HOT LIST THINGS TO DO
Eric Church (Friday)
Having released a triptych of albums, titled “Heart & Soul,” during the pandemic, the rowdy country-rocker from North Carolina has plenty of new material for the 55-city Gather Again Tour that stops at PPG Paints Arena. According to the Buffalo News, “The two-set concert of 33 songs flowed beautifully, swinging from booming rock-country to more quiet and contemplative Church compositions. All took place on the tour’s well-engineered in-theround stage, giving ample space for each band member to move about on its two levels.” 8 p.m. $30; ticketmaster.com.
Fall Flower Show: Happy Troll-O-Ween (Saturday)
Are you ready to get Trolled? Phipps Conservatory & Botanical Gardens opens the doors to a creepy, crawly Fall Flower Show presented by “The Hidden Life of Trolls.” It features thousands of chrysanthemum blooms, Fen and Ivy in Halloween costumes, a 10-foot-tall gnarled tree inspired by the crooked windswept trees of Trollskogen (“troll forest”) in Sweden, Aegir the water troll’s new fall look, a trio of trick-or-trollers asking Bjorn the grumpy troll for treats, fall-themed riddles from Bridget the bridge troll and more. It runs through Oct. 31; phipps.conservatory.org.
Joe Rogan (Saturday)
Rogan takes a night off from 180-minute interviews to do an evening of standup in Pittsburgh on The Sacred Clown Tour. The country’s No. 1 podcaster was making a name for himself as a kickboxer when he began to convert to comedy in 1988, at age 21, in the Boston clubs. He went on to star in the sitcoms “Hardball” and “NewsRadio” and then become the host of gross-out show “Fear Factor” and a UFC commentator. In 2010, he launched “The Joe Rogan Experience,” a platform for intimate hourslong conversations with comedians, musicians, scientists and politicians of all stripes. In those he manages to work in favorite topics such as MMA training, hot yoga, psychedelics and the comedy club circuit. His most recent controversy was saying he beat COVID-19 with a regimen that included monoclonal antibodies, Ivermectin and vitamins. 8 p.m. $47.25; ticketmaster.com.
Reel Q Pittsburgh LGBTQ+ Film Festival (Friday)
The festival opens for its 36th year in hybrid online/in-person form with 14 feature films and more than 60 shorts. It launches 8 p.m. Friday with a drag show and drive-in screening of Alex Liu’s “Sexplanation,” a comic documentary that explores the failures of sex ed in our schools, at Central Outreach Wellness Center on the North Side ($20, includes food voucher for the food trucks and two drink tickets). The Saturday night event is the Pittsburgh premiere of “Boy Culture: The Series,” a comedy about the life and love of an aging hustler, at True T Studios in Bloomfield with a Q&A with the creators and cast. Film starts at 8 p.m. Reel Q continues through Oct. 16 online and at The Andy Warhol Museum and True T Studios in Bloomfield; reelq.org.
‘Monster Fish’ (Friday)
The Carnegie Museum of Natural History opens “Monster Fish: In Search of the Last River Giants,” an immersive exhibition from the National Geographic Society that features life-size sculptures of monster fish as well as videos and hands-on interactive activities for all ages. It focuses on freshwater ecosystems, threats to survival and conservation efforts, as well as cultural ties between fish and people. Timed tickets are $19.95; $11.95 kids 3-18; carnegiemnh.org.
MORE TO DO
Thursday: Off the Record XXI, which raised more than $33,000 last year for Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank, debuts online with the theme of “getting vaxxed.” The musical theater show honors Mike Lange (with an intro by Gene Collier) and features tributes to retiring KDKA-TV newscaster Paul Martino and former PG theater critic Chris Rawson, who is retiring as OTR producer after 20 years. There will be sketches centering on Jonas Salk and Dolly Parton, shot at Con Alma, Downtown. It’s at 8 p.m. on the Off The Record Pittsburgh YouTube channel.
Friday: Throwback pop-jazz ensemble
Scott Bradlee’s Postmodern Jukebox arrives at Carnegie of Homestead Music Hall “the most sensational ’20s party this side of The Great Gatsby.” 8 p.m. $40; druskyentertainment.com.
Saturday: City Theatre opens its previews of “Live From the Edge,” a production that tracks the evolution of language from nursery rhymes and community rituals to hip-hop, gospel, Latin jazz and downhome blues. It’s a collaboration with the New York-based UNIVERSES, a National Theater Company of Color that consists of a revolving set of multidisciplined writers and performers. Times are 7 p.m. Tuesdays; 1 and/or 7 p.m. Wednesdays; 8 p.m. Thursdays and Fridays; 1 and 5:30 p.m. Saturdays; and 2 and 7 p.m. Sundays. Through Oct. 31. Tickets start at $29; CityTheatreCompany.org.
Saturday: Kelly Strayhorn Theater opens with “CIRCLES: reclamation,” an art exhibit highlighting Black visual artists, including Staycee Pearl, Bekezela Mguni, Kitoko Chargois and sarah huny young. 6-9 p.m. It runs through Oct. 31; kelly-strayhorn.org.
Saturday: Calliope kicks off its season and return to live concerts at the Kelly Strayhorn Theater in East Liberty with The Dirk Powell Band. The fiddler, banjo player and singer from Oberlin, Ohio, is a four-time Grammy winner whose playing has been featured in “Cold Mountain,” “Riverdance, The Show” and Spike Lee’s “Bamboozled.” 7:30 p.m. $35; $18 students; calliopehouse.org.
Saturday: Pittsburgh legends Donnie Iris & the Cruisers bring “Ah! Leah!,” “Love Is Like a Rock” and all the hits to McKees Rocks for a show at the Roxian. 7 p.m.; ticketmaster.com.