illusionofjoy | Don't dream it's over (Reply)

The sheer hyperbole foisted onto the public by the local news outlets in Pittsburgh is mind-boggling. That is, of course, when it isn't mind-numbing. Last night we were supposed to see some form of Winter storm Armageddon - or so the local talking heads would have you believe. People were all in a frenzy and schools closed and parents were forced to leave work early to take care of their prematurely freed munchkins. On the chance that the storm of the century really was taking over Western Pennsylvania, I stayed at joi_division's place last night, rather than having her drive me home after my usual afternoon visit.

The next morning, I looked outside to see only about an inch of snow on the ground. While it had snowed all day yesterday, very few flakes started sticking to asphalt until late. I inwardly rolled my eyes over the ridiculous reaction what was most certainly not a notable snowstorm. The fact of the matter is that, having grown up in Northern New York, I scoff at how people around here react to what I consider to be a minor snowfall. This evening, however, seems to be a different story; I had plenty of reasons to slow down as Joi and I went to the grocery store.

Over the weekend, Joi and I, along with her brother and his wife attended the Finn Brothers performance at Mr. Smalls in Millvale. Sadly, my knowledge of the Finns is pretty much limited to the hits they had with Crowded House and Split Enz, so I can not provide a set list. Joi, being a longtime fan does much better when it comes to naming the songs which were played. I can say, however, that both Tim and Neil are consummate songwriters as well as showmen.

The show began with fellow New Zealander Bic Runga opening. I've always found Bic's songs very pretty, though not particularly memorable. This isn't to say that she's a bad songwriter, but her recorded material tends to blend in with the scenery. It would be to her benefit to record as she performed Sunday night: just her voice along with a guitar. In the spotlight, she looked like the Björk of the Southern Hemisphere while sounding like a more mature incarnation of Jewel (prior to the transformation into a pop parody).

After Bic Runga's seven-song set (including her sole stateside hit "Sway"), the Finn Brothers took the stage along with bassist Tim Smith, a chap who has had the misfortune of playing in Sheryl Crow's backing band. Smith didn't actually emerge until a quarter of the way through the show, when Tim Finn sat down with his guitar behind a kick drum and a snare set up to be played as if it were a kick. Indeed throughout the show, he performed percussion, vocal and six-string duties simultaneously. During the encore, Bic Runga came on stage to take over percussion for a few songs. Neil Finn, not to be outdone by the triple threat his brother was musically, took to the keyboard for several songs during the middle of the set.

The show itself was great - the Finns have a wonderful synergy with their audience and manage onstage banter that is actually as entertaining as the songs themselves, rather than merely being annoying or masturbatory. It is always the audience, however, who brings out the concert curmudgeon in me and who forms my love/hate relationship with live shows.

I like live music, but I hate going to shows, only because other so-called music "fans" tend to be little more than mindless drones when it comes to their worship of the artist. I am not a tall guy. At five feet and nine inches, more often than not anyone who stands in front of me will block my view. If I am at a show, I want to see the performer, else I may as well buy a "live" album and listen at home. It would have the same effect for me as standing behind some thoughtless colossus. Furthermore, if I have somehow jockeyed myself into a position on the floor where I can see the band, I do not expect some over height jerk to sashay back and forth into my field of vision whenever I try to compensate for the fact that my line of vision has been compromised. Yeah - long, dark-haired mutton-chopped hipster fuckhead - I'm talking to YOU!

Due the set up in Mr. Smalls, I did manage to elevate myself above the crowd due to the pews that line the walls of the venue. Unfortunately, several other people followed suit after I came up this idea. One of them was a girl who, standing to my right, decided that not only did she want to see the band, but dance to the music as well. On a shaky pew, one should only watch and make subtle movements, if any at all. Dancing is for the floor, when you can sashay around and block the view of those who are shorter than you are. Another girl decided that she would squeeze in next to me on the left, where there was barely any room. She may have thought, "aww, since I'm skinny and cute [yeah, right], I can get away with it." As it was, the Concert Curmudgeon wished an act of violence upon the girls now book ending him in the form of a cranial collision.

