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 (drab), to Tulip Fest, to empathy, beer, to astronauts, to music...

Weather

Here's the paraphrased forecast:

Monday: Sunny and 71.

Tuesday: Cloudy, rainy, windy. Highs around 60..

Wednesday: Cloudy, maybe rain. Highs in the upper 60s.

Thursday: Repeat, but cooler.

Friday: Some sun. Highs in mid 60s.

Weekend: Sunny, around 70.

Not a big fan of the mid-week.

Tulip Festival

Albany's annual Tulip Festival is Saturday and Sunday in Washington Park. Fountains of Wayne is the headline music act (around 4 pm on Saturday) -- here's the whole schedule. And the new Tulip Queen will be crowned (noon on Saturday), here are the finalists.

Also: Champagne on the Park Thursday evening.

Mother's Day

If Tulip Fest is this weekend, then Mother's Day is Sunday. If you're taking mom out for brunch or dinner, you should probably already have reservations. If you don't -- uh, stop reading this and make reservations now.

Arts and Sciences

Our capacity for empathy
Neuroscientist Dr. Marco Iacoboni will be at EMPAC Wednesday evening for a talk about "mirror neurons" and the neurobiological roots of humans' capacity for empathy. (Our ability to form ideas about what other people are thinking is one of the things that separates us from other animals.) Iacoboni also does research using transcranial magnetic stimulation -- which can "turn off" parts of the brain. 7 pm - free

Laying it all out there
Performance artist and RPI professor Nao Bustamante is giving a talk titled "Body Vulnerable, Body Protected" at Union College Wednesday evening. (You might remember -- Bustamante appeared on the Bravo show Work of Art.) Visual Arts Building 5:30 pm - free

Story Musgrave
Story Musgrave will be at Proctors Saturday night with "a thought-provoking presentation that will leave you spellbound and starry-eye." Musgrave is just another astronaut/Hubble Telescope repairman/pilot/trauma surgeon. 7:30 pm - $20 and $35 / $10 students

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The graduate show for RPI's well-regarded electronic arts program is Sunday, featuring works PhD and MFA graduates. West Hall Gallery 4-7 pm - free

Hudson Valley Hops

Saturday at the Albany Institute: a collection of local craft brewers will be at the museum offering samples, along with food, and talks about the history of brewing in the area. Plus: a tour of the Great, Strange and Rarely Seen exhibit. (Despite the RSVP date having passed, we've confirmed with the Albany Institute that tickets are still available.) 4-7 pm - $50

Oliveros at 80

Thursday at EMPAC: a celebration of electronic music great Pauline Oliveros' 80th birthday, including Tibetan dungchen, didgerdoo, accordion, meditative percussion... and a cistern. A professor from RPI's architectural acoustics program has used the concert hall at EMPAC to re-creat the sound of the the underground water tank used in one Oliveros' albums. 7:30 pm - free

Music

Thursday: Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons at Proctors
Jersey boy. 8 pm - $20 and up

Friday: The Felice Brothers at Jillian's
With: Eastbound Jesus. 8 pm

Friday: Caleb Lionheart at Hudson River
With: Daybreaker, The Stereo State, State Champs.

Friday: Red Molly at Troy Music Hall
Bluegrass. With: Brother Sun. 8 pm - $10 and up

Friday: Dennis DeYoung at The Palace
Playing the music of Styx. Yes, "Come Sail Away..." 8 pm - $29.50 and up

Friday: The Bee's Knees at Washington Ave Armory
A bunch of DJs spinning drum 'n bass, dubstep, house, and more. 8 pm - $15

Saturday: Santigold at Northern Lights
Cross-genre queen. With: DJ Playground. 9 pm - $25

Saturday: Rock Against Domestic Violence at Valentine's
A benefit for the non-profit Equinox. With: Babe City, Gimlet Slip, Blast for Me, PNC. 6 pm - $10 or $5 with donation of full-sized personal care item

Saturday: Black Ships at 51 3rd
Also: Big Digits, and GZ Lightning Round. 8 pm - $5

Saturday: Art Alexakis at Jillian's
The guy from Everclear. With: Alta Mira, Polica. 6 pm

Sunday: musikFabrik at EMPAC
Contemporary music ensemble from Germany. 6 pm - free

Sunday: The Honey Dewdrops at Caffe Lena
Maybe mom likes folk. 7 pm - $18

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, and AOA is a media sponsor of Champagne on the Park.

photo: Stuart Sevastos (Flickr user stusev)