All Over Albany

Basilica Soundscape 2017

Producer/composer Jlin will be there.

The Basilica Soundscape festival returns September 15-17 at Basilica Hudson. And the initial lineup is out -- it's below.

Event blurbage:

Basilica SoundScape, a carefully curated weekend that's been called "the anti­festival" by various publications for offering of a thoughtful mix of music, visual art, and literature, is co-curated by Brandon Stosuy (The Creative Independent), Basilica Co-Founder and Director Melissa Auf der Maur and Basilica Co-Founder Tony Stone. This year they welcome back previous BSS Creative Director Michael Renaud to handle all aspects of visual design for the event and have added the talents of a special guest curator, Jenn Pelly, editor at Pitchfork, and author of a forthcoming book on the Raincoats.

Early bird tickets are currently $60 for a weekend pass -- $110 with camping. There will be single-day tickets later this summer.

On with the initial lineup...

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Basilica Hudson 2016 season

There will be two Basilica Farm & Flea markets this year -- in April and November.

The schedule is out for the new season at Basilica Hudson. The converted factory space near the train station in Hudson is again hosting a wide range of events: performances, talks, screenings, markets. And the popular Basilica Soundscape festival returns in September.

A compressed version of the schedule is after the jump.

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Albany, Troy, and Hudson in high contrast

Check out this beautiful old atlas of New York State, originally published in 1838. It was the creation of the cartographer David H. Burr. And it's available online thanks to the digital collection of the New York Public Library.

There's something about the high-contrast black-and-white color scheme and the way various features -- like the Hudson River -- are rendered that we really like.

The atlas includes maps for counties around the states. But the parts that were most interesting to us were the old city maps. We pulled a few -- for Albany, Troy, and Hudson -- and there are after the jump in large format, along with a few quick notes.

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Photos from Rail, River, Hudson 2015

A whole nine days ago (there was a summer break in there), this year's AOA Rail, River, Hudson trip made its way to Hudson. And, like last year, it was a lot fun!

The sold-out trip took more than a hundred people from downtown Albany to Hudson and back via bus, train, and boat.

Here are a bunch of photos from the day...

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To Athens by ferry

Ahead of the Rail, River, Hudson II tour this coming weekend, we have a series of posts focusing on the Hudson River this week.

Last summer, in anticipation of AOA's Rail, River Hudson trip, I made the case that "How you get there matters, because getting there is half the fun." This time around, I'll add that getting there by boat will make any location feel more exotic.

Here in the Capital Region we have a few cruise boats that offer roundtrip sightseeing and/or party cruises (like the Dutch Apple II in Albany, The Captain JP II in Troy and the The Caldwell Belle in Schuylerville). These are all great ways for the public to experience our rivers by boat. But except for special events, these local cruisers are rarely used for commuting between destinations. And while there's been a lot of talk over the years of bringing water taxis to Albany, we're still waiting to see that happen.

You don't have to go too far downriver, though, to find public water transit. For the past three years, the Hudson-Athens Ferry has been carrying people between that city and village, across the Hudson River.

Two weeks ago, I finally made it onboard with a fellow traveler from Troy. Here are a few notes from our adventure...

River Week is sponsored by: Albany County Convention and Visitors Bureau, Downtown Albany BID, Dutch Apple Cruises, Harmony Mills, Hudson River Greenway, Nine Pin Cider, Sweet Sue's, and Downtown Troy BID.

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Basilica Soundscape 2015 music lineup

Perfume Genius (AKA Mike Hadreas) is among the acts.

This year's Basilica Soundscape festival at Basilica Hudson is September 11-13. And the initial music lineup for this is now out:

Haxan Cloak
Wolf Eyes
Health
Actress
Jenny Hval
Viet Cong
Weyes Blood
Circuit Des Yeux
Perfume Genius
Blanck Mass
Gourisankar & Indrijat Banajeer

There's more yet to be announced. Past festivals have included visual arts, performance art, readings, and food. Blurbage:

This site-specific, weekend-long experimental music and art event draws unconventional connections, parallels and collaborations between a diverse array of artists, presented by Basilica Hudson's Founders and Creative Directors Melissa Auf der Maur and Tony Stone in collaboration with Pitchfork Managing Editor Brandon Stosuy and Brian DeRan of Leg Up Management.

Basilica Hudson is a converted factory space near the train station in Hudson.

Early bird weekend passes are currently $60, and available online. Last year's festival sold out, so it's probably a good idea to get tickets sooner rather than later if you'd like to go.

photo via Matador Records

Rail, River, Hudson II

Last summer's Rail, River, Hudson trip was such a good time, we thought we'd try it again. And we'd love for you to come along.

What is Rail, River Hudson?

On Saturday, July 11 AOA will lead a group of people to Hudson via Amtrak and back home on a sunset cruise on the Dutch Apple. In between there will be plenty of time to explore this fun and historic city, plus tastings and dinner.

Tickets are on sale now. (Last year's trip sold out.)

There are more details after the jump, but these photos from last year's trip will give you a good sense of what to expect.

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Photos from Rail, River, Hudson

This year's AOA summer tour -- Rail, River, Hudson -- was this past Saturday. And we had a lot fun!

More than a hundred people met up in downtown Albany before catching buses to the train station where we hopped a train for Hudson. After spending the afternoon there, we boarded the Dutch Apple for a sunset return cruise up the Hudson River.

Here's a big photo recap of the day...

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Growing from Hudson: Modern Farmer

Modern Farmer CEO/editor-in-chief Ann Marie Gardner in the magazine's Hudson office. / photo: David Harriman

With the fertile soil of the river banks and glacial till, the Hudson Valley has long been regarded as a prime location for farming. And now it's proving a productive place for a different take on agriculture.

