All Over Albany

The week ahead

Here are a few things to keep in mind, look forward to, or keep busy with this week, from the weather (atypically typical), to tulips, to mosquitos, to silent film, to ShopRite, to an absurd amount of music...

Weather

Here's the paraphrased forecast:

Monday: Rainy. Highs in the low 60s.

Tuesday: Cloudy, cooler. Highs in the low 50s.

Wednesday: Maybe some sun. Highs closer to 60.

Thursday: Cloudy. High 50s.

Friday: Sunny. Mid 50s.

Weekend: About the same.

Atypically typical.

Tulips now... or next year

The tulips in Albany's Washington Park are in full bloom. Yep, they're early. See them now, or wait until next year.

Albany restaurant week

It's restaurant week in downtown Albany (it started this past Saturday and runs through this coming Saturday). Look for special deals. And crowds -- you'll want to call for a reservation.

Arts and Sciences

Shalom Auslander
Novelist/humorist/This American Life contributor Shalom Auslander will be at UAlbany Tuesday as part of the NYS Writers Institute visiting writers series. He has a new novel, Hope: A Tragedy, in which a man living in the Catskills finds a woman claiming to be Anne Frank hiding in his attic (review). This was rescheduled from February. 8 pm uptown campus, science library - free

Acts of faith
Tuesday at Union College: a talk by Eboo Patel, president of the Interfaith Youth Core, on how he believes religion can bring about cooperation instead of division. Memorial Chapel 5:30 pm - free

Mosquitos
Wednesday at EMPAC: a talk by biologist Leslie Vosshall on humans' sense of smell, the history of perfume making, and why mosquitos bite some people and not others. 6 pm - free

Photography
Thursday at Union College: Nigerian-born photographer and performance artist Iké Udé will be giving a talk related to the "African Photography, For Whose Eyes?" exhibit currently on display at the Mandeville Gallery. Nott Memorial 5 pm - free

QFEST

This week at Proctors: QFEST, a festival of LGBTQ films. This year's slate includes some well-reviewed recent films, including Weekend and Pariah. Wednesday through next Monday, check for times - $8 per movie / $30 for a festival pass

ShopRite

The new Albany ShopRite on Central Ave is scheduled to open this Thursday. This is either a heads-up so you can check out the new store -- or a heads-up for what probably will be a traffic zoo.

Dining Out for Life

The annual Dining Out for Life fundraiser for the Aids Council is this Thursday. How it works: eat out at one of the participating restaurants, and portion of your bill is donated to the Aids Council. That's it. AOA's restaurant this year is Mingle and we have a big table reserved -- if you'd like to dine with us, please sign up. We'd love to see you there.

Vox Lumiere

Friday at Proctors: Vox Lumiere's live action/silent film mashup of Metropolis. A "rock concert meets silent film." 8 pm - $20 and up

We Have An Anchor

Friday at EMPAC: We Have An Anchor by Jem Cohen. "[A] documentary-based, interdisciplinary hybrid built from footage he gathered in Nova Scotia over the past decade, coupled with live music and texts ranging from poems and folklore to mundane local newspaper fragments to scientific research." 8 pm - $18

Music

Monday: Passion Pit at Northern Lights
Electropop. As mentioned. 7:30 pm - $25 ahead / $30 day of

Monday: Andy Gibson at Proctors
Rising country singer songwriter (he wrote the Jason Aldean/Kelly Clarkson duet "Don't You Wanna Stay") with good hair . 7:30 pm - $17

Tuesday: Kottonmouth Kings at Northern Lights
Cali rap rock. 7:30 pm - $18 ahead / $20 day of

The Fun. show at Northern Lights on Friday is sold out (and has been for a long time). Yep, a lot of people really like that song.

Friday: Masquerave at Washington Ave Armory
What it sounds like: a bunch of DJs (more than 10) and a bunch of people (a couple thousand) wearing masks. 8 pm - $15

Friday: Spampinato Brothers at Valentine's
From NRBQ. 8 pm - $10

Friday: Pete Francis at Valentine's
Of Dispatch. With: The City Never Sleeps. 8 pm - $15
Cancelled. Apparently Pete Francis has some sort of medical issue.

Friday: Wild Adriatic at Putnam Den
An album release show. With: MaryLeigh & The Fauves, Mirk, Closer. 9 pm - $5 ahead / $8 at door

Friday: Harpsichordist Wendy Young at Skidmore
Playing Bach and Scarlatti on Skidmore's new harpsichord. Zankel Center 8 pm - free

Saturday: Rakim at Northern Lights
Of Eric B. & Rakim. One of the all-time great MCs. 8:30 pm - $25 ahead / $28 day of

Saturday: Wreckless Eric & Amy Rigby at Valentine's
Two artists who have been kicking around for a while. Now they're kicking around together. 8 pm

Saturday: The Feelies at Helsinki Hudson
Reunited.

Saturday: Ikebe Shakedown at Red Square
"Plays with elements of cinematic soul, Afro-funk, deep disco, and boogaloo in all the right ways." With: Oobleck. 8 pm - $10

Saturday: Festival of Polychoral Music at Union
Collegiate choirs from area schools perform music written for multiple choirs. Memorial Chapel 7 pm - free

Saturday: Riders in the Sky at Troy Music Hall
Been playin' cowboy music for long time. 8 pm - $20 and up

Saturday: Gary Sinise and the Lt Dan Band at Washington Ave Armory
Yep, that Gary Sinise. It's a fundraiser for a wounded veteran who lives in Rensselaer County. 7 pm - $30 and $50

Sunday: The Features at Jillian's
Indie rock from Tennessee. 7 pm

Sunday: Borromeo String Quartet at the Massry Center
Renowned. 3 pm - $35

Sunday: Daughtry at The Palace
As in Chris, the guy from American Idol. 8 pm - $30.50 and up

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.

Proctors and the Troy Music Hall advertise on AOA.
AOA is a media sponsor of Dining Out for Life.

photo: Justin Borucki