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: Karina Rykman at The Sinclair
Before we get to next week’s 2024 Year in ReView series, we’re gonna revisit one of the best songs of 2023 that we (unfortunately) totally slept on until only recently. It comes from the high-minded, low-end mind of Karina Rykman, the New York City psychedelic indie singer-songwriter and bassist who takes us on a “Joyride” to The Sinclair in Cambridge this Saturday (December 7). “Joyride” is the alluring and attention-grabbing title track to Rykman’s sterling debut album, co-produced by Trey Anastasio and recorded at Phish’s Vermont studio space The Barn, and the single and the record showcases the rising artist who blends usually disparate genres with skillful ease. The album is a kaleidoscopic romp through Rykman’s creative world, and it should sound huge this weekend in Harvard Square. “You only get to make your first album once, and I couldn’t be prouder of what we created with this one,” Rykman says. “It’s a moment in time – the first of what I hope to be a lifetime of making records and touring behind them. I don’t care about bells and whistles; I’m just addicted to playing.”
KARINA RYKMAN + ERIC SLICK :: Saturday, December 7 at The Sinclair, 52 Church St. in Cambridge, MA :: 7 p.m., all ages, $20 :: Event info :: Advance tickets
Comedy: Lucas Zelnick at Laugh Boston
Keeping with the theme of New York City artists spending some time in Boston this weekend, we turn to Mic’d Up, who sets up Lucas Zelnick’s extended run at Laugh Boston, which began on Thursday and concludes Saturday (December 7). Here’s the good word: “The relatability and genuine approach of Lucas Zelnick makes his show quite attractive, but his observation skills and ability to pack a story with details without dragging it on bring the experience to a completely different level. While not wildly chaotic, his comedy is energetic and exciting, which only makes the night better when mixed with his apparent enjoyment of bringing the whole room with him throughout an hour of constant laughs and intrigue.”
LUCAS ZELNICK :: Friday, December 6 and Saturday, December 7 at Laugh Boston, 425 Summer St. in Boston, MA :: 7 and 10 p.m., $35 :: Advance tickets
Film/TV: Salad Days: A Decade of Punk in Washington, DC (1980-90)
at The Brattle
Wayyyyyyy back in 2015 we hyped the local premiere of Salad Days: A Decade of Punk in Washington, DC (1980-90), a documentary that explored the national’s capital’s wildly influential and ground-breaking music scene, with original archived video and more than 100 interviews with the likes of Government Issue’s John Stabb, Ian MacKaye, Henry Rollins, and Dave Grohl. Now the doc is celebrating its 10th anniversary with a special screening at The Brattle in Cambridge (December 7), and special guests include Suburban Voice founder Al Quint and Nancy Barile, author of I’m Not Holding Your Coat: My Bruises-and-All Memoir of Punk Rock Rebellion. Word from The Brattle: “It was a decade when seminal bands like Bad Brains, Minor Threat, Government Issue, Scream, Void, Faith, Rites of Spring, Marginal Man, Fugazi, and others released their own records and booked their own shows-without major record label constraints or mainstream media scrutiny. Contextually, it was a cultural watershed that predated the alternative music explosion of the 1990s (and the industry’s subsequent implosion). Thirty years later, DC’s original DIY punk spirit serves as a reminder of the hopefulness of youth, the power of community and the strength of conviction.”
‘SALAD DAYS: A DECADE OF PUNK IN WASHINGTON, DC (1980-90)’ :: Saturday, December 7 at The Brattle, 40 Brattle St. in Cambridge, MA :: 7 p.m., all ages :: Event info and tickets