Based out of a second-floor office on Warren Street in Hudson, Modern Farmer has become a global media brand. The magazine is, in its own words, "for window-herb growers, career farmers, people who have chickens, people who want to have chickens and anyone who wants to know more about how food reaches their plate." In just its first year of publishing, Modern Farmer has already won a National Magazine Award, and it's attracted attention online via features such as Goat Week (complete with a goat cam).

So why set up in Hudson? I asked Ann Marie Gardner, CEO/editor-in-chief of Modern Farmer, to find out.

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Architecture gawking in Hudson

AOA's summer tour is headed to Hudson this weekend, so we thought it'd be fun to have Hudson Week on AOA. Each day we'll be featuring posts about things to do, see, and sample in this city on the river.

One of the interesting things about Hudson is the architecture. It's filled with fascinating old spaces in a wide variety of architectural styles.

After the jump, a few interesting Hudson buildings that have found new lives...

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A perspective on Hudson's renaissance

AOA's summer tour is headed to Hudson this weekend, so we thought it'd be fun to have Hudson Week on AOA. Each day we'll be featuring posts about things to do, see, and sample in this city on the river.

Carole Osterink has her eyes on Hudson. The creator of The Gossips of Rivertown -- a blog of news and commentary about the city of Hudson -- has been writing about the city for more than four years, and has observed its evolution over two decades, including some time on the Hudson City Council.

There's been a great deal of change over those 20 years, and while Hudson has only recently made it onto the radar of many people outside the city, she says the "overnight success" has actually bee a long time in the making.

Osterink took some time out this week to answer a few questions and share some of her observations about Hudson's renaissance.

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Eating in Hudson: 5-10-15-20

AOA's summer tour is headed to Hudson this weekend, so we thought it'd be fun to have Hudson Week on AOA. Each day we'll be featuring posts about things to do, see, and sample in this city on the river.

For being only a thirty minute drive from Albany, Hudson feels like another world, especially in the gastronomical sense. A distinctive West Village vibe permeates the eateries and food shops that dot either side of Warren Street, to the point that even the staff seems as though they probably arrived at work from a two bedroom overpriced apartment that seven unrelated people live in.

Thankfully, the prices in the Hudson dining scene haven't yet reached skyscraper heights. On a recent trip I challenged myself to eat on a $5-$10-$15-$20 budget for the day. I would find a meal at each price point.

The criteria were that the food had to be 1) delicious and 2) an adequate serving for the price. With joints like Fish and Game and Crimson Sparrow - both run by top NYC chefs who moved up the Hudson - I was worried I wouldn't be able to find anything beyond quick grab-and-go options (a tasting menu at Fish and Game is $75. Add wine pairings and it's another $75).

I couldn't have been more wrong.

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Shopping Hudson with Jess and Kaitlin

AOA's summer tour is headed to Hudson this weekend, so we thought it'd be fun to have Hudson Week on AOA. Each day we'll be featuring posts about things to do, see, and sample in this city on the river. Today, fashionistas and vintage aficionadas Kaitlin Resler and Jessica Bellflower take us shopping on Warren Street.

Kaitlin:
For me the draw of Hudson is the variety of vintage shops dotted around the area. Being able to hop around to several places full of treasures is a real treat (most of the time a given area has one, maybe two spots of this kind)! There is, though, a real variety of the shopping in Hudson, and that's part of what I really enjoy about it. There are a few spots that are must-go places for me on each visit, but I still find some new little shop tucked away!

And there are some neat specialty stores like a little hat shop -- the kinds of specialty shops you don't see much of in this area -- that take fashion to a different level.

Jess:
I always regarded Hudson as total eye-candy, but completely unattainable (for us). But then I re-explored Hudson with Kaitlin. Since she grew up in this area, she knew where we could shop that wouldn't break the bank. We did stand outside the windows of some of the high-end antique shops on Warren St and drool... but it was refreshing to find a few shops that could fit most budgets! Here's a heads up -- Hudson shopping has some tricky hours (lots of weekday closures or handwritten signs on the front doors that simply say "be back soon" or "reopening in July") and it has some seriously valuable antiques, but don't be intimidated: there's something for everyone there and you'll gather inspiration from all those swanky window displays!

Here are a few Hudson finds from our most recent shopping adventure...

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Basilica Soundscape 2014

Tim Hecker is among the artists lined for this year's Basilica Soundscape.

The Basilica Hudson is bringing back the two-day music and art festival Basilica Soundscape on September 12 and 13. Tickets are on sale now -- they're $35 per day / $60 for both days.

The blurbage calls the fest "a carefully curated two-day program ... featuring a wide range of music, visual art, and literature that aims for specific connections and overlaps instead of 'festival'-style overload. ... The weekend will also include visual arts, performance art, readings, farm to table food and more."

The lineup, so far, includes: Swans, Tim Hecker, Julia Holter, Richard Reed Parry (from Arcade Fire), White Lung, Meredith Graves (from Perfect Pussy), Guardian Alien, Greg Fox, and Emily Reo.

Visual artist Sterling Ruby will be creating works for the fest, and once again there will be food from Alimentary Kitchen.

Basilica Soudscape is a collaboration between Basilica creative directors Melissa Auf Der Maur and Tony Stone, Pitchfork senior editor/director of events Brandon Stosuy, and Brian De Ran of music management company Leg Up. Over at Pitchfork there are pics from last year's event. And Sasha Frere-Jones wrote about it for The New Yorker.

The Basilica itself is a former 19th century factory in Hudson located near the train station there. It's a cool space.

photo courtesy of Tim Hecker

Rail, River, Hudson tickets now on sale!

Update: Tickets are now sold out!!!

