Tim Small: June 19-20, 2013

Jonny and I left Southampton, PA around 12 noon on Wednesday to start our journey to Pittsburgh, PA. This was out first long journey on the road, so we were really looking forward to it. We were quite relaxed because we knew the journey would be quite easy as we were planning to stay on the I-76 all the way to Pittsburgh. What we didn't realise was that the GPS was set to avoid toll rolls, so it took us on a crazy journey through some small towns which made our journey a lot longer.

Nevertheless, we eventually arrived in Pittsburgh and checked into our hotel, the Hilton Doubletree in Pittsburgh/Greentree. We headed straight to the Altar Bar in downtown Pittsburgh and arrived in time to catch The Dangerous Summer live. They put on a great show and I chatted to the lead singer A.J. after the set. It turns out his wife is from Constantia in Cape Town, so he was thrilled to meet Jonny and I and loved our accents. The next band up was Cute Is What We Aim For and they also put on a great show.

After the show, we went with some friends to a classic local food joint called Primanti Bros where they serve sandwiches that are similar to gatsby's in Cape Town. Apparently this particular Primanti Bros is the first one ever opened, so we had taste of authentic Pittsburgh cuisine! Thanks to Kirsten, Lauren, Nicole and A.J. for showing us around Pittsburgh.

The next day, Thursday, was a day I was really looking forward to on tour - The Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers concert. They are pretty much my favourite band in the whole world and I have waited my whole life to see them live. The show was taking place at the Consol Energy Center in downtown Pittsburgh, so we headed down there around 5 pm. There was such a vibe around the area with lots of people wearing Tom Petty t-shirts and pumping Petty tunes from their cars. We headed into the arena around 7:00 pm and were totally amazed at how big it was. We were in section G 204, so we had a good view. The Smithereens opened up the show and Jonny and I shared some butter popcorn to get into the vibe.

The minute Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers took the stage I was completely enthralled. The show was absolutely incredible with amazing sound and visuals. I knew most of the songs and didn't even have to wear my attenuators, as the sound was so good! The concert went so quickly as I was having such a good time - they could have played for hours longer. It was honestly the best concert I have ever been to in my life. My favourite song was "You Wreck Me". I'm hoping to post the set list and review here as soon as it becomes available. I picked up some cool Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers merchandise, including two t-shirts, stickers and a key chain. I'm still on a high from the concert, and this will easily be the highlight of my trip.