Big Gigantic Show at Stage AE; Cattivo Hosts Shonen Knife, Ringling Brothers at PPG Arena (Thurs., 11/3/16)

1) Big Gigantic will bring their “livetronica” to Stage AE. The electronica portion comes courtesy Dominic Lalli, who lays the beats and samples. The live portion—Jeremy Salken, who plays drums, as well as Lalli, who also plays tenor saxophone. Wild stage lighting will ensure the show is as much a visual feast as it is an audio one. The duo, based out of Boulder, Colorado, have released six albums, beginning with 2009’s Fire It Up. Their newest, this year’s Brighter Future, features rapper Waka Flocka Flame, electronic peers Cherub, and many other contemporary names in rap and electronic dance music. Big Gigantic have remixed plenty of songs too, including Wiz Khalifa’s “Black and Yellow.” On The Brighter Future Tour, Big Gigantic will donate a portion of all ticket proceeds to a local charity as part of their #ABigGiganticDifference Initiative. Grow Pittsburgh, which promotes urban agriculture, will be the Steel City recipient. Illenium open. Doors open 8 p.m. 400 North Shore Dr., North Shore. (CM)

2) When Kurt Cobain’s journals were published in 2002, many fans noted his top 50 albums. Some inclusions were unsurprising, such as The Pixies’ Surfer Rosa. You can hear The Pixies’ influence in many Nirvana songs. Also included was Burning Farm by Shonen Knife, an all-female, Japanese, pop-punk trio. What were they doing on Cobain’s list? Well, listen to a song like “On a Plain,” and beneath all that grunge, you can hear some pop. No wonder Cobain not only admired them but also asked them to open for Nirvana in 1991, which they did. Shonen Knife have inspired bands around the world since forming in Osaka, Japan, in 1981. Their show at Cattivo provides a perfect combination of musical acts, with some of Pittsburgh’s finest female-dominated bands opening. The Lopez craft noisy, hooky garage rock armed with only a keyboard and guitar. Murder for Girls are hot off the release of their superb debut LP, All the Wishes. And Boiled Denim, fronted by vocalist/bassist Sarah Ellis, who delivers all songs with a smile and sneer. 8 p.m. 146 44th St., Lawrenceville. (CM)

3) Clowns, tigers, horses, hoops, trapeze artists, acrobats, unicyclists, a ringmaster, and three rings add up to the “Greatest Show on Earth.” Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus have pulled into town, performing the latest version of their classic circus, “Circus Xtreme,“where in addition to the regular circus highlights you will also see Mongolian Marvels, BMX, Art on Trampoline, and slackline and parkcour. 7 p.m. Performances through Sunday. PPG Paints Arena, 1001 Fifth Ave., Uptown.

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