The Eyeliners

‘Most people assume we can’t play our instruments,” Laura (no last names, please) of the Eyeliners explained to the Portsmouth [N.H.] Herald last May. “We have to prove ourselves each time we stand on stage.”

For the love of Joan Jett, will prejudices of macho rockist pigs and afraid-of-girls fanboy geeks never die? Attention male rock fans: There is nothing to prevent a group of women from bringing the rock, and bringing it loud and hard.

Take the aforementioned Eyeliners, who will be performing at Valentine’s on Sunday with Theo and the Skyscrapers, the God Awfuls and Love Equals Death. They’ve been playing their special brand of old-school, guitar-heavy “punky” rock for a few years, attracting plenty of attention and cred. For example, that Joan Jett reference wasn’t an accident: They’re on her Blackheart Records Group label.

The Eyeliners will perform at Valentine’s (17 New Scotland Ave., Albany) at 7 PM on Sunday (Oct. 23). Tickets are $10. For more info, call the club at 432-6572.

Albany Symphony Orchestra Gala

Seventy-five years: That’s how long the Albany Symphony Orchestra has been a part of our community. And their 75th anniversary season continues this Saturday night at the Palace with Great Moments >From Grand Opera. In fact, the evening will begin with an eight-minute documentary on the history of the ASO.

Of course, if it’s about opera, singers will be required. Joining maestro David Alan Miller and the ASO will be the estimable Albany Pro Musica and their director, David Griggs-Janower. The featured soloists will be soprano Dana Beth Miller, mezzo-soprano Lucille Beer and tenor Scott Ramsay.

The music itself will span continents and eras, with one common feature: beauty. There will be arias, duets and choruses from works by Bizet (Carmen), Wagner (Tannhauser), Bernstein (Candide) and—of course—Verdi, Puccini, Donizetti and Offenbach.

Now, about that gala. There will be a gala reception at the Fort Orange Club following the performance, which explains the show’s early (6:30 PM) starting time. Tickets for the gala range from $240 to $140, but what you get ain’t, as they say, hay. You will enjoy “exquisite dining, cocktails, dancing, entertainment by the Alan Thomson Little Big Band, a silent auction and much more.”

The ASO will perform Saturday (Oct. 22) at 6:30 PM at the Palace Theatre (19 Clinton Ave., Albany). Tickets are priced from $41.25 to $21, and are available at the Palace box office or by calling 465-4755.

Copland and His World

The prestigious Bard Music Festival, which this year celebrated the work of Aaron Copland, comes to a conclusion this weekend with two programs focusing on the composer’s work for film and stage.

>From the Concert Stage to Hollywood is the theme for the both the programs and panel discussions that will be held tomorrow (Friday) through Sunday. Music for Movies, Copland’s concert music, will be performed at Friday’s opening, during which documentarian Ken Burns will narrate Lincoln Portrait. Music for Movies will be repeated on Sunday at 3 PM. Sunday’s program also includes Eight Poems of Emily Dickinson sung by mezzo-soprano Janice Myerson (pictured), featuring the American Symphony Orchestra conducted by Leon Botstein. A free panel discussion of Aaron Copland and Music for Films will be held on Saturday at 4 PM.

Copland and His World takes place tomorrow (Friday, Oct. 21) through Sunday (Oct. 23) at Bard College (Annandale-on-Hudson). Tickets for performances are $30-$55. For more information, call (845) 758-7900 or visit www.bard.edu/bmf/2005.