Bill Toms and Hard Rain Celebrate Twenty Years With Club Cafe Concert; Pittsburgh Ballet Staging ‘Mozart in Motion’ (Sat., 10/27/18)

1) Bill Toms and Hard Rain with the Soulville Horns will be rockin’ out Club Cafe tonight. Toms’ slightly raspy, deeply soulful voice and his guitar playing prowess combine with the drums, horns, and rest of the band to create a hot rock sound. Their latest release is Good For My Soul. The band also recorded a recent concert at Club Cafe, so look for a live album or some live tracks to come out sometime in the future. Tonight is a celebration of Bill Tom’s and Hard Rain 20 years as a band. Also helping with the festivities is Soulful Femme (featuring Stevee Wellons and Cheryl Rinovato). Music begins at 8 p.m. 56-58 S. 12th St., South Side. 

Bill Toms plays some killer lead guitar riffs (c.) while Hard Rain and the Soulville Horns jam on.

2) Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre opens its season with Mozart in Motion, a program of three short ballets set to the music of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. “Divertimento No. 15” was choreographed by George Balanchine to Mozart’s composition of that title, a vigorously majestic piece scored for strings and horns. The other two dances are from the adventurous Czech choreographer Jiří Kylián, and they differ greatly in mood. “Sechs Tänze” is a comical, borderline silly ballet that conveys Kylián’s notion of Mozart’s “Six German Dances.” Closing the show is “Petite Mort,” which premiered at the Salzburg Festival in 1991 to mark the 200th anniversary of Mozart’s death. Set to a pair of his piano concertos, it is a dramatic, haunting ballet, performed in part by dancers who wield fencing foils. The PBT Orchestra plays the music for all three. 8 p.m. Continues through tomorrow. Benedum Center, 237 7th St., Cultural District. (MV)

3) Witness excerpts from two related, modern-dance productions: Ursula and the 11,000 Virgins + The Golden Legend. The companion pieces are non-narrative, and both tell the story of early Christian martyrs and saints. Christopher Williams, an internationally renowned choreographer, dancer, and puppeteer, created the pieces. He will perform them at the New Hazlett Theater. Additionally, he received a Bessie Award in 2005 in the Choreographer/Creator category for Ursula and the 11,000 Virgins. The Bessie Awards honor independent dance work in New York City. They are named after the dance teacher Bessie Schönberg. 7:30 p.m. Ends tomorrow. 6 Allegheny Square East, North Side. (CM)

Pitt Panthers running back Darrin Hall runs to daylight in last year’s game against the Duke Blue Devils. Photo: Jeffrey Gamza/Pitt Athletics.

4) Our hometown University of Pittsburgh Panthers take on the Duke University Blue Devils at Heinz Field. Coach Narduzzi is trying to get his team back in the win column after a close loss last week at the hands of Notre Dame. Last year Pitt running back Darrin Hall had a big game against the Blue Devils. Hopefully lightning (Hall) will strike again this year. Kickoff is at 3:30 p.m. 100 Art Rooney Ave., North Shore.

5) Pittsburgh power rock/heavy metal band, Icarus Witch, is having an album release bash at Get Hip Recordings. The group has toured North America many times, played in Europe and performed with bands like Black Sabbath, Queensrÿche, Amorphis, Coheed & Cambria, Twisted Sister and others. Goodbye Cruel World is the band’s sixth album. The evening will feature a show and album listening session with behind-the-scenes stories about the songs. Their concert info also promises drinks, snacks, and maybe even a few Halloween costumes. Rock Bottom Brewery will be on hand and there will be exclusive deals and a  20% discount on everything at the Get Hip Record Store. The company is a record label and distributor of over 20,000 titles in independent music and was started by members of the rock band The Cynics. It is now led by Cynics guitarist Gregg Kostelich and his wife, Barbara Garcia-Bernardo. Opening is Chasing the Sun. 7 p.m. 1800 Columbus Ave., Manchester.

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