6/18/10: Today’s Tips: Friday

MUSIC: “Garage Bands in the Garage” @ the Albany Public Library, Albany. At the library tonight, there won’t be a single librarian giving you scolding looks and telling you to be quiet. It’s the return of the “Garage Band” series, the first of the monthly summertime outdoor rock shows behind the library featuring Blue Factory and the Hoborchestra. 6pm. Free.

MUSIC: Fairview Avenue @ the Saratoga Winery, Saratoga Springs. Led by the husband-and-wife team of Scott (banjo) and Elizabeth Hopkins (bass), one of Nippertown’s finest bluegrass bands celebrates the release of their debut CD. Read our review here. 6pm. Free.

MUSIC: Roomful of Teeth @ MASS MoCA, North Adams. They’re back with another a cappella adventure as the ensemble of classically trained singers explore the vocal pyrotechnics of Tuvan throat singing, yodeling and more. 8pm. $10.

MUSIC: Terry Dame & the Electric Junkyard Gamelan @ Time + Space Limited, Hudson. They’re jammin’ with junk. Inspired by the traditional gamelan music of Indonesia, the EJG plays haunting modal melodies that float over funky bass lines and danceable, interlocking rhythms – and they do it all with musical instruments of their own invention – instruments such as the Rubarp and Big Barp (electric rubber band harps), the Sitello (an electric cello/sitar combo), the Terraphone (a horn crafted from copper piping) and the Clayrimba (a three-octave clay pot marimba). 8pm. $10.

COMEDY: Chelsea Handler @ the Palace Theatre, Albany. Talk show host, stand-up comedian and all-around pop-culture pundit Handler roars into town with her Chelsea Chelsea Bang Bang Tour. With Brad Wollack. 8pm. $55, $75.

MUSIC: The Marco Benevento Trio @ the Bearsville Theater, Woodstock. With Charlie Hunter playing a rare solo gig. The last time jam-band keyboard ace Benevento was in town, he was rockin’ out with Surprise Me Mr. Davis at a woefully under-attended Red Square show. I bet that won’t happen tonight. 9pm. $17.

MUSIC: Dona Oxford @ the Van Dyck, Schenectady. Want blues? This two-fisted boogie-woogie piano player – and former Nippertown resident – has a voice as big as the nighttime, and just as tantalizing. 7pm. $12.

MUSIC: The Fighting 86’s @ Caffe Lena, Saratoga Springs. With Frank Jaklitsch. Some of the finest Celtic music that Nippertown has produced. 8pm. $17.