You know, it might seem easy to write off the Blasters as “hey, you know, that great old rockabilly band.” But if that’s what you were thinking comin’ into Valentine’s Music Hall on Friday night, Phil Alvin and the boys probably had your head spinning by the time you walked down those stairs at the end of the night.
Don’t get me wrong. The Blasters are indeed a great rockabilly band, but they’re also so much more than that. They were playing “roots rock” long before the term was coined. And the same goes for “Americana.”
On Friday night, they blitzed Valentine’s by cutting a mighty wide swath across musical genres.
Yeah, you know that you’ve always wanted to sing in a rock band. Well, this is your chance. It’s not some Guitar Hero video game. It’s not some canned karaoke night. It’s Bandaoke – you singing with a live, breathing rock band. And it’s back again for another season beginning on Thursday night at Savannah’s in Albany.
You don’t know about Bandaoke? Well, let’s get the inside scoop from Andy Maroney, who’s the drummer with the Bandaoke band, the Ruddys:
Karaoke
Pronunciation: \ker-ē-ō-kē, ka-rē- also kə-rō-kē, kä-rä-ō-kā\
Function: noun
Etymology: Japanese, from kara (empty) + ōke, short for ōkesutora (orchestra)
(Date: 1979): a device that plays instrumental accompaniments for a selection of songs to which the user sings along and that records the user’s singing with the music; also: a form of entertainment involving the use of a karaoke machine.
Bandaoke
Pronunciation: \band-ē-ō-kē\
(Same as above except way cooler and a lot more fun because it’s done with a live band.)
A little louder please...T-shirts at the Poetry Out Loud recitation contest.
Poetry has been around long before it was reduced to words on a printed page. And the national Poetry Out Loud competition aims to return poetry to its spoken word origins.
On Saturday afternoon at The Linda in Albany, a capacity crowd watched, listened and cheered as 14 high school students from all around the state participated in the final rounds of the New York State recitation contest, emceed by WAMC-FM’s Joe Donahue.
Among the finalists were several Capital Region students – Shenendehowa High School sophomore Maria Albrecht, Niskayuna High School sophomore Jason Kasman, Shaker High School junior Shauna Stack and sophomore Breanna Medina of the John Sayles School of Fine Arts at Schenectady High School.
The Egg in Albany has announced batch of new concerts for its 2010 schedule:
Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter Jakob Dylan cracks open The Egg with his band Three Legs – featuring Neko Case, Kelly Hogan, Paul Rigby, Jon Rauhouse, Tom Ray and Barry Mirochnick on Saturday, April 17.
Meanwhile, the show by comedian John Pinette – which was originally scheduled for Saturday, April 17 – has been postponed to Saturday, June 26.
Singer-songwriter Mary Chapin Carpenter steps into the spotlight on Thursday, June 24. Tix are $34.50, $39.50, $49.50.
After numerous area solo shows in recent years, singer-songwriter John Hiatt came riding into The Egg in Albany armed with his new, somewhat unimaginatively named band – the Combo – to launch his U.S. tour on Thursday night.
And while the loose-limbed Hiatt is pretty much pegged as a roots/Americana guy these days, the Combo obviously reminded him that there was a time – pre-1987’s “Bring the Family” – when he was considered a rocker. A new wave rocker, at that.
Things started out in a fairly acoustic mode at The Egg, opening with the vintage “Drive South.” But then they slid into “Come Home to You” (from 2001’s “The Tiki Bar Is Open”), and while the instruments were still primarily acoustic and relatively low volume, it was clear from Doug Lancio’s scorching bottleneck guitar solo that things were definitely gonna heat up.
Don Noble and Teigin Legault (photo by Laurin Trainer)
Like Harper Lee’s Pulitzer Prize winning novel and Richard Mulligan’s Academy Award winning film, Capital Rep’s production of “To Kill a Mockingbird” is a classic.
It’s a big-issue story of integrity in the face of injustice, and director Maggie Mancinelli-Cahill backs it up an appropriately big production – featuring a sprawling cast of 26 actors. And yet there’s a profound intimacy to what goes on onstage.
