Jukebox: Franti, Spearhead to bring political message to Palace

Redemption songs didn’t end with Bob Marley’s death, and Michael Franti and Spearhead bring a flame of strongly socio-political music to their fiery “All Rebel Rockers” and to the Palace Theater (19 Clinton Ave. at North Pearl St., Albany) tonight.

The forceful follow-up to Franti’s film “I Know I’m Not Alone” and album “Yell Fire!” about his musical journeys through war zones, the new album is reggae, mostly, with rock-steady riddims by Sly and Robbie and dub-wise explosions. There’s also hip-hop and soul echoes — and messages, plenty of messages.

Tonight, singer Cherine Anderson, the Jamaican singer/rapper who guests on “All Rebel Rockers” and has her own debut album “Kingston State of Mind,” will open, starting at 8 p.m. The powerful poetry-jazz-hip-hop crew Sol.Illaquists of Sound also perform. Tickets are $32. Phone 465-4663 or visit www.palacealbany.com.

Blues and soul

Also tonight, blues singer and guitarist Susan Tedeschi headlines at The Egg (Empire State Plaza, Albany) with British soul/R&B singer James Hunter opening.

Tedeschi brings new music from her “Back to the River” album of duets, recorded with Tony Joe White, Gary Louris and her guitarist husband, Derek Trucks, who sold out The Egg three weeks ago.

Already a veteran when Van Morrison discovered him, Hunter has released hard-hitting albums — “The Hard Way” is the latest and smoothest — and has played tremendous shows at Revolution Hall and Bearsville Theatre.

Show time for Tedeschi and Hunter is 7:30 p.m. tonight. Tickets are $34.50. Phone 473-1845 or visit www.theegg.org.

More Egg

On Saturday, folk-rocker Jonathan Edwards (“Sunshine,” “Shanty” and more) plays at The Egg at 8 p.m.

He’s way more than his hits: He has starred on Broadway, recorded bluegrass and children’s music, collaborated and toured with giants Emmylou Harris, Tom Rush and Jesse Colin Young. And his hits remain treats of vibe and melody. Tickets are $24.

On Sunday, Duncan Sheik brings songs to The Egg from his five album pre-Broadway pop career, starting with the 1996 hit “Barely Breathing” from his self-named debut; plus show tunes from “Spring Awakening,” a Broadway smash that won him a Grammy and a Tony. On Sunday, Lauren Pritchard from the “Spring Awakening” original cast also performs. Show time is 7 p.m. Tickets are $28.

On Thursday, blues-country guitarist and singer Jorma Kaukonen returns to The Egg, with mandolinist Barry Mitterhoff. This duo is essentially Hot Tuna, which also visits The Egg often, minus its rhythm section; and it was powerful at Revolution Hall several years ago. Show time is 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $28.

Country duo

Country singers Travis Tritt and Marty Stuart will also perform solo and as a duo, without a band, visiting the Troy Savings Bank Music Hall (30 Second St., Troy) on Sunday.

In this stripped-down reprise of their 1990s “No Hats” tours, Tritt and Stuart will perform their previous duet hits “The Whiskey Ain’t Workin’,” a Grammy winner, and “This One’s Gonna Hurt You (for a Long, Long Time),” a Country Music Association vocal Event of the Year winner — plus solo hits. Their voices obviously work well together, bridging Stuart’s New Traditionalist high twang and Tritt’s honky-tonk blue-eyed soul. Show time is 7 p.m. Tickets are $49. Phone 273-0038 or visit www.troymusichall.org.

More country

The WGNA & Proctors Rising Star Concert Series fires up again next Thursday with a visit from Justin Moore, an Arkansas-born singer-songwriter with a debut album due. Show time is 7:30 p.m. in Proctors GE Theatre (432 State St., Schenectady ). Tickets are $12. Phone 346-6204 or visit www.proctors.org.

The series continues on Feb. 5 with the Randy Rogers Band.

What Dead show?

That’s the question Deadheads will ask and try to answer on Saturday when the Dark Star Orchestra re-creates a particular classic Grateful Dead show. But which one?

Versatile, precise, faithful to the original shows, they are more than a musical quiz: They play and sing beautifully. Show time is 7 p.m. Tickets are $31.

Arlo, family, friends

Coming up on Thanksgiving, what better time to belly up to the table at Alice’s Restaurant? On Wednesday, Arlo Guthrie brings his seasonal but timeless (it decries war, it honors friendship and home-made culture) Thanksgiving meditation to the Troy Savings Bank Music Hall.

Arlo can cook up what his fans want at Alice’s Restaurant all by himself, but he also will have plenty of help on Wednesday: keyboardist son Abe Guthrie, the Burns sisters, and multi-instrumentalists/singers Terry “A La Berry” Hall, Bobby Sweet and Jody Lampro.

Show time is 8 p.m. Tickets are $35, $29 and $20 for students.

More folk

Eliza Gilkyson sings on Sunday at the Sanctuary for Independent Media (3361 6th Ave., Troy), armed with superb songs from her new masterpiece album “Beautiful World.” Will she sing “Man of God” from “Paradise Hotel” with any less venom now that George Bush is on his way out?

Author/commentator Robert Jensen will also perform in a special duo show. His books include “Getting Off: Pornography and the End of Masculinity,” “The Heart of Whiteness: Confronting Race, Racism and White Privilege” and the new “All My Bones Shake: Radical Politics in the Prophetic Voice.” Show time is 7 p.m. Tickets are $10 Phone 272-2390 or visit www.mediasanctuary.org.

More Matt Smith

Formerly of Schenectady, guitarist Matt Smith returns from Brooklyn for two shows this weekend with his reunited Matt Smith Band. Tonight, he plays at Northern Lights (1208 Route 146, Clifton Park) with the reunited Hotrods opening. Doors open at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $8. Phone 371-0012 or visit www.northernlightslive.com.

On Sunday at 2 p.m. it’s the Matt Smith Band along with the reunited Interstate at the Klamsteam Tavern (32 Clamsteam Road, Clifton Park) for a free show. One of the most skillful and powerful musicians from this area, Smith will play with both the Hotrods and Interstate: He played with both bands back in the day.

Broussard in Troy

Soul-rocker Marc Broussard headlines tonight at Revolution Hall (425 River St., Troy) with openers the Gabe Dixon Band and Josh Hoge. Guitarist Broussard from Louisiana and pianist Dixon from Florida both incorporate Southern soul fervor in their modern rock. Both boast new albums: Broussard’s “Keep Coming Back” and Dixon’s self-named debut (after several independent releases.) Doors open at 7 p.m. Tickets are $17. Phone 274-0553 or visit www.revolutionhall.com.

November 16, 2008
11:12 a.m.

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WEBSHERIFF ( no real name given ) says...

WEB SHERIFF
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Hi Michael / DG,

On behalf of Exile Productions and Exile Publishing, many thanks for plugging Van Morrison and, for your readers’ info, up-to-the-minute news on Van’s latest album - Keep It Simple - and 2008 shows is, of course, available on www.vanmorrison.com and www.myspace.com/vanmorrison and, for a limited period, you can still see Van's exclusive BBC sessions at http://www.bbc.co.uk/musictv/vanmorrison... . We’re also pleased to announce that an increasing archive of exclusive film footage of Van Morrison performances has now been made available for fans on Exile’s official YouTube channel at http://uk.youtube.com/user/OfficialExile... .

Thanks again for your support.

Regards,

WEB SHERIFF