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Tickets for this year's AOA summer tour -- Rail, River, Hudson -- are on sale now!

Many details are after the jump (with updates from the original announcement), but the super short summary for the July 12 tour: We've organized a day trip to Hudson -- riding down on Amtrak, an afternoon in Hudson that includes an event at Etsy's building there, and then a sunset cruise on the Hudson River back to Albany on the Dutch Apple.

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Rail, River, Hudson with AOA

Tickets are now sale!

Back in the day you could day trip to the edges of what we now call the Capital Region and never use a car. You could hop a trolley or a train, or take a boat along the Hudson. That sort of trip sounds fun to us -- and it inspired this year's AOA summer tour.

This July we've lined up an AOA day trip to Hudson -- a train ride down, a sunset cruise on the Dutch Apple for the return -- with a lot of fun and surprises along the way. We'd love for you to come along.

Because these tours have been so popular in the past, we're giving you the early heads up now so that you'll be ready when tickets go sale on later this week.

Here are the details...

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Curating and curing in Hudson

The ongoing transformation of Hudson continues to draw media attention. And two articles this week -- one in NYT, the other in Esquire GQ -- had us wondering if there's a bit of a Hudson bubble.

From "Cultivating Hudson: Enter the Tastemakers" by Penelope Green in NYT, about the influx of people from cities such as New York and San Francisco and their desire to "curate"... everything:

Whether or not the Marina [Abramović] effect is real, Ms. Duffy [a real estate broker] averred that the "market here is gangbusters. We've never had buildings on Warren Street for over a million before. Two years ago, they were maybe $400,000. Ten years ago, you couldn't give them away." As for the Warren Street rents, she added, last year's average was about $1,600 a month; now they are close to twice that, at about $2,800. Mr. Coleman is paying $2,300, a deal in New York City, but a jaw-dropper for the area.

The article touches some of the complicated facets of the upswing, including questions about gentrification and how the prosperity on Warren Street can be extended.

A big part of the current Hudson scene is its restaurants, and the one getting the most attention right now is Zach Pelaccio's Fish & Game. From a two-visit review by Alan Richman titled "Is Hudson New York's Next Great Dining Destination?" (a question the review doesn't answer):

The first was bread, more formally a "bread bowl." It held a couple Parker House rolls, a few slices of sourdough, and a schmear of the house spread, made with butter, yogurt, and ash, one of those slick concoctions that doesn't taste as good as plain butter but guarantee an elevated price. In this case, the bread bowl was $8, quite a climb from what bread in fancy places used to cost, which was nothing. The slightly grainy schmear wasn't nearly enough, so we asked for extra, and that was another $2, please. Our bread had climbed into double figures.

$10 bread? The bread bowl was the beginning of a string of items Richman found to be "random" and of "little coherence" and to include "considerable curing." He concludes: "Fish & Game isn't close to being the great restaurant it seems to think it is." (The restaurant got a much better review from the TU last fall.)

By the way: If you're interested in Hudson, Sam Pratt's blog is worth keeping up on. Example of a recent item: A "venerable" old bar was reportedly sold to "a hedge fund manager and his spouse, said to have managed nightspots in Manhattan's Meatpacking district."

Marina Abramović Institute, kickstarted

The Marina Abramović Institute in Hudson reached its Kickstarter goal today -- $600,000 raised for the "long-duration performance art" facility. The Kickstarter campaign runs until Sunday afternoon.

The money raised is going toward phase one of the project. MAI says Abramović has put up $1.5 million to this point. So the Kickstarter money will push the total over $2 million. The whole project is projected to cost $20 million.

Looking through the various funding levels, the distribution caught our eye. As you might expect, there were more than 1,000 funders at the $1 level (reward: a hug from Abramović). But there were also 21 people who pledged $10,000 or more.

Abramović is probably the most famous performance artist in the world, thanks in large part to her MoMA exhibit The Artist Is Present. So that fame, plus the out-there ambition of the institute, definitely helped the fundraising campaign. And a naked Lady Gaga probably didn't hurt, either.

Grazin'

Worth looking a little closer.

On first glance Grazin' in Hudson doesn't stand out much. The diner's metal and neon front is tucked in along the streetscape toward one end of Warren Street. Inside there are vinyl-lined booths and a jukebox. The menu? Burgers and a few other things. If anything, Grazin' just seems kind of retro.

But look closer and you'll notice what makes Grazin' stand out. That focused menu is truly farm to table -- as in, Grazin' gets its beef from its own farm. And Grazin's attention to how it sources its animal products has earned it the distinction of being the first Animal Welfare Approved restaurant in the country.

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Hey, that's Marina Abramović and Lady Gaga and... that's... yep...

The Kickstarter campaign for the proposed Marina Abramović Institute in Hudson got a burst of attention Thursday after it posted a clip of Lady Gaga practicing the "Abramović Method" -- "a series of exercises designed to heighten participants' awareness of their physical and mental experience in the present moment" -- at a "three-day retreat in upstate New York."

Oh, and Lady Gaga appears naked in the video. (It's probably NSFW -- because of the nakedness -- but it's pretty tame.)

Gaga and Abramović makes sense -- Lady Gaga is probably a performance artist more than anything else.

As of this morning, The MAI Kickstarter had raised a little more than $260k of its $600k goal with 16 days to go. The campaign recently added a new benefit for backers at $1 level: a hug from Abramović herself:

At this event, called THE EMBRACE, Marina will thank everyone who has joined her to create Marina Abramovic Institute with a personal hug.

THE EMBRACE will be held in two undisclosed locations, one in New York City and one in Europe, with exact dates and times to be announced. Founders who are unable to attend will be offered a special reward in lieu of a hug from Marina, to be revealed shortly.

