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 (some winter), to Leap Day, to artists and activists, to college basketball, to startups, to eggs, to music...

Weather

Here's the paraphrased forecast for this week:

Monday: Cloudy, some rain to start. Mid 40s.

Tuesday: Cloudy, upper 30s.

Wednesday: Rain and snow from overnight, then rain during the day. Mid 40s.

Thursday: Sunny and mid 30s.

Friday: Sun and upper 20s.

Weekend: Some sun, around 40.

Lingering traces of winter.

Leap Day

This is a leap year, so February has an extra day (February 29) this year -- and it's Monday. The use leap days on the calendar stems from the fact the Earth's trip around the sun is actually 365 days and (almost) 6 hours long, so we pick up an extra day on the calendar every four years. (The almost part above is why some years that would otherwise have leap days -- like the year 2100 -- don't get leap days.)

Arts and sciences

Jennifer Baumgardner
Monday: Writer/activist/filmmaker Jennifer Baumgardner will be at Sage for a talk to start off the college's Women's History Month series of programs. Baumgardner the executive director of The Feminist Press at CUNY and her work has focused on the topics of abortion, sex, bisexuality, rape, single parenthood, and women's power. Monday 6:30 pm, Sage Troy campus, Bush Memorial - free

Twyla Tharp
Tuesday: Award-winning choreographer Twyla Tharp will be at UAlbany to talk about her career in an on-stage conversation with WAMC's Joe Donahue. Her appearance is the start of a new Capital Region program called Pathways to Dance, "designed to support dance creation and presentation." Tuesday 6:15 pm (book signing) / 7 pm (conversation), UAlbany downtown campus, Page Hall - free

Kate Teale POSTPONED to March 15
Tuesday: Artist Kate Teale will be at the Opalka Gallery at the Sage Albany campus to talk about her exhibition on display there, The Housed. Tuesday 6:30 pm - free

Cornel West
Thursday: Cornel West will be at Union College March 3 for a talk titled "Social Justice: The U.S. and Beyond." West is a scholar whose work has focused on race, gender, and class. He's now a professor of philosophy and Christian practice at Union Theological Seminary in New York City, and professor emeritus at Princeton University. And he's popped up all over popular culture, from talk shows to spoken word hip hop to an appearance in two of the Matrix films. Thursday 5 pm, Nott Memorial - free (seating is limited)

Stephen Adly Guirgis CANCELED (could be rescheduled for fall)
Thursday: Stephen Adly Guirgis -- the winner of the 2015 Pulitzer Prize for drama -- will be at UAlbany as part of the NYS Writers Institute visiting writers series. Guirgis won the Pulitzer for the play Between Riverside and Crazy. And he's a UAlbany grad. Thursday 8 pm, uptown campus, recital hall - free

Film

YouthFX
Tuesday: The YouthFX program based in Albany will be at Skidmore to screen some of the short films created by teens. A Q&A with the filmmakers will follow the screening. Tuesday 6 pm, Palamountain Hall - free

On Screen/Sound
Thursday: The On Screen/Sound series at EMPAC continues with "a selection of films that work in sound and image but without the use of words," including Koyaanisqatsi. Thursday 7 pm - $6

Startup Tech Valley

Wednesday: The Startup Tech Valley series returns to Revolution Hall in Troy with another round of short presentations from startup companies. Wednesday 5:30 pm - free (registration required)

Jerry Seinfeld

Thursday: Jerry Seinfeld will be at The Palace for a stand-up show. He had his own TV show for a while -- it's possible you've heard of it. 7 pm - $48 and up

Ukrainian Easter eggs

Thursday: The Albany Institute is hosting a workshop led by curator Diane Shewchuk about making Ukrainian Easter eggs (which are beautiful). "Learn how to decorate real eggs the traditional Ukrainian way using dyes and beeswax." Thursday 6 pm - $20

College basketball

UAlbany
Wednesday: The UAlbany men play Hartford in the quarterfinals of the America East conference tournament at SEFCU Arena. The winner of the tournament gets an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. Wednesday 7 pm - $12 and up

MAAC tournament
Thursday-Sunday: The end-of-season tournament for the MAAC -- Siena's conference -- is back at the TU Center this week (both the men's and women's tournaments). The winner of the tournament gets an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. The Siena men's team will start the tournament in the quarterfinals on Saturday. The women's team starts the tournament on Thursday. Thursday-Sunday various times -

Music

Wednesday: Ra Ra Riot at The Hollow
Indie rock. 9 pm - $15 ahead / $17 day of

Thursday: Steven Wilson at The Egg
Prog rock. 8 pm - $35 and up

Thursday: Hot Club of Cowtown at The Linda
Jazz/western swing trio. 8 pm - $20

Thursday: David Broza at Troy Music Hall
A "fusion of three different countries in which he was raised: Israel, Spain, and England." 7:30 pm - $27 and up

Friday: The Beth Hart show at The Egg is sold out.

Friday: The The Wood Brothers show at Helsiniki Hudson is sold out.

Friday: French Horn Rebellion + Mystery Skulls at The Hollow
"Next jack swing" + indie pop. 8 pm - $15 ahead / $18 day of

Friday: R5 at The Palace
Pop rock. With: DJ Ryland and Max. 7 pm - $29.50 and up

Friday: Kate Taylor at Caffe Lena
Singer/songwriter. (James is her brother.) 8 pm - $28

Saturday: Neko Case at Troy Music Hall
Probably a superhero. It's the only way to explain that voice. 8 pm - $35

Saturday: The Warren Haynes show at The Egg is sold out.

Saturday: Rustic Overtones at Putnam Den
With: Swale. 9:30 pm - $10 ahead / $13 day of

Saturday: Sister Sparrow and the Dirty Birds at Helsinki Hudson
With: The Suitcase Junket. 9 pm - $20 ahead / $25 day of

Saturday: Paul Green's Rock Academy w/ Ed Mann: Playing the Music of Frank Zappa at The Hollow
Kids from a school of rock in the Hudson Valley. 9 pm - $12 ahead / $15 day of

Sunday: Wellington International Ukulele Orchestra at The Palace
"[I]n hot demand worldwide for their winning combination of charming humour, disarmingly small ukuleles, and sublime musicality." 3 pm - $17.50 and up

Sunday: Banners at The Hollow
Vaguely Coldplay-ish or Snow Patrol-ish. 8 pm - $10.27 ahead / $12 day of

Sunday: Dust Bowl Faeries at Helsinki Hudson
Album release show. 8 pm - $10

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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!

Troy Music Hall advertises on AOA.