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Girl
Talk
Skidmore
College, Friday
Expect to lose your shirt, and your shit, this Friday when
Gregg Gillis—better known as Girl Talk—brings his explosive
live show to town. Gillis, a former biomedical research engineer,
has been making records under the Girl Talk name for several
years now; his concoctions are dance-floor bangers that mash
up (the term is practically his to own) dozens of pop and
hip-hop tunes, creating entirely new songs in the process.
For instance, “Still Here,” from the new Feed the Animals
record, mixes elements of songs by Procul Harum, Kanye West,
Radiohead, and Ace of Base—plus at least 15 others. Gillis’
entire career is an argument for the “transformative” clause
of the fair-use doctrine in U.S. copyright law; amazingly,
he has yet to be sued by any of the sampled artists. Check
out the madness tomorrow (Friday) at Skidmore’s Sports and
Recreation Center. Prefuse 73 will open the show. (Sept.
19, 8 PM, $20, $10 students, 815 N. Broadway, Saratoga Springs,
580-9298 )
Irish
2000 Festival
Altamont
Fairgrounds, Friday-Saturday
Ain’t no party like an Ancient Order of the Hibernians party,
’cause an Ancient Order of the Hibernians party has, like,
bagpipes and beer and stuff. Really, this fall has been a
veritable Model U.N. of heritage festivals, and where else
are you going to find two days of Celtic rock, pipe bands,
and step dancing? Fox News 23 calls it the “largest Irish
festival on the planet,” but what we can trust is that there
will be four beer-endorsed stages featuring more than 30 acts
of traditional and contemporary music including Barrage, Gaelic
Storm, Enter the Haggis, Great Big Sea, and the Tossers. Who
knew that Altamont was at the other end of the rainbow? (Sept.
19, 5 PM, Sept. 20, 11 AM, $30 for both days, $20 single-day,
Route 146, Altamont, 800-414-3378)
Willie
Nelson, Jakob Dylan
Glens
Falls Civic Center, Sunday
We’re guessing this is about the 20th tour that Willie Nelson
has dubbed the On the Road Again Tour, but we won’t hold that
against him. Because he’s Willie, you know? Dude smokes enough
reefer that he probably just forgot. That’s not why we love
him, of course—we love Willie because, after 50 years in the
music business, he’s still the same old Willie. That iconic
voice, as warm and comforting as a tall glass of bourbon;
that ratty old acoustic guitar, and the way he plays it (we
think he’s terribly underrated as a guitarist); and those
songs, from “Crazy” to “Whiskey River” to, naturally, “On
the Road Again,” each one of ’em a country classic. Willie
Nelson and his band are back Sunday for a show in Glens Falls;
opening will be Jakob Dylan, the former Wallflowers frontman
who recently released his first solo record, Seeing Things.
(Sept. 21, 7 PM, $29.50-$49.50, 1 Civic Center Plaza, Glens
Falls, 798-0366)
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| Laurie
Anderson |
Laurie
Anderson
The
Egg, Sunday
The last time Laurie Anderson was in town, she ruminated on
her recent artist-in-residence gig with NASA—yes, NASA. Through
music, stories and a multimedia presentation, Anderson took
us into the wonder of what NASA does. She also illuminated
a few corners of the “space agency” that had more to do with
terrestrial combat than interstellar exploration. Anderson’s
back to earth for her latest work, Homeland; it’s advertised
to explore “the climate of fear in America and its obsession
with information and security.” Having workshopped the show
in New York City, and toured with it in Europe, Anderson’s
bringing it all back home. A show in Kansas last week earned
a standing ovation—and raves in the Lawrence Journal-World:
“Homeland provided an open-ended common ground upon
which to construct a perhaps more thoughtful political discourse
. . .” (Sept. 21, 7:30 PM, $34.50, Empire State Plaza,
Albany, 473-1845)
Porter
Batiste Stoltz featuring Page McConnell, U-Melt
Revolution
Hall, Wednesday
So, the overarching question here is: Just how funky do you
take your Meters? George Porter Jr., bassist for the original
Meters, is virtually synonymous with funk, but when he joined
forces with drummer Russell Batiste Jr. and guitarist Brian
Stoltz in the late ’80s, they became the Funky Meters
and were all the more so. Now, it’s not a regular thing, but
when Phish keyboardist Page McConnell joins these guys with
his organ, clavinet, and twirling funk-nouveau, it’s funky
enough to make Bootsy Collins blush. It’s quite funky indeed.
And if you’re a true heavyweight, you’ll be at Wednesday’s
show early for Phish torch-bearers U-Melt. (Sept. 24, 7
PM, $26, 425 River St., Troy, 274-0553)
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| Also
Noted |
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| THE
WOUNDED KNEES |
The
road to All Tomorrow’s Parties leads through Northampton,
Mass.: Built to Spill, Meat Puppets,
and the Drones share a bill at the Calvin
Theatre tonight (Thursday) where they will presumably
preview their ATP sets (8 PM, $25, 413-586-8686).
. . . Big band isn’t dead, and here’s your proof:
Keith Pray’s Big Soul Ensemble, performing
tonight at the Linda (8 PM, $15, 465-5233 ext.
4). . . . Start your Irish 2000 weekend early
tonight when Solas performs at the Egg (8 PM,
$24, 473-1845). . . . Sgt. Dunbar and the Hobo
Banned and Swamp Baby close out this
year’s Garage Bands in the Garage series at the
Albany Public Library on Washington Avenue tomorrow
(Friday) evening (6 PM, free, 427-4300). . . .
The Erotics celebrate the release of their
new record Friday night at Dublin Underground
(formerly Savannah’s); Slick Fitty and
Downtown Junkies will get the party started,
and admission includes a copy of the new CD (8
PM $10, 426-9647). . . . Maggie Mayday
play a pre-Larkfest warm-up show at Tess’ Lark
Tavern on Friday, with guests 28N (9 PM,
$5, 463-9779). . . . A few more bands get ready
for their All Tomorrow’s Parties appearances Saturday
at Revolution Hall: Dinosaur Jr. and the
Wounded Knees (8 PM, $20, 274-0553). .
. . The Indigo Girls and Missy Higgins
kick off the Troy Savings Bank Music Hall’s fall
season on Saturday (8 PM, $38, 273-0038). . .
. Sunday at Red Square, it’s instrumental madness
with Boston bands Hypaspace and Sandal
Machine Foot (8 PM, $8, 465-0444). . . . Milwaukee-based
bluegrass-punks the .357 String Band play
the Moon & River Café in Schenectady Wednesday
night (8 PM, free, 382-1938).
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