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 (six for seven), to the fair, to the orchestra, to The Track, to food on the plaza, to the Hudson River school, to a circus punk marching band, to music...

Weather

Here's the paraphrased forecast for this week:

Monday: Foggy, then sunny, maybe rain in the evening. 80.

Tuesday: Rainy, probably a thunderstorm. Upper 70s.

Wednesday: Sunny, mid 70s.

Thursday: Again.

Friday: Again, but a bit warmer.

Weekend: And so on.

Six for 7 is pretty good.

Altamont Fair

The Altamont Fair -- the county fair for Albany, Schenectady, and Greene counties -- opens Tuesday and runs through Sunday at the fairgrounds in (you guessed it) Altamont. All the usual fair attractions: rides, ag demonstrations, food, music, racing pigs. Tickets -- which include rides -- are $15 Tuesday-Thursday / $17 Friday-Sunday (or $15 if you buy ahead) / under 36 inches in free.

Orchestra

The Philadelphia Orchestra continues its annual season at SPAC (it runs through August 24). This week:

+ Wednesday's concert is "The Songs of Elton John & More."

+ Thursday is "The Night of the Drum."

+ Friday's concert features violinist Sarah Chang.

+ Saturday's slate includes Stravinsky's "The Rite of Spring."

The Track

It's the fourth full week of the season at Saratoga Race Course, with racing every day except Tuesday. Wednesday is "Fabulous Fillies Day" -- free admission to the grandstand and clubhouse if you wear pink. And Sunday is a giveaway day: a Saratoga baseball hat.

New York State Food Festival / Blues Traveler

The New York State Food Festival is Wednesday at the Empire State Plaza, with "more than 50 specialty vendors" offering samples at lunch and dinner.

The festival also has music. The lineup is headlined by Blues Traveler (7:45 pm). Also on the slate: Alex Torres Trio (11 am), The El Dorados (12:30 pm), Wild Adriatic (5 pm), and The Daley Brothers (6:15 pm).

Admission is free.

Inspiration Week

The first Albany Inspiration Week -- "a weeklong celebration featuring local creators of art and film" -- starts Monday. The week's lineup includes workshops, exhibits, a cruise on the Onrust, a "History of Fashion" show, and a Capital District Film Fest.

Stage

Cirque Eloize
The contemporary circus troupe Cirque Eloize continues its three-week run of "Cirkopolis" at Proctors.

Shrek
This is the last week for the Park Playhouse's production of Shrek in Albany's Washington Park. (It's free if you sit on the hill.)

Hudson River School

This is the last week for the Albany Institute's The Making of the Hudson River School exhibit:

The exhibition More than the Eye Beholds examines the American landscape and the making of the Hudson River School through selected topics that bring together significant paintings and drawings from such well-known artists as Thomas Cole, Frederic Edwin Church, Asher B. Durand, and others. The works of engravers and photographers, printers and publishers, surveyors and scientists will accompany the Hudson River School paintings and drawings to broaden the historical narrative of America's first school of art.

More than the Eye Beholds includes works from the Albany Institute's collection of Hudson River School paintings and drawings along with works from several private collections that have not been shown before in a public exhibition.

The exhibit closes on Sunday.

Rensselaerville Festival of Writers

Thursday-Sunday: The annual Rensselaerville Festival of Writers includes with a schedule that includes Joan Walsh (Salon), Lizz Winstead (co-creator of the Daily Show), David Rees (humorist/cartoonist), Jan Libby (multimedia storyteller) and others.

Mucca Pazza

Friday-Sunday: The "circus punk marching band" Mucca Pazza will be playing a string of shows at MASS MoCA over the weekend:

When these thirty (30!) ex-band geeks joined forces in 2004, Mucca Pazza began a trip to the outrageous. Adorned with rainbow-colored pom-poms, and protected by hockey helmet-amplifiers, they torment and delight every community bold enough to welcome them in. Combining the spirit of punk rock with the fun of a fireman's parade, Mucca Pazza's impressive musical troupe takes over MASS MoCA's campus, if not the whole town, for a long weekend.

There's a show Friday night, two on Saturday, and two on Sunday. $14 / $8 kids

Music

Tuesday: Rockstar Energy Drink Uproar Festival at SPAC
Lineup includes: Alice in Chains, Jane's Addiction, Coheed and Cambria. 2 pm - $27 and up

Tuesday: Cal Folger Day at Valentine's
A "guitarist and chanteuse with jazz leanings" as described by the New Yorker's nightlife calender. With: Zan Strumfeld.

Wednesday: Hope Road at Rockin' on the River
Bob Marley tribute. 5 pm - free

Wednesday: Philip H. Anselmo and The Illegals at Upstate Concert Hall
Former Pantera front man. With Author and Punisher, Armor Column. 8 pm - $20 ahead / $22 day of

Thursday: Goat Rodeo Sessions at Tanglewood
Chamber ensemble organized by Yo-Yo Ma with a bluegrass influence -- includes Chris Thile, Edgar Meyer, Stuart Duncan, and singer Aoife O'Donovan. 8:30 pm - $19

Thursday: Woody Pines at Red Square
"Songs of fast cars, pretty women and hard luck with a distinctive vintage twang." With: Decadence. 8 pm - $7

Friday: Boston Pops, Michael Feinstein and Friends at Tanglewood
"The evening will feature some of the most beloved tunes in the American songbook repertoire." 8:30 pm - $21 and up

Friday: Johnny Rabb & The Tichy Boys at Upbeat on the Roof
Music of Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and the Big Bopper. 7 pm - free

Friday: Gangstagrass at Helsinki Hudson
Bluegrass hip hop from (where else) Brooklyn. (Really.) One of their songs is the theme song for the TV show Justified. With: Star & Micey. 9 pm - $15

Friday: Aztec Two Step at Caffe Lena
Veteran folk rock band. With: Ernest Troost. 8 pm - $27

Friday: Chelsea Cavanaugh at The Hollow
Teen pop country singer/songwriter from Latham. 8 pm - $10

Saturday: Glen David Andrews at Helsinki Hudson
"A voice and stage presence worthy of Louis Armstrong, updated for the hip-hop era." 9 pm - $22 ahead / $25 day of

Sunday: The Parlor at Valentine's
With: DRGN KING, Hand Habits.

Sunday: Terri White at Helsinki Hudson
Part of the continuing Helsinki on Broadway series. (White has quite a recent backstory.) 7 pm
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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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