Michael Janairo

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Author: Michael Janairo

  • Motionhouse ‘Scattered’ @ Proctors, 2/2/13

    SCHENECTADY — Modern dance is an abstract art, with bodies moving through 3-dimensional space creating lines that appear and disappear in a snap.

    The centerpiece of the British troupe Motionhouse’s performance Saturday night on the Mainstage at Proctors, however, was something very concrete: a large curved wall like a skateboarder’s quarter-pipe that stood in the middle of the stage and rose more than 12-feet.

    In “Scattered,” a crowd-pleasing 65-minute piece, that wall, which was designed by Simon Dormon, was not only a screen for projected images — such as glaciers, ice floes, the inside of a freezer, drops of water, a pools of water, a desert landscape, snowfall and avalanches — but also the point from which dancers launched their bodies or to which they threw themselves.
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  • Punk rockers The Slaughterhouse Chorus and Bad Friends take over Valentines on Sunday

    The Slaughterhouse Chorus

    Valentines Music Hall at 17 New Scotland Ave., Albany,  will host a double record release show on Sunday, as local punk rockers The Slaughterhouse Chorus and Bad Friends unveil new work on vinyl.

    Henry’s Rifle, Maggot Brain and Syracuse’s Bridge Under Fire will join in the fun. The show kicks off at 7 p.m. for the 18 and older show. Tickets are $5.

    The Slaughterhouse Chorus and Bridge Under Fire teamed up for a split album on Syracuse label L.R.S. Records. Limited to 200 copies on randomly mixed color vinyl, the split features two songs by each band. A third track from each group will also be available via a digital download card included with the record.

    Albany fastcore favorites Bad Friends will drop its long-awaited debut record, blasting through ten tracks in as many minutes. Self-released by the band, the records will be available on clear, gold and black vinyl, limited to 100 copies each.

    Lark Street shop Fuzz Records will be on hand slinging their wares. For information, go to http://valentinesalbany.com.

  • Opening tonight: ‘Working/Drawing’ at Fulton Street Gallery

    Joanne Carson Toughing it Out, 2012 Charcoal and Pastel on Paper 25 1/2"h x 19 1/2" w

    Which came first: the sculpture or the drawing? Most sculptors will tell you that a three-dimensional finished piece is likely preceded by a two-dimensional one. Whether a quick gesture in a sketchbook or a detailed schematic, drawing and sculpture are often intimately connected. Drawing offers a way to work through ideas and sometimes may even be the final product for a sculptor, reflecting a similar line of inquiry as their sculptural work. A new show at Troy’s Fulton Street Gallery will give viewers insight into this part of the sculptor’s process. ”Working/Drawing,” curated by Albany artist Ken Ragsdale, presents the drawings of 22 sculptors from two corners of the country, the Northeast and the Northwest. Collar Works Gallery is pitching in promotional help since the show switched to Fulton Street during a period of uncertainty about the former’s location. An opening reception Friday is part of Troy Night Out, 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. Fulton Street Gallery, 406 Fulton St., Troy. 518-331-0217

  • Oscar hunt: Where to watch the nominees in the top categories

    The Academy Awards often present Capital Region movie-lovers with a problem: Can all the movies in the top categories be seen before the Oscars are handed out?

    This year, the Academy Awards will be presented on Sunday, Feb. 24, but some movies nominated in the top six categories — picture, director, actor, actress, supporting actor and supporting actress — have come and gone (including “Beasts of the Southern Wild” and “Flight”), while one hasn’t screened yet in the region, “Amour,” which opens at the Spectrum 8 Theatre in Albany on Feb. 8.

    What follows is a guide to 13 movies, which of the top six categories they’ve been nominated, whether they are still playing in theaters and when they will be available on DVD.

    The bad news is, if you haven’t seen “The Master” yet, you won’t be able to until after the Oscars show. It gets released on DVD on Feb 26, two days after the Academy Awards. For more information on showtimes and contact information for movie theaters, please see the movie page at http://www.timesunion.com/movies/

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    ENTER THE TIMES UNION 2013 OSCAR BALLOT CONTEST

  • Fleetwood Mac adds Albany to tour for June 19, 2013

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    Pollstar.com, a concert industry trade publication, has announced that Fleetwood Mac has added new dates to its tour, including a June 19, 2013, stop at Times Union Center in Albany.

    No official word yet from the venue, though.

  • Help welcome Times Union intern Nana Adjei-Brenyah

    .Nana Adjei-Brenyah, a senior English major at the University at Albany, has joined the Times Union arts and entertainment team today (Jan. 23) as an intern for his spring semester.

    Say hello and wish him well.

  • Library music series features Broad Street Chamber Players

    Bethlehem Public Library — 451 Delaware Avenue in Delmar — presents a free concert by the Broad Street Chamber Players at 2 p.m. Sunday Feb. 3 with works by Bach, Telemann and others.  Broad Street Chamber Players are: flutists Elizabeth Chinery and Sharon Levin, cellist Jay Shulman, and pianist David Smith.

  • Sandy Hook Students Record “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” Benefit Song

    The Associated Press reports:
    Children who survived last month’s shooting rampage at Connecticut’s Sandy Hook Elementary School have recorded a version of “Over the Rainbow” to raise money for charity.

    Twenty-one children from Newtown, Conn., performed the song Tuesday with singer-songwriter Ingrid Michaelson on ABC’s “Good Morning America.” Most of them are current and former students of the school, where 20 first-graders and six staff members were killed.

    They recorded “Over the Rainbow” on Monday at the Fairfield, Conn., home of Chris Frantz and Tina Weymouth, two former members of the Talking Heads and Tom Tom Club rock bands. Copies went on sale Tuesday on Amazon and iTunes, with proceeds benefiting the United Way of Western Connecticut and the Newtown Youth Academy.

    Read more: http://www.timesunion.com/news/crime/article/Newtown-shooting-survivors-record-song-for-charity-4195164.php

  • Photos: Xu Bing’s ‘Phoenix’ at Mass MoCA

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    By Tim Kane

    Stacks of large shipping crates reveal and conceal Xu Bing‘s installation “Phoenix” at Mass MoCA.

    With arrows pointed upward, the crates guide and serve as a metaphor for China’s rise on the global stage, yet wall you off from what’s on the other side — two massive talismans representing contemporary China.

    The containers are reminiscent of the Great Wall, built centuries ago to keep Mongol invaders out, but, unlike the 5,500-mile wall, they provide a path — albeit circuitous — to two imposing birds, measuring 100 feet long and with a combined weight of nearly 20 tons.

    The birds are made from debris Bing collected at a construction site in Beijing amid the flurry of building activity under way in the country. They don’t soar but flutter, almost clanging forward, suggesting China’s ascendancy isn’t a single upward arc. (more…)