Michael Janairo

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Author: Michael Janairo

  • 10 cool things to do this summer for free

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    Railbird

    • When: 7 p.m. Friday, June 8
    • Where: Upbeat on the Roof, the roof of the Tang Museum, Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs
    • Why: Though Railbird’s website says the band is based in Brooklyn, Capital Region residents know the band is led by Saratoga Spring’s own Sarah K. Pedinotti, the daughter of the owners of the restaurant-nightspot One Caroline. Since 2008, when the Sarah Pedinotti Band became Railbird, the band has been performing and released its debut album, “No One,” last year and then toured the country, supported by a Kickstarter fundraising campaign. This Upbeat on the Roof show launches the free weekly series at the Tang, but is also in conjunction with the Saratoga Arts Fest. Here’s your chance to catch, or re-catch, homegrown talent on the rise
    • Info: (518) 580-8080; http://tang.skidmore.edu

    — Michael Janairo, arts and entertainment editor

    Bootsy 
Collins at 
Alive at Five

    • Where: Albany Riverfront Park amphitheatre at the Corning Preserve
    • When: 5-8 p.m. Thursday, June 14
    • Why: Collins rose to prominence in the late 1960s with James Brown and with Parliament-Funkadelic in the 1970s. He is known for his bass playing and funk sound, which redefined popular music. Collins became one of the leading names in funk and a music industry legend who earned a place in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with other members of Parliament-Funkadelic in 1997. He has chart-topping songs such as “Bootzilla” and “The Pinocchio Theory.”
    • Info: 533-5331; 
http://www.albanyalive.com

    — Hina Tai, intern

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  • Ray Bradbury, 91, dies

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    The AP is reporting that Ray Bradbury, the science fiction-fantasy master who transformed his childhood dreams and Cold War fears into telepathic Martians, lovesick sea monsters, and, in uncanny detail, the high-tech, book-burning future of “Fahrenheit 451,” has died. He was 91.

    I read “Farhenheit 451” when I was in eighth grade and my teacher didn’t know what to do with me anymore, because I had completed all the SRA reading levels by October (see ya, aqua!).

    The reading experience was transformative. I got to read this sci fi book for credit? And while my classmates toiled away at the SRA cards, I kicked back with Bradbury and this crazy book filled with characters who had memorized so many other books, because, as everyone knows, Farhenheit 451 is the temperature at which paper burns.

    I didn’t even have to write a paper about the novel. I just sat and had a 20-minute talk with the teacher about it, and then I was free to move on — so then I read Martian Chronicles, and then other sci fi, such as Heinlein’s Stranger in a Stranger Land and Frank Herbert’s Dune.

    In many ways, Bradbury was my introduction to sci fi as something more than an escape, but a means for intellectual pursuit.

    What’s your Bradbury story?

  • Share your first concert experience

    The Psychedelic Furs’  concert on Saturday, June 2, at The Egg in Albany has got me thinking about my first concert experience.

    This was in the early 1980s in Pittsburgh, where I grew up. I was 14 at the time, and the P-Furs post-punk pop had an edge to it that my mother didn’t understand. But I also had older brothers who had gone to concerts for bands such as The Clash and Black Sabbath the previous year, so I suppose the P-Furs seemed tame by comparison.

    What I remember most about the concert isn’t the music or the people I was with, but the atmosphere of the concert hall. The PFurs played the Syria Mosque, a venue that has since been replaced by a parking lot. After a drive in a packed station wagon from the suburbs, we entered another reality.

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  • Robin Gibb, of Bee Gees fame, dies

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    Rolling Stone reports that Robin Gibb, 62, has died.

    Gibb was one-third of the band The Bee Gees, formed with his twin, Maurice, and his older brother Barry.

    The group was known for such 1970s hits as “Stayin Alive,” “Night Fever” and “How Deep is Your Love.”

    The AP reports:

    Gibb’s representative Doug Wright announced in a statement that Gibb passed away Sunday “following his long battle with cancer and intestinal surgery.”

    What are your memories of Robin Gibb and the Bee Gees?

    (more…)

  • Theater magic revealed: God of Carnage at Capital Rep

    The comedy “God of Carnage,” currently on the boards at Capital Rep, is a blistering commentary on uppermiddle class values, with many comedic twists and turns as two sets of parents argue over a physical altercation between their 11-year-old sons. You could call it Three Stooges for intellectuals, but that doesn’t quite grasp one gross-out comedy moment that has audience members gasping in disbelief.

    So how exactly does Capital Rep get one of the characters to projectile vomit?

    The Times Union’s Yi-Ke Peng headed over to Capital Rep and made this video.

    God of Carnage continues through May 27 at Capital Rep.
    Where: Capital Repertory Theatre, 111 S. Pearl Street, Albany.
    Running time: 90 minutes
    Continues: 7:30 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday; 8 p.m. Friday; 3 and 8 p.m. Saturday; 2 p.m. Sunday.
    Tickets: $20-$60.
    Info: 445-7469; http://www.capitalrep.org.

