Roger Miret & the Disasters

Valentine’s, Thursday

“Roger Miret and the Disasters is street punk, not hardcore,” reads the band’s Epitaph Records bio. This warning might be a little misleading. Don’t assume that just because Miret’s Disasters are not labeled hardcore like his previous band Agnostic Front, it doesn’t mean Miret is any less angry, or tough. Please, we beg you, do not make that mistake. Sure, Miret recently has been espousing his disgust with gangster rap and how he says it “preaches unconstructive violence and hate, sexism, fascism, ignorance and eventually racism.” And yes, he thinks the gangster-rap attitude has “Infiltrated our scene and . . . destroyed a lot of its value.” However, Miret is not turning into a hardcore Mr. Rogers or Bill Cosby—just check out his new album 1984. Miret is just as pissed as ever, singing “Fuck you, I hate you/Fuck off, fuck you!” (April 6, 7:30 PM, $10, 17 New Scotland Ave. Albany, 432-6572)

Michael Bublé

Palace Theater, Friday

Ever since his sophomore album, It’s Time, hit the streets in February 2005, Vancouver native Michael Bublé has been making ladies all over the world swoon at his buttery singing style. Just this week, he dominated at the Juno Awards, taking home honors for Best Artist, Best Album (for It’s Time), Best Artist, and Best Pop Album of the Year (also for It’s Time). Bublé has found his niche, covering jazz standards and other well-known songs, like Van Morrison’s “Moondance,” and the Bee Gees’ “How Can You Mend a Broken Heart.” The 30-year-old singer wrote one of the songs on It’s Time, called “Home,” which you probably recognize from its huge amount of radio play. Bublé is preparing for a late-spring tour of Europe, but before that, the baby-faced crooner will appear at the Palace Theatre tomorrow (Friday) night. (April 7, 8 PM, call for prices, 19 Clinton Ave., Albany, 465-3334)

nnenna freelon

Nnenna Freelon

Skidmore College, Friday

“If you want good entertainment and very hip music, check out Nnenna Freelon,” says the Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin. The six-time Grammy nominated Freelon released her sixth album, Blueprint of a Lady: Sketches of Billie Holiday, last summer. And as spokeswoman for the National Association of Partners in Education, Freelon has visited schools all over the country to encourage creative expression and self-esteem. “I help the students communicate through the imaginative voice,” she says on her Web site. For the past few days, she has been at Skidmore College, and tomorrow (Friday) she will give a performance at the Bernhard Theater, free of charge. Her performances are highly regarded, so you might want to take the queen’s advice and check out Nnenna Freelon. (April 7, 8 PM, free, 815 N. Broadway, Saratoga Springs, 580-5000)

John Hammond

Caffe Lena, Friday

Country bluesman John Hammond will play two Friday-night sets to kick off Caffe Lena’s acoustic-blues weekend. For an artist who has had so many critically acclaimed albums, he’s only reached moderate commercial success in his 42-year, 29-album career. A strong fanbase seems to have kept Hammond happy, though, willing him to do what he loves: capturing the essence of the Mississippi Delta through powerful acoustic performances. Throughout the years he’s had Eric Clapton and Jimi Hendrix in his band at the same time; covered many tunes from artists like Ray Charles and Mick Jagger; and traveled the globe, spreading the gospel of his blues. His new album, In Your Arms Again, was honored by the Australian-based Rhythms Magazine’s 2005 readers poll as International Blues Album of the Year. (April 7, 7 and 9:30 PM, $25, 47 Phila St., Saratoga Springs, 583-0022)

Mike Viola, Hector on Stilts, Brian Bassett

Caffe Lena, Sunday

It will be an evening of ac oustic pop-rock of the highest order when Candy Butchers frontman Mike Viola takes the stage at Caffe Lena on Sunday evening. As Rolling Stone has described him, Viola matches “the sunny melodicism of Squeeze and Marshall Crenshaw with the sour lyrical attitude of early Elvis Costello and Graham Parker.” One suspects this show will be in the spirit of his most recent CD, Just Before Dark, a live solo acoustic set released in December 2005 (on his own label, Good Morning Monkey). Also playing on the acoustic tip will be Western Massachusetts’ favorite sons (er, cousins), Hector on Stilts, and local favorite, singer-songwriter Brian Bassett. (April 9, 7 PM, $10, 47 Phila St., Saratoga Springs, 583-0022)

Switchfoot

Northern Lights, Wednesday

It’s not like the guys in Switchfoot are going to punch you in the mouth if you call them Christian rockers; that would be, well, un-Christian. That’s not how they primarily see themselves, however. They just want to bring you, the listening audience, the rock, which is their plan for this Wednesday night in Clifton Park. Judging from Switchfoot’s phenomenal CD sales—millions and millions served and whatnot—there will be plenty of you on hand to receive the rock. The band members don’t get hung up on units sold, though. As drummer Chad Butler told the Tucson, Ariz., Daily Star last month: “We’ve never been about the numbers. Good or bad, they’re just numbers.” Rock on, unfazed-by-money Christian dudes. British pop-rockers Athlete will open the show. (April 12, 7 PM, $20, Route 146, Clifton Park, 371-0012)

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