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 rages on, as the second-half of its two-weekend preliminary round swing picked back up last night (April 12) at The Middle East, with post-punk quartet Looking Glass War taking home the evening. The final two prelims go down this weekend in Cambridge’s Central Square, as Friday (April 12) welcomes The Roland High Life, Cold Expectations (pictured), The Ghouls, and Never Gonna Make It; while Saturday (April 13) closes the opening round out with Robotic Hawks, RoseR, CE Skidmore & The Damn Fine Band, and Mammothor. After these two shows, the World Series of Boston Rock shifts over to Sonia for the semis next weekend, with Twig, Gut Health, Wire Lines, and wild card entry Other Brother Darryl already punching their respective tickets. It’s been a lively and unpredictable Rumble so far, and at this point, it’s anyone’s game. But in the end, only one will secure the crown won last year by the mighty ONE FALL.
THE ROCK AND ROLL RUMBLE :: Friday, April 12 and Saturday, April 13 at The Middle East, 472 Massachusetts Ave. in Cambridge, MA :: 8 p.m., all ages, $15 :: Event info: Friday x Saturday
Comedy: Ali Siddiq at The Shubert
Spring is in bloom and so is the live comedy calendar, as Kumail Nanjiani, Chad Daniels (read our feature on the Minny native), and others take various stages around the city this weekend. Ali Siddiq is also posting up in Boston, as the comedian, writer, and public speaker brings his I Got A Story To Tell Tour to The Shubert Theatre. Here’s Mic’d Up with the word: “In a vast sea of storytelling comics, Ali Siddiq has continuously built onto his incredibly strong and emotionally moving chops, resulting in more than one critically-acclaimed special delving into the darkest corners of his life. As fearless as they come, Siddiq is all about keeping it real, and the level-up to the spacious confines of the Shubert is evidence of that.”
ALI SIDDIQ :: Friday, April 12 at Shubert Theatre, 265 Tremont St. in Boston, MA :: 6 p.m., $30 to $45 :: Advance tickets
Film/TV: ‘Arthur’ at The Somerville Theatre
If you get caught between the moon and Davis Square, the best that you can do is fall in love. So with that in mind we’re hyping a screening of Arthur tonight (April 12) at the Somerville Theatre, perhaps solely because Dudley Moore’s 1981 rom-com features one of the greatest songs of all time in Christopher Cross’ timeless supermarket classic “Arthur’s Theme.” The award-winning mega-jam allows Arthur to be a part of the theatre’s “Smooth Cinema: Films with the Yacht Rock Sound” series, and the Identical Cousins’ Yacht Rock Land Cruise afterparty at sister venue Crystal Ballroom gives attendees a proper reason to sail smoothly into the weekend. The Yacht Rock’in afterparty is captained by Upright Citizens Brigade NY’s TD Sidell, who we all know and love from aughts-era electro party duo Big Digits, and features DJs, a photo booth, and live band karaoke. Go for ‘Arthur’, stay for the Yacht Rock. Because next thing you know, you’re closing down the town.
‘ARTHUR’ :: Friday, April 12 at The Somerville Theatre, 55 Davis Square in Somerville, MA :: 6:15 p.m., $16 :: Advance tickets :: Event page