Fri., Oct. 8 -- Rock
During the dark days of the '90s ska revival, there were a few points of light, one being Hellcat/Moon Ska stalwarts The Slackers. Frontman and general punk/ska utility player Vic Ruggiero has produced and played on records by bands including Rancid and started a solo career while maintaining the dignity of one of the most notable contemporary throwback ska/rocksteady outfits. The Slackers play the Rex Theater tonight with Green Room, former Pittsburgher Jordan Valentine and DJ1000DBS. Andy Mulkerin 7 p.m. 1602 E. Carson St., South Side. $15. All ages. 412-381-6811 or rextheater.com
Fri., Oct. 8 – Stage
Pittsburgh Public Theatre opens its season with a Roaring '20s classic. Broadway legend and Pittsburgh native George S. Kaufman collaborated with Edna Ferber on the script for The Royal Family, a 1927 comedy about a pre-eminent stage family that's a thinly veiled spoof of the Barrymores. (Lionel, John and Ethel -- Drew came much later.) The big Public production, on a set mimicking deluxe Manhattan digs, has a large cast featuring local favorites like Helena Ruoti and David Whalen and visiting luminaries too. Tonight is opening night. Bill O'Driscoll 8 p.m. Show continues through Oct. 31. 650 Penn Ave., Dowtown. $15-60. 412-316-1600 or www.ppt.org
Sat., Oct. 9 -- Outdoors
Red, orange, yellow; merlot, cabernet, pinot noir. Red wine complements the landscape of changing colors on Venture Outdoors' Harvest Wine and Cheese Hike. Today's three-mile hike winds through the hilly terrain around Murrysville's Duff Park and ends in a repast of bread, wine and exquisite cheeses. For those not looking for quite such a heady experience, try tomorrow's shorter hike through Riverview Park, followed by a picnic of seasonal organic foods. Weenta Girmay 3-6 p.m. (Duff Park, Murrysville; $25-33). Hike and Eat Locally: 1-4 p.m. Sun. Oct. 10 (Riverview Park, North Side; $12-18). 412-255-0564 or www.ventureoutdoors.org
Sat., Oct. 9 – Tour
Haunted Pittsburgh Tours was launched this past summer with a Haunted Walking Tour of Mount Washington. Then it branched into a Haunted Pub Crawl, on the South Side, with guides, including local radio personality and standup comic Sean Collier. Stops include Gypsy Café, the Smiling Moose and Piper's Pub, among others, with chilling stories from those very locations, the vanished mills and more. The second South Side jaunt is today; also forthcoming, on Oct. 17, is an Oakland tour. BO 4:30 p.m. South Side. $20. www.HauntedPittsburghTours.com
Sat., Oct. 9 -- Rock
Stephen Kellogg & the Sixers are fresh off being honored by the Department of Defense as entertainers of the year -- not on account of any hawkish lyrical content or recruiting activities, but because they've spent a lot of time overseas entertaining U.S. troops through the U.S.O. The Massachusetts-based rock band brings its critically well-received mix of straight-ahead Springsteen rock and twangy alt-country to town tonight; Sara Watkins and Roy Jay open. AM 7 p.m. Rex Theater, 1602 E. Carson St., South Side. $15. All ages. 412-381-6811 or rextheater.com
Sat., Oct. 9 -- Dance
The ambitious little Pillow Project returns with Paper Memory. The dance troupe promises another of its multimedia installations with postmodern jazz movement, set this time to an original full-length score by PJ Roduta. The show, staged in the lounge-ishly expansive Space Upstairs, explores "the memory of a simple encounter that becomes an unwritten story waiting to be imagined." Artistic director Pearlann Porter must be pretty confident: She's scheduled 22 performances over seven weekends. Paper Memory premieres tonight. BO 8 p.m. 214 N. Lexington St., Point Breeze. $12-15. 412-225-9269 or www.pillowproject.org
Sat., Oct. 9 -- Opera
Figaro! Figaro! Fiiiigaro! Pittsburgh Opera opens its season tonight at the Benedum Center with Rossini's comedic classic The Barber of Seville. Even those unfamiliar with the work will recognize "Figaro's Aria" thanks to its appropriation by the likes of Bugs Bunny and Woody Woodpecker. The ensemble cast features nationally acclaimed baritone Matthew Worth (as Figaro), soprano Daniela Mack and tenor David Portillo, all making their Pittsburgh Opera debuts. Weenta Girmay 7 p.m. Also 7 p.m. Tue., Oct. 12, and Oct. 15 and 17. 719 Liberty Ave., Downtown. $10-150. 281-0912 or www.pittsburghopera.org
Sat., Oct. 9 -- Music
From Catholic to Protestant and back again, conflict made for good art in the age of England's religious upheaval. The Pittsburgh Renaissance & Baroque Society hosts a performance by Stile Antico, an ensemble of 12 young British singers whose repertoire draws from "The Golden Age" of English sacred music. The New York Times praised the group for its "breathtaking freshness, vitality and balance." You can even enjoy high tea during the ensemble's last hour of rehearsal. WG 8 p.m. Calvary Episcopal Church, 315 Shady Ave., Shadyside. $10-35. (High tea: $20.) 412-361-2048 or www.rbsp.org
