All Over Albany

The week ahead

Here are a few things to keep in mind, look ahead to, or keep busy with this week -- from the weather (cold snap), to The Track, to cheese, to theater, to the orchestra, to music...

Weather

Here's the paraphrased forecast:

Monday: Rain. Chance of thunderstorms in the afternoon and evening. Highs in the low 80s.

Tuesday: Mostly sunny. Highs in low 80s.

Wednesday: Sunny and mid-80s.

Thursday: Like that, but a bit warmer.

Friday: The same, but with a chance of thunderstorms.

Weekend: Sunny. Highs in the upper 80s.

It's like a cold snap, or something.

The Track

It's the first full week of the season at the Saratoga Race Course. Friday is "college day" -- free grandstand admission with a valid college ID. Also that day, racing starts a little later: 2:30 pm (instead of 1 pm). And remember, there's no racing on Tuesdays.

Cheese

Wednesday at Different Drummer's Kitchen at Stuyvesant Plaza: a local cheese class with Gustav Ericson, the popular cheese counter manager at the Honest Weight Food Co-op. In addition to a cheese tasting, Gustav will be demonstrating how to make a leek and goat cheese tart and as well as "puffy pastry snacks." 6 pm - $69

Theater

Park Playhouse
Continuing this week: The Producers. Opening Tuesday: Annie, which starts at 5:30. The Producers starts at 8 pm. Tickets are free, but reserve ahead tickets are available for purchase.

The Bakerloo Theatre Project
The Troy company continues its season with Twelfth Night and The Love of the Nightingale. Shows start at 8 pm, check for what's playing. $15

Williamstown
The WTF's lined up this week: Ibsen's A Doll's House, starring Lily Rabe, Josh Hamilton and Lilly Taylor. And opening Wednesday: She Stoops to Conquer, "raucous 18th- century comedy of big costumes, big sets, big hair, and even bigger laughs."

Berkshire Theater Festival
This week: Snow White, Sylvia, the just-opened Dutch Masters.

Adirondack Theatre Festival
Playing this week: Hello Out There, a musical about teenage day traders.

Capital Rep
Leslie Uggam's Uptown Downtown closes at the end of this week.

Earlier on AOA: A quick guide to summer theater festivals.

The Philadelphia Orchestra

The Philadelphia Orchestra opens its season at SPAC this Wednesday (with violinist Sarah Chang). Special event nights this week: "Date Night" on Thursday (a screening of Casablanca with a live soundtrack performed by the orchestra); "Family Night" on Friday: The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra will be narrated by David Hyde Pierce.

Music

Tuesday: Ironweed, Skeletons in the Piano, Maggot Brain at Valentine's
It's a Swordpaw show. 7 pm - $5

Wednesday: Lisa Loeb at Universal Preservation Hall
Ms. Loeb and her glasses will be playing two shows -- a kids show at 4 pm ($15) and a "grown-up" show at 8 pm ($35). You can buy tickets online. (And the answer is... true.)

Wednesday: Who's Bad at Rockin' on the River in Troy
A Michael Jackson tribute group. 5 pm - free

Thursday: Parrot Beach at Alive at Five
It's a Jimmy Buffett tribute band. 5 pm - free

Thursday: Erin Harkes and Blaze, Bryan Thomas at Waterford Public Library
Part of the WPL's Backlot series. 6 pm - free

Thursday-Saturday: The Big Up Festival in Ghent
It's an electronic music and arts festival on a farm in Columbia County. There are a bunch of acts on the lineup. A Saturday day pass is $65, otherwise 3-day tickets at the gate are $120.

Friday: Mountain Man at Helsinki Hudson
Three ladies who "have perfected a bare, unadulterated sound composed of little more than three-part vocal harmonies." 9 pm - $18

Friday: Black Mountain Symphony at Red Square
With Maryleigh and the Fauves, In Color. 8 pm

Friday: Sirsy at Jillian's
9:30 pm

Saturday: The Head and The Heart at Bearsville Theater
Folk pop from Seattle -- "a breakout success story just waiting to happen" and, possibly, Seattle's "next big band." 9 pm - $15

Saturday: Helado Negro at Helsinki Hudson
"Gauzy textures, gently aloof vocals and vintage-pop-recorded-in-a-bathtub-on-an-alien-planet ambiance." He's on Asthmatic Kitty, so Sufjan's probably a fan, too. 9 pm

Saturday: album release party for MR Blackout at Red Square
With a bunch of guests, including Ghoul Poon and DJ Trumastr. 8 pm - $7

Sunday: The Decemberists at Mountain Park
Mountain Park is in Holyoke, Massachusetts. Note close, but probably not too far if you're a fan of Colin Meloy and company. 7 pm - $32.50

Sunday: Goo Goo Dolls at SPAC
With: Barenaked Ladies, Michelle Branch, and Parachute. 7 pm - $35 and up

To do list

1. We have just about one solid month of summer left. So if you've had some sort of summery thing you've been wanting to do -- pick fruit, go to the lake, watch the fireflies -- just do it. Sure, you're busy and there's other stuff going on, but you'll be happy you took the time come the middle of winter.

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.

Yep, SPAC does advertise on AOA.

photo: Juan Patino