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The
Ruffians, the Town Pants
Alive
at Five, Thursday
Call it second-generation Celtic punk rock. That is: The Ruffians,
who formed in NYC in the late ’90s, weren’t the first to cut
traditional Irish music with a dose of punk rock, but they
have effectively blended the sound and energy of those originators
before them: Dropkick Murphys, Black 47, the Pogues, and Flogging
Molly. Full of Uileann pipes, tin whistle and button accordion,
it’s a sound that has launched them onto the Irish-music-
festival circuit and, naturally, goes well with a cold pint.
Openers the Town Pants (from Vancouver) play what they’re
calling “West Coast Celtic,” built from a “pawnshop’s worth
of musical instruments.” (July 8, 5 PM, free, Albany Riverfront
Park, Corning Preserve, Albany, 434-2032)
Grupo
Fantasma
Club
Helsinki, Saturday
Having worked through two Cumbia revivals in the past decade,
the Grammy-nominated Grupo Fantasma consider themselves “children
of neocolonialism” who have moved beyond retro notions of
Latin orchestras to create forward-looking hybrid music. All
this, and they’ll make you shake your hips. The 10-piece,
Austin, Texas-based band are full of horns and percussion,
and their latest album, El Existential, has
catapulted the group onto a lengthy international tour that
included dates backing the one and only Prince at Coachella
and on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, a stop
at Bonnaroo, and 10 days in Iraq. This is world music taken
literally. (July 10, 9 PM, $15, 405 Columbia St., Hudson,
828-4800)
WGNA
Countryfest
Altamont
Fairgrounds, Saturday
It’s radio-station music-festival season again. First on the
docket this year is country leader WGNA’s annual fête. Heading
up the roster is Blake Shelton, whose recent duet with Trace
Adkins, “Hillbilly Bone,” gave Shelton his sixth No. 1 single
on the country charts. Joining Shelton atop the lineup is
Gretchen Wilson, who recently parted ways with Sony Nashville
after several failed attempts to recapture her mid-’00s glory
days; her long-delayed new album, I Got Your Country Right
Here, was released this spring on Wilson’s own Redneck
Records. The bill also features Nashville imports Jason Michael
Carroll (Houston) and David Nail (Missouri), one-time reality-TV
star Chuck Wicks, and up-and-coming duo the JaneDear Girls.
(July 10, 11 AM, $40, Route 146, Altamont, 861-6671)
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Titus
Andronicus
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Titus
Andronicus
Valentine’s,
Monday
Ah, Rolling Stone, always trying so hard to stay relevant.
We’ll give the credit for trying, though—their recent decision
to name New Jersey’s Titus Andronicus as one of the “10 Best
New Bands of 2010” is only slightly misguided. (The band have
been in action since 2005, and their lo-fi 2008 debut, The
Airing of Grievances, was rereleased by XL in 2009.) Nitpicking
aside, The Monitor, their Civil War-themed, Billy Bragg-referencing
second LP, is one of this year’s best-reviewed records, promising
that the band’s future is brighter than that of the titular
character in that Shakespeare tragedy. They’ll be joined onstage
Monday by members of Hallelujah the Hills, who will also play
the night’s middle slot; Beware! The Other Head of Science
will open. (July 12, 8 PM, $10, 17 New Scotland Ave., Albany,
432-6572)
Joan
Armatrading, Diane Birch
The
Egg, Wednesday
Per Joan Armatrading’s Wikipedia entry, the British singer-songwriter
was fired from her first job for “bringing her guitar to work
and playing during tea breaks.” Sounds like a good omen to
us—at least it beats getting caught with a backpack full of
office supplies. Thirty- something years and a few dozen records
on and Armatrading is still laughing the last laugh. We recommend
you check out this powerful performer, not only because she’s
still cutting great albums (her latest, This Charming Life,
was released this spring) but because her opening act, newcomer
Diane Birch, has enough soulful style and strong songs to
secure her a career as enduring as Armatrading’s. (July
14, 8 PM, $34.50-49.50, Empire State Plaza, Albany, 473-1845)
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Noted |
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Pierce
the Veil
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Still
bummed out about that canceled George Clinton
and Parliament Funkadelic show back in February?
Get your make-up funk tonight (Thursday) when
the P-Funk Mothership finally descends on Northern
Lights, with bonus beats from veteran U.K. reggae
band Steel Pulse; all tickets for February’s
show will be honored at the door (7 PM, $30, 371-0012).
. . . Seattle band Minus the Bear return
to Northern Lights tomorrow (Friday) in support
of their new album, Omni; Everest
and Keepaway are also on the bill (7 PM,
$18, 371-0012). . . . Riverlink Park in Amsterdam
kicks off its free summer concert series on Saturday
with area performers John Scarpulla and
Holly and Evan (7 PM, free, amsterdamny.gov).
. . . Buffalo’s Son of the Sun play Valentine’s
on Saturday, along with locals Alta Mira
and Matt Durfee (8 PM, $5, 432-6572). .
. . Get a taste of the Jersey shore (if you’re
into that kind of thing) when Bon Jovi
and Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes
play SPAC on Sunday; an as-yet-undecided local
band will open (8 PM, $35-$175, 587-3330). . .
. San Diego hardcore band Pierce the Veil
are part of a Northern Lights bill on Monday that
also features Attack! Attack!, Parkway
Drive, Confide, and the Capital Region’s
own Rick Whispers (6 PM, $18, 371-0012).
. . . Todd Rundgren brings his Johnson
Tour—a set that pays tribute to Delta blues legend
Robert Johnson—to his home base, the Bearsville
Theatre in Woodstock, Tuesday night (8 PM, $40-$50,
845-679-4406). . . . Also Tuesday, Natalie
Merchant reemerges with a show at the Calvin
Theatre in Northampton, Mass., that features music
from her latest release, the childhood-themed
Leave Your Sleep (8 PM, $45-$55, 413-586-8686).
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