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| Ironweed
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Ironweed
Valentine’s,
Thursday
Be
careful what you Google when looking up info on Ironweed—we
had absolutely no idea that there was a book
with the same name! And it’s about Albany! How quaint! Anyhoo
. . . there’s a new band ’round town called Ironweed, featuring
three former members of the recently disbanded Great Day for
Up, plus vocalist Rocco DiDonna of Idols Never Die. Judging
by the demos they’ve been posting on their MySpace page, the
band aren’t taking too many chances with the tried-and-true
Great Day formula—creepy, sludgy stoner-rock—and that’s just
fine by us. Catch the band in one of their first area performances
tonight (Thursday), along with We’re All Gonna Die and Raise
the Red Lantern. (May 31, 9 PM, $5, 17 New Scotland Ave.,
Albany, 432-6572)
Colleen
Pratt
Jazz
on Jay, Thursday
Proctor’s Theatre’s free-music summer program Jazz on Jay
will begin its 12th season today with a performance from Colleen
Pratt. The local jazz vocalist has been a continuous presence
on the music scene for years as a solo artist, singing primarily
jazz and swing numbers. She also performs with her band, Colleen
Pratt & Friends, and popular vocal group Jazz Voices.
Pratt just released her third CD, I Thought About You,
in April; the disc features songs from the big-band era, with
help from the Empire Jazz Orchestra. Jazz on Jay performances
are scheduled to occur every Thursday throughout the summer
(check our concert listings for more information). Though
some seating is available, concertgoers are encouraged to
bring their own chairs. The rain location is the Schenectady
Public Library (99 Clinton St., Schenectady). (May 31,
noon, free, the Circle, State Street, Schenectady, 382-3884)
Summer
Slaughter
Northern
Lights, Friday
Brutal! It’s an exclamation that every stoned-out metalhead
in the Capital Region uses in extreme immoderation to describe
each and every latest faux death-metal band who somehow learned
to play a breakdown and has a lead singer who can squeal like
a pig. There should be a ban on the word, but not until after
the Summer Slaughter tour, because finally, true brutality
has come to thin the herd of upstate’s burgeoning metal population.
There is one band on this bill with the word carnage in their
title. Brutal! And another with the word massacre. Super brutal!
There are two bands on this bill with some variation of the
word decapitation in their title. Double brutal! That does
not even account for the headliner, Germany’s legendary death-tech-metal
purveyors Necrophagist. In fact, if you make it through this
entire bill with spleen intact, you have earned yourself the
right to say the word brutal till your heart explodes. (June
1, 6 PM, $18, 1208 Route 146, Clifton Park, 371-0012)
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Mountain
Jam Music Festival
Hunter
Mountain, Friday-Sunday
Grab a blanket and some grilled-cheese sandwiches, because
the 3rd Annual Mountain Jam Music Festival is set to gather
the vibes at Hunter Mountain this weekend. Among the highlights
are two performances by Gov’t Mule (the festival’s organizer
is Mule leader Warren Haynes), plus the only scheduled 2007
appearance by Dead guy Phil Lesh. Other acts on the jam-heavy
bill include G. Love and Special Sauce, Earl Greyhound, Michael
Franti and Spearhead, Robert Randolph and the Family Band,
and Ozomatli. As is the norm with this type of festival, there
will be vendors galore, camping, and (hopefully) tons of sun.
Advance tickets are still available (if you act fast) but
take note, if you want to attend Friday’s portion of
the show, you have to purchase a full three-day pass. Now
go forth and twirl. (June 1-3, check Web site for times,
$65-$150, Hunter Mountain, Hunter, mountainjamfest.com)
George
Hamilton IV
Glens
Falls Civic Center, Wednesday
This show is all about old-school country. George Hamilton
IV, who is no relation to the equally legendary tanner and
actor, came up through the country-music ranks in the late
1950s, when it was still called “country & western.” Singing
in the classic style, Hamilton had a slew of hits all through
the 1960s, including “Before the Day Ends,” “Steel Rail Blues”
and his biggest, “Abilene.” Later, as the music changed, Hamilton
hit the international trail and performed all over the world.
(He became especially big in England.) So if you want to take
a trip back to one of country’s golden ages, this is for you.
Fritz Henry, a singer-songwriter who also incorporates a fair
share of covers into his repertoire, will open the show. (June
6, 7:30 PM, $20-$12, 1 Civic Center Plaza, Glens Falls, 798-0366)
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| Also
Noted |
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| Ollabelle |
CBGB&G
(country, bluegrass, blues, and gospel) collective
Ollabelle will make two stops in Western
Massachusetts this week: Tonight (Thursday), they’re
at the Iron Horse Music Hall in Northampton (7
PM, $15, 413-584-0610); Friday, they head down
to Club Helsinki in Great Barrington (9 PM, $20,
413-528-3394). . . . Feel the acoustic breeze
when Larry Chernicoff and Windhorse
take the stage at the Colonial Theatre in Pittsfield,
Mass., on Saturday (8 PM, $16-$29, 413-997-4444).
. . . Rocky Velvet celebrate the release
of their first-ever CD this Saturday at Savannah’s;
see Listen Here (p. 21) for more on the band (9:30
PM, $5, 426-9647). . . . Washington, D.C.-based
band Deleted Scenes continue the coastal
swing of their spring tour on Saturday at Valentine’s
(9 PM, $5, 432-6572). . . . Anything-goes avant-folk-rockers
Akron/Family return to Valentine’s on Wednesday,
with Scientific Maps and Baltimore’s Lexie
Mountain Boys opening; the latter provide
an experience, we’re told, that is “a hundred
times greater than the sum of its parts as eardrums,
personal space comfort zones, and the traditional
music concert expectations get are smashed together
and lit on fire”—so, uh, don’t say we didn’t warn
you (7:30 PM, $8, 432-6572).
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