The plan for MAI is to provide a space for "long-duration performance art" at a building in Hudson. A bunch of details about plans for MAI were posted online this past spring -- they're ambitious (the building design includes contributions from Rem Koolhaas) and, depending on your point of view, kind of bonkers (sleeping cocoons and a blood bank).

Picasso Baby: Inspired by Abramović's "The Artist is Present," Jay Z recently performed one of his songs for six straight hours at an art gallery in New York City. It was condensed to a video of about 10 minutes. [NYT] [Vulture]

Earlier on AOA:
+ Marina Abramović Institute Kickstarter
+ A peek at plans for the Marina Abramović Institute

(Thanks, colleen)

screengrab: Marina Abramović Institute Vimeo

Marina Abramović Institute Kickstarter

The Marina Abramović Institute in Hudson -- a facility for "long-duration performance art" created by the famous performance artist -- has a Kickstarter running for the project. And it's a big goal: $600,000, by August 25.

The institute is said to be a $20 million project. So why turn to Kickstarter for some of that? From the project page:

An institute for the benefit of all is best funded not only by a few large donations but also by smaller contributions from the people it hopes to serve. By inviting the broader public to contribute to our early development, Kickstarter helps to affirm and build the engaged community necessary for sustaining MAI into the future. We have designed rewards that encourage backers to engage with time-based and immaterial works. With your contribution, you become a founder of the institute not only financially, but also conceptually, by partaking in the very experiences we hope to create.

It goes on to say that Abramović has already put up $1.5 million toward the project.

Funder awards range from a download of an 8-bit "Digital MAI" game ($5), to a personal session with Abramović via webcam to learn the "Abramovic Method" eye gazing exercise ($1000), to the $10,000 level ("Marina will do nothing. You will do nothing. You will not be publicly acknowledged").

A bunch of details about plans for MAI were posted online this past spring -- they're ambitious (contributions from Rem Koolhaas) and depending on your point of view, kind of bonkers (sleeping cocoons and a blood bank). But the really new and different stuff usually does.

image: MAI / Pippin Barr

A peek at plans for the Marina Abramović Institute

The plans include building a "white box" inside a former theater building (that was more recently used for tennis).

There's now a better look at the planned Marina Abramović Institute in Hudson -- a facility for "long-duration performance art" -- thanks to a new website for the project. The eponymous artist is well-known for this sort of this work, most famously for The Artist is Present at MoMA. And the Hudson facility -- which is being designed by an architectural team that includes Rem Koolhaas -- looks ambitious. In a video posted today, Abramović says she hopes it might "change the consciousness of our society today."

The website includes a bunch of renderings and information about the mission of the institute and other long-duration work. But the part that will probably bake your noodle is the presentation on the various aspects of the experience the institute intends to create. Among the parts:

+ A "contract" in which people pledge to spend at least six hours at the institute.

+ Visitors will be asked to leave behind watches, telephones, computers, and cameras -- they'll then be outfitted with lab coats and noise canceling headphones.

+ There will be various chambers: for drinking water, eye gazing, and so on.

+ A "blood bank" aiming to collect "250 drops of blood from the most influential scientists, artists, spiritual leaders, writers, philosophers, and musicians and to preserve a bank of these drops inside MAI."

+ A chamber devoted to Tesla.

+ Sleeping cocoons for people fall asleep during performances.

It all has the feeling of something from science fiction.

MAI is a $15 million project, according to its website. It's aiming to open in 2014.

[via @HudsonMusicFest]

image: OMA

Modern Farmer

Three things about this:

1) There's a publication called Modern Farmer starting -- and it's based in Hudson (on Warren Street, it appears).

2) From its Tumblr:

There has been a movement afoot in recent years to make connections between what we eat, how we live and, frankly, how we can avoid trashing the planet. Food and farming buzzwords -- food security, localism, urban farming, for instance -- have entered the mainstream. People want to know where their food comes from and how they can grow it themselves. Modern Farmer recognizes the escalating importance, even urgency, of global agriculture issues. We want to raise awareness through excellent, independent journalism. (And the occasional animal picture.) We'll provide tools and information for people who want to be more self-reliant, and celebrate those who are leading the way.

Modern Farmer is for window-herb growers, career farmers, people who have chickens, people who want to have chickens and anyone who wants to learn more about the new food culture. We'll be posting behind-the-scenes images from our offices and previews of the kind of content you can expect from Modern Farmer.

3) And they're hiring. (Yes, an actual full-time journalism job.)

[via @JustKristi]

Helsinki Hudson

The owners of Helsinki Hudson have a goal: to bring the community of Hudson together through food and music. And after only two and a half years, they say they're pretty happy with their progress.

The club moved to Hudson about two years ago after 15 years in Great Barrington. Owners Deborah McDowell and Marc Schafler say they wanted a bigger space that they could own themselves, and a spot closer to Shafler's home in Columbia County.

"But we also really wanted to be an integral part of the change in Hudson and help in their renewal," says McDowell.

"Let me tell you something," Schafler, "Hudson is happening."

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Apology from Bacon Fest organizers

The organizers of the first Bacon Fest NY in Hudson this past weekend have posted a statement about problems at the event -- mainly, that samples ran out too quickly. Here's a clip:

Our initial estimate on attendance, ranged between 500 - 1,000 people. It was our intention to give the best day possible - for everyone - and as the bacon ran out, and the food lines stacked up, we did the only thing we could and opened the gates for free. In actuality, about 3,000 people attended Bacon Fest NY 2012; only 2,000 of which paid admission.

We apologize if we inadvertently left people feeling disappointed. That sucks and we are sorry. It was never our intention to shortchange anyone on food or fun. Where we exceeded in motivation, enthusiasm and dedication, we fell short on experience. We know better now, and from these mistakes we will build a better executed festival for next year.

