dillinger escape plan

Unearth, Dillinger Escape Plan

Saratoga Winners, Thursday

“I don’t like their music. I hadn’t even heard of them before this tour,” said Dillinger Escape Plan front man Greg Puciato in a recent interview. He was talking about Unearth, the current mediocre standard bearers of Northeastern metalcore. Dillinger are the antidote: They don’t wear makeup, ape the Gothenburg sound or claim to burn down churches. They don’t just play breakdowns and scream tough-guy lyrics. They don’t cop to any fad. It’s not going to be fun for Unearth this Thursday, because as evidenced night after night on the Gigantour, Dillinger can tear a hole in the stage with their off-time, jazz-inspired shredding. (Oct. 6, 7:30 PM, $17, Route 9, Latham, 783-1010)

Chris Cagle, Cold Rolled Steel

Northern Lights, Friday

Poor Chris Cagle. The country crooner recently welcomed a new (very much anticipated) baby into his life and has since learned that . . . how to put this delicately . . . the paternity of the baby is not his. On Monday, Cagle posted this tidbit of Star-worthy information on the front page of his official Web site as a personal message from him to his fans, and he has politely requested that we not pester him with questions on this “highly private matter.” And we wonder where these country singers get their fodder. He can wholeheartedly celebrate another new arrival, however: His new album, Anywhere but Here, hit stores on Tuesday. Check out Cagle crying into his beer tomorrow night at Northern Lights; Cold Rolled Steel will open. (Oct. 7, 7 PM, $27, 1208 Route 146, Clifton Park, 371-0012)

Bruce Eisenbeil With Carnival Skin

Chapel + Cultural Center, Friday

Guitarist Bruce Eisenbeil has been called “strikingly original,” “about as revolutionary as music can actually get,” and—by Harvey Pekar, no less—“one of the most unique jazz guitarists to emerge in decades. “His commitment to improvisation and exploration might suggest free jazz noise, but Eisenbeil is no clutter addict. “We like to use space and silence for dramatic effect,” he has said. “I personally like to keep one foot in the abyss.” We don’t really know what that last part means either, but you can check it out at www.eisenbeil.com right now, and live at the Chapel + Cultural Center on Friday. (Oct. 7, 8 PM, $10, 2125 Burdett Ave., Troy, 274-7793)

Melissa Manchester

Troy Savings Bank Music Hall, Friday

Return with us now to the glory days of the singer-songwriter, when everyone from Joni Mitchell and Randy Newman to James Taylor and Carly Simon were lumped together in the same category and venerated in more or less the same way. Melissa Manchester, onetime student of Paul Simon, was one of the real singer-songwriters who deserved the kind words. Her ’70s hits, like “Midnight Blue,” suggested romance without being syrupy, and her songcraft was difficult to fault. Well, Manchester is back after a 10-year break (to raise her kids) from touring and recording. She has a new album on the Koch label, When I Look Down That Road, and a tour focusing on intimate venues that will being her to New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco and . . . Troy. Her appearance at the Troy Music Hall is one of the few non-club dates on the tour; it makes sense, because the Music Hall is one of the few venues of its size that can legitimately be called “intimate.” (Oct. 7, 8 PM, $29-$32, 2nd and State streets, Troy, 273-0038)

Giant Drag

Valentine’s, Sunday

This Sunday, Valentine’s will host the hard-working, die-hard garage-rock duo Giant Drag. Straight out of the “real” O.C., California, these “super-bord middle-class kids” have been able to pull in thousands of fans from their local Los Angeles/Orange County area. Now they are trying their luck on the East Coast. With Annie Hardy’s fuzzed-out guitar, innocent-sounding voice and sarcasm-laced lyrics, set to the rhythm supplied by Micah Calabrese on drums and programmed bass, Giant Drag’s music has been compared to the likes of the Breeders, Liz Phair and My Bloody Valentine. Their new album, Hearts and Unicorns, has become a landmark in their career as the next big thing on the indie-rock agenda. Also on the bill: the New Wave Dirt, Thee Fine Lines, and Importante. (Oct. 9, 7 PM, $5, 17 New Scotland Ave, Albany, 432-6572)

Steve Winwood

The Egg, Tuesday

We were about to rag on Steve Winwood for selling his ass to Michelob back in the ’80s (yes, we know what the night can do, but it’s usually the beer’s fault), but that just seemed a bit too petty. Anyway, Winwood ranks as a bona fide rock legend based on his early output alone: Between his vocal performance on Blind Faith’s “Can’t Find My Way Home” and his organ work on the long version of Hendrix’s “Voodoo Chile,” he earned himself a Get Out of Beer Ad Free pass. We’re not sure what he’s up to these days—his last album of new material was released in 2003—so we suggest you enter with no greater expectation than to hear Winwood’s legendary voice and a barrelful of classic tunes. (Oct. 11, 8 PM, $48-$56, Empire State Plaza, Albany, 473-1845)

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