Finally, the Concert Curmudgeon wishes to address the topic of substance use at live performances. Thankfully, the Finn Brothers declared their show a smoke-free zone, sparing us all from secondhand smoke poisoning and the burns that usually result from a large crowd and their lit cigarettes. Alcohol was being served however, and I just want to say this: if you want to drink at a show, fine. I have no problem with that. I do take issue, however, with those assholes who grab a spot at the front of a venue and then, get themselves a new drink every ten minutes. They will work their way through the crowd to the bar, get themselves a beer and then work their way back to where they were beforehand, drink in hand. They are disruptive and as they become progressively intoxicated, a potential for messy circumstances. If you came to a concert just to get drunk, stay at the fucking bar and leave the rest of the floor to the real music fans!

Today was when the Port Authory was to raise fares and cut service in attempt to compensate for their budget deficit. It didn't happen, because as of yesterday afternoon, acting as a deus ex machina, Governer Ed Rendell shifted highway funds to public transportation to make up for the fiscal shortfall. While I was relieved that no bus routes would be disappearing and that my monthly pass would only cost $60 again next month, I was angry with the state government for toying with my life so capriciously. I was particularly incensed with rural legislatures, who have no iota what bus service means to city-dwellers. As I said to Joi this morning, "I hope that something comes up in the legislature that is really important to those stupid hicks, so we can fuck them over next time!" Still though, I was sore with every Republican in the senate, who, as the Post-Gazette put it so elequently this morning, "forced [the governer's] hand on mass transit funding". Here was yet another reason that the Republicans would never be the "party of the 'little folk.'"

Still, it's good that there won't be any service cuts or fare hikes, much to the relief of many passengers. I do have to wonder, however, just how much money was wasted by the Port Authority when they printed up new route schedules? Or when they printed up the new price sheets that were posted on every trolley and at every station? When I passed by the schedule kiosk in Steel Plaza this afternoon, I found it devoid of schedules, with only a note affixed to it's surface - "Fare increases and service cuts delayed." It appeared that all of the new schedules had been put out, the old ones disposed of, but now the Authority was being forced to go back to the old ones.

How wasteful. Even more of a waste is the manpower and postage which will be used in order to provide people with refunds for passes purchased when it was believed that there would be no funding. These refunds need to go out - nobody should be overcharged for the foibles of Harrisburg. It's still another unnecessary headache though.

Despite all of that, with the budget crises out of the way (until at least 2007), the Port Authority is now free to press forward with expansion projects, such as the North Shore Connector. While some may find the prospect of expansion foolhardy, given the fiscal issues that have been plaguing the Authority for the past two years, my gut reaction is that making a mass transit system larger and more inclusive is pretty much always a good thing. Despite Senator Jim Ferlo's assertion that "people should walk across the bridges to the stadiums," I want to see the North Shore Connector built. I'd love to be able to take a trolley to the Warhol and, let's face it - getting fat and lazy sports fans closer to the stadiums via methods other than their cars will reduce traffic congestion that much more.

In addition to the North Shore Connector, Pittsburgh mayoral hopeful Bob O'Connor favours running trolleys through the Hill District into Oakland. Now, this is a much better idea than extending the Mon-Fayette expressway (which O'Connor opposes, by the way). My only qualm with O'Connor's vision is that he wishes to use a different type of car to run on this new line. I believe that it would be more cost-effective in the long run to use the same type of light-rail cars in a new line as are currently used. The fact that the majority of the tracks would be embedded in the streets is a non-issue, as the trolley lines through Beechview and Allentown prove. Also, the new line to Oakland could be built by extending the track that now terminates at Penn Station, having the additional effect of making that little-used trolley station more useful.

Of course, this could all take years to happen...if it even happens at all. You never know in Pennsylvania.