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Skeletonwitch,
Iron Age
Valentine’s,
Thursday
Time to hit the MySpaces! In researching Ohio’s Skeletonwitch,
we happened upon the phrase “thrash revival.” This got us
excited, because Exodus was always, kind of secretly, our
favorite metal band. Well these guys aren’t that, exactly.
The machine-gun double kick and rapid-fire guitar licks are
there, but the vocals are of the imitative variety—there are
no righteous howls, nor a vocal melody to speak of, but rather
a dude who sounds like he needs to clear his throat. Texas
band Iron Age, of the impressive Tee Pee Records roster, get
off to a similarly strong start, sporting chunky guitar riffage
that practically grows your neckbeard for you. But the vocals—oy!
We’re sure none of that will matter when the pit gets going
tonight at Valentine’s, where the metal minions will take
in the aforementioned acts along with Planet Eater and Howl.
(Feb. 18, 8 PM, $10, 17 New Scotland Ave., Albany, 432-6572)
New
York Funk Exchange, MiniBoone, the Rozatones
Red
Square, Saturday
You know the deal: Show up to the club, hand over the cash,
have a couple drinks, get funked upside the head. That’s the
New York Funk Exchange, and this year it’s been a bull market.
The eight-piece horn-laden Brooklyn band have been touring
this winter in support of their debut Funkonomic Stimulus
Plan, which saw guest support from bassist Christian McBride.
Supporting them Saturday night will be NY post-punk rockers
MiniBoone and another female-fronted funk group (this time
from Ithaca), the Rozatones. (Feb. 20, 8 PM, 388 Broadway,
Albany, 465-0444)
Steve
Smith’s Vital Legacy
The
Van Dyck, Sunday
The fact that Steve Smith recorded “Don’t Stop Believin’”
with Journey could have been enough to earn him his listing
in Modern Drummer’s Top 25 Drummers of All Time—if
not a supporting role on the Sopranos—but the Berklee
grad went on to become one of the most accomplished session
musicians in history, working with the likes of Mike Stern,
Bill Evans, Victor Wooten, Andrea Bocelli, Mariah Carey, and
about a billion others. As a band leader, he’s long split
his time between his straight-ahead gig Jazz Legacy and his
jazz-rock outfit Vital Information. For this tour he’s gone
with the best of both worlds, compressing his bands into the
versatile Vital Legacy. (Feb. 21, 6 and 8:30 PM, $22, 237
Union St., Schenectady, 348-7999)
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| McCoy
Tyner |
McCoy
Tyner Trio
Mahaiwe
Performing Arts Center, Sunday
Do we really need to sit here and tell you who McCoy Tyner
is? Surely, even the most casual of jazz listeners is familiar
with John Coltrane’s great early-’60s quartet: the group that
recorded that famous take on “My Favorite Things,” as well
as one of the all-time great albums, A Love Supreme.
Well, that was Mr. Tyner on piano. Dig a little deeper in
your crates and you might find his great string of records
as bandleader, from the 1967 masterwork The Real McCoy
to more expansive releases like Sahara and Fly
With the Wind. Though he’s never quite had the same fire
as his early heyday, he’s still one of the greats. He’ll perform
in a trio setting (with Gerald Cannon and Eric Kamau Gravatt)
at the Mahaiwe on Sunday. You’re welcome. (Feb. 21, 7 PM,
$42-$67, 14 Castle St., Great Barrington, Mass., 413-528-0100)
Twiztid
Northern
Lights, Tuesday
It’s tempting to call Florida hip-hop duo Twiztid “ICP-lite.”
Because they wear face paint and practice in that execrable
niche genre known as “horrorcore”? Yes, that’s part of it.
But also because they were able to ride Insane Clown Posse’s
coattails into a deal with Island Records back in the late
1990s. Let us just repeat that for clarity: ICP not only have
coattails, but said coattails were strong enough to get another,
almost identical, act signed to a major label. And
you wonder why the music industry is falling apart at the
seams. Twiztid released their seventh (sigh) album, W.I.C.K.E.D.
(Wish I Could Kill Every Day), last spring, and they’ll
play in Clifton Park this week. Would the real Slim Shady
please stand up? (Feb. 23, 8 PM, $20, 1208 Route 146, Clifton
Park, 371-0012)
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| Also
Noted |
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| The
Energy |
Brooklyn
band the Energy will return to the Bread
and Jam Cafe tomorrow (Friday), with local boys
Of the Wild and Tame sharing the bill (8
PM, $5, 326-2275). . . . It ain’t too late for
Valentine’s Day, and it’s never too late
for Elvis: Mike Albert, Scot Bruce and the
Big “E” Band present Love Me Tender: The Ultimate
Elvis Valentine Bash at the Colonial Theatre in
Pittsfield, Mass., on Friday (8 PM, $25-$45, 413-997-4444).
. . . The basement at RPI’s Nugent Hall heats
up on Friday when Restys, Scientific
Maps and New Pioneer Society play Ground
Zero (8 PM, $3, gzbase ment.net). . . . The 51st
anniversary of the fabled “Day the Music Died”
rolled around on Feb. 3; this Saturday, folks
like John and Graham Tichy and
Johnny Rabb will pay tribute to the music
of the late Ritchie Valens, Big Bopper, and Buddy
Holly in a Winter Dance Party concert at the Linda
(8 PM, $20, 465-5233 ext. 4). . . . At the Guilderland
location of Emack and Bolio’s on Saturday, it’s
a triple bill of solo sets from area frontmen
with Davey Blister of the Blisterz, Mike
Grosshandler from the Velmas and Gus from
Blackcat Elliot (7 PM, 250-4196). . . . The
Haiti relief benefit concerts aren’t over yet
(nor should they be anytime soon): Woodstock’s
Bearsville Theatre plays host to one on Saturday
with the Jack DeJohnette/David Sancious Duo,
Don Byron, Happy Traum, and many more
(8 PM, $20, 845-679-4406). . . . Sunday at the
Linda, it’s singer-songwriter Melissa Ferrick
and special guest Mal Blum (8 PM, $23,
465-5233 ext. 4).
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