VIDEO ARTIST AND THE SMITHS

Of all the strange ideas, it occurred to Phil Collins -- the British-born photographer and video artist, not the Genesis singer -- to film people in Colombia and Turkey singing karaoke versions of the Smiths songs.

Collins found a surprising following in these countries for the British post-punk band and advertised for "the shy, the dissatisfied, narcissists, and anyone who's ever wished they could be someone else for a night." His video project, which opens at Carnegie Museum of Art Saturday and runs through July 2, is described as "at once intimate and voyeuristic, exceedingly sincere and tragic-comic."

A karaoke version of "The World Won't Listen" doesn't exist, so Collins spent two weeks in Bogota with musicians re-recording the entire album without sheet music to create a Smiths karaoke machine.

Why?

"I was trying to think about a platform that would be some form of connection between Colombia and Britain," says Collins, who just arrived in Pittsburgh. "How do we think about Colombia? What are the main characteristics, which are always about drugs and kidnap and paramilitaries. It began there."

Collins, who "still has the same hysterical fever I had for [the Smiths] when I was a teenager," claims his experiment, not to be confused with "Idol" fodder, involves both a bizarre juxtaposition of cultures and the vulnerability of the medium.

"I supposed it's about the frailty or tenderness of karaoke -- how you kill your idol as well as re-enacting your greatest fantasy. You're supplanting Morrissey, and it's probably the first time you haven't sung along with the record -- it brings out all kinds of emotion. And it's about how we think of place, how we think of Istanbul. If it's to do with tradition and Islam, it should also be about indie subculture and modernity. It touches on a few of those issues."

As a Smiths fan, Collins does acknowledge a little horror in the concept. "If someone came to my town with a Smiths karaoke machine, I would have had three pints of Guinness and worked my way down."

In passing, the filmmaker happens to mention the other Phil Collins, opening the door to a query about what sort of confusion his name creates. "You realize that no one's ever going to believe what comes out of your mouth, because in a way it feels like trick," he says, laughing. "When I get stopped by the police, they just take me in. When I try to order a taxi or a pizza, it never arrives. Ever. It's like Bart Simpson calling from Moe's."

Collins offers a free lecture Friday at 6 p.m. at CMA Theater, followed by a reception, then an after-party at the Brillobox, 4104 Penn Ave., Bloomfield, where he and friends will DJ at 10 p.m.

FOOLIN'

We're just days away from a near national holiday, and there's one man determined to make the most of it. Comedian David Kaye will mark April Fools' Day with the Third Annual April Fools' Comedy Festival featuring the worst comics in the region. Ah, just foolin'. The five-night festival will feature more than 30 comedians in "a celebration of hilarity for the masses, where everyone can eat, drink, laugh, and shoot beer out their nostrils."

It begins at 8 p.m. Friday at Slapsticks Comedy Loft, Royal Place Restaurant in Overbrook with "T.G.I FOOLS-DAY" featuring Kay and up-and-coming comics Aaron Scardina, Matt Molchen, Doug Joseph and Trina Hess. Saturday is Radio's Dazed And Crazed with WDVE morning show regulars Bill Crawford and Mike Wysocki. Both shows are $10 advance; $12 at the door; For more details and dates, call 412-920-5653 or go to www.slapstickscomedy.com.

ALL WEEKEND

Ringling might be The Greatest Show on Earth, but the Shrine has Spidey. The 60th Anniversary Shrine Circus pitches its tent at the Mellon Arena this weekend with an appearance by the Amazing Spiderman, who will be joined by Clayton Rosaire's Terrific Tigers, plus majestic (and smelly) elephants and canine hi-jinks with Irini Markova and Man's Best Friends. Human tricks include The Espanas on the Globe of Death and the Double Wheel of Destiny, BMX motocross madness with Brett Marshall, and Mr. Pedalsworth, "the undisputed King of Bizarre Bicycles." Performances are 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Friday; 10:30 a.m., 2:30 and 7 p.m. Saturday; and 1 p.m. Sunday. Tickets are $12 to $19; most seats $11 for Friday at 7. Proceeds benefit Syria Shrine's work treating children at its 22 hospitals. Call 412-323-1919.

