|
Jose
Cuervo Benefit
Hudson
Duster, Friday
What
do you do when a hurricane knocks down your friend’s house
in Florida? You throw a crazy night of metal and hope that
the pansy, skirt-wearing, tropical storm shows up to get its
head kicked in by your crew. What’s that? The hurricane’s
got three friends? So what! Bring them all: Jeanne, Ivan,
Frances and Charley, ’cause local metal favorites Held Under
are headlining a bill of upstate metal and hardcore upstarts
that would send any lousy hurricane running back to the national
weather center to get a manlier name. So if you want to show
that you have a heart, show the love and support for the Montepare
family by coming out tomorrow (Friday) to bash some heads.
(Oct. 15, noon-1 AM, 40 Third St., Troy, 687-2391)
Einstein’s
Little Homunculus
Mother’s
Wine Emporium, Friday
You’re
probably wondering,
just what does “Einstein’s Little Homunculus” refer to and/or
mean? On their Web site, the five-piece folk rock ensemble
explain, “We get asked that a lot.” Well ha, ha, ha. Thanks
for the insight, smartasses. No wonder the Boston Herald
described them as a “daffier Fairport Convention.” Utilizing
instruments both traditional to the genre (mandolin, guitar,
fiddle) and nontraditional (dumbek, soprano sax, “cocktail”
drums), Einstein’s Little Homunculus have built a reputation
for fine musicianship and fun, playing their “slightly skewed”
original songs and traditional jigs and reels. They may even
bring along a few copies of their latest CD, Double Redundancy,
for your purchasing ease. (Oct. 15, 8 PM, $8, RPI campus,
Troy, 276-8585)
The
Only Children
Valentine’s,
Sunday
The
last time the Anniversary swung through town, they were opening
for power-pop vets Cheap Trick at the Egg. That was last spring.
Unfortunately, they didn’t last long after that, and soon,
singer-guitarist Josh Berwanger was without a band to fuel
his rootsy rock and roll tunes. Fast-forward one year, and
Berwanger has regrouped with two of his former bandmates,
along with members of Hot Rod Circuit and Juliana Hatfield’s
live band, to form the Only Children. With a fiery blues-based
sound reminiscent of a time when blues-based wasn’t a euphemism
for crap, the Only Children let it all hang out on their debut
full-length Change of Living. Think Allman Brothers
meets Snatches of Pink. Here’s a show to stimulate both gray
matter and guts. (Oct. 17, 7:30 PM, $8, 17 New Scotland
Ave., Albany, 432-6572)
Mirah,
Tara Jane O’Neil
Iron
Horse Music Hall, Monday
Mirah
and Tara Jane O’Neil are both female, and they both write
songs and sing. We’re not going to use that term—you
know, the “s-s” handle—because as a publication, we’re way
beyond that. According to her Web site, “Mirah has a big homo
heart, is modest and deliberate, prefers privacy to invasion
and reconciliation to war.” We’re assuming she approved of
that message. And, according to one critic, her songs actually
earn adjectives like mature, intimate and introspective. Tara
Jane O’Neil has been doing this rock & roll thing for
almost a decade, moving back and forth between Louisville
and New Yawk a couple of times, finally stopping the insanity
by decamping for Olympia, Wash. Her low-key, dark stylings
have beguiled many—and, more than likely, will do the same
for you. (Oct. 18, 10 PM, $9, 20 Center St., Northampton,
Mass., 413-584-0610)
 |
|
kill
me tomorrow
|
Kill
Me Tomorrow, Finks, Brent Gorton
Fuze
Box, Monday
We’d
like to give it up to the fine folks at the Fuze Box for bringing
some truly fine independent bands to the area over the last
few months of Monday nights. This week’s offering should pose
no exception to the new rule. The Garbageman and the Prostitute,
the new release from San Francisco trio Kill Me Tomorrow,
sounds like an electroclash tribute to the Talking Heads and
Bongwater. Finks, from North Carolina, draw significant chunks
of their sound from the Pixies and Sonic Youth, wielding their
indie-rock weaponry in short, sharp bursts. (Many of their
songs clock in at less than two minutes.) Local homeboy Brent
Gorton will be backed by his new band, the Tender Breasts,
for his opening set. (Oct. 18, 8 PM, $4, 12 Central Ave.,
Albany, 432-4472)
 |
| Also
Noted |
 |
|
jes
hudak
|
The
Convention Center at Empire State Plaza will be
the site for an oldies dance party tonight (Thursday),
featuring the talent of the Drifters, Shirley
Reeves, the Orlons, the Vogues,
and Al Bruno; proceeds will benefit
the Rudy Ciccotti Family Recreation Center (7:30
PM, $50, 473-0559).
|. . . Tonight’s installment of the Heineken Music
Showcase at Saratoga City Tavern will feature
Jes Hudak, Alien Folklife, Hector
on Stilts, and Jezzie Tree (8 PM, $5,
581-3230). . . . Tomorrow (Friday), ex-Scorcher
Jason Ringenberg will play a solo set at
Valentine’s; word has it that openers Coal
Palace Kings might even join him for a few
tunes (9 PM, $8, 432-6572). . . . A most unusual
event will take place at the Calvin Theater on
Friday: a screening of the classic horror film
Creature from the Black Lagoon (in 3-D!)
with musical accompaniment by the Jazz Passengers
(8 PM, $15, 413-584-1444).
. . . The Chapin Family—featuring Tom,
Steve and Jen, all accomplished songwriters in
their own right—will present “Harry Chapin: A
Celebration in Song” at the Troy Savings Bank
Music Hall on Friday (8 PM, $273-0038).
. . . Remember “Put Your Head on My Shoulder”
and “Diana”? Take a trip back in time when Paul
Anka, whose career has spanned almost half
a century and who will release his 123rd album
this fall, plays at Proctor’s Theatre in Schenectady
on Saturday (8 PM, $39.50-$49.50, 346-6204). .
. . Get your jam on with Gov’t Mule; they’ll
play the Palace Theatre on Sunday (8 PM, $27,
465-4663). . . . All but lost in the swarm of
reuniting indie-rockers, Camper Van Beethoven
have picked up where they left off, and will perform
at Pearl Street in Northampton on Monday night;
Eszter Balint will open (7 PM, $20, 413-584-7771).
. . . That’s just the way it is, some things will
never change: Bruce Hornsby returns to
the Palace Theatre on Wednesday (7:30 PM, $35-45,
465-4663).
|
|
|
Columns
& Opinions
