Boom Chick w/ Wreckids & Nik Westman and The Central Plains
Friday, August 13, 2010 9:00 PM
THUNDERBIRD CAFE
4023 Butler St, Pittsburgh PA 15201

www.boomchickboomchick.com

Boom Chick was born when songwriter Frank Hoier invited girlfriend Moselle Spiller to sit at a drum kit. Despite it being her first time, a simple suggestion of 1 2 3 4 on the hit hat, with a boom chick boom chick, and Moselle was naturally drumming.

Through countless sweaty Brooklyn loft dance parties, constant rehearsal and performing, & in less than a year Boom Chick has captured it’s living breathing sounds in a 2 inch tape. Recorded mostly live with minimal overdubs, “Show Pony” has all the energy, love and bones you can pack into 20 minutes.

Boom Chick’s sound and influences come from their shared love of that ‘atomic’ energy of 50′s Rock n’ Roll, electrified slide Delta & Chicago Blues, and Surf Rock guitar. You will definitely hear traces of Chess & Sun Records, and the early 60′s girl groups.

The energy that Moselle brings to the drums is thunderous, charging and forcibly danceable. You’ll find no broken hearted ‘indie rock’ here. Just the sharing of celebration and joy as early Rock n’ Roll expressed.

Experience Boom Chick Friday, August 13 with the Wreckids and local favorites Nik Westman and The Central Plains.

THE “DEEP SKY URBAN STAR PARTY” WILL BRING TELESCOPES, GOOGLE’S STAR

MAP ENGINEERS AND CHAMBER MUSIC INTO LAWRENCEVILLE’S EMPTY LESLIE PARK POOL.

Date/Time: Sunday July 25, 2010 (No rain date) 8-11 pm

Location: Leslie Park Pool, 4700 Butler Street, Lawrenceville

Fee: FREE

On Sunday July 25th, from 8-11pm, the decommissioned community swimming pool at 4700 Butler St. in Lawrenceville will again thrum with activity—and not a drop of water.

The site will host Deep Sky Urban Star Party, a free, hands-on astronomy extravaganza for all ages organized by the Leslie Park Pool Collective. The one-night event is being sponsored by Google’s Pittsburgh office.

The Amateur Astronomers Association of Pittsburgh will help guests of all ages gaze heavenward through one of their magnificent professional grade telescopes. Participating astronomers expect viewing conditions to be excellent for seeing Saturn, Mars, Venus and perhaps Mercury, star clusters and nebula.

Deep Sky kicks off at dusk with a string chamber concert of ethereal works by Lawrenceville resident Jonathan Cordle (of popular group “Mother Sun”) and friends.

Last night Joseph Arthur played an intimate set at LiquidSundays.com. Joseph Arthur has been one of my favorite artists for nearly ten years. It was the fourth time I’ve seen him live in concert and by far one of my favorite shows to date. Joseph incorporates live looping into his sets where he creates layers and layers of interesting vocal and instrument samples. This creates an amazing and unique concert experience. He also created a large painting while performing on stage. He typically only incorporates art into his shows at venues where he already has a close relationship. So this was an unexpected but appreciated addition to the show. He finished the concert by performing an impromptu acoustic encore while sitting on the merch table surrounded by family and fans.

All photos © geekstar.com:

Each year, the Mattress Factory’s Urban Garden Party becomes the talk of the town as more than 1,000 attendees turn out to help support the museum’s mission with one heck of a fundraising party!

SUMMER IN THE CITY: THE 2010 URBAN GARDEN PARTY
Friday, June 18, 2010
7:00 PM (VIP Pre-Party at 6:00 PM)
The Mattress Factory is located at 500 Sampsonia Way in Pittsburgh’s North Side

Geekstar.com is part of the Urban Garden Party Street team. Please help me reach my ticket sale quota by ordering from the link posted below. Support the arts in Pittsburgh! Thanks so much!

TICKETS: BUY TICKETS HERE

http://urbangardenparty-geekstar.eventbrite.com

As the Mattress Factory’s primary annual fund raising event, the Garden Party is vital to the organization’s programming and has helped the museum push the artistic envelope for more than three decades.

London based DJ collective Eclectic Method will be headlining from 9 PM till 11 PM. You have to love these guys because they made a video collage of robots set to their music! I love robots!

