Catch the Buzz Poets at Pittsburgh Winery; Quantum Theatre Has ‘Chickens in the Yard’ (Wed., 11/25/15)

1) The Buzz Poets are like good wine. They’ll give you a buzz, and their multi-layered music comes in many varieties—from acoustic to electric and from punk-rocky to hip-hoppy. So it will be buzz time in more ways than one when the Poets play a return gig at Pittsburgh Winery. One member of the band, bass guitarist Tim Gaber, won’t have to travel far as he is the owner of Pittsburgh Winery. This Pittsburgh-based group burst onto the scene in the late 1990s with a freewheeling, high-energy style that struck a chord with folks who like their music high, wide, and weird. The Buzz Poets have built a cult following but they don’t play all that often these days, which makes the Winery gig a rare chance to find out what the cult has been imbibing. Doors at 8, music at 9 p.m. 2815 Penn Ave., Strip District. (MV)

2) Rule of thumb for enjoying a typical Quantum Theatre season: Do not bother to ask or even wonder what the next play is “about.” The value proposition is that it will be something that surprises you and can’t easily be explained in advance. Maybe an experimental work you haven’t heard of, or a play you’ve heard of but never imagined done the Quantum way, or something entirely new and bizarre. Chickens in the Yard is the last kind. The promo material that Quantum must put out to fill the maw of the mainstream media does attempt an explanation and description, because the maw expects these. A recent blurb mentions that Chickens in the Yard was created for Quantum by a Pittsburgh group called the Hatch Arts Collective; it deals with gay identity, and it’s funny. To borrow from the closing line of John Keats’ “Ode on a Grecian Urn,” that is all ye need to know. 8 p.m. Performances through December 6. At Javo Studios, 5137 Holmes St., Lawrenceville. (MV)

3) The Pens face off against the St. Louis Blues in a 7 p.m. game tonight at the Consol Energy Center. The Penguins only have Thanksgiving day off, they play the Blue Jackets Friday in Columbus. 1001 Fifth Ave., Uptown.

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