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| Frigg |
Frigg
The
Linda, Thursday
What do you get when you mix blue grass, Finnish and Norwegian
tradition, and the wife of Norse god Odin? You get Frigg—no,
not the dirty word. Frigg is the chief of the goddesses and
Odin’s missus. Though the instrumentation reads like any old
square-dancin’ troupe (guitar, dobro, double bass, fiddles
galore), Frigg injects Kaustinen (Finland) and Nord-Trondelag
(Norway) culture into their energetic live shows. Throw in
a dash of Celtic and Americana, and you get a band “full of
fresh ideas and taking the next leap forward for Finnish fiddle
music.” Frigg will cap a two-night stay at the Linda (following
their Wednesday appearance on “Dancing on the Air”) tonight
(Thursday). Bring your dancing shoes. (Oct. 9, 8 PM, $23,
339 Central Ave., Albany, 465-5233 ext. 4)
Fieldwork
EMPAC,
Friday
Pshew! EMPAC has been open one weekend and we’re already feeling
spoiled. These guys do not mess around. They may have pulled
out the stops for a free Cecil Taylor show on Sunday, but
the free free-jazz just keeps flowing this weekend with “rising
stars” Fieldwork. Seriously, two out of three of the group’s
members have recently received the above designation by the
Downbeat magazine international critic’s poll. The
fact that pianist Vijay Iyer is being heralded as Taylor’s
torch-bearer is no accident. See, EMPAC is officially
an academic institution, so don’t feel guilty about all this
indulgence: It’s educational. You should call ahead on this
one, by the way—reservations were pretty tight as of press
time. (Oct. 10, 9 and 10:30 PM, free, 110 8th St., Troy,
276-4135)
The
Black Crowes, Howlin Rain
Palace
Theatre, Saturday
Arena-blues-rock scene-setters the Black Crowes bring their
Southern-rock sound back to the Capital Region this week,
touring on the strength of their first album in seven years,
Warpaint. Their powerful, churning sound comes straight
from of the amplifiers of ’70s rock gods, with the passion
and wailing guitar solos reminiscent of bands like Lynyrd
Skynyrd, Creedence Clearwater Revival and the Band. Often
called “revivalists,” the Atlanta natives have the swagger,
the style, and laid-back, whiskey-swigging credibility to
not only inherit the sound, but to make it something all their
own. Opening are San Francisco’s Howlin’ Rain. Blending straight-up
rock & roll with psychedelic jam-band sensibility and
vocals reminiscent of Free/Bad Company howler Paul Rodgers,
they fit in much better on this ticket than nearly any other
band could. Jerry would be proud. (Oct. 11, 8 PM, $42,
19 Clinton Ave, Albany, 465-3334)
Musée
Mécanique
Valentine’s,
Saturday
If you’re a fan of subtle, elegant, yet fully modern folk-pop,
you’ll enjoy Hold This Ghost, the fine debut from Oregon’s
Musée Mécanique. The disc was produced by Tucker Martine,
the man behind the board for recent projects from the Decemberists,
Laura Veirs, and Sufjan Stevens. The music hews largely toward
the sound of the latter, though less quirky and with a darker
edge; at times, you’ll also notice shades of late Portlander
Elliott Smith, which is a mighty fine thing indeed. Musée
Mécanique will bring the beauty to the Valentine’s stage this
weekend with help from Albany’s own arbiters of modern folk-pop—and
the only other band in recent memory to record a singing saw—Sgt.
Dunbar and the Hobo Banned. (Oct. 11, 9 PM, $5, 17 New
Scotland Ave., Albany, 432-6572)
Cormac
McCarthy
Caffe
Lena, Wednesday
Would you believe there are two Cormac McCarthys? For
real, there are! There’s the Cormac McCarthy from Rhode Island,
the one who writes all the graphically violent books—the guy
whose No Country for Old Men was turned into an Oscar-winning
picture last year, and who is regarded as one of the great
20th-century American novelists. And then there’s the Cormac
McCarthy from Maine, the one who sings folk songs, the one
who has a hyphen in his Web address. The latter will appear
at Caffe Lena this Wednesday. Seth Rogovoy, writing for the
Boston Phoenix, said of McCarthy, “The next time he
comes within 100 miles, you must go hear him.” We’re pretty
sure Lena’s is safely within that radius. (Oct. 15, 7 PM,
$12, 47 Phila St., Saratoga Springs, 583-0022)
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