Here are a few recaps of what happened from Daniel B. and Steve Barnes -- both were judges at the event.

Yep, AOA was a media sponsor.

Bacon Fest NY: basket o' bacon give-away

UPDATE: The contest is now closed. The winner's been emailed.
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The first Bacon Fest NY is coming up this Sunday at the Henry Hudson Waterfront Park in Hudson. The event, a fundraiser for The Regional Food Bank of Northeastern NY, promises to be a bacon extravaganza with bacon vendors, bacon desserts, bacon crafts, a bacon cook-off and a bacon booze cruise with, among other things, bacon-flavored vodka.

Did we mention there would be bacon?

There will also be music from Sgt. Dunbar and the Hobo Banned , Eastbound Jesus, Red Haired Strangers, The Lucky Jukebox Brigade, Ramblin' Jug Stompers and a band called Unexplained Bacon.

We have tickets to giveaway -- and a whole basket of bacon-related items. The winner will receive:

Event
Two tickets to Bacon Fest NY 2012

Food
+ Five-pound variety pack of Mountain Products Smokehouse bacon (Country Style, Chipotle, Maple Cinnamon, Herb and Garlic)
+ One serving of Arkansas Tom's Razorback BBQ Rollup (think BBQ meat wrap that is nothing but meat)
+ Worldling's Pleasure Country Store Cheddar with Horseradish and Bacon Cheese Spread
+ Bacon Rice Krispie Treats from 333 Cafe
+ A box of Bacon Bites Oreos (Oreos topped with bacon and covered in dark chocolate and pink pig sprinkles)

Crafts
+ Bacon Honey lip balm
+ One bar of maple, apple, and bacon soap, and Hickory Smoked Bacon soy candle from Ladybug Soap.
+ Lunch cooler with Freshpet coupons

Music
+ A Red Haired Strangers CD
+ A Eastbound Jesus CD and sticker

Swag
+ One BFNY t-shirt and one Hand printed BFNY poster from Hatch Show Prints

To enter:
Replace the name of something in the Capital Region with the word bacon. Then leave it in the comment section. It could be a place (The Bacon State Plaza), a music group (Sgt. Dunbar and the Bacon Banned), a building (The Bacon Tower), whatever.

We'll draw one winner at random. The deadline to enter is Tuesday, August 28 at 6pm. The winner can pick up the basket at the Bacon Fest ticket booth.

Bacon Fest runs from 9 am to 6 pm on Sunday. Tickets are $10 ($8 ahead).

Very important: One entry per person. You must answer the question to be eligible. You must post your comment by 6 pm on Tuesday, August 28, 2012. You must include a working email address (that you check regularly) with your comment. The winner will be notified via email by noon on Wednesday August 29 -- and must respond by 8 pm Wednesday August 29. If prize basket is not picked up at the festival, only the packaged items will be sent to the winner.

AOA is a media sponsor of Bacon Fest NY.

Truck Pizza in Hudson

Shiny.

Hudson has become one of our favorite weekend trips for a few reasons:

1. It's not really a trip. It's a 45 minute drive from near Albany -- about the same distance to Saratoga.

2. It feels like somewhere different. Maybe it's the NYC influence.

3. We usually come across something new or interesting or fun.

The latest new/interesting/fun thing: this past weekend we noticed Truck Pizza -- a food truck serving pizzas from an onboard wood-fired oven.

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More about that Marina Abramović/Rem Koolhaas project in Hudson

The Marina Abramović Institute for the Preservation of Performance Art.

OMA, the architecture firm that includes superstar architect Rem Koolhaas, has posted renderings of the project it's designing in Hudson for performance artist Marina Abramović. From OMA's site, about the Marina Abramović Institute for the Preservation of Performance Art (MAI):

The mission of the MAI is to cultivate new kinds of performance while functioning as a living archive, preserving and hosting performances of historic pieces. Abramovic plans to use the space as a laboratory for exploring time-based and immaterial art - including performance, dance, theater, film, video, opera, and music - through collaboration with practitioners in the realms of science, technology, and education. Working with the local Hudson community as well as schools and institutions from around the world, the MAI will host workshops, public lectures and festivals. As well as training artists, Abramovic also wants to train audiences in the mental and physical disciplines of creating and experiencing long-durational work. ...

The institute will be housed in a former theatre, which later became an indoor tennis court, then an antiques warehouse and market before falling into disrepair. Abramovic bought the theatre in 2007. OMA's design will enhance the existing structure to accommodate both the research and production of performance art. As a venue specifically created for long duration performances, OMA will also develop new types of furniture, lighting and other elements to facilitate the viewing of such works.

There are more renderings and designs on OMA's site (linked above)

The design project is being led by Koolhaas and Shohei Shigematsu, another partner in OMA. Here's a bit more about what Abramović has planned. [Art Info]

The project is expected to cost $15 million and could be open by 2014, though Abramović still has to raise the money. [AP/Washington Post] [WGXC] [NYT]

Earlier on AOA: Rem Koolhaas to design building in Hudson

image: OMA

Inside Etsy Hudson

Etsy Hudson. Yep, you want to work there.

Inside a sprawling, former cannonball factory in Hudson, 17 deeply creative souls mill about quietly creating magic.

Their daily mission? To make Etsy safe for humanity. Well, that and hula-hooping.

Working at Etsy Hudson may be as close to internet superherodom as mere mortals can come.

It also might just be the best job on the planet.

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Rem Koolhaas to design building in Hudson

The Koolhaas-designed Seattle Central Library. As odd as the building is from the outside, the interior spaces are amazing.

