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ZZ
Top
Turning
Stone Resort and Casino, Thursday
It would appear that ZZ Top haven’t been up to much since
their 2004 induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
So, with no new album to promote (their last was 2003’s Mescalero)
and no current hit singles (it’s been a little longer since
they had one of those), what keeps the bad boys from Texas
on the road at this late stage in their career? The answer
is simple: ZZ Top are a fucking badass rock & roll band.
Always have been, always will be. Say what you will about
their slick, commercial ‘80s output, but it was still better
than 90 percent of the garbage on the radio at the time; and
their collected works include some of the baddest boogie ever
put to tape. And they’ve still got it. Find out for yourself
tonight (Thursday); it’s well worth the drive. (Sept. 20,
8 PM, $55, 5218 Patrick Road, Verona, 877-833-SHOW)
Sunset
Aside CD release
Tess’
Lark Tavern, Friday
Fans of heavy rock with a gothic edge (although that edge
shows up more in their image than their music) should perk
up, relatively speaking, for the new disc from Albany-based
quintet Sunset Aside. The disc, Of What Remains, was
recorded by John Delehanty at Scarlet East Studios, and sounds
typically excellent; and the band are a supergroup of sorts,
featuring members of myriad area bands present and past, including
the Erotics, 1313 Mockingbird Lane, Complicated Shirt, and
1000 Young. Sunset Aside will reveal the new disc at a release
party tomorrow (Friday), where they will be joined by special
guests the Brides. (Sept. 21, 10 PM, $5, 453 Madison Ave.,
Albany, 463-9779)
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| Dropkick
Murphys |
Dropkick
Murphys
Northern
Lights, Friday
There was no better film-music pairing in the last 18 months
than when the Dropkick Murphys’ “I’m Shipping Up to Boston”
kicked Martin Scorcese’s The Departed into bloody high
gear. As Village Voice writer Tom Breihan put it, “The
Departed, after all, is a movie about Irish people doing
violent shit in Boston, and the Dropkick Murphys are a band
that sing about Irish people doing violent shit in Boston;
it’s a match made in heaven.” The Murphys bring their muscular
Irish-punk thing to the area this week on the strength of
a new record, The Meanest of Times, which offers more
of the oi their fans have come to crave. (Sept.
21, 7 PM, $25, Route 146, Clifton Park, 371-0012)
Detachment
Kit
Falstaff’s,
Saturday
If the phrase “angular guitar rock” gives you a stiffy, you
probably already know about Chicago-via-Brooklyn group Detachment
Kit. If you don’t, know this: The band utilize the loud-soft
aesthetic of forebears the Pixies, mixed with a hankering
for the aforementioned angularity favored by bands like Wire;
more recent like-thinkers might include Les Savy Fav or Versus.
Still sporting a semi? Then check out tracks from their 2006
self-titled, self-released disc at detachmentkit.com and let
the musical Viagra surge through your earholes. One more reason
to check out Detachment Kit: They, unlike us, generally don’t
bother with lame dick jokes. (Sept. 22, call for time and
price, Skidmore College, 815 N. Broadway, Saratoga Springs,
580-5000)
John
McLaughlin and the 4th Dimension
the
Egg, Tuesday
John McLaughlin has been her-alded as one of the wonders of
the jazz world throughout his 40-year tenure. A guitarist
of sterling reputation, McLaughlin has played with the likes
of Miles Davis’ Bitches Brew and his own Mahavishnu Orchestra;
he’s also credited with basically creating the genre of jazz-rock
electric fusion. McLaughlin is touring with a handpicked band
called the 4th Dimension, consisting of Gary Husband on percussion
and keyboards, Hadrien Feraud on bass, and Mark Mondesir on
drums; it’s the first time McLaughlin has toured North America
with an electric fusion band in nine years. Audiences should
expect a high-energy performance featuring selections from
McLaughlin’s recently released and critically acclaimed Industrial
Zen, as well as new material from an album due in 2008.
Fans should pay special attention to an announcement regarding
“instant CDs” available immediately after the show. (Sept.
25, 7:30 PM, $34.50, Empire State Plaza, Albany, 473-1845)
Just
Surrender
Valentine’s,
Wednesday
Aren’t you people sick of emo yet? New York based pop-punk
band Just Surrender aren’t. The band started while its members
were in high school, and quickly developed a following after
posting songs on PureVolume.com. Over the last four years,
they’ve played with Bayside, Matchbook Romance, Hawthorne
Heights, and Armor for Sleep; and they continue to build steam
as they set out on a tour in support of their sophomore album,
We’re in Like Sin. Squeeze into your girl jeans, cake
on some eyeliner, pull your bangs over your eyes to hide your
tears and check them out upstairs at Valentine’s on Wednesday.
Metro Station, Valencia, and We the Kings open. (Sept.26,
7 PM, $10, 17 New Scotland Ave., Albany, NY, 432-6572)
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| Also
Noted |
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| Nellie
McKay |
It’s
a hard-rock summit at Valentine’s tomorrow (Friday),
when Bullet Proof Messenger, Ironweed,
Kingscastle and S.C.U.M. bring down
the house (7 PM, $10, 432-6572). . . . If you
missed him at Washington Park this summer, you
have another chance to catch UAlbany’s hip-hop
pride J-Live this Friday night at Red Square,
with guest Oddy Gato (9 PM, $5, 465-0444).
. . . Saturday at Red Square, Ithicans Revision
take the stage (9 PM, $7, 465-0444). . . . Mall
goth-punks Aiden, whose new record Conviction
was called the Most Anticipated Record of 2007
by Alternative Press, play Revolution Hall
on Monday night, along with Drop Dead Gorgeous,
Still Remains, and 1997 (7 PM, $15,
274-0553). . . . Also on Monday, jazz-pop chanteuse
Nellie McKay, most widely heralded for
her stubbornness in the face of record-label demands,
will show off her almost-equally heralded voice
at the Iron Horse Music Hall in Northampton, Mass.;
New York-based guitar whiz and songwriter Swati
opens (7 PM, $23, 413-584-0610). . . . Speaking
of Northampton and widely heralded New York-based
songwriters, Regina Spektor plays the Calvin
Theatre on Tuesday (8 PM, $25, 413-584-1444).
. . . Pop-rock balladeers Lifehouse return
to the area for a show at Northern Lights on Wednesday
(7 PM, $20, 371-0012).
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