The week ahead

LarkFEST 2010 Sebastien Barre

LarkFest is Saturday. / 2010 photo: Sebastien B

Here are a few things to keep in mind, look forward to, or keep busy with this week, from the weather (consistent), to primaries, to LarkFest, to design, to Birbigs, to bassoons, to Sundays at the museum...

Weather

Here's the paraphrased forecast for the short week:

Monday: Sunny and 71. Breezy.
Tuesday: Sunny and mid 70s.
Wednesday: Sunny and upper 70s.
Thursday: Sunny and 80.
Friday: Repeat
Weekend: Party sunny, high 70s.

You might notice a trend this week.

Primary day

The party primaries for this year's state and local elections are this Thursday. Thursday? Yes, Thursday. The state moved the primaries because Tuesday is September 11.

This will be an even more unusual primary election in many districts for a few other reasons, too. Redistricting has moved the lines on many districts, so the person who had been representing you may no longer be the person who could potentially be representing you. And because a trio of local state Assembly members decided to not run for re-election (Jack McEneny, Ron Canestrari, Bob Reilly), the primary slates in their (new) districts include a bunch of candidates.

Bottom line: if, for whatever reason, you don't usually turn out for the primaries, this year is a good year to do so. Don't know where to vote? Check with your county board of election.

LarkFest

LarkFest is this Saturday, from 10 am-5:30 pm. Lark Street will be closed from Washington to Madison for music, food, and festival whatnot. Here's the music lineup (which includes some good locals) -- headliners this year are soul singer Ryan Shaw, and World Party.

Keep in mind: No pets, coolers, or outside alcohol are allowed at LarkFest.

Laughs on Lark

The comedy showcase is back at Elda's Wednesday night. And now it starts at the more weeknight-friendly 8 pm. This month's lineup: Jaye McBride, Bob Reilly, Henry Phillips, Tony Rogers. Hosted by Kevin Marshall. $5

Designing for the Arts

Thursday at the Foundry in Cohoes: a talk by John Oberlander, of the Oberlander Group, about 25 years of doing design work for arts orgs. The Foundry currently has an exhibit of design work from the firm. 6:30 pm

Film

Sleepwalk with Me
Mike Birbiglia's Sleepwalk with Me opens at the Spectrum Friday. The indie comedy was co-written by Ira Glass and co-produced by This American Life. Because it's an indie, Birbiglia and TAL were urging people to contact theaters this past summer to help get the film picked up -- the Spectrum said it got "a ton of requests."

Short film concert
Saturday at the Linda: a "short film concert" from the Asbury Shorts series in NYC. Among the films on the slate: The Lost Thing, the 2011 Oscar winner for best animated short; and Her Telling Heart, an adaption of Poe's The Tell-Tale Heart by local filmmaker Eli Meissner that was shot in Schodack. 8 pm - $10

Bassoons

Saturday at EMPAC: the world premiere of Rushes, a new work for seven bassoons from composer Michael Gordon. The piece "explores interweaving texture and timbre of a surplus of double reeds." Gordon is the founder of the Bang on a Can collective in NYC. (This is the first live performance of the season at EMPAC.) 8 pm - $18

Music

Monday: Skerik's Bandalabra at Red Square
"[A] pioneer in a playing style that has been dubbed saxophonics." 8 pm - $10

Tuesday: Anaïs Mitchell at Caffe Lena
Folk singer, released a much praised album this year. 7 pm - $18 ahead / $20 at door

Wednesday: Vetiver at Helsinki Hudson
"Freak folk." (Also the name of a type of grass.) 8 pm - $15

Thursday: Dar Williams at Helsinki Hudson
Much admired folk singer/songwriter. 8 pm - $25

Friday: Doc Severinsen and the San Miguel 5 at the Massry Center
Trumpeter, Johnny Carson band leader, playing classical Spanish music and gypsy jazz with Gil Gutierrez. 7:30 pm - $30

Friday: Wu-Block at Upstate Concert Hall
Featuring Ghostface Killah. A collaboration between members of Wu-Tang Clan and D-Block. 8:30 pm - $23 ahead / $25 day of

