Ocean Sleeper, GARZI and A Moment in Pompeii crush Preserving Underground!

There’s a wonderful Venue in New Kensington, PA called Preserving Underground. A massive record store that holds crates upon crates of vinyl, CDs, Cassettes, and even Laserdisc, all decades and all genres. They hold an appreciation of physical media and merchandise. 

You can of course find a copy of  Operation Ivy’s self-titled record, or any of the countless albums that The Ramones released over the years. The one thing that I appreciated is that the staff will help you find what you are looking for. I know I can find a copy of Glenn Miller if I simply ask. From an obscure Japanese release or one of the old Bluebird US releases. I know they can find what I’m looking for.

I’ve seen a few shows at Preserving before, and I’ve seen the advancements that they have made, even in just a couple years. They have two new rooms for shows and the museum section is just as cool as ever! I truly love what the venue is and what it stands for. 

Even though the crowd was very mixed in age, and ability. They were aware of their surroundings. The mosh pits let the people who didn’t want to be pushed to move out of the way safely. I very much appreciated that. 

The first band that played was local. They were called A Moment in Pompeii. I was surprised at how well they worked the crowd. They performed great, and were a kind group to speak with. I went into all of the groups blind. The genre that these groups are a part of is not my normal genre. However, I love the scene Pittsburgh has created for itself. A mindful and caring group made up of people from all backgrounds, all ethnicities. We support each other. We pick each other up. More often than not we are just happy other people showed up. 

The second group that came on Garzi had the singer with crutches and a cast. Yet, the people loved it. I enjoyed it. The crowd enjoyed it. Everything was wonderful. The main Stage doesn’t have the best gear yet, but it doesn’t matter. It’s the community.

The final group Ocean Sleeper had their first US  Tour, and a few tunes I recognized in passing from tik tok videos. I could tell that those tunes are what others have recognized as well. I overall enjoyed the show. I think the bands did too. I think the photographers there did an excellent job. They really captured the vibe everyone was looking for. I was thoroughly impressed, even if this wasn’t my normal cup of tea.

Photos by Drew Simko

Review Written by Joe Fetzko