In the 3+ years that I’ve lived in Pittsburgh, I’ve never gone to a “Skyblast” night at PNC Park. Skyblast is basically where the Pirates have crazy fireworks and some musical act play post-Pirates loss (or win…). Call me weird, but I’m just not into fireworks…and DEFINITELY not into them as much as your average Pittsburgher. Regardless, it was pretty cool.

The fireworks were 10 times better than the crappy 4th of July show, with fireworks going off on the Clemente Bridge, Highmark building, the outfield, etc. It was definitely a more impressive display than your simple barge-in-the-water thing last month.

For the musical guest, the Pirates brought in O.A.R., which was actually a nice change from the typical, washed-up-but-still-adored-in-Pittsburgh bands like Styx that are practically Gods here. Like Dimar said, “I know you think those bands suck, but there are a lot of people in Pittsburgh that think those bands are awesome”. Sorry, Styx…I forgot that Renegade will keep you paid for eternity thanks to Steeler fans inherited acceptance of it being thought of as an “awesome” song.

Anyway, I’m not an O.A.R. fan, but it was cool to at least see a band that was still somewhat relevant playing at PNC Park. I was actually impressed with them for the most part. Here’s a band that has 2 decently popular radio hits, both which are major departures from their normal sound, and they opted to save those songs for the end. Instead they played their reggae-inspired jam stuff for most of their hour-and-fifteen-minute set. Of course, they sort of HAD to jam a lot…

Why?

Well, because the lead singer lost his voice about 3 lines into the first song…maybe less. When the band first started, the sound was awful, but unlike John Legend’s sound guy, O.A.R. fixed the sound before the end of the first verse. Too bad he couldn’t restore the lead singer’s vocal cords. Picture Dicky Barrett from the Bosstones singing Crazy Game of Poker, and you’ve got what we heard. I was highly impressed with the band’s ability to jam in an attempt to carry the show without vocals. At one point, the keyboard player decided to give the words a shot, and he did a good enough job to get the crowd back into it, but it was still a tough scene to witness.

Regardless, the show was solid, and I’d rather see that 10 times over than the Zac Brown band. They’re a good group of musicians – nothing spectacular – but talented enough to hold my interest with their simple jams. The fact that they carried on says a lot about their fortitude, and the courage of Marc – the lead singer – to come back and sing anyway to finish the night was impressive. There aren’t a lot of bands that could continue on without a singer. I mean…what the hell would Pearl Jam do if Vedder lost his voice? Have Stone sing? Not a promising thought in the least. So, even with the human malfunction, I will say that O.A.R. put on a good show. All poppy, chart-climbing songs aside, they’re not bad and actually sound really good live. I sort of hope they get a chance to come back and redeem themselves soon…unlike the Pirates…who AGAIN were completely outplayed, outclassed, and shown what real baseball is in a 5-2 beat-down courtesy of the Cardinals.

I finally got to sit in the Lexus Club seats at PNC Park last night thanks to Meadows’ auction victory a few months back. We’ve been discussing getting tickets in that section for a long time, but considering how poor the Pirates have been for the most part, and the fact that tickets in the Lexus Club are $160-210/ticket (for individual game prices), it just never made sense.

Regardless, the Lexus Club experience was fun. The indoor club section is really nice, with a delicious complimentary buffet, comfortable furniture, a nice bar, etc…you know…all the things you would expect for a ticket going for nearly $200 at PNC Park. While the food was pretty good, it wasn’t anything that I’m going to be craving in the future, and I didn’t eat nearly enough at the buffet to justify the cost.

Above: Pork tenderloin on top of sausage gumbo, with caesar salad, red & yellow tomato caprese salad, and a scalloped potato casserole…

After crushing a few plates of grub, we walked down the long hallway, past the low-lit jerseys hanging on the walls, through the glass door and took our seats. I feel like I’ve sat in nearly every section of PNC Park for a game, except for right behind home plate. While the proximity to the action was definitely pretty cool, I don’t think it’s worth the money. Especially when there are seats right next to the Lexus Club – same distance from the field – for $35/ticket. Plus, those seats don’t have a net in their way. Of course, I tried to make up some more of the ticket price by eating and drinking complimentary ballpark favorites – hot dogs, water, soda, pretzels, etc. delivered to your seat – but I still didn’t do the damage I would’ve liked. At least the free hot dogs are all beef and delicious, which is a drastic departure from the $1 dog night version that Meadows and I housed during our hot dog eating contest.

