Dance Council Showcases Michael Clark Company; The Ready Set and Metro Station at Altar Bar (CP’s Sat., 11/1/14)

Michael Clark Company, dancer Benjamin Warbis. Photo: Jake Walters

1) On a post-Halloween night, what could be better than a post-punk dance troupe? The Michael Clark Company is in town tonight and hitting the boards at the Byham. Scottish dancer and choreographer Michael Clark became the enfant terrible of the U.K. scene in the 80s, when, after studying at London’s Royal Ballet School, he began creating pieces that had ballet underpinnings but weren’t exactly Swan Lake. He collaborated with hard-driving rock groups like The Fall. He’s had his dancers cross-dress and wear costumes with bare bottoms. He recruited his mother—his very own mum—to dance a number that depicted her giving birth to him. Clark, now 52, keeps pushing his company to test limits. “Extreme is good for me,” he told the British press recently. “I’m not really interested in the middle ground.” Presented by the Pittsburgh Dance Council. 8 p.m. Byham Theater, 101 6th St., Cultural District.

2) The Outsiders Tour makes its stop tonight at Altar Bar. All similarities to the S.E. Hinton work cease at the name, but pop-rock fans will still be in for a “novel” treat–four bands, one night. Headliners include The Ready Set and Metro Station. The Ready Set is the stage name of Jordan Mark Witzigreuter (he uses a full band while on tour). From Fort Wayne, Indiana, Witzigreuter created The Ready Set in his childhood home’s basement. By 19, he was signed to Decaydance Records, a label operated by Fall Out Boy bassist Pete Wentz. He is arguably best known for his 2010 single, “Love Like Woe.” Los Angeles’s The Metro Station, a product of the MySpace music boom, received similar early success. Their debut was released before the duo’s members were old enough to vote. They are now on a reunion tour of sorts as lead guitarist Trace Cyrus rejoins the band for the first time in four years. (Yes, that Cyrus. Miley is his half-sister.) Their single “Shake It” went to number 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 2008. Against the Current and The Downtown Fiction will also perform. 6:30 p.m. 1620 Penn Ave., Strip District.

3) Our neighbors from a town to the north—the Buffalo Sabres—are lining up against our Pens tonight for a little game of ice hockey in front of a large crowd at the Consol Energy Center pond, 7 p.m. 1001 Fifth Ave., Uptown.

4) The Pitt Panthers are coming off a stumbling, fumbling football game against Georgia Tech last week in front of a Homecoming crowd. It has been said that there is a thin line between winning and losing. Winning against the Duke Blue Devils today keeps the Panthers alive in the ACC Coastal Division race; a loss makes a hunt for the crown less likely and puts Coach Chyrst in the hot seat. Noon kickoff. Heinz Field, 100 Art Rooney Ave., North Shore.

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