THE DOZEN: November’s Must-See Concerts

By Greg Haymes

You could call it Best Bets, Prime Picks, Top Tips or whatever. We call it The Dozen, whereby we offer a monthly round-up of 12 (or so) of the shows around Greater Nippertown that have got us jazzed the most. Only one entry per venue. Of course, your results may vary, so please feel free to comment below and let us know what you think we missed or overlooked.

Here’s The Dozen for the month of November:

TODAY (TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 1): Shonen Knife @ the Low Beat, Albany. Straight outta Osaka, Japan, it’s Shonen Knife’s 35th anniversary tour. With Bare Mattress. 7:30pm. $15.

FRIDAY (NOVEMBER 4): Scott Sharrard @ the Cock ‘n Bull, Galway. The Gregg Allman Band guitarist leads his own blues-oriented band. 8:30pm. $20. Also at Levon Helm Studios, Woodstock, at 8pm Saturday, November 26. $20 & $30.

SATURDAY (NOVEMBER 5): Golden Oldies Spectacular @ Proctors, Schenectady. Oldies but goodies – Darlene Love, Bobby Rydell, Lou Christie and Freddie “Boom Boom” Cannon. 7pm. $39.75-$54.75.

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 10: Amanda Palmer @ The Egg’s Swyer Theatre, Albany. Provocative, irreverent, controversial and wildly creative, she’s a fearless singer-songwriter performing a solo concert. 7:30pm. $35.

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 11: The Sonics @ the Pearl Street Clubroom, Northampton. Seminal Nuggets-era ’60s garage-punk legends from Seattle. With Walking Ghosts. 8pm. $25 in advance; $30 at the door.

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 12: Kim Simmonds & Savoy Brown @ the Upper Room, Albany. Guitar veteran from the golden age of the British blues. 8pm. $20 & $35.

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 13: Dust Bowl Faeries @ Club Helsinki, Hudson. Performance artist-accordionist-singer Ryder Cooley leads the ethereal gothic ­folk ensemble with a dark cabaret twist. With Luis Mojica. 8pm. $10.

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 16: Big Head Blues Club @ Troy Savings Bank Music Hall, Troy. Big Head Todd & the Monsters bring along Mud Morganfield, Billy Branch and Ronnie Baker Brooks for a night of blues songs by Willie Dixon. 7:30pm. $36 & $45.

FRIDAY & SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 18 & 19: Magnetic Fields @ MASS MoCA’s Hunter Center, North Adams. Stephin Merritt, the master songsmith behind the Magnetic Fields returns with the full band for the world premiere of a staged performance of the new Nonesuch Records album: 50 Song Memoir, performing two distinct programs of the new songs. 8pm. Per-night tickets are $35 in advance; $45 at the door; $35 students; $55 preferred.

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 19: Sierra Hull @ The Linda, Albany. Americana singer-songwriter and virtuoso mandolin player. With Michael Eck. 8pm. $20.

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 25: The Felice Brothers @ the Bearsville Theater, Woodstock. The Catskills band celebrates their tenth anniversary and the music of their new album, Life in the Dark. With Wyndham. 9pm. $25 in advance; $30 at the door.

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 26: Rocky Velvet @ the Hangar on the Hudson, Troy. Guitarslinger Graham Tichy leads the rockabilly cats from Cropseyville – Ian Carlton, Jeff Michael and Jay “Bird” Gorleski – in their 20th anniversary reunion concert. With McKinley James. 8pm. $10 in advance; $15 at the door.

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 27: Analog Fog II @ the Hollow Bar + Kitchen, Albany. The second annual all-star reunion of Greater Nippertown bands from the ’60s – the Chord-A-Roys, Lisa Robilotto, the Sabres, George Leary & Larry Scarano, the Hudson Ave. Blues Band, the Coats’ tribute to Mark Chmielinski and the Section. 3pm. $10.