(Things to do while packing the truck for North Carolina…)
Friday, December 29
First Friday Art Walk, 6:00 p.m., Ellsworth Avenue, Shadyside
The Ellsworth crawl features Gallerie Chiz and their opening of “A Trip … Gilt without Guilt,” a big group show with dozens of artists working in various media. There’s also the Bella Arte gallery up there, a bunch of bars and restaurants, and the cupcake shop that gave my friend and I free cupcakes at 12:30 a.m. last Friday night as we were just walking by on the way to the car. (“CoCo’s” I think. I don’t recall for sure, because I had been drinking. Surprise.) They were delicious, a chocolate and an egg nog flavored ‘cake, and that’s as far as I’ll go into the whole “Cupcake Class” thing. That’s for them what are smarter than me to discuss.
Game Night and the Seven Minute Dance Series, 9:00 p.m., Attack Theater Studios, Garfield
Every so often throughout the night, you’ll get a seven minute dance performance by Attack Theater, so it’s like, awesome, for those of us with horrendously short attention spans. And Games? Yeah, games, like four-square, tic-tac-toe, backgammon and Atari.
Atari? I will own you at Combat, especially the bouncing bullet tank game. Know this. Word.
Saturday, January 6
Learn To Row, 11:30 a.m., TRRA Training Center, Millvale
Ok, the holidays are over, and yeah, you drank and ate as much as I did. Don’t lie… You look in the mirror and you’re like “who brought Marlon Brando back from the dead and let him into my house?” So take the free class from the Three Rivers Rowing Association and learn one of the absolute best aerobic exercises around. The only pre-requisite needed is that you be “Willing to learn and have a good time”, which is, oddly enough, exactly the pre-requisite a 32-year-old woman had for me when I dated her at the age of 21. Sure she was a cradle-robber, but a lot of fun, especially when she made me repeat things until I got them right. There’s something to be said for that method of education, because I’ve never used the wrong fork at dinner since. I mean, my fork game is ridiculous.
The Chief, 8:00 p.m., O’Reilly Theater, Cultural District, Dahntahn
This is a one-man play focusing on the story of the legendary Art Rooney, Sr. portrayed by local actor Tom Adkins. It’s co-written by Rob Zellers and Gene Collier, the latter being possibly the best local writer we have, and certainly the most entertaining every time he pecks out a column for the PG. The Chief may be making its last run, so this would be a good choice for your Saturday night.
Kill Hannah, 7:00 p.m., Mr. Smalls, Millvale
Kill Hannah does have one of the best-titled songs of last year, the alt-radio hit “Lips Like Morphine” which satellite radio has been playing the hell out of and rightfully so, it’s a great single. The openers, Pink Spiders (check out the Stewart Copeland-esque drum track on the intro to “Modern Swinger” at that link) are pretty good too. They’re described as “Striking figures in pink and jet black” and are “distant and aloof, itchy and sex-fueled.” Ok, distant, aloof, sex-fueled… Muy Rock and Roll descriptors for sure, but “itchy”? Who the hell’s itchy? Or are they throwing that out there so they’ll get pelted with Desitin at their shows?
Sunday, January 7
Seussical, 2:00 p.m., Byham Theater, Cultural District, Dahntahn
The weekend’s “Family” event, I’m posting it because I always loved Seuss. I always got this sort of subversive vibe from his books, even when I was a kid. it’s the same reason I preferred Bugs Bunny over, say Mickey Mouse. Also, a lot of you might have the “Cat in The Hat” hat from your rave days, and it’d probably be ok to wear it to the show, as long as you a.) remove it once the performance starts and b.) take the E out of the stash pocket before you leave the house.
Or maybe not, who knows? Might make the show more enjoyable. The thing is, you might not be able to get gallons and gallons water until intermission, so keep that in mind. Plus, the rest of the row might not want you touching them, telling them how much you love them. Surprisingly, at the Byham, this turns people off to you, and they think you’re odd. You will get to touch Security on the way out, though.
