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 (winter preview), to hoops, to kinetic sculpture, to face-to-face interaction, to figure drawing, to music...

Weather

Here's the paraphrased forecast for this week:

Monday: Freezing rain to start. High 41.

Tuesday: Sunny, windy. 33.

Wednesday: Sunny and 34.

Thursday: Sunny and 41.

Friday: Sunny and 36.

Weekend: Sunny, around 40.

Winter preview.

Hoops!

The college basketball season started over the weekend. And both the Siena and UAlbany teams are in action at home this week.

Siena
Monday: The Siena men's basketball team will be at the TU Center to face Vermont. Monday 7 pm - $10 and up

UAlbany
Wednesday: The UAlbany men's basketball team will be at SEFCU Arena to take on the New Jersey Institute of Technology. Wednesday 7 pm - $12 and up

Saturday: The Great Danes face Quinnipiac at home. Saturday 7 pm - $12 and up

Stories

Monday: The Front Parlor storytelling series is back at the Olde English in Albany. This month's theme: "Roots." Monday 7:30 pm - free admission

Strandbeest

Wednesday: Dutch artist/engineer Theo Jansen will be at EMPAC concert hall for a talk about this Strandbeest, life-like kinetic sculptures that can move on their own. Here's a TED talk by Jansen that explains a little bit about how the sculptures work. Wednesday 6 pm - free

Arts and sciences

The Nano Emperor
Monday: SUNY Polytechnic Institute CEO Alain Kaloyeros and his henley shirt will be at the Albany nano complex for a talk about "the emergence of nanotechnology, its growing impact on all facets of society, and the growing global leadership of SUNY Poly and New York State in the science that is 'leading to the next Industrial Revolution.'" Monday 6 pm - free (pre-registration)

Face-to-face
Tuesday: Developmental psychologist/bestselling science writer Susan Pinker will be at UAlbany as part of the NYS Writers Institute visiting writers series. She'll be talking about her new book The Village Effect: How Face-to-Face Contact Can Make Us Healthier, Happier, and Smarter. Tuesday 8 pm, UAlbany uptown campus, Science Library - free

The Great Migration and Upstate New York
Wednesday: State Museum curator of African-American history Jennifer Lemak will be at the museum for a talk about how the Great Migration affected upstate cities. Blurbage: "Between 1910 and 1970 over one million southern migrants moved to New York State hoping to improve their lives. The influx of migrants coupled with "white flight", aging city infrastructures, and racism led many to blame the migrants for most of the cities' problems. This lecture will discuss the problems migrants faced, how the cities of Albany, Syracuse, Rochester, and Buffalo responded, and organizations that tried to help the migrants." Wednesday 7 pm, Huxley Theater - free

Nelson Rockefeller
Thursday: Historian Richard Norton Smith will be at UAlbany as part of the "Researching New York" conference and the NYS Writers Institute visiting writers series. Smith will be talking about his biography of Nelson Rockefeller, On His Own Terms. Thursday 7:30 pm, UAlbany downtown campus, Page Hall - free

Pasties, Pencils, and Pints

Thursday: The sassy drink 'n draw Pasties, Pencils, and Pints will be back at The Hangar in Troy. This month's model is burlesque performer Persephone Pomme. It is both BYOB and BYODS (bring your own drawing supplies). Thursday 8:30 pm - $10

Hannibal Buress

The stand-up show by comedian Hannibal Buress scheduled for Thursday at The Egg has been rescheduled to February 5.

Shakers

The State Museum has new self-described "major" exhibit: "The Shakers: America's Quiet Revolutionaries." Blurbage:

The Shakers launched a revolution parallel to the American Colonies' struggle against British rule. As they sought religious freedom in America, their spiritual practices and community focus set them apart from greater society. Their devotional routines as well as their product innovations, marketing acumen and views towards gender equality seemed "revolutionary" to the outside world. Thematically divided into six areas, the exhibit will show how the Shakers' unique model of an equal society challenged the norms of the new nation.

The exhibit is a collaboration with the Shaker Museum | Mount Lebanon, Hancock Shaker Village, and the Shaker Heritage Society (Albany), the State Library, and State Archives. It's on display until next March, so something to keep in mind for a cold day when you want to get out of the house.

Beatlemore Skidmania

Friday-Saturday: The popular Beatlemore Skidmania concerts are back at Skidmore. This time around the concerts at the Zankel are honoring Beatles music from around the time the band first arrived in the US, in 1964. There are concerts open to the public Friday at 8 pm and Saturday at 2 pm -- and they usually sell out.

Music

Tuesday: Johnny Marr at Upstate Concert Hall
Alt-rock guitar icon. With: Meredith Sheldon. 7 pm - $20 ahead / $22 day of

Wednesday: Capital Pride Singers at RPI Chapel + Cultural Center
A concert celebrating the 20th anniversary of the choral group. 7:30 pm - admission is 2 canned food items

Thursday: Nels Cline + Julian Lage at The Egg
Wilco guitarist + jazz guitarist. 7:30 pm - $24

Thursday: My Body at The Low Beat
Electronic pop. With: Palemen, Moon Magick. 8 pm -

Friday: B3nson Funsgiving at The Low Beat and Pauly's
This year's lineup for the annual show: The Parlor, Bear Grass, Secret Release, Rival Galaxies, Hammer Hawk, Neighborhood of Make Believe, Leaks/Mirrors (feat. Pete Mollica of Pingüinos). 7 pm - $10

Friday: Pierce The Veil at Washington Ave Armory
Post-hardcore. With: Beartooth, This Wild Life. 7 pm - $27.50 ahead / $32 day of

Friday: Rick Springfield at The Egg
Whatever happened to Jessie's girl? 8 pm - $39.50 and up

Friday: Jubilee Riots (nee Enter the Haggis) at Putnam Den
World fusion. With: Adam Ezra Group. 9 pm - $15

Friday: Judy Collins at Troy Music Hall
Singing her favorite Irish tunes. 8 pm - $28 and up

Friday: The Kennedys at Caffe Lena
Folk rock. 8 pm - $16

Saturday: Josh Ritter at MASS MoCA
Singer/songwriter/author. With: Walter Martin (of The Walkmen). 8 pm - $29 ahead / $35 day of

Saturday: Chuck Prophet at Helsinki Hudson
Rock singer/songwriter/producer. 9 pm - $18 ahead / $20 day of

Saturday: The Touré-Raichel Collective at The Egg
Malian guitar virtuoso + Israeli singer/pianist. 8 pm - $29.50

Saturday: Max Creek at The Hollow
Long-running rock band. 8 pm - $15 ahead / $20 day of

Saturday: Albany Symphony Orchestra at The Palace
Featuring guest conductor Mei-Ann Chen, young violinist Caroline Goulding, and Beethoven's Symphony No. 6. 7:30 pm - $19 and up

Saturday: Ladyfest Upstate at The Low Beat
"Ladyfest Upstate is a 1 day music and arts festival featuring women-identified, trans and gender nonconforming artists." starts at 1 pm - $10-$20 sliding scale

Sunday: Kat Dahlia at The Hollow
Pop/hip hop. 8 pm - $15 ahead / $17 day of

Sunday: Sultans of String at Caffe Lena
World jazz. 7 pm - $18

To do list

1. Thanksgiving details -- travel, meal planning, pie ordering, whatever.

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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!

Siena and Troy Music Hall advertise on AOA.

photo via Theo Jansen Flickr