Eclectic Method – Robots from Eclectic Method on Vimeo.

The night will also include DJ Omar Abdul, Artist Tim Kaulen & Sean Derry. There will be skateboards from Mr. Smalls Funhouse just like it’s 1988 all over again!

For one night only, many of Pittsburgh’s best restaurants and bars will come together to offer an amazing selection of delectable edibles and liberating libations. Their donations in support of the Mattress Factory are included in the cost of your ticket to the Urban Garden Party.

Food and beverages for the Urban Garden Party generously donated by:

TICKETS: BUY TICKETS HERE

http://urbangardenparty-geekstar.eventbrite.com

This is one event you don’t want to miss. First, one of my all-time favorite musicians Joseph Arthur is performing at a small intimate venue. If you aren’t familiar with his music, please check out his website and youtube videos posted below. Joseph has been a long time favorite by critics for over a decade. He typically plays larger venues and tours quite a bit in Europe where he has a large fan base. He is joining us Sunday, June 6 to play at a J. Verno Studios, a large loft in the South Side.

Also playing are two fantastic Pittsburgh bands, the Harlan Twins and the Long Time Darlings. The Harlan Twins are one of Geekstar’s favorite local bands. They perform soulful rock that has a throwback to the 70′s. The Long Time Darlings also have a classic rock influence and their singer, Brett Staggs, has amazing raw gritty vocals. Geekstar photographed a Harlan Twins show this past November.

In addition to an amazing band lineup, various local artists will be displaying their art including photography, paintings, furniture, masks, and more.

For $15 you’ll enjoy live music, art, and unlimited Yuengling. You’ll spend nearly this amount on a regular night out.

BUY YOUR TICKET ONLINE! YOU DON’T WANT TO MISS THIS EVENT.

RSVP AT THE FACEBOOK EVENT so we can help build more of a buzz so Pittsburgh continues to host cultural events such as this. Thanks!

What: Liquid Sundays
When: Sunday, June 6; 6-10 PM
Where: J. Verno Studios (South Side), 3030 Jane Street, Pittsburgh PA 15203
Price: $15 (21+); $3 discount by brining a T-shirt to donate to www.1MillionShirts.org
Tickets: Purchase online at Showclix http://www.showclix.com/event/10296

Bands:
Joseph Arthur
Harlan Twins
Long Time Darlings

Artists:
Mosaics by Stevo Sadvary
Graphic Art by Alanna James
Woodworking by Christopher James
Photography by Nick Coppula
Puppetry & Masks by Dave English
Live Graffiti by Shane Pilster & Lindsey Bieda
Laser Cutting by Epilog Laser

Yuengling & Yuengling Light provided free of charge by Frank B. Fuhrer Wholesale.

Wines by Sylvester Winery.

Facebook Event: View the Facebook event here

Harlan Twins © 2009 Geekstar.com

WE HAVE 15 SECONDS TO TELL YOU HOW SMART, HOW SEXY, AND HOW AWESOME ONE…MAN…..IS. MACGRUBER!  CRITICS SAY IT’S WILDLY ENTERTAINING, IRREVERENT AND VERY, VERY FUNNY!  IT’S THE BEST SNL MOVIE SINCE WAYNE‘S WORLD AND THE BEST ACTION COMEDY SINCE BEVERLY HILLS COP!  ON MAY 21ST, PREPARE TO BE BLOWN AWAY.  IF YOU DON’T GO SEE MACGRUBER’S NEW MOVIE, HE’LL HUNT YOU DOWN AND MAKE YOU COME HIMSELF! MACGRUBER!  RATED R

MACGRUBER opens nationwide May 21.

Geekstar has advance screening passes for Thursday, May 20 at 9:30 PM at the South Side Works theatre. Hit me up at sarah at geekstar.com if interested in passes!

I’m looking forward to seeing Val Kilmer playing Dieter Von Cunth…a bad guy with a pony tail.

Only one American hero has earned the rank of Green Beret, Navy SEAL and Army Ranger. Just one operative has been awarded 16 purple hearts, 3 Congressional Medals of Honor and 7 presidential medals of bravery. And only one guy is man enough to still sport a mullet.

In 2010, Will Forte brings Saturday Night Live’s clueless soldier of fortune to the big screen in the action comedy MacGruber.

