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 (April showers), to drama, to film, to speakers, to gardening, to music...

Weather

Here's the paraphrased forecast for this week:

Monday: Cloudy, rain in the evening. 60.

Tuesday: Cloudy, rainy. 50s.

Wednesday: Sunny and near 60.

Thursday: Sunny and 60.

Friday: Sunny and 60.

Weekend: And so on.

Aprils showers bring... well, you know.

Film

Stop Making Sense
Monday: The Palace's movie series continues with a screening of the Talking Heads concert film Stop Making Sense. Monday 7 pm -- $5 / $3 kids

Silent Film Spectacular
Wednesday: The current season of the Albany Public Library's Silent Film Spectacular series wraps up with a screening of the 1926 Buster Keaton film film The General with live original score from Ryan Devine and Justin Fuld. 7 pm, Washington Ave branch -- free

Film in progress at EMPAC
Thursday: Artist in residence Patricia L Boyd will be giving a behind-the-scenes look at the production of a video work she's creating at EMPAC. "A networked group of cameras will be rigged in EMPAC's Theater to run continuously, recording horizontal and vertical tracking shots in constant motion. This apparatus, which Boyd describes as an 'overactive metabolism,' is programmed to run automatically, and a human subject, often seen in bed, is captured (in both senses) and made visible through the infrastructure of these multiple perspectives." Thursday 7 pm -- free

The Trip to Bountiful

Tuesday-Sunday: Capital Rep's production of The Trip to Bountiful opens Tuesday. (Previews were this past weekend.) The show is the story of Carrie Watts, an aging widow who escapes from the home of her son and goes on a journey to revisit her childhood home. The show stars a number of talented Capital Region actors, including the amazing Barbara Howard, Kevin Craig West, Tony Pallone, and newcomer Joshua Powell. Tuesday-Sunday various times -- $20 and up

Arts and sciences

Creating a racially just social order
Wednesday: Harvard Law School professor Randall Kennedy will be at Union College for a talk titled ""The Racial Promised Land? Creating a Racially Just Social Order." Wednesday 5 pm, Nott Memorial -- free

Turning waste into soil
Wednesday: The Radix Center's Scott Kellogg will be at Skidmore for a talk about community composting and other strategies for turning waste into compost. "In this presentation, Scott Kellogg will discuss how locally focused and community driven composting efforts can at once address food security, job creation, and soil contamination in cities throughout the world." Wednesday 7 pm, Palamountain Hall -- free

Colm Tóibin and Brooklyn
Friday: Novelist Colm Tóibin will be at UAlbany as part of the NYS Writers Institute visiting writers series. He'll be reading from his work on the uptown campus in the late afternoon. And this evening he'll be offering commentary and answering questions following a screening of Brooklyn, the film based on his novel of the same name. Friday 4:15 pm, Performing Arts Center uptown campus / 7 pm, Page Hall, downtown campus -- free

Gardening

A few gardening classes this week that could be interesting:

Tomato Family 411
Tuesday: Capital Roots has a class about growing tomatoes and other related vegetables lined up at the Hartman Road community garden (just off New Scotland Road) in Albany. "Fill your garden with juicy tomatoes, zesty peppers, plentiful potatoes, and plump eggplants! Instruction will include soil preparation, exploring easy to grow varieties, trellising, care and maintenance, disease and pest identification, and harvest methods." Tuesday 6 pm -- $5 (registration required)

Straw Bale, Keyhole Gardens and Scoop & Dump
Tuesday: Cornell Cooperative Extension Rensselaer County is hosting a class about "keyhole gardening." "Planting directly into straw bales sounds odd, but provided amazing results and many advantages. Keyhole gardening is a water-saving raised-bed technique designed for dry conditions. Scoop & dump was pioneered at Cornell University for large projects on compacted soils and has proven the power of compost." Tuesday 7 pm -- $6 (registration required)

Dining Out for Life

Thursday: Dining Out For Life -- the annual fundraiser for the Alliance for Positive Health -- returns. It's just about the easiest way to contribute to charity. Here's how it works: You go out to eat at one of the many participating restaurants that day. The restaurants contribute a portion of the proceeds to the Alliance. And... that's it. (Well, you can also make an additional donation while you there -- look for one of the DOFL captains, who will have info and envelopes.)

Music

Monday: Throat Culture, New Gods, Scum Couch at The Low Beat
Punk/rock. 8 pm -- $5

Tuesday: Wild Belle at The Hollow
Psych/dance/folk pop. 8 pm - $10.27 ahead / $15 at door

Tuesday: Basement at Upstate Concert Hall
Rock. With: Turnstile, Defeater, Colleen Green. 7 pm -- $16 ahead / $20 day of

Wednesday: American Authors at The Hollow
Indie rock, "Best Day of My Life." 8 pm - $20

Wednesday: WGNA Secret Star Acoustic Jam at Proctors
Country act revealed when that person takes the stage. 7 pm -- $19 and up

Wednesday: Robin Trower at The Egg
British blues rock. 8 pm -- $35.50 and up

Wednesday: Chris Webby at Upstate Concert Hall
Rapper. With: Annoyd, Danny Evans, Mar, Three Kings, Swaggertown, Entreband. 8 pm -- $15 ahead / $18 day of

Thursday: Foreigner at Proctors
"I Want To Know What Love Is," "Feels Like The First Time," "Cold as Ice." 8 pm -- $20 and up."

Friday-Sunday: Folkathon at Caffe Lena
A weekend full of shows to say farewell to old version of the venue before renovations start. Friday-Sunday various times -- weekend pass $75 / $35 students and kids

Saturday: The Fab Faux: "Revolver" at The Egg
Beatles tribute. 7:30 pm -- $39 and up

Saturday: Carrie Rodriguez at Helsinki Hudson
Texas singer/songwriter. 9 pm -- $18 ahead / $22 day of

Sunday: Parker Millsap at Helsinki Hudson
Americana. With: Caroline Rose. 8 pm -- $18 ahead / $22 day of

To do list

1. The next week or two should be prime time for the tulips in Washington Park. Don't wait until Tulip Festival to go see them.

2. If you're going out for brunch on Mother's Day, GET A RESERVATION NOW.
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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!

APL and Helsinki Hudson advertise on AOA. And AOA is a media sponsor of Dining Out for Life.