Four live actors interact with "a cast of phantasmagorical holograms" in a Shakespeare production that won't be like any other seen here this year. It's a Pittsburgh premiere of this version of "Le Tempete" ("The Tempest) by 4D Art, a multimedia theatrical company from Quebec that's acclaimed for its fusion of live theater and digital technology. It's at the Byham at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday. See page W-18.

The Carnegie Science Center looks to the heavens Saturday and Sunday for Astronomy Weekend. Experts will host solar observations and discuss the "demotion" of Pluto to a dwarf planet, while visitors will be able to partake of the Buhl Digital Dome and enjoy activities for all ages. NASA scientist Dr. Lucy McFadden will lead a discussion on Saturday at 1 p.m. about Dawn, the first spacecraft ever planned to orbit two different celestial bodies after leaving Earth. At 2 p.m. scientist Dr. William K. Hartmann takes visitors on a voyage of the solar system. A special "after hours" SkyWatch session will be held Saturday from 8:30 to 10:30 p.m. Go to www.carnegiesciencecenter.org or call 412-2370-3400.

"Riverdance" -- which needs no introduction -- returns to Heinz Hall through Sunday. The international company, which had debuted in 1995, has 70 dancers performing to Bill Whelan's music. Tickets are $20.50 to $60.50; 412-392-4900 or www.pgharts.org.

For a different take on Irish culture, McFadden's -- billed as the wildest Irish Pub on Earth -- celebrates its Grand Opening starting tonight on North Shore Drive. There's a Calendar Girl Search Friday at 8 p.m. and Saturday at 9 p.m. (with the one and only Vanilla Ice). Call 412-322-3470 for details.

TODAY

There are two guys from "American Idol" on their way town this weekend. Taylor Hicks is going to be at the Palace Theater on Sunday (see page W-15). Elliot Yamin, who just released his debut record, is here to play host for Campus SuperStar, where 10 local college students will compete at 7 p.m. at Carnegie Music Hall in Oakland for a $5,000 scholarship. The judges will be Etta Cox, Lynn Cullen, Ken Rice and Richard Rauh. Also performing will be the VoKols, the Hillel Jewish University Center's a cappella group. Preferred seating is $75; priority seating is $250; $25 children; free for students 12 and older ID. Call 412-621-8875, ext. 101.

Sonia Sanchez, the author of 16 books, including "Shake Loose My Skin, heads "She Said: Words From Women," a night of "poetry, prose and enlightenment" at 121 Seventh St., above Bossa Nova, Downtown, at 7:30 p.m. The reading also features local poets Fatin Abdal-Sabur, Jan Beatty, Veronica Corpuz, Toi Derricotte, Vanessa German and Christiane Leach. Tickets: $20.50; 412-456-6666 or www.pgharts.org.

One A.M. Radio is the code name for Hrishikesh Hirway, a former punk drummer who picked up the guitar and discovered chamber pop. He plays Garfield Artworks at 8 p.m.

FRIDAY

A real live member of Styx will be on the South Side, so be on the lookout for Adam Sandler and/or Cartman. Tommy Shaw is in town with Jack Blades of Night Ranger for a trio project they call Shaw/Blades, which just release "Influenced," a record of covers like Seals & Croft's "Summer Breeze," Mamas and the Papas' "California Dreamin'," Buffalo Springfield's "For What It's Worth" and Steely Dan's "Dirty Work." A little bizarre. The 8 p.m. show is sold out, but you might be able to scalp tickets on Carson for a thousand bucks. Call 412-323-1919.

Just off Carson will be an alt-country bill with The Silos, who just released "Come On Like the Fast Lane," and Jon Dee Graham, a singer from Austin who defines the term "gravel-voiced." It's at 7 p.m. Tickets are $10 advance; $12 at the door. 412-323-1919.

