Justin Bieber Performs at Consol; Heinz Hall Hosts Culture Club (Wed., 7/13/16)

1) Non-“beliebers,” bear witness. According to Billboard, Justin Bieber counts over 10 billion total video views on Vevo—the first artist to do so. He is also the youngest solo male act to reach number one on the Billboard 200 since Stevie Wonder. Bieber not only sings and dances but also plays guitar and piano. Hate his haircut, hate his run-ins with the law and the tabloids, but there’s no denying it—the man’s a phenomenon. Bieber, who is from Stratford, Ontario, began as just one of countless child singers on YouTube. Then R&B singer Usher became his mentor. An almost-overnight teen heartthrob, Bieber has since pivoted his career toward a more mature sound. 2012’s Believe, his third album, is more R&B while 2015’s Purpose includes elements of EDM, as on the Skrillex-and-Diplo-produced “Where Are Ü Now.” That song later won a Grammy Award for Best Dance Recording—Bieber’s first Grammy. He plays Consol Energy Center this month. 7:30 p.m. 1001 Fifth Ave., Uptown. (CM)

2) Formed in England in 1981, and led by the charismatic, androgynously styled Boy George, Culture Club created songs that were in heavy radio rotation and shown frequently on the then newly launched MTV. The original band lineup is now back together and touring again, with a stop in Pittsburgh. Culture Club’s music is a little bit of sugar pop, a touch of rock, and a melodic mix of lead and backing vocal harmonies. The group’s second album Colour by Numbers went quadruple platinum in the U.S. and was named one of Rolling Stone’s Top 100 albums of the 1980s. Widely known for their hits including “Time (Clock of the Heart),” “Karma Chameleon,” and “Do You Really Want to Hurt Me,” Boy George and Culture Club became such a part of popular culture that George was affectionately satirized in the Adam Sandler film The Wedding Singer. 7:30 p.m. Heinz Hall, 600 Penn Ave., Strip District. (RH)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cutI6c75TrM

3) “Not Fade Away,” indeed. The Grateful Dead live on in a new incarnation, Dead & Company, formed last year by young-guy musical phenom John Mayer with original Dead members Bob Weir and Bill Kreutzmann and long-timer Mickey Hart. And given that the original Dead made some memorable stops in our town (when they visited in 1989, then-mayor Sophie Masloff famously referred to them as “the Dreadful Dead”), the new undead Dead couldn’t pass us up. They’ll be at First Niagara Pavilion, so if you missed the chance to be an original Deadhead, tie on a tie-dye and schedule nothing for early the next day. Will it be exactly like old times? Not with Jerry Garcia gone. And nothing may ever match the Dead’s Acid Test gigs of the ‘60s (and probably shouldn’t). But Dead & Company’s set lists are loaded with vintage Dead—“China Cat Sunflower,” “St. Stephen,” “Ripple”—and new enhancements are added. The new group includes a couple of great musicians in bass guitarist and drummer Oteil Burbridge and keyboardist Jeff Chimenti. The repertoire includes covers of Dylan songs and others. It’s the best of all possibles. 7 p.m. 665 Rte. 18, Burgettstown. (MV)

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