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 (sizzle), to movies, to baseball, to classes, to house and gardens, to comedy, to music...

Weather

Here's the paraphrased forecast for this week:

Monday: Sunny, maybe thunderstorms. 90.

Tuesday: Repeat.

Wednesday: Sunny and 88.

Thursday: Sunny, maybe a thunderstorm. Mid 80s.

Friday: Sunny, 50 percent chance of thunderstorms. Low 80s.

Weekend: And so.

Sizzle.

Movies

Close Encounters
Monday: The AFI 100 series at Proctors is showing Spielberg's Close Encounters of the Third Kind. various times - $5

Let's Do It Again
Thursday: The Soul Cinema series at Proctors is showing the 1975 movie Let's Do It Again, which starts Sidney Poitier and Bill Cosby (and was directed by Poitier). Thursday 7 pm - $9 / $6 students

Darkest Before Dawn
Saturday: The locally-produced movie Darkest Before Dawn premieres at the Palace Theatre. The movie is based on a book by local author Arlene Brathwaite (backstory). Here's the trailer. 7 pm - $15

Multiplex
If you're looking to get out the heat, the multiplexes are full of summer blockbusters: the just released World War Z and Monsters University, along with Man of Steel, Star Trek Into Darkness, even a screening or two of Iron Man 3. Also: Joss Whedon's take on Much Ado About Nothing is at the Spectrum.

Storytime Time

Wednesday: The storytelling series Storytime Time is back at More and Bread and Jam in Cohoes. The series, hosted by Ethan Ullman, features local comedians and storytellers. "Not quite a comedy show, not quite not a comedy show." Wednesday 6:30 pm - $5

Baseball

The ValleyCats open a 5-game home stand Wednesday. That also happens to be the same night as AOA's ValleyCats game get together -- we've lined up a luxury box and food for the game (there are just a few tickets remaining).

Classes

From design to print
Wednesday and Saturday: This might be fun: the Arts Center is offering a t-shirt design and screen printing class with Taylor Gillis from Troy Cloth and Paper. Wednesday evening students will create a design using Adobe Creative Suite software. And then Saturday the group will go to Troy Cloth and Paper (just down River Street from the Arts Center) to learn about screen printing and to print their shirts. Wednesday 6 pm, Saturday 1:30 pm - $145

Frozen dessert
Thursday: Gio Culinary studio has a hands-on/demo class about making frozen desserts -- chocolate hazelnut gelato, Chianti wine sorbeto, raspberry semifreddo.Thursday 6:15 pm - $60

Couples cooking: finger foods
Thursday: Healthy Living Market has a hands-on couples cooking class about finger foods lined up -- lamb sliders, prosciutto-wrapped bread sticks, Vietnamese summer rolls. Thursday 5:30 pm - $85

Fermenting and pickling
Saturday: Deanna Fox's "Putting it Up" series continues at Different Drummer's Kitchen with a class about pickling and fermenting -- dill pickles, bread and butter pickles, sauerkraut, kimchi, and pickled pears. Saturday 11 am - $65

Who's the Seuss?
Saturday: Author and "publishing insider" Coleen Murtagh Paratore will be teaching a master class at the Arts Center about getting a children's or young-adult novel published. Murtagh Paratore is the author of 17 books, including the six-book series The Wedding Planner's Daughter. Saturday 10 am - $90

Hidden City House and Garden Tour

Thursday: Historic Albany Foundation's annual Hidden City House and Garden Tour in Albany's Center Square and Hudson/Park neighborhoods will showcase 10-15 historic buildings and their gardens. The tour is described as "a self-guided, go-at-you-own-pace, whatever-order-you-desire type tour." Thursday 5-8 pm - $20

Cemetery tour
Saturday: With the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg approaching, historian Michael Barrett will be leading a "Casualties Of The Civil War" tour in Troy's Oakwood Cemetery, stopping at graves of people killed or wounded during the war. Saturday 9 am - $12

(Quick history question: Which state had the highest number of casualties during the Civil War? A: New York.)

Tracy Morgan

Friday: Comedian Tracy Morgan will be at The Egg for a stand-up show. Morgan is, of course, famous for his long run on SNL and his role on 30 Rock in which he played comedian and movie star "Tracy Jordan." That role sometimes verged on art imitating life. (See also: Questlove's celebrity stories.) Morgan said as much on Fresh Air in 2009. This show is very close to being sold out. Friday 8 pm - $35.50

Saratoga Jazz Festival

The annual Freihofer's Saratoga Jazz Festival returns to SPAC this Saturday and Sunday. Tony Bennett is the headliner for this year's festival. Also among the lineup: Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Buddy Guy, Kevin Eubanks, Arturo Sandoval, and Rudresh Mahanthappa's Gamak (above). $55 and up

Music

Monday: The Blisters at Valentine's
Laid-back rock from Chicago, coming over from Solid Sound this past weekend. With: Emily Sprague, Mike and Amy Shift The Paradigm. 8 pm - $5

Tuesday: Rush at SPAC
"An evening with..." 7:30 pm - $36 and up

Tuesday: Patrick Porter at Valentine's
Bandcamp tags: "alternative alternative frill rock indie outsider art Albany."

Wednesday: Matchbox Twenty + Goo Goo Dolls at SPAC
And I don't want the world to see me / 'Cause I don't want them to know I'm singing along to this song. With: Kate Earl. 7 pm - $34 and up

Wednesday: The Zombies at The Empire State Plaza
With: Et Tu Brucé. 5 pm - free

Wednesday: Start Making Sense at Rockin' on the River
Talking Heads tribute. 5 pm - free

Thursday: George Clinton and Parliament Funkadelic at Alive at Five
With: Funk Evolution. 5 pm - free

Thursday: Toubab Krewe at Red Square
"A sonic Pangaea that lustily swirls together rock, African traditions, jam sensibilities, international folk strains and more." With: Oobleck. 8 pm - $13 ahead / $16 day of

Friday: Chic Gamine at Red Square
"Winsome, wicked and witty, Chic Gamine embody the '60s girl-group vibe all grown up and living in a new century." With: Olivia Quillio, MaryLeigh Roohan. 8 pm - $10 ahead / $12 day of

Friday: The McKrells with Brian Melick at Upbeat on the Roof
Celtic folk/blues. 7 pm - free

Friday-Sunday: Old Songs Festival
Annual folk/traditional/Celtic/world music fest at the Altamont Fairgrounds. all festival adult tickets $115 / single days $40, except Saturday all day is $70

Saturday: Wild Adriatic at Hollow Bar
With Titanics, Closer Still.

Saturday: Eastbound Jesus at Putnam Den
Americana. With: Cabinet. 9:30 pm - $10

Sunday: Dax Riggs at Putnam Den
"Louisiana's own dark star and Orpheus of the underground." With: Skeletons in the Piano, Orphan Legs. 7 pm - $10

Sunday: Chris Smither at Caffe Lena
Folk/blues. 7 pm - $28
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These are a just a few things for this week. Know of something people should be looking forward to this week? Please share!

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