Pittsburgh: Fast Becoming A Ghost Town

This summer is an exciting summer to be a music fan. There are some fantastic tours out there, including Tom Waits, The Cure, Radiohead, and Nine Inch Nails. What do these concerts have in common? None of them are coming to Pittsburgh.

This summer, I will be making several trips to Cleveland (concerts, flights, entertainment). When the hell did Pittsburgh become a suburb of Cleveland you might ask? Pittsburgh is a city that is now 250 years old. The city took about 20 years to recover from the fall of the steel industry. And, for a brief time, it looked like the city was turning things around. New hospitals, attracting IT talent and companies and even started to become a bit of a hub for real estate vendor management.

But, it seems success was not in the cards for the 'burgh. Right now the city is honestly tredding dangerous waters right now, and I'm not encouraged by what I'm seeing.

• The airport's major airline has downgraded us to a regional airport. We are hemmoraging flights. And, it's even more difficult to grab a direct flight from the area. Not to mention the cost difference flying out of Pittsburgh vs. other airports.
• Just try to walk outside and hail a cab in the city. It is difficult at best unless you are at the airport or the convention center. If you're at a dining facility or watering hole, you are out of luck unless you call. Even then, it's dicy.
• There is no major vein of transportation. Bus lines are in a constant state of reduction, and the T has no presence in the airport corridor.
  By some estimates, the office parks in the airport corridor are now down to 40% capacity.
• Try living in the city, people are moving out in droves due to inflated tax assessments--on top of the already inflated tax base in the city. Personally, I would've thought the 3% wage tax (which is triple what you'd pay to live in the suburbs) would've driven them out.
• So, we've established that there's no public transportation and the taxes prohibitive to live in the city, right? Well, why not drive in? I'l tell you why--the friggin city has a 45% parking tax!
• But, if you do decide to venture into the county to shop anyways you'll be subject to the city/county extra 1% sales tax for the privelage of patronizing the few businesses that have stuck around.
• Why haven't more businesses stuck around you ask? Well, Pittsburgh was once ranked the 2nd most brutal city in the nation for taxing businesses. We've slipped to 4th or 5th most brutal, but honestly why would you want to have a business in a city that is going to brutalize you with taxes?
• But, why would that discourage qualified professionals from seeking employment in Pittsburgh vs. other cities. Oh, well, ther's a $100 Occupational Tax that employees have to pay just to work in the city--on top of their wage tax.
• Pittsburgh is a city, right? (for now) So, there's got to be a night life. Well, the city has done their best to chase out the night life as well. The city has implemented a ten percent BEER TAX.
• Well, I guess the city is resting on the tourists that come in for conventions, right? I mean they've taxed rental cars and hotels. But, on top of that the city openly encourages making it difficult to have a trade show at its state of the art convention center. I've done trade shows across the nation and there are very few cities that make it less desirable to exhibit at their convention center. The convention center shuts off elevators and escalators during setup. They harass you about carrying too much in or out the door. Why? Because they want you to have to pay to use their union labor. You can't stand on a ladder to set up your booth. You can't buld a booth over 6 feet. They hate if you try to carry things in and charge you through the nose to ship things in.

So, you ask, why don't people come to the city? Why can't we get more concerts? Why is Pittsburgh a ghost town on nights that there aren't Steelers, Pirate or Penguin games? Why is Pittsburgh slowly becoming a suburb to Cleveland? From where I sit, it looks like bloated government and greed.

The Cure: A Ray of Hope In The Gloom of the Cure

Went to Cleveland to catch The Cure last night. In an age where gas is over $4/gallon and concert tickets are $50 for the cheap seats (after all the TicketBastard fees), driving 2 hours for a show is a real consideration. It's been 12 years since The Cure came around this way. Well, based on my experience from the last show, it was worth the drive, and they did not dissapoint. The Cure came out with a 3-hour set of new, old, hits and obsurity. This is an estimate on my part, but I'm guessing they played 35 songs?! Fantastic! It's amazing. I listen to music on the radio now that relies so heavily on studio enhancements, but The Cure is what it is. Everything live sounds exactly like it does on the CD. And Robert Smith puts a lot of thought and effort into making each show special. It's not like when I went to see Kiss and every night was exactly the same "(insert city name here) you rock." The set list was new, the performance was passionate and the fans appreciated every moment of it. I know I did. It's funny, I didn't know what to expect fan-wise. The Cure is a band that can sell out MSG and Wembley, but 2,500 is a pull in a place like Cleveland. It didn't seem to matter to them, they played for every one of us. Two encores and even a little bit of playfull banner. I feel a lot of spite paying to see a lot of bands these days. The Cure left me feeling great about my investment. And, they've realized something that a lot of bands haven't--the fans are your best advertising. Let them bring cameras, let them share their experience. People will pay if the product is good. In the case of this shot, it was good. I just really hope that it is not another 12 years before I get to see them again. And, hey, next time, let's not forget Pittsburgh??? If they are coming your way, don't miss out! I'll post my pictures later!

UPDATE: HERE ARE THE PICTURES FROM THE CURE CLEVELAND SHOW.