Roboto

Everything you can expect from a small rock venue in the best way. Super affordable tickets in a great lively area. There's a lot of spirit at this venue with kind staff. I'd really recommend checking this place out since they have shows super frequently and accessibly.

This place makes zero sense -- Required to wear a mask in this small poorly ventilated space standing right next to other people. It's already warm and funky from body heat and they want you to cover your face while you can still smell the craft beer on your neighbors breath And the sound lol - ever been inside of a tin can with the loudest possible volume? It's goofy to me - wear a mask but damage your ears all you like ( thanks for the free ear plugs though )Invest in some sound dampening panels or something... sheesh

Music venue that often hosts open mic and other events during Unblurred.Primarily punk club.Basic building roomy. Decent place for a show.

Went to their flea market last Saturday. Really enjoyed it! Venue looks cool, people were nice and helpful.

This is, by far, my favorite place to be in Pittsburgh. The sound is good, the shows are always cheap, and the bands are (almost) always AWESOME! I have been coming to Roboto for at least 5 years now and it feels like a second home to me. I never feel unwelcome or unsafe, even when surrounded mostly by folks I don't know. The art always looks cool and I love that it changes every month. The random christmas lights and various baubles scattered around give off this very hospitable feel for whatever reason. Also, it's very nicely sized for a DIY all-ages venue that does not allow alcohol. Leagues better than going to cramped bar shows and having to deal with drunk jerks. There HAVE been a few strange/shady characters hanging out there from time to time, but that of course has nothing to do with the venue itself. It's clear that the "staff" at the place always do their absolute best to give Roboto a good name, and they succeed. I put "staff" in quotes because technically nobody WORKS there, it's entirely volunteer-based, which is another thing that amazes me time and again. The board of directors there don't get paid to do what they do-- they just care enough about the music and art community in Pittsburgh that they work tirelessly to keep the place alive!Roboto, all in all, is an extremely important installment of the Pittsburgh music scene, and I don't know what I'd do without its presence. I'd at least be a lot more bored & disenchanted with DIY music!

In theory, this place should be awesome: Live music, DIY ethos, and ever since it left Wilkinsburg, convenient location. In reality, it's anything but. When I frequented the Roboto Project, I felt uncomfortable and unwelcome at every show, which sucked because I went to the shows to relax and meet people. At first, I couldn't put my finger on why many of the people I met and tried to talk to were not very friendly. They seemed unwelcoming to other newcomers, too, and when I approached them, displayed body language and tone of voice strongly suggesting that I should go away. I complemented musicians after their sets, which was clearly a faux pas, since at least a dozen of them over the years rolled their eyes at me or laughed in my face. Other people were able to compliment the musicians without being mocked, but I realized quickly that I, for whatever reason, belonged to a social caste that should not compliment anyone.I attended a Roboto Punks Picnic the first year I heard about such a thing. This was also an error of judgment on my part. About half of the attendees acted standoffish and glared at me. Several more turned their backs when they saw me approaching to say hello. I left the picnic after unsuccessfully trying to make conversation with several hostile people and spending some time wandering around by myself. When I got home, I wondered what I could have done differently to make friends. Worn a ripped hoodie instead of a Ramones-style motorcycle jacket? Worn an Aus-Rotten t-shirt instead of a Dead Boys t-shirt? Not smiled as much? Not shook people's hands and introduced myself? The answer, as it turns out, was "Not attended the picnic at all," but I didn't know that yet. My interest in the Roboto Project dwindled considerably after the terrible time I had at the picnic, but I wanted to give it a fair chance. Nothing changed and I quickly grew tired of patronizing and supporting a community that didn't seem to want me in it. At Roboto, my LGBT activism, my work in HIV/AIDS prevention, and my liberal leanings were secondary to what I looked like, how I dressed, how long I had been in the "scene," where I'd gone to high school, and where else I went to concerts. The middle-aged suburban transplants I met/befriended through working in Pittsburgh were leagues more tolerant, open-minded, and inclusive than 95% of the Roboto/indie/underground folks. (Maybe that's why punks hate those yuppies so much?) Ironically, Roboto always emphasized their "uniquely inclusive, tolerant attitude." What a joke! The behavior I witnessed at Roboto was something I should've expected because Pittsburghers - and especially counterculture Pittsburghers - spend so much time patting themselves and their city on the back for being "friendlier than average," and "so much better than [insert city's name here]" while striving hard to keep their social circles limited to the people they met in 7th grade. Come to think of it, Roboto could be a metaphor for trying to socialize in Pittsburgh if you didn't attend high school with your targeted social circle. If I'm ever homesick for the Midwest, all I have to do is remember institutions like Roboto (and the unemployment rate in Cleveland, and UPMC, and...) and the feeling fades in seconds. I'll close with these Dead Kennedys lyrics, which sum up The Roboto Project perfectly:"Punk's not deadIt just deserves to dieWhen it becomes another stale cartoonA close-minded, self-centered social clubIdeas don't matter, it's who you knowIf the music's gotten boringIt's because of the peopleWho want everyone to sound the sameWho drive bright people outOf our so-called scene'Til all that's left Is just a meaningless fad"

The idea behind this venue is fantastic. An opportunity for local bands and even some outsiders to play music to a small crowd is a great thing to have. I went to see Breckenwood and Time & Distance, along with a couple other bands. Everyone was great and the show was a blast. The issue came right at what I thought was the end of the night. The headliners just finished, so we were heading to the front door, when we were stopped by a guy who was clearly intoxicated and had been causing issues earlier. He told us we couldn't leave because there was another band playing. He proceeded to insult us in some very creative ways, but after a couple minutes, eventually let us out. Thanks buddy. He ended with a passionate farewell reminder to "eat a d*ick." All of this happened at the front door where I'm assuming an employee of some sort would have been standing. It was really hard to tell if anyone was actually working there beside the sound guy. All that was the long way of saying that the kind of crowd they're cool with having in there and lack of concern for the enjoyment of customers really can make this place an unpleasant experience. Unless they change, I probably won't go back.