The Impossible Shapes, a charming and dreamy psychedelic-folk band from Indiana that features members of the Magnolia Electric Co. and Horns of Happiness, plays Garfield Artworks at 8 p.m. with Del Rey, Anita Fix and Workshop. Cover is $7. 412-361-2262.

Not many entertainers work under the banner of "Christian singer-songwriter-comedian." That gives Mark Lowry, who brings his God Is Crazy About You Tour to the Soldiers & Sailors Auditorium, his own niche. Lowry, 25-year stage veteran with six comedy and music videos, will be joined by pianist Stan Whitmire and the trio Lordsong. For tickets call 1-888-606-2609 or go to www.iTickets.com.

SATURDAY

Would you like to start the day having pancakes with Pedal Pittsburgh? That's the offer on the table at Whole Foods Market in East Liberty from 8 a.m. to noon. The third Annual Pancake Breakfast, also featuring live music and children's activities, is presented in preparation for the fundraising bike for the Community Design Center of Pittsburgh on May 20. The cost is $5 per plate for breakfast, and you can sign up for the ride while you eat your pancakes. Visit www.cdcp.org.

The Nas concert at Pitt is one of the best-kept secrets in town. It's not even mentioned on Nas' site as a tour stop. The literate New York rapper, touring on the acclaimed "Hip Hop is Dead," which found him burying the ax with Jay-Z, is performing at the Fitzgerald Field House, in a show for University of Pittsburgh students only (no staff, faculty or other employees). Students can get a free ticket with valid ID at the William Pitt Union Ticket Office. They must also have ID to get into the show, which begins at 8:30 p.m. with Wiz Khalifa and DJ Bonics. This is Nas' first trip to Pittsburgh since he performed with DMX and others at the Post-Gazette Pavilion in 2003.

A pair of twangy Texas singer-songwriters who like to spin a tale check in with a show for the Calliope crowd at Carnegie Lecture Hall. It features Guy Clark, who has a spot in the Nashville Songwriters Foundation's Songwriters Hall of Fame and has been covered by Jerry Jeff Walker and Johnny Cash. His latest CD, "Workbench Songs," was nominated for a Grammy Award this year for Best Contemporary Folk/Americana Album. Slaid Cleaves, originally from Maine, is an country-folk singer-songwriter with four albums to his credit, including the latest record "Unsung." Tickets are $35 in advance; $40 at the door; $20 student rush. Call 412-394-3353 or go to www.proartstickets.org.

The Radical Riffs: Improvised Performance series returns to SPACE Gallery, Cultural District, featuring Katharina Klement from Vienna (piano + electronics), Lynn Book from North Carolina (voice + electronics), Eden McNutt from Pittsburgh (sound poetry). It is followed by Katharina and Lynn's futuristic work "Regarding Next." It begins at 8 p.m.

It's like Talent Night at the Apollo only it's in Pittsburgh and it's at the Kelly-Strayhorn Theater. The Second Annual Variety Talent Show features local singers and musicians competing for prizes at 5 p.m. Tickets are $5. Call 412-363-3000.

Roots rocker Alejandro Escovedo, who played with the aforementioned Jon Dee Graham in the True Believers (as well as playing in Rank & File), plays Club Cafe with Robert Gomez at 7 p.m. $20. 412-323-1919.

Pitt's African Music and Dance Ensemble shakes up the Bellefield Hall Auditorium with its spring concert, also featuring the Caribbean Vibes Steelband, Miller Academy African Ensemble, Franklin Regional High School (African) Choral Ensembles and Ghanaian (Lobi) Xylophone Ensemble. The concert is at 8 p.m. Admission is $10; $5 students/seniors; free with Pitt ID.

SUNDAY

This is the last chance to catch the Pittsburgh Opera production of "The Magic Flute," which drew a rave earlier this week from PG critic Andrew Druckenbroad, who wrote, "This was exciting Mozart that surrendered none of its beauty." Performances this weekend are at 8 p.m. Friday and 2 p.m. Sunday. Tickets are $16 to $130. Call 412-456-6666.