In the end, we decided that it’s a better deal to go to Atria’s for dinner and get tickets in nearly any other lower section. You would still be full of comparable food, and since there really isn’t a bad seat in PNC Park, you won’t really care that you’re not right behind home plate…and it would be more affordable.

Of course, that doesn’t mean we didn’t have a great time in our first experience. Meadows and I snapped a ton of photos, the weather was great, and the Pirates – in all of their new prospect-laden glory – beat the lowly Nationals to make it a great night for our little crew. The only thing I was left wondering was who won the pierogi race…we all placed our bets, but I think we got distracted a) by the fact that the Nationals’ Presidents were also in the race, and b) by Potato Pete coming out of nowhere to tackle the President who was in the lead – allowing Sauerkraut Saul to win. I picked Oliver Onion, so I probably own someone a dollar.

We took a little trip down to Baltimore this week, with our original goal being the procurement of an Adam Jones bobblehead from the O’s/Mets game. Naturally, Eddie Vedder decided it would be a good week to schedule some solo shows at the Lyric Opera House, too. Add in some bowling, a trip to the National Aquarium, and a drive up to York to visit Kree, and you’ve got one of those fun vacations that leave you completely drained.

Eddie Vedder kills the Lyric

While Mundis and I failed to land tickets to both Sunday and Monday’s shows, we did get to go to the second night…and it was awesome. Mundis initially thought that Monday’s show was better than both of the Chicago shows, and he very well could be right. The crowd was much better than the Chicago crowds, which could be a big part of our reasoning. While there were still the constant requests for songs, it was nowhere near as obnoxious as the drunken morons that ruined the crowds at the Auditorium shows in Chicago. Even the large guy who smelled like cheese sitting next to me couldn’t ruin such a good show.

As usual, Vedder was on. The Lyric, as a venue, simply made his voice sound that much better, too. He refrained from playing a lot of the songs that I hate hearing, and played a few that we didn’t hear when we were in Chicago last year. It was essentially the same exact concept as in Chicago, but with a varied playlist – same opening act, same backdrops, same stage set, etc., so there really isn’t much to add to our experience. Liam Finn was entertaining, and we even got to briefly meet him after his set. Nice guy…too bad Vedder going on cut our time together short.

If you haven’t seen Vedder solo, get a ticket…that is, if he ever tours solo again. I’m willing to say that I’ve enjoyed his solo shows more than nearly every Pearl Jam show that I’ve seen. Maybe it’s the jaded Pearl Jam fan in me…maybe it’s the intimate setting…who knows. He’s just so much clearer, and much more musically powerful, when he’s not fighting the noise around him. His personality opens up a bit more, and he’s a lot more entertaining than you would think if you had only seen him front Pearl Jam. It’s really all about the emotion shining through, though. Despite all of the drinking and smoking, he can still use his voice to carry a room like very few people.

National Aquarium

Fortunately, we had a day to waste in Baltimore between the Vedder show and the O’s game, so I used the random Tuesday to finally get back to the National Aquarium in Baltimore. I hadn’t been there since I was in high school, and I could never work out a way to get back…until now.

It was more or less exactly the way I remembered it, though, so it was fun…juuuuuuust not nearly as much fun as it was when I was a kid. I was also a little bummed that some of the sharks weren’t in the tanks…no hammerheads or threshers – the sharks were always my favorite. Fortunately the jellyfish exhibit, which happened to be the last thing we saw, was awesome! I can say that jellyfish officially freak me the hell out, but they’re wild to see in a closed environment. The price of admission seems a bit high, but it was still worth it, even if just for the nostalgia.

A night at Camden Yards

The original purpose of the trip was to take a trip to Camden Yards to see the Orioles, and more importantly, pick up the Adam Jones bobblehead (which is frickin’ awesome, btw). It was awesome to be at an Orioles game again. Fortunately, we had seats covered by the upper deck, so watching the O’s beat the Mets in the rain with Mundis, my Dad, and Megan went smoothly. We also got to see Matt Wieters’ first career home run! I’m 2-0 when attending O’s games the last two years…maybe I should go more often.

There were a number of anomalies on Saturday.

First, the weather in Pittsburgh was amazing. 80-degrees, clear skies…you know, the stuff places like San Diego get to experience the majority of the time.

Second, there’s the fact that it was the first Saturday day game at PNC Park since 2005. It’s sort of hard to believe because I’ve been to so many Buccos day games, but I guess most were during the week or on Sundays.

