All Over Albany

NKOTB, Boyz II Men, 98º at the TU Center

Through some sort of wrinkle in time, New Kids on the Block, Boyz II Men, and 98º have been transported from the 90s to the present day and will be at the Times Union Center August 1 for a show. Tickets for this time travel event go on sale to the general public February 23 -- they're $29.50 and up.

Unfortunately -- and somewhat mysteriously given what little is known about time travel -- the transport from an earlier decade has aged the members of the three groups. When NKOTB emerged from the wormhole, reportedly it was as 40something men. And Nick Lachey was talking about how he excited he is to be dating Jessica Simpson.

Sadly, Marky Mark didn't make it through the wormhole. Please join the Funky Bunch and Donnie Wahlberg in a moment of silence.

Oh, and their fans? Haven't aged a day.

Live Nation advertises on AOA.

Andrea Bocelli at the TU Center

Tenor Andrea Bocelli will be at the TU Center June 13. Tickets start at $78 -- they go on sale this coming Monday, January 28 (there's currently a pre-sale).

Bocelli has sold something just short of a zillion albums (OK, the number is 80 million). And he's a huge PBS fave. As it would happen, he has both a new album and PBS special coming out soon:

The June 2013 Tour will come in support of Andrea Bocelli's upcoming release Passione which will be released on January 29, 2013 along with a brand new PBS television special of the samename in March 2013. Passione is a lush collection of Mediterranean love songs featuring duets with global pop stars Jennifer Lopez, Nelly Furtado, and the late Edith Piaf.

Is it too much to hope for an Edith Piaf hologram?

The show at the TU Center will probably sell out. And the upper end of the ticket price range is $353. Over at Nippertown, Greg notes some context for that price.

Speaking of shows the PBS crowd is totally stoked about: "The Tenors" will be at the Palace May 4. Tickets start at $39.50 -- they go on sale to the public February 9. The quartet currently has the #1 album on the Billboard classical chart. Also: obligatory PBS special.

Speaking of the Billboard classical chart: The current #2 album on the list is from Lindsey Stirling, who's playing at Upstate Concert Hall March 20. Of course, Stirling isn't really "classical" in the classical sense, other than the fact that she plays a violin -- she's famous for incorporating dubstep and playing covers of video game music.

Roger Waters playing The Wall at TU Center

Roger Waters will be playing the classic Pink Floyd album The Wall at the TU Center June 28, 2012. Yep, that's a long time from now. But tickets go on sale November 14. They start at $58.

Waters has been touring The Wall since last year. As you might expect, the show is apparently quite the spectacle. Here's Waters on why he touring the album.

On the subject of old English rock stars: Peter Frampton is playing the Palace February 10.

And on the subject of rock stars who have seen better days: Guns N Roses at the TU Center November 23 (if Axl can make it that long)

Earlier on AOA: The Capital Region as retro music land

Tickets for Cirque du Soleil at TU Center

Just like you at your yoga class, right?

Update: The drawing's closed. The winner has been emailed!

The Cirque du Soleil show "Quidam" starts a five day run at the Times Union Center this Wednesday. From the blurbage:

Young Zoé is bored; her parents, distant and apathetic, ignore her. Her life has lost all meaning. Seeking to fill the void of her existence, she slides into an imaginary world - the world of Quidam - where she meets characters who encourage her to free her soul.

You know, through acrobatics and improbable flexibility.

The promoters of the show have offered us a pair of tickets to the first night performance on Wednesday at 7:30 pm -- and we'd like to offer them to you. To enter the drawing, please answer this question in the comments:

What local situation or place is a circus?

Think broadly -- it could be anything crazy good or crazy bad. Example: the checkout lines at the supermarket ahead of an icy, snowy apocalypse. We'll draw one winner at random from the comments.

Cirque du Soleil's "Quidam" will be at the TU Center Wednesday through Sunday. Tickets start at $30.50.

Important: All comments must be submitted by 9 am on Tuesday (September 27, 2011) to be entered in the drawing. You must answer the question to be part of the drawing. One entry per person, please. You must enter a valid email address (that you check regularly) with your comment. The winner will be notified via email by noon on Tuesday and must respond by 6 pm that same day.

The Great Zamboni

Part ice resurfacing machine, part intermission entertainment, it's no wonder everyone loves the Zamboni.

I had the chance to talk with Kevin Appler, a Zamboni driver for the Times Union Center, this week at an Albany Devils game. And I learned quite a bit: how the Zamboni works, how someone gets a job as a driver, and the fact that Zambonis don't really have brakes...

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Ladies and gentlmen, your Albany Devils...

The NHL's New Jersey Devils officially announced today that they're moving their minor league affiliate in Lowell, Massachusetts to Albany and the TU Center. (The River Rats scurried off to North Carolina earlier this year.)

The new team name: the Albany Devils. That's the logo on the right.

We're now wondering what the mascot will be. Buzzy Beelezubub? Dev the Devil? Pitchfork Pete? The parent club's mascot is the creatively named...N.J. Devil.

This is the second time New Jersey's had a team based here -- the Rats had been their minor league team for 13 seasons, ending in 2006.

Earlier on AOA: Rowdy the Rat goes searching for a new home

Open skate at the TU Center

You know, so you can work on your triple lutzes.

This could be fun: the TU Center is holding open ice skating sessions February 16-18 (that's next Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday). There will be three sessions a day:

• 12 pm - 2 pm


• 2:30 pm - 4:30 pm


• 5 pm - 7pm

Admission is $5 for adults, $3 for kids 12 and under. (The tickets will only be sold day of.) Skate rental is $5. If you print out this flyer, you can park in the TUC garage for $3.

More info: 487-2000.

Ford takes shot at Gillibrand and Schumer, TU Center turns profit, second ESP man caver sentenced, Phillip Livingston school up for sale

Harold Ford was in Albany yesterday to make the rounds at the Capitol and ESP -- and take shots at both Kirsten Gillibrand and Chuck Schumer. Ford said on Talk 1300 that both senators were elected to be independent and not act like a "parakeet" for for the Democratic Party. A Gillibrand spokesman shot back: "The notion that [Ford] is independent is completely contrived." Said one legislative intern to the TU after meeting Ford on the ESP concourse: "He should really look into getting a New York accent." [AP/Troy Record] [NYO] [NYDN] [NYT] [TU]

David Paterson said yesterday that his potential gubernatorial campaign opponents shouldn't be hiding in the "candidate protection program." [NYDN]

Annoyed that the governor keeps calling them back for special sessions, the legislature has decided to just not adjourn -- basically blocking more special sessions. [Daily Politics]

Albany County announced that the Times Union Center, which it owns, turned a profit of almost $1.8 million last year -- up from about $900k the year before. That's the second-highest profit in the facility's 20-year history (not adjusted for inflation). [Albany County] [TU]

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