A & E

This might be the "Year of Glass" in Pittsburgh, but it might not be for everyone. Just ask Grant Bobitski, curator at moxie DaDA Gallery on the North Side. He's put together an exhibit of sculpture that features indoor and outdoor works made of anything but glass by local, national and international artists. "No Glass" opens Saturday night with a free reception from 7-10 p.m.

"It's not that we don't like glass," Bobitski says. "It's not that we're interested in bucking the trend. It's just that you can see glass just about anywhere you look for the duration of 2007 in and around the Pittsburgh nation. How about a year of peat moss?"

We say, why not?

The exhibit continues through Aug. 25. moxie DaDA is at 1416 Arch St. on the North Side and is open noon-6 p.m. Thursdays; noon-8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays; and noon-5 p.m. Sundays.

Details: 412-682-0348 or www.moxiedada.com.

-- Kurt Shaw

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Rock
Men in black

Rock 'n' roll cool is a relative thing. It's a combination of looks, charisma and, yes, even music, and its manifestations range from Patti Smith and Bruce Springsteen to Justin Timberlake and Joss Stone.

Then there's an act like Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, performing Saturday at Mr. Small's Funhouse Theatre in Millvale. They dress in black, have that moody aspect and make music that's always good, sometimes bordering on great. The band's latest release, "Baby 81" reverts to BRMC's typical palette -- after the semi-acoutic foray, "Howl" -- of brash, brazen guitars and introspective lyrics.

Tickets for the 8 p.m. show, which also features Jesse Malin, are $16.

Details: 412-821-4447 or www.mrsmalls.com.

-- Regis Behe

Horses on East Carson

Sorry to disappoint all the 8-year-old girls out there, but I feel I have to report that there are actually no horses in the rock band Band of Horses. I know how you feel -- I was hoping that this up-and-coming band would at least have a pony behind the drumkit.

Nope, they're just a bunch of hairy guys from North Carolina. But they are pretty fantastic, if you like brainy, melancholy country-fried rock along the lines of My Morning Jacket or Neil Young. This kind of rock was once referred to as "jangly," until REM went overboard and ruined it for everybody.

The Band of Horses will visit Diesel, on the South Side, on Monday night. The show starts at 7 p.m. Tickets are $15. Details: 412-431-8800.

-- Michael Machosky

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Country
Rough and tumble

Country legend Merle Haggard -- one of country music's favorite outlaws -- will perform on Monday at the Pepsi-Cola Roadhouse in Burgettstown. Haggard, who has had more than three dozen No. 1 hits since the '60s, put out his most recent album -- "Last of the Breed," which he created with Willie Nelson and Ray Price -- in March. The show begins at 7:30 p.m., and tickets cost $50-$105. Doors for the dinner show open at 5:30 p.m. Details: 412-323-1919.

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Special events
Urban explorers

The folks at Venture Outdoors are planning an exploration of the inside of a theater.

No, it's not some dramatic cave of canyon, it is the Cabaret Theater on Penn Avenue, Downtown. The visit includes a performance of "Always ... Patsy Cline."

The afternoon trip Saturday starts with an hike along the North Shore before participants wander across the Clemente Bridge to see an matinee of the show.

Afterward, there will be a get-together with cast members for discussion and beverages and snacks.

The afternoon begins 11 a.m. and runs to about 4:30 p.m. Admission for the theater and the stroll is $35, or $45 for nonmembers.

Details: 412-255-0564.

-- Bob Karlovits

Feathered friends

The National Aviary on the North Side will sponsor Breakfast with the Birds on Saturday morning. At the event, visitors can enjoy up-close encounters with the Aviary's birds, ask questions of the trainers, and take photos. Tickets for the event, held 8:30-10 a.m., cost $18, $15 for children. Reservations are required. Details: 412-323-7235, ext. 249.

-- Kellie B. Gormly

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Theater
Stick 'em up

There's no rest for anyone -- not even the dead -- when Hal and Dennis bungle a bank robbery.

British playwright Joe Orton's subversive, offbeat humor fuels the action of "Loot" that begins performances Tuesday at Mountain Playhouse in Jennerstown.

When a police inspector turns up in pursuit of the robbers, the hapless criminals eject Hal's mother from her coffin so they can hide their ill-gotten gains. Add in a nurse with her heart set on committing matrimony for the eighth time and the farcical complications are endless.

Performances of "Loot" run Tuesday through Aug. 19 at 8 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays, 2 p.m. Wednesdays and 3 p.m. Sundays at Mountain Playhouse, 7890 Somerset Pike/Route 985, 1/2 mile north of Route 30 in Jennerstown.

Admission: $15-26; $10 for full-time students with ID.

Details: 814-629-9201 or www.mountainplayhouse.org.

-- Alice Carter

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