Honeydripper

Schenectady native John Sayles brings it all back home tomorrow (Friday) night with a screening of his new film, Honeydripper, at Proctors.

Honeydripper tells the story of a 1950s juke-joint owner (Danny Glover, pictured) who needs to rejuvenate his failing business, and so decides to bring in a famous guitarist to lure customers back. What happens is not exactly what was planned.

This ensemble film has the kind of excellent cast Sayles is well-known for assembling: Glover, Charles S. Dutton, Lisa Gay Hamilton, Stacy Keach, Mary Steenburgen and Sean Patrick Thomas.

Honeydripper will be screened tomorrow (Friday, Jan. 18) at 7:45 PM at Proctors Theatre (432 State St., Schenectady). Tickets are $10. A reception from 6:30 to 7:30 PM will feature light fare and a cash bar; tickets are $55 ($35 for people under 35 years old) and include admission to the film. Proceeds will benefit the Capital District YMCA’s Black & Latino Achievers Program. For tickets to the reception, call 869-3500 ext. 9923. For movie-only info, call 346-6204.

Schenectady Symphony Orchestra

The Schenectady Symphony Orchestra will offer a musical respite from our snowy upstate winter with a performance they promise will make you “imagine yourself in the Mediterranean summer as you soak up the sounds of Ottorino Respighi’s The Pines of Rome and Rossini’s Overture to La Gazza Ladra.”

The symphony have a more than 70-year history, bringing classical music to the region with performances by an orchestra composed of professional and nonprofessional local musicians. Their Italian Holiday performance is an offering of four classical Italian gems, featuring violin soloist Leo Brown.

The Schenectady Symphony will perform at Proctors Theatre (432 State St., Schenectady) this Sunday (Jan. 20) at 3 PM. Tickets are $7.50, $5 for children ages 8-18, and free for children under 8. For more information, call the Proctors box office at 346-6204.

Feedback 2008

Yes, we’re doing this in January, again. Why? Because the food pantries get tons of donations before the holidays; this is our way of replenishing them after their depletion.

Now that that’s out of the way, here’s what to expect from Metroland’s Local Music Bash and Food Pantries Benefit, colloquially known as Feedback. This year’s event, at Valentine’s as ever, is like two different shows in one club. Upstairs, hear live music from (in no particular order) Ashley Pond (with her band), Scientific Maps, Sgt. Dunbar and the Hobo Banned, Sarah Pedinotti (pictured), knotworking and Sean Rowe (solo as all hell).

On the downstairs stage, it’s the Troy Dance Freak Out, presented by Goodship (for more on them, see this week’s Listen Here on page 22). Think of this as a portable version of the multimedia bash they’ve been putting on as part of Troy Night Out for the last several months. The audio-visual treats will be served up by folks like skfl, Back from Japan, LMNOPF, and more.

Feedback 2008 takes place this Saturday (Jan. 19) at Valentine’s (17 New Scotland Ave., Albany). Tickets, which earn you admission to both floors (so you can rock and dance), are $8; $6 if you bring along a nonperishable food item. For more information, call the club at 432-6572 or visit www.metroland.net.