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Monday, September 22, 2008

Why Can't We Get Big Acts Like Tina Turner To Come to Pittsburgh

Over at the Pittsburgh Jazz Forum they're having an interesting discussion about something that I thought only bothered me: Why didn't the reunited Return to Forever make an appearance here? Return to Forever, if you're not aware of this and most people aren't since nobody plays their music on the radio anymore, is a 70s fusion superband composed of Stanley Clarke on bass, Al Dimeola on guitar, Lenny White on drums and the legendary Chick Corea on keyboards. I grumbled to myself about it but one local artist put his thoughts out there publicly. From one Kevin Amos:

Now...before you folks start going off on a tangent let's not get it twisted, ok? There is great music in Pittsburgh. Just not enough of it and the failure by some promoters and other folks to get some of these big tours. It's not just Jazz but across the board. It gives me a migraine trying to figure out folks here, but I do love my home.
I guess that's a problem with Pittsburgh. I've heard more than one person say that this city just doesn't offer enough in terms of culture and the arts. Lots of bands pass us by. If you were to compare the concerts here with, say, and it doesn't even have to be an American city, London UK you would see that they just offer quite a bit more.

I checked out a ticket site in the UK called Viagogo just to see what I was missing. This is a ticket site that tells you about the very exciting things happening in the UK that simply aren't happening in Pittsburgh, Pa. It's very depressing.

Turns out that I'm missing a lot more than just Return to Forever. I'm missing out on Al Green and Henry Rollins and Kings of Leon. I suppose its true that you can't quite compare Pittsburgh with London but does it make sense that none of those acts are touring here? Possibly ever. I can't remember the last time Chaka Khan made in appearance in Pittsburgh.

You can find Stevie Wonder tickets UK or Tina Turner tickets UK or Steve Coogan tour tickets. You can even find the Thievery Corporation coming to a UK venue near you. Has the Cinematic Orchestra or Jaga Jazzist or the Thievery Corporation ever set foot in Pennsylvania let alone Pittsburgh? I doubt it. I hope that changes. If the city is to ever recapture its vitality it has to.

Sun Ra vs. The Bitches Brew Miles Davis