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: Rock And Roll Rumble at The Middle East
The Rock And Roll Rumble kicked off last night (April 4) in Cambridge, and now the World Series of Boston Rock gets into a weekend groove with the second and third preliminary nights at The Middle East. Garage rock upstarts Twig (who just unleashed a blistering new tune called “Nude Beaches”; hear it below) took home Night 1, and the competition ahead should be just as fierce: Friday (April 5) welcomes JATK, Gut Health, Trailer Swift, and Type 66 to Central Square; while Saturday (April 6) night’s alright for Rumble’n with Condition Baker, Other Brother Darryl, Wire Lines, and Lovina Falls. The preliminary round wraps next weekend before the semis shift over to Sonia later this month, as 24 bands battle for the crown won last year by the mighty ONE FALL. We’re not making any bold predictions this year, but we sure do have our favorites.
THE ROCK AND ROLL RUMBLE :: Friday, April 5 and Saturday, April 6 at The Middle East, 472 Massachusetts Ave. in Cambridge, MA :: 8 p.m., all ages, $15 :: Event info: Friday x Saturday
Comedy: Anna Akana at the Armory
Anna Akana’s story is absolutely wild, and now the California actor and comedian brings it to Somerville for a sold-out show at the Armory. Here’s Mic’d Up with the juice: “The subject matter is sure to be dark at times, and even darker at other points, but Anna Akana has continued to master the art of navigating the vulnerable territory of reflecting on the harrowing experiences that took her away from the stage for a number of years. With a keen sense of verbal illustration and the ability to still keep even the toughest memories light enough to draw out the laughs, Akana offers up one of the most intriguing shows you’ll see in the area all year.”
ANNA AKANA :: Saturday, April 6 at The Center for the Arts at The Armory, 191 Highland Ave. in Somerville, MA :: 6 p.m., $38 :: Advance Tickets
Film/TV: Nowhere at The Brattle
The Wicked Queer film festival is underway at The Brattle in Cambridge, and one screening in particular caught our wandering eye: It arrives tonight (April 5) as the Harvard Square cinema shows Nowhere, the iconic 1997 black drama comedy that concluded Gregg Araki’s teen apocalypse trilogy. Before literally everything was everywhere in the internet age, Araki’s films felt like a secret club for subculture youth in the ’90s, exploring queer identity, drug use, and emotional detachment in a lost Los Angeles, all while soundtracked by the likes of Massive Attack, Curve, and Suede (putting “Trash” on this soundtrack felt like a bat signal to a certain demographic). Here’s The Brattle’s Shawn Cotter: “Described as ‘90210 on acid’, the film tells the story of a day in the lives of a group of high school kids in LA and the strange lives they lead. This teen drama is a hallmark for a wave of irreverent teen films and series that still echoes today. Now that this cult classic has had a 4k restoration, its status can gain as a Queer classic.”
‘NOWHERE’ :: Friday, April 5 at The Brattle, 40 Brattle St. in Cambridge, MA :: 9 p.m., $15 :: Event info and tickets