Editor’s Note: Welcome to V3 Weekend, a new Vanyaland series where we help you sort out your weekend entertainment with curated selections and recommendations across our three pillars of Music, Comedy, and Film/TV. It’s what you should know about, where you need to be, and where you’ll be going, with us riding shotgun along the way.
Music: ‘Everything’s Electric’ by Liam Gallagher
While the man’s solo output has been more uneven than an aging mod’s bangs, we gotta admit the new Liam Gallagher tune is pretty fucking solid. It’s called “Everything’s Electric,” it hits the streams today (February 4), and it’s the first taste of the Oasis voice’s third solo album, May’s wonderfully titled C’mon You Know. Co-written by Dave Grohl (lol), who also plays drums on the track, “Everything’s Electric” is a little bit Stones, little bit Primal Scream, and a whole lotta closed-fist/bent-wrist as we shout along to it like we’re standing in some field circa ’97. It’s got a nice jump to it, and should sound lovely across the summer festival circuit. Shame the man’s not at Boston Calling, though, after he was originally on the since-scrapped 2020 lineup. As you were, indeed.
Comedy: Friday night live across Massachusetts
When Comedy Editor Jason Greenough compiles his weekly feature Mic’d Up every Monday morning, he scans the region for the best stand-up comedy appearances throughout the week. The focus is on quality, no matter where the shows land on the calendar, and sometimes the best gigs are all on the same night. Like tonight (February 4), which finds Jesus Trejo at Laugh Boston; Brad Williams at The Wilbur; SmartLess Podcast at Wang Theatre; and Will Noonan at The Comedy Scene. Hot damn! That almost makes up for the weather outside. Hit the Mic’d Up link for show and ticket info for each gig, and fear not: Trejo and Noonan have appearances on the same stages come Saturday.
Film/TV: Jackass Forever
We’ll be real with the reader: We were going to hype the new Hulu series Pam & Tommy in this space, literally right up until we published this post. But something just didn’t sit right. A television show about the real-life invasion of privacy of a woman being made without her consent — in this case, unintentional ’90s sex tape star Pamela Anderson, who refused blessing this story to be re-told — just feels like something to be ignored (if not admonished outright). We all know what happened between Anderson and Mötley Crüe drummer Tommy Lee, and there are reports across the internet this week about how traumatic the experience was for the Baywatch star (People, E! News, Vanity Fair). Had Anderson signed off on this, and had a direct input in its creation and execution, and felt comfortable bringing this saga back to the headlines, then cool. But she didn’t, hadn’t, and isn’t, so we’ll just point everyone to today’s (February 4) theatrical release of Jackass Forever. Catch Film Editor Nick Johnston’s review of the stunt flick here. Because at the very least, those bodies in Jackass are being objectified and abused with the consent of its participants.