4/7/11:Today’s Tips: Thursday

MUSIC: Peter Murphy @ Northern Lights, Clifton Park. Last seen in these parts leading Bauhaus at SPAC opening for Nine Inch Nails back in 2006, the Godfather of Goth steps into the spotlight to shake up Clifton Park with old favorites and selections from his upcoming album, “Ninth.” With Livan. 8pm. $18 in advance; $20 at the door.

TALK: Cornel West @ Skidmore College’s Zankel Music Center, Saratoga Springs. A discussion of race, gender, class, religion and nation. 6pm.

MUSIC: Melissa Ferrick @ The Linda, Albany. With Stewart Lewis. 8pm. $23.

MUSIC: Archie Fisher @ Old Songs, Voorheesville. The Scottish folksinging legend teams up with Garnet Rogers for an exquisite double-bill. 8pm. $25. UPDATE: SOLD OUT.

ARTIST TALK/RECEPTION: “Bull’s Eye” @ Union College’s Mandeville Gallery, Schenectady. An exhibition of more than 80 new photographs by Martin Benjamin, art professor, photographer and Nippertown.com contributor. 5-7pm. FREE.

MUSIC: The Ewabo Caribbean Steel Drum Trio @ Hudson Valley Community College’s Maureen Stapleton Theater, Troy. Breezy Caribbean music – from calypso to reggae – to enhance your lunch hour. 12noon. FREE.

MUSIC: JP Harris & the Tough Choices @ Club Helsinki Hudson, Hudson. Unadulterated honky tonk. With vintage country combo the Sweetback Sisters previewing selections from their upcoming album, “Looking for a Fight,” due out next month. 8pm. $15.

FILM: “The Red Shoes” @ EMPAC at RPI, Troy. The classic 1948 film starring Moira Shearer is the cinematic precursor to “The Black Swan.” 7:30pm. $5.

MUSIC: Eastman “Women in Music” Festival @ Union College’s Taylor Music Center, Schenectady. Faculty artists and students from the Eastman School of Music will perform works by contemporary women composers, including “Nothing Forgotten” and “Shakkei” by Hilary Tann. 8pm. FREE.

MUSIC: Split Tongue Crow @ the Crandall Library, Glens Falls. The Rutland-based Americana quintet kicks off the weekly Folklife Concert Series. 7pm. FREE.

THEATER: “Will” @ Hudson Valley Community College’s Maureen Stapleton Theater, Troy. A new play by HVCC professor David Stewart Birch, “Will is a knock-about comedy about the teenage years of Shakespeare. 8pm. FREE. Through Sunday.

MUSIC: Dopapod @ Red Square, Albany. Thumpin’ jam-rock. With Higher Organix. 8pm. $10 in advance; $12 at the door.

MUSIC: Jonathan Tyler & the Northern Lights @ Jillian’s, Albany. Straight outta the Big D in the Lone Star State, Tyler and his boys serve up the rock… and the roll. With Taddy Porter. 9pm. $10.