Going into this past weekend my fiance and I were not entirely certain whether we’d arrive back in Los Angeles saying, “That was the greatest idea ever!” or “That was the WORST idea ever.”  We were excited to see The Rolling Stones again but not entirely certain it was going to be worth the effort or journey.  I am happy to report that we are in complete agreement that it was an absolutely incredible weekend and well worth the lack of sleep and time spent zigzagging the country twice within 36 hours.  That is not to say that the adventure went off without a hitch.  Quite the opposite actually…from the very beginning we were cursed with horrible flight luck that I’m going to skip over in lieu of sharing our experience in Pittsburgh itself.

After arriving at the airport in the wee hours of Saturday morning we checked into our hotel, ate a massive breakfast and took a long nap in preparation for the day ahead.  Upon waking we took the airport bus into the city (you just can’t beat a $3.75 fee for a 20 mile ride!).  On the bus we met a gentleman who lived a block from Heinz Field where the concert was being held that evening who gave us a few tips about where to get off the bus, where to eat, what to see in the hours before the concert, etc.  One of his suggestions was to check out the Pittsburgh JazzLive International Festival being held just a block from where we were getting off the bus.  Boy were we glad we followed his advice!

The JazzLive Fest was held June 19-21 right in downtown Pittsburgh on three separate stages.  In addition to the incredibly talented musicians we got to hear for free, we checked out food trucks, local vendors, an area full of giant games like Jenga and Connect Four, and the Fest’s little beer garden.  We ended up meeting a lot of other awesome people who were going to see The Stones and the whole environment started to feel like a big pre-party full of music lovers.

One of the stages at JazzLive

Eventually the rain clouds that had been looming in the distance moved overhead and the skies opened.  We took shelter in Sienna Mercato, a restaurant/bar that was located right next to one of the Fest’s stages.  Sienna Mercato is comprised of three distinct experiences on three separate floors.  We headed straight to the covered rooftop bar because we had eaten at the food trucks earlier in the afternoon.  We each sipped a beer and watched the rain come down overhead, all the while socializing with an ever-growing pack of Stones fans.

Once the rain had lightened up enough we decided to head across the river via PNC Park to the official pre-party being held at BZ Bar & Grill.  Unfortunately once we got within a block of the place it became clear there was no chance we were getting into the overcrowded space.  We settled for The Beer Market located right next door, another stroke of amazing luck.  The Beer Market has hundreds (!!!) of different beers both on tap and in bottles including our absolute favorite, a beer discovered at Outside Lands last year that is NEVER offered in bars, North Coast Brewing’s Pranqster.  It was an amazing find and put us in an even happier mood than we were already in heading into the show.

Seen while crossing the river

Focused on getting the perfect shot

Statue of Willie Stargell outside PNC Park

Yuengling in honor of PA friends and the elusive Pranqster.

To be continued…