Night Ranger; The Ohio Players, The Fatback Band; and The Oak Ridge Boys in Area Concerts (Fri., 12/6/19)

1) “Sister Christian” was one of Night Ranger’s biggest hits when it rose on the Billboard Hot 100 chart to No. 5 in June 1984. The San Francisco rock band has had many iterations over the years and is extremely popular in Japan. Night Ranger’s first five albums had worldwide sales of more than 10 million. Their most recent album,2017’s Don’t Let Up, features a classic Dodge Challenger on its cover with a large hood scoop and the words “Night Ranger” on its front license plate. Catch them on tour as they perform two of their top albums, Night Patrol and Midnight Madness in their entirety, plus other hit songs from their catalog. 8 p.m. Roxian Theatre, 425 Chartiers Ave., McKees Rocks. (RH)

2) The Fatback Band and the Ohio Players are playing at the August Wilson Center as part of the We Want the Funk Festival. Drummer Bill Curtis formed The Fatback Band in 1970 in New York City. He wanted the “‘fatback’ jazz beat of New Orleans with vivid West Indie and Caribbean rhythms,” according to the band’s website. “(Do the) Spanish Hustle,” released in 1975, was the group’s take on the Hustle, a popular dance in the mid-’70s. You can make a strong case for “King Tim III (Personality Jock)” being the first hip-hop single ever. It was released in 1979, a few months before “Rapper’s Delight.” Although the Fatback Band never had a number one hit, Dayton funkateers the Ohio Players had two: “Love Rollercoaster” and “Fire.” One minute and 24 seconds into “Love Rollercoaster,” somebody screams. The most circulated explanation involved Ester Cordet, the model on the Honey album cover. The story goes the heated honey left her burned—her scream is either from the burns or the band’s manager stabbing her to death (!) after she threatened to sue for her disfigurement. Complete urban legend; it was really keyboardist Billy Beck. Cordet, a former Playboy Playmate, is still alive as of this writing. (Tickets for each show are sold separately unless one purchases a ticket for the entire festival.) 7:30 and 9 p.m. 980 Liberty Ave., Cultural District. (CM)

3) Renowned country/gospel quartet The Oak Ridge Boys stop by The Palace Theatre on their Down Home Christmas Tour. An American fixture for well over 50 years, the Oak Ridge Boys got their start as the Oak Ridge Quartet in Knoxville, Tennessee in the 1940s, shortly after World War II. Since then, they’ve had a history nearly as rich as their signature vocals—a history filled with countless awards, lineup changes, innovation, and hit singles. Their ’81 mega-hit “Elvira” has a great line “Giddy up a Oom Poppa Oom Poppa Mow Mow.” Prevailing above all else is the vocal talent employed by the four Boys: Duane Allen, Joe Bonsall, William Lee Golden, and Richard Sterban. Their latest album is 2018’s 17th Avenue Revival. 7:30 p.m. 21 W. Otterman St., Greensburg. (EC, RH)

THE SECRET LIFE OF GYM GIRLS (solo performance) by Anna Azizzy. Dec. 5 – 6, the artist at the New Hazlett Theater.

4) If you caught Anna Azizzy’s multimedia performance piece For Retired Gymnast (above), you might think you are ready for Azizzy’s new number, but think again. The artist goes deeper and farther out in The Secret Life of Gym Girls. It’s part of the Community Supported Art Performance Series at the New Hazlett Theater, 6 Allegheny Square East, North Side. (MV)

RU EMMONS and CORRINE JASMIN (two-person multidisciplinary performance). Dec. 6 only, 8 p.m., the artists at KST Alloy Studios. 

Movement artist Ru Emmons and interdisciplinary artist Corrine Jasmin team up for a multimedia performance which, they say, will explore “the corners of identity, interconnectedness, and a queer futurism.” Their piece is presented at the Kelly Strayhorn Theater’s Alloy Studios, 5530 Penn Ave., East Liberty. (MV)

Share on Social Media