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Old 12-07-2014, 05:55 AM
 
Location: Mid-Atlantic
12,526 posts, read 17,541,508 times
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Can we cite comedy concerts? I saw Steve Martin at Heinz Hall back in '77. This was just as he was really taking off, he was a riot. He came back a year later to sell out the Civic Arena and you could tell the fun was gone, just too big of a venue. Seemed like he was going through the motions when he did King Tut. That was the last year he did stand-up.
I saw him last summer with his blue grass band, not a fan of the music, but in between songs he did his act. Loved it.
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Old 12-07-2014, 09:21 AM
 
Location: Pittsburgh, PA
1,106 posts, read 1,163,444 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JimboPGH View Post

You're my new favorite poster.
Mine too! Jukesgrrl has won the internet, as far as I am concerned. What a list!
I would love to hear more about Bruce Springsteen getting kicked offstage by a janitor for playing too long.
The Syrian Mosque sounds like it was such a special place.
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Old 12-07-2014, 05:01 PM
 
Location: Tucson for awhile longer
8,869 posts, read 16,313,683 times
Reputation: 29240
Quote:
Originally Posted by charisb View Post
Mine too! Jukesgrrl has won the internet, as far as I am concerned. What a list!
I would love to hear more about Bruce Springsteen getting kicked offstage by a janitor for playing too long.
The Syrian Mosque sounds like it was such a special place.
The Syria Mosque was, indeed, a very special place. I'm sure many of you attended concerts but some of you younger folks might never have realized what an extraordinary house of music it was. It opened in 1916 and John Philip Sousa was one of the first to bring a band there. Classical music filled the hall for many years. People like Enrico Caruso; Arturo Toscanini; the famous pianists Paderewski, Rachmaninoff, and Horowitz; and even George Gershwin gave concerts there. The hall also hosted operas, ballets, and the early Pittsburgh Symphony.

The Big Band Era started at the Syria Mosque in the 1940s. Benny Goodman, Tommy Dorsey, Duke Ellington, and Louis Armstrong gave concerts. Pittsburghers heard such greats as Billy Strayhorn, Gene Krupa, Buddy Rich, Earl Hines, Ella Fitzgerald, and Peggy Lee.

Rock music broke out in the hall in 1955 when Bill Haley and His Comets played a couple of days after the Berlin Philharmonic graced the stage. The promoter must have made money because Chuck Berry, Buddy Holly, Allan Freed's Big Beat Tour, and Dick Clark's Cavalcade of Stars came along in short order. Bob Dylan made his debut in 1964.

My first concert there was the Allman Brothers Band. Other rock legends to have played there in the seventies included David Bowie, Pink Floyd, Fleetwood Mac (with the late, great Poco opening), the Band, Little Feat, T. Rex, Mott the Hoople, Frank Zappa, Todd Rundgren, Humble Pie, Alice Cooper, Kansas, the Cars, and INXS. The acoustics at the Mosque were great for the softer rock sounds of people like Simon and Garfunkel, Roy Orbison, Joni Mitchell, James Taylor, Jackson Browne, CSN in various incarnations, Bonnie Raitt, Jimmy Buffett, Edie Brickell, and Chris Isaak. And, no, I did not see all those shows but I saw many. In the waning days of the hall I can remember great shows from 10,000 Maniacs, the B-52s, the umpteenth return of Dylan, and a beautiful performance by Stevie Winwood in support of his album Higher Love.

As for Bruce Springsteen being kicked off the stage ... his shows in those days were incredibly long. Two hours, a break for a change of clothes, and another two hours was about par for the course. This one featured a blazing cover of the Animals' great hit We Gotta Get Out of this Place, a song Bruce discussed in detail at his SXSW lecture as a great influence on his life. Honestly, I think the "kicked off" part was a set-up. But there was an older lady who took care of the green room backstage. She was an iconic-looking Pittsburgh babushka grandma with a house dress and apron. During about the third encore, she came out on the stage and chased Bruce around waving a broom. He was yelling, "We don't wanna go home, people, but she's pullin' the plug on us!" It was a memorable ending to a great show.

Thanks for indulging my walk down memory lane. I haven't thought of some of that stuff for a long time. For those of you who are interested in rock music, right there in Pittsburgh you have one of the nation's great rock blogs. You might want to check out The Hip Quotient.
Hip Quotient |
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Old 12-08-2014, 06:00 AM
 
6,357 posts, read 5,052,111 times
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^^^^ Black Sabbath played there, April 9, 1986. Not w/ Ozzy Osbourne but Ray Gillen (NOT Ian Gillen - no relation). That was before they had achieved the full iconic status they enjoy nowadays.

