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“Dr.
Dirty” John Valby
Northern
Lights, Saturday
If
you’re under 18, please ignore this portion of Noteworthy.
Saturday night will mark roughly the millionth time John Valby’s
come to town, and by all accounts, his mind is deeper in the
gutter now than ever. That should come as no surprise to anyone
who’s ever caught the good doctor in action—his best-loved
songs include such gems as “Puff the Magic Tampon,” “Roll
Your Leg Over,” and “Who Gives a Fuck.” Arriving on the eve
of the Super Bowl, odds are he’ll turn out a riff or two about
Janet’s boob—not necessarily current events, but funny nonetheless.
It’s all in the name of good fun, and Valby’s performances
are notoriously gut-busting affairs, so if you’re in the mood
for a good, expletive-filled singalong, you know where to
go. Remember, though, Valby is not a real doctor, he just
plays one onstage. (Feb. 5, 7:30 PM, $16, 1208 Route 146,
Clifton Park, 371-0012)
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glow skulls |
Ska
Is Dead Tour
Saratoga
Winners, Saturday
The
“Ska is Dead” tour that hits our area this weekend is actually
the second such tour, which leads us to wonder why
these guys are shitting us. Come on, the joke’s over—obviously,
bands like Streetlight Manifesto, Voodoo Glow Skulls, and
MU330 are well aware that there’s still an audience for their
style of third-generation two-tone ska-punk, so why pretend
to be putting it to rest? We asked the bloated, stinking corpse
of Janis Joplin her opinion on the topic, and after polishing
off a fifth of SoCo, she laid this, um, pearl of wisdom
on us: “The answer’s simple, honey—death sells! Remember that
‘Mercedes Benz’ tune? Couldn’t afford me one of them until
about ’78.” She took a long drag off an unfiltered Camel and
continued, “Of course I couldn’t drive it, since I done myself
in back in ’71, but what the hell.” So there you have it.
Kicking Sicily and Public Access will round out the bill.
(Feb. 5, 7 PM, $14, Route 9, Latham, 783-1010)
Tribute
to Johnny Cunningham
The
Egg, Sunday
The
very structure of the tribute show often has a bit of a disappointment
built in, insofar as the honoree is the act you’d really want
to see. On Sunday, though, the folks gathered to pay tribute
to Johnny Cunningham are more than honorable in their own
rights. So, it’s win-win. Assembled to perform Cunningham’s
originals (as well as some of his favorite covers and traditional
tunes) will be the likes of his brother, accordionist Phil
Cunningham, fiddler Kevin Burke, multi-instrumentalist Seamus
Egan (of Solas), and Cunningham’s frequent collaborators,
vocalist Susan McKeown and guitarist Aidan Brennan. (Feb.
6, 4 PM, Empire State Plaza, Albany, $22, 473-1848)
Stacey
Earle and Mark Stuart
Caffe
Lena, Sunday
It
can be hard for a girl to get out from under the shadow of
her big brother; it must have been a seemingly insurmountable
task for Stacey Earle, considering that big brother is Steve
Earle. Come on—he’s one of the last true Nashville rebels,
a hard-rocking, middle-finger-waving, been-there-done-that
type. So what’s a girl to do? In Stacey’s case, she simply
did what came naturally—write heartfelt songs about life and
love, steeped in the folk- and country-music traditions of
the American South. Along with guitarist-husband Mark Stuart,
she’s established a steady and successful performance career
that has longtime fans asking, “Steve who?” Toronto-based
duo the Undesirables will open Sunday’s show. (Feb. 6,
7 PM, $15, 47 Phila St., Saratoga Springs, 582-0022)
Super
Bowl Punk Rock Party
Valentine’s,
Sunday
Say
you’re a devotee of the punk, and, as unlikely a combo as
this may be, NFL football. “Where,” you may be wondering,
“is the Super Bowl party for me?” Well, Valentine’s has solved
your championship-sized problem. Spend your Sunday evening
watching the game on three glorious screens, while at the
same time enjoying the big punk sounds of Kitty Little, Lemuria,
Frame, Latterman and the Conviction. Kitty Little are old
friends who, with their new drummer, sound more punk than
they ever have before. According to some Web site, Lemuria
“was an ancient civilization which existed prior to and during
the time of Atlantis.” We’re guessing the band thought this
was cool. And Latterman? We found a critic who praised their
“loose, bang-it-out approach.” Sounds about right. If that’s
not enough of a lure, there will be pizza and wings, too.
(Feb. 6, 7 PM, $6, 17 New Scotland Ave., Albany, 432-6572)
Dälek
Flywheel,
Wednesday
The
Flywheel Arts Collective routinely books challenging, under-the-radar,
left-of-the-dial acts, and from the looks of things, Wednesday’s
show, featuring Ipecac recording artists, should be a fine
example of why this venue is a valuable resource. Dälek (pronounced
dialect—we don’t buy it either) are described as an
experimental noise-hop act. The Flywheel’s Web site expounds:
“Imagine Public Enemy, KRS-1 and Gang Starr having a conversation
with Glenn Branca and My Bloody Valentine and you have an
idea of what to expect.” We thought the same thing—there’s
no way these guys could be that good, could they? Well,
after listening to “Ever Somber” from Dälek’s latest album
Absence six or seven times, we have to say that description
was right on. This one’s worth the trip. Also on Wednesday’s
bill: Bromp Trem, Belltone Suicide, and Ampere. (Feb. 9,
8 PM, $5, 2 Holyoke St., Easthampton, Mass., 413-527-9800)
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Noted |
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The
McKrells
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Alert
the pun police: Kick your weekend off at
King’s Tavern tomorrow (Friday), with a hot set
from DJ Ryan Kick (that one was way too
easy); Patrick Newton is also on the bill
(9 PM, $5, 581-7090). . . . St. Patty’s is only
six weeks away, so now’s as good a time as any
to start warming up for the big day: The McKrells
will play the North Pointe Cultural Arts Center
on Saturday (8 PM, $10-20, 758-9234). . . . Our
favorite classic-rock and -metal band, Second
Hand Smoke, will hit the Lark Tavern on Saturday;
we hear that, if you ask nicely, they’ll play
some Maiden (10 PM, $3, 463-9779). . . . Speaking
of secondhand smoke, Bonnaroo-bound jam band Addison
Groove Project will do their thing at Revolution
Hall on Saturday, with help from the Brakes
and School Bus Yellow (8 PM, $13, 273-2337).
. . . This one starts early because it’s a schoolnight:
Eighteen Visions, Emery, Remembering
Never, Misery Signals and Graystar
will pack as much rock as possible into Monday
evening at Saratoga Winners (6:30 PM, $12,
783-1010). . . . Looking east, former surf champ
and budding folk-rocker Donavon Frankenreiter
plays the Iron Horse Music Hall in Northampton,
Mass., on Monday (8:30 PM, $15, 413-584-0610).
. . . On Tuesday at the Iron Horse, it’s the return
of Dutch power-poppers Bettie Serveert;
Big Bright Sun and Moller support
(8:30 PM, $12, 413-584-0610). . . . On Wednesday,
the punk-pop of the Flying Bobbz will take
over the typically-more-jazz-oriented stage at
the Van Dyck; try and keep the slam-dancing to
a minimum (8 PM, $5, 381-1111).
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Columns
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