Friday: Sheesham and Lotus & Son at Caffe Lena
Ragtime. They perform in Vaudeville-era costumes. 8 pm - $15 ahead / $17 at door

Saturday: Sandy Hackett's Rat Pack Show at The Palace
A tribute act for Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr. & Joey Bishop. 8 pm - $24.50 and up

Sunday: Florence + The Machine at SPAC
This had been a pavilion-only show, but the lawn has since been opened up. (By the way: Florence's last name is Welch. We're not sure if the Machine has a last name.) 7:30 pm - $34.00 and up

State Museum

The New York State Museum is back open on Sundays starting this Sunday, from 9:30 am to 5 pm. (The museum's been closed on Sundays -- normally a busy day -- since January 2011 because of budget cuts.) The off-day for the museum will now be Mondays.
____

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.

Live Nation advertises on AOA. And AOA is a media sponsor of Sleepwalk with Me at the Spectrum.

Comments

Front Parlor Series this Tuesday at the Ale House. Theme is "borders".
Facebook event: http://www.facebook.com/#!/events/460830607273389/

Alpha Psi Omega presents "The Fantasticks!"
Performances are September 13, 14, and 15 at 8 pm at the RPI Playhouse, 15th Street in Troy, New York.
General admission $15, $10 for students and seniors
Call (518) 276-6503 for reservations
Facebook event page: https://www.facebook.com/events/406960589367946

Empire Orienteering Club's first event of the fall is Sunday, September 16 at the Colonie Mohawk River Park (fka Colonie Town Park). Start times from 11am to 1pm, with courses geared towards a variety of skill levels.

More info: http://empo.us.orienteering.org/schedule

Also: it's National Orienteering Day, so it's a good event to come out to if you've never tried orienteering before, but are curious: http://orienteeringusa.org/NOD

Clifton Park Farm Fest - Friday thru Sunday, Sept. 14, 15 & 16.

The weather's going to be great, so get outside, take the kids to visit working farms, and get some free entertainment as well. -- Linked file is a .pdf

http://www.cliftonpark.org/townhall/parks-rec/pdf/FarmFest.pdf

Also Thursday is Metroland & Sea with Eastbound Jesus on Dutch Apple Cruises.

Say Something!

We'd really like you to take part in the conversation here at All Over Albany. But we do have a few rules here. Don't worry, they're easy. The first: be kind. The second: treat everyone else with the same respect you'd like to see in return. Cool? Great, post away. Comments are moderated so it might take a little while for your comment to show up. Thanks for being patient.

What's All Over Albany?

All Over Albany is for interested and interesting people in New York's Capital Region. In other words, it's for you. It's kind of like having a smart, savvy friend who can help you find out what's up. Oh, and our friends call us AOA.

Search

Recently on All Over Albany

Thank you!

When we started AOA a decade ago we had no idea what was going to happen. And it turned out better than we could have... (more)

Let's stay in touch

This all feels like the last day of camp or something. And we're going to miss you all so much. But we'd like to stay... (more)

A few things I think about this place

Working on AOA over the past decade has been a life-changing experience for me and it's shaped the way I think about so many things.... (more)

Albany tightened its rules for shoveling snowy sidewalks last winter -- so how'd that work out?

If winter ever gets its act together and drops more snow on us, there will be sidewalks to shovel. And shortly after that, Albany will... (more)

Tea with Jack McEneny

Last week we were fortunate enough to spend a few minutes with Jack McEneny -- former state Assemblyman, unofficial Albany historian, and genuinely nice guy.... (more)

Recent Comments

My three year old son absolutely loving riding the train around Huck Finn's (Hoffman's) Playland this summer.

Thank you!

...has 27 comments, most recently from Ashley

Let's stay in touch

...has 4 comments, most recently from mg

A look inside 2 Judson Street

...has 3 comments, most recently from Diane (Agans) Boyle

Everything changes: Alicia Lea

...has 2 comments, most recently from Chaz Boyark

A few things I think about this place

...has 13 comments, most recently from Katherine