i’m loving the new content from Puberty 2. And yes her album titles seem to naturally flow from one to the next. Regardless we should be thankful for her incredible inspiring music.

And while we are at it, here is the official video for her other new single “Your Best American Girl”. Puberty 2 is due out on June 17th on Dead Oceans.

David Rovics – We Are Everywhere

Last night’s post about the radical political board game Bloc by Bloc got me to thinking I should post some thematically fitting music this morning. So why not something from political singer-songwriter David Rovics. I will do a more detailed post on David in the future. Enjoy the music.

Bloc by Bloc Board Game

Much like craft brewing, the craft board game industry has exploded in recent years. It used to be a little difficult to find a great game with a theme near and dear to your heart. Now, it’s hard not to find over-saturation in some areas. For example, if you want a zombie themed board game and decide to review every one, that could take a very long time.

But it’s not often that a board game themed on radical urban revolution hits the market. And that is this Kickstarter campaign for Bloc by Bloc. I’ll let the game description speak for itself:

The story is similar in cities near and far. At first, the protests against a corrupt economy and a violent police force start off small. The government cracks down to crush the movement but their brutality backfires. Thousands of furious people from all walks of life take to the streets in solidarity. The city is quickly engulfed in a vibrant popular rebellion bringing everyday life to a standstill…

Bloc by Bloc is a cooperative game from Out of Order Games where you are protesting in the streets and doing your best to overcome suppression by the police while liberating neighborhoods from state control. Obviously, this is a unique theme. I imagine the theme is a bit controversial in some circles, but it’s really unique. And really given how many games are about war or becoming an emperor, this is benign. I think it’d only trigger those responses due to it’s relevance to current affairs. If you watch this video review, they all comment on the uniqueness of the theme:

There are a ton of games of external struggles like Risk where countries fight other countries. This is of course about an internal struggle within a modern society. If this general idea of internal struggles interests you I recommend checking out this “Geeklist” on BoardGameGeek.com. If you are new to BoardGameGeek (aka BGG), I generally look for games with at least a 6.0 rating (and preferably rated by more than 100 people since early raters tend to be natural fans who sought out the game or even friends of the designers). So for Bloc by Bloc I would judge by the video reviews rather than the inflated 9.8 rating on BGG.

With that in mind, here is a super long video on the game. It’s really long but I suggest watching the intro and/or skipping ahead to the closing which starts at 35:32. And if the game appeals to you, make sure to check it out on Kickstarter before the campaign ends on May 17th.

Bloc by Bloc on BoardGameGeek.com.

Rainbow Reservoir – Coco Sleeps Around

I have a bit of an abiding love for Odd Box Records.  The latest and greatest from the London label is this single for “Coco Sleeps Around” from an upcoming 7″ featuring Rainbow Reservoir.

Super catchy stuff right? If you like that, definitely check out more of the rainbow reservoir. They have an EP up on their bandcamp page that you can listen to and/or download until your Odd Box 7″ arrives.

Let’s triple down on the reservoir of rainbows and some Americana.

Bughummer – Sweet Life

This post, and last Saturday’s post, are a sort of follow up to Lovitt Records putting up lots of archived material on bandcamp. On Saturday, we had the Swedish Dischord wannabes Division of Laura Lee. And just to show there is much more to check out, today we have Bughummer. Here is a quick synopsis from Lovitt Records:

Bughummer, a band from Savannah, Georgia, enjoyed a five-and-a-half year run from 1992 to 1998. Originally formed by guitarist Jon Proctor at the Savannah College of Art and Design as a quartet, the group underwent different line-up changes and settled with Proctor, guitarist Keeley Davis (Engine Down), and drummer Brian Lackey.

This is 90s math rock with intensity. Reminds me a bit of Drives Like Jehu in it’s more aggressive style. But it also has styles we are familiar with from Shipping News too. So if you like something that falls somewhere in between those two bands, you will do well with Bughummer. And if you like this plus the Division of Laura Lee post from Saturday, you may want to dig a little deeper into the Lovitt Records catalog. I know that I will.

And, for more on Bughummer, check out this pretty cool 1995 tour documentary.

RIP Eddie Watkins (Polvo)

Sad news this week. Original Polvo drummer Eddie Watkins passed away. Details are scarce, but a friend of mine posted this news with this great Polvo video to facebook today so I figured i’d share both on the blog. It’s heart breaking to see another great musician pass at such a young age. He was 47.

Eddie, Rest in Peace. Thanks for the amazing music. Condolences and best wishes to your family and friends that you leave behind.

If you want to learn more about Eddie, check out his blog. Apparently he’s a chef these days. Here is another article on his passing which has quotes from bandmates and such.