Feedback 2004

Here’s your chance to see a great show and help less-fortunate Capital Region residents have a happy holiday season. Feedback is an annual benefit for the Food Pantries for the Capital District brought to you by Valentine’s and Metroland, who have once again banded together to bring you a night of music by our talented local musicians who very generously donated their time to this cause.

The downstairs lineup will feature the legendary Mike Hotter of knotworking; indie-esque rockers Complicated Shirt; and hiphop artist Sev Statik.On the upstairs stage, the performers will be hardcore honeys End of a Year; socially conscious rockers Parwana; Metroland’s 2004 Best Band pick the Sixfifteens; and groovy nerds the Mathematicians.

Stick around once the bands are done—the night will end with a dance party, and providing the beats will be DJ Michael Campion and DJ Ryan Kick.

Feedback 2004 will take place at Valentine’s (17 New Scotland Ave., Albany) tomorrow night (Friday, Nov. 5). Doors are at 7 PM; the show starts at 8 PM. Admission is $6, $4 if you donate a nonperishable food item. All food items and proceeds will benefit the Food Pantries for the Capital District. For more information, call the club at 432-6572.

Brave New Dances

For the layperson, the very word “choreography” has implications of precision, of a well-defined and well-executed—not to say overdetermined—plan. Of course, as a public art, choreography is usually just the end result of a long creative process conducted out of the audience’s sight. But each year, the Maude Baum and Company Dance Theatre gives audiences a privileged glimpse at the process at midpoint.

Beginning on Saturday, Baum and company will present this year’s version of Brave New Dances, a showcase of “first drafts” of dances choreographed by Baum, Lynda Capocefalo, Carla Domenico, Deb Rutledge and Sarah Schmidt. According to the company, this is an opportunity to “take creative chances, stretch the boundaries of their craft and to push the limits of dance theater”—and for the audience to get a look at the nuts and bolts of the creation of a dance.

Brave New Dances will be presented at the eba Theater (corner of Lark and Hudson streets, Albany) over two weekends, beginning Saturday (Nov. 6) and running through Nov. 13. Shows are Saturday and Sunday at 8 PM. Tickets are $8-$6. For more information, call 465-9916.

 

 

Howard Dean

With a pump of the fist and an emphatic “Yeeeee-haaaaa!,” former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean saw his hopes of being the Democratic presidential nominee dashed. But now that we’re all but sentenced to another four years of a guy who still can’t get his brain around the word “nu-kew-lur” (we’re just sayin’, that’s all), we’ve begun to wonder, “What if Howard Dean had actually won that first primary? What if he went on to actually be the president?” Ah, to dream . . .

The good doctor will present a talk called “The Long Term Implications of Presidential Election 2004” at the Egg this Monday (Nov. 8). He’ll presumably try to assess what went wrong, and maybe even why he would have been a better candidate. We were hoping he’d be talking cabinet right now (Secretary of Health and Human Services, perhaps?), but we’ll take what we can get. The 7 PM event is free and open to the public. For more information, call 783-6203, or visit www.esc.edu.