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The
Neighborhoods
Valentine’s,
Saturday
A certain segment of the population regards the Neighborhoods
as legends. Most of those people are in Boston, where the
’Hoods ran amok from around 1979 through the early 1990s.
The Albany chapter of the Neighborhoods fan club will convene
Saturday at Valentine’s, where Dave Minehan and company will
bring to life the mod- and punk-influenced garage-rock sound
that made them Boston’s musical ambassadors to clubs the world
over. Word has it that Minehan’s stature as an explosive bandleader
has not diminished in the 15-plus years since the band’s official
demise, which means double trouble for the audience: Opening
band John Powhida International Airport will feature another
of Boston’s great frontmen (and an Albany expat) in former
Staziaks/Rudds leader Powhida. The Charlie Watts Riots round
out a fine evening of rock & roll. (Dec. 5, 9 PM, $15,
17 New Scotland Ave., Albany, 432-6572)
Josh
Ritter
Troy
Savings Bank Music Hall, Saturday
Even if you’ve never heard it before, Josh Ritter’s music—mellow
indie rock with folk roots—sounds familiar. Melodic, sonorous
and often poignant or silly, Ritter’s sound is as comfortable
as it is fun. He’s been called “refreshing and inspiring”
by the Washington Post, earned comparisons to Bob Dylan
and Leonard Cohen (both of whom he’s named as influences),
and been named a favorite of author Stephen King. A writer
himself, Ritter is currently working on his first novel. He’s
also on tour to promote his latest CD, The Historical Conquests
of Josh Ritter, and plays Troy this weekend. (Dec.
5, 8 PM, $20-$34, Troy Savings Bank Music Hall, Troy, 273-0038)
Over
the Rhine, Vienna Teng
The
Egg, Sunday
Their self-defined “post-nuclear, pseudo-alternative, folk-tinged
art-pop” has been influenced by literary figures such as T.S.
Eliot, C.S. Lewis and Dylan Thomas. Named for a neighborhood
in their native Cincinnati, Over the Rhine have toured and
recorded with artists such as Bob Dylan, Ani DiFranco, and
Cowboy Junkies. Singer Karen Bergquist and her husband, Linford
Detweiler, have done much of their recording in their living
room, producing such albums as Ohio, which All Music
Guide calls “a work of tattered grace, a deeply moving, maddening,
and redemptive work of art.” Alex Wong and Vienna Teng, a
young pianist and singer with a sweet voice and personal lyrics
(a la Tori Amos) will open Sunday’s show with an original
mix of folk-pop tinged with jazz and classical overtones.
(Dec. 6, 7:30 PM, $28, Empire State Plaza, Albany, 473-1845)
Insane
Clown Posse
Northern
Lights, Tuesday
Juggalos (and Jugalettes, which, according to Wikipedia, is
the feminine version) from far and wide will decend on Clifton
Park this evening for a concert from Joseph Bruce and Joseph
Utsler, aka Violent J and Shaggy 2 Dope, aka horrorcore icons
Insane Clown Posse. Lest you think you’ve accidentally fallen
through a wormhole into the year 1996, we can assure you that
these two clowns are still, somehow, wickedly popular. That’s
right: brutal violence, misogyny, racism and, most appallingly,
mediocre hip-hop are still being celebrated at ICP concerts
nationwide. God bless America! (Dec. 8, PM, $, 1208 Route
146, Clifton Park, 371-0012)
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| Company
of Thieves |
Company
of Thieves
Revolution
Hall, Wednesday
If
you take their press releases at face value, Chicago trio
Company of Thieves imagine themselves to be a big-picture,
social-change kind of band. But for all their talk about making
“great art” in the face of social challenges, they actually
have the goods to back it up. The band’s debut CD, Ordinary
Riches, is packed with anthemic rock music that’s of its
own design—a bit like Kings of Leon, but with teeth—and singer
Genevieve Schatz’s voice is one of the best things to happen
to music this year. Fresh off a national tour with Annuals,
the band will play in Troy this week with a pair of hot local
acts, Lunic and 28N, opening. Get there early, as WEQX is
offering a reduced-price admission to the first 100 in attendance.
(Dec. 9, 6:30 PM, $10.27, 425 River St., Troy, 274-0553)
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| Also
Noted |
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Sippy
Cups
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Tomorrow
(Friday) evening at the main branch of the Albany
Public Library, Upstate Artists Guild presents
a concert and book-release party: the book, Moonlight
Falls by Vincent Zandri; the concert, the
Blisterz featuring Zandri on drums (6 PM,
free, 427-4300). . . . After that, stay in the
neighborhood for a concert from Taina Asili
y La Banda Rebelde at the First Unitarian
Universalist Church; proceeds benefit Albany’s
Women’s Building (7 PM, sliding-scale donations,
462-2871). . . . At Putnam Den in Saratoga on
Friday, it’s the “progressive jazz hop” of the
Chronicles, plus Duchess and the Afro
Dub Rebels (8:30 PM, $5, $10 under 21, 584-8066).
. . . It’s a Honky Tonk Holiday at the Linda on
Saturday, with guitar-slingers Bill Kirchen
and John Tichy plus a gaggle of special
guests (8 PM, $25, 465-5233 ext. 4). . . . Kid-tested,
mother-approved band the Sippy Cups will
play a freebie at the Egg Sunday afternoon (3
PM, free, 473-1845). . . . Savannah’s will bring
a little heat to a cold December night this Tuesday
with a concert from Latin jazz greats Grupo
Los Santos (8 PM, $5, 426-9647). . . . The
hits keep coming: Matchbox 20 guy Rob Thomas
brings his solo gig to Turning Stone on Tuesday
(8 PM, $51-$91, 877-833-SHOW). . . . George
Winston brings the hard-edged funk sound that
made him a mainstay on the modern-rock . . . wait,
that’s someone else entirely. Winston plays pleasant
piano music, and he will do so at the Colonial
Theatre in Pittsfield, Mass. on Wednesday (7:30
PM, $25, 413-997-4444). . . . Also Wednesday,
it’s the annual holiday show from a cappella giants
the Bobs at Caffe Lena (7 PM, $24, 583-0022).
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