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Pere
Ubu
Iron
Horse Music Hall, thursday
Avant garage. That is the term Pere Ubu coined to help journalists
desperately looking to label the band. Since their inception
in the mid-’70s following the breakup of Cleveland’s Rocket
From the Tombs, Pere Ubu have art-rocked the socks off of
generations of goateed tastemakers—all without the help of
genre labels, or even a consistent lineup. While the band
has existed in an amorphous state in a lot of ways, their
influence is palpable in the works of bands like R.E.M., Nine
Inch Nails and the Pixies. Want to understand Pere Ubu? Take
a tip from Joe Cushly of Mojo, who wrote, “Ubu are
generally considered the missing link between the Velvets
and punk.”
(April
5, 8:30 PM, $15, 20 Center St., Northampton, Mass., 413-584-0610)
War
Sucks! Let’s Party! Tour
Northern
Lights, Thursday
With a name borrowed from a song title by headliners Anti-Flag,
the War Sucks! Let’s Party! Tour rolls into Clifton Park tonight
(Thursday) with more of a message than its exclamatory banner
would suggest. Proceeds from the punk-rocking package benefit
the African Well Fund, a nonprofit organization dedicated
to raising funds to build and maintain wells in Africa. And
with the politipunk of Anti-Flag heading things up, the audience
should expect to think whilst they party down. It’s edumacational,
yo. Also on tonight’s packed bill: Alexisonfire, Big D and
the Kids Table, and Set Your Goals. (April 5, 7 PM, $14,
1208 Route 146, Clifton Park, 371-0012)
Brasil
Guitar Duo
Caffe
Lena, Friday
João Luiz and Douglas Lora make up the guitar duo who will
take the stage at Caffe Lena tomorrow (Friday). The pair hail
from São Paulo, Brasil, and have been performing together
for more than a decade, bringing the sounds of their native
land—like samba, maxixe and choro—to classical guitar
duets. They have won top honors at international competitions
and are currently gaining exposure in the United States. Accomplished
Brazilian guitarist Paulo Bellinati says of the Brasil Guitar
Duo: “Moving with versatility through the classical and popular
universes, they show maturity, talent, and perfect technique
. . . unmatched in their execution of intricate Brazilian
rhythms.” (April 6, 8 PM, $15, $14, 47 Phila St., Saratoga
Springs, 583-0022)
The
Orange Reunion Show
Valentine’s,
Friday
It was with heavy hearts that the Capital Region bid farewell
to the Orange several years back. In a few short years, the
foursome forged a bond with their audience through their clever
power-pop tuneage and book-smart lyrics. And then, just like
that, they were gone. Singer-guitarist Ben Karis jetted off
to California to join Jupiter Sunrise (he’s since returned
to the area); drummer Dan Sorensen and guitarist Frank Moscowitz
turned up in a variety of local projects; and bassist Bob
Buckley grew out the rest of his beard and joined the Kamikaze
Hearts. But rejoice, geek-rock fans, for your time has come!
The four original members of the Orange will stage a one-off
reunion show tomorrow (Friday) night, with help from special
guests Five Alpha Beatdown from Iceland and Brent Gorton and
the Tender Breasts. (April 6, 7 PM, $7, 17 New Scotland
Ave., Albany, 432-6572)
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Donna
the Buffalo
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Donna
the Buffalo
Revolution
Hall, Saturday
They started out in the sticks of Tompkins County, N.Y., and
after 15 years, the straw-cowboy-hat-wearing members of Donna
the Buffalo still haven’t let go of their upstate (grass)roots.
Their fusion of zydeco, folk, reggae, and bluegrass has made
them an ultimate Americana jam band and has attracted a surprisingly
huge group of fans who call themselves “the herd.” With their
six studio albums and countless festival performances, the
band have managed to make some fans frenzied enough to follow
entire tours and to form a Donna listserv that shoots out
150 to 300 e-mails a day. Before they hit the annual cross-
country festival circuit in the coming weeks, the folks in
Donna the Buffalo will bring a stampede of washboards, fiddles,
guitars, and accordion to Revolution Hall this Saturday. Now
don’t get trampled, ya hear? (April 7, 8 PM, $18, 425 River
St., Troy, 274-0553)
Alex
Skolnick Trio
Red
Square, Tuesday
A band of rockers who grew up loving Ozzy Osbourne, Aerosmith,
Black Sabbath and Kiss: With this musical education, the Alex
Skolnick Trio would have a hard time standing out in today’s
sea of clones—if it weren’t for their inventive approach to
music. They took the giant drum sets, souped-up guitars, and
electric bass of their heavy-metal childhood and substituted
them with the less-flamboyant instruments of jazz: an archtop
guitar, upright bass, and (comparatively) teeny-weeny drum
set. The Alex Skolnick Trio translate metal and hard -rock
hits into jazz compositions that have earned rave reviews:
Downbeat magazine praised them for their “stunning
reconfigurations” of rock classics and “beefy swing sets.”
When they let loose, expect “occasional moments of sheer metal/avant
garde intensity.” Tuesday night, the Alex Skolnick Trio will
perform at Red Square. (April 10, 8 PM, $10, 388 Broadway,
Albany, 465-0444)
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Trachtenburg
Family Slideshow Players
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Your
inner voyeur will thank you: Get your freak on
with the Trachtenburg Family Slideshow Players
tonight (Thursday) when they perform a free show
at the Tang Teaching Museum at Skidmore College
(9 PM, free, 580-5532). . . . Tomorrow (Friday)
night, downstairs at Valentine’s, it’s the 2nd
Annual Pancake-a-Thon with Kitty Little,
Scientific Maps, Bell County Silence,
Nervous Wrecks, Zahnarzt (who will
release a new record at the show), the Jury,
and, for a few bucks extra, pancakes—the
kind you can eat (8 PM, $4, $6, 432-6572). . .
. Get in car go drive: Talking Heads-biting indie
heroes Clap Your Hands Say Yeah play Pearl
Street in Northampton, Mass., this Wednesday,
in support of their recent, self-released second
album Some Loud Thunder; Elvis Perkins
in Dearland will open (8:30 PM, $22, 413-584-7771).
. . . Also Wednesday, the return of Casiotone
for the Pain fully Alone at Valentine’s along
with Boston band Drug Rug and the Capital
Region’s own Gay Tastee (8 PM, $5, 432-6572).
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