With a huge cast like this, there are usually a few weak links, but the acting here is consistantly strong from Don Noble (as the righteous Atticus Finch) to Steven Patterson (as the despicable Bob Ewell) to Michael Anthony Williams (as the unjustly accused Tom Robinson, who is caught in the middle).
Noble has the most difficult and thankless mission – trying to create a character who has already been indelibly etched into our memories by Gregory Peck in the 1962 film – and yet he does just that with a quiet confidence and a sure-handed performance.
Solas rolled into The Egg in Albany on Sunday night and over the course of two dynamic sets proved why they are still one of the top Irish-folk groups touring the globe today.
What has made Solas continually fresh and successful over the last 15 years is their unique balance of both instrumentals and male and female lead vocals. This is a group of leaders who are all exceptional individual voices on their instruments and who collaborate beautifully on each others’ choices of material – whether derived from the traditional Irish music canon or self-penned originals.
Headlining the bash is Rhode Island’s funky, folksy Americana quintet Brown Bird, who wowed the crowd at Albany’s Madison Grille back on January 9. Don’t believe us? Check out their rendition of Tennessee Ernie Ford’s classic, “16 Tons”:
Rounding out the “Hello Pretty City” Cavalcade of Stars are the Landlines and Nippertown favorites the Charlie Watts Riots and Pony in the Pancake. Showtime is 8pm, and admission is $8.
And while Glazer’s radio show has left WRPI-FM, don’t expect Friday’s show to be a sad and somber affair. In fact, it’s bound to be a serious party celebrating a new beginning, as “Hello Pretty City” is scheduled to return to the Nippertown airwaves shortly – this time around, it’ll be heard on WEXT-FM.
So let the party begin…
UPDATE: Laura Glazer’s “Hello Pretty City” radio show has found its new date and timeslot at WEXT-FM. The show will be broadcast weekly at 8-10pm on Sundays beginning on April 4.
Two years ago, Albany’s landmark gay nightspot, the Waterworks Pub, celebrated its 25th anniversary with a performance by the former teen pop star Tiffany. Now the Miley Cyrus of the Reagan era – or was that the Britney Spears? – is returning on Friday to kick off the 40th anniversary celebration of the Capital District Gay and Lesbian Community Council.
Actually, CDGLCC launches its 40th anniversary celebration with a big bash at the Albany Institute of History & Art from 6-8pm on Friday, and the Tiffany show is part of the official “afterparty” at the Waterworks.
Saxman John Ellis is probably best known for his nearly six-year stint with guitarist Charlie Hunter. Last summer, Ellis commanded my attention when I saw him play with Texas jazz vocalist Kat Edmonson at the Tanglewood Jazz Weekend. But Double-Wide is a different animal altogether, not particularly akin to either of those projects.
First, there’s the rather unique line-up: In addition to Ellis on tenor sax and bass clarinet, the band features organist Brian Coogan, drummer Jason Marsalis and sousaphonist Matt Perrine. And the special guests who make impressive contributions to “Puppet Mischief” are trombonist Alan Ferber and harmonica virtuoso Gregoire Maret. Obviously not your typical jazz combo… (more…)
“The first record I bought was the Modern Jazz Quartet album with Sonny Rollins.
“Oh, and a lot of classical music, too.”
Bassist-vocalist Sherman Holmes and his bandmates in the Holmes Brothers step into the spotlight at The Egg in Albany on Friday (March 5), in support of their new album, “Feed My Soul.” Sharing the stage will be Scrapomatic.
Mr. Richard Stallman arrived a half-hour late, entered from the back of the hall, walked up on the stage with several bags, his coat and such and laid his things on and about the stage. He immediately started looking around the podium and stage for a plug where he could get “electric current” and questioned the audience if they could help as he searched. (more…)
Two years ago, Albany’s landmark gay nightspot, 
(ObliqSound, 2010):
On Friday afternoon, the University at Albany’s 
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