Then there’s the biggest one of all – the anomaly that that consists of many micro rarities – the Pirates won! Not only did they win, but a) Ian Snell pitched 7 innings, allowing no runs and only 4 hits, b) the Pirates offense was explosive and drove in runs on multiple occasions with 2 outs, c) there were ZERO Pirate fielding errors despite Andy LaRoche starting at 3B, and d) they got the shutout – a 10-0 shutout to be precise!

Granted, the Pirates got shellacked yesterday 11-1, but at least they’re 2-0 this year when I’m there and both were shutouts! Ha ha.

It was also Ryan Doumit bobblehead day at the ball park, so I’ve now collected my 13th Pirate bobblehead. I’ll never catch up to Meadows’ insane collection, but my desk is going to look awesome if a really minor earthquake ever hits the area!

I absolutely love Chicago. Granted, it wasn’t winter – where the cold and snow would probably make life pretty annoying – but spending 6 days in the city with essentially no plans made the trip a lot of fun.

I had been to Chitown a few times before, but I had never really spent that much time in the downtown area without any semblance of a plan. The first time I went, we were going to Lollapalooza, so there was very limited time to explore. The second time, the trip revolved around going to a game at Wrigley and chillin’ with Silvers, so I didn’t explore that much then, either. I must’ve walked the majority of the city during my time there this trip, though. Mundis and I even walked from Wrigley back to downtown by taking the scenic route and walking along Lake Short Drive, which I have to say was awesome, and made me wish I was sporting some running gear…or even swimming stuff. All of the walking reminded me of the time Aaron and I spent in San Francisco – albeit without the geeky Flash conference interrupting my tour of the city. I walked so much that I actually had to pick up a new set of sneakers, which are mighty sweet.

I went to the White Sox game, where we got to see Ken Griffey Jr. hit his first homer for the Sox…and where I found the team I would cheer for if I lived in Chicago. Sorry to any Cubs fans I might know. The ballpark, although nowhere near as nostalgic as Wrigley, is just simply nicer and reminds me slightly of Camden Yards, just not as nice. Mundis made me get all touristy and go to the Sears Towers, which was pretty cool…except for the amount of tourists. The most exciting part for me was trying to figure out how a spider could climb to the top of the Sears Tower, and whether or not it really thought it would have more success catching food in a web 1,353 feet in the air. What do you think?

Anyway…there are more posts coming on this trip, but I’m going to be breaking them out into their own entries, so be patient. Next up…The Bongo Room…

Late Saturday night, I decided that it would be fun to go to Ravens training camp on Monday, but why drive all the way down to Maryland for one day? With the O’s hosting the best team in baseball, it seemed like a good idea to visit Camden Yards for the first time in 3 or 4 years and enjoy a Sunday ballgame.

For $27, I got a seat in the first row in left field, which was a nice spot for me to utilize the 55-300 lens that Meadows let me borrow. It was a lot of fun being in Camden Yards again and taking in one of the best stadiums in the league. While Camden Yards isn’t the newest park anymore, the updates to the video boards are awesome, providing some of the best information layout that you’ll find in any stadium. Plus, there weren’t any a-hole ushers bothering me about my seat. I was even allowed to walk around behind home plate to take some pictures with the only thing said to me by the usher being, “be sure to not block the walkway for too long”. Wow! A far cry from PNC Park’s staff.

The O’s played really well, and while they’re still no where near touching a division pennant, they did break their 15-consecutive-Sundays losing streak. Pictures to come…

I went to the Pirates game on Friday and Saturday night – Friday for bobblehead night, and Saturday on a whim. While the Pirates lost both games to the Padres, it’s always nice to get out and catch a game.

Unfortunately, Friday night’s game left a slightly bitter taste in my mouth. Not for the Pirates as a team, but for ticket ushers and the PNC Park policy towards tickets. I’ve come to accept the craptastic qualities of the Pirates, but PNC Park deserves better guest relations for such a beautiful ballpark.

