Even as a dude living in Queens and working in Manhattan nowadays, I still have the biggest connection to Westmoreland County, where to this day I’ve spent most of my life. Any mention of the area and I’m automatically driving around Greensburg in my 92 Honda Accord rather than cursing out every impolite person on the subways in New York. While I love NYC and enjoy my time here, Southwest PA is home.
Local music was a tough scene 10-15 years ago. The Juliana Theory was one of the only bands from the area that I enjoyed, and it was a treat watching them go from small local act to nationally-recognized artists. I’ve been able to catch up with TJT lead singer and huge Pens fan Brett Detar since he moved to NYC in the past year, and made sure he watched a few games at our now-legendary Pens bar, Foley’s.
The band quietly broke up in about 2005-06, and after a few years of unconfirmed status, just kicked off an 8-show reunion/farewell tour this past Friday. I was in attendance at the Highline Ballroom for the kickoff show in Manhattan with a few other Pittsburghers. It was pretty surreal to talk with people from all over the country about this band that repped my home area proudly.
And the show itself was sick. It’s hard to belive they’ve had such a long layoff. Check out some awful Blackberry vids I took of their songs This Is A Love Song…For The Loveless, Something Isn’t Right Here and Duane Joseph.
Anyway, their final farewell performance will be back in the Burgh in early September. I wanted to applaud TJT for how they’re approaching this goodbye show. All ticket money for their final show ever will be donated to the Mario Lemieux Foundation for cancer and neo-natal research. When I told you that Brett and Co. were big Pens fans, I wasn’t kidding around. It’s more than just “Oooo, I like the team.” It’s actually doing something big to help.
The MLF is my charity of choice, and I’ve donated more money there than anywhere else over the years. However, I don’t have a widely-loved band that has the ability to funnel mass ticket sales to the foundation, so that’s why TJT gets some love here. The music and sports scenes attract very different fans, and it’s fascinating that TJT combined the 2 for a great cause. Tickets are still available as of the publishing of this post, so get on it, Pittsburgh.
Also, be sure to sign up for Brett’s new solo album, out soon.
