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 (persistent), to The Track, to words, to the fair, to the orchestra, to the stage, to baseball, to outdoor movies, to music...

Weather

Here's the paraphrased forecast for this week:

Monday:Sunny, upper 80s.

Tuesday: Cloudy, probably rain and thunderstorms. Mid 80s.

Wednesday: Cloudy, probably rain in the morning. Low 80s.

Thursday: Some sun, maybe some scattered rain. Low 80s.

Friday: Sun and... no rain? Mid 80s.

The pattern persists.

The Track

It's the fourth full week of the season at the Saratoga Race Course. Monday is a gate-giveaway day: a Saratoga Race Course beach towel. (And, of course, there is no racing on Tuesday.)

Words

Front Parlor
Monday: The Front Parlor storytelling series returns to the Olde English in Albany. This month's theme: "Us Against Them." Monday 7:30 pm -- free admission

Nitty Gritty
Tuesday: The Nitty Gritty Poetry Slam is back at The Low Beat. Tuesday 7 pm -- free admission

Altamont Fair

Tuesday-Sunday: The Altamont Fair -- the county fair Albany, Schenectady, and Greene counties -- is at the fairgrounds in Altamont. This is its 123rd year. The one-price admission includes "admission, parking, music, circus and unlimited rides shows." Tuesday-Sunday -- $15 (Tuesday and Wednesday) and $17 (Thursday thru Sunday)

Stage

Park Playhouse
Tuesday: The Park Playhouse in Albany's Washington Park continues its production of The Little Mermaid, adapted from the Disney film. (It runs through August 27.) Tuesday-Saturday 7:30 pm -- free on the lawn / reserve tickets $16 and up

Williamstown Theatre Festival
Tuesday-Sunday: The Williamstown Theatre Festival's production of Wendy Wasserstein's An American Daughter continues on the main stage. (It runs through August 21.) And WTF's production of And No More Shall We Part, starring Jane Kaczmarek and Alfred Molina, continues on the Nikos Stage. (It runs through August 21.) various times -- $40 and up

Philadelphia Orchestra

This is the last week of the Philadelphia Orchestra's summer stay at SPAC. This week's schedule:
+ Wednesday: Czech pianist Lukáš Vondráček
+ Thursday: Superstar opera singer Renee Fleming
+ Friday: Violinist Joshua Bell and trumpeter Chris Botti
+ Saturday: Brahms, Beethoven, Tchaikovsky (and the 1812 Overture)

Wednesday-Saturday 8 pm -- $40 and up

Baseball

Wednesday: The ValleyCats open a six-game homestand at The Joe with the start of a three-game series against Aberdeen. Wednesday through Monday of next week -- $5.75 ahead / $7 day of (and up)

Outdoor movies

Capitol Park After Dark
Wednesday: The Capitol Park After Dark series of outdoors movies in West Capitol Park starts with Big Hero 6. Bring a chair or blanket. (Rain location is ESP Convention Center meeting room 6). Wednesday 8 pm -- free

Deja View
Thursday: A new outdoor movie series -- Deja View -- starts in downtown Albany's Tricentennial Park. (It was scheduled to start last week, but the start was pushed back because of weather.) It will be showing movies there each Thursday through September 8. "Patrons are encouraged to bring chairs and blankets to view the movie..." This week's film: Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark. Thursday 7:45 pm -- free

Music

Monday: Counting Crows + Rob Thomas at SPAC
Sha, la, la, la, la, la, la. 6:45 pm -- $26 and up

Monday: Dougie MacLean at Proctors
"[H]as long helped define contemporary Celtic music." An 8th Step show. 7 pm -- $28 and up

Friday: Roomful of Teeth at MASS MoCA
Grammy-winning vocal ensemble. 8 pm -- $16 ahead / $22 day of

Friday: Heavenly Echoes at Upbeat on the Roof
" The Heavenly Echoes are a Southern soul-style gospel group, founded more than fifty years ago by the late Deacon James Edmonds of the Sweet Pilgrim Missionary Baptist Church in Albany." 7 pm -- free

Friday: Nine Votes Short at The Low Beat
Night of punk acts. With: Lame, Suburban Samurai, Rescott Renegade. 7:30 pm

Saturday: Dawes at The Egg
Americana. With: Basia Bulat. 8 pm -- $34.50 and up

Saturday: Jonathan Edwards at Caffe Lena at the Grove
Folk singer/songerwriter. 7 pm -- $25

Sunday: Goo Goo Dolls at SPAC
With: Collective Soul, Tribe Society. 7 pm -- $20 and up

Sunday: Quinn Sullivan at Helsinki Hudson
Young blues guitarist. 8 pm -- $20 and up

____

To do list

1. All the summer things. Don't wait.

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!

Downtown Albany BID, Live Nation, and NYS OGS At the Plaza advertise on AOA.

photo: Danny Clinch