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Citizen
Cope
The
Egg, Friday
Word on the street is that Clarence Greenwood, the sole hombre
behind Citizen Cope, plays a five-string guitar with a detuned
B-string. But that’s not the only thing that sets him aside
from the flock of hip-hopping folk-poppers. Grittier than
Jack Johnson, more booty-shaking than Ben Harper, Greenwood’s
real-world story-songs bear the jaw-clenched pathos of Everlast
but bounce like Sublime. Dude can rock a car commercial to
boot. Don’t expect any frills on this one, though: no band,
no beats, Friday night’s just Cope, a stage, and that weird
guitar. (Sept. 26, 8 PM, $26, Empire State Plaza, Albany,
473-1845)
Blind
Boys of Alabama, Preservation Hall Jazz Band
Proctors,
Friday
By the time Preservation Hall opened in 1961 to revive New
Orleans Dixieland jazz, Jimmy Carter had been singing with
the Blind Boys of Alabama for 20 years. As a gospel purist,
it took Carter almost 50 more years for his now-legendary
group to join forces with the Hall. It’s not that the offer
hadn’t been extended; Carter had seen countless friends cross
over to the world of jazz, soul and R&B. To him, though,
it was the message that mattered, so when Hurricane Katrina
hit N.O. and preservation became synonymous with faith, the
two bands finally found a common cause to take on the road.
It’s the kind of thing that only happens once every half-century.
(Sept. 26, 8 PM, $20-$40, 432 State St., Schenectady, 346-6204)
Randy
Newman
Calvin
Theatre, Sunday
Ten years ago, Randy Newman took a break from a decade of
lucrative film scoring and dropped Bad Love, one of
the best albums of his career. The baleful “I Miss You” and
jaunty “Great Nations of Europe”—the latter hopefully prophesizing
the end of Western civ—were first among equals in a pungent
set of tunes. Another decade (and more lucrative film work)
has passed, and Newman now delivers Harps and Angels,
another great album. Though it hardly seems possible, this
time he’s angrier. “A Few Words in Defense of Our Country,”
for example, notes that our current leaders are awful, but
they’re not as bad as, say, the pedophile early Caesars, or,
“Hitler, Stalin/Men who need no introduction.” So when Newman
plays a lot of the new stuff alongside “Political Science”
and “Marie” at the Calvin this weekend, you’ll probably be
the opposite of disappointed. (Sept. 28, 8 PM, $37.50-$47.50,
19 King St., Northampton, Mass., 413-586-8686)
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| Zodiac
Mindwarp |
Zodiac
Mindwarp and the Love Reaction
Valentine’s,
Monday
Had
Mark Manning played his cards “right,” he might have landed
his band an opening slot on CrüeFest a couple weeks back.
However, Zodiac Mindwarp, his sneering alter ego, deals exclusively
in the “wrong,” and would have, no doubt, had little patience
for those motley poseurs. Put him in a box full of sweat and
booze, with Jack Shitt and Cobalt Stargazer at his side and
his six-string “Sleaze-Grinder” in hand, and just watch how
the angels blanch. A true renaissance rocker, the guy’s written
family-friendly titles like “Fucked by Rock” and “Get Your
Cock Out,” but look no further than “Feed My Frankenstein,”
a tune he co-wrote with Alice Cooper for the Wayne’s World
soundtrack, to gauge his true mettle. Not amused? You
can take it up with Alice himself in a couple of weeks . .
. (Sept. 29, 8 PM, $5, 17 New Scotland Ave., Albany, 432-6572)
Seether,
Ashes Divide
Northern
Lights, Wednesday
We’re a little shocked that a grunge band named after a Veruca
Salt song has had so much success this late in the new millennium.
But Seether might actually be immune to the rules of the modern-rock
road—for starters, they hail from South Africa, a country
not exactly known for its grunge-rock scene. As for Seether’s
stateside success, chalk that up to a series of gritty, mid-tempo
rock singles that sound as at-home in your average small town
as they might in Cape Town. When Seether come to town on Wednesday,
they’ll be joined by Ashes Divide, the new project from A
Perfect Circle guitarist/ co-founder Billy Howerdel. State
of Shock also are on the bill. (Oct. 1, 8 PM, $25, 1208
Route 146, Clifton Park, 371-0012)
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| Also
Noted |
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| Lotus |
They
don’t bump open-mic night for many things, but
Melissa Ferrick apparently is on the short
list of acceptable substitutes; she, not you,
will perform tonight (Thursday) at Caffe Lena
(7 PM, $24, 583-0022). . . . Get your instrumental
prog-rock dance party on tonight with Lotus
at Revolution Hall (8 PM, $17, 274-0553). . .
. Lo, the prog is deep tonight: Woodstock-based
proggers 3 will take the Valentine’s stage
with guests Kiss Kiss, Ophelia,
and the Red Lions (7:30 PM, $12, 432-6572).
. . . Mattie Safer of dance-punk act the
Rapture will rock a DJ set, along with a host
of area talent, at tomorrow’s (Friday) Official
Unofficial Troy Night Out Afterparty at Revolution
Hall (9 PM, $10, 274-0553). . . . Friday at Red
Square, jam out with up-and-coming locals Timbre
Coup and Nautilus (9 PM, $7, 465-0444).
. . . The Eighth Step at Proctors opens its 41st
season this Saturday with a performance by French
Canadian group Gadelle (7:30 PM, $26, 434-1703).
. . . Also on Saturday in Schenectady, the First
Reformed Church will host a Jazz for Peace concert
featuring Rick DellaRatta; the show will
benefit the Center for Community Justice (7:30
PM, $25, 377-2201). . . . Tuesday brings another
Albany Sonic Arts Collective presentation, this
time at Valentine’s: Blues Control, Psychedelic
Horseshit, Pink Reason, and Century
Plants will all bring the noise (7 PM, $5,
432-6572). . . . The Dodos and Au
share a bill at Pearl Street Nightclub in Northampton,
Mass., this Wednesday night; for an introduction
to the latter, you can read about their new disc
on this week’s Recordings page (8:30 PM, $16,
413-586-8686).
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