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Bruce
Springsteen and the E Street Band
Times
Union Center, Thursday
There’s some big show happen-ing tonight (Thursday) in downtown
Albany. Perhaps you’ve already have noticed the traffic? And
all the New Jersey license plates? Turns out this Springsteen
guy is pretty popular. We hear his latest album, Magic,
is actually his 15th studio record, and that he had
a whole bunch of hits back in the 1980s. So who, exactly,
is Bruce Springsteen, and if he’s so darn talented, what is
he doing playing with a bunch of dudes he found on the street?
OK, we’re being facetious—that great drummer from Late
Night With Conan O’Brien is in the band, so this guy must
be good! Unfortunately we’ll all have to judge from the parking
garage, as tickets have long since evaporated. (Nov. 15,
7:30 PM, sold out, 51 S. Pearl St., Albany, 800-30-EVENT)
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| A.K.A.C.O.D. |
A.K.A.C.O.D.
Club
Helsinki, Friday
When he passed away during a performance in Paris on July
3, 1999, Mark Sandman took with him a fine and considerable
body of work, most notably that of the trio with whom he was
performing that night: Morphine. They were known for a slinky,
sleazy sound, an unusual mix of two-string slide bass guitar,
baritone sax and drums; and their music was simply cool as
shit. Morphine’s patented “low rock” sound is again called
to mind with A.K.A.C.O.D. (or, A.K.A. Colley, Ortiz and Dersch),
as the trio find Morphine/Twinemen saxophonist Dana Colley
hanging with the vocals and (no shit!) slide bass guitar of
Monique Ortiz and drummer Larry Dersch to produce a slinky,
sleazy sound, with a touch of Sabbath-y stiomp. A.K.A.C.O.D.,
too, are cool as shit. (Nov. 16, 9 PM, $12, 284 Main St.,
Great Barrington, Mass., 413-528-3394)
Jim
Gaudet CD Release
WAMC
Performing Arts Studio, Saturday
Jim Gaudet is back—and we didn’t even realize he left! But
the Albany-based songwriter and storyteller has a habit of
disappearing: Gaudet first disappeared after the disbanding
of the Lost Country Rounders, an old-timey band with which
he used to sling a mandolin and guitar. Gaudet disappeared
again after a stint as a singer-songwriter on New York City-based
folk label 1-800 Prime CD, that started in the late ’80s and
produced several albums including It’s a Colorful Life
and the critically acclaimed 1999 release Give Up the
Ghost. Now, Gaudet has resurfaced yet again with an anticipated
and aptly named new release, Recalling It Quits. The
album combines Gaudet’s folk background with his wry humor,
wordcraft, and storytelling abilities to create a new and
original slice of classic Americana. Check him out before
he disappears again. (Nov. 17, 8 PM, $10, 339 Central Ave.,
Albany, 465-5233 ext. 4)
Dark
Star Orchestra
The
Egg, Tuesday
They’re not a cover band. They don’t like the ‘tribute band’
label either. See, Dark Star Orchestra strive to honor the
Grateful Dead and deadheads by actually reincarnating entire
set lists of original Dead shows. They perform not with the
stress on formulaic precision, but instead seek to recapture
the look, spirit and context of the original show. DSO recently
released a three-CD live recording of their re-creation of
the historic Dead show at Cornell University on May 8, 1977,
performed in Ithaca on the show’s 30th anniversary. Currently
in the midst of a 10th Anniversary tour, Dark Star Orchestra
have played more than 1,500 shows in a decade of raising the
dead and have even shared the stage with five original members
of the Grateful Dead. Said Bob Weir to Rolling Stone
in 2002: “[It’s] kind of like looking in a mirror, but not
really.” (Nov. 20, 8 PM, $28, Empire State Plaza, Albany,
473-1845)
Tegan
and Sara
Calvin
Theatre, Tuesday
Well that seals it. The Con, the la test disc from
Tegan and Sara, completes the Canadian identical-twin- sisters-and-oh-hey-they’re-also-
lesbians-but-not-with-each-other-that-would-be-sick act’s
transformation into a mighty indie-pop force. The album gracefully
weaves the acoustic guitars and burbling synthesizers that
helped them break big (and get covered by the White Stripes)
with last album, So Jealous, with stronger songwriting
chops than the Quin sisters have put to disc up until now.
They’re playing to packed houses all over the place with this
current tour, so if you’re down to bop around to some quirky
pop tunes, and enjoy some of the signature Tegan and Sara
good humor, get thee to Northampton this Tuesday. Northern
State will open the show. (Nov. 20, 8 PM, $25, 19 King
St., Northampton, Mass., 413-584-1444)
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| Also
Noted |
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| Tittsworth |
Because
he can: Ernie Williams and His Band will
perform at the Recital Hall of the Performing
Arts Center at the University at Albany tonight
(Thursday, 7 PM, $8, $4 students, 442-3997). .
. . Because they got high: Kottonmouth Kings
will break off a piece of their stash at Northern
Lights tonight, with Big B and the Dirtball
opening (7 PM, $17, 371-0012). . . . It’s a big
folking Friday, folks: “Old dog” Bill Staines
plays Mother’s Coffeehouse at RPI (8 PM, 276-8585);
Arlo Guthrie stages his Solo Reunion Tour
at the Colonial Theatre in Pittsfield, Mass. (8
PM, $25-$55, 413-997-4444); and the Visitors kicks
off at Old Songs—it’s a production that showcases
the history and music of the Adirondacks, with
performances by Dan Berggren, Peggy
Lynn and many others, and it continues through
Saturday (8 PM, $20, $5 children 12 and under,
765-2815). . . . Another special program on Saturday,
this one at Troy Savings Bank Music Hall: Songs
of the Spirit, a “musical celebration of unity
among diverse faiths and cultures,” features Hugh
Masekela, Odetta, Craig Harris,
Haale and more (8 PM, $20-$40, 273-0038).
. . . Ska-punkers Streetlight Manifesto hit
Revolution Hall Saturday in support of their new
Somewhere in the Between disc; Suburban
Legends and the Stitch Up open (7:30
PM, $15, 274-0553). . . . The Cringe, a
band being oh-so-subtly marketed as featuring
Rachael Ray’s husband (if you’ve got it, flaunt
it?), will head up a bill at Northern Lights Sunday
that includes the Sense Offenders, Sirsy,
and Phoebe Henry (7 PM, $10, 371-0012).
. . . Snicker, snicker: Baltimore’s DJ Tittsworth
wrecks the decks at Revolution Hall on Monday,
with a support staff that includes a whole bunch
of area DJs and video performance artists (8 PM,
$8, $5 with college ID, 274-0553).
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