In response to the music post, HP asked me about this Mr. Small’s place I’m always raving about. Here’s a brief explanation:

Mr. Small’s Funhouse is a deconsecrated church in Millvale, purchased several years ago by Rusted Root member Liz Berlin and her husband, Michael Speranzo. They converted the building into a performance space, recording studio and, in the warmer months, a skate park. The theater, which can hold around 650 people, is inside the church’s sanctuary; the stage is what used to be the altar.

They host shows of all varieties, but seem most comfortable as a home to the hippie bands I’m generally drawn to. The sound is excellent, the staff is totally chill, the bar is both respectable and cheap and I’ve yet to see a single hassle of any kind in my half-dozen visits there. The artists who visit seem to hold the place with similarly high regard; when I interviewed Keller Williams a year ago — which was one year after he released the above DVD, recorded at Mr. Small’s over two nights in November 2004 — he raved about the place, the vibe inside and the how well he was treated once offstage.

There are a ton of small music venues in Pittsburgh — many with excellent reputations — I haven’t yet had the chance to visit, but I can’t imagine any of them doing a better job of putting on a show than Mr. Small’s. If I have a second home in town, this is it.