We have a group of 8 who purchased tickets for the bobblehead package – tickets to all 9 bobblehead giveaway nights – in the upper deck. On Friday, around the top of the 6th inning, Meadows and I decided to take a walk down to Manny’s BBQ on the walk behind center field. We took the escalators down, ate some awesome pulled pork sandwiches, and proceeded to head back to our seats where Nathaniel was waiting with our bobbleheads. When we arrived at the escalators, we realized that both sides were now going down (this must happen at the bottom of the 7th inning every game), so we saw a PNC Park employee and asked if it would be okay just to wait it out in the seats closest to the escalator as our friend was up there with our stuff and we didn’t want to miss the end of the game walking up the rotunda. That guy said it would be fine, so we proceed to sit in the last row of section 133, which is the section along the 3rd base line, lower level, closest to the foul pole (aka, not the most enviable seats).

Before we even get into the row, this old usher comes up to us, and asks for our tickets. We begin to tell him why we wanted to sit there and we’re greeted with a quick, “if you don’t have tickets here, you can’t sit here”. I ask why? What does it matter, it’s the 8th inning? He just continues to give us attitude and kick us out of his completely empty (no exaggeration) section. He tells us to take it up with guest relations, so we do. Guest relations tries to be understanding and offers us tickets in the lower level so we don’t have to go back up via the rotunda. We thank them and take the tickets, but still end up standing by the escalator waiting for Nathaniel anyway. As we’re watching the final innings from our spot behind section 133 (where you can stand, but not sit), we watch as the old usher systematically kicks anyone out who tries to sit in his section…even people who had better tickets and just sat there on their way out of the stadium.

Now, guest relations was correct in telling us that the usher was doing his job, and that stadium policy states that you can only sit in the seat that you have a ticket for. That’s understandable, but under the circumstances, I think it’s ridiculous, and the usher’s inability to be a reasonable human being made me want to punch him in the face (not a reasonable solution).

Let’s think about this. PNC Park is almost always empty. We have one of the lowest, if not the lowest attendance averages in Major League Baseball. His section was completely empty – seriously, not a single person was sitting there. It was the bottom of the 8th inning with the Pirates down, and hardly threatening to extend the game – meaning we were only going to be sitting in those seats for an inning-and-a-half barring a miracle. We were sitting in his section solely because we had to wait for Nathaniel and it was the most convenient location next to the escalators, which were only going down. With an inning-and-a-half remaining, a walk up the rotunda might’ve been long enough for the game to end and us miss the whole thing aside from watching as we walked up…or we could’ve walked halfway around the stadium to find the elevators, but I don’t know where those are other than the other side of the stadium. Of course, if Nathaniel decides to leave early, we’re stuck on either the rotunda or walking to find elevators. Either way, we would’ve missed more of the game, and most likely had to immediately leave once we reached our seats, so why was the usher such a chump?

I could see if the Pirates were drawing Yankees, or Cubs-sized crowds every game, and seats were at a premium. I could see if his section was full of people and he knew that the seats we were going to sit in were taken. I could see if it was the 1st, or heck, even the 5th inning, where we were going to be taking a real advantage of the seats. I could also understand if the escalators were working both ways. None of those scenarios were occurring, though. We didn’t have a real desire to sit in his section and just wanted to go back to our seats, but it wasn’t reasonable. It was convenient to meet up with Nathaniel to receive our bobbleheads, we didn’t want to miss the end of the game, and we were sitting in an empty section that an employee of the park said would be fine. Yet we’re greeted like we don’t matter.

The reality is that we, as ticket holders and purchasers, pay for his livelihood. PNC Park signs his checks, but the fans make those funds available, and yet this guy doesn’t look at the situation with an understanding mind. He didn’t care that another employee said it would be fine. He didn’t care that we couldn’t get back to our seats. He didn’t care that we’re always spending money, whether $5 or $35 to attend games on a regular basis. He doesn’t care if we drove from San Diego to see the Padres win. For PNC Park to be such sticklers about who sits where is ridiculous considering how few people actually decide to sit in the stadium at all. If no one is sitting in a seat, and it’s the end of the game, who cares?

Last year, in the last two quarters of the Colts/Ravens game and M&T Bank Stadium, when the rain and blowout score caused the majority of the crowd to leave, I walked down to the lower levels right behind the endzone. No one said a word despite me standing right next to the ushers and security guys. Why? Well, because it doesn’t matter to them. I’m just taking someone’s seat who left, maintaining the responsibility of the ushers and security – not increasing it – and I’m not sitting in a seat that’s taken. The whole ordeal was just ridiculous. If the escalators are only going down after the 7th, there’s absolutely no reason why fans shouldn’t be able to sit in the lower levels…especially at PNC Park.

