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| Joan
Osborne |
Joan
Osborne
Alive
at Five, Thursday
We still can’t get the chorus of Joan Osborne’s 1995 radio
hit “One of Us” out of our heads, but Osborne is far from
a one-hit wonder in terms of musical talent. After starting
her own record label in 1991, the Louisville, Ky., native
signed to Island/Mercury to release Relish in 1995,
which sold 3 million albums and earned her a spot atop 1997’s
Lilith Fair. Since Relish, Osborne has released a number
of CDs spanning different musical styles: folk, alternative,
country, pop, blues and soul. Her latest effort, Breakfast
in Bed (2007), brings a revival of ’60s and ’70s Motown
and R&B, with plenty of brass and horns to accompany her
powerful pipes. Touring as a member of the Dead in 2003 and
opening for the Dixie Chicks has further proved the singer’s
versatility and onstage confidence. Osborne will be joined
by acoustic rocker Sean Rowe today (Thursday) at Alive at
Five. (June 26, 5 PM, free, Hudson Riverfront Park, Corning
Preserve, Albany, 434-2032)
Thurston
Moore and Bill Nace
Upstate
Artists Guild, Thursday
We know enough not to expect to hear “Teen Age Riot,” but
let us just say that we are completely stoked that Thurston
freaking Moore is playing down the block from our office.
Makes perfect sense that the Albany Sonic Arts Collective
would have invited him on board for one of their far-out sessions
of sound exploration—Moore, possibly the authority
on experimental/ noise music, is prone to some magnificently
fractured jams, and the improvisational guitar duo Northampton
Wools (Moore, along with Bill Nace) is just one of several
cacophonous side projects for the tallest Sonic Youth member.
We’re just happy he agreed to show up! Northampton Wools will
be joined on tonight’s bill by Century Plants, Pocahaunted,
and Robedoor. (June 26, 8 PM, donation suggested, 247 Lark
St., Albany, 426-3501)
Old
Songs Festival of Traditional Music and Dance
Altamont
Fairgrounds, Friday-Sunday
2008 will mark the 28th year of this annual festival of folk,
Celtic and world music (and dance); expect lots of guitars,
fiddles, flutes, banjos, horns, kazoos, and other instruments
from the Land of Oz. This year’s schedule includes three concerts—Friday
and Saturday beginning at 7 PM, and Sunday at 3:30 PM—as well
as 120 workshops and performers, a crafts show, and instrument
and food vendors. Featured musicians include Irish singer-songwriter
Andy Irvine, blues guitarist Scott Ainslie, Scottish-folk
quintet Malinky, and contradance band Rosie’s Ready Mix. If
you are feeling ambitious, classes will be held for slide
guitar, flatfoot dancing, and choral singing. To add the necessary
absurdity to the event, Roger the Jester will be on hand to
give the kids nightmares . . . er, chuckles. On-site camping
will allow attendees to rest and hang out during the hectic
schedule. (June 27-29, times and ticket prices vary, Altamont
Fairgrounds, 129 Grand St., Altamont, 765-2815)
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Melissa
Etheridge
Palace
Theatre, Saturday
Melissa Etheridge is mounting a massive tour this summer,
and she’s bringing all of those ’90s guilty pleasures to Clinton
Avenue this weekend. It’s been 20 years since her debut album—hence,
“The Revival Tour”—but Etheridge aims to actually “revive
rock & roll.” Sounds like hard work. She admitted in a
recent interview that the only difference in touring from
the ’90s is that “it’s harder to run from one side of the
stage to the other now.” We feel her pain—we can barely walk
across the office these days. In addition to nostalgic bits
like “I’m the Only One,” “Come to My Window,” and “Like the
Way I Do,” be prepared for songs from Etheridge’s latest album,
Awakening. The new material is a bit happier and less
desperate-sounding than past hits, but all the same just damn
good. (June 28, 8 PM, $37-$102, 19 Clinton Ave., Albany,
465-3334)
Mindless
Self Indulgence
Revolution
Hall, Tuesday
We’re not sure how they did it, but somewhere along the way,
Little Jimmy Urine and his cast of misfits turned their whole
electro-shock-tech-rock thing into a pretty respectable career.
Kudos to them, as Mindless Self Indulgence should go down
in rock lore as one of the more innovative outfits of the
’00s. Though they’ve moved (slightly) beyond the vulgarity-filled
microblasts of their 2000 masterpiece Frankenstein Girls
Will Seem Strangely Sexy, their songs still pack quite
a nut-punch, even as the music veers toward a (slightly) more
straightforward sound. (Listen to “Get It Up” on their MySpace
site for an example.) The new MSI album If is in stores
now, and the band will be in Troy this week. (July 1, 7:30
PM, $25, 425 River St., Troy, 274-0553)
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| Also
Noted |
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| Frankie
and his Fingers |
It’s
a little bit of a hike, but if you want to see
one of the few Northeast headlining appearances
by Ted Leo and the Pharmacists this year,
you should start driving now: the band will play
tonight (Thursday) at the Cuneen-Hackett Theatre
in Poughkeepsie, with special guests Bear Hands
and Frankie and his Fingers, before heading
back on the road with Pearl Jam (7 PM, $10, 845-486-4571).
. . . Also tonight, it’s Crumbs Nite Out at the
Linda: the Fire Flies, Ben Karis-Nix
and Rob Jonas are this month’s spotlighted
regional talent (7 PM, $10, 465-5233 ext. 4).
. . . Karis-Nix and the better-every-time-we-see-’em
Scientific Maps share the bill at the Albany
Public Library’s Garage Bands in the Garage show
tomorrow (Friday) evening (6 PM, free, 427-4300).
. . . His new album is called Seeds, and
we think he might be referring to the kind that
grow, you know, the funny stuff: Martin Sexton
plays the Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center in Great
Barrington, Mass., on Friday (8 PM, $37, 413-528-0100).
. . . Local band the Cooper Union celebrate
the release of their new disc, The Past Isn’t
Through With Us, Friday at Valentine’s; Palatypus,
Alta Mira, and Marc Von Em help
with the par-tay (9 PM, $5, 432-6572). . . . San
Diego-based reggae act Vegitation will
spread their positive vibes this Monday at Red
Square (9 PM, $7, 465-0444). . . . Finally, Tuesday
finds trumpet virtuoso and Freihofer’s Jazz Festival
alum Terence Blanchard and his quintet
still hanging in Saratoga, where he’ll play a
concert at Skidmore’s Bernhard Theater, kicking
off the college’s summer jazz series (8 PM, call
for prices, 580-5320).
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