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 (promising), to The God Game, to the melting Arctic, to Tulip Festival, to lots of music...

Weather

Here's the paraphrased forecast for this week:

Monday: Sunny and 61.

Tuesday: Repeat.

Wednesday: Sunny and 67.

Thursday: Cloudy, maybe some rain. 65.

Friday: The same, but a bit warmer.

Weekend: Cloudy to start, then sunnier. Maybe some rain. 70.

Promising.

WWE

Monday: WWE Monday Night Raw it at the TU Center. Monday 7:30 pm - $18 and up

Stage

The God Game
Tuesday-Sunday: Capital Rep's production of The God Game opens Tuesday. The play by Suzanne Bradbeer is about a US Senator nominated for vice president: "There's just one little hitch: he needs to sound just a bit more Christian. Trouble is, Tom is an agnostic, who thinks religion is a private matter, not to be mingled with public life or politics. His devout Christian wife, Lisa, will stand by her man, as long as he doesn't lie on the campaign trail just to get the job." Cap Rep's production runs through May 25. Tuesday-Sunday various times - $20 and up

Flashdance
Tuesday-Sunday: The touring company for the musical stage version of Flashdance -- yep, based on the 80s movie -- will be at Proctors for a six-day run. "With electrifying dance at its core, Flashdance - The Musical tells the inspiring and unforgettable story of Alex Owens, a Pittsburgh steel mill welder by day and a bar dancer by night with dreams of one day becoming a professional performer." Tuesday-Sunday various times - $20

Three Kinds of Wildness
Wednesday: The people behind The 7 Person Chair Pyramid High Wire Act will be back at the CAC Woodside in Troy for a production of the new play Three Kinds of Wildness. The story involves an ice baron, a telegraph inventor, a doctor, and a gold mine. Wednesday 8 pm - $

Arts and sciences

The melting Arctic
Tuesday: Rutgers climate scientist Jennifer Francis will be at UAlbany for a talk about the rapid warming of the Arctic and what that might mean for weather patterns in the mid-latitudes (you know, where we live). Part of the Falconer Natural History Series. Tuesday 8 pm, uptown campus, CESTM building - free

Visual art as knowledge
Wednesday: Art historian/curator Christel Vesters will be at EMPAC for a talk about visual art as knowledge. "The lecture will explore different examples in which artists and other cultural producers over the years have challenged the dominant ideas around knowledge and knowledge production, especially those projects that adopt or imitate the structures, systems and devices of 'official' knowledge systems and tweak, question or subvert their 'canonical' status, whilst at the same time proposing an alternative." Wednesday 7 pm - free

Anne Northup
Saturday: David Fiske -- co-author of Solomon Northup: The Complete Story of the Author of Twelve Years a Slave -- will be at the Schenectady County Historical Society for a talk about Solomon Northup's wife, Anne. "What impact did Northup's kidnapping have on his wife and family? In Solomon's absence, the Northup family became a one-income household. This presentation will describe how his wife, Anne, carried on and saw to the needs of their children." Saturday 2 pm - $5

Tulip Festival

Albany's annual Tulip Festival is this weekend, with events Friday, Saturday, and Sunday in/around/near Washington Park, including traditions such as street scrubbing and the crowning of the Tulip Queen. And, as usual, there will be music on two stages, both national and local acts.

Mother's Day

It's Sunday. And your mom is the best.

Music

Monday: Black Label Society at Upstate Concert Hall
Metal. With: Down, Devil You Know, Butcher Babies. 7:30 pm - $33 ahead / $35 day of (just a few tickets remain)

Wednesday: Neko Case at The Egg
The lady with that voice. With: The Dodos. 7:30 pm - $35

Wednesday: Adelita's Way at Upstate Concert Hall
Hard rock. With: Framing Hanley, Devour The Day, Starset, 3 Years Hollow. 7:30 pm - $10.35 ahead / $12 day of

Thursday: Seether at Upstate Concert Hall
Alt metal. With: Black Stone Cherry, SuperMachine. 8 pm - $25.75 ahead / $28 day of

Thursday: ABBA the Concert at The Palace
ABBA tribute act. 7:30 pm - $37 and up

Thursday: Glenn Miller Orchestra at Troy Music Hall
Big band that traces its roots back to the famous band leader. 8 pm - $20 and up

Thursday: Moon Magick / Man Forever at The Low Beat at The Low Beat
Experimental. With: Eternal Crimes. 8 pm

Friday: Sharon Van Etten at Helsinki Hudson
Indie rock singer/songwriter. With: She Keeps Bees. 9 pm - $15 ahead / $20 day of

Friday: Big Data at The Hollow
"Paranoid electronic pop music from the Internet." 8 pm - $10.27 / $15

Friday: Against Me! at Upstate Concert Hall
Punk rock. This band has gotten attention over the last few years because of its singer's publicized struggle with gender dysphoria. With: Tony Molina, Big Eyes. 8 pm - $17.50 ahead / $20 day of

Friday: Terrapin Flyer at Putnam Den
Featuring organist Melvin Seals, "the only person who both performed at Jerry [Garcia]'s wedding and his funeral." 9 pm - $15 ahead / $20 day of

Friday: Steve Katz at Caffe Lena
From Blood, Sweat, and Tears; worked with Lou Reed; got his start on a 1960s Schenectady TV show called Teenage Barn. 8 pm - $20

Friday: John Gorka at Proctors
Folk singer/songwriter. An 8th Step show. With: Mustard's Retreat. 7:30 pm - $26 ahead / $30 day of

Friday: Charlie Watts Riots at The Low Beat
With: Blue Factory. 9 pm

Saturday: Kongos at The Hollow
Alt rock. 8 pm - $15

Saturday: 5 Alpha Beatdown at The Low Beat
John Brodeur's "fake-Icelandic doppelgänger." With: Kimono Dragos, The Pistolwhips. 8 pm

Saturday: Goosepimp Orchestra at Red Square
"It is now feeding time for the funk zombies." With: Squid Parade. 8 pm - $8

Saturday: Session Americana at Caffe Lena
"[R]ock band in a tea cup, or possibly a folk band in a whiskey bottle." 8 pm - $18

Saturday: Cult Rock Film Soundtracks Live at Proctors
"[A] vibrant exploration of the exciting movie music of the '60s, '70s and '80s." Followed by a screening of Suspiria. An It Came From Schenectady event. 7 pm - $9 adults / $6 students

Sunday: Jay Farrar at Helsinki Hudson
From Uncle Tupelo and Son Volt. With: Peter Bruntnell. 8 pm - $20

Sunday: Super Soul Fest Mother's Day R&B Celebration at The Egg
Soul and R&B. 7 pm - $45 and up

To do list

1. If you're taking your mom out to eat on Mother's Day, call for a reservation at this very moment. Don't wait.

2. Keep an eye out for tulips. And the best time to check out the tulips in Washington Park is in the days before Tulip Fest.

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These are a just a few things for this week, not a comprehensive list. Know of something people should be looking forward to this week? Please share!

Proctors, Cap Rep, and The Palace advertise on AOA.

photo: Emily Shur