Thu., Oct. 28 -- Rock
Even if you're not a year-round goth, a little darkness is never out of place as we approach Halloween. At 31st Street Pub tonight, catch DJ Heim and Miss Amber with Metropolis Records recording artists Bella Morte. The band, around since the late 1990s, churns out dark, synthy pop-rock, topped with the smooth, gloomy vocals of Andy Deane. Don't underestimate the power of the dark side. Aaron Jentzen 10 p.m. 3101 Penn Ave., Strip District. $10. 412-391-8334 or www.31stpub.com
Fri., Oct. 29 -- Fundraiser
They wood: Friends of the Pittsburgh Urban Forest wants everyone to appreciate what trees do, from giving shade and cleaning the air to giving us something to lean on. Even fallen trees are good, and not just for starting fires. At its Arbor Aid 2010 fundraiser, in the Strip District's Guardian Storage Building, there's live music and locally sourced food and drink. But there's also art and crafts from salvaged wood, featured in an exhibit and artists' market showcasing more than 50 area artists and woodworkers. Also tonight: The group reveals its new name. Bill O'Driscoll 7-11 p.m. 2839 Liberty Ave., Strip District. $25-30. 412-362-6360 or www.pittsburghforest.org
Fri., Oct. 29 -- Music
The Pittsburgh Camerata's special Halloween-weekend performance, "Tales from the Otherworld: Music for All Souls and Saints," tells the story of Orpheus' descent to the underworld to rescue his lover, Eurydice. It begins with a solo organ performance of Mussorgsky's dramatic and winding "Night on Bald Mountain," continues with a selection of choral music by this professional chamber choir, and ends with Bach's most famous organ piece, "Toccata in D minor." Tonight's the first of three performances in three different venues, the final being a spooky late-night Oct. 30 show to which audience members are encouraged wear costumes. Weenta Girmay 8 p.m. (Mount Lebanon United Methodist Church; $5-15). Also 7:30 p.m. Sat., Oct. 30 (Sixth Presbyterian Church, Squirrel Hill; $5-15), and 11 p.m.-midnight, Sat., Oct. 30 (Heinz Memorial Chapel, Oakland, $5). 412-421-5884 or www.pittsburghcamerata.org
Sat., Oct. 30 -- Outdoors
Today, don't whistle past the graveyard. Walk right in, and collect tombstone rubbings. Tombstone Geocaching, courtesy of Venture Outdoors, takes to Homewood Cemetery to teach about global positioning systems and historic tombstones in a just-slightly morbid twist on this burgeoning outdoors activity. BO 1:30-3:30 p.m. Homewood Cemetery, Squirrel Hill. $5. 412-255-0564 or www.ventureoutdoors.org
Sat., Oct. 30 -- Words
When Sarah Wexler began working on her MFA manuscript in the creative nonfiction program at Pitt, in 2005, she didn't expect it would turn out like this. Living Large: From SUVs to Double Ds, Why Going Bigger Isn't Going Better is Wexler's first book, new this week from St. Martin's Press. The author, now a staff writer for Allure magazine in New York City, spent her undergrad and grad-school days in Pittsburgh, where she did some of her research -- like worshipping at a megachurch and test-driving a Hummer. She reads from the book today at Joseph-Beth Booksellers. (For an interview with Wexler, see the "Program Notes" blog at www.pghcitypaper.com.) Andy Mulkerin 2 p.m. 510 S. 27th St., South Side. Free. 412-381-3600.
Sat., Oct. 30 -- DJs
While ?uestlove is likely the most famous DJ on the docket for The Andy Warhol Museum's Film, Fame & Fifteen Minutes gala at David L. Lawrence Convention Center, perhaps the most interesting (and fitting, for the Warhol) is DJ /rupture. The DJ -- real name Jace Clayton -- is the kind of guy who works readings of Jean Baudrillard into his show on New York City's legendary WFMU, and who's as fascinated with the avant-garde as he is with danceable beats. The gala marks the 15th anniversary of the museum's opening; the early festivities are gala-priced, but the dance party -- while not cheap, being a fundraiser -- is a bit more affordable. AM 6 p.m. (9 p.m. dance party). 10th Street and Penn Avenue, Downtown. $75-500. 412-237-8300 or www.warhol.org
Sat., Oct. 30 -- Stage
For years, F.J. Hartland has been among Pittsburgh's best and busiest resident playwrights, known for his sharp wit. Now he offers a new adaption of a literary classic. Hartland's take on Washington Irving's The Legend of Sleepy Hollow mixes the colonial-set story of Ichabod Crane, Katrina Van Tassel and a certain equestrian demon with scenes of kids telling ghost stories around a campfire. Mark Calla directs. Tonight is opening night for this world premiere at the New Hazlett Theater, doubling as the season-opener for family-friendly Prime Stage Theatre. BO 8 p.m. Show continues through Nov. 7. 6 Allegheny Square, North Side. $10-20. 412-320-4610 or www.primestage.org
Sun., Oct. 31 -- Words
