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 (good September), to video games, the NYS Writers Institute, Tyler Perry, immersive theater, to music festivals...

Weather

Here's the paraphrased forecast for this week:

Monday: Sunny and 89.

Tuesday: Sunny and 91, maybe showers in the afternoon.

Wednesday: Sunny and 90, maybe some showers.

Thursday: Cloudy and 78. Probably rain.

Friday: Sunny and 79. Maybe some rain.

Weekend: Sunny and 70s.

September's been good.

Labor Day

It's Monday (obviously). The holiday sprang from the labor movement of the late 1800s to honor American workers. New York State was among the first states to recognize the holiday.

Arts and sciences

Video game art
Tuesday: Artist Dave Phillips will be at the Opalka Gallery on the Sage Albany campus to talk about the art and art direction in video games -- he was a lead artist on Skylanders: SWAP Force for Vicarious Visions. The talk is part of the Opalka Gallery's From Concept to Console: Art and Aesthetics in Video Game Design exhibit. Tuesday 6:30 pm - free

Board games
Thursday: Overit in Albany is hosting a discussion about "the creative process of building and crowdfunding boardgames" with Gil Hova, founder of Formal Ferret Games, and Jeff Warrender, co-founder of Spielbany. Hova's latest game -- The Networks -- will be available to try. Thursday 5-8 pm - free (register online)

Tom Junod
Friday: The new season of the NYS Writers Institute visiting writers series opens with journalist Tom Junod at the State Museum. He'll be reading from, and discussing, his 2003 Esquire piece "The Falling Man," about the photo of the man seen falling from the World Trade Center during the September 11 attack. (Junod will also be appearing at a seminar on the UAlbany uptown campus Thursday at 4:15 pm.) Friday 7 pm, State Museum Huxley Theater - free

Baseball

The Tri-City ValleyCats will be playing a playoff game (or two) at The Joe this week, though the specifics haven't settled yet as teams play out the last few games of the regular season.

Tyler Perry

Thursday: Tyler Perry will be at The Palace for a production of the live stage play Madea On The Run (the same character from the films). Thursday 7:30 pm - $43 and up

The Extra People

Thursday: EMPAC will be the venue for a performance called The Extra People by Ant Hampton. Blurbage:

The Extra People is an immersive theater performance where 15 audience members sit and watch another 15 onstage. After half an hour, they find themselves replacing those onstage, only to discover that another 15 have appeared in the seats they've left behind. And so it continues, through the hours... The theater building--dormant, empty, and unlit save for your flashlight--seems unable to be deactivated. And within this strange process, wearing headphones and a "hi-viz" vest, you're cast along with everyone else as some kind of extra. But an extra for what?

There are three start times for the performance. As of Sunday the 7 pm slot was already full -- 8 pm and 9 pm were still available. Thursday 7, 8, 9 pm - $18

The Weekend of So Many Events

This upcoming weekend will be jammed with stuff to do. A few of those things (certainly not a complete list):
+ The Waterford Tugboat Roundup
+ The Saratoga Wine & Food Festival at SPAC
+ Pearl Palooza in downtown Albany
+ The Albany Riverfront Jazz Festival
+ Basilica Soundscape is in Hudson
+ Hispanic Heritage Celebration at the ESP
+ The Washington County Cheese Tour

Rosh Hashanah

Also something to keep in mind for the weekend: Rosh Hashanah -- the Jewish new year and the start of the High Holidays -- starts at sunset Sunday and continues until sundown on September 15. The High Holy Days conclude with Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the year on the Jewish calendar, which starts at sunset on October 2 September 22.

Music

Tuesday: Godspeed You! Black Emperor at Basilica Hudson
A precursor for Basilica Soundscape. 8 pm - $20 online / $25 at door

Wednesday: Hamell on Trial at The Low Beat
One-man punk storytelling, comedy, music show. 6 pm

Thursday: BØRNS at The Hollow
That song "Electric Love." 8 pm - $10.27 ahead / $15 day of

Friday: Hippo Campus + Phases at The Hollow
Vampire Weekend-ish + pop. 8 pm - $10.27 ahead / $12 day of

Friday-Saturday: Basilica Soundscape at Basilica Hudson
Music both Friday and Saturday nights, mini Basilica Farm & Flea on Sunday. $70 weekend pass

Friday: Down Hill Strugglers at Caffe Lena
Old-time string band. With: The Littlest Birds. 8 pm - $18

Saturday: Pearl Palooza in downtown Albany
Headliner this year is Matisyahu. music starts at 1 pm - free

Saturday: Albany Riverfront Jazz Festival at Corning Preserve
Headliner this year is Booker T. Jones. music starts at 1 pm - free

Saturday: Peter Case at The Linda
Veteran singer/songwriter. 8 pm - $18

Saturday: U.S. Elevator at Helsinki Hudson
Rock side of Johnny Irion. With: Darren Jessee. 9 pm - $18 ahead / $22 day of

Saturday: Yann Falquet & Pascal Gemme at Old Songs
Fiddle and guitar. 8 pm - $20

Sunday: Robin and Linda Williams at Caffe Lena
Frequent Prairie Home Companion guests. 7 pm - $28

To do list

1. The new apple crop has started to arrive. So look for your favorite early season varieties.
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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!

Helsinki Hudson advertises on AOA.

photo via Matador Records