Let’s Puck!

Even though they finished well out of the playoff chase last year, there’s new optimism for the Syracuse Crunch,
as they’ve parted ways with the National Hockey League’s Columbus Blue
Jackets and are now the American Hockey League affiliates of the 2006-07
Stanley Cup champion Anaheim Mighty Ducks. There’s no word on if Gordon
Bombay will be considered for hire on the Crunch staff now that they’re
associated with The Mighty Ducks, but you can be sure the boys on the ice will
look to slapshot their way through the mullet-haired competition once
again this season. Remember, they’re one skate away from making the
bigs, so you better believe they will be giving it their all in hopes of
getting the call up to the big rinks, which means some highly
competitive action. See the puck drop at the Onondaga County War Memorial,
515 Montgomery St., for their first home game on Saturday, Oct. 9,
against the Lake Erie Monsters. Tickets cost between $13 and $17; add $2
for day of game purchases and $3 for day of game purchases for bouts
against Rochester. For more information on the Crunch, call 473-4444.

Wild, Wild Westcott

The eclectic former bijou-turned music hall, the Westcott Theater,
524 Westcott St., has already booked a hell of a slate for this fall,
featuring those underground national acts that otherwise would skip this
town, starting with the funky bass-drum-organ trio Soulive on Saturday, Sept. 11. Highlights in the coming months include: Young Dubliners, Sun., Sept. 19; Dark Star Orchestra, Tues., Sept. 28; Curren$y, Sat., Oct. 2; Jackie Greene, Wed., Oct. 6; OK GO, Tues., Oct. 26; Rusted Root, Sat., Nov. 6; Medeski, Martin and Wood, Thurs., Nov. 18; and Enter the Haggis, Fri., Nov. 26. For the complete lineup and to order advance tickets, visit www.thewestcotttheater.com.  

Dome Dawgs

Even though they didn’t break .500 in his first season, second-year coach Doug Marrone had the Syracuse University football team
playing with a grit that was missing during the entire Greg Robinson
era. As the team has now become acclimated to Marrone’s methods of
madness, you can be sure for even more improvement on the field this
year when quarterback Ryan Nassib leads the offense down the field while
linebacker Derrell Smith takes charge to amp up the bulwark on the
defensive side. The Orangemen kick off the season with two road games,
first against the Akron Zips on Saturday, Sept. 4, then out to Seattle
to battle the Washington Huskies on Saturday, Sept. 11; their first home
game comes against the Maine Black Bears on Saturday, Sept. 18, at 7:15 p.m. inside the Carrier Dome,
900 Irving Ave. Other home games (all on Saturdays) include: Colgate,
Sept. 25; Pittsburgh, Oct. 16; Louisville, Nov. 6; Connecticut, Nov. 20;
and Boston College, Nov. 27. Tickets range from $25 to $115. For more
information, call (800) DOME-TIX or visit www.suathletics.com. 800
DOME-TIX.

Get Yer Irish Up

Yes, Syracuse is an Irish town and, yes, every March we party at the
largest per capita St. Patrick’s Day parade in this land, but we also
celebrate our mutual cultural heritage at two September events, the Guinness Syracuse Irish Festival and the Tipp Hill Music Fest. Taking place Friday, Sept. 10 and Saturday, Sept. 11, in downtown’s Clinton Square, the Irish Festival brings music from Seamus Kennedy, Rising Gael, The Flying Column, The Causeway Giants, The Glengarry Bhoys
and more, all free for the listening on both days. Plenty of Irish
themed activities invade the square on Saturday and there will be enough
food and drink, vendors, instruments and gifts to make you think you’re
in Dublin. Information, including performance times, on the free
festival can be found at www.syracuseirishfestival.com.

One week later, on Saturday, Sept. 18, in the traditionally Irish part of town, the Tipp Hill Music Fest
kicks off at Pass Arboretum, a lovely spot along Avery Avenue (four
blocks south of West Genesee Street). Sure there will be food and
beverages, but the real attraction here is the music, including such
local stalwarts as Mere Mortals, Sirsy, The Tim Herron Trio, The Tipp Hillbillies and Joanne Perry & Wendy Ramsey
performing during the day. An open mike will keep the crowd involved
from 3 to 4:30 p.m., and music continues into the evening. In case of
rain, the fest will move to the Burnet Park Ice Rink Pavilion, just up
the street from the arboretum. For more information, visit
www.tipphillmusicfest.org.

Goo Times

The 1990s alt-rock trio from Buffalo, the Goo Goo Dolls, rock out on Tuesday, Sept. 28, 7:30 p.m., in the Mulroy Civic Center,
411 Montgomery St. After forming in 1986, the band released their
self-titled debut album in 1987, but didn’t attain commercial success
until their 1995 effort A Boy Named Goo, which hit No. 25 on the
Billboard album chart and achieved double-platinum status. Since that
release, the band has put out four more albums that have produced 17 top
10 singles, with their most popular tunes being the No. 1 hits “Iris”
and “Slide.” They’ll most likely play a good number of those, but will
also most likely play a handful of cuts off their latest album, Something for the Rest of Us, which was released Aug. 31. Tickets to the concert cost $39.50 and $49.50 and can be purchased by calling (800) 745-3000.