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Alvin
Curran
Arts
Center of the Capital Region, Thursday
Our
frequent mentions of Impulse Response and its consistently
forward-looking programming may give the impression that IR
trades solely in heretofore unknown forms, artists making
their traditions up on the spot. Not so: Some of them are
time-honored giants and pioneers in the field, as is the case
with the Impulse Response show tonight (Thursday). Composer
and electronic musician Alvin Curran has been a practitioner
of “new music” since 1966, and his works have been performed
by such ensembles as the Kronos Quartet and the Bang on a
Can Allstars. Frankly, in the world of new music, the guy’s
a legend. And, better yet, one still making challenging music.
For his show at Troy’s Arts Center, he’ll use a sampler, a
MIDI keyboard and a computer to unleash “just about every
sound on the whole planet and beyond.” Let’s see Eric Clapton
do that. (Nov. 20, 8 PM, $5, 281-2306)
The
Thorns
Bearsville
Theater, Woodstock, Friday
It
would be an overstatement to say that the Thorns had unalloyed
visions of greatness when they formed just last year. One
of the band’s three guitarist-vocalists has gone so far as
to typify his own expectations in decidedly pessimistic tones:
“Really, in theory, it [was] a disaster waiting to happen.”
Now, that disaster has not come to pass, and fans of Matthew
Sweet, Pete Droge and Shawn Mullins—all established singer-songwriters
in their own rights before hooking up for this “musical experiment”—might
just think, “Well, duh, of course this is good stuff.” But
Droge’s aforementioned dire prediction had some merit: There’s
no certainty that three guys “used to being dictators” will
be able to successfully collaborate. Apparently, though, a
shared love for a sweet, breezy, vaguely SoCal-inflected brand
of alt-country (think Byrds via Eagles) was bond enough to
get them past any ego issues—on that front, we’ll just ignore
the fact that the Thorns press release cites both Crosby,
Stills & Nash and Fleetwood Mac as models. The Thorns
will play Woodstock’s Bearsville Theater on Friday, with Latino
rock group Los Lonely Boys opening. (Nov. 21, 9 PM, $25,
$20, 845-679-7600)
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Billy
Cobham and Art of 5
The
Van Dyck, Friday-Saturday
Legendary
jazz and jazz-fusion drummer Billy Cobham (Miles Davis, Mahavishnu
Orchestra) doesn’t tour much stateside, which makes perfect
sense when you consider that he’s been living in Switzerland
for the last 23 years. What’s he been doing in Switzerland?
According to a recent interview, Cobham’s been obtaining “peace
of mind.” (This is, apparently, facilitated by the quiet of
the lakes and mountains.) And Cobham also has been touring;
according to the same interview, he has been playing gigs
with a variety of musicians all over Europe, the Middle East
and Asia. This rare American tour features his latest project,
the Art of 5, a traditional jazz ensemble who earned this
praise from the Seattle Post-Intelligencer: “Swinging
through some cool post-bop changes with veteran ease, Art
of 5 is rediscovering jazz as a vehicle of spontaneous interaction.”
Cobham’s West Coast tour dates earlier this year were strictly
sellouts, so it might be wise to get your tickets yesterday.
(Nov. 21-22, 7 and 9:30 PM, $30, 381-1111)
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Shazam!
B.R.
Finley’s
No,
Captain Marvel won’t be throwing down in our area, but those
crafty Impulse Response peeps will present Shazam! at B.R.
Finley’s on Saturday, featuring esteemed area DJs, laptop
artists and “miscellaneous delinquents” performing “super-powered
electronic music.” The genetically enhanced lineup features
Bone Oil’s Tom Burre, ringing in “a new era of thud and scrape”;
Renaissance dude Seth Cluett, “reinventing dub so that it
makes sense in Troy on a cold November night”; DJ Very Special
Guest, providing oodles of special; the JTS3k (Jesse Stiles
3000), woozifying with his computer-generated music; one-half
of the renowned duo Evidence, sound artist Stephen Moore,
performing “boom-bap for the folks that think Stockhausen
is danceable—and sultry”; and video ensemble lmnop providing
intriguing imagery. The evening, which is a benefit for Impulse
Response, also promises a couple special surprises. Oh Mighty
Isis, perhaps? (Nov. 22, 10:30 PM, $3, 281-3206).
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 Cassandra
Wilson
The
Egg, Saturday
Vocalist
Cassandra Wilson is one of contemporary jazz’s giants. Her
sultry and smooth voice uniquely delivers jazz and blues standards
with a pop sensibility that keeps her work accessible. Her
newest album, Glamoured (Blue Note), was released last
month, and it includes songs borrowed from the likes of Bob
Dylan, Muddy Waters and Abbey Lincoln. Wilson’s smoky voice
is tremendously flexible in range, and her unconventional
reads do just what jazz singing should: interpret, consume,
manipulate and invent. Saturday marks Wilson’s first visit
to the Egg, and she’ll perform as part of its Roots &
Branches series. (Nov. 22, 8 PM, $24, 473-1845)
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noted |
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Early-’60s
folk poineers the Kingston Trio will perform
at the Troy Music Hall tonight (Thursday), and though
Bob Shane is the group’s only surviving original
member, George Grove and Bob Haworth
join in the harmonies, creating a Trio reminiscent
of the group’s heyday (8 PM, $25-$28, 273-0038).
. . . Finally a band who will actually perform your
“Freebird” request: The surviving members (with
some new additions) of the legendary Southern-rock
band Lynyrd Skynyrd will play the Pepsi tonight,
and with .38 Special sharing the bill, this
show is sure to take you back to the ’70s (7:30
PM, $18.50-$38.50, 476-1000). . . . OK, let’s try
this one again: Local quartet Nikilee & Mass
Chaos will perform their intense melodies at
Troy’s All Sports tomorrow (Friday), opening for
area power-blues hellions Lowthief. We really
mean it this time (9 PM, $5, 687-0064). . .
. The Lawn Sausages will bob down the river
for their first blowout at the Garden Grill Friday,
and the band are so excited that they’re bringing
a slew of area musicians to help in the merriment
(7 PM, $2, 462-0571). . . . Schenectady’s ’70s night
takes place Sunday at Proctor’s Theatre, with old-time
rockers Chicago performing their five-decade
run of chart-topping hits (7:30 PM, $44.50-$54.50,
346-6204). . . . It’s acoustic mayhem at the Larkin
on Sunday, with favorite local rockmakers Rockets
and Blue Lights, Lincoln Money Shot (expanding
to a seven-piece band, featuring members of Complicated
Shirt, Pirate School, Friendship Is Terrible
and Total Chaos Unit) and Parwana (with
former Amazing Plaid member Ryan Gurnett)
performing unplugged (8 PM, $5, 463-5225). . . .
Alt-rockers Fuel and heavy-rocking rising
stars Sloth will play Northern Lights on
Tuesday (7:30 PM, $22-$25, 371-0012). . . . Bruce
Cockburn brings his newly purchased rocket launcher
to our area in search of action (apparently someone
told him that Albany is where the lions are). Well,
that’s a bald-faced lie, but the versatile Canadian
guitarist-singer-songwriter will stop in to the
Egg on Tuesday as part of his tour behind his newest
album, You’ve Never Seen Anything (7:30 PM,
$22, 473-1845). |
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