On Saturday, Meadows and I took a two-hour drive out to Altoona to catch the Pirates AA affiliate, Curve, play the Harrisburg Senators. It is sort of strange that I never went to a game up there when I lived in Johnstown, but oh well. Joe’s a big baseball fan, and he’s all about checking out minor league parks, so I figured I’d ride along since he had planned on going.

The game was pretty cool. I took a few photos, but as usual, I haven’t put them on my computer yet. There was over 7,500 people at the game, which is more than a lot of Pirates games, though it seemed that 5,000 of those people were kids who were there to watch the Curve get bested by the Senators 5-1. The fielding was actually pretty good, but the Curve had no offense whatsoever. I was actually amazed to see these minor league pitchers throwing 90+ mph pitches, as well as some dude crack a homer (Osorio for the Senators, maybe?). The stadium was pretty nice, though, for my first minor league experience.

Some cool things to note are the low ticket prices – with the most expensive seats being $14, and the roller coaster beyond the right field fence. A large beer was also only $6, but I opted for the delicious pulled pork sandwich and a Pepsi (especially after we missed Clem’s on the way out), which was like $8 with homemade chips. After all, we all go to ball games for the food, right? Ha.

Meadows did have to get his picture taken with the one Curve mascot – Steamer, the steam engine. He has a tradition of getting his picture taken with mascots, but it was funny to see him avoid getting his photo with the mascot that looked like a dog. Why? Well, he said the dog looked too much like a furry costume. Ha ha.

I definitely had a pretty good time. The small town vibe was everywhere, though, and while simplicity is fine, I was really glad when we got back to Pittsburgh. If I’m going to watch piss-poor minor league baseball, I prefer being able to walk from my house to the Pirates game.

On Saturday, Meadows, Jay, Marcia, Nate, Nathaniel, and I hit up the second of our nine bobblehead nights at PNC Park – Tom Gorzelanny bobblehead night. While Gorzo didn’t even pitch, he did make a statement with his bobblehead. His middle finger is sticking out of the glove on his right hand, and despite the Pirates organization acting like it’s not that obvious, trust me, it is. I wish I had a photo of his hand up close because you can clearly see his the knuckles of his index, ring, and pinky fingers, leaving just his trusty old eff you finger out. Now, I remember leaving my index finger out of my glove when I played little league, but the middle? Even the photo on the bobblehead box, shows his index finger out. The fact that the thing made the news also makes Pittsburgh seem a bit ridiculous.

To match the incompetence of the company the Pirates paid to make their bobbleheads, the Buccos made a laughable effort of the game itself, losing 8-4 to the Phillies. The three errors in that game only assisted in keeping the Pirates in the lead for most errors in baseball. Since we have the first row in the upper deck, we’re contemplating starting “The E Club”, where we’ll post a large printout of an E over the railing in similar fashions to the “K” that gets posted for each strikeout. Right now, the Pirates are averaging a little over 1 error per game, so it’s not a bad idea.

In other news, my beloved O’s are off to a flying start. Oh, how I wish the season didn’t run so long. Can they possibly keep up this pace? I sure hope so, but that division sucks as far as the odds go thanks to the damn Yankees and Red Sox. Ugh.

I had the pleasure – albeit short-lived – of going to the Pirates/Reds game on Friday and having awesome seats on the third baseline. I don’t think I’ve ever sat in seats this close to the action before so I was pretty excited to take in a game with such a prime vantage point.

Unfortunately, the weather ruined what could’ve been a great night at PNC Park. Shortly after failing to get Joe, Nate, Jay, and Marsha into the empty seats to the left of me, the lightning started…followed by a downpour…followed by hail…followed by me leaving and going to SoHo to catch the third period of the Pens game. In reality, Pens playoff hockey is a lot more exciting than an early season Bucs game, but I couldn’t pass up these seats and the Manny Sanguillen bobblehead. Usually Pirates games on Fridays, combined with a bobblehead promotion, bring solid crowds, but I guess the weather and the Pens game kept most people at home.

Anyway, the Pens game was a much better payoff as they won with a minute left in the 3rd period. The Pirates won as well after the rain delay, 1-0 (exciting, eh?). I’m just hoping that the next game that I have a ticket to in the same seats, I don’t have to worry about rain. Of course, this is Pittsburgh – home of the rain delay.

Walking into PNC Park for a nice, rainy evening…

Pre-game warmups in the foreground…angry clouds in the distance…

Jose Bautista practicing avoiding an error…

Baseball boredom

The Pirate Parrot