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: Final Gasp at ManRay
The history of ManRay is defined not only by the dance floor, but the stage as well. In its former life, the Cambridge nightclub famously hosted live performances from the likes of Nirvana, Alien Sex Fiend, Wolfsheim, and others; this Sunday (October 1), its new home on Prospect Street welcomes Final Gasp to christen not only the stage, but a new event series of grit n’ sweat hosted by punk and metal collective The Orphanage. The Boston death rock stirrers celebrate the release of their Relapse Records debut album Mourning Moon, and the pairing of performer and venue is naturally inspired.
“Every song was written with nothing but a natural feeling for what felt right,” says Final Gasp vocalist Jacob Murphy. “There’re tons of different influences, like Killing Joke and Die Kreuzen, even Echo & The Bunnymen and SSD. But we’re not really thinking about other bands. We feel like we’ve tapped into something that’s our own.”
Murphy adds: “The whole record has to do with loss. The title comes from that anxious feeling you have when you go to bed and you’re thinking about everything all at once. You’re regretting decisions you’ve made — or didn’t make — and you’re up all night thinking about it. I feel like it’s something that everyone can relate to.”
And so a new era begins.
FINAL GASP :: Sunday, October 1 at ManRay, 40 Prospect St. in Cambridge, MA :: 7 p.m., 19-plus, $10 :: Event page
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Comedy: Laugh Boston turns 10
In this age of insanity and uncertainty, simple survival is success. So we raise a V3 glass this weekend to Laugh Boston, the venerable Seaport venue that celebrates its 10th anniversary tonight (September 29). The evening packs a healthy lineup of homegrown talents, with appearances by Will Noonan, Jimmy Dunn, Corey Rodrigues, Mike Donovan, Dan Crohn, Janet McNamara, and Andrew Della Volpe. “This will be a memorable night for everyone involved as we celebrate our comics, customers, and staff who have made the last 10 years so special for us in Seaport!” the venue writes. And as Mic’d Up notes, the party is set to “showcase just how much the venue’s comfy and intimate stage has brought out some larger than life entertainment over the years.” Happy birthday, Laugh.
LAUGH BOSTON’S 10TH ANNIVERSARY:: Friday, September 29 at Laugh Boston, 425 Summer St. in Boston, MA :: 6 p.m., $25 :: Advance Tickets
Film/TV: ‘Stop Making Sense’ at The Brattle
A24’s 40th anniversary 4K restoration of Stop Making Sense premiered a few weeks back at Toronto International Film Festival (check out our extensive coverage from TIFF ’23), and now Jonathan Demme’s Talking Heads concert film, considered to be among the greatest of all time, is finally hitting theaters this weekend (like we warned you about). It’s playing at a few spots around the region, but The Brattle has the most appropriate setting to experience the film all over again.
Here’s word from the Harvard Square joint, though we’re all likely well familiar: “Directed by Demme (The Silence of the Lambs) and featuring core band members David Byrne, Tina Weymouth, Chris Frantz, and Jerry Harrison along with Bernie Worrell, Alex Weir, Steve Scales, Lynn Mabry, and Edna Holt, Stop Making Sense dynamically captures the legendary Talking Heads at the peak of their powers. This incredible film creates a kind of time-travel magic, transporting the viewer back in time to Hollywood’s Pantages Theater in December of 1983 to watch the band perform some of their most memorable songs. The Brattle is very excited to be among the first cinemas in the country to play this brand new restoration taken from the original camera negatives.”
‘STOP MAKING SENSE’ :: Starting Friday, September 29 at The Brattle, 40 Brattle St. i Cambridge, MA :: 10 p.m., $14.50 :: Event info and additional showtimes