This is crazy: Rem Koolhaas has agreed to design a building in Hudson, New York.

New York Magazine reports the superstar architect has signed a deal with performance artist Marina Abramović to design the Center for the Preservation of Performance Art, which would house performance art pieces that go on for hours -- or days:

At the future museum devoted to marathon pieces, viewers will watch in specially constructed chairs complete with wheels, tables to dine upon, and lamps. If they fall asleep, "the attendant will roll you to the sleeping area" of the theater, she said, but sleepers will still be considered part of the performance. "When you wake up, raise your hand and you'll be wheeled back," she promised.

NY Mag reports Abramović has to raise $8 million for the project -- and she's pushing for related development in the city, including a hotel for arts tourists.

Abramović got attention most recently for The Artist is Present, a 2010 performance at the Museum of Modern Art in which she sat motionless and visitors were invited to sit facing her.

Koolhaas is one of the world's most famous architects. Among his notable buildings: the Seattle Central Library. His designs are striking and odd. NYT architecture critic Nicolai Ouroussoff wrote last year that Koolhaas' crazy CCTV building in Beijing "may be the greatest work of architecture built in this century." In 2008 Time named him one of the 100 most influential people in the world.

If the project comes together, it would be a huge step in the ongoing transformation of Hudson. The city's Warren Street already feels like part of New York City on weekends. And it's becoming home to some ambitious and creative projects, from the Basilica Hudson arts venue to Cafe le Perche, which is trying to produce a baguette as good as what might get in France.

(Be sure to read Sam Pratt for more context.)

[via @missstafford]

photo: Flickr user andrewasmith

Winners in Capital Region's non-win: lofts, mushroom packaging, Troy riverfront

The Cuomo administration announced the winners of the Regional Economic Development Council competition today -- and the Capital Region did not win. The "best plan" awards went to Western New York, Central New York, the North Country, and Long Island -- they all got about $100 million in funding.

But the Capital Region wasn't exactly a loser, either. The region scored $62.7 million in grants. So, call it a non-winner.

A total of 88 projects in this region are getting funding. Some of it looks pork-ish (of course, all in the eye of the beholder). There are handful of grants that caught our eye. The full list, with highlights, after the jump.

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The Hudson Valley, Brooklynized

Warren Street in Hudson.

The NYT's Peter Applebome has a interesting story today about the "Brooklynization of the Hudson Valley, the steady hipness creep with its locavore cuisine, its Williamsburgian bars, its Gyrotonic exercise, feng shui consultants and deep clay art therapy and, most of all, its recent arrivals from New York City."

Prominently featured is the Basilica Hudson, which is co-owned by Melissa Auf der Mauer (yep, the same):

The Basilica is the kind of space and scene that the artist and musician Patti Smith (no stranger to Hudson) had in mind a few months ago when she advised young artists that "New York has closed itself off to the young and the struggling" and that they should find their futures someplace else, like Poughkeepsie.

"A bunch of my friends from Montreal came to visit and they said, 'You told us you moved to a small town, but you didn't tell us you moved to a magic David Lynch town. What is this place?' " Ms. Auf der Maur said. ...

Not long ago, Hudson was notorious for drugs, prostitution and post-industrial torpor. Now, Warren Street, with its antique stores, galleries and hip eateries, is a vision of the Hudson Valley reborn. And it was the scene of perhaps the last great battle between the old industrial Hudson Valley and the new one, when a coalition of interest groups came together to defeat a proposed coal-fired cement plant with a 40-story smokestack capable of producing two million tons of cement a year. Opponents said it would be an environmental disaster that would cut off access to the river and go against everything Hudson was becoming. They made an overwhelming case. But in the housing projects and poor neighborhoods just off Warren Street, strangers in the new landscape, it doesn't seem so clear.

It's easy to snark about this "trend" (we're surprised Gawker hasn't already taken a shot at it) -- but it's been going on for years, especially in places such as Beacon and Cold Spring (we worked on a story about just that during the middle of the last decade). And it seems like every time we're in Hudson now, we overhear someone talking about how they're up from NYC or moved from the City or how some place in Hudson is like some other place -- in the City.

The NYT article does a good job highlighting some of the problems related to the -ization -- specifically, "it takes more than art, farm stands and caffeine to make an economy work." Definitely worth reading -- some of it is applicable the core Capital Region, too.

[via @DanielleSanzone]

Earlier on AOA:
+ 12 hours in Columbia County
+ Etsy to Hudson
+ Albany-NYC: strong potential for high-speed rail? (note Tim's comment)

Ordinary Things

Mother and son, over 20 years.

The new show at Carrie Haddad Photographs in Hudson -- "Ordinary Things: When artists make their private life public" -- caught our eye. So we were happy to see that Sebastien had a chance to check it out. He writes of a series of photos by photographer Harry Wilks around which the show formed:

This is one of the most interesting piece of the show in my opinion, as it spans more than two decades. It started in 1987 as a simple picture of the artist's wife and young son, leaning on the bumper of their first car, and turned into a photo ritual year after year. Watch his son age, turn into a teenager, his wife mature, gracefully. This series was never intended to be shown in a gallery - it was a personal project. [Curator] Melissa [Stafford] asked Harry if she could show them and from there the whole exhibit started to grow as more artists joined the project. I was impressed by the vision and the resolve of Wilks, the strong composition over 20 years, the attention to details. I wish I had started such a project already.

Many more thoughts and photos at Sebastien's site.

