By Julian Routh | News Editor
The best deal on Record Store Day couldn’t be found at Jerry’s, Dave’s or the Attic, surprisingly.
Instead, it was over on the North Shore at the Warhol Museum, where indie pop rockers Meeting of Important People handed out dozens of free flexi-vinyls of their new single, “All Rode Off Together.”
And as if the free disc wasn’t enough, the trio performed the song —and plenty of others — in the museum’s lobby in front of a packed crowd, who were especially excited to hear new music from the band.
MOIP, comprised of vocalist Josh Verbanets, drummer Matt Miller and bassist Aaron Bubenheim, hadn’t released new music since late 2012, when they took Pittsburgh by storm with the crowd-funded album, My Ears are Having a Heart Attack.
During the almost three years since their last LP, the band popped up occasionally in bars and outdoor festivals to play short sets with such album hits as “Oh, Will You Finally Go?” and “Our Love,” but never booked shows consistently. In fact, seeing the trio these days is more of a rarity, which made Saturday evening quite special.
With Warhol looking on from the walls, MOIP played old favorites (“Big Muscles,” “I Know Every Street”), rock-n-roll covers (Nirvana’s “School,” Eddie Holland’s “Leaving Here) and brand new tracks. Midway through the set, Verbanets called a group of local musicians and friends of the band onto the stage to help sing “All Rode Off Together,” an homage to riding the bus.
The song, released on Pittsburgh-based Wild Kindness Records, combines elements of MOIP’s indie pop sound with Verbanets’ songwriting style in Josh and Gab, a project of his with local comedian Gab Bonesso that brings an anti bullying message to children through rock music.
As the chorus shouted, “And we all rode off together,” Verbanets smiled, and the crowd smiled back. If all is right with the world, Saturday’s performance means a new album is on the way.
That’s good, because Pittsburgh deserves it.
