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 (hot and cool), to smirkus, to bobblehead night, to ballet, to a moon rock, to ballin', to Bisco, to music...

Weather

Here's the paraphrased forecast:

Monday: Sunny, low 80s.

Tuesday: Repeat. Small chance of rain.

Wednesday: Sunny and low 80s.

Thursday: Sunny and mid 80s.

Friday: Sunny and upper 80s.

Weekend: More of the same.

Lovely daytime weather, and cool nights -- nighttime lows are forecasted to be in the upper 50s. So there should be plenty of opportunity to cool the house down over night.

Smirkus

Monday and Tuesday: Circus Smirkus will be at the Saratoga Race Course for four shows with its touring youth circus in a 750-seat, one ring big top tent. We've heard these shows are a big hit with kids (and they sound like fun for adults, too). (If you don't get tickets online (recommended), be sure to call before heading out in case there's a sell out.) 1 pm and 7 pm - over age 13 $20 / ages 2-12 $17 / under 2 free

Bobblehead night

Monday is "We Love New York Night" at the ValleyCats game. The first 1,500 fans will get a free Andrew Cuomo bobblehead. 7 pm - $5.50 and up

Ballet

The New York City Ballet opens its two-week summer residence at SPAC on Tuesday. The opening night is an all-Balanchine performance. opening night 8 pm - $22 and up

Theater

The packed summer theater festival season continues. A few highlights for this week:

Lewis Black
Lewis Black will be doing stand up at the Williamstown Theatre Festival Monday night. 7:30 pm - $40 and up

Earnest and Red Hot
Also from Williamstown: This week is the last chance to catch the David Hyde Pierce-directed, gangster version of The Importance of Being Earnest. And opening this week: Last of the Red Hot Lovers, the cast of which includes Leslie Bibb and Susie Essman.

Bakerloo
The Bakerloo Theatre Project is back in Troy this weekend with a contemporary warfare version of Henry V -- "Once more unto the breach, dear friends..." -- (Friday and Saturday), and an updated version of George Bernard Shaw's Candida (Saturday and Sunday). Performances are at RPI's Academy Hall -- and they're pay what you will.

Park Playhouse
This year's main production at the Park Playhouse in Albany is Cabaret -- it just opened this past Friday. There are shows Tuesday through Sunday until July 29. The production includes table seating built into the stage design -- those tickets are $20. Center section seating is $15, and side section seating is $13. Lawn seats are free.

Moon rock

Thursday and Friday: the NASA "Driven to Explore" touring exhibit will be at the Schenectady Museum. The exhibit is about space travel. But what sounds like the biggest draw: you get to touch a moon rock. Thursday noon-9 pm / Friday noon-5 pm - $7.50 adults / $5 children / $6.25 seniors

Ballin' at the Graveyard

Friday: Ballin' at the Graveyard -- a documentary about the pick-up basketball scene at the courts in Washington Park -- opens at the Spectrum. Blurbage:

Ballin' at the Graveyard is a gritty, deeply personal look into the culture and community of pickup basketball as told by a group of hardcore ballers at Albany's Washington Park - aka, the Graveyard. It offers a courtside view of the unwritten rules; hierarchy and special code of ethics of pickup ball, and provides a revealing glimpse into the off-the-court struggles and triumphs of a core group of players who call the court their home. A thought-provoking portrait of urban basketball that will challenge what you think you know about the world behind the chain-link fence.

(We'll have more about this doc this week.)

Camp Bisco

Thursday-Saturday: the annual electronic music festival Camp Bisco in Mariaville, just west of Schenectady. Among the lineup: Disco Biscuits (of course), Bassnectar, Skrillex, Crystal Castles. Here's the day-by-day schedule.

$190 three day pass / $85 Saturday

Sound of Music sing-a-long

Saturday at the Mahawie in Great Barrington: a sing-along screening of The Sound of Music. "The movie is projected in glorious, full-screen Technicolor, complete with subtitles so that the whole audience can sing along." (As if you need the subtitles to be able to sing along.) Also: there's a costume contest. It sounds cheese-tastic. 7 pm - $15 and up

Music

Monday: EMEFE at Red Square
Afrobeat funk inspired by the 70s and 80s. With: Oobleck. 8 pm

Wednesday: Ted Nugent at Upstate Concert Hall
Maybe he'll shoot something. 8 pm - $25 ahead / $27 at door

Wednesday: 7 Bridges at Rockin' on the River
Eagles tribute band. 5 pm - free

Thursday: The Bacon Brothers at Alive at Five
Yep, Kevin Bacon and his brother Michael. 5 pm - free

Thursday: Underground System at Red Square
More Afrobeat, this time from an 11-piece band. With: Zach DuPont. 8 pm - $10

Friday: Gillian Welch at The Egg
Big part of the modern Americana/bluegrass/alt-country scene. 8 pm - $34.50

Friday: Donavon Frankenreiter at Upstate Concert Hall
Surfer, friend of Jack Johnson. Those might be the same thing. 9 pm - $18 ahead / $20 day of

Friday: Holly & Evan at Upbeat on the Roof
On the roof of Skidmore's Tang Museum. 7 pm - free

Friday: Chuck Prophet at Helsinki Hudson
Singer songwriter with a long history. Covered by and collaborated with a bunch of notables. With: Leland Sundries. 9 pm - $18 ahead / $20 day of

Saturday: Michael Eck: 100 Years of Woody Guthrie at Caffe Lena
A new one-man show on Guthrie's 100th birthday. 8 pm - $15 ahead / $17 at door

Saturday: Blues Band Showdown at The Linda
Four local bands competing for prizes and a chance to compete in Memphis. 7 pm - $12

Saturday: Chris Smither at Helsinki Hudson
Folk/blues veteran, performing with a full band. 9 pm - $25

Sunday: Electric Guest at Upstate Concert Hall
Retro-y. Produced by Danger Mouse. The "hipster take on cheese." 8 pm - free

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.

SPAC advertises on AOA.

Gillian Welch photo: Paxton X