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Got an event planned? Would you like a whole flock of yinzers with disposable income to show up? Let Git Aht know by sending the electronic mail to gitaht@gmail.com.
Santa go straight to the Eagle.
Despite being only a couple years old, Cefalo’s Restaurant/Night Club has this sort of 30s/40s Art Deco retro feel to it, and the Big Night Band helps to contribute to the cool vibe. A traditional big band with a horn section, they play everything from standards to Van Morrison to the Police. It’s a sort of chill evening, and the dance floor is open, so go out and cut yourself a slice of rug while downing a Singapore Sling or Rob Roy.
The Second City comedy troupe drops into the O’Reilly with a holiday-themed show sending up carols, Hanukkah, family get-togethers and more. I saw them last year doing a “regular” show and was impressed. So maybe after your experience being “guy on street” at FNI the night before, you could go see professionals doing the same-ish thing.
Pub Crawl International (whose stock is tanking, by the way, I never should have invested in them, their earnings are way under forecasts) is throwing it’s December Pub Crawl a curve ball as you’ll start at Station Square, then hop the T to bars on down the line. You end up back at Station Square, so that’s good planning. Try to keep up with the group, otherwise you’ll be drinking by yourself somewhere in the South Hills.
Tiny trains, tiny trees, tiny people. It’s just like the train set you had when you were a kid, except it puts your “Tyco Under The Tree Christmas Village With Smoking Locomotive And Real Train Whistle Sounds! set” to absolute shame because it’s friggin’ enormous and really well-crafted, with 2500 square feet of realism, and actual water in the lake. (The boats are pulled by magnets underneath the platform.) If you can’t make it today, the exhibit is open through January 19th so you have plenty of time to go and revel in your model train inadequacy.
Painter Fabrizio Gerbino gets shown at 5151 for te next month or so, and tonight’s opening reception means what? Say it with me, just like we’re on some twisted, evil version of Romper Room: “Food/Beverages provided”.
Lindsay 
Sweat, booze, good music, dancing. As long as Juddy and Soccer John keep throwing these gigs, I’ll keep writing about them, because I love 60s Soul music, I love cheap drinks, and I love dancing with girls who love 60’s Soul Music and cheap drinks.
Local band Blindsider releases a CD and this is the party for it. With a self-described sound of “David Hasselhoff meets Wesley Willis”, this should be a good one. I checked out a couple of their tunes on their myspace page (Dude, like 
I dunno about this one. From the posting on Craigslist:
Hands up everyone who thought back when they announced the schedule that this would be a big game? Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?
But there are a whole bunch of other events tied into Pitt’s homecoming weekend, not the least of which is the tremendous tailgating sure to take place on a crisp, sunny (
Dear Great Ants Bass Player,
See, it’d be so easy to drop the “Hey, It’s Jeannie and Barney Miller” vibe on this one, but they both have had really good, long careers. I mean, Barbara Eden has a 
They’re coming to get you Barbara.. Wait, what? Oh.. Sorry Barbara.. You’ve got to go to them. And pay admission. And pay for parking. But still.. I mean, it is Romero’s name on it, so one has to assume high zombie quality. He’s like the Tiffany of anything Undead-related. A name you can count on, in other words.
For a documentary film about the lives of 1930s movie stars/singers Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy, I’d like to hear from anyone, particularly in the Pittsburgh area, who might have known or seen Nelson and Jeanette. This would include hearing them in local concerts, opera or nightclubs, anyone knowing them personally (especially since Jeanette was a Philly native and Nelson spent his teenage and early adults years in Philly and singing around Pennsylvania). I’m looking for friends, fans, co-workers, family and/or lovers…and annonymity is assured, if you prefer. Anyone whose parents or grandparents might have had a connection, particularly in Pittsburgh, should also contact me. Any help or leads will be appreciated, you can email me at