Jim Gaffigan Live!

Comedic triple threat Jim Gaffigan has earned a ranking spot as one of the top five most successful comedians touring the country today. During his last whirlwhind, Jim Gaffigan: The Sexy Tour the guy performed 50—count ’em 50—completely sold out shows in 25 cities.

Now he’s at it again, and Jim Gaffigan Live! is swinging through Albany, offering local audiences a chance to catch live stand-up from the comedian-actor-writer known for his work on screens both big and small.

Along with his TBS comedy hit My Boys, Gaffigan has made a record number of appearances on both the Late Show with David Letterman and Late Night with Conan O’Brien, and as guest starred on everything from Flight of the Concords to Sex in the City.

Or perhaps you recognize him from his cinematic work: The guy’s been in The Love Guru, Super Troopers and Three Kings. How many movie careers boast that kind of variety?

Jim Gaffigan Live! takes the Palace Theatre stage (19 Clinton Ave., Albany) on Saturday (Dec. 12) at 8 PM. Tickets are $35.75 and $42.75. For more info, or to purchase tickets, call 465-3334.

GWAR

Admit it: Ever since you first watched that scene in Empire Records where Mark eats the magic brownie and hallucinates himself through the TV and onstage with GWAR, part of you has always wanted to become enslaved by the Scumdogs of the Universe, drenched in their vile fluids, and fed to their gator-headed human-gnashing beast.

And, in the band’s 25-year run, you’ve probably already had at least one chance. But, see, it’s been “thousands of eons” since the Master created these warmongering metal warriors and sent them to Earth in order to exterminate the galaxy’s most “annoying” species, as well as “reality itself.” So, really, the band have a lot of work left to do, and now is as good a time as any to see the taste-defiling, Joan Rivers-provoking, Beavis and Butthead-baiting shock rockers. Just bring a change of clothes.

GWAR will bring the best metal shtick since Metallagher (google ‘em) to Northern Lights (1208 Route 146, Clifton Park) tomorrow (Friday, Dec. 11) at 7 PM. Tickets are $19. Call 371-0012 for more info.

Capitol Chamber Artists

It’s not everyday that we can announce the local premiere of a work by Johann Sebastian Bach. Primarily, this is owing to the fact that Herr Bach has been dead for a couple hundred years. Still, it is a fact that the intrepid ensemble Capitol Chamber Artists will be performing such a rarity, Bach’s Piccolo (Little) Magnificat of 1720, which was written for an intimate gathering of the composer’s friends and family.

This work, which will feature soprano Julie Norman, is the showcase of their baroque holiday concerts this weekend. But the program will also include Andre O’Neil’s O Come Emanuel, baroque holiday-themed music by Biber, Corelli and Vivaldi, and traditional seasonal carols.

Capitol Chamber Artists will perform Saturday (Dec. 12) at 8 PM at the First Congregational Church (405 Quail St., Albany), with a preconcert recital at 7 PM. The program will be repeated Sunday (Dec. 13) at 3 PM at Community Hall (Benson, Vt.) with a preconcert recital at 2 PM. Tickets are $16 general admission, $8 students. For more info, call 458-9231.