EMPAC at RPI in Troy has announced its fall 2013 schedule of events, full of performances, talks, screenings, concerts, and whatnot that build bridges between art and technology.
In addition to the events listed below two more events by distinguished artist-in-residence Laurie Anderson will be announced soon.
Unless otherwise noted, all performance tickets are $18 general admission; $13 for students & seniors. Film screenings are $6; talks and installations are free.
MUSIC: The Slide Brothers @ Putnam Den, Saratoga Springs. The Slide Brothers – pedal steel guitar greats Calvin Cooke, Chuck Campbell, Darick Campbell and Aubrey Ghent — carry on the Sacred Steel tradition in support of their sizzling new album, produced by Robert Randolph. With Danielle Miraglia. 9:30pm. $10. GO HERE to enter to win a pair of FREE TICKETS to the show…UPDATE: The contest has ended. Congrats to the winner!
MUSIC: The Spampinato Brothers @ Valentine’s Music Hall, Albany. Carrying on the NRBQ tradition and forging some new omni-pop paths of their own… 9pm. $12. GO HERE to enter to win a pair of FREE TICKETS to the show…UPDATE: The contest has ended. Congrats to the winner!
MUSIC: Big Daddy Kane @ the Palace Theatre, Albany. It’s Albany Spring Fest with a solidly old-school hip-hop line-up that also features MC Lyte and Doug E. Fresh. 8pm. $32 & $48.
MUSIC: Don Armstrong & Victoria Garvey @ Caffe Lena, Saratoga Springs. It’s the kick-off of the Caffe’s big 53rd Anniversary Homecoming Weekend with the former Saratoga husband-and-wife duo on a visit from their home in the southwest. With bassist Tony Markellis and fiddler Ed Lowman completing the reunion of Peyote Coyote. In support of their new CD, “Telling the Tale.” 8pm. $16 in advance; $18 at the door.
MUSIC: The Gibson Brothers @ the Strand Theater, Old Forge. The north country’s finest bluegrass band showcases their recently released album, They Called It Music. 8pm. $25.
THEATER: “Red” @ Capital Repertory Theatre, Albany. This is the last weekend for John Logan’s marvelous, Tony Award-winning drama, which examines the tug of war between the worlds of art and commerce through the eyes of the great American painter Mark Rothko. Directed by Maggie Mancinelli-Cahill and starring Kevin McGuire. 8pm. $20, $40, $50 & $60. Also 3 & 8pm on Saturday; 2pm on Sunday. READ review here…
MUSIC: The Feelies @ Club Helsinki, Hudson. Spin calls ‘em, “one of the best alternative bands of all time.” And we won’t argue… 9pm. $22.
If there were any doubt that the Capital District is solidly on the Funk map, recent events should take care of that. First was last summer’s appearance of Bootsy Collins at Alive at Five. Then came the announcement that the Mother Ship itself would be landing with George Clinton coming to Alive at Five on Thursday, June 27. And as a great prelude, fellow Parliament Funkadelic co-founder Bernie Worrell brought his newest project, the Bernie Worrell Orchestra to Putnam Den in Saratoga Springs last weekend.
Trying to pin down Bernie into a particular musical style is impossible. In my opinion, he is responsible for creating musical styles wherever he plays. His career has morphed from straight rock to jazz to experimental rock – all while maintaining the funk. He has played with what seems to be everybody, including Talking Heads, as well as a few side projects such as Colonel Claypool’s Big Bucket of Bernie Brains with Les Claypool and Buckethead.
So as soon as the show was announced I couldn’t wait…
Stop paying too much for your weekend entertainment!
As we do every week, we’re giving away a whole bunch of FREE TICKETS, so you can save the wear and tear on your wallet. So if you haven’t entered to win yet, well, what the heck are you waiting for?
Here’s what’s on the ticket giveaway platter this week from your good buddies at Nippertown:
Robert D. Lohbauer (l) and Jonathan Epstein in “The Jewish Jester: A Fable With Music.”