It was in 1990, with an appropriate flair for the macabre, that conspirators Richard Goldman and Mary Alice Gorman chose Halloween to launch Mystery Lovers Bookshop. The store has not only survived the tsunami of chain bookstores that's help sweep away most of our town's independents -- it now ranks as the country's third-largest mystery-book emporium, nationally known for its annual festival of mystery and for regularly hosting world-famous authors. Celebrate this Oakmont institution's birthday at today's 20th Anniversary Halloween Birthday Celebration. Highlights include an appearance by author Michael Ayoob; a 10-cent book sale; 20 percent off any hardcover purchased today; and ghost stories by Alison K. Babusci. There's even free cappuccino. BO Noon-6 p.m. 514 Allegheny River Blvd., Oakmont. Free. 888-800-6078 or www.mysterylovers.com
Mon., Nov. 1 -- Words
Madhur Jaffrey was destined to live a life of flavor. Author of bestselling Indian cookbooks and the memoir Climbing the Mango Trees, Jaffrey tells the story of her exotic life as marked by food. Jaffrey's family blends Hindu, Muslim and British traditions, sharpening her understanding of food as a translation of culture. She peppers her commentary with recipes from the cookbook At Home With Madhur Jaffrey: Simple Delectable Dishes from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. The author visits the Drue Heinz Lecture Series tonight. WG 7:30 p.m. Carnegie Music Hall, 4400 Forbes Ave., Oakland. $10-25. 412-622-8866 or pittsburghlectures.org
Mon. Nov. 1 -- Rock
Don't expect a mellow affair tonight when Richard Thompson plays the Byham Theater. The folk-rock guitar god and songwriter supreme is touring in support of Dream Attic, his latest album, consisting of all-new material recorded in front of a live audience; Mojo has praised its "outrageous vigour normally only found in new, young bands attacking songs written days earlier." As Thompson gleefully sings, "I'm bad again, I'm bad again!" Since he's performing with the same scorching four-piece band tonight, you're in for a treat. AJ 8 p.m. 101 Sixth St., Downtown. $33.25-39.25. 412-456-6666 or www.pgharts.org
Tue., Nov. 2 -- Stage
"Rapturous," "ravishing" and "masterly" were some of the adjectives with which critics greeted 2008's first-ever (believe it or not) Broadway revival of Rodgers & Hammerstein's 1949 classic South Pacific. The show, set on a tropical island during World War II, is as acclaimed for its sober portrait of wartime and racial prejudice as it is for tunes like "Some Enchanted Evening" and "There Is Nothin' Like a Dame." The touring, multi-Tony-winning Lincoln Center production that PNC Broadway Across America presents for eight shows at the Benedum Center starting tonight even has local ties: Lead performer David Pittsinger is a two-time Pittsburgh Opera artist of the year, while actor Anderson Davis and conductor/music director Larrgy Goldberg are Carnegie Mellon grads. BO 8 p.m. Show continues through Nov. 7. 719 Liberty Ave., Downtown. $20-70. 412-456-6666 or www.pgharts.org
Tue., Nov. 2 -- Rock
It's difficult to find descriptors for a band that's been around for 30 years, exploring the vanguard of rock experimentation, and that already has the word "legendary" in its name. The Legendary Pink Dots are durable, ever-changing, internationally influential. The Dutch-and-English band combines elements of krautrock, pop and experimental noise-rock; expect plenty of ambient weirdness and synthetic sounds at Thunderbird Café tonight as the band appears on its 30th anniversary tour. Jordan Decay opens the show, put on by frequent CP contributor Manny Theiner. AM 9 p.m. 4023 Butler St., Lawrenceville. $20-25. 412-682-0177 or thunderbirdcafe.net
Wed., Nov. 3 -- Words
Pittsburgh -- somehow we keep ending up somebody's No. 1 City even though half the country thinks we're still some soot-caked backwater. Example: The Huffington Post just listed us No. 2 among "Best Cities for the Newly Graduated." You say, "Really?" But the trend-trackers of cityLIVE! want to know how to keep this going. The discussion series' panel tonight includes Carnegie Mellon computer-science prof Luis von Ahn; urban-redevelopment consultant Regina Koettes, who relocated here; and Jim Russell, a professional geographer and co-founder of the Pittsburgh Expatriate Network, a brand-new initiative to better the region by building networks among Pittsburghers-in-spirit, no matter where they live. The moderator is Jessie Schell, CEO and founder of Schell Games. BO 6:30 p.m. 6 Allegheny Square, North Side. Free. 412-320-4610
Thu., Nov. 4 -- Words
Kimiko Hahn is a poet always glancing over her shoulder, aware of her ancestors. Her poetry is influenced by the life and times of women writers, often reinventing the ancient forms of these writers, such as the zuihitsu, or "pillow book," and nu shu, a nearly extinct script Chinese women used to correspond with one another. She's published several books of poetry, including Toxic Flora and The Narrow Road to the Interior and her work has twice been featured in The New Yorker. She reads here today as a part of the Pittsburgh Contemporary Writers Series. WG 8:30 p.m. Thu., Nov. 4. Frick Fine Arts Auditorium, Schenley Drive, Oakland. Free. 412-624-6508 or www.creativewriting.pitt.edu