My cousin had her wedding reception in the basement of the Syria Mosque - it was long ago, but I remember it was quite a nice facility.

And weren't there Sphinxes in front of it? What a shame.
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Old 12-08-2014, 07:12 AM
 
Location: Mid-Atlantic
12,526 posts, read 17,541,508 times
Reputation: 10634
Quote:
Originally Posted by szug-bot View Post
^^^^ Black Sabbath played there, April 9, 1986. Not w/ Ozzy Osbourne but Ray Gillen (NOT Ian Gillen - no relation). That was before they had achieved the full iconic status they enjoy nowadays.

My cousin had her wedding reception in the basement of the Syria Mosque - it was long ago, but I remember it was quite a nice facility.

And weren't there Sphinxes in front of it? What a shame.
They moved those to the Masonic Hall in Cheswick.












My family was full of Shriners, so growing up I always attended the Christmas parties they had for kids. It was a good time. What I remember most was the before and after photos of the crippled kids that were treated at the Shriner's Hospital.
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Old 12-08-2014, 12:07 PM
 
1,714 posts, read 2,358,437 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Copanut View Post










My family was full of Shriners, so growing up I always attended the Christmas parties they had for kids. It was a good time. What I remember most was the before and after photos of the crippled kids that were treated at the Shriner's Hospital.
Oh please tell me you drive around in a tiny little car
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Old 12-09-2014, 05:10 AM
 
Location: Center Township (Pittsburgh), PA
556 posts, read 1,227,925 times
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Being born in 85 I didn't get to see a lot of the bands talked about here and I've been to so many shows I can't possibly remember everything to even try to name something but here are ones that stand out as my favorite by venue.

Graffiti - Superdrag w/ Nada surf & the meices. 1996
Metropol - Weezer. 1997
Laga- Jimmies Chicken Shack.
Nicks Fat City - The Buzz Poets... a lot of times.
Civic arena - Smashing Pumpkins on the Mellon Collie tour or Bush on the Razorblade suitcase tour, can't decide which was better.
Starlite amphitheater - Any of the early X-Fests stand out as being awesome.
IC light amplitheater - My first concert was here... A free show with Weird Al 95-96ish?
Mr Smalls - Soulfly. 2006
Rex theater - Silent Civilian w/ Nonpoint. 2010
Stage AE - In Flames w/ Lamb of god. 2012
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Old 12-09-2014, 05:34 AM
 
Location: Mid-Atlantic
12,526 posts, read 17,541,508 times
Reputation: 10634
Quote:
Originally Posted by SammyKhalifa View Post
Oh please tell me you drive around in a tiny little car

Nah, I'm not fat enough.
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Old 12-09-2014, 05:34 AM
 
6,357 posts, read 5,052,111 times
Reputation: 3309
Quote:
Originally Posted by SK360 View Post
Being born in 85 I didn't get to see a lot of the bands talked about here and I've been to so many shows I can't possibly remember everything to even try to name something but here are ones that stand out as my favorite by venue.

Graffiti - Superdrag w/ Nada surf & the meices. 1996
Metropol - Weezer. 1997
Laga- Jimmies Chicken Shack.
Nicks Fat City - The Buzz Poets... a lot of times.
Civic arena - Smashing Pumpkins on the Mellon Collie tour or Bush on the Razorblade suitcase tour, can't decide which was better.
Starlite amphitheater - Any of the early X-Fests stand out as being awesome.
IC light amplitheater - My first concert was here... A free show with Weird Al 95-96ish?
Mr Smalls - Soulfly. 2006
Rex theater - Silent Civilian w/ Nonpoint. 2010
Stage AE - In Flames w/ Lamb of god. 2012
Everything zen, indeed! Strong record there, youngster!

Nada Surf - bet you thought they were "popular" ( ) for 15 minutes.

I actually have an In Flames album, and like it (the one w/ "Disconnected")
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Old 12-09-2014, 05:57 AM
 
Location: Center Township (Pittsburgh), PA
556 posts, read 1,227,925 times
Reputation: 362
Quote:
Originally Posted by szug-bot View Post
Everything zen, indeed! Strong record there, youngster!

Nada Surf - bet you thought they were "popular" ( ) for 15 minutes.

I actually have an In Flames album, and like it (the one w/ "Disconnected")
I'm paying for it these days, my wife yells at me to turn down the TV all the time.

Ha ha... Yeah they went away pretty quick but at least I got to see a show at Graffiti before they closed.

I've seen In Flames too many times to count... My favorite was in Toronto at the Sound Academy, never been to a venue like that in the states, there were TVs in the bathroom and at the back bar so that you could continue watching the show.
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