Joe Grushecky and The Houserockers Perform ‘American Babylon’ at Club Cafe; CHMH Hosts Pop Musician/Harpist Joanna Newsom (Sat., 12/12/15)

1) Local rock royalty Joe Grushecky is back in one of his favorite Pittsburgh neighborhoods tonight, the South Side. Grushecky sang about his love for Pittsburgh and the South Side in his ’09 album East Carson Street. He’ll be playing a gig at Club Cafe with his top-notch band, The Houserockers, which includes longtime members Art Nardini (bassist) and Jeffrey “Joffo” Simmons (drummer). Joe Grushecky and The Houserockers played the legendary Jersey shore club The Stone Pony in October where they celebrated the 20th anniversary of their album American Babylon.  They will continue their American Babylon celebration at Club Cafe. Grushecky’s latest album is 2013’s Somewhere East of Eden. 9 p.m. 56 – 58 S. 12th St. (RH)

2) “Sapokanikan” is the first single off singer-songwriter Joanna Newsom’s fourth album, Divers. The title refers to a Native American village that once stood on the island of Manhattan. Newsom then invokes the poet Percy Bysshe Shelley and a host of artists and politicians to describe the historical erasures that one often forgets during a visit to the Big Apple. She delivers the tune in a voice that alternates between Joni Mitchell and Liza Minnelli. So goes the complexity of Newsom, whose lyrics and instrumentals demand repeated listens. Yet, despite the denseness of her work, she remains surprisingly accessible. Her debut, 2004’s The Milk-Eyed Mender sold over 200,000 copies stateside. Not bad for a musician whose primary instrument is the harp. Her other work has fared equally well, if not better, including 2010’s triple-LP, Have One on Me. In 2014, she narrated the film Inherent Vice. She is a native of Nevada City, California, a true hippie town, but will be bringing her soprano voice and harp prowess to the ‘burgh for a show at Carnegie of Homestead Music Hall. 8 p.m. 510 E 10th Ave., Munhall. (CM)

3) The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2 – When last we left our heroine Katniss Everdeen she and other leaders of the rebellion where planning their siege on the Capitol and President Snow. At least I think so. I’ve seen all the earlier movies but can’t really remember what happened in each. I’m pretty sure that in Part 1 a bunch of people in oatmeal colored shifts were hiding out in a bunker while fighter jets were bombing them. I guess in this one they come outside and, judging from the trailer I saw, follow Katniss in her quest to bring down the empire. Closing out the franchise are Jennifer Lawrence, Elizabeth Banks, Liam Hemsworth, Julianne Moore, Jena Malone, Josh Hutcherson, Woody Harrelson, Donald Sutherland, Stanley Tucci and, in one of his last performances, Philip Seymour Hoffman. Check Fandango for screens and times. (TH)

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