SpacePimps at Altar Bar; Irony City Improv Holiday Show (CPs Sat., 12/21/13)

1) Tonight at Altar Bar, The SpacePimps are holding a tenth anniversary show. That’s a pretty good run for a band that plays pop punk (a consciously juvenile genre) but it was probably pretty easy to keep going as the band got invites to play the Warped Tour and serenade audiences in Japan and China with their three-chord songs about partying, girls and feeling confused, man. In any case, we think holding onto your youth in such a way is pretty admirable and totally punk. Patent Pending, The Switch Kids, Before You and The Skunk 11 open tonight’s show. 7 p.m. 1620 Penn Ave., Strip District.

2) The holidays are a time when families scattered across the country come together and that’s apparently true for makeshift families of amateur comedians. Tonight at the Arcade Comedy Theater, Irony City Improv is holding a Holiday Reunion Spectacular featuring both current and former members in a show organized for a reason very true to the season: raising funds for the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank. Also, every dollar earned from your ticket price will be matched by the Pittsburgh Foundation. Maybe they solicited a past audience to “name a scene of heart-warming goodness!” and got this idea as a response. 10 p.m. 811 Liberty Ave., Cultural District.

3) Legs Like Tree Trunks is just a hard-working Pittsburgh indie band with gentle guitars and dreamy vocals. They’ve got one EP out and are aiming to deliver their first proper album in the spring. As the band members tour to expand their fan base, their Facebook page recounts all the times they’ve showed up for gigs in places like Nashville and New Orleans only to have to cyber-beg for a place for stay for the night. Hopefully, their show at Stage AE tonight should have fewer logistical issues. Also on the bill: Nevada Color, Gotobeds, and Shockwave. 7 p.m. 400 North Shore Dr., North Shore.

4) “I was born to rock!” Joe Grushecky belts out on his new album, Somewhere East of Eden. That has been apparent for a long time. A special-ed teacher by trade, Grushecky has been active in the Pittsburgh scene since the late ’70s. Usually with his backing band the Houserockers, this Springsteen of Appalachia has kept gigging and recording working-class rock since before there were VHS tapes. The latest in his series of hard-rocking local shows is today at the Wheelhouse Bar within the Rivers Casino. 10 p.m. 777 Casino Dr., North Shore.

5) Peppy kids’ classics and lite FM favorites are not the only kind of Christmas songs, and the young musicians of Chatham Baroque will prove that tonight with their Notte di Natale concert. The program includes the Noel-evoking compositions of such heavy hitters as Handel, Scarlatti, Bach, and Buxtehude. The university ensemble will be performing it this Friday through Sunday at Sewickley’s St. James Parish. 8 p.m. 200 Walnut St., Sewickley.

6) Today at the Consol Energy Center, the Penguins try to put out the Calgary Flames. 1 p.m. 1001 Fifth Ave., Uptown.

Share on Social Media