Review by Gail M. Burns and Larry Murray
Gail Burns: I didn’t know quite what to expect from “The Jewish Jester: A Fable With Music,” but with Jonathan Epstein in the leading role, how can you go wrong…
Larry Murray: He may be the lowly servant of the king in this play, but he’s also its star. Between Epstein and Robert Lohbauer, his co-star, it’s a pretty dynamic duo on stage, making a great evening entertainment out of a bit of a mushy play. Its advance publicity pointed out that it is a combination of Elizabethan English and Yiddish, but that is only the tip of the Word Play iceberg. It’s also puns, physical comedy and role reversals.
Gail: I was confused as the dialogue is sometimes Elizabethan, sometimes modern, sometimes in verse, sometimes in prose. I wanted to get my hands on a script to clarify playwright Daniel Klein’s rhyme and reason, but that is one of those perks the press can access that the average ticket-buyer can’t. No one should have waste time in the theater trying to figure out what the playwright is up to structurally.
Larry: As to the play itself, it’s like a sweet tsholnt, a Jewish stew that has been simmering for a long time. Some meshuggener (slightly crazy guy) named Daniel Klein put this concoction together. He’s the guy who wrote (with Thomas Cathcart) “Plato and a Platypus Walked into a Bar.” It takes a creative imagination to come up with a nudnik Jewish Jester and condemned King sharing the same jail cell, yet the whole megillah comes together at the Unicorn Theatre in Stockbridge.
Colin Boyd, Arts Center President Chris Marblo and Michael Oatman.
Two Troy artists were the recipients of new, no-strings-attached cash awards that were presented at Wednesday (May 15) night’s gala celebration at the Arts Center of the Capital Region in Troy.
Michael Oatman was honored with the Established Artist Award of $7,500. A faculty member at RPI’s School of Architecture, Oatman is an artist who works primarily in collage (currently on view in the Albany International Airport Gallery’s “Some Assembly required” exhibit) and large-scale installation (including the long-running “All Utopias Fell” at MASS MoCA in North Adams).
Colin Boyd was honored with the Emerging Artist Award of $5,000. A co-founder of Collar Works exhibition space in Troy, Boyd is an artist whose work encompasses sculpture, installations (“Cormorants and the Whale” is on view at the Albany International Airport) and drawing.
The 2013 awards were presented by Arts Center president Chris Marblo and sponsored by EP&M International, with additional funding from Karen & Chet Opalka and the Marcelle Foundation.
Also honored at the gala were David and Katie Haviland for their lifetime commitment to the arts and the Arts Center.
NAME: Richard Barone
BAND AFFILIATION: Solo artist, former frontman of the Bongos
INSTRUMENT: Guitar
1. THE FIRST ALBUM I EVER BOUGHT WAS … Snoopy vs. the Red Baron by the Royal Guardsmen
2. THE FIRST CONCERT THAT I EVER SAW WAS … Donovan
3. THE FIRST MUSICAL INSTRUMENT I EVER OWNED OR PLAYED WAS … Silvertone Electric Guitar
4. THE FIRST SONG THAT I EVER PERFORMED IN PUBLIC WAS … “I’m A Believer” by the Monkees
5. THE FIRST BAND I WAS EVER IN WAS … The Snails, first punk band in Tampa, Florida
Singer-songwriter Richard Barone – former frontman for the Bongos and author of “Frontman: Surviving the Rock Star Myth” – has collaborated with everyone from Lou Reed to Pete Seeger, from Tony Visconti to Donovan. Last year, he released the three-disc CD/DVD 25th anniversary edition of his classic debit solo album “Cool Blue Halo.” And at 9pm on Saturday night (May 18), he’ll grace the stage of Valentine’s Music Hall in Albany. Blue Factory opens the show. Tickets are $9 in advance.
BUT WAIT… We’re giving away a pair of FREE tickets to the show. GO HERE to enter to win…
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