"Ordinary Things" runs at Carrie Haddad Photographs until December 12.

photo: Sebastien B

For sale: Kirsten Gillibrand's house

Kirsten Gillibrand's home in Hudson is up for sale -- the list price: $1.48 million. [NYT]

Check out this snip from the listing on the real estate agent's site, titled "Gatsby & Spectacular Hudson River Views":

Mesmerizing sunsets and all day long stunning views of the Hudson River and the Catskill Mountains welcome you to a surreal magical landscape that you might think you once stumbled upon in a childhood dream ...this once in a lifetime slice of heaven is the perfect backdrop to make memories generation after generation. Beginning with the private drive guarded by towering shade trees through which the light bounces off Ol' Man River, informal and formal gardens, patios and porches greet you with each gentle rolling slope of the velvet lawn as it rolls down over the river.

There are a handful of photos on the listing page.

The house is listed as having 5 bedrooms, 4.5 baths, a "gracious" kitchen, a "delightful guest cottage," and a barn/4 car garage on 13 acres.

Here's the Zillow listing for the address, which appears to have incorrect info. (The "zestimate" is listed as $717,000.)

KG's office told NYT that the senator and her husband "plan to buy a house closer to family in the Capital Region." [NYT City Room]

Hmm... so what would be a good spot for the Gillibrands? We could see Slingerlands -- big houses, a bit rural, close to Albany and only about 20 minutes from ALB.

photo: Halstead

Tortillaville in Hudson

Taco time.

We were strolling along Warren Street in Hudson this past weekend when we came upon this happy sight.

Generally speaking, we hold that taco trucks = good idea. But this stand -- all shiny and parked among the picnic tables -- gave off an especially happy vibe.

Had we already eaten dinner? Yes. Would this stop us from having a taco? No.

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Red Lions at Hudson Opera House

This could be fun: Eric Margan and the Red Lions will be playing at the Hudson Opera House Friday night.

We took a walk-through of the opera house almost two years ago -- it's a grand, old space. The music of the Red Lions should be a good fit.

The show starts at 8 pm. Tickets are $15. You might think about heading to Hudson a little early -- there are plenty of good places to along Warren Street.

Hudson Under $100 2009

Sam Pratt has launched his "Hudson Under $100" guide for this year. As he did last year, Sam has explored Hudson many Warren Street shops for holiday gifts that cost $100 or less. He says he'll be adding items each day over the next few weeks (those are Henry Hudson masks, $5 each at MIX).

New this year: you can sort items by price and street block.

The site is great for virtual window shopping. We love gawking at all the photos of beautiful or odd objects.

photo: Sam Pratt

The Bindlestiff Family Cirkus

Bindlestiff's -- all the circus, none of the elephants.

Not so long ago the circus came to A-town and it started a discussion here at AOA about the poor treatment of the elephants and lions. Well here's a way for those who want to boycott the PETA-unfriendly circuses to experience some big top style thrills.

Check out the Bindlestiff Family Cirkus.

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Flan at Mexican Radio

delicioso!

A couple of weeks ago, a "stuff to do this weekend" post prompted a discussion of the flan at Mexican Radio in Hudson.

Regular commenter B. -- and the restaurant itself -- claim it's the best flan around. And apparently a lot of people back that opinion up.

Being just a little crazy for custards, I figured I better look into that lofty claim myself. I admit I'm usually more of a creme brulee kind of girl, but flan's kind of like creme brulee's Latin American cousin, isn't?

Uh, sure. Anyways..... bet you want to know how it is.

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Visiting Olana

Olana

Every once in a while, you just have to "get out of Dodge" -- so to speak. You know, those times when you can't take a two week vacation, or even a long weekend, but you just need a quick change of scenery.

If it's a day trip you're looking for, I can't recommend Olana enough. The sprawling estate of artist Frederic Edwin Church is beautiful, and it's the perfect place to hike, picnic, sketch and take pictures.

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This American Life: Live

The popular public radio show is taking its show on the virtual road. On Thursday April 23rd a live episode of TAL will be beamed to 400 theaters throughout the country -- including two in the Capital Region.

You can catch it at the Crossgates Regal Cinemas in Albany and -- in what's probably a place more fitting with the TAL aesthetic -- Time and Space Limited in Hudson. Scheduled contributors include Dan Savage, Starlee Kine, Mike Birbiglia and David Rakoff -- with a special guest appearance by Joss Whedon. Yep, Joss Whedon. That squealing you hear is all the public radio nerds crying out in thanks for their unexpected bounty.

Tickets are $20. You can buy them online for Crossgates. Reservations at TSL are via phone: (518) 822-8448. (It also looks like TSL will be showing an encore at Saturday, April 25.)

Equus at Carrie Haddad

If you're looking to get out the house for a bit this weekend (be sure to bundle), you might think about heading down to Hudson.

Carrie Haddad Photographs has a new exhibition called "Equus" -- it features, not surprisingly, works that involve horses. From the gallery's site:

Through the ages, the Horse has remained inseparable from man as a symbolic element of the sublime within the spirit of humanity. As representations of strength, devotion, wisdom, divination and freedom, the equine form projects not its own beauty; it reflects instead the beauty - or horror - of man's unconscious power. Equus ... spotlights the multi-layered relationship between people and horses. The exhibit will include the work of local and international photographers Tim Flach, David Seiler, Ida Weygandt, Juliet Harrison, Paul Solberg and Christopher Makos.

Three of the photographers from the exhibit will be giving a talk at the gallery Saturday from 4pm. (Here are some pics of the exhibit space.)

It could be a fun little trip down to check out the exhibit and then have dinner at one of Hudson's interesting restaurants.

Hudson under $100

A sample from "Hudson under $100"

Check this out: it's a virtual shopping stroll through Hudson highlighting gifts that cost less than $100.