Sun., Oct. 10 -- Zombies
Zombies move Downtown today, as Pittsburgh's leg of World Zombie Day takes over Market Square. The free, day-long event featuring live entertainment encourages you to make up, dress up, shuffle around and moan, and participate in the Zombie Olympics, brain-eating contest and more. You can help try to set a new Zombie Walk record -- or just contribute to the Greater Pittsburgh Food Bank's drive. BO Noon-8 p.m. Market Square, Downtown. Free. www.theitsaliveshow.com
Sun., Oct. 10 -- Art
It began as a way to keep warm on winter nights. But a unique confluence of geography, history and African-American culture birthed the style of the renowned Gee's Bend Quilt Collaborative of Boykin, Alabama, whose handiwork now graces museums and beds alike. A visit by eight Gee's Bend quilters highlights events linked to a 12-day exhibit at the New Hazlett Theater, sponsored by Pittsburgh's Nia Quilt Guild. Events include talks and live musical and dance performances at venues around town. There are even quilting workshops, at venues including the Homewood Carnegie Library (Mon., Oct. 11) and the Mattress Factory (Oct. 12). An opening reception for the exhibit takes place this afternoon. BO 3-6 p.m. Exhibit continues through Oct. 17. 6 Allegheny Square, North Side. $8 ($5 student/child). 412-320-4610
Sun., Oct. 10 -- Party
Want to be a witch on wheels this Halloween season? The Steel City Derby Demons host their first-ever Halloween Costume Skating Party, a family-friendly event that includes raffles, music and a costume contest. Prizes go to the winner of best child and best adult costume. The party, a fundraiser for the all-female Demons squad, takes place at Glenshaw's Romp n' Roll. WG 3:30 p.m. 1661 E. Sutter Road, Glenshaw. $6 (with a costume) or $8 (without). $2 skate-rental. 412-486-4117
Mon., Oct. 11 -- Words
While NPR listeners love him, readers of his books and his work in The New Yorker know that David Sedaris is at least as good on the page. Still, tonight, it's the essayist and humorist himself (not just his wry radio voice) who visits Heinz Hall. Sedaris has a new book, Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk, a series of satirical animal tales. Included: "Hello Kitty," about a cat in prison-mandated AA meetings, and "The Squirrel and the Chipmunk," about lovers bedeviled by family prejudices. BO 8 p.m. 600 Penn Ave., Downtown. $25-45. 412-392-4900 or www.culturaldistrict.org
Wed., Oct. 13 -- Event
The Marcellus Shale is a mile-deep, multi-state gas deposit drillers consider a bonanza; environmentalists call its tapping a big threat to our water and air. Its sprawling territory includes Pittsburgh, where more than 100 property-owners have signed drilling leases. If you want to learn more -- or even if you just want to party -- tonight's do is The Shale Trail. At six venues in Lawrenceville (where many of those leases are held), activists and elected officials join rock bands, DJs and even (at 8:30 p.m.) a marching band down Butler Street to raise awareness and raise funds for a Nov. 3 Marcellus protest. The evening also includes punk-rock karaoke at Belvedere's; a circus-themed party at Blue Moon; two separate screenings of shale-gas documentary Gasland; the Common Ground Social, an info session at Hambone's; and a Pennsylvania-themed trivia quiz night at Brillobox. BO All events begin at 7 p.m. or later. Lawrenceville. $5 donation ($10 for all venues). 412-641-9191 or www.marcellusprotest.org
Wed., Oct. 13 -- Music
Aficionados of obscuro world music perk up upon hearing the phrase "Sublime Frequencies." That's the Seattle label that releases tons of otherwise unknown contemporary and historical music mostly hailing from Asia, the Middle East and North Africa. Robert Millis, a curator of the label headed by Hisham Mayet and Sun City Girls' Alan Bishop, appears tonight at Pittsburgh Filmmakers' Melwood Screening Room to present The World Is Unreal Like a Snake in a Rope, footage from his travels in India. He'll play improv music with the film; local shaman Jim Lingo opens with his travel films from Sudan and Uganda. AM 7 p.m. 477 Melwood Ave., Oakland. $5. All ages. 412-681-5449 or pghfilmmakers.org
Wed., Oct. 13 -- Rock
If you're confused, it's understandable: The band formerly known as Starfucker has -- for whatever reason -- recently dropped some letters from its name to become STRFKR. The change hasn't hurt much; the band also just dropped "Julius," a 7-inch single that anticipates the full-length the band is issuing through Polyvinyl Record Co. next year. It's two tracks of warm, weird-but-poppy synth rock that'll no doubt end up in a car commercial (and we mean that in the best possible way). STRFKR plays Garfield Artworks tonight with a synth-y outfit that hasn't dropped its vowels, Octopus Project, in a show produced by frequent CP contributor MNNY THNR. Discuss opens. AM 8 p.m. 4931 Penn Ave., Garfield. $8-10. All ages. 412-361-2262 or garfieldartworks.com
