Day 31: Pittsburgh, PA
Nau mai,
Yesterday we played in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
It was a cold, dark day in McKees Rocks, the borough a few miles northwest of the Pittsburgh city centre. We found ourselves in what felt like a small township on the west bank of the Ohio River, home to an Aldi, a smoke shop, quite a busy post office, a fairly magnificent church, a Teamsters union hall, and of course the Roxian Theatre.
There was neither coffee shop nor deli within walking distance, so caffeine was had after a negotiation with Phillip, the bus coffee machine. He needs fresh water every day and you have to be patient while he wakes up and cleans himself. The bus microwave was also employed to reheat my breakfast, several slices of Hawaiian Pizza from the Ohio Pie Co. leftover from our dinner in Cleveland. I’m not sure exactly what the identifying characteristics of an Ohio Pie are but I’m sure that there are some pizza experts who could tell me. As far as I can tell they cut it square and there is less crust. Possibly it’s a bit deeper than New York but less deep than Chicago style.
The Roxian opened in 1929 as a 1500 seat vaudeville playhouse. Over the years it served many roles, as these places do, and it was in 2019 that it finally received a long-awaited refurbishment. Now it is a fully modernised music space, a wide room that is fitted out for standing patrons downstairs and sitters on the balcony. This was the closest we have ever been to Gabe and Erin in a theatre. Their stations were spitting distance from the edge of the stage, and for the first time could trade expressions throughout the show.
The backstage facilities were comfortable, although had a little bit of a model home vibe. None of the appliances worked and the cupboards were all empty save for plastic lids. This is a photo of the room I kept going into each time I consistently made a wrong turn while trying to find the green room.
It was freezing cold by showtime. The poor security guard had to camp outside the backdoor for the whole evening wrapped in a blanket with a blazing heater a couple of feet away to remove the chill.
Pittsburgh was a fun show and the Roxian was a neat room to play in. My highlight of the night was the guttural heckle from a man who bellowed from the depths of his abdomen – “BASS”. Turns out he loves the bass. And that is why we do this, for people like him, who share our love of music.