It was created by Sam Pratt, who writes on the site:

SOME PEOPLE GRIPE that Hudson has become "too expensive" or that it's "just antiques." But is there any merit to either complaint? A Thanksgiving-time stroll through the eclectic shops on and off Warren Street reveals a wide variety of goods priced from $1 to $99. ¶ When contemplating your holiday gift list, Hudson deserves serious consideration. With just a little looking, one-of-a-kind presents can be found at reasonable prices -- for both close relations and also those hard-to-shop-for cousins. Much more than dark-wood antiques, Hudson offers diverse items either decorative or practical, humorous or chic, old or new.

By the way: the Hudson Winter Walk is this Saturday evening. If you go, be sure to stop into the new Carrie Haddad Photographs to the see the "Such Great Heights" exhibit.

[via]

screengrab: Sam Pratt

Carrie Haddad Photographs

The Carrie Haddad Gallery in Hudson is opening a new photography gallery called, well, Carrie Haddad Photographs. And the first exhibition, titled "Such Great Heights," looks very cool. Here's a bit about it from the gallery:

The inaugural exhibition at Carrie Haddad Photographs, the brand new exhibit space of Carrie Haddad Gallery, borrows its title from The Postal Services' song, Such Great Heights. The song romantically proclaims that, "everything looks perfect from far away" and the five photographers featured in this show explore a world seen from this same spectacular vantage point. Whether they attempt to transmit a narrative or not, they radiate a sense of great magnitude; the world appears immense and yet wholly intimate and personal.

We're especially interested in the tilt-shift photography of Vincent Laforet (that's his photo on the right) and Keith Loutit (check out his awesome tilt-shift "video" of Sydney Harbor); and the photo montages by Lori Van Houten.

The new gallery opens this weekend. There's a reception on Saturday from 6 to 8 pm.

Manhattan Short Film Festival in Hudson

A still from one of this year's finalists, Ode Ober.

Here's something cool going on in Hudson this Sunday and through the next week. The Manhattan Short Film Festival is screening a slate of films at locations all over the world, including Space360 in Hudson. Everyone who attends gets to vote on their favorites and the winners are picked by the worldwide tally.

It looks like this festival has a track record of showing some quality films. Last year's winner, I Met the Walrus, was nominated for an Oscar. Here are this year's finalists.

Space360 will be showing the slate of 12 movies Sunday at 2 pm and 5 pm, and then on Thursday, Friday and Saturday next week at 2 pm, 5 pm and 7 pm. Tickets are $8.

Grabbing something to eat at one of Hudson's cool restaurants and seeing these shorts could definitely be a good time.

(Thanks, Melissa!)

The duck confit panino at Swoon

Quack.

We don't think we ever would have put together the words "duck" and "panino." But we're sure glad that someone did.

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Reward for identity of West Hill shooter, teen saves baby, a challenger for Amedore, homecoming queen election intrigue

An Albany church is offering $1000 to anyone who can identifiy the person who shot and killed 10-year-old Kathina Thomas in West Hill Thursday night. Police think Thomas was hit by a stray bullet. [Daily Gazette]

An 18-year-old was shot twice in the head near Schenectady's Central Park Saturday. The teenager, who was visiting from Maryland, is Schenectady's third homicide this year and the seventh for the Capital Region. [Daily Gazette]

An Albany teenager saved a baby from being run over by a bus Friday afternoon. Tyler Purvis-Mitchell, who's 14, spotted the five-day-old baby after it had fallen out of its carriage while being loaded onto the bus. [TU]

Police say a guy robbed a bank at Stuyvesant Plaza the Town Center Plaza in Guilderland (the plaza at Johnston Rd across from the mall), was then chased through Colonie and Menands, and then nabbed in the parking lot of the VA hospital on Holland Ave. in Albany. [Daily Gazette]

Schenectady city councilman and Democrat Mark Blanchfield announced he'll challenge Republican George Amedore for the 105th Assembly District seat (that's Paul Tonko's old seat). Amedore was elected in a special election last year after Tonko left to head up NYSERDA. [Daily Gazette]

RPI will knock down 13 buildings in the neighborhood surrounding EMPAC. [TU]

Benita Johnson won her third consecutive Freihofer's Run for Women Saturday -- and then found out her dad had just died. [TU]

Was an openly gay student elected homecoming queen at Hudson High? Students say yes, the administration says no. [TU]

A fifth-grader in Saratoga has raised $650 to buy mosquito nets for people in Africa. She decided to raise the money -- she's aiming for $1000 -- after seeing a segment about malaria on an "Idol Gives Back" episode of "American Idol." [Saratogian]

The Hudson Opera House

If you stop by the Hudson Opera House, they'll let you take a tour of the place -- and it's pretty cool, in a history-bleeds-from-the-walls kind of way. The org that runs the building is hoping to have it restored in five years.

It's not easy being a gallery dog

Hard work, but someone's gotta do it.

Tuesday afternoon in Hudson, NY. The Stair Gallery is well protected.

One more pic after the jump.

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Plugged In Hudson

It sounds like Hudson has something pretty cool cooking over the next two weeks. Here's how Plugged In Hudson describes itself:

PLUGGED IN will be exhibited in and along the mile-long Warren Street, the main business district, in Hudson, New York. From May 17 through May 31, artists will utilize everything from storefront windows to the sides of buildings, to the street itself to exhibit their site specific work. Over the course of the past year we have been working with each artist to find a space which will be both engaging and challenging for their work.

The kick-off party is tomorrow night. Video mashup artists Electic Method will be setting the scene from 6-10 pm in the Parc Foundation building at 330 Warren St. Also in the mix: artist Mike Long will be painting a 10 foot mural all night. And there will be music courtest of Lukomski/Majer/Lail and DJs ESE and Mikey Palms.

The overarching Plugged In exhibition runs from May 17 to May 31.