May Pittsburgh concerts

MUST-SEE SHOW:
5/28 Of Montreal @ Ches-A-Rena
Although 2010 is going to be a great summer for concerts in Pittsburgh, the month of May isn't looking so hot. The best show to check out is Of Montreal, who've finally come back to Pittsburgh now that they're not as hot as they were a few years ago. Still, their last two albums Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer? and Skeletal Lamping have plenty of exciting moments and the band is known for its live show.

ALSO WORTH ATTENDING:
5/23 Insane Clown Posse, Kittie & Coolio @ Amphitheatre at Station Square
It's a slow month so why not give some love to ICP? I once saw ICP at a tiny bar in New Castle PA and will never forget the spectacle. It was one of the most intense shows I've seen start to finish (probably second, behind Slipknot). There were no "Let's slow it down for a minute" moments. Just lots of hard rock, with Faygo and glitter flying. But if I was attending this show, I'd be most excited to see Coolio, Mr. Gangsta's Paradise himself.

Others to keep in mind:
5/2 Against Me! @ Diesel
5/2 Martin Bisi @ Brillobox
5/2 Bill Maher @ Carnegie Music Hall of Homestead
5/3 Cymbals Eat Guitars @ Brillobox
5/4 AP Tour with Hey Monday and Never Say Never @ Altar Bar
5/5 Sugar and Gold @ Thunderbird Cafe
5/6 Set Your Goals @ Mr. Small's
5/8 Grant Lee Phillips @ Club Cafe
5/13 Cute is What We Aim For @ Diesel
5/14 Sugarland @ First Niagara Pavilion
5/17 Swell Season @ Byham Theater
5/19 Peter Wolf @ Mr. Small's
5/21 Red Jumpsuit Apparatus @ Mr. Small's
5/22 Eric Himan @ Club Cafe
5/22 David Allan Coe @ Altar Bar
5/23 Jefferson Starship @ Benedum Center
5/28 Busta Rhymes & Lil Kim @ Amphitheatre at Station Square
5/29 Country Throwdown with Montgomery Gentry & Jamey Johnson @ First Niagara Pavilion
5/31 Brokencyde & Jeffree Star @ Diesel

July 18: Thumbs up/ Thumbs down

This is the debut of a new feature which I'm going to call Thumbs Up/Thumbs Down, until I think of something more creative.


THUMBS UP:
Pink. Her single "U + Ur Hand" has incredibly made it to #2 on the pop airplay chart. This song was released last fall, and seemed to die a quiet death. Pop radio has a way of discarding artists after it decides they're no longer relevant, and it seemed radio had done that to Pink. I remember driving in Johnstown on New Year's Day and hearing the song on the radio for the first time, months after its release, and getting excited. Slowly, slowly, slowly, it kept building, and now almost a year later it has rightfully earned smash hit status. It is one of several great songs right now (like Kelly Clarkson's Never Again) about women telling off lame ex-boyfriends.

Shop Boyz. I have this thing where, if a song becomes a hit on the charts before I've ever heard it, I kind of resent it, and I resist liking it. That happened for a while with Shop Boyz' "Party Like a Rockstar," but I finally gave in. I love when rappers try to be rockers. What clinches this song's status as a guilty pleasure is the silly "Totally, dude!" after each chorus.

The White Stripes. They closed their Canadian tour with the shortest concert in history - one note. Gimmicks are great.

THUMBS DOWN:
Of Montreal. They announce more tour dates. And skip Pittsburgh again. I don't care how beautifully quirky their music is or how great their gender-bending, theatrical stage show is supposed to be - I won't be able to get into this band if they refuse to perform anywhere within a 4-hour drive of my house.

Neko Case. She's on a solo tour right now and thus didn't play with the New Pornographers at the Pitchfork Music Festival. Thank goodness I didn't go! I seriously considered buying a ticket and traveling to Chicago for the final day of the festival, just to see the New Porns. If I had done that, only to have Neko not be there, I would have been furious!

Paris Hilton. Word is she's decided to make a second record, which makes sense since the first one was such an immense success. Somewhere, Kevin Federline is crying.