The week ahead
Funny, they don't look like a single horse.
Here are a few things to keep in mind, look ahead to, or take care of this week -- from the weather (nice), to danger, to action through thought, to comedy, to music, to paraskevidekatriaphobia...
Weather
Here's the paraphrased forecast:
Monday: Sunny. Highs in the upper 60s.
Tuesday: Sunny, a bit of a breeze. Highs in the upper 60s.
Wednesday: Mostly sunny. Highs around 70.
Thursday: Mostly sunny, even a bit warmer.
Friday: Cloudy. Chance of rain. Highs in the upper 60s.
Weekend: The same.
We'll take it!
Danger!
The Front Parlor Series is back at the Ale House in Troy Monday night. This week's theme for the Moth-style storytelling series: "Danger." From the blurbage: "Come listen! If you want to tell a story, throw your name in the coffee can. 10 storytellers are selected from the can. (Sublime and ridiculous stories are welcome.) No, you don't have to tell a story, but you might find yourself inspired to do so!" 7:30 pm - no cover
The Ascent
There's an installation on display at EMPAC Thursday that looks a bit like the awesome kind of crazy (or perhaps the crazy kind of awesome). The Ascent is a ride that elevates people using a rig and harness -- that's controlled via an EEG headset. From the blurbage:
The Ascent is an interactive installation-ride. It synthesizes a playful blend of theatrics, gaming and mind control, and is open for almost anyone to try. To ride it, you wear an EEG headset and waist harness, and by marshaling your calm, focus, and concentration, you try to levitate yourself thirty feet into the air as a small audience watches from below. By design, the experience is full of obstacles--as you ascend via the power of your thought, sound and light respond to your brain activity, creating a storm of stimuli that conspires to distract you from achieving your goal: to elevate yourself into "transcendence," as though becoming the central figure in a classic Renaissance tableau. The paradox is that in order to succeed at the task you need to release all desire for achievement, and contend with what might be the biggest obstacle: yourself.
The creation The Ascent has been led by RPI MFA candidate Yehuda Duenyas, who works under the name xxxy. It's open to the public (and free) Thursday from 10 am - 5 pm. There's also a demonstration and talk that night at 7:30 pm.
Also opening at EMPAC: Two sound installations by Céleste Boursier-Mougenot, playing in the building's lobbies, starting Wednesday. Both installations are dynamic -- one is based on communication traffic in the building, the other on the motion of bowls floating in a pool.
Friday the 13th
This Friday is the 13th day of the month (cue ominous music). The origins of the superstition regarding the day are pretty much unknown, apparently (though maybe Chaucer's partly to blame).
By the way: a fear of Friday the 13th is called "paraskevidekatriaphobia."
Arts and Sciences
+ The Schick Gallery at Skidmore is opening a new exhibition by ceramic artist Regis Brodie this week (he's also an emeritus professor at Skidmore). There's a reception Monday at 5:30 pm.
+ At Union College on Tuesday, WMHT will be showing a preview screening of the upcoming PBS documentary Freedom Riders, about the civil rights activists who rode interstate buses into the South in 1961 in order to test the outlawed segregation of restaurants and waiting areas. 7 pm
Whatnot
+ Laughs on Lark is back at Elda's this Wednesday. The lineup this time features five comics, including... Benita Zahn. 8:30 pm
+ Saturday at St. Joseph's in Albany: the Chefs Consortium's "Spring Deliverance," a "celebration of local food, wine and song." Local chefs, including Ric Orlando, will be tasty things. And local musicians will be playing. 6pm - $20 (reservations required)
Music
+ Dan Johnson's Americana Music Club is back at Valentine's this Tuesday with guests Tern Rounders. 8 pm
+ Wednesday at Caffe Lena: singer/pianist Jonny Duennebier. 7 pm - $5
+ Thursday at Valentine's: An Horse. They're a duo from Australia. They've opened for Tegan and Sara, Deathcab, and Silversun Pickups. They sound like what you'd expect a band to sound like if they've opened for those bands. 7:30 pm - $5
+ A little bit farther afield on Thursday: Neko Case is playing the Bearsville Theater in Woodstock. She's totally worth the drive. 8 pm - $40
+ Friday at Valentine's: an album release party for Bear Grass (Katie Hammon from Slender Shoulders). Also playing: Matthew Carefully and Ashley Pond. 6 pm - $5
+ Saturday at Putnam Den: Rustic Overtones, with MIRK. 9 pm - $10
These are a just a few things for this week. Know of something people should be looking forward to this week? Please share!
Look for our "Stuff to do this weekend" post on Friday.
EMPAC has advertised on AOA.
photo via An Horse
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This monday and every monday night we play Free Kickball games at Hoffman Park starting at 6pm. So if you dont like having to pay to play a schoolyard game come join us.
... said Fish on May 9, 2011 at 2:26 PM | link
An evening with BETH WOOD
Friday, May 13th * Reception 6:00 pm * Concert 7:00 pm
“Folk singer-guitarist Beth Wood has such a dazzling voice it’s a mystery why she’s still just a cult artist.†-- Dallas Morning News
University Club of Albany * 141 Washington Avenue at Dove Street * Tickets $25
An intimate concert in the historic University Club’s Parlor. Proceeds benefit the University Club Foundation, a 501c3 corporation, and a portion of your contribution may be tax-deductible. One need not be a member to attend.
Reception with delicious hors d'oeuvres, carving station and cash bar at 6:00 p.m., followed by 2 sets of Beth’s “soulful, organic, free-range, barefoot music†from 7 - 9:00 p.m.
Call 518-463-1151 to reserve your seats for an unforgettable evening.
... said Colleen Ryan on May 10, 2011 at 11:59 AM | link
> There's an installation on display at EMPAC Thursday that looks a bit like the awesome
> kind of crazy (or perhaps the crazy kind of awesome). The Ascent is a ride that elevates
> people using a rig and harness -- that's controlled via an EEG headset
The Ascent is still going on until 5pm today. There is a bit of a waiting line though. I tried it this morning, it was an intense experience that left me shaking when I reached the top. As you try to clear your head and ascend, the room will actively do its best to distract you. It is quite something when you are in the middle of it. A faster, loud beat will be heard as you relax, to engage your own pulse. A loud thunderstorm greets you when you make it to the first elevation stage. From there, do your best to reach the "sun" 30 feet up; it sure gets very bright and warm closer to the star.
... said -S on May 12, 2011 at 12:14 PM | link