Heinz Hall Presents Comedian Kevin James ; Meat Puppets Play at Club Cafe (CPs Sat., 10/25/14)

1) You probably know Kevin James as Doug Heffernan, the funny parcel delivery driver for IPS on the popular CBS sitcom “The King of Queens.”  On the show James’ character had a chaotic marriage, a father-in-law who lived in the basement, and a quirky bunch of friends. Other major roles have included Paul Blart: Mall Cop, Zookeeper, and Hitch. James cut his teeth in the New York comedy clubs and pulled pranks on people as an actor on the “New Candid Camera.” Later he moved to Los Angeles where he became friends with Ray Romano, whose show “Everybody Loves Raymond” was a big hit. He guest starred a few times on “Raymond” and this led to the development of his own show, “The King of Queens.” Tonight you can catch James back on the stage doing standup. 8 p.m. Heinz Hall, 600 Penn Ave., Cultural District.

2) For every alt-rock band that scored a multi-platinum album in the ’90s there were ten that never moved beyond the small-club circuit but were nonetheless pioneering, hard-working, and respected by their peers. (This is why Eddie Vedder always name-dropped five other acts in interviews back then.) One such band was Phoenix’s Meat Puppets, whose heavy but flexible sound has incorporated punk, country, and psychedelic rock in their three decades. They were so respected by the alt-rock vanguard that Nirvana invited them on stage for their “MTV Unplugged” performance. But the mainstream limelight was not for the eclectic and uncompromising Meat Puppets. They are still touring these days and tonight come to Club Cafe— the kind of tiny but much-loved club they’ve inhabited since their start. Their last album Rat Farm was released in ’13. Also headlining is Cass McCombs, a noted songwriter and musical performer. 9 p.m. 56-58 South 12th St., South Side.

3) The revived Pitt Panthers football squad, fresh off their defeat of Virgina Tech, take on Georgia Tech, the next obstacle in their attempt to win the ACC Coastal Division title. Georgia Tech has an overall record of 5-2 and is coming off a tough loss at North Carolina. Pitt head coach Paul Chryst did a nice job last week of taking what Virgina Tech was giving, which meant read-options by quarterback Chad Voytik and a tricky pass from receiver Tyler Boyd to Voytik that went for 19 yards. This is Pitt’s Homecoming weekend and it’s a late afternoon game, so the crowd should have a little extra roar. 3:30 p.m. Heinz Field, 100 Art Rooney Ave., North Shore.

4) Act of Pardon, a rising Pittsburgh alt-rock band, is having an EP release party tonight at South Side’s Rex Theater. The band will play a concert at 10:30 p.m. to celebrate its latest and second EP Present Day.  Two of the five band members—Dustin Whitney (lead vocals) and Christian Stylzz (rhythm guitar)—are college fraternity brothers from I.U.P. Another band with I.U.P. connections is The Clarks. Opening the show is Josie McQueen (9 p.m.) and closing act will be Restricted Highways (midnight). 1602 E. Carson St., South Side.

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