In the 10 years since his fiancée was killed, special op MacGruber has sworn off a life of fighting crime with his bare hands. But when he learns that his country needs him to find a nuclear warhead that’s been stolen by his sworn enemy, Dieter Von Cunth (Val Kilmer), MacGruber figures he’s the only one tough enough for the job. Assembling an elite team of experts—Lt. Dixon Piper (Ryan Phillippe) and Vicki St. Elmo (Kristen Wiig)—MacGruber will navigate an army of assassins to hunt down Cunth and bring him to justice. His methods may be unorthodox. His crime scenes may get messy. But if you want the world saved right, you call in MacGruber.

Today is tax day but I wanted April 15th to be more fun and exciting. So, I chose April 15th as the day Geekstar.com randomly selects one lucky reader as the winner of 2 Carnegie Museum passes. A recent post instructed readers to leave a comment stating their favorite thing to do in Pittsburgh. I used a random number generator courtesy of  www.MathGoodies.com to select a comment on that post at random.

And the winner is…

Congrats Sarah2 who says:

“My favorite thing to do in Pittsburgh is visiting the Warhol. No matter what the exhibit is you will always see something new. The starch yet cozy atmosphere is my time warp back to a time when things were blooming and popping.”

Geekstar.com would like to thank Pittsburgh Budget Cars who sells used cars in Pittsburgh!

]]> http://geekstar.com/2010/04/15/winner-of-2-carnegie-museum-passes-announced/feed/ 0 http://geekstar.com/2010/04/07/photo-recap-midlake-at-diesel-4510/ http://geekstar.com/2010/04/07/photo-recap-midlake-at-diesel-4510/#comments Thu, 08 Apr 2010 03:27:13 +0000 geekstar http://geekstar.com/?p=863

Midlake was amazing! I thoroughly enjoyed seeing this band play live. There were four guitarists on stage at all time which created a layered ethereal sound. I was very impressed by the talent among all the band members. Pretty much every musician played multiple instruments from flutes, to recorders, to keyboards, to percussion. There were always a minimum of two musicians singing at one time to create the harmony that is Midlake’s unique throwback sound. Anyways, check out the video below to get a taste of the concert. I only had my little point and shoot camera but here are a few photos from Monday’s show. I definitely recommend seeing Midlake if you have the opportunity. I was actually very surprised that show wasn’t more packed. I’m not sure if it was due to a lack of advertising or lack of radio airplay on local indie stations. I thought it was a shame more people didn’t come out to the concert. They were that good.

One of my favorite things to do in Pittsburgh is to visit one of our many art or historical museums. This month, Geekstar.com is giving away 2 passes to one lucky reader.

How do you win?

Leave a comment below listing one of your favorite events, places, bands, restaurants, or activities you enjoy in Pittsburgh. Why is your choice so stand-out? Leave up to one comment a day through April 15th to increase your chances of winning.

How does geekstar choose a winner?

All of geekstar.com’s readers are so unique and interesting that the best way to choose a comment is by using a handy dandy random number generator! A comment at random will be chosen. Increase your odds by leaving one comment per day. Make sure you leave your email address so I can contact you if you win! (It is not posted on the site.)

Where’d you get those passes?

The Carnegie Museum passes are generously provided by Pittsburgh Budget Cars. Pittsburgh Budget Cars specializes in selling used cars in Pittsburgh to buyers with budgets of $10,000 or less. Thanks Pittsburgh Budget Cars!

What was one Geekstar.com’s favorite Pittsburgh events? I loved the Chris Cornell concert at Starlake Amphitheater (I still call it Starlake) in July 2008. I love Chris Cornell and I love Soundgarden (so excited about the reunion). However, what we all loved most about the concert was FLAG MAN!

Relive this monumental event here…

Jude Law and Forrest Whitaker star in the futuristic Sci-Fi thriller, “Repo Men”. A large corporation called, The Union, sells mechanical body organs to needy patients at a HUGE mark-up. Once a patient defaults on payment, well the Repo Men come to collect…the organ. This film appears to be gritty, gory, and possibly mixed with a little black comedy. The film opens in theaters this April. However, Geekstar has free passes for a premiere on Tuesday, March 19 at the Pittsburgh Mills. Email sarah {at} geekstar.com if interested.

View the trailer here: http://www.repomenarecoming.com/

]]> http://geekstar.com/2010/02/26/repo-men/feed/ 0