Editor’s Note: Welcome to V3 Weekend, Vanyaland‘s guide to 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: Skinny Puppy at MGM Music Hall
Raising a broken glass to 40 years of electro-sonic terror, iconic industrial dance pioneers Skinny Puppy are currently crawling across North America for a “Final Tour,” and the Boston stop crashes MGM Music Hall at Fenway on Sunday (April 23), a show relocated from the smaller, nearby House of Blues. We’re all well-versed in the music of Skinny Puppy, so here’s what the band has to say about this tour: “Withered bE this rope that smothers any hope and banG .. it’s been 40 Years .. ! .. all doGeared by memories formed through memory folds …these fevered dreams so far been told. When nothing is true? So here’s to our best shows still yet ahead! Join us!! We’re excited to share this last ‘fever dream’ with yoU all. What a ride …… what a triP”.
SKINNY PUPPY + LEAD INTO GOLD :: Sunday, April 23 at MGM Music Hall at Fenway, 2 Lansdowne St. in Boston, MA :: 7 p.m., $32 to $57 :: Event info :: Advance tickets
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Comedy: Janelle James at The Wilbur
There are a few solid quick-drive live comedy picks this weekend, from Orlando Baxter in Worcester to Bethany Van Delft in Quincy, as we highlight appropriately in Mic’d Up. But we’re closing the weekend by going back to school with Janelle James, Sunday night (April 23) at The Wilbur in Boston. As Jason Greenough writes: “For years, Janelle James has been an undisputed heavyweight in the stand-up realm. Following her acclaimed role in Abbott Elementary, and leading up to what will mark the first theater show of her already deservedly decorated career, James has retained that heavyweight title, and the fact that the show is sold out only furthers explains just how much she’s bringing to the table.” Class is in session.
JANELLE JAMES :: Sunday, April 23 at The Wilbur Theatre, 246 Tremont St. in Boston, MA :: 6 p.m., $28 to $35 :: Advance Tickets
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Film/TV: Salem Horror Fest in Salem, MA
Time to get scared in the spring. After five years spent battling the most frightening evil of all — Halloween tourists — Salem Horror Fest shifts from October to April for its very first spring celebration. Scream queen and fest founder Kay Lynch has put together one devil of a program, with dozens of premieres, filmmakers, and special guests descending on a far less congested and crazed Witch City, allowing the globally-recognized film fest to take top-billing on the city’s marquee. There’s so much happening that we can’t list everything, but Saturday’s Demon Night Party at Bit Bar and Cinema Salem’s East Coast premiere of Bury The Bride, a new film directed by Massachusetts’ own Spider One of Powerman 5000, highlight a massive first weekend. Hit the links for all the gory details.
SALEM HORROR FEST :: Thursday, April 20 to Sunday, April 30 at various locations in Salem, MA :: Event info