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Facelift
Northern
Lights, Friday
At
Facelift’s Web site, Ralph Saenz sings the praises of the
Alice in Chains tribute act: “Nobody—I mean nobody—do Alice
in Chains better than you guys.” Who, though, is Ralph Saenz?
Saenz is David Lee Roth in the Atomic Punks, the official
Van Halen tribute act, of course. We were thinking about getting
Garry Noth, who plays Lester Bangs in the official Creem
tribute publication, to comment on all this, but we figured
enough was enough, already. Point is, if you want to check
out Alice in Chains, you’re SOL, since lead singer Layne Staley
died in 2002. But, word is, Facelift provide the Alice in
Chains experience—and in a more honest way than the
hordes of Alice in Chains lite bands that have choked the
airwaves in the Seattle band’s wake. Really, has any good
band since Sabbath had as pernicious an influence as AIC?
But we digress. (March 11, 7:30 PM, 1208 Route 146, Clifton
Park, $8, 371-0012)
DJ
Toast 16th Anniversary Show
Hudson
Duster, Saturday
Back
yonder, in the early ’90s, Troy was overflowing with top-notch
hardcore and metal bands; for several years, the city was
locked in a tight battle with New York over whose hardcore
scene was more vital. Really—the two cities’ mayors even arm-wrestled
over the title! Alright, that didn’t happen, but it still
could, because Troy is again spiking the national radar, thanks
to its activity in the underground hiphop community. DJ Toast
has built a reputation for spinning the best in underground
and old-school hiphop—local and national—on his hugely
popular Friday-night radio show (heard on WRPI 91.5 FM), and
to celebrate the show’s 16th year on the air, the Hudson Duster
will throw a big ol’ party this weekend. Featured performers
include Sean Price (aka Ruck from Helter Skelter), Rustee
Juxx, Bathgate, German Luger, and El Gant, plus some representatives
from Troy’s own Pitch Control crew. Need we say more? (March
12, 9 PM, $10, 40 3rd St., Troy, 687-2391)
Bowels
of Destruction Fest
Valentine’s,
Saturday
Valentine’s
is hosting the Bowels of Destruction Fest this weekend, but
don’t worry, it’s not what the name suggests. There will be
no Taco Bell, McDonalds, or other gut-wrenching fast food
served. What you will find is delicious, flame-broiled death
metal—all meat and no processed cheese. Uncooked, raw chords
of destruction, topped with a special sauce of brain-bashing
goodness. Mmm, smell the metal. We’re talking Internal Suffering,
Malignancy, Goratory, Wasteform, Clitorture, Raising Kubrick,
Mucopus, Carnal, DRC, and Israf, all on a sesame-seed bun.
Would you like fries with that? Too bad! It’s $12 at the second
floor—thank you and come again. (March 12, 4 PM, 17 New
Scotland Ave., $12, 432-6572)
Steve
Earle & the Dukes, Allison Moorer
Berkshire
Music Hall, Sunday
This
is a big show. We don’t real-ly think we need to explain why,
but, for those who need a little prodding, we’ll run the Steve
Earle highlight reel. There’s Guitar Town, where the
young Earle makes his mark as a country-music outlaw. There’s
Copperhead Road, the record that first gains him crossover
success. (Some would later peg this album as the origin of
the “alternative-country” tag.) There’s a brief murky period
(drugs, jail time), followed by a string of great records
(I Feel Alright, El Corazón, Transcendental
Blues) that establishes him as a folk-rock icon. There’s
also a best- selling book of fiction (Doghouse Roses),
a weekly radio show on the lefty Air America network, and
a record called The Revolution Starts . . . Now, which
wins the Grammy for Best Contemporary Folk Album in 2005.
He’s important, damn it, and so is Allison Moorer, who will
open Sunday’s show. (March 13, 8 PM, $35, 30 Union St.,
Pittsfield, Mass., 800-594-8499)
Benefit
for Scott Dorrance
Artie’s
River Street Stage, Sunday
You
may not recognize the name, but you might well have caught
Scott Dorrance handling bass duties for the Staziaks (back
when they haunted area clubs), or, more recently, for this
week’s cover girl, Erin Harkes. Now’s your chance to give
something back to someone who’s given of himself to make your
life more enjoyable, at least for 45 minutes at a time. A
longtime diabetic, Dorrance has been battling complications
from the disease for years, and he recently underwent a major
surgery that will keep him out of work for four months. He’s
got insurance and all, but four months is a long-ass time
without a paycheck, so Artie’s is hosting an all-day event
to help raise Dorrance some dough. Helping with the raising
of the funds will be the Lawn Sausages, Nobody’s Fools, Blackcat
Elliot, Mark Emanatian, and many more. (March 13, 2 PM,
$5, 194 River St., Troy, 687-0064)
 Leaves
of Grass: Fred Hersch and Walt Whitman
Troy
Savings Bank Music Hall, Sunday
It’s
been 150 years since Walt Whitman more-or-less singlehandedly
established American poetry as its own vital form, no longer
beholden to European convention and idiom. Remarkably, his
poetry still today retains its muscular and joyous force.
So, what better way to celebrate the origin of one American
creative tradition with a top-notch example of another? Pianist-composer
Fred Hersch has been touted as one of comtemporary jazz’s
greats, and on Sunday he’ll be joined by vocalists Kate McGarry
and Kurt Elling, a perennial Downbeat critic’s poll
winner, in celebrating Whitman’s work. The Washington Post
has described Hersch’s tribute Leaves of Grass
as “an eloquently orchestrated celebration of Walt Whitman’s
poetry, vision, and above all else, humanity.” (March 13,
7 PM, 7 State St., Troy, $27, $24, 273-0038)
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Emil
Beaulieau
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Emil
Beaulieau,
one of the great figures of the underground noise
scene, will perform at Valentine’s tomorrow (Friday)
night, along with Karlheinz, Sickness,
and NSFW (9 PM, $5, 432-6572). . . . The
Hudson Duster will host the Kevin Butler Memorial
Benefit on Friday, with music by 357 Justice,
Dying ta Live, More, Organ Harvest,
Necromancy, and our pick for the No-Bullshit
Band-Name award, Poop (8 PM, $8, 687-2391).
. . . Sure, the real deal is back in action, but
these guys do Judas Priest thing as well, if not
better, than the original (and for a substantially
lower ticket price): British Steel will
play Saratoga Winners on Friday (8 PM, $10, 783-1010).
. . . They say you can’t keep a good band down.
Same goes for the Samples, who are still
at it, despite having had a major-label contract
revoked early in their career for being “hopelessly
uncommercial and hopelessly uninteresting.” They’re
at Revolution Hall on Saturday (8 PM, $15, 273-2337).
. . . Does “Midnight at the Oasis” do anything
for ya? If so, make a beeline for the WAMC Performing
Arts Studio this Saturday to catch Maria Muldaur,
who will likely perform that tune and more!
(8 PM, $22, 465-5233). . . . Retro-rockers Super
400 will record their Saturday-night Lark
Tavern show for an upcoming live album; as a bonus,
John Powhida’s Rudds, who have a new album
of their own on the way, will open the show (10
PM, $5, 463-9779). . . . Again with the noise:
On Monday, Valentine’s welcomes the very heavy
Finnish group Riisteyt, plus just-as-heavy
acts No Fucker, Bludwulf, JBA,
and the Jury (8 PM, $6, 432-6572).
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