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Nestor
Torres
Troy
Savings Bank Music Hall, Friday
Smooth-jazz favorite Nestor Torres has been around for almost
two decades, charming listeners with his deft combination
of jazz, Latin and pop music. The flautist has, according
to one source, “transformed the flute’s role in the contemporary
musical landscape.” Strong words, but Torres, who has performed
with jazz legends including Herbie Hancock and Latin pop fave
Gloria Estefan, backs it up with his playing. His background
influences include Cuban dance music and a classical education;
Torres has cited Hubert Laws as his “biggest influence.” Torres’
most recent album, 2004’s Sin Palabras, even featured
a couple of tracks with a hiphop beat. So, it is reasonable
to expect musical fire and cross-genre experimentation when
Torres performs at the Troy Music Hall tomorrow (Friday) night.
(April 28, 8 PM, $28, $25, 2nd and State streets, Troy,
273-0038)
Thursday
Saratoga
Winners, saturday
Thursday don’t like to be called emo. They are post-hardcore,
thank-you-very-much. However, their association with the emo
genre is there and no amount of whining is going to change
that. So people turned off by emo will likely be turned off
by Thursday despite the fact that they are heralded as one
of the best live acts out there. There is nothing we can do
about underlying prejudices except to tell you about all the
good things associated with the day Thursday. Thursday is
the day before Friday, the last day in the workweek. The last
supper occurred on a Thursday (not sure if that’s good or
not). Thanksgiving is always on a Thursday, and we all like
Thanksgiving (even if you don’t, you better start pretending!
Traitor…). Thursday is derived from an old English word that
means the day of Thor, and Thor is a god of thunder and carries
a wicked cool hammer. And for the record, Thor isn’t emo either.
He is post-deity. (April 29, 7:30 PM, $20, 1375
New Loudon Road, Latham, 783-1010)
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busta
rhymes
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Parkfest
Pepsi
Arena, Sunday
The ever-growing popularity of University at Albany’s Parkfest
has forced the UAlbany student association to move the event
from the Altamont Fairgrounds to the spacious Pepsi Arena
this year. This year’s lineup—Dashboard Confessional, Busta
Rhymes, Chris Brown, New Found Glory and Teddy Geiger—likely
will satisfy an assortment of musical tastes. Fans of alternative
rock group Dashboard Confessional are liable have a “good
hang,” a term these laid-back guys use to describe a positive
experience. Busta Rhymes, a veteran of the hiphop scene, usually
wows listeners with his eccentric style and humorous lyrics,
while newcomer Chris Brown seems to be favored by the young
’uns for his schoolboy persona and charming lyrics. So, whether
you prefer the raspy vocals of Teddy Geiger or the dynamic
energy of New Found Glory, a “good hang” should be had by
all as Parkfest brings these all-stars together on one stage.
(April 30, 6 PM, $40-80, students $20-40 , 51 S. Pearl
St., Albany, 800-30-EVENT).
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Sound
Tribe Sector 9
Northern
Lights, Sunday
A self-described live band for the digital age, Sound Tribe
Sector 9 would fit in with the likes of ’90s electronica group
the Chemical Brothers, but are known by their live performances
that incorporate “real instruments” such as the guitar. Their
newest album, ArtiFact, is loosely classified as a
progressive rock, soul and jazz sound fused with anything
and everything electronic that the band could throw together.
Although the band proclaim that they “speak in the future
tense,” the name Sector 9 actually refers to a time period
on the Mayan calendar when there was an art- istic and scientific
renaissance in their culture. Whether computer- constructed
songs and instrumentation counts as an artistic renaissance
remains to be seen. (April 30, 7:30 PM, $16-$18, 1208 Route
146, Clifton Park, 371-0012)
The
Reverberators CD-release party
WAMC
Performing Arts Studio, Sunday
The Capital Region has never experienced a shortage of danceable
rock & roll acts. In fact, if you comb through our area’s
long and lustrous history of music exports, even as far back
as the Knickerbockers, the overarching plan, if you will,
has been to move booties. And booty moving is something the
Reverberators, (who will release their new disc, What’s
Shakin’?, this weekend) claim to excel in. Since 2002,
the group—Marty McDermott, Tom Holland, Jim Featherstone,
Bill Baker, and Luke Legg—have been plying their craft in
and around the regional club scene, mixing original material
with the classic sounds of . . . well, everything, apparently—the
only genres that the band’s bio doesn’t mention are opera
and reggaeton. Perhaps that’s a shame; lots of people like
dancing to reggaeton. But for a little bit of everything else,
this Sunday’s show is the place to be. (April 30, 2 PM,
free, 339 Central Ave., Albany, 465-5233 ext. 4)
Harry
and the Potters
Iron
Horse Music Hall, Tuesday
On an evening that’s being billed as “Wizard Rock for All
Ages,” Harry and the Potters will bring their big bag of spells
to the Iron Horse stage for a performance this Tuesday. Based
in Norwood, Mass., brothers Paul and Joe DeGeorge both perform
as Harry Potter, years seven and four (respectively), complete
with gray sweaters, eyeglasses, and, um, electric guitars.
In three years, they’ve produced three discs of their quirky,
lo-fi “songs about books”: Harry and the Potters, Voldemort
Can’t Stop the Rock!, and a holiday release called A
Magical Christmas of Magic. They’re unlike any other band
around (that’s actually a good thing), so catch them before
J.K. Rowling realizes she can sue for trademark infringement.
Also on the bill are School for the Dead, led by singer-songwriter
Henning Ohlenbusch. (May 2, 7 PM, $10, 20 Center St., Northampton,
Mass., 413-584-0610)
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Noted |
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colin
hay
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Might
we recommend earplugs? Catch the operatic noise-metal
sounds of Brevator at Valentine’s tonight
(Thursday); Lincoln Money Shot and the
Pharmacy are also on the bill (9 PM, $5,
432-6572). . . . Also tonight, the Ryan Montbleau
Band will play the Parting Glass in Saratoga
Springs (9 PM, $10, 583-1916). . . . This Saturday,
Stephen Kellogg and the Sixers are at Red
Square, along with the Brian Kaplan Band
(9 PM, $12, 432-8584). . . . Colin Hay,
composer of the classic “Dr. Heckle and Mr. Jive”
(and a lot of really good songs) will play songs
from his latest solo-acoustic release, Man
@ Work, this Sunday at the Iron Horse Music
Hall in Northampton, Mass.; the Kin open
(7 PM, $25, 413-584-0610). . . . Righteous Babe
recording artists Drums and Tuba and Western
Mass.-based “yardsalerock” duo the Burdens
will perform at Contemporary Artists Center in
North Adams, Mass., on Monday (8 PM, donation
suggested, 413-663-9555).
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Classifieds