  • Poll: What attracts you to SPAC?

    Saratoga Performing Arts Center (Times Union Archive)

    A recent announcement by SPAC suggests that the rising costs of the New York City Ballet may put the ballet’s annual presence at the venue at risk. This has caused some consternation among fans of City Ballet, considering the ballet’s summer residency at SPAC is often cited as one of the reasons why taxpayers helped foot the bill for the creation of SPAC in 1966.

    Times change, and SPAC has been changing its offerings — in addition to the ballet, SPAC presents the Philadelphia Orchestra, Jazz Fest, Chamber Music Festival, modern dance (this year it is Bill T. Jones), Saratoga Opera, Wine and Dine festival, and even a 5K run (which is this Sunday) that features Capital Region bands playing along the route — to meet changing tastes. The SPAC box office, by the way, opens for the season today.

    For an upcoming column, I’m wondering what attracts you to SPAC. Use the poll tool below to check off the things that have brought you to SPAC in the past. You can check as many as you’d like. Use the comments section below for any comments. The results and comments may be used in a column slated to run May 20.

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  • No service fees today at SPAC box office for Live Nation shows

    The Saratoga Performing Arts Center box office opens for the season at noon today (May 15, 2012). Today only, Live Nation is offering tickets to LiveNation shows at SPAC with no service charges during normal business hours — noon to 6 p.m. The SPAC box office is at the venue on Route 50 in Saratoga Springs.

    The no-service fee offer is only for Live Nation booked shows:

    • Zac Brown Band – Friday, June 1st
    • Dave Matthews Band –  Friday, June 8th (June 9th is SOLD OUT)
    • Yanni – Tuesday, June 12th
    • Drake with J. Cole & more – Thursday, June 14th
    • The Beach Boys – 50th Anniversary Tour –  Saturday, June 23
    • Demi Lovato with Hot Chelle Rae – Tuesday, June 26th
    • Brad Paisley with The Band Berry & Scott McCreery – Friday, June 29th
    • Phish – Friday, July 6th thru Sunday, July 8th
    • Nickelback with Bush & My Darkest Days – Tuesday, July 24th
    • Santana & The Allman Brothers Band – Friday, July 27th
    • O.A.R. with Rebelution – Saturday, July 28th
    • Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Fest with Slipknot & Slayer – Tuesday, July 31st
    • Big Time Rush with Cody Simpson – Tuesday, August 14th
    • Toby Keith with Brantley Gilbert – Sunday, August 19th
    • Def Leppard & Poison with Lita Ford – Monday, Augus 20th
    • Chicago & The Doobie Brothers – Tuesday, August 21st
    • Jason Mraz with Christina Perri – Sunday, Sepetember 2nd
    • Fresh Beat Band – Monday, September 3
    • Florence & The Machine with The Maccabees – Sunday, September 16th

    Tickets for SPAC events will also be available: New York City Ballet, Bill T Jones, Jazz Festival, Philadelphia Orchestra, Saratoga Chamber Music Orchestra.

    Phone sales for SPAC classical tickets will also begin at noon on Tuesday. SPAC’s phone order ticket line is 518-584-9330.

    From May – September, SPAC’s Route 50 Box Office and phone sale hours are as follows:

    • Monday – Friday: noon to 6 p.m.
    • Saturday: 10 – 2 p.m.
    • Sunday:  only open if there is a show, 2 p.m. until intermission

  • ‘Hulk, smash’ and the iconic movie line

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    Among the many pleasures of ‘The Avengers’ is its sharp writing, which includes such lines as “Hulk, smash,” said by Captain America to the Hulk, or when Hulk says of Loki, “Puny god.”

    Only time will tell if any of the lines from ‘The Avengers’ will enter into the realm of popular culture in the way that “Hasta la vista” (from 1991’s “Terminator 2”) or “Show me the money!” (from 1996 “Jerry Maguire”) did. The mega hits in recent years haven’t produced many memorable lines. Do you remember any from “The Dark Knight” or any of the “Transformer” films? How about any of the “Harry Potter” films, or even any of the “Lord of the Rings” films, let alone anything from the “Twilight” series.

    What are some of the more iconic movie lines out there?

    In the photo gallery above are some of the more iconic movie lines of all time.

    What’s missing? Add your own in the comments below.

  • Is it art? Jeff Koons’ ‘Tulips’

    The artwork "Tulips" (1995-2004) by American artist Jeff Koons is on display in the Fondation Beyeler in Riehen, Switzerland, Friday, May 11, 2012. The exhibition "Jeff Koons" can be seen from May 13 until Sept. 2012. (AP Photo/Keystone/Georgios Kefalas)

    Are you ready for Tulip Fest?

    Check out this story about the Capital Region bands playing on Saturday and Sunday.

    What do you think of the Koons piece?