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: The Beaches at Royale
From the desk of senior writer Michael Christopher: “To say we’ve been enraptured with the rise of The Beaches would be a bit of an understatement. Then again, it’s hard not to root for a band who spread infectious singles like the common cold and pass through town supporting Passion Pit one moment, and just a few years – and one pandemic – later, they’re headlining a sold-out Royale. That’s where the Toronto foursome will be tonight (March 8), coming through to promote one of 2023’s best albums in Blame My Ex. Led by ‘Blame Brett’, the venomous screed wrapped in a bouncy bubblegum beat, the record – the band’s second – is already up for a JUNO in the Rock Album of the year category. More importantly, it’s fun as fuck to scream along to live. Having seen them expand from Brighton Music Hall to Crystal Ballroom – with a quick detour at Boston Calling – to this evening, it’s become apparent that The Beaches can’t blame the Bretts, the exes or anyone else but themselves for this continued success.”
THE BEACHES + BOYISH :: Friday, March 8 at Royale, 279 Tremont St. in Boston, MA :: 7 p.m., 18-plus, sold out :: Event info
Comedy: Bobcat Goldthwait at Off Cabot
From the desk of comedy editor Jason Greenough and Mic’d Up, which shines a light on a comedian who has made us laugh for decades, dating back to his film roles as Egg Stork and Cadet Zed: “As a pillar of comedy, Bobcat Goldthwait continues to be as much of a student of the game as he is a teacher to generations of comedians who have watched him work his magic at the mic and behind the camera for decades. Sure, he’s pretty much mastered his own avenue of creative and comedic approach, but with every visit he pays to the area, there always seems to be at least one new piece to the ever-expanding puzzle that is his mind, and that’s just a beautiful thing that you don’t want to miss.” He’s at The Cabot’s Off Cabot this weekend.
BOBCAT GOLDTHWAIT :: Friday, March 8 and Saturday, March 9 at Off Cabot, 9 Wallis St. in Beverly, MA :: 5:30 and 8 p.m. both nights, $35 :: Advance tickets
Film/TV: ‘Pulp Fiction’ at Alamo Drafthouse
This October, Quentin Tarantino’s instant classic crime caper Pulp Fiction turns 30 (!), but Alamo Drafthouse is getting in early on the anniversary action. The path of the righteous man leads to a pair of Seaport screenings this weekend, Saturday night and Sunday morning (March 9 and 10), and while the former feels like a retro dance party, the latter seems appropriate for a reading of Ezekiel 25:17. We’ll let Alamo take it from here: “With a sprawling cast, whip-smart script, and stylish visual aesthetic, it’s no surprise that Pulp Fiction helped redefine a genre of films that would follow the movie’s 1994 release. John Travolta and Samuel L. Jackson play two low-rent hit men at the center of the film’s multi-layered story with intertangled tales involving their boss’ seductive wife (Uma Thurman), a desperate prizefighter (Bruce Willis), and a mysterious briefcase. Pulp Fiction is as iconic as cinema gets, and Tarantino’s exhilarating dialogue and surprising script deliver equal parts thrills and laughter for audiences to slurp down like a $5 milkshake.”
‘PULP FICTION’ :: Saturday, March 9 and Sunday, March 10 at Alamo Drafthouse, 60 Seaport Blvd. in Boston, MA :: Saturday at 7:45 p.m. and Sunday at 11 a.m., $10.99 to $14.49 :: Event info and tickets