Snowed In: Pittsburgh Edition

Abandoned Store - Swissvale, PA

Yesterday as I was preparing to leave Squirrel Hill, my host mentioned that her next guest wasn't going to show up this weekend due to a Megabus cancellation. This cancellation of course affected me, too.

So...

I'm stuck in Pittsburgh for the weekend (which is actually awesome).

Manar (my host earlier this week) offered to host me for the weekend as well, but I was already planning to spend the night at the space where my show was last night. There's a large apartment on the second floor above the space, which was at some point a dance studio. I don't know how long the people who rent the space have been living here, but as with the apartment in Squirrel Hill, it's pretty big (and probably even cheaper).

The suburbs right past the east end of Pittsburgh aren't too pretty, but the housing in Swissvale is nice enough, and I was able to find my way here easily. I'll probably stay here until I reschedule my ticket home, and the folks that run the venue (Abandoned Store) have proven so far to be really generous -both as show organizers, and hosts. There was a large turnout, and they actually sent me door money before the show. I was kind of floored by this, and everything else so far.

I can't say I played my best set, but this is one of those situations where every other thing about it was so neat that it came out ok. The first few bands to play were folk projects, two of which had accordion, brass, and bowed saw. The trombone player from the set before me lost his mouthpiece, and I let him borrow mine.

After my set, the show moved to the basement for a couple of noise sets. Fewer people stuck around for that, but I really liked what I heard. The improvisors here are really sweet, and are happy to play for however many people they can. This whole experience is an indication that this area needs to be visited more often, and I encourage everyone to do that. Like my early experiences in VT, I feel like I could do really well here. Whatever happens, Pittsburgh will always be a place with positive memories.

Snowy Morning in Swissvale