Liars cancel Pittsburgh show at Diesel

Tonight was to have been the Liars’ first performance in Pittsburgh in several years. But it’s been canceled.

I am both disappointed and angry. First, the disappointed part. I saw the Liars at Club Laga when they played with the Yeah Yeah Yeahs ages ago. I wasn’t a huge fan at the time, although I remember being captivated by singer Angus Andrew’s stage presence.

In 2004, they released They Were Wrong, So We Drowned, a bizarre, experimental record that was the most universally panned release in recent music history. Rolling Stone gave it ½ star. Spin gave it an F. But I loved it - it was so bizarre and disturbing that I couldn’t stop listening.

I was excited later that year when the band set up a local show, but I never went. Either it was canceled, or I had another commitment – I can’t remember which. But the Liars have not been back since. That’s why I was psyched to see them tonight at Diesel.

Now, for the angry part. What I need to find out is why the show was cancelled. Was it due to poor ticket sales? Or had the band simply decided they didn’t want to play a club show in Pittsburgh for a couple hundred people while they’re in the middle of opening for Radiohead on a massive pavilion tour?

If it was the latter, I’m still disappointed, but I can understand. If it was the former, I’m going to flip out. See, here’s the thing: All small music venues in Pittsburgh sell tickets through local record stores like Dave’s Music Mine, Eide’s, Paul’s, etc. All venues, that is, except Diesel. Diesel makes its tickets available through Ticketmaster. Which means that fans are forced to pay the ridiculous service charges associated with that company.

I refuse to pay an $8 service charge on a $13 ticket. A 62% markup is where I draw the line.

I was going to wait and pay $15 at the door. I have a feeling there were a bunch of other people like me, who were planning on attending the Liars show but hadn’t purchased tickets yet because we were trying to avoid Ticketmaster.

If in fact Diesel sells tickets elsewhere, it needs to do a better job of publicizing this information.