Twenty One Pilots in Concert at Stage AE; Palace Hosts Kris Kristofferson (Fri., 1/27/17)

1) Can’t decide if you like rock or hip-hop more? You won’t need to pick when you see Twenty One Pilots at PPG Paints Arena. The Columbus natives work in an indie sub-genre commonly referred to as alternative hip-hop. A little funkier than Aerosmith’s mashup with Run-D.M.C. in “Walk This Way,” the duo combines various tempos and rhythms that will have you dancing and headbanging simultaneously. As demonstrated in “Holding Onto You,” the verses are rap-based with a seamless flow into a chorus and raw beat reminiscent of early Linkin Park. The end result: rock and rap had a love child and named it Twenty One Pilots. They are touring in support of their second album, 2015’s Blurryface, although they released new music in 2016: “Heathens” appeared on the Suicide Squad soundtrack, and The Mutemath Sessions is a collaborative EP with alternative rock band Mutemath. The concert is sold out, but for those lucky enough to have tickets, the fun starts at 7 p.m. 1001 Fifth Ave., Uptown. (EC/CM)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=meJA5N5vE0c

2) Kris Kristofferson has led a storied life. He was a military brat, who spent his high school years in San Mateo, California. Then onto Claremont College, where he played rugby, football, and track and field; joined a fraternity; and graduated summa cum laude in literature. A real over-achiever! His hard work earned him a Rhodes Scholarship to study at Oxford University in England. While there, he had a rocky start to a singing career. He then joined the U.S. Army and earned the rank of Captain.

After leaving the army in 1965, he moved to Nashville and worked several odd jobs to pay for his ill son’s medical treatments. One of the jobs was sweeping the floors at Columbia recording studios. He met June Carter Cash and asked her to give a tape of his to her husband, Johnny Cash. Cash received the tape and put it in a pile with a bunch of others he was given. Kristofferson didn’t give up when he didn’t hear from Cash; he simply landed a helicopter in Cash’s yard, but Cash was not home at the time. Plan B worked, however, as later that year Cash recorded Kristofferson’s “Sunday Mornin’ Comin’ Down,” which became a number one hit for Cash and won Kristofferson songwriter of the year at the country music awards. He dated rock/blues singer Janis Joplin for a period preceding her death in 1970, and she recorded a song he wrote, “Me and Bobby McGee.” The album with it—Pearl—came out after her death, and the song went to number one and stayed there for several weeks. Kristofferson songs became hits for other artist too including Ray Price, Gladys Knight & The Pips, and Waylon Jennings. He also teamed up with Jennings, Cash, and Willie Nelson to form the outlaw country super group The Highwaymen.

Film acting is on his resume too with roles in many films including most notably A Star is Born opposite Barbra Streisand. He won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy for that role. Kristofferson has recorded 18 albums; his latest is The Cedar Creek Sessions released June 2016. He played the Three Rivers Arts Festival a few years ago. This is a great opportunity to see a major cultural touchstone and enjoy some great music. 8 p.m. The Palace Theatre, 21 West Otterman St., Greensburg.

3) I Am Not Sam may sound like a riff on Sam-I-Am from Dr. Seuss’s Green Eggs and Ham, but it’s a one-man stage show about racial identity and race relations in America. The one man, Michael Phillip Edwards, is a Jamaican/Canadian playwright and actor recently working out of L.A. Having performed and won awards at venues including the Edinburgh Fringe festival, Edwards is bringing I Am Not Sam to Pittsburgh. The show’s fictional character Sam is an elderly black man who has a white son-in-law and a grandson from that marriage. Edwards plays all the roles, and while there’s an underlying story to the piece, it serves mainly as a platform for impassioned inquiry into the nature of being “black”—and of being human—in our society. I Am Not Sam is presented by the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust at the August Wilson Center. 8 p.m. Ends 980 Liberty Ave., Cultural District. (MV)

4) Good Fridays at the Warhol is a weekly party at the museum, featuring art exhibits, music, and cocktails in the high temple to Andy Warhol’s numerous talents. Free museum admission courtesy of UPMC Health Plan in January. DJ Huck Finn will spin the discs. 5 – 10 p.m. 117 Sandusky St., North Shore.

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