5-16 Tragedy, Ratface, Zeitgeist, the Crazy Scorpion Group, Pittsburgh@the Shop

Before going to this show we were a bit worried that we might not get in. Mind Cure sold out of all the pre-sale tickets that they had, which worried me. Turns out the show was running on extra punk time and we got there a bit early and got in fine. There were close to 200 people there, which was fantastic. And seeing Tragedy for only $10 is great all the time. The crusties were in the house. The accompanying smell was also in the house.

My friend CousCous, who I went to the show with, recalls a conversation/confrontation he witnessed between two punks. He is certain that the chic with the big hair is a hooker, and the drunk blonde chic was not a hooker. And the hooker thought the blonde was a hooker invading her space. There was no fight, just some funny dialogue. Also, he witnessed me being hit by an airborne beer can and didn't punch the thrower.

Crazy Scorpion Group - I wasn't into this band real much. They're not very serious, which is ok. The singer wore his backpack the entire time and looks like a real wise guy with some kind of smirk on his face. But that's ok too. It's just the songs weren't very good. Also, they meant to bring demos to sell, but they didn't bring the demos.

Zeitgeist - They were the surprise group of the evening. Local band. They were really good. I enjoyed the set. Fast punk, a little heavy, a little riffy. Chic singer who was good but pretty standardly unoriginal, though mobile and good to watch. I bought a patch that I'll put on my jacket.

Ratface - For sure the best I've ever seen Ratface. The crowd was into it. Shit was going on, and lots of people were inside to watch. Good times. I still like Zeitgeist better, but the Rat was good. They also have a decent little flag that they hang up and it looks cool.

Tragedy - Ripped the shit out of the place. They played mostly old jammers, and a few newer ones. They all killed. The pit was going. It was dark and spooky in there. They're the best d-beat influenced punk band that I've ever seen. At one point in the set the drunk guy with no shirt and dreads fell onto the guitarist/singer's guitar pedals. The guitarist attacked the dude prompting a bunch of people to throw the dude out. I'm not sure if that's all there was to the story or not, but that's what I remember seeing.

All in all, lots of beer was thrown around. Everyone seemed to have a good time. Hookers and all. There was an aftershow with Torch Runner playing in the South Hills afterwards. We made an effort to find the place, but when we determined we had failed, we just went back home.

Hi's - the whole show, the venue, turnout, byob always
Low's - it got a wee bit chilly out