Mitski in Concert at Mr. Smalls; Byham Hosts Innovative ‘Leo’ ; Imagination Journey Plays Palace (Fri., 3/29/19)

1) Indie-rock singer-songwriter Mitski went from selling out Cattivo to selling out Mr. Smalls Theatre in just over a year. Listen to the operatic “Geyser,” a love song which takes off at about the 1:19 mark, to understand why. “Geyser” is the first song on Mitski’s fifth album, Be the Cowboy, which topped many a best-of list last year, including Consequence of Sound’s The Top 50 Albums of 2018 and Pitchfork’s The 50 Best Albums of 2018. Born Mitski Miyawaki, she studied music at Purchase College in New York. She self-released two albums while still a student. Her third album, Bury Me at Makeout Creek, was released in 2014 on Double Double Whammy records. It was well-received, as was her last album, 2016’s Puberty 2. She’s had a great discography so far, and her career will continue to be one to watch. Jay Som opens. 8 p.m. 400 Lincoln Ave., Millvale. (CM)

2) Leo, the bizarre theater piece visiting Pittsburgh, demonstrates what can happen when a skilled pantomime comic adds technology to his act. The show grew from an idea hatched by a German performer, Tobias Wegner. A fan of the physical comedy in old silent films, Wegner had learned that art well. He also knew that a camera frame turned sideways will flip things, so that, for instance, a person crawling across a floor appears to be climbing a flat wall in defiance of gravity. Wegner’s idea was to give the audience both views at once. In a piece called Wall Clown, he’d perform a comic routine live, while a flipped-perspective video stream of his movements played on a large screen next to him. Leo elaborates on this device. Developed by Chamäleon Productions of Berlin and Y2D Productions of Montreal, it adds more twists, creating hallucinatory (and often hilarious) effects. The show has won awards at festivals including the Edinburgh Fringe. See Leo here at the Byham Theater. 7 p.m. Continues through tomorrow with a subscriber’s show. 101 6th St., Cultural District. (MV)

3) There was a time when the art form known as the circus seemed destined to fade into history’s back pages, but it never went away, it just evolved. Modern circus companies have proliferated over the past few decades. They seldom use animal acts, removing concerns about the treatment of our fellow creatures. They often perform indoors. And they visit places like The Palace Theatre, where the touring circus Imagination Journey appears for an evening extravaganza. 8 p.m. 21 W. Otterman St., Greensburg. (MV)

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