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Steve
Howe
Northern
Lights, Thursday
Attention all proggers: This is not a test of the Progressive
Rock Orientation Grid (aka PROG). This is an actual communication
of relevant coordinates. An important classic-era prog rocker
will be performing in the Capital Region tonight, namely Steve
Howe. We’re not going to get into the whole Fripp vs. Hackett
vs. Howe thing, except to note that the longtime Yes man is
one of the most important guitarists in the genre. While Yes
may be only a memory, Howe has been keeping himself extremely
busy. Last year saw the release of the eclectic and aptly
named album Spectrum, which featured a number of “sons
of proggers” joining Howe in carrying on the tradition, as
well as the acclaimed concert DVD Remedy Live. End
of transmission; please proceed with all deliberate speed
to Clifton Park at the time noted here. (April 13, 7:30
PM, $15, 1208 Route 146, Clifton Park, 371-0012)
Project/Object
Valentine’s,
Friday
Join the legions of Zappatistas at Valentine’s tomorrow night
to bask in the twisted glow of one of the most popular and
long-lived of the bands dedicated to the music of “Eff Zee.”
(If you’re wondering why Project/Object refer to Frank Zappa
as “Eff Zee,” well, let’s just say that the Zappa Family Trust
is very protective of its trademarks.) Project/Object play
music from every era of the long career of the late head Mother,
with an emphasis on inventive new arrangements and the long
guitar jams Frank himself became well-known for. In the past,
such former Zappa band members as Jimmy Carl Black and Bunk
Gardiner have performed with P/O; on Friday, Ike Willis—vocalist
on Joe’s Garage and other late-’70s/1980s recordings—will
be singing with the band. It may not be an actual freak
out, but it’s the closest you’re going to get to one.
(April 14, 8 PM, $18, 17 New Scotland Ave., Albany, 432-6572)
MiniKiss
Skyline,
Friday
This week’s biggest show also happens to be its smallest,
sort of: MiniKiss, the world’s littlest Kiss tribute, rolls
into the Skyline this Friday night for an evening of the classic
rock & roll tunes you know and love—as played by little
people. The band, led by Joey Fatale (aka Mini Gene), have
been through some lineup changes in their six years—by Fatale’s
count, 24 members have donned the makeup, and Fatale himself
has, at one time or another, played as Gene, Paul, and Ace—but
such is the life for a band who require their members to be
both vertically challenged and retain an extensive knowledge
of the Kiss recorded catalog. That’s a tall order if we do
say so ourselves. Go ahead and chuckle, but Fatale and his
merry band of metal munchkins get the last laugh: Even the
real Gene Simmons is a fan. “He had a huge smile from ear
to ear,” Fatale told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. (April
14, 11:30 PM, $10, 4-6 Sheridan Ave., Albany, 472-8150)
Alpha
Male Gorillas
Northern
Lights, Saturday
The Alpha Male Gorillas, a hiphop-rock outfit who offer such
messages as “party hard and crush whoever stands in your way,”
make their debut in the Capital Region this week. The members
themselves are self-proclaimed “crazy white guys” who spread
this philosophy through their music. Since they formed in
2004 as a local act, they’ve promoted themselves to popularity
in downstate New York, enough to afford them a custom-painted
Banana Bus that’s used to drive friends and fans to far-away
shows. With songs like “Bleed Marinara,” and frequent bar
gigs, they draw fans with booze stories and comedy as well
as by their music. Support for AMG will be local rock and
pop-punk bands Skadee, Corona of the Sun and Stuck in First.
(April 15, 8 PM, $6-$8, 1208 Route 146, Clifton Park, 371-0012)
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| bela
fleck and the flecktones |
Bela
Fleck and the Flecktones
The
Egg, Tuesday
It’s
been a while since we spoke of Bela Fleck and the Flecktones.
No hard feelings or anything, but there was a good, long stretch
of time when they came through town every three months. (We’ll
leave that consciously unsubstantiated.) Anyway, you already
know all there is to know about the band: Fleck is the master
of jazz-fusion banjo (a title to which there are no challengers);
percussionist Futureman plays a bunch of strange gadgets;
bassist Victor Wooten is pretty much the bass player’s bass
player; and relative newcomer Jeff Coffin occasionally plays
two saxophones at one time. If you didn’t know, now you know.
The band are back on tour after taking a year off for solo
projects, so get ’em while they’re fresh (again). (April
18, 7:30 PM, $29.50, Empire State Plaza, Albany, 473-1845)
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| Also
Noted |
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guster
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The
Charms, Wait Until Dusk, and Boxer
Brown will play at Positively Fourth Street
tonight (Thursday); it should be noted that P4th
owner Artie Fredette has been raving about Boxer
Brown (9:30 PM, $5, 687-0064). . . . Sarah
Borges Band and Danielia Cotton Band
coheadline a show tonight the Iron Horse Music
Hall in Northampton, Mass. (7 PM, $13, 413-584-0610).
. . . Also tonight, check out Pensacola, Fla.,
screamo band Red Lipstick Letter at Saratoga
Winners; Broken Image, Chatam,
Moonshine and First Thing First
will open (6:30 PM, $10, 783-1010). . . .
Guster will play at Union College tomorrow
(Friday); if you’re lucky, you can probably bribe
a Union student for tickets to this sold-out show
(8 PM, call for prices, 388-6118). . . . Also
on Friday, don’t miss the downstairs show at Valentine’s,
featuring “cryptic bedroom pop” band Pants
Yell!, who just released their new album,
Recent Drama, on Asaurus and Paper Cities
Records. Brent Gorton and the Tender Breasts
and the Gazetters will open (9 PM, $5,
432-6572). . . . And on Saturday, catch the sounds
of Celtic band Glengarry Bhoys at the WAMC
Performing Arts Studio (8 PM, $20, 465-5233).
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Classifieds
