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: Rat City Arts Festival at Aeronaut Brewing Co.
It’s been a pretty good week for Allston, and it’s not even Christmas yet. A few days after the massive news that Great Scott will be returning to Boston’s greatest neighborhood, Rat City Arts Festival posts up this Saturday (August 3) at Aeronaut Brewing Co’s Allston taproom for a free and intriguing third edition boasting 16 performances across two stages. The lineup is headlined by Mint Green (pictured) and Paper Lady, and features Grace Givertz, Sophie’s Body, Indoor Friends, Pink Slip, Cyan Sueño, and lots more. As Victoria Wasylak wrote back when the news dropped in June: “Founded in 2022, Rat City Arts Festival launched as a response to the loss of multiple independent music venues — and by extension, the loss of many paid performance opportunities for artists. Two years later, the fest’s mission still resonates with the community, as the music scene moves forward…”
RAT CITY ARTS FESTIVAL :: Saturday, August 3 at Aeronaut Brewing, 267 Western Ave. in Boston, MA 02134 :: 3 p.m., 21-plus, free admission :: Event info
Comedy: Best of Boston Comedy Showcase at Laugh Boston
The dog days of summer spare no man, woman, person, or party, and the local live comedy slate is no exception. But as Jason Greenough in Mic’d Up points out, there’s still plenty of chances to see the new crop of homegrown stars sling some chuckles, and Laugh Boston plays the host this Saturday (August 3) to the Best of Boston Comedy Showcase. From this week’s live comedy roundup: With five fan favorites around the region — Jay Martin, Janet McNamara, Mary Spadaro, Chris Kinback, and Jason Cordova — there will hardly be time to catch your breath in The Seaport this weekend as some of the best in the game put on full display exactly what has made them so in demand over theses last few years.
BEST OF BOSTON COMEDY SHOWCASE :: Saturday, August 3 at Laugh Boston, 425 Summer St. in Boston, MA :: 6 p.m., $25 :: Advance tickets
Film/TV: Metallica Film Festival at Somerville Theatre
It’s a true Metallica weekend here in Massachusetts. The iconic metal pioneers post up for two nights at Gillette Stadium tonight and Sunday, and the Somerville Theatre provides the halftime show the Super Bowl would not dare by bringing the band to the big screen on the idle Saturday (August 3) in between. The Metallica Film Festival is an all-day affair that showcases a trio of concert videos: the legendary 1987 early-era bootleg VHS compilation Cliff ‘Em All (2 p.m.); 1998 concert DVD Cunning Stunts (3:40 p.m.), and 2009 DVD Orgullo, Pasion y Gloria: Tres Noches En La Ciudad de Mexico, which filmed three nights in Mexico City with 155,000 crazed fans (6:15 p.m.). Bang ya heads.
METALLICA FILM FESTIVAL :: Saturday, August 3 at Somerville Theatre, 55 Davis Square in Somerville, MA :: 2 p.m., $40 :: Event info :: Advance tickets