Edgefest

Is our time machine on the fritz, or does Edgefest feature a bill with cock-rock legend Sebastian Bach (pictured), earnest grunge poseurs Sponge, nü-metal-hardly-weres Drowning Pool and Christian rock band (and Creed coattail riders)12 Stones? We knew the radio waves were in crisis, but we didn’t know that crisis could create such a freak-show attraction of bands that even we would want to scope it out, just for its disaster-waiting-to-happen-vibe alone!

Imagine Sebastian Bach gets pissed that he has to sit through a set by Fuel, so he swings onto the stage, codpiece ready for battle, only to have the Hulk Hogan-looking dude from Seven Mary Three tell him he is “cumbersome.” It’s like a VH-1 reality show just waiting to go wrong in front of our eyes. So come on Capital Region: Get together to pay tribute to the Edge’s batshit crazy taste and hope a few aging, melodramatic rock stars can start some drama Surreal Life style!

Every cloud has a silver lining, and if you manage to get to the show early, you can check out worthwhile local acts including Last Call, the Clay People and College for Criminals.

Edgefest will take place Saturday (Sept. 22) at 10 AM at the Altamont Fairgrounds (129 Grand Street, Altamont.). Tickets are $20. For more info, call 476-1000.

Confetti Stage: Short Play Festival

Confetti Stage was founded with a variety of goals, among them to provide an environment for artists to create, develop their craft, learn from one another, and to develop a sense of community. The company demonstrates its continued efforts toward those goals with the 3rd Annual Short Play Festival. Held at the Linda, WAMC’s Performing Arts Studio, the festival brings to life the work of six local playwrights. Community actors, directors, designers and technicians have taken on the challenge of mounting six plays in two nights.

The Festival begins tonight (Thursday, Sept. 20) at 8 PM at WAMC’s Performing Arts Studio (339 Central Ave., Albany), with Shoes by Sky Vogel, Something Borrowed by Daniel Carmody, and Mr. Brightside by Chaz Heritage. The marathon continues tomorrow (Friday, Sept. 21) at 8 PM with performances of Wednesday by Mark Staufenberg, Playing God by David Korn, and All the Marbles by Steve Henel. Tickets are $12 each night. For more information or to make reservations, call 465-5233 ext 4.

Laura Flanders

If you listen to progressive radio at all, you’ve heard, at some point, Laura Flanders. Funny, incisive and straight to the point, Flanders is, as the folks at the Sanctuary for Independent Media write, “one of today’s most engaging political voices.”

Flanders will be at the Sanctuary this Tuesday to talk about her most recent book, Blue Grit: True Democrats Take Back Politics From the Politicians. In it, she describes her travels across the country, and recounts how she has met progressives in the allegedly reddest of states. Flanders also, helpfully, suggests ways to defeat the Republicans.

Laura Flanders will speak on Tuesday (Sept. 25) at 7 PM at the Sanctuary for Independent Media (3361 6th Ave., Troy). Admission is $10 donation. For more info, call 272-2390.